Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An amphipathic helix facilitates direct membrane binding of Mycoplasma FtsZ

Cell division in bacteria is initiated by constriction of the Z-ring comprising two essential proteins FtsZ and FtsA. Despite our knowledge about the crucial function of the Z-ring in bacterial division, the precise roles and mechanism of how FtsZ and FtsA drive cell constriction remain elusive. FtsZ/FtsA in wall-less bacteria like mycoplasmas is an ideal model system for obtaining mechanistic insights into Z-ring constriction in the absence of cell wall machinery. In this study, we have analyzed FtsZ and FtsA sequences of 113 mycoplasma species and compared with the corresponding protein sequences in cell-walled bacteria. We report a phylogenetically distinct group of 12 species that possess FtsZs without the canonical FtsA interacting conserved C-terminal peptide (CCTP) motif. Interestingly, these FtsZs contain a putative membrane-binding amphipathic helix as an N-terminal or C-terminal extension to the globular FtsZ domain. As a proof-of-concept, we experimentally show that the proposed C-terminal amphipathic helix in M. genitalium FtsZ binds liposomes in vitro as well as localizes to E. coli membrane in vivo. Additionally, we identify a putative cholesterol recognition motif within the C-terminal amphipathic helix region of M. genitalium FtsZ. Our study catalogues the functional variations of membrane attachment by the FtsZ and FtsA system in cell wall-less mycoplasmas and provides a new perspective to study novel functions of FtsZ/A system in cell division. Importance Z-ring and peptidoglycan synthesis machinery both play crucial roles in bacterial cell division. Currently, our knowledge about how FtsZ and FtsA, the two primary components of the Z-ring, function, is limited to cell-walled bacteria where ring constriction is coupled to peptidoglycan synthesis. Cell wall-less bacterial FtsZ/A system is an excellent model to study the mechanism of Z-ring constriction in the absence of cell wall synthesis machinery. Here, we analysed FtsZ protein sequences across mycoplasma species and identified their characteristic sequence features. Our study reveals a novel group of FtsZs from mycoplasma with an inherent membrane binding and probable cholesterol sensing amphipathic motif, which serves as a new paradigm to explore fundamental roles of FtsZ and FtsA in Z-ring constriction during bacterial division.
Return to the Source: Assessing Machine Translation Suitability

We approach the task of assessing the suitability of a source text for translation by transferring the knowledge from established MT evaluation metrics to a model able to predict MT quality a priori from the source text alone. To open the door to experiments in this regard, we depart from reference English-German parallel corpora to build a corpus of 14,253 source text-quality score tuples. The tuples include four state-of-the-art metrics: cushLEPOR, BERTScore, COMET, and TransQuest. With this new resource at hand, we fine-tune XLM-RoBERTa, both in a single-task and a multi-task setting, to predict these evaluation scores from the source text alone. Results for this methodology are promising, with the single-task model able to approximate well-established MT evaluation and quality estimation metrics - without looking at the actual machine translations - achieving low RMSE values in the [0.1-0.2] range and Pearson correlation scores up to 0.688.
Restricted nonlinear model for high- and low-drag events in plane channel flow

A restricted nonlinear (RNL) model, obtained by partitioning the state variables into streamwise-averaged quantities and superimposed perturbations, is used in order to track the exact coherent state in plane channel flow investigated by Toh & Itano (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 481, 2003, pp. 67–76). When restricting nonlinearities to quadratic interaction of the fluctuating part into the streamwise-averaged component, it is shown that the coherent structure and its dynamics closely match results from direct numerical simulation (DNS), even if only a single streamwise Fourier mode is retained. In particular, both solutions exhibit long quiescent phases, spanwise shifts and bursting events. It is also shown that the dynamical trajectory passes close to equilibria that exhibit either low- or high-drag states. When statistics are collected at times where the friction velocity peaks, the mean flow and root-mean-square profiles show the essential features of wall turbulence obtained by DNS for the same friction Reynolds number. For low-drag events, the mean flow profiles are related to a universal asymptotic state called maximum drag reduction (Xi & Graham, Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 108, 2012, 028301). Hence, the intermittent nature of self-sustaining processes in the buffer layer is contained in the dynamics of the RNL model, organized in two exact coherent states plus an asymptotic turbulent-like attractor. We also address how closely turbulent dynamics approaches these equilibria by exploiting a DNS database associated with a larger domain.
The Learning Region

The aim of this book is to present a much-needed conceptualization of ‘the learning region’. The editors scrutinize key concepts and issues surrounding this phenomenon, which are then discussed in the context of recent literature. This unique conceptualization of the learning region presents a state of the art exploration of theories. Leading scholars from across Europe, the USA and South Africa draw upon various disciplines to explain how regional actors perform regional learning.
THOUGHT PROVOKING IDEAS OF THE GLOBAL ESSAY COMPETITION 2022 Mitigating The Intergenerational Democratic Deficit: A New Intergenerational Contract In Political Governance

As Edmund Burke (1790) wrote, a social contract is a “partnership not only between those who are living, but also between the dead and those who are to be born”. The youth of the past decades have willingly supported the older generations for they were assured that they would in turn be supported by their younger counterparts when they enter their twilight years. Central to the intergenerational contract is the democratic process, through which a people empower a government to deliberate and determine what one would contribute and receive across various life stages. Historically, democracies have successfully maintained intergenerational solidarity through periodic feedback from the electorates via the ballot box, which grants governments the mandate to renegotiate the contract amongst all parties (Wilson, 2021). However, this intergenerational contract is under threat today as the younger generation believes that the “pursuit of welfare by the [older] generation diminishes opportunities for a good and decent life” for themselves and for succeeding generations (UN, 2013). Indeed, intergenerational fairness has already been challenged within the realm of political governance. This is primarily due to growing intergenerational democratic deficit arising from the demographic transition towards an ageing population. Granted, democracies could ensure the intergenerational contract keeps up with changing times if governments treat every generation equally as though they were behind the Rawlsian (1971) “veil of ignorance”. However, recent evidence has robustly rejected this claim, revealing that representative democracies have a proclivity to prioritise the welfare of larger, older cohorts and are amenable to burdening today’s young and future generations. Thus, this paper suggests three proposals: (i) improve preand post-policy assessment; (ii) codify political commitment to upholding intergenerational fairness; and (iii) increase age diversify in policymaking. These recommendations would reduce the intergenerational democratic deficit, which in turn ensures that outcomes of the intergenerational contract would be as fair as possible not just for today’s young and old, but also for the unborn. #collaborativeadvantage
Enregistrement des variations eustatiques dans des depots littoraux du Pleistocene superieur (San Giovanni di Sinis, Sardaigne occidentale)

Tyrrhenian (Upper Pleistocene) coastal deposits in Sardinia have been studied since the last century, but have never been interpreted in terms of detailed sedimentology and sequential pattern. The present paper deals with an outcrop close to San Giovanni di Sinis on the western coast of Sardinia, where three depositional sequences can be identified. The lowermost sequence overlies an erosion surface which cuts into Messinian marls. A basal conglomerate including coralline algae, and sandstones displaying current ripples and beach lamination point to a coastal-marine depositional environment. The bulk of the sequence, however, is made up of eolian dunes with interstratified paleosols, and of colluvial deposits. An erosional surface terminates this sequence. The basal conglomerate of the second sequence contains pebbles with pedogenetic features, and is overlain by beach-laminated sands. Superimposed bioturbation and an important bed of in-situ Mytilus shells suggest that the coastal-marine environment passed into a lagoonal one. Ostracods, charophytes and pedogenesis indicate fresh-water influence and local emersion at the top of this sequence. Again, an erosional surface truncates the deposits. The third sequence starts with shoreface and foreshore deposits rich in coralline algae and ends with eolian facies. Locally, the eolian dunes prograde directly over shoreface and tidal-channel deposits. The major erosion surfaces probably formed during important drops of sea•level and correspond to sequence boundaries. The conglomerates are interpreted as transgressive deposits, whereas the shallowing-upward facies successions represent regressive highstand deposits. The three sequences of San Giovanni di Sinis may thus have formed during three successive sea-level fluctuations, which can tentatively be correlated with the three climatic cycles during the last interglacial, i.e. between 130,000 and 70,000 years B.P.
The Political Economy of Ivory as a “Conflict Resource”

The past year has seen attention directed, both in policy discourse and the media, towards the implication of Central African non-state armed groups in poaching and ivory trafficking. Engaging with both mainstream political economy analyses and work on the “geographies of resource wars,” this paper turns to the case of ivory as a “conflict resource,” through the case study of the Lord’s Resistance Army. It begins by outlining the contextual specificities and conditions of access, before assessing the compatibility of the resource’s biophysical, spatial and material characteristics with the needs of regional armed groups and the LRA in particular. Though the direction of causality is difficult to untangle, the paper finds that poaching and the trade in ivory by armed groups in Central Africa appears to incur low opportunity costs for relatively high potential gains. Moreover, that ivory qualifies as a “conflict resource” under Le Billon’s (2008) definition in the extent to which it is likely to be implicated in the duration of conflict in the region, both financing and benefitting from a context of insecurity. Future research would benefit from more accessible and robust data; interesting avenues would include an evaluation of the effects of the increasing militarization of poaching strategies including shoot-to-kill policies and the potential of igniting grievance-based conflict. Author Bio(s) Natasha White is a research assistant at the Graduate Institute, Geneva’s Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding. She holds an MA in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute, Geneva and a first class MSc (Honours) from the University of Edinburgh. Previously, she worked at Chatham House and Control Risks, and has undertaken field research in central and east Africa. Her research interests include political ecology, natural resources and conflict, and conservation-related violence. Her latest publications have been in the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies and the Journal of Political Ecology (forthcoming). Contact: njwhite100@gmail.com This article is available in Peace and Conflict Studies: http://nsuworks.nova. edu/pcs/vol21/iss2/6
Chronic Supplementation of Noni in Diabetic Type 1-Stz Rats: Effects on Glycemic Levels, Kidney Toxity and Exercise Performance

Thirty-two male Wistar rats were used to verify the effects of chronic noni (Morinda citrifolia L) juice administration on glycemia, triglycerides levels and its relation to physical performance. In addition, it was veri�ed if chronic noni supplementation is safe to clinical use through the kidney morphology analysis. In half of the rats, diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced with STZ. All rats were submitted to an incremental workload running test (IWT) until fatigued so that oxygen consumption and performance indexes (exercise time to fatigue and workload) could be analyzed before noni administration. Then, the control and DM groups received placebo (saline solution) or noni juice (dilution 2:1) at a dose of 2 mL/kg once a day for 60 days. The result was four groups: control + placebo (CP), control + noni (CN), DM + placebo (DMP), and DM + noni (DMN). Groups were then given a third IWT to verify the effect of the noni juice on exercise performance and glycemia. Twenty-four hours after the third test, all animals were euthanized and blood and kidneys were removed for posterior analysis. Noni administration improved the time to fatigue and workload in DM rats by reducing hyperglycemia. These results could be associated with an improved energy e�ciency promoted by noni ingestion. However, our results provided evidence that chronic noni administration causes kidney damage since elevated glomerular �ltration was observed at the same magnitude as the non-treated DM group. In conclusion, chronic noni ingestion promoted glycemic control and improved the performance in DM rats but caused kidney toxicity.
A checklist to assess Trustworthiness in RAndomised Controlled Trials (TRACT checklist)

Objectives: To develop a checklist to screen, for trustworthiness, papers reporting the results of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Design: A screening tool was developed using the four-stage approach proposed by Moher et al. This included de�ning the scope, reviewing the evidence base, suggesting a list of items from piloting, and holding a consensus meeting as part of a Delphi method. The initial checklist was set-up by a core group who had been involved in the assessment of dubious RCTs for several years. We piloted this in a Delphi panel of several stakeholders, including health professionals, reviewers, journal editors, policymakers, researchers and evidence-synthesis specialists. Each member was asked to score three articles with the checklist and the the results were then discussed in two Delphi sessions. Results: The Trustworthiness in RAndomised Clinical Trials (TRACT) checklist includes seven domains that are applicable to every RCT: governance, author group, plausibility of intervention usage, timeframe, drop-out rates, baseline characteristics and outcomes. Each domain contains two or three signalling questions that can be answered as either no concerns, some concerns/no information, or major concerns. If a study is assessed and found to have signi�cant concerns, then editors or reviewers should consider a more thorough investigation, including assessment of original individual participant data. Conclusions: The TRACT checklist is the �rst checklist developed in a formal process to detect trustworthiness issues in RCTs. It might help editors, publishers and researchers to screen for such issues in submitted or published RCTs in a transparent and replicable manner.
Invited Editorial: A Natural-Resource-Based View of the Firm

The authors revisit Hart’s natural-resource-based view (NRBV) of the firm and summarize progress that has been made in testing elements of that theory and reevaluate the NRBV in light of a number of important developments that have emerged in recent years in both the resource-based view literature and in research on sustainable enterprise. First, the authors consider how the NRBV can both benefit from recent work in dynamic capabilities and can itself inform such work. Second, they review recent research in the areas of clean technology and business at the base of the pyramid and suggest how the NRBV can help inform research on the resources and capabilities needed to enter and succeed in these domains.
Single Case Study: Malaysian Male Chinese Young Adult’s Decision to Leave Abusive Romantic Relationship

With an emerging phenomenon of emotional abuse among Malaysian male young adults in romantic relationship, this single case study aims to explore the experiences and decision-making processes of Malaysian Chinese male young adult who decided to terminate an emotional abusive relationship. Case study method allows the full coverage and in-depth investigation towards this current phenomenon. This study utilizes three data collection methods, they are semi-structured interview with follow-up interview, psychometric tests, and social media texts analysis. The theoretical framework of this study includes FOG – Fear, Obligation, Guilt, Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, and Choice Theory Reality Therapy. Seven themes emerged to capture the experiences during and after the abusive romantic relationship, which are ‘interactive abuse’, ‘over thinking’, ‘emotional distress – guilty, helplessness, and fear’, ‘progressive abuse’, ‘positive and negative self-condition’, ‘internal conflict’, and ‘prioritization of self-value’. Three themes are pointed out to explain the decision-making process of Malaysian male young adult, which are ‘self-centred decision’, ‘fear of losing’, and ‘prioritization of mental health’. The implications of findings, limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Analysis of the Brazilian academic production on typography: a survey in the Theses and Dissertations Database of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel

The projectual design practice is supported by different fields of knowledge, such as typography, which can be defined as the creation and use of orthographic and para-orthographic symbols. Studies related to this area can adopt different approaches such as the use of typography, type design, vernacular typography, history of the area and retrieve of graphic memory, and teaching of typography. Thus, we aimed to map and analyze the academic production on typography in Brazilian research. To this end, a bibliometric analysis was carried out based on the Theses and Dissertations Database of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel in order to visualize patterns and the development of research in typography. As a result, it was possible to demarcate consolidated approaches, such as the use of typography and the retrieve of graphic memory, and to indicate incipient topics that can point to potential axes of new and relevant research such as vernacular typography, type design, and teaching of typography.
Bad Times, Bad Jobs? How Recessions Affect Early Career Trajectories

Workers who enter the labor market during recessions experience lasting earnings losses, but the role of non-pay amenities in either exacerbating or counteracting these losses remains unknown. Using population-scale data from Germany, we find that labor market entry during recessions generates a 6 percent reduction in earnings cumulated over the first 15 years of experience. Implementing a revealed-preference estimator of employer quality that aggregates information from the universe of worker moves across employers, we find that one-quarter of recession-induced earnings losses are compensated for by non-pay amenities. Purely pecuniary estimates can therefore overstate the welfare costs of labor market entry during recessions. JEL Classifications: E32, J24, J31, J32
Urinary retention

Urinary retention, defined as the inability to void, is a common medical problem. If unidentified and/or untreated, it may become a serious condition that can lead to kidney damage or urosepsis, compromising the patient's life. Acute urinary retention (AUR) is usually easy to identify and to treat as patients usually complain of hypogastric pain and anuria. Proper bladder drainage with urethral or suprapubic catheter is the first line of treatment, with posterior studies to determine the cause of retention. Chronic urinary retention (CUR) is often much more difficult to identify. It is invariably linked to increased post-void residual urine (PVR), but its asymptomatic nature makes it often a hidden condition. There is a wide range of intrinsic and extrinsic, obstructive and non-obstructive causes affecting the lower urinary tract, which can lead to urinary retention. Due to the differences in urinary physiology and in order to simplify diagnosis and management, these are usually studied separately in men and in women. Management consists of a variety of options depending on the cause of retention, including conservative treatment, drug therapy and several forms of surgery. In this review, we make an overview of the main causes of acute and chronic urinary retention in men and women, focusing on the main aspects of diagnosis and management.
Should Regularization Replace Simple Structure Rotation in Exploratory Factor Analysis?

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is an important tool when the measurement structure of psychological constructs is uncertain. Typically, factor rotation is applied to obtain interpretable results resembling a simple structure. However, an overwhelming multitude of rotation techniques is available of which none is unequivocally superior. Recently, regularization has been suggested as an alternative to factor rotation. In two simulation studies, we addressed the question if regularized EFA is a suitable alternative for rotated EFA. We compared their performance in recovering predefined factor loading patterns with varying amounts of cross-loadings. Elastic net regularized EFA yielded estimates comparable to rotated EFA. For complex loading patterns, both rotated and regularized EFA tended to underestimate cross-loadings and inflate factor correlations, but regularized EFA was able to recover loading patterns as long as a subset of items followed a simple structure. We conclude that regularization is a suitable alternative to factor rotation for psychometric applications.
A Retrospective: On Clinical Studies with 5-Fluorouracil.

See related article by Curreri et al., [Cancer Res 1958:18:478–484][1] . Visit the Cancer Research 75th Anniversary [timeline][2]. The 1950s saw the rise of rational drug design to target DNA synthesis in cancer cells. The concept was simple; cancer was replicating uncontrolled compared with