Intrinsically Disordered C-Terminal Tails of \u3cem\u3eE. coli\u3c/em\u3e Single-Stranded DNA Binding Protein Regulate Cooperative Binding to Single-Stranded DNA

The homotetrameric Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) plays a central role in DNA replication, repair and recombination. E. coli SSB can bind to long single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in multiple binding modes using all four subunits [(SSB)65 mode] or only two subunits [(SSB)35 binding mode], with the binding mode preference regulated by salt concentration and SSB binding density. These binding modes display very different ssDNA binding properties with the (SSB)35 mode displaying highly cooperative binding to ssDNA. SSB tetramers also bind an array of partner proteins, recruiting them to their sites of action. This is achieved through interactions with the last 9 amino acids (acidic tip) of the intrinsically disordered linkers (IDLs) within the four C-terminal tails connected to the ssDNA binding domains. Here, we show that the amino acid composition and length of the IDL affects the ssDNA binding mode preferences of SSB protein. Surprisingly, the number of IDLs and the lengths of individual IDLs together with the acidic tip contribute to highly cooperative binding in the (SSB)35 binding mode. Hydrodynamic studies and atomistic simulations suggest that the E. coli SSB IDLs show a preference for forming an ensemble of globular conformations, whereas the IDL from Plasmodium falciparum SSB forms an ensemble of more extended random coils. The more globular conformations correlate with cooperative binding

An evaluation of medication appropriateness and frailty among residents of aged care homes in Malaysia: A cross-sectional study

Aging is significantly associated with the development of comorbid chronic conditions. These conditions indicate the use of multiple medications, and are often warranted by clinical guidelines. The aim of the present study was to evaluate medication appropriateness and frailty among Malaysian aged care home residents with chronic disease. The participants were 202 elderly (≥65 years) individuals, a cross-sectional sample from 17 aged care homes. After ethics approval, each participant was interviewed to collect data on sociodemographics, frailty status (Groningen Frailty Indicator [GFI]), medication appropriateness (Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI), the 2015 Beers’ criteria (Potentially Inappropriate Medication [PIM]), and 2014 STOPP criteria (Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing [PIP]). The findings show that 81% (n = 164) and 42% (n = 85) were taking medications for cardiovascular and central nervous system-related conditions, respectively, and 34% were using medications for diabetes (n = 69). Each participant had a mean of 2.9 ± 1.5 chronic diseases, with an average GFI score of 6.4 ± 3.6. More than three-quarters of the participants (76%) were frail and polypharmacy was a factor in nearly half (48%); 41% and 36% were prescribed at least one PIP and PIM, respectively, whereas the average MAI score was 0.6 (range: 0–6). The number of medications used per participant correlated significantly and positively (0.21, P = .002) with GFI score. These findings reinforce the need for participants of aged care homes to receive periodic medication review aimed at minimizing morbidity associated with inappropriate pharmacotherapy

Critical Success Factors for the Growth of Roy Paints Pvt. Ltd: A paint retail store in India.

This dissertation investigates various critical factors which Roy Paints needs to consider achieving its objective of growth both in terms of Sales and Number of Showrooms. This report cites references from significant literatures on retailing to determine factors important for the growth of a Retail Store. As understanding customer needs is essential in the development of retail strategies, having an optimal mix of marketing strategies is equally necessary to reach out to different types of customers. The research conducted for this paper includes interviews from directors and customers of a running Paint Store. The research focuses on the important areas which are of prime importance for the successful running and expansion of the retail outlet. The most important area that came across is the lack of effective marketing and a proper Information Management System. Some recommendations which should help in the growth both in terms of Sales and Number of stores have been made based on this research. Also, this research is for the use of Roy Paints Pvt. Ltd only, though it may also prove helpful to other retailers

A Study of The Relationship Between Macro Economic Factors and The Indian Stock Market

This dissertation is a study on the relationship of various macro economic variables and the Indian stock market. The study aims to show the impact of macro economic variables on the capital market. To conduct the study we have taken Bombay Stock Exchange’s index – SENSEX and National Stock Exchange’s index – S&P CNX Nifty as the benchmark of the Indian stock market. To get a broader insight we have taken various macro economic indicators like Wholesale Price Index, Money Stock represented by M3, Index of Industrial Production, Fiscal Deficit of the Central Government, Net investment by Foreign Institutional Investors, INR/USD Exchange Rate and Foreign Exchange Reserve. The research is conducted over monthly data of ten years period (2000-2010). There is a significant relationship between the economy and the stock market in the long-term. However in the short-term macro economic variables failed to show any significant relationship with the stock market

Formation Damage due to Iron Precipitation in Acidizing Operations and Evaluating GLDA as a Chelating Agent

Iron control during acidizing plays a key role in the success of matrix treatment. Ferric ion precipitates in the formation once the acid is spent and the pH exceeds 1-2. Precipitation of iron (III) within the formation can cause formation damage. Chelating agents such as EDTA and NTA are usually added to acids to minimize iron precipitation. Drawbacks of these chelating agents include limited solubility in strong acids and poor environmental profile. Hydroxy EDTA was introduced because of its higher solubility in 15 wt% HCl. However, its solubility in 28 wt% HCl is low and it is not readily biodegradable. In this study we studied the formation damage caused by iron precipitation in acidizing operations and tested the chelate L-glutamic acid, N,N-diacetic acid (GLDA). This chelant is soluble in higher concentrations of HCl. It is readily biodegradable, and is an effective iron control agent. A study was conducted to study the concentration of iron at different pHs ranging from 1-4 without the presence of any chelating agent at room temperature. A similar study was conducted in the presence of a chelating agent. To simulate field conditions, coreflood tests were conducted on Indiana Limestone, Austin Chalk and Pink Desert. Tests were conducted with and without the chelant. Samples of core effluent were collected and iron and calcium concentrations were measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AA). The cores were scanned using X-ray before and after acid injection. Results indicated that precipitation of iron can cause serious reduction in core permeability. The chelate was found to be very effective in chelating iron upto 300 degrees F. No permeability reduction was noted when GLDA was added to the acid. Material balance calculations show that significant amount of the iron that was added to the injected acid was produced when GLDA was used. This chelant is effective, environmentally friendly and can used up to 300 degrees F

Numerical Simulation of Oncolytic M1 Cancer Virotherapy Reaction-Diffusion Model by Collocation of B-Splines

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Invention of better cancer treatment strategies remained a burning topic of the research since decades. Oncolytic virotherapy being a targeted type therapy is an emerging technology that uses selective engineered viruses to treat cancerous malignancies. The dynamics of oncolytic M1 virotherapy with spatial effects and anti-tumour immune responses cab better be studied and analysed with reaction-diffusion mathematical models. Areaction-diffusion mathematical model to characterize the dynamics of oncolytic M1 alphavirus in the cancer treatment virotherapy with immune responses is studied in this paper. A numerical simulation technique based on the collocation of cubic B-splines is proposed to approximate the solution of the considered reaction-diffusion model. Collocation forms of the partial differential equation results in a system of first order ordinary differential equations which in turn have been solved by Runge-Kutta method of order 4. The non-linearity of the model is being resolved without any transformation orlinearization. The computed numerical results are in good agreement with those expected. Easy to apply and achieving accurate solutions in less CPU time are the key points of the present approach

Vision-Based Autonomous UAV Navigation and Landing for Urban Search and Rescue

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with bioradars are a life-saving technology that can enable identification of survivors under collapsed buildings in the aftermath of natural disasters such as earthquakes or gas explosions. However, these UAVs have to be able to autonomously navigate in disaster struck environments and land on debris piles in order to accurately locate the survivors. This problem is extremely challenging as pre-existing maps cannot be leveraged for navigation due to structural changes that may have occurred. Furthermore, existing landing site detection algorithms are not suitable to identify safe landing regions on debris piles. In this work, we present a computationally efficient system for autonomous UAV navigation and landing that does not require any prior knowledge about the environment. We propose a novel landing site detection algorithm that computes costmaps based on several hazard factors including terrain flatness, steepness, depth accuracy, and energy consumption information. We also introduce a first-of-a-kind synthetic dataset of over 1.2 million images of collapsed buildings with groundtruth depth, surface normals, semantics and camera pose information. We demonstrate the efficacy of our system using experiments from a city scale hyperrealistic simulation environment and in real-world scenarios with collapsed buildings.Comment: Accepted for publication in the proceedings of the International Symposium on Robotics Research (ISRR) 201