Naresuan University Journal
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Computational tools for interpreting ion channel pH-dependence
No full textActivity in many biological systems is mediated by pH, involving proton titratable groups with pKas in the relevant pH range. Experimental analysis of pH-dependence in proteins focusses on particular sidechains, often with mutagenesis of histidine, due to its pKa near to neutral pH. The key question for algorithms that predict pKas is whether they are sufficiently accurate to effectively narrow the search for molecular determinants of pH-dependence. Through analysis of inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) channels and acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), mutational effects on pH-dependence are probed, distinguishing between groups described as pH-coupled or pH-sensor. Whereas mutation can lead to a shift in transition pH between open and closed forms for either type of group, only for pH-sensor groups does mutation modulate the amplitude of the transition. It is shown that a hybrid Finite Difference Poisson-Boltzmann (FDPB) - Debye-Hückel continuum electrostatic model can filter mutation candidates, providing enrichment for key pH-coupled and pH-sensor residues in both ASICs and Kir channels, in comparison with application of FDPB alone
Understanding e-waste management in developing countries:strategies, determinants, and policy implications in the Indian ICT sector
No full textManagement of e-waste is a growing problem for developing countries; one that may undermine the sustainability of information and communication technology (ICT) use if not addressed. In this paper, we focus on a somewhat under-emphasized group that contributes significantly to developing country e-waste: local organizational consumers of ICT. Although this group creates the majority of e-waste, the factors shaping their e-waste decisions are not well understood. Our purpose in the paper is to provide such an understanding.This paper, therefore, builds conceptual models of e-waste strategies and e-waste strategy determinants from the environmental management literature. It applies these models to a key e-waste producer - the ICT services sector in India - drawing qualitative data from a mix of very large and small/medium firms.While the former have been proactive in their e-waste strategy, the small/medium firms are characterized as indifferent to e-waste; a divergence explained by the very different strengths of determining factors to which they are subject. In turn, those factors relate to the size of these ICT consumers and the nature of value chains into which they are placed. Understanding these determinants can help us plan better e-waste interventions; a point illustrated through critique of recently introduced legislation. © 2014 © 2014 Commonwealth Secretariat
Room Temperature Ring Expansion of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes and BB Bond Cleavage of Diboron(4) Compounds
No full textTrajectories of risk for early sexual activity and early substance use in the Fast Track prevention program
No full textZirconium isotope evidence for the heterogeneous distribution of s-process materials in the solar system.
No full textChallenges of financialised firm behaviour for Capital Markets Union
No full textCapital Markets Union is a late but right project towards a truly single currency economic zone in the EU. However the CMU Green Paper chooses the wrong benchmark of US capital markets and is not based on evidence. The hegemonic corporate governance ideology of shareholder value maximisation that determines the financialised firm behaviour in the US has produced, since the 1980s, malign macro-economic outcomes resulting in lower private investments, lower wages, regular stock market crises and socially and economically costly misalignment of the interests of owners and controllers of capital. The financialisation literature has amply examined these processes and recently international institutions like OECD and Bank for International Settlement have confirmed the findings of the financialisation literature with their own empirical evidence. Therefore the CMU project needs to be based on a better foundation of corporate governance that encourages long-term investments and true alignment of all stakeholders’ and managers’ interests
Cohort Profile: The Barwon Infant Study.
No full textThe modern environment is associated with an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Mounting evidence implicates environmental exposures, experienced early in life (including in utero), in the aetiology of many NCDs, though the cellular/molecular mechanism(s) underlying this elevated risk across the life course remain unclear. Epigenetic variation has emerged as a candidate mediator of such effects. The Barwon Infant Study (BIS) is a population-derived birth cohort study (n = 1074 infants) with antenatal recruitment, conducted in the south-east of Australia (Victoria). BIS has been designed to facilitate a detailed mechanistic investigation of development within an epidemiological framework. The broad objectives are to investigate the role of specific environmental factors, gut microbiota and epigenetic variation in early-life development, and subsequent immune, allergic, cardiovascular, respiratory and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Participants have been reviewed at birth and at 1, 6, 9 and 12 months, with 2- and 4-year reviews under way. Biological samples and measures include: maternal blood, faeces and urine during pregnancy; infant urine, faeces and blood at regular intervals during the first 4 years; lung function at 1 month and 4 years; cardiovascular assessment at 1 month and 4 years; skin-prick allergy testing and food challenge at 1 year; and neurodevelopmental assessment at 9 months, 2 and 4 years. Data access enquiries can be made at [www.barwoninfantstudy.org.au] or via [[email protected]]
The Roles of Left Versus Right Anterior Temporal Lobes in Conceptual Knowledge: An ALE Meta-analysis of 97 Functional Neuroimaging Studies.
No full textThe roles of the right and left anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) in conceptual knowledge are a source of debate between 4 conflicting accounts. Possible ATL specializations include: (1) Processing of verbal versus non-verbal inputs; (2) the involvement of word retrieval; and (3) the social content of the stimuli. Conversely, the "hub-and-spoke" account holds that both ATLs form a bilateral functionally unified system. Using activation likelihood estimation (ALE) to compare the probability of left and right ATL activation, we analyzed 97 functional neuroimaging studies of conceptual knowledge, organized according to the predictions of the three specialized hypotheses. The primary result was that ATL activation was predominately bilateral and highly overlapping for all stimulus types. Secondary to this bilateral representation, there were subtle gradations both between and within the ATLs. Activations were more likely to be left lateralized when the input was a written word or when word retrieval was required. These data are best accommodated by a graded version of the hub-and-spoke account, whereby representation of conceptual knowledge is supported through bilateral yet graded connectivity between the ATLs and various modality-specific sensory, motor, and limbic cortices
