226 research outputs found
Pengaruh Lingkungan Kerja Terhadap Kepuasan Kerja Karyawan Bagian Produksi Pada PT. Sekar Bumi Alam Lestari Kecamatan Tapung Hilir Kabupaten Kampar
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh lingkungan kerja terhadap Kepuasan kerja karyawan bagian Produksi pada PT. Sekar Bumi Alam Lestari. Dalam penelitian ini 57 Karyawan telah di ambil sebagai Sampel dari 136 Populasi dan dipilih secara Random Sampling kemudian diwawancarai sebagai Responden. Analisis Validitas dan Reliabilitas telah dilakukan sebagai alat ukur pada 57 Responden. Hasil dari pengujian alat ukur tersebut menyatakan bahwa data yang di ukur Valid dan Reliabel. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode Deskriptif dan teknik Analisis yang digunakan adalah Analisis Kuantitatif. Setelah di uji dengan uji Validitas dan Reliabilitas selanjutnya data di Analisis menggunakan Analisis Statistik Regresi Linear Sederhana, Uji Koefisien Determinasi (R²), dan Uji t dengan menggunakan bantuan SPSS 17. Hasil penelitian ini menujukkan bahwa diketahui t hitung (6.868) > t tabel (2,005) dan Sig. (0,000) < 0,05. Artinya Hipotesa dapat diterima dan menyatakan bahwa lingkungan kerja berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Kepuasan kerja Karyawan. Kata kunci : Lingkungan Kerja, Kepuasan Kerja, Karyawan Bagian Produksi Pada PT. Sekar Bumi Alam Lestar
A unified framework based on the binding polynomial for characterizing biological systems by isothermal titration calorimetry
Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) has become the gold-standard technique for studying binding processes due to its high precision and sensitivity, as well as its capability for the simultaneous determination of the association equilibrium constant, the binding enthalpy and the binding stoichiometry. The current widespread use of ITC for biological systems has been facilitated by technical advances and the availability of commercial calorimeters. However, the complexity of data analysis for non-standard models is one of the most significant drawbacks in ITC. Many models for studying macromolecular interactions can be found in the literature, but it looks like each biological system requires specific modeling and data analysis approaches. The aim of this article is to solve this lack of unity and provide a unified methodological framework for studying binding interactions by ITC that can be applied to any experimental system. The apparent complexity of this methodology, based on the binding polynomial, is overcome by its easy generalization to complex systems
Allosteric Inhibitors of the NS3 Protease from the Hepatitis C Virus
The nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) from the hepatitis C virus processes the non-structural region of the viral precursor polyprotein in infected hepatic cells. The NS3 protease activity has been considered a target for drug development since its identification two decades ago. Although specific inhibitors have been approved for clinical therapy very recently, resistance-associated mutations have already been reported for those drugs, compromising their long-term efficacy. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new anti-HCV agents with low susceptibility to resistance-associated mutations. Regarding NS3 protease, two strategies have been followed: competitive inhibitors blocking the active site and allosteric inhibitors blocking the binding of the accessory viral protein NS4A. In this work we exploit the intrinsic Zn+2-regulated plasticity of the protease to identify a new type of allosteric inhibitors. In the absence of Zn+2, the NS3 protease adopts a partially-folded inactive conformation. We found ligands binding to the Zn+2-free NS3 protease, trap the inactive protein, and block the viral life cycle. The efficacy of these compounds has been confirmed in replicon cell assays. Importantly, direct calorimetric assays reveal a low impact of known resistance-associated mutations, and enzymatic assays provide a direct evidence of their inhibitory activity. They constitute new low molecular-weight scaffolds for further optimization and provide several advantages: 1) new inhibition mechanism simultaneously blocking substrate and cofactor interactions in a non-competitive fashion, appropriate for combination therapy; 2) low impact of known resistance-associated mutations; 3) inhibition of NS4A binding, thus blocking its several effects on NS3 protease
Deconvolution analysis for classifying gastric adenocarcinoma patients based on differential scanning calorimetry serum thermograms
Recently, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been acknowledged as a novel tool for diagnosing and monitoring several diseases. This highly sensitive technique has been traditionally used to study thermally induced protein folding/unfolding transitions. In previous research papers, DSC profiles from blood samples of patients were analyzed and they exhibited marked differences in the thermal denaturation profile. Thus, we investigated the use of this novel technology in blood serum samples from 25 healthy subjects and 30 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) at different stages of tumor development with a new multiparametric approach. The analysis of the calorimetric profiles of blood serum from GAC patients allowed us to discriminate three stages of cancer development (I to III) from those of healthy individuals. After a multiparametric analysis, a classification of blood serum DSC parameters from patients with GAC is proposed. Certain parameters exhibited significant differences (P < 0.05) and allowed the discrimination of healthy subjects/patients from patients at different tumor stages. The results of this work validate DSC as a novel technique for GAC patient classification and staging, and offer new graphical tools and value ranges for the acquired parameters in order to discriminate healthy from diseased subjects with increased disease burden
Escaping undesired gas-phase chemistry: Microwave-driven selectivity enhancement in heterogeneous catalytic reactors
Research in solid-gas heterogeneous catalytic processes is typically aimed toward optimization of catalyst composition to achieve a higher conversion and, especially, a higher selectivity. However, even with the most selective catalysts, an upper limit is found: Above a certain temperature, gas-phase reactions become important and their effects cannot be neglected. Here, we apply a microwave field to a catalyst-support ensemble capable of direct microwave heating (MWH). We have taken extra precautions to ensure that (i) the solid phase is free from significant hot spots and (ii) an accurate estimation of both solid and gas temperatures is obtained. MWH allows operating with a catalyst that is significantly hotter than the surrounding gas, achieving a high conversion on the catalyst while reducing undesired homogeneous reactions. We demonstrate the concept with the CO 2 -mediated oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane, but it can be applied to any system with significant undesired homogeneous contributions
Differential Calculi on Commutative Algebras
A differential calculus on an associative algebra A is an algebraic analogue
of the calculus of differential forms on a smooth manifold. It supplies A with
a structure on which dynamics and field theory can be formulated to some extent
in very much the same way we are used to from the geometrical arena underlying
classical physical theories and models. In previous work, certain differential
calculi on a commutative algebra exhibited relations with lattice structures,
stochastics, and parametrized quantum theories. This motivated the present
systematic investigation of differential calculi on commutative and associative
algebras. Various results about their structure are obtained. In particular, it
is shown that there is a correspondence between first order differential
calculi on such an algebra and commutative and associative products in the
space of 1-forms. An example of such a product is provided by the Ito calculus
of stochastic differentials.
For the case where the algebra A is freely generated by `coordinates' x^i,
i=1,...,n, we study calculi for which the differentials dx^i constitute a basis
of the space of 1-forms (as a left A-module). These may be regarded as
`deformations' of the ordinary differential calculus on R^n. For n < 4 a
classification of all (orbits under the general linear group of) such calculi
with `constant structure functions' is presented. We analyse whether these
calculi are reducible (i.e., a skew tensor product of lower-dimensional
calculi) or whether they are the extension (as defined in this article) of a
one dimension lower calculus. Furthermore, generalizations to arbitrary n are
obtained for all these calculi.Comment: 33 pages, LaTeX. Revision: A remark about a quasilattice and Penrose
tiling was incorrect in the first version of the paper (p. 14
Rescuing compound bioactivity in a secondary cell-based screening by using gamma-cyclodextrin as a molecular carrier
In vitro primary screening for identifying bioactive compounds (inhibitors, activators or pharmacological chaperones) against a protein target results in the discovery of lead com- pounds that must be tested in cell-based efficacy secondary screenings. Very often lead com- pounds do not succeed because of an apparent low potency in cell assays, despite an excellent performance in primary screening. Primary and secondary screenings differ significantly accord- ing to the conditions and challenges the compounds must overcome in order to interact with their intended target. Cellular internalization and intracellular metabolism are some of the difficulties the compounds must confront and different strategies can be envisaged for minimizing that prob- lem. Using a novel screening procedure we have identified 15 compounds inhibiting the hepatitis C NS3 protease in an allosteric fashion. After characterizing biophysically the interaction with the target, some of the compounds were not able to inhibit viral replication in cell assays. In order to overcome this obstacle and potentially improve cellular internalization three of these compounds were complexed with gamma-cyclodextrin. Two of them showed a five- and 16-fold activity increase, compared to their activity when delivered as free compounds in solution (while gamma-cyclodextrin did not show antiviral activity by itself ). The most remarkable result came from a third compound that showed no antiviral activity in cell assays when delivered free in solu- tion, but its gamma-cyclodextrin complex exhibited a 50% effective concentration of 5 micromoles. Thus, the antiviral activity of these compounds can be significantly improved, even completely rescued, using gamma-cyclodextrin as carrier molecule
Isokinetic leg strength and power in elite handball players
Isokinetic strength evaluation of the knee flexion and extension in concentric mode of contraction is an important part of the comprehensive evaluation of athletes. The aims of this study were to evaluate the isokinetic knee peak torque in both the extension and flexion movement in the dominant and non-dominant leg, and the relationship with jumping performance. Twelve elite male handball players from the top Spanish handball division voluntary participated in the study (age 27.68 ± 4.12 years; body mass 92.89 ± 12.34 kg; body height 1.90 ± 0.05 m). The knee extensor and flexor muscle peak torque of each leg were concentrically measured at 60º/s and 180º/s with an isokinetic dynamometer. The Squat Jump and Countermovement Jump were performed on a force platform to determine power and vertical jump height. Non-significant differences were observed between legs in the isokinetic knee extension (dominant= 2.91 ± 0.53 Nm/kg vs non-dominant = 2.70 ± 0.47 Nm/kg at 60º/s; dominant = 1.90 ± 0.31 Nm/kg vs non-dominant = 1.83 ± 0.29 Nm/kg at 180º/s) and flexion peak torques (dominant = 1.76 ± 0.29 Nm/kg vs non-dominant = 1.72 ± 0.39 Nm/kg at 60º/s; dominant = 1.30 ± 0.23 Nm/kg vs non-dominant = 1.27 ± 0.35 Nm/kg at 180º/s). Low and non-significant correlation coefficients were found between the isokinetic peak torques and vertical jumping performance (SJ = 31.21 ± 4.32 cm; CMJ = 35.89 ± 4.20 cm). Similar isokinetic strength was observed between the legs; therefore, no relationship was found between the isokinetic knee flexion and extension peak torques as well as vertical jumping performance in elite handball players.Actividad Física y Deport
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