FLASH: ultra-fast protocol to identify RNA-protein interactions in cells

Determination of the in vivo binding sites of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) is paramount to understanding their function and how they affect different aspects of gene regulation. With hundreds of RNA-binding proteins identified in human cells, a flexible, high-resolution, high-throughput, highly multiplexible and radioactivity-free method to determine their binding sites has not been described to date. Here we report FLASH (Fast Ligation of RNA after some sort of Affinity Purification for High-throughput Sequencing), which uses a special adapter design and an optimized protocol to determine protein-RNA interactions in living cells. The entire FLASH protocol, starting from cells on plates to a sequencing library, takes 1.5 days. We demonstrate the flexibility, speed and versatility of FLASH by using it to determine RNA targets of both tagged and endogenously expressed proteins under diverse conditions in vivo

Religious citizenship: The case of the globalised Khoja

The African Khōjā are an Indic Muslim caste, which began migrating from Sindh and Gujarat to East Africa in the late 18th century. During the 19th and 20th centuries, their economic success in an institutionally underdeveloped region coupled with a strong religious impetus allowed them to build communal municipal institutions throughout the region that both mimicked and replaced the absent state. The insecurity of postcolonial East Africa, such as the 1964 revolution in Zanzibar and the 1972 Ugandan Asian exodus, forced the Khōjā to further expand their bureaucratic apparatus towards foreign policy- migration to Western Europe and North America and requisite institutionalization. In the 21st century, the Khōjā coordinate these communal networks from North America and Western Europe to Asia and Africa towards a religious based economic development in emerging economies. Their primary identity is religious, defined from within and outwith, using the mechanisms of globalization to further communal aims internationally within a framework of religious nationalism insensible to state nationalism.Key Words: The Khōjā, Religious citizenship, Islam, Madagascar, Diaspora, Identity, Imagined CommunityRésuméLe Khoja africaine sont une caste musulmane Indic, qui a commencé la migration de Sindh et du Gujarat Afrique de l’Est à la fin du 18ème siècle. Au cours des 19e et 20e siècles, leur succès économique dans une région sous-développée sur le plan institutionnel couplé avec une forte impulsion religieuse leur a permis de construire des institutions municipales communales toute la région imité C’est Bothan et substitué à l’Etat absent. L’insécurité de l’Afrique postcoloniale de l’Est, tels que la révolution de 1964 à Zanzibar et 1972 ougandais asiatique exode, a forcé le Khoja à élargir leur appareil bureaucratique de la politique de la migration étrangère à l’Europe occidentale et l’Amérique du Nord et l’institutionnalisation nécessaire. Au 21e siècle, la Khoja coordonner Ces réseaux communautaires d’Amérique du Nord et en Europe occidentale à l’Asie et de l’Afrique vers un développement économique basé sur la religion dans les économies émergentes. Leur identité première est religieuse, définie à partir de l’intérieur et sont sortis, en utilisant les mécanismes de la mondialisation à d’autres objectifs communautaires l’échelle internationale dans le cadre de nationalisme religieux Insensible aux nationalisme d’Etat.Mots clés: Le Khoja, citoyenneté Religieuse, l’islam, Madagascar, la diaspora, identité, communauté Imagin

Interpersonal Problems in Arranged and Love Marriages

Marriage is often considered to be the cornerstone of a healthy social structure. The stronger the quality of a marriage, the healthier the social structure of society. The present research investigated the interpersonal problems among arranged and love marriages. The sample of this study comprised 100 couples who had married for love, and 100 couples whose marriage had been arranged by their families. The age range of participants was 20 to 40 years (Mean = 28, SD = 5.2). Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-32 (Horowitz, Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 2000) was administered to assess the nature of interpersonal problems experienced by the sample. The findings of present study revealed that the couples whose marriage was arranged by their families were more domineering and vindictive, compared to couples who had married for love.. However, couples in love marriages were more socially inhibited, non-assertive and intrusive when compared to arranged marriage couples. This research has important implications for social psychologists, marital counsellors and families

Financial Performance Comparison of Islamic and conventional banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

This paper examines the financial performance of Islamic and commercial banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The paper gives an empirical insights and comparisons between the performance of Islamic and conventional banking sectors.  The sample of the study consists of 5 fully-fledged Islamic banks and 14 conventional banks working in the UAE under the period 2011-2014. The study uses descriptive analysis, correlation, independent sample t test and multiple regression analysis to assess the performance and to compare between both types of banks. The Return on Assets (ROA) is used as proxy for profitability for both types of banks while bank size (log A), liquidity, capital adequacy, financial risk and operating efficiency as proxies for financial performance for both types of banks. The results showed that there is no significant difference between Islamic banks and conventional banks in terms of profitability (ROA) while there is a significant difference between Islamic and conventional banks in terms of liquidity, operation efficiency, capital adequacy, and financial risk. Further, the results indicated that the Islamic banks have higher operating efficiency, bank size and more liquidity than their counterparts of UAE. However, conventional banks are found to have better capital adequacy ratio than Islamic banks. In terms of financial risk, Islamic banks are found to have higher five times than conventional banks which may reflect challenges in the area of risk management in Islamic banks. Keywords: Financial performance, Islamic banks, Conventional banks, ROA, UAE. JEL Classification: A10, E60, G2

Determination of some significant batch culture conditions affecting acetyl-xylan esterase production by Penicillium notatum NRRL-1249

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acetyl-xylan esterase (AXE, <it>EC 3.1.1.72</it>) hydrolyses acetate group from the linear chain of xylopyranose residues bound by β-1,4-linkage. The enzyme finds commercial applications in bio-bleaching of wood pulp, treating animal feed to increase digestibility, processing food to increase clarification and converting lignocellulosics to feedstock and fuel. In the present study, we report on the production of an extracellular AXE from <it>Penicillium notatum </it>NRRL-1249 by solid state fermentation (SSF).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Wheat bran at a level of 10 g (with 4 cm bed height) was optimized as the basal substrate for AXE production. An increase in enzyme activity was observed when 7.5 ml of mineral salt solution (MSS) containing 0.1% KH₂PO₄, 0.05% KCl, 0.05% MgSO₄.7H₂O, 0.3% NaNO₃, 0.001% FeSO₄.2H₂O and 0.1% (v/w) Tween-80 as an initial moisture content was used. Various nitrogen sources including ammonium sulphate, urea, peptone and yeast extract were compared for enzyme production. Maximal enzyme activity of 760 U/g was accomplished which was found to be highly significant (p ≤ 0.05). A noticeable enhancement in enzyme activity was observed when the process parameters including incubation period (48 h), initial pH (5), 0.2% (w/w) urea as nitrogen source and 0.5% (v/w) Tween-80 as a stimulator were further optimized using a 2-factorial Plackett-Burman design.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>From the results it is clear that an overall improvement of more than 35% in terms of net enzyme activity was achieved compared to previously reported studies. This is perhaps the first report dealing with the use of <it>P. notatum </it>for AXE production under batch culture SSF. The Plackett-Burman model terms were found highly significant (<it>HS</it>), suggesting the potential commercial utility of the culture used (df = 3, LSD = 0.126).</p

Dynamic capabilities and organisational routines. The case of the UK Higher Education Institutions

Dynamic capabilities are identifiable processes such as product development, strategic decision making, and alliancing (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000). They govern organisational activities, to sense and seize opportunities by packaging the resources available to enhance product and service delivery (Teece, 2014)

The role of subcutaneous tissue stiffness on microneedle performance in a representative in vitro model of skin

AbstractThere has been growing interest in the mechanical behaviour of skin due to the rapid development of microneedle devices for drug delivery applications into skin. However, most in vitro experimentation studies that are used to evaluate microneedle performance do not consider the biomechanical properties of skin or that of the subcutaneous layers. In this study, a representative experimental model of skin was developed which was comprised of subcutaneous and muscle mimics. Neonatal porcine skin from the abdominal and back regions was used, with gelatine gels of differing water content (67, 80, 88 and 96%) to represent the subcutaneous tissue, and a type of ballistic gelatine, Perma-Gel®, as a muscle mimic. Dynamic nanoindentation was used to characterize the mechanical properties of each of these layers. A custom-developed impact test rig was used to apply dense polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microneedles to the skin models in a controlled and repeatable way with quantification of the insertion force and velocity. Image analysis methods were used to measure penetration depth and area of the breach caused by microneedle penetration following staining and optical imaging. The nanoindentation tests demonstrated that the tissue mimics matched expected values for subcutaneous and muscle tissue, and that the compliance of the subcutaneous mimics increased linearly with water content. The abdominal skin was thinner and less stiff as compared to back skin. The maximum force decreased with gel water content in the abdominal skin but not in the back skin. Overall, larger and deeper perforations were found in the skin models with increasing water content. These data demonstrate the importance of subcutaneous tissue on microneedle performance and the need for representative skin models in microneedle technology development

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation: Background and Legislative Issues

This report provides: (1) a background on Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) origins and program operations; (2) discussion of the international development finance context; and (3) analysis of key issues for Congress related to OPIC

Nanoparticle enhanced eutectic reaction during diffusion brazing of aluminium to magnesium

YesDiffusion brazing has gained much popularity as a technique capable of joining dissimilar lightweight metal alloys and has the potential for a wide range of applications in aerospace and transportation industries, where microstructural changes that will determine the mechanical and chemical properties of the final joint must be controlled. This study explores the effect of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the mechanical and microstructural properties of diffusion brazed magnesium (AZ31) and aluminium (Al-1100) joints. The results showed that the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticle to the electrodeposited Cu coating increased the volume of eutectic liquid formed at the interface which caused a change to the bonding mechanism and accelerated the bonding process. When the Cu/Al2O3 nanocomposite coatings were used as the interlayer, a maximum bond strength of 46 MPa was achieved after 2 min bonding time while samples bonded using pure-Cu interlayers achieved maximum strength after 10 min bonding time. Chemical analysis of the bond region confirmed that when short bonding times are used, the intermetallic compounds formed at the interface are limited to the compounds consumed in the eutectic reaction

Skyrmion morphology in ultrathin magnetic films

Nitrogen-vacancy magnetic microscopy is employed in quenching mode as a non-invasive, high resolution tool to investigate the morphology of isolated skyrmions in ultrathin magnetic films. The skyrmion size and shape are found to be strongly affected by local pinning effects and magnetic field history. Micromagnetic simulations including static disorder, based on a physical model of grain-to-grain thickness variations, reproduce all experimental observations and reveal the key role of disorder and magnetic history in the stabilization of skyrmions in ultrathin magnetic films. This work opens the way to an in-depth understanding of skyrmion dynamics in real, disordered media.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, including supplementary information