Pyruvate decarboxylase from Zymomonas mobilis (PDC) and benzoylformate decarboxylase from Pseudomonas putida (BFD) are thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes that decarboxylate 2-keto acids. Although they share a common homotetrameric structure they have relatively low sequence similarity and different substrate spectra. PDC prefers short aliphatic substrates whereas BFD favours aromatic 2-keto...

Many tourism destinations characterized by spring blossom festivals (e.g., cherry blossom festival) became increasingly popular around the world. Usually, spring blossom festivals should be planned within the flowering period of specific ornamental plants. In the context of climate and phenological change, whether the administrators of tourism destinations had perceived and responded to the flo...

The influence of an upper-level trough on a Baiu frontal depression (BFD) that caused heavy rainfall event in southern Kyushu, Japan, July 4, 2020, was examined using numerical simulations with and without the trough. simulation (CNTL) reproduced reasonable well-developed BFD Kyushu. Conversely, (NOUT) produced weaker notable southward shift compared situation CNTL. for NOUT due to convection t...

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP) is an immunologically mediated interstitial lung disease that may result from repeated inhalation of many different environmental agents. Heterogeneity of the clinical presentation and bronchoalveolar lavage profiles have been described, possibly related to different occupational exposures. The aim of our study was to compare bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)...

The development of regression equations to predict carcass composition typically assumes that the independent variables, such as backfat depth, are measured without error. However, technological and operator-specific types of measurement errors do exist. To evaluate the impact of measurement error for backfat depth, Monte Carlo simulation was used to model carcass fat-free lean mass (FFLM) in p...

The groundwaters collected from three wells in the Blackfoot disease (BFD) area in southwest Taiwan contain, on the average, 671 i 149 r g of total dissolved arsenic/L. The arsenic contents in the well waters of Hsinchu, a city in the northwest of the island where no BFD has ever been reported, are less than 0.7 pg/L. The predominant arsenic species in the well waters of the BFD area is As3+ wi...

AIMS To report 5 year prostate-specific antigen outcomes in men undergoing prostate brachytherapy with caesium 131 at a single institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS All patients who underwent prostate brachytherapy with caesium 131 at our institution and had at least 24 months of follow-up were included in this study. The results are reported by risk group (low, intermediate and high) as well as...

Mobilization of iron stored in the interior cavity of BfrB requires electron transfer from the [2Fe−2S] cluster in Bfd to the core iron in BfrB. A crystal structure of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa BfrB:Bfd complex revealed that BfrB can bind up to 12 Bfd molecules at 12 structurally identical binding sites, placing the [2Fe−2S] cluster of each Bfd immediately above a heme group in BfrB [Yao, H., ...

The conventional assignment-based first/best fit decreasing algorithms (FFD/BFD) are not polynomial in the cutting stock input size in its most common format. Therefore, even for small instances with large demands, it is difficult to compute FFD/BFD solutions. We present pattern-based methods that overcome the main problems of conventional heuristics in cutting stock problems by representing th...

This study deals with preparation of substrates suitable for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) applications by sputtering deposition of gold layer on the polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) foil. Time of sputtering was investigated with respect to the surface properties. The ability of PTFE-Au substrates to enhance Raman signals was investigated by immobilization of biphenyl-4,4'-dithiol (BF...