Bacteriophage-Encoded DNA Polymerases—Beyond the Traditional View of Polymerase Activities

DNA polymerases are enzymes capable of synthesizing DNA. They are involved in replication of genomes of all cellular organisms as well as in processes of DNA repair and genetic recombination. However, DNA polymerases can also be encoded by viruses, including bacteriophages, and such enzymes are involved in viral DNA replication. DNA synthesizing enzymes are grouped in several families according to their structures and functions. Nevertheless, there are examples of bacteriophage-encoded DNA polymerases which are significantly different from other known enzymes capable of catalyzing synthesis of DNA. These differences are both structural and functional, indicating a huge biodiversity of bacteriophages and specific properties of their enzymes which had to evolve under certain conditions, selecting unusual properties of the enzymes which are nonetheless crucial for survival of these viruses, propagating as special kinds of obligatory parasites. In this review, we present a brief overview on DNA polymerases, and then we discuss unusual properties of different bacteriophage-encoded enzymes, such as those able to initiate DNA synthesis using the protein-priming mechanisms or even start this process without any primer, as well as able to incorporate untypical nucleotides. Apart from being extremely interesting examples of biochemical biodiversity, bacteriophage-encoded DNA polymerases can also be useful tools in genetic engineering and biotechnology.

The Epistemic Value of Affective Disruptability

In order to explore how emotions contribute positively or negatively to understanding the meaning of complex socio-culturally specific phenomena, I argue that we must take into account the habitual dimension of emotions – i.e., the emotion repertoire that a feeling person acquires in the course of their affective biography. This brings to light a certain form of alignment in relation to affective intentionality that is key to comprehending why humans understand situations in the way they do and why it so often is especially hard to understand things differently. A crucial epistemic problem is that subjects often do not even enter a process of understanding, i.e., they do not even start to consider a specific object, theory, circumstance, other being, etc. in different ways than the familiar one. The epistemic problem at issue thus lies in an unquestioned faith in things being right the way they are taken to be. By acknowledging the habitual dimension of affective intentionality, I analyze reasons for this inability and suggest that being affectively disruptable and cultivating a pluralistic emotion repertoire are crucial abilities to overcome this epistemic problem.

Developing and Creating Board Game as a Media to Learn English Vocabulary for Senior High Student

Students have a general problem to even start learning the English language. Through the game, student will only feel that they’re playing games and not studying, increasing the willingness of someone to learn more by averting their mindset to think that they are playing instead of studying. The game will be created in a form of a board game, the reason is the game is seen as more a friendly and more acceptable by more people. The objective of this research is to design a board game helping student to increase their English proficiency in a friendlier, easier, and enjoyable manner. The board game was tested to 40 students on high school by letting them play it 10 times in different day each time they play, and then filling the questionnaire. The questionnaire then will be processed in SPSS software to conclude the result of the research. This research will produce an English learning educational board game which will improve their English proficiency in a fun and cooperative way (togetherness).

Learning to Die: Analysis of The Cultural Role of Voluntary Death

Voluntary death is a morally and legally grey area in many countries around the world. In my research I studied the topic of euthanasia and assisted suicide in Italy. Specifically, I analyzed the relationship between collective law and individual morality using as case study the phenomenon of voluntary death, which has been making people talk about itself in recent years precisely because of its as yet undefined nature. Using a qualitative approach i.e., semi-structured interview, I listened the voices of a representative sample of Italian doctors in order to collect the opinion of the medical class i.e., the social group that would be most affected by the possible legalization of euthanasia. It has emerged, among other things, that Italy lacks a real education to death. The research has opened a reflection on the range of voluntary death within a Nation where it is illegal. Numerous studies have determined the enormous symbolic baggage present within the concept of death, but in the study of the legalization of voluntary death a new factor has emerged: a legalization is not desired until the population receives a real education on the idea of having to die. Like sex, death is still a taboo in many societies around the world. Is it therefore necessary to fulfill a death education before even start to talk about creating a general law. This research has exalted not only a cultural deficiency but also the desire to remedy it through education, in order to exorcise the fear of an event that sooner or later everyone has to face.

A game development environment to make 2D games

<span id="docs-internal-guid-53ba3190-7fff-f986-eada-0c6951574db9"><span>The creation of video games involves multidisciplinary processes that are not accessible to the general public. Currently, the development environments are very powerful tools, but they also require an advanced technical level to even start using them. This article presents a 2D game development environment to propose an alternative model to reduce the technical complexity existing in these systems, presenting a data model and a game editor that allows fulfilling this goal. In order to test its capabilities, several games have been successfully implemented in the proposed environment. With this achievement, it can be stated that it is possible to create video games simply and affordably for the general public without giving up its potential and remarking that there is still a long way to go to reach democratization in the creation of video games and the need to continue working in this field.</span></span>

Paradoxes of Nature

Parmenides’s insinuation of an unchanging universe is assertively supported by Zeno with various logical paradoxes that question the very nature of plurality, space, time, and the reality of apparent motion. The dichotomy is his most famous paradox. To begin a trip, say, from here to the door, a traveler must travel the first half of it, but before she does that she must travel half of the first half, and in fact half of that, ad infinitum. Since there will always exist a smaller first half to be traveled first, Zeno questions whether a traveler can ever even start a trip. Zeno’s analysis is logical; on the other hand, things everywhere appear to be moving. Hence, either Zeno’s reasoning is wrong or appearances are deceptive. Empowered by the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, it will be argued that, at best, the phenomenon of motion is experimentally unverifiable!

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and their Role in Employment Generation in Nepal

SMEs have historically played an important role in contributing to employment generation of many countries around the world. Naturally all businesses start as small businesses or even start out of small businesses initiated by individuals. It is imperative to give high priority to Nepalese labor, skill and raw material based domestic investments to promote national level industries for achieving employment. This study has used regression analysis to investigate relative changes in the position of the Nepalese small and medium scale enterprises (SME's) to the employment between the time period 2046 and 2073 based on secondary data. It has examine the dynamic relationship among the SMEs and employment in Nepal and found to be significant and positive relationship in between SMEs and employment of Nepal. It implies that number of employment was seemed to be mostly influenced by number of SMEs. However it was and still is contributing significant role in employment generation in Nepal.

How can neuroscience inform our coaching practice -- six strategies to facilitate an optimal brain state in coachees

Purpose How do you ensure that your coachees are getting the most value, support, and challenge from your coaching sessions? Before you even start asking questions and engaging in a coaching conversation, neuroscience can help you! The purpose of this paper is to outline six easy strategies that you can deploy to enable the best brain state to aid cognition, decisions, and creative thinking for your coachee and yourself. Design/methodology/approach A viewpoint based on the latest research from neuroscience and the author’s expertise as a coach for over 15 years. Findings Using the latest research from neuroscience to assist coachees to find their own solutions to the issues they face ensures they take ownership and are more motivated to take action. Originality/value The paper takes key elements from the latest evidence in neuroscience and applies them to the practice of coaching.

Should We Fear Ourselves? A Discussion about the Future of Our Species: Will Science and Technology Redeem Our Specie in the Future? Or Will Science and Technology Be the Source of Our Collective Downfall?

When looking back into our history, science and technology have been the tools used by our species to fight its survival battle against its old enemies (diseases, famine, epidemics, etc.). But, ever since human discovered genetics and NBIC technologies (nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science), our ambitions went one step further. We do not longer limit ourselves to ‘fix’ the Homo sapiens. Now we dream of enhancing the Homo sapiens and bring it into the next level: the Homo Deus. The consequences of our desires remain uncertain; but whatever they are, we need to accept that in a not too distant future the notions and understandings about ‘being human’ will appear less straight forward and even start to fade away. This paper discusses the senses in which science and technology have made humanity more distinctive as a species. As constructors of our own future, we need to question: will science and technology redeem humanity in the future? Or will they be the source of our collective downfall?