Revisiting the Non-Coding Nature of Pospiviroids

Viroids are small, circular, highly structured pathogens that infect a broad range of plants, causing economic losses. Since their discovery in the 1970s, they have been considered as non-coding pathogens. In the last few years, the discovery of other RNA entities, similar in terms of size and structure, that were shown to be translated (e.g., cirRNAs, precursors of miRNA, RNA satellites) as well as studies showing that some viroids are located in ribosomes, have reignited the idea that viroids may be translated. In this study, we used advanced bioinformatic analysis, in vitro experiments and LC-MS/MS to search for small viroid peptides of the PSTVd. Our results suggest that in our experimental conditions, even though the circular form of PSTVd is found in ribosomes, no produced peptides were identified. This indicates that the presence of PSTVd in ribosomes is most probably not related to peptide production but rather to another unknown function that requires further study.

Dependence of the Distribution and Structure of the White Mulberry (Morus alba) Population in Wrocław on the Intensity of Anthropopressure and Thermal Conditions

The selection of species which show the highest possible tolerance to negative habitat conditions, also among plants of foreign origin, is a pressing issue. One of the species we would like to recommend for planting in urban areas is the white mulberry species (Morus alba) due to both its outstanding adaptability and its ecosystem services. There are no reliable studies on the distribution of this species in urbanized areas in Poland, nor sufficient analyses of the methods of its renewal, both deliberate and spontaneous spread through self-seeding. Collecting data on the population of an alien species within individual regions and forecasting potential changes in the population’s size and structure, as well as its possible impacts on other organisms, is one of the basic measures to reduce biological invasions, which is one of the six priority objectives of the European Biodiversity Strategy and an element of the Strategy on Invasive Alien Species. The aim of this study was to determine the size and structure of the white mulberry population in the city of Wrocław and to analyse the relationship between this structure and intensity of anthropopressure and thermal conditions.

DExIE - An IoT-Class Hardware Monitor for Real-Time Fine-Grained Control-Flow Integrity

The Dynamic Execution Integrity Engine (DExIE) is a lightweight hardware monitor that can be flexibly attached to many IoT-class processor pipelines. It is guaranteed to catch both inter- and intra-function illegal control flows in time to prevent any illegal instructions from touching memory. The performance impact of attaching DExIE to a core depends on the concrete pipeline structure. In some especially suitable cases, extending a processor with DExIE will have no performance penalty. DExIE is real-time capable, as it causes no or only up to 10.4 % additional and then predictable pipeline stalls. Depending on the monitored processor’s size and structure, DExIE is faster than software-based monitoring and often smaller than a separate guard processor. We present not just the hardware architecture, but also the automated programming flow, and discuss compact adaptable storage formats to hold fine-grained control flow information.

The Impact of Mayors’ Corruption on Spanish Municipal Spending

We investigate the impact of mayors’ corruption on the size and structure of Spanish municipal budgets. The theory posits that total expenditure is greater in corrupt governments: €77.08 higher per capita in our sample when a corrupt mayor is in office. Moreover, the literature predicts that mayors (agents), will spend more on items directly connected with corruption, rather than expenditure priorities demanded by the citizens (principals). Thus, we show that total expenditure, capital, trash collection and police are higher when corruption exists. Literature predicts that corrupt mayors spend less on items that provide fewer opportunities to collect bribes: our data show that corrupt mayors do not spend more on health. Corrupt mayors spend on average 1.46 years on duty after being taken to court with a formal indictment on a corruption charge. This indicates that in Spain, sadly, resigning the mayoralty is not automatic when facing criminal charges for corruption. Investigamos el impacto de la corrupción de los alcaldes en el tamaño y la estructura de los presupuestos municipales españoles. La teoría postula que el gasto total es mayor en los gobiernos corruptos: 77,08 euros más per cápita en nuestra muestra cuando un alcalde corrupto está en el cargo. Además, la literatura predice que los alcaldes (agentes), gastarán más en partidas directamente relacionadas con la corrupción, en lugar de en los gastos demandados por los ciudadanos (principales). Así, mostramos que el gasto total, el gasto de capital, la recogida de basura y la policía son mayores cuando existe corrupción. La literatura predice que los alcaldes corruptos gastan menos en partidas que ofrecen menos oportunidades de sobornos: en este sentido, nuestros datos muestran que los alcaldes corruptos no gastan más en sanidad. Los alcaldes corruptos están una media de 1,46 años en activo tras ser llevados a juicio con una acusación formal por corrupción. Esto indica que en España, lamentablemente, renunciar a la alcaldía no es automático cuando se enfrenta a cargos penales por corrupción.

Objective factors and policies of countries affecting hydrogen market development

By 2050, blue hydrogen (produced by SMR method using CCS technology to capture CO2) will make up about 18% of hydrogen supply, whilst green hydrogen from solar power will account for 16%, from onshore wind power 16% and offshore wind power 9%. Global hydrogen demand is forecasted to increase to about 150 million tons by 2040 [1]. The article analyses the objective factors (i.e. size and structure of the economy, technological and social barriers) and policies of countries that affect hydrogen market development.

STRATEGIC OF MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY’S RECEIVABLE DEBT

An integrated approach is proposed to optimize the size and structure of the enterprise’s working capital based on factor analysis in order to increase the efficiency of its use. The formation of the optimal value of the enterprise’s working capital is based on the establishment of working capital standards and the forecasting of economic indicators characterizing the performance of the enterprise as a whole and of individual processes. The process of forming the optimal size and structure of working capital takes into account the influence of various factors and allows you to minimize the cost of production and ensure the successful operation of the enterprise. In formulating the enterprise’s working capital management strategy, a systematic approach was applied, which included a number of the following requirements: the object under study is presented as a system for which the goals and conditions of use are agreed upon; in the studied system, the optimal value of each element is determined by the totality of indicators; during the study, alternative options for the formation of system components are considered taking into account the influence of internal and external factors; the control strategy of the object under study is formed taking into account the optimal values of its components established as a result of mathematical modeling. An integrated approach is based on establishing the optimal value of each element of current assets based on mathematical modeling, depending on the needs of the enterprise. The practical significance of the research results lies in the possibility of applying the proposed approach to the formation and implementation of the enterprise’s working capital management strategy and the ability to make strategic decisions that are most appropriate for the external and internal conditions of the enterprise’s functioning.

Size and structure of the Mediterranean medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana populations inhabiting wetlands around Lake Eğirdir, Turkey

In the present study size and structure of the Mediterranean medicinal leech (Hirudo verbana Carena, 1820) populations inhabiting wetlands around Lake Eğirdir (Turkey) were investigated. Population size was estimated by removal methods, age classes were estimated for the first time in leeches (Hirudinea) using “Modal Progression Analysis” of body length frequencies using Bhattacharya's method. The population size and biomass of medicinal leeches around Lake Eğirdir were estimated to be 1,562,696 ± 805,613 leeches and 467.26 ± 172.91 kg, respectively. Three age classes were identified; the age group of 0+ was dominant with 78.6%. While 89.9% of the individuals weighed less than 1 g, whereas the broodstock was estimated to represent only 7%. Body weight, body length and condition factor were found to be 0.52 ± 1.19 g, 4.5 ± 2.4 cm and 0.620 ± 0.123, respectively. This study reveals that the population size of H. verbana in the wetlands around Lake Eğirdir is relatively well preserved and there is no significant threat to the sustainability of the exploitation of the medicinal leech populations. It is concluded that the stability of the lake's water budget, the variety and abundance of the host in the undamaged wetlands, the socioeconomic structure of the leech collectors, the sales policies, and the effective activities of conservation and control units might affect conservation status of the medicinal leech populations inhabiting wetlands around Lake Eğirdir.