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.

“There is Nothing There.” Dmitrii Danilov’s Travel Writing and the Lure of the Russian Provinces

Drawing on Michel de Certeau’s seminal study The Practice of Everyday Life, the author argues that Dmitrii Danilov’s travel writing (Twenty Cities, 2007-2009) reimagines Russia’s symbolic geography by destabilizing the traditional opposition centre – periphery. Rather than depicting the provincial world as either an absurd and horrid world, or as a repository of “true Russianness”, Danilov provides a “decentred” perspective on the provinces that asserts the uniqueness of each city he visits. The novel Description of a City (2012), however, resurrects the more traditional view of the provinces as a world of boredom and cultural lack. To analyse this development the article looks at the central figure of the sluggish traveller-narrator, the employment of “camera-eye narration” and other, mainly linguistic, devices that reaffirm the notion of the provincial city’s “namelessness” as one of its most defining characteristics.

Assessment for Learning

Advances in technology have been integrated into many facets of education, creating both opportunities and challenges for learning and assessment. This chapter provides an overview of effective assessment practices, largely targeted to higher education, with the mindset of using assessment for learning, rather than a more traditional view of assessment of learning. A brief theoretical background is presented as well as specific approaches for implementing learner-centered assessment strategies. Using assessment as a motivator and as a way to deepen, not just demonstrate, learning is discussed. Additionally, the chapter presents future considerations for assessment, especially as assessment can be enhanced by technology—“Education 3.0.”

Probing into the Dilemma of Hospice Care for the Elderly in China

With the aging of the population gradually become a worldwide trend, China has entered into the aging society in 2000, the phenomenon of “getting old before getting rich” has caused a severe challenge. As a part of the pension system, hospice should be paid attention and promoted. However, due to the influence of China’s traditional view of death and the fact that hospice is not included in the medical insurance system, the idea of hospice has not been widely publicized. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, this paper analyzes the current situation of hospice care for the elderly in China and explores the specific difficulties encountered in its development, then we hope people re-understand the saying “a good death is better than a lazy life” and choose hospice care services rationally.

Spatially distributed computation in cortical circuits

The traditional view of neural computation in the cerebral cortex holds that sensory neurons are specialized, i.e., selective for certain dimensions of sensory stimuli. This view was challenged by evidence of contextual interactions between stimulus dimensions in which a neuron's response to one dimension strongly depends on other dimensions. Here we use methods of mathematical modeling, psychophysics, and electrophysiology to address shortcomings of the traditional view. Using a model of a generic cortical circuit, we begin with the simple demonstration that cortical responses are always distributed among neurons, forming characteristic waveforms, which we call neural waves. When stimulated by patterned stimuli, circuit responses arise by interference of neural waves. Resulting patterns of interference depend on interaction between stimulus dimensions. Comparison of these modeled responses with responses of biological vision makes it clear that the framework of neural wave interference provides a useful alternative to the standard concept of neural computation.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL CONDITION OF A PERSON

This article analyzes the factors of the influence of architecture of buildings of medical institutions on the state of human health. The main problems faced by the architect in the design of hospitals and the possibility of solving them are considered. One of the most important problems an architect faces when designing medical facilities is to create a free and open atmosphere. To restore health,not only the quality of medical services is of importance, but also the beauty and convenience of the rooms in which the treatment takes place. To achieve the effect of a healing architecture, designers must, first of all, establish a constructive dialogue with medical workers and patients. Ideas, models and sketches of the architect should be critically evaluated and discussed. The article identifies the main architectural factors contributing to the recovery of patients and creating a trustworthy, psychologically healthy environment. The term “healing architecture” and the relations of famous architects to it are considered. The emergence of a new term indicates the general need in our technogenic world to create an environment that would positively affect the health and psyche of visitors and patients of medical institutions. The purpose of healing architecture is defined. Experts agree that the future lies with clinics whose appearance will more likely resemble residential premises than a hospital in our traditional view. The functional planning structure is changing, because with the advent of the latest technologies, the requirements for certain rooms, their location in the building volume, dimensions, insolation, etc. have also changed. In addition, work is underway to improve the territories of medical institutions as nature also has a rehabilitative effect on people. The worldwide examples of the architecture of medical facilities that have a positive impact on human health are considered.

Op weg naar een geschreven eenheidstaal

Towards a uniform written Dutch: The elimination of dialect features by Gheraert Leeu, printer in Gouda and Antwerp This study discusses the influence of the printing press on the gradual rise of standard Dutch on the basis of the language used in a selection of incunables, printed by Gheraert Leeu, one of the pioneers of early printing. Leeu was active in Gouda (Holland) from 1477 until 1484, but moved in 1484 to the city of Antwerp (Brabant), where he continued his printing activity until his sudden death in 1492. In three books from Gouda and five books originating from Antwerp, we determined the degree of dialecticity, classified the dialect variants according to their origin, interpreted the variation found between regional and non-regional variants and discussed their diachronic evolution. We found that both the Hollandic and the Brabantish dialect features were increasingly replaced by their non-regional equivalents. By rapidly diminishing the amount of dialect variants in his printed language, Gheraert Leeu contributed to the transition from dialectal Late Middle Dutch to more supraregional Early New Dutch, which was reflected in Hollandic and Antwerp printed books around 1500. So the traditional view that the standard Dutch is based on the Hollandic dialect of the 17th century, should be revised: a tendency towards more uniformity in written Dutch was already noticeable at the end of the 15th century among printers in Antwerp and Holland, who were striving for a more uniform language in order to enlarge the sales market for their printed books. The case of the famous printer Gheraert Leeu shows that the prosperous city of Antwerp played a leading role in the development of a uniform written language.

“Are you gay or do you do gay?” Subjectivities in “gay” stories on the Persian sexblog shahvani.com

The main goal of this study is to demonstrate the influence of local-traditional perceptions of sexuality in the construction of subjectivity among men involved in same-sex sexual practices in contemporary Iran. In order to do so, I shall briefly outline some essential features of the local-traditional understanding of sexuality, which I consider to be epistemologically and ontologically different from the modern concept of human sexuality. Subsequently, the continuity of the local-traditional understanding of sexuality in the identity construction of those individuals involved in same-sex sexual practices will be demonstrated through an inquiry on contemporary pornographic stories written by users of an online platform with erotic and pornographic content. I will argue that the perception of and the explanation for same-sex desire as well as the categorisations of subjects found in these stories point to the predominance of local-traditional patterns of thought in the imagination of the authors of these stories. However, it will also be demonstrated that the modern idea of sexuality is present among some other users of this platform, whose modern worldview is in conflict and competition with the local-traditional views on sexuality. This conflict is best illustrated in the commentary sections of the stories on this website, where modern-thinking users question the “truth” of the epistemology behind these local-traditional narratives. This modern users’ criticism of the local-traditional view on same-sex desire shall be addressed in the last part of the paper.

Robot Responsibility and Moral Community

It is almost a foregone conclusion that robots cannot be morally responsible agents, both because they lack traditional features of moral agency like consciousness, intentionality, or empathy and because of the apparent senselessness of holding them accountable. Moreover, although some theorists include them in the moral community as moral patients, on the Strawsonian picture of moral community as requiring moral responsibility, robots are typically excluded from membership. By looking closely at our actual moral responsibility practices, however, I determine that the agency reflected and cultivated by them is limited to the kind of moral agency of which some robots are capable, not the philosophically demanding sort behind the traditional view. Hence, moral rule-abiding robots (if feasible) can be sufficiently morally responsible and thus moral community members, despite certain deficits. Alternative accountability structures could address these deficits, which I argue ought to be in place for those existing moral community members who share these deficits.