Translational Elements Research Articles

Alfonso X’s General Estoria at the dawn of Portuguese Renaissance. Study and transcription of a late fifteenth century fragment

The existence of a Portuguese version of the General Estoria, probably produced around the late-xivth and early-xvth centuries, has been known through very few short and damaged fragments, found throughout the xxth century. The most recently found is a five-folio witness from the late-xvth/ early-xvith centuries preserved in the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon. In this article, I present a first transcription of this fragment. The linguistic elements of this Portuguese translation are considered, as well as the proximity or distance between the translation and its source. The main purpose of this paper is to make the text of the fragment available to the public and thus continue the research on the circulation of this major Alfonso X's work in Portugal.

Monitoring the 5′UTR landscape reveals isoform switches to drive translational efficiencies in cancer

Transcriptional and translational control are key determinants of gene expression, however, to what extent these two processes can be collectively coordinated is still poorly understood. Here, we use Nanopore long-read sequencing and cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE-seq) to document the landscape of 5′ and 3′ untranslated region (UTR) isoforms and transcription start sites of epidermal stem cells, wild-type keratinocytes and squamous cell carcinomas. Focusing on squamous cell carcinomas, we show that a small cohort of genes with alternative 5′UTR isoforms exhibit overall increased translational efficiencies and are enriched in ribosomal proteins and splicing factors. By combining polysome fractionations and CAGE-seq, we further characterize two of these UTR isoform genes with identical coding sequences and demonstrate that the underlying transcription start site heterogeneity frequently results in 5′ terminal oligopyrimidine (TOP) and pyrimidine-rich translational element (PRTE) motif switches to drive mTORC1-dependent translation of the mRNA. Genome-wide, we show that highly translated squamous cell carcinoma transcripts switch towards increased use of 5′TOP and PRTE motifs, have generally shorter 5′UTRs and expose decreased RNA secondary structures. Notably, we found that the two 5′TOP motif-containing, but not the TOP-less, RPL21 transcript isoforms strongly correlated with overall survival in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. Our findings warrant isoform-specific analyses in human cancer datasets and suggest that switching between 5′UTR isoforms is an elegant and simple way to alter protein synthesis rates, set their sensitivity to the mTORC1-dependent nutrient-sensing pathway and direct the translational potential of an mRNA by the precise 5′UTR sequence.

MicroRNAs Associated with Incident Diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program.

MicroRNAs (miRs) are short (i.e., 18-26 nucleotide) regulatory elements of messenger RNA translation to amino acids. The purpose of this study was to assess whether miRs are predictive of incident T2D in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) trial. This was a secondary analysis (n = 1,000) of a subset of the DPP cohort that leveraged banked biospecimens to measure miRs. We used random survival forest and Lasso to identify the optimal miR predictors and cox proportional hazards to model time to T2D overall and within intervention arms. We identified five miRs (miR-144, miR-186, miR-203a, miR-205, miR-206) that constituted the optimal predictors of incident T2D after adjustment for covariates (hazards ratio 2.81 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.05, 3.87); p < 0.001). Predictive risk scores following cross-validation showed the HR for the highest quartile risk group compared to the lowest quartile risk group was 5.91 (95% CI (2.02, 17.3); p < 0.001). There was significant interaction between the intensive lifestyle (HR 3.60, 95% CI (2.50, 5.18); p < 0.001) and the metformin (HR 2.72; 95% CI (1.47, 5.00); p = 0.001) groups compared to placebo. Of the five miRs identified, one targets a gene with prior known associations with risk for T2D. We identified five miRs that are optimal predictors of incident T2D in the DPP cohort. Future directions include validation of this finding in an independent sample in order to determine whether this risk score may have potential clinical utility for risk stratification of individuals with prediabetes, and functional analysis of the potential genes and pathways targeted by the miRs that were included in the risk score.

ESL Students’ Constraints and Strategies in Performing Sight Translation

Sight translation is a combination of the elements of translation and interpretation in which interpreters read source language text silently and render information to target language out loud. It has been considered as supportive teaching methods for interpreting training. Sight translation takes place during medical consultation, in the court, conference, and meetings. Simultaneous Interpreting is one of the compulsory courses at D4 English for Tourism Industry Politeknik Negeri Malang. Sight translation is discussed and practiced in the class as an attempt to prepare students for simultaneous interpreting. Instructional texts from various fields are used as learning materials in the class. Objective of this study is to identify problems students encountered while performing sight translation and explain some strategies they applied. 38 audio recordings, where students were asked to conduct sight translation of tourism-related text from English to Indonesia, were analyzed in this descriptive-qualitative study. The recordings were transcribed and analyzed to gain information on students’ constraints and strategies in sight translation. As an addition, questionnaires were distributed to probe data related students’ problems in sight translation. The findings showed that lack of vocabulary which led to inaccurate translation and inaccurate word choice became the major hindrance in performing sight translation. Furthermore, transcribing, deletion, borrowing, addition and use of hypernym are the strategies the majority of the students utilized as an attempt to complete their sight translation. Transcribing or word-per-word translation prevented students from conveying accurate messages into the target language.

“Into the night” and “the baby in pink Tarlatan”, by João do Rio: gothic and fantastic elements in translation

RESUMO Este artigo empreende uma análise de traduções dos contos de João do Rio intitulados “Dentro da noite” e “O bebê de tarlatana rosa” para a língua inglesa, com enfoque na transposição de elementos góticos e fantásticos nessas narrativas curtas ficcionais decadentistas. As configurações das redes temáticas do espaço, do medo e dos elementos góticos e fantásticos são analisadas nas traduções, com especial ênfase na transposição do encadeamento desses campos semânticos cotejados entre texto fonte e tradução. O aporte teórico dos estudos da tradução e da literatura comparada, nos textos de Lanzetti et al. (2009), de Berman (2007), de Baker (1992), de Venuti (2002) e de Brunel et al. (2019) são consultados. Os escritos teórico-críticos a respeito das estéticas e da obra de João do Rio, nos estudos de Levin (1996), Tardin (2021), Todorov (2017), Ceserani (2006) e França (2015), embasam as discussões acerca das estéticas e dos seus elementos observados nas traduções. Os textos traduzidos aparentam transpor as redes temáticas e lexicais ligadas a esses campos semânticos e a essas estéticas, resultando em textos-alvos em grande parte estrangeirizadores e portadores das marcas da literatura paulobarretiana para a língua inglesa.

Smartocracy: Context entanglement of the smart city idea and bureaucracy in Russia

This paper explores how the smart city idea unfolds in the bureaucratic context. Applying a qualitative approach and the Scandinavian stream of translation theory, we investigate the case of cities’ ‘smartification’ in Russia during 2017–2020. Tracking mechanisms and outcomes of translation, we see the encounter of the smart city idea and bureaucracy as context entanglement, with smartocracy as an epilogue. Context entanglement refers to the mutual co-translation of the smart city idea and bureaucracy by means of formal and informal mechanisms, implying that what happens with bureaucracy or the smart city cannot be fully described without considering what happens with the other. Smart city vagueness and complexity appear to be both strengths and weaknesses that can be compensated for by bureaucracy as the smart city assemblage point. Smartocracy appears as a new way to organize cities whereby bureaucracy deals with smart city creatively: it keeps the core of bureaucracy while simultaneously reinforcing it and isolating some complex idea elements for later translation. This approach helps keep bureaucracy as a rational form of city modernization while maintaining smart cities’ promise to improve urban futures.

3D‐Bioassembly of VH‐Spheroids for Cartilage Regeneration: in Vitro Evaluation of Chondrogenesis, Fusion and Lateral Integration

AbstractLateral integration and fusion of cartilage tissue interfaces remain significantly challenging and limits success of cartilage tissue engineering (TE) strategies. In this study, self‐assembled vitreous humor (VH) spheroids are fabricated by seeding clinically relevant human articular chondrocytes (hACs) or human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) in four VH hydrogels with different glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and protein content. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the VH spheroids revealed that hAC‐VH spheroids are dependent on the initial GAG content of VH hydrogels to achieve successful chondrogenesis. Remarkably, uniform GAG and collagen type II distribution is found in all hMSC‐VH spheroids, independent of the VH donor. HMSC‐VH spheroids are therefore further evaluated for downstream applications by tracking cellular migration, and evaluating neotissue formation at the tissue‐tissue interface of cartilage spheroids 3D‐bioassembled into an in vitro fusion model to asses fusion and integration. hMSC‐VH spheroids enhanced multidirectional cellular migration of both hACs and hMSCs toward the tissue‐tissue interface, and consequently supported dense GAG and collagen type II deposition at the integration region. Ultimately, hMSC‐seeded VH spheroids display successful chondrogenesis and endorse fusion and integration of cartilage tissue interfaces through upregulated cellular migration of clinically relevant cell sources – key elements for clinical translation of cell‐based TE strategies.

Influence lines-based model updating of suspension bridges considering boundary conditions

The boundary conditions of the main girder are complicated for suspension bridges. And they have a significant impact on the static and dynamic response of the structure. This study proposes a model updating method based on influence lines considering boundary conditions. First, rotational and translational spring elements are used to simulate the boundary conditions of the main girder. Then, rotational spring stiffness is estimated by constructing a sensitive objective function based on the influence lines. Translational spring stiffness is estimated by constructing a sensitive objective function based on the temperature-induced displacements at both ends of the girder. To improve calculation efficiency, a Gaussian process model is used instead of the finite element model (FEM). The estimation of boundary conditions is expressed as an optimization whose main goal is to iteratively estimate the boundary conditions to minimize the objective functions. After the boundary conditions are determined, the influence lines-based model updating is carried out by using the adaptive metamodel global optimization method. To validate the proposed method, a long-span suspension bridge is taken as a case study. The results show that the boundary conditions of the main girder have been successfully estimated. The accuracy of the model updating is improved after the boundary conditions are considered. The updated FEM with accurate boundary conditions can be a benchmark model for bridge damage identification or condition assessment.

SFPQ promotes RAS-mutant cancer cell growth by modulating 5'-UTR mediated translational control of CK1α.

Oncogenic mutations in the RAS family of small GTPases are commonly found in human cancers and they promote tumorigenesis by altering gene expression networks. We previously demonstrated that Casein Kinase 1α (CK1α), a member of the CK1 family of serine/threonine kinases, is post-transcriptionally upregulated by oncogenic RAS signaling. Here, we report that the CK1α mRNA contains an exceptionally long 5′-untranslated region (UTR) harbouring several translational control elements, implicating its involvement in translational regulation. We demonstrate that the CK1α 5′-UTR functions as an IRES element in HCT-116 colon cancer cells to promote cap-independent translation. Using tobramycin-affinity RNA-pulldown assays coupled with identification via mass spectrometry, we identified several CK1α 5′-UTR-binding proteins, including SFPQ. We show that RNA interference targeting SFPQ reduced CK1α protein abundance and partially blocked RAS-mutant colon cancer cell growth. Importantly, transcript and protein levels of SFPQ and other CK1α 5′-UTR-associated RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are found to be elevated in early stages of RAS-mutant cancers, including colorectal and lung adenocarcinoma. Taken together, our study uncovers a previously unappreciated role of RBPs in promoting RAS-mutant cancer cell growth and their potential to serve as promising biomarkers as well as tractable therapeutic targets in cancers driven by oncogenic RAS.

Poetics of Titles: Some Observations on Literary Translations from Russian into Italian

The present article is devoted to the poetics of literary titles and their manifold meanings and functions in literary works. Due to their formal, stylistic and/or semantic characteristics, titles represent one of the most challenging and controversial elements in literary translations. In fact, they often refer to specific cultural aspects, idiomatic expressions or realia coming from the original linguistic context, which are not so easy to reproduce in translation with the same effects. Moreover, in some cases, editors or publishers prefer to propose specific titles slightly or consistently different from the originals for “marketing” strategies. Starting from Gerard Genette’s (1930-2018) seminal study on the topic, we will focus on some titles of Italian translations of Russian literary works of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries, aiming to analyse the reasons underlying different choices. We will also propose reflections on the complex intertextual and cross-cultural dynamics connected to literary titles’ history and their translation processes.

KHAWAS AL-QURAAN SEBAGAI ELEMEN PELENGKAP DALAM PENGKARYAAN TERJEMAHAN AL-QURAN: KAJIAN TERHADAP KEARIFAN ‘TAFSIR AL-RAWI’

The endeavour to translate the meaning of the Quran is part of a long line of outstanding contributions made by Islamic scholars, dating back to the dawn of Islam. It is consistent with the Quran’s status as dustur al-hayah (constitution of life) for everyone who utters the words of shahdah (testimony), regardless of where they are. Researchers who are looking into the evolution of the Quranic translation will discover a variety of creativity and innovation that add value to readers, particularly in terms of increasing their understanding and appreciation of the verses' literal and implicit meanings, as well as their desire to interact with the noble book. Based on this point, this study is an attempt to investigate and evaluate the suitability of Khawas al-Quran (‘theory and practicality' of the Quran) as one of the potential aspects to be used as part of the complementary components in the Quranic translation. Alike to Fadail al-Quran, Khawas al-Quran appeals to the Muslim community to be committed and perform good deeds in accordance with particular surahs and verses in the al-Quran since it has a reward factor in the form of certain rewards or benefits to its practitioners. Thus, based on Tuan Guru Haji Yusof Bin Abdullah al- Rawi's unique contribution through his work Tafsir al-Rawi, this study will assess and evaluate the prospective application of Khawas al-Quran elements as part of the complementary components of the Quranic translation. This is a literature review that employs text analysis on relevant sources, with the book Tafsir al-Rawi serving as the primary source, followed by the main books of Ulum al-Quran, tafsir, and the most recent research materials such as journal articles, theses, research reports, and other related materials. The wisdom of the author of this book in the field of study linked to Khawas al-Quran is one of the key findings from this study. He was constantly able to present this feature in the majority of the surahs interpreted, earning Khawas al-Quran priority position as a component of complementary elements in Quranic translation.

Dynamic Characteristics Test and Simplified Calculation Model of Concealed Frame Panel Element

Hidden frame glass curtain walls are one of the most common curtain wall structure forms. This year, the damage identification of panel elements based on vibration has had the problem of an inconsistent calculation model. In this paper, an experimental study on the dynamic characteristics of two full-scale panel elements is carried out, and the main factors affecting the dynamic characteristics of panel elements are analyzed by using a fine finite element model, and the corresponding simplified calculation model is proposed. The experimental and numerical results show that the structural sealant and frame are the important factors affecting the dynamic characteristics of panel units of hidden frame, and the natural frequency of panel elements can be overestimated by more than 40% if a simply supported boundary is adopted. The effect of structural sealant on glass panels and the supporting frame is mainly a translational constraint. The effect of structural sealant on the rotational constraint of a glass panel can be neglected and simplified as a translational spring model. Using a shell element, a translational spring element and a beam element, respectively, the calculation error of the glass panel, structural sealant and supporting frame is about 5%, which shows good calculation accuracy.

Evaluating 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 GCSE English Exams and Exam Method against Related Curriculum Goals and Stakeholders’ and Experts’ Perceptions

Evaluation instigates learning and teaching and is central to them. All elements in the educational process have to be evaluated, including the evaluation of exams and related exam methods. This study aimed at evaluating the Egyptian GCSE English exam and exam method against GCSE curriculum goals and stakeholders’ (i.e. teachers’ and students’) perceptions of the exams. The study adopted a qualitative approach: a fixed alternative questionnaire and a semi-structured E-interview both administered to participant experts and practitioner teachers (n 50 and 5, respectively), and it also incorporated designing and using another questionnaire (in two versions) administered to GCSE graduates: 50 for the school year 2020-2021 and 100 for the 2021-2022. Results revealed that certain curriculum language skills and elements were absent, and the vast majority of them were under-represented and improperly addressed. Even, the curriculum novel content was covered inappropriately. It was then found out that the exams had few strengths and many weaknesses, regarding the question type, language skill and language element representation/coverage, exam nature and appropriateness for students, incompliance with curriculum and OBD. Other exam implications were covered. Plans and recommendations for intervention included inclusion of performance-based questions for three language skills and the translation element, coverage of grammar and vocabulary, inclusion of language functions and idioms, variation of question types appropriate for language skill/element, and commitment to the OBE approach in the exams as well as to research.

Insights into the secondary and tertiary structure of the Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Internal Ribosome Entry Site

ABSTRACT The internal ribosome entry site (IRES) RNA of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), an economically significant Pestivirus, is required for the cap-independent translation of viral genomic RNA. Thus, it is essential for viral replication and pathogenesis. We applied a combination of high-throughput biochemical RNA structure probing (SHAPE-MaP) and in silico modelling approaches to gain insight into the secondary and tertiary structures of BVDV IRES RNA. Our study demonstrated that BVDV IRES RNA in solution forms a modular architecture composed of three distinct structural domains (I–III). Two regions within domain III are represented in tertiary interactions to form an H-type pseudoknot. Computational modelling of the pseudoknot motif provided a fine-grained picture of the tertiary structure and local arrangement of helices in the BVDV IRES. Furthermore, comparative genomics and consensus structure predictions revealed that the pseudoknot is evolutionarily conserved among many Pestivirus species. These studies provide detailed insight into the structural arrangement of BVDV IRES RNA H-type pseudoknot and encompassing motifs that likely contribute to the optimal functionality of viral cap-independent translation element.

Translational Control of COVID-19 and Its Therapeutic Implication.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of COVID-19, which has broken out worldwide for more than two years. However, due to limited treatment, new cases of infection are still rising. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the basic molecular biology of SARS-CoV-2 to control this virus. SARS-CoV-2 replication and spread depend on the recruitment of host ribosomes to translate viral messenger RNA (mRNA). To ensure the translation of their own mRNAs, the SARS-CoV-2 has developed multiple strategies to globally inhibit the translation of host mRNAs and block the cellular innate immune response. This review provides a comprehensive picture of recent advancements in our understanding of the molecular basis and complexity of SARS-CoV-2 protein translation. Specifically, we summarize how this viral infection inhibits host mRNA translation to better utilize translation elements for translation of its own mRNA. Finally, we discuss the potential of translational components as targets for therapeutic interventions.

Upstream open reading frames regulate translation of cancer-associated transcripts and encode HLA-presented immunogenic tumor antigens

BackgroundUpstream open reading frames (uORFs) represent translational control elements within eukaryotic transcript leader sequences. Recent data showed that uORFs can encode for biologically active proteins and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-presented peptides in malignant and benign cells suggesting their potential role in cancer cell development and survival. However, the role of uORFs in translational regulation of cancer-associated transcripts as well as in cancer immune surveillance is still incompletely understood.MethodsWe examined the translational regulatory effect of 29 uORFs in 13 cancer-associated genes by dual-luciferase assays. Cellular expression and localization of uORF-encoded peptides (uPeptides) were investigated by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence-based microscopy. Furthermore, we utilized mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidome analyses in an extensive dataset of primary malignant and benign tissue samples for the identification of naturally presented uORF-derived HLA-presented peptides screening for more than 2000 uORFs.ResultsWe provide experimental evidence for similarly effective translational regulation of cancer-associated transcripts through uORFs initiated by either canonical AUG codons or by alternative translation initiation sites (aTISs). We further demonstrate frequent cellular expression and reveal occasional specific cellular localization of uORF-derived peptides, suggesting uPeptide-specific biological implications. Immunopeptidome analyses delineated a set of 125 naturally presented uORF-derived HLA-presented peptides. Comparative immunopeptidome profiling of malignant and benign tissue-derived immunopeptidomes identified several tumor-associated uORF-derived HLA ligands capable to induce multifunctional T cell responses.ConclusionOur data provide direct evidence for the frequent expression of uPeptides in benign and malignant human tissues, suggesting a potentially widespread function of uPeptides in cancer biology. These findings may inspire novel approaches in direct molecular as well as immunotherapeutic targeting of cancer-associated uORFs and uPeptides.

Direct analysis of ribosome targeting illuminates thousand-fold regulation of translation initiation.

Translational control shapes the proteome in normal and pathophysiological conditions. Current high-throughput approaches reveal large differences in mRNA-specific translation activity but cannot identify the causative mRNA features. We developed direct analysis of ribosome targeting (DART) and used it to dissect regulatory elements within 5' untranslated regions that confer 1,000-fold differences in ribosome recruitment in biochemically accessible cell lysates. Using DART, we determined a functional role for most alternative 5' UTR isoforms expressed in yeast, revealed a general mode of increased translation via direct binding to a core translation factor, and identified numerous translational control elements including C-rich silencers that are sufficient to repress translation both invitro and invivo. DART enables systematic assessment of the translational regulatory potential of 5' UTR variants, whether native or disease-associated, and will facilitate engineering of mRNAs for optimized protein production in various systems.

System-Level Analysis of Transcriptional and Translational Regulatory Elements in Streptomyces griseus.

Bacteria belonging to Streptomyces have the ability to produce a wide range of secondary metabolites through a shift from primary to secondary metabolism regulated by complex networks activated after vegetative growth terminates. Despite considerable effort to understand the regulatory elements governing gene expression related to primary and secondary metabolism in Streptomyces, system-level information remains limited. In this study, we integrated four multi-omics datasets from Streptomyces griseus NBRC 13350: RNA-seq, ribosome profiling, dRNA-seq, and Term-Seq, to analyze the regulatory elements of transcription and translation of differentially expressed genes during cell growth. With the functional enrichment of gene expression in different growth phases, one sigma factor regulon and four transcription factor regulons governing differential gene transcription patterns were found. In addition, the regulatory elements of transcription termination and post-transcriptional processing at transcript 3′-end positions were elucidated, including their conserved motifs, stem-loop RNA structures, and non-terminal locations within the polycistronic operons, and the potential regulatory elements of translation initiation and elongation such as 5′-UTR length, RNA structures at ribosome-bound sites, and codon usage were investigated. This comprehensive genetic information provides a foundational genetic resource for strain engineering to enhance secondary metabolite production in Streptomyces.

LINGUOCULTUROLOGICAL ASPECT OF CULINARY RECIPES TRANSLATION

The article deals with linguoculturological aspect of culinary recipes translation. This paper deals with cultural key elements of translation from English into Russian. The article is especially focused on the problems translators could come across, special attention is paid to specific examples associating with these problems.&#x0D;

Scour depth evaluation of highway bridge piers using vibration measurements and finite element model updating

Scour of piers is one of the major causes of the bridge collapse. Most studies related to scoured bridges focus on the mechanics of bridge scour and detecting or monitoring changes in bridge characteristics caused by scour, but less on the quantitative sour evaluation. This paper proposes a novel method using measured vibration responses and finite element model updating technique to address the quantitative evaluation of existing scour depth, including general scour depth and local scour depth for the common pile foundation in short and medium-span highway bridges. The pile-soil interaction is simulated by the rotational and translational spring elements in horizontal directions. Indices including the residual of natural frequencies and frequency response functions are adopted in the objective function that is iteratively minimized. The longitudinal (i.e. the direction along the bridge axis) response excited by impulse force on bridge pier is proved to be more sensitive to the bridge scour than the transverse (i.e. the direction perpendicular to the bridge axis in the horizontal plane) response, so it is adopted in the numerical analysis. A field test was performed on a typical bridge to validate the proposed method. Test result shows the scour depth of piers can be quantitatively evaluated by the proposed method, which avoids the detailed underwater inspection and continuous vibration monitoring of the piers.