Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction of different third intracellular loop fragments of human dopamine d2l receptor with a-subunit of gi1 protein - prospective therapeutic application

Summary: In order to find the essential structural motif of the D2L dopamine receptor necessary for the interaction with a-subunit of Gi1 protein, four fragments of the third cytoplasmic loop (CPL3) of this receptor were cloned, expressed in E. coli and purified. After that, fusion proteins with glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were prepared and the interactions quantified by a colorimetric assay for GST activity determination. The presence of D2L-CPL3 fragment-Gia1 complexes was detected by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Kd values for the interaction of the three fragments with Gia1 were similar and in nmol/L range of concentrations, while the peptide representing the insert in the long form of the dopamine D2 receptor expressed about 10-fold lower binding affinity. These results could serve to design new therapeutic agents that might act at the level of receptor/G protein interaction rather than at the level of ligand-receptor binding.
The Platform of European Social NGOs: ideology, division and coalition

This paper explores the role of ideological division in complicating collaboration between third sector organizations working to influence European Union (EU) policy processes. The Social Platform, the largest alliance of social justice groups working at EU level, is studied to illustrate how a coalition of ideologically disparate organizations cope with internal tensions that are often exacerbated by external shifts in the political opportunities available for mobilization. The alliance is successful at mediating the most significant sources of ideologically based division. However, the external political context for mobilization requires coalition members to compete for recognition and resources available at EU level. The reordering of EU equality legislation and initiatives has most recently exacerbated a series of competitive dynamics in play across the EU third sector and has stretched the ability of the coalition to maintain unity among member organizations.
PROJECT THESIS ON DESIGN OF A MICROPUMP BY AVADHESH UPADHYAY Under the guidance of Prof. K.P.MAITY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

A micropump which can be produced using conventional production techniques and materials is presented. The micropump is capable of pumping both liquid and gas and is self-priming, which means that it can start pumping gas in a dry state and automatically fills with liquid. Basically, the micropump consists of two parts, a flat valve assembly with two passive membrane valves and an actuator placed on top. Two types of actuators have been applied to drive the pump; an electromagnetic actuator consisting of a magnet placed in a coil and secondly a disk. A disadvantage of the electromagnetic actuator was the relatively large volume occupied by the coil giving the micropump final dimensions of 10×10×8 mm. Application of the piezoelectric actuator reduced these dimensions down to 12×12×2 mm with comparable performance.
Association mapping for resistance to powdery mildew in oriental tobacco (Nicotiana tabaccum L.) germplasm

Powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe cichoracearum is an important fungal disease which threatens tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) production. The objective of this study was to determine DNA markers linked to genomic regions associated with resistance to powdery mildew in tobacco through the association mapping approach. Seventy tobacco genotypes were fingerprinted using 26 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs which were distributed in several chromosomes of tobacco. A total number of 66 alleles were detected by 26 SSR primers with an average of 2.53 alleles per locus. Based on population structure analysis, the studied genotypes were classified into three groups including Chopogh, PD and Tikolak genotypes. Ou of 325 marker pairs, 6.15% showed a significant level of linkage disequilibrium (LD) (P<0.01). The mean of D ́ for all marker pairs was 0.268. Using susceptibility data of the 70 genotypes against fungal agent, three loci (pt30034, pt30008 and pt30159) from linkage groups 22, 11 and 14b of tobacco reference linkage map were identified to be associated with the gene(s) controlling resistance to powdery mildew. The identified markers could be good candidates for marker assisted selection in powdery mildew disease resistance breeding programs. However, like any other quantitative trait, there is a requirement to assess the quality of the obtained quantitative trait loci (QTLs) before marker assisted selection (MAS) become a viable proposition.
Molecular Engineering of a Fluorene Donor for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

To improve their efficiency beyond the state-of-the-art, D−π–A dyes must display increased spectral breadth and account for the physical limitations observed in the dye-sensitized solar cells. In particular, they should be designed to control the electron-transfer processes that ensure efficient dye-regeneration and prevent undesired electron recombination. In this article, the electronic and steric properties of a fluorene donor are engineered to meet all these requirements. This elegant donor is featured along with a cyclopentadithiophene bridge and a cyanoacrylic acid acceptor in JF419. A thorough comparison with Y123 and C218 demonstrates the relevance of the design. Relative to conventional donors, the fluorene construct described here enhances the light-harvesting properties, because of its exceptional electron-donating character. The functionalities used to induce the electronic push through the D−π–A structure also provide the dye with favorable steric properties. Indeed, the substitution around t.
Floristic study of a maërl and gravel subtidal bed in the 'Ría de Arousa' (Galicia, Spain)

Se presenta un catalogo de 68 especies de las algas marinas existentes en un banco de maerl y cascajo de la ria de Arousa (Galicia,Espana). Colacodictyon reticulatum y Gelidiella calcicola son novedad para la Peninsula Iberica. Otras especies de interes s
New Economic School Peers and Alcohol : Evidence from Russia

For the last twenty years Russia has confronted the Mortality Crisisthe life expectancy of Russian males has fallen by more than five years, and the mortality rate has increased by 50%. Alcohol abuse is widely agreed to be the main cause of this change. In this paper, I use a rich dataset on individual alcohol consumption to analyze the determinants for heavy drinking in Russia, such as the price of alcohol, peer effects and habits. I exploit unique location identifiers in my data and patterns of geographical settlement in Russia to measure peers within narrowly-defined neighborhoods. The definition of peers is validated by documenting a strong increase of alcohol consumption around the birthday of peers. With natural experiments I estimate the own price elasticity of the probability of heavy drinking. This price elasticity is identified using variation in alcohol regulations across Russian regions and over time. From these data, I develop a dynamic model of heavy drinking to quantify how changes in the price of alcohol would affect the proportion of heavy drinkers among Russian males and subsequently also affect mortality rates. I find that that higher alcohol prices reduce the probability of being a heavy drinker by a non-trivial amount. An increase in the price of vodka by 50% would save the lives of at least 40,000 males annually. Peers account for a quarter of this effect. ∗I am especially grateful to Denis Nekipelov, David Card, Gerard Roland, and Katya Zhuravskaya for discussion of paper and kin support during my PhD study in UC Berkeley. I also thank to Irina Denisova, Frederico Finan, Max Kazi, Patrick Kline, Lorenz Kueng, Ted Miguel, Enrico Moretti, Olexa Shwets, Mu-Jeung Yang, and seminar participants at Berkeley, CERGE-EI, Harvard School of Public Health, NES, and Acumen for helpful discussions and comments. †New Economic School and CEFIR, e-mail: eyakovlev@nes.ru
Drivers of megaherbivore demographic fluctuations: inference from elephants

Environmentally induced variation in survival and fecundity generates demographic fluctuations that affect population growth rate. However, a general pattern of the comparative influence of variation in fecundity and juvenile survival on elephant population dynamics has not been investigated at a broad scale. We evaluated the relative importance of conception, gestation, first year survival and subsequent survivorship for controlling demographic variation by exploring the relationship between past environmental conditions determined by integrated normalized difference vegetation index (INDVI) and the shape of age distributions at 17 sites across Africa. We showed that, generally, INDVI during gestation best explained anomalies in age structure. However, in areas with low mean annual rainfall, INDVI during the first year of life was critical. The results challenge Eberhardt’s paradigm for population analysis that suggests that populations respond to limited resource availability through a sequential decrease in juvenile survival, reproductive rate and adult survival. Contrastingly, elephants appear to respond first through a reduction in reproductive rate. We conclude that this discrepancy is likely due to the evolutionary significance of extremely large body size – an adaptation that increases survival rate but decreases reproductive potential. Other megaherbivores may respond similarly to resource limitation due to similarities in population dynamics. Knowing how vital rates vary with changing environmental conditions will permit better forecasts of the trajectories of megaherbivore populations.
Environmental Impact of India's Trade Liberalization

India's liberalization program of 1991 reduced trade barriers and removed investment restrictions across industries. Using industry level dataset aggregated across all manufacturing industries, we compare the pre- and post-liberalization periods to examine if India's domestic production and exports showed a greater increase in dirty industries relative to cleaner ones. We also examine whether there has been a greater inflow of FDI into pollution-intensive sectors in the post-liberalization period. Our findings indicate that exports and FDI grew in the more polluting sectors relative to the less polluting sectors in the post-liberalization period.
An intersectional approach to race/ethnicity, sex, and age disparity in federal sentencing outcomes: An examination of policy across time periods

Approaches to intersectionality stress the importance of recognizing multiple, intersecting inequalities. As such, recent sentencing research has examined the changing role of extra-legal characteristics on United States federal sentencing outcomes in the aftermath of recent policy changes (e.g. United States v. Booker), but scholarship has less often examined these characteristics at the intersections of race/ethnicity, gender, and, especially age. This article uses an intersectional approach to examine the influence of these characteristics net of legally relevant characteristics. Using ordinary least squares regression procedures, the author examines the role of the joint effects of extra-legal variables on sentence length decisions across four distinct time periods. Net of control variables, results indicate that young black men are the group most likely to receive the longest sentences, but interesting differences between other groups also emerge.
Relevance of wing morphology in distinguishing and classifying genera and species of Stenogastrinae wasps

The phylogeny of the Stenogastrinae wasps is still under discussion and their systematic incomplete. In the present work we used geometric morphometrics, a technique based on a rigorous statistical assessment of shape, to compare the forewings of fif teen species of Stenogastrinae wasps belonging to four different genera to ascertain whether this approach may be used as a reliable method in the study of the taxonomy of the group. The results show that the wing vein junctions can be diagnostic for both genus and species identification. For the first time in this subfamily, we propose a phylogenetic classification of the spe cies based on wing morphology that largely agrees with the cladistic data available at genus level and reflects the differ ences among species in terms of nesting material and architecture of their nest.
Firms’ Disclosure Compliance with IASB's Management Commentary Framework: An Empirical Investigation

The continuous demand for enhanced financial reporting has highlighted the decline of the usefulness of traditional financial statements in satisfying the informational needs and requirements of users. Despite there being several points of view, many proposals revolve around the increase of narrative disclosure accompanying financial statements. It is apparent that the regulatory attention regarding narrative reporting has mainly focused on the Management Commentary (MC) report. As a result, the accounting standard setters have promoted different approaches to improve the comparability and usefulness of the MC among the firms. In December 2010, the IASB completed the project on the MC disclosure framework, through the publishing of a non-binding IFRS practice statement (IFRSps). The aim of this study is to analyze the information conveyed by the MC report for a sample of firms listed on the Italian Stock Exchange at the end of 2010. More specifically, we investigate the determinants affecting the extent of firms disclosure compliance with the IASB’s MC voluntary guidelines, reported in the IFRSps, soon after its implementation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study which examines the explanatory factors affecting the extent of voluntary disclosure convergence in relation to IFRSps, with reference to Italy. To analyze the informational content of each MC report, we create an index of disclosure compliance using a self-constructed checklist designed on the IASB’s MC guidelines. To assess the relationship between the index of disclosure compliance and the firm characteristics, we use a regression model. Consistent with previous accounting studies, our results suggest that firm size and ownership diffusion are positively related to the extent of disclosure compliance with IASB’s MC guidelines. On the other hand, the leverage and profitability were found to be unrelated to the index of disclosure compliance. The results also show that the level of disclosure compliance to the IASB’s MC guidance is low, ranging from 10% to 76%, averaging 39%. This means that despite the continued demand for better comparability in financial reporting practices, in Italy a large number of firms do not seem to converge towards a single set of standards for both the narrative and numerical-financial disclosure.
Exact scattering and diffraction of antiplane shear waves by a vertical edge crack

SUMMARY Scattering and diffraction problems of a vertical edge crack connected to the surface of a half space are considered for antiplane shear wave incidence. The method of separation of variables is adopted to derive an exact series solution. The total displacement field is expressed as infinite series containing products of radial and angular Mathieu functions with unknown coefficients. An exact analytical determination of unknown coefficients is carried out by insuring the vanishing of normal stresses on crack faces. Frequency-domain results are given for extremely near, near, and far fields, whereas time-domain ones are for horizontal surface and subsurface motions. Comparisons with published data for the dynamic stress intensity factor show good agreement. The exact analytical nature of proposed solutions can be applied very conveniently and rapidly to high-frequency steady-state cases, enhancing the computation efficiency in transient cases when performing the fast Fourier transform. A sampled set of time slices for underground wave propagation benefits the interpretation of scattering and diffraction phenomena induced by a vertical edge crack.
New Spa Types among MRSA and MSSA Isolates in North of Iran

Staphylococcus aureus typing using gene encoding protein A (spa typing) seems to have a high potential discriminatory power for typing this bacterium. This study was designed based on spa typing method to compare the S. aureus types among healthy carrier vs patients, and MRSA vs MSSA isolates. Method: This study was carried out on 182 spa typeable S. aureus isolates, including 52 MRSA. DNA was extracted by phenol chloroform-isoamyl alcohol method and it was amplified by specific primer of polymorphic X region of spa. Spa types were determined by Ridom Staph Type software. The spa types distribution among MRSA vs MSSA and healthy carrier vs patients, isolates were statistically compared by X2 method and P < 0.05 was considered as significant. Result: The most common types of spa in our region were t037 (18.3%) and t937 (13.9%) from 50 spa types which were identified in this study. spa types in this study were isolated from various age groups but t660 spa types were only isolated from children. Distribution of all spa types among MRSA and MSSA isolates was 16 and 38 types, respectively which is significant. In this study we found seven new spa types (belong to twelve isolates) which are reported for the first time. In 5 out of the above 7 new types the 24 bp repeated sequences in spa gene X region were already recognized but their 24 bp arrangement is introduced in our present investigation. In the remaining 2 new types we found new 24 bp nucleotide sequences which are also introduced for the first time in our present study. Conclusion: The distribution of spa types in MSSA strains was significantly higher than MRSA isolates, but there are not any specific spa types for discrimination between MRSA and MSSA. The novelty of our study is the introducing 7 new spa types including 2 new 24 bp repeated se- quences in the X region of spa gene.
Studi Logo Event (Acara) Di Daerah (Kajian Ikonografi: Studi Kasus Logo Karya Z. Hanafi di Sumatera Barat)

Logo’s event become an art medium to express an image of event. From elements of line, shape, colour, and typography which are composed unified, makes logo as a symbolic language. Logo can emphasize an identity of particular region from the diversity of local wisdom. West Sumatra which is in Minangkabau culture territority has its own concept on how human creativity reveal the messages. By a unique logo, it fulfills the aesthetic needs of society that interact people to participate the event. Theory of Iconography and Iconology reveal the meaning of logo from aesthetic aspect and aim behind the design. Zainul Hanafi is one of artist from West Sumatra that concern in graphic design. Hanafi means logo’s event in specific region must have a concept that representate the importance of each stakeholder. The representation emerge the uses of diverse colours and shapes. Overlaps, crowded icons and rousing. Although there are many logo with more simple shapes, actually it is a valid diversity.
Are multinational teams more successful?

Teams have become increasingly multinational in many sectors. The impact of national diversity on team performance is, however, controversial. On the one hand, multinational teams may have access to a greater variety of task-relevant expertise, which should increase the team performance. On the other hand, national diversity may complicate team collaboration and increase team conflict. Applying panel econometrics to 4284 team observations in a globalized sector, we find evidence that multinational teams perform worse than teams with less national diversity.
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: Composite Lags at z ≤ 1

We present composite broad-line region (BLR) reverberation mapping lag measurements for Hα, Hβ, He ii λ4686, and Mg ii for a sample of 144, z ≲ 1 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping (SDSS-RM) project. Using only the 32-epoch spectroscopic light curves in the first six-month season of SDSS-RM observations, we compile correlation function measurements for individual objects and then coadd them to allow the measurement of the average lags for our sample at mean redshifts of 0.4 (for Hα) and ∼0.65 (for the other lines). At similar quasar luminosities and redshifts, the sample-averaged lag decreases in the order of Mg ii, Hα, Hβ, and He ii. This decrease in lags is accompanied by an increase in the mean line width of the four lines, and is roughly consistent with the virialized motion for BLR gas in photoionization equilibrium. These are among the first RM measurements of stratified BLR structure at z > 0.3. Dividing our sample by luminosity, Hα shows clear evidence of increasing lags with luminosity, consistent with the expectation from the measured BLR size–luminosity relation based on Hβ. The other three lines do not show a clear luminosity trend in their average lags due to the limited dynamic range of luminosity probed and the poor average correlation signals in the divided samples, a situation that will be improved with the incorporation of additional photometric and spectroscopic data from SDSS-RM. We discuss the utility and caveats of composite lag measurements for large statistical quasar samples with reverberation mapping data.
Seniors and Tourism: An International Exploratory Study on the Use of the Internet for Researching Recreational Information

The aim of this research is to analyse the experience of seniors navigating the Web for information on vacation travel by studying the sources of information and the means they use while researching and planning their vacation. Our international exploratory analysis is based on semi-directed interviews held with 22 French and Canadian seniors who used the Internet to research their tourism destinations. On the theoretical side, the research pointed out 4 different senior internet users: senior-Altruist, senior-Opportunist, senior-Disinclined and senior-Web2.0. It also shows that social interactions help improve the pertinence and the specific information sought. On the management side, our results help clarify the best communication strategies for the tourism industry insofar as using particular tools adapted for seniors and the Internet.
Catering Theory of Corporate Spinoffs: Empirical Evidence from Europe

This paper argues that investor sentiment affects the market reaction to spinoff announcements. It further proposes a catering theory for corporate spinoff decisions. This theory points out that a firm's manager may observe a prevailing strong investor demand for corporate focus or glamour stocks, then rationally cater to investor demand by spinning off the unrelated business or the subsidiary business which is currently more attractive to the stock market than the parent business. Such catering-motivated spinoffs will experience higher stock returns at the announcement dates than other types of spinoffs. However, they may not benefit shareholders in the long run since their primary goal is to maximise the firm's short-run share prices rather than to improve a firm's operating efficiency.