Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computational Strategies for Protein-Surface and Protein-Nanoparticle Interactions

Protein-nanoparticle associations have important applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology but the recognition mechanisms and the determinants of specificity are still poorly understood at the microscopic level. Crucial questions remain open, related to the association mechanisms, control of bindingevents,andpreservationoffunctionality.Goldisapromisingmaterial in nanoparticles for nanobiotechnology applications because of the ease of its functionalization and its tunable optical properties. We present a concise overview of recent computational modeling advances which were pursued in the quest for a theoretical framework elucidating the association mechanisms and the ability to design and control the recognition events of a specific class of systems, namely, interfaces between polypeptides/proteins and a gold surface in the presence of water. We select two different methodological advances, the first related to the effect of surfactants covering the surface of nanoparticles and altering their interactions with proteins and the second related to the immobilization of proteins on inorganic surfaces and conserving their functionality. Both cases, demonstrate how the understanding of the polypeptide-surface coupling mechanisms is essential to the control of the processandexploitationforbiotechnologicalandnanotechnologicalpurposes.
Externalised vs. internalised consumption of luxury goods: propositions and implications for luxury retail marketing

This study conceptualises the dichotomy of luxury goods consumption (‘externalised luxury’ vs. ‘internalised luxury’) in terms of six dimensions: on the one hand ostentation, materialism and superfluousness (which refer to luxury as a social statement) and, on the other hand individual lifestyle, emotions/hedonism and culture (which refer to luxury as individual style). Through this literary framework, it presents a series of propositions that might be tested in future research, one for each dimension, about retail strategies and operations for fashion luxury brands. Implications for retail managers of luxury companies are discussed for each proposition, considering the main aspects of retailing strategies and tools (e.g. assortment, sales force, in-store experience and atmospherics) together with possible theoretical developments.
Synthesis of diallyl disulfide (DADS) induced gold nanoparticles: characterization and study of its biological activity in human leukemic cell-lines

Novel approaches to nanoparticle synthesis using herbal products and their potential application in treatments are now in the limelight of recent cancer research. Diallyl disulfide (DADS), a bioactive component of garlic has been used for centuries as an effective remedy for different ailments including cancer. In the present study, DADS is used to synthesize less toxic, eco-friendly gold nanoparticles having anti-proliferative effects against cancer cells. DADS induced gold nanoparticles (D-GNPs) display a characteristic surface plasmon band near 551 nm which is 22 nm red shifted compared to conventionally prepared gold nanoparticles (GNPs) using tri-sodium citrate. Moreover, the hydrodynamic diameter of D-GNP ranges from 70 to 77 nm and its zeta potential is −24.6 mV. A nearly spherical ultra-structure of D-GNPs was visualized under atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. FT-IR analysis confirms the association of the sulfur group of DADS with these nanoparticles. D-GNPs show dose dependent cytotoxicity in human leukemic cell-lines U937 and K562. Cellular uptake of D-GNPs in U937 leading to nuclear fragmentation and DNA ladder formation are other insightful findings. This report therefore details the synthesis of stable gold nanoparticles using DADS and reveals D-GNPs to be a highly effective anti-proliferative agent showing apoptosis in human leukemia cell-lines.
The GMS: A Broad Conceptualization of Global Marketing Strategy and Its Effect on Firm Performance

Despite the strong interest in global marketing, there is no consensus in the literature about what constitutes a global marketing strategy and whether it affects a firm's global market performance. The authors develop a broad conceptualization of global marketing strategy, the GMS, that integrates three major perspectives—namely, the standardization, configuration–coordination, and integration perspectives—of global marketing strategy. They also develop a conceptual model that links the GMS to a firm's global market performance. On the basis of a survey of business units competing in global industries, the authors find support for the broad GMS perspective and the fundamental relationship between the GMS and firms' global market performance. The authors also discuss theoretical and managerial implications of their findings.
Activation of heat shock factor 2 during hemin-induced differentiation of human erythroleukemia cells

Hemin induces nonterminal differentiation of human K562 erythroleukemia cells, which is accompanied by the expression of certain erythroid cell-specific genes, such as the embryonic and fetal globins, and elevated expression of the stress genes hsp70, hsp90, and grp78/BiP. Previous studies revealed that, as during heat shock, transcriptional induction of hsp70 in hemin-treated cells is mediated by activation of heat shock transcription factor (HSF), which binds to the heat shock element (HSE). We report here that hemin activates the DNA-binding activity of HSF2, whereas heat shock induces predominantly the DNA-binding activity of a distinct factor, HSF1. This constitutes the first example of HSF2 activation in vivo. Both hemin and heat shock treatments resulted in equivalent levels of HSF-HSE complexes as analyzed in vitro by gel mobility shift assay, yet transcription of the hsp70 gene was stimulated much less by hemin-induced HSF than by heat shock-induced HSF. Genomic footprinting experiments revealed that hemin-induced HSF and heat shock-induced HSF, HSF2, and HSF1, respectively, occupy the HSE of the human hsp70 promoter in a similar yet not identical manner. We speculate that the difference in occupancy and/or in the transcriptional abilities of HSF1 and HSF2 accounts for the observed differences in the stimulation of hsp70 gene transcription.
Vectors of Influence on the Contractual Mix: Geographical Dispersion vs. Automation in Brazilian Franchised Chains

This paper aims the influence of coordination costs on the proportion of company-owned units in Brazilian franchised chains. This influence was split into two competing vectors: the geographical dispersion of outlets on the one hand and the automation/standardization level of processes in the outlets on the other. Greater geographic dispersion increases monitoring costs, which requires performance incentives mechanisms. This view is convergent to the Agency Theory approach for franchising contracts, which proposes that powerful performance incentives are obtained when the local manager is shifted to residual claimant of the outlet (a franchisee). Reciprocally, automated manufacturing processes can increase the chain capability to monitor (even from a distance) its units, reducing the need for more powerful incentives. These statements are tested in this study. The tests are performed based on information from 191 franchised chains in Brazil listed in the yearbook of the Brazilian Franchising Association (ABF-2007). A cross-sectional analysis was performed, in which the proportion of both company-owned and franchised units (the contractual mix) is faced with proxies related to the monitoring capabilities of the chains. The study’s results support the propositions tested: both vectors act in the expected direction on the contractual mix. These results may be useful both for deciding to expand the chain as well as for choosing distinct technology bundles of production processes.
Family Support, Social Skills, and Self Identity: A Study of New Generation Belonging to Farm Families in India

Farm families in India have a highly important and strategic role in the society as agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. With significant changes taking place on the social, economic, and technological front; there lies a huge probability that it must also be affecting the farm families in different aspects. Whether the effect is positive or negative is a matter of research. This paper analyses the effect of the changes taking place in the society on the new generation of farm families. The dimensions under which the effects have been analysed are family support, social skills, and social identity. The dimensions selected are crucial from the future growth and career choice perspective of new generation belonging to farm families and thereby directly impacting the Indian agriculture in future.
The effect of ischemic preconditioning and postconditioning on testicular torsion-detorsion injury

The primary pathophysiological event in testicular torsion is ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury, which is caused by the twisted spermatic cord and its release. Moreover, testicular torsion is most likely mediated by reactive oxygen species. Ischemic preconditioning (IPreC) is a phenomenon in which a prior ischemic stress renders the organ resistant to a subsequent ischemic insult. Ischemic postconditioning (IPostC) is defined as rapid intermittent interruptions of blood flow at the early phase of reperfusion, which mechanically alters reperfusion hydrodynamics. IPreC as well as IPostC provide powerful endogenous protection in many tissues against I-R injury. In this review, we explain the possible mechanisms involved in testicular I-R due to torsion-detorsion and aspects of IPreC and IPostC in the testis. IPreC is clinically feasible only when ischemia is predictable. However, unlike ischemia, reperfusion tends to have a more predictable onset. IPostC is a simple, harmless method that provides a new tool to protect organs from testicular I-R injury.
PRODUCT INNOVATION AND THE MODERATING ROLE OF INNOVATION CULTURE (CASE STUDY: KHORASAN RAZAVI INDUSTRIAL BREAD PRODUCING FACTORIES)

In an era with rapid change ofknowledge, developing innovations in technology context are essential to create and maintain the company'scompetitive advantage, and the product innovation has been widely known askey factorto the success of most companies. As the presence of innovation culture is a key factor in the movement of trade and business toward entrepreneurship and globalization, and innovation is deemed as one of the most important sustainable competitive resources; as a result, a company's innovation capability depends on the intellectual and organizational assets of the company and its ability to expand such assets. Thus, in this paper, in addition to examining the direct relationship between the human knowledge and technological assets and the product innovation, the moderating role of innovation culture in these relationships is discussed. To this end, using standardized questionnaires, the high-tech manufacturing companieswere assessed, and the datawere analyzed by SPSS software. After analyzing the relationship between human capital and product innovation in these firms, the results indicatedthe modulatory role ofinnovation culture in the knowledge-based model of product innovation.
Influence of norethynodrel with mestranol on intraocular pressure in glaucoma. II. A controlled double-blind study.

We have recently reported 1 that daily oral administration of norethynodrel with mestranol, 5 mg, to patients with open-angle glaucoma appears in the course of two or more weeks to induce statistically significant reduction of intraocular pressure. To make sure that we had not recorded a nonspecific placebo effect rather than a pharmacological one, the present controlled, double-blind study was undertaken. Method Coded prescriptions for norethynodrel with mestranol, in dosage of 5 mg daily by mouth, were given to patients with open-angle glaucoma in the Glaucoma Consultation Service of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Those whose tensions were dangerously elevated, who had extensive field defects, or who were considered unreliable were excluded from the study. Patients continued to receive whatever antiglaucoma therapy they were taking. Coded prescriptions for the study drug were filled by the hospital pharmacist who, unknown to patient and physician, substituted an inert but identically appearing placebo
A General Framework for FPGA-Based Real-Time Emulation of Electrical Machines for HIL Applications

Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) technology is increasingly becoming the preferred, reliable, and cost-effective alternative in a virtual scenario for tedious, time-consuming, and expensive tests on real devices. This paper presents a digital hardware emulation of commonly used electrical machines for HIL simulation on the field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in a general framework. This paper provides a useful and comprehensive comparison between floating- and fixed-point arithmetic for hardware implementation, and addresses the differences of deeply pipelined and highly paralleled realization schemes, and the contribution of schematic and textual programming language methods for design configuration of electrical machine models. The hardware implementation by these approaches is evaluated in terms of real-time step size, accuracy, and hardware resource consumption. Finally, an experimentally measured electrical machine behavior is employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the emulated electrical machine.
Expression and role of Foxa proteins in prostate cancer

The molecular mechanism(s) for prostate cancer progression to androgen independence are poorly understood. We have recently shown that Foxa1 and Foxa2 proteins are differentially expressed in epithelial cells during murine prostate development, growth, and adult function. Currently, the role of Foxa proteins in prostate cancer development and progression is unknown. Foxa protein expression was investigated in the LPB‐Tag LADY mouse prostate cancer models, in human prostate cancer specimens, and various prostate cancer cell lines using Western blot and immunostaining analysis. In vitro transient transfection, studies were performed to investigate Foxa/prostate‐specific gene regulation. Foxa1 was strongly expressed in areas of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) in both the androgen dependent 12T‐7f and in the metastatic, androgen independent 12T‐10 LADY models. Prominent Foxa1 and Foxa2 expression was observed in 12T‐10 invasive undifferentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas, in the hormone independent and metastasizing 12T‐10 derived, NE‐10 allograft tumors, and in all metastatic lesions isolated from 12T‐10 mice. Foxa1 protein expression was always observed in human prostate carcinomas, regardless of Gleason grade score, while Foxa2 was only detected in neuroendocrine small cell carcinomas and in some high Gleason score adenocarcinomas. Foxa proteins were also differentially expressed in three prostate cancer cell lines. Importantly, in vitro functional assays demonstrated that Foxa2 could activate androgen‐dependent prostate‐specific genes in an androgen receptor and ligand‐independent manner. These results suggest that Foxa proteins are important in prostate carcinogenesis. In particular, Foxa2 may be involved in progression of prostate cancer to androgen independence. As such, Foxa proteins may represent novel targets for therapeutic intervention. Prostate 66: 1013–1028, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Towards the final fate of an unstable black string

Black strings, one class of higher dimensional analogues of black holes, were shown to be unstable to long wavelength perturbations by Gregory and Laflamme in 1992, via a linear analysis. We reexamine the problem through the numerical solution of the full equations of motion, and focus on trying to determine the end state of a perturbed, unstable black string. Our preliminary results show that such a spacetime tends towards a solution resembling a sequence of spherical black holes connected by thin black strings, at least at intermediate times. However, our code fails then, primarily due to large gradients that develop in metric functions, as the coordinate system we use is not well adapted to the nature of the unfolding solution. We are thus unable to determine how close the solution we see is to the final end state, though we do observe rich dynamical behavior of the system in the intermediate stages.
The use of rigid analogues to probe hallucinogen receptors.

Over the past several years effort in our laboratory has been directed toward the design and synthesis of hallucinogen analogues which would be useful as probes of the hallucinogen receptor(s). Although this has involved some investigation of aromatic substituent effects, major efforts have been directed toward the elucidation of the stereochemistry of side chain binding for the phenethylamine hallucinogens. We have tried to answer the question, "how can two relatively dissimilar structures such as LSD and mescaline act at the same receptor, if indeed they do? " The ability to identify functional similarities between the indolealkylamines and the phenethylamines may ultimately lead to an understanding of possible similarities between catecholamine and indoleamine receptors and to underlying principles of receptor activation.
Consumption values, sponsorship awareness, brand and product use

Despite suggestions that sponsorship awareness impacts on brand attitudes and purchase intention, the evidence is principally anecdotal or confined to particular instances in particular product categories. This paper presents the findings of an examination of sponsorship awareness in the context of consumption values, and relates those findings to brand attitudes and product use. Results suggest that while sponsorship awareness can affect consumption values, the aspects of those values which are affected will not necessarily be the same as those which impact on product use or brand attitudes. It is suggested that sponsors need to carefully examine what aspects of particular values they wish to affect, prior to embarking on sponsorship programmes.
Cholecystokinin is a physiological hormonal mediator of fat‐induced inhibition of gastric emptying in man

Abstract. The effect of cholecystokinin‐33 on gastric emptying was studied in eight healthy men. The test meal was a firm custard pudding, labelled with 99mTc‐Chelex‐100 particles. Gastric emptying rate was measured, using a dual‐headed gamma camera, and was expressed as the half time of the emptying curve. Plasma cholecystokinin concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. Subjects were studied three times: (i) during infusion of saline; during cholecystokinin infusion, (ii) 0·375 IDU kg−1 h−1 and (iii) 0·75 IDU kg−1 h−1. Furthermore, plasma cholecystokinin was determined after a regular meal. During saline, plasma cholecystokinin increased minimally. After the regular meal it increased from 1·6 to 6·5 pmol l−1 at 30 min, decreasing to 5·3 pmol l−1 at 60 min. During the lower and higher doses of cholecystokinin it increased from 10 and 1·4 to 4·5 and 7·3 pmol l−1, respectively. The lower and higher doses significantly (P < 0·05) increased half emptying time, from 45 ± 8 to 86 ± 17 and 198 ± 50 min, respectively. Cholecystokinin is most likely a physiological hormonal mediator of fat‐induced inhibition of gastric emptying.
Utility of Gram's stain and efficacy of quantitative cultures for posttraumatic pneumonia: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE This prospective trial examined the efficacy of using bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) for the diagnosis of pneumonia (PN) and the utility of Gram's stain (GS) for dictating empiric therapy. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Posttraumatic nosocomial PN remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. However, its diagnosis is elusive, especially in multiply injured patients. The systemic inflammatory response syndrome of fever, leukocytosis, and a hyperdynamic state is common in trauma patients, especially patients with pulmonary contusion. Bronchoscopy with BAL with quantitative cultures of the lavage effluent may distinguish between PN and systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and GS of the lavage effluent may guide empiric therapy before quantitative culture results. METHODS Mechanically ventilated trauma patients with a clinical diagnosis of PN (fever, leukocytosis, purulent sputum, and new or changing infiltrate on chest radiograph) underwent bronchoscopy with BAL. Effluent was sent for GS and quantitative cultures. The diagnostic threshold for PN was > or =10(5) colony-forming units (CFU)/mL, and antibiotics were continued. Antibiotics were stopped for < 10(5) CFU/mL and the diagnosis of systemic inflammatory response syndrome was made. Causative organisms for PN were compared to GS. RESULTS Over a 2-year period, 232 patients underwent 443 bronchoscopies with BAL (71% men, 29% women; mean age, 41). The mean injury severity score was 30. Sixty percent of the patients had pulmonary contusion, and 59% were cigarette smokers. The overall incidence of PN was 39% and was no different regardless of the number of BALs a patient had. The false-negative rate of BAL was 7%. GS identified gram-positive organisms in 80% of patients with gram-positive PN and 40% of patients with gram-negative PN. GS identified gram-negative organisms in 52% of patients with gram-positive PN and 77% with gram-negative PN. The duration of the intensive care unit stay relative to the timing of BAL was beneficial for guiding empiric therapy. BAL in week 1 primarily identified Haemophilus influenzae and gram-positive organisms; Acinetobacter sp. and Pseudomonas sp. were more common after week 1. CONCLUSIONS Bronchoscopy with BAL is an effective method to diagnose PN and avoids prolonged, unnecessary antibiotic therapy. Empiric therapy should be adjusted to the duration of the intensive care unit stay because the causative bacteria flora changes over time. GS of BAL effluent correlates poorly with quantitative cultures and is not reliable for dictating empiric therapy.
Sex Differences in Blood Pressure Response to Antihypertensive Therapy in Chinese Patients with Hypertension

Background: Sex-specific responsos to antihypertensive drugs are not very well understood. Objective: To investigate sex-related differences in blood pressure response to antihypertensive drugs in a community-based prospective clinical trial. Methods: We recruited 3535 untreated hypertensive patients (2326 women), aged 40–75 years, from 7 rural communities in China. Subjects were randomized to 1 of 4 drug groups: atenolol, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), captopril, or sustained-released nifedipine; duration of the study was 8 weeks. Mean blood pressure reduction, blood pressure control rates, and frequency of adverse events were compared between men and women. Results: Women had a better response to HCTZ in relation to diastolic blood pressure (1.8 mm Hg lower) than did men (p <0.05) and were 57% more likely to reach the control goal of diastolic blood pressure than were men (p <0.05). In the atenolol group, mean systolic blood pressure decreased 3.9 mm Hg more in women than in men (p <0.05), and women were 65% more likely to reach the control goal of systolic blood pressure and 57% more likely to reach the control goal of diastolic blood pressure than were men (p <0.05). Significant sex-related differences were also found in drug-related adverse events in the nifedipine group (15.8% in women vs 9.8% in men; p = 0.017) and in the captopril group (14.3% in women vs 8.4% in men; p = 0.005), but no differences were seen with HCTZ or atenolol. Conclusions: Women have better blood pressure responses to HCTZ and atenolol and experience more adverse effects with sustained-release nifedipine and captopril than do men, indicating that sex should be taken into account when selecting antihypertensive drugs.