Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mutagenesis of Nucleophilic Residues near the Orthosteric Binding Pocket of M1 and M2 Muscarinic receptors: Effect on the Binding of Nitrogen Mustard Analogs of Acetylcholine and McN-A-343

Investigating how a test drug alters the reaction of a site-directed electrophile with a receptor is a powerful method for determining whether the drug acts competitively or allosterically, provided that the binding site of the electrophile is known. In this study, therefore, we mutated nucleophilic residues near and within the orthosteric pockets of M1 and M2 muscarinic receptors to identify where acetylcholine mustard and 4-[(2-bromoethyl)methyl-amino]-2-butynyl-N-(3-chlorophenyl)carbamate (BR384) bind covalently. BR384 is the nitrogen mustard analog of [4-[[N-(3-chlorophenyl)carbamoyl]oxy]-2-butynyl]trimethylammonium chloride (McN-A-343). Mutation of the highly conserved aspartic acid in M1 (Asp105) and M2 (Asp103) receptors to asparagine largely prevented receptor alkylation by acetylcholine mustard, although modest alkylation still occurred at M2 D103N at high concentrations of the mustard. Receptor alkylation by BR384 was also greatly inhibited in the M1 D105N mutant, but some alkylation still occurred at high concentrations of the compound. In contrast, BR384 rapidly alkylated the M2 D103N mutant. Its affinity was reduced to one tenth, however. The alkylation of M2 D103N by BR384 was competitively inhibited by N-methylscopolamine and allosterically inhibited by gallamine. Mutation of a variety of other nucleophilic residues, some in combination with D103N, had little effect on M2 receptor alkylation by BR384. Our results suggest that BR384 alkylates at least one residue other than the conserved aspartic acid at the ligand-binding site of M1 and M2 receptors. This additional residue seems to be located within or near the orthosteric-binding pocket and is not part of the allosteric site for gallamine.
Emergent Phenomena in the Internet

In this essay, a brief structure of the Internet is first given and then two emergent phenomena that are exhibited by the Internet, viz., Self-similar traffic and Scale-free topology are studied. Suitable reasoning behind their occurrence and some mathematical modelling is also given. The Barabasi-Albert model that tries to explain the Scale-free Topology of Internet is explained. Finally, criticisms of some of these models are given along with the reasons for necessity to study the Internet phenomena further in the future.
Retailer and student perceptions of competence development

Despite the availability of retail management graduates, retailers continue to recruit graduates from any discipline. A key issue, therefore, is to what extent are retail degrees developing the competences of prime importance to retailers? Conversely, considering retailer graduate recruitment objectives, how well do students understand retailers’ priorities amongst competences in graduate selection? As a relatively recent management profession, do the retail competences differ from other more established management disciplines such as finance? This paper examines these issues through the results of a survey of employer and undergraduate perceptions of competence development in undergraduate degrees. Findings suggest that retail degrees provided a high level of perceived competence development. However, the strongest focus was not necessarily on those competences the retailers most wished to see in applicants. Furthermore, the competence profile of placement work was no closer to the retailers’ selection priorities than that of academic work. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main implications for retailers and retail management degrees.
The Fama-French Three Factors in Chinese Stock Market

China is the largest emerging market and attracts a great deal of attention from investors and researchers worldwide. The Fama-French three-factor model is the outcome of decades of research on U.S. stock returns. To what extent the three factors explain the variation in Chinese stock returns is an intriguing question. This paper documents empirical evidence on this issue and identifies some pitfalls that arise in the application of the three-factor model to Chinese stock returns. We find that several special features in China affect the three factors considerably and also influence the explanatory power of the three-factor model.
Evidence of perchlorate (ClO4-) reduction in plant tissues (poplar tree) using radio-labeled 36ClO4-.

Phytoremediation of perchlorate (ClO4) by poplar trees Populus deltoidex nigrawas investigated using small cuttings growing in hydroponic Hoagland solution and plant tissue cultures, consisting of spherical photosynthetic cell aggregates (i.e. nodules) developing in Murashige and Skoog culture medium. Both plants and nodules were grown under a 16 h/8 h photoperiod cycle and under sterile conditions. Degradation experiments, performed by the incubation of pregrown plants and nodules in the presence of 36Cl radio-labeled ClO4- (25 mg L(-1)), showed a reduction of the initial ClO4- concentration in the solution of about 50% after 30 d of incubation. Analysis of the distribution of radioactivity in different plant fractions indicated that 27.4% of the total was translocated to the leaves, while 66.9% remained in the solution. Very little radioactivity (less than 3.0%) was detected in the other parts of the plants. 32.0% of the radioactivity recovered in the solution was shown to consist of 36Cl- and 68.0% of nontransformed 36ClO4-. The radioactivity recovered in the leaf extracts was distributed as chloride (36Cl-) (1.6% of the total), chlorite (36ClO2-) (2.4%), chlorate (36ClO3-) (4.8%), nontransformed 36ClO4- (21.6%), and an unidentified organic compound (1.4%). The radioactivity recovered in the solution containing submerged nodules consisted of 36Cl- (6.4% of the total), 36ClO3- (1.3%), and nontransformed 36ClO4- (51.5%). Radioactivity detected in the nodule extracts was distributed as 36Cl- (2.0% of the total), 36ClO2- (5.2%), 36ClO3- (6.4%), 36ClO4- (22.7%), and an unidentified organic compound (0.5%). These results provide evidence of perchlorate reduction inside poplar tree tissues. 36ClO4- is partially reduced to 36ClO3-, 36ClO2-, and 36Cl-.
EStarMom: Extendable Simulator for Trust and Reputation Management in Online Marketplaces

Trust and Reputation Systems (TRSs), practically known as feedback or rating systems, are an indispensable part of any online community framework in general and of any emarketplace in particular. The key functionalities of these systems in an e-marketplace are clear, which are building trust among strangers and keeping track of the participants’ behavior. However, the question of how to evaluate and compare these TRSs to each other is still unclear. A simulation method is chosen in this paper to address this question. This is the main motivation for the development of a Java-based simulator EStarMom (Extendable Simulator for Trust And Reputation Management in Online Marketplaces). The simulator is tailor-made for emarketplace environments by extendable libraries of buying and selling behavioral models, trust algorithms, and buyers’ decision-making models. Along with the simulator, a set of metrics to measure the performance of the TRSs are proposed and implemented, including individualbased and community-based metrics. The individual-based metrics are designed based on the game theory mindset assuming that the market participants, including buyers and sellers, are self-interested. The buyers care about their satisfaction in each buying transaction, the sellers are interested in making prot and increasing market share. On the other hand, the community-based metrics are proposed based on the market operator’s concerns which are Pareto eciency in allocating \resources". For the buyers, \resources" are the good sellers with quality products. For the sellers, \resources" are the demands from the buyers. EStarMom can be used to investigate the performance of a trust algorithm under a certain composition of the market participants, especially in the presence of attacks or misbehaviors, hence the quantitative insights into the robustness of the algorithm in coping with misbehaviors are gained. When trust algorithms are measured under the same simulation settings, their measurements are comparable. EStarMom is free and open-source, and will be released under the CeCILL license at the address here.
To Be (Public) or Not to Be (Public): A New Test

We propose a new test of motives to be a public firm that is based on the observation that firms can become public by issuing either equity or debt. Thus, one can examine the determinants of the private-public decision by comparing firms that are public with equity to firms that are public with debt. The advantage of this approach is the availability of standardized COMPUSTAT data about both types of public firms. We find that there are many firms that are public only with debt (Public Debt firms) and that they are significantly different from firms that are public only with Equity (Public Equity firms). Specifically, Public Equity firms have higher sales volatility, volatility of returns on assets, and R&D intensity, and lower fraction of assets in place than Public Debt firms. This suggests that Public Equity firms are exposed to more information asymmetry than Public Debt firms. We find the same differences for financially unconstrained firms. We also find that firms with significant investments and R&D intensity are more likely to be public with equity than with debt. Examining firms around the time they transition from being private to being public, we find that transitioning firms have abundant cash and pay significant dividends both before and after the transition. Lastly, Public Debt firms are more profitable than Public Equity firms. We interpret our results as indicating that agency and information collection motives dominate information asymmetry considerations in the private-public decision.
A novel behavior fusion method for the navigation of mobile robots

This paper presents a novel Behavior Fusion method for the navigation of Autonomous Mobile Vehicle in unknown environments. The proposed navigator consists of an Obstacle Avoider (OA), a Goal Seeker (GS) and a Navigation Supervisor (NS). The fuzzy actions inferred by the OA and the GS are weighted by the NS using the local and global environmental information and fused through fuzzy set operation to produce a command action, from which the final crisp action is determined by defuzzification. Simulation shows that the navigator is able to perform successful navigation task in various unknown environments, and it has smooth action and exceptionally good robustness to sensor noise.
Effect of a Commerical Competitive Exclusion Product on the Colonization of Salmonella infantis in Day-Old Pheasant Chicks

Abstract SUMMARY. One-day-of-age pheasant chicks were treated orally with the competitive exclusion product Broilact® in three replicate trials. The following day the treated chicks and untreated control chicks were challenged likewise with approximately 103 colony-forming units (cfu) of Salmonella infantis. Five days after challenge the cecal contents of the birds were examined quantitatively and by enrichment for S. infantis. In all three trials Broilact® effectively reduced colonization of the challenge organism, the mean infection factor (IF) value (the logarithmic number of colony forming units of salmonella organisms per gram of cecal contents) for the treated groups being 2.9 and that for the salmonella control groups 8.4. Mortality during the 1 week rearing period was 5.0% in the Broilact® treated groups and 8.5% in the salmonella control groups.
Codifying Project Management Best Practices: An Appraisal of Property Developers in Malaysia

Abstract A postal questionnaire survey on Malaysia property developers reveals that they have either made their project management best practices (PMBP) explicit, merely borrowed ‘commodified’ (i.e. commercialised) versions, plan to render their accumulated PMBP a more solid existence some time in the future or simply continued to rely on their personnel as repositories of PMBP. Even though the desire to operate professionally, and to a lesser degree, quality compliance stimulated the codification trend, the analysis suggests that the choice to do so should really be contingent on the size of the organisation by manpower, project size and degree of dependence on external parties in the development process. Age of organisation was not found to be influential. Whatever the choice may be, there are benefits as well as drawbacks to making PMBP explicit. Case studies were conducted on four varying companies to bring to life the full ramification of the knowledge repository mode on knowledge-oriented tools and administrative procedures adopted during the knowledge generation, storage and dissemination.
In Vivo Inhibition of Nitric Oxide Synthase by Bisisothiouronium and Bisguanidinium Salts

The ability of two S,S'-(alkane-1,omega-diyl) bisisothiouronium dibromides, three N,N'-(alkane-1, omega-diyl) bis guanidinium dinitrates and N,N'-bis (3-guanidinopropyl)piperazine dinitrate to inhibit constitutive (i.e. endothelial and neuronal forms) and inducible forms of nitric oxide synthases has been evaluated in vivo. These compounds, synthesized by two of us (J. C. L. and C. S.), have been tested in vivo; they were administered simultaneously with an irritant (carrageenan lambda) into the pleural cavity. The amount of nitrites collected 0.5 and 7 hours after this injection can be considered as an indicator of nitric oxide (NO) production. According to previous data, the first harvesting time can be related to activation of constitutive NO synthases and the second to activation of inducible NO synthases. These substances significantly inhibited nitrite production as did 2-methyl-2-thiopseudourea sulphate, previously described as a potent inhibitor of NO synthases and considered as the reference compound. The inhibiting effect varied according to the chemical structure of the compounds. Results were significantly different from controls at 0.5 h only with the S,S'-(octane-1,8-diyl) bisisothiouronium dibromide and the S,S'-(nonane-1,9-diyl) bisisothiouronium dibromide at the highest concentration, N,N'-(heptane-1,7-diyl) bisguanidinium dinitrate and N,N'-bis (3-guanidinopropyl)piperazine dinitrate. At 7 h, all the results were significantly different from controls, with a major effect observed with N,N'-(heptane-1,7-diyl) bisguanidinium dinitrate. The most active substances exerted similar effects to the reference substance.
Frontal Lobe Dysfunction and False Memory Susceptibility in Older Adults

ABSTRACT The study reported here was conducted to examine the role of frontal lobe function in false memory susceptibility in older adults, as little research has specifically examined this question in older adults. False recognition was compared in three groups of older adults (one with no evidence of cognitive impairment, one with evident frontal impairment but no other dysfunction, and an Alzheimer's dementia group) to a single group of young adults. Results indicate that false memory susceptibility was highest in the frontally impaired group, with young and older control participants performing similarly. In contrast, Alzheimer's dementia patients showed relatively low levels of false memory susceptibility, likely due to overall poor memory for list items, indicating that general memory impairments are not likely to be driving false memory susceptibility. Potential mechanisms underlying these effects are discussed.
The Health Measurement of a Business Ecosystem

In this paper we present a health measurement instrument for business ecosystems. We demonstrate the use of this instrument in the Dutch IT industry. The instrument enables managers to monitor the financial and network health of their business ecosystem, different cross-section of the ecosystem and of individual partners in the ecosystem. As such it is helpful in benchmarking and improving business ecosystem performance, in the partner engagement process and in business ecosystem governance.
Caregiver's Anticipatory Grief in Dementia: A Pilot Study

Twenty-seven wives who care for their spouses suffering from dementia completed the Anticipatory Grief Scale (AGS) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist—SCL-90-R. The alpha coefficient for the AGS was 0.84, indicating good internal consistency. The AGS was also positively and significantly correlated (p < 0.001) with the depression, anxiety, and hostility dimensions of the SCL-90-R, demonstrating good validity. This study explores bereavement issues of spouses of patients with dementia and provides preliminary findings on a new instrument to measure anticipatory grief.
Thermotolerant alkaline protease enzyme from Bacillus licheniformis A10: purification, characterization, effects of surfactants and organic solvents

Abstract In this study, the extracellular thermostable alkaline protease out of A10 strain was purified 1.38-fold with 9.44% efficiency through the ammonium sulfate precipitation-dialysis and DE52 anion exchange chromatography methods. The molecular weight of the enzyme in question along with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was determined to be approximately 40.55 kDa, whereas the optimum pH and temperature ratings were identified as 9.0 and 70 °C, respectively. It was seen that the enzyme had remained stable between pH 7.5–10.5 range, protecting more than 90% of its activity in the wake of 1 h incubation at 60–70 °C. It was also observed that the enzyme enhanced its activity in the presence of Mg2+, Mn2+, K+, while Fe2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, Ag+ and Co2+ decreased the activity. Ca2+, however, did not cause any change in the activity. The enzyme was seen to have been totally inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, therefore, proved to be a serine alkaline protease.
Reverse exchange: classifications for public service SCM

Purpose: To identify reverse flows and exchanges that support public service provision. Reverse flow literature has focused on manufacturing based supply chains utilising the lens of exchange (Recovery, Reuse, Repair, Recycle) to gain performance improvement in product flows. Limited research is available to support an understanding of customer derived reverse exchange (RE) service processes. We contribute to the service literature through the development of RE antecedents; derive new and revised definitions and the supporting constructs of RE service processes. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper synthesises literature creating a framework of antecedents for RE. Antecedents reflect differences of service flow (level of service inseparability and ‘acting upon’). These antecedents are empirically tested within an illustrative pre-existing UK healthcare case study against the synthesised antecedents and existing RE definitions. Two teams of researchers reviewed the data generated from public service supply chain processes. Definitions of RE were either revised or derived from the empirical data by each team. Findings: The service concept of ‘acting upon’ for inseparable public service supply chain flows provides a basis for examining the existence of reverse flows and exchanges. Revised and new classifications to the RE model are proposed to stimulate contextual performance improvement and innovation in public service provision. Psychological utility is an additional feature to economic, environmental and social utility in public service RE. RE offers practitioners and academics a strategic operational competence to achieve improvement and innovation in public services and further advance this concept. Originality/Value: Extending the literature beyond the manufacturing derived RE concept to develop an understanding of the customer’s role in preserving and co-creating value in RE and flows in public service. New RE antecedents for public services, including the potential of psychological utility, are presented.
Agrifood SMEs in Greece: the role of collective action

– Many previous studies have indicated that by acting collectively, agrifood SMEs can improve performance and enhance their contribution to local areas. Although collective action between agrifood SMEs proliferates in many southern European countries, relatively few successful cases appear to exist in Greece. The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons for this, by relating the theoretical conditions of successful collective action to evidence from existing studies on the Greek situation. , – Drawing from the literature on small firm networks, and previous empirical studies of agrifood SMEs in Europe, the paper identifies six conditions that underpin successful collective action: three contextual (type of market, social cohesiveness, institutional involvement) and three behavioural (market orientation, co‐operative spirit, existence of an initiator). , – Relating these conditions to existing evidence on Greek agrifood SMEs, the analysis suggests that socio‐cultural factors and institutional involvement are often barriers to successful collective action. However, the presence of at least some examples of strong agrifood SME networks in Greece indicates that such barriers can be overcome. The paper concludes by identifying the research questions to be tackled by future empirical study of Greek agrifood SMEs. , – The paper explores the important phenomenon of small firm networks in the under‐researched country of Greece. In addition, the paper also presents an original synthesis of key conditions under which collective action thrives, drawn from many previous studies of networks and collective action in the agrifood sector throughout Europe.
TALP at MediaEval 2011 Placing Task: Georeferencing Flickr videos with geographical knowledge and information retrieval

This paper describes our Georeferencing approaches, experiments, and results at the MediaEval 2011 Placing Task evaluation. The task consists of predicting the most probable geographical coordinates of Flickr videos. Our approaches used only Flickr users textual annotations and tagsets to predict. We used three approaches for this task: 1) a Geographical Knowledge approach, 2) an Information Retrieval based approach with Re-Ranking, and 3) a combination of both (GeoFusion). The GeoFusion approach achieved the best results within the margin of errors from 10km to 10000km.
Does the FED's QE Program Alleviate Firms’ Financial Constraints in Emerging Economies?

This paper investigates whether the Quantitative Easing (QE) program implemented by the Federal Reserve Board after the 2007-2008 global financial crisis affects firms in emerging economies by improving their access to external financing. Our hypothesis relies on the idea that the excess of liquidity induced by the QE program in the aftermath of the crisis motivates global investors to reallocate their funds to emerging markets in search of higher expected returns. Consequently, more funds are available for local firms, thus alleviating their financial constraints. We empirically test this hypothesis using a sample of 1,000 nonfinancial firms in 12 emerging economies for the period from 2000 to 2014 from the Compustat Global database. By measuring the extent of firms’ financial constraint with Fazzari et al.’s (1988) investment-cash flow sensitivity coefficient, we find support for our hypothesis only in the second QE episode where ex-ante financially restricted firms become less sensitive to cash flows. For the first and third analyzed QE episodes, we find the opposite; that is, firms become more financially constrained. The results for the first and third periods are thus consistent with flight-to-quality and tapering mechanisms, respectively. Our evidence resembles prior evidence using capital flows data and highlights the significant role of the QE program on emerging economies.