cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Capacity Utilization, Income Distribution, and the Urban Informal Sector: An Open-Economy Model
Creators: name: Schaefer, Kendall K.
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: Developing economies worldwide have experienced rapid informal sector expansion
in response to formal sector unemployment. However, the macroeconomic effects of
formal-informal sector dualism have been widely overlooked. This paper develops a
two-sector, structuralist, macroeconomic model to analyze the impact of urban informal
sector activity on export-led growth policy. The model uses stylized facts from
the Johannesburg informal sector and is applicable to countries where informal sector
production is concentrated in low-wage goods and commercial services. The paper
finds that trade-offs between capacity utilization and reduced income inequality could
be magnified when the existence of an urban informal sector is incorporated.
The Lighthouse and the Potato: Internalizing the Value of Crop Genetic Diversity
Creators: name: Brush, Stephen B.
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: The incongruous juxtaposition of my title, “The Lighthouse and the Potato,” refers to two public goods of incalculable value – safe navigation and crop genetic resources. Neither lighthouse keepers nor the farmers who cultivate genetic diversity in potatoes and other crops provide their respective benefits to humankind without cost. The costs of lighthouses are relatively easy to measure – construction of the tower, fuel for the light, wages for the keeper. The costs of sustaining crop genetic resources are less evident, but can be viewed as the income foregone by not switching to new varieties, new crops, or other economic pursuits. This foregone income is the functional equivalent of the costs of building and operating a lighthouse to provide the public good of safe navigation. The increasing availability of more profitable alternatives to growing traditional crops means that society must find ways to sustain diverse crop genetic resources and the environments where they are created and maintained – the small farms of poor farmers. We have long recognized that we cannot simply depend on the goodwill of coastal dwellers to maintain lighthouses for ships at sea (Coase 1974, van Zandt 1993). Gradually, we are becoming aware that we cannot depend on the goodwill of farmers to conserve crop genetic resources.
A species-level supertree of Crocodyliformes
Creators: name: Langer, Max C.
name: Bronzati, Mario
name: Montefeltro, Felipe Chinaglia
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2012
Subjects: History

description: With fossils found worldwide, Crocodyliformes stands as one of the best documented vertebrates over the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The multiple phylogenetic hypotheses of relationship proposed for the group allow plenty of space for contentious results, partially due to the small overlapping of taxa and disagreeing homology statements among studies. We present two supertrees of Crocodyliformes, based on different protocols of source tree selection, summarising phylogenetic data for the group into a ‘synthetic consensus’. The consensus of the most parsimonious trees, containing 184 terminal taxa, has a remarkably well-resolved branching structure, which may serve as a framework for further macroevolutionary studies. In addition, the IterPCR script was for the first time used in the supertree context to build a reduced consensus tree with the pruning of unstable taxa.
Screening of plant toxins in food, feed and botanicals using full-scan high-resolution (Orbitrap) mass spectrometry
Creators: name: H.G.J. Mol
name: R.C.J. Van Dam
name: P. Zomer
name: P.P.J. Mulder
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: A generic method based on LC with full-scan high-resolution (Orbitrap) mass spectrometry (MS) was systematically investigated for the simultaneous detection of a wide range of plant toxins in a variety of food and feed matrices. For a selection of 150 substances, representing various chemical classes, the limit of detection was established using fixed LC-MS conditions. Ion suppression effects and selectivity were evaluated using generic extracts from representative and relevant matrices (food supplement, honey, silage, compound feed). The majority of the substances could be measured as positive ions after electrospray ionisation (ESI+). Using a mass resolving power of 100,000 a reliable high mass accuracy was obtained despite the high abundance of co-extractants in the sample extracts. This enabled the use of ±5 ppm mass extraction windows, which in turn resulted in a high degree of selectivity. On the other hand, except for honey, strong ion suppression effects were frequently observed which adversely affected the detection limits. Nevertheless, for the majority of the substances the detection limits were in the range 0.01–0.05 mg kg−1. Since non-selective sample preparation and non-targeted data acquisition were performed, the presence of plant toxins initially not targeted for during data review can be subsequently investigated, which is a very useful option because for many known toxins no analytical reference standards are yet available. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by analysis of a variety of real-life samples purchased on the market or from cases of intoxication. These included honey, herbal tea, food supplements, poppy seeds, traditional Chinese medicines, compound feed, silage and herb-based feed additives. Plant toxins that were detected included various pyrrolizidine alkaloids, grayanotoxins, opium alkaloids, strychnine, ricinine (a marker for ricin), aconitine, aristolochic acid and cardiac glycosides (e.g. digitoxin, digoxin).
Employment-Oriented Central Bank Policy in an Integrated World Economy: A Reform Proposal for South Africa
Creators: name: Epstein, Gerald
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: The South African Reserve Bank and Ministry of Finance have adopted inflation
targeting and the gradual relaxation of exchange controls (along with control of public
spending and financial liberalization) as the foundation of their economic policy in an
attempt to win the confidence of foreign investors and to attract more foreign investment.
However, this policy has not succeded in generating employment growth or investment.
Instead, it has contributed to high real interest rates and relative stagnation.
In order to improve central bank and capital management policies and have them
contribute more to solving the fundamental problems of unemployment and poverty
facing the South African economy, three reforms should be undertaken:
1) The Reserve Bank should scrap its inflation targeting approach and adopt a more even
handed approach which would target employment growth subject to an inflation
constraint.
2) Rather than loosening the exchange controls system, the Reserve Bank and Ministry of
Finance should enforcethe existing controls more strictly, and explore other ways, such as
transaction taxes and speed-bumps, to further insulate South African macroeconomic
policy from global pressures.
3) The South African government should implement other policies and institutions, such
as special lending windows, underwriting facilities, asset based reserve requirements and
subsidized credit, to further insulate the South African financial markets from the
international capital markets and channel credit to employment generating and socially
productive activities. This will correct a serious market failure in which international
financial markets fail to take into account the social rates of return available on
productive investments in South Africa.
AREA VERSUS PRODUCTIVITY: CORRELATION BETWEEN AREA AND TREE PRODUCTION IN THE KHENCHELA REGION
Creators: name: FARROUDJ AMIRA
name: FOUFOU AMMAR
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Productivity; Farm Size; Relation; Land; Khenchela.

description: Abstract

The productivity per hectare of fruit growing is higher on large farms in the Khenchela region (Algeria). This positive relationship goes against the prevailing observation stamped in the economic literature as the «inverse relationship between size and productivity» or the positive relationship between them. In particular, this article examines the relationship between farm size and tree production of different fruit species in the Khenchela region; the methodological approach is based on statistical data from a survey of administrative staff of the Directorate of Agricultural Services (DSA), the results of analysis of these data indicate that the relationship between size of holding and productivity differs according to moderating factors and land factor, in addition, productivity appears to be higher for small and large farms than for medium-sized ones, therefore it reveals potential for tree productivity in the Khenchela region by exploiting the land factor and the location of farms near wetlands which are the main factors for increasing tree productivity.
Evaluation of LC-high-resolution FT-Orbitrap MS for the quantification of selected mycotoxins and the simultaneous screening of fungal metabolites in food
Creators: name: S.M. Lehner
name: N.K.N. Neumann
name: M. Sulyok
name: M. Lemmens
name: R. Krska
name: R. Schuhmacher
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: A liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry-based method is reported for the quantification of 20 selected mycotoxins and the simultaneous screening for 200 fungal metabolites in food. For regulated mycotoxins, such as aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, zearalenone and trichothecenes, the evaluation of the method performance characteristics, such as precision, trueness, limit of detection and matrix effects, has been exemplified for the matrix maize. In the case of the limit of detection, an alternative evaluation approach for high-resolution FT-Orbitrap data is proposed. Measurements of the signal-to-noise ratios obtained from ‘full-profile mode’ data led to detection limits between 8 and 160 ng g−1. Eight naturally contaminated wheat- and maize-based matrix test materials, originating from interlaboratory comparison studies, were used to confirm the trueness of the method for deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisin B1 and B2, HT-2, and T-2 toxin. In addition to accurate quantification of the most relevant mycotoxins, the full-scan chromatograms were used to investigate the potential of the FT-Orbitrap to screen simultaneously for a large number of fungal metabolites. First, a list of 200 metabolites, potentially being present in food samples, was established. Next, specific detection and identification criteria were defined, which are based on accurate mass, peak intensity and isotopologue ratio. The application of these criteria to the suspected metabolites from the list resulted in the putative identification of 13 fungal metabolites in addition to the target toxins.
An International Index of Child Welfare
Creators: name: Dalirazar, Nasrin
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: This paper develops an international index of child welfare that can be used for comparisons across countries and over time.  Values of this index for the year 1998 are presented for 118 countries.  The paper is organized as follows.  Sections 2 briefly discusses the importance of child welfare both as a means to advance economic development objectives and as an end in itself.  Section 3 calculates National Performance Gaps (NPGs), a concept first introduced by UNICEF (1995) to measure child welfare variables relative to international norms based on per capita income.  After reviewing some methodological issues, I present estimates of NPGs for five variables: (1) the infant mortality rate; (2) the under-five mortality rate; (3) the percentage of underfive children who are underweight; (4) the primary school enrollment rate; and (5) the percentage of children reaching grade five.  Section 4 draws on these NPGs to devise a composite index of child welfare, which I term WINOCENT.  Finally, Section 5 offers some concluding remarks.
Large-scale periodicity of nucleosome positioning signal in pericentric regions of chromosomes (Drosophila melanogaster)
Creators: name: V.B. Fedoseyeva
name: A.A. Alexandrov
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2014
Subjects: Molecular Biology

description: Nucleosome positioning signal (NPS) in heterochromatin is not uniform. We suggest the analysis of its heterogeneity by correlation with periodic function (analog of Furrier analysis). It was established the periodical repetition of the nucleosome clusters of large size in pericentric regions in a discontinuous manner. In the 3L pericentric region, it was revealed the domination of 78–85 kbp wavelength in the correlation coefficient profile and also strong presentation of 50 kbp signal. In further to centromere position, the 69 kbp value strongly dominates as well as the 50 kbp value in the closest proximity. In addition to the long wavelength signals, there are plenty of short wavelengths signals especially in the closest vicinity to centromere. In some positions throughout pericentric region of 2L chromosome, there are two sizes of repeated intermingled correlation signals (50, and 75 kbp) with dominating value of 75 kbp in proximity and 50 kbp distantly to centromere, the situation for 2R is analogous. Some genes with long introns support these quantitative characteristics of NPSs and to some extent their dominating character in each region. The characteristic repeat periods for 3L pericentric region coincide with the distances between heterochromatin epigenetic mark clusters and their distribution throughout this region for fly embryos, larvae, and some cell lines.
title: Unconvincing and non-binding: The Federal Constitutional Court rejects the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ interpretation of the CRPD
Creators: name: Sinha, Rohan
name: Talmon, Stefan
Publisher: name: Fachinformationsdienst für internationale und interdisziplinäre Rechtsforschung
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 341

description: GPIL - German Practice in International Law
Capitalism
Creators: name: Heim, Carol E.
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: CAPITALISM is an economic system dedicated to production for profit and to the accumulation of value by private business firms. In the fully developed form of industrial capitalism, firms advance money to hire wage laborers and to buy means of production such as machinery and raw materials. If the firm can sell its products for a greater sum of value than that originally advanced, the firm grows and can advance more money for a new round of accumulation. Historically, the emergence of industrial capitalism depends upon the creation of three requirements for accumulation: initial sums of money (or credit), wage labor and means of production available for purchase, and markets in which products can be sold.
title: The U.S. killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani: of wrong trees and red herrings, and why the killing may be lawful after all
Creators: name: Talmon, Stefan
name: Heipertz, Miriam
Publisher: name: Fachinformationsdienst für internationale und interdisziplinäre Rechtsforschung
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 341

description: GPIL - German Practice in International Law
Globalization and the Transition to Egalitarian Development
Creators: name: Pollin, Robert
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: Keith Griffin is one of the giants of economics in our time.  His writings on egalitarian development are of course prodigious and highly influential.  But what sets him apart from even other leading thinkers in this field is his focus not simply on what should be done to advance an egalitarian development path, but also the specific means through which a more equal society that is also sustainable might actually be achieved.  The Transition to Egalitarian Development (1981) was the title of just one of his many works reflecting this set of concerns and approach to research.  This should not be surprising, since many of Griffin’s most important works emerged out of specific projects in which he was advising governments throughout the world on precisely the question of how to advance a workable transition toward egalitarian development.
Low concentrations of honey reduce biofilm formation, quorum sensing, and virulence in Escherichia coli O157:H7
Creators: name: Kim, Jung-Ae
name: Neupane, Ganesh Prasad
name: Jintae Lee
name: Lee, Jin-Hyung
name: Joo-Hyeon Park
name: Cho, Moo Hwan
name: Lee, Chang-Soo
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2011
Subjects: Marine Biology

description: Bacterial biofilms are associated with persistent infections due to their high resistance to antimicrobial agents. Hence, controlling pathogenic biofilm formation is important in bacteria-related diseases. Honey, at a low concentration of 0.5% (v/v), significantly reduced biofilm formation in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 without inhibiting the growth of planktonic cells. Conversely, this concentration did not inhibit commensal E. coli K-12 biofilm formation. Transcriptome analyses showed that honey significantly repressed curli genes (csgBAC), quorum sensing genes (AI-2 importer and indole biosynthesis), and virulence genes (LEE genes). Glucose and fructose in the honeys were found to be key components in reducing biofilm formation by E. coli O157:H7 through the suppression of curli production and AI-2 import. Furthermore, honey, glucose and fructose decreased the colonization of E. coli O157:H7 cells on human HT-29 epithelial cells. These results suggest that low concentrations of honey, such as in honeyed water, can be a practical means for reducing the colonization and virulence of pathogenic E. coli O157:H7.
BetaSuperposer: superposition of protein surfaces using beta-shapes
Creators: name: Kim, Jae-Kwan
name: Deok-Soo Kim
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2012
Subjects: Molecular Biology

description: The comparison between two protein structures is important for understanding a molecular function. In particular, the comparison of protein surfaces to measure their similarity provides another challenge useful for studying molecular evolution, docking, and drug design. This paper presents an algorithm, called the BetaSuperposer, which evaluates the similarity between the surfaces of two structures using the beta-shape which is a geometric structure derived from the Voronoi diagram of molecule. The algorithm performs iterations of mix-and-match between the beta-shapes of two structures for the optimal superposition from which a similarity measure is computed, where each mix-and-match step attempts to solve an NP-hard problem. The devised heuristic algorithm based on the assignment problem formulation quickly produces a good superposition and an assessment of similarity. The BetaSuperposer was fully implemented and benchmarked against popular programs, the Dali and the Click, using the SCOP models. The BetaSuperposer is freely available to the public from the Voronoi Diagram Research Center (http://voronoi.hanyang.ac.kr).
Modelling nitrous and nitric oxide emissions by autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria
Creators: name: K. E. Mampaey
name: B. Beuckels
name: M. J. Kampschreur
name: R. Kleerebezem
name: M. C.M. Van Loosdrecht
name: E. I.P. Volcke
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2013
Subjects: Environmental Science

description: The emission of greenhouse gases, such as N2O, from wastewater treatment plants is a matter of growing concern. Denitrification by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) has been identified as the main N2O producing pathway. To estimate N2O emissions during biological nitrogen removal, reliable mathematical models are essential. In this work, a mathematical model for NO (a precursor for N2O formation) and N2O formation by AOB is presented. Based on mechanistic grounds, two possible reaction mechanisms for NO and N2O formation are distinguished, which differ in the origin of the reducing equivalents needed for denitrification by AOB. These two scenarios have been compared in a simulation study, assessing the influence of the aeration/stripping rate and the resulting dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration on the NO and N2O emission from a SHARON partial nitritation reactor. The study of the simulated model behaviour and its comparison with previously published experimental data serves in elucidating the true NO and N2O formation mechanism.
title: Germany’s call on Iraq to protect the U.S. embassy in Baghdad – the difference between a legal and a general interest in compliance with Article 22 VCDR
Creators: name: Talmon, Stefan
Publisher: name: Fachinformationsdienst für internationale und interdisziplinäre Rechtsforschung
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 341

description: GPIL - German Practice in International Law
Mechanism of the activation step of the aminoacylation reaction: a significant difference between class I and class II synthetases
Creators: name: Sindrila Dutta Banik
name: Nilashis Nandi
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2012
Subjects: Molecular Biology

description: In the present work we report, for the first time, a novel difference in the molecular mechanism of the activation step of aminoacylation reaction between the class I and class II aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (aaRSs). The observed difference is in the mode of nucleophilic attack by the oxygen atom of the carboxylic group of the substrate amino acid (AA) to the αP atom of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The syn oxygen atom of the carboxylic group attacks the α-phosphorous atom (αP) of ATP in all class I aaRSs (except TrpRS) investigated, while the anti oxygen atom attacks in the case of class II aaRSs. The class I aaRSs investigated are GluRS, GlnRS, TyrRS, TrpRS, LeuRS, ValRS, IleRS, CysRS, and MetRS and class II aaRSs investigated are HisRS, LysRS, ProRS, AspRS, AsnRS, AlaRS, GlyRS, PheRS, and ThrRS. The variation of the electron density at bond critical points as a function of the conformation of the attacking oxygen atom measured by the dihedral angle ψ (Cα–C′) conclusively proves this. The result shows that the strength of the interaction of syn oxygen and αP is stronger than the interaction with the anti oxygen for class I aaRSs. This indicates that the syn oxygen is the most probable candidate for the nucleophilic attack in class I aaRSs. The result is further supported by the computation of the variation of the nonbonded interaction energies between αP atom and anti oxygen as well as syn oxygen in class I and II aaRSs, respectively. The difference in mechanism is explained based on the analysis of the electrostatic potential of the AA and ATP which shows that the relative arrangement of the ATP with respect to the AA is opposite in class I and class II aaRSs, which is correlated with the organization of the active site in respective aaRSs. A comparative study of the reaction mechanisms of the activation step in a class I aaRS (Glutaminyl tRNA synthetase) and in a class II aaRS (Histidyl tRNA synthetase) is carried out by the transition state analysis. The atoms in molecule analysis of the interaction between active site residues or ions and substrates are carried out in the reactant state and the transition state. The result shows that the observed novel difference in the mechanism is correlated with the organizations of the active sites of the respective aaRSs. The result has implication in understanding the experimentally observed different modes of tRNA binding in the two classes of aaRSs.
Copper(I)-alkyl sulfide and -cysteine tri-nuclear clusters as models for metallo proteins: a structural density functional analysis
Creators: name: Tamasi, Gabriella
name: Mangani, Stefano
name: Cini, Renzo
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2012
Subjects: Molecular Biology

description: After having set up the computational methodology for Cu(I)-sulfur systems as models for copper proteins, namely using the simple ligands H2S, HS−, CH3SH, and CH3S−, the Cu(I)-Cysteine systems have been investigated: [CuI(S-H2Cys)n]+ (H2Cys, cysteine, NH2,SH,COOH) [CuI(S-HCys)n]1−n (NH2,S−,COOH). Finally, the structures for bi-nuclear (Et, CH2CH3), and tri-nuclear [CuI(S-SH)]3, , , , (NH2,SH,COOH), (NH2,S−,COOH, and NH2,SH,COO−), as well as (NH2,S−,COO−), were also optimized to mimic the active center for a metallo-chaperone copper transport protein (CopZ). The X-ray structures for the biomolecules were matched fairly well as regards the Cu–S bond distances and Cu…Cu contact distances in the case the model cysteine S atom is deprotonated. Upon protonation of ligand S atoms, the conformation of clusters is altered and might bring about the di- and tri-nuclear core breakage. These findings suggest that subtle protonation/deprotonation steps, i.e. small and/or local pH changes play a significant role for copper transport processes.
Measuring the Impact of Living Wage Laws: A Critical Appraisal of David Neumark's How Living Wage Laws Affect Low-Wage Workers and Low-Income Families
Creators: name: Brenner, Mark D.
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: Drawing on data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), David
Neumark (2002) finds that living wage laws have brought substantial wage increases for a high
proportion of workers in cities that have passed these laws. He also finds that living wage laws
significantly reduce employment opportunities for low-wage workers. We argue, first, that by
truncating his sample to concentrate his analysis on low-wage workers, Neumark’s analysis is
vulnerable to sample selection bias, and that his results are not robust to alternative specifications
that utilize quantile regression to avoid such selection bias. In addition, we argue that Neumark
has erroneously utilized the CPS data set to derive these results. We show that, with respect to
both wage and employment effects, Neumark’s results are not robust to more accurate alternative
classifications as to which workers are covered by living wage laws. We also show that the wage
effects that Neumark observes for all U.S. cities with living wage laws can be more accurately
explained as resulting from effects on sub-minimum wage workers in Los Angeles alone of a
falling unemployment rate and rising minimum wage in that city.
The molecular origin of the MMR-dependent apoptosis pathway from dynamics analysis of MutSα-DNA complexes
Creators: name: Lacramioara Negureanu
name: Salsbury, Freddie R.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2012
Subjects: Molecular Biology

description: The cellular response to DNA damage signaling by mismatch-repair (MMR) proteins is incompletely understood. It is generally accepted that MMR-dependent apoptosis pathway in response to DNA damage detection is independent of MMR’s DNA repair function. In this study, we investigate correlated motions in response to the binding of mismatched and platinum cross-linked DNA fragments by MutSα, as derived from 50 ns molecular dynamics simulations. The protein dynamics in response to the mismatched and damaged DNA recognition suggests that MutSα signals their recognition through independent pathways providing evidence for the molecular origin of the MMR-dependent apoptosis. MSH2 subunit is indicated to play a key role in signaling both mismatched and damaged DNA recognition; localized and collective motions within the protein allow identifying sites on the MSH2 surface possible involved in recruiting proteins responsible for downstream events. Unlike in the mismatch complex, predicted key communication sites specific for the damage recognition are on the list of known cancer-causing mutations or deletions. This confirms MSH2’s role in signaling DNA damage-induced apoptosis and suggests that defects in MMR alone is sufficient to trigger tumorigenesis, supporting the experimental evidence that MMR-damage response function could protect from the early occurrence of tumors. Identifying these particular communication sites may have implications for the treatment of cancers that are not defective for MMR, but are unable to function optimally for MMR-dependent responses following DNA damage such as the case of resistance to cisplatin. An animated Interactive 3D Complement (I3DC) is available in Proteopedia at http://proteopedia.org/w/Journal:JBSD:15
Ultrafast electron transfer in the recognition of different DNA sequences by a DNA-binding protein with different dynamical conformations
Creators: name: Tanumoy Mondol
name: Batabyal, Subrata
name: Pal, Samir Kumar
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2012
Subjects: Molecular Biology

description: Ultrafast electron transfer (ET) phenomenon in protein and protein–DNA complex is very much crucial and often leads to the regulation of various kinds of redox reactions in biological system. Although, the conformation of the protein in protein–DNA complex is concluded to play the key role in the ET process, till date very little evidences exist in the literature. λ-repressor–operator DNA interaction, particularly OR1 and OR2, is a key component of the λ-genetic switch and is a model system for understanding the chemical principles of the conformation-dependent ET reaction, governed by differential protein dynamics upon binding with different DNA target sequences. Here, we have explored the photoinduced electron transfer from the tryptophan moieties of the protein λ-repressor to two operators DNA of different sequences (OR1 and OR2) using picosecond-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The enhanced flexibility and different conformation of the C-terminal domain of the repressor upon complexation with OR1 DNA compared to OR2 DNA are found to have pronounced effect on the rate of ET. We have also observed the ET phenomenon from a dansyl chromophore, bound to the lysine residue, distal from the DNA-binding domain of the protein to the operator DNA with a specific excitation at 299 nm wavelength. The altered ET dynamics as a consequence of differential protein conformation upon specific DNA sequence recognition may have tremendous biological implications.
Molecular modelling of the mass density of single proteins
Creators: name: Pleiss, Jürgen
name: Hutt, Meike
name: Kulschewski, Tobias
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2012
Subjects: Molecular Biology

description: Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the density of single proteins and its temperature dependence was modelled starting from the experimentally determined protein structure and a generic, transferable force field, without the need of prior parameterization. Although all proteins consist of the same 20 amino acids, their density in aqueous solution varies up to 10% and the thermal expansion coefficient up to twofold. To model the protein density, systematic MD simulations were carried out for 10 proteins with a broad range of densities (1.32–1.43 g/cm3) and molecular weights (7–97 kDa). The simulated densities deviated by less than 1.4% from their experimental values that were available for four proteins. Further analyses of protein density showed that it can be essentially described as a consequence of amino acid composition. For five proteins, the density was simulated at different temperatures. The simulated thermal expansion coefficients ranged between 4.3 and 7.1 × 10−4 K−1 and were similar to the experimentally determined values of ribonuclease-A and lysozyme (deviations of 2.4 and 14.6%, respectively). Further analyses indicated that the thermal expansion coefficient is linked to the temperature dependence of atomic fluctuations: proteins with a high thermal expansion coefficient show a low increase in flexibility at increasing temperature. A low increase in atomic fluctuations with temperature has been previously described as a possible mechanism of thermostability. Thus, a high thermal expansion coefficient might contribute to protein thermostability.
The Effects of Increased Product Market Competition and Changes in Financial Markets on the Performance of Nonfinancial Corporations in the Neoliberal Era
Creators: name: Crotty, James
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: In the aftermath of the Great Depression and World War II, national economies, even those in which markets played a very powerful role, were placed under the ultimate control of governments, while international economic relations were consciously managed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Western governments, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, lent support to unions, regulated business, tightly controlled financial markets, and built social welfare systems. They also began to regulate aggregate demand in pursuit of high employment and fast growth, a phenomenon known as the ‘Keynesian revolution.’ Business and financial interests accepted these changes in part because strong capital controls and low levels of trade and investment flows after the war left them without a credible “run-away” threat to undercut government economic policies they disliked. The global prosperity that characterized the quarter century following the war -- the so-called “Golden Age” of modern capitalism -- reinforced the belief that market economies need strong social regulation to function effectively.
The systematics of the dusky striped squirrel, Funambulus sublineatus (Waterhouse, 1838) (Rodentia: Sciuridae) and its relationships to Layard's squirrel, Funambulus layardi Blyth, 1849
Creators: name: Oshida, Tatsuo
name: Rajith Dissanayake
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2012
Subjects: History

description: The systematics of the dusky striped squirrel, Funambulus sublineatus (Waterhouse, 1838) are reassessed against new evidence following a revision of its genus, Funambulus Lesson, 1835. Mitochondrial DNA suggests that the Sri Lankan subspecies of F. sublineatus is the sister taxon of Funambulus layardi Blyth, 1849, despite its phenotypic similarity to the nominate species. Morphological and mtDNA evidence is presented for these species plus additional mtDNA data from Funambulus palmarum (Linnaeus, 1766) and Funambulus pennantii Wroughton, 1905. Morphometric data indicate that the two taxa conventionally considered subspecies of F. sublineatus are sufficiently distinct for them to be ranked separately, resulting in two further endemic mammal species in India and Sri Lanka and an increase in Funambulus diversity. The name of the Sri Lankan species changes to Funambulus obscurus (Pelzeln and Kohl 1886). Whether the mtDNA phylogeny is a true reflection of F. obscurus and F. layardi remains unresolved pending further data.
Effects of fragmentation phenomena on the genetic structure and gene flow in Centaurea cineraria group (Asteraceae) in the Mediterranean Basin
Creators: name: C. Guarino
name: G. Salerno
name: G. Cipriani
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Plant Biology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: The complex history of the Mediterranean region illustrates how ancient and recent phenomena are closely associated with species distribution and the creation of phylogeographic divisions within Mediterranean flora. A good model to explore the genetic consequences of fragmentation can be found in Centaurea cineraria and its close relatives. We applied simple sequence repeat molecular markers to a dense population sampling throughout the distribution area of all C. cineraria taxa to study how fragmentation has altered the genetic structure and distribution of C. cineraria. The average gene diversity (He) was 0.286, and the average allelic richness (Ar) was 3.65 and ranged from 2.15 (C. gymnocarpa) to 5.25 (C. busambarensis). The FIS averaged a relatively high 0.223, ranging from − 0.724 in C. aeolica subsp. aeolica to 0.589 in C. leucadea. Our results indicate that habitat fragmentation over several generations reduced heterozygosity due to random genetic drift in populations of C. cineraria. This heterozygosity erosion becomes more severe when the inbreeding coefficient is positive and the outcrossing rates show a significant increase. The results observed for outcrossing rates and inbreeding coefficient could also indirectly support the possibility of disrupted gene flow or mating pattern changes in fragmented C. cineraria populations.
New and effective multi-element α-hematite systems for reduction of trichloroethylene
Creators: name: Kim, Jung-Hwan
name: Won-Ho Choi
name: Joo-Yang Park
name: Ghorpade, Praveen
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2013
Subjects: Environmental Science

description: The reactivity of different α-hematite (α-Fe2O3) systems for dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) in the presence of Fe(II) and CaO was investigated. Initially different experiments were conducted to investigate the reactivity of pure and doped α-Fe2O3. It was found that the presence of elements such as Si, Cu, and Mn in α-Fe2O3 had a significant effect on TCE reduction potential of α-Fe2O3; however, the reduction potential was less than that of α-Fe2O3 (Bayferrox®-110 M, used in a previous study). Further studies were carried out and α-Fe2O3 was synthesized in a manner similar to that of Bayferrox®-110 M. This synthetic α-Fe2O3 showed improved reactivity and was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics when used in TCE reduction experiments. The preliminary end products analysis showed that TCE degradation was probably via β-elimination pathway. Detailed investigations of α-Fe2O3 systems were carried out using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry. The results demonstrated that the TCE reduction capacity of α-Fe2O3 was strongly dependent on the other elements present in iron powder used to synthesize α-Fe2O3. It was suspected that these multi-elements in α-Fe2O3 helped to improve its conduction property. Current findings suggest that α-Fe2O3 not in the pure but combined with other elements could be thought as a potential system for TCE reduction.
Hybrid materials from agro-waste and nanoparticles: implications on the kinetics of the adsorption of inorganic pollutants
Creators: name: Martins O. Omorogie
name: Babalola, Jonathan O.
name: Unuabonah, Emmanuel I.
name: Gong, Jian R.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2014
Subjects: Environmental Science

description: This study is a first-hand report of the immobilization of Nauclea diderrichii seed waste biomass (ND) (an agro-waste) with eco-friendly mesoporous silica (MS) and graphene oxide–MS (GO+MS ) nanoparticles, producing two new hybrid materials namely: MND adsorbent for agro-waste modified with MS and GND adsorbent for agro-waste modified with GO+MS nanoparticles showed improved surface area, pore size and pore volume over those of the agro-waste. The abstractive potential of the new hybrid materials was explored for uptake of Cr(III) and Pb(II) ions. Analysis of experimental data from these new hybrid materials showed increased initial sorption rate of Cr(III) and Pb(II) ions uptake. The amounts of Cr(III) and Pb(II) ions adsorbed by MND and GND adsorbents were greater than those of ND. Modification of N. diderrichii seed waste significantly improved its rate of adsorption and diffusion coefficient for Cr(III) and Pb(II) more than its adsorption capacity. The rate of adsorption of the heavy metal ions was higher with GO+MS nanoparticles than for other adsorbents. Kinetic data were found to fit well the pseudo-second-order and the diffusion–chemisorption kinetic models suggesting that the adsorption of Cr(III) and Pb(II) onto these adsorbents is mainly through chemisorption mechanism. Analysis of kinetic data with the homogeneous particle diffusion kinetic model suggests that particle diffusion (diffusion of ions through the adsorbent) is the rate-limiting step for the adsorption process.
Bargaining Power and Foreign Direct Investment in China: Can 1.3 Billion Consumers Tame the Multinationals?
Creators: name: Braunstein, Elissa
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: Foreign direct investment (FDI) has become a much desired commodity by nations, regions and
cities throughout the world. Indeed, governments bid for FDI because it is commonly thought to
be an important engine of economic growth, job creation, and technological upgrading. The
People’s Republic of China (PRC), the developing world’s largest recipient of FDI and one of the
world’s fastest growing economies, is often cited as evidence for the beneficial effects of FDI.
Given the PRC’s size and the huge allure of its cheap labor force and customer base, one would
think that if any country had the bargaining power vis a vis multinational corporations to benefit
from FDI, it would be China. But does FDI really deliver these commonly perceived benefits? To
answer this question, we study the impact of inward FDI on wages, job creation, investment and
tax generation in the PRC from 1986-1999 by running panel regression analysis on provincial
level data. An innovation of our analysis is to distinguish the impact of FDI inflows from that of
economic liberalization, per se. We find that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, inward FDI
has a relatively small positive impact on wages and employment, while having a negative impact
on domestic investment and tax revenue. We suggest that the decentralization of the FDI bidding
process in China contributes to these negative outcomes, and argue that the limitation on FDI
management tools associated with China’s WTO entry is likely to further reduce the benefits of
FDI for Chinese workers and citizens .
Studies of detailed Biofilm characterization on fly ash concrete in comparison with normal and superplasticizer concrete in seawater environments
Creators: name: Vishwakarma, Vinita
name: D. Ramachandran
name: B. Anandkumar
name: U. Kamachi Mudali
name: R.P. George
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2013
Subjects: Environmental Science

description: In cooling water systems, many concrete structures in the form of tanks, pillars and reservoirs that come in contact with aggressive seawater are being deteriorated by chemical and biological factors. The nuclear industry has decided to partially replace the Portland cement with appropriate pozzolans such as fly ash, which could densify the matrix and make the concrete impermeable. Three types of concrete mixes, viz., normal concrete (NC), concrete with fly ash and superplasticizer (FA) and concrete with only superplasticizer (SP) were fabricated for short- and long-term exposure studies and for screening out the better concrete in seawater environments. Biofilm characterization studies and microscopic studies showed excellent performance of FA concrete compared to the other two. Laboratory exposure studies in pure cultures of Thiobacillus thiooxidans and Fusarium oxysporum were demonstrated for the inhibition of microbial growth on fly ash. Epifluorescence and scanning electron microscopic studies supported the better performance of the FA specimen. Thus, the present study clearly showed that FA concrete is less prone to biofilm formation and biodeterioration.
Hybrid materials from agro-waste and nanoparticles: implications on the kinetics of the adsorption of inorganic pollutants
Creators: name: Martins O. Omorogie
name: Babalola, Jonathan O.
name: Unuabonah, Emmanuel I.
name: Gong, Jian R.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2013
Subjects: Environmental Science

description: This study is a first-hand report of the immobilization of Nauclea diderrichii seed waste biomass (ND) (an agro-waste) with eco-friendly mesoporous silica (MS) and graphene oxide–MS (GO+MS ) nanoparticles, producing two new hybrid materials namely: MND adsorbent for agro-waste modified with MS and GND adsorbent for agro-waste modified with GO+MS nanoparticles showed improved surface area, pore size and pore volume over those of the agro-waste. The abstractive potential of the new hybrid materials was explored for uptake of Cr(III) and Pb(II) ions. Analysis of experimental data from these new hybrid materials showed increased initial sorption rate of Cr(III) and Pb(II) ions uptake. The amounts of Cr(III) and Pb(II) ions adsorbed by MND and GND adsorbents were greater than those of ND. Modification of N. diderrichii seed waste significantly improved its rate of adsorption and diffusion coefficient for Cr(III) and Pb(II) more than its adsorption capacity. The rate of adsorption of the heavy metal ions was higher with GO+MS nanoparticles than for other adsorbents. Kinetic data were found to fit well the pseudo-second-order and the diffusion–chemisorption kinetic models suggesting that the adsorption of Cr(III) and Pb(II) onto these adsorbents is mainly through chemisorption mechanism. Analysis of kinetic data with the homogeneous particle diffusion kinetic model suggests that particle diffusion (diffusion of ions through the adsorbent) is the rate-limiting step for the adsorption process.
Global Labor Standards: their impact and implementation
Creators: name: Heintz, James
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: This paper reviews the critical issues concerning the establishment of a global
system of labor standards. Global labor standards have gained a renewed
prominence in policy debates with the rise of the new international division of
labor, in which developing countries are producing an ever-increasing share of
the world’s manufactured exports. This paper takes a close look at the research
and theories that inform the current debates. In particular, it summarizes the
arguments in support of global standards, evaluates the threat of unintended
negative consequences, examines gender-specific issues relating to low-wage
labor and informal employment, and discusses past and present developments in
implementation strategies.
Stock Market Liquidity and Economic Growth: A critical appraisal of the Levine/Zervos model
Creators: name: Zhu, Andong
Publisher: name: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Year: 2002

description: Levine and Zervos (1998) presented cross-country econometric evidence showing that, in a
sample of 47 countries, stock market liquidity contributed a significant positive influence on GDP
growth between 1976-93. We show that the Levine-Zervos results are not robust to alternative
specifications because of the incomplete manner in which they control for outliers in their data. We
show that when one properly controls for outliers, stock market liquidity no longer exerts any
statistically observable influence on GDP growth.
Effects of fragmentation phenomena on the genetic structure and gene flow in Centaurea cineraria group (Asteraceae) in the Mediterranean Basin
Creators: name: C. Guarino
name: G. Salerno
name: G. Cipriani
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Plant Biology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: The complex history of the Mediterranean region illustrates how ancient and recent phenomena are closely associated with species distribution and the creation of phylogeographic divisions within Mediterranean flora. A good model to explore the genetic consequences of fragmentation can be found in Centaurea cineraria and its close relatives. We applied SSR molecular markers to a dense population sampling throughout the distribution area of all C. cineraria taxa to study how fragmentation has altered the genetic structure and distribution of C. cineraria. The average gene diversity (He) was 0.286, and the average allelic richness (Ar) was 3.65 and ranged from 2.15 (C. gymnocarpa) to 5.25 (C. busambarensis). The FIS averaged a relatively high 0.223, ranging from − 0.724 in C. aeolica subsp. aeolica to 0.589 in C. leucadea. Our results indicate that habitat fragmentation over several generations reduced heterozygosity due to random genetic drift in populations of C. cineraria. This heterozygosity erosion becomes more severe when the inbreeding coefficient is positive and the outcrossing rates shows a significant increase. The results observed for outcrossing rates and inbreeding coefficient could also indirectly support the possibility of disrupted gene flow or mating pattern changes in fragmented C. cineraria populations.