Corporate abilities

This brief paper aims to discuss (as a review) the notion of organisational/corporate abilities, a term that, albeit frequently used in the business world, often presents ambiguities in terms of its meaning. We tried to uncover an exact definition for it using different approaches, as well as models of organisational description and/or diagnostic value; however, none of these could provide us with a distinct answer. As the paper could not afford to undertake the introduction of every single approach that has so far been laid down in this subject, we cannot endeavour to formulate our own definition; our work only serves to illustrate that the concept has deeper meanings and thus cannot be used without interpretation. It can have different meanings, which sometimes inhibits the factual description of a given scenario, even though that is what terminologies are usually for. We have concluded that an accurate definition of the concept would be essential, as those specialising in organisational science could benefit from its standardised use.Organisational competence, organizational ability, managerial science, management tools, organiszational science, organisational diagnosis

Investigation of Differences in the Cultivation of Nannochloropsis and Chlorella species by Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy

The increasing use of energy in the world is leading to the exhaustion of fossil fuels, so novel alternative solutions have to be found to meet our needs. One solution is renewable raw materials extracted from algae. The use of microalgae is widespread, in addition to energy formation, their biomass can also be utilized as food and other valuable components of them, e.g. amino acids, vitamins and minerals can be used in drugs and cosmetics. Due to their boundless diversity and components, they have become the focus of an ever-increasing number of research areas. Different processes can induce changes in their nutritional content, so optimizing the conditions used during their cultivation is important to produce the desired product. In our study different isolates of microalgae, namely Nannochloropsis sp. and Chlorella vulgaris, were studied using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic analysis. Variations in the spectra of a given species were studied under different cultivation conditions

Cross-country and inter-temporal analysis of Supply Chain Integration (SCI): China, Hungary and the Netherlands - changes in SCI from 1996 to 2008

Using plant level data from a global survey with multiple time frames, one begun in the late 1990s, this paper introduces measures of supply chain integration and discusses the dynamic relationship between the level of integration and a set of internal and external performance measurements. Specifically, data from Hungary, The Netherlands and The People’s Republic of China are used in the analyses. The time frames considered range from the late 1990s till 2009, encompassing major changes and transitions. Our results seem to indicate that SCI has an underlying structure of four sets of indicators, namely: (1) delivery frequency from the supplier or to the customer; (2) sharing internal processes with suppliers; (3) sharing internal processes with buyers and (4) joint facility location with partners. The differences between groups in terms of several performance measures proved to be small, being mostly statistically insignificant - but looking at the ANOVA table we can conclude that in this sample of companies those having joint location with their partners seem to outperform others

Access Path to the Ligand Binding Pocket May Play a Role in Xenobiotics Selection by AhR.

Understanding of multidrug binding at the atomic level would facilitate drug design and strategies to modulate drug metabolism, including drug transport, oxidation, and conjugation. Therefore we explored the mechanism of promiscuous binding of small molecules by studying the ligand binding domain, the PAS-B domain of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Because of the low sequence identities of PAS domains to be used for homology modeling, structural features of the widely employed HIF-2alpha and a more recent suitable template, CLOCK were compared. These structures were used to build AhR PAS-B homology models. We performed molecular dynamics simulations to characterize dynamic properties of the PAS-B domain and the generated conformational ensembles were employed in in silico docking. In order to understand structural and ligand binding features we compared the stability and dynamics of the promiscuous AhR PAS-B to other PAS domains exhibiting specific interactions or no ligand binding function. Our exhaustive in silico binding studies, in which we dock a wide spectrum of ligand molecules to the conformational ensembles, suggest that ligand specificity and selection may be determined not only by the PAS-B domain itself, but also by other parts of AhR and its protein interacting partners. We propose that ligand binding pocket and access channels leading to the pocket play equally important roles in discrimination of endogenous molecules and xenobiotics

A Drosophila 26S proteasoma molekuláris jellemzése = Molecular characterization of the Drosophila 26S proteasome

Módszert dolgoztunk ki Drosophila melanogaster multiubiquitinált fehérjéinak tisztítására és tömegspektrometriás azonosítására. A Drosophila 26S proteaszóma multiubiquitin receptor alegységének háromszorosan tag-gelt változatát állítottuk elő, ez a módosított fehérje megtartotta multiubiquitinált fehérje kötő képességét. Ezt a fehérjét használva affinitás kromatográfiás rendszerben sikerült szelektíven megkötni a multiubiquitinált fehérjéket és megszabadulni a bakteriális és Drosophila eredetű szennyező fehérjéktől. A módszer lehetőséget teremt a Drosophila multiubiquitinált proteómjának feltérképezésére, e proteom fejlődés- és szövetspecifikus változásainak jellemzésére. A Drosophila 26S proteaszóma multiubiquitin receptor alegységének extraproteaszómális szerepét vizsgálva megállapítottuk, hogy a receptor alegység C-terminális felének ektópikus expressziója transzgénikus állatokban lárvális letalitást okoz, és a receptor fehérje ubiquitinálódik. Ez az ubiquitináció azonban nem degradációs szignál, mert a transzgén terméke egy hosszú élettartamú, stabil fehérje. Az ubiquitinációnak feltehetően szerepe van a receptor fehérje extraproteaszómális funkciójában, és ennek a funkciónak megzavarása letális. Molekulárisan jellemeztük a 26S proteaszóma egyik ATPase alegységének szerkezetét és szerepét az alegységre mutáns Drosophila törzsben. | We have established a method for the purification and mass spectrometric identification of multiubiquitinated proteins in Drosophila melanogaster. Triple-tagged version of the ubiquitin receptor subunit of the 26S proteasome has been constructed, this modified version of the subunit retained its multiubiquitin-binding property. This modified subunit was used as an affinity matrix for the purification of multiubiquitinated proteins. Consecutive affinity purifications on tag-specific columns allowed the elimination of contaminating bacterial and Drosophila proteins. This method opens the way for the establishment of Drosophila multiubiquitinated proteome, and the analysis of the developmental and tissue specific variations of this proteome. Analyzing the extraproteasomal function of the ubiquitin receptor subunit of the Drosophila 26S proteasome we have shown that the ectopic expression of the C-terminal half of the subunit in transgenic Drosophila results in larval lethality, and the transgenic protein becomes ubiquitinated. This ubiquitination, however, is not a degradation signal, because the transgenic protein is a stable, long-lived protein. The ubiquitination of this subunit is probably connected with its extraproteasomal function, and the disturbance of this function is lethal. Using a mutant Drosophila stock we presented a detailed molecular characterization of an ATPase subunit of the 26S proteasome