Effects of initial public offerings on economic performance of small and medium-sized enterprises

This study investigates the effects of the initial public offerings (I.P.O.s) of small and medium-sized enterprises (S.M.E.s) and their efforts to cooperate with large conglomerates on S.M.E.s’economic performance and job creation. This study conducted a series of analyses of variance with a 22 between-subject design (I.P.O.s and cooperation with large conglomerates) and multiple regression analyses for credit ratings using 4419 and 3919 samples, respectively, of S.M.E.s from the Korea Innovation Survey. The results showed that I.P.O.s and cooperation with large conglomerates are positively associated with S.M.E.s’job creation as well as multiple economic outcomes. Moreover, several scholars have argued that more accurate credit rating criteria should be proposed to evaluate the potential values of S.M.E.s because the current criteria mainly focus on their short-term financial and economic performance. Based on the results of the multiple regression analyses, this study found that I.P.O.s have a negative effect on S.M.E.s’credit ratings, whereas cooperation with large conglomerates and job creation have no effect and the growth rates of net income and current assets have a positive effec

On the Claims of Weak Block Synchronization in Bitcoin

Recent Bitcoin attacks [CCS\u2721, CCS\u2721, ICDCS\u2719] commonly exploit the phenomenon of so-called weak block synchronization in Bitcoin. The attacks use two independently-operated Bitcoin monitors — i.e., Bitnodes and a system of customized supernodes — to confirm that block propagation in Bitcoin is surprisingly slow. In particular, Bitnodes constantly reports that around 30% of nodes are 3 blocks (or more) behind the blockchain tip and the supernodes show that on average more than 60% of nodes do not receive the latest block even after waiting for 10 minutes. In this paper, we carefully re-evaluate these controversial claims with our own experiments in the live Bitcoin network and show that block propagation in Bitcoin is, in fact, fast enough (e.g., most peers we monitor receive new blocks in about 4 seconds) for its safety property. We identify several limitations and bugs of the two monitors, which have led to these inaccurate claims about the Bitcoin block synchronization. We finally ask several open-ended questions regarding the technical and ethical issues around monitoring blockchain networks

PHF7 Modulates BRDT Stability and Histone-to-Protamine Exchange during Spermiogenesis

Chang Rok Kim, Taichi Noda, Hyunkyung Kim, Gibeom Kim, Seongwan Park, Yongwoo Na, Seiya Oura, Keisuke Shimada, Injin Bang, Jun-Yeong Ahn, Yong Ryoul Kim, Se Kyu Oh, Hee-Jung Choi, Jong-Seo Kim, Inkyung Jung, Ho Lee, Yuki Okada, Masahito Ikawa, Sung Hee Baek, PHF7 Modulates BRDT Stability and Histone-to-Protamine Exchange during Spermiogenesis, Cell Reports, Volume 32, Issue 4, 2020, 107950, ISSN 2211-1247, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107950

PGE1 and PGA1 bind to Nurr1 and activate its transcriptional function

The orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1 is critical for the development, maintenance and protection of midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons. Here we show that prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and its dehydrated metabolite, PGA1, directly interact with the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of Nurr1 and stimulate its transcriptional function. We also report the crystallographic structure of Nurr1-LBD bound to PGA1 at 2.05 Å resolution. PGA1 couples covalently to Nurr1-LBD by forming a Michael adduct with Cys566, and induces notable conformational changes, including a 21° shift of the activation function-2 helix (H12) away from the protein core. Furthermore, PGE1/PGA1 exhibit neuroprotective effects in a Nurr1-dependent manner, prominently enhance expression of Nurr1 target genes in mDA neurons and improve motor deficits in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-lesioned mouse models of Parkinson's disease. Based on these results, we propose that PGE1/PGA1 represent native ligands of Nurr1 and can exert neuroprotective effects on mDA neurons, via activation of Nurr1's transcriptional function.Ministry of Education (MOE)National Medical Research Council (NMRC)National Research Foundation (NRF)This work was supported by NIH grant nos. NS070577 and NS084869 (to K.-S.K.), NRF-2018M3A9B5023055 grant (to C.-H.K.), Ministry of Education Singapore AcRF Tier 2 Grant (no. ARC55/16) and Tang Tieng See Advancement Fund (to H.S.Y.), and National Medical Research Council, Singapore (grant no. TCR/013-NNI/2014; to K.L.L. and H.S.Y.)