Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Localization and identification of sumoylated proteins in human sperm: excessive sumoylation is a marker of defective spermatozoa.

BACKGROUND Sumoylation is a type of post-translational modification that is implicated in the regulation of numerous cellular events. However, its role in the function of human sperm has not yet been characterized. METHODS AND RESULTS In this study, both immunofluorescence and electron microscopy revealed that small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMO) SUMO1 and SUMO2/3 were highly enriched in the neck area of human sperm that is associated with the redundant nuclear envelope and were also detectable in the flagella and some head regions. Similar localization patterns of SUMO were also observed in mouse and fly sperm. Nonmotile, two-tailed, curled tailed, misshapen, microcephalic (small head) and aciphalic (no head) sperm exhibited abnormally high levels of sumoylation in their neck and tail regions relative to normal sperm. Numerous sumoylated proteins, ranging from 20 to 260 kDa, were detected via western blotting and identified by mass spectrometry, and 55 SUMO targets that were present specifically in human sperm, and not in the control fraction, corresponded to flagella proteins, proteins involved in the maturation and differentiation of sperm, heat shock proteins and important glycolytic and mitochondrial enzymes. The targets that were identified included proteins with specific functions in germ cells and sperm, such as heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2, outer dense fiber protein 3, A-kinase anchor proteins 3 and 4, L-lactate dehydrogenase C, sperm protein associated with the nucleus on the X chromosome B/F, valosin-containing protein, seminogelins, histone H4 and ubiquitin. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments confirmed the sumoylation of semenogelin and indicated that some sperm proteins are modified by sumoylation and ubiquitination simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS Numerous proteins are modified by sumoylation in human sperm; excessive sumoylation is a marker of defective spermatozoa.
Accounting Standards and International Portfolio Holdings

ABSTRACT: Do differences in countries' accounting standards affect global investment decisions? We explore this question by examining how accounting distance, the difference in the accounting standards used in the investor's and the investee's countries, affects the asset allocation decisions of global mutual funds. We find that investors tend to underweight investees with greater accounting distance. Using the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as an event that changed the accounting standards of various country-pairs, we examine how two sources of changes in accounting distance—(1) changes due to IFRS adoption of the investee, and (2) changes due to IFRS adoption in the investor's country—affect global portfolio allocation decisions. We find that the tendency to underinvest in investees with greater accounting distance significantly weakens when accounting distance is reduced, either from an investee's IFRS adoption or from IFRS adoption in the investor's country. T.
Cyberspace Advertising vs. Other Media: Consumer vs. Mature Student Attitudes

ABSTRACT This paper reports on the findings of a survey about attitudes now, and predictions for the future, regarding web advertising versus other media, with college students as the target. College students' present attitude toward web advertising is compared to the attitudes of people familiar with the web in Ducoffe's 1996 study. Among the more notable results: while Ducoffe's sample did not find web advertising to be irritating, annoying, or insulting to peoples' intelligence, our student sample did. Additionally, students predict that web advertising will overtake television advertising as the most valuable source of information for the future. The paper also offers a new pragmatic model of Attitude toward Advertising that enhances the explanatory power of the Ducoffe (1996) model by adding to the antecedent variables.
Four Deoxynucleoside Kinase Activities from Drosophila melanogaster Are Contained within a Single Monomeric Enzyme, a New Multifunctional Deoxynucleoside Kinase*

In mammalian cells, there are three pyrimidine nucleoside salvage enzymes with the capacity to phosphorylate all four deoxynucleosides, the two thymidine kinase isoenzymes, TK1 and TK2, and the deoxycytidine kinase, dCK. TK1 is cell cycle-regulated; TK2 is expressed constitutively and can phosphorylate deoxycytidine to the same extent as thymidine. dCK phosphorylates deoxycytidine, deoxyadenosine, and deoxyguanosine, but not thymidine. In addition, the three kinases can phosphorylate a number of medically important analogs. In cultured Drosophila melanogaster embryonic cells, only one pyrimidine deoxynucleoside kinase was present. This kinase was purified and showed a broad substrate specificity, since it was able to phosphorylate all four deoxynucleosides with high efficiency, as compared with the kinases in mammalian cells. Additionally, a number of nucleoside analogs such as arabinofuranosyl pyrimidines, deoxyuridine, and 5′-fluorodeoxyuridine, were phosphorylated. There was negligible 3′-azidothymidine and no dTMP phosphorylation. The enzyme was active as a monomer of about 30 kDa. We suggest the name D. melanogaster deoxynucleoside kinase for this multifunctional kinase. The substrate specificity, size, and other characteristics show that this enzyme is more related to human TK2 than to the other mammalian deoxyribonucleoside kinases, but is unique with respect to the capacity to phosphorylate all four deoxynucleosides.
The median frequency of the ECG during ventricular fibrillation: its use in an algorithm for estimating the duration of cardiac arrest

The dynamics of the frequency distribution in the power spectrum of the ECG recorded form 11 swine during ventricular fibrillation (VF) are characterized to determine whether enough information exists in this domain to estimate downtime (DT). The median frequency (FM) of the power spectrum is used to track the frequency distribution. The FM follows a dynamic repeatable course during the first 10 min of VF. Intersubject variability is small. The FM data of the 11 subjects are modeled with a set of first-order polynomial equations, and the algorithm is tested with data from an additional ten subjects. The algorithm predicts VF duration with an average error of -0.86 min; 71.5% of the predictions fell within the 95% confidence limits of the model. A signal processing tool is identified which may be useful in the prehospital treatment of VF. <<ETX>>
Value in use through service experience

Purpose – The aim of this article is to propose a framework for a new perspective on the total service experience, which dimensions influence it, and how a service experience is linked to value in use.Design/methodology/approach – The article is conceptual and suggests a new theoretical frame of reference describing value in use through service experience in technology‐based services.Findings – According to this article, a service experience is the total functional and emotional value of a consumed service. The service experience is unique to every individual customer and the service consumption situation. Value in use is the cognitive evaluation of the service experience.Research limitations/implications – The framework is discussed in the context of technology‐based services and will provide a basis for future research. Empirical studies are called for concerning service experiences in different kinds of service contexts.Originality/value – This article contributes a new framework, illustrating the serv.
The role of tax in the foreign direct investment decision process : evidence from UK firms

This study investigates the interfaces and integration between tax strategy and corporate strategy in the foreign direct investment (FDI) decision process of UK multinational firms. Drawing on the prior literature, it aims to develop a better understanding of: (i) the role of tax in the FDI decision making process; (ii) the stages at which tax issues are considered in the decision making; and (iii) the processes by which the FDI strategic decisions are made. Data were collected by means of a web- based survey using Survey Monkey. The FAME database served to provide the main sampling frame for the data collection. A total of 192 usable responses were obtained for data analysis. The relevance of taxation in the FDI strategic decision process has not generally been addressed in UK academic literature, so little is known about the processes by and stages at which FDI decisions vis-a-vis taxation are made. It is clear from the data analysis undertaken, for example, that tax is not a driving factor in strategic decisions, but one of many factors considered, and that multinationals do not take decisions based on tax criteria alone. The thesis can thus refute, for instance, popular perceptions that multinationals' behaviour makes exploitative use of tax avoidance schemes and devices, which is typically not supported by empirical evidence. The research findings suggest that tax strategy is part of corporate strategy in the FDI decision process. The findings show that tax incentives are not an important motive for FDI compared with other business-oriented motives, which play more important roles in the FDI decision making process. The study's findings add topical and original elements to the development of academic literature in this area and are also of practical significance.
Investigating linkages between online purchase behaviour variables

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between the online consumer behaviour constructs of attitude, motivations and information search in order to develop an online consumer behaviour framework.Design/methodology/approach – An email survey collected data from 577 UK respondents and canonical correlations are applied to examine the relationships.Findings – The results provide empirical support that attitude is an antecedent variable, and that motivation variables have a significant causal relationship with information search variables.Research limitations/implications – Two limitations are identified. Firstly, the data collected focussed on UK respondents, consequently the generalisability of these results is in question and further research is required. Secondly, the attitude measure could include more items to further aid reliability.Originality/value – This research advances the development of the Online Consumer Behaviour literature by adding knowledge on the nature of the.
The benefit of information sharing in a logistics outsourcing context

The goal of this article is to examine the value of information sharing in outsourcing of logistics activities. Our examination is in the context of a fairly complex network in which location and capacity of carriers are considered. The current research also examines the moderating effect of network settings on the benefit of information sharing. A core component of our methodology is use of computational experiments to provide a variety of logistics network conditions under which we investigate information sharing value. The investigation involves comparing two strategies, namely full and no information sharing. Underlying the experiments are procedures to optimise the network under each strategy. The procedures are based on exact methods that combine integer linear programming with exhaustive enumeration. To gauge the robustness of the insights, we applied formal analysis of variance techniques to the data from the numerical experiments. The obtained insights are helpful to managers for selecting appropriate logistics service providers and level of information exchange.
Investigation of the effect of astaxanthin on alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Astaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid that has a strong antioxidant effect. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of astaxanthin on alveolar bone loss and histopathological changes in ligature-induced periodontitis in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS Wistar rats were divided into four experimental groups: non-ligated (C, n = 6); ligature only (L, n = 6); ligature and astaxanthin (1 mg/kg/day astaxanthin, AS1 group, n = 8); ligature and astaxanthin (5 mg/kg/day astaxanthin, AS5 group, n = 8). Silk ligatures were placed at the gingival margin of lower first molars of the mandibular quadrant. The study duration was 11 days and the animals were killed at the end of this period. Changes in alveolar bone levels were clinically measured and tissues were immunohistochemically examined, osteocalcin, bone morphogenic protein-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, Bax and bcl-2 levels in alveolar bone and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive osteoclast cells, osteoblast and inflammatory cell counts were determined. RESULTS Alveolar bone loss was highest in the L group and the differences among the L, AS1 and AS5 groups were also significant (P < .05). Both doses of astaxanthin decreased tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive+ osteoclast cell and increased osteoblast cell counts (P < .05). The inflammation in the L group was also higher than those of the C and AS1 groups were (P < .05) indicating the anti-inflammatory effect of astaxanthin. Although inducible nitric oxide synthase, osteocalcin, bone morphogenic protein-2 and bax staining percentages were all highest in the AS5 group and bcl-2 staining percentage was highest in the AS1 group, values were close to each other (P > .05). CONCLUSION Within the limits of this study, it can be suggested that astaxanthin administration may reduce alveolar bone loss by increasing osteoblastic activity and decrease osteoclastic activity in experimental periodontitis model.
Cross-spectrum periocular authentication for NIR and visible images using bank of statistical filters

Periocular characteristics are being used as a supplementary feature for the biometric systems employing iris characteristics to mitigate effects of the noisy iris on authentication performance. In the same lines, ocular characteristics are also used to enhance the performance of face based systems under the impact of pose, expression and illumination. However, the iris and face systems are operated in Near-Infra-Red (NIR) and visible spectrum respectively. In order have both the systems work for ocular images and be compatible to each other, the biometric system needs to be robust enough to handle the biometric data emerging from different spectrum. In this work, we employ an ocular image database collected using the visible and NIR cameras. We propose a new framework employing a bank of Binarized Statistical Image filters along with χ2 distance metric along with simple fusion to handle the cross-spectrum data. Set of experiments conducted on the cross-spectrum periocular database indicate the robustness of the system with the achieved GMR of 96.04% at the FMR of 0.01%. The obtained performance indicates the applicability of proposed framework for realistic cross-spectrum biometric authentication scenario.
Modification of radiation induced damage in mouse intestine by WR-2721.

Intestinal protection in mice against radiation injury by WR-2721 (300 mg/kg body wt, i.p., 30 min before irradiation) was studied after whole body gamma irradiation (0.5, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, or 6.0 Gy). Crypt survival and induction of apoptosis, and abnormal mitoses in crypt cells in the jejunum were studied on day 1, 3 and 7 after irradiation. Irradiation produced a significant decrease in crypt survival, whereas apoptosis and abnormal mitoses showed a significant increase from sham-treated control animals. Maximum changes in all the parameters were observed on day 1 after irradiation and the effect increased linearly with radiation dose. There was recovery at later intervals, which was inversely related to radiation dose. WR-2721 pre-treatment resulted in a significant increase in the number of surviving crypts, whereas the number of apoptotic cells in the crypts showed a significant decrease from respective irradiated controls on day 1 after exposure. The recovery was also faster in WR-2721 pre- treated animals. It is concluded that WR-2721 protects against gastrointestinal death by reducing radiation induced cell death, thereby maintaining a higher number of stem cells in the proliferating compartment.
The Importance of Social Bonding and Loyalty: An Empirical Investigation Within U.K. Private Health Clubs

ABSTRACT The association between relationship marketing and the desired outcome of creating true loyalty to the business remains under researched. The following addresses this lacuna by empirically studying this relationship in U.K. private health clubs. The findings indicate the prominence of social bonding in creating truly loyal members, which is in contrast to current relationship marketing activities employed within this market segment. In conclusion, it is argued that the findings may well be applicable to other leisure environments, whilst recognising the need for further research.
Alternative measures of service quality: a review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the key conceptual and empirical issues that should be considered in the development of alternative industry‐specific measurement scales of service quality (other than SERVQUAL). Design/methodology/approach – A total of 30 studies are selected from two well‐known databases: Science direct and ABI inform. These studies are subjected to a comprehensive in‐depth content analysis and theoretical discussion of the key conceptual and empirical issues to be considered in the development of service‐quality measurement instruments.Findings – The study identifies deficiencies in some of the alternative service‐quality measures; however, the identified deficiencies do not invalidate the essential usefulness of the scales. The study makes constructive suggestions for the development of future scales.Originality/value – This is the first work to describe and contrast a large number of service‐quality measurement models, other than the well‐known SERVQUAL in.
Responses of Poa annua and three bentgrass species (Agrostis spp.) to adult and larval feeding of annual bluegrass weevil, Listronotus maculicollis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract The annual bluegrass weevil (ABW), Listronotus maculicollis Kirby, is an economically important pest of short-cut turfgrass in Eastern North America. Wide spread insecticide resistance warrants the development of alternative management strategies for this pest. ABW damage typically occurs in areas with a high percentage of annual bluegrass, Poa annua L. , the preferred ABW host. Damage to bentgrasses, Agrostis spp. , is much rarer and usually less severe. To aid the implementation of host plant resistance as an alternative ABW management strategy we investigated the tolerance of three bentgrass species to ABW feeding. Responses of P. annua, creeping bentgrass, Agrostis stolonifera L. , colonial bentgrass, Agrostis capillaris L. , and velvet bentgrass, Agrostis canina L. , to adult and larval feeding were compared in greenhouse experiments. Grass responses were measured as visual damage, dry weight of the grass stems and leaves, color, density and overall grass quality. To determine possible mechanisms of grass tolerance constitutive fiber and silicon content were also determined. The three bentgrass species tolerated 2–3 times higher numbers of ABW adults and larvae than P. annua before displaying any significant quality decrease. Creeping bentgrass had the lowest damage ratings. ABW infestation caused higher plant yield reduction in P. annua (up to 42%) than in bentgrasses. Observed differences among the grass species in fiber and silicon content in the plant tissue are unlikely to play a role in the resistance of bentgrasses to ABW. Our findings clearly show that A. stolonifera is the best grass species for the implementation of host plant resistance in ABW management.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE E-GROCERY INDUSTRY IN SINGAPORE

i Acknowledgement The completion of this Academic Exercise would not have been possible without the assistance of many special and wonderful individuals. Foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, A/P Teo Chung Piaw, whose guidance and support greatly helped me overcame the difficulties that I faced in completing this Academic Exercise. His understanding and encouragement made the whole experience enjoyable and non-pressurizing. His constant stream of creative ideas also made brainstorming session interesting and challenging. And Sir, thanks for the patience in reading and editing my drafts, it must have been an excruciating experience. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor, Dr Liu Qizhang, for sparing time to give me his insightful comments and suggestions. Most importantly, I am grateful to my parents whom have always been supportive and understanding. Without them, I wouldn't even have a chance to receive a University education let alone complete one. To all my friends who have helped me in these four years of University life. Special thanks to and the rest of the gang, without you all, life will be colourless in Bizad. Thanks for everything and I treasure the times we spent together. My appreciation to Adrian, Wei Ying, Irene, Wee Nian and Tee Leong for their effort in proofreading, formatting and printing this Academic Exercise. Last but not least, a big warm hug to Michele, for listening to my complaints and problems and for being there when I needed support and encouragement. ii Abstract It has been widely speculated that electronically mediated markets will have less friction than comparable conventional markets. Though a vast numbers of literatures were written extensively on the U.S e-grocery market, there is limited literature on local e-grocery development. This study seeks to determine whether the local Internet market for fruits is more efficient than the conventional fruit market with respect to price levels, menu costs, price dispersion and price sensitivity. We also seek to examine the local online fruit market to ascertain the potential and viability of selling fruits online in Singapore. Using a data set of over 3,793 price observations collected over a period of 3 months, we compare pricing behavior at 7 Internet and conventional fruit retail outlets. Our analysis indicates that local online fruit sellers charge higher prices than conventional fruit sellers and menu costs on the Internet are not lower than in the conventional fruit market. However, we find that …
Advice available on the Internet for people with coeliac disease: an evaluation of the quality of websites.

BACKGROUND The Internet may be a useful resource for people with coeliac disease as a great deal of health-related information is published online. However, not all of it is accurate. It has been suggested that accurate information is most likely found on transparent sites and kitemarks are awarded on this basis. This paper examines whether the Internet is a useful resource for people with coeliac disease and whether transparency criteria can be used in identifying accurate sites. METHOD An evaluation tool was developed using selected transparency criteria and clinical guidelines for accuracy. A total of 63 websites were evaluated. RESULTS In the study, 66% of the websites scored less than 50% for accuracy. This was primarily because of incomplete information but 15.9% of sites contained inaccuracies. Over 50% of sites scored less than 50% for transparency. No correlation was found between sites that scored highly for accuracy and those that scored highly for transparency. CONCLUSION There are useful information available for people with coeliac disease but transparency criteria alone cannot be used to identify accurate sites.