Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel series of 111In-labeled bombesin analogs as potential radiopharmaceuticals for specific targeting of gastrin-releasing peptide receptors expressed on human prostate cancer cells.

UNLABELLED Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) receptors have been shown to be expressed with high densities on several types of cancer cells including prostate, breast, small cell lung, and pancreas cancers. Bombesin (BBN) has been known to bind to GRP receptors with high affinity and specificity. The aim of these studies was to develop new (111)In-labeled BBN analogs having high tumor uptake and optimal pharmacokinetics for specific targeting of human prostate cancers. METHODS A novel series of dodecanetetraacetic acid (DOTA)-X-BBN[7-14]NH(2) (X = 0, beta-Ala, 5-Ava, 8-Aoc, or 11-Aun) conjugates and their In(III)/(111)In complexes exhibiting high GRP-receptor-binding affinities were synthesized and characterized. RESULTS In vitro competitive binding assays, using PC-3 androgen-independent human prostate cancer cells, demonstrated values of <2.5 nmol/L for inhibitory concentration of 50% for analogs with beta-Ala, 5-Ava, and 8-Aoc spacers. In vivo biodistribution studies of the (111)In-DOTA-X-BBN[7-14]NH(2) conjugates performed on CF-1 mice at 1 h after injection have revealed that the uptake of radioactivity in the pancreas, a GRP-receptor-expressing tissue, increased as a function of hydrocarbon spacer length (i.e., from 0.20 +/- 0.04 percentage injected dose [%ID] per gram for the analog with no spacer to a maximum of 26.97 +/- 3.97 %ID/g for the analog with 8-Aoc spacer). The radioactivity was cleared efficiently from the blood pool by excretion mainly through the renal/urinary pathway (e.g., 71.6 +/- 1.8 %ID at 1 h after injection for 8-Aoc spacer analog). In vivo pharmacokinetic studies of the (111)In-DOTA-8-Aoc-BBN[7-14]NH(2) conjugate conducted on PC-3 human prostate cancer-derived xenografts in SCID mice showed a specific uptake of radioactivity in tumor, with 3.63 +/- 1.11 %ID/g observed at 1 h after injection. High tumor-to-blood and tumor-to-muscle ratios of approximately 6:1 and 45:1, respectively, were achieved at 1 h after injection. Relative to the radioactivity observed in the tumor at 1 h after injection, 43%, 19%, and 9% of the radioactivity was retained at, respectively, 24, 48, and 72 h after injection. CONCLUSION These studies showed that radiometallated DOTA-X-BBN[7-14]NH(2) constructs with hydrocarbon spacers ranging from 5 to 8 carbon atoms are feasible candidates for further development as diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for patients with GRP-positive cancers.
The tree of life and the rock of ages: are we getting better at estimating phylogeny?

In a recent paper,(1) palaeontologist Mike Benton claimed that our ability to reconstruct accurately the tree of Life may not have improved significantly over the last 100 years. This implies that the cladistic and molecular revolutions may have promulgated as much bad "black box" science as rigorous investigation. Benton's assessment was based on the extent to which cladograms (typically constructed with reference only to distributions of character states) convey the same narrative as the geochronological ages of fossil taxa (an independent data set). Fossil record quality varies greatly between major clades, and the palaeontological dating "yardstick" may be more appropriate for some groups than others.
Environmental attitudes and how they affect purchase intentions of environmentally friendly automobiles : An emperical study on Chinese students at Jönköping University

Consumers today are becoming more aware of how their behavior and use of resources affect the environment. It is becoming increasingly important for companies to understand consumer’s attitudes in order to predict their behavior. Extensive research has been conducted on the attitude-behavioral relationship in various fields of study. However, no research has been made on the attitude towards environmentally friendly automobiles and how it affects purchase intentions. Our research has been made in collaboration with Volvo Car Corporation, which in 2010 was acquired by Geely Automobile. The acquisition meant that an opportunity presented itself on the Chinese market, which today is the largest automobile market in the world. The thesis will focus on young Chinese consumer’s attitude toward the environment and how this may affect their purchase intentions towards environmentally friendly automobiles. The basis for our reasoning is that the factors environmental values, environmental knowledge and responsibility feelings make up an individual’s environmental attitude. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how environmental values, environmental knowledge and responsibility feelings affect purchase intentions towards environmentally friendly automobiles among young Chinese consumers. We have used a quantitative approach in our collection of empirical data. With the help of a web-based self-completions survey we managed to send out the questionnaire to all Chinese students studying at Jonkoping University and received a high response rate of 65%. We based the design of the survey on a model from Kaiser, Ranney, Hartig and Bowler (1999). The major findings from our research conclude that the used model does not substantially explain purchase intentions of environmentally friendly automobiles. Our research suggests that the factors environmental knowledge and responsibility feelings are not significant when predicting intentions to purchase environmentally friendly automobiles. However, the factor environmental values proved to be strongly correlated when predicting intentions to purchase environmentally friendly automobiles.
Transfer of electronic commerce trust between brick-and-mortar and online business environments

Through experimentation, we establish a causal relationship between trust and the expansion of a retailer from online to brick-and-mortar and vice versa. Trust is multidimensional and contingent on the distribution path first chosen. Vendor trustworthiness (knowledge-based) and technological trustworthiness (institution-based) have different effects depending on the initial and new distribution channel. Expanding from brick-and-mortar to online negatively affects technology-based trust, while transfers from an online to a physical location maintain the same level of technology-based trust. Vendor-based trust is positively affected by transfer from online to the brick-and-mortar location, and is not significantly unaffected by transfers from brick and-mortar to online locations. The perceived “permanence” of a physical location influences consumer beliefs about the location’s trustworthiness.
Asset Valuation as a Key Element of Pavement Management

Transportation agencies are changing the way they do their public accounts and are moving toward a corporate type business strategy. Among the associated requirements is valuation of the assets under their jurisdiction. This is particularly important for pavements since they generally represent the item of largest asset value. Accordingly, it is essential for asset valuation to be a key element of asset management and its component system of pavement management. Carrying out asset valuation requires the following: (a) a consistent management framework, (b) adoption of an accounting basis and methodology for actually valuing assets, (c) performance indicators and depreciation functions or performance models for calculating future asset values, and (d) public and executive information systems for reporting pavement network condition and asset value. This paper first provides the framework for asset valuation and then discusses the alternative accounting bases and methodologies. Both financial accounting and management accounting, and correspondingly a written down replacement cost methodology, are described, along with their pros and cons. Other methods, including market value, equivalent present worth in place and productivity realized value are also briefly described. This paper is based largely on an asset valuation and performance indicators project carried out for the Transportation Association of Canada.
Retaining customers through Islamic relationship marketing practice: findings from Malaysian takaful industry

In recent times, the ability to maintain good and quality relationships with customers has become a competitive advantage for a company. In this context, a few marketing scholars have suggested that retaining customers is much more profitable than acquiring new ones. Parallel with the objective of Relationship Marketing (RM) which is to minimize the lost of profitable customers by ensuring future customer retention, this research is conducted to introduce a new concept of Islamic Relationship Marketing (IRM) and investigate its influence towards future customer retention. By selecting 755 customers of Malaysian Takaful industry and utilising stuctural equation modelling as statistical method to achieve the research objective, it is found that customers in this industry intend to remain with the same Takaful operator and agent for long term period given that they practice the Islamic ethical behaviour and build strong relational bonds (social, structural, and financial bonds) with the customers. Besides that, the application of social exchange theory in the research framework have been proven in this research whereby the practice of Islamic relationship marketing in the Takaful industry would give positive affect towards future customer retention. Overall, the results of this research would urge Takaful operators and agents to be more concerned with the marketing approach that they utilise which basically must parallel with the maqasid Shari’ah as to ensure future customer retention. These factors are also important in helping Takaful to remain competitive in the market for the long term. Key words: Customer Retention, Islamic Relationship Marketing, Takaful industry, Takaful Customer, Structural Equation Modeling
Non‐radioactive nucleic acid probes for the diagnosis of virus infections

Nucleic acid hybridization is being increasingly used in viral diagnosis. Most of the assays described so far for this purpose require the use of radioactive probes. Their replacement by Non‐radioactive assays has many advantages and makes the technique feasible in routine diagnostic work. Non‐radioactive assays have had limited use but their diagnostic value has been demonstrated for a number of virus infections. They have the main advantages of employing stable probes, of avoiding safety hazards and of being easy and rapid to perform with limited laboratory facilities. Their main disadvantage compared to radioactive assays is in having relatively low sensitivity. Improvements in probe construction, in labelling and detecting methods, in sample treatment and in hybridization conditions may well increase their usefulness.
Sampled-data model following control for discrete-valued input systems via improved matrix uncertainty approach

This paper considers a sampled-data model following control for continuous-time discrete-valued input systems. A synthesis condition is recast as a set of matrix inequalities via the matrix uncertainty approach, while the quantized accuracy and the switching speed of discretizing the continuous-valued signal are considered simultaneously. To reduce the conservativeness of the synthesis condition, the improved approach dividing the region of the switching intervals is also proposed.
Quality of life in long-term survivors of early stage endometrial cancer.

INTRODUCTION Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynaecological malignancy in developed countries. Effective treatment of the early stage of the disease is achieved by surgery alone. An increasing number of patients with EC become long-term survivors; therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the quality-of-life (QOL) of EC survivors. MATERIALS AND METHOD A total of 328 survivors who had completed cancer treatment more than 3 years ago, and had previously completed questionnaires concerning QOL - European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and depression - Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Patients were grouped into those with surgery alone or surgery with adjuvant radiotherapy. Responses were compared with 284 healthy women who were seen for standard gynaecologic screening examinations. RESULTS According to the presented results, the QOL of women with EC after surgical treatment was equal to that of healthy women in the control group. Treatment with adjuvant radiotherapy influenced the QOL, with the exception of emotional functioning (p=0.028). No statistically significant differences were found in scores on the BDI-II between groups for the cognitive-affective factor, the somatic factor, or the total sum score. CONCLUSIONS The quality of life in EC survivors approximates that of healthy controls after 3 years post-surgical treatment. Patients treated for early stage EC should be informed about the anticipated good prognosis and the low risk of psychosocial and physical long-term effects. Cancer survivors who are treated by surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy may be especially at risk for emotional functioning problems.
Draft Genome Sequence of Cellulosilyticum sp. I15G10I2, a Novel Bacterium Isolated from a Coal Seam Gas Water Treatment Pond

ABSTRACT Cellulosilyticum sp. strain I15G10I2 was isolated from a coal seam gas water treatment pond at the Spring Gully water treatment facility, Roma, Queensland, Australia. Analysis of the genome of 4,489,861 bp and G+C content of 35.23% revealed that strain I15G10I2 shared limited similarity to members of the genus Cellulosilyticum, family Lachnospiraceae.
Consumers' willingness to pay for organic food: Factors that affect it and variation per organic product type

Purpose – Seeks to provide answers to two questions: is willingness to pay (WTP) for organic products influenced by the same set of factors that affect purchasing of conventional foods? Does WTP for organic products vary according to different food categories? Design/methodology/approach – Purchasers were approached during their food shopping in retail chains in Athens in July 2003. Sample inclusion is based on real awareness of the term “organic”. The questionnaire included in its first part a number of criteria that influence consumers when buying food. In the second part respondents were asked to indicate if any food products they buy were organic and to state how much more they were willing to pay. Information from the first part was analysed with factor analysis. With the help of t‐value analysis, it was examined whether there is a statistically significant difference per product category between consumers who are willing to pay and consumers who are unwilling to pay in terms of the factors identified.
Trypanosoma brucei vacuolar protein sorting 41 (VPS41) is required for intracellular iron utilization and maintenance of normal cellular morphology

SUMMARY Procyclic forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei remain and propagate in the midgut of tsetse fly where iron is rich. Additional iron is also required for their growth in in vitro culture. However, little is known about the genes involved in iron metabolism and the mechanism of iron utilization in procyclic-form cells. Therefore, we surveyed the genes involved in iron metabolism in the T. b. brucei genome sequence database. We found a potential homologue of vacuole protein sorting 41 (VPS41), a gene that is required for high-affinity iron transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and cloned the full-length gene (TbVPS41). Complementation analysis of TbVPS41 in ΔScvps41 yeast cells showed that TbVPS41 could partially suppress the inability of ΔScvps41 yeast cells to grow on low-iron medium, but it could not suppress the fragmented vacuole phenotype. Further RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated gene knock-down in procyclic-form cells resulted in a significant reduction of growth in low-iron medium; however, no change in growth was observed in normal culture medium. Transmission electron microscopy showed that RNAi caused T. b. brucei cells to have larger numbers of small intracellular vesicles, similar to the fragmented vacuoles observed in ΔScvps41 yeast cells. The present study demonstrates that TbVPS41 plays an important role in the intracellular iron utilization system as well as in the maintenance of normal cellular morphology.
Cleavage Specificity of the UL48 Deubiquitinating Protease Activity of Human Cytomegalovirus and the Growth of an Active-Site Mutant Virus in Cultured Cells

ABSTRACT The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) open reading frame UL48 encodes a 253-kDa tegument protein that is closely associated with the capsid and was recently shown to have ubiquitin-specific protease activity (J. Wang, A. N. Loveland, L. M. Kattenhorn, H. L. Ploegh, and W. Gibson, J. Virol. 80:6003-6012, 2006). Here, we examined the cleavage specificity of this deubiquitinase (DUB) and replication characteristics of an active-site mutant virus. The purified catalytic domain of the UL48 DUB (1 to 359 amino acids), corresponding to the herpes simplex virus UL36USP DUB (L. M. Kattenhorn, G. A. Korbel, B. M. Kessler, E. Spooner, and H. L. Ploegh, Mol. Cell 19:547-557, 2005), efficiently released ubiquitin but not ubiquitin-like modifications from a hemagglutinin peptide substrate. Mutating the active-site residues Cys24 or His162 (C24S and H162A, respectively) abolished this activity. The HCMV UL48 and HSV UL36USP DUBs cleaved both Lys48- and Lys63-linked ubiquitin dimers and oligomers, showing more activity toward Lys63 linkages. The DUB activity of the full-length UL48 protein immunoprecipitated from virus-infected cells also showed a better cleavage of Lys63-linked ubiquitinated substrates. An HCMV (Towne) mutant virus in which the UL48 DUB activity was destroyed [UL48(C24S)] produced 10-fold less progeny virus and reduced amounts of viral proteins compared to wild-type virus at a low multiplicity of infection. The mutant virus also produced perceptibly less overall deubiquitination than the wild-type virus. Our findings demonstrate that the HCMV UL48 DUB contains both a ubiquitin-specific carboxy-terminal hydrolase activity and an isopeptidase activity that favors ubiquitin Lys63 linkages and that these activities can influence virus replication in cultured cells.
Title Familial Parkinson disease mutations influence α-Synuclein assembly

*KURAに登録されているコンテンツの利用については,著作権法に規定されている私的使用や引用などの範囲内で行ってください。 *著作権法に規定されている私的使用や引用などの範囲を超える利用を行う場合には,著作権者の許諾を得てください。 ただし,著作権者 から著作権等管理事業者(学術著作権協会,日本著作出版権管理システムなど)に権利委託されているコンテンツの利用手続については ,各著作権等管理事業者に確認してください。 Title Familial Parkinson disease mutations influence α-Synuclein assembly Author(s) Ono, Kenjiro; Ikeda, Tokuhei; Takasaki, Jun-ichi; Yamada, Masahito Citation Neurobiology of Disease, 43(3): 715-724 Issue Date 2011-09 Type Journal Article Text version author URL http://hdl.handle. net/2297/29188 Right
Downside Risk, Capital Flexibility and Operating Leases

In this paper, I investigate whether firms’ risk-hedging incentives affect their choices between owned and rented capital (operating leases). In recessions, firms facing negative demand shocks are loaded with unproductive capital. Absent of any trading frictions, firms can trade their assets to adjust their capacity in response to these shocks. However, due to costly reversibility of capital, firms might lack the flexibility to cut capital and deviate from their optimal investment. I find that the proportion of operating leased assets is positively correlated with downside risk. Furthermore, the relationship between operating leases and downside risk strengthens with firms’ inflexibility and the overall leverage in the industry. Finally, I show that contrary to conventional wisdom, by using operating leases, firms are able to reduce their risk exposure and expected return. My findings suggest that firms might be unwilling to retain the economic ownership of assets when, after an aggregate demand shock, the likelihood of being loaded with unproductive capital is high. As such, operating lease contracts might serve as risk-hedging mechanisms through which lessees transfer some of their operating risk to the lessor. These results suggest that, to some extent, companies use (and equity investors value) operating leases consistently with the economic interpretation underlying the “ownership approach” towards lease classification.
Quantifying Burden of Disease to Measure Population Health in Korea

Quantitative assessments of the health status of a population are essential to make decisions and set priorities in the field of public health. Changing epidemiologic patterns increase the demand for comprehensive estimates of population health across the full health spectrum, including non-communicable diseases and injuries. Burden of disease (BoD) analysis has helped meet this need. With the success of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, the BoD technique has become predominantly associated with the GBD approach and its methodology using disability-adjusted life year (DALY) has been rapidly disseminated and generally accepted over the last several years. The first Korean BoD study using the DALY metric was presented in 2002. Various BoD studies have since been conducted, but the DALY concept has remained primarily academic and has not yet been actively utilized in the health policy arena. Here, we review the DALY metric and population-based Korean BoD studies using national health data, with the intent of increasing the understanding of their value and their potential role in strengthening future assessments of the Korean population’s health status.
Essays on Changes in Corporate Governance: Ownership Structure and Board Structure

Changes in two important monitoring mechanisms - ownership structure and board structure around restructuring events are examined. To examine ownership structure I use a sample of corporate spin-offs. To examine board structure I use a sample of acquirers in the banking industry. The results of the dissertation show that public corporations self-adjust their governance around events that require such adjustment. This dissertation significantly extends the literature that suggests that monitoring mechanisms arise endogenously.
Mathematical analysis to control power transfer in resonant power converters

This paper aims to present a mathematical analysis method for resonant power converter, in order to control the transfer of power which is transmitted to the load. Starting from the idea that most switching power converters are using the pulse width modulation (PWM) technique to control the switching elements, the paper presents an analysis of the control method that can be applied on such converters and a mathematical analysis of the resonant load that can be found at the output of the circuit. On the other hand, the paper proposes an interactive interface to design and simulate a resonant power converter. The tool can be used by experienced engineers in power converters domain, to properly configure such a circuit, but also by those who are starting to learn and understand how these circuits are working. The tool allows seeing, not just the final values for the components that make the circuit, but also the waveforms form the main components. By doing so, the converter's area of operation can be observed, allowing to adjust the design in order to improve the design.