Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PP2A Regulates the Pro-apoptotic Activity of FOXO1*

FOXO1, a member of the evolutionarily conserved forkhead family of transcription factors, regulates expression of a number of genes that play critical roles in cell cycle and apoptosis. A pivotal regulatory mechanism of FOXO is reversible phosphorylation, catalyzed by kinases and phosphatases. Phosphorylation of FOXO1 is associated with 14-3-3 binding and cytosolic localization, whereas dephosphorylated FOXO1 translocates to the nucleus and is transcriptionally active. Experiments were performed to identify the serine/threonine phosphatase that dephosphorylates FOXO1. PP2A inhibitors, okadaic acid and fostriecin, increased FOXO1 phosphorylation in vitro and in cells. Microcystin-agarose pull-downs suggested that a phosphatase binds to FOXO1, and PP2A catalytic subunit was identified in endogenous FOXO1 immunocomplexes, indicating that PP2A is a FOXO1 phosphatase. Purified PP2A interacted directly with FOXO1 and dephosphorylated FOXO1 in vitro. Silencing of PP2A protected FOXO1 from dephosphorylation and delayed FOXO1 nuclear translocation, confirming the physiologic role of PP2A in the regulation of FOXO1 function. Furthermore, inhibition of PP2A phosphatases rescued FOXO1-mediated cell death by regulating the level of the pro-apoptotic protein BIM. We conclude that PP2A is a physiologic phosphatase of FOXO1.
The Influence of Cultural Value in Malaysian Firms: A Research Note

Malaysian economy is currently experiencing a rapid growth. The globalization process of Malaysian economy brings in more expatriate and expertise not only from Asia but also from Western. The integration of the thinking with multi culture may change the power distance influence between superiors and subordinates. However no evidence so far has been empirically presented that may support this argument. Thus this study aims to discuss this issue whether globalization affect the change of the power distance index, which consequently influence budgeting behavior of Malaysian managers.
Counting With Colours ? Effect of Colors on the Numerical Abilities of Crows ( Corvus splendens ) and Common

We conducted several aviary experiments to investigate the influence of colors in quantity judgments of two species of birds; House crow (Corvus splendens) and Common myna (Acridotheres tristis). Different quantity (in seven different food proportions) of mealworms were presented nonsequentially to all birds using artificially red colored mealworms, for experiment 1, and using artificially green colored mealworms, for experiment 2. Both red and green colored mealworms have no significant effect on house crow’s quantity judgments (red: ANOVA: F6‚30 = 1.748, p = 0.144; and green: ANOVA: F6‚30 = 1.085, p = 0.394). Common myna, however, showed a strong influence of red color in their quantity judgment (ANOVA: F6‚30 = 2.922, p = 0.023) as they succeeded in choosing the largest amount of food between two cups, but not when offered food using green colored mealworms (ANOVA: F6‚30 = 1.183, p = 0.342). In the next experiment, we hypothesized that both house crow and common myna will prefer red color food items over green color food items, when factors such as the amount of food is equal. We chose to test red and green color because both colors play an important role in most avian food selections. Results showed that there were no significant differences in the selection of red or green colored mealworms for both house crows (ANOVA: F6‚30 = 2.310, p = 0.06) and common myna (ANOVA: F6‚30 = 0.823, p = 0.561).
Emergent Internet Technology Applications for Relationship Marketing

Abstract In this paper we bring together the concepts of Relationship Marketing (RM) in the marketing literature and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Information Systems (IS) literature to identify and assess emergent Internet-based Information Technologies (IT) that add value for consumers. We focus on the customer's perspective by identifying the key benefits consumers seek when they enter into IT-mediated interactions with sellers. We review the IS-CRM literature and identify 8 critical IT categories that have the potential for changing how buyers and sellers establish and maintain relationships in the Internet era. Subsequently, we introduce a conceptual model, which considers the nature of the consumer's involvement with sellers through emergent Internet-based technologies in juxtaposition to potential technology-based benefits to consumers. We then discuss the implications of this proposed direction. Finally, we discuss a future research agenda, which considers the use of IT in relationship management.
Optionality in NFL Player Contracts

Most National Football League (“NFL”) contracts are not fully guaranteed, and can be viewed as a series of team options. We use finance theory to value the options implicitly embedded in these contracts. For any contract, we calculate an “option-adjusted value” that allows us to compare contracts with different structures. We show that front-loaded contracts that pay large signing bonuses have higher “option adjusted values” than back-loaded contracts that pay no signing bonuses. We also estimate the volatility of player value, which is an important input in valuing the options.
Financial Flexibility, Financing Option and Catering Strategy of Chinese Listed Firms

During the years 2006 and 2008, semi-mandatory regulations of paying dividends published by the SEC set minimum payout levels for those firms who would like to use equity financing. This institutional background makes the payout behavior of Chinese listed firms show different patterns from theoretical predictions. It also provides natural experiment setting to test the direct relationship between payout choices and financing behavior. This paper takes the regulations as the institutional background, treats the financing qualifications as the option for firms to choose, and then discusses the value of the options from the perspective of financial flexibility, further analyzes theoretically the catering strategy, and empirically tests it. Our analysis suggests that financial flexibility is the key factor in understanding dividend behavior of Chinese listed firms. In addition, when firms choose the payout behavior for their own benefits from the perspective of financial flexibility there will be market efficiency. The SEC should relax their role in directing firms’ behavior, in order to fasten the marketization process of Chinese capital market.
Control of Pre-MRNA Processing by Extracellular Signals : Emerging Molecular Mechanisms

Rosette Daoud, Peter Stoilov, Oliver Stoss, Mark Hübener, Maria da Penha Berzaghi, Annette M. Hartmann, Manuela Olbrich, and Stefan Stamm* Max-Planck-Institute of Neurobiology, Am Klopferspitz 18a, 82152 Planegg __________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Correspondence: Stefan Stamm, -Institute of Biochemistry, Iahastrape 17, Erlaujan 91054, Germany; Tel: ( +49 9131 852 4622) Fax: (+49 9131 852 2484); E-mail: stefan@stamms-lab.net
The role of accounting in management control systems of firms having subsidiaries in the former Soviet Union

This thesis investigates how Finnish firms, as examples of Western firms, control and steer the operations of their subsidiaries in Russia and the Baltic countries and the role of accounting in the management control systems. The thesis consists of three essays, which focus on different aspects of the role of accounting in the management control systems. Even though the issues discussed in this thesis are probably not unique to the area of the former Soviet Union, the characteristics of business in this context highlight specific management control questions relating to organising and using power within management control systems. The first essay investigates the changing role of accounting in a knowledge transfer process between a head office and subsidiaries to show the importance of informal communication and cooperation in the development of accounting. Only after some time of intense informal cooperation and the development of social capital in the accounting-mediated knowledge transfer can more formal accounting controls can be relied on. The second essay illustrates how the central social position of an individual can be reproduced and how it affects accounting and formal reporting in the control system. The third essay investigates the role and power of an intermediate subsidiary in using accounting for controlling and steering the operations of its subsidiaries, when the intermediate acts between the subsidiaries and its own Western parent company. The intermediate can invoke the tensions between divergent social systems and thus use accounting signifiers according to its own needs, legitimating its existence despite the inflexibility the multilevel organizational structure may cause. Therefore, the whole thesis suggests that accounting plays an important role in integrating firms in very different contexts, but this can only happen with the help of more informal supportive structures and knowledgeable agents who utilise accounting. This is how accounting develops business thinking so that the practices adapted to the local demanding circumstances could also give something back to the parent companies.
Studies of adoptive chemoimmunotherapy of a Friend virus-induced lymphoma.

Summary Adult C57BL/6 mice inoculated with syngeneic Friend virus-induced lymphoma cells (FBL-3) on Day 0 were treated on Day 5 with sublethal cyclophosphamide (CY), 180 mg/kg, and C57BL/6 spleen cells. Untreated mice died on Day 15 (median). Spleen cells alone had no effect. When treated with CY alone, CY plus normal spleen cells, or CY plus spleen cells immunized to unrelated antigens, mice had prolonged survival to 26 days (median), and 1 of 60 mice survived >100 days. In contrast, treatment with CY plus spleen cells from donors preimmunized against FBL-3 cells was markedly effective, with 79 of 88 mice surviving tumor free >100 days. Freeze-thawing of the immune cells abolished their efficacy. The results showed that a disseminated antigenic lymphoma can be eradicated by noncurative, nonlethal chemotherapy and syngeneic spleen cells, but only if the latter were viable and immune to tumor-associated antigens.
Does a program of pilates improve chronic non-specific low back pain?

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a program of modifi ed Pilates for active individuals with chronic non-specifi c low back pain. Design: A single blind randomized controlled trial. Participants: 49 individuals with chronic low back pain were randomly allocated to control (n = 24) or Pilates group (n = 25). Thirty-four individuals completed the study (14 and 20 individuals for control and Pilates group, respectively). Intervention: The Pilates group undertook a six week program of Pilates. Both groups continued with normal activity. Main Outcome Measures: An assessor blinded to group allocation conducted functional and questionnaire-based assessments pre- and post- intervention. Results: Improvements were seen in the Pilates group post- intervention period with increases (P < 0.05) in general health, sports functioning, fl exibility, proprioception, and a decrease in pain. The control group showed no signifi cant differences in the same measures post- intervention. Conclusions: These data suggest that Pilates used as a specifi c core stability exercise incorporating functional movements can improve non-specifi c chronic low back pain in an active population compared to no intervention. Additionally, Pilates can improve general health, pain level, sports functioning, fl exibility, and proprioception in individuals with chronic low back pain. Key Words: back pain, exercise therapy, rehabilitation. Back pain is one of the most widely experienced health-related problems in the western world. In a recent survey, for the United Kingdom, 40% of 5500 people interviewed had experienced back pain within a single year, with pain existing throughout the year in 15% of these cases. 1 In 1998, the direct health care costs of back pain within the United Kingdom, including visits to the general practitioners and referral to therapists, was estimated to be £1632 million. 2 Even greater, though, is the expense to the economy caused by informal care and lost working days, calculated to be approximately 5.7 million days during 2001. 3 There is a vital need, therefore, for effective but also affordable treatments for back pain and strategies to help prevent it.
The influence of country image structure on consumer evaluations of foreign products

Purpose – This study was designed to extend knowledge of cognitive processing of country of origin cues by refining the concept of country image and investigating its role in product evaluations.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from residents of a large North American metropolitan. A total of 436 usable questionnaires were returned. Data analysis was conducted using the EQS structural equation modeling softwareFindings – We found that country image is a three‐dimensional concept consisting of cognitive, affective, and conative components. We modeled the relationships among country image, product beliefs, and product evaluations, and found that country image and product beliefs affect product evaluations simultaneously regardless of consumers' level of familiarity with a country's products. Findings also indicated that the structure of country image influences product evaluations both directly and indirectly through product beliefs. Consistent with affect transfer theory, the results showe.
Internet forums as influential sources of consumer information

We report the results of an experiment in which consumers were instructed to gather online information about one of five specific product topics by accessing either online discussions (i.e., Internet forums or bulletin boards) or marketer-generated online information (i.e., corporate webpages). At the end of a 12-week period, the consumers who gathered information from online discussions reported greater interest in the product topic than did those consumers who acquired information from the marketer-generated sources. We discuss the study's implications for better understanding word-of-mouth communication and for developing more successful consumer websites.
A Web-based Virtual Stock Exchange System for Promoting Learning Efficacy of Financial Management

Because of lacking stock knowledge and information, most investors mainly focus on unconfirmed information provided by media, where experts recommend possible profitable stocks. A web-based virtual stock exchange (VSE) system was designed to simulate the stock exchange, a ccompanied with tools for financial analyses. It prevents investors from being affected by price fluctuations and nurtures them into becoming rational investors. The VSE system can be easily manipulated through Internet by using PCs or smart phones. With the virtual environment, users can learn skills of stock trading by analyzing financial ratios of individual stocks. A total of 103 students who major in management, and who are taking the course “Financial Management” were recruited. Each was given a certain budget at the beginning of semester. The learning outcome and operating performance were surveyed with questionnaires based on the modified technical acceptance model. The results show that perceived usefulness (4.39±0.53) and behavior intention (4.31±0.50) are significantly higher than the neutral value 3 (p<0.001, one-sample t-test), indicating that the proposed VSE system is efficient in promoting learning efficiency. Additionally, the users are willing to adopt and recommend it to other users. In conclusion, the proposed VSE system demonstrates great learning efficacy of investment knowledge leading to profit from the stock market.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

This paper addresses the issue of how tasks within an organizational context should be represented from the perspective of a single decision maker. Based on a previous paper (Hackathorn, 1981), this paper presents a formal ism for task representation based on recent work in the Knowledge Representation area. The formalism is called Simple Associative Network (SAN). The implications of this formalism result in the discussion of several issues, such as: (a) the nature of task occurrence, (b) handling multiple task types of a task occurrence, (c) means and goals as a specialization of task types, and (d) control structures among task types.
MurJ is the flippase of lipid-linked precursors for peptidoglycan biogenesis

Building the cell wall is flipping difficult The cell wall of bacteria is constructed from a polysaccharide called peptidoglycan (PG). It forms a matrix that surrounds cells and is essential for the integrity of the cytoplasmic membrane. Many of our most successful antibiotics target PG synthesis. The synthetic pathway involves the assembly of sugar building blocks on a lipid carrier at the inner face of the cytoplasmic membrane. The reactions that produce this so-called lipid II precursor and the enzymes that catalyze them have been known for decades. However, the identity of the flippase enzyme that “flips” lipid II in the membrane to expose the sugar building blocks on the cell surface for polymerization has remained highly controversial. Sham et al. now show that the essential protein MurJ is the long sought-after flippase responsible for the translocation of lipid-linked cell wall precursors across the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane (see the Perspective by Young). The work completes the cell wall biogenesis pathway and defines the function of an attractive target for new antibiotics. Science, this issue p. 220; see also p. 139 The identity of the final essential component of the bacterial peptidoglycan biogenesis pathway is elucidated. [Also see Perspective by Young] Peptidoglycan (PG) is a polysaccharide matrix that protects bacteria from osmotic lysis. Inhibition of its biogenesis is a proven strategy for killing bacteria with antibiotics. The assembly of PG requires disaccharide-pentapeptide building blocks attached to a polyisoprene lipid carrier called lipid II. Although the stages of lipid II synthesis are known, the identity of the essential flippase that translocates it across the cytoplasmic membrane for PG polymerization is unclear. We developed an assay for lipid II flippase activity and used a chemical genetic strategy to rapidly and specifically block flippase function. We combined these approaches to demonstrate that MurJ is the lipid II flippase in Escherichia coli.
Learning Efficient Tensor Representations with Ring Structure Networks

Tensor train (TT) decomposition is a powerful representation for high-order tensors, which has been successfully applied to various machine learning tasks in recent years. However, since the tensor product is not commutative, permutation of data dimensions makes solutions and TT-ranks of TT decomposition inconsistent. To alleviate this problem, we propose a permutation symmetric network structure by employing circular multilinear products over a sequence of low-order core tensors. This network structure can be graphically interpreted as a cyclic interconnection of tensors, and thus we call it tensor ring (TR) representation. We develop several efficient algorithms to learn TR representation with adaptive TR-ranks by employing low-rank approximations. Furthermore, mathematical properties are investigated, which enables us to perform basic operations in a computationally efficiently way by using TR representations. Experimental results on synthetic signals and real-world datasets demonstrate that the proposed TR network is more expressive and consistently informative than existing TT networks.
Axonal Propagation of Simple and Complex Spikes in Cerebellar Purkinje Neurons

In cerebellar Purkinje neurons, the reliability of propagation of high-frequency simple spikes and spikelets of complex spikes is likely to regulate inhibition of Purkinje target neurons. To test the extent to which a one-to-one correspondence exists between somatic and axonal spikes, we made dual somatic and axonal recordings from Purkinje neurons in mouse cerebellar slices. Somatic action potentials were recorded with a whole-cell pipette, and the corresponding axonal signals were recorded extracellularly with a loose-patch pipette. Propagation of spontaneous and evoked simple spikes was highly reliable. At somatic firing rates of ∼200 spikes/sec, <10% of spikes failed to propagate, with failures becoming more frequent only at maximal somatic firing rates (∼260 spikes/sec). Complex spikes were elicited by climbing fiber stimulation, and their somatic waveforms were modulated by tonic current injection, as well as by paired stimulation to depress the underlying EPSCs. Across conditions, the mean number of propagating action potentials remained just above two spikes per climbing fiber stimulation, but the instantaneous frequency of the propagating spikes changed, from ∼375 Hz during somatic hyperpolarizations that silenced spontaneous firing to ∼150 Hz during spontaneous activity. The probability of propagation of individual spikelets could be described quantitatively as a saturating function of spikelet amplitude, rate of rise, or preceding interspike interval. The results suggest that ion channels of Purkinje axons are adapted to produce extremely short refractory periods and that brief bursts of forward-propagating action potentials generated by complex spikes may contribute transiently to inhibition of postsynaptic neurons.
The prokaryotic enhancer binding protein NTRC has an ATPase activity which is phosphorylation and DNA dependent.

The prokaryotic activator protein NTRC binds to enhancer‐like elements and activates transcription in response to nitrogen limitation by catalysing open complex formation by sigma 54 RNA polymerase holoenzyme. Formation of open complexes requires the phosphorylated form of NTRC and the reaction is ATP dependent. We find that NTRC has an ATPase activity which is activated by phosphorylation and is strongly stimulated by the presence of DNA containing specific NTRC binding sites.
C3 Toxin and Poly-DL-Lactide-&egr;-Caprolactone Conduits in the Critically Damaged Peripheral Nervous System: A Combined Therapeutic Approach

IntroductionPeripheral nerve regeneration over longer distances through conduits is limited. In the presented study, critical size nerve gap bridging with a poly-DL-lactide-&egr;-caprolactone (PLC) conduit was combined with application of C3 toxin to facilitate axonal sprouting. Materials and MethodsThe PLC filled with fibrin (n = 10) and fibrin gel loaded with 1-&mgr;g C3-C2I and 2-&mgr;g C2II (n = 10) were compared to autologous nerve grafts (n = 10) in a 15-mm sciatic nerve gap lesion model of the rat. Functional and electrophysiological analyses were performed before histological evaluation. ResultsEvaluation of motor function and nerve conduction velocity at 16 weeks revealed no differences between the groups. All histological parameters and muscle weight were significantly elevated in nerve graft group. No differences were observed in both PLC groups. ConclusionsThe PLCs are permissive for nerve regeneration over a 15-mm defect in rats. Intraluminal application of C3 toxin did not lead to significant enhancement of nerve sprouting.