Past, present and future of mobile payments research: A literature review

The mobile payment services markets are currently under transition with a history of numerous tried and failed solutions, and a future of promising but yet uncertain possibilities with potential new technology innovations. At this point of the development, we take a look at the current state of the mobile payment services market from a literature review perspective. We review prior literature on mobile payments, analyze the various factors that impact mobile payment services markets, and suggest directions for future research in this still emerging field. To facilitate the analysis of literature, we propose a framework of four contingency and five competitive force factors, and organize the mobile payment research under the proposed framework. Consumer perspective of mobile payments as well as technical security and trust are best covered by contemporary research. The impacts of social and cultural factors on mobile payments, as well as comparisons between mobile and traditional payment services are entirely uninvestigated issues. Most of the factors outlined by the framework have been addressed by exploratory and early phase studies. </p

Cdc42 protein acts upstream of IQGAP1 and regulates cytokinesis in mouse oocytes and embryos

AbstractCdc42 and Rac1 Rho family GTPases, and their interacting protein IQGAP1 are the key regulators of cell polarity. We examined the role of Cdc42 and IQGAP1 in establishing the polarity of mouse oocyte and regulation of meiotic and mitotic divisions. We showed that Cdc42 was localized on the microtubules of meiotic and mitotic spindle and in the cortex of mouse oocytes and cleaving embryos. IQGAP1 was present in the cytoplasm and cortex of growing and fully-grown oocytes. During maturation it disappeared from the cortex and during meiotic and mitotic cytokinesis it concentrated in the contractile ring. Toxin B inhibition of the binding activity of Cdc42 changed the localization of IQGAP1, inhibited emission of the first polar body, and caused disappearance of the cortical actin without affecting the migration of meiotic spindle. This indicates, that in maturing oocytes accumulation of cortical actin is not indispensable for spindle migration. In zygotes treated with toxin B actin cytoskeleton was rearranged and the first and/or subsequent cytokinesis were inhibited. Our results indicate that Cdc42 acts upstream of IQGAP1 and is involved in regulation of cytokinesis in mouse oocytes and cleaving embryos, rather than in establishing the polarity of the oocyte

Slowing Down Ageing: The Role of Nutrients and Microbiota in Modulation of the Epigenome

The human population is getting ageing. Both ageing and age-related diseases are correlated with an increased number of senescent cells in the organism. Senescent cells do not divide but are metabolically active and influence their environment by secreting many proteins due to a phenomenon known as senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Senescent cells differ from young cells by several features. They possess more damaged DNA, more impaired mitochondria and an increased level of free radicals that cause the oxidation of macromolecules. However, not only biochemical and structural changes are related to senescence. Senescent cells have an altered chromatin structure, and in consequence, altered gene expression. With age, the level of heterochromatin decreases, and less condensed chromatin is more prone to DNA damage. On the one hand, some gene promoters are easily available for the transcriptional machinery; on the other hand, some genes are more protected (locally increased level of heterochromatin). The structure of chromatin is precisely regulated by the epigenetic modification of DNA and posttranslational modification of histones. The methylation of DNA inhibits transcription, histone methylation mostly leads to a more condensed chromatin structure (with some exceptions) and acetylation plays an opposing role. The modification of both DNA and histones is regulated by factors present in the diet. This means that compounds contained in daily food can alter gene expression and protect cells from senescence, and therefore protect the organism from ageing. An opinion prevailed for some time that compounds from the diet do not act through direct regulation of the processes in the organism but through modification of the physiology of the microbiome. In this review we try to explain the role of some food compounds, which by acting on the epigenetic level might protect the organism from age-related diseases and slow down ageing. We also try to shed some light on the role of microbiome in this process

Ecole des HEC, University of Lausanne

The mobile payment market is currently under transition with a history of numerous tried and failed solutions and a future of promising but yet uncertain possibilities with contactless RFID and other new potential technologies. At this point of the development we take a look at the current state of the mobile payment market, review prior literature on mobile payment services, analyze the different factors that impact the market, and give directions for future research on this still emerging field. To facilitate the analysis, we propose a framework of four contingency and five competitive factors, and organize the contemporary mobile payment research under the proposed framework

Past, present and future of mobile payments research: A literature review

The mobile payment services markets are currently under transition with a history of numerous tried and failed solutions, and a future of promising but yet uncertain possibilities with potential new technology innovations. At this point of the development, we take a look at the current state of the mobile payment services market from a literature review perspective. We review prior literature on mobile payments, analyze the various factors that impact mobile payment services markets, and suggest directions for future research in this still emerging field. To facilitate the analysis of literature, we propose a framework of four contingency and five competitive force factors, and organize the mobile payment research under the proposed framework. Consumer perspective of mobile payments as well as technical security and trust are best covered by contemporary research. The impacts of social and cultural factors on mobile payments, as well as comparisons between mobile and traditional payment services are entirely uninvestigated issues. Most of the factors outlined by the framework have been addressed by exploratory and early phase studies. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Curcumin induces cell death without oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation in quiescent and proliferating human CD8+ cells

Cytotoxic CD8+ cells play an important role in determining host response to tumor, thus chemotherapy is potentially dangerous as it may lead to T cells depletion. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the propensity of quiescent and proliferating human CD8+ cells to undergo cell death upon treatment with curcumin, a natural dye in Phase I of clinical trials as a prospective chemopreventive agent. Methods: We treated human quiescent or proliferating CD8+ cells with 50 µM curcumin or irradiated them with UVC. Cell death symptoms such as decreased cell viability, chromatin condensation, activation of caspase-3 and specific DFF40/CAD endonuclease and oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation were analyzed using MTT test, microscopic observation, Western blotting and flow cytometry. Results: Curcumin decreased cell viability, activated caspase-3 and decreased the level of DFF45/ICAD, the inhibitor of the DFF40/CAD endonuclease. However, this did not lead to oligonucleosomal DNA degradation. In contrast, UVC-irradiated proliferating, but not quiescent CD8+ cells revealed molecular and morphological changes characteristic for apoptosis, including oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation. Curcumin can induce cell death in normal human lymphocytes both quiescent and proliferating, without oligonucleosomal DNA degradation which is considered as a main hallmark of apoptotic cell death. Taking into account the role of CD8+ cells in tumor response, their depletion during chemotherapy could be particularly undesirable