Non-contractible Factors as Determinants of Electronic Market Adoption

Newly emerging electronic marketplaces have significant implications for the choice of governance mechanisms used by firms. This paper builds on transaction cost and routine based perspectives in analyzing buyersí decision to use IT-enabled market mechanisms such as reverse auctions. The study argues that buyers are less likely to adopt reverse auctions for products with higher degrees of noncontractibility. A significant contribution of this study lies in operationalizing and validating the concept of noncontractibility as an explanatory variable for predicting buyer adoption of electronic marketplaces. We argue that the notion of noncontractibility addresses the mixed predictions in previous research concerning the impact of IT on firm boundaries as evident in the electronic market and move to the middle hypotheses

Improvement in Physical Function and Quality of Life in Older Adults Following 4 Weeks of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation

Older adults often suffer from sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, which negatively impacts physical function and quality of life (QoL). Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is frequently used in physical rehabilitation as a muscle strengthening modality; however, little research exists on QoL outcomes in response to NMES. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine changes in QoL and physical function in older adults after 4 weeks of NMES. METHODS: Ten healthy, older adults participated in the study (67.8 ± 2.1 years-old). Each participant was seated on an isokinetic dynamometer with the knee positioned at 60°, and a 40-min NMES treatment was applied to the quadriceps muscles of each leg 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Stimulation frequency was set at 60 Hz with repeated cycles of 10s on and 15s off. Stimulation intensity was set to achieve 15% of each participant’s maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and was increased every 5 minutes if the torque was below 15% MVC. Each subject was given a pre and post intervention survey assessing indicators of QoL: self-efficacy for physical function (0-100 scale), perceived competence in physical domains (e.g., strength, endurance, coordination, 1-6 scale), physical self-concept (1-6 scale), and intention to be physically active (1-7 scale). Physical function of the lower body was assessed pre and post intervention with a timed up and go test (TUG). Paired sample t-tests were used to test for differences over time (pre, post) for TUG and QoL dimensions (significance set at p \u3c 0.05). Cohen’s d was calculated for effect size. RESULTS: Perceived coordination significantly increased with a medium effect size (5.10 ± .0.16 vs 5.38 ± 0.17, p = 0.03, d = 0.55), pre vs post, respectively. The following QoL dimensions showed a statistically non-significant increase with a small effect size: intention to be physically active (6.08 ± 0.58 vs 6.68 ± 0.22, p = 0.33, d = 0.48), self-efficacy (95.61 ± 2.19 vs 97.37 ± 1.40, p = 0.10, d = 0.31), and endurance (3.57 ± 0.33 vs 3.77 ± 0.19, p = 0.43, d = 0.24). Two dimensions trended toward improvement: physical self-concept (4.57 ± 0.35 vs 4.77 ± 0.30, p = 0.37, d = 0.19) and physical activity (4.08 ± 0.45 vs 4.30 ± 0.31, p = 0.36, d = 0.19. There was a significant decrease in time to complete the TUG (8.77 ± 0.59s vs 7.71 ± 0.43s, p = 0.004, d = 0.63). CONCLUSION: TUG times and coordination showed significant improvement while other QoL dimensions trended toward improvement after 4 weeks of NMES. Enhanced physical function subsequent to NMES treatment may contribute to improved overall QoL by increasing confidence to perform physical activities, and may thereby counter the risk of sarcopenia

The oncogene Gankyrin is expressed in testicular cancer and contributes to cisplatin sensitivity in embryonal carcinoma cells

BACKGROUND: Testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC) develops from pre-malignant germ neoplasia in situ (GCNIS) cells. GCNIS originates from fetal gonocytes (POU5F1+/MAGE-A4-), which fail to differentiate to pre-spermatogonia (POU5F1-/MAGE-A4+) and undergo malignant transformation. Gankyrin is an oncogene which has been shown to prevent POU5F1 degradation and specifically interact with MAGE-A4 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. We aimed to investigate the role of Gankyrin in progression from gonocyte to pre-invasive GCNIS and subsequent invasive TGCC. METHODS: We determined Gankyrin expression in human fetal testicular tissue (gestational weeks 9-20; n = 38), human adult testicular tissue with active spermatogenesis (n = 9), human testicular tissue with germ cell maturation delay (n = 4), testicular tissue from patients with pre-invasive GCNIS (n = 6), and invasive TGCC including seminoma (n = 6) and teratoma (n = 7). Functional analysis was performed in-vitro by siRNA knock-down of Gankyrin in the NTera2 cells (derived from embryonal carcinoma). RESULTS: Germ cell expression of Gankyrin was restricted to a sub-population of prespermatogonia in human fetal testes. Nuclear Gankyrin was also expressed in GCNIS cells of childhood and adult pre-invasive TGCC patients, and in GCNIS from seminoma and non-seminoma patients. Cytoplasmic expression was observed in seminoma tumour cell

Prolonged exposure to acetaminophen reduces testosterone production by the human fetal testis in a xenograft model

Most common male reproductive disorders are linked to lower testosterone exposure in fetal life, although the factors responsible for suppressing fetal testosterone remain largely unknown. Protracted use of acetaminophen during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of cryptorchidism in sons, but effects on fetal testosterone production have not been demonstrated. We used a validated xenograft model to expose human fetal testes to clinically relevant doses and regimens of acetaminophen. Exposure to a therapeutic dose of acetaminophen for 7 days significantly reduced plasma testosterone (45% reduction; P = 0.025) and seminal vesicle weight (a biomarker of androgen exposure; 18% reduction; P = 0.005) in castrate host mice bearing human fetal testis xenografts, whereas acetaminophen exposure for just 1 day did not alter either parameter. Plasma acetaminophen concentrations (at 1 hour after the final dose) in exposed host mice were substantially below those reported in humans after a therapeutic oral dose. Subsequent in utero exposure studies in rats indicated that the acetaminophen-induced reduction in testosterone likely results from reduced expression of key steroidogenic enzymes (Cyp11a1, Cyp17a1). Our results suggest that protracted use of acetaminophen (1 week) may suppress fetal testosterone production, which could have adverse consequences. Further studies are required to establish the dose-response and treatment-duration relationships to delineate the maximum dose and treatment period without this adverse effect

Border Insecurity: Reading Transnational Environments in Jim Lynch’s Border Songs

This article applies an eco-critical approach to contemporary American fiction about the Canada-US border, examining Jim Lynch’s portrayal of the British Columbia-Washington borderlands in his 2009 novel Border Songs. It argues that studying transnational environmental actors in border texts—in this case, marijuana, human migrants, and migratory birds—helps illuminate the contingency of political boundaries, problems of scale, and discourses of risk and security in cross-border regions after 9/11. Further, it suggests that widening the analysis of trans-border activity to include environmental phenomena productively troubles concepts of nature and regional belonging in an era of climate change and economic globalization. Cet article propose une lecture écocritique de la fiction étatsunienne contemporaine portant sur la frontière entre le Canada et les États-Unis, en étudiant le portrait donné par Jim Lynch de la région frontalière entre la Colombie-Britannique et Washington dans son roman Border Songs, paru en 2009. L’article soutient que l’étude, dans les textes sur la frontière, des acteurs environnementaux transnationaux – dans ce cas-ci, la marijuana, les migrants humains et les oiseaux migratoires – jette un jour nouveau sur la contingence des limites territoriales politiques, des problèmes d’échelle et des discours sur le risque et la sécurité des régions transfrontalières après les évènements du 11 septembre 2001. Il suggère également qu’en élargissant l’analyse de l’activité transfrontalière pour y inclure les phénomènes environnementaux, on brouille de façon productive les concepts de nature et d’appartenance régionale d’une époque marquée par les changements climatiques et la mondialisation de l’économie