The Impact of IS Employees’ Perceived Fairness on Organizational Commitment in Post-Merger Information Systems Integration

Despite the proliferation of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) for last few decades, lots of M&As have failed to fulfil planned objectives and to create synergy. Many researchers pointed out the failure of post-merger information systems (IS) integration as one of critical causes for M&A failure. This study, based on organizational justice theory (OJT), proposes a research model to identify the impact of IS employees’ perceived fairness on their organizational commitment during post-merger integration stage. In addition, the relationship between those variables and organizational trust and job insecurity is also examined. We expect the results of this study can contribute to provide some guidelines for the firms that is now integrating IS systems after M&A or considering M&A in the future

Sepsis-Like Systemic Inflammation Induced by Nano-Sized Extracellular Vesicles From Feces

Nano-sized extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, microvesicles, and other types of vesicles, are released by most mammalian cells and bacteria. We here ask whether feces contain EVs of mammalian and/or bacterial origin, and whether these EVs induce systemic inflammation. Fecal extracellular vesicles (fEVs) were isolated from mice and humans. The presence of EVs from Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using anti-lipid A and anti-lipoteichoic acid antibodies, whereas Western blot using anti-beta-actin antibody was employed to detect host-derived EVs in the fEVs. Further, fEVs were administered into mice by intraperitoneal injection, and inflammatory responses were investigated in the peritoneum, blood, and lungs. The role of TLR2 and TLR4 were studied using knockout mice. Significant quantities of EVs were present in feces from mice as well as humans, and derived from Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as the host. Bacteria-free fEVs introduced into the peritoneum induced local and systemic inflammation (including in the lungs), but fEVs from germ-free animals had weaker effects. This pronounced local and systemic inflammatory responses seemed to be induced by EVs from both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, and was attenuated in mice lacking TLR2 or TLR4. Our findings show that fEVs cause sepsis-like systemic inflammation, when introduced intraperitoneally, a process regulated by TLR2 and TLR4.11Ysciescopu

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly

A Plasmonic Fiber Based Glucometer and Its Temperature Dependence

We present the plasmonic fiber based optical glucometer. A thin gold layer is coated on clad-free core of multimode optical fiber along 3 cm length to excite surface plasmons at 632.8 nm wavelength. Glucose oxidase is immobilized on the metal surface for glucose sensing. The effective surface refractive index increases by gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide that are generated upon glucose injection, leading to plasmonic condition change with a consequence of optical power change at the fiber output. We obtain limit of detection of glucose concentration of 6.75 mg/dL, indicating higher sensitivity than the wavelength interrogating SPR glucometer that uses a spectrometer of 1nm spectral resolution. The coefficient of variation is 8.6% at a glucose concentration of 80 mg/dL at room temperature. We also examine the effects of ambient temperature variations from −10 °C to 40 °C on the performance of the presented sensor and compared them with those on commercially available glucometers that are based on enzyme electrodes. We find that the presented fiber sensor produced standard deviation of 12.1 mg/dL at a glucose concentration of 80 mg/dL under such varying temperature, which is, even without additional temperature correction function, comparable to the commercialized ones

Identification and Semi-Synthesis of 3-O-Protocatechuoylceanothic Acid, a Novel and Natural GPR120 Agonist †

The identification and three step synthesis of 3-O-protocatechuoylceanothic acid, a novel and natural GPR120 agonist, is described. This ceanothane-type triterpenoid was identified from the components of Ziziphus jujuba roots and was found to be a new GPR120 agonist with a novel structure. We synthetically converted ceanothic acid, which does not have GPR120 agonist activity, into 3-O-protocatechuoylceanothic acid in three steps. In addition, we present the corrected NMR spectrum of 3-O-protocatechuoylceanothic acid based on our synthesis

Increased risk of contralateral breast cancer for BRCA1/2 wild-type, high-risk Korean breast cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate the contralateral breast cancer (CBC) recurrence rate in Korean breast cancer patients according to their BRCA1/2 germline mutation status, focusing particularly on the CBC recurrence risk in BRCA1/2 negative (BRCAx) patients. Methods We conducted a retrospective study on 13,107 primary breast cancer patients. The patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups for hereditary breast cancer based on the Korean National Health Insurance Service’s eligibility criteria for BRCA1/2 germline mutation testing. The high-risk group was further categorized into the BRCA mutation group, the BRCAx group, and the not tested group. We evaluated the overall survival and cumulative risk of developing CBC in these patients. Results Among 4494 high-risk patients, 973 (21.7%) underwent genetic testing for BRCA1/2 germline mutation, revealing mutations in 158 patients (16.2%). We observed significant overall survival differences across all four groups, with the high-risk, not-tested group demonstrating notably worse overall survival (p < 0.001). However, when adjusted for other prognostic factors, there was no significant differences in hazard ratio of death between the four groups. The cumulative risk of CBC also varied among the groups. Patients with BRCA1/2 mutations showed a 7.3-fold increased risk of CBC compared to the low-risk group (95% CI 4.11–13.0, p < 0.001). Interestingly, BRCAx patients also demonstrated a significantly higher risk of CBC (HR 2.77, 95% CI 1.76–4.35, p < 0.001). The prognostic importance of the BRCAx for CBC recurrence persisted after adjusting for the age and subtype, but became insignificant when the family history of breast cancer was adjusted. Conclusion Breast cancer patients who are at high risk of hereditary breast cancer but with wild-type BRCA 1/2 genes (BRCAx) have increased risk of developing contralateral breast cancer when compared to the low-risk patients. More careful surveillance and follow-up can be offered to these patients especially when they have family history of breast cancer

Rapid and Efficient Separation of Decursin and Decursinol Angelate from Angelica gigas Nakai using Ionic Liquid, (BMIm)BF4, Combined with Crystallization

Ionic liquids (ILs) have gained much attention as alternative solvents to volatile organic solvents due to their attractive properties. This study aimed to develop an efficient method for the selective separation of decursin (D) and decursinol angelate (DA) from Angelica gigas Nakai (A. gigas) using ILs and crystallization. The IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ((BMIm)BF4) was the most efficient at extracting D and DA. Parameters including solid-to-liquid ratio, time, and temperature were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). Under optimal extraction conditions (1 g/6.5 mL solid-to-liquid ratio, 60 &deg;C temperature, and 120 min time), the extraction yields of D and DA were 43.32 mg/g (97.06%) and 17.87 mg/g (97.12%), respectively. Moreover, drowning out crystallization using deionized water (DW) as an anti-solvent offered an excellent ability to recover D and DA from the A. gigas&ndash;(BMIm)BF4 extraction solution. The rates of recovery and the total purity of D and DA were found to be greater than 97%. Therefore, a rapid and efficient method of combining ILs with crystallization was effectively achieved for the selective separation of D and DA. This approach is assumed to be beneficial in the pharmaceutical industry for the effective obtention of D- and DA-enriched products

Thermally Cross-Linkable Diamino-Polyethylene Glycol Additive with Polymeric Binder for Stable Cyclability of Silicon Nanoparticle Based Negative Electrodes in Lithium Ion Batteries

We developed a new type of additive with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) for stable cycling retention of silicon anodes. Diamino-Polyethylene Glycol (diamino-PEG) is used as a thermally curable additive with PAA polymeric binder for silicon nanoparticle based negative electrodes. Amino groups of the diamino-PEG form amide bonds with carboxylic acid groups of the PAA binder, which gives strong binding force even under high humidity. The highly cross linked amide bonds between diamino-PEG and PAA binder in silicon nanoparticle based negative electrodes leads to reduced electrical contact loss of silicon particles during electrochemical reaction. It also supports stable cycling performance and enhances specific capacity compared to the case of using only a silicon anode PAA binder.clos