Investigating Determinants that Affect Job and Life Dissatisfaction: The Case of Relocation

Purpose: Geographical relocation has been conducted to alleviate overcrowding and to support balanced regional development in many countries. Previous studies have seldom examined the effectiveness of relocation on job and life dissatisfaction, particularly in the public sector. The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of relocation on job and life dissatisfaction. Proposed research questions include the following: i) do working conditions in the new workplace and interactivity affect job dissatisfaction? ii) do social infrastructure and social activity in the new location affect life dissatisfaction? and iii) is there a relationship between job and life dissatisfaction? Research Design, data, and methodology: The study collected data via an online survey and applied statistical analyses such as factor analysis, regression, and ANOVA. Results: The results of this study found that proposed determinants excluding mobility inefficiency and decision-making affect job and life dissatisfaction. The results also showed that there are relationships between job and life dissatisfaction. Conclusions: The results of this study provide both managerial and policy implications of relocation for the public sector. The results of this study implied that better policy should be designed to increase job and life satisfaction that also accounts for the realities of relocation.2

A Study on the Role of Information Systems in Organizational Growth: A Longitudinal Case Study

The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated framework which can explain how the role of information systems evolves in organizations. To develop the framework, two critical dimensions, each of which is classified further into three categories, are selected to explain the role of information systems in organizational growth: the purpose of information processing, the scope of information processing. As these are considered to be major dimensions underpinning much research regarding the role of information systems in organizations, the framework proposed in this paper could serve to integrate much existing research, while stimulating future research aimed at verifying its applicability

Ring finger protein 126 (RNF126) suppresses ionizing radiation-induced p53-binding protein 1 (53BP1) focus formation

Cells have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to maintain genomic integrity in response to DNA damage. Ionizing radiation (IR)-induced DNA damage results in the formation of IR-induced foci (iRIF) in the nucleus. The iRIF formation is part of the DNA damage response (DDR), which is an essential signaling cascade that must be strictly regulated because either the loss of or an augmented DDR leads to loss of genome integrity. Accordingly, negative regulation of the DDR is as critical as its activation. In this study, we have identified ring finger protein 126 (RNF126) as a negative regulator of the DDR from a screen of iRIF containing 53BP1. RNF126 overexpression abolishes not only the formation of 53BP1 iRIF but also of RNF168, FK2, RAP80, and BRCA1. However, the iRIF formation of H2AX, MDC1, and RNF8 is maintained, indicating that RNF126 acts between RNF8 and RNF168 during the DDR. In addition, RNF126 overexpression consistently results in the loss of RNF168-mediated H2A monoubiquitination at lysine 13/15 and inhibition of the non-homologous end joining capability. Taken together, our findings reveal that RNF126 is a novel factor involved in the negative regulation of DDR, which is important for sustaining genomic integrity

Seasonal Dependence of the Effect of Arctic Greening on Tropical Precipitation

This paper examines the seasonal dependence of the effect of Arctic greening on tropical precipitation. In CAM3/CLM3 coupled to a mixed layer ocean, shrub and grasslands poleward of 60 degrees N are replaced with boreal forests. With darker Arctic vegetation, the absorption of solar energy increases, but primarily in boreal spring and summer since little insolation reaches the Arctic in boreal winter. The net energy input into the northern extratropics is partly balanced by southward atmospheric energy transport across the equator by an anomalous Hadley circulation, resulting in a northward shift of the tropical precipitation. In contrast, in boreal fall, the slight increase in insolation over the Arctic is more than offset by increased outgoing longwave radiation and reduced surface turbulent fluxes in midlatitudes, from the warmer atmosphere. As a result, the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere loses energy, which is compensated by a northward cross-equatorial atmospheric energy transport, leading to a southward shift of the tropical precipitation in boreal fall. Thus, although Arctic vegetation is changed throughout the year, its effect on tropical precipitation exhibits substantial seasonal variations.close00

A Fast AES Hardware Security Module for Internet of Things Applications

As the Internet of Things is used in various fields, Internet of Things security has become important. Since most Internet of Things devices is implemented as embedded systems, they provide a software-implemented encryption algorithm. Most embedded systems use relatively low-performance CPUs and the software processes data serially, making it difficult to process complex security algorithms in real-time. Therefore, it is necessary to have a stable encryption module with less impact on system performance. In this paper, we designed an AES hardware security module. Because it is implemented with dedicated hardware, it can process a strong encryption algorithm in real time without affecting the performance of the system. The proposed AES hardware module is designed using Verilog-HDL, tested in ModelSim and implemented in Altera FPGA CycloneⅣ. The designed AES hardware adopts parallel processing technique and pipeline structure considering the computational complexity and processing order of the algorithm. As a result, it is faster than AES modules implemented in software. In addition, its latency was reduced to about 280 ns, which is about 16 % of the latency of the previous AES hardware module. Not only did the performance improve, but the number of logic elements and registers also decreased to 83.6% and 92.8%, respectively. The proposed AES hardware module is verified by applying it to a door lock system and is expected to be applied to various Internet of Things devices

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): a condition exemplifying the crosstalk of the gut–liver axis

Abstract The close relationship between primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) provides a good opportunity to comprehend the gut–liver axis. The gut and the liver have reciprocal interactions, including how gut inflammation influences the liver through immune cells and the microbiota and how the microbiota in the gut modifies bile acids, which are produced and secreted from the liver. PSC-IBD shows distinct clinical findings from classical IBD. In addition, a distinct genetic predisposition and unique microbiota composition suggest that PSC-IBD is an independent disease entity. Understanding the pathogenesis of PSC-IBD helps to develop novel and effective therapeutic agents. Given the high risk of malignancies associated with PSC-IBD, it is critical to identify patients at high risk and implement appropriate surveillance and monitoring strategies. In this review, we provide an overview of PSC-IBD, which exemplifies the gut–liver axis

The Properties of Small Water Clusters from Isothermal Nucleation Rate Measurements

We have made direct measurements of the stationary, homogeneous nucleation rates, J=N/Δt, in supersonic Laval nozzles. The number densities, N, of droplets formed are measured using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments and the time intervals during which nucleation occurs, Δt \u3c10 μs, are derived from static pressure measurements along the axis of the nozzle. By using nozzles with different expansion rates, we obtain the first isothermal nucleation rate measurements as a function of supersaturation for these devices with a relatively small error margin in J of +/-50%. At temperatures T of 210, 220, and 230 K, the maximum nucleation rates for D 2O range between 4- 1016\u3c J /cm -3s-1 \u3c 3- 1017 for supersaturations S ranging from 46 to 143. Applying the first and second nucleation theorems to isothermal nucleation rate data directly yields estimates for the number of molecules in the critical cluster n* and the excess internal energy E x(n*), respectively. The agreement between these values and the classical values predicted assuming the critical cluster is a compact spherical object are really quite good even though under our conditions n* is less than 10 and the water is highly supercooled

Metformin Suppresses Cancer Stem Cells through AMPK Activation and Inhibition of Protein Prenylation of the Mevalonate Pathway in Colorectal Cancer

Metformin is a well-known AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) activator that suppresses cancer stem cells (CSCs) in some cancers. However, the mechanisms of the CSC-suppressing effects of metformin are not yet well understood. In this study, we investigated the CSC-suppressive effect of metformin via the mevalonate (MVA) pathway in colorectal cancer (CRC). Two colorectal cancer cell lines, HT29 and DLD-1 cells, were treated with metformin, mevalonate, or a combination of the two. We measured CSC populations by flow cytometric analysis (CD44+/CD133+) and by tumor spheroid growth. The expression of p-AMPK, mTORC1 (pS6), and key enzymes (HMGCR, FDPS, GGPS1, and SQLE) of the MVA pathway was also analyzed. We investigated the effects of metformin and/or mevalonate in xenograft mice using HT29 cells; immunohistochemical staining for CSC markers and key enzymes of the MVA pathway in tumor xenografts was performed. In both HT29 and DLD-1 cells, the CSC population was significantly decreased following treatment with metformin, AMPK activator (AICAR), HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (simvastatin), or mTOR inhibitor (rapamycin), and was increased by mevalonate. The CSC-suppressing effect of these drugs was attenuated by mevalonate. The results of tumor spheroid growth matched those of the CSC population experiments. Metformin treatment increased p-AMPK and decreased mTOR (pS6) expression; these effects were reversed by addition of mevalonate. The expression of key MVA pathway enzymes was significantly increased in tumor spheroid culture, and by addition of mevalonate, and decreased upon treatment with metformin, AICAR, or rapamycin. In xenograft experiments, tumor growth and CSC populations were significantly reduced by metformin, and this inhibitory effect of metformin was abrogated by combined treatment with mevalonate. Furthermore, in the MVA pathway, CSC populations were reduced by inhibition of protein prenylation with a farnesyl transferase inhibitor (FTI-277) or a geranylgeranyl transferase inhibitor (GGTI-298), but not by inhibition of cholesterol synthesis with a squalene synthase inhibitor (YM-53601). In conclusion, the CSC-suppressive effect of metformin was associated with AMPK activation and repression of protein prenylation through MVA pathway suppression in colorectal cancer

Oxidative Stress Causes Vacuolar Fragmentation in the Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans

Vacuoles are dynamic cellular organelles, and their morphology is altered by various stimuli or stresses. Vacuoles play an important role in the physiology and virulence of many fungal pathogens. For example, a Cryptococcus neoformans mutant deficient in vacuolar functions showed significantly reduced expression of virulence factors such as capsule and melanin synthesis and was avirulent in a mouse model of cryptococcosis. In the current study, we found significantly increased vacuolar fragmentation in the C. neoformans mutants lacking SOD1 or SOD2, which respectively encode Zn, Cu-superoxide dismutase and Mn-superoxide dismutase. The sod2 mutant showed a greater level of vacuole fragmentation than the sod1 mutant. We also observed that the vacuoles were highly fragmented when wild-type cells were grown in a medium containing high concentrations of iron, copper, or zinc. Moreover, elevated temperature and treatment with the antifungal drug fluconazole caused increased vacuolar fragmentation. These conditions also commonly cause an increase in the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species in the fungus, suggesting that vacuoles are fragmented in response to oxidative stress. Furthermore, we observed that Sod2 is not only localized in mitochondria but also in the cytoplasm within phagocytosed C. neoformans cells, possibly due to copper or iron limitation.Science, Faculty ofNon UBCMicrobiology and Immunology, Department ofReviewedFacult