American and Chinese Students and Acceptance of Virtual Reality: A Replication of “The Role of Espoused National Cultural Values in Technology Acceptance”

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and later versions (such as the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)) are among the best-known theories in the academic information systems (IS) field. The explanatory ability of TAM and related theories has been tested in various contexts, including national culture. The purpose of this study was to conduct a methodological replication of one of the most widely cited MIS Quarterly papers on TAM and national culture, by Srite and Karahanna (2006). Two differences in the original study and our replication were the sample (consisting of students in a U.S. university in the original vs. students in one U.S. and one Chinese university in the replication) and the technology object (personal computers and digital personal assistants in the original vs. virtual reality in the replication). We were not able to replicate the findings of the original study. Use of the original measurement scales resulted in different outcomes in the replication, and none of the hypotheses supported in the original work were supported in the replication. We report here on our data collection, methods, results, and findings

Effects of Molecular Weight and Degree of Esterification of Soluble Soybean Polysaccharide on the Stability of Casein under Acidic Conditions

The effects of molecular weight (MW) and degree of esterification (DE) of soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS) on the stability of casein under acidic conditions were investigated. The ability of SSPS to stabilize casein was characterized by the content of SSPS-casein complex, the LUMiSizer instability index, average particle size, zeta potential, and storage experiments. The long-term storage stability of the mixtures was related to their ability to combine casein and the stability of the complexes. At the same DE, SSPSs with medium MW formed more complexes with casein than SSPSs with high or low MW; and at the same MW, SSPSs with medium or low DE formed more complexes than SPSSs with high DE. In addition, SSPSs with higher MW had a better stabilizing behavior due to the large steric repulsion between complexes. SSPSs with high MW and low DE showed the best ability to stabilize casein under acid conditions

Genetic dissection of grain iron concentration in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using a genome-wide association analysis method

Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient of the body. Low concentrations of bioavailable Fe in staple food result in micronutrient malnutrition. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most important global food crop and thus has become an important source of iron for people. Breeding nutritious wheat with high grain-Fe content has become an effective means of alleviating malnutrition. Understanding the genetic basis of micronutrient concentration in wheat grains may provide useful information for breeding for high Fe varieties through marker-assisted selection (MAS). Hence, in the present study, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were conducted for grain Fe. An association panel of 207 accessions was genotyped using a 660K SNP array and phenotyped for grain Fe content at three locations. The genotypic and phenotypic data obtained thus were used for GWAS. A total of 911 SNPs were significantly associated with grain Fe concentrations. These SNPs were distributed on all 21 wheat chromosomes, and each SNP explained 5.79–25.31% of the phenotypic variations. Notably, the two significant SNPs (AX-108912427 and AX-94729264) not only have a more significant effect on grain Fe concentration but also have the reliability under the different environments. Furthermore, candidate genes potentially associated with grain Fe concentration were predicted, and 10 candidate genes were identified. These candidate genes were related to transport, translocation, remobilization, and accumulationof ironin wheat plants. These findings will not only help in better understanding the molecular basis of Fe accumulation in grains, but also provide elite wheat germplasms to develop Fe-rich wheat varieties through breeding

BnMs3 is required for tapetal differentiation and degradation, microspore separation, and pollen-wall biosynthesis in Brassica napus

7365AB, a recessive genetic male sterility system, is controlled by BnMs3 in Brassica napus, which encodes a Tic40 protein required for tapetum development. However, the role of BnMs3 in rapeseed anther development is still largely unclear. In this research, cytological analysis revealed that anther development of a Bnms3 mutant has defects in the transition of the tapetum to the secretory type, callose degradation, and pollen-wall formation. A total of 76 down-regulated unigenes in the Bnms3 mutant, several of which are associated with tapetum development, callose degeneration, and pollen development, were isolated by suppression subtractive hybridization combined with a macroarray analysis. Reverse genetics was applied by means of Arabidopsis insertional mutant lines to characterize the function of these unigenes and revealed that MSR02 is only required for transport of sporopollenin precursors through the plasma membrane of the tapetum. The real-time PCR data have further verified that BnMs3 plays a primary role in tapetal differentiation by affecting the expression of a few key transcription factors, participates in tapetal degradation by modulating the expression of cysteine protease genes, and influences microspore separation by manipulating the expression of BnA6 and BnMSR66 related to callose degradation and of BnQRT1 and BnQRT3 required for the primary cell-wall degradation of the pollen mother cell. Moreover, BnMs3 takes part in pollen-wall formation by affecting the expression of a series of genes involved in biosynthesis and transport of sporopollenin precursors. All of the above results suggest that BnMs3 participates in tapetum development, microspore release, and pollen-wall formation in B. napus

A morte como fuga para duas mulheres: contextualização social e leitura contrastiva entre a personagem Bela (Dù Lìniáng), do dramaturgo chinês, Tang Xianzu, e a poetisa portuguesa, Florbela Espanca

Dissertação de mestrado em Estudos Interculturais Português/Chinês: Tradução, Formação e Comunicação EmpresarialNa literatura, muitos autores ora escrevem na primeira pessoa, ora se exprimem através dos seus personagens, ora ainda se reinventam em diversos autores por meio da heteronímia (veja-se o caso de Fernando Pessoa, que, no entanto, não será objeto de estudo neste meu trabalho). Pese embora algum fundamentalismo hermenêutico, que estará porventura já um tanto datado, sou de opinião que a maioria (se não todas) as obras literárias refletem sempre, de algum modo, as vidas do autor ou autora e os seus contextos sociais, vivenciais, históricos, psicológicos, etc. Ou seja, ter em consideração os variadíssimos contextos do(s) autor(es), também nos ajudará a melhor conhecer a essência e a intenção da obra. Este trabalho visa analisar e comparar fenómenos sociais e culturais, neste particular da China do fim da Dinastia Ming (明朝 Míngcháo (1368 – 1662)) e do Portugal dos inícios do século XX, revelados por dois autores: o dramaturgo chinês, Tang Xianzu (汤显祖 Tāng Xiǎnzǔ (1550–1616)), e a poetisa portuguesa, Florbela Espanca.In the current literature, authors write in the first person, express themselves through their characters, or even reinvent themselves in heteronomy by several authors (see the case of Fernando Pessoa, who has not been mentioned in my thesis). The fundamentalist hermeneutic, which was widely used, may already be somewhat outof date. I believe that most, if not all of, the literary works, to a certain degree, always reflect the authors' lives through their social, experiential, historical, psychological experiences. Therefore, considering the widely varying contexts and experiences of authors will help us better understand the essence and intent of their works. This thesis aims to compare the literature from the end of China's Ming Dynasty with the literature from the early twentieth century in Portugal. The focus is placed on the social and cultural phenomena within the literature, which are represented by two authors, the Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu and Portuguese poet, Florbela Espanca.中国明朝的戏曲家汤显祖素有“东方莎士比亚”之称，可见其在中国乃至世界戏 曲界的地位之高。尤其是他的代表作——《牡丹亭》，无论取义或内容都可称作是 中国古典戏曲作品的巅峰，“一生四梦，得意处唯在牡丹”，可见作者本人对《牡丹 亭》的引以为豪。世人爱牡丹，皆因其“情不知所起，一往而深，生者可以死，死 可以生”这样理想主义的至情唯爱追求。杜丽娘上穷碧落下黄泉，为爱无畏追寻的 勇气更是古今女子读之感怀的永恒信念。古人云“文以载道”，汤显祖借杜丽娘这个 角色清晰地表明了对桎梏女性的程朱理学的声讨，及对女性身体乃至思想情感解 放的倡导鼓励。弗洛贝拉·伊斯潘卡是葡萄牙现代成就颇丰的女诗人，她从女性视 角用感性的笔触写下对生命，故土，爱情的释义，俨然诗意国度中的女王，是葡 萄牙女性解放运功的先驱。同她坎坷复杂的真实人生一样，弗洛贝拉的作品也饱 受非议，天才与疯子的争议各执一词。但她毕生追逐爱的勇气，她作品中时时处 处表现的至情随性，又何尝不是每个女性心之向往。本文从中西两位作家生活的 社会背景，自身经历出发，旨在探讨其作品中体现的女性解放意识的深层根源

American and Chinese Students and Acceptance of Virtual Reality: A Replication of “The Role of Espoused National Cultural Values in Technology Acceptance

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and later versions (such as the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)) are among the best-known theories in the academic information systems (IS) field. The explanatory ability of TAM and related theories has been tested in various contexts, including national culture. The purpose of this study was to conduct a methodological replication of one of the most widely cited MIS Quarterly papers on TAM and national culture, by Srite and Karahanna (2006). Two differences in the original study and our replication were the sample (consisting of students in a U.S. university in the original vs. students in one U.S. and one Chinese university in the replication) and the technology object (personal computers and digital personal assistants in the original vs. virtual reality in the replication). We were not able to replicate the findings of the original study. Use of the original measurement scales resulted in different outcomes in the replication, and none of the hypotheses supported in the original work were supported in the replication. We report here on our data collection, methods, results, and findings.This article is published as George, Joey F.; Chi, Maomao; and Zhou, Qin (2020) "American and Chinese Students and Acceptance of Virtual Reality: A Replication of “The Role of Espoused National Cultural Values in Technology Acceptance”," AIS Transactions on Replication Research: Vol. 6 , Article 1. DOI: 10.17705/1atrr.00044. Posted with permission. </p

Stability of the phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of five fruit (apple, orange, grape, pomelo and kiwi) juices during \u3ci\u3ein vitro\u3c/i\u3e-simulated gastrointestinal digestion

The in vitro digestive stability of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity of five kinds of commonly consumed fruit juices in the daily diet, including apple juice (AJ), orange juice (OJ), grape juice (GJ), pomelo juice (PJ) and kiwifruit juice (KJ), were studied. Following in vitro digestion, the total phenolic (TP) content of fruit juices decreased to different extents by 35%, 25.3%, 23.5%, 22.2% and 7.8% for KJ, OJ, PJ, GJ and AJ, respectively. The individual phenolic content showed similar changes to the TP content, showing reductions of naringenin-trisaccharide in OJ and PJ, epicatechin in GJ, and chlorogenic acid in AJ by 43.74%, 27.59%, 47.11% and 33.28%, respectively. Conversely, the antioxidant capacity of fruit juices during digestion measured by ABTS assay increased from 4.79% to 35.53%, except in KJ, which decreased by 19.34%. These results show the health benefits of fruit juices after processing and contribute towards establishing suitable dietary recommendations

Stability of the phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of five fruit (apple, orange, grape, pomelo and kiwi) juices during \u3ci\u3ein vitro\u3c/i\u3e-simulated gastrointestinal digestion

The in vitro digestive stability of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity of five kinds of commonly consumed fruit juices in the daily diet, including apple juice (AJ), orange juice (OJ), grape juice (GJ), pomelo juice (PJ) and kiwifruit juice (KJ), were studied. Following in vitro digestion, the total phenolic (TP) content of fruit juices decreased to different extents by 35%, 25.3%, 23.5%, 22.2% and 7.8% for KJ, OJ, PJ, GJ and AJ, respectively. The individual phenolic content showed similar changes to the TP content, showing reductions of naringenin-trisaccharide in OJ and PJ, epicatechin in GJ, and chlorogenic acid in AJ by 43.74%, 27.59%, 47.11% and 33.28%, respectively. Conversely, the antioxidant capacity of fruit juices during digestion measured by ABTS assay increased from 4.79% to 35.53%, except in KJ, which decreased by 19.34%. These results show the health benefits of fruit juices after processing and contribute towards establishing suitable dietary recommendations

Improving the foaming properties of soy protein isolate through partial enzymatic hydrolysis

The effect of partial enzymatic hydrolysis of soy protein isolate (SPI) on its foaming properties is investigated in this study. Enzymes of different origin, including papain, alcalase, and pancreatin, were used. Foaming properties (foaming capacity and foam stability) were measured and their relationships with physicochemical characteristics such as degree of hydrolysis, molecular weight of hydrolysates, and surface tension were investigated. Papain hydrolyzed SPI hydrolysates were found to be the best in terms of improved foaming capacity and foam stability. Molecular weights of SPI hydrolysates obtained by papain and alcalase hydrolysis were mainly in the range of 5 kDa to 30 kDa, while those hydrolyzed by pancreatin had molecular weight above 50 kDa. Foaming capacity was found to correlate well with the relative abundance of hydrolysate in the molecular weight range of 5 kDa to 10 kDa (r = 0.84, p < 0.05). Surface hydrophobicity was found to correlate negatively (r = - 0.89, p < 0.05) with foaming capacity of SPI hydrolysates. Surface tension values of SPI hydrolysates produced by all enzymes were significantly lower than (p < 0.05) compared to that of SPI. The surface tension of pancreatin hydrolyzed SPI hydrolysates was lower than the surface tension of those hydrolyzed by papain and alcalase. The surface tension of pancreatin hydrolyzed SPI hydrolysates decreased more rapidly with time compared to the rest. These findings will provide better understanding of how best to carry out the partial hydrolysis of SPI using various enzymes in order to improve its foaming properties. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.C