Online product recommendation agents (RAs) are gaining greater strategic importance as a critical touch-point between marketers and consumers. Yet, the role of consumer participation in using RAs has not been examined. This study shows that greater consumer participation in using an RA leads to more satisfaction, greater trust, and higher purchase intentions, related to the RA and its recommendations. In contrast, the financial risk (associated with the product under consideration) reduces satisfaction, trust, and purchase intentions, and it also moderates the effect of consumer participation on these same variables. The findings extend the literature and suggest actionable implications for marketing strategy.
The distribution of afferents from the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) and the lateral posterior nucleus (LP) and of cell bodies projecting to these nuclei has been studied in the visual cortex of the wallaby (Macropus eugenii) throughout development to determine how the characteristic laminar distribution of afferents and efferents of the mature cortex is achieved. Young are born after 26-28 days of gestation and do not open their eyes until around 140 days after birth. Horseradish peroxidase conjugated to wheatgerm agglutinin was injected in the visual thalamus in adults and in pouch young aged from 22 days after birth, just after thalamic axons first reach the visual cortex, to 118 days, when cortical lamination resembles the adult. From 22 to 65 days, the developing visual cortex consists of a marginal zone (MZ), cortical plate (CP), and intermediate zone (IZ) including the superficial subplate (SP), subventricular zone, and ventricular zone. There is a thin compact cell zone (CCZ) at the top of the CP and below it a less densely packed region that increases in thickness with age. Retrogradely labelled cells in two bands were first seen at 40 days, one in the CCZ and the other at the base of the CP. Two bands of cells were seen at all subsequent times if the injection covered both LGNd and LP, and by 76 days, these cells were located within cytoarchitectonically recognizable layers V and VI. Anterograde label prior to 45 days was distributed densely and evenly throughout the IZ and the CP up to the CCZ. Label in MZ was first seen at 25 days and was substantial by 54 days. Anterograde label than became gradually reduced in the IZ, whereas in the CP it remained evenly and densely distributed until 82 days. At this age, coincident with the emergence of layer IV, label within the CP first showed variations in density and by 99 days was concentrated over layer IV and, to a lesser extent, over layer VI. By 118 days label resembled the adult after injections covering both LGNd and LP, with label concentrated in layer I, IV, and VI with a less dense projection to lower layer III and upper layer V. There is a relatively earlier initial ingrowth of axons into the visual cortex in the wallaby and throughout development thalamocortical axons appear to be more widely distributed in the depth of the visual cortex than has been demonstrated for placental mammals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
β-glucan is a type of polysaccharide which widely exists in bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants, and has been well known for its biological activities such as enhancing immunity, antitumor, antibacterial, antiviral, and wound healing activities. The conformation of β-glucan plays a crucial role on its biological activities. Therefore, β-glucans obtained from different sources, while sharing the same basic structures, often show different bioactivities. The basic structure and inter-molecular forces of polysaccharides can be changed by modification, which leads to the conformational transformation in solution that can directly affect bioactivity. In this review, we will first determine different ways to modify β-glucan molecules including physical methods, chemical methods, and biological methods, and then reveal the relationship of the flexible helix form of the molecule chain and the helix conformation to their bioactivities. Last, we summarize the scientific challenges to modifying β-glucan’s conformation and functional activity, and discuss its potential future development.
Providing health information to older adults is crucial to empowering them to better control their health, and the information is readily available on the Internet. Yet, little is known about the factors that are important in affecting seniors' Internet search for health information behavior. This work addresses this research deficit by examining the role of health information orientation (HIO), eHealth literacy, and Internet knowledge (IK) in affecting the likelihood of using the Internet as a source for health information. The analysis reveals that each variable in the study is significant in affecting Internet search likelihood. Results from the analysis also demonstrate the partial mediating role of eHealth literacy and the interaction between eHealth literacy and HIO. The findings suggest that improving seniors' IK and eHealth literacy would increase their likelihood of searching for and finding health information on the Internet that might encourage better health behaviors.
Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is essential for the maintenance of telomere DNA length, chromosomal stability and cellular immortality. We hypothesized that TERT polymorphisms are associated with risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We first conducted a case-control study of 570 ALL cases and 673 cancer-free controls of Chinese children, using the tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) approach. We then examined the functionality of the important SNPs. We found that TERT promoter region tSNP (rs2735940) and two intron region tSNPs (rs2736100 and rs10069690) were associated with risk of childhood ALL (P = 0.036, 0.011 and 0.022, respectively, in allele comparison). The in vitro luciferase assays in Jurkat cells showed an increased transcriptional activity of rs2735940 T allele compared with the C allele. Additional experiments with ALL bone marrow revealed that the rs2735940 T allele increased levels of the TERT messenger RNA. Notably, TERT intron 2 polymorphism (rs2736100) was associated with lower telomerase activity and longer telomeres. Our findings suggested that TERT promoter rs2735940 polymorphism may affect the TERT activity, and rs2736100 may be associated with telomere function, and thus, it is a potential biomarker for genetic susceptibility to ALL in Chinese children.
The time course of the development of connections between the visual cortex and the main subcortical visual structures, as well as intrahemispheric and interhemispheric connections, has been studied in the marsupial wallaby (Macropus eugenii) to compare its development with that of placental mammals. Pouch young are born prior to retinal innervation of the primary visual centers and spend a protracted period of development in the pouch, making them ideal for visual, developmental studies. Horseradish peroxidase conjugated to wheatgerm agglutinin was injected into either the presumptive visual cortex or the superior colliculus in young of varying ages. Thalamocortical projections from the dorsal lateral geniculate and lateral posterior nuclei reach the presumptive visual cortex between 12 and 15 days after birth. Descending cortical connections form later. Corticogeniculate axons are first detected in the geniculate and lateral posterior nucleus at 48 days after birth, while corticocollicular axons first reach the superior colliculus at 71 days and, by 81 days, have innervated the superficial layers. Intrahemispheric and interhemispheric connections form even later. By 99 days intrahemispheric axons from area 17 have accumulated in visual association areas but are yet to invade layers III and IV, their major termination zones in adult, while axons projecting back to area 17 have also reached their target area. At this time interhemispheric axons from area 17 have begun to accumulate in the opposite visual cortex, although they have not invaded the cortical layers. By 111 days cortical cells projecting to the opposite visual cortex are first labelled. These have a more widespread distribution in area 17 at 111 and 122 days compared to the adult, where they are confined to the 17/18 border. The results show that the marsupial wallaby has a timetable of similar sequence, but different relative timing, in the formation of cortical connections compared to that of placental mammals. In the first half of the period between conception and eye opening, the timing in the wallaby precedes considerably that in placental mammals. Ascending connections from the thalamus develop relatively earlier in the wallaby but descending collicular connections are delayed until the same relative time that they appear in placental mammals.
Recurring interstitial loss of all or part of the long arm of chromosome 5, del(5q), is a hallmark of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. Although the genes affected by these changes have not been identified, two critically deleted regions (CDRs) are well established. We have identified 76 zebrafish cDNAs orthologous to genes located in these 5q CDRs. Radiation hybrid mapping revealed that 33 of the 76 zebrafish orthologs are clustered in a genomic region on linkage group 14 (LG14). Fifteen others are located on LG21, and two on LG10. Although there are large blocks of conserved syntenies, the gene order between human and zebrafish is extensively inverted and transposed. Thus, intrachromosomal rearrangements and inversions appear to have occurred more frequently than translocations during evolution from a common chordate ancestor. Interestingly, of the 33 orthologs located on LG14, three have duplicates on LG21, suggesting that the duplication event occurred early in the evolution of teleosts. Murine orthologs of human 5q CDR genes are distributed among three chromosomes, 18, 11, and 13. The order of genes within the three syntenic mouse chromosomes appears to be more colinear with the human order, suggesting that translocations occurred more frequently than inversions during mammalian evolution. Our comparative map should enhance understanding of the evolution of the del(5q) chromosomal region. Mutant fish harboring deletions affecting the 5q CDR syntenic region may provide useful animal models for investigating the pathogenesis of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia.
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