Micro-blog marketing of luxury consumption: the role of envy in purchase intention

Micro-blogs, or short blogs, are a social media channel commonly used by fashion brands, and luxury brands are no exception. Luxury firms are utilizing micro-blogs and bloggers to promote their products and connect with their customers. This new trend has led to increasing interest in studying how micro-blogs can be utilized effectively within luxury marketing. In this study, the emotions consumers experience as a result of micro-blogs were regarded as key for effective management for luxury fashion brands. In particular, envy, an emotion often associated with interpersonal comparisons, was examined because it relates to both luxury consumption and social media. To understand consumer behaviors triggered by luxury brand micro-blogs, three main questions were examined in two experimental studies: 1) Why and how do micro-blogs encourage consumer purchases? 2) Does envy mediate between micro-blog contents and purchase intention, specifically for luxury brands? 3) What specific characteristics of micro-blogs are related to consumer envy and purchase intention? To address these questions, study 1 investigated the influence of blog presentations on envy and purchase intention, and study 2 examined the impact of congruence to blogger race and featured brand image. A total of 16 hypotheses were developed for studies 1 and 2 based on social identity theory, signaling theory, self-congruity theory, and social comparison theory, among other relevant concepts. In study 1, social identity theory (Sirgy, 1982) suggested that people tend to identify with a group of people and compare themselves with others who are similar to themselves, which may lead to envy. Thus, in micro-blog posts, people should feel more envious when they see a group of people as opposed to a single person (H1). Spence’s (1973) signaling theory suggests that people are more likely to be influenced by lifestyle centric micro-blog posts rather than product centric posts because it signals a luxurious lifestyle, evoking greater envy among blog audiences (H2). Further, the combination of a group of people with a lifestyle centric background in micro-blogs should elicit the most envy because it combines the elements to present to the audience a complete story (H3). In study 2, self-congruity theory (Sirgy, 1982) and social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) suggest that envy would be elicited to a greater extent when the blog audience’s race is highly congruent with that of the blogger’s because people tend to identify with a product or an image that is similar to their own. When individuals recognize their similarities with others, they may be inclined to compare themselves with the other group and consequently feel envious due to upward comparison (H6). Similarly, when audiences view a product on a micro-blog post, they should feel more envious when the featured brand image is highly congruent to their own self-image (H7). Further, the combination effect of both race and brand image congruencies was hypothesized to elicit the most envy as it combines both factors (H8). In both studies 1 and 2, envy was hypothesized to positively influence purchase intention (H4a, H4b, and H4c for Study 1 and H9a, H9b, and H9c for Study 2) and mediate all manipulation variables (excluding combination content) and purchase intention (H5a and H5b for Study 1 and H10a and H10b for Study 3). Responses from a total of 592 female ages 18 years and older were collected through MTurk, and approximately 300 of these responses were assigned to each study. All images contained a Louis Vuitton handbag and were in the format of an Instagram post because both are broadly known by social media audiences. An ANOVA was used to test the differences in envy elicited from the manipulated variables. A series of regression analyses were used to test for mediating effects. Findings of study 1 revealed that micro-blogs featuring groups and combination content (group of people and lifestyle centric background) elicited envy the way we anticipated (H1 and H3). In people content, envy had a partial mediating effect leading to purchase intention (H5a). In study 2, a high level of racial congruence between respondents and bloggers elicited envy (H6) and envy served as a partial mediator for congruence levels in blogger race (H10a). Regardless of sources of envy, all elicited envy in studies 1 and 2 positively influenced purchase intention (H4a, H4b, H4c, H9a, H9b, and H9c). These findings suggest that micro-blog presentations and blogger characteristics are important factors influencing envy and purchase intention. Envy was indeed shown to be an important factor in micro-blog marketing strategies. However, envy did not appear to be the only influencer of purchase intention. The study also revealed that micro-blog content was a crucial factor in determining purchase intention. Furthermore, congruence in blogger race had a more significant effect than congruence in brand image. Future studies should further explore blogger characteristics in micro-blogs. Collectively, luxury brands should be creative in designing their micro-blog posts to cater to their target market. To do so, this study suggests the following: conduct a story-based way of communicating in micro-blog posts, hire bloggers who are racially similar to the target market, explore other blogger characteristics, and investigate other blog presentation elements. This study addresses the gap in research regarding the role of emotions in relation to luxury brand micro-blogs. Using experimental data, this paper discusses the theoretical contributions, real-world implications, and study limitations and further suggests possibilities for future studies

Molecular basis of FIR-mediated c-myc transcriptional control

The far upstream element (FUSE) regulatory system promotes a peak in the concentration of c-Myc during cell cycle. First, the FBP transcriptional activator binds to the FUSE DNA element upstream of the c-myc promoter. Then, FBP recruits its specific repressor (FIR), which acts as an on/off transcriptional switch. Here we describe the molecular basis of FIR recruitment, showing that the tandem RNA recognition motifs of FIR provide a platform for independent FUSE DNA and FBP protein binding and explaining the structural basis of the reversibility of the FBP-FIR interaction. We also show that the physical coupling between FBP and FIR is modulated by a flexible linker positioned sequentially to the recruiting element. Our data explain how the FUSE system precisely regulates c-myc transcription and suggest that a small change in FBP-FIR affinity leads to a substantial effect on c-Myc concentration.MRC Grant-in-aid U11757455

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG-supplemented formula expands butyrate-producing bacterial strains in food allergic infants.

Dietary intervention with extensively hydrolyzed casein formula supplemented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (EHCF+LGG) accelerates tolerance acquisition in infants with cow's milk allergy (CMA). We examined whether this effect is attributable, at least in part, to an influence on the gut microbiota. Fecal samples from healthy controls (n=20) and from CMA infants (n=19) before and after treatment with EHCF with (n=12) and without (n=7) supplementation with LGG were compared by 16S rRNA-based operational taxonomic unit clustering and oligotyping. Differential feature selection and generalized linear model fitting revealed that the CMA infants have a diverse gut microbial community structure dominated by Lachnospiraceae (20.5±9.7%) and Ruminococcaceae (16.2±9.1%). Blautia, Roseburia and Coprococcus were significantly enriched following treatment with EHCF and LGG, but only one genus, Oscillospira, was significantly different between infants that became tolerant and those that remained allergic. However, most tolerant infants showed a significant increase in fecal butyrate levels, and those taxa that were significantly enriched in these samples, Blautia and Roseburia, exhibited specific strain-level demarcations between tolerant and allergic infants. Our data suggest that EHCF+LGG promotes tolerance in infants with CMA, in part, by influencing the strain-level bacterial community structure of the infant gut

NMR Structure of the Human Prion Protein with the Pathological Q212P Mutation Reveals Unique Structural Features

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by an aberrant accumulation of the misfolded cellular prion protein (PrPC) conformer, denoted as infectious scrapie isoform or PrPSc. In inherited human prion diseases, mutations in the open reading frame of the PrP gene (PRNP) are hypothesized to favor spontaneous generation of PrPSc in specific brain regions leading to neuronal cell degeneration and death. Here, we describe the NMR solution structure of the truncated recombinant human PrP from residue 90 to 231 carrying the Q212P mutation, which is believed to cause Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) syndrome, a familial prion disease. The secondary structure of the Q212P mutant consists of a flexible disordered tail (residues 90–124) and a globular domain (residues 125–231). The substitution of a glutamine by a proline at the position 212 introduces novel structural differences in comparison to the known wild-type PrP structures. The most remarkable differences involve the C-terminal end of the protein and the β2–α2 loop region. This structure might provide new insights into the early events of conformational transition of PrPC into PrPSc. Indeed, the spontaneous formation of prions in familial cases might be due to the disruptions of the hydrophobic core consisting of β2–α2 loop and α3 helix

Validation of a new prognostic index score for disseminated nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma have variable survival outcomes. We previously designed a scoring system to better prognosticate these patients. Here, we report results on validation of this new prognostic index score in a separate cohort of patients. Clinical features and laboratory parameters were examined in 172 patients with univariate and multivariate analyses and a numerical score was derived for each independent prognostic variable. Significant independent prognostic variables and their scores assigned included poor performance status (score 5), haemoglobin <12 g dl−1 (score 4) and disease-free interval (DFI) (DFI⩽6 months (score 10) or metastases at initial diagnosis (score 1)). Maximum score was 19 and patients stratified into three prognostic groups: good, 0–3; intermediate, 4–8; poor, ⩾9. When applied to a separate cohort of 120 patients, 59 patients were good, 43 intermediate and 18 poor prognosis, with median survivals of 19.6 (95% CI 16.1, 23.1), 14.3 (95% CI 12.3, 16.2) and 7.9 (95% CI 6.6, 9.2) months, respectively. (logrank test: P=0.003). We have validated a new prognostic score with factors readily available in the clinics. This simple score will prove useful as a method to prognosticate and stratify patients as well as to promote consistent reporting among clinical trials

Predicted Disappearance of Cephalantheropsis obcordata in Luofu Mountain Due to Changes in Rainfall Patterns

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>In the past century, the global average temperature has increased by approximately 0.74°C and extreme weather events have become prevalent. Recent studies have shown that species have shifted from high-elevation areas to low ones because the rise in temperature has increased rainfall. These outcomes challenge the existing hypothesis about the responses of species to climate change.</p> <h3>Methodology/Principal Findings</h3><p>With the use of data on the biological characteristics and reproductive behavior of <em>Cephalantheropsis obcordata</em> in Luofu Mountain, Guangdong, China, trends in the population size of the species were predicted based on several factors. The response of <em>C. obcordata</em> to climate change was verified by integrating it with analytical findings on meteorological data and an artificially simulated environment of water change. The results showed that <em>C. obcordata</em> can grow only in waterlogged streams. The species can produce fruit with many seeds by insect pollination; however, very few seeds can burgeon to become seedlings, with most of those seedlings not maturing into the sexually reproductive phase, and grass plants will die after reproduction. The current population's age pyramid is kettle-shaped; it has a Deevey type I survival curve; and its net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase, as well as finite rate of increase are all very low. The population used in the artificial simulation perished due to seasonal drought.</p> <h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The change in rainfall patterns caused by climate warming has altered the water environment of <em>C. obcordata</em> in Luofu Mountain, thereby restricting seed burgeoning as well as seedling growth and shortening the life span of the plant. The growth rate of the <em>C. obcordata</em> population is in descending order, and models of population trend predict that the population in Luofu Mountain will disappear in 23 years.</p> </div