Dreading and Ranting: The Distinct Effects of Anxiety and Anger in Online Seller Reviews

This paper explores effects of the emotions embedded in a seller review on its perceived helpfulness. Drawing on frameworks from the emotion and cognitive processing literatures, the authors propose that although emotional review content is subject to a well-known negativity bias, the effects of discrete emotions will vary, and that one source of this variance is perceptions of reviewers’ cognitive effort. We focused on the roles of two distinct, negative emotions common to seller reviews: anxiety and anger. In Study 1, actual seller reviews from Yahoo Shopping websites were collected to determine the effects of anxiety and anger on review helpfulness. In Study 2, an experiment was utilized to identify and explain the differential impact of anxiety and anger in terms of perceived reviewer effort. Our findings demonstrate the importance of examining discrete emotions in online word-of-mouth, and they also carry important practical implications for consumers and online retailers

Green fluorescent protein-based assays for high-throughput functional characterization and ligand-binding studies of biotin protein ligase

In E. coli and other prokaryotes such as Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, biotin protein ligase (BirA) is an emerging drug target as it is the sole enzyme capable of biotin transfer onto the BCCP subunit of ACC. There is currently a gap in simple yet efficient assays for rapidly identifying and characterising inhibitors targeting BirA. We present for the first time the development and validation of a simple and reliable DSF-GTP assay for the high-throughput screening of BirA: ligand interactions using a new GFP-tagged BirA of E. coli. In addition, we developed a new GFP-based biotinylation activity assay taking advantage of a GFP tethered with an AviTag. The data obtained with these assays revealed new insights into how the binding of individual or combinations of ligands affect the overall thermal stability and affinity of BirA. The DSF-GTP assay has a Z' value of 0.785 that makes it an excellent tool for future high-throughput screening of inhibitory compounds

Insights into spatial inhomogeneity in an oxygen plasma from cavity ringdown spectroscopy

Cavity ringdown spectroscopy has been used to investigate the translational and rotational temperatures of the v = 0 and 1 vibrational levels of O2(X) in an inductively coupled plasma at 100 mTorr (13.332 Pa) pressure. All rotational states probed display a clear increase in temperature as plasma power increases: at fixed power, the translational temperature appears largest for rotational states in v = 1 (J= 7, 16, 17, 22) and lowest in the low energy states (J = 1, 18, 19) in v = 0; highly excited rotational states (J = 28, 30, 31) of v = 0 show intermediate behaviour. The rotational temperature values behave similarly. These observations are consistent with the effects of plasma inhomogeneity and can be interpreted with a simple one-dimensional model whereby the pressure, temperature and mole fractions of the various species across the chamber (and arms) are approximated with rational profiles and the corresponding line-of-sight averaged densities and temperatures calculated. This basic model is reasonably successful at reproducing the observations for O2(X, v = 0) and O(3P) densities. The fact that resolving several rotational transitions allows spatial variations within the plasma to be inferred from line-of-sight averaged measurements is an extremely powerful result that could be of great utility in future work

Extracellular matrix stiffness controls cardiac fibroblast proliferation via the nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) transcription factor

The proliferative expansion of cardiac fibroblasts (CF) contributes towards cardiac fibrosis, which results in myocardial stiffening, cardiac dysfunction, and heart failure. CF sense and respond to increased stiffness of their local extracellular matrix, modulating their phenotype towards increased collagen synthesis and higher proliferation, leading potentially to a vicious circle of positive feedback. Here we describe a novel mechanism that mediates increased CF proliferation in response to a pathologically stiff Exteracellular matrix (ECM). The mechanism we describe is independent of the well-characterised mechano-sensitive transcript factors, YAP-TEAD and MKL1-SRF, which our data indicate are only responsible for part of the genes induced by stiffened ECM. Instead, our data identify Nuclear Factor-Y (NF-Y) as a novel mechanosensitive transcription factor, which mediates enhanced CF proliferation in response to a stiff ECM. We show that levels of NF-YA protein, the major regulatory subunit of NF-Y, and NF-Y transcriptional activity, are increased by a stiff ECM. Indeed, NF-Y activity drives the expression of multiple cell-cycle genes. Furthermore, NF-YA protein levels are dependent on FAK signalling suggesting a mechanistic link to ECM composition. Consistent with its role as a mechano-sensor, inhibition of NF-Y using siRNA or dominant negative mutant blocks CF proliferation on plastic in vitro, which models a stiff ECM, whereas ectopic expression of NF-YA increases the proliferation of cells interacting under conditions that model a physiologically soft ECM. In summary, our data demonstrate that NF-Y is a biomechanically sensitive transcription factor that promotes CF proliferation in a model of pathologically stiffened ECM

The experiences of international nurses and midwives transitioning to work in the UK: A qualitative synthesis of the literature from 2010-2019

Purpose. In recent years there has been an increase in international nurses and midwives (trained outside of the European Economic Area) recruited to work in the UK. The aim of this review was to synthesise the most recent qualitative research exploring the experiences of international nurses and midwives as they transition and adapt to living and working in the UK. Findings. A systematic literature search using the databases psycINFO, CINAHL, MEDline, Web of Science, as well as Google Scholar, resulted in six studies meeting the criteria of primary qualitative research published since 2010 and focussing on the UK as the host country. A lack of research into the experiences of midwives meant that the participants in each of these six studies were international nurses. The findings of these six studies were synthesised into 4 analytical themes: (1) Cultural integration; (2) Individual challenges; (3) Support networks, and; (4) Communication issues. Participants reported difficulties adapting to their new life in the UK, including within their role as a nurse, but also in finding and building positive relationships that would help to ease their transition. Instances of discrimination, an undervaluing of international nurses’ skillset, and problems around communication were all detrimental to this process. Summary. These studies are in line with earlier findings that suggest international nurses face a challenging integration process when recruited to work in the UK, indicating no improvement in international nurse experience. With an increasing number of international nurses being recruited to work in the UK, this review raises concerns based on the need to effectively support these nurses to successfully integrate into work and the wider society

Prenatal development is linked to bronchial reactivity: epidemiological and animal model evidence

Chronic cardiorespiratory disease is associated with low birthweight suggesting the importance of the developmental environment. Prenatal factors affecting fetal growth are believed important, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The influence of developmental programming on bronchial hyperreactivity is investigated in an animal model and evidence for comparable associations is sought in humans. Pregnant Wistar rats were fed either control or protein-restricted diets throughout pregnancy. Bronchoconstrictor responses were recorded from offspring bronchial segments. Morphometric analysis of paraffin-embedded lung sections was conducted. In a human mother-child cohort ultrasound measurements of fetal growth were related to bronchial hyperreactivity, measured at age six years using methacholine. Protein-restricted rats' offspring demonstrated greater bronchoconstriction than controls. Airway structure was not altered. Children with lesser abdominal circumference growth during 11-19 weeks' gestation had greater bronchial hyperreactivity than those with more rapid abdominal growth. Imbalanced maternal nutrition during pregnancy results in offspring bronchial hyperreactivity. Prenatal environmental influences might play a comparable role in humans

Selective protein unfolding: a universal mechanism of action for the development of irreversible inhibitors

High-throughput differential scanning fluorimetry of GFP-tagged proteins (HT-DSF-GTP) was applied for the identification of novel enzyme inhibitors acting by a mechanism termed: selective protein unfolding (SPU). Four different protein targets were interrogated with the same library to identify target-selective hits. Several hits selectively destabilized bacterial biotin protein ligase. Structure–activity relationship data confirmed a structure-dependent mechanism of protein unfolding. Simvastatin and altenusin were confirmed to irreversibly inactivate biotin protein ligase. The principle of SPU combined with HT-DSF-GTP affords an invaluable and innovative workflow for the identification of new inhibitors with potential applications as antimicrobials and other biocides

Relaxin-1–deficient mice develop an age-related progression of renal fibrosis

Relaxin-1–deficient mice develop an age-related progression of renal fibrosis.BackgroundRelaxin (RLX) is a peptide hormone that stimulates the breakdown of collagen in preparation for parturition and when administered to various models of induced fibrosis. However, its significance in the aging kidney is yet to be established. In this study, we compared structural and functional changes in the kidney of aging relaxin-1 (RLX-/-) deficient mice and normal (RLX+/+) mice.MethodsThe kidney cortex and medulla of male and female RLX+/+ and RLX-/- mice at various ages were analyzed for collagen content, concentration, and types. Histologic analysis, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of relaxin and relaxin receptor mRNA expression, receptor autoradiography, glomerular isolation/analysis, and serum/urine analysis were also employed. Relaxin treatment of RLX-/- mice was used to confirm the antifibrotic effects of the peptide.ResultsWe demonstrate an age-related progression of renal fibrosis in male, but not female, RLX-/- mice with significantly (P < 0.05) increased tissue dry weight, collagen (type I) content and concentration. The increased collagen expression in the kidney was associated with increased glomerular matrix and to a lesser extent, interstitial fibrosis in RLX-/- mice, which also had significantly increased serum creatinine (P < 0.05) and urinary protein (P < 0.05). Treatment of RLX-/- mice with relaxin in established stages of renal fibrosis resulted in the reversal of collagen deposition.ConclusionThis study supports the concept that relaxin may provide a means to regulate excessive collagen deposition during kidney development and in diseased states characterized by renal fibrosis