Post-Adoption Behaviors of E-Bookstore Customers

Although trade costs for both sellers and buyers can be reduced through the usage of e-commerce, however low transfer costs and global competition cause that the e-bookstores to have to maintain their customer loyalty is more difficult than traditional shopping stores. The formations of the customer loyalty of e-bookstores have been explored by many researchers from different points of view, such as service quality, satisfaction and trust. Nevertheless, the current bottleneck of e-commerce operation is that consumers are no longer continuing using e-bookstores. Based on the theory of Post-Acceptance Model, this study empirically tested using a field survey of e-bookstore customers. According to the deconstruction of online store environment, the factors of expectation-confirmation contain the confirmation of information contents, the confirmation of system platform and confirmation of web services quality. The results showed that satisfaction and perceived usefulness are significant predictors of continuance intention. The expectation-confirmation factors except the confirmation of system platform are significant predictor of satisfaction and perceived usefulness. The implications of these findings for e-bookstore continuance theory and practice are proposed in the final section

Bis{1-[(E)-(2-methyl­phen­yl)diazen­yl]-2-naphtho­lato}palladium(II)

In the title compound, [Pd(C17H13N2O)2], the PdII atom is tetra­coordinated by two N atoms and two O atoms from two bidentate methylphenyl­diazenylnaphtolate ligands, forming a square-planar complex. The two N atoms and two O atoms around the PdII atom are trans to each other (as the PdII atom lies on a crystallographic inversion centre) with O—Pd—N bond angles of 89.60 (11) and 90.40 (11)°. The distances between the PdII atom and the coordinated O and N atoms are 1.966 (3) and 2.009 (3) Å, respectively

Effects of human parvovirus B19 VP1 unique region protein on macrophage responses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Activity of secreted phospholipase A (sPLA2) has been implicated in a wide range of cellular responses. However, little is known about the function of human parvovirus B19-VP1 unique region (VP1u) with sPLA2 activity on macrophage.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To investigate the roles of B19-VP1u in response to macrophage, phospholipase A2 activity, cell migration assay, phagocytosis activity, metalloproteinase assay, RT-PCR and immunoblotting were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study, we report that migration, phagocytosis, IL-6, IL-1β mRNA, and MMP9 activity are significantly increased in RAW264.7 cells by B19-VP1u protein with sPLA2 activity, but not by B19-VP1uD175A protein that is mutated and lacks sPLA2 activity. Additionally, significant increases of phosphorylated ERK1/2 and JNK proteins were detected in macrophages that were treated with B19-VP1u protein, but not when they were treated with B19-VP1uD175A protein.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Taken together, our experimental results suggest that B19-VP1u with sPLA2 activity affects production of IL-6, IL-1β mRNA, and MMP9 activity, possibly through the involvement of ERK1/2 and JNK signaling pathways. These findings could provide clues in understanding the role of B19-VP1u and its sPLA2 enzymatic activity in B19 infection and B19-related diseases.</p

X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome with CD40LG mutation: Two case reports and literature review in Taiwanese patients

Hyper-IgM syndrome (HIGM) is a rare primary immunodeficiency disorder characterized by elevated or normal serum IgM and decreased IgG, IgA, and IgE due to defective immunoglobulin class switching. X-linked HIGM (XHIGM, HIGM1) is the most frequent type, is caused by mutations in the CD40 ligand gene, and is regarded as a combined T and B immunodeficiency. We report an 18-year-old male who was diagnosed initially with hypogammaglobulinemia in infancy, but developed repeated pneumonia, sepsis, cellulitis, perianal abscess, pericarditis, and bronchiectasis despite regular intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy. The patient died at age 18 years due to pneumonia and tension pneumothorax. Mutation analysis revealed CD40L gene mutation within Exon 5 at nucleotide position 476 (cDNA 476G > A). This nonsense mutation predicted a tryptophan codon (TGG) change to a stop codon (TGA) at position 140 (W140X), preventing CD40L protein expression. Sequence analysis in the family confirmed a de novo mutation. The second case of 6-month-old male infant presented as Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Gene analysis of the CD40L gene revealed G to C substitution in Intron 4 (c.409 + 5G > C) and mother was a carrier. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the only cure for XHIGM, was arranged in the second case

Garlic Oil Alleviates MAPKs- and IL-6-mediated Diabetes-related Cardiac Hypertrophy in STZ-induced DM Rats

Garlic oil has been reported to protect the cardiovascular system; however, the effects and mechanisms behind the cardioprotection of garlic oil on diabetes-induced cardiaomyopathy are unclear. In this study, we used streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats to investigate whether garlic oil could protect the heart from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy. Wistar STZ-induced diabetic rats received garlic oil (0, 10, 50 or 100 mg kg_1 body weight) by gastric gavage every 2 days for 16 days. Normal rats without diabetes were used as control. Cardiac contractile dysfunction and cardiac pathologic hypertrophy responses were observed in diabetic rat hearts. Cardiac function was examined using echocardiography. In addition to cardiac hypertrophy-related mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways (e.g., p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and extracellularly responsive kinase (ERK1/2)), the IL-6/MEK5/ERK5 signaling pathway was greatly activated in the diabetic rat hearts, which contributes to the up-regulation of cardiac pathologic hypertrophy markers including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and leads to cardiac contractile dysfunction. Garlic oil treatment significantly inhibited the up-regulation in MAPK (e.g., p38, JNK and ERK1/2) and IL-6/MEK5/ERK5 signaling pathways in the diabetic rat hearts, reducing the levels of cardiac pathologic hypertrophy markers such as ANP and BNP, and improving the cardiac contractile function. Collectively, data from these studies demonstrate that garlic oil shows the potential cardioprotective effects for protecting heart from diabetic cardiomyopathy

Advantage of laparoscopic surgery in patients with generalized obesity operated for colorectal malignancy: A retrospective cohort study

BackgroundBecause of the progression of minimally invasive surgery skills and obesity in colorectal surgery, we aimed to evaluate the short-term outcomes of colorectal cancer resections in patients with generalized obesity at a single teaching hospital with mature surgical techniques and training programs.MethodsA total of 537 patients were diagnosed with CRC and had a body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 between January 2009 and December 2019 at a single institution. 265 patients underwent open surgery and 272 patients underwent laparoscopic surgery. Data were analysed to explore the independent risk factors for postoperative complications.ResultsThe laparoscopic group had less blood loss (73 ± 128 vs. 148 ± 290 ml, p &lt; 0.001) and a shorter postoperative hospital stay (10.8 ± 17.1 vs. 11.7 ± 6.8 days, p &lt; 0.001) than the open group. The number of harvested lymph nodes did not significantly differ between the two groups (30.9 ± 18.3 vs. 30.2 ± 15.3, p = 0.981). Although anastomotic leakage was significantly higher in the laparoscopic group (1.5% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.030), there were also similar overall postoperative morbidity and mortality rates between the open and laparoscopic groups for CRC patients with generalized obesity who underwent surgery.ConclusionLaparoscopic surgery can reduce blood loss, decrease the length of hospital stay, obtain a similar number of harvested lymph nodes, and achieve an acceptable conversion rate for CRC patients with generalized obesity. We suggest that laparoscopic surgery could become a standard method for CRC treatment in patients with generalized obesity

Anti-Neuroinflammatory Effects of the Calcium Channel Blocker Nicardipine on Microglial Cells: Implications for Neuroprotection

Background/Objective Nicardipine is a calcium channel blocker that has been widely used to control blood pressure in severe hypertension following events such as ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, and intracerebral hemorrhage. However, accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory processes in the central nervous system that are mediated by microglial activation play important roles in neurodegeneration, and the effect of nicardipine on microglial activation remains unresolved. Methodology/Principal Findings In the present study, using murine BV-2 microglia, we demonstrated that nicardipine significantly inhibits microglia-related neuroinflammatory responses. Treatment with nicardipine inhibited microglial cell migration. Nicardipine also significantly inhibited LPS plus IFN-γ-induced release of nitric oxide (NO), and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Furthermore, nicardipine also inhibited microglial activation by peptidoglycan, the major component of the Gram-positive bacterium cell wall. Notably, nicardipine also showed significant anti-neuroinflammatory effects on microglial activation in mice in vivo. Conclusion/Significance The present study is the first to report a novel inhibitory role of nicardipine on neuroinflammation and provides a new candidate agent for the development of therapies for inflammation-related neurodegenerative diseases