Selling services by creating trust. An empirical study in the German Trade fair Market

Although trade fairs are one of the most used marketing tools in business-to-business marketing, they are not well researched. Due to its geographical location and its economic importance, the German trade fair market is considered one of the most, if not the most important, exhibition place worldwide. With numerous national and international trade fairs for a vast variety of industries, German trade fair organizers draw thousands of exhibitors and millions of visitors to their fairgrounds in Germany. While the core business of the German trade fair organizers is to sell exhibition space to the exhibiting companies, they also offer and sell a wide range of services, accompanying the participation in a trade fair. Different categories of services are offered. Some of the services are mandatory and therefore, the exhibitors need to acquire them from the trade fair organizing company. Other services might be necessary to realize the exhibitors’ plans regarding the participation, yet do not need to be ordered and purchased from the trade fair organizer but can also be arranged through third parties, meaning external service suppliers. Although German trade fair organizing companies have made an effort to promote their service offers more effectively with different marketing activities, sales have not met the desired targets. The question arises how sales can be increased. Services are immaterial goods. They cannot be touched, seen or experienced before the purchase. Thus, potential customers might face the difficulty of deciding on the right service provider. Services contain an enormous share of credence qualities. Consequently, people, relationships, and intangible assets receive a high importance in the process of deciding on a service provider. German trade fair organizing companies have to deal with these obstacles. They face the supplementary difficulty of acting in international business-to-business work relationships when trying to sell their services. Previous research on service marketing and business relationships has discovered the importance of trust in order to build strong business relationships with customers and to increase service sales. However, no generally valid results on the determinants creating this trust or the trust-building communication with the customer have been discovered. They seem to vary between industries and thus, need to be analyzed for the German trade fair market specifically. So, based on the literature review on the topics of service marketing, business-to-business marketing, the analysis of the principal-agent approach as well as the current state of trust research, empirical research has been carried out on the topic of selling services more effectively by creating trust. Two exemplary industries (medical and glass manufacturing industries) exhibiting on German fairgrounds were chosen for the survey. The results show that exhibitors on German fairgrounds experience an information asymmetry between a service provider and a customer. They show a desire for long-lasting business relationships and consider trust as an essential part of them. When analyzing the determinants forming trust, the aspects of communication between the service provider and his customer, reliability, and honesty are most important. The service provider should show commitment, offer correct information and be a partner also in difficult situations when communicating with his customers. While these aspects seem generally important to all exhibitors, differences between subgroups based on cultural background, ordered stand size as well as the exhibitor status could be detected. Moreover, the detailed results cannot simply be transferred from one exhibiting industry to the next. Therefore, based on the German trade fair market, trust can be considered essential when selling services. Furthermore, ways of how to build and maintain this trust have been discovered. However, the presented survey detected also a need to examine each exhibiting industry in detail, considering the dissimilarity of the exhibitors per industry segment. Only then, trade fair organizers can ensure a trust-building communication and trustful business relationship between them and their customer for selling services more successful in the future.DerechoAdministración y Dirección de Empresa

The first step into phenolic metabolism in the hornwort Anthoceros agrestis: molecular and biochemical characterization of two phenylalanine ammonia-lyase isoforms

Two isoforms of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) have been isolated as cDNA sequences from the hornwort Anthoceros agrestis. The encoded enzymes convert L-phenylalanine and to lower extents L-tyrosine and L-histidine. Thus, the functional presence of the general phenylpropanoid pathway in one of the earliest land plant groups is established. The hornwort Anthoceros agrestis has an elaborated phenolic metabolism resulting in phenolic compounds, such as rosmarinic acid or megacerotonic acid. The general phenylpropanoid pathway is involved in the biosynthesis of these compounds. Two phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) genes, AaPAL1 and AaPAL2, have been identified in Anthoceros agrestis and the protein with an N-terminal 6xHis-tag heterologously synthesized in Escherichia coli for a full biochemical characterization. Both PAL proteins accept L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine as well as L-histidine as substrates, although the activity is explicitly the highest with L-phenylalanine. K$_{m}$ values as well as catalytic efficiencies were determined for phenylalanine (K$_{m}$ AaPAL1 39 µM, AaPAL2 18 µM) and tyrosine (K$_{m}$ AaPAL1 3.3 mM, AaPAL2 3.5 mM). In suspension cultures of Anthoceros agrestis, PAL genes were transcribed in parallel to rosmarinic acid (RA) accumulation and both showed highest abundance in the early growth phase. In a phylogenetic tree, both AaPAL amino acid sequences grouped within a clade with PAL amino acid sequences of diverse origin ranging from non-vascular to vascular plants, while most PALs from eudicots and monocots were mainly found in two other clades. The similarity of the hornwort PAL amino acid sequences to PAL sequences from vascular plants is more than 80% showing a strong conservation within the land plants. With this characterization of PALs from Anthoceros agrestis together with former investigations concerning cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase and 4-coumaric acid CoA-ligase, the functional presence of the general phenylpropanoid pathway in this hornwort is proven

Determination of sinapine in rapeseed pomace extract: its antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibition properties.

Sinapine is the main secondary metabolite present in rapeseed pomace (RSP) with its concentration being dependent on rapeseed processing, growing conditions, extraction parameters and the country of origin. Here we report, the concentration of sinapine from an extract of defatted RSP harvested in the North East of Scotland. Using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, the most abundant phenolic compound in the RSP extract was, as expected, sinapine (109.1 mg/g RSP extract). Additionally, sinapic, caffeic, ferulic and syringic acids were identified (0.159-3.91 mg/g RSP extract). Sinapine together with the phenolics at the concentration present in the RSP extract, exhibited ≥ 50% activity relative to the extract in antioxidant assays. Furthermore, sinapine provided plasmid DNA (pBR322) protection, from 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride and inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity by 85 %. Molecular docking was utilised to explain the inhibitory activity. RSP can be an excellent source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceuticals, food additive and nutraceutical applications

Polymorphisms in the Mitochondrial Genome Are Associated With Bullous Pemphigoid in Germans

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most prevalent autoimmune skin blistering disease and is characterized by the generation of autoantibodies against the hemidesmosomal proteins BP180 (type XVII collagen) and BP230. Most intriguingly, BP is distinct from other autoimmune diseases because it predominantly affects elderly individuals above the age of 75 years, raising the question why autoantibodies and the clinical lesions of BP emerges mostly in this later stage of life, even in individuals harboring known putative BP-associated germline gene variants. The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is a potential candidate to provide additional insights into the BP etiology; however, the mtDNA has not been extensively explored to date. Therefore, we sequenced the whole mtDNA of German BP patients (n = 180) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 188) using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, followed by the replication study using Sanger sequencing of an additional independent BP (n = 89) and control cohort (n = 104). While the BP and control groups showed comparable mitochondrial haplogroup distributions, the haplogroup T exhibited a tendency of higher frequency in BP patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases (ND) compared to BP patients without ND (50%; 3 in 6 BP with haplogroup T). A total of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the mtDNA, namely, m.16263T>C, m.16051A>G, and m.16162A>G in the D-loop region of the mtDNA, and m.11914G>A in the mitochondrially encoded NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit 4 gene (MT-ND4), were found to be significantly associated with BP based on the meta-analysis of our NGS data and the Sanger sequencing data (p = 0.0017, p = 0.0129, p = 0.0076, and p = 0.0132, respectively, Peto's test). More specifically, the three SNPs in the D-loop region were negatively, and the SNP in the MT-ND4 gene was positively associated with BP. Our study is the first to interrogate the whole mtDNA in BP patients and controls and to implicate multiple novel mtDNA variants in disease susceptibility. Studies using larger cohorts and more diverse populations are warranted to explore the functional consequences of the mtDNA variants identified in this study on immune and skin cells to understand their contributions to BP pathology

Polymorphisms in the Mitochondrial Genome Are Associated With Bullous Pemphigoid in Germans

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most prevalent autoimmune skin blistering disease and is characterized by the generation of autoantibodies against the hemidesmosomal proteins BP180 (type XVII collagen) and BP230. Most intriguingly, BP is distinct from other autoimmune diseases because it predominantly affects elderly individuals above the age of 75 years, raising the question why autoantibodies and the clinical lesions of BP emerges mostly in this later stage of life, even in individuals harboring known putative BP-associated germline gene variants. The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is a potential candidate to provide additional insights into the BP etiology; however, the mtDNA has not been extensively explored to date. Therefore, we sequenced the whole mtDNA of German BP patients (n = 180) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 188) using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, followed by the replication study using Sanger sequencing of an additional independent BP (n = 89) and control cohort (n = 104). While the BP and control groups showed comparable mitochondrial haplogroup distributions, the haplogroup T exhibited a tendency of higher frequency in BP patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases (ND) compared to BP patients without ND (50%; 3 in 6 BP with haplogroup T). A total of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the mtDNA, namely, m.16263T>C, m.16051A>G, and m.16162A>G in the D-loop region of the mtDNA, and m.11914G>A in the mitochondrially encoded NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit 4 gene (MT-ND4), were found to be significantly associated with BP based on the meta-analysis of our NGS data and the Sanger sequencing data (p = 0.0017, p = 0.0129, p = 0.0076, and p = 0.0132, respectively, Peto's test). More specifically, the three SNPs in the D-loop region were negatively, and the SNP in the MT-ND4 gene was positively associated with BP. Our study is the first to interrogate the whole mtDNA in BP patients and controls and to implicate multiple novel mtDNA variants in disease susceptibility. Studies using larger cohorts and more diverse populations are warranted to explore the functional consequences of the mtDNA variants identified in this study on immune and skin cells to understand their contributions to BP pathology

Distinct glutaminyl cyclase expression in Edinger–Westphal nucleus, locus coeruleus and nucleus basalis Meynert contributes to pGlu-Aβ pathology in Alzheimer’s disease

Glutaminyl cyclase (QC) was discovered recently as the enzyme catalyzing the pyroglutamate (pGlu or pE) modification of N-terminally truncated Alzheimer’s disease (AD) Aβ peptides in vivo. This modification confers resistance to proteolysis, rapid aggregation and neurotoxicity and can be prevented by QC inhibitors in vitro and in vivo, as shown in transgenic animal models. However, in mouse brain QC is only expressed by a relatively low proportion of neurons in most neocortical and hippocampal subregions. Here, we demonstrate that QC is highly abundant in subcortical brain nuclei severely affected in AD. In particular, QC is expressed by virtually all urocortin-1-positive, but not by cholinergic neurons of the Edinger–Westphal nucleus, by noradrenergic locus coeruleus and by cholinergic nucleus basalis magnocellularis neurons in mouse brain. In human brain, QC is expressed by both, urocortin-1 and cholinergic Edinger–Westphal neurons and by locus coeruleus and nucleus basalis Meynert neurons. In brains from AD patients, these neuronal populations displayed intraneuronal pE-Aβ immunoreactivity and morphological signs of degeneration as well as extracellular pE-Aβ deposits. Adjacent AD brain structures lacking QC expression and brains from control subjects were devoid of such aggregates. This is the first demonstration of QC expression and pE-Aβ formation in subcortical brain regions affected in AD. Our results may explain the high vulnerability of defined subcortical neuronal populations and their central target areas in AD as a consequence of QC expression and pE-Aβ formation

Epigenetic Control of Trefoil Factor Family (TFF) Peptide Expression in Human Retinoblastoma Cell Lines

Background: Recent studies demonstrated that epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the regulation of trefoil factor family (TFF) peptide expression in cancer. In human tissues with endogenous TFF1, TFF2 or TFF3 gene expression, the corresponding promoter is unmethylated and in organs without TFF expression, the promoter of the three genes is highly methylated. Methods: Retinoblastoma (Rb) cell lines were treated with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-Aza-2`deoxycytidine (5-Aza-dC), the histone deacetylase inhibitor 4-Phenylbutyric acid (PBA) or both and analyzed for changes (i) in TFF mRNA expression by Real-time PCR and (ii) in the methylation status of the TFF promoters by genomic bisulfite sequencing. Results: The degree of promoter methylation correlates with endogenous TFF expression in the retinoblastoma cell lines analyzed. Nearly all Rb cell lines exhibiting high endogenous TFF1 expression displayed low methylation of the CpGs in the corresponding promoter region. Low expression of TFF3 in Rb cell lines is linked with high density methylation of the TFF3 promoter. 5-Aza-dC treatment induced TFF1 and TFF3 expression in nearly all cell lines investigated and combined treatment with PBA further increased this effect. The number of methylated CpG dinucleotides of the TFF promoter is clearly reduced upon treatment with 5-Aza-dC and combined treatment with PBA further extended the degree of demethylation. Conclusion: Our data clearly show that the expression of TFF3 in retinoblastoma cell lines is epigenetically regulated, whereas the level of TFF1 and TFF2 seems to be regulated by other or additional mechanisms

Executive Functions in Children from Low-Income Neighborhoods During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence of Multidirectional Changes

In a sample of 369 children from low-income neighborhoods in Germany (Mage = 8.49 years; 50.41% female), we (1) investigated changes in children’s executive functions (EFs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) explored whether families’ nurturing care could protect children’s EFs. We repeatedly examined children before and after a six-month lockdown period with school closures in late 2020 and mid-2021. We used the Flanker/Reverse Flanker Task to assess subdomains of children’s EFs (cognitive flexibility, effortful inhibition, selective attention), and we asked home-room teachers about families’ capacities to provide nurturing care. Multi-level modeling showed that task performances requiring cognitive flexibility and effortful inhibition deteriorated throughout the lockdown period while selective attention improved. The deterioration in effortful inhibition occurred in children with lower levels of nurturing care only. Our study suggests multidirectional effects of pandemic-related adversity on the EFs of socioeconomically disadvantaged children. Future research should distinguish between the effects of environmental adversity on bottom-up versus top-down dominated EFs

Role of L1CAM in retinoblastoma tumorigenesis: identification of novel therapeutic targets

Dräger O, Metz K, Busch M, Dünker N. Role of L1CAM in retinoblastoma tumorigenesis: identification of novel therapeutic targets. Molecular Oncology. 2022;16(4):957-981.The study presented focuses on the role of the neuronal cell adhesion molecule L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) in retinoblastoma (RB), the most common malignant intraocular childhood tumor. L1CAM is differentially expressed in a variety of human cancers and has been suggested as a promising therapeutic target. We likewise observed differential expression patterns for L1CAM in RB cell lines and patient samples. The two proteases involved in ectodomain shedding of L1CAM (L1CAM sheddases: ADAM10 and ADAM17) were likewise differentially expressed in the RB cell lines investigated, and an involvement in L1CAM processing in RB cells could be verified. We also identified ezrin, galectin‐3, and fibroblast growth factor basic as L1CAM signaling target genes in RB cells. LentiviralL1CAMknockdown induced apoptosis and reduced cell viability, proliferation, growth, and colony formation capacity of RB cells, whereasL1CAM‐overexpressing RB cells displayed the opposite effects. Chicken chorioallantoic membrane assays revealed thatL1CAMdepletion decreases the tumorigenic and migration potential of RB cellsin vivo. Moreover,L1CAMdepletion decreased viability and tumor growth of etoposide‐resistant RB cell lines upon etoposide treatmentin vitroandin vivo. Thus, L1CAM and its processing sheddases are potential novel targets for future therapeutic RB approaches