Embodied Persuasion: How Holding Your Smartphone Changes Your Product Perception

Online shopping through mobile devices has dramatically increased worldwide. This research investigates the role embodied interactions may play in stimulating virtual product experience in mobile commerce settings. Drawing on research on virtual product experience and embodied cognition, we hypothesize that holding a mobile device in hands (vs. putting the mobile device on the table) is more likely to create an illusion that the products being viewed are actually present in the real world and to stimulate imagery consumption experience, leading to higher purchase intention and choice satisfaction. This effect is more salient for desirable products than for undesirable products. We describe an experiment design for testing the hypotheses, report preliminary data analysis results, and discuss the potential theoretical and practical implications of this study

An approach to homogenize daily peak wind gusts: an application to the Australian series

Daily Peak Wind Gust (DPWG) time series are important for the evaluation of wind-related hazard risks to different socioeconomic and environmental sectors. Yet, wind time series analyses can be impacted by several artefacts, both tempo-rally and spatially, which may introduce inhomogeneities that mislead the study of their decadal variability and trends. The aim of this study is to present a strategy in the homogenization of a challenging climate extreme such as the DPWG using 548 time series across Australia for 1941–2016. This automatic homogenization of DPWG is implemented in the recently developed Version 3.1 of the R package Climatol. This approach is an advance in homogenization of climate records as it identifies 353 break points based on monthly data, splits the daily series into homo- geneous subperiods, and homogenizes them without needing the monthly corrections. The major advantages of this homogenization strategy are its ability to: (a) automatically homogenize a large number of DPWG series, including short-term ones and without needing site metadata (e.g., the change in observational equipment in 2010/2011 was correctly identified); (b) use the closest reference series even not sharing a common period with candidate series or presenting missing data; and (c) supply homogenized series, correcting anomalous data (quality control by spatial coherence), and filling in all the missing data. The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis wind speed data were also trialled in aiding homogenization given the station density was very low during the early decades of the record; however, reanalysis data did not improve the homogenization. Application of this approach found a reduced range of DPWG trends based on site data, and an increased negative regional trend of this climate extreme, compared to raw data and homogenized data using NCEP/NCAR. The analysis produced the first homogenized DPWG dataset to assess and attribute long-term variability of extreme winds across Australia.C.A.-M. received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 703733 (STILLING project). This work was also supported by the project “Detection and attribution of changes in extreme wind gusts over land” (2017-03780) funded by the Vetenskapsrådet, and the MULTITEST (Multiple verification of automatic software homogenizing monthly temperature and precipitation series; CGL2014-52901-P) project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity

A new approach to homogenize daily peak wind gusts: an application to the Australian series

Póster presentado en: EMS Annual Meeting - European Conference for Applied Meteorology and Climatology 2018, celebrado en Budapest del 3 al 7 de septiembre de 2018.Daily Peak Wind Gusts (DPWG) time-series are valuable data for the evaluation of wind related hazard risks to different socioeconomic and environmental sectors. Yet wind time-series analyses can be impacted by several artefacts, both temporally and spatially, that may introduce inhomogeneities that mislead the studies of their decadal variability and trends. The aim of this study is to present a new strategy in the homogenization of a challenging climate extreme such as the DPWG using 548 time-series across Australia for 1941-2016. This automatic homogenization of DPWG is implemented in the recently developed Version 3.0 of the R package Climatol. The new approach is an advance in homogenization of climate records as identifies 353 breakpoints based on monthly data, splits the daily series into homogeneous sub-periods, and homogenizes them without needing the monthly corrections. The major advantages of this homogenization strategy are its ability to: (i) automatically homogenize a large number of DPWG series, including short-term ones and without needing site metadata (e.g., the change in observational equipment in 2010/2011 was correctly identified); (ii) use the closest reference series even not sharing a common period with candidate series or presenting missing data; and (iii) supply homogenized series, correcting anomalous data (quality control by spatial coherence), and filling in all the missing data. The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis wind speed data was also trialled in aiding homogenization given the station density was very low during the early decades of the record; however, reanalysis data did not improve the homogenization. Application of the new approach found a reduced range of DPWG trends based on site data, and an increased negative regional trend of this climate extreme, compared to raw data and homogenized data using NCEP/NCAR. The analysis produced the first homogenized DPWG dataset to assess and attribute long-term variability of extreme winds across Australia.This work has been also supported by the Project “Detection and attribution of changes inextreme wind gusts over land ”(2017-03780) funded by the Swedish Research Council, and the MULTITEST (Multiple verification of automatic software homogenizing monthly temperatura and precipitation series; CGL2014-52901-P) project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity

Trends of daily peak wind gusts in Australia, 1948-2016

Póster presentado en: EGU General Assembly 2019 celebrada del 7 al 12 de abril en Viena, Austria.Daily Peak Wind Gust (DPWG) time series are important for the evaluation of wind-related hazard risks to different socioeconomic and environmental sectors. Yet wind time series analyses can be impacted by several artefacts, such as anemometer changes and site location changes, both temporally and spatially, that may introduce inhomogeneities that mislead the study of their decadal variability and trends. A previous study (EGU2018-14546 and Azorin-Molina et al. 2019. Int. J. Climatol. 39(4), 2260-2277) presented a strategy in the homogenization of this challenging climate extreme such as the DPWG. The automatic homogenization of this DPWG dataset was implemented in the recently developed version 3.1 of the R package Climatol which: (i) represents an advance in homogenization of this extreme climate record; and (ii) produced the first homogenized DPWG dataset to assess and attribute long-term variability of extreme winds across Australia. Given the inconsistencies of wind gust trends under the widespread decline in near-surface wind speed (stilling), the aim of this poster presentation is to show DPWG trends in 35 Bureau of Meteorology operated stations for 1948-2016, with particular focus on the spatiotemporal magnitude (wind speed maxima) of DPWG at annual, seasonal and monthly timescales.This work has been supported by the project “Detection and attribution of changes in extreme wind gusts over land” (2017-03780) funded by the Swedish Research Council

Molecular Etiology of Hearing Impairment in Inner Mongolia: mutations in SLC26A4 gene and relevant phenotype analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The molecular etiology of hearing impairment in Chinese has not been thoroughly investigated. Study of <it>GJB2 </it>gene revealed that 30.4% of the patients with hearing loss in Inner Mongolia carried <it>GJB2 </it>mutations. The <it>SLC26A4 </it>gene mutations and relevant phenotype are analyzed in this study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One hundred and thirty-five deaf patients were included. The coding exons of <it>SLC26A4 </it>gene were sequence analyzed in 111 patients, not including 22 patients carrying bi-allelic <it>GJB2 </it>mutations or one patient carrying a known <it>GJB2 </it>dominant mutation as well as one patient with <it>mtDNA </it>1555A>G mutation. All patients with <it>SLC26A4 </it>mutations or variants were subjected to high resolution temporal bone CT scan and those with confirmed enlarged vestibular aqueduct and/or other inner ear malformation were then given further ultrasound scan of thyroid and thyroid hormone assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-six patients (19.26%, 26/135) were found carrying <it>SLC26A4 </it>mutation. Among them, 17 patients with bi-allelic <it>SLC26A4 </it>mutations were all confirmed to have EVA or other inner ear malformation by CT scan. Nine patients were heterozygous for one <it>SLC26A4 </it>mutation, including 3 confirmed to be EVA or EVA and Mondini dysplasia by CT scan. The most common mutation, IVS7-2A>G, accounted for 58.14% (25/43) of all <it>SLC26A4 </it>mutant alleles. The shape and function of thyroid were confirmed to be normal by thyroid ultrasound scan and thyroid hormone assays in 19 of the 20 patients with EVA or other inner ear malformation except one who had cystoid change in the right side of thyroid. No Pendred syndrome was diagnosed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In Inner Mongolia, China, mutations in <it>SLC26A4 </it>gene account for about 12.6% (17/135) of the patients with hearing loss. Together with <it>GJB2 </it>(23/135), <it>SLC26A4 </it>are the two most commonly mutated genes causing deafness in this region. Pendred syndrome is not detected in this deaf population. We established a new strategy that detects <it>SLC26A4 </it>mutations prior to the temporal bone CT scan to find EVA and inner ear malformation patients. This model has a unique advantage in epidemiologic study of large deaf population.</p

A decline of observed daily peak wind gusts with distinct seasonality in Australia, 1941–2016

Wind gusts represent one of the main natural hazards due to their increasing socioeconomic and environmental impacts on, for example, human safety, maritime–terrestrial–aviation activities, engineering and insurance applications, and energy production. However, the existing scientific studies focused on observed wind gusts are relatively few compared to those on mean wind speed. In Australia, previous studies found a slowdown of near-surface mean wind speed, termed ‘‘stilling,’’ but a lack of knowledge on the multidecadal variability and trends in the magnitude (wind speed maxima) and frequency (exceeding the 90th percentile) of wind gusts exists. A new homogenized daily peak wind gusts (DPWG) dataset containing 548 time series across Australia for 1941–2016 is analyzed to determine long-term trends in wind gusts. Here we show that both the magnitude and frequency of DPWG declined across much of the continent, with a distinct seasonality: negative trends in summer–spring–autumn and weak negative or nontrending (even positive) trends in winter. We demonstrate that ocean–atmosphere oscillations such as the Indian Ocean dipole and the southern annular mode partly modulate decadal-scale variations of DPWG. The long-term declining trend of DPWG is consistent with the ‘‘stilling’’ phenomenon, suggesting that global warming may have reduced Australian wind gusts

Therapeutic microparticles functionalized with biomimetic cardiac stem cell membranes and secretome

Stem cell therapy represents a promising strategy in regenerative medicine. However, cells need to be carefully preserved and processed before usage. In addition, cell transplantation carries immunogenicity and/or tumourigenicity risks. Mounting lines of evidence indicate that stem cells exert their beneficial effects mainly through secretion (of regenerative factors) and membrane-based cell–cell interaction with the injured cells. Here, we fabricate a synthetic cell-mimicking microparticle (CMMP) that recapitulates stem cell functions in tissue repair. CMMPs carry similar secreted proteins and membranes as genuine cardiac stem cells do. In a mouse model of myocardial infarction, injection of CMMPs leads to the preservation of viable myocardium and augmentation of cardiac functions similar to cardiac stem cell therapy. CMMPs (derived from human cells) do not stimulate T-cell infiltration in immuno-competent mice. In conclusion, CMMPs act as ‘synthetic stem cells’ which mimic the paracrine and biointerfacing activities of natural stem cells in therapeutic cardiac regeneration

Differential sensitivity of melanoma cell lines with BRAFV600E mutation to the specific Raf inhibitor PLX4032

Blocking oncogenic signaling induced by the BRAFV600E mutation is a promising approach for melanoma treatment. We tested the anti-tumor effects of a specific inhibitor of Raf protein kinases, PLX4032/RG7204, in melanoma cell lines. PLX4032 decreased signaling through the MAPK pathway only in cell lines with the BRAFV600E mutation. Seven out of 10 BRAFV600E mutant cell lines displayed sensitivity based on cell viability assays and three were resistant at concentrations up to 10 μM. Among the sensitive cell lines, four were highly sensitive with IC50 values below 1 μM, and three were moderately sensitive with IC50 values between 1 and 10 μM. There was evidence of MAPK pathway inhibition and cell cycle arrest in both sensitive and resistant cell lines. Genomic analysis by sequencing, genotyping of close to 400 oncogeninc mutations by mass spectrometry, and SNP arrays demonstrated no major differences in BRAF locus amplification or in other oncogenic events between sensitive and resistant cell lines. However, metabolic tracer uptake studies demonstrated that sensitive cell lines had a more profound inhibition of FDG uptake upon exposure to PLX4032 than resistant cell lines. In conclusion, BRAFV600E mutant melanoma cell lines displayed a range of sensitivities to PLX4032 and metabolic imaging using PET probes can be used to assess sensitivity

Interaction between pollution and climate change augments ecological risk to a coastal ecosystem

Pollution and climate change are among the most challenging issues for countries with developing economies, but we know little about the ecological risks that result when these pressures occur together. We explored direct effects of, and interactions between, environmental pollution and climate change on ecosystem health in the Bohai Sea region of Northern China. We developed an integrated approach to assess ecological risks to this region under four scenarios of climate change. Although ecological risks to the system from pollution alone have been declining, interactions between pollution and climate change have enhanced ecological risks to this coastal/marine ecosystem. Our results suggest that current policies focused strictly on pollution control alone should be changed to take into account the interactive effects of climate change so as to better forecast and manage potential ecological risks