When do warmth and competence sell best? The “golden quadrant” shifts as a function of congruity with the product type, targets’ individual differences, and advertising appeal type

Three experiments reported here uniquely test the effectiveness of warm versus competent advertising strategy as a function of congruence with other elements of the advertising context. These are product involvement (Experiment 1, n = 96), consumers’ smartphone anxiety (Experiment 2, n = 60), or self-versus other-profitability (Experiment 3, n = 100). As expected, the “golden quadrant” (optimum warmth and competence for advertising effectiveness) does shift: Competence is more important for high-involving products, but warmth wins for highly anxious participants or when the highly involving service is accompanied by people-focused appeals. An expansion of the stereotype content model is discussed in the context of the congruity principle

Subjective self-assessment of physical activity is negatively affected by monitoring awareness in subjects with mild cognitive impairment : A crossover randomised controlled trial

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Verduci Editore s.r.l. All rights reserved.OBJECTIVE: Physical activity plays an important role in maintaining mental and physical health. This study assessed the effect of physical activity monitoring awareness on the physical activity level and subjective self-assessment of physical activity in middle-aged subjects with normal cognitive function (NCF) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-five subjects aged 50-65 years with NCF and MCI were randomised into two experimental groups, each taking part in two one-week intervention periods. Subjects in group A were not aware that their physical activity was monitored in the first week (phase I) and were aware of the monitoring in the second week (phase II), whereas it was the opposite order for group B. Physical activity was assessed using the ActiGraph GT9X accelerometer and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). RESULTS: A total of 32 subjects (MCI: n = 12, NCF: n = 20) completed both intervention periods, with MCI subjects having significantly lower objectively assessed physical activity than NCF participants. Moreover, subjectively assessed physical activity in the MCI group was significantly higher when the participants were unaware of physical activity monitoring. A significant phase-group interaction was found in total (MET-min/d: P = 0.0072; min/d: P = 0.0194) and moderate (MET-min/d: P = 0.0015; min/d: P = 0.0020) physical activity as well as energy expenditure (p = 0.0366) assessed by the IPAQ and in the percentage of sedentary behaviour (p = 0.0330) and the average number of steps (p = 0.0342) assessed by ActiGraph. CONCLUSIONS: The awareness of physical activity assessment might decrease the ability to subjectively assess physical activity in subjects with MCI.Peer reviewe

Calorimetric Investigation of Copper Binding in the N-Terminal Region of the Prion Protein at Low Copper Loading: Evidence for an Entropically Favorable First Binding Event

Although the Cu²⁺-binding sites of the prion protein have been well studied when the protein is fully saturated by Cu²⁺, the Cu²⁺-loading mechanism is just beginning to come into view. Because the Cu²⁺-binding modes at low and intermediate Cu²⁺ occupancy necessarily represent the highest-affinity binding modes, these are very likely populated under physiological conditions, and it is thus essential to characterize them in order to understand better the biological function of copper–prion interactions. Besides binding-affinity data, almost no other thermodynamic parameters (e.g., Δ<i>H</i> and Δ<i>S</i>) have been measured, thus leaving undetermined the enthalpic and entropic factors that govern the free energy of Cu²⁺ binding to the prion protein. In this study, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was used to quantify the thermodynamic parameters (<i>K</i>, Δ<i>G</i>, Δ<i>H</i>, and <i>T</i>Δ<i>S</i>) of Cu²⁺ binding to a peptide, PrP­(23–28, 57–98), that encompasses the majority of the residues implicated in Cu²⁺ binding by full-length PrP. Use of the buffer <i>N</i>-(2-acetomido)-aminoethanesulfonic acid (ACES), which is also a well-characterized Cu²⁺ chelator, allowed for the isolation of the two highest affinity binding events. Circular dichroism spectroscopy was used to characterize the different binding modes as a function of added Cu²⁺. The <i>K</i>_d values determined by ITC, 7 and 380 nM, are well in line with those reported by others. The first binding event benefits significantly from a positive entropy, whereas the second binding event is enthalpically driven. The thermodynamic values associated with Cu²⁺ binding by the Aβ peptide, which is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, bear striking parallels to those found here for the prion protein

Cross-Cultural Sexism and the Effectiveness of Gender (Non)Traditional Advertising: A Comparison of Purchase Intentions in Poland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

Findings regarding the effectiveness of (non)traditionally gendered advertisements are mixed and largely emanate from the United States. We tested the stereotype content model and ambivalent sexism theory cross-nationally in an advertising context and predicted that paternalistic (vs. envious) female stereotypes will trigger higher purchase intent (PI) irrespective of country (Hypothesis 1), viewers’ benevolent sexism will positively predict PI for paternalistic housewife advertisements (Hypothesis 2a), viewers’ hostile sexism will negatively predict PI for envious businesswoman advertisements (Hypothesis 2b), and these relationships with sexism will be confined to less gender egalitarian countries (i.e., Poland and South Africa) (Hypothesis 3). Statistical analyses of data from 468 Polish, South African, and British university students supported Hypothesis 1 and partially supported Hypotheses 2 and 3. The predicted patterns held for South Africa, but in Poland, viewers’ benevolence positively predicted PI for both advertisement types, with the exception of highly hostile women. British viewers’ hostility positively predicted PI for the housewife advertisement. Our findings support the cross-cultural applicability of the stereotype content model to advertising and suggest that the predictive role of sexism changes depending on its type, advertisement type, country, and gender. We recommend that advertisers should adopt a nuanced approach in predicting the effectiveness of gendered advertisements

Correction to: The novel compound PBT434 prevents iron mediated neurodegeneration and alpha-synuclein toxicity in multiple models of Parkinson's disease.

Following publication of the original article [1], the author identified an error in Fig. 4E. The data and statistics were correct, but the synaptophysin blot was incorrect. The incorrect (Fig. 1) and correct figure (Fig. 2) are shown in this correction article. (Figure presented.)

The novel compound PBT434 prevents iron mediated neurodegeneration and alpha-synuclein toxicity in multiple models of Parkinson's disease

Elevated iron in the SNpc may play a key role in Parkinson's disease (PD) neurodegeneration since drug candidates with high iron affinity rescue PD animal models, and one candidate, deferirpone, has shown efficacy recently in a phase two clinical trial. However, strong iron chelators may perturb essential iron metabolism, and it is not yet known whether the damage associated with iron is mediated by a tightly bound (eg ferritin) or lower-affinity, labile, iron pool. Here we report the preclinical characterization of PBT434, a novel quinazolinone compound bearing a moderate affinity metal-binding motif, which is in development for Parkinsonian conditions. In vitro, PBT434 was far less potent than deferiprone or deferoxamine at lowering cellular iron levels, yet was found to inhibit iron-mediated redox activity and iron-mediated aggregation of α-synuclein, a protein that aggregates in the neuropathology. In vivo, PBT434 did not deplete tissue iron stores in normal rodents, yet prevented loss of substantia nigra pars compacta neurons (SNpc), lowered nigral α-synuclein accumulation, and rescued motor performance in mice exposed to the Parkinsonian toxins 6-OHDA and MPTP, and in a transgenic animal model (hA53T α-synuclein) of PD. These improvements were associated with reduced markers of oxidative damage, and increased levels of ferroportin (an iron exporter) and DJ-1. We conclude that compounds designed to target a pool of pathological iron that is not held in high-affinity complexes in the tissue can maintain the survival of SNpc neurons and could be disease-modifying in PD

An Experimental Exploration of the QCD Phase Diagram: The Search for the Critical Point and the Onset of De-confinement

The QCD phase diagram lies at the heart of what the RHIC Physics Program is all about. While RHIC has been operating very successfully at or close to its maximum energy for almost a decade, it has become clear that this collider can also be operated at lower energies down to 5 GeV without extensive upgrades. An exploration of the full region of beam energies available at the RHIC facility is imperative. The STAR detector, due to its large uniform acceptance and excellent particle identification capabilities, is uniquely positioned to carry out this program in depth and detail. The first exploratory beam energy scan (BES) run at RHIC took place in 2010 (Run 10), since several STAR upgrades, most importantly a full barrel Time of Flight detector, are now completed which add new capabilities important for the interesting physics at BES energies. In this document we discuss current proposed measurements, with estimations of the accuracy of the measurements given an assumed event count at each beam energy.Comment: 59 pages, 78 figure

Systematic Measurements of Identified Particle Spectra in pp, d+Au and Au+Au Collisions from STAR

Identified charged particle spectra of $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$ and \pbar at mid-rapidity ($|y|<0.1$) measured by the \dedx method in the STAR-TPC are reported for $pp$ and d+Au collisions at \snn = 200 GeV and for Au+Au collisions at 62.4 GeV, 130 GeV, and 200 GeV. ... [Shortened for arXiv list. Full abstract in manuscript.]Comment: 58 pages, 46 figures, 37 table