Cultural Aspects of Compulsive Buying in Emerging and Developed Economies: A cross cultural study in compulsive buying

Although several studies focused on understanding of compulsive buying in developed countries, this phenomenon remains understudied in other parts of the world. This is rather surprising since there is an increasing interest in understanding shopping behavior of consumers in emergent markets due to the growing importance of these markets. The main reason for the limited attention to compulsive buying in emerging countries is the lack of cross-culturally validated scales. In response to these calls, this paper tests measurement invariance of two prominent compulsive buying scales—the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS) and the Compulsive Buying Index (CBI) in Western (Spain and the Netherlands) and emerging (Russia and Turkey) economies. In case of lack of invariance the reasons in terms of socio-cultural factors and country conditions are explained. The results establish the partial measurement invariance of the CBI but not the CBS. So, to study the antecedents and consequences of compulsive buying in cross-cultural contexts, the CBI is sufficient. The varying credit card ownership and usage, and different gender roles of women across countries appear to be the main reasons for lack of measurement invariance of the CBS. The percentages of compulsive buyers in emerging countries are lower than those in developed countries

Three novel mutations in KIF21A highlight the importance of the third coiled-coil stalk domain in the etiology of CFEOM1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles types 1 and 3 (CFEOM1/CFEOM3) are autosomal dominant strabismus disorders that appear to result from maldevelopment of ocular nuclei and nerves. We previously reported that most individuals with CFEOM1 and rare individuals with CFEOM3 harbor heterozygous mutations in <it>KIF21A</it>. <it>KIF21A </it>encodes a kinesin motor involved in anterograde axonal transport, and the familial and <it>de novo </it>mutations reported to date predictably alter one of only a few KIF21A amino acids – three within the third coiled-coil region of the stalk and one in the distal motor domain, suggesting they result in altered KIF21A function. To further define the spectrum of <it>KIF21A </it>mutations in CFEOM we have now identified all CFEOM probands newly enrolled in our study and determined if they harbor mutations in <it>KIF21A</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sixteen CFEOM1 and 29 CFEOM3 probands were studied. Three previously unreported <it>de novo </it>KIF21A mutations were identified in three CFEOM1 probands, all located in the same coiled-coil region of the stalk that contains all but one of the previously reported mutations. Eight additional CFEOM1 probands harbored three of the mutations previously reported in <it>KIF21A</it>; seven had one of the two most common mutations, while one harbored the mutation in the distal motor domain. No mutation was detected in 5 CFEOM1 or any CFEOM3 probands.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Analysis of sixteen CFEOM1 probands revealed three novel <it>KIF21A </it>mutations and confirmed three reported mutations, bringing the total number of reported <it>KIF21A </it>mutations in CFEOM1 to 11 mutations among 70 mutation positive probands. All three new mutations alter amino acids in heptad repeats within the third coiled-coil region of the KIF21A stalk, further highlighting the importance of alterations in this domain in the etiology of CFEOM1.</p

Evolutionary history of hepatitis C virus genotype 5a in France, a multicenter ANRS study

The epidemic history of HCV genotype 5a is poorly documented in France, where its prevalence is very low, except in a small central area, where it accounts for 14.2% of chronic hepatitis C cases. A Bayesian coalescent phylogenetic investigation based on the E1 envelope gene and a non-structural genomic segment (NS3/4) was carried out to trace the origin of this epidemic using a large sample of genotype 5a isolates collected throughout France. The dates of documented transmissions by blood transfusion were used to calibrate five nodes in the phylogeny. The results of the E1 gene analysis showed that the best-fitting population dynamic model was the expansion growth model under a relaxed molecular clock. The rate of nucleotide substitutions and time to the most recent common ancestors (tMRCA) of genotype 5a isolates were estimated. The divergence of all the French HCV genotype 5a strains included in this study was dated to 1939 [95% HPD: 1921–1956], and the tMRCA of isolates from central France was dated to 1954 [1942–1967], which is in agreement with epidemiological data. NS3/4 analysis provided similar estimates with strongly overlapping HPD values. Phylodynamic analyses give a plausible reconstruction of the evolutionary history of HCV genotype 5a in France, suggesting the concomitant roles of transfusion, iatrogenic route and intra-familial transmission in viral diffusion

Complete hepatitis B virus genome analysis in HBsAg positive mothers and their infants with fulminant hepatitis B

BACKGROUND: After perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus, infants of anti-HBe positive HBsAg carrier mothers may develop fulminant hepatitis B. Previously it has been suggested, that fulminant hepatitis B in adults was associated with specific mutations in the HBV-genome. The aim of this study was to investigate, whether specific viral variants are associated with fulminant hepatitis B in young infants. METHODS: The complete HBV-genomes of five mothers and their infants with fulminant hepatitis were isolated from the sera, amplified and directly sequenced. RESULTS: Between 6 and 43 base pair exchanges between the HBV genomes of the infants and their mothers were identified. The mutations spread over the entire virus genome. Nucleotide exchanges in the basic core promotor and precore region were identified in all cases. A heterogeneous virus population was detected in four mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Many new mutations were proved to emerge during fulminant hepatitis B in infants, who had been perinatally infected. HBeAg negative variants were the predominant population in all children, whereas these mutants could only be detected as subpopulations in four mothers. The data suggest that the selection of a specific HBeAg negative viral strain may be associated with the development of fulminant hepatitis B in children

Nitrification en sédiment d'eau douce : incidence de rejets de station d'épuration sur la dynamique de communautés nitrifiantes

Nitrification in freshwater sediments: impact of wastewater treatment plant effluents on nitrite-oxidizing bacteria community dynamicDans les milieux aquatiques, la nitrification (oxydation biologique de l'ammonium en nitrate) est localisée essentiellement dans le compartiment sédimentaire ou liée aux particules en suspension. Les rejets de stations d'épuration dans les rivières peuvent perturber la nitrification dans les sédiments par des apports en azote (notamment sous forme NH4+ et azote organique) ou en bactéries nitrifiantes. L'étude de cette perturbation de la nitrification par une approche "multi-échelles" (des communautés globales aux populations) a été abordée par l'utilisation de systèmes simplifiés continus (microcosmes) ou statiques (batches). Dans un premier temps, nous avons tenté de dissocier l'effet "substrat" (apport de NH4+) et l'effet "inoculum" (apport de bactéries nitrifiantes) des effluents sur les communautés nitrifiantes d'un sédiment. Les 2 étapes de la nitrification (nitritation et nitratation) ont été étudiées par MPN (most probable number) et par des mesures d'activités potentielles. En présence d'effluent, les modifications des relations densité de communauté-intensité de l'activité potentielle observées conduisent aux hypothèses de l'implantation dans le sédiment de souches compétitives issues des effluents, avec des modifications dans la structure des communautés et/ou de la variation de l'activité spécifique des souches autochtones. Puis le comportement de 2 souches du genre Nitrobacter (utilisé comme modèle de la nitratation) a été étudié dans différentes conditions environnementales. Celles-ci (la concentration en substrat notamment) induisent un changement de compétitivité des souches, lié à la versatilité de leur métabolisme. Parallèlement, des mises au point ont été réalisées sur une technique de dénombrement en sédiment du genre Nitrobacter, impliquant l'amplification par PCR (polymerase chain reaction) d'une séquence d'ADN spécifique du genre. Le seuil de détection par cette méthode reste élevé pour ces bactéries dont la densité dans les milieux naturels est relativement faible. Le rendement de détection est inférieur à celui des techniques plus classiques de MPN et d'immunofluorescence, qui demeurent informatives dans des contextes adaptés