Determinants of Effectiveness and Success for EBay Auctions

This research investigates eBay auction properties that influence auction outcomes: effectiveness (ability to attract bidders) and success (whether the item was actually sold in the auction). Hundreds of auctions (1,273) for three popular financial calculators—the HP 12c, the HP 10b and BA II plus—were examined to assess the impact of these auction properties. Findings show that utilization of certain auction features influence both outcomes. These features include starting price and reserve price for both calculators. Other features impact only auction effectiveness: wear and the presence of a picture for the HP10 and BA II plus; and wear and ability to pay with credit cards for the HP 12c. Further, others auction factors influence only auction success: abnormally high first bids and whether the seller is a recognized company rather than an individual for the HP 10b and BA II plus; and the length of time the seller has been selling on eBay, the presence of a picture, and whether the seller was a recognized company rather than an individual for the HP12c

A Model of Sustainable Consumer Behaviour, Personal Development, and Attitudes Toward Marketing

Using a sample of relatively young consumers, this study explores the impact of sustainable consumer behaviour on the sustainable attribute, such as charity. The concept of consumer stability has particular influence, as it positively relates to all three areas of consumer charity: charitable involvement, consumer volunteerism, and social activism. The findings confirm the various hypotheses. For example, consumer traits, such as interpersonal trust and stability, are significant predictors of consumer volunteerism and social activities. The findings also indicate that the second set of sustainable consumer behaviour attributes influences consumer personal development and helps to predict positive consumer attitudes toward marketing activities, such as salespeople and advertising

Toxicity and Positivity Across Genders: Feminine, Masculine, and Androgynous Consumer Characteristics

A research model is designed to assess toxic and positive consumer behavior based on masculinity, femininity, and androgyny. New definitions of androgyny are developed, resulting in two types of consumer androgyny – hypo-androgyny and hyper-androgyny. Also, the hypotheses of the research model are assessed using a snowball sample beginning with young consumers enrolled in upper-division marketing classes at a large U.S. university. Results show important insights on the toxicity of certain consumer characteristics not only in individuals who measure high in masculinity, but also those others included in this study who are more feminine or androgynous. Results also offer findings indicating positive consumer characteristics for all consumer classifications of this research

Oxygen Glucose Deprivation in Rat Hippocampal Slice Cultures Results in Alterations in Carnitine Homeostasis and Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Mitochondrial dysfunction characterized by depolarization of mitochondrial membranes and the initiation of mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis are pathological responses to hypoxia-ischemia (HI) in the neonatal brain. Carnitine metabolism directly supports mitochondrial metabolism by shuttling long chain fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membrane for beta-oxidation. Our previous studies have shown that HI disrupts carnitine homeostasis in neonatal rats and that L-carnitine can be neuroprotective. Thus, this study was undertaken to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which HI alters carnitine metabolism and to begin to elucidate the mechanism underlying the neuroprotective effect of L-carnitine (LCAR) supplementation. Utilizing neonatal rat hippocampal slice cultures we found that oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) decreased the levels of free carnitines (FC) and increased the acylcarnitine (AC): FC ratio. These changes in carnitine homeostasis correlated with decreases in the protein levels of carnitine palmitoyl transferase (CPT) 1 and 2. LCAR supplementation prevented the decrease in CPT1 and CPT2, enhanced both FC and the AC: FC ratio and increased slice culture metabolic viability, the mitochondrial membrane potential prior to OGD and prevented the subsequent loss of neurons during later stages of reperfusion through a reduction in apoptotic cell death. Finally, we found that LCAR supplementation preserved the structural integrity and synaptic transmission within the hippocampus after OGD. Thus, we conclude that LCAR supplementation preserves the key enzymes responsible for maintaining carnitine homeostasis and preserves both cell viability and synaptic transmission after OGD

Blood Meal Analysis to Identify Reservoir Hosts for Amblyomma americanum Ticks

Blood meal analysis identified white-tailed deer as hosts for ticks that carry zoonotic pathogens

Telomere disruption results in non-random formation of de novo dicentric chromosomes involving acrocentric human chromosomes

Copyright: © 2010 Stimpson et al.Genome rearrangement often produces chromosomes with two centromeres (dicentrics) that are inherently unstable because of bridge formation and breakage during cell division. However, mammalian dicentrics, and particularly those in humans, can be quite stable, usually because one centromere is functionally silenced. Molecular mechanisms of centromere inactivation are poorly understood since there are few systems to experimentally create dicentric human chromosomes. Here, we describe a human cell culture model that enriches for de novo dicentrics. We demonstrate that transient disruption of human telomere structure non-randomly produces dicentric fusions involving acrocentric chromosomes. The induced dicentrics vary in structure near fusion breakpoints and like naturally-occurring dicentrics, exhibit various inter-centromeric distances. Many functional dicentrics persist for months after formation. Even those with distantly spaced centromeres remain functionally dicentric for 20 cell generations. Other dicentrics within the population reflect centromere inactivation. In some cases, centromere inactivation occurs by an apparently epigenetic mechanism. In other dicentrics, the size of the alpha-satellite DNA array associated with CENP-A is reduced compared to the same array before dicentric formation. Extrachromosomal fragments that contained CENP-A often appear in the same cells as dicentrics. Some of these fragments are derived from the same alpha-satellite DNA array as inactivated centromeres. Our results indicate that dicentric human chromosomes undergo alternative fates after formation. Many retain two active centromeres and are stable through multiple cell divisions. Others undergo centromere inactivation. This event occurs within a broad temporal window and can involve deletion of chromatin that marks the locus as a site for CENP-A maintenance/replenishment.This work was supported by the Tumorzentrum Heidelberg/Mannheim grant (D.10026941)and by March of Dimes Research Foundation grant #1-FY06-377 and NIH R01 GM069514

Cryptosporidium Priming Is More Effective than Vaccine for Protection against Cryptosporidiosis in a Murine Protein Malnutrition Model

Cryptosporidium is a major cause of severe diarrhea, especially in malnourished children. Using a murine model of C. parvum oocyst challenge that recapitulates clinical features of severe cryptosporidiosis during malnutrition, we interrogated the effect of protein malnutrition (PM) on primary and secondary responses to C. parvum challenge, and tested the differential ability of mucosal priming strategies to overcome the PM-induced susceptibility. We determined that while PM fundamentally alters systemic and mucosal primary immune responses to Cryptosporidium, priming with C. parvum (106 oocysts) provides robust protective immunity against re-challenge despite ongoing PM. C. parvum priming restores mucosal Th1-type effectors (CD3+CD8+CD103+ T-cells) and cytokines (IFNγ, and IL12p40) that otherwise decrease with ongoing PM. Vaccination strategies with Cryptosporidium antigens expressed in the S. Typhi vector 908htr, however, do not enhance Th1-type responses to C. parvum challenge during PM, even though vaccination strongly boosts immunity in challenged fully nourished hosts. Remote non-specific exposures to the attenuated S. Typhi vector alone or the TLR9 agonist CpG ODN-1668 can partially attenuate C. parvum severity during PM, but neither as effectively as viable C. parvum priming. We conclude that although PM interferes with basal and vaccine-boosted immune responses to C. parvum, sustained reductions in disease severity are possible through mucosal activators of host defenses, and specifically C. parvum priming can elicit impressively robust Th1-type protective immunity despite ongoing protein malnutrition. These findings add insight into potential correlates of Cryptosporidium immunity and future vaccine strategies in malnourished children