Consumer Compliance in Face-To-Face Interactions: the Role of Sensitivity and Expressiveness

This paper examines role of sensitivity-to-face and facial expressiveness in consumer compliance. A change in consumers' sensitivity to the face and the facial expressiveness of partners can affect consumer compliance by affecting anticipated facial feedback. We develop and test our mechanism and hypothesis through one field and three lab experiments

Heat shock transcription factor 1 preserves cardiac angiogenesis and adaptation during pressure overload

To examine how heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) protects against maladaptive hypertrophy during pressure overload, we subjected HSF1 transgenic (TG), knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice to a constriction of transverse aorta (TAC), and found that cardiac hypertrophy, functions and angiogenesis were well preserved in TG mice but were decreased in KO mice compared to WT ones at 4 weeks, which was related to HIF-1 and p53 expression. Inhibition of angiogenesis suppressed cardiac adaptation in TG mice while overexpression of angiogenesis factors improved maladaptive hypertrophy in KO mice. In vitro formation of vasculatures by microvascular endothelial cells was higher in TG mice but lower in KO mice than in WT ones. A siRNA of p53 but not a HIF-1 gene significantly reversed maladaptive hypertrophy in KO mice whereas a siRNA of HIF-1 but not a p53 gene induced maladaptive hypertrophy in TG mice. Heart microRNA analysis showed that miR-378 and miR-379 were differently changed among the three mice after TAC, and miR-378 or siRNA of miR-379 could maintain cardiac adaptation in WT mice. These results indicate that HSF1 preserves cardiac adaptation during pressure overload through p53-HIF-1-associated angiogenesis, which is controlled by miR-378 and miR-379

Maternal Blood Pressure Rise During Pregnancy and Offspring Obesity Risk at 4 to 7 Years Old: The Jiaxing Birth Cohort.

CONTEXT: Maternal hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are suggested to affect obesity risk in offspring. However, little is known about the prospective association of rise in maternal blood pressure within normal range during pregnancy with this risk for obesity. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the associations of diastolic and systolic blood pressure during pregnancy among normotensive women with the risk for obesity in offspring. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Southeast China. PARTICIPANTS: Up to 2013, a total of 88,406 mother-child pairs with anthropometric measurements of offspring age 4 to 7 years were included in the present analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overweight/obesity risk in offspring. RESULTS: Among normotensive women, second- and third-trimester diastolic and systolic blood pressures were positively associated with risk for overweight/obesity in offspring: odds ratios per 10-mm Hg higher second- and third-trimester diastolic blood pressure were 1.05 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01 to 1.09] and 1.05 (95% CI, 1.02 to 1.10), respectively, and for systolic blood pressure were 1.08 (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.11) and 1.06 (95% CI, 1.03 to 1.09). Each 10-mm Hg greater rise in blood pressure between first and third trimesters was associated with a higher risk for offspring overweight/obesity: diastolic, 1.06 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.10); systolic, 1.05 (95% CI, 1.02 to 1.07). Among all women (combining normotensive and hypertensive women), maternal hypertension in the second and third trimesters was associated with 49% and 14% higher risks for overweight/obesity in offspring, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that rise in maternal blood pressure during pregnancy and hypertension during pregnancy, independent of maternal body size before pregnancy, are risk factors for offspring childhood obesity

AngiotensinII Preconditioning Promotes Angiogenesis In Vitro via ERKs Phosphorylation

AngiotensinII (AngII) is involved in not only the formation of cardiac hypertrophy but also the development of cardiac remodeling both of which are associated with myocardial angiogenesis. This study was therefore performed to clarify the effects of AngII on the formation of vasculatures by cultured cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMVECs) after a long-period stimulation with or without the AngII preconditioning. Incubation with AngII for 18 hrs significantly impaired the formation of capillary-like tubes comparing to that without AngII. CMVECs with AngII pretreatment for 5 and 10 min formed more capillary-like tubes than those without AngII pretreatment, suggesting that preconditioning with AngII at a lower dose for a short period could prevent the further damage of CMVECs by a higher concentration of AngII. Moreover, AngII (10−7 M) stimulation for 5 and 10 min significantly induced the increase in extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERKs) phosphorylation, and an ERKs inhibitor, PD98059, abrogated the increase in the formation of capillary-like tubes induced by the AngII-pretreatment. In conclusion, preconditioning with a lower concentration of AngII for a short period prevents the subsequent impairment of CMVECs by a higher dose of AngII, at least in part, through the increase in ERKs phosphorylation

Evaluation of the Ribosomal Protein S1 Gene (rpsA) as a Novel Biomarker for Mycobacterium Species Identification

Objectives. To evaluate the resolution and reliability of the rpsA gene, encoding ribosomal protein S1, as a novel biomarker for mycobacteria species identification. Methods. A segment of the rpsA gene (565 bp) was amplified by PCR from 42 mycobacterial reference strains, 172 nontuberculosis mycobacteria clinical isolates, and 16 M. tuberculosis complex clinical isolates. The PCR products were sequenced and aligned by using the multiple alignment algorithm in the MegAlign package (DNASTAR) and the MEGA program. A phylogenetic tree was constructed by the neighbor-joining method. Results. Comparative sequence analysis of the rpsA gene provided the basis for species differentiation within the genus Mycobacterium. Slow-and rapid-growing groups of mycobacteria were clearly separated, and each mycobacterial species was differentiated as a distinct entity in the phylogenetic tree. The sequences discrepancy was obvious between M. kansasii and M. gastri, M. chelonae and M. abscessus, M. avium and M. intracellulare, and M. szulgai and M. malmoense, which cannot be achieved by 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) homologue genes comparison. 183 of the 188 (97.3%) clinical isolates, consisting of 8 mycobacterial species, were identified correctly by rpsA gene blast. Conclusions. Our study indicates that rpsA sequencing can be used effectively for mycobacteria species identification as a supplement to 16S rDNA sequence analysis

Study on the Impact of Collaborative Agglomeration of Manufacturing and Producer Services on PM_2.5 Pollution: Evidence from Urban Agglomerations in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River in China

In this paper, using panel data of 28 cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River from 2003 to 2020 as the research sample, we built a dynamic spatial Durbin model based on the STIRPAT (stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology) model and conducted an empirical study on the impact of the coordinated agglomeration of manufacturing and producer services on particulate matter (PM) 2.5 pollution. The results show a significant positive spatial spillover effect of PM2.5 pollution in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The coordinated agglomeration of manufacturing and producer services in the urban agglomerations there is conducive to reducing PM2.5 pollution. Similar to the inverted-U curve of the classic environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, there is a significant inverted-U curve relationship between PM2.5 pollution and economic growth in urban agglomerations in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The proportion of coal consumption, the proportion of secondary industry, and the urbanization level are significantly and positively correlated with PM2.5 pollution in urban agglomerations in this area. Technological innovation, environmental regulation, and annual average humidity play an important role in addressing the PM2.5 pollution and spatial spillover effect. Industrial structure and technological innovation are the main ways for the coordinated agglomeration of manufacturing and producer services to affect PM2.5. The research conclusion can be of great practical significance to optimize the regional industrial layout, control PM2.5 pollution, and establish a sustainable development policy system in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China

Reduction of the PI3K/Akt related signaling activities in skeletal muscle tissues involves insulin resistance in intrauterine growth restriction rats with catch-up growth.

Individuals with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) are prone to insulin resistance, whereas the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated if the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in skeletal muscle tissues involves insulin resistance in IUGR offsprings, particularly ones with catch-up growth. An IUGR rat model was established by feeding rats an isocaloric (30.50 Kcal/g) diet containing 8% protein (low-protein diet) from day 1 of pregnancy until the birth of their pups. Glucometabolic parameters were measured and compared. Quantitative PCR and western blot were performed to assess mRNA and protein expression changes of the PI3K/Akt related signals in skeletal muscle tissues. Pearson analysis was used to assess the correlation of the PI3K/Akt signaling level and catch-up growth with the insulin resistance index (IRI). The values of fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin and IRI were significantly higher, whereas insulin sensitivity index was significantly lower in IUGR offsprings than those in the controls. The PI3K mRNA and protein levels as well as the phospho-AktSer473 levels were significantly lower in IUGR offsprings compared to the controls. Reductions of GLUT4 as well as increases of PTEN and nuclear fractional PPARγ were detected in IUGR offsprings. Catch-up growth IUGR rats were positively correlated with insulin resistance and underwent more remarkable alterations of the PI3K, PTEN and GLUT4 expressions. Our results demonstrated that rats born IUGR developed insulin resistance later in life, which was likely mediated by reductions of the PI3K/Akt related signaling activities, particularly in those with excess catch-up growth