How Should Green Messages Be Framed: Single or Double?

Researchers and marketers have been showing more interest in the areas of green product attributes. They found that consumers usually associate low quality with green products. Little is known about how to design a green message and how to present product attributes in the advertisement. The objective of this study is to examine the different impacts of message content (single vs. double message) and message order (green message presented first vs. later) on green brand attitude in green advertisement, and its moderating effects by its central and peripheral attributes. Two 2 × 2 experimental between-subjects designs were utilized to test the hypotheses. The results of Study 1 indicate that after consumers watched the double-message advertisement, they formed a significantly more positive green brand attitude toward the product compared to watching a single-message advertisement. The product attributes demonstrated their moderating effects on the above result. The central attribute expanded the difference between the double message and single message, but the peripheral attribute diluted the double-message effect. Study 2 examined the order effect in the double-message advertisement, and we found that presenting the green message first instead of later was the most effective method to persuade consumers. However, this effect was only significant when the green attribute of the product is the central attribute. The peripheral attribute would decrease the order effect in the double-message format. Implications and recommendations for future research are provided at the end of this paper

Valorization of Agricultural Waste as a Chemiresistor H2S-Gas Sensor: A Composite of Biodegradable-Electroactive Polyurethane-Urea and Activated-Carbon Composite Derived from Coconut-Shell Waste

In this study, a high-performance H2S sensor that operates at RT was successfully fabricated using biodegradable electroactive polymer-polyurethane-urea (PUU) and PUU-activated-carbon (AC) composites as sensitive material. The PUU was synthesized through the copolymerization of biodegradable polycaprolactone diol and an electroactive amine-capped aniline trimer. AC, with a large surface area of 1620 m2/g and a pore diameter of 2 nm, was derived from coconut-shell waste. The composites, labeled PUU-AC1 and PUU-AC3, were prepared using a physical mixing method. The H2S-gas-sensing performance of PUU-AC0, PUU-AC1, and PUU-AC3 was evaluated. It was found that the PUU sensor demonstrated good H2S-sensing performance, with a sensitivity of 0.1269 ppm−1 H2S. The H2S-gas-sensing results indicated that the PUU-AC composites showed a higher response, compared with PUU-AC0. The enhanced H2S-response of the PUU-AC composites was speculated to be due to the high surface-area and abounding reaction-sites, which accelerated gas diffusion and adsorption and electron transfer. When detecting trace levels of H2S gas at 20 ppm, the sensitivity of the sensors based on PUU-AC1 and PUU-AC3 increased significantly. An observed 1.66 and 2.42 times’ enhancement, respectively, in the sensors’ sensitivity was evident, compared with PUU-AC0 alone. Moreover, the as-prepared sensors exhibited significantly high selectivity toward H2S, with minimal to almost negligible responses toward other gases, such as SO2, NO2, NH3, CO, and CO2

Impacts of Autistic Behaviors, Emotional and Behavioral Problems on Parenting Stress in Caregivers of Children with Autism

This study examined the effects of autistic behaviors and individual emotional and behavioral problems on parenting stress in caregivers of children with autism. Caregivers were interviewed with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale and completed the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Parenting Stress Index Short Form. Results revealed that caregivers of children with mild/moderate autistic behavior problems perceived lower parenting stress than did those of children with no or severe problems. In addition, prosocial behaviors and conduct problems respectively predicted stress in the parent-child relationship and child-related stress. The findings can provide guidance in evaluations and interventions with a focus on mitigating parenting stress in caregivers of children with autism

A web-based audiometry database system

To establish a real-time, web-based, customized audiometry database system, we worked in cooperation with the departments of medical records, information technology, and otorhinolaryngology at our hospital. This system includes an audiometry data entry system, retrieval and display system, patient information incorporation system, audiometry data transmission program, and audiometry data integration. Compared with commercial audiometry systems and traditional hand-drawn audiometry data, this web-based system saves time and money and is convenient for statistics research

Interleukin-13 Inhibits Lipopolysaccharide-Induced BPIFA1 Expression in Nasal Epithelial Cells

<div><p>Short palate, lung, and nasal epithelium clone 1 (SPLUNC1) protein is expressed in human nasopharyngeal and respiratory epithelium and has demonstrated antimicrobial activity. SPLUNC1 is now referred to as bactericidal/permeability-increasing fold containing family A, member 1 (BPIFA1). Reduced BPIFA1 expression is associated with bacterial colonization in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Interleukin 13 (IL-13), predominately secreted by T helper 2 (T_H2) cells, has been found to contribute to airway allergies and suppress BPIFA1 expression in nasal epithelial cells. However, the molecular mechanism of IL-13 perturbation of bacterial infection and BPIFA1 expression in host airways remains unclear. In this study, we found that lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BPIFA1 expression in nasal epithelial cells was mediated through the JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway and AP-1 activation. We further demonstrated that IL-13 downregulated the LPS-induced activation of phosphorylated JNK and c-Jun, followed by attenuation of BPIFA1 expression. Moreover, the immunohistochemical analysis showed that IL-13 prominently suppressed BPIFA1 expression in eosinophilic CRSwNP patients with bacterial infection. Taken together, these results suggest that IL-13 plays a critical role in attenuation of bacteria-induced BPIFA1 expression that may result in eosinophilic CRSwNP.</p></div

Model depicting IL-13 inhibition of LPS-induced BPIFA1 expression in nasal epithelial cells.

<p>(A) The bacterial cell wall component LPS upregulates BPIFA1 expression through the JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway, followed by AP-1 activation. (B) IL-13, a T_H2-skewed cytokine, suppresses LPS-induced BPIFA1 expression in nasal epithelial cells from patients with eosinophilic CRSwNP.</p

JNK/c-Jun pathway is involved in LPS-mediated up-regulation of BPIFA1 expression in nasal epithelial cells.

<p>(A) Cells were pretreated for 1 h with 20 μM PD98059 (ERK inhibitor), 10 μM SP600125 (JNK inhibitor), or 20 μM SB203580 (p38 inhibitor) and incubated with 10 μg/ml LPS for 2 h. (B) Cells were transfected with a JNK-dominant negative (DN-JNK) mutant for 24 h or pretreated with SP600125 for 30 min prior to incubation with LPS for 1 h. The protein expression levels were determined using western blot. β-actin was used as the loading control. The western blots were carried out independently in triplicate and results were representative of one of three independent experiments. The expression level of each protein was quantified by signal intensity and was indicated at the bottom of each lane. The quantitative analysis of western blot for three independent experiments was shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0143484#pone.0143484.s002" target="_blank">S2 Fig</a>. ANOVA with Tukey’s test was used to compare the overall difference between the groups. <i>P</i> < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.</p

Inhibition of c-Jun suppresses LPS-induced BPIFA1 expression.

<p>Cells were pretreated with 10 μM of SP600125, curcumin, or tanshinone (inhibitors of c-Jun) for 30 min, followed by incubation with LPS (10 μg/ml) for 2 h. Cells were washed and treated with antibodies against (A) phosphorylated c-Jun or (B) BPIFA1, followed by incubation with FITC–conjugated anti-mouse IgG (green). Cells were probed with DAPI to visualize the nucleus (blue) and analyzed by confocal fluorescence microscopy. Bars, 10 μm.</p

LPS induces BPIFA1 expression in nasal epithelial cells.

<p>(A) RPMI-2650 cells were treated with various concentrations (0–20 μg/ml) of LPS for 2 h, and mRNA levels of BPIFA1 were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. (B) Cell lysates were then prepared to measure BPIFA1 protein expression levels by western blot after incubation with LPS for 24 h. Protein expression levels of BPIFA1 were quantified by densitometric analysis and normalized to those of β-actin. ANOVA with Tukey’s test was used to compare the overall difference between the groups. *, <i>P</i> < 0.05 compared to LPS-untreated control group.</p