The role of lawfulness and legality toward purchasing counterfeits of luxury brands

This study examines the influence of personality factors and attitudes toward consumers' willingness to knowingly purchase counterfeit luxury brands. The findings have uncovered contrasting evidence that attitudes do not influence consumers' willingness to purchase counterfeit luxury brands. Integrity has been noted to be a strong influencer of both attitudes and consumer willingness to purchase consistently. Both buyers and non-buyers were tested for their attitudinal differences. Status consumption and materialism did not play a role in influencing attitudes or willingness to purchase. Further managerial implications were provided to better allow luxury brand owners, the government and policy makers to better understand consumers of counterfeit luxury brands

Counterfeits of luxury brands: exploring the role of lawfulness and legality

This study examines the influence of personality factors and attitudes toward consumers? willingness to knowingly purchase counterfeit luxury brands. The findings have uncovered contrasting evidence that attitudes do not influence consumers? willingness to purchase counterfeit luxury brands. Integrity has been noted to be a strong influencer of both attitudes and consumer willingness to purchase consistently. Both buyers and non- buyers were tested for their attitudinal differences. Status consumption and materialism did not play a role in influencing attitudes or willingness to purchase. Further managerial implications were provided to better allow luxury brand owners, the government and policy makers to better understand consumers of counterfeit luxury brands

To buy or not to buy a "counterfeit" Ralph Lauren polo shirt: the role of lawfulness and legality toward purchasing counterfeits

This study examines the influence of personality factors and attitudes toward consumers' willingness to knowingly purchase counterfeit luxury brands. Convenience sampling method was employed and a self administered questionnaire was distributed to students in a large Australian university. A commonly counterfeited luxury branded product was used as the stimulus of the study. 202 useable responses were retained for analysis. The findings found that attitudes do not influence consumers' willingness to purchase counterfeit luxury brands. Integrity has been noted to be a strong influencer of both attitudes and consumer willingness to purchase consistently. Both buyers and non- buyers were tested for their attitudinal differences. Status consumption and materialism did not play a role in influencing attitudes or willingness to purchase. Only one product category was looked at. Other sampling methods can be looked into such as mall intercept. Culture and nationality may also have influences on moral and ethical issues which can be tested in future studies. Advertisers and strategists should consider putting a more 'human face' on the damaging effects of counterfeiting and look into the possible demographic factors. Consumers should be educated on the negative consequences of counterfeiting and effects on economy. While past studies have delved into examining consumer attitudes towards counterfeit products, a low involvement luxury brand item was not utilized as a stimulus. An Australian context has not been looked into

The expression and function of the adenovirus type 5 E4 region

Human adenovirus type S is a dsDNA virus which replicates in the nucleus of the infected cell, exploiting a number of host cell mechanisms. This close association with the eukaryotic cell has made adenovirus the target of numerous studies attempting to understand how cellular systems function. This study focuses on the E4 transcription unit, which has the potential to encode at least 7 distinct polypeptides from reading frames accessed by differential splicing of a single primary transcript. In this study, the pattern of expression of these mRNAs during lytic infection was examined, and two distinct temporal classes were defined; early and late. It had been previously shown that adenovirus mRNAs produced late in the infection depended on a virus-coded RNA transport regulator, EIb-S5K, for optimal cytoplasmic accumulation. However, only one of the E4 late class mRNAs was dependent on this EI b protein for cytoplasmic accumulation leading to the hypothesis that for an E4 late mRNA to be dependent on EIb, it had to retain intact splice sites or intronic sequences. To examine this hypothesis, a virus was built lacking an important splice site of the E4 region to see if, by removing this splice site, the mRNA could leave the nucleus in the absence of the El b complex. The results of initial experiments reported here supported this hypothesis. Two of the E4 open reading frames (ORFI and ORF2) identified in Ad2 were disrupted in the published AdS E4 sequence, but these differences were subsequently found to be sequencing artefacts. The presence of these two proteins in the infected cell had never been previously demonstrated so polyclonal antisera were generated against bacterially expressed ORFI and ORF2. The ORF2 antiserum allowed the identification of the ORF2 protein in the cytoplasm of infected cells, from early stages of the infection. No associations of ORF2 with other infected cell components were detected. In contrast, the ORFI antiserum only reached a low titre and no ORFI protein was detected in infected cells. Now that ORF2 has been found in the infected cell more work needs to be undertaken to elucidate its function

An N-terminal Peptide Extension Results in Efficient Expression, but not Secretion, of a Synthetic Horseradish Peroxidase Gene in Transgenic Tobacco

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Native horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) peroxidase, HRP (EC 1.11.1.7), isoenzyme C is synthesized with N-terminal and C-terminal peptide extensions, believed to be associated with protein targeting. This study aimed to explore the specific functions of these extensions, and to generate transgenic plants with expression patterns suitable for exploring the role of peroxidase in plant development and defence. METHODS: Transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) plants expressing different versions of a synthetic horseradish peroxidase, HRP, isoenzyme C gene were constructed. The gene was engineered to include additional sequences coding for either the natural N-terminal or the C-terminal extension or both. These constructs were placed under the control of a constitutive promoter (CaMV-35S) or the tobacco RUBISCO-SSU light inducible promoter (SSU) and introduced into tobacco using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. To study the effects of the N- and C-terminal extensions, the localization of recombinant peroxidase was determined using biochemical and molecular techniques. KEY RESULTS: Transgenic tobacco plants can exhibit a ten-fold increase in peroxidase activity compared with wild-type tobacco levels, and the majority of this activity is located in the symplast. The N-terminal extension is essential for the production of high levels of recombinant protein, while the C-terminal extension has little effect. Differences in levels of enzyme activity and recombinant protein are reflected in transcript levels. CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence to support either preferential secretion or vacuolar targeting of recombinant peroxidase in this heterologous expression system. This leads us to question the postulated targeting roles of these peptide extensions. The N-terminal extension is essential for high level expression and appears to influence transcript stability or translational efficiency. Plants have been generated with greatly elevated cytosolic peroxidase activity, and smaller increases in apoplastic activity. These will be valuable for exploring the role of these enzymes in stress amelioration and plant development

Deeper waters are changing less consistently than surface waters in a global analysis of 102 lakes

Globally, lake surface water temperatures have warmed rapidly relative to air temperatures, but changes in deepwater temperatures and vertical thermal structure are still largely unknown. We have compiled the most comprehensive data set to date of long-term (1970-2009) summertime vertical temperature profiles in lakes across the world to examine trends and drivers of whole-lake vertical thermal structure. We found significant increases in surface water temperatures across lakes at an average rate of +0.37°C decade-1, comparable to changes reported previously for other lakes, and similarly consistent trends of increasing water column stability (+0.08 kg m-3 decade-1). In contrast, however, deepwater temperature trends showed little change on average (+0.06°C decade-1 ), but had high variability across lakes, with trends in individual lakes ranging from -0.68°C decade-1 to +0.65°C decade-1 . The variability in deepwater temperature trends was not explained by trends in either surface water temperatures or thermal stability within lakes, and only 8.4% was explained by lake thermal region or local lake characteristics in a random forest analysis. These findings suggest that external drivers beyond our tested lake characteristics are important in explaining long-term trends in thermal structure, such as local to regional climate patterns or additional external anthropogenic influences.Additional co-authors: Karl Havens, Dag O Hessen, Scott N Higgins, Timo H Huttula, Hannu Huuskonen, Peter D F Isles, Klaus D Joehnk, Wendel Bill Keller, Lesley B Knoll, Johanna Korhonen, Benjamin M Kraemer, Peter R Leavitt, Fabio Lepori, Martin S Luger, Stephen C Maberly, John M Melack, Stephanie J Melles, Döerthe C Müller-Navarra, Don C Pierson, Helen V Pislegina, Pierre-Denis Plisnier, David C Richardson, Alon Rimmer, Michela Rogora, James A Rusak, Steven Sadro, Nico Salmaso, Jasmine E Saros, Émilie Saulnier-Talbot, Daniel E Schindler, Martin Schmid, Svetlana V Shimaraeva, Eugene A Silow, Lewis M Sitoki, Ruben Sommaruga, Dietmar Straile, Kristin E Strock, Wim Thiery, Maxim A Timofeyev, Piet Verburg, Rolf D Vinebrooke, Gesa A Weyhenmeyer, Egor Zaderee

Denudation of the continental shelf between Britain and France at the glacial-interglacial timescale

The erosional morphology preserved at the sea bed in the eastern English Channel dominantly records denudation of the continental shelf by fluvial processes over multiple glacial-interglacial sea-level cycles rather than by catastrophic flooding through the Straits of Dover during the mid-Quaternary. Here, through the integration of multibeam bathymetry and shallow sub-bottom 2D seismic reflection profiles calibrated with vibrocore records, the first stratigraphic model of erosion and deposition on the eastern English Channel continental shelf is presented. Published Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and C ages were used to chronometrically constrain the stratigraphy and allow correlation of the continental shelf record with major climatic/sea-level periods. Five major erosion surfaces overlain by discrete sediment packages have been identified. The continental shelf in the eastern English Channel preserves a record of processes operating from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to MIS 1. Planar and channelised erosion surfaces were formed by fluvial incision during lowstands or relative sea-level fall. The depth and lateral extent of incision was partly conditioned by underlying geology (rock type and tectonic structure), climatic conditions and changes in water and sediment discharge coupled to ice sheet dynamics and the drainage configuration of major rivers in Northwest Europe. Evidence for major erosion during or prior to MIS 6 is preserved. Fluvial sediments of MIS 2 age were identified within the Northern Palaeovalley, providing insights into the scale of erosion by normal fluvial regimes. Seismic and sedimentary facies indicate that deposition predominantly occurred during transgression when accommodation was created in palaeovalleys to allow discrete sediment bodies to form. Sediment reworking over multiple sea-level cycles (Saalian-Eemian-early Weichselian) by fluvial, coastal and marine processes created a multi-lateral, multi-storey succession of palaeovalley-fills that are preserved as a strath terrace. The data presented here reveal a composite erosional and depositional record that has undergone a high degree of reworking over multiple sea-level cycles leading to the preferential preservation of sediments associated with the most recent glacial-interglacial period

Guidelines for the Development of Comprehensive Care Centers for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Guidance from the CARES Foundation Initiative

Patients with rare and complex diseases such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) often receive fragmented and inadequate care unless efforts are coordinated among providers. Translating the concepts of the medical home and comprehensive health care for individuals with CAH offers many benefits for the affected individuals and their families. This manuscript represents the recommendations of a 1.5 day meeting held in September 2009 to discuss the ideal goals for comprehensive care centers for newborns, infants, children, adolescents, and adults with CAH. Participants included pediatric endocrinologists, internal medicine and reproductive endocrinologists, pediatric urologists, pediatric surgeons, psychologists, and pediatric endocrine nurse educators. One unique aspect of this meeting was the active participation of individuals personally affected by CAH as patients or parents of patients. Representatives of Health Research and Services Administration (HRSA), New York-Mid-Atlantic Consortium for Genetics and Newborn Screening Services (NYMAC), and National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center (NNSGRC) also participated. Thus, this document should serve as a “roadmap” for the development phases of comprehensive care centers (CCC) for individuals and families affected by CAH