The nature and effects of consumer identity fusion in consumer-brand relationships

textWhile existing literature describes strong brand relationships along several dimensions, this research sheds light on the identity perspective of brand relationships through the lens of consumer identity fusion, aiming to understand the extent to which consumers incorporate brands into their self-perceptions. Specifically, this research investigates the nature and effects of consumer identity fusion and its motivational consequences following brand transgressions. Study One examines whether consumer identity fusion out-predicts brand identification in estimating the tendency for consumers to endorse pro-relationship behavior with regard to minor or severe transgressions. The results show that highly fused consumers are more likely to undertake constructive coping strategies and are less likely to engage in destructive coping strategies than are weakly fused consumers. The fusion × perceived severity interaction effect is found only for the exit coping strategy. Study Two assesses how consumer identity fusion influences consumers’ responses to personal-related versus societal-related brand transgressions. The findings demonstrate that the effect of consumer identity fusion is stronger than that of brand identification across different behavioral outcomes; it has a greater effect on participants’ relationship-serving responses to personal-related transgressions than to societal-related brand transgressions. However, the fusion × brand transgression types interaction effect is found only for exit responses. Finally, Study Three incorporates an additional self-affirmation manipulation to determine the interplay of consumers’ personal and social identities, aiming to disentangle the source of the motivational machinery needed for consumers’ pro-relationship behaviors. The findings underscore that highly fused consumers in the affirmation condition are less likely to exit the brand relationship than those in the no affirmation condition when facing personal-related brand transgressions, even though self-affirmation should reduce the negative effect of brand transgressions. Nevertheless, the expected relationships are not found for consumers’ change in brand evaluation and other behavioral measures. The findings of this research together suggest that consumer identity fusion is applicable for understanding connections between consumers and the brand relationship partner in consumer-brand relationships. Implications of these findings and directions for refinement and future research are discussed.Advertisin

Acute Kahweol Treatment Attenuates Traumatic Brain Injury Neuroinflammation and Functional Deficits

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions worldwide with devastating long-term effects on health and cognition. Emerging data suggest that targeting the immune response may offer promising strategies to alleviate TBI outcomes; kahweol, an anti-inflammatory diterpene that remains in unfiltered coffee, has been shown to be beneficial in neuronal recovery. Here, we examined whether kahweol could alleviate brain trauma-induced injury in a mouse model of TBI and its underlying mechanisms. TBI was induced by controlled cortical impact (CCI) and various doses of kahweol were intraperitoneally administered following injury. Contusion volume, brain edema, neurobehavioral deficits, and protein expression and activity were evaluated in both short-term and long-term recovery. We found that kahweol treatments significantly reduced secondary brain injury and improved neurobehavioral outcomes in TBI mice. These changes were accompanied by the attenuation of proinflammatory cytokine secretion, decreased microglia/macrophage activation, and reduction of neutrophil and leukocyte infiltration. In addition, continuous kahweol treatment further improved short-term TBI outcomes compared to single-dosage. Collectively, our data showed that kahweol protects against TBI by reducing immune responses and may serve as a potential therapeutic intervention for TBI patients

Hydrodynamic Behavior of Flow in a Drinking Water Treatment Clarifier

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Serum E-selectin concentration is associated with risk of metabolic syndrome in females.

OBJECTIVES:Traits of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction were examined. We investigated the differences of various biomarkers among individuals with or without Mets in a gender-specific manner. The gender-specific associations between E-selectin and MetS were further evaluated. METHODS:A total of 205 patients were recruited from the outpatient clinics of Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Inclusion criteria were age between 20-75 years and BMI < 35 kg/m2. Demographic, anthropometric and MetS index data were compared between genders. Markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction were compared between individuals with or without MetS by gender. RESULTS:Age-adjusted E-selectin values showed significant positive correlations with BMI, waist-hip ratio, fasting plasma glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, TNF-α, hsCRP and ICAM-1, and inverse correlation with HDL cholesterol. E-selectin levels were positively correlated with numbers of MetS components in females (P < 0.001) but not in males (P = 0.125). CONCLUSIONS:Increased E-selectin levels are significantly associated with increased MetS risk in females, but not in males

Cell viability.

<p>(a) Performed cell viability tests by administering different concentrations of SBPE to WI38 and A549 cells. (b) Administered 5 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL of SBPE to A549 and incubated the cells for various time points. Then, we used the MTS reagent to test their viabilities.</p

Potential Combinational Anti-Cancer Therapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with Traditional Chinese Medicine Sun-Bai-Pi Extract and Cisplatin

<div><p>Traditional lung cancer treatments involve chemical or radiation therapies after surgical tumor removal; however, these procedures often kill normal cells as well. Recent studies indicate that chemotherapies, when combined with Traditional Chinese Medicines, may offer a new way to treat cancer. <i>In vitro</i> tests measuring the induction of autophagy and/or apoptosis were used to examine the cytotoxicity of SBPE, commonly used for lung inflammation on A549 cell line. The results indicated that intercellular levels of p62 and Atg12 were increased, LC3-I was cleaved into LC3-II, and autophagy was induced with SBPE only. After 24 hours, the apoptotic mechanism was induced. If the Cisplatin was added after cells reached the autophagy state, we observed synergistic effects of the two could achieve sufficient death of lung cancer cells. Therefore, the Cisplatin dosage used to induce apoptosis could be reduced by half, and the amount of time needed to achieve the inhibitory concentration of 50% was also half that of the original. In addition to inducing autophagy within a shortened period of time, the SBPE and chemotherapy drug combination therapy was able to achieve the objective of rapid low-dosage cancer cell elimination. Besides, SBPE was applied with Gemcitabine or Paclitaxel, and found that the combination treatment indeed achieve improved lung cancer cell killing effects. However, SBPE may also be less toxic to normal cells.</p></div

The effects that combining SBPE to chemotherapy drugs Gemcitabine and Paclitaxel have on cancer cell viability.

<p>(a) A549 tumor cell viability analysis after the administration of Gemcitabine. After 1 μM, 5 μM, 10 μM, 50 μM, and 100 μM of Gemcitabine was administered for 24 and 48 hours, the MTS reagent was used to detect their activities. Secondly, after 6 hours of treatment with 10 mg/mL of SBPE; Gemcitabine was added for 24 hours (b), 48 hours (c) and 72 hours (d). (e) A549 tumor cell viability analysis after treatment with 1 μM, 5 μM, 10 μM, 50 μM, and 100 μM of Paclitaxel and incubated for 24 and 48 hours. The MTS reagent was used to detect their activities. Secondly, after 6 hours of treatment with 10 mg/mL of SBPE; Paclitaxel treatment was added for 24 hours (f), 48 hours (g) and 72 hours (h).</p

The actual effects that SBPE have on the optimal dosage against cancer cell viability.

<p>(a) Concentration and time verification against viability was conducted according to the mathematical analysis values generated by statistical software MATLAB as shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0155469#pone.0155469.g006" target="_blank">Fig 6</a>. SBPE concentrations of 5 mg/mL, 6.25 mg/mL, 7.5 mg/mL, and 10 mg/mL; timeframes were 32, 30, 16, and 6 hours; and MTS reagent was used to detect their activities. (b) Immunostaining was used to label the autophagy protein, LC3; lysosomal marker, LAMP-1; and nuclear marker, DAPI. The cells were incubated for eight hours and were magnified at 630X to observe the autophagy distribution. Arrows indicate autophagosomes (overlapped with green and red).</p