How political identity shapes customer satisfaction

This article examines the effect of political identity on customers' satisfaction with the products and services they consume. Recent work suggests that conservatives are less likely to complain than liberals. Building on that work, the present research examines how political identity shapes customer satisfaction, which has broad implications for customers and firms. Nine studies combine different methodologies, primary and secondary data, real and hypothetical behavior, different product categories, and diverse participant populations to show that conservatives (vs. liberals) are more satisfied with the products and services they consume. This happens because conservatives (vs. liberals) are more likely to believe in free will (i.e., that people have agency over their decisions) and, therefore, to trust their own decisions. The authors document the broad and tangible downstream consequences of this effect for customers' repurchase and recommendation intentions and firms' sales. The association of political identity and customer satisfaction is attenuated when belief in free will is externally weakened, choice is limited, or the consumption experience is overwhelmingly positive.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Transcriptome Approach Toward Understanding Fruit Softening in Persimmon

Persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.), which is a climacteric fruit, softens in 3–5 weeks after harvest. However, little is known regarding the transcriptional changes that underlie persimmon ripening. In this study, high-throughput de novo RNA sequencing was performed to examine differential expression between freshly harvested (FH) and softened (ST) persimmon fruit peels. Using the Illumina HiSeq platform, we obtained 259,483,704 high quality reads and 94,856 transcripts. After the removal of redundant sequences, a total of 31,258 unigenes were predicted, 1,790 of which were differentially expressed between FH and ST persimmon (1,284 up-regulated and 506 down-regulated in ST compared with FH). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were further subjected to KEGG pathway analysis. Several pathways were found to be up-regulated in ST persimmon, including “amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism.” Pathways down-regulated in ST persimmon included “photosynthesis” and “carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms.” Expression patterns of genes in these pathways were further confirmed using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Ethylene gas production during persimmon softening was monitored with gas chromatography and found to be correlated with the fruit softening. Transcription involved in ethylene biosynthesis, perception and signaling was up-regulated. On the whole, this study investigated the key genes involved in metabolic pathways of persimmon fruit softening, especially implicated in increased sugar metabolism, decreased photosynthetic capability, and increased ethylene production and other ethylene-related functions. This transcriptome analysis provides baseline information on the identity and modulation of genes involved in softening of persimmon fruits and can underpin the future development of technologies to delay softening in persimmon

COMPRESS MULTIPLE CIPHERTEXTS USING ELGAMAL ENCRYPTION SCHEMES

In this work we deal with the problem of how to squeeze multiple ciphertexts without losing original message information. To do so, we formalize the notion of decompos- ability for public-key encryption and investigate why adding decomposability is challenging. We construct an ElGamal encryption scheme over extension fields, and show that it supports the efficient decomposition. We then analyze security of our scheme under the standard DDH assumption, and evaluate the performance of our construction

The rigid amphipathic fusion Inhibitor dUY11 acts through photosensitization of viruses

Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1128 /JVI.02907-13.Rigid amphipathic fusion inhibitors (RAFIs) are lipophilic inverted-cone-shaped molecules thought to antagonize the membrane curvature transitions that occur during virus-cell fusion and are broad-spectrum antivirals against enveloped viruses (Broad-SAVE). Here, we show that RAFIs act like membrane-binding photosensitizers: their antiviral effect is dependent on light and the generation of singlet oxygen (1O2), similar to the mechanistic paradigm established for LJ001, a chemically unrelated class of Broad-SAVE. Photosensitization of viral membranes is a common mechanism that underlies these Broad-SAVE.This work was supported by NIH grants U01 AI070495, U01 AI082100, R01 AI069317, and U54 AI065359 (PSWRCE) (to B.L.) and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia-Ministério da Educação e Ciência (Portugal) project DELIN-HIVERA/0002/2013 and fellowship SFRH/BPD/72037/2010 (to N.C.S. and A.H., respectively

The COOH-terminus of TM4SF5 in hepatoma cell lines regulates c-Src to form invasive protrusions via EGFR Tyr845 phosphorylation

AbstractTransmembrane 4 L six family member 5 (TM4SF5) enhances cell migration and invasion, although how TM4SF5 mechanistically mediates these effects remains unknown. In the study, during efforts to understand TM4SF5-mediated signal transduction, TM4SF5 was shown to bind c-Src and thus hepatoma cell lines expressing TM4SF5 were analyzed for the significance of the interaction in cell invasion. The C-terminus of TM4SF5 bound both inactive c-Src that might be sequestered to certain cellular areas and active c-Src that might form invasive protrusions. Wildtype (WT) TM4SF5 expression enhanced migration and invasive protrusion formation in a c-Src-dependent manner, compared with TM4SF5-null control hepatoma cell lines. However, tailless TM4SF5ΔC cells were more efficient than WT TM4SF5 cells, suggesting a negative regulatory role by the C-terminus. TM4SF5 WT- or TM4SF5ΔC-mediated formation of invasive protrusions was dependent or independent on serum or epidermal growth factor treatment, respectively, although they both were dependent on c-Src. The c-Src activity of TM4SF5 WT- or TM4SF5ΔC-expressing cells correlated with enhanced Tyr845 phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor. Y845F EGFR mutation abolished the TM4SF5-mediated invasive protrusions, but not c-Src phosphorylation. Our findings demonstrate that TM4SF5 modulates c-Src activity during TM4SF5-mediated invasion through a TM4SF5/c-Src/EGFR signaling pathway, differentially along the leading protrusive edges of an invasive cancer cell

Constant-Round Privacy Preserving Multiset Union

Privacy preserving multiset union (PPMU) protocol allows a set of parties, each with a multiset, to collaboratively compute a multiset union secretly, meaning that any information other than union is not revealed. We propose efficient PPMU protocols, using multiplicative homomorphic cryptosystem. The novelty of our protocol is to directly encrypt a polynomial by representing it by an element of an extension field. The resulting protocols consist of constant rounds and improve communication cost. We also prove the security of our protocol against malicious adversaries, in the random oracle model

Clinical outcomes for T1-2N0-1 oral tongue cancer patients underwent surgery with and without postoperative radiotherapy

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the results of curative surgery with and without radiotherapy in patients with T1-2N0-1 oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to evaluate survival and prognostic factors. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 86 patients with T1-2N0-1 OSCC who received surgery between January 2000 and December 2006. Fourteen patients (16.3%) received postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). Patient characteristics, tumor characteristics, treatment modality, failure patterns, and survival rates were analyzed. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 45 months. The five-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 80.8% and 80.2%, respectively. Higher tumor grade and invasion depth > or = 0.5 cm were the significant prognostic factors affecting five-year OS and DFS (OS rate; 65% vs. 91%, p = 0.001 for grade; 66% vs. 92%, p = 0.01 for invasion depth: DFS rate; 69% vs. 88%, p = 0.005 for grade; 66% vs. 92%, p = 0.013 for invasion depth). In the risk group, there was no local failure in patients with postoperative radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: In T1-2N0-1 OSCC, factors that affected prognosis after primary surgery were higher tumor grade and deep invasion depth over 0.5 cm. Postoperative radiotherapy should be considered in early oral tongue cancer patients with these high-risk pathologic featuresope