Exchange hazards, relational reliability, and contracts in China: The contingent role of legal enforceability

Building on institutional and transaction cost economics, this article proposes that legal enforceability increases the use of contract over relational reliability (e.g., beliefs that the other party acts in a non-opportunistic manner) to safeguard market exchanges characterized by non-trivial hazards. The results of 399 buyer-supplier exchanges in China show that: (1) when managers perceive that the legal system can protect their firm's interests, they tend to use explicit contracts rather than relational reliability to safeguard transactions involving risks (i.e., asset specificity, environmental uncertainty, and behavioral uncertainty); and (2) when managers do not perceive the legal system as credible, they are less likely to use contracts, and instead rely on relational reliability to safeguard transactions associated with specialized assets and environmental uncertainty, but not those involving behavioral uncertainty. We further find that legal enforceability does not moderate the effect of relational reliability on contracts, but does weaken the effect of contracts on relational reliability. These results endorse the importance of prior experience (e.g., relational reliability) in supporting the use of explicit contracts, and alternatively suggest that, under conditions of greater legal enforceability, the contract signals less regarding one's intention to be trustworthy but more about the efficacy of sanctions. © 2010 Academy of International Business All rights reserved.postprin

Does Jacobson's relaxation technique reduce consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugsin cancer patients? A multicenter pre-post intervention study

Background: Cancer patients often suffer from emotional distress as a result of the oncological process. The purpose of our study was to determine whether practice of Jacobson?s relaxation technique reduced consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs in a sample of cancer patients. Methods: This was a multicenter pre?post intervention design. Participants were 272 patients aged over 18 years attending 10 Spanish public hospitals with oncological pathologies and anxiety symptoms. The intervention consisted of a protocol of abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation training developed by Bernstein and Borkovec. This was followed up by telephone calls over a 1-month period. The intervention was performed between November 2014 and October 2015. Sociodemographic variables related to the oncological process, mental health variables, and intervention characteristics were measured. Results: A reduction in the consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs was observed throughout the follow-up period. Improvement was observed throughout the 4-week follow-up for all the parameters assessed: anxiety, relaxation, concentration, and mastery of the relaxation technique. Conclusions: The practice of abbreviated Jacobson?s relaxation technique can help to decrease the consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs. Patients experienced positive changes in all the evaluated parameters, at least during the 1-month follow-up. To confirm these findings, additional long-term studies are needed that include control groups. Trial registration: ISRCTN 81335752, DOI 10.1186/ISRCTN81335752 17. Date of registration: 22/11/2016 (retrospectively registered)

Increased sporulation underpins adaptation of Clostridium difficile strain 630 to a biologically–relevant faecal environment, with implications for pathogenicity

Abstract Clostridium difficile virulence is driven primarily by the processes of toxinogenesis and sporulation, however many in vitro experimental systems for studying C. difficile physiology have arguably limited relevance to the human colonic environment. We therefore created a more physiologically–relevant model of the colonic milieu to study gut pathogen biology, incorporating human faecal water (FW) into growth media and assessing the physiological effects of this on C. difficile strain 630. We identified a novel set of C. difficile–derived metabolites in culture supernatants, including hexanoyl– and pentanoyl–amino acid derivatives by LC-MSn. Growth of C. difficile strain 630 in FW media resulted in increased cell length without altering growth rate and RNA sequencing identified 889 transcripts as differentially expressed (p < 0.001). Significantly, up to 300–fold increases in the expression of sporulation–associated genes were observed in FW media–grown cells, along with reductions in motility and toxin genes’ expression. Moreover, the expression of classical stress–response genes did not change, showing that C. difficile is well–adapted to this faecal milieu. Using our novel approach we have shown that interaction with FW causes fundamental changes in C. difficile biology that will lead to increased disease transmissibility

Design and methods for a cluster randomized trial of the Sunless Study: A skin cancer prevention intervention promoting sunless tanning among beach visitors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Skin cancer is the most prevalent yet most preventable cancer in the US. While protecting oneself from ultraviolet radiation (UVR) can largely reduce risk, rates of unprotected sun exposure remain high. Because the desire to be tan often outweighs health concerns among sunbathers, very few interventions have been successful at reducing sunbathing behavior. Sunless tanning (self-tanners and spray tans), a method of achieving the suntanned look without UVR exposure, might be an effective supplement to prevention interventions.</p> <p>Methods and Design</p> <p>This cluster randomized trial will examine whether a beach-based intervention that promotes sunless tanning as a substitute for sunbathing and includes sun damage imaging and sun safety recommendations is superior to a questionnaire only control group in reducing sunbathing frequency. Female beach visitors (N = 250) will be recruited from 2 public beaches in eastern Massachusetts. Beach site will be the unit of randomization. Follow-up assessment will occur at the end of the summer (1-month following intervention) and 1 year later. The primary outcome is average sunbathing time per week. The study was designed to provide 90% power for detecting a difference of .70 hours between conditions (standard deviation of 2.0) at 1-year with an intra-cluster correlation coefficient of 0.01 and assuming a 25% rate of loss to follow-up. Secondary outcomes include frequency of sunburns, use of sunless tanning products, and sun protection behavior.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Interventions might be improved by promoting behavioral substitutes for sun exposure, such as sunless tanners, that create a tanned look without exposure to UVR.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>NCT00403377</p

Primary care nurses' experiences of how the mass media influence frontline healthcare in the UK

Background: Mass media plays an important role in communicating about health research and services to patients, and in shaping public perceptions and decisions about health. Healthcare professionals also play an important role in providing patients with credible, evidence-based and up-to-date information on a wide range of health issues. This study aims to explore primary care nurses' experiences of how mass media influences frontline healthcare.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: In-depth telephone interviews were carried out with 18 primary care nurses (nine health visitors and nine practice nurses) working in the United Kingdom (UK). Interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed using thematic analysis, with a focus on constant comparative analysis.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: Three themes emerged from the data. First, participants reported that their patients were frequently influenced by controversial health stories reported in the media, which affected their perceptions of, and decisions about, care. This, in turn, impinged upon participants' workloads as they had to spend additional time discussing information and reassuring patients. Second, participants also recalled times in their own careers when media reports had contributed to a decline in their confidence in current healthcare practices and treatments. Third, the participants in this study suggested a real need for additional resources to support and expand their own media literacy skills, which could be shared with patients.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusion: In an ever expanding media landscape with greater reporting on health, nurses working in the primary care setting face increasing pressure to effectively manage media stories that dispute current health policies and practices. These primary care nurses were keen to expand their media literacy skills to develop critical autonomy in relation to all media, and to facilitate more meaningful conversations with their patients about their health concerns and choices.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt

Psychological Determinants of Consumer Acceptance of Personalised Nutrition in 9 European Countries

YesObjective: To develop a model of the psychological factors which predict people’s intention to adopt personalised nutrition. Potential determinants of adoption included perceived risk and benefit, perceived self-efficacy, internal locus of control and health commitment. Methods: A questionnaire, developed from exploratory study data and the existing theoretical literature, and including validated psychological scales was administered to N = 9381 participants from 9 European countries (Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, and Norway). Results: Structural equation modelling indicated that the greater participants’ perceived benefits to be associated with personalised nutrition, the more positive their attitudes were towards personalised nutrition, and the greater their intention to adopt it. Higher levels of nutrition self-efficacy were related to more positive attitudes towards, and a greater expressed intention to adopt, personalised nutrition. Other constructs positively impacting attitudes towards personalised nutrition included more positive perceptions of the efficacy of regulatory control to protect consumers (e.g. in relation to personal data protection), higher self-reported internal health locus of control, and health commitment. Although higher perceived risk had a negative relationship with attitude and an inverse relationship with perceived benefit, its effects on attitude and intention to adopt personalised nutrition was less influential than perceived benefit. The model was stable across the different European countries, suggesting that psychological factors determining adoption of personalised nutrition have generic applicability across different European countries. Conclusion: The results suggest that transparent provision of information about potential benefits, and protection of consumers’ personal data is important for adoption, delivery of public health benefits, and commercialisation of personalised nutrition.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement n u 265494 (http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html). Food4Me is the acronym of the project ‘‘Personalised nutrition: an integrated analysis of opportunities and challenges’’ (http://www.food4me.org/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Dissection of the Complex Phenotype in Cuticular Mutants of Arabidopsis Reveals a Role of SERRATE as a Mediator

Mutations in LACERATA (LCR), FIDDLEHEAD (FDH), and BODYGUARD (BDG) cause a complex developmental syndrome that is consistent with an important role for these Arabidopsis genes in cuticle biogenesis. The genesis of their pleiotropic phenotypes is, however, poorly understood. We provide evidence that neither distorted depositions of cutin, nor deficiencies in the chemical composition of cuticular lipids, account for these features, instead suggesting that the mutants alleviate the functional disorder of the cuticle by reinforcing their defenses. To better understand how plants adapt to these mutations, we performed a genome-wide gene expression analysis. We found that apparent compensatory transcriptional responses in these mutants involve the induction of wax, cutin, cell wall, and defense genes. To gain greater insight into the mechanism by which cuticular mutations trigger this response in the plants, we performed an overlap meta-analysis, which is termed MASTA (MicroArray overlap Search Tool and Analysis), of differentially expressed genes. This suggested that different cell integrity pathways are recruited in cesA cellulose synthase and cuticular mutants. Using MASTA for an in silico suppressor/enhancer screen, we identified SERRATE (SE), which encodes a protein of RNA–processing multi-protein complexes, as a likely enhancer. In confirmation of this notion, the se lcr and se bdg double mutants eradicate severe leaf deformations as well as the organ fusions that are typical of lcr and bdg and other cuticular mutants. Also, lcr does not confer resistance to Botrytis cinerea in a se mutant background. We propose that there is a role for SERRATE-mediated RNA signaling in the cuticle integrity pathway

Activation of epidermal growth factor receptor is required for Chlamydia trachomatis development

Background Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) is a clinically significant human pathogen and one of the leading causative agents of sexually transmitted diseases. As obligate intracellular bacteria, C. trachomatis has evolved strategies to redirect the host’s signaling and resources for its own survival and propagation. Despite the clinical notoriety of Chlamydia infections, the molecular interactions between C. trachomatis and its host cell proteins remain elusive. Results In this study, we focused on the involvement of the host cell epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in C. trachomatis attachment and development. A combination of molecular approaches, pharmacological agents and cell lines were used to demonstrate distinct functional requirements of EGFR in C. trachomatisinfection. We show that C. trachomatis increases the phosphorylation of EGFR and of its downstream effectors PLCγ1, Akt and STAT5. While both EGFR and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β (PDGFRβ) are partially involved in bacterial attachment to the host cell surface, it is only the knockdown of EGFR and not PDGFRβ that affects the formation of C. trachomatis inclusions in the host cells. Inhibition of EGFR results in small immature inclusions, and prevents C. trachomatis-induced intracellular calcium mobilization and the assembly of the characteristic F-actin ring at the inclusion periphery. By using complementary approaches, we demonstrate that the coordinated regulation of both calcium mobilization and F-actin assembly by EGFR are necessary for maturation of chlamydial inclusion within the host cells. A particularly important finding of this study is the co-localization of EGFR with the F-actin at the periphery of C. trachomatis inclusion where it may function to nucleate the assembly of signaling protein complexes for cytoskeletal remodeling required for C. trachomatisdevelopment. Conclusion Cumulatively, the data reported here connect the function of EGFR to C. trachomatis attachment and development in the host cells, and this could lead to new venues for targeting C. trachomatis infections and associated diseases

Foreign ownership, bank information environments, and the international mobility of corporate governance

This paper investigates how foreign ownership shapes bank information environments. Using a sample of listed banks from 60 countries over 1997–2012, we show that foreign ownership is significantly associated with greater (lower) informativeness (synchronicity) in bank stock prices. We also find that stock returns of foreign-owned banks reflect more information about future earnings. In addition, the positive association between price informativeness and foreign ownership is stronger for foreign-owned banks in countries with stronger governance, stronger banking supervision, and lower monitoring costs. Overall, our evidence suggests that foreign ownership reduces bank opacity by exporting governance, yielding important implications for regulators and governments