Incentives, Positive Emotions and SWOM Intention: Moderating Roles of Allocation Type and Emotion Regulation

With the increasing popularity of social networking sites (SNS), companies are adopting monetary incentives to generate eWOM on SNS (SWOM). Drawing on emotion and equity theories, this study explores effects of perceived magnitude of monetary incentives and emotions on consumer SWOM intention. In addition, this study investigates the moderating effects of allocation types of rewards (positive inequity and negative inequity) and emotion regulation (reappraisal and suppression emotion regulation) on these relationships. An online situational experiment was conducted and yielded valid responses from 193 WeChat users in China. With the preliminary data, we tested the direct, mediation, and moderation effects using SmartPLS 3.0. The empirical results show that (1) perceived monetary incentives have a positive effect on SWOM intention; (2) positive emotions of senders mediates the relationship between incentives and SWOM intention; (3) negative-inequity incentives negatively moderates the relationship between incentives and positive emotion, while the moderating effect of positive-inequity incentives is insignificant on the relationship between incentives and positive emotion; (4) reappraisal emotion regulation strengthens the effect of positive emotion on SWOM intention, whereas the moderating effect of suppression emotion regulation between positive emotion and SWOM intention is not statistically significant

Flow regime associated with vertical secondary migration

International audienceSecondary migration is defined as the movement of hydrocarbons through relatively permeable rocks from source to trap: a two-phase flow within a porous medium. Depending on the geometry and capillary pressure distributions of carrier beds, secondary migration has both vertical and lateral components. The present paper focuses on that part of the migration where the movement is mainly vertical. Its objective is to propose a description of the dynamics governing the vertical part of secondary migration based on the main physical aspects of two-phase flow in a homogeneous porous medium. The study is illustrated by laboratory observations performed in a vertical, 2-D Hele-Shaw cell filled with a transparent porous medium where the flow of dyed oil invading a wetting fluid is visually observed. These observations help us to understand the effect of buoyant, capillary and viscous forces on the resulting flow, the relative importance of which is characterized by non-dimensional numbers. Extrapolating these observations to natural media, it is proposed that vertical secondary migration can be described as a percolation of disconnected and vertically-elongated stringers. These stringers do not move continuously but as a succession of snap-off and re-feeding events which result in a jerky upward movement. Using parameters characterizing the physical properties of the fluid and of the porous medium, the geometry and the dynamic behavior of the stringers are estimated. The width of stringers occurring during secondary migration in geological media is centimetric and their vertical size ranges from several centimeters to a few meters. An upper limit of the mean upward velocity of stringers is proposed, as well as an estimate of their spatial density and of the minimum, average horizontal distance (decametric) between two stringers. The stringers are sparsely distributed, resulting in a low average oil loss and a high efficiency of the vertical migration process

Testing oil saturation distribution in migration paths using MRI

International audienceMagnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) method allows to observe the distribution of different fluids in situ in porous media, and to measure oil and water saturation. Although this technique has great advantages compared to others, there remains large space for assessing the method and improving the accuracy of measurement. Using MRI, the oil secondary migration paths are scanned to measure the saturation distribution during the laboratory experiments. The resulting map can be calibrated using a device with the same pore structure as the probed sample and fully saturated with oil. This device is scanned with the probed sample at the same time in order to calibrate the saturation. The Spin-echo multi-slices sequence (SEMS) is adopted for MRI to ensure that the oil saturation in migration paths is accurately measured. The relevant spatial resolution of the mapping is defined according to the concept of REV (representative elementary volume). The oil saturation resulting from data obtained using different image formats are compared and the resulting saturation evaluation is compared to direct bulk saturation measurements. This comparison demonstrates that the calculated MRI oil saturation using DICOM image format is quite accurate, with a relative error less than 2%

Real-world efficacy and safety of pyrotinib in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: A prospective real-world study

Background: Pyrotinib, a novel irreversible EGFR/HER2 dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor, shows encouraging anticancer activity and acceptable tolerability in multiple phase II and phase III randomized clinical trials, but the real-world data of pyrotinib, especially the outcomes in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, have been rarely reported. Here, we evaluated the treatment outcomes of pyrotinib in real-world practice in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC).Methods: This was a prospective, real-world, observational cohort study. Through the Breast Cancer Information Management System, HER-2 positive MBC patients treated with pyrotinib between 2017/06 and 2020/09 were included. Provider-reported objective response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were considered in the assessment of treatment outcomes. Tumor responses to pyrotinib treatment were calculated using RECIST 1.1. Adverse events were evaluated using clinical records.Results: The trial involved 113 individuals who were receiving pyrotinib treatment, with an average age of 51 years. Complete response, partial response and stable disease were observed in 9 (8.0%), 66 (58.4%), and 17 (15.0%) patients, respectively, while progressive disease was recorded in 20 (17.7%) patients. After a median follow-up of 17.2 months, the median PFS was 14.1. The most common adverse events of any grade were diarrhea (87.6%), vomiting (31.9%), and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (26.6%). Among the patients with brain metastases, the median PFS and OS were 15.2 and 19.8 months, respectively. In addition, pyrotinib has similar efficacy in various subtypes of HER2-positive MBC patients, as shown by the lack of a significant difference of PFS and OS among pyrotinib-treated patients with or without brain metastases, or patients using pyrotinib as first-line, second-line, third-line or beyond therapies.Conclusion: Our real-world results demonstrated equivalent clinical efficacy in HER-2 positive MBC patients compared to phase II and phase III clinical trials with pyrotinib, and promising outcomes in patients with brain metastases

Loss of miR-638 in vitro promotes cell invasion and a mesenchymal-like transition by influencing SOX2 expression in colorectal carcinoma cells

BACKGROUND: Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is a major cause of cancer mortality. The aberrant expression of several microRNAs is associated with CRC progression; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are unclear. METHODS: miR-638 and SRY-box 2 (SOX2) expression levels were detected in 36 tumor samples and their adjacent, non-tumor tissues from patients with CRC, as well as in 4 CRC cell lines, using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). SOX2 expression levels were detected in 90 tumor samples and their adjacent tissue using immunohistochemistry. Luciferase reporter and Western blot assays were used to validate SOX2 as a target gene of miR-638. The regulation of SOX2 expression by miR-638 was assessed using qRT-PCR and Western blot assays, and the effects of exogenous miR-638 and SOX2 on cell invasion and migration were evaluated in vitro using the HCT-116 and SW1116 CRC cell lines. RESULTS: We found that miR-638 expression was differentially impaired in CRC specimens and dependent on tumor grade. The inhibition of miR-638 by an antagomiR promoted cell invasion and a mesenchymal-like transition (lamellipodium stretching increased and cell-cell contacts decreased, which was accompanied by the suppression of the epithelial cell marker ZO-1/E-cadherin and the upregulation of the mesenchymal cell marker vimentin). A reporter assay revealed that miR-638 repressed the luciferase activity of a reporter gene coupled to the 3′-untranslated region of SOX2. miR-638 overexpression downregulated SOX2 expression, and miR-638 inhibition upregulated SOX2 expression. Moreover, miR-638 expression levels were correlated inversely with SOX2 mRNA levels in human CRC tissues. The RNAi-mediated knockdown of SOX2 phenocopied the invasion-inhibiting effect of miR-638; furthermore, SOX2 overexpression blocked the miR-638-induced CRC cell transition to epithelial-like cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that the loss of miR-638 promotes invasion and a mesenchymal-like transition by directly targeting SOX2 in vitro. These findings define miR-638 as a new, invasion-associated tumor suppressor of CRC

Impact of Schistosoma japonicum Infection on Collagen-Induced Arthritis in DBA/1 Mice: A Murine Model of Human Rheumatoid Arthritis

BACKGROUND: The hygiene hypothesis suggests that helminth infections prevent a range of autoimmune diseases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To investigate the effects of S. japonicum infection on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), male DBA/1 mice were challenged with unisexual or bisexual S. japonicum cercariae two weeks prior to bovine type II collagen (CII) immunization or at the onset of CIA. S. japonicum infection prior to CII immunization significantly reduced the severity of CIA. ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) showed that the levels of anti-CII IgG and IgG2a were reduced in prior schistosome-infected mice, while anti-CII IgG1 was elevated. Splenocyte proliferation against both polyclonal and antigen-specific stimuli was reduced by prior schistosome infection as measured by tritiated thymidine incorporation ((3)H-TdR). Cytokine profiles and CD4(+) T cells subpopulation analysis by ELISA and flow cytometry (FCM) demonstrated that prior schistosome infection resulted in a significant down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) and Th1 cells, together with up-regulation of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and Th2 cells. Interestingly, the expansion of Treg cells and the reduction of Th17 cells were only observed in bisexually infected mice. In addition, prior schistosome infection notably reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) in the inflamed joint. However, the disease was exacerbated at one week after infection when established CIA mice were challenged with bisexual cercariae. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data provide direct evidence that the Th2 response evoked by prior S. japonicum infection can suppress the Th1 response and pro-inflammatory mediator and that bisexual infection with egg-laying up-regulates the Treg response and down-regulates the Th17 response, resulting in an amelioration of autoimmune arthritis. The beneficial effects might depend on the establishment of a Th2-dominant response rather than the presence of the eggs. Our results suggest that anti-inflammatory molecules from the parasite could treat autoimmune diseases

A robotic arm control system with simultaneous and sequential modes combining eye-tracking with steady-state visual evoked potential in virtual reality environment

At present, single-modal brain-computer interface (BCI) still has limitations in practical application, such as low flexibility, poor autonomy, and easy fatigue for subjects. This study developed an asynchronous robotic arm control system based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) and eye-tracking in virtual reality (VR) environment, including simultaneous and sequential modes. For simultaneous mode, target classification was realized by decision-level fusion of electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-gaze. The stimulus duration for each subject was non-fixed, which was determined by an adjustable window method. Subjects could autonomously control the start and stop of the system using triple blink and eye closure, respectively. For sequential mode, no calibration was conducted before operation. First, subjects’ gaze area was obtained through eye-gaze, and then only few stimulus blocks began to flicker. Next, target classification was determined using EEG. Additionally, subjects could reject false triggering commands using eye closure. In this study, the system effectiveness was verified through offline experiment and online robotic-arm grasping experiment. Twenty subjects participated in offline experiment. For simultaneous mode, average ACC and ITR at the stimulus duration of 0.9 s were 90.50% and 60.02 bits/min, respectively. For sequential mode, average ACC and ITR at the stimulus duration of 1.4 s were 90.47% and 45.38 bits/min, respectively. Fifteen subjects successfully completed the online tasks of grabbing balls in both modes, and most subjects preferred the sequential mode. The proposed hybrid brain-computer interface (h-BCI) system could increase autonomy, reduce visual fatigue, meet individual needs, and improve the efficiency of the system

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors Associated with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rapidly becoming a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Concurrent to an increase in NAFLD prevalence, there is an increase in the obesity epidemic and the correlated insulin-resistant state. It is a challenge to diagnose NAFLD because many patients are asymptomatic until the later stages of disease. The most common symptoms include fatigue, malaise, and discomfort in the right upper quadrant. The major and most accurate tool to clinically diagnose NAFLD is a liver biopsy, followed by histological analysis. However, this procedure is invasive and often carries a high risk of complications. Currently, there are no officially approved medications for the treatment of NAFLD. Although lifestyle modifications with proper diet and exercise have been shown to be beneficial, this has been difficult to achieve and sustain for many patients. Effective pharmacological treatments are still lacking; therefore, additional research to identify novel drugs is clearly warranted. PPARs are promising drug targets for the management of NAFLD and its related conditions of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. In this review, we provide an overview of recent studies on the association of PPARs and NAFLD