Investigating the causal role of MRE11A p.E506* in breast and ovarian cancer

The nuclease MRE11A is often included in genetic test panels for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) due to its BRCA1-related molecular function in the DNA repair pathway. However, whether MRE11A is a true predisposition gene for HBOC is still questionable. We determined to investigate this notion by dissecting the molecular genetics of the c.1516G > T;p.E506* truncating MRE11A variant, that we pinpointed in two unrelated French-Canadian (FC) HBOC patients. We performed a case-control study for the variant in ~ 2500 breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancer patients from the founder FC population of Quebec. Furthermore, we looked for the presence of second somatic alterations in the MRE11A gene in the tumors of the carriers. In summary, these investigations suggested that the identified variant is not associated with an increased risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. We finally performed a systematic review for all the previously reported MRE11A variants in breast and ovarian cancer. We found that MRE11A germline variants annotated as pathogenic on ClinVar often lacked evidence for such classification, hence misleading the clinical management for affected patients. In summary, our report suggests the lack of clinical utility of MRE11A testing in HBOC, at least in the White/Caucasian populations

Uncovering the Nature of Information Processing of Men and Women Online: The Comparison of Two Models Using the Think-Aloud Method

This paper compares two models predicting gender differences in information processing to determine if either of the models is more pertinent to goal-oriented Internet searches. The Selectivity Model (Meyers-Levy 1989) proposes that women make more comprehension effort than men whereas the Item-Specific/Relational Processing Model (Putrevu 2001) suggests that men and women differ primarily in their processing style, with men tending to use item-specific processing by focusing on product attributes and women tending to use relational processing by looking for interrelationships among multiple pieces of information. The study participants (106 total, 50% female) were asked to think aloud while performing one of two goal-oriented search tasks on a website. Their thoughts were then coded according to relevant categories by two independent analysts using Atlas TI software. Consistent with the Selectivity Model, women made more comprehension effort than did men. However, our hypotheses related to a difference in processing style between men and women received less support. Overall, the results help disentangle the two theories and provide website developers with a basis for creating sites that are suited to men’s and women’s distinctive information processing strategies

Online product disposition on the rise : the specific case of online resale

Little attention has been devoted to resale and the limited research in this area has focused primarily on buyers. The concept of sellers motivations to resell products online is developed and the first scale to measure the motivations driving online reselling is presented. A robust, six-factor scale with twenty items is proposed

Business in the Hands of Consumers: A Scale for Measuring Online Resale Motivations

The web channel is increasingly a central aspect of the second-hand economy and, as such, favours also more sustainable post-consumption processes. This is why the field of online reselling appears increasingly important. Besides, the ever broadening scope of online reselling is key to the success of new online intermediaries that position themselves in the broader movement of collaborative consumption. While, consumers’ attachment for secondhand exchanges is not new, they have largely embraced its online declination. In response to these evolutions in the online retail environment, traditional retail companies have therefore started to create online consumer marketplaces in which consumers exchange goods by themselves. In order to best adapt such online marketplaces to consumers, it is therefore critically important to gain a better understanding of the driving forces behind online reselling. At present, knowledge about what motivates consumers to resell products online is limited. This article outlines the development and validation process of an online resale motivation (ORM) scale via three studies involving 1,119 respondents. Study 1 presents the ORM scale development process and resulting multi-dimensional construct, including protester, economic, generative, recreational, practical and social facets. Study 2 replicates the scale and investigates its predictive capabilities. More specifically, the ORM scale predicts successfully online resale frequency. Consumers who are more highly motivated to resell online, will indeed resell more often online. Study 3 examines the mediating role of ORM on the relationship between planned resale intentions (PRI) and online resale behaviour. The fact that consumers plan to resell a product prior to its purchase, will not directly lead them to increase the frequency at which they resell online. Rather, it is because they perceive positive economic, practical and recreational outcomes associated with online reselling that they resell more frequently online the goods which they intended to resell prior to their purchase

Life after death? Study of goods multiple lives practices

Purpose : Marketing scholars have devoted little attention to the study of practices which grant multiple lives to goods. However, these practices can considerably extend products lifecycles with far-reaching implications for traditional retailers and the economy. Accordingly, this paper aims to provide scales for perceived impact and motivations of goods multiple lives practices and to investigate the influence of impacts on motivations. Design/methodology/approach : A qualitative phase (three discussion groups and 15 in-depth interviews) identified consumers’ motivations and perceived impacts of goods multiple lives practices. Two online surveys were then conducted on online panels, involving more than 2,200 consumers, to develop the measurement scales and test the structural model. Findings : Results show that impacts measured only marginally influence economic motives but account significantly for a broad range of other motivations (ecological, protester and social contact motives). Research limitations/implications : The study design is cross-sectional, therefore lacking causality. Replication studies could cross-validate the findings by means of experimental research. Practical implications : The findings may prove of specific interest to marketers and organizations in the goods multiple lives sector seeking to harness consumer interest in these types of practices for reasons above and beyond lone economic incentives. Originality/value : This study is innovative in two regards: it explores a relatively under-theorized field in marketing, namely, goods multiple lives practices; and it proposes a challenging theoretical perspective which supposes that consumers’ perceived impact of their practices plays a significant role in motivating them to engage in practices of the like