IL-36R Signaling and Gut Immunity

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Cytokines have a critical role in the pathogenesis of IBD, in which they control multiple aspects of the inflammatory response. One such cytokine, Interleukin (IL-36) is overexpressed in both experimental and human IBD and may play both pathogenic and protective roles, depending on the context. The IL-36 signaling pathway induces IL-22, a cytokine that is critical in repair and regeneration of the gut epithelium during inflammation. However, the mechanism by which IL-36 induces IL-22 and promotes barrier repair is incompletely understood. We observed a cytokine network, in which, IL-36γ/IL-36R signaling is an important upstream driver of IL-22 and antimicrobial peptide (AMP) production to protect the host against acute intestinal damage. We have shown that IL-36γ is a potent inducer of IL-23. IL-36γ–induced IL-23 requires Notch2-dependent dendritic cells (DCs). The intracellular signaling cascade linking IL-36 receptor (IL-36R) to IL-23 production by DCs involved MyD88 and the NF-κB subunits. Consistent with in vitro observations, IL-36R-/- mice exhibited dramatically reduced IL-23, IL-22, and AMP levels, and consequently failed to recover from acute intestinal damage. Interestingly, impaired recovery of mice deficient in IL-36R was rescued by treatment with exogenous IL-23. We also found that IL-36R-/- mice are defective of host protection during enteropathogenic bacterial infection. The IL-36 signaling cascade is essential in both early and late phases of immune defense against C. rodentium infection. During the early stage of infection, IL-36 induced the production of IL-22 by innate lymphoid cells 3 (ILC3s) via IL-23; and during the late phase, IL-36 stimulated the production of IL-22 from T-cells via IL-6. Intriguingly, in the experimental chronic colitis, IL-36R-/- mice display reduced disease severity and are associated with decreased production of inflammatory cytokines and enhance expression of Foxp3 regulatory T cells. Collectively, these findings highlight context-dependent, protective and pathogenic contribution of the IL-36R signaling pathway and the potential for optimally manipulating this pathway for better treatment of intestinal inflammation

Customer agility and firm performance in the tourism industry

The growing importance of agility in any business process is universally accepted and extensively investigated in different disciplines. However, lacking empirical pieces of evidence for the suggested theoretical framework of agility hinders its application in the practices. Thus, this study attempts to address this issue by empirically testing a framework of customer agility’s antecedents and consequences using the tourism industry context. The framework is tested on data collected from 231 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism industry in Vietnam and analyzed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings suggest that not all attributes of customer agility exert positive impacts on the firm’s performance and human factors are posited as the most important antecedents for organizational agility. A number of practical implications are also suggested from the research findings

Moderating and mediating effects of switching costs on the relationship between service value, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: Investigation of retail banking in Vietnam

Switching cost highlights the way how companies create barriers to proactively prevent customer defection which directly and significantly affects customer loyalty and then companies’ performance. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidences about the impact of switching cost on customer loyalty by examining its mediating and moderating effects on the relationships between service value, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Specially, two difference types of switching costs, positive one and negative one, are proposed and tested independently in order to provide more insights about their impacts. The data about switching costs and other constructs are collected from 261 retail banking customers, and analysed using structural equation modelling and moderated path analysis. It is found that positive switching costs increase customer loyalty by partly transforming the effect of service value and customer satisfaction into customer loyalty. While negative switching cost only mediates the service value-loyalty relationship. Moreover, only negative switching cost has significant moderating effect on the satisfaction-loyalty relationships. Finally, the analysis reveals that negative switching cost might also weaken good impacts from positive switching cost on satisfaction-loyalty relationships. © Foundation of International Studies, 2017. and CSR, 2017

The relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: An investigation in Vietnamese retail banking sector

This study develops and empirically tests the interrelationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in a retail banking context. Increasingly intense competitiveness and fundamental changes in the business environment nowadays are forcing firms to implement a customer-focused strategy which raises the importance of customer-related constructs such as customer satisfaction, service quality, and customer loyalty in explaining a firm’s performance. In particular, they are essential for competitiveness in industries where the exchanges are complex and customers are closely involved in the decision-making process, such as the banking industry. In this study, first, a research model about the interrelationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty is suggested. Then a survey is conducted with retail banking customers about these constructs, which results in 261 valid respondents. The hypotheses are then proposed and tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the structural equation modelling technique (SME). The analysis reveals that service quality and customer satisfaction are important antecedents of customer loyalty and customer satisfaction mediates the effects of service quality on customer loyalty. These findings suggest that there are non-linear relationships between three constructs and emphasize the need to treat customer loyalty management as a process which includes plenty of factors interacting with each other.Internal Grant Agency of Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FaME/2016/020

Generalized Configurations for the Synchronization System Based on Transfer Function Approach

This paper presents our research on deriving all the generalized forms for the grid synchronization system of an inverter in the grid-connected applications. The transfer function approach is introduced in order to obtain the generalized second-order and third-order synchronization systems. This approach is based on the orthogonal property of two outputs from the second-order generalized-integrator (SOGI) technique that these two outputs are always 90° difference in phase but only equal in magnitude at the grid frequency. The proposed approach then can provide the generalized forms of any high-order synchronization system, including the second-order and the third-order systems. It is interesting to see that the systems derived from this approach include all the previous synchronization systems in the literature. The simulation results have confirmed that these generalized systems are able to generate two perfectly orthogonal outputs to determine the grid information, i.e. voltage magnitude and phase angle. In addition, the generalized third-order system shows its excellent performance in removing harmonics under the distorted grid condition, and thus its ability to accurately detect the grid information

A realization model to develop the autopilot system of ships by specializing MDA

This paper presents a method which is based on the Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) and functional blocks to realize effectively the autopilot systems of ships. It brings out an executable MDA process to cover completely the requirement analysis, design and deployment phases of these systems. This process also allows the determined design elements to be customizable and re-usable in the new applications of controlled ship steering systems. The paper indicates straightforwardly the ship dynamic model-to-be used, the Computation Independent Model (CIM) of a ship autopilot system, the Platform Independent Model (PIM) of this system by using the Real-Time Unified Modeling Language (UML), and its Platform Specific Model (PSM) implemented by the functional blocks. Furthermore, the important transformation rules are also brought out and applied to convert the identified PIM into PSM for implementing quickly this system with different industrial frameworks such as the IEC61499 in a programmable controller. Then, its deployment model completely is tested on a model ship with the predetermined program and control performance

Lost in Draft: Investigating Game Balance in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Drafting

Master´s thesis in Information and Communication Technology (IKT590) University of Agder, GrimstadThis thesis explores modern machine learning solutions to turn-basedstrategy games. In particular, we explore the possibilities of equalizing the playing field for both teams in the draft phase of Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2) and League of Legends (LoL), with both games being giants in the multi-million dollar esports industry. The thesis covers the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena video game genre and the draft phase the games use. We also discuss the tech-nology used to address the problem, as well as the basic concepts of modern machine learning that allowed this technology to arise. We then introduce the Win Rate Predictor, which is our implementation of the reward function in the Monte Carlo Tree Search algorithm used to predict the win rate of each team given different parameters in the draft phase. The results show clear and quantifiable differences in differentparts of the draft phase. This includes reordering the pick order, the impact of including banning in the draft phase, and the balance ofdifferent draft schemes. Specifically, first pick has a higher win rate than last pick for the majority of the draft schemes, suggesting that strong initial picks aremore valuable than reactive response picks. Additionally, bans can bea way to influence the balance of a draft phase. Our simulations also suggest that the southwestern locations on the map have a higher win rate in both Dota 2 and LoL. And finally, according to our simulations,the games’ respective implementation of a draft scheme is the most evenly balanced draft scheme for their game

Community Reporting Increases Safety in Quang Tri Province

Established in 2001, Project RENEW—Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War—develops and tests new ways of providing effective responses to the humanitarian challenge caused by explosive remnants of war. In accordance with international standards, the project embraces major pillars of mine action including surveys and assessments for the development of a mine action database, clearance, risk education, victim assistance and community development

Contamination of Selected Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Sediment of Some Areas in Vietnam

This chapter evaluates the contamination of selected persistent organic pollutants (S-POPs) in the sediment of some typical areas in Vietnam. S-POPs are composed of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The collected data and analyzed results indicated the wide occurrence of significant S-POPs residues in studied areas. The main sources of S-POPs are discussed by using composition analyses and diagnostic ratios of S-POPs indicator. Ecotoxicological risk of S-POPs is assessed. The obtained results have contributed to the assessment of S-POPs fate in the environmental sediment in Vietnam