THE PERSUASIVE IMPACT OF EMOTICONS IN ONLINE WORD-OF-MOUTH COMMUNICATION

The present research proposes a conceptual framework to examine the effect of emoticons on online WOM persuasion. Using a laboratory experiment, we demonstrate that emoticons enhance recipients’ empathy for the communicator, and this effect is moderated by message valence. Enhanced empathy heightens perceived trustworthiness of the communicator and perceived quality of the message, both of which lead to an increase in the persuasiveness of the WOM message. We conclude by discussing the contributions of this research and identifying the directions for future research

Comparative exploration on bifurcation behavior for integer-order and fractional-order delayed BAM neural networks

In the present study, we deal with the stability and the onset of Hopf bifurcation of two type delayed BAM neural networks (integer-order case and fractional-order case). By virtue of the characteristic equation of the integer-order delayed BAM neural networks and regarding time delay as critical parameter, a novel delay-independent condition ensuring the stability and the onset of Hopf bifurcation for the involved integer-order delayed BAM neural networks is built. Taking advantage of Laplace transform, stability theory and Hopf bifurcation knowledge of fractional-order differential equations, a novel delay-independent criterion to maintain the stability and the appearance of Hopf bifurcation for the addressed fractional-order BAM neural networks is established. The investigation indicates the important role of time delay in controlling the stability and Hopf bifurcation of the both type delayed BAM neural networks. By adjusting the value of time delay, we can effectively amplify the stability region and postpone the time of onset of Hopf bifurcation for the fractional-order BAM neural networks. Matlab simulation results are clearly presented to sustain the correctness of analytical results. The derived fruits of this study provide an important theoretical basis in regulating networks

AG-CRC: Anatomy-Guided Colorectal Cancer Segmentation in CT with Imperfect Anatomical Knowledge

When delineating lesions from medical images, a human expert can always keep in mind the anatomical structure behind the voxels. However, although high-quality (though not perfect) anatomical information can be retrieved from computed tomography (CT) scans with modern deep learning algorithms, it is still an open problem how these automatically generated organ masks can assist in addressing challenging lesion segmentation tasks, such as the segmentation of colorectal cancer (CRC). In this paper, we develop a novel Anatomy-Guided segmentation framework to exploit the auto-generated organ masks to aid CRC segmentation from CT, namely AG-CRC. First, we obtain multi-organ segmentation (MOS) masks with existing MOS models (e.g., TotalSegmentor) and further derive a more robust organ of interest (OOI) mask that may cover most of the colon-rectum and CRC voxels. Then, we propose an anatomy-guided training patch sampling strategy by optimizing a heuristic gain function that considers both the proximity of important regions (e.g., the tumor or organs of interest) and sample diversity. Third, we design a novel self-supervised learning scheme inspired by the topology of tubular organs like the colon to boost the model performance further. Finally, we employ a masked loss scheme to guide the model to focus solely on the essential learning region. We extensively evaluate the proposed method on two CRC segmentation datasets, where substantial performance improvement (5% to 9% in Dice) is achieved over current state-of-the-art medical image segmentation models, and the ablation studies further evidence the efficacy of every proposed component.Comment: under revie

Antioxidants and Antioxidant Capacity in Leafy, Stem, and Fruit Vegetables Including 50 Species

Epidemiological studies have confirmed that high intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with low incidence of many kinds of diseases, which are hypothesized to be owing to antioxidants in fruits and vegetables. In this study, three types (leafy, stem, fruit) vegetables including 50 species were systematically evaluated for their antioxidant capacity (AC) and antioxidants including total phenolic compound (TPC), total flavonoids (TF), and L-ascorbic acid (LAA). Results showed that vegetables types had no significant effects on antioxidants. Vegetables with vivid color like purple cabbage, purple dolichos lablab, purple cowpea, red pepper, yellow pepper, lotus root, and ginger ranked high in their antioxidants (TPC 32.76-117.63 mg gallic acid/g FW, TF 25.78-152.96 mg rutin/100g FW, LAA 69.11-165.44 mg/100g FW) and AC (FRAP 69.38-109.13 μmol Fe2+/100gFW, ABTS 2.19-3.75 μmol Trolox/gFW). Relatively, crown daisy, endive, celery stem, and cucumber had low antioxidants (TPC 2.66-6.29 mg gallic acid/g FW, TF 10.37-37.56 mg rutin/100g FW, LAA 14.64-39.44 mg/100g FW) and AC (FRAP 1.99-10.81 μmol Fe2+/100gFW, ABTS 0.39-0.68 μmol Trolox/gFW). TPC and LAA had strong positive correlations with AC regardless of vegetable types, while TF was positively related to AC only in leafy vegetables. The result would be valuable for both epidemiological research and dietary guidelines as these vegetables are affordable and widely available

The Persuasive Power of Emoticons in Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communication on Social Networking Services

Emotional expressions are ubiquitous in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication, but their effect on eWOM persuasiveness and the underlying mechanisms in the context of social networking services (SNS) have been underexplored. This research focuses on an extensively used nonverbal emotional cue in computer-mediated communication—the emoticon. Drawing on the emotion as social information model (EASI), we propose a conceptual framework to understand whether, how, and when emoticons influence the persuasiveness of eWOM on SNS. Results from a field experiment and a series of online experiments show that emoticons can increase eWOM persuasiveness through the mediating effects of enhanced recipient empathy and trust toward the sender and that these effects vary across situations. Specifically, the persuasive effect of emoticons occurs for both positive and negative eWOM when recipients and senders are close to each other. However, this effect occurs only for negative eWOM when recipients and senders have distant relationships. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and identify several opportunities for future research

Bifurcation Behavior and Hybrid Controller Design of a 2D Lotka–Volterra Commensal Symbiosis System Accompanying Delay

All the time, differential dynamical models with delay has witness a tremendous application value in characterizing the internal law among diverse biological populations in biology. In the current article, on the basis of the previous publications, we formulate a new Lotka–Volterra commensal symbiosis system accompanying delay. Utilizing fixed point theorem, inequality tactics and an appropriate function, we gain the sufficient criteria on existence and uniqueness, non-negativeness and boundedness of the solution to the formulated delayed Lotka–Volterra commensal symbiosis system. Making use of stability and bifurcation theory of delayed differential equation, we focus on the emergence of bifurcation behavior and stability nature of the formulated delayed Lotka–Volterra commensal symbiosis system. A new delay-independent stability and bifurcation conditions on the model are presented. By constructing a positive definite function, we explore the global stability. By constructing two diverse hybrid delayed feedback controllers, we can adjusted the domain of stability and time of appearance of Hopf bifurcation of the delayed Lotka–Volterra commensal symbiosis system. The effect of time delay on the domain of stability and time of appearance of Hopf bifurcation of the model is given. Matlab experiment diagrams are provided to sustain the acquired key outcomes

Key Factors of Rural Households’ Willingness to Pay for Cleaner Heating in Hebi: A Case Study in Northern China

As coal-fired heating in winter in rural areas of northern China exacerbates air pollution, promoting cleaner heating transition is of significance for environmental sustainability. However, this is difficult as intentions and actions of rural households are deficient. This case study in northern China aims to estimate rural households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for facilities and energy for cleaner heating and explore its key factors. The survey-based analysis found that the total annual WTP for cleaner heating (sum of the WTP for heating facilities and energy per year) varied from RMB 250 to RMB 6800 (RMB 100 ≈ USD 15 in 2018), with a quite low average and a huge difference. The variation of the WTP can be attributed to economic and demographic features and environmental attitudes of households. Improvement of household income and environmental concern will enhance the WTP for cleaner heating, but a high vacancy rate and aging population in rural areas will generally inhibit it. Based on this study, some policy suggestions were proposed to promote cleaner heating transition in rural households; specifically, more attention should be paid to the poor and aged households

Co-benefits of peaking carbon dioxide emissions on air quality and health, a case of Guangzhou, China

Cities play a key role in making carbon emission reduction targets achievable and tackling air pollution. Using Guangzhou city as a case, this paper explored the air quality and health co-benefits of peaking carbon dioxide emissions under three scenarios and developed an integrated assessment framework by combining a local air pollutant emission inventory, an atmospheric chemistry transport model, and a health assessment model. The results showed that SO2, PM10, and PM2.5 could achieve larger emission reductions than NH3, VOCs, and NOx among all the scenarios we examined. Under the enhanced peaking scenario with the most stringent mitigation strategies, Guangzhou could meet the local ambient air quality standard for PM2.5 (34 mu g/m(3)), with the most reduction observed in the annual average PM2.5 concentration (28.4%) and related premature deaths (17.08%), compared with the base year 2015. We also identified hotspot grids, which were areas with high concentrations of carbon emissions, high concentrations of air pollution and poor air quality in Guangzhou. Our analysis highlighted the importance of promoting peaking carbon dioxide emission for the improvement of air quality and public health at the city level

ABCC1 deficiency potentiated noise-induced hearing loss in mice by impairing cochlear antioxidant capacity

The ABCC1 gene belongs to the ATP-binding cassette membrane transporter superfamily, which plays a crucial role in the efflux of various endogenous and exogenous substances. Mutations in ABCC1 can result in autosomal dominant hearing loss. However, the specific roles of ABCC1 in auditory function are not fully understood. Through immunofluorescence, we found that ABCC1 was expressed in microvascular endothelial cells (ECs) of the stria vascularis (StV) in the murine cochlea. Then, an Abcc1 knockout mouse model was established by using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to elucidate the role of ABCC1 in the inner ear. The ABR threshold did not significantly differ between WT and Abcc1−/− mice at any age studied. After noise exposure, the ABR thresholds of the WT and Abcc1−/− mice were significantly elevated. Interestingly, after 14 days of noise exposure, ABR thresholds largely returned to pre-exposure levels in WT mice but not in Abcc1−/− mice. Our subsequent experiments showed that microvascular integrity in the StV was compromised and that the number of outer hair cells and the number of ribbons were significantly decreased in the cochleae of Abcc1−/− mice post-exposure. Besides, the production of ROS and the accumulation of 4-HNE significantly increased. Furthermore, StV microvascular ECs were cultured to elucidate the role of ABCC1 in these cells under glucose oxidase challenge. Notably, 30 U/L glucose oxidase (GO) induced severe oxidative stress damage in Abcc1−/− cells. Compared with WT cells, the ROS and 4-HNE levels and the apoptotic rate were significantly elevated in Abcc1−/− cells. In addition, the reduced GSH/GSSG ratio was significantly decreased in Abcc1−/− cells after GO treatment. Taken together, Abcc1−/− mice are more susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss, possibly because ABCC1 knockdown compromises the GSH antioxidant system of StV ECs. The exogenous antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) may protect against oxidative damage in Abcc1−/− murine cochleae and ECs