Consumer perceptions of co-branding alliances: Organizational dissimilarity signals and brand fit

This study explores how consumers evaluate co-branding alliances between dissimilar partner firms. Customers are well aware that different firms are behind a co-branded product and observe the partner firms’ characteristics. Drawing on signaling theory, we assert that consumers use organizational characteristics as signals in their assessment of brand fit and for their purchasing decisions. Some organizational signals are beyond the control of the co-branding partners or at least they cannot alter them on short notice. We use a quasi-experimental design and test how co-branding partner dissimilarity affects brand fit perception. The results show that co-branding partner dissimilarity in terms of firm size, industry scope, and country-of-origin image negatively affects brand fit perception. Firm age dissimilarity does not exert significant influence. Because brand fit generally fosters a benevolent consumer attitude towards a co-branding alliance, the findings suggest that high partner dissimilarity may reduce overall co-branding alliance performance

The effects of knee joint angle on neuromuscular activity during electrostimulation in healthy older adults

Introduction Electrostimulation devices stimulate the common peroneal nerve, producing a calf muscle-pump action to promote venous circulation. Whether knee joint angle influences calf neuromuscular activity remains unclear. Our aim was to determine the effects of knee joint angle on lower limb neuromuscular activity during electrostimulation. Methods Fifteen healthy, older adults underwent 60 min of electrostimulation, with the knee joint at three different angles (0°, 45° or 90° flexion; random order; 20 min each). Outcome variables included electromyography of the peroneus longus, tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius medialis and lateralis and discomfort. Results Knee angle did not influence tibialis anterior and peroneus longus neuromuscular activity during electrostimulation. Neuromuscular activity was greater in the gastrocnemius medialis (p = 0.002) and lateralis (p = 0.002) at 90°, than 0° knee angle. Electrostimulation intensity was positively related to neuromuscular activity for each muscle, with a knee angle effect for the gastrocnemius medialis (p = 0.05). Conclusion Results suggest that during electrostimulation, knee joint angle influenced gastrocnemii neuromuscular activity; increased gastrocnemius medialis activity across all intensities (at 90°), when compared to 0° and 45° flexion; and did not influence peroneus longus and tibialis anterior activity. Greater electrostimulation-evoked gastrocnemii activity has implications for producing a more forceful calf muscle-pump action, potentially further improving venous flow

Assessment of Daily Life Physical Activities in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background: In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the six-minute walk test (6MWT) is believed to be representative of patient’s daily life physical activities (DLPA). Whether DLPA are decreased in PAH and whether the 6MWT is representative of patient’s DL PA remain unknown. Methods: 15 patients with idiopathic PAH (IPAH) and 10 patients with PAH associated with limited systemic sclerosis (PAH-SSc) were matched with 15 healthy control subjects and 10 patients with limited systemic sclerosis without PAH. Each subject completed a 6MWT. The mean number of daily steps and the mean energy expenditure and duration of physical activities.3 METs were assessed with a physical activity monitor for seven consecutive days and used as markers of DLPA. Results: The mean number of daily steps and the mean daily energy expenditure and duration of physical activities.3 METs were all reduced in PAH patients compared to their controls (all p,0.05). The mean number of daily steps correlated with the 6MWT distance for both IPAH and PAH-SSc patients (r = 0.76, p,0.01 and r = 0.85, p,0.01), respectively. Conclusion: DLPA are decreased in PAH and correlate with the 6MWT distance. Functional exercise capacity may thus be a useful surrogate of DL PA in PAH

Hepatitis B Therapy in Pregnancy

All decisions about initiating, continuing, or stopping therapy of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) during pregnancy must include an analysis of the risks and benefits for mother and fetus. The trimester of the pregnancy and the stage of the mother’s liver disease are important factors. Treatment in the third trimester may be initiated to aid in preventing perinatal transmission, which appears to be most pronounced in mothers with high viral loads. Consideration of initiating treatment in the third trimester should occur after a high viral load is documented in the latter part of the second trimester, to allow adequate time for initiation of antiviral therapy with significant viral suppression before delivery. This discussion should include the topic of breastfeeding, because it is generally not recommended while receiving antiviral therapy. Currently, lamivudine and tenofovir appear to be the therapeutic options with the most reasonable safety data in pregnancy

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify type 2 diabetes risk loci, as well as loci containing gene variants that are associated with a modest elevation in glucose levels but are not associated with overt diabetes

Differential impact of impaired fasting glucose versus impaired glucose tolerance on cardiometabolic risk factors in multi-ethnic overweight/obese children

We aimed to investigate the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and their associations with cardiometabolic risk factors, according to ethnicity in a large obese paediatric cohort. A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test was performed in 1,007 overweight/obese Dutch children of multi-ethnic origin, referred to the obesity outpatient clinics of two Dutch hospitals in Amsterdam (mean age, 11.4 ± 3.2 years; 50.7% boys). Anthropometric parameters and blood samples were collected, and cardiometabolic risk factors were assessed. The cohort consisted of Dutch native (26.0%), Turkish (23.7%), Moroccan (18.8%) and children of ‘other’ (31.5%) ethnicity. The prevalence of IFG was significantly higher in Moroccan and Turkish children as compared to Dutch native children (25.4% and 19.7% vs. 11.8%, respectively, P < 0.05). IGT was most frequently present in Turkish and Dutch native children, relative to Moroccan children (6.3% and 5.3% vs. 1.6%, P < 0.05). Besides pubertal status and ethnicity, components of ‘metabolic syndrome’ (MetS) which were associated with IGT, independent of hyperinsulinaemia, were hypertension [odds ratio (OR), 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1–4.9] while a trend was seen for high triglycerides (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 0.9–4.3). When analyzing components of MetS which were associated with IFG, only low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly associated (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2–2.5) independent of hyperinsulinaemia. In conclusion, in a Dutch multi-ethnic cohort of overweight/obese children, a high prevalence of IFG was found against a low prevalence of IGT, which differed in their associations with cardiometabolic risk factors

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

The Extracytoplasmic Domain of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ser/Thr Kinase PknB Binds Specific Muropeptides and Is Required for PknB Localization

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ser/Thr kinase PknB has been implicated in the regulation of cell growth and morphology in this organism. The extracytoplasmic domain of this membrane protein comprises four penicillin binding protein and Ser/Thr kinase associated (PASTA) domains, which are predicted to bind stem peptides of peptidoglycan. Using a comprehensive library of synthetic muropeptides, we demonstrate that the extracytoplasmic domain of PknB binds muropeptides in a manner dependent on the presence of specific amino acids at the second and third positions of the stem peptide, and on the presence of the sugar moiety N-acetylmuramic acid linked to the peptide. We further show that PknB localizes strongly to the mid-cell and also to the cell poles, and that the extracytoplasmic domain is required for PknB localization. In contrast to strong growth stimulation by conditioned medium, we observe no growth stimulation of M. tuberculosis by a synthetic muropeptide with high affinity for the PknB PASTAs. We do find a moderate effect of a high affinity peptide on resuscitation of dormant cells. While the PASTA domains of PknB may play a role in stimulating growth by binding exogenous peptidoglycan fragments, our data indicate that a major function of these domains is for proper PknB localization, likely through binding of peptidoglycan fragments produced locally at the mid-cell and the cell poles. These data suggest a model in which PknB is targeted to the sites of peptidoglycan turnover to regulate cell growth and cell division