The Impact of Online Reviews on Brand Equity

The goal of this research is to see how online consumer reviews affect brand equity. Customers of Jordanian online clothing stores make up the study population. Due to the difficulty of reaching all members of the population, an appropriate sampling approach was used, which is often used in research conditions. Appropriate sampling is a non-random sampling method that uses people who are easily accessible. A structured online survey was used to gather primary data. This survey was conducted among Jordanian customers of online clothes retailers. Customers were thus encouraged to take part in the survey by text messages, official websites, and social media channels. The research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The study results showed that the majority of online review dimensions had an impact on brand equity except for reviews time. However, social impact had the highest impact on brand equity. According to the study’s conclusions, marketers must connect with internet marketing methods, particularly social media, and include them into their marketing strategy

Polysialic acid sustains cancer cell survival and migratory capacity in a hypoxic environment

Polysialic acid (polySia) is a unique carbohydrate polymer expressed on the surface of NCAM (neuronal cell adhesion molecule) in a number of cancers where it modulates cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion, migration, invasion and metastasis and is strongly associated with poor clinical prognosis. We have carried out the first investigation into the effect of polySia expression on the behaviour of cancer cells in hypoxia, a key source of chemoresistance in tumours. The role of polysialylation and associated tumour cell migration and cell adhesion were studied in hypoxia, along with effects on cell survival and the potential role of HIF-1. Our findings provide the first evidence that polySia expression sustains migratory capacity and is associated with tumour cell survival in hypoxia. Initial mechanistic studies indicate a potential role for HIF-1 in sustaining polySia-mediated migratory capacity, but not cell survival. These data add to the growing body of evidence pointing to a crucial role for the polysialyltransferases (polySTs) in neuroendocrine tumour progression and provide the first evidence to suggest that polySia is associated with an aggressive phenotype in tumour hypoxia. These results have significant potential implications for polyST inhibition as an anti-metastatic therapeutic strategy and for targeting hypoxic cancer cells

Towards hybrid silicon-organic molecular electronics: the stability of acetone on the Si(0 0 1) surface

We present the results of a combined study using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) of the interaction of acetone [(CH₃)₂CO] with the Si(0 0 1) surface. Three distinct adsorbate features were observed using atomic-resolution STM. One of the features appears as a bright protrusion located above a Si–Si dimer, while the other two are asymmetric about the dimer row and involve a second neighboring Si–Si dimer. One of the two asymmetric features has a protrusion located between the two dimers, while the other has a protrusion which is located at the site of a single dimer and exhibits a dimer sized depression on the adjacent dimer. DFT calculations have been performed for two structures; the four-membered ring structure and dissociation structure. Our calculations show that the bright single-dimer sized feature observed in the STM images could be attributed to either of these two calculated structures. However, neither of the two calculated structures can explain the appearance of the two-dimer wide asymmetric features observed in the experiment

A novel quality of service assessment of multimedia traffic over wireless ad hoc networks

With the extensive growth of the Internet, wireless technology, and multimedia applications, quality of service (QoS) monitoring and measurement of the networks have become important. Network measurements are carried out to obtain information about important QoS parameters such as delay, loss and jitter. Each type of multimedia applications has its own requirements and limits on these parameters. To evaluate the QoS of multimedia applications transmitted over wireless networks, a fuzzy logic assessment system has been developed. The system showed how the end-to-end QoS could be measured without the necessity for complex mathematical models. The measured QoS were classified into three categories Good, Average, and Poor regions. In addition, and based on the proposed system, the distributions and the overall QoS were estimated. The results indicated that the measured QoS was a good indication of the network conditions and resource availability

In-situ investigation of water distribution in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells using high-resolution neutron tomography with 6.5 µm pixel size

In this feasibility study, high-resolution neutron tomography is used to investigate the water distribution in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Two PEMFCs were built up with two different gas diffusion layers (GDLs) namely Sigracet® SGL-25BC and Freudenberg H14C10, respectively. High-resolution neutron tomography has the ability to display the water distribution in the flow field channels and the GDLs, with very high accuracy. Here, we found that the water distribution in the cell equipped with the Freudenberg H14C10 material was much more homogenous compared to the cell with the SGL-25BC material

Cytochrome 4Z1 Expression Is Correlated with Poor Prognosis in Patients with Cervical Cancer

Background: cervical cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women worldwide and its management remains challenging and complex. As Cytochrome4Z1 (CYP4Z1) is overexpressed in many tumours, its expression in cervical cancer is unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate CYP4Z1 expression in cervical cancers. Methods: CYP4Z1 expression was immunohistochemically assessed in 100 cases of cervical cancers along with ten normal cervix tissues, and the enzyme’s relationship to several clinicopathological features and survival was explored. Results: CYP4Z1 was strongly expressed in 55% of cervical cancer patients. Normal cervix samples were negative for CYP4Z1 expression. Importantly, this expression was significantly found in patients with the late stage of the disease, lymph node metastasis, and high tumour invasion (p < 0.05). Interestingly, CYP4Z1 expression was significantly correlated with shorter survival times of cervical cancer patients. Univariate analysis showed that CYP4Z1 expression, tumour stage, lymph node metastasis, and tumour invasion were significantly correlated with patient survival (p < 0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed that only CYP4Z1 expression and tumour stage were significantly correlated with patient survival (p < 0.05). Conclusions: CYP4Z1 expression is associated with cervical cancer patients’ survival and may serve as an independent predictor of poor prognosis in cervical cancer patients

Phytochemical characterization and anti-cancer properties of extract of Ephedra foeminea (Ephedraceae) aerial parts

Purpose: To evaluate the phytochemical profile of methanol extract of Ephedra foeminea and assess its anti-carcer effect on a large set of normal and cancerous cell lines. Methods: Extraction of air-dried powder of aerial parts of E. foeminea was carried out with methanol. The bioactive compounds in the extract were determined using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The anti-cancer effect of the extract was determined by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay against various types of normal and cancer cell lines. Serial concentrations of plant extract were used, ranging from 7.812 to1000 μg/mL. Doxorubicin (DOX) served as standard drug. The half-maximal concentration (IC50) values of the extract and DOX for each cell line were determined, and the selectivity index (SI) was computed. Results: Phytochemical analysis showed that the extract contained several bioactive compounds, including alkaloids, flavonoids, sterols and fatty acids. The hazardous ephedra alkaloids (ephedrine and pseudoephedrine) were absent in the plant extract. The extract showed significant anti-proliferative activity against cancer cell lines, when compared with the positive control, doxorubicin (p < 0.05). Selective and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity was exhibited in cancer cell lines of breast (MCF-7), lung (A549), colon (Caco-2), liver (HepG-2) and prostate (PC-3). Weak selectivity was produced in other cancer cell lines, i.e., human epithelioma (Hep-2) and cervical carcinoma (Hela). Interestingly, non-cancerous cells showed no or weak cytotoxicity. Conclusion: Ephedra foeminea exerts potential selectivity in anti-proliferative effect against some cancer cell lines. Thus, it is a promising drug source for the production of new and selective anti-cancer medicines