30 research outputs found
Research on the Construction Mechanism of Consumersâ Trust Intentions and Behaviors in the Context of Live Streaming Shopping
As a new-type media form integrating text, image, video, and audio, live streaming itself is an excellent way of informationcarrying and interaction. And the development of information technology makes the use of live streaming shopping easier and more convenient. At the same time, with the popularity of live streaming marketing, there are also some consumption traps, which not only harm the rights and interests of consumers but also affect its own development. Thus, how to build trust and improve the credit evaluation mechanism has become a common concern of academic and industrial circles. Anchored in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and other research results, this paper expounds on the definition and connotation of trust intention in live streaming shopping in detail. From the perspective of consumers, the trust model of live streaming shopping is constructed based on the comprehensive consideration of social presence, consumers\u27 personal attitude, and structural assurance. It adopts partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the research model and hypothesis. On the basis of 259 samples, the result shows that consumers\u27 trust behavior in live streaming shopping is mainly affected by live streamers\u27 personalities, comment information, social presence, platform characteristics, usefulness, and structural assurance. The research result of this paper will play a positive role in building a more credible environment, improving the trust relationship with consumers, and promoting potential transactions. Meanwhile, it also lays a foundation for understanding consumers\u27 trust behavior and related theories in the context of China
Production of X
We investigate the production of Xb in the process ΄(5S,6S)âÎłXb, where Xb is assumed to be the counterpart of X(3872) in the bottomonium sector as BBÂŻâ molecular state. We use the effective Lagrangian based on the heavy quark symmetry to explore the rescattering mechanism and calculate their production ratios. Our results have shown that the production ratios for ΄(5S,6S)âÎłXb are orders of 10-5 with reasonable cutoff parameter range αâ2~3. The sizeable production ratios may be accessible at the future experiments like forthcoming BelleII, which will provide important clues to the inner structures of the exotic state Xb
Autologous Skin Fibroblast-Based PLGA Nanoparticles for Treating Multiorgan Fibrosis
Fibrotic diseases remain a substantial health burden with few therapeutic approaches. A hallmark of fibrosis is the aberrant activation and accumulation of myofibroblasts, which is caused by excessive profibrotic cytokines. Conventional anticytokine therapies fail to undergo clinical trials, as simply blocking a single or several antifibrotic cytokines cannot abrogate the profibrotic microenvironment. Here, biomimetic nanoparticles based on autologous skin fibroblasts are customized as decoys to neutralize multiple fibroblast-targeted cytokines. By fusing the skin fibroblast membrane onto poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid cores, these nanoparticles, termed fibroblast membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles (FNPs), are shown to effectively scavenge various profibrotic cytokines, including transforming growth factor-beta, interleukin (IL)-11, IL-13, and IL-17, thereby modulating the profibrotic microenvironment. FNPs are sequentially prepared into multiple formulations for different administration routines. As a proof-of-concept, in three independent animal models with various organ fibrosis (lung fibrosis, liver fibrosis, and heart fibrosis), FNPs effectively reduce the accumulation of myofibroblasts, and the formation of fibrotic tissue, concomitantly restoring organ function and indicating that FNPs are a potential broad-spectrum therapy for fibrosis management.Peer reviewe
A brain-targeting lipidated peptide for neutralizing RNA-mediated toxicity in Polyglutamine Diseases
Abstract Polyglutamine (PolyQ) diseases are progressive neurodegenerative disorders caused by both protein- and RNA-mediated toxicities. We previously showed that a peptidyl inhibitor, P3, which binds directly to expanded CAG RNA can inhibit RNA-induced nucleolar stress and suppress RNA-induced neurotoxicity. Here we report a N-acetylated and C-amidated derivative of P3, P3V8, that showed a more than 20-fold increase in its affinity for expanded CAG RNA. The P3V8 peptide also more potently alleviated expanded RNA-induced cytotoxicity in vitro, and suppressed polyQ neurodegeneration in Drosophila with no observed toxic effects. Further N-palmitoylation of P3V8 (L1P3V8) not only significantly improved its cellular uptake and stability, but also facilitated its systemic exposure and brain uptake in rats via intranasal administration. Our findings demonstrate that concomitant N-acetylation, C-amidation and palmitoylation of P3 significantly improve both its bioactivity and pharmacological profile. L1P3V8 possesses drug/lead-like properties that can be further developed into a lead inhibitor for the treatment of polyQ diseases
Spermidine endows macrophages anti-inflammatory properties by inducing mitochondrial superoxide-dependent AMPK activation, Hif-1α upregulation and autophagy.
Distinct metabolic programs, either energy-consuming anabolism or energy-generating catabolism, were required for different biological functions. Macrophages can adopt different immune phenotypes in response to various cues and exhibit anti- or pro-inflammatory properties relying on catabolic pathways associated with oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) or glycolysis. Spermidine, a natural polyamine, has been reported to regulate inflammation through inducing anti-inflammatory (M2) macrophages. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We show here that the M2-polarization induced by spermidine is mediated by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS). The levels of mitochondrial superoxide and H2O2 were markedly elevated by spermidine. Mechanistically, mtROS were found to activate AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which in turn enhanced mitochondrial function. Furthermore, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (Hif-1α) was upregulated by the AMPK activation and mtROS and was required for the expression of anti-inflammatory genes and induction of autophagy. Consistent with previous report that autophagy is required for the M2 polarization, we found that the M2 polarization induced by spermidine was also mediated by increased autophagy. The macrophages treated with spermidine in vitro were found to ameliorate Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)-induced inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in mice. Thus, spermidine can elicit an anti-inflammatory program driven by mtROS-dependent AMPK activation, Hif-1α stabilization and autophagy induction in macrophages. Our studies revealed a critical role of mtROS in shaping macrophages into M2-like phenotype and provided novel information for management of inflammatory disease by spermidine
Preparation of (Lu,Y)3(Al,Sc,Cr)2Al3O12 phosphor ceramics with high thermal stability for near-infrared LED/LD
Near-infrared (NIR) phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes/laser diodes (LEDs/LDs) are prospective lighting sources for NIR spectroscopy. However, developing NIR phosphor materials with desired thermal robustness and high photoelectric efficiency is a crucial challenge for their applications. In this work, based on the cationic radius matching effect, a series of (Lu,Y)3(Al,Sc,Cr)2Al3O12 NIR phosphor ceramics (LuYScCr NIR-PCs) were fabricated by vacuum sintering. Excellent thermal stability (95%@150 â) was obtained in the prepared NIR-PCs, owing to their weak electronâphonon coupling effect (small HuangâRhys factor). Being excited at 460 nm, NIR-PCs realized a broadband emission (650â850 nm) with internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of 60.68%. Combining NIR-PCs with LED/LD chips, the maximum output power of the encapsulated LED prototype was 447 mW@300 mA with photoelectric efficiency of as high as 18.6 %@180 mA, and the maximum output power of the LD prototype was 814 [email protected] A. The working temperatures of NIR-PCs were 70.8 â@300 mA (LED) and 102.8 â@3 A (LD). Finally, the prepared NIR-PCs applied in food detection were verified in this study, demonstrating their anticipated application prospects in the future
Decision-Making and the Contract of the Complementary Product Supply Chain Considering Consumers’ Environmental Awareness and Government Green Subsidies
The environmental awareness of consumers and enterprises has gradually increased, and green production and green consumption have become the main theme of social economy. On the other hand, the complementary product market has become an important source of competitive advantage for enterprises. Considering a complementary product supply chain, and taking account of the consumers’ environmental awareness and the green subsidies provided by the government, this paper examines members’ decisions in relation to four contract models based on game theory. By solving the model, it is shown that the government’s green subsidy plan improves the green degree of subsidized products and complementary products. Furthermore, compared to wholesale price contracts, revenue-sharing and cost-sharing contracts motivate manufacturers to improve the greenness of subsidized products, and they achieve a Pareto improvement for the whole supply chain and its members, when the contract parameters are appropriate. Numerical experiments also reveal that both the greenness of the complementary products and the profit for members increase with the green innovation spillover effect as a result of the complementary products and the scale of green consumers with environmental awareness in the market. This study provides good guidance for decision-making concerning the complementary product supply chain, and further contributes to environmental protection
Motivational Influences Affecting Middle-Aged and Elderly Users’ Participation Intention in Health-Related Social Media
Social media provide users with multi-directional dialogue for creating and sharing health information that can effectively promote the self-management of health. In regard to the ‘greying’ trend in social media, most researchers have studied the health-related social media (HRSM) acceptance status and use behavior of middle-aged and elderly people, and have explored the role of HRSM in this group. However, the continuous participation of users is the key to the successful operation of HRSM, and is an essential prerequisite for the subsequent HRSM behavior habits of middle-aged and elderly people. Therefore, we aimed to explore what motivations drive the first use of HRSM among middle-aged and older adults, and the impact of their perception of HRSM, after personal use, on their intention to use it continually. In the study, we used the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) to analyze data collected from online questionnaires. The results showed that a self-protection motivation and a social motivation promoted the initial participation of middle-aged and elderly individuals. In addition, these people experienced deeper levels of perceived usefulness and perceived entertainment after their initial participation. The results also revealed that these two perceptions could positively influence middle-aged and elderly individuals’ intention to continue with their participation. Our findings should help service platforms to better understand the needs of middle-aged and elderly users. This would help researchers and practitioners to gain a more complete understanding of the motivation of middle-aged and elderly people for participating in HRSM, and the related impacts this may have