3D avatar seller's effect on online consumer's purchasing behavior: a trust transference perspective

The emerging 3D virtual worlds attract more and more people to participate in the virtual environment, creating a new market for business to sell their products. In 3D virtual worlds, members mainly interact with each other through avatars. The selling process is fulfilled through the shop avatars. How businesses sell their products successfully to the potential customers and eventually persuade the customer to purchase the product is an essential question. Trust played a key role in the selling process. In the general selling process, trust was established through the sales person. In the virtual world environment, could the trust be established between the sales avatars and customer avatars This paper aims at answering this question by examining the trust transference process in the 3D virtual world environment. An experiment was conducted to categorize the avatars into attractive and expert ones. The research result first suggest that trust formed in a 3D avatar seller could be transferred to a selling company and a product but for an expert 3D avatar seller, trust transferred to the company and product results in intent to purchase. Trust in a 3D avatar seller is transferred to trust in a product and a company and furthermore, an expert avatar can affect a consumer's intent to purchase. In the case of an attractive 3D avatar, although trust is transferred, it is only to the point of intent to purchase

Protective Role of Psoralea corylifolia

The accumulation of oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction is an important factor that contributes to aging. The Psoralea corylifolia seeds (PCS), commonly known as “Boh-Gol-Zhee” in Korea, have been used traditionally as a medicinal remedy. We investigated whether an extract of PCS has protective effects on oxidative stress and mitochondrial function in hepatocytes. The PCS extract showed an antisenescence effect on human diploid fibroblasts as evidenced by a decreased expression of p16INK4a mRNA and senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining. PCS extract treatment reduced H2O2-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in HepG2 cells, inhibited ROS production in hepatocytes of aged mice, and increased superoxide dismutase activity. In H2O2-treated HepG2 cells, PCS extract treatment recovered ATP production. PCS extract treatment recovered the oxygen consumption rate and inhibited reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by oxidative stress, suggesting improvement of mitochondrial function. In addition, PCS extract treatment recovered peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 mRNA and protein expression, and inhibited mitochondrial genome damage. Treatment with the major component of PCS extract, bakuchiol, also recovered mitochondrial dysfunction. On the basis of these results, we conclude that PCS extract inhibits ROS production and mitochondrial dysfunction induced by oxidative stress in hepatocytes

Cytoprotective Effect of Phloroglucinol on Oxidative Stress Induced Cell Damage via Catalase Activation

Abstract We investigated the cytoprotective effect of phloroglucinol, which was isolated from Ecklonia cava (brown alga), against oxidative stress induced cell damage in Chinese hamster lung fibroblast (V79-4) cells. Phloroglucinol was found to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), hydroxy radical, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and thus prevented lipid peroxidation. As a result, phloroglucinol reduced H 2 O 2 induced apoptotic cells formation in V79-4 cells. In addition, phloroglucinol inhibited cell damage induced by serum starvation and radiation through scavenging ROS. Phloroglucinol increased the catalase activity and its protein expression. In addition, catalase inhibitor abolished the protective effect of phloroglucinol from H 2 O 2 induced cell damage. Furthermore, phloroglucinol increased phosphorylation of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK). Taken together, the results suggest that phloroglucinol protects V79-4 cells against oxidative damage by enhancing the cellular catalase activity and modulating ERK signal pathway

Phycocyanin Protects Against UVB-induced Apoptosis Through the PKC α/βII-Nrf-2/HO-1 Dependent Pathway in Human Primary Skin Cells

Phycocyanin (Pc) is one of the active pigment constituents of Spirulina microalgae. It has been used for its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the protective effects of Pc against ultraviolet-B (UVB)-induced primary skin cells damage are still undefined. In the present study, we investigated whether Pc prevented UVB-induced apoptotic cell death in human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) and human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK). Pc induced the transcription of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Furthermore, Pc treatments resulted in a marked increase in nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2 (NF-E2)-like 2 (Nrf-2) nuclear translocation. Also, Pc protected UVB induced apoptosis and reduced the p53 and Bax levels, as well as caspase-3 activation. Pc treatment showed a significantly enhanced effect on the phosphorylation of protein kinase C (PKC) α/β II, but not that of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) or Akt. Induction of HO-1 induced by Pc was suppressed by Go6976, a selective inhibitor of PKC α/β II. In addition, knockdown of HO-1 by small interfering (siRNA) caused a significant increase in poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) cleavage and caspase-3 activation after Pc pretreatment. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Pc-induced expression of HO-1 is mediated by the PKC α/β II-Nrf-2/HO-1 pathway, and inhibits UVB-induced apoptotic cell death in primary skin cells

Hepatoprotective Effects of Insect Extracts in an Animal Model of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Insects represent the largest and most diverse group of organisms on earth and are potential food and drug resources. Recently, we have demonstrated that a Forsythia viridissima extract prevented free fatty acid-induced lipid accumulation in an in vitro cellular nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) model. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of extracts of the insects Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis Kolbe, 1886 (PB), Oxya chinensis sinuosa Mishchenko, 1951 (OC), and Gryllus bimaculatus De Geer, 1773 (GB) in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD animal model, as well as to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. The effects of the supplementation with PB, OC, and GB extracts were evaluated histopathologically and histochemically. PB, OC, and GB extract supplementation inhibited the HFD-induced increase in body weight and body fat mass and ameliorated other adverse changes, resulting in decreased liver function parameters, lower serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels, and increased serum adiponectin levels. The expression of hepatic genes involved in lipid droplet accumulation and in fatty acid uptake also decreased upon treatment of HFD-fed mice with the extracts. These results provide evidence of the protective effects of the PB, OC, and GB extracts against HFD-induced fatty liver disease in an animal model

Development on the Technology for Offshore Waste Final Disposal in S. Korea

The purpose of this research is to develop technology for offshore waste final disposal. The research results include many core element parts such as establishment of master plan on infrastructure development for offshore waste disposal landfill; the establishment of legal system and code and standard or guidelines related to the offshore waste final disposal; the development of construction technologies of modular revetment structure and performance-enhancing technology for containment system; supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for offshore final disposal facility and soil/water quality improvement techniques in offshore disposal facility. Some other contributions are expected to collaborate includes: legal and institutional infrastructure construction to create the marine space projects based on the offshore final disposal facility. Additionally, in this paper, the securement of related element technology for environmental-friendly offshore waste disposal facility was discussed. At the same time, new marine industry and related jobs through the development of business model were created.N

The flavonoid hesperidin exerts anti-photoaging effect by downregulating matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression via mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent signaling pathways

Abstract Background Hesperidin is a flavonoid with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune modulatory activities. Photoaging is a consequence of chronic exposure to the sun and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of hesperidin against photoaging of dorsal skin in hairless mice. Methods Hairless male mice (6-week-old) were divided into three groups (n = 7): control, UVB-treated vehicle, and UVB-treated hesperidin groups. UVB-irradiated mice from hesperidin group were orally administered 0.1 mL of water containing 100 mg/kg body weight per day hesperidin. Results The mean length and depth of wrinkles in the UVB-treated hesperidin group significantly improved after the oral administration of hesperidin, which significantly inhibited the increase in epidermal thickness and epidermal hypertrophy (P < 0.05). UVB irradiation of mice induced epidermal barrier dysfunction including an increase in the transepidermal water loss (TEWL); however, hesperidin decreased the TEWL. UVB irradiation increased the expression of MMP-9 and pro-inflammatory cytokines whereas UVB-treated hesperidin group showed reduced expression. These results indicate that hesperidin showed anti-photoaging activity in the UVB-irradiated hairless mice. In conclusion, hesperidin inhibited the UVB-induced increase in skin thickness, wrinkle formation, and collagen fiber loss in male hairless mice. Conclusions These results suggest that hesperidin shows potent anti-photoaging activity by regulating MMP-9 expression through the suppression of MAPK-dependent signaling pathways