A Strong Brand as a Determinant of Purchase the Case of Sectors, where Advertising in Mass Media Is Banned – on the Example of the Polish Spirits Sector

The purpose of the paper is the assessment of the significance of a strong brand in the process of competing for clients as well as in the client`s decision making processes in a situation where advertising in mass media is almost completely banned. The paper presents results of two complementary studies. The first study was carried out by means of personal interviews on a trial group of 1501 individual respondents in 2007 in Poland. The second study was carried out using personal or Internet questionnaires on a trial group of 16 companies producing or importing spirits. The collected material showed that clients pointed to a strong brand as the key factor influencing their choice of top market alcohols. All representatives of producers see the need for building strong brands and declare having such brands in their offer. Building strong product brands is possible even in sectors in which mass media advertising is prohibited or for some reason cannot be used. The conceptual model proposed by the authors suggests what should be taken into account when creating a strong brand in sectors where adverting may not be used for this purpose

TCF7L2 mediates the cellular and behavioral response to chronic lithium treatment in animal models

AbstractThe mechanism of lithium's therapeutic action remains obscure, hindering the discovery of safer treatments for bipolar disorder. Lithium can act as an inhibitor of the kinase GSK3α/β, which in turn negatively regulates β-catenin, a co-activator of LEF1/TCF transcription factors. However, unclear is whether therapeutic levels of lithium activate β-catenin in the brain, and whether this activation could have a therapeutic significance. To address this issue we chronically treated mice with lithium. Although the level of non-phospho-β-catenin increased in all of the brain areas examined, β-catenin translocated into cellular nuclei only in the thalamus. Similar results were obtained when thalamic and cortical neurons were treated with a therapeutically relevant concentration of lithium in vitro. We tested if TCF7L2, a member of LEF1/TCF family that is highly expressed in the thalamus, facilitated the activation of β-catenin. Silencing of Tcf7l2 in thalamic neurons prevented β-catenin from entering the nucleus, even when the cells were treated with lithium. Conversely, when Tcf7l2 was ectopically expressed in cortical neurons, β-catenin shifted to the nucleus, and lithium augmented this process. Lastly, we silenced tcf7l2 in zebrafish and exposed them to lithium for 3 days, to evaluate whether TCF7L2 is involved in the behavioral response. Lithium decreased the dark-induced activity of control zebrafish, whereas the activity of zebrafish with tcf7l2 knockdown was unaltered. We conclude that therapeutic levels of lithium activate β-catenin selectively in thalamic neurons. This effect is determined by the presence of TCF7L2, and potentially contributes to the therapeutic response

(Di-tert-butyl­phosphan­yl)bis­(diphenyl­phosphan­yl)phosphane

The title phosphane, C32H38P4 or (Ph2P)2P(PtBu2), has a P atom that is linked to another three P atoms in a pyramidal configuration; the P—P distances in the range 2.2231 (7)–2.2446 (7) Å indicate that the P—P bonds are single bonds

trans-Dichloridobis(triisopropyl­phosphine-κP)palladium(II)

The title compound, [PdCl2(C9H21P)2], is a centrosymmetric mononuclear palladium(II) complex. The PdII atom, which lies on an inversion center, is in a square-planar geometry

Gazprom's expansion in the EU: co-operation or domination? OSW Report, October 2009

The energy sector, especially with regard to the gas trade, is one of the key areas of co-operation between the EU and Russia. However, the form this co-operation has taken has been giving rise to some concern, both in Brussels and in the EU member states. Questions arise as to whether the EU has not become excessively dependent on Russia for energy, and whether the presence of the Russian gas monopoly in the EU does not enable Russian interference with the development of EU energy policy. The objective of this series of OSW reports (for the previous edition,see Gazprom’s expansion in the EU: co-operation or domination? April 2008 – pdf 1.2 MB) is to provide facts which will permit an accurat answer to these questions to be formulated

Revue illustrée des principales indications de CBCT en orthodontie.

This illustrated article is reviewing currently accepted and recommended indications for use of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in orthodontics. We present CBCT of teeth anomalies, impacted canines, supernumerary teeth, troubles of teeth eruption, and external roots resorption related to orthodontic teeth movements. The CBCT should be justified for each patient, and should present added value for diagnostic and/or for treatment planning. The orthodontist needs to interpret and is responsible for all of the field of view.Cette revue illustrée porte sur les principales indications actuellement recommandées dans la littérature d’utilisation du cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) en orthodontie. Il s’agit des anomalies dentaires, des canines incluses, des dents surnuméraires, des troubles de l’éruption et des résorptions radiculaires externes liées aux traitements orthodontiques. L’examen CBCT doit être justifié individuellement, au cas par cas, et de pouvoir apporter un bénéfice au patient en terme de diagnostic et/ou de traitement orthodontique. L’orthodontiste prescripteur doit être capable d’interpréter et est responsable de l’interprétation de tout ce qui est visible sur l’ensemble du champs de vue du CBCT

Gender differences in post-operative human skin

Although the impact of age, gender, and obesity on the skin wound healing process has been extensively studied, the data related to gender differences in aspects of skin scarring are limited. The present study performed on abdominal human intact and scar skin focused on determining gender differences in extracellular matrix (ECM) composition, dermal white adipose tissue (dWAT) accumulation, and Foxn1 expression as a part of the skin response to injury. Scar skin of men showed highly increased levels of COLLAGEN 1A1, COLLAGEN 6A3, and ELASTIN mRNA expression, the accumulation of thick collagen I-positive fibers, and the accumulation of $\alpha$-SMA-positive cells in comparison to the scar skin of women. However, post-injured skin of women displayed an increase (in comparison to post-injured men’s skin) in collagen III accumulation in the scar area. On the contrary, women’s skin samples showed a tendency towards higher levels of adipogenic-related genes ($PPAR\gamma$, FABP4, LEPTIN) than men, regardless of intact or scar skin. Intact skin of women showed six times higher levels of LEPTIN mRNA expression in comparison to men intact (p < 0.05), men post-injured (p < 0.05), or women post-injured scar (p < 0.05) skin. Higher levels of FOXN1 mRNA and protein were also detected in women than in men’s skin. In conclusion, the present data confirm and extend (dWAT layer) the data related to the presence of differences between men and women in the skin, particularly in scar tissues, which may contribute to the more effective and gender-tailored improvement of skin care interventions

Hypoxia reveals a new function of Foxn1 in the keratinocyte antioxidant defense system

Skin exposed to environmental threats, including injuries and oxidative stress, develops an efficient but not fully recognized system of repair and antioxidant protection. Here, using mass spectrometry analysis (LC–MS/MS), followed by in vitro and in vivo experiments, we provided evidence that Foxn1 in keratinocytes regulates elements of the electron transport chain and participates in the thioredoxin system (Txn2, Txnrd3, and Srxn1) induction, particularly in a hypoxic environment. We first showed that Foxn1 in keratinocytes upregulates glutathione thioredoxin reductase 3 (Txnrd3) protein expression, and high levels of Txnrd3 mRNA were detected in injured skin of Foxn1+/+ mice. We also showed that Foxn1 strongly downregulated the Ccn2 protein expression, participating in epidermal reconstruction after injury. An in vitro assay revealed that Foxn1 controls keratinocyte migration, stimulating it under normoxia and suppressing it under hypoxia. Keratinocytes overexpressing Foxn1 and exposed to hypoxia displayed a reduced ability to promote angiogenesis by downregulating Vegfa expression. In conclusion, this study showed a new mechanism in which Foxn1, along with hypoxia, participates in the activation of antioxidant defense and controls the functional properties of keratinocytes. </p

We Do Not Like It: A Likert-Type Scale Survey on the Attitudes of a Young Population towards the Transhumanistic Theory of Education

Transhumanists assume that future education may be purely based on technological stimulation. The question is: Do potential clients of education “like” such vision? In order to check this, we asked over one thousand two hundred young Poles to evaluate their identification with the transhumanistic theory of education. The results are quite surprising: its show that they disagree with the assumptions of this theory, while they rather agree with the postulates of more traditional (and no technology-based) concepts of education