The Impacts of Environmental Cues and Browsing Experience on Impulse Buying on Social Shopping Website

Based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) paradigm, this study develops a model to theorize how environmental cues on social shopping website affect impulse buying behavior from the perspective of browsing experience. Social shopping websites bring a novel online browsing experience for customers. However, how browsing experience on this platform affect customers impulsively have received insufficient academic attention. The results reveal that the unique factors of social shopping website, namely the quality of user-generated content and social presence are critical for facilitating customers’ browsing experiences. The results also show that both utilitarian browsing and hedonic browsing experience have a positive impact on customers’ urge to buy impulsively. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

Lysophosphatidic Acid Acyltransferase β (LPAATβ) Promotes the Tumor Growth of Human Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy of bone with poorly characterized molecular pathways important in its pathogenesis. Increasing evidence indicates that elevated lipid biosynthesis is a characteristic feature of cancer. We sought to investigate the role of lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase β (LPAATβ, aka, AGPAT2) in regulating the proliferation and growth of human osteosarcoma cells. LPAATβ can generate phosphatidic acid, which plays a key role in lipid biosynthesis as well as in cell proliferation and survival. Although elevated expression of LPAATβ has been reported in several types of human tumors, the role of LPAATβ in osteosarcoma progression has yet to be elucidated.Endogenous expression of LPAATβ in osteosarcoma cell lines is analyzed by using semi-quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of LPAATβ and silencing LPAATβ expression is employed to determine the effect of LPAATβ on osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration in vitro and osteosarcoma tumor growth in vivo. We have found that expression of LPAATβ is readily detected in 8 of the 10 analyzed human osteosarcoma lines. Exogenous expression of LPAATβ promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration, while silencing LPAATβ expression inhibits these cellular characteristics. We further demonstrate that exogenous expression of LPAATβ effectively promotes tumor growth, while knockdown of LPAATβ expression inhibits tumor growth in an orthotopic xenograft model of human osteosarcoma.Our results strongly suggest that LPAATβ expression may be associated with the aggressive phenotypes of human osteosarcoma and that LPAATβ may play an important role in regulating osteosarcoma cell proliferation and tumor growth. Thus, targeting LPAATβ may be exploited as a novel therapeutic strategy for the clinical management of osteosarcoma. This is especially attractive given the availability of selective pharmacological inhibitors

Retinoic Acids Potentiate BMP9-Induced Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells

As one of the least studied bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), BMP9 is one of the most osteogenic BMPs. Retinoic acid (RA) signaling is known to play an important role in development, differentiation and bone metabolism. In this study, we investigate the effect of RA signaling on BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs).Both primary MPCs and MPC line are used for BMP9 and RA stimulation. Recombinant adenoviruses are used to deliver BMP9, RARalpha and RXRalpha into MPCs. The in vitro osteogenic differentiation is monitored by determining the early and late osteogenic markers and matrix mineralization. Mouse perinatal limb explants and in vivo MPC implantation experiments are carried out to assess bone formation. We find that both 9CRA and ATRA effectively induce early osteogenic marker, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and late osteogenic markers, such as osteopontin (OPN) and osteocalcin (OC). BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation and mineralization is synergistically enhanced by 9CRA and ATRA in vitro. 9CRA and ATRA are shown to induce BMP9 expression and activate BMPR Smad-mediated transcription activity. Using mouse perinatal limb explants, we find that BMP9 and RAs act together to promote the expansion of hypertrophic chondrocyte zone at growth plate. Progenitor cell implantation studies reveal that co-expression of BMP9 and RXRalpha or RARalpha significantly increases trabecular bone and osteoid matrix formation.Our results strongly suggest that retinoid signaling may synergize with BMP9 activity in promoting osteogenic differentiation of MPCs. This knowledge should expand our understanding about how BMP9 cross-talks with other signaling pathways. Furthermore, a combination of BMP9 and retinoic acid (or its agonists) may be explored as effective bone regeneration therapeutics to treat large segmental bony defects, non-union fracture, and/or osteoporotic fracture

Infection Defects of RNA and DNA Viruses Induced by Antiviral RNA Interference.

Immune recognition of viral genome-derived double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules and their subsequent processing into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in plants, invertebrates, and mammals trigger specific antiviral immunity known as antiviral RNA interference (RNAi). Immune sensing of viral dsRNA is sequence-independent, and most regions of viral RNAs are targeted by virus-derived siRNAs which extensively overlap in sequence. Thus, the high mutation rates of viruses do not drive immune escape from antiviral RNAi, in contrast to other mechanisms involving specific virus recognition by host immune proteins such as antibodies and resistance (R) proteins in mammals and plants, respectively. Instead, viruses actively suppress antiviral RNAi at various key steps with a group of proteins known as viral suppressors of RNAi (VSRs). Some VSRs are so effective in virus counter-defense that potent inhibition of virus infection by antiviral RNAi is undetectable unless the cognate VSR is rendered nonexpressing or nonfunctional. Since viral proteins are often multifunctional, resistance phenotypes of antiviral RNAi are accurately defined by those infection defects of VSR-deletion mutant viruses that are efficiently rescued by host deficiency in antiviral RNAi. Here, we review and discuss in vivo infection defects of VSR-deficient RNA and DNA viruses resulting from the actions of host antiviral RNAi in model systems

Study on the Effect of Radiant Insulation Panel in Cavity on the Thermal Performance of Broken-Bridge Aluminum Window Frame

Windows have a great impact on building energy consumption, and the thermal performance of window frames directly affects its energy-saving potential. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to optimize the thermal performance of commercially available broken-bridge aluminum window frames, by incorporating radiant insulation panels (RIPs) into the window frame cavity. A typical aluminum alloy window frame heat transfer model is theoretically analyzed and validated, and the effects of key design parameters on the equivalent thermal conductivity (ETC) of the cavity radiation heat transfer and the heat transfer coefficient (U-factor) of window frames are quantitatively analyzed by a finite element simulation method using the THERM software. Moreover, the RIP, the insulation material filling, and low surface emissivity on the thermal performance of the window frame are compared and analyzed. The results show that the RIP is better placed in the middle, the width and quantity of RIPs are negatively correlated with the U-factor, while the surface emissivity of RIPs is positively correlated with the U-factor. Adding RIPs in the cavity can reduce the U-factor of the window frame by more than 7.43%, slightly lower than 8.97% for the filling type, but significantly higher than 0.81% for the low-emissivity type. Inserting RIPs is a simple and effective way to reduce the U-factor of the window frame and have a great potential of use

SR-BI associates with ABCG1 and inhibits ABCG1-mediated cholesterol efflux from cells to high-density lipoprotein 3

Abstract Background The single and combined effects of scavenger receptor-BI (SR-BI), ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC) A1 and G1 on cholesterol efflux from Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells were investigated. Results When apolipoproteinA-I (apoA-I) was used as an acceptor, ABCA1 overexpression led to an increase in total cholesterol (TC) in medium which is attributable to a 2-fold increase in free cholesterol (FC) content. When high-density lipoprotein 3 (HDL3) was used as an acceptor, SR-BI overexpression not only promoted FC efflux, but also promoted the uptake of cholesteryl ester (CE) into cells, resulting in no TC varieties in medium. Overexpression of ABCG1 increased both the FC and CE levels in medium. However, when apoA-I and HDL3 were both used as acceptors, coexpression of SR-BI has no effect on ABCA1-mediated increased FC and TC accumulation in medium. Interestingly, coexpression of SR-BI with ABCG1 blocked the ABCG1-mediated cholesterol efflux to HDL3, mostly by promoting the reuptake of CE from the medium. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that SR-BI interacted with ABCG1 in BHK cells overexpressing ABCG1 and SR-BI. Conclusions We found SR-BI associates with ABCG1 and inhibits ABCG1-mediated cholesterol efflux from cells to HDL3.</p

Oral administration of a fusion protein between the cholera toxin B subunit and the 42-amino acid isoform of amyloid-β peptide produced in silkworm pupae protects against Alzheimer's disease in mice.

A key molecule in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a 42-amino acid isoform of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ42), which is the most toxic element of senile plaques. In this study, to develop an edible, safe, low-cost vaccine for AD, a cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)-Aβ42 fusion protein was successfully expressed in silkworm pupae. We tested the silkworm pupae-derived oral vaccination containing CTB-Aβ42 in a transgenic mouse model of AD. Anti-Aβ42 antibodies were induced in these mice, leading to a decreased Aβ deposition in the brain. We also found that the oral administration of the silk worm pupae vaccine improved the memory and cognition of mice, as assessed using a water maze test. These results suggest that the new edible CTB-Aβ42 silkworm pupae-derived vaccine has potential clinical application in the prevention of AD