Implications of Rewards and Punishments for Content Generations by Key Opinion Leaders

Nowadays, e-commerce platforms have increasingly relied on contents generated by key opinion leaders to engage customers and drive product sales. To stay on top of the growth, e-commerce content platforms have introduced rewards and punishments policies to ensure content quality. However, effectiveness has remained less clear. Besides, there is a dearth of research that focuses on such performance-based output control in the extant platform governance and user-generated content (UGC) literature. In this study, based on the reinforcement theory and UGC literature, we investigate the effects of monetary rewards and punishments on the quantity and quality of contents generated by KOLs in the e-commerce content platform context. Using data collected from JD WeChat Shopping Circle, we empirically testified our hypotheses. Our results indicate that punishments significantly increase the quantity and quality of content generated by KOLs. Monetary rewards only have significantly positive effects on the quality of KOLs\u27 generated content. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the effects of monetary rewards is larger compared with that of punishments. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

A meta-analysis of the efficacy of 99Tc-MDP alone and in combination with 89SrCl2 in the treatment of bone metastases

Background and purpose: Bone metastatic tumor is a common disease of tumor bone metastasis, and the prognosis of patients is poor, with a variety of serious complications, including bone pain, fracture, spinal cord compression and other skeletal related events, affecting the quality of life of patients. At present, radionuclide therapy still has positive clinical effects in patients with bone metastasis, and it still plays an important role in relieving bone pain. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of technetium [99Tc] methylene diphosphonate injection (99Tc-MDP) alone or in combination with strontium chloride (89SrCl2) in the treatment of bone metastases. Methods: Databases were used to search for studies published between January 2000 and July 2022 on the efficacy of 99Tc-MDP in combination with 89SrCl2 and 99Tc-MDP alone in the treatment of bone metastases. All included literature was extracted and evaluated for quality, and Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results: Twenty-seven publications met the inclusion criteria, and a total of 2564 patients were included in this study. The results demonstrated that 99Tc-MDP combined with 89SrCl2 improved bone pain relief (RR=1.22, 95% CI: 1.18-1.27, P<0.001) and bone metastasis healing (RR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.25-1.47, P<0.001). However, when compared with 89SrCl2 alone, it could not be concluded that 99Tc-MDP alone increased the rate of bone pain relief (RR=0.98, 95% CI: 0.90-1.06, P=0.57) and bone metastasis healing (RR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.82-1.06, P=0.27), and the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. The common adverse effects of 99Tc-MDP treatment alone or in combination with 89SrCl2 were decreased leukocyte and platelet counts, however, the difference in the incidence of adverse effects between 99Tc-MDP treatment alone and in combination with 89SrCl2 was not statistically significant (89SrCl2 vs 99Tc-MDP in combination with 89SrCl2: RR=0.83, 95% CI: 0.53-1.30, P=0.42; 89SrCl2 vs 99Tc-MDP: RR=0.93, 95% CI: 0.76-1.13, P=0.45). Conclusion: 99Tc-MDP combined with 89SrCl2 treatment was effective in relieving pain in patients with bone metastases, and the bone pain relief rate and bone metastasis healing rate of 99Tc-MDP combined with 89SrCl2 treatment for bone metastases were better compared with the 89SrCl2 monotherapy group, with no significant increase in adverse reactions after typical dosing. Due to the limitations of the quality and quantity of literature included in this study, higher quality randomized controlled studies are needed

TNFα Cooperates with IFN-γ to Repress Bcl-xL Expression to Sensitize Metastatic Colon Carcinoma Cells to TRAIL-mediated Apoptosis

BACKGROUND: TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is an immune effector molecule that functions as a selective anti-tumor agent. However, tumor cells, especially metastatic tumor cells often exhibit a TRAIL-resistant phenotype, which is currently a major impediment in TRAIL therapy. The aim of this study is to investigate the synergistic effect of TNFα and IFN-γ in sensitizing metastatic colon carcinoma cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The efficacy and underlying molecular mechanism of cooperation between TNFα and IFN-γ in sensitizing metastatic colon carcinoma cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis were examined. The functional significance of TNFα- and IFN-γ-producing T lymphocyte immunotherapy in combination with TRAIL therapy in suppression of colon carcinoma metastasis was determined in an experimental metastasis mouse model. We observed that TNFα or IFN-γ alone exhibits minimal sensitization effects, but effectively sensitized metastatic colon carcinoma cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis when used in combination. TNFα and IFN-γ cooperate to repress Bcl-xL expression, whereas TNFα represses Survivin expression in the metastatic colon carcinoma cells. Silencing Bcl-xL expression significantly increased the metastatic colon carcinoma cell sensitivity to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Conversely, overexpression of Bcl-xL significantly decreased the tumor cell sensitivity to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, TNFα and IFN-γ also synergistically enhanced TRAIL-induced caspase-8 activation. TNFα and IFN-γ was up-regulated in activated primary and tumor-specific T cells. TRAIL was expressed in tumor-infiltrating immune cells in vivo, and in tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) ex vivo. Consequently, TRAIL therapy in combination with TNFα/IFN-γ-producing CTL adoptive transfer immunotherapy effectively suppressed colon carcinoma metastasis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: TNFα and IFN-γ cooperate to overcome TRAIL resistance at least partially through enhancing caspase 8 activation and repressing Bcl-xL expression. Combined CTL immunotherapy and TRAIL therapy hold great promise for further development for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer

A Study on Temporal Effects of Different Types of Mobile Application Updates

The sustainability of market performance of mobile applications (apps) updates is a vital goal for e-commerce firms to continuously innovate for products and functions. E-commerce firms must formulate effective app update strategies and tackle the temporal uncertainties associated with different types of app updates. However, the existing literature on app updates mainly focuses on the effects of update frequency. At the same time, scant attention has been paid to clarifying the temporal effects of different types of app updates. Accordingly, based on the framework of exploration vs. exploitation, we investigate the temporal effects of different kinds of app updates on market performance in the hypercompetitive context of online travel mobile applications. We collected data on release notes and downloads of seven Chinese online travel apps available from the Android Market from April 2013 to January 2015; conducted structured content analysis to identify different types of app updates; and adopted the feasible generalized least-squares (FGLS) estimation to test our model. We found that exploitative app updates have an instant and continuous positive impact on market performance, while explorative app updates have no significant effect in the short term but will have a positive effect on market performance in the long term. Moreover, competition intensity shortens the duration of the positive effect of exploitative app updates and delays the time that explorative app updates have to take effect. By studying the different impacts that two types of app updates have on market performance from a time dimension, this study helps resolve the mixed findings on the effects of app updates and guides e-commerce firms on how to effectively formulate app update strategies in a hypercompetitive context

Association between professional identity and humanistic caring ability in Chinese nursing students: a cross-sectional study in Changsha, Hunan, China

AbstractHumanistic caring (HC) is a key ability that nurses need. We aimed to explore factors related to humanistic caring ability (HCA) among Chinese nursing students and the association between professional identity (PI) and HCA. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. HCA of Nursing Undergraduates Assessment Scale (HCANU) and PI Scale for Nurse Students (PIQNS) were displayed. Linear regression analysis and Pearson correlation analysis were used. Education (β=-.161, P = .009), dimensions of professional self-image (β=.271, P = .028), career choice independence (β=.228, P < .001), and social comparison and self-reflection (β=-.102, P = .180) were independent predictors of HCA. PI (r = .578, P < .001) was associated with HCA. An association between PI and HCA has been found among nursing students. PI is an important consideration in the development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions for HCA

Quantifying Climate Change and Ecological Responses within the Yangtze River Basin, China

The interactions between climate change and vegetation have a significant impact on the dynamics of the global carbon cycle. Based on the observed meteorological data from 1961 to 2013 and the temperature and precipitation data simulated by various climate models (simulations phase 5 of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project dataset), this paper analyzes the temperature and precipitation changes of the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) and finds that they are a similar trend, that is, the temperature presents a significant upward trend (R2 = 0.49, p &lt; 0.01), and the variation trend of precipitation is not significant (R2 = 0.01). Specifically, based on observed meteorological data, the annual mean temperature increased significantly and the area of increasing temperature accounted for 99.94% of the total region (p &lt; 0.05); however, there was no significant change in annual precipitation. Ecological indicators (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); enhanced vegetation index (EVI); leaf area index (LAI); gross primary production (GPP); and net primary production (NPP)) of the YRB showed an increasing trend, and annual NDVI, annual EVI, LAI, annual total GPP and annual total NPP increased at respective rates of 0.002 yr&minus;1, 0.001 yr&minus;1, 0.07 m2m&minus;2decade&minus;1, 9 TgCyr&minus;1yr&minus;1, and 6 TgCyr&minus;1yr&minus;1, respectively. Correlation analysis between temperature/precipitation and NDVI/EVI/LAI/GPP/NPP was used to determine the relationships between climatic parameters and ecological indicators. Specifically, the temperature is significantly positively correlated with annual NDVI (R2 = 0.37, p &lt; 0.05), with annual mean LAI (R2 = 0.35, p &lt; 0.05) and with annual GPP (R2 = 0.37, p &lt; 0.05). In addition, there is a moderate positive correlation between mean EVI and mean growing season air temperature (R2 = 0.24); annual mean air temperature is a moderate positive correlation with annual NPP (R2 = 0.28). Our findings confirm that temperature is more closely related to ecological factors than precipitation over the YRB in these decades

In Vitro Effects on Thrombin of Paris Saponins and In Vivo Hemostatic Activity Evaluation of Paris fargesii var. brevipetala

The resource shortage of Rhizoma Paridis has never been effectively addressed, and the industry continues to search for alternative resources. The in vitro effects on thrombin of Paris saponins and in vivo hemostatic activity of Paris fargesii var. brevipetala (PF) were evaluated in this study. PF is considered to be an alternative source of Rhizoma Paridis (RP). The in vitro incubation experiment was designed to investigate the effects on thrombin activity of Paris saponin H (PS H) and saponin extract in PF. The bleeding time of mouse tail snipping was used to evaluate the in vivo hemostatic effects of Paris saponins. Also, in vivo changes in four blood coagulation parameters in rats after oral administration of different groups of Paris saponins were compared. The effects of Paris saponins on liver function and blood lipid parameters were examined in order to avoid drug-induced liver injury. Activity studies of thrombin after ultra-filtration centrifugation showed that Paris saponins were able to enhance thrombin activity. Ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) analysis results of the substrates led us to speculate that there is a specific binding between Paris saponins and thrombin. PS H and Paris saponins in PF significantly shortened the bleeding time in mice. One pathway by which Paris saponins enhance in vivo blood coagulation is by increasing fibrinogen (FIB), among the four blood coagulation parameters in rats. At the same time, the effects on liver and blood lipid parameters were insignificant. P. fargesii var. brevipetala can be developed as an alternative medicinal source of Rhizoma Paridis

Facile Fabrication of a Superhydrophobic Cu Surface via a Selective Etching of High-Energy Facets

The Cu surface with a dual-scale roughness has been prepared via a facile solution-phase etching route by the H₂O₂/HCl etchants. The selective etching of the high-energy {110} facets occurs at an ultralow rate of the redox etching reaction. The resultant surface is composed of many polyhedral microprotrusions and nanomastoids on the microprotrusions, exhibiting the binary micro/nanostructures. After hydrophobization, the resultant surface exhibits a water contact angle of 170° and a sliding angle of ∼2.8° for a 5 μL droplet. The combination of the dual-scale roughness and the low surface energy of the adsorbed stearic acid accounts for the superhydrophobicity. Such a superhydrophobic Cu surface has an excellent nonsticking behavior and anticorrosion against electrolyte solution. It also keeps its superhydrophobic ability after a long-time ultrasonication or abrasion test. Our work may shed light on the selective etching of other metal surfaces to create designed dual-scale roughness for superhydrophobicity