How do Service Quality, Value, Pleasure, and Satisfaction Create Loyalty to Smart Dockless Bike-Sharing Systems?

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate which factors influence users’ loyalty to smart dockless bike-sharing systems (DBSS). Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 374 subjects who had previously experienced smart DBSS was obtained and the partial least squares (PLS) method was performed to analyze the measurement and structural models. Findings – The results indicated that customer loyalty was the final construct produced by perceived green value, customer satisfaction, and perceived pleasure, which were found to be partial mediators between service quality and customer loyalty. Originality/value – This study (1) provides a new perspective from which to examine consumer loyalty behavior in a smart DBSS context, (2) it identifies the role of service quality as an important stimulus, (3) it confirms that perceived pleasure not only has an effect on customer loyalty, but also acts as an excellent mediator, and (4) it provides empirical evidence for smart DBSS providers to enhance the adoption of green transport and to strengthen customer loyalty to smart DBSS

Enhanced Degradation of Rh 6G by Zero Valent Iron Loaded on Two Typical Clay Minerals With Different Structures Under Microwave Irradiation

Nanoscale zero valent iron has been a widespread concern in various fields due to its large specific surface area and high reactivity. However, nanoscale zero valent iron (nZVI) is very likely to aggregate and be oxidized, which limit its wide application in industry. Most clay minerals have a large adsorption capacity of cations due to their negative charges and high specific surface areas. In the present work, nZVI was loaded onto two typical clay minerals: kaolinite and sepiolite, to inhibit its oxidation and aggregation. The composites were applied to degrade Rhodamine 6G (Rh 6G) under microwave irradiation. The effects of pH value and microwave power on degradation were studied. The results showed that the removal amount of Rh 6G by nZVI/kaolinite was 110 mg/g in 15 min, while it reached 300 mg/g by nZVI/sepiolite. The difference between these two composites was mostly determined by the structures of these two clay minerals

A transcriptomic analysis of Stylo [Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw.] provides novel insights into the basis of salinity tolerance

Tropical areas have a large distribution of saline soils and tidal flats with a high salinity level. Salinity stress is a key factor limiting the widespread use of tropical forage such as Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw. This study was designed to screen the salinity tolerance of 84 S. guianensis accessions; In a greenhouse experiment, plants were subjected to Hoagland solution or Hoagland solution with 200 mM NaCl for up to 15 days. Salinity tolerant accession CIAT11365 and salinity sensitive accession FM05-2 were obtained based on withered leaf rate (WLR). Further verification of salinity tolerance in CIAT11365 and FM05-2 with different salinity gradients showed that salinity stress increased WLR and decreased relative chlorophyll content (SPAD), maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), and photosynthetic rate (Pn) in FM05-2, but CIAT11365 exhibited lower WLR and higher SPAD, Fv/Fm, and Pn. Leaf RNA-Seq revealed that Ca2+ signal transduction and Na+ transport ability, salinity tolerance-related transcription factors and antioxidant ability, an increase of auxin, and inhibition of cytokinin may play key roles in CIAT11365 response to salinity stress. The results of this study may contribute to our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the responses of S. guianensis to salinity stress and also provide important clues for further study and in-depth characterization of salinity resistance breeding candidate genes in S. guianensis

Comparative Genomic Analysis of 31 Phytophthora Genomes Reveals Genome Plasticity and Horizontal Gene Transfer

Phytophthora species are oomycete plant pathogens that cause great economic and ecological impacts. The Phytophthora genus includes over 180 known species, infecting a wide range of plant hosts, including crops, trees, and ornamentals. We sequenced the genomes of 31 individual Phytophthora species and 24 individual transcriptomes to study genetic relationships across the genus. De novo genome assemblies revealed variation in genome sizes, numbers of predicted genes, and in repetitive element content across the Phytophthora genus. A genus-wide comparison evaluated orthologous groups of genes. Predicted effector gene counts varied across Phytophthora species by effector family, genome size, and plant host range. Predicted numbers of apoplastic effectors increased as the host range of Phytophthora species increased. Predicted numbers of cytoplasmic effectors also increased with host range but leveled off or decreased in Phytophthora species that have enormous host ranges. With extensive sequencing across the Phytophthora genus, we now have the genomic resources to evaluate horizontal gene transfer events across the oomycetes. Using a machine-learning approach to identify horizontally transferred genes with bacterial or fungal origin, we identified 44 candidates over 36 Phytophthora species genomes. Phylogenetic reconstruction indicates that the transfers of most of these 44 candidates happened in parallel to major advances in the evolution of the oomycetes and Phytophthora spp. We conclude that the 31 genomes presented here are essential for investigating genus-wide genomic associations in genus Phytophthora. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license

Rare variant associations with waist-to-hip ratio in European-American and African-American women from the NHLBI-Exome Sequencing Project

Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), a relative comparison of waist and hip circumferences, is an easily accessible measurement of body fat distribution, in particular central abdominal fat. A high WHR indicates more intra-abdominal fat deposition and is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified numerous common genetic loci influencing WHR, but the contributions of rare variants have not been previously reported. We investigated rare variant associations with WHR in 1510 European-American and 1186 African-American women from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-Exome Sequencing Project. Association analysis was performed on the gene level using several rare variant association methods. The strongest association was observed for rare variants in IKBKB (P=4.0 × 10−8) in European-Americans, where rare variants in this gene are predicted to decrease WHRs. The activation of the IKBKB gene is involved in inflammatory processes and insulin resistance, which may affect normal food intake and body weight and shape. Meanwhile, aggregation of rare variants in COBLL1, previously found to harbor common variants associated with WHR and fasting insulin, were nominally associated (P=2.23 × 10−4) with higher WHR in European-Americans. However, these significant results are not shared between African-Americans and European-Americans that may be due to differences in the allelic architecture of the two populations and the small sample sizes. Our study indicates that the combined effect of rare variants contribute to the inter-individual variation in fat distribution through the regulation of insulin response

Genome of Pythium myriotylum Uncovers an Extensive Arsenal of Virulence-Related Genes among the Broad-Host-Range Necrotrophic Pythium Plant Pathogens

The Pythium (Peronosporales, Oomycota) genus includes devastating plant pathogens that cause widespread diseases and severe crop losses. Here, we have uncovered a far greater arsenal of virulence factor-related genes in the necrotrophic Pythium myriotylum than in other Pythium plant pathogens. The genome of a plant-virulent P. myriotylum strain (~70 Mb and 19,878 genes) isolated from a diseased rhizome of ginger (Zingiber officinale) encodes the largest repertoire of putative effectors, proteases, and plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) among the studied species. P. myriotylum has twice as many predicted secreted proteins than any other Pythium plant pathogen. Arrays of tandem duplications appear to be a key factor of the enrichment of the virulence factor-related genes in P. myriotylum. The transcriptomic analysis performed on two P. myriotylum isolates infecting ginger leaves showed that proteases were a major part of the upregulated genes along with PCWDEs, Nep1-like proteins (NLPs), and elicitin-like proteins. A subset of P. myriotylum NLPs were analyzed and found to have necrosis-inducing ability from agroinfiltration of tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) leaves. One of the heterologously produced infection-upregulated putative cutinases found in a tandem array showed esterase activity with preferences for longer-chain-length substrates and neutral to alkaline pH levels. Our results allow the development of science-based targets for the management of P. myriotylum-caused disease, as insights from the genome and transcriptome show that gene expansion of virulence factor-related genes play a bigger role in the plant parasitism of Pythium spp. than previously thought. IMPORTANCE Pythium species are oomycetes, an evolutionarily distinct group of filamentous fungus-like stramenopiles. The Pythium genus includes several pathogens of important crop species, e.g., the spice ginger. Analysis of our genome from the plant pathogen Pythium myriotylum uncovered a far larger arsenal of virulence factor-related genes than found in other Pythium plant pathogens, and these genes contribute to the infection of the plant host. The increase in the number of virulence factor-related genes appears to have occurred through the mechanism of tandem gene duplication events. Genes from particular virulence factor-related categories that were increased in number and switched on during infection of ginger leaves had their activities tested. These genes have toxic activities toward plant cells or activities to hydrolyze polymeric components of the plant. The research suggests targets to better manage diseases caused by P. myriotylum and prompts renewed attention to the genomics of Pythium plant pathogens

Fine-mapping of lipid regions in global populations discovers ethnic-specific signals and refines previously identified lipid loci

Genome-wide association studies have identified over 150 loci associated with lipid traits, however, no large-scale studies exist for Hispanics and other minority populations. Additionally, the genetic architecture of lipid-influencing loci remains largely unknown. We performed one of the most racially/ethnically diverse fine-mapping genetic studies of HDL-C, LDL-C, and triglycerides to-date using SNPs on the MetaboChip array on 54,119 individuals: 21,304 African Americans, 19,829 Hispanic Americans, 12,456 Asians, and 530 American Indians. The majority of signals found in these groups generalize to European Americans. While we uncovered signals unique to racial/ethnic populations, we also observed systematically consistent lipid associations across these groups. In African Americans, we identified three novel signals associated with HDL-C (LPL, APOA5, LCAT) and two associated with LDL-C (ABCG8, DHODH). In addition, using this population, we refined the location for 16 out of the 58 known MetaboChip lipid loci. These results can guide tailored screening efforts, reveal population-specific responses to lipid-lowering medications, and aid in the development of new targeted drug therapies