Busyness is prevalent for modern consumers, but there is limited understanding of how it affects consumers’ food-related responses. The current research addresses this knowledge gap by proposing that ...subjective busyness has a varying impact on consumers’ responses to indulgent food, depending on their sense of power. Through two studies, we find that powerless (vs. powerful) consumers respond more favorably to indulgent food when busy. Study 1 explores the proposed effect by measuring participants’ busyness and power. Study 2 uses a priming task to induce incidental busyness and shows that powerless (vs. powerful) consumers tend to engage in affective (vs. cognitive) information processing to make indulgent food choices. Our study offers valuable practical implications for public policymakers, food marketers, and consumers to respond to the prevailing busyness.
•The effect of busyness on consumers’ food responses depends on consumers’ sense of power.•A higher level of busyness among powerless consumers will lead to more favorable responses to indulgent food.•A higher level of busyness among powerful consumers will lead to less favorable responses to indulgent food.•Busyness will activate an affective (vs. cognitive) processing style among powerless (vs. powerful) consumers.
Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression on the surface of tumour cells can cause tumour immune evasion. Benefits of combining anti-PD-L1 therapy with nab-paclitaxel in patients with advanced ...triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have been reported. However, some patients cannot tolerate the immune-related adverse effects (irAEs) caused by antibody-based immunotherapy. BRD4 is a member of the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) family. BRD4 inhibition has shown antitumour effects in many tumours, but its role in TNBC has not been definitively concluded. In particular, the immune regulation of BRD4 in TNBC has been rarely studied. In this study, we used JQ1, a BET inhibitor, and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting BRD4 to explore the influence of BRD4 on PD-L1 expression in TNBC. The results indicated that BRD4 inhibition suppressed PD-L1 expression and the PD-L1 upregulation induced by interferon-γ (IFN-γ). In the in vivo experiments, we found that JQ1 not only reduced the PD-L1 expression level but also changed the proportions of T lymphocyte subsets in the spleens of tumour-bearing mice, which helped to relieve immunosuppression. Briefly, our study reveals that BRD4 regulates PD-L1 expression and may provide a potential method for blocking the programmed death 1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 immune checkpoint in TNBC.
•BET inhibitor JQ1 or BRD4 knockdown suppresses PD-L1 expression in triple-negative breast cancer.•JQ1 affects the transcription of CD274 by reducing the binding of BRD4 to the CD274 promoter.•JQ1 changes the proportions of T lymphocyte subsets, which helps to relieve immunosuppression.•BRD4 may be a potential target that can block the PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint in triple-negative breast cancer.
With the increasing number of solo diners, creating a stimulating dining environment for solo diners is of great importance. While angular and circular shape cues are ubiquitous in the service ...context, their impact on solo dining experiences has been overlooked. Therefore, this research examines the joint effect of shape cues and background music on solo diners’ responses. The findings of Study 1 show that solo diners exhibit higher arousal when exposed to angular (vs. circular) shape cues, leading to enhanced dining experiences and revisit intention. However, such a shape effect is not observed among social diners. Furthermore, the findings of Study 2 demonstrate that the shape effect is more pronounced when solo diners listen to slow-tempo (vs. fast-tempo) music. This study contributes to the growing literature on solo dining and servicescape in hospitality. Our findings provide practitioners with a novel sensory strategy for enhancing solo dining experiences.
•Solo diners exhibit a higher level of arousal when exposed to angular (vs. circular) shape cues in the physical environment.•Social diners exhibit a similar level of arousal when exposed to either angular or circular shape cues.•The higher arousal elicited by angular (vs. circular) shapes cues will enhance solo dining experiences and revisit intention.•Such a shape effect only holds when solo diners listen to slow-tempo (vs. fast-tempo) music.
The global increase in dominance of toxic blooms of cyanobacteria has severely impacted aquatic ecosystems and threatened human health for decades. Although it has been shown that high levels of ...rainfall may inhibit the growth of bloom-forming cyanobacteria, it is still unclear how cyanobacteria respond to short-term rainfall events. Based on five-year (2016–2020) high-frequency (half-week) sampling data from a shallow eutrophic urban reservoir in subtropical China, we explored the short-term effects of rainfall events on cyanobacterial biomass (CBB) by constructing generalized additive models of CBB in rainy periods during warm (April to September) and cool (December and January) months, respectively. We find evidence in support of the hypotheses that short-term rainfall events significantly reduce CBB in warm months, but the opposite response was observed in the cool months. We also highlight a difference in the factors explaining CBB decreases in warm months (precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, dissolved oxygen and total phosphorus) compared with factors explaining the response of CBB in cool months (sunshine hours, pH and total carbon). In particular, meteorological factors (precipitation, wind speed and sunlight) might drive changes in water temperature and hydro-dynamics of the reservoir, thereby causing a rapid reduction of CBB after rainfall events in warm months. This varying response of cyanobacteria to short-term rainfall events in the shallow eutrophic subtropical reservoir may also be expected in temperate or cool lakes as climate change effects become stronger.
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•High-frequency monitoring revealed reservoir cyanobacterial responses to rainfall.•Cyanobacteria had a negative response to short-term rainfall in warm months.•Cyanobacterial biomass increased after short-term rainfall in cool months.•Winter rainfall might increase the sensitivity of cyanobacteria to sunlight.
Purpose A visual sweetness scale with an arrow pointing to a specific sweetness level is now required on all labels of AOC Alsace. The sweetness scale makes it easier for consumers to understand what ...is in the bottle. What is less clear, however, is whether such labeling is always effective. To fill this gap, the current research paper aims to examine the positive and negative effects (double-edged effects) of a visual sweetness scale and identify the boundary condition. Design/methodology/approach Two studies were conducted using a 2 (cue type: scale vs text) by 2 (consumer type: novices vs experienced wine consumers) between-subjects, quasi-experimental design. Findings The double-edged effects are only significant among wine novices. Specifically, though wine novices are more likely to purchase wine with a sweetness scale (vs text) due to perceived diagnosticity (Study 1), they are unwilling to pay more due to low perceived quality (Study 2). Practical implications The study findings provide practical implications for wine producers, marketers and restaurants regarding when and how to use the sweetness scale on wine labels and wine service. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to reveal the impact of visualizing wine style on wine labels. More importantly, while most previous research demonstrates the positive effects of using visual cues, this research sheds light on its drawbacks and examines the underlying mechanisms.
The chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) with its cognate receptor chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2) plays important roles in tumor invasion and metastasis. However, the mechanisms and ...mediators for autocrine CCL2 and CCL2-CCR2 axis remain elusive in breast cancer. Here we examined the levels of CCL2 in 4 breast cancer cell lines along with 57 human breast cancer specimens and found them significantly increased with presence of 17β-estradiol (E2) in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer cells, while anti-estrogen treatment weakened this enhancement. CCL2 expression positively correlated with Twist staining and aggressiveness of breast cancer. Estrogen exposure facilitated the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of hormone-dependent breast cancer and promoted angiogenesis via the increased secretion of CCL2 in vitro and in vivo, which could be suppressed by disruption of CCL2-CCR2 axis with CCR2 antagonist RS102895. Knockdown of Twist in MCF-7 cells significantly inhibited E2-induced CCL2 production, indicating an essential role of Twist in CCL2 regulation under estrogenic condition. Our data show the hormonal regulation on CCL2-CCR2 axis is associated with enhanced Twist expression via activation of ERα and PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling. Thus, CCL2-CCR2 axis may represent as a novel therapeutic target eagerly needed for hormone-dependent breast cancer.
While many retailing businesses have responded to the Covid-19 crisis by instituting various new rules, there is scant research examining how to effectively communicate such preventive measures to ...customers. This study investigates the joint effect of policy type (mandatory versus voluntary) and message framing (appreciation versus apology) on customers’ compliance and revisit intention. An online experiment was conducted with 201 US participants. Results suggest that when the message is framed with appreciation, a mandatory (vs. voluntary) mask-wearing policy causes less reactance, leading to higher compliance and revisit intention. However, such differences are attenuated with apologetic messaging. Practical implications for retailer-customer communications on crisis policies are discussed.
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PolyphyllinVI (PPⅥ) is the main bioactive component of Chonglou which is a traditional Chinese herbal with various effects, including antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and analgesia.
This study aimed to ...investigate the properties and mechanisms of the analgesia of PPⅥ by using neuropathic pain (NPP) mice.
The potential targets and mechanisms of PPⅥ in alleviating NPP were excavated based on the network pharmacology. Subsequently, the construction of a spared nerve injury (SNI) mice model was used to evaluate the effect of PPⅥ on NPP and the expression of the P2X3 receptor. We identified the signaling pathways of PPⅥ analgesia by RNA sequencing.
The results of network pharmacology showed that BCL2, CASP3, JUN, STAT3, and TNF were the key targets of the analgesic effect of PPⅥ. PPⅥ increased the MWT and TWL of SNI mice and decreased the level of P2X3 receptors in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord (SC). Additionally, PPⅥ reduced the release of pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) in the DRG, SC, and serum. Based on the KEGG enrichment of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified by RNA-Seq, PPVI may relieve NPP by regulating the AMPK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Western blotting results showed that the AMPK signaling pathway was activated, followed by inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway.
PPⅥ increased the MWT and TWL of SNI mice maybe by inhibiting the expression of the P2X3 receptor and the release of inflammatory mediators. The properties of the analgesia of PPⅥ may be based on the AMPK/NF-κB pathway.
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Understanding controls of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in reservoirs is important as they are important for fisheries and a significant driver of greenhouse gas emissions. The latter is of ...global significance as IPCC inventories now require greenhouse gas emissions from artificial reservoirs to be included. Declines in dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in lakes and reservoirs have been linked to climate change and human activity. However, these effects can vary widely in any given region under various meteorological conditions. There is a clear need to know how changes in weather patterns affect DO in reservoirs by changing internal processes. Based on a six-year (2016–2021) high-frequency (twice a week) dataset from a shallow urban reservoir (Xinglinwan Reservoir) in subtropical China, the long-term (six years) and short-term (8–72-h) drivers of DO concentrations in surface waters were evaluated. Over the past six years, the concentration of DO has gradually decreased in the reservoir from 2016 to 2021. Multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) models were developed to identify the key factors explaining variability in DO and partial least squares path models (PLS-PM) were used to explore the short-term relationships between DO and environmental variables in rainy and dry (non-rain) periods, separately. We identified three key drivers operating on different time scales. First, the long-term decline of DO in Xinglinwan Reservoir from 2016 to 2021 was best explained by anthropogenic nutrient inputs. Second, rainy periods prior to sampling reduced DO concentrations indirectly by affecting the algal biomass and nutrient concentrations. This effect varied in complexity with the duration of the rainfall period. Third, water temperature best explained DO concentrations during dry periods, while wind reduced DO by reducing algal biomass. We conclude that anthropogenic nutrient and organic matter inputs drive long-term oxygen declines in urban subtropical reservoirs, while meteorological factors determine short-term variability in DO concentrations.
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•A subtropical urban shallow reservoir was monitored twice a week.•Rainfall duration determined the short-term variability in DO concentration.•Continued rainfall can reduce DO by affecting algae and nutrients.•Urbanization-driven nutrient input causes long-term DO decline in water.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss some common pitfalls in experimental research in the field of hospitality and tourism. It aims to offer recommendations on how to avoid such problems ...to enhance theory development.
Findings
This paper highlights some common pitfalls in hospitality research regarding manipulations, samples and data analyses. The challenges imposed by the global pandemic are also discussed.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers in hospitality are recommended to refine their experimental designs, to recruit appropriate and sufficient samples and to avoid the abuse of “researcher degrees of freedom” in data analysis.
Originality/value
This is the first study to review common mistakes in experimental research in hospitality research and to recommend some remedies. The findings of this study can contribute to stronger theory development.
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