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Introduction. The relational characteristics of an answerer on a social networking site can be used as cues to assess the credibility of an answer. This study examined the effects of different numbers of followers and friends of an answerer on readers' perceived credibility of an answer posted by the answerer in the context of Facebook. Method. We conducted two experiments to examine the effects of different numbers of followers and friends on the credibility perceptions of an answer on Facebook, respectively. Their influences on three dimensions of credibility were examined, namely: believability, trustworthiness, and accuracy. Analysis. The data were analysed using t-tests and two-way ANOVAs (analysis of variance). Results. We found that participants perceived an answer posted by an answerer with more followers or friends as more believable and trustworthy, but not necessarily more accurate. Conclusion. Despite the popularity of social networking sites as a place for information seeking, the effects of relational characteristics of an information provider have been little examined. Results of this study show that system-generated relational cues (i.e., number of friends and followers) likely exert a larger influence on certain dimensions of perceived credibility of an answer (i.e., believability and trustworthiness). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical properties of core-shell nanoparticles with protein shell layers have not been fully surveyed, although such nanoparticles have been studied widely as model biomimetic particles. In this study, we demonstrated that the capacitance changes of a silica (SiO2)/bovine serum albumin (BSA) core-shell nanoparticle (SiO2@BSA) could be monitored with variation of BSA shell thickness using AC impedance spectroscopy combined with conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM). Impedance spectra showed that the resistance and capacitance of SiO2@BSA core-shell nanoparticles increased with increasing BSA shell thickness. Within the range ot experimental conditions studied, the capacitance of SiO2@BSA increased linearly with increasing number of BSA layers corresponding to a 5.4 pF rise per single layer of BSA after the first two layer deposition of BSA. This result demonstrated that the minute changes of the electrical properties that were induced by the shell protein layer can be monitored and quantified using impedance spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Whether addition of cilostazol is superior to increasing dose of clopidogrel in patients with hyporesponsiveness to chronic clopidogrel therapy is unknown. Materials and Methods: We studied 73 patients with hyporesponsiveness to clopidogrel on standard dual antiplatelet therapy for more than 2 weeks. Clopidogrel hyporesponsiveness was defined as percent inhibition of P2Y12 reaction units (PRU) <30% on VerifyNow P2Y12 assay. Patients were randomly assigned to increased dose of clopidogrel (aspirin 100 mg+clopidogrel 150 mg daily: group A, n=38) or to receiving additional cilostazol (aspirin 100 mg+clopidogrel 75 mg+cilostazol 100 mg bid daily: group B, n=35). Results: Baseline percent inhibition of PRU and PRU was similar between 2 groups (13.0±10.2% versus 11.8±9.7%, p=0.61, and 286.3±54.7 versus 295.7±53.7, p=0.44, respectively). At follow-up, percent inhibition of PRU was higher and PRU was lower significantly in group B than in group A (38.5±17.9% versus 28.3±16.6%, p=0.02, and 207.3±68.2 versus 241.3±76.7, p=0.050, respectively). Among those still showing hyporesponsiveness to clopidogrel at follow-up (21 patients in group A, 10 patients in group B), 12 patients completed further crossover study. Compared to the baseline, magnitude of change in percent inhibition of PRU and PRU showed an improved tendency after the crossover (from 2.7±8.7% to 15.8±18.4%, p=0.08, and from -18.6±58.0 to -61.9±84.3, p=0.08). Conclusion: Adjunctive cilostazol improved clopidogrel responsiveness better than the higher maintenance dose of clopidogrel in hyporesponsive patients with chronic clopidogrel therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the production of polylactic acid (PLA) through a one-step fermentative process which is based on a metabolically engineered strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli). It notes that the polymerization of lactate monomers has resulted in the elimination of costly purification processes for the PLA fermentation. It mentions that polymer concentration must be balanced with PLA productivity.

The article discusses a study which examined the physiology of Escherichia coli overexpressing phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (pck). The E. coli pck were grown in glucose minimal medium to determine whether the intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels can be affected. It is observed that the pck-overexpressing cells showed approximately twice the intracellular ATP concentration.