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In recent years, Brandy Melville (Hereinafter referred to as BM), an Italian clothing brand, has gained popularity in mainland China because of the style of its slim tops and skirts, which echos the “freedom to dress” speech that has been popular in recent years. However, BM only produces one size and only girls who are thin enough can wear it. This makes other girls feel that their bodies are not recognized. Therefore, BM is also known as the “creator of body anxiety”. Nevertheless, wearing BM has become a hint to prove one’s “good figure”, and BM’s marketing strategy also cleverly utilizes consumers’ vanity to achieve the purpose of marketing itself. So even though there are a lot of critical comments, BM is still gaining popularity from the public. The purpose of this case study is to explore how Brandy Melville grasps consumers’ psychology and controls their emotions, and how it takes advantage of hot comments and critical comments to build its own image and drive consumers to buy. Through the case study of Brandy Melville and the interview with its audience and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), this paper aims to find out how social media is used to influence and guide the public’s psychology and emotions. Results show that social media can be used to build the brand image, lead the fashion trend, echo hot topics, and create public sentiment to grasp consumer’s psychology and create traffic.

This study investigated the association between body mass index (BMI) trajectories in late middle age and incident diabetes in later years. A total of 11,441 participants aged 50–60 years from the Health and Retirement Study with at least 2 self-reported BMI records were included. Individual BMI trajectories representing average BMI changes per year were generated using multilevel modeling. Adjusted risk ratios (ARRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. Associations between BMI trajectories and diabetes risk in participants with different genetic risks were estimated for 5,720 participants of European ancestry. BMI trajectories were significantly associated with diabetes risk in older age (slowly increasing vs. stable: ARR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.54; rapidly increasing vs. stable: ARR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.25, 1.79). This association was strongest for normal-initial-BMI participants (slowly increasing: ARR = 1.34, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.88; rapidly increasing: ARR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.37, 3.11). Participants with a higher genetic liability to diabetes and a rapidly increasing BMI trajectory had the highest risk for diabetes (ARR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.67, 2.76). These findings confirmed that BMI is the leading risk factor for diabetes and that although the normal BMI group has the lowest incidence rate for diabetes, people with normal BMI are most sensitive to changes in BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium crown rot (FCR) in wheat is a prevalent soil-borne disease worldwide and poses a significant threat to the production of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in China, with F. pseudograminearum being the dominant pathogen. Currently, there is a shortage of biocontrol resources to control FCR induced by F. pseudograminearum, along with biocontrol mechanisms. In this study, we have identified 37 strains of biocontrol bacteria displaying antagonistic effects against F. pseudograminearum from over 8000 single colonies isolated from soil samples with a high incidence of FCR. Among them, QY43 exhibited remarkable efficacy in controlling FCR. Further analysis identified the isolate QY43 as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, based on its colony morphology and molecular biology. In vitro, QY43 significantly inhibited the growth, conidial germination, and the pathogenicity of F. pseudograminearum. In addition, QY43 exhibited a broad spectrum of antagonistic activities against several plant pathogens. The genomics analysis revealed that there are genes encoding potential biocontrol factors in the genome of QY43. The experimental results confirmed that QY43 secretes biocontrol factor siderophores and pyocyanin. In summary, QY43 exhibits a broad spectrum of antagonistic activities and the capacity to produce diverse biocontrol factors, thereby showing substantial potential for biocontrol applications to plant disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]