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Course codes in this document: BTM 410, BTM 406, BTM 408, ACT 217, MKT 304, (MKT 314/ETP), MKT 308

Background Spinal flexibility is an essential parameter for clinical decision making on the patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Various methods are proposed to assess spinal flexibility, but which assessment method is more effective to predict the effect of orthotic treatment is unclear. Objective To investigate an effective assessment method of spinal flexibility to predict the initial in-orthosis correction, among the supine, prone, sitting with lateral bending and prone with lateral bending positions. Methods Thirty-five patients with AIS (mean Cobb angle: 28° ± 7°; mean age: 12 ± 2 years; Risser sign: 0–2) were recruited. Before orthosis fitting, spinal flexibility was assessed by an ultrasound system in 4 positions (apart from standing) including supine, prone, sitting with lateral bending and prone with lateral bending. After orthosis fitting, the initial in-orthosis correction was routinely assessed by whole spine standing radiograph. Comparisons and correlation analyses were performed between the spinal flexibility in the 4 positions and the initial in-orthosis correction. Results The mean in-orthosis correction was 41% while the mean curve correction (spinal flexibility) in the 4 studied positions were 40% (supine), 42% (prone), 127% (prone with lateral bending) and 143% (sitting with lateral bending). The correlation coefficients between initial in-orthosis correction and curve correction (spinal flexibility) in the 4 studied positions were r = 0.66 (supine), r = 0.75 (prone), r = 0.03 (prone with lateral bending) and r = 0.04 (sitting with lateral bending). Conclusions The spinal flexibility in the prone position is the closest to and most correlated with the initial in-orthosis correction among the 4 studied positions. Thus, the prone position could be an effective method to predict the initial effect of orthotic treatment on the patients with AIS.

The Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) carried out absolute gravity measurements by an FG5 at gravity station Kyoto C in October 1995. Obtained gravity value was compared with recalculated values obtained earlier by another gravimeter, a GA60, and with existing values from the Japan Gravity Standardization Net 1975 (JGSN75) (Suzuki, 1974; GSI, 1976). The gravity values of the GA60 is found to be larger by about 20 microgals than that of the FG5. JGSN75 shows larger values by about 70 microgals than those derived from the FG5 combined with LaCoste & Romberg gravimeters in and around Kyoto. The new gravity values will be used to revise JGSN75.

Absolute gravity measurements were made at three sites in Australia as the first step of an on-going bilateral collaboration between Japan and Australia for the purpose of monitoring mean sea level change in the southwestern Pacific region. The measurements were taken with 3 Micro-g solutions FG5 absolute gravimeters: two of the instruments are owned by the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI), Japan, and the third is owned by the Exploration and Mining Division of CSIRO, Australia.

International audience; Climate change, the growth in world population, high levels of food waste and food loss, and the risk of new disease or pandemic outbreaks are examples of the many challenges that threaten future food sustainability and the security of the planet and urgently need to be addressed. The fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, has been gaining momentum since 2015, being a significant driver for sustainable development and a successful catalyst to tackle critical global challenges. This review paper summarizes the most relevant food Industry 4.0 technologies including, among others, digital technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, big data analytics, Internet of Things, and blockchain) and other technological advances (e.g., smart sensors, robotics, digital twins, and cyber-physical systems). Moreover, insights into the new food trends (such as 3D printed foods) that have emerged as a result of the Industry 4.0 technological revolution will also be discussed in Part II of this work. The Industry 4.0 technologies have significantly modified the food industry and led to substantial consequences for the environment, economics, and human health. Despite the importance of each of the technologies mentioned above, ground-breaking sustainable solutions could only emerge by combining many technologies simultaneously. The Food Industry 4.0 era has been characterized by new challenges, opportunities, and trends that have reshaped current strategies and prospects for food production and consumption patterns, paving the way for the move toward Industry 5.0.

In terms of the level of technological capability in the world today, the use of automated robotics is common in various fields. There are large projects going on in many industries that collaborate between robots and other robots, as well as humans and robots. In hospital environments, care for people with medical needs and their needs and used to make appropriate suggestions to their problems. Robots can also be found in certain areas that can respond quickly as an emergency rescue agent. Furthermore, robots, which can be seen in the hotel industry as waiters and as farm assistants in agriculture, have a great tendency to be used as multi-tasking agents in many fields. In each of these areas, robots must co-operate with humans. In that situation, the importance of the exchange of mutual knowledge between robots-robots and between humans-robots comes into the picture. What matters here is not only the quantitative vastness of knowledge but also the ability to understand each other in the same medium. Although the common sense that people need in their day-to-day work is completely obvious to humans, the commonsense knowledge domain needs to be implanted in robots. Whatever concept is defined for adding commonsense to robotics, it should be a consistent concept that can be logically constructed so that it can be understood by a machine. As will be discussed later in the paper, different methods have been used in various related works to add a different kind of domain knowledge to robotics. The objective of this paper is to provide an improved retrained model for robotics in order to give them the ability to act more human-like when performing tasks. By using the proposed model robots are able to answer the incomplete command or inquiries related to a given context. One of the objectives of this work is to use the ontology-based, commonsense-support existing knowledge base as a mechanism to retrain and build a new model Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T11:46:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-01-01. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2021-07-15T15:24:22Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 S2531-04882020000400435.pdf: 514718 bytes, checksum: 0744d94e3839a1d76213c71ec3b7c32b (MD5) Purpose - This study aims to identify the marginal impact of introducing a signal attribute of pastureraised beef on consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for other independent attributcz. Design/methodology/approach - The study is divided into two steps. The first, qualitative, consisted of investigating the values consumers have regarding beef production. To this end, 52 interviews with Brazilian and US consumers were conducted using laddering. In the second, quantitative, six experiments, (face to face and online) with 267 consumers of beef were performed. Findings - As a result, the main value found for the Brazilians was security, while for the Americans was self-direction. For consumers, the WTP for animal welfare was the most important in the choice experiments where this information was present. Originality/value - These findings offer an alternate beef differentiation, enabling it to be sold with higher added value by integrating these. Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Econ Management & Sociol, Escola Super Agr Luiz Queiroz, Piracicaba, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Prod Engn, Araraquara, SP, Brazil Escola Super Propaganda & Mkt, Master & Doctoral Program Management, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Prod Engn, Araraquara, SP, Brazil

Through two studies in two different nations, this research examines the nationality of non-celebrity spokespeople (i.e., a citizen ambassador) and answers the question, how does the nationality of a citizen ambassador influence attitudes toward a product being advertised? Merging meaning transfer and schema congruity theories, the results show that the use of citizen ambassadors of a different (same) nationality as the consumer leads to higher product attitudes, but only if the product is of the same (different) nationality as the consumer (Study 1). Consumers low in identity salience experience these effects the most, such that the citizen ambassador is more influential on perceptions of nationally representative foods, in comparison to consumers high in identity salience (Study 2). Moderate incongruity (as opposed to mild or high incongruity) appears to be a more potent explanation for the effects of citizen ambassadors on product attitudes toward nationally representative products, especially in online advertising.

International audience; The present research sets out to reach a better understanding of the determinantsof business angels’ active involvement in making business angel groups accomplishdiverse functions and building cognitive resources and shared competencies. We developa framework where angels’ decision making style and professional experience are key inexplaining their degree and type of involvement with diverse business angel groupactivities. To test the related propositions, we conduct a questionnaire survey with themembers of one of the largest French business angel groups. Our results show thatbusiness angels with a control-oriented decision-making style, as well as angels withprevious professional experiences as a CEO and in marketing and sales, tend to be moreactively involved in key angel group activities, both with regard to investment relatedactivities and angel group management activities. While discussing the results, wepropose a tentative model of angel group cognition and outcomes for future extensions ofthe present research.; La présente recherche vise à mieux comprendre l’implication active des businessangels au sein des groupes de business angels, ainsi que la construction cognitive desressources et le partage des compétences. Nous développons un cadre conceptuel où lestyle de prise de décision des business angels et leur expérience professionnelle sont desclés pour expliquer leur degré et leur type d’implication parmi les diverses activités dugroupe de business angels. Afin de tester les propositions, nous avons mené une enquêtesous forme d’un questionnaire auprès d’un des plus grands groupes de business angelsfrançais. Nos résultats montrent que les business angels ayant un style de prise de décision« orienté-contrôle » ainsi que ceux ayant une expérience professionnelle en tant quedirecteur et en marketing et ventes sont plus impliqués dans les activités du groupe debusiness angels tant au niveau des activités d’investissement que des activités demanagement du groupe de business angels lui-même. Au titre des futures recherches quipourraient prolonger ce travail, nous proposons un modèle de groupe de business angels,en termes de cognition et de performance.

International audience; This research explores how and whether staffing at trade shows by exhibitors is consistent with attendee preferencesfor staffing in this channel. Using secondary data from 9215 attendees and 885 exhibitors, we observethat relative to attendee preferences, exhibitors significantly understaff with technical personnel, while overstaffingwith executive/upper management and sales/marketing personnel. Additional comparisons betweenattendees who are decision-makers vs. influencers in the purchase process, between attendees from differentkinds of firms (B2B vs. B2C, large vs. small firms) and between attendees to trade shows that differ in geographicscope suggest that substantial inconsistencies persist between preferences of attendees and staffing by exhibitors.

International audience; Since its inception in 1984, an emphasis on cross-functionality and interdisciplinary research was encrypted into the DNA of the Journal of Product and Innovation Management (JPIM). This essay explores the extent to which the journal has served as a platform for exchange of ideas between different disciplines by examining knowledge outflow and inflow with other scientific journals and disciplines over a 20-year period (1994-2013). Based on an extensive bibliometric database, we gain insights about how JPIM has evolved. We show that the journal has become a gatekeeper, importing knowledge mostly from the marketing and management literatures, and exporting knowledge to the technology and innovations management and the operations management domains.

5th World Conference on Business, Economics and Management (BEM) -- MAY 12-14, 2016 -- Antalya, TURKEY, WOS: 000463801800026, Owning a residence is also considered as an investment tool, determining the price of a residence with the desired properties has become one of the most important questions to be answered in social life. In this study, price estimations of residences located in nine of the central districts of Ankara city (Turkey) were carried out via multi linear regression model and geographical distributions of these residences were revealed on GIS environment to perform various query, spatial analysis and documentation operations. In addition, thematic maps regarding residence prices in the study region were produced.

WOS: 000388049900020, Globally, many women continue to face economic and technological challenges. To complicate matters, more than half of the population has no access to the internet. These issues have drawn international attention leading to global efforts by U.S. tech giants to provide world-wide access to the internet. Do social technologies play into the equation of economic development and empowerment for women? This paper reports results from studies conducted in Taiwan and Turkey regarding the use of five different social technologies platforms. Facebook-the largest social network worldwide-also is the most widely used platform in Taiwan and Turkey according to this research. Differences appeared between the two countries among the usage of other social platforms studied including Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google+. Implications of this data-and data from other countries under study by the authors-will provide answers to women's empowerment and economic development in both developing and developed countries. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contains fulltext : 206572.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) We delineate a KMT2E-related neurodevelopmental disorder on the basis of 38 individuals in 36 families. This study includes 31 distinct heterozygous variants in KMT2E (28 ascertained from Matchmaker Exchange and three previously reported), and four individuals with chromosome 7q22.2-22.23 microdeletions encompassing KMT2E (one previously reported). Almost all variants occurred de novo, and most were truncating. Most affected individuals with protein-truncating variants presented with mild intellectual disability. One-quarter of individuals met criteria for autism. Additional common features include macrocephaly, hypotonia, functional gastrointestinal abnormalities, and a subtle facial gestalt. Epilepsy was present in about one-fifth of individuals with truncating variants and was responsive to treatment with anti-epileptic medications in almost all. More than 70% of the individuals were male, and expressivity was variable by sex; epilepsy was more common in females and autism more common in males. The four individuals with microdeletions encompassing KMT2E generally presented similarly to those with truncating variants, but the degree of developmental delay was greater. The group of four individuals with missense variants in KMT2E presented with the most severe developmental delays. Epilepsy was present in all individuals with missense variants, often manifesting as treatment-resistant infantile epileptic encephalopathy. Microcephaly was also common in this group. Haploinsufficiency versus gain-of-function or dominant-negative effects specific to these missense variants in KMT2E might explain this divergence in phenotype, but requires independent validation. Disruptive variants in KMT2E are an under-recognized cause of neurodevelopmental abnormalities.

WOS: 000449346800022, PubMed ID: 30409581, Preconcentrations of Cu(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) ions by using Coprinus silvaticus immobilized multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) were investigated. Effects of important parameters on preconcentration procedure were examined. The best pH values of for Cu(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) were found to be 6.0, 6.0 and 4.0, respectively. Flow rate of sample solution was 2.0 mL min(-1), while desorption was achieved at 1.0 mL min(-1) flow rate. Preconcentration factors were achieved as 60 for Cu(II), Ni(II) and 70 for Pb(II) (by dividing initial sample volume to final volume). LODs were calculated as 0.014, 0.016 and 0.093 ng mL(-1), respectively for Cu(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II). Accuracy of the method was checked by applying to certified reference samples. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP OES) was employed for measurements of Cu(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) in digested baby food samples.

International audience; Mirror, mirror, help me make choices! The influence of virtual try-on in a omnichannel contextThis research investigates the influence of virtual try-on in Augmented Reality (AR) on perceived decision-ma-king convenience in an omnichannel context. An on line experiment was performed using the AR application MySephora Artist; which enables to virtually try-on lipstick. On line, the virtual try-on has a positive influence ondecision-making convenience for less frequent on-line cosmetics buyers. In addition, greater perceived conve-nience leads to greater on line purchase intention for these consumers. Perceived decision-making convenienceis also investigated in webrooming and phygital contexts. Finally, managerial implications of these results arediscussed.; Cet article étudie l’influence de l’essayage virtuel en réalité augmentée (RA) sur l’efficience perçue du processusde choix dans un contexte omnicanal. Une expérimentation en ligne est réalisée en utilisant l’application de RAMy Sephora Artist, permettant d’essayer virtuellement des rouges à lèvres sur soi. En ligne, l’essayage virtuelrend le processus de choix plus efficient pour les consommatrices ayant une faible fréquence d’achat de maquil-lage sur Internet, menant à une intention d’achat plus élevée. L’efficience perçue est également étudiée dans lecadre d’une expérience de webrooming et d’une expérience phygitale. Finalement, les implications managérialesde ces résultats sont discutées.

International audience

WOS: 000451127700006, Behavioral finance is precisely non-rational behavior of market investors. Behavioral finance theory shows that investors make investment decisions rationally, by intermittent change from the past and that investment decisions can be taken under the influence of some psychological factors. This theory shows how human behaviors are effective in the functioning of investment decisions and that investment decisions can be made in non-rational behaviors. People are determined to invest under the influence of emotions and personal intuitions with models based on rational behavior and investment behaviors. Whether individuals are rational in the economic decision-making process is one of the key points of debate and it seems quite complex to be able to demonstrate this. This study will focus on individuals (investors), one of the economic decision makers. Socio-economic factors, as well as psychological factors, influence the risk that investors perceive in the decision-making process of individual investors. The purpose of this study is to identify stimuli that affect individual investors' drivers of financial investment decisions and to consider it in terms of behavioral finance. For this purpose, an individual investor questionnaire has been determined in the field which has previously been validated and reliable. This questionnaire was applied to 200 employees working in private and public banks operating in Aksaray and 177 people were provided feedback. In the case of Aksaray, it has been determined which stimulants are under the influence of predictions, estimates, emotions, personal intuitions, psychological and sociological behaviors of investment decision-making individuals. (C) AIMI Journals

WOS: 000425615200008, Bacillus vallismortis and Bacillus mojavensis were loaded onto Amberlite XAD-4 resin and used for solid phase extraction (SPE) of uranium(VI). A quick and simple UV-Vis spectrophotometric method was used to determine U(VI) ion. The best experimental conditions were determined as being a pH of 5.0; a sample flow rate of 2.0 mL min(-1); 200.0 mg of biosorbent; 800 mg of Amberlite XAD-4, and 5.0 mL of 1 mol L-1 HCl as desorption solution for both immobilized bacteria. The preconcentration factors were achieved as 80 for both solid phase extractor. The developed methods were validated by applying to reference water and tea samples., Scientific Research Projects Unitof Siirt University, Turkey [BAP-2016-SIUFED-10], This study was supported by Scientific Research Projects Unitof Siirt University (Project code: BAP-2016-SIUFED-10), Turkey.

WOS: 000437262900016, PubMed ID: 30381167, This study deals with the preconcentrations of Ni(II) and Co(II) ions in real samples using the solid phase extraction method (SPE) before their determinations by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus stearothermophilus SO-20 (Accession number: KJ095002), loaded with Amberlite XAD-4, was utilized as a novel biosorbent. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were employed for the investigation of the bacterial surface before and after Ni(II) and Co(II) biosorption. The experimental parameters were examined to find the best conditions. The retained Ni(II) and Co(II) ions on the biosorbent were eluted by using 5.0 ml of 1.0 mol l(-1) HCI as the best eluent. The sorption capacities were found to be 16.8 mg g(-1) for Ni(II) and 21.6 mg g(-1) for Co(II). It was also successfully used for the quantification of Ni(II) and Co(II) in a river water sample, some vegetables and soil.

WOS: 000444967800031, PubMed ID: 30236672, A new bio-MSPE sorbent based on the use of C. micaceus and gamma-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticle was prepared for the preconcentrations of Co(II) and Hg(II). Critical parameters including pH, flow rate, quantity of C. micaceus, quantity of gamma-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticle, eluent (type, concentration and volume), sample volume, and foreign ions were examined. Surface structure and variations after interaction with Co(II) and Hg(II) of bio-MSPE sorbent were investigated by FT-IR, SEM, and EDX. The impact of bio-MSPE column reusage was also tested. The biosorption capacities were determined as 24.7 mg g(-1) and 26.2 mg g(-1), respectively for Co(II) and Hg(II). Certified reference materials were utilized to find out the accuracy of the prepared bio-MSPE method. This novel bio-MSPE method was accomplished by being applied to real food and water samples. In particular, it will be possible to make use of C. micaceus as new alternatives, in environmental biotechnology applications., Mersin Technology Transfer Office Academic Writing Center of Mersin University, Turkey, This academic work was linguistically supported by the Mersin Technology Transfer Office Academic Writing Center of Mersin University, Turkey., C. micaceusMagnetic solid phase extractionPreconcentrationCo(II)Hg(II)

WOS: 000399510500023, PubMed ID: 28285087, Bioaccumulation, resistance and preconcentration of uranium(VI) by thermotolerant Bacillus vallismortis were investigated in details. The minimum inhibition concentration of (MIC) value of U(VI) was found as 85 mg/L and 15 mg/L in liquid and solid medium, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of various U(VI) concentrations on the growth of bacteria and bioaccumulation on B. vallismortis was examined in the liquid culture media. The growth was not significantly affected in the presence of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/L U(VI) up to 72 h. The highest bioaccumulation value at 1 mg/L U(VI) concentration was detected at the 72nd hour (10 mg/g metal/dry bacteria), while the maximum bioaccumulation value at 5 mg/L U(VI) concentration was determined at the 48th hour (50 mg metal/dry bacteria). In addition to these, various concentration of U(VI) on alpha-amylase production was studied. The alpha-amylase activities at 0, 1, 2.5 and 5 mg/L U(VI) were found as 3313.2, 3845.2, 3687.1 and 3060.8 U/mg, respectively at 48th. Besides, uranium (VI) ions were preconcentrated with immobilized B. vallismortis onto multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and were determined by UV-vis spectrophotometry. The surface macro structure and functionalities of B. vallismortis immobilized onto multiwalled carbon nanotube with and without U(VI) were examined by FT-IR and SEM. The optimum pH and flow rate for the biosorption of U(VI) were 4.0-5.0 and 1.0 mL/min, respectively. The quantitative elution occurred with 5.0 mL of 1 mol/L HCI. The loading capacity of immobilized B. vallismortis was determined as 23.6 mg/g. The certified reference sample was employed for the validation of developed solid phase extraction method. The new validated method was applied to the determination of U(VI) in water samples from Van Lake-Turkey. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International audience; Lytic transglycosylases (Lts) are involved in recycling, cell division, and metabolism of the peptidoglycan. They have been understudied for their usefulness as potential antibacterial targets due to their high redundancy in Gram-negative bacteria. Bulgecin A is an O-sulphonated glycopeptide that targets primarily soluble lytic tranglycosylases (Slt). It has been shown that bulgecin A increases the efficacy of β-lactams that target penicillin bindings proteins (PBPs). Here, we present the high-resolution crystal structure of LtgA from Neisseria meningitidis strain MC58, a membrane bound homolog of Escherichia coli Slt, in complex with bulgecin A. The LtgA-bulgecin A complex reveals the mechanism of inhibition by bulgecin A at near atomic resolution. We further demonstrate that bulgecin A is not only a potent inhibitor of LtgA, but most importantly, it restores the efficacy of β-lactam antibiotics in strains of N. meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae that have reduced susceptibility to β-lactams. This is particularly relevant for N. gonorrhoeae where no vaccines are available. This work illustrates how best to target dangerous pathogens using a multiple drug target approach, a new and alternative approach to fighting antibiotic resistance.

WOS: 000384777400055, PubMed ID: 27542497, A novel solid phase extraction method was developed for simultaneous preconcentration-separation of Co2+, Cr6+, Hg2+ and Pb2+ ions prior to their determinations in food samples by ICP-OES. Thermophilic Bacillus altitudinis immobilized nanodiamond was used as a new biosorbent. SEM and FT-IR analysis were studied to characterize the biosorbent. The optimum pH values of quantitative biosorption for Co2+, Cr6+, Hg2+ and Pb2+ were found to be 5.0, 6.0, 6.0 and 6.0, respectively. A flow rate of 3.0 mL min(-1) was selected as optimum for all metal ions. 5 mL of 1 mol/L HCl was used as eluent. Preconcentration factor was achieved as 80. LODs were calculated as 0.071, 0.023, 0.016 and 0.034 ng mL(-1), respectively for Hg2+, Co2+, Cr6+ and Pb2+. The biosorption capacities were calculated for Co2+, Cr6+, Hg2+ and Pb2+ as 26.4, 30.4, 19.5, and 35.2 mg/g, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to food samples to determine analyte concentrations. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

International audience; While companies contribute in different ways to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues they support, little is known about the effects of varying CSR contribution types on consumers’ evaluations of the contributing company. This paper examines consumer reactions to two basic contribution types – money versus in-kind – in the CSR domain of disaster relief to demonstrate, through five studies, that while consumers evaluate a company more favorably when it makes in-kind rather than monetary contributions of equivalent value to CSR issues that are perceived to be less controllable, the pattern reverses when the company’s contributions are made to CSR issues that are perceived to be more controllable. This interaction between contribution type and perceived issue controllability is more likely to manifest when controllability is accessible in the minds of consumers. The underlying process is driven by the extent to which the disparate emotionality of each contribution type matches the intensity of felt emotion evoked by CSR issues of varying perceived controllability, producing processing fluency.

International audience; Central consumers in a group often are influential, because their social prominence commands conformity from other members. Yet, there can be another contradictory effect of centrality, such that other members regard it as a threat to their attitudinal freedom and express reactance instead of conformity. Whether a group member conforms or reacts to the evaluation of a more central member might depend on the strength of their relationship, which determines the social cost of disagreeing. We provide evidence of such an interaction between centrality and relational strength with an experiment where participants with preexisting affective ties of varying strengths taste a snack in groups (Study 1) and a field study where participants connected by instrumental ties consume a complex service (Study 2). A scenario-based experiment manipulating centrality and strength of ties provides further evidence that reactance underlies the observed effects (Study 3).

WOS: 000329486800005, Solid-phase extraction method was developed for the preconcentration of thorium (Th). Fungal biomass Agaricus bisporus was immobilized to Amberlite XAD-4 as solid-phase sorbent. The critical parameters such as pH of the sample solution, flow rate of the sample, volume of the sample, and the effect of major ions that affect the preconcentration of thorium in this system were evaluated. The optimum pH for the sorption of Th is 6.0, and quantitative elution occurs with 1.0mol L-1HCl. The loading capacity was determined as 0.079mmol g(-1). The optimized method was validated through analysis of the certified reference material of tea leaves (NCS ZC73014) and successfully applied to the determination of Th in a real ore sample with satisfactory results.

WOS: 000392037500051, PubMed ID: 27856038, In this study, uranium(VI) tolerance and bioaccumulation were investigated by using thermo-tolerant Bacillus mojavensis. The level of U(VI) was measured by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) value of U(VI) was experimented. Bacterial growth was not affected in the presence of 1.0 and 2.5 mg/L U(VI) at 36 h and the growth was partially affected in the presence of 5 mg/L U(VI) at 24 h. What was obtained from this study is that there was diversity in the various periods of the growth phases of metal bioaccumulation capacity, which was shown by B. mojavensis. The maximum bioaccumulation capacities were found to be 12.8, 22.7, and 48.2 mg/g dried bacteria, at 24th hours at concentration of 1.0, 2.5 and 5 mg/L U(VI), respectively. In addition to these, U(VI) has been pre-concentrated on B. mojavensis immobilized MWCNT. Several factors such as pH, flow rate of solution, amount of biosorbent and support materials, eluent type, concentration and volume, the matrix interference effect on retention have been studied, and extraction conditions were optimized. Preconcentration factor was achieved as 60. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were calculated as 0.74 and 2.47 mu g/L. The biosorption capacity of immobilized B. mojavensis was calculated for U(VI) as 25.8 mg/g. The results demonstrated that the immobilized biosorbent column could be reused at least 30 cycles of biosorption and desorption with the higher than 95% recovery. FT-IR and SEM analysis were performed to understand the surface properties of B. mojavensis. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The bacterial phosphotransferase system (PTS) transports and phosphorylates sugars, but also carries out numerous regulatory functions. The β-proteobacterium Neisseria meningitidis possesses an incomplete PTS unable to transport carbon sources because it lacks a membrane component. Nevertheless, the residual phosphorylation cascade is functional and the meningococcal PTS was therefore expected to carry out regulatory roles. Interestingly, a ΔptsH mutant (lacks the PTS protein HPr) exhibited reduced virulence in mice and after intraperitoneal challenge it was rapidly cleared from the bloodstream of BALB/c mice. The rapid clearance correlates with lower capsular polysaccharide production by the ΔptsH mutant, which is probably also responsible for its increased adhesion to Hec-1-B epithelial cells. In addition, compared to the wild-type strain more apoptotic cells were detected when Hec-1-B cells were infected with the ΔptsH strain. Coimmunoprecipitation revealed an interaction of HPr and P-Ser-HPr with the LysR type transcription regulator CrgA, which among others controls its own expression. Moreover, ptsH deletion caused increased expression of a ΦcrgA-lacZ fusion. Finally, the presence of HPr or phospho-HPr's during electrophoretic mobility shift assays enhanced the affinity of CrgA for its target sites preceding crgA and pilE, but HPr did not promote CrgA binding to the sia and pilC1 promoter regions.