Switching Tendency Research Articles

DNA damage response signatures are associated with frontline chemotherapy response and routes of tumor evolution in extensive stage small cell lung cancer.

A hallmark of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is its recalcitrance to therapy. While most SCLCs respond to frontline therapy, resistance inevitably develops. Identifying phenotypes potentiating chemoresistance and immune evasion is a crucial unmet need. Previous reports have linked upregulation of the DNA damage response (DDR) machinery to chemoresistance and immune evasion across cancers. However, it is unknown if SCLCs exhibit distinct DDR phenotypes. To study SCLC DDR phenotypes, we developed a new DDR gene analysis method and applied it to SCLC clinical samples, in vitro , and in vivo model systems. We then investigated how DDR regulation is associated with SCLC biology, chemotherapy response, and tumor evolution following therapy. Using multi-omic profiling, we demonstrate that SCLC tumors cluster into three DDR phenotypes with unique molecular features. Hallmarks of these DDR clusters include differential expression of DNA repair genes, increased replication stress, and heightened G2/M cell cycle arrest. SCLCs with elevated DDR phenotypes exhibit increased neuroendocrine features and decreased "inflamed" biomarkers, both within and across SCLC subtypes. Treatment naive DDR status identified SCLC patients with different responses to frontline chemotherapy. Tumors with initial DDR Intermediate and DDR High phenotypes demonstrated greater tendency for subtype switching and emergence of heterogeneous phenotypes following treatment. We establish that SCLC can be classified into one of three distinct, clinically relevant DDR clusters. Our data demonstrates that DDR status plays a key role in shaping SCLC phenotypes, chemotherapy response, and patterns of tumor evolution. Future work targeting DDR specific phenotypes will be instrumental in improving patient outcomes.

Multiple novel caliciviruses identified from stoats (Mustela erminea) in the United Kingdom.

The Caliciviridae family, comprising positive-sense RNA viruses, is characterised by its non-enveloped, small virions, broad host range, and notable tendency for host switching. These viruses are primarily associated with gastroenteric disease, though they can lead to haemorrhagic or respiratory infections. Our study employed a metagenomics analysis of faecal samples from stoats (Mustela erminea), identifying two novel calicivirus species, named stoat vesivirus and stoat valovirus. Stoat vesivirus was identified in three samples (ST008, ST006, ST004), exhibiting a genome wide nucleotide identity of approximately 92 %. The complete coding sequences of these samples were 8471 (ST004) and 8322 (ST006) nucleotides in length, respectively. Each comprised three open reading frames (ORF), closely resembling the Vesivirus mink calicivirus (China/2/2016), with 70-72 % similarity in ORF1, 61-62 % in ORF2 and 71 % in ORF3. Phylogenetic analysis robustly supported stoat vesivirus as belonging within the Vesivirus genus. The second calivicirus (stoat valovirus), detected solely in sample ST008, was 6527 nucleotides in length and with complete coding sequences present. It shared highest similarity with St-Valérien swine virus and marmot norovirus HT16, showing 39.5 and 38.8 % protein identity with ORF1 and 43.3 and 42.9 % for VP1. Stoat valovirus is borderline for meeting the ICTV criteria for a new genus, demonstrating 60 % divergence in ORF1 compared to the other valovirus', however it clusters basally within the Valovirus genus, supporting leaving it included in this genus.

Image analysis considering textual correlations enables accurate user switching tendency prediction

Image analysis considering textual correlations enables accurate user switching tendency prediction

Language proficiency predictors of code-switching behavior in dual-language-learning children.

Code-switching, switching between different languages within the same conversation, is a prominent feature in bilingual communication. This study aimed to elucidate to what extent the linguistic abilities and age of dual-language-learning preschoolers influence the frequency and purposes of code-switching (compensatory, to bridge linguistic gaps; preferential, to express content as fluently as possible; pragmatic, to phrase something appropriately for the situation). Parental code-switching ratings of 101 German/French-Turkish/Italian dual-language learners aged 32-78 months were analyzed. Generalized linear mixed models revealed positive but no negative effects of societal- and heritage-language skills on children's code-switching frequencies independent of switching purposes and with no evidence of age effects. Hence, code-switching across the preschool age mainly reflects high linguistic competences. Models with linguistically and psychometrically parallelized language scores indicated a strong switching tendency toward the societal language when proficiency in both languages is high and away from the societal language when language proficiencies are low.

How feature context alters attentional template switching.

In real-world tasks visual attention is rarely aimed at a single object. Humans rather "forage" the visual scene for information, dynamically switching attentional templates. Several visual search studies have found that observers often use suboptimal attentional control strategies, possibly to avoid effort. Here, we investigated with a foraging paradigm if observers' reluctance to switch between attentional templates increases with template specificity. To that end, we manipulated the feature context of displays in which participants "foraged" moving stimuli on a tablet-PC. Experiment 1 (N = 35) revealed a decline in switching tendency and foraging efficiency with increasing feature-space distance between target alternatives. Experiment 2 (N = 36) found even lower flexibility with distractor color close to target colors and strongest impairments with distractor color in between target colors. Our results demonstrate that visual information sampling is most flexible when broad (instead of very specific) templates and relational search strategies are possible (e.g., attending to "redder" objects), with implications for both attention research and applications, especially in visual-foraging-like tasks, such as baggage screening or medical image assessment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Predicting Fracture Propensity in Amorphous Alumina from Its Static Structure Using Machine Learning.

Thin films of amorphous alumina (a-Al2O3) have recently been found to deform permanently up to 100% elongation without fracture at room temperature. If the underlying ductile deformation mechanism can be understood at the nanoscale and exploited in bulk samples, it could help to facilitate the design of damage-tolerant glassy materials, the holy grail within glass science. Here, based on atomistic simulations and classification-based machine learning, we reveal that the propensity of a-Al2O3 to exhibit nanoscale ductility is encoded in its static (nonstrained) structure. By considering the fracture response of a series of a-Al2O3 systems quenched under varying pressure, we demonstrate that the degree of nanoductility is correlated with the number of bond switching events, specifically the fraction of 5- and 6-fold coordinated Al atoms, which are able to decrease their coordination numbers under stress. In turn, we find that the tendency for bond switching can be predicted based on a nonintuitive structural descriptor calculated based on the static structure, namely, the recently developed "softness" metric as determined from machine learning. Importantly, the softness metric is here trained from the spontaneous dynamics of the system (i.e., under zero strain) but, interestingly, is able to readily predict the fracture behavior of the glass (i.e., under strain). That is, lower softness facilitates Al bond switching and the local accumulation of high-softness regions leads to rapid crack propagation. These results are helpful for designing glass formulations with improved resistance to fracture.

THE APPLICABILITY OF FINITE HOMOGENEOUS MARKOV PROCESSES IN THE STUDY OF CONSUMER LOYALTY

Markov Processes are sequential events that are related to each other stochastically. Such events, also known as states, may be such that the probability of an event occurring depends only on the previous event and not on any event prior to that. This is known as the memoryless property of Markov Processes. Certain dynamic market conditions especially with respect to the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Sector, the Telecommunications Sector may enable the use of finite and time-homogeneous Markov Processes to study the brand switching tendency of the consumer, and thus predict consumer loyalty. In this conceptual paper, we shall study how to predict brand switching tendencies using finite, time-homogeneous Markov Processes. KEYWORDS: Markov Process, Brand Switching, Time-Homogeneous, Consumer Loyalty, Transition Matrix

Code-switching Patterns of Educated and Non-educated Efik-English Bilinguals: A Descriptive Study

This article explores the patterns of intra-sentential code-switching in actual conversational interactions of educated and non-educated Efik-English bilinguals. A non-educated bilingual has limited English language proficiency while the educated bilingual is fluent in English; hence the tendency for switching among the latter category is higher. The study recognizes some social, cultural and situational factors that come to play as code-switching manifests as a communicative strategy amongst these bilinguals. Data for the study were sourced from interviews, metalinguistic conversations and recordings of naturally occurring interactions of educated and non-educated bilinguals. The study is based theoretically on Muysken’s (2000) typology of language mixing which involves the insertion of materials from one language into the structure from the other language and the alternation between structures of the two languages.The article concludes that the non-educated bilingual supplements code-switching as an innovative discourse mechanism while the educated bilingual uses the device as a complementary function which increases the impact of his or her language use and provides continuity for social negotiations in discourse. English serves as the matrix language for the educated bilinguals, and it is the embedded language for the non-educated bilinguals while Efik is the matrix language of the non-educated bilingual, and the embedded language of the educated bilingual. Among these bilinguals, code-switching enhances communication flow and provides a more favorable response to bilingualism.

The role of floral oils in the evolution of apid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

AbstractMost bees collect pollen and nectar for their larvae, while some also collect other resources. We investigated the evolution of floral oil-collecting behaviour in the Apidae and the evolutionary effects of floral oils on host brood cells for cuckoo bees. Focusing on apid bee phylogeny, we reconstructed the evolution of floral oil collection by females, use of floral oils in cell construction and the inclusion of oils in provisioning immatures. Ancestral character reconstruction demonstrates that floral oil-collecting behaviour arose four times independently. We also found that in cuckoo bees, parasitization of oil-collecting bees arose three times (including one secondary return) in Apidae. Except for Ctenoplectrina, oil cuckoo bees are all closely related to each other, forming an independent clade within the Nomadinae. Analysis of evolutionary transition rates indicates that there is a greater tendency for switching from an oil-collecting host to a non-oil-collecting host than the reverse. In apid bees, evolutionary transition rates are higher for switching to cuckoo behaviour from an ancestral lineage in which females collect floral oils than from other pollen-collecting lineages. We conclude that adaptation to oil collection is advantageous for pollen-collecting bees, and that the origin of oil cuckoo bees from non-oil cuckoo bees is constrained.

Pre-empting Switch on Deal Retraction

Consumer sales promotions (deals) are important promotional tools used by marketers to achieve immediate sales. However, sales promotion campaigns will not be profitable if customers do not make repeat purchases but switch to other brands once the deal is retracted. Typically, incremental sales during sales promotion campaign is obtained from the deal prone consumers with high brand switching tendency, as they are more likely to switch to a brand offering deal to reach his/her optimum stimulation level (OSL). In this case the deal is an external factor that induces the switching behavior. So, if the promoted brand retracts the deal offer, will such consumers switch to a different brand to attain their OSL because of their intrinsic characteristic? If yes, will they repeat purchase the brand if it offers them a deal? It is a matter of interest for marketers to know whether external factors (deals) or intrinsic factors (brand switching tendency) are primarily used by consumers to attain their OSL. This study attempts to answer these questions.

Overview on Epigenetic Re-programming: A Potential Therapeutic Intervention in Triple Negative Breast Cancers

Breast cancer treatments leads to variable responses. Hormonal therapy is beneficial to receptor positive breast cancer subtypes and display better clinical outcome than triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) with FEC (5-Fluorouracil, Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide) the mainstay chemotherapy regiment. Owning to their negative expressions of estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and HER2 receptors, disease recurrence and metastasis befalls some patients indicating resistance to FEC. Involvement of epigenetic silencing through DNA methylation, histone methylation, acetylation and sumoylation may be the key player in FEC chemoresistance. Epigenetic and molecular profiling successfully classified breast cancer subtypes, indicating potential driver mechanisms to the progression of TNBCs but functional mechanisms behind chemoresistance of these molecular markers are not well defined. Several epigenetic inhibitors and drugs have been used in the management of cancers but these attempts are mainly beneficial in hematopoietic cancers and not specifically favourable in solid tumours. Hypothetically, upon administration of epigenetic drugs, recovery of tumour suppressor genes is expected. However, high tendency of switching on global metastatic genes is predicted. Polycomb repressive complex (PRC) such as EZH2, SETD1A, DNMT, is known to have repressive effects in gene regulation and shown to inhibit cell proliferation and invasion in breast cancers. Individual epigenetic regulators may be an option to improve chemo-drug delivery in cancers. This review discussed on molecular signatures of various breast cancer subtypes and on-going attempts in understanding underlying molecular mechanisms of epigenetic regulators as well as providing insights on possible ways to utilize epigenetic enzymes/inhibitors with responses to chemotherapeutic drugs to re-program cellular and biological outcome in TNBCs.

To stay or switch: breaking the habit of status quo through imagery perspective

PurposeWhen consumers imagine themselves in various consumption scenarios, they can do so from the actor or the observer perspective. These different vantage points are known as imagery perspectives. This paper aims to investigate how imagery perspectives can influence consumers’ decisions to stay with the status quo (default option) or to switch to an alternative.Design/methodology/approachA series of four experimental design studies were conducted in both lab and online settings to study consumers’ switching tendency and choice. The empirical testing involved products, brands and services, including cameras (Study 1), vacation hotels (Study 2), toilet paper (Study 3) and food (Study 4).FindingsThe authors demonstrate that compared with actor imagery that tends to perpetuate the default product and brand choice, observer imagery increases consumers’ tendency to change and switch to new products and brands.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the methods used in empirical testing, the research results may lack generalizability.Practical implicationsMarketers spend a considerable amount of resources in an attempt to get consumers to switch products and brands. The results of this paper shed light on how marketers can promote switching behaviors through imagery perspective.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the streams of research in mental imagery, de-biasing and status quos, which have progressed in isolation from one another to date. This research is one of the first to investigate imagery perspective in the context of choice architecture.

Color Versus Form: Which Matters More in Children's Preferences of Package Design?

ABSTRACTThis research investigates the effects of age and gender on children's color-form preference of package design. With two datasets from China and the U.S., we also explore cultural differences. Two separate 2 (color) x 2 (form) experimental surveys were conducted among 837 and 761 children of age 3–12 from China and the U.S., respectively. The results reveal that Chinese and U.S. children share the same tendency of switching from color to form with the increase in age. Nevertheless, gender effect and age-gender interaction are found in the Chinese sample only. More Chinese boys than girls show preference by color. The difference in the color-form package preference between Chinese younger girls and older girls is significantly greater than that of boys.

Surgery of posterior cranial fossa tumors in children in the prone position. The surgical technique features

Therefore, beginning at 2013, we started to selectively use the prone position in cases of hemispheric piloid astrocytomas of the cerebellum. This initial experience allowed us to assess the surgical features of the procedure and use the experience in more complex interventions. Since the middle of 2016, given the tendency of using key-hole approaches, we have increasingly used the prone position in surgery of PCF tumors, sometimes removing tumors even through the burr hole. Since the end of 2016, we have routinely used the prone position for various tumors of the 4th ventricle. Between November 2016 and September 2017, the first author performed 113 surgeries for PCF tumors in children; of these, only 4 operations were performed in the sitting position. Thus, in less than a year, the prone position has become the main one in surgery for all PCF tumors in our practice. In this article, we would like to share our practical suggestions both about using the prone position and about its advantages and disadvantages that should be considered by a doctor who does not have experience of PCF surgery with the patient in prone position.

Immunoglobulin G; structure and functional implications of different subclass modifications in initiation and resolution of allergy.

IgE and not IgG is usually associated with allergy. IgE lodged on mast cells in skin or gut and basophils in the blood allows for the prolonged duration of allergy through the persistent expression of high affinity IgE receptors. However, many allergic reactions are not dependent on IgE and are generated in the absence of allergen specific and even total IgE. Instead, IgG plasma cells are involved in induction of, and for much of the pathogenesis of, allergic diseases. The pattern of IgG producing plasma cells in atopic children and the tendency for direct or further class switching to IgE are the principle factors responsible for long‐lasting sensitization of mast cells in allergic children. Indirect class switching from IgG producing plasma cells has been shown to be the predominant pathway for production of IgE while a Th2 microenvironment, genetic predisposition, and the concentration and nature of allergens together act on IgG plasma cells in the atopic tendency to undergo further immunoglobulin gene recombination. The seminal involvement of IgG in allergy is further indicated by the principal role of IgG4 in the natural resolution of allergy and as the favourable immunological response to immunotherapy. This paper will look at allergy through the role of different antibodies than IgE and give current knowledge of the nature and role of IgG antibodies in the start, maintenance and resolution of allergy.

Stochastic risk-constraint pricing strategy of electricity retailers based on Dempster-Shafer evidence theory

This paper investigates a bi-level stochastic energy acquisition strategy for electricity retailers with self-generation facilities to supply clients' demand from various resources of energy. The main propose of the presented work is modeling clients' switching behavior based on uncertainties of rival retailers' strategy and wholesale prices. The upper sub-problem models wholesale price fluctuations and determines retailer's participation levels in the forward and wholesale markets as well as scheduling of self-generation facilities based on the minimum supply cost. In the lower sub-problem, the Dempster-Shafer evidence theory (DSET) is applied to determine the retail selling price based on rivals' strategies and clients' switching tendency. DSET defines two belief and plausibility functions to evaluate the possibility of accepting selling prices by clients. According to the retailer's defined belief level and the minimum expected cost, the selling price is calculated in the lower sub-problems. Finally, a case study is used to show the performance of proposed method.

Long-acting family planning method switching among revisit clients of public health facilities in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

Background“Contraceptive switching” from one method to another is a common phenomenon. Switching from a more effective long-acting method to a less effective method exposes women for unplanned pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess the level and factors associated with long-acting family planning method switching to other methods.MethodA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2013 on 634 women attending public health facilities in Dire Dawa City Administration, Ethiopia. Participants of the study were revisit clients of family planning service and were interviewed as they appear in the clinics. Data were analyzed using crude and adjusted logistic regression, and results were reported using OR and corresponding 95 % CI.ResultsLong-acting family planning method switching among revisit clients was 40.4 %; switching from implant was 29.8 % and from IUCD, it was 10.6 %. The main reasons for methods switching were side effects of the methods such as bleeding, weight loss, and feeling of arm numbness. The tendency of switching was less among married women (AOR = 2.41, 95 % CI: 1.01, 5.74), women who had 2–4 and 5 and more children (AOR 3.00, 95 % CI: 1.59, 5.67) and (AOR 2.07, 95 % CI: 1.17, 3.66), respectively. It was also less among women who want to stop birth (AOR 5.11, 95 % CI: 1.15, 24.8), among those who mentioned health care providers as source of information for family planning (AOR 1.88, 95 % CI: 1.18, 3.01), and among women whose husbands were aware of their use of the methods (AOR 3.05, 95 % CI: 1.88, 4.94).ConclusionsMethod switching from long-acting contraceptives to less effective methods is high. Method switching was significant among unmarried women, who had one child, plan to postpone fertility, and whose husbands were not aware of their wive’s use of the method. In the provision of family planning service, the health care providers should give adequate information about each method and risks of method switching. Appropriate family planning Information Education and Communication (IEC) and Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) strategies should be emphasized.

The Influence of Relationship Characters on Switching Cost: The Moderating Role of Customer Characters

With the competitive environment intense, the leader of the market gradually becomes buyers market. For the enterprise, to maintain and retain existing customers, which is to reduce the customer switch to the competition as low as possible, is particularly important. Therefore, how to effectively seize the minds of consumers and understand their behavior trends is the crux for enterprise to win. This study developed a model of the influence of relationship characteristics on switching costs, and we set customer characteristics as a regulated variable which was always set to a leading factor in the previous study. We used smart-phone users as our research object, through the method of questionnaire and established an equation model to analyze data. The results showed that: (1) in general, the relationship characteristics between consumers and businesses (including the length of time and the kind of purchase) respectively played a positive role on the switching costs (including procedural switching costs, relational switching costs and lost benefits costs), (2) the moderating effects of customer characteristics (including involvement and switching tendency) in the relationship between relationship characteristics and switching costs (including the procedural switching costs, relational switching costs and lost benefits costs) are respectively significant. This article verifies the regulated effect of customer characteristics and enriches the antecedent influencing factors of switching costs. So it is of great significance for enterprises to better manage switching costs and effectively retain customers.

Friendship-based partner switching promotes cooperation in heterogeneous populations

The forming of human social ties tends to be with similar individuals. This study concentrates on the emergence of cooperation among heterogeneous populations. A simple model is proposed by considering the impact of interplay between the evolution of strategies and that of social partnerships on cooperation dynamics. Whenever two individuals acquire the rewards by playing prisoner’s dilemma game with each other, the friendship (friendship is quantified as the weight of a link) between the two individuals deepens. Individuals can switch off the social ties with the partners who are unfriendly and rewire to similar new ones. Under this partner switching mechanism, population structure is divided into several groups and cooperation can prevail. It is observed that the frequent tendency of partner switching can lead to the enhancement of cooperative behavior under the enormous temptation to defect. Moreover, the influence of discounting the relationship between different individuals is also investigated. Meanwhile, the cooperation prevails when the adjustment of friendships mainly depends on the incomes of selected individuals rather than that of their partners. Finally, it is found that too similar population fail to maximize the cooperation and there exists a moderate similarity that can optimize cooperation.

Reducing Energy Consumption by Optimizing Thermal Losses and Measures of Energy Recovery in Preschools

The article deals with the problem of energy saving by optimizing heat loss and measures for energy recovery in the existing preschools. The paper presents a theoretical basis, simulation and computations - calculations of heating energy needs for established models, by using appropriate software packages. The program and development of models for improving energy qualities of the envelope, with the tendency of switching to renewable energy sources, are defined. The methods used in this paper include the method of modelling based on the digital simulation of the representative facility, as well as local visits and interviews with relevant researchers, policy makers and preschool educators. The survey is conducted through a case study on the territory of the City of Nis.