Identification of a LMNA (c.646C>T) variant by whole-exome sequencing in combination with a dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) related gene filter in a family with familiar DCM

Dilated cardiomyopathy（DCM）is characterized by the dilated heart chambers and reduced systolic function in the absence of specific aetiology[1].Approximately one third of DCM cases are hereditary.In recent years,DCM concomitant with arrhythmias and sudden death resulting from gene mutation has been widely

The Effect of Topic Familiarity and Linguistic Difficulty on EFL Listening Comprehension

As a highly integrative and demanding receptive skill,listening comprehension presents a challenge to both learners and researchers.The study reported in this paper is listening comprehension objective-factor research.Manipulating topic factors,the study investigated the effect of topic familiarity and linguistic difficulty on EFL(English as a foreign language)listening comprehension of learners at different proficiency levels.

Influence of Familiarity on Energy Intake and Plasma Gut Hormone Concentration in Lean and Overweight Young Male Students

Objective This study is to examine the influence of familiarity on energy intake, eating behavior, and concentration of the plasma gut hormones in lean and overweight young male subjects. Methods Twenty-eight lean and twenty-eight overweight participants were recruited. Their food consumption was documented and analyzed when they had a test meal while they were paired with friends or strangers at the same weight stature. Their eating behavior was recorded with cameras hidden in the carton, and postprandial plasma gut hormone concentration were measured. Results Compared with overweight strangers（OS）, overweight friends（OF） had increased food consumption, prolonged and decreased number of chews per 10 g food. Compared with OS, postprandial plasma concentration of cholecystokinin-8 was significantly lower in OF group at 30, 60, and 90 min, whereas the concentration of glucagon-like peptide 1 was significantly lower at 60 and 90 min. Plasma ghrelin concentration was significantly higher in the OF group than that in the OS group at 90 and 120 min. No significant differences in gut hormone concentration were observed between lean strangers（LS） and lean friends（LF） groups at all time points. Conclusion Familiarity plays an important role in increasing energy intake and in changing of postprandial gut hormone concentration in overweight individuals.

Eating with Familiar Friends Decreases the Electrical Taste Threshold

Communal eating reportedly induces changes in food-related behaviors such as increased consumption and alleviation of indefinite complaints. Here, we examined the influence of intimacy with co-eaters on the palatability of the food and the physiological taste thresholds. The study was a single-blind crossover trial with 16 healthy women aged 18 - 19 years (two close friends × 8) as participants. We examined the effect of four preset conditions with regard to taste (condition 1 = tasting alone;condition 2 = tasting with a friend;condition 3 = tasting with three unfamiliar individuals;condition 4 = tasting with a friend and two unfamiliar individuals). Electrical taste thresholds were measured pre-and post-eating. The subjective evaluation of taste did not show any significant difference between the four conditions (p > 0.05). However, the electrical taste threshold significantly decreased when eating with close friends (p < 0.05). As a factor associated with the meal environment, co-eating with family or friends appears to influence tastiness;however, in the present study, it showed no effect on the perception of taste. Nevertheless, eating with friends significantly decreased the electrical taste threshold and enhanced the perception of taste. Decrease in the electrical taste threshold was observed only when eating with a close friend;it was not observed when eating with other people and showed no association with the total number of individuals co-eating.

Antecedents of Social Network Trust in SNS Usage: The Moderating Role of Offline Familiarity

With the rapid development of social networks, there is a focus on marketing strategies and business models that are based on social media. In the academic world, scholars believe that online trust is a key factor contributing to online purchasing behavior. This article explored several factors in social media trust and verified the moderating role of offline familiarity by using relevant research on online trust in conjunction with a structure equation model. The results show that independent variables such as reputation, SNS interaction, information quality, reciprocity, satisfaction and shared values have a positive influence on trust, whereas perceived similarity does not, and information quality is the most important factor. In addition, offline familiarity significantly moderates the relations between information quality, reciprocity, reputation, shared values and social media trust. This information is important to assist companies in developing an effective social network marketing strategy.

Effects of L-Dopa and Dopamine D2 Agonists on Recollection and Familiarity in Idiopathic Nondementing Parkinson’s Disease

Idiopathic nondementing Parkinson’s disease (PD) is marked by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area. Recent brain imaging work implicates these structures in dopamine modulated networks subserving episodic memory. These findings are of relevance to PD because they suggest that dopamine depletion contributes to the disease-dependent decline in episodic memory, and therefore, this decline should, at least partially, be remediated by dopaminergic medication. Recognition memory (RM), recollection and familiarity during recognition was examined in 17 PD patients, 12 of whom were medicated with a D2 dopamine agonist (pramipexole or ropinirole) and l-dopa, with a further 5 PD control patients on l-dopa but no D2 agonist. Memory was tested “ON” and, following a period of medication withdrawal, “OFF” and compared to a group of 14 matched healthy volunteers (HV). The HVs were also tested twice in the absence of medication. The patients on the agonists PD showed significant impairments in recollection ON- and OFF-medication, whereas the l-dopa control patients exhibited a decline in OFF-recollection only. RM and familiarity were spared in both groups ON- and OFF-medication. These findings suggest that D2 dopamine agonists (combined with l-dopa) contribute to disease-dependent episodic memory impairment.

Pattern-Prototype Effects of Processing Familiar Metonymy in Sentential Context

This study conducted an eye-tracking experiment on processing different patterns of Chinese familiar metonymy in sentential contexts.It analyzes five eye-tracking measures concerning the processing of metonymy.The results indicate that different patterns of metonymy experience different processing processes under a sentential-context condition,and results in prototype effects.The main finding is that Spatial Part&Whole metonymy is more prototypical than other three patterns of metonymy,i.e.,Container and Contained,Location and Located,Entity and Adjacent Entity,and that the effect of metonymy pattern on the processing is stable and observable.It concludes that contextual information facilitates the processing of non-prototypical metonymy,but restrain the processing of prototypical metonymy.

Investigating the Impact of Familiarity and Product Conditions on The Ease of Use of a Product

Ease of use is one of the main criteria that customers consider when making a purchase decision.To provide a pleasant experience to the customers,offering products or services consisting of advanced features and functions is no longer enough,due to the existing competition in the global market.In reality,the ease of use of any product is influenced by the conditions of the product and the familiarity of the user.This study examines the influence of the familiarity and the product conditions on the ease of use of a product.This only explains how the conditions of the product and the familiarity of the user,influence on the ease of use of a product when the usage hours of a product increases.A case study would be conducted to validate the results.The results of this study indicate that in the case where both the product conditions and the familiarity has been varied,the ease of use of the product has been increased from 0.229 to 0.380 gradually within the 10 weeks period.Through these results valuable guidance could be obtained by the manufacturers to identify how the ease of use level of a product deviates from the standard level when the usage hours of the product would increase.

Lost in Translation Shopping online on Taobao can be tricky if not familiar with Chinese

There are a lot of online shopping platforms all over the globe, but one popular site that caught my attention since coming to China from Ghana is Taobao. Being China＇s largest online shopping platform, Taobao is known for being very user- friendly, especially if you can read Chinese characters.

CLINICAL AND GENETIC ANALYSIS OF THREE FAMILIES WITH FAMILIAR AMYLOID POLYNEUROPATHY

Objective To study the clinical and genetic features of familiar amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP). Methods Three families of suspected FAP in China mainland and Macao were investigated on aspects of clinical manifestations, histological features, and gene analysis. Results All the 3 families had the clinical features of sensory and motor polyneuropathies, and notable vegetative nerve involvements. Affected cases of one family had ultrasound proved cardiomyopathy. Histological studies showed amyloid deposition in all the biopsy tissues of the affected cases of the 3 families, and anti-transthyretin antisera staining was positive in 3 cases of one family. Gene analysis confirmed that mutation types were amyloidogenic transthyretin (ATTR) Val30Met, Phe33Val, and Gly67Glu in the 3 families respectively. The ATTR Gly67Glu family had a shorter survival time due to the heart involvement compared with the other 2 families. Conclusion FAP is an autosomal dominant inherited disease, with its clinical manifestations related to the type of genetic mutation.

价值对老年人联结再认双加工过程的影响

价值对青年人项目再认的促进作用是基于回想而非熟悉性过程。鉴于老年人的回想受损而熟悉性保留,价值对老年人联结再认的影响是基于熟悉性还是回想过程有待探究。本研究采用高生态效度的材料,结合修正后的记得/知道范式探究了价值对老年人联结再认提取过程的影响。结果显示老年人在记得反应上对高价值材料的再认成绩要高于低价值和无价值材料,而在知道反应上对高价值材料的再认成绩要低于低价值和无价值材料。这表明价值对老年人联结再认的促进作用是基于回想过程而非熟悉性过程。

Research on the Tourists'Sense of Wel-Being and Its Spillover Effect

The high-quality development of tourism aims to improve tourists'sense of well-being and fulfillment.The improvement of tourists'sense of well-being will not only enable tourists to obtain positive emotional experiences but is also an important way to improve their quality of life.However,the existing research has not yet reached a clear conclusion on how tourists'sense of well-being is formed,whether tourists'sense of well-being will spill over(i.e.,knowledge sharing)after tourists obtain it,and whether the destination familiarity brought by the spillover of sense of well-being(i.e.,knowledge sharing)will affect other tourists.Therefore,based on the experience marketing theory and the embodiment theory,this paper empirically examines the formation and spillover effect of tourists'sense of well-being through structural equation modeling(SEM).The research shows that:(a)Subject presence has a positive effect on tourists'sense of well-being,which further promotes knowledge sharing and realizes the spillover of tourists'sense of well-being,and tourists'sense of well-being plays a mediating role between subject presence and knowledge sharing;(b)Destination familiarity resulting from the spillover of sense of wellbeing(i.e.,knowledge sharing)plays a negative moderating role in the positive impact of subject presence on tourists'sense of well-being.This paper not only expands the boundaries of research on tourists'sense of well-being and embodiment theory to some extent but also provides theoretical support and countermeasures for the high-quality development of China's tourism and even service industry.

Can house sparrows recognize familiar or kin-related individuals by scent?

In the last decades, higher attention has been paid to olfactory perception in birds. As a consequence, a handful of avian species have been discovered to use olfaction in different contexts. Nevertheless, we still have a very limited knowledge about the use of odor cues in avian social life, particularly, in the case of songbirds. Here, we investigate if female house sparrows Passer domesticus show any preference for the odor of kin and nonkin conspecifics and we also test a possible role of familiarity based on male see nt in female choice. We performed the experiment with captive birds twice, duri ng the non breeding and breedi ng seas ons. Our results show that female house sparrows strongly avoided the odor of unrelated familiar (UF) males, both in the breeding and nonbreeding seasons. Our results suggest recognition for olfactory stimuli related to familiarity and kin ship. We suggest that avoidance for UF males is associated with previous experie nee in this species. Also, we provided further evidenee to the use of olfaction in passerine species by using a new experimental setup.

体色和社会熟悉度对慈鲷选择集群的影响

为了探究体色和社会熟悉度对慈鲷(Cichlidae)选择集群的影响,以体色呈蓝色的蓝阿里(Sciaenochromis fryeri)为研究对象,体色呈白色的雪鲷(Hindongo socolofi)和体色呈黄色的淡黑镊丽鱼(Labidochromis caeruleus)作为刺激鱼群,通过控制鱼群社会熟悉,测试实验鱼是否与优先偏好的颜色表型发生联系,并观察实验鱼是否更喜欢与偏好的颜色表型但并不熟悉的刺激鱼群联系。结果显示,当刺激鱼群的社会熟悉度没有差异时,个体和群体都更倾向于与偏好的颜色表型鱼群联系;而当刺激鱼群社会熟悉度不同时,个体蓝阿里表现出与社会熟悉度更高的群体联系在一起,但群体实验鱼表现出与偏好的颜色表型联系。研究表明,体色对蓝阿里选择集群的影响要比社会熟悉度更大,并且体色可能是慈鲷重要的集群线索,这为研究鱼群内体色的生态影响(如捕食者-猎物之间的相互作用)奠定了基础。

认知抑制、知识经验对创造性思维的影响

认知抑制、知识经验和创造性思维之间的关系,是创造性认知领域的研究热点之一。通过损耗认知资源的方式操纵被试的认知抑制水平,通过项目熟悉度和任务知识情境丰富性评估被试的知识经验水平,以探讨认知抑制与知识经验在创造性思维中的作用机制。研究结果表明:认知抑制在创造性思维的流畅性、灵活性和独特性上主效应均不显著;项目熟悉度在流畅性和灵活性上主效应不显著,在独特性上主效应显著;任务知识情境丰富性在流畅性、灵活性和独特性上主效应均不显著。认知抑制与项目熟悉度在灵活性上交互作用显著;认知抑制与任务知识情境丰富性在灵活性和独特性上交互作用显著;项目熟悉度与任务知识情境丰富性在流畅性和独特性上交互作用显著。研究结论:认知抑制与创造性思维之间的关系总体上符合适应性抑制观点的预测;知识经验与创造性思维之间的关系符合张力观的预测;知识经验对创造性思维的影响受到认知抑制和任务知识情境丰富性的调节。

Familiar Foreignness

After spending enough time as an expat in China, even feelings of foreignness become familiar. We tend to forget that a subway ride in New York, a little window-shopping

Literary Destination Familiarity and Inbound Tourism:Evidence from China's Mainland

Destination familiarity is an important non-economic determinant of tourists’destination choice that has not been adequately studied.This study posits a literary dimension to the concept of destination familiarity—that is,the extent to which tourists have gained familiarity with a given destination through literature—and seeks to investigate the impact of this form of familiarity on inbound tourism to China's Mainland.Employing the English fiction dataset of the Google Books corpus,the New York Times annotated corpus,and the Time magazine corpus,we construct two types of destination familiarity based on literary texts:affectionbased destination familiarity and knowledge-based destination familiarity.The results from dynamic panel estimation(1994–2004)demonstrate that the higher the degree of affection-based destination familiarity with a province in the previous year,the larger the number of inbound tourists the following year.Examining the influence of literature and its consumption on tourism activities sheds light on the dynamics of sustainable tourism development in emerging markets.