How does platform's fintech level affect its word of mouth from the perspective of user psychology?

Introduction: The rapid development of fintech has brought opportunities for business operations and economic development. Currently, few researches have focused on how fintech level affects word-of-mouth (WOM) from the perspective of user psychology. Therefore, studying the effect of fintech level on WOM is a worthwhile scientific question. Methods: Based on motivation theory and reinforcement theory, this paper proposes a new psychology-based theoretical framework model to study the relationship between fintech level and WOM and constructs a structural equation model including fintech level, user experience, user trust, user stickiness and WOM through the analysis of 732 questionnaires. Results: The results indicate that the improvement of fintech level can enhance WOM. More specifically, fintech level has a significantly positive influence on user stickiness through two mediation variables (user experience and user trust), and further, user stickiness has a significantly positive influence on WOM. Discussion: This paper analyzes the internal mechanism of fintech level's influence on WOM from the micro psychological perspective, which enriches the psychology theoretical research. And, the conclusions provide specific suggestions for marketing and promotion of financial platforms in the future.

Study on the Friction and Wear Properties of PEEK against Cortical Bone Tissue Under Different Lubricating Conditions.

The tribological behavior between orthopedic implants and cortical bone is important but usually neglected. Poly(ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK) is a promising material for orthopedic applications. To further understand and improve the interfacial tribological properties between PEEK implant and host bone tissue, a PEEK-cortical bone tribo-pair is designed and fabricated. The frictional and wear performance of such tribo-pair is investigated under different lubricants, i.e., simulated body fluid (SBF), calf serum (CS), hyaluronic acid (HA), and mucin (MUC). The results suggest that MUC solution can be utilized as an artificial natural synovial fluid to improve the tribological properties of PEEK-based implants.

In Vitro Fermentation of Beechwood Lignin-Carbohydrate Complexes Provides Evidence for Utilization by Gut Bacteria.

Lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCCs) are emerging as a new and natural product with pharmacological and nutraceutical potential. It is uncertain, however, whether LCCs have a positive effect on the microbiota of the gut based on the current evidence. Here, the LCC extracted from beechwood (BW-LCC) was used as a substrate for in vitro fermentation. The lignin in BW-LCC consisted of guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) units, which are mainly linked by ß-O-4 bonds. After 24 h of in vitro fermentation, the pH had evidently declined. The concentrations of acetic acid and propionic acid, the two main short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), were significantly higher than in the control group (CK). In addition, BW-LCC altered the microbial diversity and composition of gut microbes, including a reduction in the relative abundance of Firmicutes and an increase in the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The relative abundance of Escherichia coli-Shigella and Bacteroides were the most variable at the genus level. The genes of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) also changed significantly with the fermentation and were related to the changes in microbes. Notably, the auxiliary actives (AAs), especially AA1, AA2, and AA3_2, play important roles in lignin degradation and were significantly enriched and concentrated in Proteobacteria. From this study, we are able to provide new perspectives on how gut microbes utilize LCC.

Preparation of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-(acrylic acid)-encapsulated proteinaceous microbubbles for delivery of doxorubicin.

Inspired by theranostic technologies, we electrostatically loaded proteinaceous microbubbles (MBs) with a model drug, doxorubicin (Dox) to couple their utilizations in diagnostic imaging with drug loading. A temperature-sensitive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-block-acrylic acid) (poly(NIPAM-b-AAc)) was used to encapsulate the Dox-loaded MBs to prevent premature release and to control the Dox release thermally. An LCST of 39°C, slightly higher than normal body temperatures, enables the release of Dox through a conformational change of the polymer shell upon moderate heating. The successive loadings of Dox and poly(NIPAM-b-AAc) were confirmed by fluorescent confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) imaging, zeta potential measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). Without a polymer shell, Dox-loaded MBs showed a poor in vitro retention of Dox at room temperature, releasing ∼75% within 8h, whereas the polymer-shelled, Dox-loaded MBs did not show any premature release of Dox. From 37°C to 39°C, the cumulative release of Dox from the polymer-encapsulated MBs was increased from ∼20 to ∼90% over a period of 18h based on in vitro release testing (IVRT). However, the release profiles of Dox from the shell-free, Dox-loaded MBs did not exhibit any similar temperature-controlled behavior, releasing ∼90% of Dox within 5h at both 37°C and 39°C.

Catalytic pyrolysis of microalgae and their three major components: carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.

To better understand the pyrolysis of microalgae, the different roles of three major components (carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) were investigated on a pyroprobe. Cellulose, egg whites, and canola oil were employed as the model compounds of the three components, respectively. Non-catalytic pyrolysis was used to identify and quantify some major products and several reaction pathways were proposed for the pyrolysis of each model compound. Catalytic pyrolysis was then carried out with HZSM-5 for the production of aromatic hydrocarbons at different temperatures and catalyst to feed ratios. The aromatic yields of all feedstocks were significantly improved when the catalyst to biomass ratio increased from 1:1 to 5:1. Egg whites had the lowest aromatic yield among the model compounds under all reaction conditions, which suggests that proteins can hardly be converted to aromatics with HZSM-5. Lipids, although only accounted for 12.33% of Chlorella, contributed about 40% of aromatic production from algal biomass.