Reputation has often been proposed as the central mechanism that creates trust in the sharing economy. However, some sharing platforms that focus primarily on social rather than economically driven exchanges have managed to facilitate exchanges between users without the use of a reputation system. This could indicate that socially driven exchanges are in less need of reputation systems and that having sufficient trust is less problematic. We examine the effect of seller reputation on sales and price as proxies for trust, using a large dataset from a Dutch meal-sharing platform. This platform aims to stimulate social interactions between people via meal sharing. Multilevel regression analyses were used to test the association of reputation with trust. Our main empirical results are that reputation affects both sales and price positively, consistent with the existing reputation literature. We also found evidence of the presence of an information effect, i.e., the influence of reputation on sharing decreases when additional profile information is provided (e.g., a profile photo, a product description). Our results thus confirm the effectiveness of reputation in more socially driven exchanges also. Consequently, platform owners are advised to use reputation on their platform to increase sharing between its users.
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AimsGenetic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is caused by mutations in sarcomere protein-encoding genes (i.e. genotype-positive HCM). In an increasing number of patients, HCM occurs in the absence of a mutation (i.e. genotype-negative HCM). Mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to be a key driver of pathological remodelling in HCM. Reports of mitochondrial respiratory function and specific disease-modifying treatment options in patients with HCM are scarce.Methods and resultsRespirometry was performed on septal myectomy tissue from patients with HCM (n = 59) to evaluate oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid oxidation. Mitochondrial dysfunction was most notably reflected by impaired NADH-linked respiration. In genotype-negative patients, but not genotype-positive patients, NADH-linked respiration was markedly depressed in patients with an indexed septal thickness ≥10 compared with <10. Mitochondrial dysfunction was not explained by reduced abundance or fragmentation of mitochondria, as evaluated by transmission electron microscopy. Rather, improper organization of mitochondria relative to myofibrils (expressed as a percentage of disorganized mitochondria) was strongly associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Pre-incubation with the cardiolipin-stabilizing drug elamipretide and raising mitochondrial NAD+ levels both boosted NADH-linked respiration.ConclusionMitochondrial dysfunction is explained by cardiomyocyte architecture disruption and is linked to septal hypertrophy in genotype-negative HCM. Despite severe myocardial remodelling mitochondria were responsive to treatments aimed at restoring respiratory function, eliciting the mitochondria as a drug target to prevent and ameliorate cardiac disease in HCM. Mitochondria-targeting therapy may particularly benefit genotype-negative patients with HCM, given the tight link between mitochondrial impairment and septal thickening in this subpopulation.
Inulin is a soluble dietary fibre, also classified as a prebiotic, extracted from chicory roots. The present study aimed to determine the effect of consumption of native chicory inulin on the stool frequency of middle-aged to older adults (40–75 years old) with uncomfortably but not clinically relevant low stool frequency, specified as two to four days without bowel movements per week. Two randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled crossover trials were conducted using similar protocols in differing populations. Trial A was conducted in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and subsequently Trial B was conducted in Newcastle, United Kingdom. Both trials involved supplementation for 5 weeks with 10 g per day of inulin or placebo, a washout period of 2 weeks, and then crossed over to receive the other treatment. In Trial B, faecal gut microbiota composition was assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In Trial A, which 10 volunteers completed, the stool frequency was significantly increased to an average 4.9 ± 0.23 (SEM) times per week during inulin periods versus 3.6 ± 0.25 in the periods with placebo (p = 0.01). In contrast, in Trial B which 20 volunteers completed, there was no significant effect of the inulin on stool frequency (7.5 ± 2.1 times per week with inulin, 8.1 ± 3.0 with placebo, p = 0.35). However, many subjects in Trial B had a stool frequency >5 per week also for the placebo period, in breach of the inclusion criteria. Combining the data of 16 low stool frequency subjects from Trials A and B showed a significant effect of inulin to increase stool frequency from 4.1 to 5.0 per week (p = 0.032). Regarding secondary outcomes, stool consistency was significantly softer with inulin treatment compared to placebo periods, it increased 0.29 on the Bristol stool scale (p = 0.008) when data from all subjects of Trials A and B were combined. No other differences in bowel habit parameters due to inulin consumption were significant. None of the differences in specific bacterial abundance, alpha or beta diversity were significant, however the trends were in directions consistent with published studies on other types of inulin. We conclude that 10 g per day of native chicory inulin can increase stool frequency in subjects with low stool frequency.
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