Search Results (2,632)

This study examines how social media platform environments influence adolescent consumer replication behavior specifically within sports content, athletic apparel, and active lifestyles through psychological engagement mechanisms, including parasocial interaction, self-congruence, and perceived source credibility. Drawing on media ecology theory and platform affordance perspectives, the study compares users of YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. To better capture the complex structural mechanics across platforms, the investigation is guided by empirical research questions rather than simple linear hypotheses. Data were collected from 402 high school students in South Korea who had experience with influencer-based social media content. Respondents were categorized based on their primary platform of engagement. The dataset was analyzed using independent-samples t-tests and Welch’s ANOVA with Games–Howell post-hoc tests to examine differences across gender and platform groups. The results indicate significant gender differences in psychological engagement and behavioral outcomes, with female adolescents showing higher levels of parasocial interaction, self-congruence, and consumer replication behavior than male adolescents. Platform-based comparisons further reveal significant differences across user groups. TikTok users reported higher levels of parasocial interaction, self-congruence, source credibility, and consumer replication behavior compared to Instagram users, while differences between TikTok and YouTube users were observed primarily in consumer replication behavior. Although TikTok users demonstrated the highest mean values across several constructs, the relatively small sample size of this group should be considered when interpreting the robustness of platform-level differences. Overall, the findings suggest that platform affordances shape adolescent psychological engagement and subsequent consumer imitation behaviors beyond mere exposure intensity. This study contributes to social media and behavioral science literature by highlighting how platform-specific environments structure psychological engagement and influence consumer replication processes among adolescent users. Full article

Carbon inclusivity (CI) mechanisms face weak low-carbon adoption despite strong consumer intention in China. Prior studies explain low-carbon behavior mainly from individual psychological perspectives yet rarely investigate the intention–behavior gap in the digital–physical scenarios of CI mechanisms. Furthermore, single theoretical lenses such as the Motivation–Opportunity–Ability (MOA) framework or Social Practice Theory (SPT) have clear limitations in interpreting this gap. This study integrates the MOA framework with SPT to construct a novel “Motivation–Intention–Context–Practice–Behavior” (MICPB) model, framing behavioral change as a dynamic interplay of internal motivation, external opportunities, and evolving social practices. Different from studies adopting MOA or SPT in isolation, the MICPB model bridges individual psychological processes and routine social practices to unpack the intention–behavior gap. Adopting grounded theory to analyze 42 interviews from China’s CI pilot regions, we identify three core dimensions of the gap: limited internal competencies and emotional conflicts, fragmented external incentives and platform defects, and misalignment between low-carbon values and daily routines. The MICPB model reveals that the gap stems from misalignment across motivation, context and practice, and enriches MOA theory by incorporating practice-based dynamics. This integrated framework deepens understandings of barriers to consumer low-carbon participation under CI schemes. This study suggests coordinated policy and corporate efforts to restructure social practices, bridge the intention–behavior gap, and align digital governance with low-carbon transitions. Full article

Accurately predicting the carcinogenicity of compounds is of great significance for drug discovery, clinical drug safety, and chemical risk assessment. Traditional methods for assessing carcinogenicity rely on animal testing, which suffers from limitations such as time-consuming processes, high costs, significant interspecies differences, and low predictive throughput. In recent years, computational modeling-based prediction methods (such as Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationships, QSAR) have made some progress, but they still face challenges such as insufficient molecular feature information and poor model interpretability. To overcome these barriers, the multimodal deep learning framework LMF-CP (Late Multimodal Fusion of Carcinogenicity Prediction) is proposed to enhance the performance and interpretability of compound carcinogenicity prediction. First, to comprehensively characterize the structural and physicochemical properties of compounds, a multimodal representation system based on four molecular modalities is constructed, namely SMILES sequences, molecular fingerprints, molecular images, and molecular graph structures. Specifically, Text Convolutional Neural Network (TextCNN), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), Visual Geometry Group Network (VGGNet), as well as Molecular Graph Attention Network (MGAT) are employed to process this information, respectively. Second, to integrate information from different molecular representations, a late-stage fusion strategy based on Lasso stacking is employed. On the test set, LMF-CP achieves an area under curve (AUC) of 0.828, an accuracy (ACC) of 0.782, an F1 score of 0.786, a sensitivity (SEN) of 0.786, and a specificity (SPE) of 0.779. In addition, this paper combines Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) analysis with Bemis–Murcko scaffold analysis to interpret the model results from two perspectives. Finally, a visual online platform for predicting the carcinogenicity of compounds is designed, providing a convenient tool for the rapid assessment of compound carcinogenicity and structural interpretation. Full article

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage produced by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) containing a complex matrix of organic acids, polyphenols, electrolytes, and live microorganisms. Tea is the world’s most widely consumed beverage after water, and fermentation transforms its sensory properties in ways that have contributed to kombucha’s growing global popularity alongside its perceived health benefits; yet, despite widespread consumption and long-standing traditional use, controlled human data are relatively recent and sparse. This review integrates clinical, mechanistic, sensory, cultural, and public health perspectives to evaluate kombucha as a functional fermented beverage. A randomised, placebo-controlled crossover trial demonstrated that consumption of live kombucha with a high-glycaemic-index meal significantly reduced postprandial glycaemia and insulinaemia, lowering the glycaemic index from 86 to 68 (approximately 20% reduction). A pilot randomised controlled study in adults with type 2 diabetes reported reductions in fasting blood glucose following four weeks of regular kombucha consumption. Most recently, a 10-week RCT in adults with excess body weight demonstrated significant within-group reductions in total cholesterol, LDL-c, VLDL-c, triglycerides, Castelli II index, and uric acid, as well as reduced hydrogen peroxide levels and improved gastrointestinal symptoms, following daily green tea kombucha consumption combined with an energy-restricted diet. Mechanistically, these effects likely arise from synergistic interactions between organic acids, polyphenols, vitamins, minerals, and microbial communities influencing gastric emptying, carbohydrate and lipid digestion, gut microbiota composition, antioxidant defence, and hydration physiology. While promising, current evidence requires confirmation in larger, longer-term trials before definitive clinical recommendations can be made. Full article

This study examines consumer acceptance of genetically modified foods (GMFs) by integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), brand equity dimensions, and sociodemographic factors within a configurational framework. Drawing on a sample of 405 Spanish consumers, the research combines correlational analysis with fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify the causal paths leading to both purchase intention and purchase non-intention. The findings show that the traditional TPB constructs and brand equity dimensions are positively associated with purchase intention, whereas belonging to older generations is negatively associated with it. However, the configurational analysis reveals a more nuanced picture. Purchase intention is explained by four configurations, grouped into two main profiles: one based on favorable subjective norms among younger consumers, and another centered on the joint presence of brand trust and brand familiarity. In contrast, purchase non-intention is explained by seven configurations, mainly characterized by the absence of favorable TPB conditions and weak brand equity, especially lack of trust and familiarity. The results confirm the causal asymmetry between acceptance and rejection of GMFs, as the configurations leading to purchase intention are not the mirror image of those leading to purchase non-intention. These findings challenge the assumption that GMF acceptance and rejection are symmetrical phenomena, and demonstrate that brand trust and familiarity complement attitudinal factors and constitute relevant conditions in several configurations associated with purchase intention. From a managerial and policy perspective, the findings suggest that promoting GMFs’ acceptance requires not only improving attitudes and perceived social approval, but also fostering trustworthy and familiar brand environments that may contribute to reducing uncertainty, alongside credible scientific information and effective institutional oversight. Full article

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) leads to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), the most common preventable cause of neurodevelopmental impairment. The classical narrative attributes the clinical picture of FASD exclusively to direct ethanol-induced brain injury. In the present review, we argue that this perspective is incomplete and leads to diagnostic errors, most often to the misdiagnosis of ADHD in children who in fact have FASD. We propose that, alongside the direct neurotoxicity of ethanol, an important and clinically under-recognized complementary mechanism is gut–brain axis dysfunction: alcohol damages the enteric nervous system and enteric glial cells, induces dysbiosis with deep deficits of butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), damages the enterochromaffin cells responsible for 90% of peripheral serotonin production, and—through translocation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and activation of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)—sustains a neuroinflammatory brain signature. This cascade—superimposed on direct ethanol neurotoxicity—may account for the high rates of depression, anxiety, self-injurious behavior, and suicide attempts observed in individuals with FASD and for the limited efficacy of traditional interventions focused solely on the central nervous system. The 2024 Polish Institute of Mother and Child (Okulicz-Kozaryn et al.) study showed that 50.3% of pregnant women consumed alcohol, and 11% did so regularly, against only 7% who admitted so in questionnaires. The real clinical picture of children with FASD is further complicated by three factors to which we devote separate sections in this paper: prenatal co-exposure to nicotine, cannabinoids, and opioids; the loss of vertical microbiota transmission and breastfeeding in children transferred to foster care (where the prevalence of FASD is 18.8% and in children’s homes in some regions reaches up to 80%); and the substantial over-representation of preterm and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants (in the Hasken et al. cohort, 18.4% of children with FASD were born preterm and 51.4% were born SGA). In the final section, we present a structured, staged protocol for nutritional and microbiological intervention grounded in a hierarchy of evidence: from interventions supported by randomized controlled trials (RCT-level; choline) through interventions supported by strong mechanistic rationale and RCTs in related populations (sodium butyrate, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, GOS/FOS prebiotics—galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides, and omega-3 fatty acids) to experimental interventions. The protocol also covers the window before 2 years of age: we argue that, given the over-representation of preterm and SGA infants among children with FASD, the analogy to preterm infants on parenteral nutrition and to post-institutional infants applies in substantial part to the same patients, which justifies extending the indications for choline and other nutritional interventions. The paper includes a compact table of dosing proposals for each age window (from pregnancy to school-age child) and provides clinicians with concrete answers: where to start, what to avoid, and what to monitor, with explicit signposting of regulatory limitations for individual substances in Poland and the European Union. Full article

AI-generated reviews have become a core tool for hotel booking platforms in assisting user decision-making, yet existing research has not systematically explored the emotional tendencies of GAI reviews or the potential mechanisms by which temporal disclosure influences user decisions. This study integrates the Information Adoption Model (IAM) and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), incorporates the affordance perspective of GAI, employs a 2 × 2 experimental design (temporal disclosure × review valence), analyzes sample data from 649 travelers, and conducts empirical analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results demonstrate that temporal disclosure significantly enhances cognitive involvement; the effect of review valence on cognitive involvement is moderated by GAI affordance—high GAI affordance mitigates the inhibitory impact of positive reviews on cognitive involvement; empathy toward GAI information does not directly reduce psychological distance to hotels but operates indirectly through full mediation via psychological distance to GAI; psychological distance to GAI also indirectly influences booking intent via full mediation through psychological distance to the hotel. This study elucidates the mechanisms linking the emotional characteristics of AI-generated reviews with the impact of temporal disclosure on traveler decision-making, supplements theoretical frameworks for consumer decision-making in AI contexts, expands the IAM for AI applications, and provides empirical evidence and practical recommendations for optimizing GAI review presentation strategies on booking platforms. Full article

Although customer experience consistency contributes to omnichannel business success, few studies have investigated the influence of omnichannel customer experience consistency from the perspective of the customer journey. Based on analysis of data from two samples comprising product-based (N = 592) and service-based (N = 579) omnichannel customers, this study found that pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase customer experience consistency had significant and positive effects on the development of an omnichannel shopping habit, which, in turn, promoted face-to-face word of mouth (WOM) and electronic WOM. In addition, in the product-based omnichannel, pre-purchase customer experience consistency had a greater impact on the development of an omnichannel shopping habit than did purchase and post-purchase customer experience consistency. However, in the service-based omnichannel, no significant differences were observed between the effects of pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase customer experience consistency on the development of an omnichannel shopping habit. This study presents new insights into omnichannel consumer experience consistency and provides suggestions for managing omnichannel customer experience effectively. Full article

As green consumption becomes mainstream, deceptive marketing in the food industry poses a significant threat to the sustainability of food systems. This study aimed to investigate how consumers’ psychological decision-making mechanisms and food choices are influenced by corporate greenwashing. This study utilized a quantitative cross-sectional design, integrating environmental cognition, greenwashing perception, and brand trust into an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. Survey data collected from 445 respondents in Taiwan, using a fictional plant-based food (oat milk) brand as a scenario stimulus, were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings reveal that environmental knowledge and awareness significantly enhance greenwashing perception, which significantly diminishes brand trust, thereby diminishing positive sustainable food choices. Notably, environmental awareness positively moderated the relationship between greenwashing perception and brand trust. Furthermore, the interaction between perceived behavioral control and attitude toward food choices was not significant, demonstrating that emotional rejection substantially outweighs rational evaluation when faced with food-related deception. This study re-examines the rational assumptions of the traditional TPB, revealing that moral defense mechanisms play a central role in consumer food choices. From a practical perspective, the findings urge food enterprises to shift from symbolic green marketing to high transparency, which is essential for restoring brand trust and avoiding consumer boycotts. Full article

Consumer food waste is a major challenge for food system sustainability and a governance problem that cannot be addressed by individual behavioral change alone. Previous reviews have examined the causes of food waste or evaluated specific intervention strategies, but less attention has been paid to how behavioral drivers, intervention strategies, and the roles of governance actors can be examined within an integrated analytical framework. Against this background, this review aims to synthesize the behavioral drivers of consumer food waste, classify the main types of behavioral interventions, and develop a multi-level governance perspective that connects these elements. Using a narrative review approach supported by a structured literature search, the review identifies three broad categories of behavioral drivers, namely cognitive biases, motivational drivers, and environmental and situational influences. It then classifies behavioral interventions into five types, namely information-based interventions, social norm interventions, choice architecture and environmental design interventions, incentive-based interventions, and education and capacity-building interventions. The review indicates that no single intervention type is likely to be effective across all settings. Instead, intervention outcomes are closely linked to the alignment among targeted behavioral drivers, intervention strategies, consumption contexts, and governance support. From a multi-level governance perspective, this review views consumers as the actors engaged in everyday food-related practices, businesses as the designers of the consumption environments and operational routines, and policymakers as the providers of institutional, informational, and economic support. By bringing behavioral drivers, intervention strategies, and governance roles into a shared analytical framework, this review moves beyond fragmented, individual-centered approaches to reducing consumer food waste. The framework suggests that food waste reduction efforts may be more effectively implemented and maintained when consumer practices, business environments, and policy conditions are mutually supportive. Full article

How does consumer engagement shape a firm’s technology adoption strategy? Based on the knowledge-based perspective, this paper explores the impact mechanism of consumer engagement on corporate technology for good using survey data from medium–high R&D intensity manufacturing firms within China’s industrial clusters. The research sample covers five industries with medium-to-high R&D intensity, categorized according to the OECD classification. The findings suggest that consumer engagement positively affects knowledge co-creation and corporate technology for good, and knowledge co-creation plays a mediating role in the relationship between consumer engagement and corporate technology for good. Further analysis reveals that knowledge absorption ability positively moderates the relationship between consumer engagement and knowledge co-creation, and the mediating effect of knowledge co-creation on the relationship between consumer engagement and corporate technology for good is positively moderated by knowledge absorption ability. The study expands the research on the driving factors of corporate technology for good from the stakeholder theory perspective, providing insights for firms to facilitate consumer value co-creation. Full article

There is a rapidly rising demand for cosmeceutical solutions for skin lightening/brightening due to the growing need for dermatologic applications and consumers’ preference to enhance the brightness of skin. Traditionally, the main ingredients for developing dermatological products were the potentially harmful and controversial hydroquinone compounds; however, in recent years, the research field experienced a transition towards safer antioxidant-based agents. The present review analyzes the application and use of antioxidants in modern cosmetics as an innovative approach, and the chemical and biological mechanisms of their functions that could revolutionize the industrial applications. The most effective ones include competitive inhibition of tyrosinase enzyme, pheomelanin switch through the help of glutathione, protection from reactive oxygen species (ROS) in order to inhibit ultraviolet (UV)-stimulated production of melanin, as well as prevention of the migration of melanosomes using niacinamide. The review identifies and analyzes several components used as ingredients, such as vitamins C, Niacinamide, vitamin E, licorice root, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), or resveratrol, among many more. In spite of their high efficiency, there are numerous problems associated with the instability, dermal irritation, and absorption of pure antioxidants. Finally, the legal framework developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Union (EU), potential risks like pro-oxidation damage, and future perspectives such as personalized skincare via machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are discussed. Full article

Under globalization, architectural forms, spatial logic, and consumption experiences have become increasingly homogeneous, making placelessness particularly evident in large-scale commercial complexes. Establishing meaningful connections between globalized commercial spaces and local culture, urban memory, and everyday life has consequently become an important issue in research on architectural cultural sustainability. Guided by critical regionalism, this study takes placelessness as its point of departure and cultural sustainability as its evaluative perspective. It develops a two-level analytical framework comprising architectural analysis and user perception evaluation and applies this framework to the Chengdu New Century Global Center. Architectural analysis examines the building’s objective characteristics in terms of spatial image, functional organization, environmental setting, and cultural expression. User perception data were collected through a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews, followed by descriptive statistics and comparative analysis across four corresponding dimensions: spatial, functional, environmental, and cultural perception. The results indicate that the building’s megascale form, contemporary architectural appearance, and multifunctional organization contribute to higher levels of spatial and functional perception. Environmental perception is also relatively positive, although deficiencies remain in resting facilities, route organization, and detailed spatial experience. By contrast, cultural perception is substantially lower than the other dimensions. The marine theme, exoticized settings, and entertainment-oriented imagery are more closely associated with a globalized consumer landscape than with the spatial translation of Chengdu’s local culture, urban memory, and everyday life. Consequently, the building’s thematic identity has not been effectively translated into users’ recognition of place-specific characteristics, suggesting that the production of commercial complex space continues to prioritize consumption efficiency over cultural expression. By operationalizing the critical regionalist concept of sense of place as an empirically assessable analytical tool, this study extends its applicability to large-scale commercial complexes and provides a diagnostic framework and practical strategies for enhancing their cultural sustainability. Full article

Textile waste is no longer dominated by simple single-polymer materials. Most post-consumer textiles contain combinations of natural and synthetic fibres, elastane, dyes, coatings, finishes, and other additives, which makes selective recycling considerably more difficult. Deep eutectic solvents (DES) offer a promising route for addressing this complexity because their composition and physicochemical properties can be widely tuned. However, the outcome of DES treatment is often discussed mainly in terms of solvent composition or solvent–polymer affinity, although these factors alone cannot explain why similar DES formulations may lead to different responses in different polymeric or textile systems. In this review, DES-assisted textile recycling is examined from a mechanistic polymer-science perspective. The discussion focuses on how polymer morphology, transport accessibility, supramolecular organization, chemical reactivity, and processing conditions jointly determine whether a material undergoes swelling, molecular dissolution, structural destabilization, or chemical degradation. Particular attention is paid to the distinction between these processes, since changes in sample mass, fibre appearance, or crystallinity do not by themselves prove either true polymer dissolution or chain scission. Evidence from cellulose-based fibres, polyesters, polyamides, polyurethanes, elastane-containing materials, and multicomponent textile systems is used to show how different material outcomes may arise from apparently related DES–polymer interactions. The reviewed studies indicate that selectivity in DES-assisted textile recycling should not be treated as a fixed property of the solvent or of the polymer alone. It is more appropriately understood as the result of a coupled and time-dependent interaction between the DES medium, polymer morphology, textile architecture, and processing conditions. The mechanistic framework proposed here provides a basis for comparing reported DES-based recycling strategies, identifying the experimental evidence needed to support mechanistic claims, and guiding the rational selection of DES composition, process conditions, and recovery pathways for complex textile waste. Full article

This study examines the structural drivers of carbon emission changes across 30 Chinese sectors from 2002 to 2023, employing a nested input–output structural decomposition analysis model grounded in both producer and consumer principles. We further construct a carbon inequality-adjusted network decoupling index to eliminate the systematic carbon transfer bias inherent to the conventional Tapio decoupling indicator. The core empirical findings are as follows: declining carbon intensity has served as the primary driver of emission reductions over the past two decades; however, its effect has been persistently offset by economic expansion. Upstream sectors, such as electricity generation, transfer substantial emissions downstream through sectoral chains, leading to a systematic overestimation of their decoupling performance, whereas the emission reductions in downstream manufacturing sectors are underestimated owing to embodied carbon imports. Inter-industry carbon inequality underwent a structural transformation following the launch of supply-side structural reforms in 2015, which substantially narrowed the arbitrage space for cross-sector carbon shifting. Cluster analysis further reveals that most industries continue to face considerable emission growth pressure. This study offers novel analytical perspectives and empirical evidence for designing carbon allowance allocation and differentiated emission reduction pathways that reconcile economic growth with environmental sustainability. This study offers a new analytical perspective and empirical evidence. It focuses on differentiated emission pathways and allowance allocations. The goal is to balance growth and sustainability. The findings also highlight a key point. Carbon markets must correct for sectoral chain carbon transfers. This study focuses on carbon emissions from 30 broadly defined sectors covering agriculture, mining, manufacturing, energy production and supply, construction, transportation, and commercial services. The accounting scope does not include direct fuel combustion emissions from residential consumption. Full article