Social desirability in virtual communities

As virtual worlds and social media in general become important settings for marketing actions, we need to know what is the weight of social norms within such contexts. To what degree can a researcher expect that the answers obtained within a virtual world \u2013 ultimately a social network \u2013 reflect real opinions and are not inflated by social desirability? Does the social context of an online community induce higher social desirability? This paper investigates whether social desirability is stronger within virtual world online communities than in the real world, observing same structural relationship among measured constructs but higher social desirability tendency in the virtual world compared to the real life. Since social networks and online communities will be more often used as research and communication platforms, increased attention needs to be paid to the social desirability tendency of the community members

Generalized Sturmian Functions in prolate spheroidal coordinates

With the aim of describing bound and continuum states for diatomic molecules, we develop and implement a spectral method that makes use of Generalized Sturmian Functions (GSF) in prolate spheroidal coordinates. In order to master all computational issues, we apply here the method to one--electron molecular ions and compare it with benchmark data for both ground and excited states. We actually propose two different computational schemes to solve the two coupled differential equations. The first one is an iterative 1d procedure in which one solves alternately the angular and the radial equations, the latter yielding the state energy. The second, named direct $2d$ method, consists in representing the Hamiltonian matrix in a two--dimensional GSF basis set, and its further diagonalization. Both spectral schemes are timewise computationally efficient since the basis elements are such that no derivatives have to be calculated numerically. Moreover, very accurate results are obtained with minimal basis sets. This is related on one side to the use of the natural coordinate system and, on the other, to the intrinsic good property of all GSF basis elements that are constructed as to obey appropriate physical boundary conditions. The present implementation for bound states paves the way for the study of continuum states involved in ionization of one or two--electron diatomic targets

Intertwining technique for the one-dimensional stationary Dirac equation

The technique of differential intertwining operators (or Darboux transformation operators) is systematically applied to the one-dimensional Dirac equation. The following aspects are investigated: factorization of a polynomial of Dirac Hamiltonians, quadratic supersymmetry, closed extension of transformation operators, chains of transformations, and finally particular cases of pseudoscalar and scalar potentials. The method is widely illustrated by numerous examples

Radiotherapy and High-Dose Interleukin-2: Clinical and Immunological Results of a Proof of Principle Study in Metastatic Melanoma and Renal Cell Carcinoma

High-dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) has curative potential in metastatic melanoma (MM) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Radiotherapy (RT) kills cancer cells and induces immunomodulatory effects. Prospective trials exploring clinical and immunological properties of combined RT/HD IL-2 are still needed. We designed a phase II, single-arm clinical trial for patients with MM and RCC. The treatment schedule consisted of 3 daily doses of 6-12 Gy of RT to 1-5 non-index metastatic fields, before IL-2 at the first and third treatment cycle. HD IL-2 was administered by continuous infusion for 72 hours and repeated every 3 weeks for up to 4 cycles, thereafter every 4 weeks for a maximum of 2 cycles. The primary endpoint was the immunological efficacy of the combined RT/HD IL-2 treatment (assessed by IFN-γ ELISPOT). Nineteen out of 22 patients were evaluable for immunological and clinical response. Partial response occurred in 3 (15.7%) patients and stable disease was observed in 7 (36.8%). The disease control rate was 52.6% after a median follow up of 39.2 months. According to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events 4.0 (CTCAE 4.0), the majority of toxicities were grade 1-2. Immunological responses were frequent and detected in 16 (84.2%) patients. Increased levels of IL-8 and IL-10 in melanoma, circulating effector memory CD4+ and intratumoral CD8+ T cells in both tumor types were detected after therapy. Overall the treatment was well tolerated and immunologically active. Immunomonitoring and correlative data on tumor and peripheral blood cell subsets suggest that this combination treatment could be a promising strategy for patients progressing after standard treatments

The state of HRM in the Middle East:Challenges and future research agenda

Based on a robust structured literature analysis, this paper highlights the key developments in the field of human resource management (HRM) in the Middle East. Utilizing the institutional perspective, the analysis contributes to the literature on HRM in the Middle East by focusing on four key themes. First, it highlights the topical need to analyze the context-specific nature of HRM in the region. Second, via the adoption of a systematic review, it highlights state of development in HRM in the research analysis set-up. Third, the analysis also helps to reveal the challenges facing the HRM function in the Middle East. Fourth, it presents an agenda for future research in the form of research directions. While doing the above, it revisits the notions of “universalistic” and “best practice” HRM (convergence) versus “best-fit” or context distinctive (divergence) and also alternate models/diffusion of HRM (crossvergence) in the Middle Eastern context. The analysis, based on the framework of cross-national HRM comparisons, helps to make both theoretical and practical implications