The effectiveness of sports sponsorhips: a study of the New Orleans Zephyrs

Despite the pervasiveness of sports in American society and the ever-increasing role of sponsorship in the marketing mix, sponsorship marketing as a discipline currently lacks the rigorous academic study and theoretical foundations that exist in other marketing disciplines. The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not sponsorship of New Orleans Zephyrs baseball is an effective way of increasing awareness of a product or brand. Using intermediate measures of recognition testing, fans at three New Orleans Zephyrs games were surveyed to test sponsor recognition. The study examined various elements of sponsorship marketing including the effects that gender, age, income, education and attendance frequency had on sponsorship recognition. Additionally, fans were asked if they consciously looked for sponsor messages at games and where they most noticed the messages. Lastly, respondents were asked if they would use a Zephyrs sponsor\u27s product over a non-sponsor\u27s product given the same price and quality. Results showed that all 12 sponsors tested were recognized. Major sponsors were recognized considerably more so than mid-level sponsors and minor sponsors. A little more than half of the respondents reported that they consciously looked for sponsor messages at games, and the majority of respondents noticed sponsor signage the most on outfield fence signs. More than 80% would choose a Zephyrs\u27 sponsor over another brand given equal price and quality. Chi-square analysis provided significant differences concerning age, income, education and attendance frequency. Attendance frequency had the biggest impact. The more games a fan attended, the more likely they were to correctly identify most sponsors. As the practice of sponsorship marketing becomes an increasingly more important element of the marketing mix, this study seeks to contribute to the growing body of evidence that supports sponsorship as a means to increase awareness and enhance brand image

James, Kwame, the Witch and the Golden Ball

The focus of this paper is on the reception and production of language and the judicious use of multimodal strategies and peer collaboration in supporting one child’s storytelling skills. For this purpose the authors use the genre of fairytales, a traditional mode of storytelling with young children. The basis of the discussion is that for children ‘communication occurs through different but synchronous modes: language, print, images, graphics, movement, gesture, texture, music, sound’ (Kress 2003, p.51). To the authors, these synchronous modes form an empirical definition of multimodality1, ‘a multimodal approach that looks beyond language to all forms of communication’ (Jewitt et al 2009, p.11) and which highlight the potential complex interactions between media, modes and semiotic resources. To evidence the possibilities of using a multimodal teaching strategy for developing the communication skills through storytelling of a five year old, the authors conducted the following research study in an inner city primary school in Liverpool

Dill extract induces elastic fiber neosynthesis and functional improvement in the ascending aorta of aged mice with reversal of age-dependent cardiac hypertrophy and involvement of lysyl oxidase-like-1

Elastic fibers (90% elastin, 10% fibrillin-rich microfibrils) are synthesized only in early life and adolescence mainly by the vascular smooth muscle cells through the cross-linking of its soluble precursor, tropoelastin. Elastic fibers endow the large elastic arteries with resilience and elasticity. Normal vascular aging is associated with arterial remodeling and stiffening, especially due to the end of production and degradation of elastic fibers, leading to altered cardiovascular function. Several pharmacological treatments stimulate the production of elastin and elastic fibers. In particular, dill extract (DE) has been demonstrated to stimulate elastin production in vitro in dermal equivalent models and in skin fibroblasts to increase lysyl oxidase-like-1 (LOXL-1) gene expression, an enzyme contributing to tropoelastin crosslinking and elastin formation. Here, we have investigated the effects of a chronic treatment (three months) of aged male mice with DE (5% or 10

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease : disease burden and development of novel fibrosis diagnostic and prognostic signatures

PhD ThesisBackground This thesis investigates novel diagnostic and prognostic disease biomarkers in NAFLD and explores both the quality of life (QoL) and economic burden associated with NAFLD. Methods To estimate HRQL burden, 147 patients completed validated QoL assessments within 6 months of diagnostic liver biopsy. NAFLD out-patient service utilisation was evaluated and micro-costed over a 12-month period. The clinical utility of serum collagen neo-epitope biomarkers to identify advanced fibrosis was established. DNA methylation was evaluated in circulating cell free DNA as a diagnostic biomarker in NAFLD using pyrosequencing and evaluated by whole genome bisulfide sequencing (WGBS) from paired liver biopsy tissue to characterise NAFLD prognostic signatures. Results HRQL Burden: Grade of lobular inflammation influenced CLDQ scores and FIS scores. One way ANCOVA analyses showed that CLDQ scores were influenced by fibrosis stage (F=1.910, p=0.014, effect size 0.814) Economic Burden: Multivariate regression analysis established the main cost drivers to be the number of clinic appointments (p=0.042) and the presence of advanced disease (p=0.001). Collagen Neo-epitope biomarkers the novel “FIBC3” diagnostic panel including PROC3 exhibited improved accuracy and outperformed other fibrosis indices for the detection of advanced fibrosis DNA methylation fibrosis biomarkers PPARγ CpG methylation displayed uniform hypermethylation at each CpG site between the liver fibrosis cohorts relative to uniform hypomethylation irrespective of liver disease aetiology DNA methylation prognostic signature; > 657 novel methylation signatures to distinguish low and high risk disease were identified. Conclusion Multiple factors negatively impact on reported HRQL, notably fatigue and lobular inflammation. The direct medical costs associated with NAFLD are substantial and increase with the presence of advanced disease. The ‘FIBC3’ panel is an accurate tool with a single threshold value that maintains both sensitivity and specificity for the identification of advanced fibrosis (F≥3). The first methylome map of low versus high risk disease in NAFLD suggest that high and low risk NAFLD while interrelated, may be biologically distinct from disease onset. Extending this towards clinical utility, uniform hypermethylation at the PPARγ gene promoter confirms this as a potential methylation signature for fibrosis progression in chronic liver disease.EPoS (Elucidating Pathways of Steatohepatitis) consortium, funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Program of the European Union, Rosetrees Trust and Abbvie

The detection of serum anti-brain antibodies in a cohort of patients with tumefactive demyelinating lesions of the CNS.

Background: A tumefactive demyelinating lesion (TDL) is defined as being at least 2cm in diameter, whilst conventional multiple sclerosis (CMS) lesions usually have a diameter less than 9 mm. There are no studies assessing the presence of antibodies in tumefactive MS (TMS), rare variants of MS, or monophasic presentations of TDLs not otherwise specified (TDL NOS). Hypothesis: Patients with TDLs have serum anti-brain antibodies that are more numerous and/or unique in comparison to CMS. Methods: Patients attending a tertiary referral centre were invited to participate in this project on the detection of anti-brain antibodies in patients with TDLs. A case series study of patients with similar very large demyelinating lesions was performed. The serum of consenting patients was analysed for the presence of anti-brain antibodies by IIF. Results: Fifty-nine patients with a TDL were compared to 58 patients with CMS. The term giant demyelinating lesion (GDL) was proposed for TDLs larger than 4 cm in diameter. A unique clinical phenotype of 4 patients with a GDL was identified in the case series. The frequency of TDL occurrence in MS was higher than reported. More than 50% of patients had high-intensity serum anti-brain antibodies identified, with no statistically significant difference between cases and controls. There were no definite unique antibodies in the TDL group. Patients who have a monophasic GDL or TDL, as well as those with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) and a TDL, had common serum anti-brain antibodies that were more frequent in comparison to CMS. The results showed that some primary progressive MS (PPMS) cases may have similar antibody involvement. Patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS) had significantly less high intensity serum anti-brain antibodies compared to RRMS and PPMS. Conclusion: TDLs may not have novel autoantibodies, or greater autoantibody involvement in comparison to other demyelinating diseases such as MS. Additional studies are required

The Contribution of consumer health organisations to chronic disease self management in the context of primary care.

This project aims to answer the question, what are the current and potential contributions of chronic illness-focused self-help organisations in the integrated delivery of primary health care?The research reported in this paper is a project of the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute which is supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development Strategy

Synthesis and characterization of a series of nickel(II) alkoxide precursors and their utility for Ni(0) nanoparticle production

A series of nickel(ii) aryloxide ([Ni(OAr)2(py)x]) precursors was synthesized from an amide-alcohol exchange using [Ni(NR2)2] in the presence of pyridine (py). The H-OAr selected were the mono- and di-ortho-substituted 2-alkyl phenols: alkyl = methyl (H-oMP), iso-propyl (H-oPP), tert-butyl (H-oBP) and 2,6-di-alkyl phenols (alkyl = di-iso-propyl (H-DIP), di-tert-butyl (H-DBP), di-phenyl (H-DPhP)). The crystalline products were solved as solvated monomers and structurally characterized as [Ni(OAr)2(py)x], where x = 4: OAr = oMP (1), oPP (2); x = 3: OAr = oBP (3), DIP (4); x = 2: OAr = DBP (5), DPhP (6). The excited states (singlet or triplet) and various geometries of 1-6 were identified by experimental UV-vis and verified by computational modeling. Magnetic susceptibility of the representative compound 4 was fit to a Curie Weiss model that yielded a magnetic moment of 4.38(3)μB consistent with a Ni2+ center. Compounds 1 and 6 were selected for decomposition studied under solution precipitation routes since they represent the two extremes of coordination. The particle size and crystalline structure were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The materials isolated from 1 and 6 were found by TEM to form irregular shape nanomaterials (8-15 nm), which by PXRD were found to be Ni0 hcp (PDF: 01-089-7129) and fcc (PDF: 01-070-0989), respectively

Increasing access to consumer health organisations among patients with chronic disease - a randomised trial of a print-based intervention

To assess whether a print-based intervention led to increased contact with consumer health organisations (CHOs) by general practice patients with chronic disease. CHOs can enhance people's capacity to manage chronic illness by providing information, education and psychosocial support. However, these organisations appear to be grossly under-utilised by patients and clinicians. A total of 276 patients completed a computer-assisted telephone interview before randomisation to an intervention (n = 141) or control (n = 135) group. The intervention consisted of mailed printed materials designed to encourage contact with a CHO relevant to the patient's main diagnosed chronic condition. Follow-up interviews were conducted 4 and 12 months later. Patients with conditions other than diabetes who received the intervention were twice as likely as those in the control group to contact a consumer health organisation during the 12-month study period: 41% versus 21% (P < 0.001). No such effect was found for diabetes patients, probably because of pre-existing high levels of contact with diabetes organisations. The intervention package received strong patient endorsement. Low-intensity interventions may be effective in improving access to CHOs for patients with chronic disease

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis: evaluation of benefits and risks and recommendations for state newborn screening programs

In November 2003, CDC and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation cosponsored a workshop to review the benefits and risks associated with newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF). This report describes new research findings and outlines the recommendations of the workshop. The peer-reviewed evidence presented at the workshop supports the clinical utility of newborn screening for CF. Demonstrated long-term benefits from early nutritional treatment as a result of newborn screening for CF include improved growth and, in one study, cognitive development. Other benefits might include reduced hospitalizations and improved survival. Mixed evidence has been reported for pulmonary outcomes. Newborn screening in the United States is associated with diagnosis of CF a median of 1 year earlier than symptomatic detection, which might reduce the expense and anxiety associated with workup for failure to thrive or other symptoms. Certain psychosocial risks for carrier children and their families (e.g., anxiety and misunderstanding) are associated with newborn screening. Exposure of young children to infectious agents through person-to-person transmission in clinical settings, although not an inherent risk of newborn screening, is a potential cause of harm from early detection. Involving specialists in CF care and infection control, genetic counseling, and communication can minimize these potential harms. Although screening decisions depend on a state\u27s individual resources and priorities, on the basis of evidence of moderate benefits and low risk of harm, CDC believes that newborn screening for CF is justified. States should consider the magnitude of benefits and costs and the need to minimize risks through careful planning and implementation, including ongoing collection and evaluation of outcome data