The influence of the Metaverse on Brand Management: A study on heritage brands

The field of brand management has evolved due to our world and consumers evolving. Development of the digital world and technologies has led to changes in how consumers engage with brands and other consumers. Now, the technology that will enable the metaverse is coming and will in turn again influence how brands are managed. This study aims to answer the main question of how the metaverse will influence the future of heritage brands’ management. This research focuses specifically on how the evolution of brand management is fuelling the metaverse for heritage brands, what new opportunities the metaverse will provide for heritage brands to increase brand equity, and what role co-creation and brand communities will play in the metaverse for heritage brands. The research employed a qualitative approach and focus groups were chosen as data collection method. Two focus groups with eight participants, all participants were brand management experts with experience managing heritage brands. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. According to the study results, the emergence of the metaverse is expected to further shape and influence brand management, offering new opportunities for heritage brands to increase their equity. The metaverse will allow heritage brands to create immersive experiences, interactive storytelling, and personalized experiences for consumers, leading to higher brand equity creation. The concept of purpose-driven branding is particularly relevant in the metaverse for heritage brands, and brand communities and co-creation play a key role in engaging customers. The metaverse offers a unique opportunity for brands to engage with their consumers in new and innovative ways, creating deeper, more meaningful relationships with their customers, leading to increased brand engagement. The main findings of the empirical research are consistent with the theoretical framework of the study. The study contributes to the existing brand management literature by revealing the metaverse offers heritage brands opportunities to create immersive experiences, interactive brand storytelling, and personalized interactions, leading to increased brand equity

A marker suitable for sex-typing birds from degraded samples

A new primer set was developed for sex-typing birds, Z37B. This primer set was designed to amplify alleles of small size to render it suitable for sex-typing degraded samples, including shed feathers. This marker successfully sex-typed 50 % of the species tested, including passerines, shorebirds, rails, seabirds, eagles and the brown kiwi Apteryx australis (allele size range =81–103 bp), and is therefore expected to be suitable for sex-typing a wide range of species. Z37B sex-typed nondegraded samples (blood), degraded tissue (dead unhatched embryos, dead nestlings and museum specimens) and samples of low quantity DNA (plucked feathers and buccal swabs). The small amplicon sizes in birds suggest that this marker will be of utility for sex-typing feathers, swabs and degraded samples from a wide range of avian species

NANOPARTICLES FOR MUCOSAL VACCINE DELIVERY

Influenza is a contagious respiratory disease often disregarded due to the mild symptoms associated with it. The economic burden that flu cases impose on health care systems is substantial, not only due to influenza pandemics, but also to required hospitalizations and the need for yearly revisions of seasonal influenza vaccines. The need for a universal influenza vaccine was already recognized by the Global Vaccine Action Plan. Currently, injection-based vaccination is the most common method for influenza immunization. However, evidence has shown that mucosal immune responses, representing an important first line of defense at these sites, since most pathogens enter the body through mucosal tissues, are most efficiently induced by administration of vaccines onto mucosal surfaces than injected vaccines. From the different mucosal tissues, the gastrointestinal tract is an attractive route to be explored for vaccination; nonetheless, oral influenza vaccines are not available yet. The intestinal homeostasis is tightly controlled by several components of the intestinal barrier, such as the mucus layer, epithelial cells with different functions and an underlying immune system that surveys the gut. Between microorganisms that normally inhabit our gut, food antigens constantly present in our diet and potential pathogens, the intestinal barrier has the difficult task of integrating external and internal signals received by different cells in order to establish the correct response, immunity or tolerance, according to the antigen. Hence, oral vaccines will encounter these same intestinal barrier components and face the same obstacles as any other oral antigen or gut microorganism. The UniVacFlu consortium is currently working to develop a new mucosal universal vaccine against influenza, exploring different immunogens, immunization routes and delivery systems. This study was undertaken to understand the potential of the influenza vaccine candidate CTA1-3M2e-DD and polysaccharidic lipidated nanoparticles (NPL) when immunization occurs through the oral route. We found that, while CTA1-3M2e-DD revealed a poor ability to cross the intestinal epithelium and target intestinal antigen-presenting cells, NPL were found to readily overcome the intestinal barrier and were found associated with both CX3CR1+ macrophages and CD103+ dendritic cells. Two different routes of NPL uptake were identified: one depends on Goblet cell-associated passages that allow the transfer of high amounts of NPL from the lumen to the intestinal lamina propria; the second relies on the direct acquisition of NPL by CX3CR1+ macrophages in Peyer\u2019s patches by extension of trans-epithelial dendrites. Moreover, NPL as an oral vaccine vector was able to deliver the loaded antigen in the intestinal lamina propria and enhanced antigen presentation to CD4+ T lymphocytes in different organs. Despite increasing the availability of antigen, NPL did not induce tolerance towards the formulated antigen and a Th1 immune response was found at the level of the Peyer\u2019s patches. We also identified the contribution of the starvation period in the immune response induced by the NPL formulation in our model of oral immunization. The full potential of NPL as a vaccine vector is currently being further investigated to understand its immunomodulatory properties

Asuhan Keperawatan Ca Mammae di Ruang Cempaka Prof. Dr. W.Z. Johannes Kupang

Pengkajian dengan menggunakan format pengkajian yang baku. Pengkajian dilakukan langsung pada pasien. hasil pengkajian adanya keluhan nyeri pada mamae kanan disertai nyeri. Keluarga mengatakan awalnya timbul benjolan sebesar biji kelereng pada mamae kanan tidak nyeri dan tidak berpindah (Menetap). Pada tanggal 15 mei 2019 pasien masuk ruang cempaka rumah sakit umum dengan keluhan sesak napas Pada pemeriksaan cityscan ditemukan ca mamae dan efusi pleura. Sejak tanggal 26 Mei 2019 pemeriksaan biopsy pada mamae kanan sudah dilakukan pada tanggal 29 Mei 2019 dan akan menerima hasil biopsy pada tanggal 10 Juni 2019. Berdasarkan pengkajian yang lengkap, diangkat diagnosa keperawatan sesuai dengan data subyektif (sumber pasien dan keluarga) obyektif (dilihat dari keadaan pasien) serta data pendukung lain. Diagnose keperawatan yang di angkat yaitu nyeri akut berhubungan dengan proses penyakit dan kurangnya pengetahuan. Dari hasil perencanaan yang telah dibuat dilakukan dengan baik dimana semua tindakan sesuai dengan kriteria yang ditetapkan. Pada diagnose nyeri akut tidak memiliki kesenjangan antara teori dan praktek begitupun diagnosa deficit pengetahuan. Tindakan pada diagnose nyeri, perawat menggunakan NANDA. Dari tindakan evaluasi tidak ditemukan kesenjangan antara teori dan praktek. Evaluasi dilakukan selama empat kali setiap kali melakukan implementasi. Masalah keperawatan belum teratasi, pada area payudara nyeri kadang timbul secara tiba – tiba tetapi pasien masih merasakan nyeri menjalar ke belakang punggung

OBSCN Mutations Associated with Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Haploinsufficiency

Studies of the functional consequences of DCM-causing mutations have been limited to a few cases where patients with known mutations had heart transplants. To increase the number of potential tissue samples for direct investigation we performed whole exon sequencing of explanted heart muscle samples from 30 patients that had a diagnosis of familial dilated cardiomyopathy and screened for potentially disease-causing mutations in 58 HCM or DCM-related genes.We identified 5 potentially disease-causing OBSCN mutations in 4 samples; one sample had two OBSCN mutations and one mutation was judged to be not disease-related. Also identified were 6 truncating mutations in TTN, 3 mutations in MYH7, 2 in DSP and one each in TNNC1, TNNI3, MYOM1, VCL, GLA, PLB, TCAP, PKP2 and LAMA4. The mean level of obscurin mRNA was significantly greater and more variable in healthy donor samples than the DCM samples but did not correlate with OBSCN mutations. A single obscurin protein band was observed in human heart myofibrils with apparent mass 960 ± 60 kDa. The three samples with OBSCN mutations had significantly lower levels of obscurin immunoreactive material than DCM samples without OBSCN mutations (45±7, 48±3, and 72±6% of control level).Obscurin levels in DCM controls, donor heart and myectomy samples were the same.OBSCN mutations may result in the development of a DCM phenotype via haploinsufficiency. Mutations in the obscurin gene should be considered as a significant causal factor of DCM, alone or in concert with other mutations