Higher Education Marketing: A Study on the Impact of Social Media on Study Selection and University Choice.

The importance of the Internet as commercial platform is by now universally recognized, and businesses increasingly adopt online marketing channels at the cost of traditional ones. The social media, being second generation (Web 2.0) internet applications, allow interaction, one-to-one communication, customer engagement, and user generated content. The interest of higher education institutions in social media as part of the marketing toolkit is increasing, but little is known about the potential of these channels in higher education marketing strategies. Even less is known about the role of social media as influencers of future students in the choice of study and university. This article presents the results of a study identifying the role and importance of social media on the choice of future students for a study and university in comparison with the traditional university marketing channels in the Netherlands. The study identifies and describes three market segments among future students based on their use of the social medi

Canal switch and re-entry phenomenon in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: difference between immediate and delayed occurrence

Studio prospettico ideato per la valutazione delle differenze tra la conversione canalare o il rientro degli otoliti nei canali semicircolari successivo alle manovre terapeutiche nei pazienti affetti da VPPB. Sono stati valutati 196 pazienti affetti da VPPB, 127 dei quali corrispondevano ai criteri di inclusione. L’età media dei pazienti era di 54.74 anni. Il canale orizzontale è stato coinvolto in 30 casi e il canale posteriore in 97 pazienti. I pazienti con sordità neurosensoriale presentavano forme ricorrenti di VPPB, rispetto a quelli con udito normale. L’immediato rientro canalare è stato diagnosticato in 3 pazienti con VPPB del canale laterale, tutti con nistagmo geotropo. 7 pazienti con VPPB del canale posteriore hanno presentato un rientro canalare immediato e 5 la forma ritardata. I pazienti con rientro canalare ritardato avevano precedentemente subito più di 2 manovre di riposizionamento. Il rientro canalare non è risultato connesso al tipo di manovra eseguita. Il tempo di attesa tra l’esecuzione della manovra liberatoria e il test di verifica si è rivelato importante ai fini del rientro canalare immediato. La recidiva della BPPV dopo un mese dalle manovre liberatorie si è riscontrata in 20 pazienti ed è stata più frequente in quei pazienti che hanno avuto un fenomeno di rientro canalare. La conversione canalare ed il fenomeno del rientro canalare rappresentano delle entità cliniche che devono essere considerate dal medico che tratta le VPPB. Appare importante distinguere un rientro da un fallimento della manovra in caso di forme immediate, o da una recidiva di patologia in caso di forme ritardate. L’esecuzione del test di verifica del successo terapeutico dopo manovre di riposizionamento deve avere un distacco temporale sufficientemente ampio al fine di evitare il reflusso immediato di otoliti nei canali.This prospective study was designed to evaluate the differences between immediate and delayed canal re-entry of otoliths after therapeutic manoeuvres in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). A total of 196 patients with BPPV were visited and 127 matched our inclusion criteria. The mean age was 54.74 years. The horizontal semicircular canal (HSC) was involved in 30 cases and the posterior semicircular canal (PSC) in 97 patients. Patients with hearing loss in the ear affected by BPPV have a more recurrent form, compared to those with normal hearing. An immediate canal re-entry was recorded in 3 patients with HSC BPPV, all with geotropic nystagmus. In 7 patients with PSC BPPV, the immediate canal re-entry was detected and the delayed form was noted in 5 patients. The patients with the delayed canal re-entry underwent more than 2 previous manoeuvres. The canal re-entry was not related to the manoeuvre performed. The timing of the Dix-Hallpike test to verify the resolution of the BPPV had a significant role in immediate canal re-entry. A recurrence in the follow-up at least one month after treatment was recorded in 20 patients and was more frequent in patients that had canal re-entry. The canal re-entry or canal switch is a clinical entity that should be kept in mind of the neurotologist when approaching BPPV patients. It is important to distinguish it from recurrence when delayed and from manoeuvre failure when immediate. The timing of manoeuvre performing, in particular the final verification test after therapeutic sessions, is important to prevent the immediate reflux of particles into canals

Relation between toughness, infinite fatigue life and microstructure in large blooms for automotive plastic molds.

Presentazione orale al European Congress on Advanced Material and Processes (Euromat 2005), Praga (R. Ceca), 5/10/2005 - 8/10/200

BCR-ABL1 doubling-times and halving-times may predict CML response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors

In Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), successful treatment requires accurate molecular monitoring to evaluate disease response and provide timely interventions for patients failing to achieve the desired outcomes. We wanted to determine whether measuring BCR-ABL1 mRNA doubling-times (DTs) could distinguish inconsequential rises in the oncogene’s expression from resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Thus, we retrospectively examined BCR-ABL1 evolution in 305 chronic-phase CML patients receiving imatinib mesylate (IM) as a first line treatment. Patients were subdivided in two groups: those with a confirmed rise in BCR-ABL1 transcripts without MR3.0 loss and those failing IM. We found that the DTs of the former patients were significantly longer than those of patients developing IM resistance (57.80 vs. 41.45 days, p = 0.0114). Interestingly, the DT values of individuals failing second-generation (2G) TKIs after developing IM resistance were considerably shorter than those observed at the time of IM failure (27.20 vs. 41.45 days; p = 0.0035). We next wanted to establish if decreases in BCR-ABL1 transcripts would identify subjects likely to obtain deep molecular responses. We therefore analyzed the BCR-ABL1 halving-times (HTs) of a different cohort comprising 174 individuals receiving IM in first line and observed that, regardless of the time point selected for our analyses (6, 12, or 18 months), HTs were significantly shorter in subjects achieving superior molecular responses (p = 0.002 at 6 months; p < 0.001 at 12 months; p = 0.0099 at 18 months). Moreover, 50 patients receiving 2G TKIs as first line therapy and obtaining an MR3.0 (after 6 months; p = 0.003) or an MR4.0 (after 12 months; p = 0.019) displayed significantly shorter HTs than individuals lacking these molecular responses. Our findings suggest that BCR-ABL1 DTs and HTs are reliable tools to, respectively, identify subjects in MR3.0 that are failing their assigned TKI or to recognize patients likely to achieve deep molecular responses that should be considered for treatment discontinuation

Clinical implications of discordant early molecular responses in CML patients treated with imatinib

A reduction in BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS transcript levels to <10% after 3 months or <1% after 6 months of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy are associated with superior clinical outcomes in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients. In this study, we investigated the reliability of multiple BCR-ABL1 thresholds in predicting treatment outcomes for 184 subjects diagnosed with CML and treated with standard-dose imatinib mesylate (IM). With a median follow-up of 61 months, patients with concordant BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS transcripts below the defined thresholds (10% at 3 months and 1% at 6 months) displayed significantly superior rates of event-free survival (86.1% vs. 26.6%) and deep molecular response (≥ MR4; 71.5% vs. 16.1%) compared to individuals with BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS levels above these defined thresholds. We then analyzed the outcomes of subjects displaying discordant molecular transcripts at 3-and 6-month time points. Among these patients, those with BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS values >10% at 3 months but <1% at 6 months fared significantly better than individuals with BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS <10% at 3 months but >1% at 6 months (event-free survival 68.2% vs. 32.7%; p < 0.001). Likewise, subjects with BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS at 3 months >10% but <1% at 6 months showed a higher cumulative incidence of MR4 compared to patients with BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS <10% at 3 months but >1% at 6 months (75% vs. 18.2%; p < 0.001). Finally, lower BCR-ABL1/GUSIS transcripts at diagnosis were associated with BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS values <1% at 6 months (p < 0.001). Our data suggest that when assessing early molecular responses to therapy, the 6-month BCR-ABL1/ABL1IS level displays a superior prognostic value compared to the 3-month measurement in patients with discordant oncogenic transcripts at these two pivotal time points

Relationships between tensile and fracture mechanics properties and fatigue properties of large plastic mold steel

presentazione oral

A case–control study of childhood leukaemia and paternal occupational contact level in rural Sweden

In a national case–control study in Sweden, we investigated whether in rural areas (where susceptible individuals are more prevalent than in urban areas) leukaemia risk was higher among the young children of fathers with many work contacts, as the infective hypothesis has predicted. A total of 1935 cases diagnosed in 1958–1998 together with 7736 age-matched (within 1 year) population controls (of whom 970 and 3880 respectively were aged 0–4) were linked to paternal occupational details as recorded in the census closest to the year of birth. Applying the two classifications of occupational contact level used in a study of rural Scotland, the odds ratios for children aged 0–4 years in the highest contact category (which includes teachers) in the most rural Swedish counties were 3.47 (95% CI 1.54, 7.85) and 1.59 (1.07, 2.38) respectively, relative to the medium and low (reference) category; no such excess was found in urban or intermediate counties. There was also a significant positive trend at ages 0–4 in the rural counties across the three levels of increasing occupational contact (P for trend 0.02 and 0.03, respectively), but again not in the urban or intermediate counties. No such effect or trend was found at ages 5–14 in any of the three county groupings. The findings confirm those of a recent study in rural Scotland, and also suggest that unusual population mixing (as occurred in Scotland as a result of the North Sea oil industry) is not a necessary requirement for the effect, since comparable mixing has not been a feature of rural Sweden

The Viscosity of Carbonate‐Silicate Transitional Melts at Earth's Upper Mantle Pressures and Temperatures, Determined by the In Situ Falling‐Sphere Technique

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