19 research outputs found
Social media and sensemaking patterns in new product development: demystifying the customer sentiment
Artificial intelligence by principle is developed to assist but also support decision making processes. In our study, we explore how information retrieved from social media can assist decision-making processes for new product development (NPD). We focus on consumers’ emotions that are expressed through social media and analyse the variations of their sentiments in all the stages of NPD. We collect data from Twitter that reveal consumers’ appreciation of aspects of the design of a newly launched model of an innovative automotive company. We adopt the sensemaking approach coupled with the use of fuzzy logic for text mining. This combinatory methodological approach enables us to retrieve consensus from the data and to explore the variations of sentiments of the customers about the product and define the polarity of these emotions for each of the NPD stages. The analysis identifies sensemaking patterns in Twitter data and explains the NPD process and the associated steps where the social interactions from customers can have an iterative role. We conclude the paper by outlining an agenda for future research in the NPD process and the role of the customer opinion through sensemaking mechanisms
Alternative medicine and herbal remedies in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: A systematic review
Objectives: To systematically review and discuss the current evidence from placebo-controlled
clinical trials that investigated the use of alternative medicines and herbal remedies in the
management of erectile dysfunction (ED).
Methods: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-
based systematic review using specific keyword combinations was conducted on the PubMed
and Scopus databases. Randomised controlled trials investigating herbal medicine in at least
one group and using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) as an outcome in
patients primarily diagnosed with ED were included for review.
Results: Following the literature search, screening and eligibility analysis, a total of 42 articles
were included. The 42 articles were categorised as single herb extractions (n = 14), combination
herbal formula (n = 5), combination of herbal formula and non-herbal nutraceuticals (n = 7),
non-herbal nutraceuticals (n = 5), acupuncture and moxibustion (n = 2), diet and nutrition
(n = 3), exercise (n = 5), and topical treatments (n = 1). Based on the results, Korean ginseng,
Pygnogenol and Prelox, Tribulus terrestris, Lepidium meyenii, L-arginine, acupuncture and lifestyle
interventions were the more predominantly investigated treatments interventions for ED.
Conclusions: Panax ginseng, Pygnogenol, Prelox and Tribulus terrestris have promising evidence
as herbal products, alongside L-arginine as a nutritional supplement, for ED based on
IIEF outcomes, and warrant further clinical investigation. The mechanisms of action remain
unclear, but each of these appears to in part increase nitric oxide synthesis. Importantly,
improved diet and exercise should be considered, particularly in patients with obesity or
diabetes mellitus
How safe is intravenous sedation with midazolam and fentanyl for pediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy?
Keratomykose durch Cylindrocarpon lichenicola. Keratomycosis due to Cylindrocarpon lichenicola
Clinical and pathological responses of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) to experimental infection with bovine ephemeral fever virus—Chinese strain
Binding and Transport of Carboxylated Drugs by the Multidrug Transporter AcrB
AcrAB(Z)-TolC is the main drug efflux transporter complex in Escherichia coli. The extrusion of various toxic compounds depends on several drug binding sites within the trimeric AcrB transporter. Membrane-localized carboxylated substrates, such as fusidic acid and hydrophobic β-lactams, access the pump via a groove between the transmembrane helices TM1 and TM2. In this article, the transport route from the initial TM1/TM2 groove binding site toward the deep binding pocket located in the periplasmic part has been addressed via molecular modeling studies followed by functional and structural characterization of several AcrB variants. We propose that membrane-embedded drugs bind initially to the TM1/TM2 groove, are oriented by the AcrB PN2 subdomain, and are subsequently transported via a PN2/PC1 interface pathway directly toward the deep binding pocket. Our work emphasizes the exploitation of multiple transport pathways by AcrB tuned to substrate physicochemical properties related to the polyspecificity of the pump