An Analysis on Engaging “Beauty Work”

This study attempts to compare non-invasive cosmetic procedures consumers who use a high amount of information sources with those who use a low amount of information sources in the information search stage of the decision-making process. The findings indicate that patients who use more cosmetic procedures information sources have lower cognitive ages. Patients who use less information have a greater attitude toward social media advertising and the traditional advertising of cosmetic procedures. Finally, patients who use more cosmetic procedures information have greater increases in self-image after the procedure than those patients who use less information. The findings contribute to marketing theory by focusing upon non-invasive cosmetic procedures that can delay aging or foster youthfulness. This paper also extends the ageism literature

The Measurement of Social Desirability and Brand Equity in Emerging Societies

This study attempted to develop the consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) measure by including social responsibility as an additional dimension in India. Five hypotheses were proposed based upon the literature review and included the following variables: brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and social responsibility. All hypotheses were supported. This study developed a new brand equity measurement and provides empirical evidence of the multidimensionality of CBBE

PROPHETIC: Prospective Identification of Pneumonia in Hospitalized Patients in the Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is the leading infection-related cause of death. Using simple clinical criteria and contemporary epidemiology to identify patients at high risk of nosocomial pneumonia should enhance prevention efforts and facilitate development of new treatments in clinical trials. RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the clinical criteria and contemporary epidemiology trends helpful in identifying patients at high risk of nosocomial pneumonia? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Within the intensive care units of 28 United States hospitals, we conducted a prospective cohort study among adults hospitalized more than 48 hours and considered high risk for pneumonia (defined as treatment with invasive or noninvasive ventilatory support or high levels of supplemental oxygen). We estimated the proportion of high-risk patients developing nosocomial pneumonia. Using multivariable logistic regression, we identified patient characteristics and treatment exposures associated with increased risk of pneumonia development during the intensive care unit admission. RESULTS: Between February 6, 2016 and October 7, 2016, 4613 high-risk patients were enrolled. Among 1464/4613 (32%) high-risk patients treated for possible nosocomial pneumonia, 537/1464 (37%) met the study pneumonia definition. Among high-risk patients, a multivariable logistic model was developed to identify key patient characteristics and treatment exposures associated with increased risk of nosocomial pneumonia development (c-statistic 0.709, 95% confidence interval 0.686 to 0.731). Key factors associated with increased odds of nosocomial pneumonia included an admission diagnosis of trauma or cerebrovascular accident, receipt of enteral nutrition, documented aspiration risk, and receipt of systemic antibacterials within the preceding 90 days. INTERPRETATION: Treatment for nosocomial pneumonia is common among intensive care unit patients receiving high levels of respiratory support, yet more than half of patients treated do not fulfill standard diagnostic criteria for pneumonia. Application of simple clinical criteria may improve the feasibility of clinical trials of pneumonia prevention and treatment by facilitating prospective identification of patients at highest risk

PROPHETIC EU: Prospective Identification of Pneumonia in Hospitalized Patients in the Intensive Care Unit in European and United States Cohorts

Background The prospective identification of patients at high risk for hospital-acquired/ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia may improve clinical trial feasibility and foster antibacterial development. In a prior study conducted in the United States, clinical criteria were used to prospectively identify these patients; however, these criteria have not been applied in a European population. Methods Adults considered high risk for pneumonia (treatment with ventilation or high levels of supplemental oxygen) in the intensive care units of 7 European hospitals were prospectively enrolled from June 12 to December 27, 2017. We estimated the proportion of high-risk patients developing pneumonia according to US Food and Drug Administration guidance and a subset potentially eligible for antibacterial trial enrollment. We compared patient characteristics, treatment exposures, and pneumonia incidence in a European cohort and a previously described US cohort. Results Of 888 high-risk patients, 211/888 (24%) were treated for possible pneumonia, and 150/888 (17%) met the Food and Drug Administration definition for hospital-acquired/ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia. A higher proportion of European patients treated for possible pneumonia met the pneumonia definition (150/211 [71%] vs 537/1464 [37%]; P < .001). Among patients developing pneumonia, a higher proportion of European patients met antibacterial trial eligibility criteria (124/150 [83%] vs 371/537 [69%]; P < .001). Conclusions Clinical criteria prospectively identified high-risk patients with high rates of pneumonia in the European cohort. Despite higher rates of established risk factors and incident pneumonia, European patients were significantly less likely to receive antibiotics for possible pneumonia than US patients. Different treatment practices may contribute to lower rates of antibacterial trial enrollment in the United States

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

P2RX7 Purinoceptor: A Therapeutic Target for Ameliorating the Symptoms of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

open access articleDuchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common inherited muscle disease, leading to severe disability and death in young men. Death is caused by the progressive degeneration of striated muscles aggravated by sterile inflammation. The pleiotropic effects of the mutant gene also include cognitive and behavioral impairments and low bone density. Current interventions in DMD are palliative only as no treatment improves the long-term outcome. Therefore, approaches with a translational potential should be investigated, and key abnormalities downstream from the absence of the DMD product, dystrophin, appear to be strong therapeutic targets. We and others have demonstrated that DMD mutations alter ATP signaling and have identified P2RX7 purinoceptor up-regulation as being responsible for the death of muscles in the mdx mouse model of DMD and human DMD lymphoblasts. Moreover, the ATP–P2RX7 axis, being a crucial activator of innate immune responses, can contribute to DMD pathology by stimulating chronic inflammation. We investigated whether ablation of P2RX7 attenuates the DMD model mouse phenotype to assess receptor suitability as a therapeutic target

Analyses of pig genomes provide insight into porcine demography and evolution

For 10,000 years pigs and humans have shared a close and complex relationship. From domestication to modern breeding practices, humans have shaped the genomes of domestic pigs. Here we present the assembly and analysis of the genome sequence of a female domestic Duroc pig (Sus scrofa) and a comparison with the genomes of wild and domestic pigs from Europe and Asia. Wild pigs emerged in South East Asia and subsequently spread across Eurasia. Our results reveal a deep phylogenetic split between European and Asian wild boars ∼1 million years ago, and a selective sweep analysis indicates selection on genes involved in RNA processing and regulation. Genes associated with immune response and olfaction exhibit fast evolution. Pigs have the largest repertoire of functional olfactory receptor genes, reflecting the importance of smell in this scavenging animal. The pig genome sequence provides an important resource for further improvements of this important livestock species, and our identification of many putative disease-causing variants extends the potential of the pig as a biomedical model

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Female appeals across cultures: Analyzing the U.S. versus Chinese fashion magazine advertisements

With rapid economic and cultural changes in China, international fashion magazines have gained a foothold on the Chinese marketplace and are working to not only develop an understanding of the Chinese consumer but are also adapting Western fashion advertisements for this new environment. Such adaptation ranges from merely changing the language of the copy to a wholesale change of the advertising image, body, and text. In an effort to better understand the impact such advertisements might have on the Chinese consumer, I have developed a set of cross cultural categories of female appeals that can be used to examine the type and frequency of such appeals in both China and the United States. I also aim to examine how individuals in both countries respond to these various appeals and what they mean in the different cultural contexts. Using various methodologies, I have found that China\u27s collective culture is slowly individualizing, possibly under the pressure of Western ads that are exporting culture as well as clothing. Additionally, I have found that there are generational differences at play within the Chinese marketplace that further confuse our understanding of the impact advertising and, in particular, fashion advertising has within that culture

Deception in cosmetics advertising: Examining cosmetics advertising claims in fashion magazine ads / 化妆品广告中的欺骗:分析时尚杂志广告中的化妆品广告

The FDA has only focused upon the physical safety of cosmetics and has ignored the significant reasonability of advertising claims. As such, the present article is intended to examine/ascertain the extent to which cosmetics claims contain deceptive content in fashion ads. Through a content analysis, the study reported herein revealed that cosmetics claims were not evenly distributed. To that end, the preponderance of the claims appeared to be described primarily by three categories (scientific, performance and subjective). The results also showed that more cosmetics claims were classified as deceptive than were deemed as acceptable. Close examination of these trends revealed that, for instance, most superiority claims were categorized as false, whereas scientific claims tended to be classified as vague or as omitting important information. Furthermore, performance claims were likely to be viewed as vague and endorsement claims were seen to be acceptable. The study concludes with practical and public policy suggestions that need to be addressed by advertisers and the FDA. 在时尚界,实证医学以及其在化妆品中的应用在促进创新增长中变得更为重要。“药用化妆品”这 个词是在1961年，由美国化妆品化学家协会的创始成员Raymond and Reed 创造的 (Newburger, 2009)。“药用化妆品”的本义是指“活性的”和以科学为基础的化妆品,后来扩大到有 或声称有药用性质的化妆品(Newburger, 2009)。换句话说,“药用化妆品”是一个由“化妆 品”和“药物”组成的混合词。由于不明确的执行广告的规则或实体化程序标准(Cohen, 1980), 美 国食品和药物管理局(FDA)只专注于化妆品的物理安全而忽视了其广告合理性要求的重要性。 因此本研究的主要目的是探索和解析出现在时尚杂志广告中的化妆品的文字叙述的适用范围以 及确定某些类型的文字叙述是否有欺骗的可能性。具体来说,研究目标是(1) 检查识别某些化妆 品的文字描述欺骗性质的分类模式效用, (2) 探讨误导类型和不同类型化妆品文字描述之间的交 互以及(3)为提高时尚产业中化妆品广告的可信度和真实性提出建议。根据这个目的,这项研究 试图通过识别化妆品文字描述的模式和这些文字描述潜在的欺骗性类型，从而有助于丰富营销 学文献。综上考虑,结果可能会提供保护消费者权益和发现增加广告效果新途径的方式。 结果表明,文字描述的类型(即化妆品类别,误导模式)可以可靠地应用于化妆品广告。内容 分析表明,化妆品的文字描述并非均匀分布,即化妆品的文字描述的优势似乎主要是由三个类别: 科学、性能、主观来描述的。将639(总757)份文字叙述分为三个类别。换句话说, 绝大多 数的 描述似乎以表现为基础有或没有证据来支持描述(见表1)。描述被分为这些种类也被主观夸大 (至少在我们审定的观点中)。况且强调描述的任务似乎能够在吹捧的描述（夸大的描述）或依 靠代言人及带有环境的产品属性组织描述中反应出来的能够被消费者认为是有利的。相对缺 乏“夸张”的语句值得关注(757中只有43份-见分类中)，尽管化妆品公司可能依赖于其他描述形 式宣传, 也可能对品牌/产品的优势导致虚假的认识。也就是“科学”、“性能”，和/或“主观”描述可 以在一个更传统的夸张语句中同时存在，尽管这些确切语句的性质仍有待确定。从调查结果 我们可以得出一些初步的结论结合了两种类型的分类，(当描述类型以误导/欺骗交叉分类为 结果)。例如，很多化妆品描述的分类是根据一个误导性或欺骗性进行分类时被认为是可以接 受的(621中136)。仔细观察这些趋势显示出超过半数的误导性或欺骗性的描述被称为“模 糊”(n = 316)而被分为一个“遗漏”(n = 130)或作为一个“虚假陈述/谎言”(n = 175)。 本研究建议广告商应该努力制定具体策略来处理消费者对市场的不信任。究竟为何会如 此? 例如,许多担保性的描述被认为是“可以接受的”，为这种描述模式建议一种积极有影响力 方式。继续使用担保性的描述可能为广告商对于愤世嫉俗的消费者提供了有益的策略。优势性 描述，应清楚地向消费者解释并且比较彻底和完全的比较。例如如果是“获奖”产品, 广告商应 该在描述中提供明确的时间,地点,什么奖项。 科学的描述, 应提供成分的具体证据,科研过程以及使用非专业术语的研究结果,这样消费者 才可以理解。而不是陈述难以理解的研究结果、意义和重要性。广告商可能还需要减少使用主 观的描述；此种描述方式可能会适得其反(227中只有7个描述这类被视为可以接受)。对于表现 的描述,营销人员也应该提供更具体的证据(如解释如何以及为什么唇彩能持续12小时)。此外研 究者认为越来越多的消费者所关注环境问题(Lee, 2011)。因此,补充强调产品与环境属性有密 切关系是有益的。例如, 化妆品销售给消费者之前未使用动物做测试。我们还建议“可接受”描 述应该有“足够大小”，所以顾客可以辨别与感受。此外“可接受”描述显示时字体颜色还应该与 背景颜色形成鲜明对比,这可能会吸引更多读者的关注。 对于如何宣传改善消费者的利我们提供了一些基础性的建议益,我们希望这些建议会对广 告商和消费者都有利。未来的研究可能会专注于化妆品的消费者对于嵌入式消息宣传意识和对 消费者诉求和购买意向的影响。由于用于研究的广告样本在有限时间内从当前女性杂志抽取, 进一步的研究可能需要扩大样本，杂志广告的范围。最后可能研究，对于不同的社会群体消 费者如何判断虚伪的宣传会是有趣的话题