Trust and reciprocity effect on electronic word-of-mouth in online review communities

Purpose Social media developments in the last decade have led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM) in the digital environment. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered by many scholars and practitioners to be the most influential informal communication mechanism between businesses and potential and actual consumers. The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge about WOM in this new context by proposing a conceptual framework that enables a better understanding of how trust and reciprocity influence eWOM participation in ORCs. Design/methodology/approach This study applies non-probability convenience sampling technique to conduct a quantitative study of data from an online survey of 189 members of ORCs. Partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyse the correlations between individuals’ intention to seek opinion, to give their own opinion and to pass on the opinion of another within ORCs. Findings The data analysis reveals that opinion seeking within ORCs had a direct effect on opinion giving and opinion passing. Ability trust and integrity trust had a positive effect on opinion seeking, while benevolence trust had a direct positive effect on opinion passing. Reciprocity had a direct impact on opinion passing. While reciprocity did not affect opinion giving, the relationship between these two concepts was mediated by integrity trust. Research limitations/implications By studying the complexities that characterise the relationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM, the study extends understanding of eWOM in ORCs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of only a few papers that have examined the complex interrelationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM in the context of ORCs

Hospital Preparedness for Critical Care during COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploratory Cross-sectional Study

AIM: The researchers conducted the study to assess intensive care units (ICUs) preparedness in Cairo University Hospitals to deal efficiently and effectively with COVID-19 upcoming waves. METHODS: An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted at Cairo University Intensive Care Units 6 pediatric ICUs, and 2 adult ICUs in the period from the end of February to the first week of March, 2020; almost 2 weeks after the appearance of the first case of COVID-19 in Egypt by hand-delivered questionnaire method with one of the ICU staff members who were available and have time to take part in the study. WHO checklist for hospital readiness was used; this checklist based on current knowledge and available evidence on the COVID-19 pandemic for WHO’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The WHO has developed the checklist to help hospital managers prepare for COVID-19 patient management by optimizing each hospital’s capacities. The list composed of 10 key components: (1) Leadership and coordination; (2) operational support, logistics and supply management; (3) information; (4) communication; (5) human resources; (6) continuity of essential services and surge capacity; (7) rapid identification; (8) diagnosis; (9) isolation and case management; and (10) infection prevention and control. RESULTS: The overall preparedness in both pediatric and adult ICUs was 54%. Overall, adult ICUs were more prepared than pediatric ICUs, especially in communication; continuity of essential services and surge capacity; rapid identification; diagnosis; isolation; and case management. Both of them were comparable regarding operational support, logistics and supply management; human resources; and infection prevention and control, while information component was lower in both types but reached critical values 10% in adult ones. CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrated the intermediate readiness of ICUs at initial outbreak; further assessment during different phases of pandemic is required. Continues education of HCWs and active communication should be established

Neurite outgrowth by the alternatively spliced region of human tenascin-C is mediated by neuronal alpha7beta1 integrin

The region of tenascin-C containing only alternately spliced fibronectin type-III repeat D (fnD) increases neurite outgrowth by itself and also as part of tenascin-C. We previously localized the active site within fnD to an eight amino acid sequence unique to tenascin-C, VFDNFVLK, and showed that the amino acids FD and FV are required for activity. The purpose of this study was to identify the neuronal receptor that interacts with VFDNFVLK and to investigate the hypothesis that FD and FV are important for receptor binding. Function-blocking antibodies against both alpha7 and beta1 integrin subunits were found to abolish VFDNFVLK-mediated process extension from cerebellar granule neurons. VFDNFVLK but not its mutant, VSPNGSLK, induced clustering of neuronal beta1 integrin immunoreactivity. This strongly implicates FD and FV as important structural elements for receptor activation. Moreover, biochemical experiments revealed an association of the alpha7beta1 integrin with tenascin-C peptides containing the VFDNFVLK sequence but not with peptides with alterations in FD and/or FV. These findings are the first to provide evidence that the alpha7beta1 integrin mediates a response to tenascin-C and the first to demonstrate a functional role for the alpha7beta1 integrin receptor in CNS neurons

Association of macrophage migration inhibitory factor promoter polymorphism -173G/C with susceptibility to childhood asthma

Abstract Introduction: macrophage migration inhibitory factor (miF) is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Polymorphisms associated with inflammatory diseases exist in the promoter region of miF, which alter its expression. We aimed to study the association of MIF promoter polymorphism -173G/C with childhood asthma. (p = 0.019, OR = 3.12,. Material and methods: in this case-control study, we recruited 60 pediatric patients with bronchial asthma and 90 age-and sex-matched healthy controls. MIF-173G/C was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCr-rFlP). Results: Genotype distribution between cases and healthy controls was statistically evaluated. Our results revealed that the frequency of the MIF-173C allele was significantly higher in children with asthma than in the control group (p = 0.002, odds ratio [OR] = 3.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.63-7.97). The frequency of the MIF-173CC genotype was higher in the asthmatic children than in the controls (p = 0.028, OR = 6.24, 95% CI = 1.24-31.29). Comparing carriage of the MIF-173C allele in pediatric patients with asthma with that observed in healthy controls (GC + CC vs. GG) revealed a positive association with the disease Conclusions: These results suggest that MIF-173G/C polymorphism confers an increased risk of susceptibility to the development of childhood asthma in an Egyptian population

Loss of CSMD1 expression is associated with high tumour grade and poor survival in invasive ductal breast carcinoma

International audienceCUB and SUSHI multiple domain protein 1 () is a candidate tumour suppressor gene that maps to chromosome 8p23, a region deleted in many tumour types including 50% of breast cancers. CSMD1 has homologies to proteins implicated in carcinogenesis. We aimed to study the expression pattern of the CSMD1 protein and evaluate its prognostic importance in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). An anti-CSMD1 antibody was developed and validated. The expression pattern of CSMD1 in normal breast and IDC samples was investigated by immunohistochemistry in 275 patients. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed. In normal breast duct epithelial cells, luminal, membranous and cytoplasmic CSMD1 staining was identified. Reduced expression of CSMD1 was detected in 79/275 (28.7%) of IDC cases. Low CSMD1 expression was significantly associated with high tumour grade ( = 0.003). CSMD1 expression was associated with overall survival (OS; HR = 0.607, 95%CI: 0.4-0.91,  = 0.018) but not with disease-free survival (DFS; HR = 0.81, 95%CI: 0.46-1.43,  = 0.48). Multivariate analysis showed that CSMD1, together with Nottingham Prognostic Index, was considered an independent predictor of OS (HR = 0.607, 95%CI: 0.4-0.91,  = 0.018) but not DFS (HR = 0.84, 95%CI: 0.46-1.5,  = 0.573). Reduction of CSMD1 expression was significantly associated with high tumour grade and decreased OS. Therefore, our results support the idea that is a tumour suppressor gene and suggest its possible use as a new prognostic biomarker. The membrane expression pattern of CSMD1 suggests that it may be a receptor or co-receptor involved in the process of signal transduction

Socioeconomic status and modification of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk prediction: Epidemiological analysis using data from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities study

OBJECTIVE: Examine whether the relationship between the pooled cohort equations (PCE) predicted 10-year risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and absolute risk for ASCVD is modified by socioeconomic status (SES). DESIGN: Population-based longitudinal cohort study-Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC)-investigating the development of cardiovascular disease across demographic subgroups. SETTING: Four communities in the USA-Forsyth County, North Carolina, Jackson, Mississippi, suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota and Washington County, Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: We identified 9782 ARIC men and women aged 54-73 without ASCVD at study visit 4 (1996-1998). PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Risk ratio (RR) differences in 10-year incident hospitalisations or death for ASCVD by SES and PCE predicted 10-year ASCVD risk categories to assess for risk modification. SES measures included educational attainment and census-tract neighbourhood deprivation using the Area Deprivation Index. PCE risk categories were 0%-5%, \u3e5%-10%, \u3e10%-15% and \u3e15%. SES as a prognostic factor to estimate ASCVD absolute risk categories was further investigated as an interaction term with the PCE. RESULTS: ASCVD RRs for participants without a high school education (referent college educated) increased at higher PCE estimated risk categories and was consistently \u3e1. Results indicate education is both a risk modifier and delineates populations at higher ASCVD risk independent of PCE. Neighbourhood deprivation did modify association but was less consistent in direction of effect. However, for participants residing in the most deprived neighbourhoods (referent least deprived neighbourhoods) with a PCE estimated risk \u3e10%-15%, risk was significantly elevated (RR 1.65, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.59). Education and neighbourhood deprivation inclusion as an interaction term on the PCE risk score was statistically significant (likelihood ratio p≤0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: SES modifies the association between PCE estimated risk and absolute risk of ASCVD. SES added into ASCVD risk prediction models as an interaction term may improve our ability to predict absolute ASCVD risk among socially disadvantaged populations

Aquilegia, Vol. 17 No. 3, July-December 1993: Newsletter of the Colorado Native Plant Society

https://epublications.regis.edu/aquilegia/1068/thumbnail.jp

Advances in pulmonary drug delivery targeting microbial biofilms in respiratory diseases

The increasing burden of respiratory diseases caused by microbial infections poses an immense threat to global health. This review focuses on the various types of biofilms that affect the respiratory system and cause pulmonary infections, specifically bacterial biofilms. The article also sheds light on the current strategies employed for the treatment of such pulmonary infection-causing biofilms. The potential of nanocarriers as an effective treatment modality for pulmonary infections is discussed, along with the challenges faced during treatment and the measures that may be implemented to overcome these. Understanding the primary approaches of treatment against biofilm infection and applications of drug-delivery systems that employ nanoparticle-based approaches in the disruption of biofilms are of utmost interest which may guide scientists to explore the vistas of biofilm research while determining suitable treatment modalities for pulmonary respiratory infections. </jats:p

Health, education, and social care provision after diagnosis of childhood visual disability

Aim: To investigate the health, education, and social care provision for children newly diagnosed with visual disability.Method: This was a national prospective study, the British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2), ascertaining new diagnoses of visual impairment or severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIBL), or equivalent vi-sion. Data collection was performed by managing clinicians up to 1-year follow-up, and included health and developmental needs, and health, education, and social care provision.Results: BCVIS2 identified 784 children newly diagnosed with visual impairment/SVIBL (313 with visual impairment, 471 with SVIBL). Most children had associated systemic disorders (559 [71%], 167 [54%] with visual impairment, and 392 [84%] with SVIBL). Care from multidisciplinary teams was provided for 549 children (70%). Two-thirds (515) had not received an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). Fewer children with visual impairment had seen a specialist teacher (SVIBL 35%, visual impairment 28%, χ2p < 0.001), or had an EHCP (11% vs 7%, χ2p < 0 . 01).Interpretation: Families need additional support from managing clinicians to access recommended complex interventions such as the use of multidisciplinary teams and educational support. This need is pressing, as the population of children with visual impairment/SVIBL is expected to grow in size and complexity.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited