158 research outputs found
Reexamining brand loyalty and brand awareness with social media marketing: A collectivist country perspective
Purpose: This study seeks to advance the literature by examining the mediating role of brand loyalty and the moderating impact of brand awareness in the relationships between social media marketing and collectivist Chinese behavior in the hospitality service context. This exploration is grounded in brand commitment and expectancy disconfirmation theories.
Methods:Empirical testing was conducted on survey data gathered from 150 collectivist Chinese customers in Hong Kong, utilizing partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Results:Brand loyalty plays a partial mediating role in the relationships between social media marketing and purchase intention as well as word-of-mouth. Additionally, brand awareness exerts a negative moderating influence on social media marketing-brand loyalty link.
Implications:Recommendations are provided for front-line staff tasked with addressing communication challenges by effectively managing the hotelâs social media account. They are strongly advised to steer clear of creating face-threatening situations and to demonstrate respect for the loyalty of Chinese collectivist customers. Furthermore, a negative brand awareness effect emerges when collectivist Chinese customers compare hotel brands with online travel agents
A Gentleman with Anemia and Cholestasis
Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a rare cause of cholestasis caused by progressive inflammation and fibrosis of both intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts leading to multifocal ductal strictures. Herein, we report a case of primary sclerosing cholangitis and inflammatory bowel disease. The concomitant diagnosis of these two diseases is not typical. The management includes the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and potential complications of primary sclerosing cholangitis, including dominant strictures of bile duct, portal hypertension, gallbladder diseases, cholangiocarcinoma, and colonoscopic surveillance
Reliable and valid NEWS for Chinese seniors: measuring perceived neighborhood attributes related to walking
Background : The effects of the built environment on walking in seniors have not been studied in an Asian context. To examine these effects, valid and reliable measures are needed. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire of perceived neighborhood characteristics related to walking appropriate for Chinese seniors (Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Chinese Seniors, NEWS-CS). It was based on the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale - Abbreviated (NEWS-A), a validated measure of perceived built environment developed in the USA for adults. A secondary study aim was to establish the generalizability of the NEWS-A to an Asian high-density urban context and a different age group. Methods : A multidisciplinary panel of experts adapted the original NEWS-A to reflect the built environment of Hong Kong and needs of seniors. The translated instrument was pre-tested on a sample of 50 Chinese-speaking senior residents (65+ years). The final version of the NEWS-CS was interviewer-administered to 484 seniors residing in four selected Hong Kong districts varying in walkability and socio-economic status. Ninety-two participants completed the questionnaire on two separate occasions, 2-3 weeks apart. Test-rest reliability indices were estimated for each item and subscale of the NEWS-CS. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to develop the measurement model of the NEWS-CS and cross-validate that of the NEWS-A. Results : The final version of the NEWS-CS consisted of 14 subscales and four single items (76 items). Test-retest reliability was moderate to good (ICC > 50 or % agreement > 60) except for four items measuring distance to destinations. The originally-proposed measurement models of the NEWS-A and NEWS-CS required 2-3 theoretically-justifiable modifications to fit the data well. Conclusions : The NEWS-CS possesses sufficient levels of reliability and factorial validity to be used for measuring perceived neighborhood environment in Chinese seniors. Further work is needed to assess its construct validity and generalizability to other Asian locations. In general, the measurement model of the original NEWS-A was generalizable to this study context, supporting the feasibility of cross-country and age-group comparisons of the effect of the neighborhood environment on walking using the NEWS-A as a tool to measure the perceived built environment
Predicting clinical outcomes using baseline and followâup laboratory data from the hepatitis C longâterm treatment against cirrhosis trial
Predicting clinical outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis C is challenging. We used the hepatitis C longâterm treatment against cirrhosis (HALTâC) trial database to develop two models, using baseline values of routinely available laboratory tests together with changes in these values during followâup to predict clinical decompensation and liverârelated death/liver transplant in patients with advanced hepatitis C. Patients randomized to no treatment and who had â„2âyear followâup without a clinical outcome were included in the analysis. Four variables (platelet count, aspartate aminotransferase [AST]/alanine aminotransferase [ALT] ratio, total bilirubin, and albumin) with three categories of change (stable, mild, or severe) over 2 years were analyzed. Cumulative incidence of clinical outcome was determined by KaplanâMeier analysis and Cox regression was used to evaluate predictors of clinical outcome. In all, 470 patients with 60 events were used to develop models to predict clinical decompensation. Baseline values of all four variables were predictive of decompensation. There was a general trend of increasing outcomes with more marked worsening of laboratory values over 2 years, particularly for patients with abnormal baseline values. A model that included baseline platelet count, AST/ALT ratio, bilirubin, and severe worsening of platelet count, bilirubin, and albumin was the best predictor of clinical decompensation. A total of 483 patients with 79 events were used to evaluate predictors of liverârelated death or liver transplant. A model that included baseline platelet count and albumin as well as severe worsening of AST/ALT ratio and albumin was the best predictor of liverârelated outcomes. Conclusion: Both the baseline value and the rapidity in change of the value of routine laboratory variables were shown to be important in predicting clinical outcomes in patients with advanced chronic hepatitis C. (H EPATOLOGY 2011;)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88084/1/24550_ftp.pd
Clinical outcome and virological characteristics of hepatitis B-related acute liver failure in the United States
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72563/1/j.1365-2893.2005.00581.x.pd
The impact of the ClearRTâą upgrade on target motion tracking accuracy in RadixactÂź SynchronyÂź lung treatments
Background: The objective was to investigate the change in segmentation error of RadixactÂź SynchronyÂź lung treatment after its kV imaging system was upgraded from Generation 1 to Generation 2 in the ClearRTâą installation.
Materials and methods: RadixactÂź Lung SynchronyÂź plans were created for the Model 18023 XsightÂź Lung Tracking âXLTâ Phantom combined with different lung target inserts with densities of 0.280, 0.500, 0.943 and 1.093 g/cc. After RadixactÂź SynchronyÂź treatment delivery using the Generation 1 and Generation 2 kV systems according to each plan, the tracking performance of the two kV systems on each density insert was compared by calculating the root mean square (RMS) error (ÎŽRMS) between the Synchrony-predicted motion in the log file and the known phantom motion and by calculating ÎŽ95%, the maximum error within a 95% probability threshold.
Results: The ΎRMS and Ύ95% of RadixactŸ SynchronyŸ treatment for Gen1 kV systems deteriorated as the density of the target insert decreased, from 1.673 ± 0.064 mm and 3.049 ± 0.089 mm, respectively, for the 1.093 g/cc insert to 8.355 ± 5.873 mm and 15.297 ± 10.470 mm, respectively, for the 0.280 g/cc insert. In contrast, no such trend was observed in the ΎRMS or Ύ95% of SynchronyŸ treatment using the Gen2 kV system. The ΎRMS and Ύ95%, respectively, fluctuated slightly from 1.586 to 1.687 mm and from 2.874 to 2.971 mm when different target inserts were tracked by the Gen2 kV system.
Conclusion: With improved image contrast in kV radiographs, the Gen2 kV imaging system can enhance the ability to track targets accurately in RadixactÂź Lung SynchronyÂź treatment and reduce the segmentation error. Our study showed that lung targets with density values as low as 0.280 cc/g could be tracked correctly in Synchrony treatment with the Gen2 kV imaging system
Relationship of serum fibrosis markers with liver fibrosis stage and collagen content in patients with advanced chronic hepatitis C
This study determined the utility of a panel of serum fibrosis markers along with routine laboratory tests in estimating the likelihood of histological cirrhosis in a cohort of prior nonresponders with chronic hepatitis C. The relationship between serum markers and quantitative hepatic collagen content was also determined. Liver biopsy samples from 513 subjects enrolled in the HALT-C trial were assigned Ishak fibrosis scores. The collagen content of 386 sirius-red stained, nonfragmented biopsy samples was quantified using computerized morphometry. Serum tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), amino-terminal peptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP), hyaluronic acid (HA), and YKL-40 levels were determined using commercially available assays.Sixty-two percent of patients had noncirrhotic fibrosis (Ishak stage 2-4) whereas 38% had cirrhosis (Ishak stage 5,6). Multivariate analysis identified a 3-variable model (HA, TIMP-1, and platelet count) that had an area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) of 0.81 for estimating the presence of cirrhosis. This model was significantly better than that derived from the cirrhosis discriminant score (AUROC 0.70), the AST-to-platelet ratio (AUROC 0.73), and a prior model developed in HALT-C patients (AUROC 0.79). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the serum fibrosis markers correlated substantially better with Ishak fibrosis scores than with the log hepatic collagen content (AUROC 0.84 versus 0.72). Conclusion: A 3-variable model consisting of serum HA, TIMP-1, and platelet count was better than other published models in identifying cirrhosis in HALT-C Trial subjects. The stronger correlation of the serum markers with Ishak scores suggests that serum fibrosis markers reflect the pattern of fibrosis more closely than the quantity of hepatic collagen. (H EPATOLOGY 2008.)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58027/1/22099_ftp.pd
Validation of P2/MS for reflecting hepatic fibrosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Coronavirus-positive Nasopharyngeal Aspirate as Predictor for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Mortality
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has caused a major epidemic worldwide. A novel coronavirus is deemed to be the causative agent. Early diagnosis can be made with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal aspirate samples. We compared symptoms of 156 SARS-positive and 62 SARS-negative patients in Hong Kong; SARS was confirmed by RT-PCR. The RT-PCRâpositive patients had significantly more shortness of breath, a lower lymphocyte count, and a lower lactate dehydrogenase level; they were also more likely to have bilateral and multifocal chest radiograph involvement, to be admitted to intensive care, to need mechanical ventilation, and to have higher mortality rates. By multivariate analysis, positive RT-PCR on nasopharyngeal aspirate samples was an independent predictor of death within 30 days
The photometric observation of the quasi-simultaneous mutual eclipse and occultation between Europa and Ganymede on 22 August 2021
Mutual events (MEs) are eclipses and occultations among planetary natural
satellites. Most of the time, eclipses and occultations occur separately.
However, the same satellite pair will exhibit an eclipse and an occultation
quasi-simultaneously under particular orbital configurations. This kind of rare
event is termed as a quasi-simultaneous mutual event (QSME). During the 2021
campaign of mutual events of jovian satellites, we observed a QSME between
Europa and Ganymede. The present study aims to describe and study the event in
detail. We observed the QSME with a CCD camera attached to a 300-mm telescope
at the Hong Kong Space Museum Sai Kung iObservatory. We obtained the combined
flux of Europa and Ganymede from aperture photometry. A geometric model was
developed to explain the light curve observed. Our results are compared with
theoretical predictions (O-C). We found that our simple geometric model can
explain the QSME fairly accurately, and the QSME light curve is a superposition
of the light curves of an eclipse and an occultation. Notably, the observed
flux drops are within 2.6% of the theoretical predictions. The size of the
event central time O-Cs ranges from -14.4 to 43.2 s. Both O-Cs of flux drop and
timing are comparable to other studies adopting more complicated models. Given
the event rarity, model simplicity and accuracy, we encourage more observations
and analysis on QSMEs to improve Solar System ephemerides.Comment: 23 pages, 5 appendixes, 16 figures, 7 table
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