267 research outputs found
UNDERSTANDING THE DETERMINANTS OF BLOCKCHAIN ADOPTION IN SUPPLY CHAINS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN CHINA
This study adopts affordance approach to understand how supply chain managers interpret the possible benefits that can be performed within blockchain-enabled supply chain applications. With a focus on governance efficiency improvement, the impacts of traceability and transparency affordance on uncertainty reduction were examined from the perspective of transaction cost theory in supply chain industry. Partial least squares â structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data collected from 364 experienced supply chain managers in China. The results revealed that traceability affordance exerted significant impacts on environmental and trading partner uncertainty rather than transparency affordance, which in turn affected the adoption intention. This study contributes to the extant literature by embedding transaction cost in blockchain affordances. The findings are useful in guiding practitioners to improve blockchain system design for reducing uncertainties in supply chain environment, leading to a higher adoption rate of blockchain technology
Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplants in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in First or Second Remission
Ad hoc influenza vaccination during years of significant antigenic drift in a tropical city with 2 seasonal peaks
We evaluated the acceptability of an additional ad hoc influenza vaccination among the health care professionals following seasons with significant antigenic drift. Self-administered, anonymous surveys were performed by hard copy questionnaires in public hospitals, and by an on-line platform available to all healthcare professionals, from April 1st to May 31st, 2015. A total of 1290 healthcare professionals completed the questionnaires, including doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals working in both the public and private systems. Only 31.8% of participating respondents expressed an intention to receive the additional vaccine, despite that the majority of them agreed or strongly agreed that it would bring benefit to the community (88.9%), save lives (86.7%), reduce medical expenses (76.3%), satisfy public expectation (82.8%), and increase awareness of vaccination (86.1%). However, a significant proportion expressed concern that the vaccine could disturb the normal immunization schedule (45.5%); felt uncertain what to do in the next vaccination round (66.0%); perceived that the summer peak might not occur (48.2%); and believed that the summer peak might not be of the same virus (83.5%). Furthermore, 27.8% of all respondents expected that the additional vaccination could weaken the efficacy of previous vaccinations; 51.3% was concerned about side effects; and 61.3% estimated that there would be a low uptake rate. If the supply of vaccine was limited, higher priority groups were considered to include the elderly aged â„65 years with chronic medical conditions (89.2%), the elderly living in residential care homes (87.4%), and long-stay residents of institutions for the disabled (80.7%). The strongest factors associated with accepting the additional vaccine included immunization with influenza vaccines in the past 3 years, higher perceived risk of contracting influenza, and higher perceived severity of the disease impact. The acceptability to an additional ad hoc influenza vaccination was low among healthcare professionals. This could have a negative impact on such additional vaccination campaigns since healthcare professionals are a key driver for vaccine acceptance. The discordance in perceived risk and acceptance of vaccination regarding self versus public deserves further evaluation
Recommended from our members
Key tea beverage values driving touristsâ memorable experiences: an empirical study in Hong Kong-style cafĂ© memorable experience
Purpose â Using consumption value theory, this study aims to examine the impact of touristsâ perceived
consumption value dimensions of tea beverages offered by Hong Kong (HK)-style cafeÂŽs, including taste
value, price value, health value and emotional value, on touristsâmemorable experience (ME), satisfaction
and revisit intention.
Design/methodology/approach â Using an online survey, this study collected 225 usable data from
tourists who had experience in visiting HK-style cafeÂŽs. Partial least squaresâstructural equation modelling
was used to examine the importance of touristsâ value dimensions, including taste value, price value,
health value and emotional value, on touristsâME, satisfaction and revisit intention.
Findings â The results revealed that taste value, price value, health value and emotional value are
significant predictors of touristsâ ME in HK-style cafeÂŽs, which in turn drive their satisfaction and revisit
intention.
Research limitations/implications â This study focusses on a single context: HK-style cafeÂŽs. Future
research may enhance the generalisability of the findings by replicating the model in other countries with
diverse cultures.
Practical implications â Tourism marketers may strengthen touristsâ ME, satisfaction and revisit
intention by promoting tea beverages as well as HK-style cafeÂŽs. Tourism marketers are recommended to
communicate taste value, price value, health value and emotional value of HK-style tea beverages, which
in turn encourages tourists to learn about the features of tea beverages. Subsequently, it drives touristsâ
ME and satisfaction, thereby strengthening their intention to revisit.
Originality/value â This study contributes to the tourism marketing literature by providing an
understanding of the role of tea beverage value in driving touristsâ ME, satisfaction and revisit intention.
By empirically testing a research model, this study confirms that specific consumption value elements of
tea beverages, namely, taste value, price value, health value and emotional value, are critical drivers in
driving touristsâME, satisfaction and revisit intention
Solar Neutrinos and the Principle of Equivalence
We study the proposed solution of the solar neutrino problem which requires a
flavor nondiagonal coupling of neutrinos to gravity. We adopt a
phenomenological point of view and investigate the consequences of the
hypothesis that the neutrino weak interaction eigenstates are linear
combinations of the gravitational eigenstates which have slightly different
couplings to gravity, and , , corresponding to a
difference in red-shift between electron and muon neutrinos, . We perform a analysis of the latest available solar
neutrino data and obtain the allowed regions in the space of the relevant
parameters. The existing data rule out most of the parameter space which can be
probed in solar neutrino experiments, allowing only for small values of the mixing angle () and for large mixing (). Measurements of the -neutrino energy spectrum in the SNO and
Super-Kamiokande experiments will provide stronger constraints independent of
all considerations related to solar models. We show that these measurements
will be able to exclude part of the allowed region as well as to distinguish
between conventional oscillations and oscillations due to the violation of the
equivalence principle.Comment: 20 pages + 4 figures, IASSNS-AST 94/5
Fecal Viral Concentration and Diarrhea in Norovirus Gastroenteritis
Fecal viral concentrations of 40 patients infected with norovirus genogroup GII.4 correlated with diarrhea duration and frequency of vomiting. Higher viral concentration and older age were independently associated with prolonged diarrhea (>4 days). These findings provide information on the pathogenesis and transmission of norovirus infections
Efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of a human rotavirus vaccine (RIX4414) in Hong Kong children up to three years of age: A randomized, controlled trial
AbstractBackgroundA phase III, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in Hong Kong to evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of a human rotavirus vaccine, RIX4414 (Rotarixâą) against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis in children up to three years of age.MethodsHealthy infants aged 6â12 weeks were enrolled between 08-December-2003 and 31-August-2005 and received two oral doses of either RIX4414 vaccine (N=1513) or placebo (N=1512) given 2 months apart. Vaccine efficacy was assessed from two weeks post-Dose 2 until the children were two and three years of age. Anti-rotavirus IgA seroconversion rate was calculated pre-vaccination and 1â2 months post-Dose 2 using ELISA (cut-off=20U/mL) for 100 infants. Safety was assessed until the children were two years of age; serious adverse events (SAEs) were recorded throughout the study period.ResultsIn children aged two and three years of life, vaccine efficacy against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis was 95.6% (95% CI: 73.1%â99.9%) and 96.1% (95% CI: 76.5%â99.9%), respectively. The seroconversion rate 1â2 months after the second dose of RIX4414 was 97.5% (95% CI: 86.8%â99.9%). At least one SAE was recorded in 439 and 477 infants who were administered RIX4414 and placebo, respectively (p-value=0.130). Six intussusception cases were reported (RIX4414=4; placebo=2) and none was assessed to be vaccine-related.ConclusionRIX4414 was efficacious, immunogenic and safe in the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis for at least two years post-vaccination in Hong Kong children
Supersymmetric Seesaw without Singlet Neutrinos: Neutrino Masses and Lepton-Flavour Violation
We consider the supersymmetric seesaw mechanism induced by the exchange of
heavy SU(2)_W triplet states, rather than `right-handed' neutrino singlets, to
generate neutrino masses. We show that in this scenario the neutrino flavour
structure tested at low-energy in the atmospheric and solar neutrino
experiments is directly inherited from the neutrino Yukawa couplings to the
triplets. This allows us to predict the ratio of the tau --> mu gamma (or tau
--> e gamma) and mu --> e gamma decay rates in terms of the low-energy neutrino
parameters. Moreover, once the model is embedded in a grand unified model,
quark-flavour violation can be linked to lepton-flavour violation.Comment: 26 LaTeX pages, 10 postscript figures, uses epsfig and axodraw.
Comments and references adde
- âŠ