2,604 research outputs found
Consumer adoption of online music services: the influence of perceived risks and risk relief strategies
Purpose - The aim of this paper is to offer insights into what consumers are looking for when downloading music and what different consumer groups might look for in commercial online music services, based on their current level of music downloading, and their likelihood of purchasing music online in the near future.
Design/methodology/approach - The literature review focused on the risk and adoption theories. Interviews were used to help derive variables used in the design of a questionnaire. A web survey of 211 samples was used as a data collection method for this study.
Findings - The results suggest that performance and time-loss aspects of perceived risks are playing an important role, while social and psychological aspects of risks are of the least concern to consumers. Where different types of users are concerned, those with the most experience of downloading music are the least profitable segment to target. Non and Light downloaders, on the other hand, should be the focus of marketing activities, although their needs are different.
Originality/value - This paper highlighted that different groups have different behaviours towards downloading music. The finding helps the online music providers to focus on and capture the new age downloaders
Dampak Eksternalitas Pabrik Pengolahan Kelapa Sawit (Pks) PT. Tamora Agro Lestari (Tal) terhadap Sosial Ekonomi Masyarakat di Desa Serosah Kecamatan Hulu Kuantan Kabupaten Kuantan Singingi
The purpose of this research are for: 1) To discover and descibe the externalize effect to a social society condition who lives arround the palm oil factory of PT. Tamora Agro Lestari, 2) To discover and describe the externalize effect to economic society condition who lives arround the palm oil factory of PT. Tamora Agro Lestari, 3) To description the social society condition before and after the palm oil factory build at Hulu Kuantan sub district. This research was doing to palm oil factory of PT. Tamora Agro Lestari at Serosah village Hulu Kuantan sub district Kuantan Singingi regency. Sample was done by cluster sampling. Way the analis that used to aim to a society growth format, employment, income and dependency ratio. Society growth format before and after PKS buid have been changes in 2,99 percen it\u27s means that by buiding PKS still give not a big effect to develop the population other wise the employment had and effect look by partisipation growth worker as 1,36 percen and jobless go down in -25,84 percen. The employeis income in a month growth in about 60,38 percen from Rp.1.446.600 become Rp.3.652.000. Per capita income in a month growth about 54,51 percen from Rp.859.500 become Rp.1.889,833, the avverage income in a month honorer growth about 6,79 percen from Rp.1.767.278 become Rp.1.896.028and per capita income in a month growth about 8,72 percen from Rp.502.947 become Rp.551.037. Dependency ratio is about 53 percen it\u27s means at every 100 soul of produktif society was a dependency about 53 non produktif age. Society the changes of social society arround PKS is the changes fisicly (environmen and influence by new commer society or PKS employer)
Circulating vaspin is unrelated to insulin sensitivity in a cohort of nondiabetic humans
Objective: To study the association of vaspin with glucose metabolism.
Design: Cross-sectional and intervention study.
Subjects and methods: The association of serum vaspin with metabolic and anthropometric characteristics was investigated in 108 volunteers. Euglycemic–hyperinsulinemic clamps (EHC) were performed in 83 of the participants. Changes of circulating vaspin levels were additionally studied in a crossover study using 300 min EHC with lipid versus saline infusion (n=10).
Results: Neither glucose tolerance status nor insulin sensitivity, both as measured using EHCs and using homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), was significantly associated with serum vaspin in the cross-sectional study. Furthermore, there was no effect of short-term lipid-induced insulin resistance due to a 300 min intravenous lipid challenge on circulating vaspin. However, circulating vaspin levels were significantly elevated in women using oral contraceptives (OC), both compared to women without OC intake (1.17±0.26 vs 0.52±0.09 ng/ml, P=0.02) and males (1.17±0.26 vs 0.29±0.04 ng/ml, P=0.01). After exclusion of OC using females and stratification according to body mass index (BMI), a significant sexual dimorphism in subjects with a BMI <25 kg/m2 was observed (males 0.21±0.04 ng/ml versus females 0.70±0.16 ng/ml, P=0.009).
Conclusion: Our results support the existence of a sexual dimorphism regarding circulating vaspin. The lack of an association of serum vaspin with HOMA-IR and M value indicates, however, no major role for vaspin concerning insulin sensitivity in nondiabetic humans
Antibacterial Activities of Yansoon (Pimpinella anisum L.), Ginger (Zingiber officinale L.) and Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum L.) Extracts
There is an increasing demand for the biologically active substances from plant origin which is of current interest and focus for new research approach. The synthetic pharmaceuticals compounds showed various side effects on functions of different parts of the human body, both internally and externally. Therefore, the present study was investigating the antimicrobial activity of three important herbs, Ginger (Zingiber officinale L.), Yansoon (Pimpinella anisum L.) and Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum L.). The cup- plate agar (inhibition zone) method was used for studying the effects of the extracts against Streptococcus sp, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. The results showed that, the ethanol extracts of cinnamon and the combination of ginger and cinnamon were highly effective on Streptococcus sp (24mm and 21mm, respectively), compared to the water extracts (15mm and16mm, respectively). However, the water and the ethanol extracts of ginger and yansoon were less effective (11mm, 9mm, 8.5mm and 8mm, respectively). The ethanol extracts of cinnamon and the combination of ginger and cinnamon were highly effective on Staphylococcus aureus giving (24mm and 21.5 mm, respectively) followed by water extract (20mm and 21 mm, respectively). While, the ethanol and water extracts of ginger and yansoon were less effective (11mm, 10.5mm, 9mm and 9.5mm, respectively). The ethanol and water extracts of cinnamon were highly effective on E. faecalis giving (21mm and 20.5 mm, respectively). The ethanol extracts of the combination of ginger and cinnamon were effective (20 mm) followed by water extract (18mm). The water and ethanol extracts of ginger and yansoon were less effective giving (15 mm, 12 mm, 8 mm and 9 mm, respectively). From the results it could be concluded that, the extracts of (Cinnamon, Yansoon and Ginger) can be used as antimicrobial agents. It could be suggested that the active antimicrobial components need to be verified in any further study and more microorganism are to be tested .
 
Effects of vaccination on the prevalence of Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in small ruminants in Taraba State, Nigeria
An investigation was conducted in order to determine the distribution of Peste Des Petits Ru'minants (PPR) and
vaccination efforts in Taraba State of Nigeria using data collected from the Veterinary Services Department of the
State's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development between 1992 and 1998. The results showed that the
disease is most prevalent during the cold months of the year (Hamattan) and beginning of the rainy season.
Similarly, outbreaks increased with the relaxation of vaccination campaign programmes. It was observed that the
number of outbreak was low when a vaccination using Tissue-Culture-Rinderpest Vaccine (TCRV) was intensified and it increases when the vaccination was relaxed. It was concluded from this study that intensive vaccination
campaign of small ruminants against the PPR through provision of adequate facilities, TCRV vaccines, training
offield workers and mass enlightenment campaign in the villages are paramount to control menace of the disease
in Nigeria
Nutritional assessment of zinc among adolescents in the Gaza Strip-Palestine
Zinc deficiency, obesity and stunting can be observed together in some developing countries. Moreover, zinc deficiency may enhance fat deposition and decrease lean body mass. In term of health, adequate absorbable zinc in food is essential for human health and growth. On the other hand, zinc deficiency affects children’s physical growth and deteriorates health status and increases the risk and severity of a variety of infectious diseases. The aim of the study is to assess zinc nutritional status among early adolescents in the Gaza Strip-Palestine.
Methods:
A cross sectional study had been performed on 296 adolescents aged 12-15 years old. Three areas in the Gaza Strip were chosen randomly. Systematically, pupils of 7th, 8th and 9th grades were selected. Height and weight measures were taken. Questionnaires including dietary habit and physical activities of pupils were collected in addition to serum zinc level measure.
Results:
The overall prevalence of serum zinc deficiency among adolescents was 42.5%. Zinc deficiency was more prevalent among the females (47.7%) than the males (37.2%). The overall prevalence of high body mass index was 29%. The overall prevalence of stunting was 7.6%. The stunted males (8.8%) were more prevalent than the females (6.4%). Forty-nine percent of the females live in sedentary life style, whereas 55% of the males practiced active and very active leisure physical activity. The females were less consuming of meat, eggs and milk than the males. Serum zinc level is associated positively with consumption of meat, BMI for age, stunting and physical activities.
Conclusion:
Zinc deficiency is prevalent
Free fatty acids link metabolism and regulation of the insulin-sensitizing fibroblast growth factor-21
OBJECTIVE—Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-21 improves insulin
sensitivity and lipid metabolism in obese or diabetic animal
models, while human studies revealed increased FGF-21 levels in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Given that FGF-21 has been suggested to be a peroxisome proliferator–activator receptor (PPAR) –dependent regulator of fasting metabolism, we hypothesized that free fatty acids (FFAs), natural agonists of PPAR, might modify FGF-21 levels.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—The effect of fatty
acids on FGF-21 was investigated in vitro in HepG2 cells. Within a randomized controlled trial, the effects of elevated FFAs were studied in 21 healthy subjects (13 women and 8 men). Within a clinical trial including 17 individuals, the effect of insulin was analyzed using an hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp and the effect of PPAR activation was studied subsequently in a rosiglitazone
treatment trial over 8 weeks.
RESULTS—Oleate and linoleate increased FGF-21 expression
and secretion in a PPAR-dependent fashion, as demonstrated
by small-interfering RNA–induced PPAR knockdown, while
palmitate had no effect. In vivo, lipid infusion induced an
increase of circulating FGF-21 in humans, and a strong correlation between the change in FGF-21 levels and the change in FFAs was observed. An artificial hyperinsulinemia, which was induced to delineate the potential interaction between elevated FFAs and
hyperinsulinemia, revealed that hyperinsulinemia also increased FGF-21 levels in vivo, while rosiglitazone treatment had no effect.
CONCLUSIONS—The results presented here offer a mechanism
explaining the induction of the metabolic regulator FGF-21 in the fasting situation but also in type 2 diabetes and obesity
Delineation of the Native Basin in Continuum Models of Proteins
We propose two approaches for determining the native basins in off-lattice
models of proteins. The first of them is based on exploring the saddle points
on selected trajectories emerging from the native state. In the second
approach, the basin size can be determined by monitoring random distortions in
the shape of the protein around the native state. Both techniques yield the
similar results. As a byproduct, a simple method to determine the folding
temperature is obtained.Comment: REVTeX, 6 pages, 5 EPS figure
Disorder-induced magnetic memory: Experiments and theories
Beautiful theories of magnetic hysteresis based on random microscopic
disorder have been developed over the past ten years. Our goal was to directly
compare these theories with precise experiments. We first developed and then
applied coherent x-ray speckle metrology to a series of thin multilayer
perpendicular magnetic materials. To directly observe the effects of disorder,
we deliberately introduced increasing degrees of disorder into our films. We
used coherent x-rays to generate highly speckled magnetic scattering patterns.
The apparently random arrangement of the speckles is due to the exact
configuration of the magnetic domains in the sample. In effect, each speckle
pattern acts as a unique fingerprint for the magnetic domain configuration.
Small changes in the domain structure change the speckles, and comparison of
the different speckle patterns provides a quantitative determination of how
much the domain structure has changed. How is the magnetic domain configuration
at one point on the major hysteresis loop related to the configurations at the
same point on the loop during subsequent cycles? The microscopic return-point
memory(RPM) is partial and imperfect in the disordered samples, and completely
absent when the disorder was not present. We found the complementary-point
memory(CPM) is also partial and imperfect in the disordered samples and
completely absent when the disorder was not present. We found that the RPM is
always a little larger than the CPM. We also studied the correlations between
the domains within a single ascending or descending loop. We developed new
theoretical models that do fit our experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 25 figures, Accepted by Physical Review B 01/25/0
Disorder-induced microscopic magnetic memory
Using coherent x-ray speckle metrology, we have measured the influence of
disorder on major loop return point memory (RPM) and complementary point memory
(CPM) for a series of perpendicular anisotropy Co/Pt multilayer films. In the
low disorder limit, the domain structures show no memory with field cycling--no
RPM and no CPM. With increasing disorder, we observe the onset and the
saturation of both the RPM and the CPM. These results provide the first direct
ensemble-sensitive experimental study of the effects of varying disorder on
microscopic magnetic memory and are compared against the predictions of
existing theories.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Letters in Nov. 200
- …