Love Language Scale in Retail Service Environment: An Exploratory Study

In this study, Chapman\u27s five love languages are adapted to create a scale in the retail service context. According to Chapman (1992), most humans use one (or two) of the five love languages, namely words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch, to communicate and receive love, which ultimately helps to maintain relationships. The theory of relational maintenance (Dindia & Canary, 1993), which states that certain maintenance behaviors (e.g. love languages) are used to sustain desired relational features, also supports Chapman\u27s claims. The study was designed to develop a reliable and valid self-report measurement of the love-language scale in the retail service environment to measure the retailer-customer relationship

Responding in a Crisis: Pivoting to a Tele-Reference Service Model During Improbable Times

This presentation was given at the virtual SEFLIN 2021 Conference, titled, Whose Library is it Anyway: Improvisation in Improbable Times. The presentation was part of a concurrent breakout session that was held on July 29, 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries’ Research & Information Services Department (RIS) implemented a virtual reference service called Tele-Reference providing a safe alternative to in-person reference desk service. This session will explore how the UCF Libraries RIS Department pivoted during the public health crisis and examined reference services to meet the needs of the community. It will highlight the formation and implementation of Tele-Reference, as well as explore future plans for utilizing this innovative technology. Perspectives from librarians who have staffed Tele-Reference will also be shared. Attendees will learn about the benefits and challenges of this service to help them implement and leverage virtual reference services in new and dynamic ways to meet the needs of their community and institution

Behind the student loan debt crisis, new benefits solutions

Two years ago, when Scott Thompson took over tech startup Tuition.io as chief executive officer in 2016, he felt as though he had to educate his clients about his product — a new benefit, managed by his software company that allows employers to help their employees repay their student loans. Today, he doesn’t feel that need. When he recently walked into a Fortune 20 company with a stack of documents, his prospective clients said they understood his pitch and hardly required the introductory material. “I don’t evangelize anymore. We very rarely educate any longer,” Thompson said. When Tuition.io was founded back in 2011, it was among the first of its ilk to tap into an hitherto unforeseen business opportunity in employee benefits. It surveyed the landscape, at the gaping chasms of American student loan debt, — now at a staggering $1.5 trillion and second only to mortgage debt for households in the United States, — and offered a novel solution. Tuition.io would be an online management system for student loans and, what’s more, it would target employers to set up a student loan repayment plan. When employees make payments towards their student loan debt, their payments can be matched by the employer, perhaps$50 or $100 per month, for maximum lifetime contributions of several thousands of dollars per employee towards their principle. Often touted as the new 401(k) of the millennial era, student loan debt repayment is likely to become the hottest new benefit in future workplaces, as companies figure out innovative ways to recruit and retain talent in a low unemployment economy. With so many young workers mired in student debt, the ramifications have rippled through the economy as debt holders fail to save for retirement, buy homes, get married and otherwise held off on financial milestones to pay down student loans. “Paying off student debt is something all of America is going to decide to get aggressive on and go after. It’s a huge number. We can only hope to contain it and hope to get it down,” said Aaron Pottichen, president of retirement services at Texas-based CLS Partners. However, the ramp up of the benefit may be a while in coming. Only 4 percent of companies in America offered the benefit in 2018, according to the Society of Human Resources Management, and it will likely not be adopted until demand increases and it becomes a tax advantaged incentive for more companies. https://sarahmin1.github.io/studentloanbenefit

Evaluating the Efficiency in the Application of Transformation and CRISPR/Cas9 Gene-editing Technique on Pumpkins

With the simplicity of a unique genome engineering mechanism, CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique has amazed scholars with its effectiveness and efficiency in manipulating gene sequences.[1] As this advanced technique develops, its applications on different species arise as prominent subjects yet to be determined. Due to the great economic value of pumpkins and the need for examining CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing efficiency, Casperita pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) is chosen as the subject to be investigated on. Through introducing CRISPR/Cas9 system —for modifying phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene— into pumpkin seeds with Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, we regenerate transgenic pumpkins and expect to observe albino leaves in the transformed plants. By identifying mutated pumpkins and analyzing genotyping data, the efficiency in the application of transformation and CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique on pumpkins can be established. Utilizing the findings, we aim to make contribution in developing an effective, promising gene-editing practice for pumpkin and maximizing its benefits in agriculture

Trajectories of objectively measured physical activity in free-living older men.

BACKGROUND: The steep decline in physical activity (PA) among the oldest old is not well understood; there is little information about the patterns of change in PA and sedentary behaviour (SB) in older people. Longitudinal data on objectively measured PA data can give insights about how PA and SB change with age. METHODS: Men age 70-90 yr, from a United Kingdom population-based cohort wore a GT3X accelerometer over the hip annually on up to three occasions (56%, 50%, and 51% response rates) spanning 2 yr. Multilevel models were used to estimate change in activity. Men were grouped according to achieving ≥150 min·wk of MVPA in bouts of ≥10 min (current guidelines) at two or three time points. RESULTS: A total of 1419 ambulatory men had ≥600 min wear time on ≥3 d at ≥2 time points. At baseline, men took 4806 steps per day and spent 72.5% of their day in SB, 23.1% in light PA, and 4.1% in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Mean change per year was -341 steps, +1.1% SB, -0.7% light PA, and -0.4% MVPA each day (all P 30 min increased from 5.1 by 0.1 per year (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults, the steep decline in total PA occurred because of reductions in MVPA, while light PA is relatively spared and sedentary time and long sedentary bouts increase

Temporal Effects of Sleeve Gastrectomy on Glucose-Insulin Homeostasis and Incretin Hormone Response at 1 and 6 Months

BackgroundBariatric surgery is an effective treatment for morbid obesity and glycaemic dysfunction.ObjectivesThe aim of the work was to examine both the static and dynamic changes of glucose-insulin homeostasis and incretin hormone response following sleeve gastrectomy (SG) in a sample of 55 participants preoperatively and 1 month and 6 months postoperatively. The focus was on a sample of patients with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes (T2D).SettingMorriston Hospital, UK.MethodsProspective study comprising of 55 participants with impaired glucose homeostasis and T2D undergoing SG (mean body mass index [BMI] 50.4 kg/m2, mean glycated haemoglobin [A1C] 7.4%). Serial measurements of glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic hormone (GIP) were performed during oral glucose tolerance testing preoperatively and 1 and 6 months postoperatively. Areas under the curve (AUC) were examined at 30, 60, and 120 min.ResultsWe observed significant improvements in measures of obesity, as well as static and dynamic measures of glucose, insulin, C-peptide and HOMA. Furthermore, significant increases in GLP-1 response as early as 6 months postoperatively were also seen.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, no study has examined the detailed dynamic changes in glucose and insulin homeostasis in this number of participants undergoing SG in relation to incretin hormones GIP and GLP-1. This current study supports the role of SG for the treatment of obesity-related glucose dysregulation

Mechanical Strains Induced in Osteoblasts by Use of Point Femtosecond Laser Targeting

A study demonstrating how ultrafast laser radiation stimulates osteoblasts is presented. The study employed a custom made optical system that allowed for simultaneous confocal cell imaging and targeted femtosecond pulse laser irradiation. When femtosecond laser light was focused onto a single cell, a rise in intracellular Ca2+ levels was observed followed by contraction of the targeted cell. This contraction caused deformation of neighbouring cells leading to a heterogeneous strain field throughout the monolayer. Quantification of the strain fields in the monolayer using digital image correlation revealed local strains much higher than threshold values typically reported to stimulate extracellular bone matrix production in vitro. This use of point targeting with femtosecond pulse lasers could provide a new method for stimulating cell activity in orthopaedic tissue engineering