Antecedents of Brand Equity: The Chinese Path to Building Brands A Case-study of GEELY and BYD Automotive Brands

Foy many years China was flagged as the world’s premier factory neglecting significant aspects such as brand equity. This study explores the antecedents of brand equity of Chinese brands. The main purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of Chinese brand equity and the impact of selective marketing mix elements and the Country of Origin as attributes preceding the creation of Chinese brand equity. A qualitative approach has been adopted in order to acquire an understanding of Chinese path to building brands. A case-study methodology was applied, with the unit of the analysis being two Chinese automotive brands: GEELY and BYD. The researcher proposes a conceptual framework in which brand differentiators composed of selective marketing mix elements and the COO (Antecedents) are related to the dimensions of brand equity; brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand associations. Throughout the course of study, five questions were explored. The results of the research confirmed that some of the Chinese companies are moving towards building strong brand equity with their steady steps in product quality, joint ventures and co-branding. The researcher also confirmed that Chinese Country of Origin is no longer an obstacle to building strong brand equity. Two research questions - geographical presence and perceived value - were not supported by the cases of GEELY and BYD and were not accepted as positively affecting the brand equity of Chinese brands during the course of the study. While some literature supports this direction, the two cases understudy failed to support them. The research affirmed that certain Chinese brands are on the rise and that the strategic focus of Chinese companies recognizes the fact that brand building is the path to sustainable competitive advantage. For the purpose of triangulation and control for reliability, the accepted questions were further investigated by an external researcher. Discussion, conclusion, recommendations, and future work will then be explored

Assessments of Bone Height Loss in Telescopic Mandibular Implant-Retained Overdentures Retained by Two and Four End - Osseous Implants: A Randomized Clinical Trial

AIM: This randomized clinical study aimed to assess bone height loss when using mandibular implant overdentures retained by two and four endosseous implants using the telescopic attachments. METHODS: Twelve completely edentulous patients were randomly allocated so that six patients were treated by telescopic implant overdenture retained by two implants (group A) and six patients were treated with overdentures retained by four implants (group B). Digital radiographic evaluation of bone height using Digora was made starting at the functional loading day followed by time intervals of 12 months. RESULTS: No implant loss during the healing period or after functional loading. Radiographic evaluation revealed a statistically significant difference was found between (Group A) and (Group B) were (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: For bone loss, widely distributed four intraforaminal implants revealed more bone preservation than only two implants when using the telescopic attachments to support and retain an over dentures taking in consideration the type of the attachment will be used

Increasing safety and productivity on Egyptian building sites

Safety and productivity in construction industry of Egypt still suffers from ignorance. This low consideration of safety importance caused escalation of accident rate in construction projects. The paperaims to identify the safety factors most related to productivity, and determine their relative importance as perceived by the target audience. The questionnaire was implemented directly; included 4 specific answers (agree, strongly agree, disagree, and strongly disagree) and consists of 47 questions divided into 7 groups: inspection, monitoring, training, etc. These questions were selected from the previous questionnaires and the questions inspired by the topic of this research. The questionnaire was distributed to 67 target audiences of different categories, including Consultants, Site engineers, Site managers and Workers. The duration of their experience ranges from 0 to more than 15 years, as well as their scientific degrees from Ph.D., Masters, and Bachelor. The following factors are the most important factors of safety and productivity. “Working 7 days per week will increase productivity”, ” increase productivity , Rework will decrease safety , Incentives based on productivity decreases safety , “Compressed schedules affect negatively safety . The results indicated that worker problems are the most important among the groups of productive factors followed by personal protective equipment , supervisors and subcontractors , monitoring , communication skills . The target audience is advised to work strategically to protect workers by continuing to identify, assess and mitigate hazardous conditions and activities in work sites to achieve the highest levels of safety and productivity

Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Primary School Children With and Without Learning Disabilities: A Comparative Study

The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioral and emotional problems of children with and without learning disabilities. The study  sample consisted of 15 teachers and 424 primary school children  with and without  learning disabilities were selected from two governmental primary  schools at Beni-Suef City, using case –control research design. Data were collected by the teachers using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for children and adolescents aged 4-16 years. The results conducted that the  prevalence of total difficulties scores among primary school children with learning disabilities was 98.1% abnormal difficulties compared to 79.7% of normal children. Results also found that statistical significant differences were found between children with and without learning disability in all sub domains of emotional and behavioral disorders. This study documents that the high prevalence of difficulties among primary school children is an alarming condition that needs attention and early intervention. The study recommended that a periodic screening test should be provided  for early detection of emotional and behavioral problems for children with learning disabilities.          Key words: Primary school children, learning disabilities,  emotional and behavioral problem

Effect of Ultrasound and Low-Level Laser on Myofacial Trigger Points Versus Traditional Acupoints in Cervicalgia Patients

Background:  Myofacial trigger point: is an area in tissue of hyper irritability that is very tender when palpated, refers pain and creates a twitch response when it is palpated. Trigger points must have palpable taut band exquisite tender spot in that taut band. Patient recognition of the pain as “familiar”, Purpose of study:  This study aimed to investigate the effect of phonophoresis and low-level laser therapy on both myofacial trigger points and on classical acupoints in neck pain patients. Methods: 60 participants from both genders who had neck pain. They varied in age from 20 to 40 years old. They were divided into four equal groups at random: (A, B, C, D).  The four groups will receive therapy on myofacial trigger points of the neck. The first group, Experimental (A), consisted of 15 volunteers from both genders who had neck pain and will receive LLLT myofacial trigger points of the neck for one month, they attended three sessions every week. The second group, Experimental (B), consisted of 15 volunteers from both genders who had neck pain were treated with phonophoresis of hydrocortisone 1% in conjunction with diclofenac 1%. They were engaged in three sessions per week for one month. The third group, Experimental (C), consisted of 15 volunteers from both genders, men and women, who had neck pain were treated with Phonophoresis of hydrocortisone 1% in addition to diclofenac 5%. For one month, they attended three sessions every week. The fourth group, Experimental (D), consisted of 15 volunteers from both genders, men and women, who had neck pain were treated with both LLLT and phonophoresis They attended three sessions every week, for one month

The Impact of National Private Investment on Manufacturing in Egypt

This paper aims to present national private investment development phases and its contribution in manufacturing sector in Egypt. Moreover it devoted to examine the effect of national private investment on Egyptian manufacturing. Vector Auto Regressive analysis (VAR) was adopted based on yearly data for the period (1990-2015). Time series stationarity are checked by Augmented Dicky Fuller (ADF) test, and co- integration existence tested by Johansen co- integration test. The vector Error Correction model (VECM) utilized to check the existence of long run relationship between the manufactured product as a dependent variable and the national private investment as explanatory variable. Finally this paper concluded that, however national private investment contribute high share to manufacturing sector, the empirical analysis results obtained negative impact of this type of investment on manufacturing sector in short and long run. Keywords: national private investment, manufactured product, vector error correction model. JEL Classifications: E22, C22, L60, N6

Capability of the Invasive Tree Prosopis glandulosa Torr. to Remediate Soil Treated with Sewage Sludge

Sewage sludge improves agricultural soil and plant growth, but there are hazards associated with its use, including high metal(loid) contents. An experimental study was conducted under greenhouse conditions to examine the effects of sewage sludge on growth of the invasive tree Prosopis glandulosa, as well as to determine its phytoremediation capacity. Plants were established and grown for seven months along a gradient of sewage sludge content. Plant traits, soil properties, and plant and soil concentrations of N, P, K, Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr, Co, As, and Fe were recorded. The addition of sewage sludge led to a significant decrease in soil pH, and Ni, Co, and As concentrations, as well as an increase in soil organic matter and the concentrations of N, P, Cu, Zn, and Cr. Increasing sewage sludge content in the growth medium raised the total uptake of most metals by P. glandulosa plants due to higher biomass accumulation (taller plants with more leaves) and higher metal concentrations in the plant tissues. P. glandulosa concentrated more Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Fe in its below-ground biomass (BGB) than in its above-ground biomass (AGB). P. glandulosa concentrated Ni, Co, and As in both BGB and AGB. P. glandulosa has potential as a biotool for the phytoremediation of sewage sludges and sewage-amended soils in arid and semi-arid environments, with a potential accumulation capability for As in plant leaves

BCR-ABL Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors as Candidates for the Treatment of COVID-19: Molecular Docking, Pharmacophore Modeling, ADMET Studies

The novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has affected more than 53 million individuals worldwide. Currently, there is a dire need to develop or find potential drugs that can treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. One of the standard methods to accelerate drug discovery and development in pandemics is to screen currently available medications against the critical therapeutic targets to find potential therapeutic agents. The literature has pointed out to the 3CLpro and RdRp proteins as the most important proteins involved in viral replications. In the present study, we used an in-silico modeling approach to examine the affinity of six tyrosine kinases inhibitors (TKIs), Imatinib, Ponatinib, Nilotinib, Gefitinib, Erlotinib, and Dasatinibagainst the 3CLpro and RdRp by calculating the energy balance. The six tested TKIs had energy balance values of more than -7 Kcal/mol for both viral target proteins. Nilotinib and Ponatinib showed the highest affinity for 3CLpro (-8.32, -8.16, respectively) while Dasatinib, Ponatinib, and Imatinib presented the strongest binding toRdRp(-14.50, -10.57, -9.46, respectively). Based on these findings, we recommend future evaluations of TKIs for SARs-CoV-2 infection in-vitro and further testing in clinical trials

Comparison Between (311–312 nm) Narrow Band Ultraviolet-B Phototherapy and (308 nm) Monochromatic Excimer Light Phototherapy in Treatment of Vitiligo: A Histopathological Study

Introduction: Recently, the monochromatic excimer light (MEL) of 308 nm wavelength has shown some advantages in comparison to narrow band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) for the treatment of vitiligo. To histopathologically compare the early effects of NB-UVB and 308-nm MEL phototherapy on vitiliginous patches using H&E and HMB-45.Methods: Thirty subjects with non-segmental vitiligo lesions were treated twice a week for 6 weeks with 308-nm MEL, while NB-UVB was used to treat lesions contra laterally. Skin biopsies were taken from lesional areas before and after 6 weeks of treatment by either modality. It was prepared for light microscopy and immunohistochemical study (HMB-45). This study was performed as a clinical trial (Trial registration: http://www.pactr.org; Identifier: PACTR201705002279419)Results: All lesions before treatment had labeling index (number of pigmented cells/non-pigmented cells) of 0.0 (0%). After treatment the LI for MEL was 4.2 ± 2.6, while for NB-UVB LI it was 0.3 ± 0.7. MEL showed higher statistical significance regarding increase of basal pigmented cells, and significant decrease in vacuolated keratinocytes and basal membrane thickness than NB-UVB.Conclusion: Although NB-UVB is considered as treatment of choice for vitiligo, MEL is acknowledged as an effective treatment modality for vitiliginous lesions that induces more repigmentation than NB-UVB, and more rapidly, as confirmed by our study

Screening of Dyslipidemia and Obesity among Children in Zagazig University Hospitals

Background: Westerners are well aware of plasma lipid problems, which are becoming increasingly important in the Middle East. The European Expert Panel has advocated universal screening as a preferable approach of hypercholesterolemia screening as a part of the primary preventive effort. Objective: To assess the relation between dyslipidemia and its risk factors; age and body mass index. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study that included 357 of children who visited the Pediatrics General Outpatient Clinic at Zagazig University Hospitals. All subjects were subjected to full history taking, general examination, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, and laboratory investigations including: non-fasting and fasting lipid profiles. Results: Non-fasting total cholesterol (TC) of ≥ 200 was (14.3%) and < 200 was (85.7%). Non-fasting (LDL) of ≥ 130 was (16.8%) and <130 was (83.2%). HDL category of < 40 was (61.3%) and ≥ 40 was (38.7%). There was no statistically significant difference between age, sex and lipid profiles. There was statistically significant positive correlation between non-fasting triglycerides (TG) and non-fasting HDL and non-fasting non-HDL-C. Conclusion: Obesity was associated with the prevalence of at least one abnormal lipid level. This highlights the importance of paying greater attention to the prevention of cardiovascular disease and obesity in children from an early age