Clinical application of anterior segment optical coherence tomography for angle-closure related disease

AbstractAnterior segment optical coherence tomography has the ability to acquire angle-to-angle cross-sectional anterior chamber images in a non-contact way, and this technology shows a good reproducibility for angle parameters. With the availability of image processing software, some novel anatomic parameters such as iris area, iris volume, anterior chamber area, anterior chamber volume, anterior chamber width, and lens vault have been evaluated for the diagnosis of angle-closure related disease. This review article will describe the definitions of these interior segment optical coherence tomography parameters and summarize recent findings about these parameters in diagnosing angle-closure disease

A Precision Microbiome Approach Using Sucrose for Selective Augmentation of Staphylococcus epidermidis Fermentation against Propionibacterium acnes.

Acne dysbiosis happens when there is a microbial imbalance of the over-growth of Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) in the acne microbiome. In our previous study, we demonstrated that Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis, a probiotic skin bacterium) can exploit glycerol fermentation to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) which have antimicrobial activities to suppress the growth of P. acnes. Unlike glycerol, sucrose is chosen here as a selective fermentation initiator (SFI) that can specifically intensify the fermentation activity of S. epidermidis, but not P. acnes. A co-culture of P. acnes and fermenting S. epidermidis in the presence of sucrose significantly led to a reduction in the growth of P. acnes. The reduction was abolished when P. acnes was co-cultured with non-fermenting S. epidermidis. Results from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis revealed four SCFAs (acetic acid, butyric acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid) were detectable in the media of S. epidermidis sucrose fermentation. To validate the interference of S. epidermidis sucrose fermentation with P. acnes, mouse ears were injected with both P. acnes and S. epidermidis plus sucrose or phosphate buffered saline (PBS). The level of macrophage-inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and the number of P. acnes in ears injected with two bacteria plus sucrose were considerably lower than those in ears injected with two bacteria plus PBS. Our results demonstrate a precision microbiome approach by using sucrose as a SFI for S. epidermidis, holding future potential as a novel modality to equilibrate dysbiotic acne

Enhancement Motivation Derived from Envy: The Positive Influence of Watching Others Receive Preferential Treatment

As a strategy to build loyal relationships with highly profitable customers, the practice of customer prioritization has been widely adopted by a variety of firms in service industries. Although prior research has shown there is value creation in allocating more resources to prioritized customers, nonprioritized customers were found to respond negatively to this practice. Given that unhappy customers can be costly to a firm and that it is common for a firm to have some desirable customers who are not in the position of receiving preferential treatment, it is important to investigate how to encourage positive responses from nonprioritized customers. In the current research, I aim to address this issue by drawing on social comparison theory. In particular, I propose that in the case of watching other customers receive preferential treatment, customers are likely to feel the emotion of envy toward the preferentially treated customers. The revenge motivation resulting from this envy can drive the unfavorable response of negative word of mouth, whereas the self-enhancement motivation derived from the envy can bring about the favorable response of program participation. The boundary conditions of rule knowledge and attitudinal loyalty were identified. Two studies were conducted to examine the proposed research. The first study experimentally manipulated preferential treatment and knowledge of reward program rules using video-based scenarios (N = 303). The second study investigated the complete conceptual model with a field study of hotel customers (N = 529). Across the two studies, two double-mediation paths were confirmed, but a moderating effect of rule knowledge and attitudinal loyalty was not found. Follow-up analysis suggested the potential moderator role of rule appropriateness. The research contributes to a growing body of knowledge about envy, customer prioritization, and social comparison. It also provides recommendations for marketing practitioners with respect to managing customer prioritization practices to build long-term relationships with customers.Business Administratio

Pepper, Just Show Me The Way! How Robotic Shopping Assistants Should Look And Act

Artificial intelligence enables modern robots to serve as service and sales assistants. Today\u27s robotic shopping assistants (RSAs) can appear either humanoid or non-humanoid and possess utilitarian and/or hedonic attributes. However, many questions remain unexplored regarding an effective customer-centric RSA design. Do customers prefer a humanoid or non-humanoid RSA with hedonic or utilitarian attributes? To answer those questions, the research deploys a mixed-method approach involving a survey of customers who have interacted with the Pepper Robot, a humanoid robot (Study 1), and follow-up experiments examining customer responses to a humanoid/non-humanoid RSA with hedonic/utilitarian attributes (Studies 2 and 3). The research employs an innovative approach that analyzes both unstructured and structured data simultaneously. Study results suggest that customers prefer humanoid RSAs with utilitarian attributes over those with hedonic attributes. The research contributes to the literature by proposing hedonic (vs. utilitarian) attributes of RSAs as new drivers of anthropomorphic perceptions