COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN EFFECTS ON PURCHASING DOMESTIC PRODUCTS: THE CASE OF ROMANIA

Previous studies revealed that ethnocentric consumers are more willing to purchase a domestic product. Furthermore, country-of-origin has a direct impact on consumers’ decision to buy a product in such a manner that a positive country image can substitute other missing qualities of the product. On the other hand, a strong brand is not expected to compensate for a negative country-of-origin perception. Many brands rely on their home country as a warranty for quality and prestige, in order to gain consumers’ interest and attention. This paper examines the moderating role of variables such as perceived quality, ethnocentrism and familiarity in determining a consumer to buy a domestic product. Through exploratory research, this study aims to investigate to what extent Romania, as country-of-origin for its local products, influences consumers’ decision making process. The major contributions of the study consist of identifying the elements that play a role in consumers’ product evaluation based on the country-of-origin and to improve the understanding of country image effects on the buying intention

THE IMPACT OF ORIGIN ON CREATING A CULT BRAND: THE CASE OF APPLE

This paper introduces the concept of a cult brand for a more accurate understanding of the extreme loyalty that consumers show towards specific brands. The article focuses on the brand Apple and it explores the elements for which it is considered a cult brand and the impact of its origin on sustaining its cult appeal. Based on the fact that many brands rely on emotional characteristics to obtain consumers’ interest and attention, the country responsible for their conception is usually a warranty for quality and respect, features transferred to consumers. Through an exploratory research, based on investigation of secondary information as a data collection method, the research focuses on Apple's corporate mythology, its brand name, its geographical provenance and also the community surrounding it. The results of the study revealed that brand origin had a major role in creating the image that Apple sustained in the last decades, the conclusion reinforced the idea that on a solid foundation can be built a complex structure

Extruded Nucleoli of Human Dental Pulp Cells

Background and Objectives: The dental pulp stem cells are highly proliferative and can differentiate into various cell types, including endothelial cells. We aimed to evaluate the ultrastructural characteristics of the human dental pulp cells of the permanent frontal teeth. Materials and Methods: Human adult bioptic dental pulp was collected from n = 10 healthy frontal teeth of five adult patients, prior to prosthetic treatments for aesthetic purposes. Tissues were examined under transmission electron microscopy. Results: We identified cells with a peculiar trait: giant nucleoli resembling intranuclear endoplasmic reticulum, which mimicked extrusion towards the cytoplasm. These were either partly embedded within the nuclei, the case in which their adnuclear side was coated by marginal heterochromatin and the abnuclear side was coated by a thin rim of ribosomes, or were apparently isolated from the nuclei, while still being covered by ribosomes. Conclusions: Similar electron microscopy features were previously reported in the human endometrium, as nucleolar channel system; or R-Rings induced by Nopp140. To our knowledge, this is the first report of extruded nucleolar structure in the dental pulp. Moreover, the aspect of giant extruded nucleoli was not previously reported in any human cell type, although similar evidence was gathered in other species as well as in plants

SPECTRUL EPIDEMIOLOGIC, CLINIC ŞI EVOLUTIV AL CAZURILOR DE RUJEOLĂ INTERNATE ÎN SPITALUL CLINIC DE BOLI INFECŢIOASE ŞI TROPICALE „DR. VICTOR BABEŞ“ DIN BUCUREŞTI ÎN CURSUL EPIDEMIEI ACTUALE

Introducere. Începând cu anul 2016, România se confruntă cu o epidemie importantă de rujeolă apărută pe fondul unui procent tot mai scăzut de vaccinare. Evoluţia epidemiei a fost marcată şi de o creştere alarmantă a numărului de complicaţii şi decese. Materiale şi metode. Am evaluat retrospectiv 632 pacienţi diagnosticaţi cu rujeolă, internaţi în Spitalul Clinic de Boli Infecţioase şi Tropicale „Dr. Victor Babeş“, în perioada ianuarie 2016 – decembrie 2017. Datele epidemiologice, caracteristicile clinice şi rezultatele probelor biologice au fost obţinute din fişele medicale ale pacienţilor. Rezultate. Din cei 632 de pacienţi, 341 (53,9%) au fost de sex masculin. Grupa de vârstă cea mai afectată a fost 1-4 ani (39,2%), urmată de cea a sugarilor cu un procent de 19,6%. O treime din cazuri (31,3%) au avut contactul infectant în cadrul familiei. În ceea ce priveşte statusul vaccinal, aproape jumătate din pacienţi (47,1%) nu au fost vaccinaţi, iar 44,3% nu cunoşteau istoricul de vaccinare (probabil nevaccinaţi sau incomplet vaccinaţi). Complicaţiile virale au fost prezente la majoritatea pacienţilor (84,1%) sub forma unei pneumonii interstiţiale. Pneumonia bacteriană a fost prezentă la 15% dintre pacienţi, iar dintre aceştia 45,2% au asociat şi insuficienţă respiratorie. Şase pacienţi au necesitat transfer în secţia de terapie intensivă pediatrie pentru suport respirator, înregistrându-se 2 decese. Laringita a fost prezentă în 8,2% cazuri, otita în 12% cazuri, în timp ce 61,7% dintre pacienţi au avut afectare gastrointestinală. Paraclinic, a fost evidenţiată citoliza hepatică la 101 (15,9%) pacienţi şi diselectrolitemia a fost prezentă la 94 (14,8%) din cazuri. Concluzii. Studiul prezent arată creşterea alarmantă a incidenţei bolii şi a complicaţiilor sale în ultimii 3 ani, mai ales la vârstele mici. Considerăm imperios necesară aplicarea programului de vaccinare pentru a asigura o acoperire vaccinală optimă, utilă atât în stoparea epidemiei actuale, cât şi în prevenirea unor viitoare epidemii