An Exploratory Comparison of Private and HBCU Marketing Student Study Abroad Program (SAP) Participation Intentions

The current research compares two demographically diverse universities regarding their respective awareness of the study abroad programs (SAPs) offered by their school. The study focuses on each sample’s awareness of SAP opportunities (i.e., as offered by their own institution) as well as each group’s opinion of the level of university administrator effort aimed at promoting the SAP offerings at each school. The authors analyzed whether student perceptions of the level of administrator support affected student expectations regarding SAP participation prior to graduation. Given the different socio-economic characteristics of the two student samples used in the study, the authors provide additional insight as to the relatively low rate of minority SAP participation

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Examining the role of performance uncertainty on consumers\u27 valuations of product attributes

This dissertation examines consumer valuations of product attributes while they pursue two goals, (1) aspirations to reach a higher state, and (2) preservation of a previously achieved goal. Consumers rely on products and their attributes to help them to reach these goals. However, new attributes often have some performance variability, which makes it difficult for consumers to estimate the true value of the attribute before purchasing it. This may result in consumers discounting the attribute because they are not sure how well it will perform. Marketers address this by spending on consumer education and marketing communications to deflect attention away from performance variability. In this research, we question whether performance variability is always bad from the marketer\u27s standpoint. Marketers offer new product attributes in two ways--either as an option that may be added to a base model for a higher price, or as an option that may be deleted from a fully loaded model for a price reduction. The decision task created by this addition/deletion framing interacts in specific ways with each of the goals mentioned above. Regulatory fit occurs when the decision task matches with the natural manner dictated by the goal. When regulatory fit is high, consumers feel more confident about their decisions and rely more on their own judgments, and conversely when regulatory fit is low, consumers are more willing to give the benefit of the doubt. We use this theory to create a better understanding of how goal frames, offer frames (attribute addition/deletion), and performance variability interact in consumers\u27 valuation of product attributes. We find a significant three-way interaction between these variables. Specifically, in attribute addition, performance variability has a positive effect on valuations under preservation goals, but has no effect on valuations under aspiration goals. In the deletion frame, performance variability has a negative effect under preservation goals but a positive effect under aspiration goals

An RNA nanoparticle vaccine against Zika virus elicits antibody and CD8+ T cell responses in a mouse model

The Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in the Americas and South Pacific poses a significant burden on human health because of ZIKV’s neurotropic effects in the course of fetal development. Vaccine candidates against ZIKV are coming online, but immunological tools to study anti-ZIKV responses in preclinical models, particularly T cell responses, remain sparse. We deployed RNA nanoparticle technology to create a vaccine candidate that elicited ZIKV E protein-specific IgG responses in C57BL/6 mice as assayed by ELISA. Using this tool, we identified a unique H-2D[superscript b]-restricted epitope to which there was a CD8+ T cell response in mice immunized with our modified dendrimer-based RNA nanoparticle vaccine. These results demonstrate that this approach can be used to evaluate new candidate antigens and identify immune correlates without the use of live virus.United States. National Institutes of Health (R01 AI087879)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (P30-CA14051

Assessment of recent process analytical technology (PAT) trends : a multiauthor review

This multiauthor review article aims to bring readers up to date with some of the current trends in the field of process analytical technology (PAT) by summarizing each aspect of the subject (sensor development, PAT based process monitoring and control methods) and presenting applications both in industrial laboratories and in manufacture e.g. at GSK, AstraZeneca and Roche. Furthermore, the paper discusses the PAT paradigm from the regulatory science perspective. Given the multidisciplinary nature of PAT, such an endeavour would be almost impossible for a single author, so the concept of a multiauthor review was born. Each section of the multiauthor review has been written by a single expert or group of experts with the aim to report on its own research results. This paper also serves as a comprehensive source of information on PAT topics for the novice reader

Delaying surgery for patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection

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