Do Sensory Ad Appeals Influence Brand Attitude?

This article presents two studies that investigate whether or not sensory appeal preferences in advertisements affect brand attitude. Study 1 seeks to discover empirically whether self-referencing and positive affect mediate sensory appeals to influence consumers\u27 attitudes toward a brand, and whether such mediation effects differ across various ad formats. Study 2, a case approach, attempts to derive core sensory concepts through qualitative techniques as applied to an established specialty coffee brand. The results indicate that self-referencing and positive affect both have significant mediating effects between sensory appeal preferences and attitudes toward a coffee brand. Moreover, the finding that sensory preferences enhance ad effectiveness using particular delivery platforms sheds important insights on creative strategies for sensory ads. As a result of qualitative techniques that elicited metaphoric images regarding the specialty coffee brand, this research found that sight was the most influential sense. In the end, this paper discusses the implications concerning synaesthetic assumptions made and tested in this research as well as the broader applicability of the sensory approach to advertising effectiveness

Do Sensory Ad Appeals Influence Brand Attitude?

This article presents two studies that investigate whether or not sensory appeal preferences in advertisements affect brand attitude. Study 1 seeks to discover empirically whether self-referencing and positive affect mediate sensory appeals to influence consumers\u27 attitudes toward a brand, and whether such mediation effects differ across various ad formats. Study 2, a case approach, attempts to derive core sensory concepts through qualitative techniques as applied to an established specialty coffee brand. The results indicate that self-referencing and positive affect both have significant mediating effects between sensory appeal preferences and attitudes toward a coffee brand. Moreover, the finding that sensory preferences enhance ad effectiveness using particular delivery platforms sheds important insights on creative strategies for sensory ads. As a result of qualitative techniques that elicited metaphoric images regarding the specialty coffee brand, this research found that sight was the most influential sense. In the end, this paper discusses the implications concerning synaesthetic assumptions made and tested in this research as well as the broader applicability of the sensory approach to advertising effectiveness

ACCURACY OF THE SOFTWARE GENLOCK WITH DIGITAL CAMCORDERS

Recently, digital camcorders have gained popularity as a viable means of recording movements in video motion analysis, mainly due to the ease of use and reasonably high image resolution. Digital camcorders, however, suffer from a major drawback, lack of the hardware genlock capability. Camcorders thus operate independently from each other and introduce time offsets among themselves. These time offsets in turn violate the requirement of simultaneous observations from multiple cameras in the 3·D analysis, producing erroneous real-life coordinates of the markers. This is especially true in fast motions, in which a small time offset can be translated into a large spatial error, and the time offsets must be corrected before the 3-D reconstruction. The genlock (synchronization) of the cameras can be potentially achieved by a software-based strategy, the software genlock. The purpose of this stUdy was to investigate the accuracy of the software genlock using digital camcorders

Non-Variceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB), which predominantly occurs secondary to peptic ulcers, presents a major challenge in emergency departments and is associated with high mortality rates. The staged approach used for management of NVUGIB comprises preendoscopy, endoscopy, and post-endoscopy. Proton pump inhibitors and prokinetics are used for pre-endoscopy preparation to improve visualization and outcomes. Various endoscopic hemostatic methods, including injection therapy, clipping, and thermal techniques are described, which reflects the need for personalized strategies based on patient conditions and lesion characteristics. Post-endoscopic care includes continuous acid suppression therapy and selective second-look endoscopy. Overall, the approach to effective NVUGIB management is tailored to individual clinical scenarios to optimize patient outcomes

Proton-pump Inhibitors and the Risk of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background/Aims Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used to treat several acid-related gastrointestinal disorders. This study aimed to investigate the risk of dementia in patients taking PPIs. Materials and Methods A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the correlation between PPIs and dementia. The methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Risk of Bias Assessment tool for non-randomized studies. Publication bias was assessed. Results A total of 12 nested, case-control, and cohort studies were identified and analyzed. We obtained hazard ratios (HRs) from five studies and performed a meta-analysis. The meta-analysis of four cohort studies and one nested case-control study showed no association between PPIs and dementia (HR, 1.165; 95% CI, 0.912~1.488; P=0.222). Sensitivity analysis revealed consistent results. No publication bias was detected. Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis revealed no statistically significant association between the use of PPIs and dementia

Safety and tissue yield for percutaneous native kidney biopsy according to practitioner and ultrasound technique

BACKGROUND: Although percutaneous renal biopsy remains an essential tool in the diagnosis and treatment of renal diseases, in recent times the traditional procedure of nephrologists has been performed by non-nephrologists rather than nephrologists at many institutions. The present study assessed the safety and adequacy of tissue yield during percutaneous renal biopsy according to practitioners and techniques based on ultrasound. METHODS: This study included 658 native renal biopsies performed from 2005 to 2010 at a single centre. The biopsies were performed by nephrologists or expert ultrasound radiologists using the ultrasound-marked blind or real-time ultrasound-guided techniques. RESULTS: A total of 271 ultrasound-marked blind biopsies were performed by nephrologists, 170 real-time ultrasound-guided biopsies were performed by nephrologists, and 217 real-time ultrasound-guided biopsies were performed by radiologists during the study period. No differences in post-biopsy complications such as haematoma, need for transfusion and intervention, gross haematuria, pain, or infection were observed among groups. Glomerular numbers of renal specimens from biopsies performed by nephrologists without reference to any technique were higher than those obtained from real-time ultrasound-guided biopsies performed by expert ultrasound radiologists. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous renal biopsy performed by nephrologists was not inferior to that performed by expert ultrasound radiologists as related to specimen yield and post-biopsy complications

Entropy Maximization and Instability of Uniformly Magnetized Plasma

A regime where a uniformly magnetized plasma could be unstable to a spatial perturbation in the magnetic field is explored. In this regime, a uniformly magnetized state does not maximize the entropy. The physical implication is discussed in the context of the current generation, the magnetic reconnection, and the dynamo effect

Retrospective study on the impact of ulnar nerve dislocation on the pathophysiology of ulnar neuropathy at the elbow

Introduction High resolution ultrasonography (US) has been used for diagnosis and evaluation of entrapment peripheral neuropathy. Ulnar neuropathy at the elbow (UNE) is the second most common focal entrapment neuropathy. The ulnar nerve tends to move to the anteromedial side and sometimes subluxates or dislocates over the medial epicondyle as the elbow is flexed. Dislocation of the ulnar nerve during elbow flexion may contribute to friction injury. We aimed to investigate the effects which the dislocation of ulnar nerve at the elbow could have on the electrophysiologic pathology of UNE. Materials We retrospectively reviewed 71 arms of UNE. The demographic data, electrodiagnosis findings and US findings of ulnar nerve were analyzed. We classified the electrodiagnosis findings of UNE into three pathologic types; demyelinating, sensory axonal loss, and mixed sensorimotor axonal loss. The arms were grouped into non-dislocation, partial dislocation, and complete dislocation groups according to the findings of nerve dislocation in US examination. We compared the electrodiagnosis findings, ulnar nerve cross sectional areas in US and electrodiagnosis pathology types among the groups. Results A total of 18 (25.3%) arms showed partial dislocation, and 15 (21.1%) arms showed complete dislocation of ulnar nerve in US. In the comparison of electrodiagnosis findings, the partial and complete dislocation groups showed significantly slower conduction velocities and lower amplitudes than non-dislocation group in motor conduction study. In the sensory conduction study, the conduction velocity was significantly slower in partial dislocation group and the amplitude was significantly lower in complete dislocation group than non-dislocation group. In the comparison of US findings, patients in partial and complete dislocation groups showed significantly larger cross sectional areas of the ulnar nerve. The comparison of electrodiagnosis pathologic types among the groups revealed that there were significantly larger proportions of the axonal loss (sensory axonal loss or mixed sensorimotor axonal loss) in partial and complete dislocation groups than non-dislocation group. Conclusion The ulnar nerve dislocation could influence on the more severe damage of the ulnar nerve in patients with UNE. It might be important to evaluate the dislocation of the ulnar nerve using US in diagnosing ulnar neuropathy for predicting the prognosis and determining the treatment direction of UNE