A model of key characteristics affecting consumer attitudes toward the usage of free legitimate ad-supported music download services.

Digital music file sharing has had a significant negative financial impact on the recorded music industry, causing multi-billion dollar losses over the past decade. In a world where file sharing is now an activity that can be carried out with ease, industry stakeholders are continuously looking for ways to profit from changing consumer behaviour. To date, literature has looked at why people illicitly download (e.g. motivations, ethical considerations), the financial impact of file sharing (e.g. lost revenue), legal approaches to combatting file sharing (e.g. what approaches work, if any), and new business models for paid services (e.g. price sensitivity, value propositions). Academic literature has thus far largely focused on how to eliminate file sharing and convert illicit downloaders to paid platforms, but has not examined the potential for converting illicit downloaders to a free legitimate, platform. This thesis is the first piece of academic literature to consider free legitimate adsupported music download services as a way of monetizing downloaders free consumption behaviour, specifically by identifying key service characteristics that influence consumers' attitudes toward using such services, and providing a rich contextual understanding of the perceived importance and value of such characteristics. A sequential mixed methods approach was used to explore this topic and develop and validate a conceptual model. The primary research stages consisted of in-depth interviews, group interviews, and an online survey. This thesis shows there is potential for mainstream consumer adoption of free legitimate ad-supported music download services, with the caveat that the services be as good as or better than those (free services) already used. Several characteristics were found to be important influencers of attitudes in this regard. Some characteristics were found to be very important (perception of a large enough music catalogue, freedom of use of downloaded files, delays caused by advertising not being perceived as excessive), some were found to be less important (ease of navigation/use, perceived trustworthiness of the service), and some were found to be not at all important (ability of the service to recommend music, social networking facilitation via the service). While this thesis identifies what an ideal service looks like for consumers, it also finds that tension exists in the economic relationship between consumer behaviour and ideals, and what industry is able to viably deliver in an ad-supported service. The structure and conditions of today's marketplace are such that the fundamental economic viability of free ad-supported music download services is brought into question, irrespective of whether such a service can meet consumers needs. While this thesis is specifically concerned with music download services, the model developed within it could be tested for other online content services such as streaming music or video, and video download services

Similarity between carotid and coronary artery responses to sympathetic stimulation and the role of alpha-1 receptors in humans.

BACKGROUND: Carotid artery (CCA) dilation occurs in healthy subjects during cold pressor test (CPT), whilst the magnitude of dilation relates to cardiovascular risk. To further explore this phenomena and mechanism, we examined carotid artery responses to different sympathetic tests, with and without α1-receptor blockade, and assessed similarity to these responses between carotid and coronary arteries. METHODS: In randomised order, 10 healthy participants (25{plus minus}3yrs) underwent sympathetic stimulation using CPT (3-minutes left hand immersion in ice-slush) and lower-body negative pressure (LBNP). Before and during sympathetic tests, CCA diameter and velocity (Doppler ultrasound) and left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery velocity (echocardiography) were recorded across 3-min. Measures were repeated 90-min following selective α1-receptor blockade via oral Prazosin (0.05mg-per-kg bodyweight). RESULTS: CPT significantly increased CCA diameter, LAD maximal velocity and velocity-time integral area-under-the-curve (all P<0.05). In contrast, LBNP resulted in a decrease in CCA diameter, LAD maximal velocity and velocity time integral (VTI, all P<0.05). Following α1-receptor blockade, CCA and LAD velocity responses to CPT were diminished. In contrast, during LBNP (-30mmHg), α1-receptor blockade did not alter CCA or LAD responses. Finally, changes in CCA diameter and LAD VTI-responses to sympathetic stimulation were positively correlated (r=0.66, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: We found distinct carotid artery responses to different tests of sympathetic stimulation, where α1-receptors partly contribute to CPT-induced responses. Finally, we found agreement between carotid and coronary artery responses. These data indicate similarity between carotid and coronary responses to sympathetic tests and the role of α1-receptors that is dependent on the nature of the sympathetic challenge

Which clinical research questions are the most important?:Development and preliminary validation of the Australia &amp; New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network Research Question Importance Tool (ANZMUSC-RQIT)

Background and aimsHigh quality clinical research that addresses important questions requires significant resources. In resource-constrained environments, projects will therefore need to be prioritized. The Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network aimed to develop a stakeholder-based, transparent, easily implementable tool that provides a score for the 'importance' of a research question which could be used to rank research projects in order of importance.MethodsUsing a mixed-methods, multi-stage approach that included a Delphi survey, consensus workshop, inter-rater reliability testing, validity testing and calibration using a discrete-choice methodology, the Research Question Importance Tool (ANZMUSC-RQIT) was developed. The tool incorporated broad stakeholder opinion, including consumers, at each stage and is designed for scoring by committee consensus.ResultsThe ANZMUSC-RQIT tool consists of 5 dimensions (compared to 6 dimensions for an earlier version of RQIT): (1) extent of stakeholder consensus, (2) social burden of health condition, (3) patient burden of health condition, (4) anticipated effectiveness of proposed intervention, and (5) extent to which health equity is addressed by the research. Each dimension is assessed by defining ordered levels of a relevant attribute and by assigning a score to each level. The scores for the dimensions are then summed to obtain an overall ANZMUSC-RQIT score, which represents the importance of the research question. The result is a score on an interval scale with an arbitrary unit, ranging from 0 (minimal importance) to 1000. The ANZMUSC-RQIT dimensions can be reliably ordered by committee consensus (ICC 0.73-0.93) and the overall score is positively associated with citation count (standardised regression coefficient 0.33, pConclusionWe propose that the ANZMUSC-RQIT is a useful tool for prioritising the importance of a research question

Acute hypoxemia and vascular function in healthy humans.

Endothelium-dependent flow mediated dilation (FMD) and endothelium-independent dilation (GTN) are impaired at high altitude (5050 m), and FMD is impaired following acute exposure (<60-minutes) to normobaric hypoxia equivalent to ∼5050 m (∼FI O2  = 0.11). Whether glyceryl trinitrate (GTN)-induced dilation is impaired acutely, and whether FMD is impaired during milder hypoxia is unknown. Therefore, we assessed brachial FMD at baseline and following 30-minutes of mild (74 ± 2 mmHg PET O₂) and moderate (50 ± 3 mmHg PET O₂) normobaric hypoxia (n = 12) or normoxia (time-control trial; n = 10). We also assessed GTN-dilaiton following the hypoxic FMD tests and in normoxia on a separate control day (n = 8). Compared to normoxic baseline, reduction during mild and moderate hypoxic exposure were evident in FMD (mild vs moderate: -1.2 ± 1.1% vs. -3.1 ± 1.7%; P = 0.01) and GTN-dilation (-2.1 ± 1.0 vs. -4.2 ± 2.0; P = 0.01); the decline in FMD and GTN-dilation were greater during moderate hypoxia (P < 0.01). When allometrically corrected for baseline diameter and FMD shear rate under the curve (SRAUC ), relative FMD was attenuated in both conditions (mild vs moderate: 0.6 ± 0.9% vs. 0.8 ± 0.7%; P ≤ 0.01). Following 30-minutes of normoxic time-control, FMD was reduced (-0.6 ± 0.3%; P = 0.02). In summary, there was a graded impairment in FMD during mild and moderate hypoxic exposure, which appears to be influenced by shear patterns and incremental declines in smooth muscle vasodilator capacity (impaired GTN-dilation). Our findings from the normoxic controls study, suggest the decline in FMD in acute hypoxia also appears to be influenced by 30-minutes of supine rest/inactivity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Human total, basal and activity energy expenditures are independent of ambient environmental temperature

ower ambient temperature (Ta) requires greater energy expenditure to sustain body temperature. However, effects of Ta on human energetics may be buffered by environmental modification and behavioral compensation. We used the IAEA DLW database for adults in the USA (n = 3213) to determine the effect of Ta (−10 to +30°C) on TEE, basal (BEE) and activity energy expenditure (AEE) and physical activity level (PAL). There were no significant relationships (p > 0.05) between maximum, minimum and average Ta and TEE, BEE, AEE and PAL. After adjustment for fat-free mass, fat mass and age, statistically significant (p < 0.01) relationships between TEE, BEE and Ta emerged in females but the effect sizes were not biologically meaningful. Temperatures inside buildings are regulated at 18–25°C independent of latitude. Hence, adults in the US modify their environments to keep TEE constant across a wide range of external ambient temperatures

Population-level consequences of seismic surveys on fishes : an interdisciplinary challenge

Offshore activities elevate ambient sound levels at sea, which may affect marine fauna. We reviewed the literature about impact of airgun acoustic exposure on fish in terms of damage, disturbance and detection and explored the nature of impact assessment at population level. We provided a conceptual framework for how to address this interdisciplinary challenge, and we listed potential tools for investigation. We focused on limitations in data currently available, and we stressed the potential benefits from cross‐species comparisons. Well‐replicated and controlled studies do not exist for hearing thresholds and dose–response curves for airgun acoustic exposure. We especially lack insight into behavioural changes for free‐ranging fish to actual seismic surveys and on lasting effects of behavioural changes in terms of time and energy budgets, missed feeding or mating opportunities, decreased performance in predator‐prey interactions, and chronic stress effects on growth, development and reproduction. We also lack insight into whether any of these effects could have population‐level consequences. General “population consequences of acoustic disturbance” (PCAD) models have been developed for marine mammals, but there has been little progress so far in other taxa. The acoustic world of fishes is quite different from human perception and imagination as fish perceive particle motion and sound pressure. Progress is therefore also required in understanding the nature and extent to which fishes extract acoustic information from their environment. We addressed the challenges and opportunities for upscaling individual impact to the population, community and ecosystem level and provided a guide to critical gaps in our knowledge.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Human total, basal and activity energy expenditures are independent of ambient environmental temperature

Lower ambient temperature (Ta) requires greater energy expenditure to sustain body temperature. However, effects of Ta on human energetics may be buffered by environmental modification and behavioral compensation. We used the IAEA DLW database for adults in the USA (n = 3213) to determine the effect of Ta (−10 to +30°C) on TEE, basal (BEE) and activity energy expenditure (AEE) and physical activity level (PAL). There were no significant relationships (p > 0.05) between maximum, minimum and average Ta and TEE, BEE, AEE and PAL. After adjustment for fat-free mass, fat mass and age, statistically significant (p < 0.01) relationships between TEE, BEE and Ta emerged in females but the effect sizes were not biologically meaningful. Temperatures inside buildings are regulated at 18–25°C independent of latitude. Hence, adults in the US modify their environments to keep TEE constant across a wide range of external ambient temperatures

Exponential growth, high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, and vaccine effectiveness associated with the Delta variant

SARS-CoV-2 infections were rising during early summer 2021 in many countries associated with the Delta variant. We assessed RT-PCR swab-positivity in the REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) study in England. We observed sustained exponential growth with average doubling time (June-July 2021) of 25 days driven by complete replacement of Alpha variant by Delta, and by high prevalence at younger less-vaccinated ages. Unvaccinated people were three times more likely than double-vaccinated people to test positive. However, after adjusting for age and other variables, vaccine effectiveness for double-vaccinated people was estimated at between ~50% and ~60% during this period in England. Increased social mixing in the presence of Delta had the potential to generate sustained growth in infections, even at high levels of vaccination