Brand Authenticity: an Integrative Framework

Although brand authenticity is gaining increasing interest in consumer behavior research and managerial practice, literature on its measurement and contribution to branding theory is still limited. This article develops an integrative framework of the concept of brand authenticity and reports the development and validation of a scale measuring consumers' perceived brand authenticity (PBA). A multi-phase scale development process resulted in a 15-item PBA scale measuring four dimensions: credibility, integrity, symbolism, and continuity. This scale is reliable across different brands and cultural contexts. We find that brand authenticity perceptions are influenced by indexical, existential, and iconic cues, whereby some of the latters' influence is moderated by consumers' level of marketing skepticism. Results also suggest that PBA increases emotional brand attachment and word-of-mouth, and that it drives brand choice likelihood through self-congruence for consumers high in self-authenticity.

Range-based Weighted-likelihood Particle Filter for RSS-based Indoor Tracking

Attractive business cases in various application fields contribute to the sustained long-term interest in indoor localization and tracking by the research community. Location tracking is generally treated as a dynamic state estimation problem, consisting of two steps: (i) location estimation through measurement, and (ii) location prediction. For the estimation step, one of the most efficient and low-cost solutions is Received Signal Strength (RSS)-based ranging. However, various challenges - unrealistic propagation model, non-line of sight (NLOS), and multipath propagation - are yet to be addressed. Particle filters are a popular choice for dealing with the inherent non-linearities in both location measurements and motion dynamics. While such filters have been successfully applied to accurate, time-based ranging measurements, dealing with the more error-prone RSS based ranging is still challenging. In this work, we address the above issues with a novel, weighted likelihood, bootstrap particle filter for tracking via RSS-based ranging. Our filter weights the individual likelihoods from different anchor nodes exponentially, according to the ranging estimation. We also employ an improved propagation model for more accurate RSS-based ranging, which we suggested in recent work. We implemented and tested our algorithm in a passive localization system with IEEE 802.15.4 signals, showing that our proposed solution largely outperforms a traditional bootstrap particle filter.

Deficiency of ECHS1 causes mitochondrial encephalopathy with cardiac involvement.

OBJECTIVE Short-chain enoyl-CoA hydratase (ECHS1) is a multifunctional mitochondrial matrix enzyme that is involved in the oxidation of fatty acids and essential amino acids such as valine. Here, we describe the broad phenotypic spectrum and pathobiochemistry of individuals with autosomal-recessive ECHS1 deficiency. METHODS Using exome sequencing, we identified ten unrelated individuals carrying compound heterozygous or homozygous mutations in ECHS1. Functional investigations in patient-derived fibroblast cell lines included immunoblotting, enzyme activity measurement, and a palmitate loading assay. RESULTS Patients showed a heterogeneous phenotype with disease onset in the first year of life and course ranging from neonatal death to survival into adulthood. The most prominent clinical features were encephalopathy (10/10), deafness (9/9), epilepsy (6/9), optic atrophy (6/10), and cardiomyopathy (4/10). Serum lactate was elevated and brain magnetic resonance imaging showed white matter changes or a Leigh-like pattern resembling disorders of mitochondrial energy metabolism. Analysis of patients' fibroblast cell lines (6/10) provided further evidence for the pathogenicity of the respective mutations by showing reduced ECHS1 protein levels and reduced 2-enoyl-CoA hydratase activity. While serum acylcarnitine profiles were largely normal, in vitro palmitate loading of patient fibroblasts revealed increased butyrylcarnitine, unmasking the functional defect in mitochondrial β-oxidation of short-chain fatty acids. Urinary excretion of 2-methyl-2,3-dihydroxybutyrate - a potential derivative of acryloyl-CoA in the valine catabolic pathway - was significantly increased, indicating impaired valine oxidation. INTERPRETATION In conclusion, we define the phenotypic spectrum of a new syndrome caused by ECHS1 deficiency. We speculate that both the β-oxidation defect and the block in l-valine metabolism, with accumulation of toxic methacrylyl-CoA and acryloyl-CoA, contribute to the disorder that may be amenable to metabolic treatment approaches.

Sediments of Lake Vens (SW European Alps, France) record large-magnitude earthquake events

We studied sediment cores from Lake Vens (2,327 m asl), in the Tinée Valley of the SW Alps, to test the paleoseismic archive potential of the lake sediments in this particularly earthquake-sensitive area. The historical earthquake catalogue shows that moderate to strong earthquakes, with intensities of IX–X, have impacted the Southern Alps during the last millennium. Sedimentological (X-ray images, grain size distribution) and geochemical (major elements and organic matter) analyses show that Lake Vens sediments consist of a terrigenous, silty material (minerals and organic matter) sourced from the watershed and diatom frustules. A combination of X-ray images, grain-size distribution, major elements and magnetic properties shows the presence of six homogenite-type deposits interbedded in the sedimentary background. These sedimentological features are ascribed to sediment reworking and grain sorting caused by earthquake-generated seiches. The presence of microfaults that cross-cut the sediment supports the hypothesis of seismic deposits in this system. A preliminary sediment chronology is provided by 210Pb measurement and AMS 14C ages. According to the chronology, the most recent homogenite events are attributable to damaging historic earthquakes in AD 1887 (Ligure) and 1564 (Roquebillière). Hence, the Lake Vens sediment recorded large-magnitude earthquakes in the region and permits a preliminary estimate of recurrence time for such events of ~400 years.

Cognitive remediation therapy: Does it generalize to significant outcome areas?

Objective: Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) approaches have demonstrated to be effective in improving cognitive functions in schizophrenia. However, there is a lack of integrated CR approaches that target multiple neuro- and social-cognitive domains with a special focus on the generalization of therapy effects to functional outcome and negative symptoms. Method: This 8-site randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of a novel cognitive-behavioral group therapy approach called integrated neurocognitive therapy (INT). INT includes manual-based exercises to improve all neuro- and social-cognitive domains as defined by the Measurement And Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) initiative by compensation and restitution. One hundred and fifty-six outpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder accord- ing to DSM-IV-TR were randomly assigned to receive 15 weeks of INT or treatment as usual (TAU). INT patients received 30 bi-weekly therapy sessions. Each session lasted 90min. Mixed models were applied to assess changes in neurocognition, social cognition, symptoms, and functional outcome at post-treatment and at 9-month follow-up. Results: Compared to TAU, INT patients showed significant improvements on multiple neuro- and social-cognitive domains, negative symptoms, and functional outcome after therapy and at 9-month follow-up. Number-needed-to-treat analyses indicate that only five INT patients are necessary to produce durable and meaningful improvements in functional outcome. Conclusions: Integrated interventions on neurocognition and social cognition have the potential to improve not only cognitive performance but also functional outcome and negative symptoms. These findings are important as treatment guidelines for schizophrenia have criticized CRT for their poor generalization effects.

Minimized Extracorporeal Circulation does not impair cognitive brain function after coronary artery bypass grafting

Gebiet: Chirurgie Abstract: Minimized Extracorporeal Circulation does not impair cognitive brain function after coronary artery bypass grafting – – Objectives – Objective evaluation of the impact of minimized extracorporeal circulation (MECC) on perioperative cognitive brain function in coronary bypass grafting (CABG) by Electroencephalogram (EEG) P 300 wave event related potentials (ERP) and number connection test ( NCT) as metrics of cognitive function. – – Methods – Cognitive brain function was assessed in 31 patients with a mean age of 65y (Standard Deviation/SD 10) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) by the use of MECC with P300 auditory evoked potentials (peak latencies in milliseconds [ms]) directly prior to intervention, 7 days after and 3 month later. Number connection test (NCT), serving as method of control, was performed simultaneously in all patients. – – Results – Seven days following CABG, cognitive P300 evoked potentials were comparable to preoperative baseline values (vertex [Cz] 376 (SD 11) ms vs. 378 (18) ms, p=0.39, frontal [Fz] 377 (11) vs. 379 (21) ms, p=0.53). Cognitive brain function showed at 3 months compared to baseline values ([Cz] 376 (11) ms vs. 371 (14 ms) p=0.09, [Fz] 377 (11) ms vs. 371 (15) ms, p=0.04. Between the first postoperative measurement and 3 months later, significant improvement was observed ([Cz] 378 (18) ms vs. 371 (14) ms, p=0.03, [Fz] 379 (21) vs. 371 (15) ms, p=0.02). Similar clearly corresponding patterns could be obtained via number connection test. Results could be confirmed in repeated measures analysis of variance for Cz (p = 0.05) and (Fz) results (p = 0.04). – – Conclusions

Results of the Questionnaire

Early diagnosis of patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) and portal hypertension is challenging in clinical practice. A growing amount of evidence regarding noninvasive diagnostic methods, and in particular liver stiffness measurement (LSM), suggests that these tools could be used in clinical practice and might potentially limit the use of invasive, reference diagnostic tools (HVPG measurement and endoscopy). Our panel aimed at better understanding the opinion of the Baveno faculty regarding the current practice and use of invasive and noninvasive methods in the field of screening and surveillance of varices; a specific questionnaire was electronically sent to all the faculty members. The results suggested that the experts agreed on the use of noninvasive methods to rule out/identify patients with cACLD. They also indicated that the persistence or removal of the causal agent which led to cirrhosis should guide the choice of using the shortest or the longest interval among those recommended for surveillance endoscopies. Finally, the use of noninvasive methods in these clinical scenarios was pointed out as a relevant field for future research.

A simplified protocol for the treatment of acute radiation overexposures from sources external to the body

When compared to other types of occupational injuries, radiation overexposure events are somewhat rare, so health care providers may not be familiar with the actual clinical care to be provided when such an event occurs. Radiation overexposure treatment decisions are predicated on the amount of radiation dose received, which is a value many health care providers may not have the knowledge or expertise to either calculate or even estimate. Even the different units of measure for radiation exposure and dose received can be a source of confusion. The prompt treatment of radiation overexposure victims could be enhanced and facilitated through the creation of a single, simple protocol that consists of the various means of dose measurement and estimation, correlated to the corresponding appropriate clinical care measures. This culminating experience will assemble essential information currently maintained in disparate references to create a single, simplified protocol to facilitate the treatment of victims of acute external radiation overexposure. ^

Validity of using item response theory to analyze data from the Work Limitations Questionnaire

The Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) is used to determine the amount of work loss and productivity which stem from certain health conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. The questionnaire is currently scored using methodology from Classical Test Theory. Item Response Theory, on the other hand, is a theory based on analyzing item responses. This study wanted to determine the validity of using Item Response Theory (IRT), to analyze data from the WLQ. Item responses from 572 employed adults with dysthymia, major depressive disorder (MDD), double depressive disorder (both dysthymia and MDD), rheumatoid arthritis and healthy individuals were used to determine the validity of IRT (Adler et al., 2006).^ PARSCALE, which is IRT software from Scientific Software International, Inc., was used to calculate estimates of the work limitations based on item responses from the WLQ. These estimates, also known as ability estimates, were then correlated with the raw score estimates calculated from the sum of all the items responses. Concurrent validity, which claims a measurement is valid if the correlation between the new measurement and the valid measurement is greater or equal to .90, was used to determine the validity of IRT methodology for the WLQ. Ability estimates from IRT were found to be somewhat highly correlated with the raw scores from the WLQ (above .80). However, the only subscale which had a high enough correlation for IRT to be considered valid was the time management subscale (r = .90). All other subscales, mental/interpersonal, physical, and output, did not produce valid IRT ability estimates.^ An explanation for these lower than expected correlations can be explained by the outliers found in the sample. Also, acquiescent responding (AR) bias, which is caused by the tendency for people to respond the same way to every question on a questionnaire, and the multidimensionality of the questionnaire (the WLQ is composed of four dimensions and thus four different latent variables) probably had a major impact on the IRT estimates. Furthermore, it is possible that the mental/interpersonal dimension violated the monotonocity assumption of IRT causing PARSCALE to fail to run for these estimates. The monotonicity assumption needs to be checked for the mental/interpersonal dimension. Furthermore, the use of multidimensional IRT methods would most likely remove the AR bias and increase the validity of using IRT to analyze data from the WLQ.^

AN EVALUATION OF THE CONSISTENCY OF IMRT PATIENT-SPECIFIC QA TECHNIQUES

To ensure the integrity of an intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment, each plan must be validated through a measurement-based quality assurance (QA) procedure, known as patient specific IMRT QA. Many methods of measurement and analysis have evolved for this QA. There is not a standard among clinical institutions, and many devices and action levels are used. Since the acceptance criteria determines if the dosimetric tools’ output passes the patient plan, it is important to see how these parameters influence the performance of the QA device. While analyzing the results of IMRT QA, it is important to understand the variability in the measurements. Due to the different form factors of the many QA methods, this reproducibility can be device dependent. These questions of patient-specific IMRT QA reproducibility and performance were investigated across five dosimeter systems: a helical diode array, radiographic film, ion chamber, diode array (AP field-by-field, AP composite, and rotational composite), and an in-house designed multiple ion chamber phantom. The reproducibility was gauged for each device by comparing the coefficients of variation (CV) across six patient plans. The performance of each device was determined by comparing each one’s ability to accurately label a plan as acceptable or unacceptable compared to a gold standard. All methods demonstrated a CV of less than 4%. Film proved to have the highest variability in QA measurement, likely due to the high level of user involvement in the readout and analysis. This is further shown by how the setup contributed more variation than the readout and analysis for all of the methods, except film. When evaluated for ability to correctly label acceptable and unacceptable plans, two distinct performance groups emerged with the helical diode array, AP composite diode array, film, and ion chamber in the better group; and the rotational composite and AP field-by-field diode array in the poorer group. Additionally, optimal threshold cutoffs were determined for each of the dosimetry systems. These findings, combined with practical considerations for factors such as labor and cost, can aid a clinic in its choice of an effective and safe patient-specific IMRT QA implementation.

Universidade : Transformações na profissão acadêmica

Este artículo enfoca eltrabajo docente enlas universidades públicas provincialesdel Paraná/Brasil. Inicialmente se problematiza loactual contexto marcado por la restructuraciónproductiva y por la reforma de Estado y lastransformaciones por lascualesvienepasandolauniversidadbrasileña. A partir de ahíelestudio se vuelve para el cotidiano docente mediante entrevistas realizadas contreinta y seis docentes vinculados latres universidades públicas provinciales. Se analizalas entrevistas hechasconlos docentes y se discute tendencias observadas enlosdatoscolectados. Se postula laconstitución de una nueva métrica deltiempo y una nuevaespacializacióneneltrabajo docente resultante de loscambiospolítico-económicos, cuya tónica es la gradual exencióndelfinanciamiento público y lacomercializacióndelconocimiento a través de laprivatización de cursos y de lainnovación tecnológica subordinada. Se aborda algunasrepercusiones de las condiciones objetivas sobre lasactividades académico-científicas y políticas delcuerpo de profesores como elenvolvimiento de este conprácticasdelcasi mercado educacional, la falta de tiempo para eltrabajo de cuño intelectual y elvaciamiento de la política sindical

El empleo de bajos ingresos en la Argentina : Caracterización regional entre 2003 y 2010

Este artículo se ocupa del empleo de bajos ingresos (EBI), entendiéndose por tal al trabajo asalariado cuya remuneración se sitúa por debajo de determinados umbrales. Los umbrales considerados aquí fueron el Salario Mínimo Vital y Móvil y la mitad del ingreso promedio de los trabajadores asalariados de jornada completa. Con datos de la Encuesta Permanente de Hogares de la Argentina para el período 2003-2010, se ha determinado la magnitud del EBI, las diferencias entre las ciudades cubiertas por la encuesta, la asociación del EBI con otras variables y, por último, sus microdeterminantes. Entre las conclusiones más relevantes se pueden mencionar las siguientes: el EBI afecta, en todo el país, a un rango que va del 16 al 26 de los trabajadores asalariados; es muy dispar por ciudad de residencia; está fuertemente asociado a la incidencia del trabajo no registrado; y, a pesar del fuerte aumento de la registración entre 2003 y 2010, no ha cedido en la misma proporción que la informalidad.

Biogeochemical investigation of the benthic nitrogen cycle in the Arabian Sea off Pakistan

A pronounced deficit of nitrogen (N) in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the Arabian Sea suggests the occurrence of heavy N-loss that is commonly attributed to pelagic processes. However, the OMZ water is in direct contact with sediments on three sides of the basin. Contribution from benthic N-loss to the total N-loss in the Arabian Sea remains largely unassessed. In October 2007, we sampled the water column and surface sediments along a transect cross-cutting the Arabian Sea OMZ at the Pakistan continental margin, covering a range of station depths from 360 to 1430 m. Benthic denitrification and anammox rates were determined by using 15N-stable isotope pairing experiments. Intact core incubations showed declining rates of total benthic N-loss with water depth from 0.55 to 0.18 mmol N m**-2 day**-1. While denitrification rates measured in slurry incubations decreased from 2.73 to 1.46 mmol N m**-2 day**-1 with water depth, anammox rates increased from 0.21 to 0.89 mmol N m**-2 day**-1. Hence, the contribution from anammox to total benthic N-loss increased from 7% at 360 m to 40% at 1430 m. This trend is further supported by the quantification of cd1-containing nitrite reductase (nirS), the biomarker functional gene encoding for cytochrome cd1-Nir of microorganisms involved in both N-loss processes. Anammox-like nirS genes within the sediments increased in proportion to total nirS gene copies with water depth. Moreover, phylogenetic analyses of NirS revealed different communities of both denitrifying and anammox bacteria between shallow and deep stations. Together, rate measurement and nirS analyses showed that anammox, determined for the first time in the Arabian Sea sediments, is an important benthic N-loss process at the continental margin off Pakistan, especially in the sediments at deeper water depths. Extrapolation from the measured benthic N-loss to all shelf sediments within the basin suggests that benthic N-loss may be responsible for about half of the overall N-loss in the Arabian Sea.

El empleo de bajos ingresos en la Argentina : Caracterización regional entre 2003 y 2010

Este artículo se ocupa del empleo de bajos ingresos (EBI), entendiéndose por tal al trabajo asalariado cuya remuneración se sitúa por debajo de determinados umbrales. Los umbrales considerados aquí fueron el Salario Mínimo Vital y Móvil y la mitad del ingreso promedio de los trabajadores asalariados de jornada completa. Con datos de la Encuesta Permanente de Hogares de la Argentina para el período 2003-2010, se ha determinado la magnitud del EBI, las diferencias entre las ciudades cubiertas por la encuesta, la asociación del EBI con otras variables y, por último, sus microdeterminantes. Entre las conclusiones más relevantes se pueden mencionar las siguientes: el EBI afecta, en todo el país, a un rango que va del 16 al 26 de los trabajadores asalariados; es muy dispar por ciudad de residencia; está fuertemente asociado a la incidencia del trabajo no registrado; y, a pesar del fuerte aumento de la registración entre 2003 y 2010, no ha cedido en la misma proporción que la informalidad.