Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate social responsibility on customer behaviour: the mediating role of corporate image and customer satisfaction

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays an important role in corporate profits, corporate reputation, and consumer attitudes; it has been identified as a critical marketing strategy for enterprise business activities and corporate sustainable development. How does CSR influence the consumer behaviour towards profit making for the enterprise? This issue has been an important research topic in the enterprise and management areas. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying how CSR can affect the consumer behavioural intention (CBI) have rarely been addressed in the literature. This study investigates the relationship between CSR and CBI, emphasising on using corporate image and customer satisfaction as the mediate factors. Focusing on the bicycle industry, a total number of 491 valid questionnaires from the consumers are retrieved and are then analyzed using the structural equation modelling. Our analyses show that CSR has a positive effect on corporate image, customer satisfaction, and price premium. In addition, CSR can affect the customer behavioural intention (purchase intention and price premium) through enhancing corporate image and customer satisfaction. Our results clarify the relationship between CSR and CBI, and can offer a sound academic support for future related research and practical applications.
Psychotic-like experiences in a community sample of 8000 children aged 9 to 11 years: an item response theory analysis

Background Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in the general population are common, particularly in childhood, and may constitute part of a spectrum of normative development. Nevertheless, these experiences confer increased risk for later psychotic disorder, and are associated with poorer health and quality of life. Method This study used factor analytic methods to determine the latent structure underlying PLEs, problem behaviours and personal competencies in the general child population, and used item response theory (IRT) to assess the psychometric properties of nine PLE items to determine which items best represented a latent psychotic-like construct (PSY). A total of 7966 children aged 9–11 years, constituting 95% of eligible children, completed self-report questionnaires. Results Almost two-thirds of the children endorsed at least one PLE item. Structural analyses identified a unidimensional construct representing psychotic-like severity in the population, the full range of which was well sampled by the nine items. This construct was discriminable from (though correlated with) latent dimensions representing internalizing and externalizing problems. Items assessing visual and auditory hallucination-like experiences provided the most information about PSY; delusion-like experiences identified children at more severe levels of the construct. Conclusions Assessing PLEs during middle childhood is feasible and supplements information concerning internalizing and externalizing problems presented by children. The hallucination-like experiences constitute appropriate items to screen the population to identify children who may require further clinical assessment or monitoring. Longitudinal follow-up of the children is required to determine sensitivity and specificity of the PLE items for later psychotic illness.
New Insights in CD28‐Independent Allograft Rejection

CD28 costimulatory blockade induces tolerance in most murine transplant models but fails to do so in stringent transplant models, such as skin transplantation. The precise immunological mechanisms of CD28‐independent rejection remain to be fully defined. Using two novel mouse strains in which both CD28 and either CD4 or CD8 are knocked out (CD4−/‐CD28−/‐ or CD8−/‐CD28−/‐ mice), we examined mechanisms of CD28‐independent CD4+ or CD8+ T‐cell‐mediated allograft rejection. CD4−/‐CD28−/‐ and CD8−/‐CD28−/ deficient mice rejected fully allogeneic skin allografts at a tempo comparable with that in wild‐type mice. Rejection proceeded despite significant reduction in alloreactive T‐cell clone sizes suggesting the presence of a subset of T cells harnessing alternate CD28‐independent costimulatory pathways. Blockade of CD40–CD154 and CD134–CD134L, but not ICOS‐B7h pathways in combination significantly prolonged allograft survival in CD8−/‐CD28−/‐ recipients and to a lesser extent in CD4−/‐CD28−/‐ recipients. Prolongation in allograft survival was associated with reduced effector‐memory T‐cell generation, decreased allospecific Th1 cytokine generation and diminished alloreactive T‐cell proliferation in vivo. In aggregate, the data identify these two pathways as critical mediators of CD28‐independent rejection by CD4+ and to a lesser extent CD8+ T cells, and provide novel mechanistic insights into functions of novel T‐cell co‐stimulatory pathways in vivo.
Effect of Atorvastatin on Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type‐1 Synthesis in Human Monocytes/Macrophages

&NA; The fibrinolytic inhibitor plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI‐1) plays a role in the development of atherothrombosis and is produced by macrophages that infiltrate the atherosclerotic vessel wall. Because statins are effective in reducing atherosclerosis, we investigated if they modulate the synthesis of PAI‐1 in human monocytes/macrophages. To this end, we studied the effect of atorvastatin in different models of monocyte/macrophage differentiation, such as differentiated human promyelocytic cell line HL‐60 and human peripheral blood monocyte‐derived macrophages. HL‐60 cells were differentiated along monocyte lineage by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or a mixture of transforming growth factor‐&bgr; type 1 (TGF‐&bgr;1)/1&agr;,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 (D3). In these conditions, PAI‐1 synthesis was strongly induced and atorvastatin upregulated this synthesis, especially during TGF‐&bgr;1/D3‐induced differentiation. Recombinant human tumor necrosis factor‐&agr;(TNF‐&agr;) strongly upregulated PAI‐1 synthesis in PMA‐ or TGF‐&bgr;1/D3‐differentiated cells, and the potentiating effect of atorvastatin was of the same order as in the absence of TNF‐&agr;. Mevalonate reversed the enhancing effect of atorvastatin. In mature human monocyte‐derived macrophages, atorvastatin, alone or in combination with TNF‐&agr;, TGF‐&bgr;1, or PMA, did not exert any significant effect on PAI‐1 synthesis. Basal production of urokinase (uPA), which was below detection limits in HL‐60 cells and very low in human monocyte‐derived macrophages, was not altered by atorvastatin. These results show that atorvastatin upregulates PAI‐1 synthesis during the early stages of monocyte/macrophage differentiation, but has no effect on PAI‐1 and uPA synthesis in mature human monocyte‐derived macrophages. Atorvastatin did not significantly interact with the upregulating action of TNF‐&agr; on PAI‐1 synthesis during differentiation.
Internet in Travel and Tourism— Part I

This is the first part of a series of articles on application of the Internet technology in travel and tourism that the author is going to write for the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing . This first part covers the basic concepts of the Internet and the World Wide Web and their applications in the context of travel and tourism marketing. Each of the remaining parts of this series will explore and analyze a popular travel product distribution Web site (URL) and its services. Through this series of articles, readers can grasp the knowledge of the Internet and be able to take advantage of this fast growing information technology in their marketing strategies.
Involvement of the GroE chaperonins in the nickel-dependent anaerobic biosynthesis of NiFe-hydrogenases of Escherichia coli

We analyzed the involvement of chaperonins GroES and GroEL in the biosynthesis of the three hydrogenase isoenzymes, HYD1, HYD2, and HYD3, of Escherichia coli. These hydrogenases are NiFe-containing, membrane-bound enzymes composed of small and large subunits, each of which is proteolytically processed during biosynthesis. Total hydrogenase activity was found to be reduced by up to 60% in groES and groEL thermosensitive mutant strains. This effect was specific because it was not seen for another oligomeric, membrane-bound metalloenzyme, i.e., nitrate reductase. Analyses of the single hydrogenase isoenzymes revealed that a temperature shift during the growth of groE mutants led to an absence of HYD1 activity and to an accumulation of the precursor of the large subunit of HYD3, whereas only marginal effects on the processing of HYD2 and its activity were observed under these conditions. A decrease in total hydrogenase activity, together with accumulation of the precursors of the large subunits of HYD2 and HYD3, was also found to occur in a nickel uptake mutant (nik). The phenotype of this nik mutant was suppressed by supplementation of the growth medium with nickel ions. On the contrary, Ni2+ no longer restored hydrogenase activity and processing of the large subunit of HYD3 when the nik and groE mutations were combined in one strain. This finding suggests the involvement of these chaperonins in the biosynthesis of a functional HYD3 isoenzyme via the incorporation of nickel. In agreement with these in vivo results, we demonstrated a specific binding of GroEL to the precursor of the large subunit of HYD3 in vitro. Collectively, our results are consistent with chaperonin-dependent incorporation of nickel into the precursor of the large subunit of HYD3 as a prerequisite of its proteolytic processing and the acquisition of enzymatic activity.
Serevent nationwide surveillance study: comparison of salmeterol with salbutamol in asthmatic patients who require regular bronchodilator treatment.

OBJECTIVE--To compare safety of salmeterol and salbutamol in treating asthma. DESIGN--Double blind, randomised clinical trial in parallel groups over 16 weeks. SETTING--General practices throughout the United Kingdom. SUBJECTS--25,180 patients with asthma considered to require regular treatment with bronchodilators who were recruited by their general practitioner (n = 3516). INTERVENTIONS--Salmeterol (Serevent) (50 micrograms twice daily) or salbutamol (200 micrograms four times a day) randomised in the ratio of two patients taking salmeterol to one taking salbutamol. All other drugs including prophylaxis against asthma were continued throughout the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--All serious events and reasons for withdrawals (medical and non-medical) whether or not they were considered to be related to the drugs. RESULTS--Fewer medical withdrawals due to asthma occurred in patients taking salmeterol than in those taking salbutamol (2.91% v 3.79%; chi 2 = 13.6, p = 0.0002). Mortality and admissions to hospital were as expected. There was a small but non-significant excess mortality in the group taking salmeterol and a significant excess of asthma events including deaths in patients with severe asthma on entry. Use of more than two canisters of bronchodilator a month was particularly associated with the occurrence of an adverse asthma event. CONCLUSIONS--Treatment over 16 weeks with either salmeterol or salbutamol was not associated with an incidence of deaths related to asthma in excess of that predicted. Overall control of asthma was better in patients allocated to salmeterol. Serious adverse events occurred in patients most at risk on entry and were probably due to the disease rather than treatment.
Perceptibility of phonetic features in fluent speech.

A series of experiments examined listeners' ability to detect mispronounced words in a short story. Mispronunciations were produced by changing a single consonant segment in a word to produce a (phonologically permissible) nonsense word. The results of six different experiments showed that prestressed work-initial stop consonants are more perceptible than other consonants. For example, mispronunciations produced by changing the voicing of a word-initial stop (e.g., "boy" to "poy") were detected about 70% of the time, while changes in voicing of a word-initial fricative (e.g., "voice" to "foice") were detected about 38% of the time. Mispronunciations produced by changing the place of articulation of a prestressed word-initial stop were most detectable of all (80% to 90% detection) for three different speakers. A change in place of articulation of a word-initial stop (e.g., "baby" to "daby") was detected as often as a change in both place of articulation and voicing (e.g., "baby" to "taby"). Finally, it was found that a mispronunciation was detected about twice as often in word-initial than in word-final position in one syllable words for both stops and nasals. The results suggest that listeners pay special attention to word-initial stop consonants in natural continuous speech.
Programme on the recyclability of food-packaging materials with respect to food safety considerations: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), paper and board, and plastics covered by functional barriers

Stimulated by new ecology-driven European and national regulations, new routes of recycling waste appear on the market. Since food packages represent a large percentage of the plastics consumption and since they have a short lifetime, an important approach consists in making new packages from post-consumer used packages. On the other hand, food-packaging regulations in Europe require that packaging materials must be safe. Therefore, potential mass transfer (migration) of harmful recycling-related substances to the food must be excluded and test methods to ensure the safety-in-use of recycled materials for food packaging are needed. As a consequence of this situation, a European research project FAIR-CT98-4318, with the acronym 'Recyclability', was initiated. The project consists of three sections each focusing on a different class of recycled materials : polyethylene terephthalate (PET), paper and board, and plastics covered by functional barriers. The project consortium consists of 28 project members from 11 EU countries. In addition, the project is during its lifetime in discussion with the US Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) to consider also US FDA regulatory viewpoints and to aim, as a consequence, to harmonizable conclusions and recommendations. The paper introduces the project and presents an overview of the project work progress.
What Moves Capital to Transition Economies?

The transition economies in Europe and the former Soviet Union between 1991 and 1999 differed widely in terms of total capital flows and the share and composition of private flows. With some exceptions (notably Russia), the main source of private inflows was foreign direct investment. Portfolio investment was volatile, and concentrated in a handful of countries. Regressions show that direct investment can be well explained in terms of economic fundaals, whereas the presence of a financial market infrastructure and a property rights indicator are the only explanatory variables that seem to have a robust effect on portfolio investment.
Quality and perceived value in career guidance e-services

Purpose This paper aims to empirically examine career guidance services in terms of e-service quality, information quality and perceived value. It specifically examines students’ perceptions of quality to explore the effects of e-service quality and information quality on perceived value. Design/methodology/approach Students from the University of Verona participated in a quantitative survey, and 119 questionnaires were collected to assess the perceptions of respondents on e-service quality, information quality and perceived value about the career guidance e-service. Findings The results indicate that students perceive high value for the career guidance services; the perceived value depends on both service quality of the e-platform and information quality of the report; and efficiency is the most important dimension of e-service quality, while adequacy appears to be the most important dimension of the report. Practical implications These findings reveal that service organisations such as universities should invest in career guidance services, given that such services are appreciated by students and contribute to reducing the gap between education and job opportunities. In the design phase, service organisations should pay attention to students’ career development needs by developing e-platforms that are easy to use, appealing, efficient and with continuous system availability and reports that include relevant, understandable, reliable and adequate information. It is important to provide students with a report after they have completed a questionnaire. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research empirically evaluating the effects of perceived e-service quality and information quality on perceived value with specific reference to career guidance e-services.
The role of sexual and natural selection in shaping patterns of sexual dichromatism in the largest family of songbirds (Aves: Thraupidae)

Males and females can be under different evolutionary pressures if sexual and natural selection is differentially operating in each sex. As a result, many species have evolved sexual dichromatism, or differences in coloration between sexes. Although sexual dichromatism is often used as an index of the magnitude of sexual selection, sexual dichromatism is a composite trait. Here, we examine the evolution of sexual dichromatism in one of the largest and most ecologically diverse families of birds, the tanagers, using the avian visual perspective and a species‐level phylogeny. Our results demonstrate that the evolutionary decreases of sexual dichromatism are more often associated with larger and more frequent changes in male plumage coloration, and evolutionary increases are not more often associated with larger changes in either sex. Furthermore, we show that the crown and ventral plumage regions are correlated with sexual dichromatism in males, and that only male plumage complexity is positively correlated with sexual dichromatism. Finally, we demonstrate that light environment is important in shaping both plumage brilliance and complexity. By conducting a multilevel analysis of plumage evolution in males and females, we show that sexual dichromatism evolves via a mosaic of sexual and natural selection in both sexes.
A Meta-Analysis of Personality in Scientific and Artistic Creativity

Theory and research in both personality psychology and creativity share an essential commonality: emphasis on the uniqueness of the individual. Both disciplines also share an emphasis on temporal consistency and have a 50-year history, and yet no quantitative review of the literature on the creative personality has been conducted. The 3 major goals of this article are to present the results of the first meta-analytic review of the literature on personality and creative achievement, to present a conceptual integration of underlying potential psychological mechanisms that personality and creativity have in common, and to show how the topic of creativity has been important to personality psychologists and can be to social psychologists. A common system of personality description was obtained by classifying trait terms or scales onto one of the Five-Factor Model (or Big Five) dimensions: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Effect size was measured using Cohen 's d (Cohen, 1988). Comparisons on personality traits were made on 3 sets of samples: scientists versus nonscientists, more creative versus less creative scientists, and artists versus nonartists. In general, creative people are more open to new experiences, less conventional and less conscientious, more self-confident, self-accepting, driven, ambitious, dominant, hostile, and impulsive. Out of these, the largest effect sizes were on openness, conscientiousness, self-acceptance, hostility, and impulsivity. Further, there appears to be temporal stability of these distinguishing personality dimensions of creative people. Dispositions important to creative behavior are parsed into social, cognitive, motivational, and affective dimensions. Creativity, like most complex behaviors requires an intra- as well as interdisciplinary view and thereby mitigates the historically disciplinocentric attitudes of personality and social psychologists.
Proxy respondents and the validity of occupational and other exposure data. The Selected Cancers Cooperative Study Group.

As part of a multicenter cancer case-control study conducted in 1984-1988, a proxy interview was attempted for all cases who were initially interviewed for the study but who died during the 4-year data collection period. To assess the validity of using wives, other relatives, or other informants to obtain information about a subject, the authors compared occupational and other exposure data obtained from 270 male cancer cases and their proxy respondents. The primary focus of the case-control study was on Vietnam military service and exposure to phenoxy herbicides, but cases and their proxy respondents were also asked about occupational and other exposures relevant to the cancers. The accuracy of reporting for specific occupational exposures (e.g., asbestos and formaldehyde) and specific occupations (e.g., dry cleaning and meat packing or processing) was poor, although the latter improved somewhat when only case-spouse pairs were examined. Similarly, there was poor sensitivity in the reporting of herbicide exposure information in farming and other related occupations. In contrast, the reporting of certain demographic characteristics, childhood history characteristics, and use of alcohol and cigarettes was relatively good, and was even better when only case-spouse pairs were examined. The poor quality of proxy information for detailed exposure information suggests the need for careful use and interpretation of proxy information in epidemiologic studies.
Defining, quantifying, and characterizing adult frequent users of a suburban Canadian emergency department.

INTRODUCTION Frequent emergency department (ED) users are inconsistently defined and poorly studied in Canada. The purpose of this study was to develop uniform definitions, quantify ED burden, and characterize adult frequent users of a suburban community ED. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the administrative database of the WestView ED in Alberta for patients ≥ 18 years of age presenting during the fiscal year of 2010. Adult frequent users and extreme frequent users were defined as patients with yearly visit numbers greater than the 95th and 99th percentiles, respectively. Demographic information including age, sex, ED length of stay, diagnoses, Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) level, and disposition were collected and stratified by ED frequency of use categories. RESULTS The study included 22,333 ED visits by 14,223 patients. Frequent users represented 3.1% of patients and 13.8% of visits. Extreme frequent users represented 0.8% of patients, 5.4% of visits, and 568,879 cumulative ED minutes (395 days). Nonfrequent users had one to four, frequent users had five or more, and extreme frequent users had eight or more visits over a 12-month period. Frequent users and extreme frequent users had a significantly longer ED length of stay overall and in most age categories. Alcohol-related behavioural disorders, anxiety, nausea/vomiting, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were prominent diagnoses, suggesting that psychiatric, somatic, and chronic illnesses may underlie recurrent visits. Admission rates were significantly higher for frequent compared to nonfrequent users. CONCLUSIONS We propose reproducible definitions for adult frequent and extreme frequent ED users and provide information on the characteristics and burden of care of these groups at a community Canadian suburban ED. Adoption of these definitions would allow comparison across centres in future research and facilitate targeted interventions for frequent and extreme frequent ED users.