Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retail Services Survival in an Economic Crisis Context

Travel agencies face a generalized economic crisis. To establish and nourish a permanent relationship with clients can become the key to their survival. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the effects of the actions of customer relationship management (CRM) on the perception of the quality of the relationship (RQ), and its consequences on loyalty and purchasing intention. The results confirm that RQ can be improved through CRM actions of travel agencies. The RQ set up with the travel agency has a positive effect on loyalty and buying intention, and there is a strong impact of loyalty on purchasing intention.
Constant Versus Fluctuating Temperatures in the Interactions between Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and Its Larval Parasitoid Diadegma insulare (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

ABSTRACT Laboratory studies were conducted to determine the effects of constant temperatures (7, 22, and 30°C) and corresponding fluctuating temperatures (0–14, 15–29, and 23–37°C) on the development of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), and its North American parasitoid Diadegma insulare (Hellén). Parasitized third-instar diamondback moth larvae were reared until adult mortality in individual thermal gradient cells at different temperature regimes. Larval mortality, parasitism success, pupal mortality, larval and pupal developmental time, adult longevity, and pupal and adult dry weight were recorded. Overall diamondback moth larval mortality was low. The pupal mortality of D. insulare increased with increasing temperature; however, diamondback moth did not show such a response. Greatest parasitism success (67%) was found at constant and fluctuating 22°C and fluctuating 7°C, and the lowest (30%) at fluctuating 30°C. Longer development times and greater pupal body masses occurred at lower temperatures for both insects. Significant differences occurred between constant and fluctuating temperature regimes for most parameters of both insects. Fluctuating compared with constant temperatures caused shorter development times, similar body mass, and higher adult longevity for both insects at optimal and lower temperature ranges. Both insects experienced 0°C at fluctuating 7°C (0–14°C) and survived. These results have important implications for extrapolating temperature effects on insects in laboratory studies with constant temperatures. Comparing successful parasitism capacity of the wasp and pupal survival and body mass of both host and parasitoid, we conclude that D. insulare is a more effective parasitoid at lower temperatures.
Microthreaded Implants and Crestal Bone Loss: A Systematic Review

&NA; This systematic literature review investigated the effect of microthreaded‐neck dental implants on crestal bone loss. Using the participants, interventions, comparison groups, outcomes, and study design (PICO) system, we addressed the following focused question: Do microthreaded‐neck dental implants positively affect the crestal bone level around dental implants? We searched 3 electronic databases to find articles published between January 1995 and June 2016 that contained any combination of the following keywords: dental implant, microthread, microthreaded, crestal bone level, crestal bone loss, and alveolar bone level. We excluded case reports, review articles, letters to the editor, commentaries, and articles published in a language other than English. We found a total of 70 articles. After eliminating duplicates and applying PICO eligibility criteria, we selected only articles that reported the results of randomized controlled trials, prospective or retrospective cohort studies, case control studies, cross‐sectional studies, or other types of clinical trials that compared the microthreaded implant design with other implant designs. We were left with 23 articles for review. The 23 articles reported crestal bone loss ranging from . 05 mm to . 9 mm, with a range of 12 to 96 months of follow‐up. Less crestal bone was lost with dental implants that had a microthreaded neck design than with machined‐surface or conventional rough‐surface dental implants. Thus, microthreaded dental implants are a better choice than are implants with other designs. Future studies should use standardized imaging techniques to evaluate the placement of these implants in bone‐augmented sites.
Exploring the UK high street retail experience: is the service encounter still valued?

Purpose: The relationship between service quality, the service encounter and the retail experience is explored within a changing UK retail environment. Design: Data was gathered from forty customers and twenty staff of an established UK health and beauty retailer with a long standing reputation for personal customer service. A qualitative analysis was applied using both a service quality and a customer value template. Findings: Customers focused more on the utilitarian features of the service experience and less on ‘extraordinary’ aspects, but service staff still perceived that the customer encounter remained a key requisite for successful service delivery. Research implications: Recent environmental developments - involving customers, markets and retail platform structures - are challenging traditional service expectations. Practical Implications: Retailers may need to reassess the role of the service encounter as part of their on-going value proposition. Originality/value: There has been limited research to date on the perception of shoppers to the service encounter in a changing retail environment and to the evolving notions of effort and convenience.
Effect of personalized dietary intervention on nutritional, metabolic and vascular indices in patients with chronic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVE Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) present a markedly increased cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality since the early stages of the disease and a high prevalence of malnutrition, inflammation, and accelerated atherosclerosis. Personalized nutritional intervention, with of a low-protein diet (LPD), since the early stages of CKD should be able to achieve significant metabolic improvements. In our study we have verified the effects of a personalized dietary intervention in patients in the CKD stages 3/4 KDOQI on nutritional, metabolic and vascular indices. PATIENTS AND METHODS We have evaluated renal function, lipid profile, mineral metabolism, inflammatory indices, and acid-base balance of 16 patients with CKD (stages 3/4 KDOQI). Assessment of nutritional status, body composition, bone mineral density and muscle mass, using body mass index (BMI), handgrip strength, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was performed. Vascular indices and endothelial dysfunction such as carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and the brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (baFMD) were also analyzed. RESULTS After dietary interventions, we observed a significant increase in plasma bicarbonate (p = 0.004) and vitamin D levels (p = 0.03) and a concomitant significant reduction of phosphorus concentration (p = 0.001) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Nutritional intervention potentially plays a major role in reducing the progression of CKD and systemic complications of predialysis patients. A low-protein diet (LPD) ensuring vegetable protein intake and a reduced amount of specific micronutrients should be recommended to stage 3/4 CKD patients in order to ameliorate metabolic profile, renal outcome, and reduce cardiovascular risk factors.
Word-of-mouth and viral marketing activity of the on-line consumer: the role of loyalty chain stages theory

Given the undoubted importance of word-of-mouth (WOM) and viral marketing activity (VMA) for e-retail websites, the purpose of the paper is to examine the relationships between each of the loyalty stages (e.g. cognitive, affective, conative and action loyalty), as well as WOM and VMA. Using loyalty stages theory, a theoretical model was proposed and tested amongst the retail website customers. Data were collected from 509 e-retail customers using a questionnaire survey. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Results found support for the loyalty stages theory. WOM activity was found to be significantly influenced by a consumer's conative and action loyalty, while increased affective loyalty stage was significantly related to VMA. Online retailers need to direct their efforts towards integrating the four components of the loyalty chain for enhancing the WOM behaviour and VMA. For enhancing the WOM behaviour of their website customers, online marketers need to strengthen their consumers' conative and action loyalty levels, and for enhancing the VMA, they should focus on enhancing the affective loyalty level. This paper contributes to the literature by identifying the differential impact of the loyalty stages on WOM and VMA.
Sustainable Development Reporting Practices by Nigerian Banks

Business activities could, in uncontrolled circumstances, produce unfortunate negative Environmental and Social (ES sustainable solution practices among them were not significantly different though. Firm characteristics such as size and profitability were found not to affect sustainability practice. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n23p2535
Regulatory Barriers & Entry in Developing Economies

We model entry by entrepreneurs into new markets in developing economies with regulatory barriers in the form of licence fees and bureaucratic delay. Because laissez faire leads to ‘excessive’ entry, a licence fee can increase welfare by discouraging entry. However, in the presence of a licence fee, bureaucratic delay creates a strategic opportunity, which can result in both greater entry by first movers and a higher steady-state number of firms. Delay also leads to speculation, with entrepreneurs taking out licences to obtain the option of immediate entry if they later observe the industry to be profitable enough.
Involving Stakeholders in Developing Corporate Brands: the Communication Dimension

Those involved in corporate branding recognise that interactions with stakeholders are crucial. Surprisingly therefore, the author found that there is relatively little in the literature or in the study of practice that indicates how the range of stakeholders can be actively engaged in developing the corporate brand. Stakeholders are usually regarded as targets rather than partners in its development. This is reflected in the planning models, which, although often denoting stakeholders as integral to the process, are not explicit about how or to what extent they should be involved. In this paper a process describing the contribution that stakeholders can make based on the concept of a 'negotiated brand' is proposed. The author then goes on to outline four different practical communication strategies that can be used to involve stakeholders in corporate brand development depending on the nature of their relationship with the organisation.
Pressure or Pamper? The Effects of Power and Trust Dimensions on Supplier Resource Allocation

Leveraging the supply chain for competitive resources remains a key challenge for supply chain management. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study examines SCM practices that help firms to acquire better supplier resources than rival firms that source from the same supplier. We provide a clearer picture of coercive and competence power, and goodwill and competence trust as key mechanisms to improve supplier resource allocation of physical and innovation resources. We analyze survey data of 185 supplying firms using structural equation modeling. Our analyses yield several interesting findings. First, contrary to other studies we find that coercive tactics do not necessarily affect supplier resource allocation negatively and goodwill trust does not inherently affect supplier resource allocation positively. Second, the results of a multigroup analysis indicate that the dependence of a supplier on the buying firm – in terms of share in turnover – affects the relationship between the trust dimensions and supplier resource allocation more than it does the power dimensions. Third, goodwill trust only affects supplier resource allocation when the buyer has a large share in the supplier's turnover, while competence trust is more effective if buyers account for a small share in the supplier's turnover. The contributions of our study for the supply chain management and social exchange theory literature are discussed
The Ajellomycetaceae, a new family of vertebrate-associated Onygenales

Phylogenies inferred from the analysis of DNA sequence data have shown that the Onygenales contains clades that do not correspond with previously described families. One lineage identified in recent molecular phylogenetic studies includes the dimorphic pathogens belonging to the genera Ajellomyces, Emmonsia and Paracoccidioides. To evaluate the degree of support for this lineage and determine whether it includes additional taxa, we examined relationships among the members of this clade and selected saprobic onygenalean taxa based on maximum-parsimony analyses of partial nuclear large RNA subunit (LSU) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. A clade distinct from the Onygenaceae was found to encompass Ajellomyces (including the anamorph genera Blastomyces, Emmonsia and Histoplasma) and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The members of this lineage are saprobic and pathogenic vertebrate-associated taxa distinguished by their globose ascomata with coiled appendages, muricate globose or oblate ascospores, and lack of keratinolytic activity. Anamorphs are solitary aleurioconidia or irregular alternate arthroconidia. Based on molecular data and on morphological and physiological similarities among these taxa, we propose the new family, Ajellomycetaceae.
STUDENTS ’ PERCEPTION ON THE USE OF WHATSAPP AS A LEARNING TOOL IN ESL

Technology gives a huge influence on students’ lifestyle where many positive responses were encountered by most tertiary institutions on the development of the use of mobile technology in education. This is where WhatsApp application has become popular as a mobile learning style and regards as one of the communication platforms since many students nowadays have their own smartphone. WhatsApp is a Smartphone application for instant messaging. These days, it is difficult to engage students’ interest in learning English subject. Therefore, WhatsApp can be one of the inventive teaching techniques to attract them and provide fun-based-learning. WhatsApp increases idea contribution among students and provides faster and easier communication. Thus, this research is aimed to examine the use of WhatsApp as a learning tool and how it could help the students to enhance their language learning. Besides, it also investigates the significance of using the tool and defines its use based on students’ perceptions as it suits with recent young generations’ lifestyle. Data were gathered from a survey conducted on 20 respondents from Kuala Pilah Pre-University students via a set of questionnaires distributed for them to answer within 15 to 20 minutes. A pilot study was also been conducted on 30 respondents in order to know the reliability of the instruments in this research. A quantitative data were collected and the result accumulates the total size of the sample together with the percentages of returns. The data is summarized to identify the usefulness of the learning tool to the students. The findings of the study suggested that the use of WhatsApp is significant in helping the students learning the language better and enhancing their proficiency in using the English language. This study implies that the usage of WhatsApp should be encouraged to the students and institutions should provide internet facilities as a top priority in today’s education.
Secondary progressive chronic manganism associated with markedly decreased striatal D2 receptor density

We describe a patient with chronic manganism due to intoxication 40 years ago. Whereas previous reports on acute or subacute intoxication have shown no or only small reductions in striatal D2 receptor density, we found markedly decreased D2 receptor density using 18F‐methylspiperone PET in this very late stage of chronic manganism, supporting the hypothesis that manganese intoxication may trigger a neurodegenerative disease process. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society
Direct-to-Consum er Genetic Testing: Personalized Medicine in Evolution

Overview: Genetic testing has been one of the cornerstones of personalized cancer care for a decade. However, direct-toconsumer (DTC) marketing of genetic tests has led to a rapid evolution of how testing is viewed by scientists, consumers, businesses, health care providers, and regulatory bodies. The advent of high-throughput genetic technologies has created an opportunity for large-scale genomic evaluation of individuals at a relatively affordable price. This article discusses the potential for use and abuse of these technologies from the perspectives of the various stakeholders. DTC genetic testing platforms are reviewed with respect to methodology and quality of tests currently available to the consumer. The pros and cons of DTC genetic testing are reviewed from the consumers’ perspective. What is known about how consumers understand, interpret, and implement this new knowledge is discussed. The potential positive and negative impacts of DTC genetic testing on oncologic practice are reviewed. The rapid evolution of DTC genetic testing has made regulation of these services a moving target, and the current regulatory status of DTC testing is described. In sum, DTC genetic testing has the potential to launch personalized medicine to a height never before anticipated if technologic, social, and ethical issues are effectively addressed.
Using the Competitive Dimensions to Achieve Competitive Advantage A Study on Jordanian Private Hospitals

This study aims to know, if the Jordanian private hospitals using the competitive dimensions to achieve competitive advantage, the Study populations consists of all managers at the Jordanian private hospital, were as the sample consisting of (200) managers. The simple statistical methods were used like repetitions, percentages, means, standard deviations, and multiple liner regression . The results showed that the Jordanian private hospitals used all the competition dimensions to achieve competitive advantages ,the competition dimensions : (cost, flexibility, and delivery) influencing on quality of medical services,and they don’t use the competition dimensions: (cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery) at the same degree.on the light of results the researcher recommends to make more attention to used all the competition dimensions at the same level ,and introduce other and new competition dimensions to achieve more competition advantages.
Complete Nucleotide Sequence of pK245, a 98-Kilobase Plasmid Conferring Quinolone Resistance and Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase Activity in a Clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolate

ABSTRACT A plasmid containing the qnrS quinolone resistance determinant and the gene encoding the SHV-2 β-lactamase has been discovered from a clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae strain isolated in Taiwan. The complete 98-kb sequence of this plasmid, designated pK245, was determined by using a whole-genome shotgun approach. Transfer of pK245 conferred low-level resistance to fluoroquinolones in electroporant Escherichia coli epi300. The sequence of the immediate region surrounding qnrS in pK245 is nearly identical (>99% identity) to those of pAH0376 from Shigella flexneri and pINF5 from Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis, the two other qnrS-carrying plasmids reported to date, indicating a potential common origin. Other genes conferring resistance to aminoglycosides (aacC2, strA, and strB), chloramphenicol (catA2), sulfonamides (sul2), tetracycline (tetD), and trimethoprim (dfrA14) were also detected in pK245. The dfrA14 gene is carried on a class I integron. Several features of this plasmid, including three separate regions containing putative replicons, a partitioning-control system, and a type II restriction modification system, suggest that it may be able to replicate and adapt in a variety of hosts. Although no critical conjugative genes were detected, multiple insertion sequence elements were found scattered throughout pK245, and these may facilitate the dissemination of the antimicrobial resistance determinants. We conclude that pK245 is a chimera which acquired its multiple antimicrobial resistance determinants horizontally from different sources. The identification of pK245 plasmid expands the repertoire of the coexistence of quinolone and extended-spectrum-β-lactam resistance determinants in plasmids carried by various species of the family Enterobacteriaceae in different countries.
Antithrombotic strategies in patients on oral anticoagulant therapy undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A proposed algorithm based on individual risk stratification

An increasing number of patients on chronic oral anticoagulant therapy undergo percutaneous coronary intervention. There is a lack of evidence‐based data and no practice guidelines are available about the optimal antithrombotic treatment of such patients after the procedure; thus, the adopted strategies are highly variable and are often left to the discretion of the attending physician. In this article, we review current evidence and propose an algorithm of antithrombotic strategies tailored to the individual patient, which takes into account the relative risks of bleeding, ischemic complications, and thromboembolism. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Untying the Mediterranean Gordian Knot: A Twenty First Century Challenge for Fisheries Management

Management of fisheries in the Mediterranean basin has often been described as a unique and complex challenge, due to their multi-specificity, the diversity of gear-types, and the number of nations involved. This perspective has gone hand-in-hand for decades with a lack of strong political will from decision-makers, who have been unwilling to put Mediterranean fisheries management high on their agendas. Over time, exploitation rates of demersal stocks have increased and in 2016, 97% of shared stocks assessed in the Mediterranean were reported to be overfished. An alarm bell about the chronic overfishing of Mediterranean fish stocks was rung by European policy makers in 2015, exactly 20 years after the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization mandated that states should ensure the sustainable use of fishery resources. In this perspective, we: i) review the context of fisheries management in the Mediterranean; ii) identify the potential factors that may have hindered management and; iii) discuss how the reformed European Union Common Fisheries Policy and the binding commitments laid down in its text may lead to knock-on effects for fisheries management in the international Mediterranean context, if properly implemented. In this line, we also present the example of demersal fisheries management in the Strait of Sicily, which may represent a starting point for science-based management in the Mediterranean