Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increasing customer loyalty and customer intimacy by improving the behavior of employees

Purpose One of the most important characteristics of high-performance organizations is that these organizations always aim at servicing their customers as best as possible. In practice, this means that the employees of these organizations have to behave toward customers in such a way that these customers are not only fully satisfied but also become loyal to the organization. The purpose of this paper is to look at the concrete behaviors that are needed to create this customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach From a literature review the items that potentially are of influence on creating customer loyalty and customer intimacy were identified, based on a previous validated questionnaire while adding additional items. These items were subsequently validated in practice with a questionnaire distributed among people who are in daily life regular customers of organizations. Findings The research results show that there are eight behavioral factors of importance to create customer loyalty and customer intimacy: first, service quality delivered by employees; second, capability of employees to deliver high quality; third, empathy of employees toward customers’ wishes and needs; fourth, understanding of employees of customers’ needs; fifth, responsiveness of employees toward the needs of customers; sixth, courtesy of employees toward customers; seventh, service manner of employees; and finally, trust customers place in employees. Research limitations/implications The implication of this research is that, now that the behavioral factors are known, an organization can make sure its employees focus on displaying these behaviors toward customers consistently over time, in order to make sure customers will experience the organization as a high-performance organization and will feel loyalty toward the organization. Originality/value The research described in this paper adds to the literature in the sense that it encompasses previous research into once item list and specifically looks at behaviors that create excellent service and thereby customer loyalty and customer intimacy, both concepts that go beyond the much researched topic of customer satisfaction.
Lagged Beliefs and Reference-Dependent Preferences

The Kőszegi-Rabin model of reference-dependent preferences proposes that the reference point to which consumption outcomes are compared is endogenously determined as a function of lagged, probabilistic beliefs. This paper presents an experiment designed to test some predictions of the Kőszegi-Rabin model. The design controls for potential confounds suggested by their theory. The experimental results support their prediction of an endowment effect but do not show the attachment effect predicted by their model.
Control of Membrane Thermal Transport Supporting Superconducting Detector Development

Because thermal transport determines the dynamic and static operation of bolometric detectors, control of the thermal conductance is critical for the implementation of detectors utilizing superconducting Transition Edge Sensors (TESs). For this reason, we have examined the use of partially perforated membranes for thermal management. This technique preserves the physical integrity of the membrane, and therefore maintains the mechanical robustness of the detector. This paper describes investigations of the thermal transport in trenched membranes.
Selective Thromboxane A2 Synthase Inhibition by OKY-046 Prevents Cardiopulmonary Dysfunction after Ovine Smoke Inhalation Injury

Background: Because thromboxane A2 is implicated in the pathophysiology of acute lung injury, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of selective thromboxane A2 synthase inhibition on cardiopulmonary function in the experimental setting of severe smoke inhalation injury. Methods: Sixteen adult sheep were operatively instrumented for chronic study. The injured intervention group was treated with the selective thromboxane A2 synthase inhibitor OKY-046, whereas the injured control group received only the vehicle (n = 8 each). Results: The progressive increase in thromboxane B2 lung lymph concentrations in control animals was associated with increased transvascular fluid flux, augmented resistances in the pulmonary and systemic circulation, and a reciprocal decrease in cardiac output. In addition, end-systolic pressure–diameter relation and maximum +dp/dt were markedly depressed as compared with baseline (24 h: 14.3 ± 0.9 vs. 8.9 ± 0.5 mmHg/mm and 2,120 ± 50 vs. 1,915 ± 40 mmHg/s, respectively; each P < 0.05). Infusion of OKY-046 significantly inhibited pulmonary thromboxane B2 delivery, attenuated the early increase in pulmonary vascular resistance, and blocked the increase in systemic vascular resistance. In addition, OKY-046 blunted and delayed the decrease in cardiac output and maintained end-systolic pressure–diameter relation, +dp/dt, and lung lymph flow at baseline values. Conclusions: These findings suggest that selective thromboxane A2 synthase inhibition may represent a goal-directed therapeutic approach to alleviate cardiovascular and pulmonary dysfunction in the setting of smoke inhalation injury.
CadA Negatively Regulates Escherichia coli O157:H7 Adherence and Intestinal Colonization

ABSTRACT Adherence of pathogenic Escherichia coli strains to intestinal epithelia is essential for infection. For enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) serotype O157:H7, we have previously demonstrated that multiple factors govern this pathogen's adherence to HeLa cells (A. G. Torres and J. B. Kaper, Infect. Immun. 71:4985-4995, 2003). One of these factors is CadA, a lysine decarboxylase, and this protein has been proposed to negatively regulate virulence in several enteric pathogens. In the case of EHEC strains, CadA modulates expression of the intimin, an outer membrane adhesin involved in pathogenesis. Here, we inactivated cadA in O157:H7 strain 86-24 to investigate the role of this gene in EHEC adhesion to tissue-cultured monolayers, global gene expression patterns, and colonization of the infant rabbit intestine. The cadA mutant did not possess lysine decarboxylation activity and was hyperadherent to tissue-cultured cells. Adherence of the cadA mutant was nearly twofold greater than that of the wild type, and the adherence phenotype was independent of pH, lysine, or cadaverine in the media. Additionally, complementation of the cadA defect reduced adherence back to wild-type levels, and it was found that the mutation affected the expression of the intimin protein. Disruption of the eae gene (intimin-encoding gene) in the cadA mutant significantly reduced its adherence to tissue-cultured cells. However, adherence of the cadA eae double mutant was greater than that of an 86-24 eae mutant, suggesting that the enhanced adherence of the cadA mutant is not entirely attributable to enhanced expression of intimin in this background. Gene array analysis revealed that the cadA mutation significantly altered EHEC gene expression patterns; expression of 1,332 genes was downregulated and that of 132 genes was upregulated in the mutant compared to the wild-type strain. Interestingly, the gene expression variation shows an EHEC-biased gene alteration including intergenic regions. Two putative adhesins, flagella and F9 fimbria, were upregulated in the cadA mutant, suggestive of their association with adherence in the absence of the Cad regulatory mechanism. In the infant rabbit model, the cadA mutant outcompeted the wild-type strain in the ileum but not in the cecum or mid-colon, raising the possibility that CadA negatively regulates EHEC pathogenicity in a tissue-specific fashion.
Effect of Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase on p53 Accumulation in Response to Cisplatin*

The p53 tumor suppressor protein is a transcription factor that plays a major role in the DNA damage response. After DNA damage, p53 levels increase due primarily to stabilization of the protein. The molecular mechanisms leading to stabilization of p53 after DNA damage have not been completely elucidated. Recently we reported that cisplatin treatment activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and that inhibition of ERK1/2 resulted in enhanced sensitivity to cisplatin. In the present study, we examined the potential role of ERK1/2 activation in regulation of the p53 response to cisplatin. In the ovarian carcinoma cell line A2780, inhibition of ERK1/2 activation with the mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase 1 (MEK1) inhibitor PD98059 resulted in decreased p53 protein half-life and diminished accumulation of p53 protein during exposure to cisplatin. We also demonstrated that p53 protein co-immunoprecipitated with ERK1/2 protein and was phosphorylated by activated recombinant murine ERK2 in vitro. Furthermore, PD98059 decreased the phosphorylation of p53 at serine 15 during cisplatin exposure, suggesting that ERK1/2 mediates in part phosphorylation of p53 during the cisplatin DNA response. These results strongly suggest that cisplatin-induced ERK activation is an up-stream regulator of the p53 response to DNA damage caused by cisplatin.
Applications of induced pluripotent stem cell technologies in spinal cord injury

Numerous basic research studies have suggested the potential efficacy of neural precursor cell (NPC) transplantation in spinal cord injury (SCI). However, in most such studies, the origin of the cells used was mainly fetal tissue or embryonic stem cells, both of which carry potential ethical concerns with respect to clinical use. The development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) opened a new path toward regenerative medicine for SCI. iPSCs can be generated from somatic cells by induction of transcription factors, and induced to differentiate into NPCs with characteristics of cells of the central nervous system. The beneficial effect of iPSC‐derived NPC transplantation has been reported from our group and others working in rodent and non‐human primate models. These promising results facilitate the application of iPSCs for clinical applications in SCI patients. However, iPSCs also have issues, such as genetic/epigenetic abnormalities and tumorigenesis because of the artificial induction method, that must be addressed prior to clinical use. The selection of somatic cells, generation of integration‐free iPSCs, and characterization of differentiated NPCs with thorough quality management are all needed to address these potential risks. To enhance the efficacy of the transplanted iPSC‐NPCs, especially at chronic phase of SCI, administration of a chondroitinase or semaphorin3A inhibitor represents a potentially important means of promoting axonal regeneration through the lesion site. The combined use of rehabilitation with such cell therapy approaches is also important, as repetitive training enhances neurite outgrowth of transplanted cells and strengthens neural circuits at central pattern generators. Our group has already evaluated clinical grade iPSC‐derived NPCs, and we look forward to initiating clinical testing as the next step toward determining whether this approach is safe and effective for clinical use.
Perception of Prosodic Boundaries by Naïve Listeners in French

We present the results of an experiment on the on-line perception of prosodic boundaries by 84 naive listeners. Potential samples from a multi-genre corpus of spoken French were stratified based on 3 prosodic measures, and 48 samples (mean length 29.9 seconds) were selected, balanced for their degree of fluency. Each sample was resynthesized to obliterate lexical content while keeping its syllabic structure and intonation. Four sets of stimuli were created (12 natural, 12 manipulated speech). Each sample was presented only once to 20 to 22 participants, who were instructed to press the space-bar as soon as they heard the end of a “group of words”. Baseline reaction time to simple tones was measured before and after the perception task. In total, 17195 perceived prosodic boundaries (PPB) were recorded. For each PPB, we calculated its strength, the temporal delay and density of responses. Results show that although the number of PPBs is similar in NS and MS, the types of PPBs, their acoustic correlates and relation to syntax greatly vary between the two conditions; in natural speech, we show that the presence of a filled pause and the syntactic structure act as strong cues to PPBs.
Reversibility of the Specific Adsorption of Colicin E2-P9 to Cells of Colicin-Sensitive Strains of Escherichia coli

The adsorption of colicin E2-P9 to its specific receptors on cells of sensitive strains of Escherichia coli is reversible under normal experimental conditions. At temperatures above 20 C, colicin may desorb from one cell and be readsorbed by a second with potentially lethal consequences. However, desorption of colicin seems unable to rescue a cell once it has received a lethal dose. These findings have implications both for the nature and types of specific receptors, and for the assay of colicin by the survivor count (lethal unit) methods.
To compare general, epidural and local anaesthesia for endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).

OBJECTIVES to compare general, epidural and local anaesthesia for endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). METHODS retrospective analysis of 91 consecutive patients (age 43 to 89 years) who underwent EVAR under local (LA, 63 patients), epidural (EDA, 8 patients) and general (GA, 20 patients) anaesthesia. RESULTS EVAR was successfully achieved in all patients without mortality or neurological, cardiac and respiratory complications. Vasopressive support as well as median fluid balance were significantly lessened in the LA group compared to GA group (p<0.0002). Stay in the Intensive Care Unit was necessary in 17 (27%), four (50%) and 14 (70%) patients, respectively, and median hospital stay was 3, 4.5, and 5.5 days, with a statistically significant difference between LA and GA group (p<0.0005). CONCLUSION LA is a safe anaesthetic method for the endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aneurysm, offering several advantages: simplicity, stable haemodynamics, and reduced consumption of ICU and hospital beds.
Increased risk of osteoporotic fractures in patients with Cushing's syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate if fracture risk was increased in patients with Cushing's syndrome due to the increased endogenous cortisol production. DESIGN Cohort. METHODS A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 125 patients with Cushing's syndrome diagnosed between 1985 and 1999 in Denmark. The response of each patient was compared with that of three age- and gender-matched control subjects randomly drawn among respondents to the same questionnaire from the background population. RESULTS One hundred and four patients (83%) responded. The median age of the patients was 48 years (range 19-85 years). Sixty-eight had pituitary disease, 28 had adrenal disease, four had had both pituitary and adrenal surgery while four had not undergone surgery at the time of the study. The median time from diagnosis to surgery was 0.2 (range 0-3) years. Eighty-six percent were cured following surgery. There was an increased fracture risk within the last 2 years prior to diagnosis (incidence rate ratio 6.0, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.1-17.2). More than 2 years prior to diagnosis and following diagnosis there was no difference in fracture risk between patients and controls. The patients had more low-energy fractures than the controls (relative risk 5.4, 95% CI: 1.4-20.1). There was no difference in fracture risk between patients with adrenal or pituitary disease. CONCLUSIONS Patients with Cushing's syndrome had an increased fracture risk in a narrow time interval before diagnosis, while no increase in fracture risk could be demonstrated after diagnosis and treatment.
Control of the limb bud outgrowth in quail‐chick chimera

It is well known that the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) and the zone of polarizing activity (ZPA) play a major role in growth and patterning of the limb. But a mechanism underlying species‐specific growth of the limb has not yet been fully elucidated. To investigate the role of AER and ZPA in limb size control, we constructed quail‐chick limb chimeras. When we grafted a whole forelimb bud from one species to another, the size of the developed grafted limb was comparable to the limb of the donor species. Moreover, we demonstrated that neither the interspecific substitution of the posterior half region of the limb bud containing the ZPA nor the exchange of the ectodermal component of the limb involving the AER could alter the species‐specific size of the limb. These results indicate that the factors affecting the size of the limb are already involved in the mesodermal component of the limb bud at stage 20 of chick embryo. Thus, the mesoderm dictates limb specificity including size. Dev Dyn 208:85–91, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Potential Impacts of Future Warming and Land Use Changes on Intra-Urban Heat Exposure in Houston, Texas

Extreme heat events in the United States are projected to become more frequent and intense as a result of climate change. We investigated the individual and combined effects of land use and warming on the spatial and temporal distribution of daily minimum temperature (Tmin) and daily maximum heat index (HImax) during summer in Houston, Texas. Present-day (2010) and near-future (2040) parcel-level land use scenarios were embedded within 1-km resolution land surface model (LSM) simulations. For each land use scenario, LSM simulations were conducted for climatic scenarios representative of both the present-day and near-future periods. LSM simulations assuming present-day climate but 2040 land use patterns led to spatially heterogeneous temperature changes characterized by warmer conditions over most areas, with summer average increases of up to 1.5°C (Tmin) and 7.3°C (HImax) in some newly developed suburban areas compared to simulations using 2010 land use patterns. LSM simulations assuming present-day land use but a 1°C temperature increase above the urban canopy (consistent with warming projections for 2040) yielded more spatially homogeneous metropolitan-wide average increases of about 1°C (Tmin) and 2.5°C (HImax), respectively. LSM simulations assuming both land use and warming for 2040 led to summer average increases of up to 2.5°C (Tmin) and 8.3°C (HImax), with the largest increases in areas projected to be converted to residential, industrial and mixed-use types. Our results suggest that urbanization and climate change may significantly increase the average number of summer days that exceed current threshold temperatures for initiating a heat advisory for metropolitan Houston, potentially increasing population exposure to extreme heat.
A 2.4-GHz Low-Power Superregenerative RF Front-End for High Data Rate Applications

This paper describes the design and implementation of a low-power superregenerative receiver front-end operating in the 2.4-GHz ISM band. Specifically, the design is conceived to support high quench frequencies and, consequently, high data rates. The front-end is evaluated as a part of a novel architecture in which the superregenerative oscillator is quenched synchronously with the received data. This mode of operation allows higher data rates to be obtained and significantly overcomes the traditional problem of poor selectivity in this type or receivers. The implemented front-end achieves 10 Mbit/s, an RF bandwidth of 37 MHz and a total supply current of 870 muA at 3-V supply voltage, offering an excellent trade-off between performance, simplicity and power consumption
Quantum-mechanical effects in trigate SOI MOSFETs

A self-consistent Poisson-Schro/spl uml/dinger solver is used to calculate the current in trigate n-channel silicon-on-insulator transistors with sections down to 2 nm /spl times/ 2 nm. The minimum energy of the subbands and the threshold voltage increase as the cross-sectional area of the device is reduced and as the electron concentration in the channel is increased. As a consequence, the threshold voltage is higher than predicted by classical Poisson solvers. The current drive is diminished, and the subthreshold slope is degraded, especially in the devices with the smallest cross sections.
Ady4p and Spo74p Are Components of the Meiotic Spindle Pole Body That Promote Growth of the Prospore Membrane in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT Spore formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae occurs via the de novo synthesis of the prospore membrane during the second meiotic division. Prospore membrane formation is triggered by assembly of a membrane-organizing center, the meiotic outer plaque (MOP), on the cytoplasmic face of the spindle pole body (SPB) during meiosis. We report here the identification of two new components of the MOP, Ady4p and Spo74p. Ady4p and Spo74p interact with known proteins of the MOP and are localized to the outer plaque of the SPB during meiosis II. MOP assembly and prospore membrane formation are abolished in spo74Δ/spo74Δ cells and occur aberrantly in ady4Δ/ady4Δ cells. Spo74p and the MOP component Mpc70p are mutually dependent for recruitment to SPBs during meiosis. In contrast, both Ady4p and Spo74p are present at SPBs, albeit at reduced levels, in cells that lack the MOP component Mpc54p. Our findings suggest a model for the assembled MOP in which Mpc54p, Mpc70p, and Spo74p make up a core structural unit of the scaffold that initiates synthesis of the prospore membrane, and Ady4p is an auxiliary component that stabilizes the plaque.
Internal Simulation of Expected Sensory Experiences Before Movements Get Started

The functions of the cortical and subcortical motor areas have been regarded as the execution and control of limb movements. We introduce recent neuroimaging evidence in humans that somatic sensation elicited by afferent inputs that signal limb movement also engage the motor areas. It is generally understood that somatic sensation can only be experienced once movement has been executed. Here we provide evidence that somatic sensation of limb movement can be internally simulated before the movement gets started by recruiting the motor areas. It is suggested that the sensory experiences that are expected when movements are actually executed can be internally simulated in the network of the motor areas during motor imagery.
Neurophysiological Double-Blind Trial of a Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A Free of Complexing Proteins

Objective: Safety and efficacy of botulinum neurotoxin type A preparation NT 201 (Xeomin, Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) were investigated over 52 weeks in a double-blind, randomized trial with 32 male volunteers. Methods: Electroneurographic assessments with surface electrodes were performed after single injections of NT 201 (2, 4, 16, or 32 units) into the extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) muscle and the same dose (Botox; Allergan Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) Ltd. Westport, Ireland) into the contralateral EDB. Results: All NT 201 and BTXCo doses achieved a statistically significant reduction of the compound muscle action potential M-wave amplitude in the EDB muscle. At week 4, the highest dose was statistically significantly more effective than the lowest dose (NT 201, P = 0.019; 95% confidence interval, 0.195-1.370; and BTXCo, P = 0.002; 95% confidence interval, 0.309-1.167). Duration of effect was dose dependent. The mean values of compound muscle action potential M-wave amplitudes in the adjacent muscles (abductor digiti quinti and abductor hallucis) were above the predefined threshold of effect, indicating that there was no relevant diffusion-induced reduction of muscle activity. NT 201 and BTXCo were well tolerated. Conclusions: NT 201 is effective and safe in inducing the desired paretic effect.