Usually, flank pain signifies the presence of a renal/ureteric pathology. Here, we highlight an unusual cause of flank pain, which can be an important differential to be borne in mind while ...evaluating the causes of flank pain. Anatomical variants of the kidneys are very common, but rarely do they cause flank pain unless associated with an ongoing pathological process within them. We describe a case wherein an anatomical variant of the kidney, without any pathology, led to unremitting flank pain, purely due to its location and associated "vascular drag." Correction of the underlying anatomical defect afforded significant symptomatic relief.
Although smoking and diabetes have been established as the only two risk factors for periodontitis, their individual and synergistic impacts on the periodontal microbiome are not well studied. The ...present investigation analyzed 2.7 million 16S sequences from 175 non-smoking normoglycemic individuals (controls), smokers, diabetics and diabetic smokers with periodontitis as well as periodontally healthy controls, smokers and diabetics to assess subgingival bacterial biodiversity and co-occurrence patterns. The microbial signatures of periodontally healthy smokers, but not diabetics, were highly aligned with the disease-associated microbiomes of their respective cohorts. Diabetics were dominated by species belonging to Fusobacterium, Parvimonas, Peptostreptococcus, Gemella, Streptococcus, Leptotrichia, Filifactor, Veillonella, TM7 and Terrahemophilus. These microbiomes exhibited significant clustering based on HbA1c levels (pre-diabetic (<6.5%), diabetic (6.5-9.9%), diabetics >10%). Smokers with periodontitis evidenced a robust core microbiome (species identified in at least 80% of individuals) dominated by anaerobes, with inter-individual differences attributable largely to the 'rare biosphere'. Diabetics and diabetic smokers, on the other hand, were microbially heterogeneous and enriched for facultative species. In smokers, microbial co-occurrence networks were sparse and predominantly congeneric, while robust inter-generic networks were observed in diabetics and diabetic smokers. Smoking and hyperglycemia impact the subgingival microbiome in distinct ways, and when these perturbations intersect, their synergistic effect is greater than what would be expected from the sum of each effect separately. Thus, this study underscores the importance of early intervention strategies in maintaining health-compatible microbiomes in high-risk individuals, as well as the need to personalize these interventions based on the environmental perturbation.
The authors examined how identity primes and social distinctiveness influence identity salience (i.e., the activation of a social identity within an individual's social self-schema) and subsequent ...responses to targeted advertising. Across 2 studies, individuals who were exposed to an identity prime (an ad element that directs attention to the individual's social identity) and who were socially distinctive (minorities in the immediate social context) expressed systematically different evaluations of spokespersons and the advertisements that featured them. Specifically, Asian (Caucasian) participants responded most positively (negatively) to Asian spokespeople and Asian-targeted advertising when the participants were both primed and socially distinctive. No main effects of identity primes or social distinctiveness were found. The implications of these findings for identity theory, advertising practice, and intervention communications are discussed.
Otis urethrotomy can sometimes lead to troublesome bleeding after seemingly uneventful procedures. This case report highlights one such case which went unnoticed initially; the bleeding was ...erroneously ascribed to the prostate, thereby falsely indicting the "decoy" prostate.
A 78-year-old Asian gentleman was referred to our hospital with complaint of intractable bleeding after undergoing laser enucleation of prostate at another institute, wherein he further underwent unsuccessful bilateral angioembolization of pudendal arteries. On endoscopy (for hemostasis), we found a spurting vessel in the navicular fossa, which was effectively controlled.
This case report highlights the importance of performing prompt endoscopy in case of uncontrolled bleeding after prostate endoscopic surgery.
A concise approach to the synthesis of functionalized opp-dibenzoporphyrins is described. In this method, introduction of alkenyl groups to the porphyrin periphery through the vicinal 2-fold Heck ...reaction, 6-π electrocyclization, and subsequent aromatization occur in one pot.
► Participants engage in motivated reasoning towards endorsing sweatshop labor. ► Limiting cognitive resources reduces the level of motivated reasoning. ► Directing cognitive resources through joint ...evaluation reduces motivated reasoning.
The present research investigated the dual role of cognition as either an enabler of moral reasoning or self-interested motivated reasoning for endorsing sweatshop labor. Experiment 1A showed motivated reasoning: participants were more likely to endorse the use of sweatshop labor when considering a Caribbean vacation with questionable labor practices for themselves than for their friends. Experiment 1B demonstrated that endorsement of sweatshop labor mediated the relationship between product desirability and purchase intention. Experiment 2 found that cognitive resources were recruited to enhance motivated reasoning regarding sweatshop labor, the latter of which was reduced under cognitive load. Experiments 3A and 3B found that when cognitive resources were specifically directed in a comparative joint evaluation, participants offered harsher views on the ethicality of a favored company, and were less influenced by motivated factors than when under separate evaluations.
The authors investigate the role of trust between knowledge users and knowledge providers. The kind of knowledge of special concern is formal market research. Users include marketing and nonmarketing ...managers; providers include marketing researchers within a user's own firm and those external to the firm. A theory of the relationships centering on personal trust is developed to examine (1) how users' trust in researchers influences various relationship processes and the use of market research and (2) how the relationships vary when examined across dyads. The relationships were tested in a sample of 779 users and providers of market research information. Results indicate that trust and perceived quality of interaction contribute most significantly to research utilization, with trust having indirect effects through other relationship processes, as opposed to important direct effects on research utilization. Deeper levels of exchange, including researcher involvement in the research process and user commitment to the research relationship, however, have little effect on research use. Finally, the relationships in the model show few differences depending on whether the producer and user share marketing or research orientations. Interorganizational dyads, however, generally exhibit stronger model relationships than intraorganizational dyads.
Developing markets are a challenge for researchers who study them and for governments, business leaders, and citizens who strive to improve the quality of life in them. The limitations of the ...dominant development paradigm coupled with the need to focus on consumers provide tremendous opportunities to engage in truly transformative research. Toward this outcome, several interactive forces must be understood and addressed during research design, management, and implementation. The purpose of this essay is to provide a synthesis — that is, a framework in the form of a conceptual model — with practical applications to transformative research in developing markets and, ultimately, with the broader objective to stimulate new conceptualizations, research, and best practices to transform consumer well-being.
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