Based on the literature on customer value and service dominant (S-D) logic, this study suggests that hedonic and utilitarian value derived from co-creation of a service recovery contribute to ...perceived equity and affect toward the service recovery, which, in turn, enhance customers’ repurchase intentions. A scenario-based survey approach was used to collect data from U.S. consumers (N=330). Results show that utilitarian value enhances both equity and affect toward the service recovery while hedonic value contributes only to equity. In addition, the findings reveal that both equity and affect toward the recovery are positively associated with repurchase intentions.
The current study explores factors relating to self-interest, corporate social responsibility, and a resource-based strategy to help predict small business performance across a number of domains ...including retailing and service-based industries. Combining the resource-based view and instrumental stakeholder approach, we suggest that resources such as social capital, entrepreneurial orientation, and intellectual capital along with strategic management of community as a stakeholder contribute to small business performance. Results from a national survey of small businesses supported the importance of both the resource-based view and the instrumental stakeholder approach to overall performance.
Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is widely used as an organophosphorus insecticide; however, owing to developmental neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, and other adverse effects, it is harmful not only to livestock but ...also to humans. Therefore, the use of CPF was recently regulated, and its sensitive detection is crucial, as it causes serious toxicity, even in the case of residual pesticides. Because it is hard to detect the chlorpyrifos directly using spectroscopy (especially in SERS) without chemical reagents, we aimed to develop a SERS platform that could detect the chlorpyrifos directly in the water. In this study, we utilized the intrinsic properties of natural lawns that grow randomly and intertwine with each other to have a large surface area to promote photosynthesis. To detect CPF sensitively, we facilitated the rapid fabrication of biomimetic Ag nanograss (Ag-NG) as a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate using the electrochemical over-deposition method. The efficiency of the SERS method was confirmed through experiments and finite element method (FEM)-based electromagnetic simulations. In addition, the sensitive detection of CPF was enhanced by pretreatment optimization of the application of the SERS technique (limit of detection: 500 nM). The Ag-NG has potential as a SERS platform that could precisely detect organic compounds, as well as various toxic substances.
This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the various parameters involved in the fabrication of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) sensor for the detection of cortisol. Parameters such ...as monomer concentration, electropolymerization cycles, pH, monomer-template ratio, template removal technique, and rebinding time were optimized to establish a more consistent and effective method for the fabrication of MIP sensors. Under the optimized conditions, the MIP sensor demonstrated a proportional decrease in differential pulse voltammetry peak currents with increasing cortisol concentration in the range of 0.1 to 100 nM. The sensor exhibited excellent sensitivity, with a limit of detection of 0.036 nM. Selectivity experiments using a non-imprinted polymer sensor confirmed the specific binding affinity of the MIP sensor for cortisol, distinguishing it from other steroid hormones. This study provides crucial insights into the development of a reliable and sensitive strategy for cortisol detection using O-PD-based MIPs. These findings laid the foundation for further advancements in MIP research.
Abstract
Aims
Vascular calcification is routinely encountered in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and severe coronary calcification is a known predictor of in-stent restenosis and stent ...thrombosis. However, the histopathologic mechanisms behind such events have not been systematically described.
Methods and results
From our registry of 1211 stents, a total of 134 newer-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) (Xience, Resolute-Integrity, PROMUS-Element, and Synergy) with duration of implant ≥30 days were histologically analysed. The extent of calcification of the stented lesions was evaluated radiographically and divided into severe (SC, n = 46) and non-severely calcified lesions (NC, n = 88). The percent-uncovered struts per section {SC vs. NC; median 2.4 interquartile range (IQR) 0.0–19.0 % vs. 0.0 (IQR 0.0–4.6) %, P = 0.02} and the presence of severe medial tears (MTs) (59% vs. 44%, respectively, P = 0.03) were greater in SC than NC. In addition, SC had a higher prevalence of ≥3 consecutive struts lying directly in contact with surface calcified area (3SC) (52% vs. 8%, respectively, P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that sections with duration of implantation ≤6 months odds ratio (OR): 7.7, P < 0.0001, 3SC (OR: 6.5, P < 0.0001), strut malapposition (OR: 5.0, P < 0.0001), and lack of MTs (OR: 2.5, P = 0.0005) were independent predictors of uncovered struts. Prevalence of neoatherosclerosis was significantly lower in SC than that of NC (24% vs. 44%, P = 0.02).
Conclusion
Severe calcification, especially surface calcified area is an independent predictor of uncovered struts and delayed healing after newer-generation DES implantation. These data expand of knowledge of the vascular responses of stenting of calcified arteries and suggests further understand of how best to deal with calcification in patients undergoing PCI.
Thiabendazole (TBZ) is a benzimidazole; owing to its potent antimicrobial properties, TBZ is extensively employed in agriculture as a fungicide and pesticide. However, TBZ poses environmental risks, ...and excessive exposure to TBZ through various leakage pathways can cause adverse effects in humans. Therefore, a method must be developed for early and sensitive detection of TBZ over a range of concentrations, considering both human and environmental perspectives. In this study, we used silver nanopillar structures (SNPis) and Au@Ag bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs) to fabricate a BNP@SNPi substrate. This substrate exhibited a broad reaction surface with significantly enhanced surface-enhanced Raman scattering hotspots, demonstrating excellent Raman performance, along with high reproducibility, sensitivity, and selectivity for TBZ detection. Ultimately, the BNP@SNPi substrate successfully detected TBZ across a wide concentration range in samples of tap water, drinking water, juice, and human serum, with respective limits of detection of 146.5, 245.5, 195.6, and 219.4 pM. This study highlights BNP@SNPi as a promising sensor platform for TBZ detection in diverse environments and contributes to environmental monitoring and bioanalytical studies.
Uric acid (UA), the final metabolite of purine, is primarily excreted through urine to maintain an appropriate concentration in the bloodstream. However, any malfunction in this process can lead to ...complications due to either deficiency or excess amount of UA. Hence, the development of a sensor platform with a wide-range detection is crucial. To realize this, we fabricated a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate inspired by a type of starfish with numerous protrusions,
. The
-inspired SERS (AF-SERS) substrate utilized an Au@Ag nanostructure and gold nanoparticles to mimic the leg and protrusion morphology of the starfish. This substrate exhibited excellent Raman performance due to numerous hotspots, demonstrating outstanding stability, reproducibility, and repeatability. In laboratory settings, we successfully detected UA down to a concentration of 1.16 nM (limit of detection) and demonstrated selectivity against various metabolites. In the experiments designed for real-world application, the AF-SERS substrate detected a broad range of UA concentrations, covering deficiencies and excesses, in both serum and urine samples. These results underscore the potential of the developed AF-SERS substrate as a practical detection platform for UA in real-world applications.
This study proposed and tested a comprehensive model of the intention to recycle in which the norm activation model and the theory of planned behavior were combined. Data on consumer intention to ...recycle were collected from a panel of U.S. consumers. The final sample consisted of 421 participants. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed model. The results support the hypotheses in that personal norms (from the norm activation model) together with attitude and perceived behavioral control (from the theory of planned behavior) influence the intention to recycle. In addition, subjective norms (from the theory of planned behavior) influenced the intention to recycle indirectly through attitude, personal norms, and perceived behavioral control. Also, awareness of consequences (from the norm activation model) influenced intention to recycle indirectly through attitude, subjective norms, and personal norms.
The solution processing of crystalline VO2 thin films has been intensively investigated for both fundamental studies and various electronic applications. However, previous studies have reported that ...the inevitable oxidation of vanadium cations in conventional precursor solutions hinders facile and reliable fabrication of VO2 thin films. Here we develop a kinetically stabilized precursor solution for solution-based VO2 thin-film fabrication. The stabilized solution precursor showed increased resistance to uncontrolled vanadium oxidation compared to conventional precursors. The synthetic conditions necessary for reliable VO2 thin-film fabrication were investigated at various oxygen concentrations and various annealing atmospheres. The oxygen level of an ambient atmosphere controls which of the three vanadium oxidation states arise, including V3+, V4+, and V5+ at a given temperature. The unusual occurrence of V3+ can be obtained without any reducing reagents. Nano-crystalline VO2 thin films subjected to rapid thermal shock exhibit metal-to-insulator transition at 58.9°C and resistive switching in a metastable state at 53.5°C, which could be further applied to future electronic devices such as memristors, Mott transistors, and Mott memories.
•A new robust solution precursor for reliable VO2 thin film fabrication is developed.•O2 concentration and annealing temperature are optimized for reliable VO2 synthesis•Resistive switching behavior shows its metastable state ensures large hysteresis loop.
Abstract
Despite burgeoning research on representative bureaucracy theory, there is limited examination of how environmental contexts shape the manner in which the demographic makeup of a bureaucracy ...is linked to distributional bureaucratic outcomes. Scholars in the field of social psychology, however, have suggested that community-level variation in the pervasiveness of biases against particular social groups helps to explain inequitable outcomes in such diverse settings as education, policing, and health care. Incorporating social psychology research into representative bureaucracy theory, this article examines how community racial biases shape the association between the demographic makeup of an organization’s personnel and its bureaucratic outcomes. Using county-level implicit and explicit bias measures that are estimated by multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP) based on a dataset containing more than 1.2 million respondents, we find that more inequitable educational outcomes occur for black students in counties where white residents hold stronger anti-black biases. Our findings also suggest that while black teachers are associated with more favorable outcomes for black students in the zero-sum context of assignment to gifted classes, the association of outcomes with passive representation is more limited in counties with strong racial biases. By accounting for the racial biases exhibited in the communities where both clients and bureaucrats are socially and culturally embedded, this article extends our understanding of how contextual factors shape the nature of bureaucratic representation.
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