The role of cultural factors in influencing price perceptions is not understood well in the literature. The present research seeks to fill this gap by examining the link between power distance ...belief—the acceptance and endorsement of power disparities in society—and the tendency to use the price of a product to judge its quality, the underlying processes, and boundary conditions. Three studies show that consumers high (vs. low) in power distance belief have a greater tendency to use price to judge quality because they have a greater need for structure, which makes them more likely to discriminate between brands and rank them based on price. The relationships held regardless of whether the price-to-quality relation was assessed using a standard self-report scale or via actual product judgments, and whether power distance belief was measured or manipulated. The effect was found to be independent of self-construal, holistic thinking, and risk aversion, was mediated by a need for structure, and disappeared when the tendency to order was facilitated (impeded) by making price more (less) salient. Theoretical implications are discussed.
How does cultural self-construal influence consumers’ tendency to use price to judge quality? Seven experiments designed to address this question revealed that people with a more interdependent (vs. ...independent) cultural self-construal—operationalized by ethnicity, nationality, measured self-construal, or manipulated salient self-construal—have a greater tendency to use price information to judge quality. This difference arises because interdependents tend to be holistic (vs. analytic) thinkers who are more likely to perceive interrelations between the elements of a product. These effects were observed regardless of whether the price-quality relation was assessed with a standard self-report scale or via actual product judgments, and whether thinking style was measured or manipulated. However, cultural differences only emerged in situations that afforded interdependents (vs. independents) a relational processing advantage. These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying the effects and identify novel boundary conditions for the influence of self-construal and thinking style on consumer judgments.
Background
The prevalence of balance and gait deficits increases with age and is associated with the increased incidence of falls seen in the elderly population; these falls are associated with ...significant morbidity and mortality.
Objectives
To review changes in gait and balance associated with aging and the effect of visual perturbations on gait and balance in the elderly to provide a basis for future research.
Methods
PubMed and Cochrane Library were searched for articles from 1980 to present pertaining to gait and balance in older adults (>60) and younger adults (<60). Search terms included balance, posture, gait, locomotion, gait variability, gait disorders, gait disturbance, elderly, aging, falls, vision, visual, vestibular, and virtual reality. The references section of queried articles was also used to find relevant studies. Studies were excluded if subjects had a diagnosed gait or balance disorder.
Results
Elderly adults show age‐related decline in sensory systems and reduced ability to adapt to changes in their environment to maintain balance. Elderly adults are particularly dependent on vision to maintain postural stability. Distinct changes in spatiotemporal gait parameters are associated with aging, such as slower gait and increased gait variability, which are amplified with exposure to visual perturbations. Increased gait variability, specifically with mediolateral perturbations, poses a particular challenge for elderly adults and is linked to increased falls risk. Virtual reality training has shown promising effects on balance and gait.
Conclusion
Elderly adults show age‐related decline in balance and gait with increased gait variability and an associated increased risk of falls.
Level of Evidence
5
Dengue is the most common mosquito-borne viral infection in tropical and sub-tropical countries. In recent years, India has reported increased incidences of concurrent infection with multiple ...serotypes of dengue viruses (DENV). In the present study, we have characterized DENV circulating during a single season of 2016 in Pune, India. A total of 64 serum samples from NS1 ELISA positive dengue patients were used for PCR amplification of CprM region of the viral genome and sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis documented circulation of all the four DENV serotypes with predominance of DENV-2 (40.6%). DENV genotyping classified DENV-1 to Genotype V, DENV-2 to Genotype IV, DENV-3 to Genotype III and DENV-4 to Genotype I. Further analysis revealed emergence of a novel clade (D) of genotype I of DENV-4. Subsequent isolation of three DENV-4 viruses in cell culture followed by complete genome sequence analysis confirmed this observation. Additionally, a new genotype within serotype-4 with >6.7% sequence variation from other genotypes was identified. This first report of significant co-circulation of all the four serotypes in a single outbreak in Pune reconfirms need for molecular monitoring of DENV.
Acute sialadenitis may be caused by viruses, including coronaviruses. Although there are anecdotal reports of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) salivary gland infections, ...there have been no well‐documented cases of sialadenitis in patients with COVID‐19 described in the literature. We report a case of parotitis and submandibular gland sialadenitis, as well as an isolated case of parotitis, in two patients with concurrent SARS‐CoV‐2 infections. Computed tomography imaging demonstrated parotid and submandibular gland enlargement with heterogenous enhancement and attenuation, consistent with sialadenitis. Medical management was sufficient for successful resolution of the acute sialadenitis. Laryngoscope, 130:2595–2597, 2020
Objective
The prevalence of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) in adults has not been well characterized. The objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of UHL in U.S. adults and its ...treatment with hearing aids using a nationally representative study.
Study Design
Cross‐sectional national epidemiologic study (n = 6,242).
Methods
Subjects ≥ 18 years old with audiometric testing in the 2005 to 2006, 2009 to 2010, and 2011 to 2012 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study were included. UHL was defined as normal hearing (≤25 decibels hearing level dB HL pure tone average PTA) in one ear and at least mild hearing loss (>25 dB HL PTA) in the other ear. Hearing aid usage was defined by at least 5 hours per week (2005–2006) or at least seldom (2009–2012) use. Sampling weights were utilized to ensure generalizability to the U.S. population.
Results
The overall prevalence of UHL in adult Americans was 7.2% (95% confidence interval 6.1%–8.6%), with 5.7% (4.8%–6.7%) having mild and 1.5% (0.1%–2.1%) with moderate‐or‐worse UHL; nearly one‐third of the latter reported trouble hearing. The prevalence of hearing aid usage in those with UHL was 2.0% (0.6%–6.7%). Of those with mild UHL, 1.4% (0.2%–8.0%) used hearing aids. Of those with moderate UHL, 4.2% (0.1%–22%) used hearing aids. Among those with UHL and also at least moderate subjective difficulty hearing, only 11% wore hearing aids.
Conclusion
UHL is common among U.S. adults. Hearing aid usage is very low, even when there is perceived handicap. Public health education is needed to increase awareness of and auditory rehabilitation for UHL.
Level of Evidence
2. Laryngoscope, 128:1681–1686, 2018
Research suggests that collectivists are more likely to engage in deception and socially desirable responding to maintain good relationships with others. In contrast, individualists are portrayed as ...candid and sincere because individualism encourages people to "be yourself." The authors propose that people with both types of cultural orientations or backgrounds engage in desirable responding, albeit in distinct ways. In Study 1, respondents from the United States compared with those from Singapore, and European Americans compared with Asian Americans, scored higher on self-deceptive enhancement (SDE)-the tendency to see oneself in a positive light and to give inflated assessment of one's skills and abilities-but lower on impression management (IM) by misrepresenting their self-reported actions to appear more normatively appropriate. In Studies 2 to 4, horizontal individualism as a cultural orientation correlated with SDE but not with IM, whereas horizontal collectivism correlated with IM but not with SDE. Further analyses examining (a) individual differences in the tendency to answer deceptively and (b) responses to behavioral scenarios shed additional light on the culturally relevant goals served by these distinct types of socially desirable responding.
Objective:
Jugular bulb abnormalities (JBA) such as high riding jugular bulb and jugular bulb diverticulum can extend or erode into the middle and inner ear. In this report, we report on a series of ...6 patients with jugular bulb anomalies involving the internal auditory canal (IAC).
Methods:
A retrospective case series.
Results:
Six females, ages 6 to 63 presenting with myriad of otologic symptoms including hearing loss, tinnitus, balance disturbance, fullness, and otalgia were discovered to have JB eroding into IAC. Computerized tomography, but not Magnetic Resonance Imaging, was able to identify IAC erosion by a significantly enlarged JB.
Conclusion:
A significantly enlarged JB eroding into the IAC maybe congenital or acquired. It can present with a variety of common otologic symptoms. Long term follow-up is needed to determine the natural history of JB anomalies involving the IAC and need for intervention.
Motivated Response Styles Lalwani, Ashok K; Shrum, L. J; Chiu, Chi-yue
Journal of personality and social psychology,
04/2009, Letnik:
96, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Three studies investigated the relations between cultural values and socially desirable responding, the processes that underlie them, and factors that influence the strength of the relations. Results ...indicated that individualism was associated with self-deceptive enhancement but not impression management, whereas collectivism was associated with impression management but not self-deceptive enhancement. Regulatory focus was found to mediate these relations. A promotion focus mediated the relation between individualism and self-deceptive enhancement, whereas a prevention focus mediated the relation between collectivism and impression management. This mediation pattern held regardless of whether individualism and collectivism were determined at the group level (Study 1) or measured at the individual level (Studies 2-3), whether socially desirable responding was operationalized as a scale measure (Studies 1-3) or as reactions to behavioral scenarios (Study 2), and across different measures of regulatory focus. This general mediation pattern was found to be moderated by type of self-consciousness (Study 3): The promotion focus mediation was stronger for participants low (vs. high) in private self-consciousness, and the prevention focus mediation was stronger for participants high (vs. low) in public self-consciousness.
There is a critical disparity in knowledge regarding the rate and nature of hearing loss in the older old (80 years and older).
To determine if the rate of age-related hearing loss is constant in the ...older old.
We performed a retrospective review that began on August 1, 2014, with audiometric evaluations at an academic medical center of 647 patients aged between 80 and 106 years, of whom 141 had multiple audiograms.
From a population perspective, the degree of hearing loss was compared across the following age brackets: 80 to 84 years, 85 to 89 years, 90 to 94 years, and 95 years and older. From an individual perspective, the rate of hearing decrease between 2 audiograms was compared with age.
Changes in hearing among age brackets were higher during the 10th decade of life than the 9th decade at all frequencies (5.4-11.9 dB hearing level dB HL) for the 647 patients (mean SD age, 90 5.5 years). Correspondingly, the annual rate of low-frequency hearing loss was faster during the 10th decade by the 3.8 dB HL per year at 0.25 kHz, 3.8 dB HL per year at 0.5 kHz, and 3.2 dB HL per year at 1 kHz. Despite the universal presence of hearing loss in our sample, 382 patients (59%) used hearing aids.
There is a significant increase in the rate of hearing loss in patients during the 10th decade of life compared with the 9th decade that represents a fundamental change in the mechanistic process of presbycusis. Despite the potential benefit of hearing aids, they remain underused in the older old. Use may be improved by changing the method of hearing rehabilitation counseling from a patient-initiated model to a chronic disease example.