Importance Of Various Aspects Research Articles

Nitrogen Fertilization, Stand Age, and Overstory Tree Species Impact the Herbaceous Layer in a Central Appalachian Hardwood Forest

Research Highlights: Herb-layer community composition, abundance, species richness, and Shannon–Wiener diversity index are shaped by nitrogen fertilization, disturbance history, and the overstory tree species in its immediate vicinity. Background and Objectives: While the herbaceous layer in deciduous forests is increasingly recognized for its importance in various aspects of forest ecosystem function, this study sought to describe the factors impacting the herbaceous layer. Specifically, this study’s objective was to quantify and compare herb-layer species composition, cover, and other community indices in watersheds with (a) different levels of N deposition, (b) different stand ages due to differing disturbance histories, and (c) different watershed aspects. This study also tested the hypothesis that herb-layer characteristics vary beneath tree species with contrasting nutrient dynamics (i.e., red and sugar maple). Materials and Methods: At the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia (USA), the cover of all herb-layer species was recorded directly under nine red maple and nine sugar maple trees in each of four watersheds (WS): long-term fertilized WS3 and unfertilized WS7, both with a stand age of about 50 years, and two unmanaged watersheds with 110-year-old stands and opposite watershed aspects (south-facing WS10, north-facing WS13). Community composition and plot-level indices of diversity were evaluated with multivariate analysis and ANOVA for watershed-level differences, effects of the maple species, and other environmental factors. Results: In the fertilized watershed (WS3), herb-layer diversity indices were lower than in the unfertilized watershed of the same stand age (WS7). In the unfertilized watershed with the 50-year-old stand (WS7), herb-layer diversity indices were higher than in the watershed with the 110-year-old stand of the same watershed aspect (WS13). WS10 and WS13 had similar herb-layer characteristics despite opposite watershed aspects. The presence of sugar maple corresponded to higher cover and diversity indices of the herb-layer in some of the watersheds. Conclusions: Despite the limitations of a case study, these findings bear relevance to future forest management since the forest herb layer plays important roles in deciduous forests through its influence on nutrient cycling, productivity, and overstory regeneration.

Θεραπευτική σχέση: δυναμικές αλληλεπιδράσεις και ο ρόλος του φύλου

The article emphasizes, first of all, the importance of various aspects of the psychotherapeutic relationship -such as the therapeutic alliance, the cooperation, the empathy, the goal agreement-, which have been proven to influence the therapeutic outcome and are consistently linked with the mental health improvement of the patient, regardless of the different theoretical conditions and principles of the psychotherapeutic approaches. On the other hand, it is recognized that identifying the quality characteristics that contribute to and influence the psychotherapeutic relationship and process is a difficult task, as it depends on the therapeutic boundaries of this relationship, the characteristics of the therapist, but also on factors related with the patient, such as his/her attitudes, expectations, motivations and commitment to a process of change. One element that seems to characterize the identity of each member individually, but also the dynamic processes of interaction between the therapeutic dyad, is gender. For this reason, the article underlines the importance of gender in shaping the communication and cooperation between therapists and patients, while stating also that awareness of the gender dynamics, in combination with other identity characteristics, is a prerequisite for an effective and ethical practice.

Discrete choice experiment for eliciting preference for health services for patients with ALS and their informal caregivers

BackgroundAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition with a mean life expectancy of 3 years from first symptom. Understanding the factors that are important to both patients and their caregivers has the potential to enhance service delivery and engagement, and improve efficiency. The Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) is a stated preferences method which asks service users to make trade-offs for various attributes of health services. This method is used to quantify preferences and shows the relative importance of the attributes in the experiment, to the service user.MethodsA DCE with nine choice sets was developed to measure the preferences for health services of ALS patients and their caregivers and the relative importance of various aspects of care, such as timing of care, availability of services, and decision making. The DCE was presented to patients with ALS, and their caregivers, recruited from a national multidisciplinary clinic. A random effects probit model was applied to estimate the impact of each attribute on a participant’s choice.ResultsPatients demonstrated the strongest preferences about timing of receiving information about ALS. A strong preference was also placed on seeing the hospice care team later rather than early on in the illness. Patients also indicated their willingness to consider the use of communication devices. Grouping by stage of disease, patients who were in earlier stages of disease showed a strong preference for receipt of extensive information about ALS at the time of diagnosis. Caregivers showed a strong preference for engagement with healthcare professionals, an attribute that was not prioritised by patients.ConclusionsThe DCE method can be useful in uncovering priorities of patients and caregivers with ALS. Patients and caregivers have different priorities relating to health services and the provision of care in ALS, and patient preferences differ based on the stage and duration of their illness. Multidisciplinary teams must calibrate the delivery of care in the context of the differing expectations, needs and priorities of the patient/caregiver dyad.

Relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance - evidence from India

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of intellectual capital on its component of firm's financial performance and market valuation. It also draws a comparison between service and manufacturing sector. The study applies panel data analysis for examining the effect of IC on financial performance and a primary survey is conducted to understand the impact of components of IC namely, human capital, structural capital and relational capital on firms' organisational performance. Understanding the components of IC as the vital drivers of organisational effectiveness helps a company to derive the full value from them. The importance of various aspects of IC can be extracted from this research will provide opportunity for strategic approaches and reveals the correct path for efficient and suitable management of resource. This study offers a critical review of the impact of IC on firm's performance and the components which will have more impact on organisational performance.

Komparacija muzičkog i kulturnog delovanja srpskih kulturnih društava u Sloveniji i slovenačkih u Srbiji

A surprisingly small number of papers dealing with the activity of cultural communities of Serbs in Slovenia and cultural societies of Slovenians in Serbia can be found in the research that primarily investigates promotion and preservation of cultural heritage of these two peoples. The aim of the paper is to show the activities of these two minor communities, focused on promotion and preservation of their own musical heritage within cultural societies where they act. Using the methodology of oral interview of leading people in cultural communities, significant research data were obtained related to study of importance of various aspects of investigation in minor ethnical communities. By comparing the results provided by research in these two national minorities, organized in different cultural societies (i.e. in different countries), we wanted to investigate the relationship between minorities and cultural heritage as well as various aspects of its identification, promotion and transmission. In our paper we found that Serbian cultural societies in Slovenia primarily promoted the folklore tradition, while Slovenian cultural societies in Serbia were engaged in choir singing as their basic activity. The findings of research reveal significant possibilities for further ethno-musicological and musicological investigation combined with other scientific disciplines related to this topic.

Understanding Student Perceptions of Their Personal Branding in Higher Education

Research on personal branding has recently gained momentum as various factors have gained importance in building personal branding. Higher education provides an environment where students build knowledge and skills to elevate their marketability. This study examines the student perceptions of the importance of various aspects that help them build their personal brand and to what degree they perceive ready and/or made ready by their higher education institution. Data were collected at two universities in the Central and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. The findings confirm the existence of differences in the perceptions of importance and performance in creating student personal brands

A mitochondria-specific fluorescent probe for rapidly assessing cell viability

Rapid detection of cell viability is of importance for various aspects of basic and applied research. However, the most commonly used MTT assay suffers from some disadvantages of time-consuming, poor solubility of formazan crystals, and interference of cell extracts, resulting in either delayed results or inconsistent cell viability. Accumulating evidences show that mitochondrial activity is closely associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis, making it valuable for real-time monitoring of cell fates. Herein, we present a novel type of cell-permeant mitochondrial dyes, composed of coumarin-quinoline conjugates (CQCs), for assessing cell viability through monitoring mitochondrial dynamic changes. CQCs exhibited superior preference for mitochondria, and could sensitively monitor their fissions under pathological conditions. Particularly, CQCs could accurately assess the cell viability within 10 min, allowing for rapidly evaluating therapeutic effects with high sensitivity and accuracy, in comparison of MTT assay. Therefore, CQCs provide a proof-of-concept assay that is appropriately practical either independently or in complementation with other assays for the analysis of cellular viability in broad range of biomedical applications.

INTEGRAL ASPECTS OF HARMONIC HEARING IN THE PROCESS OF SIGHT-SINGING

Harmonic hearing is a significant characteristic for professional musicians, hence its development is one of the most important tasks in musical training, precisely in teaching solfeggio. The paper debates the basic hypothesis that at an academic age, the level of development of harmonic hearing with the students of music is significantly correlated with the success in sight-singing. The research was realised on the sample of the students at the Faculty of Arts in Niš (N = 42). The data were collected by questionnaires and examination, whereby the grades in the level of harmonic hearing and sight-singing were awarded. The results show significant positive correlation between the grades (r = .37, p ˂ .05), which confirms the basic hypothesis. The paper additionally considers the elements which can formally and informally influence the development of harmonic hearing and examines the importance of various aspects of an analysis of sigh-singing melodic exercises. To sum up, we pointed to the necessity for applying integral aspects of harmonic hearing in sight-singing and developing skills and competences for participation in various music activities.

A Qualitative Assessment of Factors That Children, Parents, and Clinicians Prioritize in the Setting of Elective Anesthesia and Surgery.

Assessing the postoperative recovery of pediatric patients is challenging as there is no validated comprehensive patient-centered recovery assessment tool for this population. A qualitative investigative approach with in-depth stakeholder interviews can provide insight into the recovery process and inform the development of a comprehensive patient-centered postoperative assessment tool for children. We conducted open-ended, semistructured interviews with children 6-12 years old undergoing elective surgery (n = 35), their parents (n = 37), and clinicians (n = 23) who commonly care for this population (nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgeons). A codebook was developed and analyzed using NVivo 12 Plus. The codebook was iteratively developed using a qualitative content analysis approach with modifications made throughout to refine codes. We report the results of this thematic analysis of patient, parent, and clinician transcripts. Postoperative recovery priorities/concerns overlapped and also diverged across the 3 groups. Topics prioritized by children included mobility and self-care, as well as access to a strong social support network following surgery. The majority of children reported feeling anxious about the surgery and separating from their parents, as well as sadness about their inability to participate in activities while recovering. Although children highly valued familial support during recovery, there was variable awareness of the impact of surgery on family members and support network. In contrast, parents focused on the importance of clear and open communication among themselves and the health care team and being equipped with appropriate knowledge and resources on discharge. The immediate repercussions of the child's surgery, such as pain, confusion, and nausea, appeared to be a primary focus of both parents and clinicians when describing recovery. Clinicians had a comprehensive awareness of the possible psychological impacts of surgery in children, while parents reported varying degrees of awareness or concern regarding longer-term or more latent impacts of surgery and anesthesia (eg, anxiety and depression). Prior experience with pediatric surgery emerged as a distinguishing characteristic for parents and clinicians as parents without prior experience expressed less understanding of or comfort with managing a child's recovery following surgery. A patient-centered qualitative investigative approach yielded insights regarding the importance of various aspects of recovery in pediatric patients, their parents, and members of the health care team. Specifically, this investigation highlighted the importance of clear communication providing anticipatory guidance for families presenting for elective surgery in an effort to optimize patient recovery. This information will be used in the development of a patient-centered recovery assessment tool.

An Ex Vivo Tissue Culture Model of Cartilage Remodeling in Bovine Knee Explants.

Ex vivo culture systems cover a broad range of experiments dedicated to studying tissue and cellular function in a native setting. Cartilage is a unique tissue important for proper function of the synovial joint and is constituted by a dense extracellular matrix (ECM), rich in proteoglycan and type II collagen. Chondrocytes are the only cell type present within cartilage and are widespread and relatively low in number. Altered external stimuli and cellular signalling can lead to changes in ECM composition and deterioration, which are important pathological hallmarks in diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis. Ex vivo cartilage models allow 1) profiling of chondrocyte mediated alterations of cartilage tissue turnover, 2) visualizing the cartilage ECM composition, and 3) chondrocyte rearrangement directly in the tissue. Profiling these alterations in response to stimuli or treatments are of high importance in various aspects of cartilage biology, and complement in vitro experiments in isolated chondrocytes, or more complex models in live animals where experimental conditions are more difficult to control. Cartilage explants present a translational and easily accessible method for assessing tissue remodeling in the cartilage ECM in controllable settings. Here, we describe a protocol for isolating and culturing live bovine cartilage explants. The method uses tissue from the bovine knee, which is easily accessible from the local butchery. Both explants and conditioned culture medium can be analyzed to investigate tissue turnover, ECM composition, and chondrocyte function, thus profiling ECM modulation.

How do product quality uncertainties affect the sharing economy platforms with risk considerations? A mean-variance analysis

The sharing economy is of increasing importance for various aspects of our society by providing people with cost-efficient and convenient access to services or products. However, the profitability and healthy development of the sharing economy platforms are greatly restricted by the intensive uncertainties arising from product quality. How to determine the optimal product quality improvement efforts and the optimal prices for the sharing platforms becomes crucial. Moreover, it is reasonable that many sharing economy platforms and consumers are holding a risk-averse attitude during decision making in the highly volatile market. In this paper, we employ the Mean-Variance theory to model the risk-averse attitudes of decision makers, and analytically derive the optimal average quality levels and prices that the platform should provide for the market. We also explore how the critical factors like product quality uncertainty and risk sensitivity affect the platform's equilibrium decisions and consumer surplus. Our analytical results reveal the importance of reducing the difficulty of improving product quality for enhancing the platforms' profitability and consumer surplus. Besides, we identify that it is not always wise for platforms to invest in improving product quality, especially when the related cost becomes increasingly expensive. Moreover, it is shown that the increasing risk aversion or product quality volatility will induce the platform to reduce his quality improvement efforts. Finally, we interestingly find that the platform will always suffer if he becomes risk averse from risk neutral, while consumers may benefit from this attitude change.

Improvement of vaccination activities in urology

Effective vaccines against various urologically important diseases have been established for along time, nevertheless, vaccination activities are generally underperformed in urology. Consistently low vaccination rates, e.g.for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines and awidespread vaccination hesitancy characterize the situation especially in men. This article highlights the importance of various aspects of vaccinations in urology and focuses on the improvement of consultation techniques for vaccinations to increase the vaccination rate and acceptance in the future.

The importance of various aspects of communication with patient in palliative care

The importance of various aspects of communication with patient in palliative care

ОБЛІКОВО-АНАЛІТИЧНА КЛАСИФІКАЦІЯ МАРКЕТИНГОВИХ АКТИВІВ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ ТОРГІВЛІ

The purpose of the article is to develop a science-based marketing assets classification, which will become the basis for their accounting, disclosure in the reporting and analysis of investments in marketing assets effectiveness. The various scholars’ approaches to the classification of marketing assets for the purpose of its further improvement and identification by accounting and analytical system have been analyzed in the article. In order to identify the importance of various aspects of marketing assets recognition a survey was conducted among Kharkiv region trade enterprises owners, senior management, employees of accounting and financial services and marketing departments staff. The indicator of the key characteristics of the expediency of marketing asset disclosure in balance sheets importance was given to each of the four groups of respondents by five dimensions: materiality, duration of use, cost, future economic benefits from use, connection with the main activity. A scientifically sound classification of marketing assets is developed based on the principle of comparison of marketing assets types with expenses, incurred due to their creation, both in the reporting and future periods. The developed facet classification of trading company marketing assets and marketing expenditures is proposed as the basis of the synthetic accounts work plan and analytical accounts for marketing activities. Specification of marketing costs types within the facet is proposed to be carried out according to the main characteristics of goods and services, advertising products, databases or software that will fit the analytical accounts. Mathematical model has been developed that summarizes on the balance sheet accounting data on marketing costs respectively to produced marketing asset. It has been prooved that only a holistic approach to the organization of marketing assets formalized accounting will allow evaluating the effectiveness of marketing costs and the impact of marketing assets on the capitalization of the enterprise value.

Agricultural shows: visitor motivation, experience and behavioural intention

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theory concerning visitor motivations, consumer experience and behavioural intentions at rural events; more specifically, it focusses on agricultural shows, which have hitherto been neglected in the events management literature. These events have successfully broadened their visitor base, but not without the attendant challenges for agricultural events’ designers.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts a quantitative design using a questionnaire survey. The analysis, using a range of statistical procedures, centres on consumer motivation, experience and behaviour in relation to show features and their influence on future behaviour.FindingsThe findings of this paper demonstrates the relative importance to the consumer of the show’s various components and their influence on revisitation, which reflect the significance of social, cultural and personal meanings attached to their experiences. This highlights key motivational variables such as appreciating the shows’ traditions and intellectual enrichment.Research limitations/implicationsThe study takes a cross-sectional approach, using a non-probability sample at four multi-day royal shows. Future research should establish the external validity of the findings and their applicability to smaller one-day agricultural shows.Practical implicationsThe research provides a managerial contribution by informing show designers about the motivations of an increasingly diverse range of visitors. This will facilitate decisions around the engagement of contemporary design while preserving the traditional elements of agricultural shows.Originality/valueFew studies have looked at rural events and, in particular, agricultural shows. Moreover, previous research in this area has focussed on rural tourism and place making, while consumer behaviour and experience at rural events has been neglected. This paper provides an insight into the consumer experience and perceived importance of various aspects of contemporary agricultural shows.

Comparing the importance of quality measurement themes in juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myositis between patients and families and healthcare professionals

BackgroundA standardized set of quality measures for juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM) is not in use. Discordance has been shown between the importance ascribed to quality measures between patients and families and physicians. The objective of this study was to assess and compare the importance of various aspects of high quality care to patients with JIIM and their families with healthcare providers, to aid in future development of comprehensive quality measures.MethodsSurveys were developed by members of the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Juvenile Dermatomyositis Workgroup through a consensus process and administered to patients and families through the CureJM Foundation and to healthcare professionals through CARRA. The survey asked respondents to rate the importance of 19 items related to aspects of high quality care, using a Likert scale.ResultsPatients and families gave generally higher scores for importance to most of the quality measurement themes compared with healthcare professionals, with ratings of 13 of the 19 measures reaching statistical significance (p < 0.05). Of particular importance, however, was consensus between the groups on the top five most important items: quality of life, timely diagnosis, access to rheumatology, normalization of functioning/strength, and ability for self care.ConclusionsDespite overall differences in the rating of importance of quality indicators between patients and families and healthcare professionals, the groups agreed on the most important aspects of care. Recognizing areas of particular importance to patients and families, and overlapping in importance with providers, will promote the development of standardized quality measures with the greatest potential for improving care and outcomes for children with JIIM.

Land cover classification using landsat-8 optical data and supervised classifiers

Land use and land cover information of an area has got importance in various aspects mainly because of various development activities that are taking place in every part of the world. Various satellite sensors are providing the required data collected by remote sensing techniques in the form of images using which the land use land cover information can be analyzed. Constistency of Landsat satellite is illustrated with two time periods such as Operational Land Imager (OLI) of 2013 and consecutive 2014 procured by earth explorer with quantified changes for the same period in visakhapatnam of hudhud cyclone. Since this city is consisting of mainly urban, vegetation, few water bodies, some area of agriculture and barren,five classes have been chosen from the study area. The results indicate that due to the hudhud event some changes took place. vegetation and built-up land have been increased by An increase of 19.1% (6.3 km2) and 11% (5.36 km2) has been observed in the case of vegetation and built up area where as a decrease of 1.2% (4.06 km2), 6.1% (1.70 km2) and 1.2% (0.72 km2) has been observed in the case of agriculture, barren land, and water body respectively. With the help of available satellite imagery belonging to the same area and of different time periods along with the change detection techniques landscape dynamics have been analyzed. Using various classification algorithms along with the data available from the satellite sensor the land use and land cover classification information of the study area has been obtained. The maximum likelihood algorithm provided better results compared to other classification techniques and the accuracy achieved with this algorithm is 99.930% (overall accuracy) and 0.999 (Kappa coefficient).

Pollution prevention strategy: a study of Indian firms

Strategy that targets pollution prevention shall be the first one among sustainability strategies to be implemented to achieve early cost advantages and mitigate litigation risk. This article aims to isolate pollution prevention strategy (PPS) from other similar sustainability strategies and provides an independent scope of PPS. A questionnaire based survey was conducted among 689 managers of 60 Indian firms known for their orientation towards sustainability. Factorial analysis delivered five factors highlighting the composition of associated variables. Descriptive statistics was used to understand the relative importance of various aspects of PPS and status of implementation of this strategy in Indian firms. The results show that firms are paying higher attention to structured waste management and the priority is early cost advantages hence prefer less investment prone processes modifications. The initiatives are geared mainly due to short term advantages than top management commitment and pro-activeness to comply with environmental regulations. Firms believe in developing expertise and deploying standard practices. It is evident that firms specifically train employees for PPS implantation, but lags in empowerment of employees, resources allocation, cross-functional team formations and rewards for the employees. Also, PPS strategy is implemented as stand-alone strategy and lacks the integration with core corporate strategy. The study adds to existing literature by segregating PPS from other similar strategies like product stewardship and cleaner technology. Tested measure of PPS shall help managers to assess their performance to achieve pollution prevention goals. Further, the paper discusses some important managerial implications.

Comparing Nuclear Power Trajectories in Germany and the UK: From 'Regimes' to 'Democracies' in Sociotechnical Transitions and Discontinuities

This paper focuses on arguably the single most striking contrast in contemporary major energy politics in Europe (and even the developed world as a whole): the starkly differing civil nuclear policies of Germany and the UK. Germany is seeking entirely to phase out nuclear power by 2022. Yet the UK advocates a ‘nuclear renaissance’, promoting the most ambitious new nuclear construction programme in Western Europe.Here,this paper poses a simple yet quite fundamental question: what are the particular divergent conditions most strongly implicated in the contrasting developments in these two countries. With nuclear playing such an iconic role in historical discussions over technological continuity and transformation, answering this may assist in wider understandings of sociotechnical incumbency and discontinuity in the burgeoning field of‘sustainability transitions’. To this end, an ‘abductive’ approach is taken: deploying nine potentially relevant criteria for understanding the different directions pursued in Germany and the UK. Together constituted by 30 parameters spanning literatures related to socio-technical regimes in general as well as nuclear technology in particular, the criteria are divided into those that are ‘internal’ and ‘external’ to the ‘focal regime configuration’ of nuclear power and associated ‘challenger technologies’ like renewables. It is ‘internal’ criteria that are emphasised in conventional sociotechnical regime theory, with ‘external’ criteria relatively less well explored. Asking under each criterion whether attempted discontinuation of nuclear power would be more likely in Germany or the UK, a clear picture emerges. ‘Internal’ criteria suggest attempted nuclear discontinuation should be more likely in the UK than in Germany– the reverse of what is occurring. ‘External’ criteria are more aligned with observed dynamics –especially those relating to military nuclear commitments and broader ‘qualities of democracy’. Despite many differences of framing concerning exactly what constitutes ‘democracy’, a rich political science literature on this point is unanimous in characterising Germany more positively than the UK. Although based only on a single case,a potentially important question is nonetheless raised as to whether sociotechnical regime theory might usefully give greater attention to the general importance of various aspects of democracy in constituting conditions for significant technological discontinuities and transformations. If so, the policy implications are significant. A number of important areas are identified for future research, including the roles of diverse understandings and specific aspects of democracy and the particular relevance of military nuclear commitments– whose under-discussion in civil nuclear policy literatures raises its own questions of democratic accountability.

Rigorous Modeling of Solution Gas–Oil Ratios for a Wide Ranges of Reservoir Fluid Properties

The reservoir fluid properties, the solution gas–oil ratio (GOR), are of great importance in various aspects of petroleum engineering. Therefore, a rapid means for estimating such parameters is much sort after. In this study, the linear interaction and general optimization method is applied in the development of a precise and reliable model for estimating the solution GOR. In order to develop a model that would be comprehensive, a reliable and extensive databank comprising of more than 1000 datasets collected from various geographical locations, including Asia, Mediterranean Basin, North America, Africa, and Middle East was compiled. Furthermore, the model developed was benchmarked against widely-used empirical methods in order to evaluate the performance of method proposed in predicting solution GOR data. The results show that the model proposed in this study outperforms the empirical methods to which it was compared. This study also investigated the influence of the reservoir fluid properties on the estimated solution GOR for the newly- developed model. Results show that bubble point pressure and gas gravity have the largest and the smallest influences on the predicted solution GOR, respectively. Finally, the Leverage approach was applied to determine the applicability domain for the proposed method via the detection of outlier data points. It was determined that only 26 data points, out of more than 1000 data, are identified as outlier data points.