Effects of Individualized Gait Rehabilitation Robotics for Gait Training on Hemiplegic Patients: Before-After Study in The Same Person

Background : Lower-limb exoskeleton robots are being widely used in gait rehabilitation training for stroke patients. However, most of the current rehabilitation robots are guided by predestined gait trajectories, which are often different from the actual gait trajectories of specific patients. One solution is to train patients using individualized gait trajectories generated from the physical parameters of patients. Hence, we aimed to explore the effect of individual gaits on energy consumption situation during gait rehabilitation training for hemiplegic patient with low-limb exoskeleton robot.Methods : 9 unilateral-hemiplegic patients were recruited. On the first day of the experiment, the 9 patients were guided by a low-limb exoskeleton robot, walking on a flat ground for 15 minutes in general gait trajectory, which was gained by CGA (clinical gait analysis) method.On the other day, the same 9 patients wore the identical robot and walked on the same flat ground for 15 minutes in individualized gait trajectory. The main physiological parameters including heart rate (HR) and peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) were acquired via cardiotachometer and oximeter before and after the walking training. The energy consumption situation was indicated by the variation of the value of HR and SpO2 after walking training compared to before.Results : Between-group comparison shows that the individualized gait trajectory training results in lower increase in HR levels and decrease in SpO2 levels in experimenters compared to general gait trajectory training. Difference has statistical significance(p<0.05).Conclusions : Using individualized gait guidance in rehabilitation walking training can significantly improve energy efficiency for hemiplegic patient with stroke.Trial registration: Registered on 29 July 2021 at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100049310). https://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=130960\&htm=4

Impacts of crisis emotions on negative word-of-mouth and behavioural intention: evidence from a milk crisis

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how emotions felt by the public during a crisis influenced consumer loyalty intention and negative word-of-mouth (WOM). Considering the context-specific nature of emotions, the existing crisis emotions were further validated in a product consumption situation. Drawing on the theories of attribution and social sharing, a conceptual model, positing that crisis-specific emotions [attribution-independent, external-attribution-dependent (EAD) and internal-attribution-dependent (IAD) emotions] influenced negative WOM through behavioural intention, was constructed and empirically tested. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 240 Vietnamese consumers by using a scenario-based survey related to a fictional milk crisis. Findings The study findings showed that all but one crisis emotion had negative effects on both WOM and loyalty intention. Of these emotions, EAD and IAD were the strongest predictors of negative WOM and behavioural intention, respectively. It was also found that all crisis emotions significantly affected negative WOM through behavioural intention. Originality/value Although some efforts have been made to identify crisis emotions, the validity of the existing scales have not been affirmed in other crises related to product consumption situations. The results of the present study, thus, made contributions by enhancing an understanding of crisis emotions and their impacts on consumer loyalty intention and WOM communications.

Consumption situation of Chinese medicine in Shanghai: a cross-sectional study

Background This cross-sectional study aimed to construct a database of Chinese medicine consumption, including the annual intake, the number of days of intake, and the daily intake of Chinese medicine, which is helpful for risk assessment and understanding of consumer trends.Methods About 40 million rows of data used in this study were derived from the hospitals in Shanghai, which contains the prescription number, the name of consumers, the date of the dispensing, the name of Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs), dosage, and the number of days taken. All data were stored in a MySQL database. R language was used as the main tool for statistical analysis and graphical work.Results The result shows the annual consumption, annual consumption days, and average daily consumption of 20 types of common TCMs and all TCMs consumed. The result shows Astragali radix, Coicis semen, and Danshen are the top three of consumption among the selected Chinese medicines. An easy-to-use software called the Chinese medicine consumption database (CMCD) was designed to search and download consumption data. It is built using the Shiny package in the R, is free to access on any device with an internet browser, and requires no programming knowledge to be used.Conclusions A Chinese medicine consumption database was constructed, which included the consumption situation of 20 types of common TCMs and all TCMs consumed. This database plays a pivotal role in the risk assessment of the pollutants in TCMs and the prediction of the consumption trend of TCMs.

Case analysis of energy consumption of the existing office building in the severe cold region

With the relevant requirements of energy-saving and green buildings put forward by our country, carrying out the building energy consumption analysis is the premise and foundation of implementing energy-saving improvement of the existing buildings. Nowadays, modern office buildings, whose energy consumption structure and proportion are relatively stable, are widely used. The energy review work of an existing office building in severe cold region is carried out. Investigation and statistics on the general situation of buildings, the general situation of energy consumption and water system consumption and the total energy consumption are implemented. Based on the audit, the energy consumption situation and characteristics in a certain year are analysed. According to the characteristics of energy-using structure, the energy-saving potential of buildings is analysed, and the reasonable energy-saving opinions and suggestions are proposed to provide theoretical support for the energy-saving management of office buildings in severe cold areas.

Mapping the factors that determine engagement in podcasting: design from the users and podcasters’experience

The current media ecosystem offers enormous participatory possibilities to media audiences that, in this way, have the opportunity to engage in the co-creation of media discourse in ways unknown during the 20th century. Following the marketing 2.0 theories, the creation of attractive user experiences is considered as one of the aspects that the media increasingly take into consideration in order to get profitable content. The aim of this research is to detect the factors that influence engagement in podcasting, a digital and interactive medium that, due to its transmedia and mostly amateur nature, develops dynamics of permanent connection between media creators and listeners. By conducting a total of 17 in-depth semi-structured interviews with pioneers of the medium, podcasters and listeners, a total of 13 factors that determine user engagement were identified. These factors are integrated in three groups: medium-centered (technology, asynchrony, topics, genres and formats, and podcast subcommunity’s size), user-centered (participatory culture, consumption situation and number of subscriptions, knowledge on the topic and about the podcast subcommunity, their own relevance in the podcastphere, and the perceived relevance about their participation), and podcaster-centered (skills, attitude and tone). These factors maintain relations of interoperability that build a grammar of engagement of the medium. This study provides some clues that can be exploited by commercial media that are opting for podcasting in order to build innovative experiences of interaction with their users with the purpose of increasing their audiences.

Measuring and interpreting cognitive representations of foods and drinks: A procedure for collecting and coding feature listing data

Feature listing is a novel method to study people’s rich, multifaceted cognitive representations of food and drink objects. In other words, it helps researchers understand the content activated in memory when people think about foods or drinks. Feature listing is an easy-to-administer method that has traditionally been used to study the semantic features of conceptual representation in cognitive science. We have recently adapted it for examining the representations of food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Here, we describe a procedure for collecting feature listing data for food or drink objects, and for systematically coding the features produced by participants to enable quantitative analyses. First, we provide an overview of the feature listing method along with detailed instructions to participants. Then, we describe a systematic procedure for coding the wide variety of features that participants list in such tasks, using a total of 44 hierarchically-organised feature categories. We first present a general overview of the coding procedure followed by a systematic overview of the categories used, including categories of consumption situation features, non-consumption features, and situation-independent features. We then provide an extensive coding manual describing the categories and subcategories in detail, offering detailed criteria for coding a feature as belonging to a specific category along with examples and disambiguation procedures. This manual should allow researchers to systematically collect and code responses in feature listing tasks for foods and drinks, and increase the reproducibility of research findings involving feature listing.

Understanding the role of visual attention on wines’ purchase intention: an eye-tracking study

Purpose Wine bottles compete for consumers’ attention in the shelf during the decisive moment of choice. This study aims to explore the role that visual attention to wine labels has on the purchase decision and the mediating role of quality perceptions and desire on such purchase behaviours. Wine awards and consumption situation are used as moderators.. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in Portugal and 36 individuals participated in a 2 × 2 within subjects design (awarded/not awarded × self-consumption/social-consumption). For each scenario, individuals’ attention, perceptions of quality, desire and purchase intentions were recorded. Findings Data from eye-tracking shows that, during the purchase process, the amount of attention given to a bottle is determinant of individuals’ purchase intentions, a relationship that increases in significance for bottles with awards and for when consumers are buying wine for a consumption situation involving a social environment. In addition, both quality perceptions and desire are confirmed to positively influence wines’ purchase intentions. Originality/value By using an eye monitoring method, this paper brings new insights into the wine industry by highlighting the impact that wines’ labels and different consumption situations have on individuals’ attention and purchase intention. Wine producers and retailers may benefit from the insights provided by the current study to refine their communication strategies by either highlighting product characteristics and pictorial elements, as it is the case of the awards, or communicating about their products for different consumption situations.

The impact of advertising self-presentation style on customer purchase intention

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the self-presentation styles of advertising influence consumer self-image, which in turn influence purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach Using virtual brands as stimuli in a series of experiments, this study collects data on consumer self-image and purchase intention in the conditions of different advertising styles. Findings While consumer self-image mediates the relationship between advertising self-presentation style and purchase intention, the consumption situation (public vs private) moderates the relationship between self-presentation style, consumer self-image and purchase intention. That is, self-enhancing advertising promotes customers’ ideal self, which in turn increases their purchase intention for publicly consumed products, whereas self-deprecating advertising solicits customers’ real self, which in turn increases their purchase intention for privately consumed products. Practical implications This study informs product/brand managers and marketers of the importance of aligning the self-presentation style of advertising with the consumption situation of the product being advertised. Originality/value Based on self-consistency theory, this study not only finds a relationship between the self-presentation style of advertising and purchase intention, but also uncovers the mediating role of self-image in this relationship. Furthermore, the relationship chain of “self-presentation style of advertising – self-image – purchase intention” is moderated by the consumption situation of the product. This is one of the first studies to explore the intricacies of these relationships.

Effects of personal dispositions, familiarity and consumption situation on Western brands’ packaging

Purpose Supermarket scans in the contextual non-Western markets (Pakistan and China) revealed that the majority Western consumer products are available in both global (English) and the vernacular language (Urdu, Chinese) packaging. The availability of two different packaging raises a question – which is more effective and under what situation. This study aims to address this question by investigating the roles of an internal-oriented disposition (concern for quality) and an external-oriented disposition (social consciousness) on packaging choice, under different consumption situations (conspicuous versus inconspicuous). The conceptual model tested concern for quality as a mediator on the influence of social consciousness on packaging choice, under the moderating effects of conspicuous versus inconspicuous consumption situation. Design/methodology/approach Two in-store choice experiments were conducted in Pakistan and China. Shoppers who agreed to participate were first primed to either of the two conditions (conspicuous and inconspicuous). They were then shown two packaging types (global versus local language) on store shelves and asked to pick the preferred packaging. Finally, the participants completed a paper-based questionnaire containing the scale items and demographics variables. Findings Participants with high social consciousness preferred the global (English) packaging. The interaction effect of social consciousness and consumption situation moderated the choice. Concern for quality mediated the influence of social consciousness on global packaging preference. Originality/value This study extends the research into packaging by considering the mediating relationship and conceptualisation between external-oriented personal antecedent (social consciousness) and internal-oriented disposition (concern for quality), under different consumption (conspicuous versus inconspicuous) situation. The findings will inform brand managers’ packaging strategies in non-Western markets.