Brick-and-mortar pharmacies are facing strong competition from online pharmacies and are using digital techniques in their salesrooms as a counterstrategy. This study examines how digitalization affects purchase intentions among German customers. Perceived purchase risk, as a barrier to purchase, is compared for three types of pharmacies: non-digitalized pharmacies with conventional product displays (shelves) for products, digitalized pharmacies with digital signage displays for product presentation, and online pharmacies. Six risk types (performance, physical, psychological, financial, social, and privacy risks) and their effects on overall risk perception as well as purchase intentions are investigated in an online survey with a within-subject design. Results show that customers prefer non-digitalized pharmacies for shopping and rate their risk as the lowest. Digitalized brick-and-mortar pharmacies are ranked in the same league as online pharmacies in terms of risk assessment. The purchase intention in digitalized brick-and-mortar pharmacies is nevertheless higher than in online pharmacies.
M. S. Smirnov, V. V. Dorofeykov, N. D. Golberg
et al.
Background. High levels of cardiac troponin in the blood indicates myocardial injury, including those caused by intense exercises. Recent studies have shown that an elevation in the troponin concentration in the patients can be caused by the macrotroponin circulation. There is no data in the scientific literature describing this problem in athletes.The aim. To identify the cases and possible causes of high blood levels of cardiac markers in athletes before and after endurance exercises.Materials and methods. The study was conducted on 11 male cross-country skiers aged 15–21 years. The study included two stages: the first was conducted at the end of the preparatory period (November, 2020–2021), the second – in the middle (March) of the 2020–2021 competitive period. At each stage, two blood samples were taken from a vein: the first – in the morning on an empty stomach after a day of rest, the second – 12–14 hours after a high-intensity exercise. In the blood serum, the activity of total creatine kinase (CK), weight concentration of the cardiac isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CK-MB), and concentration of high sensitive troponin I (Tn) were measured.Results. The activity of CK in athletes exceeded the upper limit threshold, and decreased from the preparatory (November) to the competitive (March) period. The concentration of CK-MB in response to exercise increased by 2 times and was not accompanied by the signs of myocardial injury. The most sensitive indicator, responsive to physical activity, was troponin I. However, the highest elevation of Tn in blood of one athlete, both before and after the exercise, was associated with the presence of macrotroponin without signs of myocardial injury.Conclusions. An increase of muscle tissue injury biomarkers in blood, including the heart muscle (CK, CK-MB, and Tn), by 2–4 times is a typical reaction for the body of a cross-country skier to an intense exercise. High levels of troponin in the blood, both before and after training or competition, may be associated with the presence of macrotroponin.
Many plant species forage for nutrients by accumulating more biomass or ramets where soil nutrient availability is high. Nutrient foraging ability differs between species and between genotypes within species, can increase plant performance when nutrients are patchy, and may lead to differences in competitive ability and have community-level effects. Effects of intraspecific variation in nutrient foraging ability could be particularly strong in clonal species, in which individual genotypes can form large clones and persist for long times. We tested the hypotheses that clones with greater foraging ability (1) have greater ability to compete with other clones of the same species but (2) experience greater competition within a clone. Sets of clonal fragments of five clones of the perennial, creeping herb Hydrocotyle vulgaris were grown alone, with a fragment of a different clone, or with a second fragment of the same clone in pots with a uniform or patchy distribution of soil nutrients. Consistent with the first hypothesis, foraging ability and between-clone competitiveness as measured by less negative competitive response were positively related when nutrients were patchy but not when they were uniform. Contrary to the second hypothesis, foraging and within-clone competitiveness were negatively related. Intraspecific competition both between and within clones could thus select for greater foraging ability. If this in turn increases ability to compete with other species, it may help explain the dominance of some clonal species.
Studying the spatial and temporal interactions between sympatric animal species is essential for understanding the mechanisms of interspecific coexistence. Both Asiatic black bears (<i>Ursus thibetanus</i>) and brown bears (<i>Ursus arctos</i>) inhabit northeastern China, but their spatial–temporal patterns and the mechanism of coexistence were unclear until now. Camera traps were set in Heilongjiang Taipinggou National Nature Reserve (TPGNR) from January 2017 to December 2017 to collect photos of the two sympatric bear species. The Pianka index, kernel density estimation, and the coefficient of overlap were used to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of the two sympatric species. Our findings indicated that the spatial overlap between Asiatic black bears and brown bears was low, as Asiatic black bears occupied higher elevations than brown bears. The two species’ temporal activity patterns were similar at sites where only one species existed, yet they were different at the co–occurrence sites. Asiatic black bears and brown bears are competitors in this area, but they can coexist by changing their daily activity patterns. Compared to brown bears, Asiatic black bears behaved more diurnally. Our study revealed distinct spatial and temporal differentiation within the two species in TPGNR, which can reduce interspecific competition and facilitate coexistence between them.
Transition-metal oxides provide an excellent platform to generate ground states by tuning the various degrees of freedom via stimuli such as chemical doping. By investigating the electrical, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of several compositions of the bilayered Sr_{3}(Ru_{1−x}Mn_{x})_{2}O_{7} with x ≥ 0.36, we complete its x-T phase diagram and unveil a spin-glass regime. Upon Mn doping, the ground state of the system changes from the short-range antiferromagnetically (AFM) coupled metal (0≤x≤0.05) to the E-type AFM-ordered insulator (0.05<x≤0.20) to the spin-glass insulator (0.20<x≤0.66) to the canted AFM-ordered insulator (x∼1.0). The complex evolution of the magnetic ground state results from the competition between AFM and ferromagnetic (FM) interactions. The peculiar spin-glass state between two long-range magnetically ordered states implies the significance of spin disorder induced by the intermixing of Mn and Ru ions with the lowest transition temperature for Ru : Mn ∼ 1:1 (x∼0.5).
The shortage of skilled labor and the global competition for highly qualified employees has challenged Dutch companies to develop strategies to attract Highly Skilled Migrants (HSMs). This paper presents a study exploring how well-being is experienced by HSMs living in the Eindhoven region, a critical Dutch Tech Hub. Our population includes highly skilled women and men who moved to Eindhoven for work or to follow their partner trajectory. By analyzing data according to these four groups, we detect significant differences among HSMs. Given the exploratory nature of this work, we use a qualitative method based on semi-structured interviews. Our findings show that gender plays a crucial role in experienced well-being for almost every dimension analyzed. Using an intersectional approach, we challenge previous models of well-being, and we detect different factors that influence the respondents’ well-being when intersecting with gender. Those factors are migratory status, the reason to migrate, parenthood, and origin (EU/non-EU). When all the factors intersect, participants’ well-being decreases in several areas: career, financial satisfaction, subjective well-being, and social relationships. Significant gender differences are also found in migration strategies. Finally, we contribute to debates about skilled migration and well-being by including an intersectional perspective.
Political institutions and public administration (General)