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The author discusses several key performance indicators of profitability among entrepreneurs. She mentions controlling as being related planning actions, defining objectives, and making decisions based on defined indicators. The author adds that entrepreneurs could achieve better business results if they understood the importance of the use of controlling indicators and methods.

The article explores the mechanisms that affect consumers' interest in luxury clothing innovations. The actual research aims to investigate the effect of status quo and clothing involvement on consumer brand loyalty. More, it was intended to quantify the influence of the level of engagement concerning clothing acquisition and the status quo tendency on the consumers' level of interest toward innovative luxury fashion products. The models were analyzed through the partial-least square-path modeling method. The results revealed that status quo bias and consumers' involvement in fashion influence their loyalty to brands and level of innovativeness. The novelty of the present research comes from the analysis of the impact of the status quo manifest variables on consumers' innovative tendencies. Moreover, it was found that status consumption fully mediates the relationships among the investigated predictors and considered outcome variables. The mediator manifests the highest effect size of all investigated predictors. The actual paper advances research in a direction that was not sufficiently addressed in the past, introducing the status quo construct as the main predictor of peoples' inclination to be loyal to a brand or to manifest a tendency toward innovativeness. Moreover, the article emphasizes the essential role manifested by social status in foreseeing a behavioral response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and obesity are independently related to an increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), the primary cause of mortality in NAFLD patients. Even though many subjects with NAFLD are normal weight, it still remains uncertain whether their ASCVD risk is of major importance. The aim of this study is to assess and compare the ASCVD risk between lean and obese patients with NAFLD. Methods. Normal weight and obese patients were evaluated between January 2020 and February 2023 and their data was analyzed. NAFLD was diagnosed by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) with controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines was used to evaluate the ASCVD risk. Results. In the obese group, 104 (63.8%) patients were diagnosed with NAFLD, compared to 32 (12.3%) in the lean population. In comparison to those with obese NAFLD, subjects with lean NAFLD had significantly higher ASCVD scores (mean 15.3% vs 22.7%, p<0.001). Moreover, subjects with lean NAFLD and significant liver fibrosis had a higher risk of ASCVD events, compared to their obese counterparts (OR, 2.51 vs 1.95, p=0.034). Regarding the presence of the components of the metabolic syndrome, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus was higher the obese group, while changes in the lipid profile and higher systolic blood pressure were more frequently found in lean subjects. Conclusions: Subjects with lean NAFLD had an ASCVD score that were significantly higher than those with obese NAFLD. In both study groups, the presence of significant liver fibrosis was an essential risk factor associated with an ASCVD event, but the effects were more pronounced in lean individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest technological progress provided significant changes in the approach of several areas of daily life, healthcare, and research. In this context, there are many solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI) that were designed to provide assistance in repetitive, ultraprecision, and high-performance data analysis tasks. While the benefits of using AI in Medicine are suggestive, they are shadowed by potential limitations based on the perception of the targeted users due to lack of awareness, mistrust, and human versus machine controversy. Thus, we aimed to find the current opinion of the medical workers and students regarding the modern applications of AI in medical care and research. Using an online specialised platform, we conducted a survey addressed to the members of academic and healthcare community. They were invited to answer specific questions evaluating their knowledge on AI, and their availability to accept and use AI-based applications in daily life and profession. Also, they were challenged to identify advantages and weaknesses of AI-based applications in healthcare and medical research. We found that the responses regarding the use of AI-based solutions in daily life and healthcare suggested several differences in awareness. Also, some of the participants identified several possible sources of inequity in receiving medical care when intelligence-based applications were used in decision making demarche. Similarly, despite that AI-based resources could offer high performance solutions to medical care and research consequent to technology progress, the participants pointed out that the main negative outcome of artificial would be the lack of empathy involved in patients' management. AI-based solutions in medical care could offer significant improvements of the medical act and in biomedical research. However, there are still many limitations that should be addressed when adapting AI resources in Medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of fetal ultrasound in prenatal care allows the diagnosis of the majority of abdominal wall defects with subsequent opportunities for parental counseling and optimal perinatal management. Outcome of a fetus with an abdominal wall defect is significantly affected by the presence of additional malformations or chromosomal defects. Appropriate management is dependent on the early identification of such anomalies in addition to accurate delineation of the abdominal wall defect itself. Cases with anterior wall defects are presented to illustrate the spectrum of appearances with 2D and 3D ultrasound. 2D combined with 3D ultrasound are very effective methods in the diagnosis of these anomalies and MRI should be reserved only for difficult and intricate cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To individualize a follow-up methodology for ASCUS Pap-tests in relationship with the viral type and age groups of patients. Materials and Methods: HPV DNA typing by PCR for women with the cervical lesions, Pap-test: conventional, LBC in last six months. From 175 cases with HPV DNA typing, 41 have been confirmed as ASCUS and 4 cases as ASC-H. We have divided patients in 3 age groups: between 20-30 years old (13 cases), between 31-40 years old (22 cases), over 40 years old (10 cases). Results: HPV DNA typing (PCR) 20 negative results, one type of HPV 15 cases, multiple viral types 10 cases: 2 types: 3 women; 3 types: 6 women; 5 types: 1 women: ASC-H4 cases: 2 cases: with HPV-16, 2 with multiple types all within the 31-40 years old segment; ASCUS-21 cases: 13 with one type, 8 cases with more viral types (including HR HPV in 5 cases), HPV DNA typing (PCR) - 25 positive results. Conclusions: The age group of 31-40 years old offers high number of ASCUS with positive HPV DNA type. No ASC-H with HPV negative. The colposcopy result helps and indicates the biopsy in the false negative HPV DNA typing. The age group of 31-40 years olds with ASCUS persistent results and HPV negative has to be followed more than 24 months and a safe attitude could be the treatment by LLETZ or conization. It is known that in postmenopausal period HPV DNA is useful and could help if cytology or colposcopy are unsatisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]