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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of wine closure types on the quality perception of wine consumers in a traditional wine market, combined with the willingness to pay for red and white wines in bottles closed with screw caps compared with that for wines in bottles with a cork closure.Design/methodology/approachAn online experiment with 436 Austrian wine consumers was conducted in a two-by-two between-groups design. To assess the quality of Austrian red and white wine, quality indicators such as origin, grape variety, awards, the content of residual sugar, vintage, geographical indication, ageing potential, organic certification, vineyard designation and brand (producer) have been applied. Furthermore, different involvement levels as well as willingness to pay were taken into consideration.FindingsContrary to earlier findings, results confirm that Austrian consumers do not generally perceive wines (both red and white) in a screw cap bottle to be lower or different in quality from those in a cork-closed bottle. However, consumers expect red and white wines in bottles with a cork closure to be higher in price than wines in bottles with a screw cap. Among established quality indicators, the present analysis shows that price is the strongest cue for quality when it comes to wines and indicates that wines in bottles closed with corks and bearing a higher price tag are considered to be of higher quality.Research limitations/implicationsThis research comes with limitations, such as the absence of sensory differences. Moreover, the research design is based exclusively on the description of wines and a limited set of quality indicators and does not involve the actual tasting of wines.Practical implicationsOutcomes suggest that in the strategic positioning of wines, the difference in wine consumers’ quality perceptions between wine bottles with screw caps and cork closures plays a smaller role than anticipated. Findings are relevant for practitioners, particularly in old-world wine markets where cork is still seen as the closure of choice for higher-quality wines.Originality/valueThe results of this survey contribute to understanding consumers of an established old-world wine market and their attitudes towards alternative bottle closure types such as screw caps. It adds new insights to the research stream of the quality perception of wines. more...

Facial neuropathy is a lesion of the facial nerve of various nature happening at different anatomical levels, which is manifested by unilateral paralysis or paresis of the facial muscles and is complicated by synkinesis and contractures of the paretic muscles. The leading clinical symptom of this disorder is mimic asymmetry, which occurs as a result of a violation of the neuromuscular balance of both hemifaces (weakness on the side of the lesion and hypertonicity on the contralateral side). Understanding the special functional state of the unaffected hemiface made it possible to develop a pathogenetically substantiated method for the treatment of mimic asymmetry. The effect of botulinum toxin type A on the muscles of the healthy hemiface contributes to a better restoration of the motor activity of the affected muscles and the symmetry of the face. Implantation of monofilament mesothreads in the facial area was used to correct synkinesis. We have proposed a method that creates a rigid mesh frame using mesothreads between the skin and the muscles of facial expression in the area of synkinesis. This led to a significant decrease in the severity of clinical symptoms, a decrease in the frequency and amplitude of involuntary muscle contractions in the face. more...

Introduction Despite advances in screening and early diagnosis, about 15% of colorectal cancers present with acute colonic obstruction. Emergency colorectal surgery is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Preoperative decompression (SEMS or trananal decompression tube placement) as a bridge to surgery has been reported to improve short-term outcomes. However, oncological safety of endoscopic interventions is debatable due to the high frequency of perforations and dissemination. There are few retrospective studies of comparative outcomes between SEMS and decompression tube, but the benefits were not clear. The aim of this prospective randomized study is to compare sort-term and especially long term outcome of colorectal stenting and transanal decompression tube as a bridge to surgery. Methods Between December 2012 and December 2017, 72 patients with malignant colon obstruction, which was diagnosed based on radiological and endoscopic findings with pathohistological examination, were consecutively included into the study. Patients were randomized of random sampling numbers and divided into the stent or decompression tube group. Results Technical success rate RR 0.914, 95% CI 0.804–1.039 (p=0.065). Clinical success was significant higher in stent group RR 0.643, 95% CI 0.489–0.846 (p=0.031). Rate of complications was similar in groups RR 0.895, 95% CI 0.755–1.061 (p=0.087). Short-term outcomes in SEMS group were superior to decompression tube group in the following areas: stoma creation rate RR 0.914, 95% CI 0.804–1.039 (p=0.065) (p Conclusions SEMS has some benefits in comparison with decompression tubes in the short-term postoperative period for patients with malignant colorectal obstruction. The overall recurrence rate was higher in the stent group in long-term period. Moreover, the overall survival rate in the group is no different. Need to continue research to material accumulation and analysis of long-term results. more...

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of cytokines in light of recently discovered aspects of acne immunopathogenesis. Materials and Methods: The study included 276 patients aged between 16 to 44 years with various forms of acne vulgaris. Severe manifestations of the disease were identified in 126/45.6% patients; disease lasted 1 to 5 years in 157/56.9% patients. The serum levels of cytokines were determined by ELISA using standard kits. The cells were characterized using flow cytometry. Results: The obtained data on an excessive secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-2) and VEGF on the background of decreasing the content of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10) indicate an insufficient activity of anti-inflammatory immune response. It was concluded that acne is a model of chronic immunodeficiency inflammatory dermatoses with the activation of innate immunity and the subsequent development of the adaptive T-cell immune response. more...

Solution-processed furan/phenylene co-oligomer single crystals combine high photoluminescence quantum yield (>65%) and efficient charge transport (mobility 0.12 cm(2) V-1 s(-1)) making them promising materials for printable organic optoelectronics. more...

The most of gas associated industries face with the risks of explosion and fire which may lead to dire consequences. We present an approach for assessing the explosion risks in the presence of hydrocarbon mixtures when the chemical composition and concentration of gases in the mixture are unknown. The core idea is the measurement of warm dissipated during the combustion of hydrocarbons in the reaction chamber of the sensor. To evaluate this approach we use a catalytic planar sensor with limited gas diaphragm in the reaction chamber. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach experimentally. more...

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have recently been applied for industrial monitoring, including combustible and flammable gases monitoring. In this work, we present a wireless gas sensor node in which a widely used Wheatstone sensing circuit based on two sensors is exchanged with a single sensor circuit, as well as the associate gas measurement procedure. The core of the measurement procedure is the four-stage heating profile, which enables low power consumption of sensing circuit and thermo compensation adjustment. A thermo compensation algorithm is capable of avoiding the effect of the environmental temperature on the measurements by keeping stable zero-offset within $\pm 1\;\hbox{mV}$ and ensuring low absolute error within 0.1% vol. The thorough design of the sensor node allows it to fit into the $5.5\;{\hbox{cm}^3}$ packaging, which ensures its true ubiquitous deployment in outdoor and industrial environment. more...