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The research aims to provide a formal methodology in identifying significant emotional needs of customers in the services of a health club. From this a pricing model, a design will be developed that would result from the significant customer cognitive and affective needs. Research aims (a) to identify significant components of services attributes in the physical servicescape, social servicescape, product quality and service performance in customer perspective in health club services, (b) determine service attributes that significantly contribute to emotional experiences and service quality perception of health club customers, (c) investigate the effect of customer emotional experience and service quality perception to consumer satisfaction and value perception, and (d) to establish a pricing model from the consumer responses. Based on this previous literatures and research frameworks the major steps taken to confirm the hypothesized associations of this study consisted of (4) major stages namely: 1) Selecting the health club domains and service domains, 2) Identifying and classifying measurement variables, 3) Service assessment, and 4) Pricing model formulation. In conclusion this exploratory study took the beginning steps towards understanding how customers perceive the overall service system and how each service dimension could contribute toward behavioral intentions though perceptions and emotions. Implications for health club managers are likewise can be fully assisted by said concluded attributes in this research.

Background The query “are there animals at home?” is usually administered for collecting information on anamnesis. This modality to consider exposure to pet allergens constitutes a potential bias in epidemiological studies and in clinical practice. The aim of our study was to evaluate/quantify different modalities of exposure to cat/dog in inducing allergic sensitization. Methods Thirty Italian Allergy units participated in this study. Each centre was required to collect the data of at least 20 consecutive outpatients sensitized to cat/dog allergens. A standardized form reported all demographic data and a particular attention was paid in relieving possible modalities of exposure to cat/dog. Results A total 723 patients sensitized to cat/dog were recorded, 359 (49.65%) reported direct pet contact, 213 patients (29.46%) were pet owners, and 146 subjects (20.19%) were exposed to pets in other settings. Other patients were sensitized by previous pet ownership (150–20.75%) or indirect contact (103–14.25%), in 111 subjects (15.35%) any contact was reported. Conclusions Only 213 patients (29.46%) would be classified as “exposed to animals” and 510 (70.54%) as “not exposed” according to usual query. Our classification has shown that many “not-exposed” subjects (399–55.19%) were “really exposed”. The magnitude of exposure to pet allergens at home is not related exclusively to pet ownership. These considerations should be taken into account during the planning of epidemiological studies and in clinical practice for the management of pet allergic individuals.

Satellite product validation is a key to ensure the delivery of quality products for climate and weather applications. To do this, a fundamental step is the comparison with other instruments, such as radiosonde. This is especially true for essential climate variables such as temperature and humidity. Thanks to a functional data representation, this paper uses a likelihood-based approach that exploits the measurement uncertainties in a natural way. In particular, the comparison of temperature and humidity radiosonde measurements collected within the network of the Universal Rawinsonde Observation Program (RAOB) and the corresponding atmospheric profiles derived from the infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer aboard MetOp-A and MetOp-B satellites is developed with the aim of understanding the vertical smoothing mismatch uncertainty. Moreover, conventional RAOB functional data representation is assessed by means of a comparison with radiosonde reference measurements given by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN), which provides high-resolution fully traceable radio-sounding profiles. In this way, the uncertainty related to coarse vertical resolution, or sparseness, of the conventional RAOB is assessed. It has been found that the uncertainty of vertical smoothing mismatch averaged along the profile is 0.50 K for temperature and 0.16 g/kg for water-vapor mixing ratio. Moreover, the uncertainty related to RAOB sparseness, averaged along the profile, is 0.29 K for temperature and 0.13 g/kg for water-vapor mixing ratio.

Given the increasing life expectancy observed in Western countries, there is a marked interest to know more about how aging could influence respiratory health. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence, clinical characteristics and age of onset of allergic sensitization and clinical symptoms in a sample of atopic elders living in Campania region area (Southern Italy). Fourteen Allergy units or Centres examined a total of 462 patients. In this context 215 (46.53%) had positive skin prick tests (SPTs) to at least one allergen and were diagnosed with respiratory allergy. Parietaria represents the most common sensitizing agent in elders living in Campania region, followed by dust mites, grass pollen and Olea europaea. A relatively high percentage of atopic subjects suffered from respiratory symptoms at a fairly advanced age, namely 8.3% at 60-64 years, 10.2% at 65-70 and 5.7% at70 years. In conclusion, the prevalence and clinical significance of airway allergic sensitization in the elderly living in Campania region is more significant than expected in latter stages of life. Physicians should not neglect the role of atopy as a risk factor for the onset of allergic respiratory symptoms even in elderly patients.

Although cockroach (CR) is an important cause of allergic sensitization worldwide, only a few data are available in Italy and in a previous study we have observed, in Naples area, a low prevalence of CR sensitization.We sought to perform a prospective study for assessing the prevalence of allergic sensitization to CR in a sample of atopic population living in Campania district area (Southern Italy).Ten Allergy Units or Centres of Campania district participated in this cross-sectional study. Each centre was required to collect the results of at least 100 allergy consultations in consecutive outpatients referred for actual or suspected respiratory allergy. We registered demographic data, type and duration of respiratory symptoms, pets ownership, possible exposure to CR allergens, results of the skin prick tests (SPTs).A total of 1477 patients were examined, 985 (66.68%) had a SPTs positivity to at least one allergen. In this context, ninety were sensitized to CR, thus the overall sensitization prevalence in subjects with respiratory allergy was 6.09% ranging between 0-11% and only five patients were mono-sensitized. Thirteen patients reported rhinitis (R) + bronchial asthma (A), twenty-one R + A + conjunctivitis (C), thirty-seven R + C, five only A and eleven individuals only R. Sixty-seven patients exhibited persistent and twenty-three intermittent symptoms. Dust mite constituted the first cause of associated sensitization to CR.The prevalence of allergic sensitization to CR is not negligible in population living in Campania district and shows a higher trend in comparison to that found recently and some years ago in Naples area. Finally, we suggest atopic individuals and especially those highly sensitized to mite allergens or those living in low-income areas to be tested by SPTs / evaluation of serum specific IgE to CR allergens to exclude the occurrence of CR allergic sensitization.

Summary: This study demonstrates that there is only small conformational dependence for the fractional clearance, as studied in the isolated perfused kidney, of random coil dextran as compared to the spherical Ficoll when these probes are standardized on the basis of effective hydrodynamic radii by gel exclusion chrotography. This is particularly for molecules with the same effective hydrodynamic radii of 3.6 nm as albumin. the influence of osmotic stress exerted by plasma concentrations of albumin is shown to be minor for dextran. These studies demonstrate that there must be some other factor apart from conformation that accounts for the relatively low fractional clearance of albumin compared with dextran of equivalent hydrodynamic radius.

Within the framework of the international field campaign COPS (Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study), a large suite of state-of-the-art meteorological instrumentation was operated, partially combined for the first time. This includes networks of in situ and remote-sensing systems such as the Global Positioning System as well as a synergy of multi-wavelength passive and active remote-sensing instruments such as advanced radar and lidar systems. The COPS field phase was performed from 01 June to 31 August 2007 in a low-mountain area in southwestern Germany/eastern France covering the Vosges mountains, the Rhine valley and the Black Forest mountains. The collected data set covers the entire evolution of convective precipitation events in complex terrain from their initiation, to their development and mature phase until their decay. Eighteen Intensive Observation Periods with 37 operation days and eight additional Special Observation Periods were performed, providing a comprehensive data set covering different forcing conditions. In this article, an overview of the COPS scientific strategy, the field phase, and its first accomplishments is given. Highlights of the campaign are illustrated with several measurement examples. It is demonstrated that COPS research provides new insight into key processes leading to convection initiation and to the modification of precipitation by orography, in the improvement of quantitative precipitation forecasting by the assimilation of new observations, and in the performance of ensembles of convection-permitting models in complex terrain.

Observations of ultragiant aerosol particles performed at the CNR-IMAA Atmospheric Observatory using a Ka-Band Doppler radar in four different periods from 19 April to 13 May 2010 are presented. In the reported cases, the aerosol radar signatures are characterized by a similar scenario. In particular, the linear depolarization ratio shows values higher than -4 dB probably related to the effect of bulk density and to the non-sphericity of the ultragiant particles. During the same period, volcanic aerosol layers coming from Eyjafjallajokull volcano were observed over most of European countries, including Southern Italy, using lidar technique. The observation of volcanic layers over Potenza by multi-wavelength Raman lidar measurements suggests a volcanic origin of the ultragiant aerosol particles observed by the radar, revealing that these particles might travel in the atmosphere for more than 4000 km after their injection in the atmosphere. Citation: Madonna, F., A. Amodeo, G. D'Amico, L. Mona, and G. Pappalardo (2010), Observation of non-spherical ultragiant aerosol using a microwave radar, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L21814, doi: 10.1029/2010GL044999.