Virtual idol marketing: Benefits, risks, and an integrated framework of the emerging marketing field.

The marketing practice involved with virtual idols became popular, leading to the emergence of virtual idol marketing. However, there is a lack of scientific understanding of this emerging marketing field. To promote a fundamental understanding of virtual idol marketing, this study clarifies the conceptual boundary of virtual idols and provides meaningful insights into the definitions, benefits, and risks of virtual idol marketing.

Prolonged immune alteration following resolution of acute inflammation in humans.

Acute inflammation is an immediate response to infection and injury characterised by the influx of granulocytes followed by phagocytosing mononuclear phagocytes. Provided the antigen is cleared and the immune system of the host is fully functional, the acute inflammatory response will resolve. Until now it is considered that resolution then leads back to homeostasis, the physiological state tissues experienced before inflammation occurred.

Are potentially clinically meaningful benefits misinterpreted in cardiovascular randomized trials? A systematic examination of statistical significance, clinical significance, and authors' conclusions.

Background: While journals and reporting guidelines recommend the presentation of confidence intervals, many authors adhere strictly to statistically significant testing. Our objective was to determine what proportions of not statistically significant (NSS) cardiovascular trials include potentially clinically meaningful effects in primary outcomes and if these are associated with authors' conclusions.

Methods: Cardiovascular studies published in six high-impact journals between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014 were identified via PubMed.

Ondansetron Oral Dissolve Tab vs. Oral Solution in Children Presenting to the Emergency Department with Gastroenteritis.

Background: Ondansetron is often used in the emergency department (ED) to promote oral rehydration in children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE), yet medication solutions administered orally may be poorly tolerated in this population.

Objectives: We compared the tolerability of ondansetron oral dissolve tab (ODT) to oral solution (OS) in children presenting to the ED with AGE.

Methods: Using alternate-day controlled clinical trial design, children aged 3 months to 10 years received either ondansetron ODT or OS.

Implementation of an Advanced Nursing Directive for Children With Right Lower Quadrant Pain: Identifying Those Requiring Further Investigation and Improving Flow Metrics.

Objectives: Advanced nursing directives (ANDs) empower nursing staff to provide advanced levels of care before physician assessment. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine whether an AND for right lower quadrant (RLQ) pain could identify children who required any further investigation to diagnose appendicitis and (2) to determine whether children meeting AND criteria had better emergency department (ED) flow metrics compared with those who did not meet the criteria.

Methods: Health records of children aged 3 to 17 years presenting to the ED with abdominal pain who were managed using the departmental AND for RLQ pain were reviewed.

Sonic hedgehog promotes CD4+ T lymphocyte proliferation and modulates the expression of a subset of CD28-targeted genes.

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a crucial morphogen in the development of numerous tissues and organs, including the nervous system, gastrointestinal tract and lung. Recent findings suggest that Shh plays an important role in thymocyte development and peripheral T cell function. Here we report that the Shh receptors, patched and smoothened, are expressed in resting and activated T cells and their expression is regulated upon T cell activation.