ABSTRACT
The aim of this research is to examine the marketing strategies to Generation Z, social media cognitive engagement, social media influencer, perceived corporate social responsibility and user-generated media communication and hedonic brand image as moderator on generation Gen Z purchase intention, and examining these effects in Covid'19 pandemic recession phase in Pakistan. Research was completed on Generation Z respondents, using an online survey questionnaire were evaluated using through factor analysis, model fit, SEM via Smart PLS 4. Empirical results via structural equation modeling demonstrate that the impact of the four constructs played a partially significant role on Gen Z purchase intention. Gen Z has strong bonding with social media engagement and aware of CSR activities of an organization and confirmed their behavior toward e-shopping. Brand equity and Citizen Behavior are could be examined as a dependent variable but we didn't due to lack of literature. Social media cognitive engagement and perceived corporate social responsibility has strong relation with generation Z purchase intention which indicates generation Z is engage with social media and CSR activities. Online business operators and trend setter can identify and promote their business on social media sites. Through this study marketers and professionals can also formulate strategies to increase promote their business. The empirical results provide academic contributions to the current group of knowledge in the marketing to capture Gen Z. Using advanced quantitative data analysis will eventually enable future researchers to explain the contribution of the current study to understanding the importance of Generation Z psychology.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Anaphylaxis is an acute and potentially fatal allergic reaction. No studies have yet been conducted to evaluate the spectrum of anaphylactic reactions among Omani patients. As such, this study aimed to describe the clinical features, causes, investigation, and management of anaphylaxis among patients presenting to a tertiary care center in Oman. METHODS: This retrospective study took place between August 2005 and June 2020 at the allergy and immunology clinic of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman. All patients diagnosed with anaphylaxis during the study period were included. Data were collected from electronic medical records. RESULTS: One hundred patients were diagnosed with anaphylaxis during the study period. Of these, 52.0% were male. The mean age was 15.9±16.2 years, with 70.0% aged < 18 years old. The eosinophil count ranged from 0.0-16.9 × 109/L, with a mean of 0.8±2.2 × 109/L and a median of 0.3 (0.1-0.6) × 109/L. Total immunoglobulin (Ig) E levels ranged from 25-8706 kIU/L, with a mean of 935.1±1369.5 kIU/L and a median of 500.4 (186.0-972.5) kIU/L. The majority of patients had a family history of allergies (72.0%), and other had concomitant allergic conditions (66.0%). All were prescribed epinephrine (100%). The most common cause of anaphylaxis was food (65.0%). The second most frequent trigger was insect venom (32.0%). Most patients had one category cause (81.0%); two or more causes were present in 12.0% of patients. Clinical symptoms manifested most frequently as cutaneous (92.0%) and respiratory (85.0%). The majority of patients (87.0%) demonstrated the involvement of more than one bodily system. Mean total IgE levels were significantly higher in patients with concomitant presence of other allergic conditions (1193.8 kIU/L) than patients without another concomitant allergic disease (503.6 kIU/L; p =0.030). In addition, concomitant allergic disease is significantly higher in patients < 18 years of age (75.4%) compared to patients > 18 years of age (45.2%; p =0.010). CONCLUSIONS: Due to its life-threatening nature, knowledge of the epidemiology and clinical features of anaphylaxis in different populations is necessary to deliver rapid treatment. This study found that the clinical features of anaphylactic patients in Oman were similar to those reported elsewhere. Further research is needed to determine the true incidence of anaphylaxis in Oman to minimize associated morbidity and mortality.
ABSTRACT
To date, the current Covid-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has infected 99.2 million while killed 2.2 million people throughout the world and is still spreading widely. The unavailability of potential therapeutics against this virus urges to search and development of new drugs. It enters human cells by interacting with ACE2 and Glucose Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78) receptors expressed on human cell surface through utilizing receptor binding domain (RBD) of its Spike glycoprotein. The RBD domain is highly conserved and is also a potential target for blocking its interaction with human cell surface receptors. We extended our previously proposed tACE2 inhibitory peptide approach (that inhibits RBD and ACE2 interaction) to de novo design of shorter peptides. These peptides can selectively bind to RBD with much higher affinities than the cell surface receptors. Thus, these can block all the binding residues required for binding to cell surface receptors. We used selected amino acid regions (21–40 and 65–75) of ACE2 as scaffold for peptide design using EvoDesign. The method mutates the scaffold residues keeping Cα-backbone of the designed mutant fix, while favorable positioning of mutant R group results in increased binding affinity towards its partner protein. Our designed peptides Pep1 showed interactions with RBD covering almost all of its binding residues with significantly higher binding affinity (-13.2 kcal mol− 1) than the wild type receptors. The MD simulation results showed that designed peptides form a stabilized complex with RBD. We suggest that blocking the RBD through de novo designed peptides can serve as a potential candidate for COVID-19 treatment after been experimentally validated.