Maastricht University

About: Maastricht University is a education organization based out in Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 19263 authors who have published 53291 publications receiving 2266866 citations. The organization is also known as: Universiteit Maastricht & UM.

Anti-inflammatory M2, but not pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages promote angiogenesis in vivo

Abstract: Objective Macrophages show extreme heterogeneity and different subsets have been characterized by their activation route and their function. For instance, macrophage subsets are distinct by acting differently under pathophysiological conditions such as inflammation and cancer. Macrophages also contribute to angiogenesis, but the role of various specific subsets in angiogenesis has not been thoroughly investigated.

Depression Rating Scales in Parkinson’s Disease: Critique and Recommendations

Abstract: Depression is a common comorbid condition in Parkinson's disease (PD) and a major contributor to poor quality of life and disability. However, depression can be difficult to assess in patients with PD due to overlapping symptoms and difficulties in the assessment of depression in cognitively impaired patients. As several rating scales have been used to assess depression in PD (dPD), the Movement Disorder Society commissioned a task force to assess their clinimetric properties and make clinical recommendations regarding their use. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the use of depression scales in PD and determine which scales should be selected for this review. The scales reviewed were the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Depression Scale (Ham-D), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Part I, Cornell Scale for the Assessment of Depression in Dementia (CSDD), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Seven clinical researchers with clinical and research experience in the assessment of dPD were assigned to review the scales using a structured format. The most appropriate scale is dependent on the clinical or research goal. However, observer-rated scales are preferred if the study or clinical situation permits. For screening purposes, the HAM-D, BDI, HADS, MADRS, and GDS are valid in dPD. The CES-D and CSDD are alternative instruments that need validation in dPD. For measurement of severity of depressive symptoms, the Ham-D, MADRS, BDI, and SDS scales are recommended. Further studies are needed to validate the CSDD, which could be particularly useful for the assessment of severity of dPD in patients with comorbid dementia. To account for overlapping motor and nonmotor symptoms of depression, adjusted instrument cutoff scores may be needed for dPD, and scales to assess severity of motor symptoms (e.g., UPDRS) should also be included to help adjust for confounding factors. The HADS and the GDS include limited motor symptom assessment and may, therefore, be most useful in rating depression severity across a range of PD severity; however, these scales appear insensitive in severe depression. The complex and time-consuming task of developing a new scale to measure depression specifically for patients with PD is currently not warranted.

On the relationship between perceived service quality, service loyalty and switching costs

Abstract: In the services marketing literature it has been argued that the concept of service loyalty needs further conceptual and empirical investigation. In this paper a theoretical framework for service loyalty consisting of three dimensions: preference loyalty; price indifference loyalty; and dissatisfaction response is developed. We subsequently focus on the role of service quality and switching costs as antecedents to these types of service loyalty. The results of an empirical study of a large sample of customers from five different service industries provide support for service loyalty as a three‐dimensional construct. Moreover, we find that the influence of service quality on service loyalty varies significantly per industry and that, hence, findings from one industry cannot be generalised to other industries. Furthermore, we establish that in industries characterised by relatively low switching costs, customers will be less loyal as compared to service industries with relatively high switching costs.

Innovation and productivity in SMEs: empirical evidence for Italy

Abstract: Innovation in SMEs exhibits some peculiar features that most traditional indicators of innovation activity do not capture Therefore, in this paper, we develop a structural model of innovation that incorporates information on innovation success from firm surveys along with the usual R&D expenditures and productivity measures We then apply the model to data on Italian SMEs from the “Survey on Manufacturing Firms” conducted by Mediocredito-Capitalia covering the period 1995–2003 The model is estimated in steps, following the logic of firms’ decisions and outcomes We find that international competition fosters R&D intensity, especially for high-tech firms Firm size and R&D intensity, along with investment in equipment, enhances the likelihood of having both process and product innovation Both these kinds of innovation have a positive impact on firm’s productivity, especially process innovation Among SMEs, larger and older firms seem to be less productive

The extended transportation-imagery model: A meta-analysis of the antecedents and consequences of consumers' narrative transportation

Abstract: Stories, and their ability to transport their audience, constitute a central part of human life and consumption experience. Integrating previous literature derived from fields as diverse as anthropology, marketing, psychology, communication, consumer, and literary studies, this article offers a review of two decades worth of research on narrative transportation, the phenomenon in which consumers mentally enter a world that a story evokes. Despite the relevance of narrative transportation for storytelling and narrative persuasion, extant contributions seem to lack systematization. The authors conceive the extended transportation-imagery model, which provides not only a comprehensive model that includes the antecedents and consequences of narrative transportation but also a multidisciplinary framework in which cognitive psychology and consumer culture theory cross-fertilize this field of inquiry. The authors test the model using a quantitative meta-analysis of 132 effect sizes of narrative transportation from 76 published and unpublished articles and identify fruitful directions for further research.