University of Haifa

About: University of Haifa is a education organization based out in Haifa, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 7558 authors who have published 27141 publications receiving 711629 citations. The organization is also known as: Haifa University & Universiṭat Ḥefah.

Postcesarean Section Pain Prediction by Preoperative Experimental Pain Assessment

Abstract: BACKGROUND Postcesarean section pain is a common cause of acute pain in obstetrics, yet pain relief and patient satisfaction are still inadequate in many cases. The present study was conducted to determine whether preoperative assessment of experimental pain perception by quantitative sensory tests could predict the level of postcesarean section pain. METHODS Fifty-eight women who were scheduled for elective cesarean section were enrolled in the study. Heat pain threshold and magnitude estimation of suprathreshold pain stimuli at 44 degrees-48 degrees C were assessed for both algosity (the sensory dimension of pain intensity) and unpleasantness 1 or 2 days before surgery. The day after the operation, the women reported the level of pain at the surgical wound on a visual analog scale at rest and during activity. Regression analysis was performed to evaluate the usefulness of preoperative scores in predicting postcesarean section pain. RESULTS Postoperative visual analog scale scores at rest and during activity significantly correlated with preoperative suprathreshold pain scores at 44 degrees-48 degrees C (r = 0.31-0.58 for algosity and r = 0.33-0.74 for unpleasantness). The stimulus of 48 degrees C was found to be the best predictor of postoperative pain for both conditions (r = 0.434-0.527; P < 0.01). In contrast to suprathreshold pain stimuli, pain threshold was not correlated with postoperative pain. CONCLUSIONS The results show that a simple and quick preoperative test is useful in identifying those women who will experience greater pain after a cesarean section. This test may be suggested for caregivers to tailor the postoperative treatment to specific patient needs and to improve postoperative outcome and patient satisfaction.

Silent Voices Why Some Dissatisfied Consumers Fail to Complain

Abstract: Although noncomplaining dissatisfied consumers represent a vast majority of the dissatisfied consumers, they have not yet received adequate attention from marketing researchers. To understand the paradoxical combination of dissatisfaction and absence of complaint, the authors use the Lazarus cognitive-emotive model of coping with situational challenge. They added a moderator, the Seeking Redress Propensity (SRP) to this model and then developed a theoretical model and a set of hypotheses. A sample of consumers who had experienced a negative incident with the bank were administered a questionnaire by telephone. The sample was designed in such a way that half of them had complained and half had not. It was found that SRP is a significant moderator. In addition, SRP is shown to be strongly related to the likelihood of complaining. Lazarus’s model is basically supported, mostly for the customers scoring higher on SRP. Theoretical and managerial implications are proposed.

Unravelling the evolution of autumn colours: an interdisciplinary approach

Abstract: Leaf colour change is commonly observed in temperate deciduous forests in autumn. This is not simply a side effect of leaf senescence, and, in the past decade, several hypotheses have emerged to explain the evolution of autumn colours. Yet a lack of crosstalk between plant physiologists and evolutionary ecologists has resulted in slow progress, and so the adaptive value of this colour change remains a mystery. Here we provide an interdisciplinary summary of the current body of knowledge on autumn colours, and discuss unresolved issues and future avenues of research that might help reveal the evolutionary meaning of this spectacle of nature.

Dust Storms in the Middle East: Sources of Origin and Their Temporal Characteristics

Abstract: The spatial and temporal characteristics of dust storms in the Middle East were studied by an analysis of the visibility reduction in that region. Eight ‘three-hours’ mean values for each month for a period of 21 years (1973–1993) were used. Data were subjected to cluster analysis of their temporal behaviour. Four main regions were identified and mapped. Stations within each cluster (region) have a similar temporal behaviour different from the behaviour of stations out of that cluster. Sudan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, are the regions that reported the greatest occurrence of dust storms. Dust storms in Iran, north-eastern Iraq and Syria, the Persian Gulf and southern Arabian Peninsula are more frequent in summer. In western Iraq and Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, northern Israel, northern Arabian Peninsula and southern Egypt they occur mainly in the spring, while in southern Israel and in the Mediterranean parts of northern Egypt, in winter and spring.

The relationship between empowerment, aggressive behaviours of customers, coping, and burnout

Abstract: Research on workplace aggression has mainly investigated aggression on the part of supervisors or colleagues. Within the service context, however, customers constitute an additional major source of aggression. The study examines the associations between customer aggression and service providers' sense of empowerment, coping strategies, and burnout. Questionnaires measuring customer aggression, empowerment, coping strategies used to cope with customer aggression, and burnout (including exhaustion, depersonalization, and accomplishment dimensions) were completed by 228 service providers. The main results, based on path analysis, showed that empowerment was negatively related to exhaustion and depersonalization while customer aggression was positively related to these dimensions of burnout. Depersonalization was also positively related to emotion-focused coping. The accomplishment dimension was positively related to empowerment and problem-focused coping. Customer aggression and empowerment were negatively r...