Antonia Kaltsatou

Testing the role of service quality on the development of brand associations and brand loyalty

Purpose – The study aims to: measure brand associations in the context of a fitness club, test the influence of brand associations on the development of brand loyalty, and investigate the role of service quality on the development of brand associations.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 165 members of a managed‐owned fitness club, located in North Greece, participated in the study. They completed a 25‐item questionnaire to measure brand associations, and a 25‐item questionnaire to measure service quality.Findings – The exploratory factor analysis revealed eight brand association factors: popularity, management, logo, escape, vicarious achievement, nostalgia, pride and affect. In terms of the relationships among brand associations, loyalty and service quality, the regression analyses revealed that: five of the eight brand associations (escape, nostalgia, pride, logo, and affect) significantly contributed to the prediction of loyalty, the service quality dimensions predicted significant amount of vari...

Functional and psychosocial effects of either a traditional dancing or a formal exercising training program in patients with chronic heart failure: a comparative randomized controlled study

Objective: To compare the effects of traditional dancing with formal exercise training in terms of functional and cardiovascular benefits and motivation in patients with chronic heart failure. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Sports Medicine Laboratory. Subjects: Fifty-one Greek male patients aged 67.1±5.5 years with chronic heart failure of New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II–III, participated in an eight-month study. Interventions: They were randomly assigned to either training with Greek traditional dances (group A, n=18), formal exercise training (group B, n=16) or a sedentary control group (group C, n=17). Main measures: At entry and the end of the study all patients underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing, functional ability assessment and quality of life evaluations. The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was also used to assess participants’ subjective experience. Results: After training group A showed increased peak oxygen consumption by 33.8% (19.5 vs. 26.1 ml/kg/min, p<0.05) and B by 32.3% (19.5 vs. 25.8 ml/kg/min, p<0.05), maximal treadmill tolerance by 48.5% (p<0.05) and by 46.4% (p<0.05), and a decreased Slope of expired minute ventilation for carbon dioxide output (VE/VCO2) slope by 18% (p<0.05) and 19.5% (p<0.05), respectively. Trained patients revealed significant improvement in the quality of life indices. Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was increased only in group A by 26.2% (3.08 vs. 3.87, p<0.05). Conclusions: Exercise training in chronic heart failure patients with Greek traditional dances led to functional and cardiovascular benefits similar to formal exercise training and to a higher level of motivation.

Effects of exercise training with traditional dancing on functional capacity and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled study

Objective: To examine the effects of an eight-month exercise training programme with Greek traditional dancing on functional capacity and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Sports Medicine Laboratory. Subjects: A total of 31 patients, aged 59.9 ± 14.1 years. Interventions: They were randomly assigned either to a Greek traditional dancing programme (Group A) or to a sedentary control group (Group B). Main measures: A functional capacity assessment was performed at baseline and the end of the study. Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale were also used. Quality of life was examined using the Quality of Life and Satisfaction questionnaire. Results: After the eight months, Group A increased walking distance in the 6-minute walk test (328.4 ± 35.9 vs. 238.0 ± 47.6 m), sit-to-stand test (19.1 ± 1.8 vs. 25.1 ± 1.4 seconds), Berg Balance Scale score (53.1 ± 2.1 vs. 43.2 ± 6.7), lower limbs maximal isometric force (77.7 ± 25.7 vs. 51.0 ± 29.8 lb), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score (77.0 ± 23.1 vs. 82.0 ± 24.4), Global Assessment of Functioning Scale total score (51.3 ± 15.5 vs. 47.7 ± 13.3) and Quality of Life total score (34.9 ± 5.2 vs. 28 ± 4.5), compared with Group B. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that Greek traditional dances improve functional capacity and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia.

Impact of traditional Greek dancing on jumping ability, muscular strength and lower limb endurance in cardiac rehabilitation programmes

Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a training programme based on traditional Greek dance on the jumping ability, muscle strength and lower limb endurance in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Patients and methods: Forty Greek patients with CHF graded as NYHA ⩽ II and aged 73.2±4.7 years were randomly divided into two groups. Group A (n=20) participated in a three-month physical rehabilitation programme based on Greek traditional dances, whereas group B (n=20) remained untrained and served as the control group. All patients were studied before and after the 12-week exercise training programme. At baseline and follow-up the exercise capacity of the patients was evaluated by the six-minute walking test, their lower extremity muscle strength was evaluated by an isokinetic dynamometer and their jumping ability by the Myotest-Pro test, which includes three types of jumps (plyometric, countermovement and squat jumps). Results: No significant difference was observed between the two groups at the baseline evaluation. At follow-up, group A showed significant improvements in walking distance calculated from the six-minute walking test (10.0% improvement; p<0.05), in lower limb strength (10.32% improvement; p<0.05), and in countermovement jump speed (6.9%; p<0.05) and squat jump speed (5.8%; p<0.05). Group A also increased their jump plyometry height by 13.86% (p<0.05), their counter jump height by 10.68% (p<0.05) and their squat jump height by 10.45% (p<0.05). Group A had a 6.85% (p<0.05) increased force of counter jump compared with group B. Conclusion: The design and implementation of cardiac rehabilitation programmes using Greek traditional dances in patients with CHF are both safe and effective in improving lower limb function.

The Impact of Inflammation and Autonomic Nervous System Activity onCognitive Impairment during a Hemodialysis Session

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is a common abnormality found in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients and especially during hemodialysis (HD) treatment. It is supported that inflammation and Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) dysfunction are implicated in cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between inflammation, ANS activity and cognitive function during a HD session. Methods: 15 HD patients gave informed consent to participate in this study. Autonomic Nervous System activity was evaluated by the method of pupillometry, cognitive function with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaire, and inflammation with the biomarker of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) before and after a dialysis session. Results: After the HD session, from the pupillometric indices only Average Dilation Velocity decreased by 5.2% (p<0.05) and MMSE score decreased by 14.3% (p<0.05). After the HD session CRP levels significantly increased by 39.6% (p<0.05). Before HD therapy MMSE score was significantly correlated with years in HD therapy (r=-0.663, p=0.014), Maximum Constriction Velocity (r=-0.744, p=0.001) and CRP levels (r=-0.621, p=0.013). Similarly, after the completion of the HD therapy MMSE was correlated with years in HD therapy (r=-0.767, p=0.002), Maximum Constriction Velocity (r=-0.597, p=0.019) and CRP levels (r=-0.513, p=0.05). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that inflammation and ANS function, which are deteriorated after the dialysis session, seem to contribute to cognitive impairment in HD patients.

Cognitive impairment as a central cholinergic deficit in patients with Myasthenia Gravis.

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate with neurophysiological and neuropsychological methods such as pupillometry, cognitive test and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) the hypothesis of Central Nervous System (CNS) cholinergic involvement in patients with Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Methods Thirty-two patients (32) with MG and a mean age of 51.1 ± 17.2 volunteered to participate in this investigation, while thirty-three (33) healthy subjects with a mean age of 50.2 ± 14.8 served as controls. All subjects underwent pupillometric measurements and performed the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) and HAM-D. The pupillometric indices studied were: 1) latency for the onset of constriction (T1), 2) maximum constriction velocity (VCmax) and 3) maximum constriction acceleration (ACmax). Results T1 was found significantly increased by 21.7% (p < 0.05) in MG patients as compared to healthy subjects. Conversely, VCmax and ACmax were significantly decreased in MG patients by 33.3% (p < 0.05) and 43.5% (p < 0.05) respectively, as opposed to healthy subjects. Additionally, MG patients showed significantly decreased score in WMS by 41.6% (p < 0.05) as compared to healthy controls. No significant difference was found for HAM-D between the two groups. Conclusions VCmax and ACmax are governed mainly by the action of the Parasympathetic Nervous System, through acetylcholine. The results of this study demonstrate that the CNS may be affected in MG and support the hypothesis that MG has central cholinergic effects manifested by cognitive dysfunction.