Examining Biased Assimilation of Brand-related Online Reviews

This paper examines the impact of pre-existing brand attitudes on consumer processing of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). This topic is particularly important for brands that simultaneously possess strongly pronounced proponents as well as opponents. Two experimental studies using univalent (study 1, N = 538) and mixed (study 2, N = 262) sets of online reviews find indications for biased assimilation effects of eWOM processing. Consumers perceive positive (negative) arguments in online reviews as more (less) persuasive when having a positive (negative) attitude towards the brand. Perceived persuasiveness in turn influences behavioral intentions and acts as a mediator on the relationship between attitude and behavioral intentions. We examine two moderators of this effect. When priming individuals to focus on other consumers (vs. a self-focus prime), the biased assimilation effect is weaker (study 3a, N = 131). In contrast, we show that biased assimilation becomes stronger under conditions of high (vs. low) cognitive impairment (study 3b, N = 124). Our findings contribute to the literature on the relationship between eWOM and brands and advance our understanding of potential outcomes of brand polarization

Quantum Holography

We propose to make use of quantum entanglement for extracting holographic information about a remote 3-D object in a confined space which light enters, but from which it cannot escape. Light scattered from the object is detected in this confined space entirely without the benefit of spatial resolution. Quantum holography offers this possibility by virtue of the fourth-order quantum coherence inherent in entangled beams.Comment: 7 pages, submitted to Optics Expres

Оптимизированный процесс обмена данными в период между проектированием и производством

Growing vehicle variant diversity, legal requirements to reduce fleet CO2 emissions and innovations in the area of drive train technologies, coupled with the increasing pressure to cut costs, pose new challenges for parties in the automotive sector. An implementation of optimized development and production processes supports the effective handling of these challenges. One important aspect includes engineering efficiency improvement by optimizing the entire automotive bodywork development process and the involved data management. Research activities focus on the data exchange processes between design, simulation and production engineering within various CAx environments. This concerns constantly changing boundary conditions and requirements in the area of automotive body development, including but not limited to the introduction of new materials and material combinations and new types of joining technologies. From the viewpoint of an automotive engineering supplier, additional challenges caused by different customer-related development environments have to be considered. To overcome these challenges, various data exchange strategies between OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer), automotive suppliers and the use of different data management tools need to be investigated. In this context, the paper presents an approach of an optimized data exchange process of CAD-based data between different CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) environments that supports the entire body development, including data provision for manufacturing engineering. In addition, an optimization of data exchange processes saves development costs and improves the product quality.Растущее разнообразие вариантов транспортных средств, законодательные требования по сокращению выбросов CO2 ими, инновации в области технологий трансмиссии в сочетании с усиливающимся давлением, направленным на сокращение расходов, ставят новые задачи перед участниками автомобильного сектора. Внедрение оптимизированных процессов разработки и производства поддерживает эффективное решение этих проблем. Одним из важных аспектов является повышение эффективности инженерных решений за счет оптимизации всего процесса разработки кузова и управления данными. Исследовательская деятельность сосредоточена на процессах обмена данными на этапах проектирования, моделирования и производства в различных средах САх. Это касается постоянно меняющихся граничных условий и требований к разработке кузовов автомобилей, включая, помимо прочего, внедрение новых материалов и их комбинаций, а также новых технологий сборки. С точки зрения поставщика автомобильной техники, необходимо учитывать дополнительные факторы, вызванные различными средами проведения разработки, которые обусловлены потребностями пользователя. Чтобы решить эти проблемы, нужно изучить стратегии обмена данными между ОЕМ-производителями (ОЕМ – производитель оригинального оборудования) и поставщиками автомобилей с использованием различных инструментов. В статье представлен оптимизированный процесс обмена данными на основе САD (компьютерное проектирование) между различными средами CAD и CAM (компьютерное производство), который поддерживает разработку всего кузова, включая предоставление необходимых показателей для производственного цикла. Кроме того, оптимизация процессов обмена данными позволяет уменьшить затраты на разработку и улучшить качество продукции

Actively Contracting Bundles of Polar Filaments

We introduce a phenomenological model to study the properties of bundles of polar filaments which interact via active elements. The stability of the homogeneous state, the attractors of the dynamics in the unstable regime and the tensile stress generated in the bundle are discussed. We find that the interaction of parallel filaments can induce unstable behavior and is responsible for active contraction and tension in the bundle. Interaction between antiparallel filaments leads to filament sorting. Our model could apply to simple contractile structures in cells such as stress fibers.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTex, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

A projection proximal-point algorithm for l^1-minimization

The problem of the minimization of least squares functionals with $\ell^1$ penalties is considered in an infinite dimensional Hilbert space setting. While there are several algorithms available in the finite dimensional setting there are only a few of them which come with a proper convergence analysis in the infinite dimensional setting. In this work we provide an algorithm from a class which have not been considered for $\ell^1$ minimization before, namely a proximal-point method in combination with a projection step. We show that this idea gives a simple and easy to implement algorithm. We present experiments which indicate that the algorithm may perform better than other algorithms if we employ them without any special tricks. Hence, we may conclude that the projection proximal-point idea is a promising idea in the context of $\ell^1$-minimization

Postoperative Breath-Holding Spells Requiring Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation After Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Breath-holding spells are common in childhood and can be associated with bradycardia and pulselessness. This report details severe breath-holding spells complicating postoperative management after atrial septal defect closure. The patient required cardiopulmonary resuscitation despite the use of a temporary pacemaker to prevent bradycardia. After multiple episodes of chest compressions, the decision was made to not intervene immediately to pulselessness and the patient was able to recover without further intervention

Удалители для асфальтосмолопарафиновых отложений месторождений Западного Казахстана

Signal transducers and activators of transcriptions (STAT) are key mediators of cytokine signaling. Moreover, these transcription factors play a crucial role in oncogenic signaling where inappropriate and sustained activation of STATs, especially STAT3, is a trait of many different cancers and their derived cell lines. Constitutively active STAT3 has been reported to prevent programmed cell death and enhance cell proliferation, whereas the disruption of STAT3 signaling can inhibit tumor growth. The physiologic activation of STAT3 by cytokines has been well established; however, little is known about altered, stimulation-independent STAT3 activation. Here, we show that, in most but not all melanoma cell lines, STAT3 phosphorylation increased substantially with cell density and that this STAT3 was able to bind to DNA and to activate transcription. Inhibitor studies showed that the cell density-dependent STAT3 activation relies on Janus kinases (JAK) rather than Src kinases. Using a specific JAK inhibitor, sustained STAT3 activation was completely abrogated in all tested melanoma lines, whereas inhibition of Src or mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase 1/2 had no effect on constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT3 levels. Although STAT3 activation was completely blocked with JAK inhibitor I and to a lesser extent with the common JAK inhibitor AG490, only the latter compound markedly decreased proliferation and induced apoptosis. Taken together, variations in cell density can profoundly modify the extent of JAK-mediated persistent STAT3 phosphorylation; however, STAT3 activation was not sufficient to provide critical growth and survival signals in melanoma cell lines

Small‐scale nutrient patchiness: Some consequences and a new encounter mechanism

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109816/1/lno19842940785.pd

Walks of molecular motors in two and three dimensions

Molecular motors interacting with cytoskeletal filaments undergo peculiar random walks consisting of alternating sequences of directed movements along the filaments and diffusive motion in the surrounding solution. An ensemble of motors is studied which interacts with a single filament in two and three dimensions. The time evolution of the probability distribution for the bound and unbound motors is determined analytically. The diffusion of the motors is strongly enhanced parallel to the filament. The analytical expressions are in excellent agreement with the results of Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Europhys. Let

Noninvasive Assessment of Exercise-Related Intramyocellular Acetylcarnitine in Euglycemia and Hyperglycemia in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Using 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: A randomized single-blind crossover study

Intramyocellular acetylcarnitine (IMAC) is involved in exercise-related fuel metabolism. It is not known whether levels of systemic glucose influence IMAC levels in type 1 diabetes