Perspectives of Small Retailers in the Organic Market: Customer Satisfaction and Customer Enthusiasm

Abstract. In this paper we discuss the impact of customer satisfaction and enthusiasm on the performance of small retailers in the organic food market. The analysis of customer satisfaction and shop data confirm essential economic effects. The study is based on 948 customer interviews and an analysis of management ratios of 12 organic food shops in Germany. The results show that customer satisfaction is a relevant key to sales performance. Regression analysis reveals that overall customer satisfaction accounts for 32 % of sales per square meter sales area. An additional factor analysis identifies service and product quality as main determinants of customer satisfaction. Consumers consider the freshness of fruit and vegetables as representative for the quality of the whole assortment. A correlation analysis demonstrates that customer enthusiasm is a more accurate factor in the recommendation of shops than customer satisfaction. The paper ends with managerial and scientific implications

Perspectives of small retailers in the organic market: Customer satisfaction and customer enthusiasm

In this paper we discuss the impact of customer satisfaction and enthusiasm on the performance of small retailers in the organic food market. The analysis of customer satisfaction and shop data confirm essential economic effects. The study is based on 948 customer interviews and an analysis of management ratios of 12 organic food shops in Germany. The results show that customer satisfaction is a relevant key to sales performance. Regression analysis reveals that overall customer satisfaction accounts for 32 % of sales per square meter sales area. An additional factor analysis identifies service and product quality as main determinant s of customer satisfaction. Consumer s consider the freshness of fruit and vegetables as representative for the quality of the whole assortment. A correlation analysis demonst rates that customer enthusiasm is a more accurate factor in the recommendation of shops than customer satisfaction. The paper ends with managerial and scientific implications.retail marketing, success factor, organic marketing, regression analysis, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The study of renal function and toxicity using zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae as a vertebrate model

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful model in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. The zebrafish model was introduced to toxicological sciences in 1960, followed by its use in biomedical sciences to investigate vertebrate gene functions. As a consequence of many research projects in this field, the study of human genetic diseases became instantly feasible. Consequently, zebrafish have been intensively used in developmental biology and associated disciplines. Due to the simple administration of medicines and the high number of offspring, zebrafish larvae became widely more popular in pharmacological studies in the following years. In the past decade, zebrafish larvae were further established as a vertebrate model in the field of pharmacokinetics and nanomedicines. In this PhD thesis, zebrafish larvae were investigated as an earlystage in vivo vertebrate model to study renal function, toxicity, and were applied in drug-targeting projects using nanomedicines. The first part focused on the characterization of the renal function of three-to four-dayold zebrafish larvae. Non-renal elimination processes were additionally described. Moreover, injection techniques, imaging parameters, and post-image processing scripts were established to serve as a toolbox for follow-up projects. The second part analyzed the impact of gentamicin (a nephrotoxin) on the morphology of the pronephros of zebrafish larvae. Imaging methodologies such as fluorescent-based laser scanning microscopy and X-ray-based microtomography were applied. A profound comparison study of specimens acquired with different laboratory X-ray-based microtomography devices and a radiation facility was done to promote the use of X-ray-based microtomography for broader biomedical applications. In the third part, the toxicity of nephrotoxins on mitochondria in renal epithelial cells of proximal tubules was assessed using the zebrafish larva model. Findings were compared with other teleost models such as isolated renal tubules of killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus). In view of the usefulness and high predictability of the zebrafish model, it was applied to study the pharmacokinetics of novel nanoparticles in the fourth part. Various in vivo pharmacokinetic parameters such as drug release, transfection of mRNA/pDNA plasmids, macrophage clearance, and the characterization of novel drug carriers that were manipulated with ultrasound were assessed in multiple collaborative projects. Altogether, the presented zebrafish model showed to be a reliable in vivo vertebrate model to assess renal function, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of nanoparticles. The application of the presented model will hopefully encourage others to reduce animal experiments in preliminary studies by fostering the use of zebrafish larvae

Betriebsformen des Naturkostfachhandels: Ihr Einfluss auf die Kundenzufriedenheit und Kundenbegeisterung

In this paper we discuss the factors determining customer satisfaction and customer delight in the organic food market. The commitment of the staff is the factor with the highest influence on both

Integration of continuous-time dynamics in a spiking neural network simulator

Contemporary modeling approaches to the dynamics of neural networks consider two main classes of models: biologically grounded spiking neurons and functionally inspired rate-based units. The unified simulation framework presented here supports the combination of the two for multi-scale modeling approaches, the quantitative validation of mean-field approaches by spiking network simulations, and an increase in reliability by usage of the same simulation code and the same network model specifications for both model classes. While most efficient spiking simulations rely on the communication of discrete events, rate models require time-continuous interactions between neurons. Exploiting the conceptual similarity to the inclusion of gap junctions in spiking network simulations, we arrive at a reference implementation of instantaneous and delayed interactions between rate-based models in a spiking network simulator. The separation of rate dynamics from the general connection and communication infrastructure ensures flexibility of the framework. We further demonstrate the broad applicability of the framework by considering various examples from the literature ranging from random networks to neural field models. The study provides the prerequisite for interactions between rate-based and spiking models in a joint simulation

KUNDENZUFRIEDENHEIT IM NATURKOSTFACHHANDEL: DETERMINANTEN UND ERFOLGSWIRKSAMKEIT

Der Beitrag analysiert den Einfluss der Kundenzufriedenheit auf den ökonomischen Erfolg im Naturkostfachhandel. Auf Basis einer Befragung von 885 Kunden und der Analyse der Betriebskennzahlen von 11 Naturkostfachgeschäften zeigt sich, dass die Kundenzufriedenheit ein relevanter Erfolgsfaktor für den Lebensmittelfachhandel ist. In Erweiterung der in der bisherigen Forschungspraxis üblichen isolierten Betrachtung von Kunden- und Betriebsdaten erlaubt deren parallele Erhebung Hinweise auf die tatsächliche Erfolgswirkung. In einer Regression erklären Unterschiede in der Gesamtzufriedenheit rund 45 % der Varianz des ökonomischen Erfolgs der Geschäfte. In einer weiteren Analyse konnten die wichtigsten Einflussfaktoren auf die Kundenzufriedenheit herausgearbeitet werden. Die Qualität der Ware und die Personalkompetenz stehen hier im Vordergrund.Kundenzufriedenheit, Erfolgsfaktoren, Regressionsanalyse, Consumer/Household Economics,

Editorial: Teilhabe in einer durch digitale Medien geprägten Welt: Perspektiven des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses

Vom 19. bis 20. Juli 2018 durften wir die Teilnehmenden des Jungen Forums für Medien und Hochschulentwicklung (JFMH) an der TU Kaiserslautern begrüssen. Bei schönstem Sommerwetter verbrachten wir zwei Tage mit konstruktivem Austausch in verschiedenen Formaten und geselligem Beisammensein. Hierbei zeigte sich vor allem der positive Grundgedanke für den wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs: Erfahrung trifft Neugier, konstruktiver Austausch und Vernetzung. Das ist das Ziel des JFMH: Jungen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern die Möglichkeit zu geben in einem geschützten Raum frühe Erfahrungen bei der Präsentation und Diskussion ihrer Forschungsprojekte zu ermöglichen. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern in der Qualifizierungsphase (Young Researcher) und junge Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler, die an praxisnahen Forschungs- oder Entwicklungsprojekten beteiligt sind (Young Professionals) kommen dabei zusammen, um gemeinsam Themen zu Medien und Hochschuldidaktik oder verwandten Bereichen zu diskutieren und sich dazu auszutauschen. Begleitet werden die Beiträge durch die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hochschuldidaktik (dghd), die Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI, Fachgruppe E-Learning), die Gesellschaft für Medien in der Wissenschaft (GMW) und die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Erziehungswissenschaft (DGfE, Sektion Medienpädagogik), die seit 2012 jährlich gemeinsam mit den jeweiligen ausrichtenden Institutionen das JFMH gestalten. Das JFMH 2018 widmete sich dem Thema «Teilhabe in einer durch digitale Medien geprägten Welt», welches auch zentrales Thema dieses Tagungsbandes ist, der als Heft 36 bei der Zeitschrift MedienPädagogik erscheint. Durch die nun schon sechsjährige Tradition des JFMHs nehmen auch viele erfahrene Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler an der Tagung teil, die häufig selbst frühe Erfahrungen auf der JFMH gesammelt haben. Diese Zusammenkunft verschiedener Stadien in der Wissenschaft und wissenschaftlichen Austausches brachte auch 2018 wieder eine sehr produktive und gesellige Atmosphäre hervor

Flavour by design: food-grade lactic acid bacteria improve the volatile aroma spectrum of oat milk, sunflower seed milk, pea milk, and faba milk towards improved flavour and sensory perception

Background The global market of plant-based milk alternatives is continually growing. Flavour and taste have a key impact on consumers’ selection of plant-based beverages. Unfortunately, natural plant milks have only limited acceptance. Their typically bean-like and grassy notes are perceived as“of-favours” by consumers, while preferred fruity, buttery, and cheesy notes are missing. In this regard, fermentation of plant milk by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) appears to be an appealing option to improve aroma and taste. Results In this work, we systematically studied LAB fermentation of plant milk. For this purpose, we evaluated 15 food-approved LAB strains to ferment 4 diferent plant milks: oat milk (representing cereal-based milk), sunfower seed milk (representing seed-based milk), and pea and faba milk (representing legume-based milk). Using GC‒MS analysis, favour changes during anaerobic fermentations were studied in detail. These revealed species-related and plant milkrelated diferences and highlighted several well-performing strains delivered a range of benefcial favour changes. A developed data model estimated the impact of individual favour compounds using sensory scores and predicted the overall favour note of fermented and nonfermented samples. Selected sensory perception tests validated the model and allowed us to bridge compositional changes in the favour profle with consumer response. Conclusion Specifc strain-milk combinations provided quite diferent favour notes. This opens further developments towards plant-based products with improved favour, including cheesy and buttery notes, as well as other innovative products in the future. S. thermophilus emerged as a well-performing strain that delivered preferred buttery notes in all tested plant milks. The GC‒MS-based data model was found to be helpful in predicting sensory perception, and its further refnement and application promise enhanced potential to upgrade fermentation approaches to favour-by-design strategies

Incorporation of phosphatidylserine improves efficiency of lipid based gene delivery systems

The essential homeostatic process of dead cell clearance (efferocytosis) is used by viruses in an act of apoptotic mimicry. Among others, virions leverage phosphatidylserine (PS) as an essential "eat me" signal in viral envelopes to increase their infectivity. In a virus-inspired biomimetic approach, we demonstrate that PS can be incorporated into non-viral lipid nanoparticle (LNP) pDNA/mRNA constructs to enhance cellular transfection. The inclusion of the bioactive PS leads to an increased ability of LNPs to deliver nucleic acids in vitro to cultured HuH-7 hepatocellular carcinoma cells resulting in a 6-fold enhanced expression of a transgene. Optimal PS concentrations are in the range of 2.5 to 5% of total lipids. PS-decorated mRNA-LNPs show a 5.2-fold enhancement of in vivo transfection efficiency as compared to mRNA-LNPs devoid of PS. Effects were less pronounced for PS-decorated pDNA-LNPs (3.2-fold increase). Incorporation of small, defined amounts of PS into gene delivery vectors opens new avenues for efficient gene therapy and can be easily extended to other therapeutic systems

Разработка мероприятий для повышения эффективности и безопасности работы объектов линейной части участка магистрального газопровода "Сила Сибири"

Объектом исследования является участок магистрального газопровода "Сила Сибири". Цель работы – разработка мероприятий для повышения эффективности и безопасности работы объектов линейной части магистрального газопровода "Сила Сибири". В процессе исследования проводились расчеты толщины стенки трубопровода, расчет на прочность и устойчивость, прогнозный расчет размыва грунта засыпки на склоне на основании СП 36.13330.2012, СП 425.1325800.2018, а также с использованием РД 51-2.4-007-97 как справочного материала. Рассмотрены вопросы причин и последствий аварий на магистральных газопроводах (МГ), воздействия на МГ опасных геологических процессов (ОГП), рассмотрение процесса разработки и обоснования выбора мероприятий и сооружений инженерной защиты МГ от эрозионных процессов.The object of study is the section of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline. The purpose of the work is the development of measures to improve the efficiency and safety of the facilities of the linear part of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline. In the course of the study, calculations were made of the wall thickness of the pipeline, a calculation of strength and stability, a predictive calculation of erosion of backfill soil on the slope based on SP 36.13330.2012, SP 425.1325800.2018, and also using RD 51-2.4-007-97 as reference material. Issues of the causes and consequences of accidents on main gas pipelines (MG), the impact on MG of hazardous geological processes (GCP)