Strategic Networking for Online Success

The growth of online social networks and the decreasing effectiveness of traditional marketing have lead to a large interest in social networks. For an appropriate application of new marketing approaches marketers have to understand the impact of interactions and relationships among network members on their individual outcome and network popularity in order to use online social networks effectively in marketing. In this study we analyze networking behavior of music artists for promoting their music. Our sample consists of a set of 480 music artists who actively operate online social networks for personal success on two independent online social network platforms at the same time. Personal network information on both platforms is tracked monthly over a period of six months. Applying a count data approach we relate well-established egocentric network measures to online success. Our results indicate that online success is determined by the social network structure and networking activities of the music artists rather than by their outside popularity. Most importantly, the drivers of online success are not limited to the size of the of the artist’s personal network. The findings of our study provide several insights into the use of personal online social networks for marketing products and services

Heating of the molecular gas in the massive outflow of the local ultraluminous-infrared and radio-loud galaxy 4C12.50

We present a comparison of the molecular gas properties in the outflow vs. in the ambient medium of the local prototype radio-loud and ultraluminous-infrared galaxy 4C12.50 (IRAS13451+1232), using new data from the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer and 30m telescope, and the Herschel space telescope. Previous H_2 (0-0) S(1) and S(2) observations with the Spitzer space telescope had indicated that the warm (~400K) molecular gas in 4C12.50 is made up of a 1.4(+-0.2)x10^8 M_sun ambient reservoir and a 5.2(+-1.7)x10^7 M_sun outflow. The new CO(1-0) data cube indicates that the corresponding cold (25K) H_2 gas mass is 1.0(+-0.1)x10^10 M_sun for the ambient medium and <1.3x10^8 M_sun for the outflow, when using a CO-intensity-to-H_2-mass conversion factor alpha of 0.8 M_sun /(K km/s pc^2). The combined mass outflow rate is high, 230-800 M_sun/yr, but the amount of gas that could escape the galaxy is low. A potential inflow of gas from a 3.3(+-0.3)x10^8 M_sun tidal tail could moderate any mass loss. The mass ratio of warm-to-cold molecular gas is >= 30 times higher in the outflow than in the ambient medium, indicating that a non-negligible fraction of the accelerated gas is heated to temperatures at which star formation is inefficient. This conclusion is robust against the use of different alpha factor values, and/or different warm gas tracers (H_2 vs. H_2 plus CO): with the CO-probed gas mass being at least 40 times lower at 400K than at 25K, the total warm-to-cold mass ratio is always lower in the ambient gas than in the entrained gas. Heating of the molecular gas could facilitate the detection of new outflows in distant galaxies by enhancing their emission in intermediate rotational number CO lines.Comment: A&A, in pres

The physical and structural effects of 1-MCP on four different apple cultivars during storage

The impact of the ethylene inhibitor, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), on four apple cultivars (Braeburn, Fuji, Jazz and Golden Delicious) over 150 days of storage at 2 °C was assessed. Proton transfer reaction quadrupole mass spectrometry (PTR-QUAD-MS) was used to monitor changes in VOC composition, while texture analysis and X-ray microcomputer tomography (µ-CT) scanning were used to study microstructural changes. The application of 1-MCP on apples reduced VOC emissions, concurrently maintaining a firmer texture compared to the untreated apples at each time point. The µ-CT scanning revealed how changes in specific morphological characteristics such as anisotropy, connectivity and porosity, size and shape, as well as the interconnectivity of intracellular spaces (IS) influenced texture even when porosity was similar. Additionally, this study showed that the porosity and connectivity of IS were associated with VOC emission and increased simultaneously. This study highlights how the morphological parameters of an apple can help explain their ripening process during long-term storage and how their microstructure can influence the release of VOC