Introduction to Marketing and Consumer Behavior in Electronic Markets

In this paper we discuss three issues that are relevant to understanding the current state of marketing and consumer behavior in online sales channels and electronic marketplaces enabled by the Internet and World Wide Web (Web). First, how is the Internet used for marketing? It can be used as a new tool for market research, new product creation, product advertising and distribution, and developing consumer relationships. The second issue is how much money is currently spent by companies for Web advertising and by consumers for purchasing products and services online? Statistics illustrate explosive growth in each of these areas in the past few years. And the third issue is what factors affect consumer purchase behavior in electronic sales channels and markets? Three studies that represent current research in this area are discussed. Each study uses a different approach to study online consumer behavior in industries such as books, travel, and financial services. Online consumer behavior is an important issue for companies because they need to identify the characteristics of their potential online customers and use this information to effectively design their Web-based customer interface to succeed in this highly competitive new market

A SiGe HEMT Mixer IC with Low Conversion Loss

The authors present the first SiGe HEMT mixer integrated circuit. The active mixer stage, operating up to 10GHz RF, has been designed and realized using a 0.1µ µµ µm gate length transistor technology. The design is based on a new large-signal simulation model developed for the SiGe HEMT. Good agreement between simulation and measurement is reached. The mixer exhibits 4.0dB and 4.7dB conversion loss when down-converting 3.0GHz and 6.0GHz signals, respectively, to an intermediate frequency of 500MHz using high-side injection of 5dBm local oscillator power. Conversion loss is less than 8dB for RF frequencies up to 10GHz with a mixer linearity of –8.8dBm input related 1dB compression point

Optimizations of sub-100 nm Si/SiGe MODFETs for high linearity RF applications

Based on careful calibration in respect of 70 nm n-type strained Si channel S/SiGe modulation doped FETs (MODFETs) fabricated by Daimler Chrysler, numerical simulations have been used to study the impact of the device geometry and various doping strategies on device performance and linearity. The device geometry is sensitive to both RF performance and device linearity. Doped channel devices are found to be promising for high linearity applications. Trade-off design strategies are required for reconciling the demands of high device performance and high linearity simultaneously. The simulations also suggest that gate length scaling helps to achieve higher RF performance, but decreases the linearity

Reduced 1/f noise in p-Si0.3Ge0.7 metamorphic metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor

We have demonstrated reduced 1/f low-frequency noise in sub-µm metamorphic high Ge content p-Si0.3Ge0.7 metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) at 293 K. Three times lower normalized power spectral density (NPSD) SID/ID2 of drain current fluctuations over the 1–100 Hz range at VDS = –50 mV and VG–Vth = –1.5 V was measured for a 0.55 µm effective gate length p-Si0.3Ge0.7 MOSFET compared with a p-Si MOSFET. Performed quantitative analysis clearly demonstrates the importance of carrier number fluctuations and correlated mobility fluctuations (CMFs) components of 1/f noise for p-Si surface channel MOSFETs, and the absence of CMFs for p-Si0.3Ge0.7 buried channel MOSFETs. This explains the reduced NPSD for p-Si0.3Ge0.7 MOSFETs in strong inversion

Antibiotic Therapy, Endotoxin Concentration in Cerebrospinal Fluid, and Brain Edema in Experimental Escherichia coli Meningitis in Rabbits

We investigated the effect of cefotaxime and chloramphenicol on endotoxin concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and on the development of brain edema in rabbits with Escherichia coli meningitis. Both antibiotics were similarly effective in reducing bacterial titers. Cefotaxime, but not chloramphenicol, induced a marked increase of endotoxin in CSF, from log10 1.5 ± 0.8 to log10 2.8 ± 0.7 ng/ml (P < .01). This result was associated with an increase in brain water content (405 ± 12 g of water/100 g of dry weight compared with 389 ± 8 g in untreated controls; P < .01), whereas in animals treated with chloramphenicol, brain water content was identical to controls. The cefotaxime-induced increase in endotoxin concentration and brain edema were both neutralized by polymyxin B, which binds to the lipid A moiety of endotoxin, or by a monoclonal antibody to lipid A. These results indicate that treating gram-negative bacillary meningitis with selected antibiotics induces increased endotoxin concentrations in CSF that are associated with brain edem

Dicianodiamida (DCD) diminui emissão de N2O de solo incubado com diferentes níveis de palha de cana-de-açúcar e N mineral.

Resumo ? A aplicação de inibidores de nitrificação tem sido difundida como ferramenta na mitigação das emissões de óxido nitroso (N2O). Maiores benefícios poderão ser encontrados em áreas com manutenção de resíduos, como a palha da cana, os quais podem contribuir com formas solúveis de carbono. O objetivo deste estudo foi testar em condições controladas o efeito da dicianodiamida (DCD) nas emissões de N2O a partir de um solo incubado com diferentes doses de palha de cana e N mineral. Os tratamentos resultaram da combinação de três doses de palha equivalentes a 0, 8 e 16 Mg MS ha-1, dois níveis de N mineral equivalentes a 0 e 100 kg de N ha-1 e dois níveis de DCD: com e sem DCD. Ao longo de 120 dias de incubação foram realizadas 42 amostragens para determinação da quantidade acumulada de N2O. O uso de N aumentou a emissão de N2O em relação aos controles, independente da dose de palha aplicada. Por outro lado, o uso de DCD foi capaz de reduzir as perdas desse gás em mais de 60% para todas as doses de palha, em relação aos tratamentos com N e sem DCD. Quando N foi adicionado, a maior dose de palha aumentou a emissão em relação ao tratamento sem resíduo. O efeito da palha é atribuído ao aumento da concentração de carbono orgânico dissolvido na camada superficial. A palha de cana exerce um efeito sinergético à aplicação de N em relação às emissões de N2O, porém o DCD é eficiente em reduzir essas perdas

Impact of Public Charging Infrastructure on the Adoption of Electric Vehicles in London

The discussion on the importance of public charging infrastructure is usually framed around the ‘chicken-egg’ challenge of consumers feeling reluctant to purchase without the necessary infrastructure and policy makers reluctant to invest in the infrastructure without the demand. However, public charging infrastructure may be more crucial to EV adoption than previously thought. Historically, access to residential charging was thought to be a major factor in potential for growth in the EV market as it offered a guaranteed place for a vehicle to be charged. However, these conclusions were reached through studies conducted in regions with a high percentage of homes that have access to residential parking. The purpose of this study is to understand how the built environment may encourage uptake of EVs by seeking a correlation between EV ownership and public charging points in an urban and densely populated city such as London. Using a statistical approach with data from the Department for Transport and Zap Map, a statistically significant correlation was found between the total (slow, fast and rapid) number of public charging points and number of EV registrations per borough—with the strongest correlation found between EV registrations and rapid chargers. This research does not explicitly prove that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between public charging points EVs but challenges some of the previous literature which indicates that public charging infrastructure is not as important as home charging. The study also supports the notion that the built environment can influence human behaviour