The Brand Axis: Strategic Impacts of Loyalty and Engagement within the Social Media Magnet Theory

The Social Media Magnet is presented as a new pedagogy for organic, inbound marketing instruction. This methodology has now been deployed for the last four years across multiple universities combining a digital online delivery system with a new theory and a live online practicum to teach college students both strategic and tactical planning for inbound marketing campaigns. Using live website creation, social media planning tools, and email retention campaigns, students using this pedagogy learn the best practices for inbound marketing. This is not a simulation, but a live practicum that teaches students real-time inbound marketing principles. This paper recaps the Social Media Magnet Theory and Practicum but develops a deeper theoretical and applicable understanding of The Brand Axis, a strategic tool that is used to measure brand loyalty and engagement, providing a strategic prescription for how brands can keep their brand messaging centered on the four brand elements: Story, Promise, Belief, and Trust. Data across one-hundred and fifteen students collected through multiple universities will be presented that demonstrates the working model in action. Results indicate that students who actively use both the acquisition and retention processes of the inbound campaign build increased brand awareness and completed goal funnel metrics at faster rates. This suggests that brands that learn to stay engaged with the four brand elements are less likely to become off-center of the Brand Axis. Misalignment causes confusion and a decrease in the harmony and serialization of content focused messages that drive awareness and consumers to move to action. The goal of the Social Media Magnet Theory is to teach individuals and companies how to continually align their message to their brand story driving organic results. The pedagogy provided also provides professors the tools, resources, assignments, and practicum needed to teach the organic, inbound strategies needed by businesses today. Our vision is that the Social Media Magnet will provide students with the foundation on how to create brand strategies using digital content, implement those content strategies, and learn to audit their organic campaigns with the current marketing analytics provided by current digital and social media platforms

The Social Media Magnet: A New Paradigm in Inbound Marketing Instruction

Social media has changed the marketing environment in ways that traditional marketers could have never imagined just a decade ago. It has rapidly provided a mechanism to communicate on a one-to-one level, allowing marketers to tailor specific messages and content towards a fine-tuned segment of customers. Multiple philosophies on best practices in this digital landscape have provided various methodologies for targeting these customers. During this time of change, these practices have led to the refinement of digital services, including behavioral advertising, search engine optimization, pay per click, content marketing, social media marketing, and organic inbound marketing, among specialized others. In fact, digital agencies today are for the most part narrowly niched providing only few services to a couple of distinct target segments. Hence, when a professor considers the opportunity to teach in the digital arena, the coverage of topics and the timeliness of content seem extremely daunting. The question that lay before academics is, how do we teach these tactics in a way that stays both timely and applicable? Developed with a proven track record of teaching students to apply real world online marketing principles and strategies, The Social Media Magnet is presented as a new pedagogy for digital inbound marketing instruction. This methodology has been deployed in one university class setting for the last five years with a reputation of producing high- quality graduates in the digital marketing space. This pedagogy combines a digital online delivery system, for timely and speedy updates, with a new theory and a live online practicum to teach college students both strategic and tactical planning for digital marketing campaigns. Using website creation, social media planning tools, and email retention campaigns, students using The Social Media Magnet pedagogy learn the best practices for inbound marketing today. More appropriately for universities, the pedagogy teaches academic professors who may not live in the digital world daily through consulting and agency work, how to teach these skillsets from holistic, strategic, and tactical points-of-view. To the author’s knowledge, this paradigm is the only one of its kind to teach in a real, live, active online environment where students create real content and interact with real people with real opinions, and have real campaign goals. This is not a simulation, but as real-world as it gets for teaching college students digital marketing methods. The Social Media Magnet is a new paradigm in organic, inbound marketing instruction

The Metabolic Cost of a High Intensity Exercise Program During Bed Rest

Background: Given that disuse-related skeletal muscle atrophy may be exacerbated by an imbalance between energy intake and output, the amount of energy required to complete exercise countermeasures is an important consideration in the well being of subject health during bed rest and spaceflight. Objective: To evaluate the energy cost of a high intensity exercise program performed during short duration bed rest. Methods: 9 subjects (8 male and 1 female; 34.5 +/- 8.2 years) underwent 14 days of bed rest and exercise countermeasures. Exercise energy expenditure and excess post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) were collected once in each of 5 different exercise protocols (30 second, 2 minute and 4 minute intervals, continuous aerobic and a variety of resistance exercises) during bed rest. Body mass, basal metabolic rate (BMR), upper and lower leg muscle, subcutaneous, and intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) volumes were assessed before and at the end of bed rest. Results: There were no significant differences in body mass (pre: 75.1 +/- 10.5 kg; post: 75.2 +/- 10.1 kg), BMR (pre: 1649 +/- 216 kcal; post: 1657 +/- 177 kcal), muscle subcutaneous, or IMAT volumes (Table 2) after 14 days of bed rest and exercise. Body mass was maintained with an average daily intake of 2710 +/- 262 kcal (36.2 +/- 2.1 kcal/kg/day), while average daily energy expenditure was 2579 +/-311 kcal (34.5 +/- 3.6 kcal/kg/day). Exercise energy expenditure was significantly greater as a result of continuous aerobic exercise than all other exercise protocols

Yeast Miro GTPase, Gem1p, regulates mitochondrial morphology via a novel pathway

Cell signaling events elicit changes in mitochondrial shape and activity. However, few mitochondrial proteins that interact with signaling pathways have been identified. Candidates include the conserved mitochondrial Rho (Miro) family of proteins, which contain two GTPase domains flanking a pair of calcium-binding EF-hand motifs. We show that Gem1p (yeast Miro; encoded by YAL048C) is a tail-anchored outer mitochondrial membrane protein. Cells lacking Gem1p contain collapsed, globular, or grape-like mitochondria. We demonstrate that Gem1p is not an essential component of characterized pathways that regulate mitochondrial dynamics. Genetic studies indicate both GTPase domains and EF-hand motifs, which are exposed to the cytoplasm, are required for Gem1p function. Although overexpression of a mutant human Miro protein caused increased apoptotic activity in cultured cells (Fransson et al., 2003. J. Biol. Chem. 278:6495–6502), Gem1p is not required for pheromone-induced yeast cell death. Thus, Gem1p defines a novel mitochondrial morphology pathway which may integrate cell signaling events with mitochondrial dynamics

Reliability and Validity of Ultrasound Cross Sectional Area Measurements for Long-Duration Spaceflight

Limb muscle atrophy and the accompanying decline in function can adversely affect the performance of astronauts during mission-related activities and upon re-ambulation in a gravitational environment. Previous characterization of space flight-induced muscle atrophy has been performed using pre and post flight magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition to being costly and time consuming, MRI is an impractical methodology for assessing in-flight changes in muscle size. Given the mobility of ultrasound (US) equipment, it may be more feasible to evaluate changes in muscle size using this technique. PURPOSE: To examine the reliability and validity of using a customized template to acquire panoramic ultrasound (US) images for determining quadriceps and gastrocnemius anatomical cross sectional area (CSA). METHODS: Vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), medial gastrocnemius (MG), and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) CSA were assessed in 10 healthy individuals (36+/-2 yrs) using US and MRI. Panoramic US images were acquired by 2 sonographers using a customized template placed on the thigh and calf and analyzed by the same 2 sonographers (CX50 Philips). MRI images of the leg were acquired while subjects were supine in a 1.5T scanner (Signa Horizon LX, General Electric) and were analyzed by 3 trained investigators. The average of the 2 US and 3 MRI values were used for validity analysis. RESULTS: High inter-experimenter reliability was found for both the US template and MRI analysis as coefficients of variation across muscles ranged from 2.4 to 4.1% and 2.8 to 3.8%, respectively. Significant correlations were found between US and MRI CSA measures (VL, r = 0.85; RF, r = 0.60; MG, r = 0.86; LG, r = 0.73; p < 0.05). Furthermore, the standard error of measurement between US and MRI ranged from 0.91 to 2.09 sq cm with high limits of agreement analyzed by Bland-Altman plots. However, there were significant differences between absolute values of MRI and US for all muscles. CONCLUSION: The present results indicate that utilizing a customized US template provides reliable measures of leg muscle CSA, and thus could be used to characterize changes in muscle CSA both in flight and on the ground

Intellectual Disability Related to De Novo Germline Loss of the Distal End of the P-Arm of Chromosome 17: A Case Report

Hypothesis/Purpose: In this report we present a case of a 20-year-old female with congenital intellectual disability, stunted growth, and hypothyroidism. Competitive genetic hybridization (CHG) revealed a loss of 17p13.3, and the deletion was not present in either parent. This deletion has not previously been characterized, but mutations on the p-arm of chromosome 17 are responsible for Miller-Dieker Syndrome and Isolated Lissencephaly Sequence, both of which share symptoms in common with the patient. Methods: Peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were used for karyotyping and competitive genetic hybridization (CHG). Bioinformatic analysis was carried out using the Genome Data Viewer (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/gdv). Results: Karyotype was found to be normal, but CGH revealed a deletion of the tail end of the p-arm of chromosome 17, 17p13.3. At least 134 genes are present in this genomic location, and 35 of them are uncharacterized. Both Miller-Dieker Syndrome (MDS) and Isolated Lissencephaly Sequence (ILS) are characterized by a smooth cerebral cortex and intellectual disability, but the patient’s symptoms more closely mirror MDS because muscle tone was normal. The patient was significantly shorter than peers, but growth hormone therapy over the course of several years allowed the patient to reach a normal height, albeit shorter than her siblings and parents. The list of genes deleted will be investigated to determine if a single gene is likely responsible for the phenotype. Conclusions: Here we present a patient with intellectual disability and a previously uncharacterized deletion on chromosome 17. Similar, though not identical conditions have been previously reported, but not well characterized indicating that the present patient could possibly have one of these conditions. Further directions include investigation of the deleted genes to determine a probable cause for the symptoms exhibited

Serum Chemistry Values in Wild Black Vultures in Mississippi, USA

Vultures (Cathartidae and Accipitridae) play an important role in ecosystem balance by rapidly disposing animal carcasses and thus preventing the potential spread of pathogens. Blood chemistry values provide a means of assessing the health of wildlife and wild animal populations; however, there are significant differences in chemistries among species and when comparing captive and free-living New and Old World vultures. In 2007, we collected blood serum from 30 female and 14 male wild, healthy black vultures (Coragyps atratus) live-trapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services from a power substation in Lowndes County, Mississippi, USA. We analyzed the blood serum to provide serum chemistry base values for use in clinical pathology. The chemical analytes we measured included sodium, chloride, potassium, carbon dioxide, anion gap, glucose, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, total protein, albumin, globulin, and aspartate aminotransferase. In general, blood chemistry values of black vultures were similar to those found in New and Old World vultures and raptor species. Average chemistry values for males were lower than females for sodium, chloride, creatinine, calcium, total protein, albumin, and globulin. The serum chemistry values we describe in this paper can be important indicators of avian health by gender for the black vulture. Our study provided important blood chemistry values from a large sample size, which is rarely available in free-ranging black vultures. These values could be used by scientists, veterinary pathologists, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and other researchers for baseline data for wild and free-ranging birds. Furthermore, the use of such parameters in assessing population health may enable conservationists to further research environmental conditions affecting species reproduction and survival

Near-ultrastrong nonlinear light-matter coupling in superconducting circuits

The interaction between an atom and an electromagnetic mode of a resonator is of both fundamental interest and is ubiquitous in quantum technologies. Most prior work studies a linear light-matter coupling of the form $g \widehat{\sigma}_x (\widehat{a} + \widehat{a}^\dagger)$, where $g$ measured relative to photonic ($\omega_a$) and atomic ($\omega_b$) mode frequencies can reach the ultrastrong regime ($g/\omega_{a}\!>\!10^{-1}$). In contrast, a nonlinear light-matter coupling of the form $\frac{\chi}{2} \widehat{\sigma}_z \widehat{a}^\dagger \widehat{a}$ has the advantage of commuting with the atomic $\widehat{\sigma}_z$ and photonic $\widehat{a}^\dagger\widehat{a}$ Hamiltonian, allowing for fundamental operations such as quantum-non-demolition measurement. However, due to the perturbative nature of nonlinear coupling, the state-of-the-art $\chi/\text{max}(\omega_a, \omega_b)$ is limited to $\!<\!10^{-2}$. Here, we use a superconducting circuit architecture featuring a quarton coupler to experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, a near-ultrastrong $\chi/\text{max}(\omega_a, \omega_b)= (4.852\pm0.006)\times10^{-2}$ nonlinear coupling of a superconducting artificial atom and a nearly-linear resonator. We also show signatures of light-light nonlinear coupling ($\chi\widehat{a}^\dagger\widehat{a}\widehat{b}^\dagger\widehat{b}$), and $\chi/2\pi = 580.3 \pm 0.4$ MHz matter-matter nonlinear coupling ($\frac{\chi}{4}\widehat{\sigma}_{z,a}\widehat{\sigma}_{z,b}$) which represents the largest reported $ZZ$ interaction between two coherent qubits. Such advances in the nonlinear coupling strength of light, matter modes enable new physical regimes and could lead to applications such as orders of magnitude faster qubit readout and gates