Retail positioning through customer satisfaction: an alternative explanation to the resource-based view

Through exploring factors influencing effective retail positioning strategies in an emerging market environment, this paper challenges the role of isolation mechanism and heterogeneous idiosyncrasy argued by the resource-based view theory. By drawing on a sample of 11,577 customers from hypermarkets, electronic appliance specialty stores and department stores in major Chinese cities, we set up ten hypotheses and confirm a nine-item model for customeroriented retail positioning (perceived price, store image, product, shopping environment, customer service, payment process, after-sales service, store policies, and shopping convenience). Our results show that different retail formats achieve success through the implementation of similar positioning strategies, in which case, it is not heterogeneity but homogeneity that contributes to retailers' success greatly at the development stage of retail expansion. Our results challenge previously proved effectiveness of inimitability to success by the resource-based view, and support homogenous idiosyncrasy of retailers in the implementation of customer-oriented positioning strategies in an emerging market

Elicitation of broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies by guiding the immune responses using primary and secondary immunogens

Abstract also published in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. November 2013, 29(11): A-44. doi:10.1089/aid.2013.1500Poster presentationpublished_or_final_versio

Oxidation of Iron under Physiologically Relevant Conditions in Biological Fluids from Healthy and Alzheimer's Disease Subjects

Ferroxidase activity has been reported to be altered in various biological fluids in neurodegenerative disease, but the sources contributing to the altered activity are uncertain. Here we assay fractions of serum and cerebrospinal fluid with a newly validated triplex ferroxidase assay. Our data indicate that while ceruloplasmin, a multicopper ferroxidase, is the predominant source of serum activity, activity in CSF predominantly derives from a <10 kDa component, specifically from polyanions such as citrate and phosphate. We confirm that in human biological samples, ceruloplasmin activity in serum is decreased in Alzheimer's disease, but in CSF a reduction of activity in Alzheimer's disease originates from the polyanion component

Distinct physicochemical characteristics of different beef from Qinchuan cattle carcass

A total of 30 Qinchuan cattle were used to investigate the physicochemical characteristics of beef from three different parts of cattle carcass, namely longissimus dorsi (LD), serratus ventralis (SV) and semitendinosus (ST). Multiple parameters were ranked in the descending order of ST &gt; SV &gt; LD, and include muscle pH, protein, ash, drip loss, cooking loss, shear force and hydroxyproline (Hyp). In contrast, water, fat, lightness (L*) and redness (a*) was in the opposite order. C18:1 and C16:0 were the main intramuscular fatty acids (FA), and C19 - C22 were undetectable. The saturated fatty acids (SFA) content were ranked in the descending order of LD &gt; SV &gt; ST, whereas unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) were the opposite. The essential amino acid (EAA) content were ranked in the descending order of ST &gt; SV ≥ LD. No significant differences in the contents of mineral elements were observed in LD, SV and ST. The ranking patterns were similar in both males and females. Taken together, these results revealed significant differences in physicochemical properties of LD, SV and ST, except the mineral elements.Key words: Cattle, Qinchuan breed, carcass, different beef, physicochemical characteristics

An epidemiologic study of early biologic effects of benzene in Chinese workers.

Benzene is a recognized hematotoxin and leukemogen, but its mechanisms of action in humans are still uncertain. To provide insight into these processes, we carried out a cross-sectional study of 44 healthy workers currently exposed to benzene (median 8-hr time-weighted average; 31 ppm), and unexposed controls in Shanghai, China. Here we provide an overview of the study results on peripheral blood cells levels and somatic cell mutation frequency measured by the glycophorin A (GPA) gene loss assay and report on peripheral cytokine levels. All peripheral blood cells levels (i.e., total white blood cells, absolute lymphocyte count, platelets, red blood cells, and hemoglobin) were decreased among exposed workers compared to controls, with the exception of the red blood cell mean corpuscular volume, which was higher among exposed subjects. In contrast, peripheral cytokine levels (interleukin-3, interleukin-6, erythropoietin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, tissue necrosis factor-alpha) in a subset of the most highly exposed workers (n = 11) were similar to values in controls (n = 11), suggesting that benzene does not affect these growth factor levels in peripheral blood. The GPA assay measures stem cell or precursor erythroid cell mutations expressed in peripheral red blood cells of MN heterozygous subjects, identifying NN variants, which result from loss of the GPA M allele and duplication of the N allele, and N phi variants, which arise from gene inactivation. The NN (but not N phi) GPA variant cell frequency was elevated in the exposed workers compared with controls (mean +/- SD, 13.9 +/- 8.4 mutants per million cells versus 7.4 +/- 5.2 per million cells, (respectively; p = 0.0002), suggesting that benzene produces gene-duplicating but not gene-inactivating mutations at the GPA locus in bone marrow cells of exposed humans. These findings, combined with ongoing analyses of benzene macromolecular adducts and chromosomal aberrations, will provide an opportunity to comprehensively evaluate a wide range of early biologic effects associated with benzene exposure in humans

Layer thickness dependence of the current induced effective field vector in Ta|CoFeB|MgO

The role of current induced effective magnetic field in ultrathin magnetic heterostructures is increasingly gaining interest since it can provide efficient ways of manipulating magnetization electrically. Two effects, known as the Rashba spin orbit field and the spin Hall spin torque, have been reported to be responsible for the generation of the effective field. However, quantitative understanding of the effective field, including its direction with respect to the current flow, is lacking. Here we show vector measurements of the current induced effective field in Ta|CoFeB|MgO heterostructrures. The effective field shows significant dependence on the Ta and CoFeB layers' thickness. In particular, 1 nm thickness variation of the Ta layer can result in nearly two orders of magnitude difference in the effective field. Moreover, its sign changes when the Ta layer thickness is reduced, indicating that there are two competing effects that contribute to the effective field. The relative size of the effective field vector components, directed transverse and parallel to the current flow, varies as the Ta thickness is changed. Our results illustrate the profound characteristics of just a few atomic layer thick metals and their influence on magnetization dynamics

Dynamic analysis of sugar metabolism in different harvest seasons of pineapple (Ananas comosus L. (Merr.))

In pineapple fruits, sugar accumulation plays an important role in flavor characteristics, which varies according to the stage of fruit development. Metabolic changes in the contents of fructose, sucrose and glucose and reducing sugar related to the activities of soluble acid invertase (AI), neutral invertase (NI), sucrose synathase (SS) and sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) were studied in winter and summer pineapple fruits in this paper. Sucrose was significantly increased in most of the harvesting winter fruits which reached the peak of 64.87 mg·g-1 FW at 130 days after anthesis, while hexose was mainly accumulated at the 90 day of the summer fruits in July. The ratio of hexose to sucrose was 5.92:0.73 from the winter fruit in February. Interestingly, the activities of SPS and SS synthetic direction of the harvested fruits in February were significantly higher than those in July, whereas the invertase activities were exactly opposite. NI activity showed a similar trend to AI, but the amount of NI activity was higher than AI in both months. Therefore, NI appears to be one of the vital enzymes in pineapple fruit development. Conclusively, the enzyme activities related to sugar play key roles in the eating of quality pineapple, which could be improved by cultivation in different seasons. So we can arbitrate different temperature to improve the quality of pineapple fruits according to market demand.Keywords: Pineapple (Ananas comosus), different harvest seasons, sucrose, sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthas

Multiple ITS Copies Reveal Extensive Hybridization within Rheum (Polygonaceae), a Genus That Has Undergone Rapid Radiation

During adaptive radiation events, characters can arise multiple times due to parallel evolution, but transfer of traits through hybridization provides an alternative explanation for the same character appearing in apparently non-sister lineages. The signature of hybridization can be detected in incongruence between phylogenies derived from different markers, or from the presence of two divergent versions of a nuclear marker such as ITS within one individual.In this study, we cloned and sequenced ITS regions for 30 species of the genus Rheum, and compared them with a cpDNA phylogeny. Seven species contained two divergent copies of ITS that resolved in different clades from one another in each case, indicating hybridization events too recent for concerted evolution to have homogenised the ITS sequences. Hybridization was also indicated in at least two further species via incongruence in their position between ITS and cpDNA phylogenies. None of the ITS sequences present in these nine species matched those detected in any other species, which provides tentative evidence against recent introgression as an explanation. Rheum globulosum, previously indicated by cpDNA to represent an independent origin of decumbent habit, is indicated by ITS to be part of clade of decumbent species, which acquired cpDNA of another clade via hybridization. However decumbent and glasshouse morphology are confirmed to have arisen three and two times, respectively.These findings suggested that hybridization among QTP species of Rheum has been extensive, and that a role of hybridization in diversification of Rheum requires investigation

Legacy Effect of Long-Term Elevated CO2 and Warming on Soil Properties Controls Soil Organic Matter Decomposition

Plant litter quality is one of the key factors that control soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition. Under climate change, although significant change in litter quality has been intensively reported, the effect of litter quality change on SOM decomposition is poorly understood. This limits our ability to model the dynamics of soil carbon under climate change. To determine the effect of litter quality and soil property change on SOM decomposition, we performed a controlled, reciprocal transplant and litter decomposition experiments. The soils and plant litters were collected from a long-term field experiment, where four treatments were designed, including: (1) the control without warming at ambient CO2; (2) elevated atmospheric CO2 up to 500 ppm (C); (3) warming plant canopy by 2 degrees C (T); (4) elevated CO2 plus warming (CT). We found that elevated CO2 and warming altered the litter quality significantly in terms of macronutrients' content and their stoichiometry. Elevated CO2 decreased the concentration of N in rice and wheat straw, while warming decreased the concentration of N and K in wheat straw. However, the change in plant litter quality did not lead to a shift in SOM decomposition. On the contrary, the legacy effect of long-term elevated CO2 and warming on soil properties dominated the decomposition rate of SOM. Elevated atmospheric CO2 suppressed SOM decomposition mainly by increasing phosphorous availability and lowering the soil C/N, fungi/bacteria ratio, and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity, while warming or elevated CO2 plus warming had no effect on SOM decomposition. Our results demonstrated that the changes in soil property other than litter quality control the decomposition of SOM under climate change, and soil property change in respond to climate change should be considered in model developing to predict terrestrial soil carbon dynamics under elevated atmospheric CO2 and warming

SMAR1 binds to T(C/G) repeatvand inhibits tumor progression by regulating miR-371-373 cluster

Chromatin architecture and dynamics are regulated by various histone and non-histone proteins. The matrix attachment region binding proteins (MARBPs) play a central role in chromatin organization and function through numerous regulatory proteins. In the present study, we demonstrate that nuclear matrix protein SMAR1 orchestrates global gene regulation as determined by massively parallel ChIPsequencing. The study revealed that SMAR1 binds to T(C/G) repeat and targets genes involved in diverse biological pathways. We observe that SMAR1 binds and targets distinctly different genes based on the availability of p53. Our data suggest that SMAR1 binds and regulates one of the imperative microRNA clusters in cancer and metastasis, miR-371-373. It negatively regulates miR-371-373 transcription as confirmed by SMAR1 overexpression and knockdown studies. Further, deletion studies indicate that a ~200 bp region in the miR-371-373 promoter is necessary for SMAR1 binding and transcriptional repression. Recruitment of HDAC1/mSin3A complex by SMAR1, concomitant with alteration of histone marks results in downregulation of the miRNA cluster. The regulation of miR-371-373 by SMAR1 inhibits breast cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis as determined by in vivo experiments. Overall, our study highlights the binding of SMAR1 to T(C/G) repeat and its role in cancer through miR-371-37