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

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 > SV > 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 > SV > ST, whereas unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) were the opposite. The essential amino acid (EAA) content were ranked in the descending order of ST > 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

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

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

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

Giant schwannoma of thoracic vertebra: A case report

BACKGROUND,It is relatively rare for schwannomas to invade bone, but it is very rare for a large,mass to form concurrently in the paravertebral region. Surgical resection is the,only effective treatment. Because of the extensive tumor involvement and the,many important surrounding structures, the tumor needs to be fully exposed.,Most of the tumors are completely removed by posterior combined open-heart,surgery to relieve spinal cord compression, restore the stability of the spine and,maximize the recovery of nerve and spinal cord function. The main objective of,this article is to present a schwannoma that had invaded the T5 and T6 vertebral,bodies and formed a large paravertebral mass with simultaneous invasion of the,spinal canal and compression of the spinal cord.,CASE SUMMARY,A 40-year-old female suffered from intermittent chest and back pain for 8 years.,Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans showed a,paravertebral tumor of approximately 86 mm × 109 mm × 116 mm, where the,adjacent T5 and T6 vertebral bodies were invaded by the tumor, the right intervertebral,foramen was enlarged, and the tumor had invaded the spinal canal to,compress the thoracic medulla. The preoperative puncture biopsy diagnosed a,benign schwannoma. Complete resection of the tumor was achieved by a two-step,operation. In the first step, the thoracic surgeon adopted a lateral approach to,separate the thoracic tumor from the lung. In the second step, a spine surgeon,performed a posterior midline approach to dissect the tumor from the vertebral,junction through removal of the tumor from the posterior side and further,resection of the entire T5 and T6 vertebral bodies. The large bone defect was,reconstructed with titanium mesh, and the posterior root arch was nail-fixed. Due,to the large amount of intraoperative bleeding, we performed tumor angioembolization,before surgery to reduce and avoid large intraoperative bleeding. The,postoperative diagnosis of benign schwannoma was confirmed by histochemical,examination. There was no sign of tumor recurrence or spinal instability during,the 2-year follow-up.,CONCLUSION,Giant schwannoma is uncommon. In this case, a complete surgical resection of a,giant thoracic nerve sheath tumor that invaded part of the vertebral body and,compressed the spinal cord was safe and effective

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