The missing link: Creating value with Social Media use in hotels

Social Media has transformed the way firms relate to the market. Hotels all over the world are increasingly using these tools, integrating them into their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies to engage customers in active conversations. The use of Social Networking and Review Sites like Tripadvisor has become all pervasive, and hotels are investing large sums of money in engaging customers via Social Media. However, there is a certain degree of skepticism about how these technologies can help to create value. To shed light on the topic, based on a sample of 222 Spanish hotels, this study examines the real impact of Social Media use, showing the key role played by Social CRM capabilities in the process of value creation with these tools. By building on the Resource-based theory, the proposed model shows the pathway between Social Media use and organizational performance, in terms of profitability, sales and customer retention.We thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable input in the review of this article and the public funding of the projects P11-SEJ-7988 and ECO2017-88222

Profiling DNA damage in 3D histology samples

The morphology of individual cells can reveal much about the underlying states and mechanisms in biology. In tumor environments, the interplay among different cell morphologies in local neighborhoods can further improve this characterization. In this paper, we present an approach based on representation learning to capture similarities and subtle differences in cells positive for γ H2AX, a common marker for DNA damage. We demonstrate that texture representations using GLCM and VAE-GAN enable profiling of cells in both singular and local neighborhood contexts. Additionally, we investigate a possible quantification of immune and DNA damage response interplay by enumerating CD8+ and γ H2AX+ on different scales. Using our profiling approach, regions in treated tissues can be differentiated from control tissue regions, demonstrating its potential in aiding quantitative measurements of DNA damage and repair in tumor contexts

The Missing Link : Creating Value with Social Media use in Hotels

Social Media has transformed the way firms relate to their markets. Hotels all over the world are increasingly using these tools, integrating them into their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies to engage customers in active conversations. The use of Social Networking and Review Sites, like TripAdvisor, has become all pervasive, and hotels are investing large sums of money in engaging customers via Social Media. However, there is a certain degree of skepticism about how these technologies can help to create value. To shed light on the topic, based on a sample of 222 Spanish hotels, this study examines the real impact of Social Media use, showing the key role played by Social CRM Capabilities in the process of value creation with these tools. By building on the Resource-based theory, the proposed model shows the pathway between Social Media use and organizational performance, in terms of profitability, sales and customer retention

Social media use and value-creation : a dynamic-capabilities perspective

Purpose - Although Social Media use has become all pervasive, previous research has failed to explain how to strategically use Social Media tools to create business value in today’s increasingly digital landscapes. Through adopting dynamic capabilities perspective, this paper empirically examines the specific process through a which Social Media use transforms into organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach - A research model is proposed including both the antecedents and consequences of Social Media use. Existing research was examined to derive the research hypotheses. Building on a sample of 212 hotels, these hypotheses were tested using a SEM methodology. Findings – Results confirm the of Social Media use on value creation, showing the key role played by Social CRM and Customer Engagement capabilities on this process. Findings also confirm the relevance of Organizational Readiness as an effective antecedent of Social Media use. Practical implications – Results illustrate how Social Media tools should be implemented and managed in order to generate real business value in hotels. Implications provide interesting insight for hotel managers. Originality/value - This study represents a first attempt to empirically examine the impact of digital media technologies, particularly Social Media tools, on value creation, drawing on the dynamic and focusing on service firms, in particular hotels. The inclusion of the variable ‘Organizational Readiness’ as a basic prerequisite to benefit from Social Media use enhances the novelty and contribution of the study

Defective cortex glia plasma membrane structure underlies light-induced epilepsy in cpes mutants

Seizures induced by visual stimulation (photosensitive epilepsy; PSE) represent a common type of epilepsy in humans, but the molecular mechanisms and genetic drivers underlying PSE remain unknown, and no good genetic animal models have been identified as yet. Here, we show an animal model of PSE, in Drosophila, owing to defective cortex glia. The cortex glial membranes are severely compromised in ceramide phosphoethanolamine synthase (cpes)-null mutants and fail to encapsulate the neuronal cell bodies in the Drosophila neuronal cortex. Expression of human sphingomyelin synthase 1, which synthesizes the closely related ceramide phosphocholine (sphingomyelin), rescues the cortex glial abnormalities and PSE, underscoring the evolutionarily conserved role of these lipids in glial membranes. Further, we show the compromise in plasma membrane structure that underlies the glial cell membrane collapse in cpes mutants and leads to the PSE phenotype

Disease-specific gene repositioning in breast cancer

The nuclear repositioning of specific genes may be a novel diagnostic strategy to distinguish malignant from normal tissue

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

Evidence for Widespread Genomic Methylation in the Migratory Locust, Locusta migratoria (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

The importance of DNA methylation in mammalian and plant systems is well established. In recent years there has been renewed interest in DNA methylation in insects. Accumulating evidence, both from mammals and insects, points towards an emerging role for DNA methylation in the regulation of phenotypic plasticity. The migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) is a model organism for the study of phenotypic plasticity. Despite this, there is little information available about the degree to which the genome is methylated in this species and genes encoding methylation machinery have not been previously identified. We therefore undertook an initial investigation to establish the presence of a functional DNA methylation system in L. migratoria. We found that the migratory locust possesses genes that putatively encode methylation machinery (DNA methyltransferases and a methyl-binding domain protein) and exhibits genomic methylation, some of which appears to be localised to repetitive regions of the genome. We have also identified a distinct group of genes within the L. migratoria genome that appear to have been historically methylated and show some possible functional differentiation. These results will facilitate more detailed research into the functional significance of DNA methylation in locusts