On-Orbit Polymer Degradation Results from MakerSat-1: First Satellite Designed to be Additively Manufactured in Space

MakerSat-1, a 1U cubesat, is a proof-of-concept mission from Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) and Made In Space (MIS). It demonstrates microgravity additive manufacturing of a cubesat aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It is the first satellite specifically designed to be 3D printed and easily snap-assembled in microgravity. Its structural frame was 3D printed on the ISS AMF printer in August 2017. In late 2019, MakerSat-1 was loaded in a SEOPS Hypergiant Slingshot deployer and then launched to the ISS aboard SpaceX CRS-19 Dragon on Dec. 5, 2019. On Jan. 31, 2020, this deployer was mounted on the hatchdoor of the Cygnus NG-12 spacecraft, unberthed from ISS, and raised to a 300 mile high orbit. MakerSat-1 and other cubesats were deployed from Slingshot into orbit on Feb. 1, 2020. In the four months following deployment, MakerSat-1 has been carrying out research on the durability of 3D printed polymer samples in the orbital space environment. The results of this science data are reported here

Can We Establish Consumer Cultural Positioning Through Print Advertising in the Developing Markets? A Content Analysis of Advertising in Chinese Womens Magazines

This paper conducts a content analysis of a total of 480 advertisements from three popular Chinese womens magazines—Rayli, Fashion Cosmo, and Bazaar—to assess the Consumer Cultural Positioning (CCP) of the ads. The results show that Global CCP is more commonly utilized for brand positioning strategies than Foreign CCP or Local CCP. Five elements of the advertisements—the language used for brand name, the pronunciation of brand name, the intended meaning rooted in original foreign country for brand name, the products appearance of either utilitarian or symbolic, and a modern or westernized advertising appeal for brand positioning—are found to be indeed differentially related to GCCP and FCCP compared to LCCP

High prevalence of ACE DD genotype among north Indian end stage renal disease patients

BACKGROUND: The Renin-Angiotensin system (RAS) is a key regulator of both blood pressure and kidney functions and their interaction. In such a situation, genetic variability in the genes of different components of RAS is likely to contribute for its heterogeneous association in the renal disease patients. Angiotensin converting enzyme-1 (ACE-1) is an important component of RAS which determines the vasoactive peptide Angiotensin-II. METHODS: In the present study, we have investigated 127 ESRD patients and 150 normal healthy controls from north India to deduce the association between ACE gene polymorphism and ESRD. The inclusion criteria for patients included a constantly elevated serum creatinine level above normal range (ranging from 3.4 to 15.8) and further the patients were recommended for renal transplantation. A total of 150 normal healthy controls were also genotyped for ACE I/D polymorphism. The criterion of defining control sample as normal was totally based on the absence of any kidney disease determined from the serum creatinin level. Genotyping of ACE I/D were assayed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based DNA amplification using specific flanking primers Based on the method described elsewhere. RESULTS: The difference of DD and II genotypes was found highly significant among the two groups (p = 0.025; OR = 3.524; 95%CI = 1.54-8.07). The combined genotype DD v/s ID+II comparison validated that DD genotype is a high risk genotype for ESRD (p = 0.001; OR = 5.74; 95%CI limit = 3.4-8.5). However, no correlation was obtained for different biochemical parameters of lipid profile and renal function among DD and non DD genotype. Interestingly, ~87% of the DD ESRD patients were found hypertensive in comparison to the 65% patients of non DD genotype CONCLUSION: Based on these observations we conclude that ACE DD genotype implicate a strong possible role in the hypertensive state and in renal damage among north Indians. The study will help in predetermining the timing, type and doses of anti-hypertensive therapy for ESRD patients

Genome-Wide Polymorphism and Comparative Analyses in the White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus): A Model for Conservation Genomics

The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) represents one of the most successful and widely distributed large mammal species within North America, yet very little nucleotide sequence information is available. We utilized massively parallel pyrosequencing of a reduced representation library (RRL) and a random shotgun library (RSL) to generate a complete mitochondrial genome sequence and identify a large number of putative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) distributed throughout the white-tailed deer nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. A SNP validation study designed to test specific classes of putative SNPs provides evidence for as many as 10,476 genome-wide SNPs in the current dataset. Based on cytogenetic evidence for homology between cow (Bos taurus) and white-tailed deer chromosomes, we demonstrate that a divergent genome may be used for estimating the relative distribution and density of de novo sequence contigs as well as putative SNPs for species without draft genome assemblies. Our approach demonstrates that bioinformatic tools developed for model or agriculturally important species may be leveraged to support next-generation research programs for species of biological, ecological and evolutionary importance. We also provide a functional annotation analysis for the de novo sequence contigs assembled from white-tailed deer pyrosequencing reads, a mitochondrial phylogeny involving 13,722 nucleotide positions for 10 unique species of Cervidae, and a median joining haplotype network as a putative representation of mitochondrial evolution in O. virginianus. The results of this study are expected to provide a detailed template enabling genome-wide sequence-based studies of threatened, endangered or conservationally important non-model organisms

A Closer Look at the Influence of Age on Consumer Ethics

Shoplifting is among the most serious and common aberrant consumer behaviors (ACB), yet has been largely ignored in the consumer behavior literature. This study empirically examines this topic, treating shoplifting as a behavior with ethical consequences, thus bringing together research on ACB with emerging research on ethical decision making. This research makes two important contributions to the current literature: (1) multiple age groups are considered to identify the differences between adolescents, young adults, and fully mature adults, and (2) individual difference characteristics are tested as mediators of the age-shoplifting relationship. The results support the position that adolescents are most prone to shoplifting behavior, but illustrate that this relationship is mediated by other factors

Societal Influences on Schematic Processing in the Service Encounter: Directions For Study

Consumers have fairly well-developed knowledge structures for many consumption experiences and phenomena (see Smith and Houston 1985; Sujan 1985; Snyder 1992). These knowledge structures, or schemata, furnish us with expectations to which consumption outcomes are naturally compared. Deviations from expectations trigger cognitive processes that can both influence evaluate processes performed during consumption experiences (Stayman, Alden, and Smith 1992) and distract consumers from processing relevant information analytically (Sujan, Bettman, and Sujan 1987). One result of schematic processing is that consumers also have expectations about service providers and salespeople encountered during consumption experiences (Babin and Boles 1992). For example, a consumer that enters a French Restaurant can probably form a vivid impression of his/her waiter even if he/she has never patronized this particular restaurant before. The research described in this paper is aimed at describing variations in consumer behavior resulting from schematic processing in these types of environments. In doing so, it seeks to add to the emerging body of literature on consumer categorization processes and add to our understanding of the mechanism with which certain cultural and societal influences and biases take place

The Effect of Motivation to Process on Consumers Satisfaction Reactions

This paper investigates potential moderating effects of the relationship between important explanatory variables and consumer satisfaction. Recent developments in assimilation-contrast theory suggest that involvement may change the satisfaction judgment process. Specifically, as involvement increases so should the likelihood of contrast, resulting in relatively more extreme satisfaction scores. Consistent with this reasoning, experimental results reported here support the moderating ability of involvement. Conversely, the potential priming effect of mood on reference standards is evidenced only under relatively low involvement

A Cross-Cultural Investigation of the Materialism Construct - Assessing the Richins and Dawson\u27s Materialism Scale in Denmark, France and Russia

Richins and Dawson\u27s materialism scale is a widely applied measurement instrument in marketing research. However, like many marketing scales, the materialism measure has not been adequately validated in cross-national settings. The purpose of this study is to test the measurement equivalence of the materialism scale among western and eastern European consumers-specifically, in Denmark, France and Russia. The results of the analysis show that, while a reduced version of the scale is reasonably well suited to the Danish sample, it does not display adequate fit with either the French or Russian data. The inability to establish measurement equivalence leads us to conclude that a new scale may be necessary to measure materialism in cross-cultural contexts. (C) 2002 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

How Quality, Value, Image, and Satisfaction Create Loyalty at a Chinese Telecom

This study proposes and tests an integrative model to examine the relations among service quality, value, image, satisfaction, and loyalty in China. Analysis of survey data from 118 customers of a Chinese mobile communications company reveals that service quality directly influences both perceived value and image perceptions, that value and image influence satisfaction, that corporate image influences value, and that both customer satisfaction and value are significant determinants of loyalty. Thus, value has both a direct and indirect (through satisfaction) impact on customer loyalty. Other variables mediate the impact of both service quality and corporate image on customer loyalty. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved