Improvements In The Strategic Use Of The Marketing Matrices Applying Dynamics Parameters Based On Time: A Better Analysis Of Prospect

Matrices are among the main analytical tools used in marketing. The present paper focuses on the possibility to make them consistently explorative of a business prospect, not just in a mechanical way but in a logical and quantitatively probabilistic way. Matrices, being static, appear in contrast with the real meaning of marketing itself (being a verb it is an action). Actually, lack of the matrices is that they do not consider the temporal evolution and offer a very simple and static frame and indeed a snapshot of the business environment. The purpose of the present paper is to understand “to what extent the matrices can be improved to perform dynamic prospective analyses, thanks to specific improvements”: - Complex variables - Cartesian plan and derived curves - Use of the chronotropic quadric-dimensionality through spacetime factor influencing the mechanical results It is considered only the case of the four cells based matrix (and experimentation is pursued via the Ansoff’s one), leaving the nine-cell based matrices to the field of actual limitations and future improvements. The standard format can be implemented by the adoption of new format and complex variables, which are holistic, and through the utilization of a temporal ratio, to show the temporal dynamism and make them suitable for prospective analysis and become a tool of management of the company’s evolution

Switch to maraviroc with darunavir/r, both QD, in patients with suppressed HIV-1 was well tolerated but virologically inferior to standard antiretroviral therapy: 48-Week results of a randomized trial

Objectives Primary study outcome was absence of treatment failure (virological failure, VF, or treatment interruption) per protocol at week 48. Methods Patients on 3-drug ART with stable HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL and CCR5-tropic virus were randomized 1:1 to maraviroc with darunavir/ritonavir qd (study arm) or continue current ART (continuation arm).Results In June 2015, 115 patients were evaluable for the primary outcome (56 study, 59 continuation arm). The study was discontinued due to excess of VF in the study arm (7 cases, 12.5%, vs 0 in the continuation arm, p = 0.005). The proportion free of treatment failure was 73.2% in the study and 59.3% in the continuation arm. Two participants in the study and 10 in the continuation arm discontinued therapy due to adverse events (p = 0.030). At VF, no emergent drug resistance was detected. Co-receptor tropism switched to non-R5 in one patient. Patients with VF reported lower adherence and had lower plasma drug levels. Femoral bone mineral density was significantly improved in the study arm. Conclusion Switching to maraviroc with darunavir/ritonavir qd in virologically suppressed patients was associated with improved tolerability but was virologically inferior to 3-drug therap

Unexpected Anal Squamous Cells Carcinoma after Open Hemorrhoidectomy

We report a case of unexpected anal squamous cells carcinoma found in hemorrhoidectomy specimen. The patient had a 3-year history of prolapsing hemorrhoids. A prolapsing hemorrhoid was present at eleven o’clock in lithotomy. Milligan-Morgan was performed and gross examination of the specimen was unremarkable. Histopathologic evaluation showed noninvasive squamous cells carcinoma. The present case report evidences the opportunity of routine histopathologic analysis of hemorrhoidal specimens particularly in case of long-standing prolapse. Questions arise in the option of those techniques where no specimens are collected or tissue is excised far from deceased area

The Influence of Personality Traits on University Performance: Evidence from Italian Freshmen Students

Despite several attempts to provide a definite pattern regarding the effects of personality traits on performance in higher education, the debate over the nature of the relationship is far from being conclusive. The use of different subject pools and sample sizes, as well as the use of identification strategies that either do not adequately account for selection bias or are unable to establish causality between measures of academic performance and noncognitive skills, are possible sources of heterogeneity. This paper investigates the impact of the Big Five traits, as measured before the beginning of the academic year, on the grade point average achieved in the first year after the enrolment, taking advantage of a unique and large dataset from a cohort of Italian students in all undergraduate programs containing detailed information on student and parental characteristics. Relying on a robust strategy to credibly satisfy the conditional independence assumption, we find that higher levels of conscientiousness and openness to experience positively affect student score

MODERN TOTEMS AND TRIBALISM: THE WORSHIPING OF BRANDS IN ASIA

The present paper is going to explore what is nowadays a brand and a logo in the far Asian cultural environment, approaching it both socially and economically, from a socio-psychological and commercial point of view. Moving throughout some very physioeconomical angle and narrowing on consumer’s behavior toward the brands’ values, it proofs how tribes pop up around life styles and logos (Hitmann & Ward 2007; Anderson 1990). The motivation of present paper is the huge importance related to brand and modern (urban) tribalism, especially in the far Asiatic environment, observing the phenomena both like social (Bucci, Cova, Kozinets 2007; Cova 2003) and economical (Badot, Bucci, Cova 2003; Temporal 2012). The paper is analyzing Brand like a catalyzer of different perceptions of syncretized together (Hitman & Ward 2007; Scaini 2012; Fabris 2003, 2008; Conley 2009). To prove the actual importance of behavior of consumer in the Asiatic environments, the paper offers some qualitative result based on a solid limited quantitative research. Offering a theoretical approach (proofed by evidences gathered) about the activities of brands on eastern Asian markets, it states that now brands behave like totemic relics of deity (Conley 2009; Hebdige 198110), that is really the center of the new Asiatic worship replacing disrupted traditional values and replacing with new iconic symbols of social membership (Diamond 2005; Anderson 1990, Mishima 200815)

Mandated data-sharing in hybrid marketplaces

We study a hybrid marketplace where a vertically integrated platform competes with a seller in a horizontally differentiated downstream market. The platform has a data advantage and can price discriminate consumers, whereas the seller cannot. Our analysis shows that, by properly setting the per-unit transaction fee, the platform can always avoid head-to-head competition with the seller, regardless of the level of horizontal differentiation. Mandating data-sharing, which allows the seller to also price discriminate, does not seem to solve this problem and, in fact, aggravates it further, generally benefiting the platform. The seller is better off only if it is less efficient than the platform, whereas consumers are worse off. We propose that preventing the platform from adjusting the fee after the data-sharing mandate is not enough to reinstate competition in the downstream market. We then show that banning the hybrid business model and forbidding the use of data for price discrimination increase consumer surplus, even if the seller becomes a monopolist. In other words, we propose that the harm to competition comes from the platform's business model rather than from its information advantage

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Electrochemical synthesis of nanowires electrodes and their application in energy storage devices

In this work, an electrochemical approach to synthesize Metal-MetalOxide/Hydroxide core-shell nanowires electrodes (NWE) is illustrated. NWE electrodes were obtained by electrodeposition of a targeted metal into the nanopores of nanoporous alumina templates generated by one-step anodization of aluminum. Following metal electrodeposition, the alumina template was selectively etched to obtain an array of free-standing metal nanowires. The imposed electrodeposition conditions allowed directly attaining a core-shell nanostructure, with a metal core covered by a thin metal oxide/hydroxide film. NWE electrodes produced by the proposed synthesis route were tested for the application as electrodes in lithium batteries and supercapacitors. To this purpose, an array of cobalt nanowires (CoNWs) supported by a nanostructured copper current collector was produced by sequential electrodeposition of cobalt and copper, and it was employed as anode in a lithium battery, while a NWE based on Ni-NiO/OH2 (NiNWs) was obtained by nickel electrodeposition and tested as electrode in a supercapacitor. A thorough analysis and characterization of the produced electrodes were performed. The experiments with the lithium cell evidenced the positive effect of metallic core on stability, while the electrochemical characterization of the supercapacitor showed the presence of both NiO and NiOH2 leading, when cycled, to a capacity close to the best literature value

A systematic review with meta-analysis on the efficacy of 0.01% atropine eyedrops in preventing myopia progression in worldwide children’s populations

IntroductionAtropine eyedrops have long been used off-label to prevent myopia progression in children, and many clinical trials have been published on this topic in the past 30 years. Trials initially tested doses ranging from 0.01% to 1%, but more recently, the interest has turned to low doses, mainly 0.01%. Moreover, the first studies were carried out in Asian populations, but the number of trials conducted in other geographical areas has rapidly increased from 2020 onward. This meta-analysis was aimed at summarizing the evidence on the efficacy of 0.01% atropine eyedrops on the reduction of myopia progression, also comparing study findings from different parts of the world.MethodsData were obtained from PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases from 1 January 1 2020 to 31 July 2024. Randomized controlled trials involving children receiving 0.01% atropine eyedrops for at least 1 year were included. Heterogeneity was quantified by Q, H, and I2 statistics, and a meta-analysis was performed using a random effect model. The risk for bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration (Chapter 6) aspects of bias scale.Results and discussionThe primary outcomes were the differences in spherical equivalent refractive errors and axial length at baseline and after 12 months of treatment with 0.01% atropine eyedrops or placebo. Eleven studies involving 2,046 children (1,172 receiving 0.01% atropine eyedrops and 874 receiving placebo) were included. Atropine was significantly more effective than placebo, with an average reduction of 0.16/year (95% CI: 0.11–0.22) and −0.07/year (95% CI: −0.09 to −0.05) in spherical equivalent refractive errors and axial length, respectively. The efficacy of 0.01% atropine eyedrops vs. placebo was maintained in a subpopulation of subjects after 24 months of treatment. We found no difference in atropine efficacy between Southeast Asian populations (1,063 children, 52%) and populations in various other countries (983 children, 48%)