Understanding the role of attitude components in co-branding: an application to high-tech, luxury co-branded products

This study addresses co-branding between firms belonging to unrelated value chains –high-tech products and luxury brands (HLCPs) – to explore how consumers? attitude drive the success of HLCPs. The study applies the tri-component attitude model (as opposed to attitude as a whole) that uses affect and cognition to predict purchase intention of co-branded products. Cultural differences (Spanish and Taiwanese) in consumers? behavior are also assessed. Data collected in a survey show that Spanish and Taiwanese consumers adopt different purchasing processes: while Spanish consumers place more importance on product-related thoughts and follow a Feel-Learn-Do sequence in purchasing HLCPs, Taiwanese consumers follow a Learn-Feel-Do purchasing process.Co-branding, Attitude, Affect/cognition, High-tech, Luxury, Cross-cultural

Young Taiwanese Immigration To Argentina: The Challenges Of Adaptation, Self Identity And Returning

Research on Taiwanese migrants has primarily been conducted in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada, but much less in non-English speaking countries such as Argentina. The literature on Taiwanese immigrants has also tended to overlook young people, whether born in Taiwan or in destination countries. The present research tries to fill in this gap by focusing on the family ties of young Taiwanese migrants in Argentina, and the role they play in their adaptation to Argentina and return-migration decisions. The objective of this research is to depict the situation of young people of Taiwanese origin in Argentina. The guiding question is, how do these young people view their family and national identity? The method of study is first a literature review mainly based on statistics, surveys and other secondary sources. Moreover, to get a snapshot of young return migrants from Argentina, 18 interviews with semistructured questionnaires were conducted in Taiwan between 2008 and 2009

Assimilation and Rising Taiwanese Identity: Taiwan-born Immigrants in the United States, 1990-2000

Journal ArticleThis study examines why a growing percentage of Taiwan-born immigrants in the U.S. have identified themselves as Taiwanese rather than ethnic Chinese in the U.S. decennial censuses between 1990 and 2000. The trend appears inconsistent with the assimilation theory, which postulates that ethnic groups will become more detached from ethnic politics and identity the longer they stay in the United States. The application of a double cohort method enables us to separate the period effect from the duration effect, which is critical to analyzing the changes. Results show sharp temporal differentiation and large geographical variation. The older generation of Taiwanese immigrants and recent arrivals to the United States, as well as those who live in Los Angeles, are the most likely to regard themselves as Taiwanese rather than ethnic Chinese. In contrast, Taiwanborn immigrants who have greater English proficiency, who have less education, and who have [mainland] Chinese as their neighbors are less likely to do so. Moreover, age-at-arrival is a key determinant in identity formation and change. Those who came to the U.S. when they were young are least likely to regard themselves as Taiwanese. Over time, Taiwan-born immigrants have indeed become more acculturated. Young Taiwan-born immigrants who came to the U.S. before the 1970s are least likely to make a switch to Taiwanese during the period. However, acculturation alone does not prevent one from claiming Taiwanese identity on the census form. For Taiwan-born immigrants, writing in Taiwanese on the census form appears to be a "rebellious" or "awakening" act and a symbolic expression of solidarity with their compatriots in Taiwan, empowered by a growing sense of Taiwanese consciousness. Globalizationmay now have allowed immigrants to maintain a closer tie with their country of origin than before, especially in times of crisis

Understanding the role of attitude components in co-branding: an application to high-tech, luxury co-branded products

This study addresses co-branding between firms belonging to unrelated value chains –high-tech products and luxury brands (HLCPs) – to explore how consumers‟ attitude drive the success of HLCPs. The study applies the tri-component attitude model (as opposed to attitude as a whole) that uses affect and cognition to predict purchase intention of co-branded products. Cultural differences (Spanish and Taiwanese) in consumers‟ behavior are also assessed. Data collected in a survey show that Spanish and Taiwanese consumers adopt different purchasing processes: while Spanish consumers place more importance on product-related thoughts and follow a Feel-Learn-Do sequence in purchasing HLCPs, Taiwanese consumers follow a Learn-Feel-Do purchasing process

The Mechanism of Carbon Dioxide Adsorption in an Alkylamine-Functionalized Metal-Organic Framework

The mechanism of CO2 adsorption in the amine-functionalized metal-organic framework mmen-Mg2(dobpdc) (dobpdc4- = 4,4′-dioxidobiphenyl-3,3′-dicarboxylate; mmen = N,N′- dimethylethylenediamine) was characterized by quantum-chemical calculations. The material was calculated to demonstrate 2:2 amine:CO2 stoichiometry with a higher capacity and weaker CO2 binding energy than for the 2:1 stoichiometry observed in most amine-functionalized adsorbents. We explain this behavior in the form of a hydrogen-bonded complex involving two carbamic acid moieties resulting from the adsorption of CO2 onto the secondary amines. © 2013 American Chemical Society

Integrating transposable elements in the 3D genome

Chromosome organisation is increasingly recognised as an essential component of genome regulation, cell fate and cell health. Within the realm of transposable elements (TEs) however, the spatial information of how genomes are folded is still only rarely integrated in experimental studies or accounted for in modelling. Whilst polymer physics is recognised as an important tool to understand the mechanisms of genome folding, in this commentary we discuss its potential applicability to aspects of TE biology. Based on recent works on the relationship between genome organisation and TE integration, we argue that existing polymer models may be extended to create a predictive framework for the study of TE integration patterns. We suggest that these models may offer orthogonal and generic insights into the integration profiles (or "topography") of TEs across organisms. In addition, we provide simple polymer physics arguments and preliminary molecular dynamics simulations of TEs inserting into heterogeneously flexible polymers. By considering this simple model, we show how polymer folding and local flexibility may generically affect TE integration patterns. The preliminary discussion reported in this commentary is aimed to lay the foundations for a large-scale analysis of TE integration dynamics and topography as a function of the three-dimensional host genome

Ultraconserved Elements in the Human Genome: Association and Transmission Analyses of Highly Constrained Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms

Ultraconserved elements in the human genome likely harbor important biological functions as they are dosage sensitive and are able to direct tissue-specific expression. Because they are under purifying selection, variants in these elements may have a lower frequency in the population but a higher likelihood of association with complex traits. We tested a set of highly constrained SNPs (hcSNPs) distributed genome-wide among ultraconserved and nearly ultraconserved elements for association with seven traits related to reproductive (age at natural menopause, number of children, age at first child, and age at last child) and overall [longevity, body mass index (BMI), and height] fitness. Using up to 24,047 European-American samples from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe), we observed an excess of associations with BMI and height. In an independent replication panel the most strongly associated SNPs showed an 8.4-fold enrichment of associations at the nominal level, including three variants in previously identified loci and one in a locus (DENND1A) previously shown to be associated with polycystic ovary syndrome. Finally, using 1430 family trios, we showed that the transmissions from heterozygous parents to offspring of the derived alleles of rare (frequency ≤0.5%) hcSNPs are not biased, particularly after adjusting for the rates of genotype missingness and error in the data. The lack of transmission bias ruled out an immediately and strongly deleterious effect due to the rare derived alleles, consistent with the observation that mice homozygous for the deletion of ultraconserved elements showed no overt phenotype. Our study also illustrated the importance of carefully modeling potential technical confounders when analyzing genotype data of rare variants

Retinoic Acid Restores Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Reverses Spatial Memory Deficit in Vitamin A Deprived Rats

A dysfunction of retinoid hippocampal signaling pathway has been involved in the appearance of affective and cognitive disorders. However, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unknown. Hippocampal granule neurons are generated throughout life and are involved in emotion and memory. Here, we investigated the effects of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) on neurogenesis and memory and the ability of retinoic acid (RA) treatment to prevent VAD-induced impairments. Adult retinoid-deficient rats were generated by a vitamin A-free diet from weaning in order to allow a normal development. The effects of VAD and/or RA administration were examined on hippocampal neurogenesis, retinoid target genes such as neurotrophin receptors and spatial reference memory measured in the water maze. Long-term VAD decreased neurogenesis and led to memory deficits. More importantly, these effects were reversed by 4 weeks of RA treatment. These beneficial effects may be in part related to an up-regulation of retinoid-mediated molecular events, such as the expression of the neurotrophin receptor TrkA. We have demonstrated for the first time that the effect of vitamin A deficient diet on the level of hippoccampal neurogenesis is reversible and that RA treatment is important for the maintenance of the hippocampal plasticity and function

Lactation intensity and postpartum maternal glucose tolerance and insulin resistance

OBJECTIVEdTo examine the association between breastfeeding intensity in relation to maternal blood glucose and insulin and glucose intolerance based on the postpartum 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results at 6-9 weeks after a pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSdWe selected 522 participants enrolled into the Study of Women, Infant Feeding, and Type 2 Diabetes (SWIFT), a prospective observational cohort study of Kaiser Permanente Northern California members diagnosed with GDM using the 3-h 100-g OGTT by the Carpenter and Coustan criteria. Women were classified as normal, prediabetes, or diabetes according to American Diabetes Association criteria based on the postpartum 2-h 75-g OGTT results. RESULTSdCompared with exclusive or mostly formula feeding (.17 oz formula per 24 h), exclusive breastfeeding and mostly breastfeeding (#6 oz formula per 24 h) groups, respectively, had lower adjusted mean (95% CI) group differences in fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL) of 24.3 (27.4 to 21.3) and 25.0 (28.5 to 21.4), in fasting insulin (mU/mL) of 26.3 (210.1 to 22.4) and 27.5 (211.9 to 23.0), and in 2-h insulin of 221.4 (241.0 to 21.7) and 236.5 (259.3 to 213.7) (all P , 0.05). Exclusive or mostly breastfeeding groups had lower prevalence of diabetes or prediabetes (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONSdHigher intensity of lactation was associated with improved fasting glucose and lower insulin levels at 6-9 weeks' postpartum. Lactation may have favorable effects on glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity that may reduce diabetes risk after GDM pregnancy. 35:50-56, 2012 Diabetes Car