Repeat Buying Behavior for Ornamental Plants: A Consumer Profile

The main objective of this research was to study what stimulates repeat buying behavior for ornamental plants by segmenting consumer demographics and other important variables in the purchasing decision for ornamental plants. Specifically, we looked at the number of transactions per month as a function of the purpose of the purchase. Consumer’s behavioral and socio-demographic characteristics that are more likely to influence the number of ornamental transactions were also identified.Green Industry, flower demand, consumer preferences, Consumer/Household Economics, Marketing, M31, R22,

Binary Search Algorithm for Mixed Integer Optimization: Application to energy management in a microgrid

This paper presents a binary search algorithm to deal with binary variables in mixed integer optimization problems. One example of this kind of problem is the optimal operation of hydrogen storage and energy sale and purchase into a microgrids context. In this work was studied a system composed by a microgrid that has a connection with the external electrical network and a charging station for electric cars. The system modeling was carried out by the Energy Hubs methodology. The proposed algorithm transforms the MIQP (Mixed Integer Quadratic Program) problem into a QP (Quadratic Program) that is easier to solve. In this way the overall control task is carried out the electricity purchase and sale to the power grid, maximizes the use of renewable energy sources, manages the use of energy storages and supplies the charge of the parked vehicles.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad DPI2013-46912-C2-1-RUniversidad de Sevilla CNPq401126/2014-5Universidad de Sevilla CNPq303702/2011-

IGFBP-3 inhibits Wnt signaling in metastatic melanoma cells.

In previous works, we have shown that insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), a tissue and circulating protein able to bind to IGFs, decreases drastically in the blood serum of patients with diffuse metastatic melanoma. In agreement with the clinical data, recombinant IGFBP-3 was found to inhibit the motility and invasiveness of cultured metastatic melanoma cells and to prevent growth of grafted melanomas in mice. The present work was aimed at identifying the signal transduction pathways underlying the anti-tumoral effects of IGFBP-3. We show that the anti-tumoral effect of IGFBP-3 is due to inhibition of the Wnt pathway and depends upon the presence of CD44, a receptor protein known to modulate Wnt signaling. Once it has entered the cell, IGFBP-3 binds the Wnt signalosome interacting specifically with its component GSK-3β. As a consequence, the β-catenin destruction complex dissociates from the LRP6 Wnt receptor and GSK-3β is activated through dephosphorylation, becoming free to target cytoplasmic β-catenin which is degraded by the proteasomal pathway. Altogether, the results suggest that IGFBP-3 is a novel and effective inhibitor of Wnt signaling. As IGFBP-3 is a physiological protein which has no detectable toxic effects either on cultured cells or live mice, it might qualify as an interesting new therapeutic agent in melanoma, and potentially many other cancers with a hyperactive Wnt signaling

Dynamics in inhomogeneous liquids and glasses via the test particle limit

We show that one may view the self and the distinct part of the van Hove dynamic correlation function of a simple fluid as the one-body density distributions of a binary mixture that evolve in time according to dynamical density functional theory. For a test case of soft core Brownian particles the theory yields results for the van Hove function that agree quantitatively with those of our Brownian dynamics computer simulations. At sufficiently high densities the free energy landscape underlying the dynamics exhibits a barrier as a function of the mean particle displacement, shedding new light on the nature of glass formation. For hard spheres confined between parallel planar walls the barrier height oscillates in-phase with the local density, implying that the mobility is maximal between layers, which should be experimentally observable in confined colloidal dispersions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Predictors of review sites usage in hotels

The tourism industry has been strongly impacted by the consumer use of review sites. Since review travel sites such as TripAdvisor allowed accommodations to create own profiles with information, hotels began incorporating these actions into their engaging customers programming. Despite the benefits that review sites can offer to customers, hotels and accommodations, its implementation is not developed and exploited in all its possibilities, and little is known about hotels use of this review sites. This study explores the topic trough quantitative methodology, conducting multiple correlation analysis of data obtained from a sample of 301 hotel managers. Managers consider they are committed to this type of platforms and are capable of use it accurately. Also it was found evidence of correlation between use of TripAdvisor and hotel characteristics (size, ownership structure, and category). Furthermore, multiple regression analysis shows competence and commitment as the most important predictors of use intensity

Customer Orientation in Family Businesses

The purpose of this article is to investigate customer orientation of service employees (COSE) in family businesses. This study elaborates on the perception and importance of COSE in family-owned companies. The paper also proposes new consequences of COSE in the context of family business. The research is based on a qualitative study comprised of 13 interviews conducted on senior managers in family firms. The results are analysed using NVivo 11. This investigation confirms the relevance of the COSE construct in family businesses and the role of family influence over it. New consequences are elicited, including differentiation, customer experience, and customer well-being. The results show that practitioners consider COSE as a key element for success. This study sheds light on how COSE can be applied in a family business in order to enhance customer experience. This study expands on the potential of COSE with the use of family businesses for the first time and introduces new consequences from the original model