Competitive Analyses for Shoes Retailers: A Correspondence Analysis

During the past five years, the footwear industry has shown signs of growth as economic conditions have improved, generating an increased consumer demand for shoes. As footwear is becoming more recognized as a fashion product, apparel designers establish footwear collaborations and putting a big focus on shoes (Butler-Young, 2018). In this growing shoe market, consumers have enjoyed increasing numbers of retail outlets including department stores, specialty stores, discount stores, online stores, warehouse clubs, and catalogs. Although previous studies on shoes identify retail attributes leading to customer satisfaction such as assortment, service, brand names, materials, convenience, price, and atmosphere (Endo, Yang, & Park, 2012; Silva & Giraldi, 2010; Wang, 2014), the literature fails to reveal evidence about where consumers shop frequently and why. In this competitive environment, shoe retailers must assess who patronize their stores through a segmentation analysis and assess what retail attributes contribute to their customers\u27 patronage through a positioning analysis, which is the aim of this research

Mercury in Aquatic Systems of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, Southeastern USA

This study reports on levels and speciation of mercury (Hg) in different environmental compartments of selected park units in the Gulf Islands National Seashore (USA), and on potential rates of methyl-Hg (MMHg) formation and degradation in sediments. In the aqueous phase, total (THg) and MMHg concentrations ranged from 0.19 to 14.26 ng/L (n=32) an

Competitive Analyses for Shoes Retailers: A Correspondence Analysis

During the past five years, the footwear industry has shown signs of growth as economic conditions have improved, generating an increased consumer demand for shoes. As footwear is becoming more recognized as a fashion product, apparel designers establish footwear collaborations and putting a big focus on shoes (Butler-Young, 2018). In this growing shoe market, consumers have enjoyed increasing numbers of retail outlets including department stores, specialty stores, discount stores, online stores, warehouse clubs, and catalogs. Although previous studies on shoes identify retail attributes leading to customer satisfaction such as assortment, service, brand names, materials, convenience, price, and atmosphere (Endo, Yang, & Park, 2012; Silva & Giraldi, 2010; Wang, 2014), the literature fails to reveal evidence about where consumers shop frequently and why. In this competitive environment, shoe retailers must assess who patronize their stores through a segmentation analysis and assess what retail attributes contribute to their customers' patronage through a positioning analysis, which is the aim of this research.</p

Whole-Exome Sequencing Reveals Clinical Potential of Circulating Tumor DNA from Peritoneal Fluid and Plasma in Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common type of gynecological cancer. Studies comparing tumor gDNA and ctDNA isolated from the plasma and peritoneal fluid of EC patients are limited. Whole-exome sequencing and P53 immunohistochemistry of 24 paired tissue, plasma, and peritoneal fluid samples from 10 EC patients were performed to analyze somatic mutations, copy number alterations, microsatellite instability, and mutational signatures. Mutations in cancer-related genes (KMT2C, NOTCH2, PRKAR1A, SDHA, and USP6) and genes related to EC (ARID1A, CTNNB1, PIK3CA, and PTEN) were identified with high frequencies among the three samples. TP53 and POLE mutations, which are highly related to the molecular classification of EC, were identified based on several key observations. The ctDNA of two patients with negative peritoneal fluid presented TP53 mutations concordant with those in tissues. ctDNA from the plasma and peritoneal fluid of a patient with positive cytology harbored both TP53 and POLE mutations, although none were detected in tissues. Additionally, the patient presented with wild type P53 immunohistochemistry, with a focal “high” expression in a “low” wild type background. The tissues and peritoneal fluid of 75% EC patients showed concordant microsatellite instability. Furthermore, we observed strong mutational concordance between the peritoneal fluid and tumors. Our data suggest that the ctDNA from peritoneal fluid might be a suitable biomarker for identifying the mutational landscape of EC and could complement tumor heterogeneity

Interactive Forces between Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Suspended Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Agarose Gels

Selective adsorption onto agarose gels has become a powerful method to separate single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). A better understanding of the nature of the interactive forces and specific sites responsible for adsorption should lead to significant improvements in the selectivity and yield of these separations. A combination of nonequilibrium and equilibrium studies are conducted to explore the potential role that van der Waals, ionic, hydrophobic, π–π, and ion–dipole interactions have on the selective adsorption between agarose and SWCNTs suspended with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The results demonstrate that any modification to the agarose gel surface and, consequently, the permanent dipole moments of agarose drastically reduces the retention of SWCNTs. Because these permanent dipoles are critical to retention and the fact that SDS–SWCNTs function as macro-ions, it is proposed that ion–dipole forces are the primary interaction responsible for adsorption. The selectivity of adsorption may be attributed to variations in polarizability between nanotube types, which create differences in both the structure and mobility of surfactant. These differences affect the enthalpy and entropy of adsorption, and both play an integral part in the selectivity of adsorption. The overall adsorption process shows a complex behavior that is not well represented by the Langmuir model; therefore, calorimetric data should be used to extract thermodynamic information

Unique Toxicological Behavior from Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Separated via Selective Adsorption on Hydrogels

Over the past decade, extensive research has been completed on the potential threats of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to living organisms upon release to aquatic systems. However, these studies have focused primarily on the link between adverse biological effects in exposed test organisms on the length, diameter, and metallic impurity content of SWCNTs. In contrast, few studies have focused on the bioeffects of the different SWCNTs in the as-produced mixture, which contain both metallic (m-SWCNT) and semiconducting (s-SWCNT) species. Using selective adsorption onto hydrogels, high purity m-SWCNT and s-SWCNT fractions were produced and their biological impacts determined in dose–response studies with <i>Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata</i> as test organism. The results show significant differences in the biological responses of <i>P. subcapitata</i> exposed to high purity m- and s-SWCNT fractions. Contrary to the biological response observed using SWCNTs separated by density gradient ultracentrifugation, it is found that the high-pressure CO conversion (HiPco) s-SWCNT fraction separated by selective adsorption causes increased biological impact. These findings suggest that s-SWCNTs are the primary factor driving the adverse biological responses observed from <i>P. subcapitata</i> cells exposed to our as-produced suspensions. Finally, the toxicity of the s-SWCNT fraction is mitigated by increasing the concentration of biocompatible surfactant in the suspensions, likely altering the nature of surfactant coverage along SWCNT sidewalls, thereby reducing potential physical interaction with algal cells. These findings highlight the need to couple sample processing and toxicity response studies