Parity Nonconservation in Neutron Resonances in 133Cs

Spatial parity nonconservation (PNC) has been studied in the compound-nuclear states of 134Cs by measuring the helicity dependence of the neutron total cross section. Transmission measurements on a thick 133Cs target were performed by the time-of-flight method at the Manuel Lujan Neutron Scattering Center with a longitudinally polarized neutron beam in the energy range from 5 to 400 eV. A total of 28 new p-wave resonances were found, their neutron widths determined, and the PNC longitudinal asymmetries of the resonance cross sections measured. The value obtained for the root-mean-square PNC element M=(0.06-0.02+0.25) meV in 133Cs is the smallest among all targets studied. This value corresponds to a weak spreading width Γw=(0.006-0.003+0.154)×10-7 eV

Re-assessing the influence of mental intangibility on consumer decision making

The present paper explores the influence of mental intangibility on the size of the consideration set, both on tangible products and services. This research also examines the moderating effect of purchase involvement and objective knowledge on the set. Two experimental studies were conducted to examine these relations. Overall, the results indicate that mental intangibility positively influences the size of the consideration set, regardless of the offering type (product or service). This effect is stronger in low levels of knowledge. Consumer involvement does not seem to have a moderating effect on this relation. This study’s implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed

Large enhancement of deuteron polarization with frequency modulated microwaves

We report a large enhancement of 1.7 in deuteron polarization up to values of 0.6 due to frequency modulation of the polarizing microwaves in a two liters polarized target using the method of dynamic nuclear polarization. This target was used during a deep inelastic polarized muon-deuteron scattering experiment at CERN. Measurements of the electron paramagnetic resonance absorption spectra show that frequency modulation gives rise to additional microwave absorption in the spectral wings. Although these results are not understood theoretically, they may provide a useful testing ground for the deeper understanding of dynamic nuclear polarization.Comment: 10 pages, including the figures coming in uuencoded compressed tar files in poltar.uu, which also brings cernart.sty and crna12.sty files neede

Soil protistology rebooted: 30 fundamental questions to start with

Protists are the most diverse eukaryotes. These microbes are keystone organisms of soil ecosystems and regulate essential processes of soil fertility such as nutrient cycling and plant growth. Despite this, protists have received little scientific attention, especially compared to bacteria, fungi and nematodes in soil studies. Recent methodological advances, particularly in molecular biology techniques, have made the study of soil protists more accessible, and have created a resurgence of interest in soil protistology. This ongoing revolution now enables comprehensive investigations of the structure and functioning of soil protist communities, paving the way to a new era in soil biology. Instead of providing an exhaustive review, we provide a synthesis of research gaps that should be prioritized in future studies of soil protistology to guide this rapidly developing research area. Based on a synthesis of expert opinion we propose 30 key questions covering a broad range of topics including evolution, phylogenetics, functional ecology, macroecology, paleoecology, and methodologies. These questions highlight a diversity of topics that will establish soil protistology as a hub discipline connecting different fundamental and applied fields such as ecology, biogeography, evolution, plant-microbe interactions, agronomy, and conservation biology. We are convinced that soil protistology has the potential to be one of the most exciting frontiers in biology

Female chromosome X mosaicism is age-related and preferentially affects the inactivated X chromosome

To investigate large structural clonal mosaicism of chromosome X, we analysed the SNP microarray intensity data of 38,303 women from cancer genome-wide association studies (20,878 cases and 17,425 controls) and detected 124 mosaic X events42Mb in 97 (0.25%) women. Here we show rates for X-chromosome mosaicism are four times higher than mean autosomal rates; X mosaic events more often include the entire chromosome and participants with X events more likely harbour autosomal mosaic events. X mosaicism frequency increases with age (0.11% in 50-year olds; 0.45% in 75-year olds), as reported for Y and autosomes. Methylation array analyses of 33 women with X mosaicism indicate events preferentially involve the inactive X chromosome. Our results provide further evidence that the sex chromosomes undergo mosaic events more frequently than autosomes, which could have implications for understanding the underlying mechanisms of mosaic events and their possible contribution to risk for chronic diseases

Consumers' intention to buy private label brands revisited

In many countries retailers use private label brands (i.e., brands sold under retailers' own labels) to differentiate assortment and price. As private label brands enjoy growing popularity and are increasing in both their quantity and quality, they continue to attract the attention of scholars and practitioners. One shortcoming of previous research is that it focuses on price as the dominant driver of buying intentions; this paper proposes a new model that explains intention to purchase private label brands. The hypothesised model relationships are tested against empirical data from two surveys. The findings reveal that the predictive power of the consumer perceived value is greater than other independent variables previously examined and that contrary to previous work, brand consciousness and attitude toward private labels have little effect. The article demonstrates managerial and research implications

Identifying, segmenting and profiling online communicators in an internet music context

The internet increases the importance of information dissemination, which can enhance the success of online and offline products. Indeed, in certain markets, online communicators can play a central role in influencing others' purchase decisions. Previous research has identified e-Mavens as one such group, but has not profiled them and has treated them as a homogenous group. From an online sample of some 2500 consumers, we identify e-Mavens and systematically examine their demographic, socio-economic and psychographic characteristics as well as their motives for visiting websites and disseminating information in a music context. In addition, cluster analysis identified four meaningful and distinct e-Mavens groups, which have implications for e-marketing research, e-practitioners targeting online music communities and the market maven concept

The effect of consumer confusion proneness on word of mouth, trust, and customer satisfaction

Purpose - Consumer sovereignty assumes that consumers have adequate product information and are able to understand that information in order to make an informed choice. However, this is not the case when consumers are confused. Recently, Walsh et al. identified dimensions of consumer confusion proneness and developed scales to measure these dimensions. Drawing on their concept of consumer confusion proneness, this paper seeks to examine consumers' general tendency to be confused from marketplace information and its effect on three relevant outcome variables - word of mouth, trust, and satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach - The reliability and validity of the consumer confusion proneness scale was tested on the basis of a sample of 355 consumers, using confirmatory factor analysis. The study employs structural equation modelling to examine the hypothesised relationships. Findings - The results show that the consumer confusion proneness scale has sound psychometric properties and that the three dimensions of similarity, overload, and ambiguity have a differential impact on word of mouth behaviour, trust, and customer satisfaction. Practical implications - The findings have implications for marketing theory and management, as well as consumer education. Marketers may apply the consumer confusion proneness scale to their customers and assess which dimension is the most damaging in terms of the three marketing outcomes examined. Originality/value - This is the first study to test Walsh et al.'s consumer confusion proneness scale and to extend their work by analysing the effect of the three construct dimensions on three key marketing outcome variables