Understanding the effect of smart retail brand - consumer communications via mobile instant messaging (MIM) - an empirical study in the Chinese context

Faced with competitive forces, retailers are innovating by adopting ‘smart’ technologies such as contactless, omni-channel, ubiquitous computing, social networking and mobile apps. This paper examines consumer behavior responses during the use of a mobile instant messaging (MIM) application channel adopted by a Chinese pure-play retailer. MIM is text-based, real-time, mobile computer-mediated communication technology accomplishing real-time interaction with other users regardless of location. WeChat, a full service MIM application, contains functional and social features including SMS, MMS, LBS, photo sharing, voice message, video calls and “Moments” sharing, which is its social propagating feature. There is a paucity of literature on the role of MIM in building relationships and especially, the relevance of emotion and WOM for consumers engaging in MIM human-computer interactions. The model tested was derived from prior research on trust and also Stimuli-Organism-Response (SOR) that depicts the effects of environmental/informational stimuli on consumers’ responses. Specific research objectives included investigating the prediction that environmental stimuli comprising socialness perception, media richness, and involvement induce a positive emotional state, which results in positive WOM. The study employed a quantitative approach using a questionnaire posted on a WeChat (MIM) channel. The sample comprised Chinese WeChat users, typically young consumers (n=486). SEM was used to analyze the data. Prior research has indicated that building relationships with consumers is more difficult when the relationships are consumer-computer as compared to consumer-person (face-to-face). The findings of this study suggest that such a negative effect can be alleviated by the use of MIM, which is associated with socialness perception, media richness, consumer involvement, emotional connections and positive WOM. To the authors’ knowledge, this study is original in integrating socialness perception, media richness and WOM into the SOR framework. The implications for practitioners are discussed, relating in particular to retailers’ need to be aware of the extent to which consumers are willing to engage with MIM applications

Load Balanced Dynamic Resource Allocation for MTC Relay

A Load Balancing Relay Algorithm (LBRA) was proposed to solve the unfair spectrum resource allocation in the traditional mobile MTC relay. In order to obtain reasonable use of spectrum resources, and a balanced MTC devices (MTCDs) distribution, spectrum resources are dynamically allocated by MTCDs regrouped on the MTCD to MTC gateway link. Moreover, the system outage probability and transmission capacity are derived when using LBRA. The numerical results show that the proposed algorithm has better performance in transmission capacity and outage probability than the traditional method. LBRA had an increase in transmission capacity of about 0.7dB, and an improvement in outage probability of about 0.8dB with a high MTCD density.Comment: 6pages, 5figure

Responses and sensitivities of maize phenology to climate change from 1971 to 2020 in Henan Province, China.

Climate change affects many aspects of the physiological and biochemical processes of growing maize and ultimately its yield. A comprehensive climate suitability model is proposed that quantifies the effects of temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, and wind in different phenological stages of maize. It is calibrated using weather and yield data from China's Henan Province. The comprehensive suitability model showed the capability of correctly hindcasting observed temporal and spatial changes in maize phenology in response to climatic factors. The predicted yield based on the suitability model can well match the recorded field yield very well from 1971-2020. The results of correlation showed that the yields are more closely related to multi-weather factors, temperature and precipitation than to solar radiation and wind. The sensitivity analysis illustrates that temperature and precipitation are the dominant weather factors affecting yield changes based on a direct differentiation method. The comprehensive suitability model can provide a scientific support and analysis tool for predicting grain production considering climate changes

On-resin N-methylation of cyclic peptides for discovery of orally bioavailable scaffolds.

Backbone N-methylation is common among peptide natural products and has a substantial impact on both the physical properties and the conformational states of cyclic peptides. However, the specific impact of N-methylation on passive membrane diffusion in cyclic peptides has not been investigated systematically. Here we report a method for the selective, on-resin N-methylation of cyclic peptides to generate compounds with drug-like membrane permeability and oral bioavailability. The selectivity and degree of N-methylation of the cyclic peptide was dependent on backbone stereochemistry, suggesting that conformation dictates the regiochemistry of the N-methylation reaction. The permeabilities of the N-methyl variants were corroborated by computational studies on a 1,024-member virtual library of N-methyl cyclic peptides. One of the most permeable compounds, a cyclic hexapeptide (molecular mass = 755 Da) with three N-methyl groups, showed an oral bioavailability of 28% in rat

Comprehensive comparative analysis of prognostic value of serum systemic inflammation biomarkers for colorectal cancer: Results from a large multicenter collaboration

BackgroundThe incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is common and reliable biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to systematically and comprehensively compare the ability of various combinations of serum inflammatory signatures to predict the prognosis of CRC. Moreover, particular attention has been paid to the clinical feasibility of the newly developed inflammatory burden index (IBI) as a prognostic biomarker for CRC.MethodsThe discrimination capacity of the biomarkers was compared using receiver operating characteristic curves and Harrell’s C-index. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to compare survival differences between the groups. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to determine the independent prognostic factors. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between IBI, short-term outcomes, and malnutrition.ResultsIBI had the optimal prediction accuracy among the systemic inflammation biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of CRC. Taking IBI as a reference, none of the remaining systemic inflammation biomarkers showed a gain. Patients with high IBI had significantly worse overall survival than those with low IBI (56.7% vs. 80.2%; log-rank P<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that continuous IBI was an independent risk factor for the prognosis of CRC patients (hazard ratio = 1.165, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.043–1.302, P<0.001). High IBI was an independent risk factor for short-term outcomes (odds ratio [OR] = 1.537, 95% CI = 1.258–1.878, P<0.001), malnutrition (OR = 2.996, 95% CI = 1.471–6.103, P=0.003), and recurrence (OR = 1.744, 95% CI = 1.176–2.587, p = 0.006) in CRC patients.ConclusionsIBI, as a reflection of systemic inflammation, is a feasible and promising biomarker for assessing the prognosis of CRC patients

Repair of rotator cuff tears in patients aged 75 years and older: Does it make sense? A systematic review

BackgroundRotator cuff injuries are common, and morbidity increases with age. The asymptomatic full-thickness tear rate is 40% in the over 75-year-old population.PurposeThis study aimed to systematically review the literature on the outcomes of rotator cuff repair among >75 years old patients.Study designSystematic review.MethodsA systematic review of the literature was performed following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. A literature search was performed in the electronic databases of PubMed, Medline, Embase, and The Cochrane Library. Studies in English evaluating repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears in patients aged >75 years were included.ResultsSix studies were reviewed, including 311 patients (313 shoulders) treated with arthroscopic and/or open rotator cuff repair. Sixty-one patients were lost to follow-up, leaving 252 shoulders with outcome data. Patients in this age group demonstrated a significant improvement in the clinical and functional scores after rotator cuff repair, with a high satisfaction rate. The mean American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores improved from 43.8 (range, 42.0–45.5) preoperatively to 85.3 (range, 84.0 to 86.5) postoperatively, and the mean Constant scores improved from 45.4 (range, 34.7–55.5) to 78.6 (range, 67.0–91.6). Pain, evaluated in all studies by the visual analog scale for pain, showed a significant improvement at the last follow-up compared with the mean preoperative score. Furthermore, range of motion and return to daily activities and sports gained marked improvements.ConclusionRotator cuff repair in patients aged >75 years could achieve high clinical success rates with good outcomes and pain relief. Although patients in this age group are at a high risk of retear, rotator cuff repair may offer a good option with significant functional and clinical improvement