Marca de destino y estrategias de reparación de imagen en México. Un estudio de caso cualitativo de las publicaciones oficiales de Visit Mexico en Instagram

This study analyses the use of image repair strategies and destination marketing techniques in online touristic promotional materials (Instagram posts) from Mexico, a long-standing popular destination which reputation was damaged by crime-related crises. To gain a positive (desti)nation image and a competitive edge in a globalised world, nations employ (desti)nation branding strategies to differentiate themselves. Crisis communication techniques, like Benoit’s (1997) Image Restoration Strategies and Coombs’ (2007) Situational Crisis Communication Theory can be used in the case of a negative image. Previous research also developed frameworks aimed at recovery marketing in a context of (desti)nation branding, like Avraham and Ketter’s (2008a) Source-Audience-Message strategies and Walters and Mair’s (2012) Tourism Disaster Recovery Messages. This research investigates image repair strategies used in Mexico’s promotional content, their combinations, and variations in English and Spanish corpora. A qualitative case study of 27 English and 43 Spanish posts in NVivo used grounded theory and iterative coding informed by prior research and our data. Results show strategies from destination branding-related frameworks were found most often. The English corpus emphasised a feeling of proximity with its target audience, while the Spanish-language content showed a wider variety of strategies due to its diversity. These results are useful for researchers and place marketers, highlighting the importance of using relevant strategies and understanding the target audience. Additionally, as a theoretical contribution to this field of study, we propose a new integrated framework for destination branding research.Este estudio analiza el uso de estrategias de reparación de imagen y técnicas de marketing de destino en materiales promocionales turísticos en línea (publicaciones de Instagram) de México, un destino popular de larga tradición, cuya reputación se vio dañada por crisis relacionadas con la delincuencia. Para conseguir una imagen de (desti)nación positiva y una ventaja competitiva en un mundo globalizado, las naciones emplean estrategias de marca (desti)nación para diferenciarse. Las técnicas de comunicación de crisis, como las Estrategias de Restauración de la Imagen de Benoit (1997) y la Teoría de la Comunicación Situacional de Crisis de Coombs (2007), pueden utilizarse en caso de imagen negativa. Investigaciones anteriores también han desarrollado marcos orientados al marketing de recuperación en un contexto de marca (desti)nación, como las estrategias Fuente-Audiencia-Mensaje de Avraham y Ketter (2008a) y los Mensajes de Recuperación de Desastres Turísticos de Walters y Mair (2012). Esta investigación indaga en las estrategias de reparación de imagen utilizadas en el contenido promocional de México, y sus combinaciones y variaciones en un corpus en inglés y español. Un estudio de caso cualitativo de 27 mensajes en inglés y 43 en español en NVivo utilizó la teoría fundamentada y la codificación iterativa informada por estudios anteriores y nuestros datos. Los resultados muestran que las estrategias de los marcos relacionados con la marca de destino fueron las más frecuentes. El corpus en inglés enfatizaba un sentimiento de proximidad con su público objetivo, mientras que el contenido en español mostraba una mayor variedad de estrategias, debido a su diversidad. Estos resultados son útiles para investigadores y comercializadores de lugares, ya que ponen de relieve la importancia de utilizar estrategias pertinentes y de comprender al público destinatario. Además, como contribución teórica a este campo de estudio, proponemos un nuevo marco integrado para la investigación de la marca de destino

Comparative proteomic analysis of spermatozoa isolated by swim-up or density gradient centrifugation

Abstract BACKGROUND: Reports about the morphologic and functional characteristics of spermatozoa prepared by density gradient centrifugation (DC) or swim-up (SU) have produced discordant results. We have performed a proteomic comparison of cells prepared by DC and SU providing a molecular insight into the differences between these two methods of sperm cell isolation. METHODS: Protein maps were obtained by 2-dimensional (2-D) separations consisting of isoelectrofocusing (IEF) from pI 3 to 11 followed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 2-D gels were stained with Sypro Ruby. Map images of DC and SU spermatozoa were compared using dedicated software. Intensities of a given spot were considered different between DC and SU when their group mean differed by >1.5-fold (p<0.05, Anova). RESULTS: No differences were observed for 853 spots, indicating a 98.7% similarity between DC and SU. Five spots were DC>SU and 1 was SU>DC. Proteins present in 3 of the differential spots could be identified. One DC>SU spot contained lactate dehydrogenase C and gamma-glutamylhydrolase, a second DC>SU spot contained fumarate hydratase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase-2, and a SU>DC spot contained pyruvate kinase M1/M2. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in protein levels found on comparison of DC with SU spermatozoa indicate possible dissimilarities in their glycolytic metabolism and DNA methylation and suggest that DC cells may have a better capacitation potential

Dextrines in Lambicbier Identificatie en mogelijke afbraak door micro-organismen

SIGLEKULeuven Campusbibliotheek Exacte Wetenschappen / UCL - Université Catholique de LouvainBEBelgiu

Effect of stage of development on survival of mouse embryos frozen-thawed rapidly

Embryos were recovered on Day 4 of pregnancy from superovulated random-bred OF1 Swiss albino mice. They were classified into four categories based on their stage of development: expanding blastocyst, blastocyst, early blastocyst, and compacted morula. They were then cooled at 2 °C/min from -7 to -25 °C in a freezing medium containing 1.36 M glycerol and 0.25 M sucrose in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). At -25 °C, they were plunged into LN2 and thawed a few hours later in water at 20 °C. After washing in PBS, recovered embryos were cultured for 20 to 24 hr and the number of embryos that had developed normally was recorded. The results showed a clear effect of the stage of development on survival. Survival of expanding blastocysts and blastocysts was very low (1.4 and 21.8%, respectively) compared to that of early blastocysts and compacted morulae (69.4 and 73.5%). The more differentiated stage of the blastocyst (two kinds of cells) and the presence of a blastocoelic cavity may explain the differences observed under our cooling conditions. As a further test of viability, 93 blastocysts that had developed in culture for 20 hr from 153 frozen-thawed early blastocysts and compacted morulae (60.8%) were transferred to 8 recipient mice. Seven became pregnant, yielding 38 82 normal live young (46.3%). © 1984.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

(Desti)nation branding and image repair strategies in Mexico : a qualitative case study of Visit Mexico\u2019s official Instagram posts

Abstract: This study analyses the use of image repair strategies and destination marketing techniques in online touristic promotional materials (Instagram posts) from Mexico, a long-standing pop-ular destination which reputation was damaged by crime-related crises. To gain a positive (desti)nation image and a competitive edge in a globalised world, nations employ (desti)nation branding strategies to differentiate themselves. Crisis communication techniques, like Benoit\u2019s (1997) Image Restoration Strategies and Coombs\u2019 (2007) Situational Crisis Communication Theory can be used in the case of a negative image. Previous research also developed frameworks aimed at recovery marketing in a context of (desti)nation branding, like Avraham and Ketter\u2019s (2008a) Source-Audience-Message strategies and Walters and Mair\u2019s (2012) Tourism Disaster Recovery Messages. This research investigates image repair strategies used in Mexico\u2019s promotional content, their combinations, and variations in English and Spanish corpora. A qualitative case study of 27 English and 43 Spanish posts in NVivo used grounded theory and iterative coding informed by prior research and our data. Results show strategies from destination branding-related frameworks were found most often. The English corpus emphasised a feeling of proximity with its target audience, while the Spanish-language content showed a wider variety of strategies due to its diversity. These results are useful for researchers and place marketers, highlighting the importance of using relevant strategies and understanding the target audience. Additionally, as a theoretical contribution to this field of study, we propose a new integrated framework for destination branding research

Improvement of fertilizing performance by normal and abnormal mouse semen after zona opening of mature oocytes

The usefulness of opening the zona pellucida by partial zona dissection (PZD) to enhance fertilization of mature mouse oocytes was studied after insemination with three types of semen: normal and diluted semen and semen from long-term-vasectomized males. Zona opening did not by itself induce parthenogenetic cleavage of mature oocytes and did not significantly increase mono- and polyspermic fertilization of oocytes inseminated with normal semen. While a fertilization rate of 62% was obtained among intact oocytes, of which 4.5% were polyspermic, a 66.8% fertilization rate was observed among PZD oocytes, 6.3% of which were polyspermic. However, after using diluted semen, only 54 of 193 intact oocytes were fertilized (28%), and PZD improved the fertilization rate to 65.4%. Cleavage rate of nonmanipulated oocytes inseminated with abnormal semen from vasectomized males was dramatically decreased in comparison with those inseminated with normal semen (7.6% vs. 65%). PZD induced a moderate but significant improvement of fertilization performance when using this abnormal semen (19.6%).SCOPUS: ar.jFLWNAinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Fast freezing of cow embryos in French straws with an automatic program.

Cow embryos between day 6.5 and 9 were frozen in 1.5M DMSO in PBS at 2 degrees C/min from seeding to -25 degrees C before being plunged into liquid nitrogen directly or after 10 min at -25 degrees C. Cooling rate from 20 degrees C to -5 degrees C was 9 degrees C/min. Seeding was induced automatically at -5 degrees C by injection of liquid nitrogen vapour. Embryos were subsequently thawed by direct transfer to water at 20 degrees C (group I) or at 37 degrees C (group II). Survival was assessed by culture in vitro and by transfer. In group I, 35.7% were degenerated after thawing (compared to 35.4% in group II). Survival rate after culture in vitro for 24h was not significantly different (48.3% vs 42.8%) and hatching rate after 96h culture was quite similar (33.3% vs 34.4%). In group II, four pregnancies were obtained from 10 embryos transferred. Time at -25 degrees C did not improve the results. Automatic seeding did not impair survival. These results show that the quality of the embryo is the determinant factor for survival after freezing and that the plastic straw is the most suitable vessel for freezing, storage and transfer of embryos

In vitro maturation and fertilization of bovine oocytes.

peer reviewe