Consumer behavior in the disposition of disliked gifts

La entrega y recepción de regalos ha sido investigada en diversos campos, incluido el comportamiento del consumidor. El presente estudio analiza el comportamiento de disposición de regalos no gustados de una muestra de 958 individuos adultos en Ecuador (un país latinoamericano). A nivel descriptivo, el método de disposición más frecuente de este tipo de regalos es el almacenamiento. A nivel multivariante, la edad, el género, el ingreso y el colectivismo del receptor; el impacto del regalo en la relación dador-receptor; el tiempo transcurrido desde la recepción del regalo; el precio estimado del regalo y si el regalo fue o no usado; predicen el método de disposición de los regalos no gustados. Adicionalmente se discuten estos resultados y sus implicaciones.Giving and receiving gifts have been investigated in many fields of study, including consumer behavior. This study analyzes the behavior of a sample of 958 adults from Ecuador (a Latin American country), focusing on the disposition of gifts that recipients do not like. At the descriptive level, the most common disposition method of these gifts is storage. At the multivariate level, age, gender, income, and collectivism of receiver; the gift impact on the giver-receiver relationship; the time elapsed since the receiving of the gift; the estimated price of the gift and whether the gift was used or not predict the disposition method of the disliked gift. These results and their implications are discussed

MicroED data collection and processing.

MicroED, a method at the intersection of X-ray crystallography and electron cryo-microscopy, has rapidly progressed by exploiting advances in both fields and has already been successfully employed to determine the atomic structures of several proteins from sub-micron-sized, three-dimensional crystals. A major limiting factor in X-ray crystallography is the requirement for large and well ordered crystals. By permitting electron diffraction patterns to be collected from much smaller crystals, or even single well ordered domains of large crystals composed of several small mosaic blocks, MicroED has the potential to overcome the limiting size requirement and enable structural studies on difficult-to-crystallize samples. This communication details the steps for sample preparation, data collection and reduction necessary to obtain refined, high-resolution, three-dimensional models by MicroED, and presents some of its unique challenges

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ribosomal protein L26 is not essential for ribosome assembly and function

Ribosomal proteins play important roles in ribosome biogenesis and function. Here, we study the evolutionarily conserved L26 inSaccharomyces cerevisiae, which assembles into pre-60S ribosomal particles in the nucle(ol)us. Yeast L26 is one of the many ribosomal proteins encoded by two functional genes. We have disrupted both genes; surprisingly, the growth of the resulting rpl26null mutant is apparently identical to that of the isogenic wild-type strain. The absence of L26 minimally alters 60S ribosomal subunit biogenesis. Polysome analysis revealed the appearance of half-mers. Analysis of pre-rRNA processing indicated that L26 is mainly required to optimize 27S pre-rRNA maturation, without which the release of pre-60S particles from the nucle-(ol)us is partially impaired. Ribosomes lacking L26 exhibit differential reactivity to dimethylsulfate in domain I of 25S/5.8S rRNAs but apparently are able to support translationin vivowith wild-type accuracy. The bacterial homologue of yeast L26, L24, is a primary rRNA binding protein required for 50S ribosomal subunit assemblyin vitroandin vivo. Our results underscore potential differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosome assembly. We discuss the reasons why yeast L26 plays such an apparently nonessential role in the cel

Preference incorporation in MOEA/D using an outranking approach with imprecise model parameters

Multi-objective Optimization Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) face numerous challenges when they are used to solve Many-objective Optimization Problems (MaOPs). Decomposition-based strategies, such as MOEA/D, divide an MaOP into multiple single-optimization sub-problems, achieving better diversity and a better approximation of the Pareto front, and dealing with some of the challenges of MaOPs. However, these approaches still require one to solve a multi-criteria selection problem that will allow a Decision-Maker (DM) to choose the final solution. Incorporating preferences may provide results that are closer to the region of interest of a DM. Most of the proposals to integrate preferences in decomposition-based MOEAs prefer progressive articulation over the “a priori” incorporation of preferences. Progressive articulation methods can hardly work without comparable and transitive preferences, and they can significantly increase the cognitive effort required of a DM. On the other hand, the “a priori” strategies do not demand transitive judgements from the DM but require a direct parameter elicitation that usually is subject to imprecision. Outranking approaches have properties that allow them to suitably handle non-transitive preferences, veto conditions, and incomparability, which are typical characteristics of many real DMs. This paper explores how to incorporate DM preferences into MOEA/D using the “a priori” incorporation of preferences, based on interval outranking relations, to handle imprecision when preference parameters are elicited. Several experiments make it possible to analyze the proposal's performance on benchmark problems and to compare the results with the classic MOEA/D without preference incorporation and with a recent, state-of-the-art preference-based decomposition algorithm. In many instances, our results are closer to the Region of Interest, particularly when the number of objectives increases

Diagnóstico de instalaciones de transporte de hidromezcla afectadas por cavitación

Se fundamenta de forma experimental la relación entre niveles de vibración y altura de succión en bombas centrífugas de instalaciones de transporte de hidromezclas en la industria del níquel. Se establecen las etapas del régimen cavitacional y se plantea el procedimiento para el diagnóstico de instalaciones afectadas por la cavitación. La presencia de cavitación se define a partir del conocimiento de los factores hidráulicos que influyen sobre la carga neta de succión de la instalación. Se ofrecen las ecuaciones que rigen la presencia de este fenómeno y se establecen los niveles de vibraciones en los que la instalación debe operar para garantizar los parámetros técnicos y económicos

An ACO-based Hyper-heuristic for Sequencing Many-objective Evolutionary Algorithms that Consider Different Ways to Incorporate the DM's Preferences

Many-objective optimization is an area of interest common to researchers, professionals, and practitioners because of its real-world implications. Preference incorporation into Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) is one of the current approaches to treat Many-Objective Optimization Problems (MaOPs). Some recent studies have focused on the advantages of embedding preference models based on interval outranking into MOEAs; several models have been proposed to achieve it. Since there are many factors influencing the choice of the best outranking model, there is no clear notion of which is the best model to incorporate the preferences of the decision maker into a particular problem. This paper proposes a hyper-heuristic algorithm—named HyperACO—that searches for the best combination of several interval outranking models embedded into MOEAs to solve MaOPs. HyperACO is able not only to select the most appropriate model but also to combine the already existing models to solve a specific MaOP correctly. The results obtained on the DTLZ and WFG test suites corroborate that HyperACO can hybridize MOEAs with a combined preference model that is suitable to the problem being solved. Performance comparisons with other state-of-the-art MOEAs and tests for statistical significance validate this conclusion

Yeast Polypeptide Exit Tunnel Ribosomal Proteins L17, L35, and L37 are Necessary to Recruit Late-assembling Factors Required for 27SB Pre-rRNA Processing

Ribosome synthesis involves the coordinated folding and processing of pre-rRNAs with assembly of ribosomal proteins. In eukaryotes, these events are facilitated by trans-acting factors that propel ribosome maturation from the nucleolus to the cytoplasm. However, there is a gap in understanding how ribosomal proteins configure pre-ribosomes in vivo to enable processing to occur. Here, we have examined the role of adjacent yeast r-proteins L17, L35 and L37 in folding and processing of pre-rRNAs, and binding of other proteins within assembling ribosomes. These three essential ribosomal proteins, which surround the polypeptide exit tunnel, are required for 60S subunit formation as a consequence of their role in removal of the ITS2 spacer from 27SB pre-rRNA. L17-, L35- and L37-depleted cells exhibit turnover of aberrant pre-60S assembly intermediates. Although the structure of ITS2 does not appear to be grossly affected in their absence, these three ribosomal proteins are necessary for efficient recruitment of factors required for 27SB pre-rRNA processing, namely, Nsa2 and Nog2, which associate with pre-60S ribosomal particles containing 27SB pre-rRNAs. Altogether, these data support that L17, L35 and L37 are specifically required for a recruiting step immediately preceding removal of ITS2

Effects of Gamma Irradiation on Curcumin

In this study, remnants concentrations of curcumin in Curcuma longa (organic turmeric powder) were determined after it was exposed to irradiation doses of 1, 2 and 3 kGy. Curcumin analysis was performed using the analyte-sensitive impulse differential polarography technique (LOD: 0.621 ppm and LOQ: 2.130 ppm). The results obtained showed a decreasing concentration of curcumin as a function of the irradiation dose. This reduction is low in terms of affecting the product’s quality with respect to its concentration

Clothing Disposal System by Gifting: Characteristics, Processes, and Interactions

The study of clothing disposal systems, involving the flow of clothing from one household to another, is of great interest because of the positive social and environmental consequences. Based on 35 in-depth interviews with adult men and women in Ecuador, a Latin American country, the authors sought to expand knowledge regarding one of these systems: clothing disposal by gifting to family, friends, and acquaintances. The respondents’ narratives indicated that the clothing disposal system by gifting is noncentric; based on social exchange, it strengthens the links between givers and recipients while allowing for clothes to circulate for a longer time. The data also indicated an intersection between age and gender, offering insight into how the process of clothing disposal by gifting develops within households. In some disposal events reported by participants, the clothing disposal system by gifting demonstrated autonomy, but in other events, it interacted with the clothing marketing system.Universidad Tecnológica Indoaméric

Transcriptional Regulation of zma-MIR528a by Action of Nitrate and Auxin in Maize

In recent years, miR528, a monocot-specific miRNA, has been assigned multifaceted roles during development and stress response in several plant species. However, the transcription regulation and the molecular mechanisms controlling MIR528 expression in maize are still poorly explored. Here we analyzed the zma-MIR528a promoter region and found conserved transcription factor binding sites related to diverse signaling pathways, including the nitrate (TGA1/4) and auxin (AuxRE) response networks. Accumulation of both pre-miR528a and mature miR528 was up-regulated by exogenous nitrate and auxin treatments during imbibition, germination, and maize seedling establishment. Functional promoter analyses demonstrated that TGA1/4 and AuxRE sites are required for transcriptional induction by both stimuli. Overall, our findings of the nitrogen- and auxin-induced zma-MIR528a expression through cis-regulatory elements in its promoter contribute to the knowledge of miR528 regulome