Corporate Reputation Management of Swedish Universities in Marketing Perspective - An Example of Lund University

Sweden was one of the most popular countries where many non-European students chose as the destination to study. However, since the introduction of tuition fees in the autumn of 2011, there has been a major reduction of enrolment in the total number of non-European students. Approximately all Swedish universities had a 33% decrease in the number of foreign students in 2011. However, Lund University had the smallest decrease of foreign students; only 18% compared with the other Swedish universities. Therefore, This thesis aims to explore the marketing promotion tactics model used by Lund University in order to generate potential non-European applicants and minimize the negative impact of the tuition fee policy. By categorizing and analyzing the marketing promotion strategies that help Lund University to maintain and improve its corporate reputation after the introduction of tuition fees, there are suggestions of different marketing promotion strategies for three major types of Swedish universities, comprehensive universities, specialized universities and university colleges, in order to minimize the negative impact of charging tuition fee policy.Furthermore, these marketing promotion strategies can also be adapted by universities in other countries to better manage their corporate reputation in order to attract more perspective applicants

Cross-Bifix-Free Codes Within a Constant Factor of Optimality

A cross-bifix-free code is a set of words in which no prefix of any length of any word is the suffix of any word in the set. Cross-bifix-free codes arise in the study of distributed sequences for frame synchronization. We provide a new construction of cross-bifix-free codes which generalizes the construction in Bajic (2007) to longer code lengths and to any alphabet size. The codes are shown to be nearly optimal in size. We also establish new results on Fibonacci sequences, that are used in estimating the size of the cross-bifix-free codes

Importance of Symbol Equity in Coded Modulation for Power Line Communications

The use of multiple frequency shift keying modulation with permutation codes addresses the problem of permanent narrowband noise disturbance in a power line communications system. In this paper, we extend this coded modulation scheme based on permutation codes to general codes and introduce an additional new parameter that more precisely captures a code's performance against permanent narrowband noise. As a result, we define a new class of codes, namely, equitable symbol weight codes, which are optimal with respect to this measure

Maximum Distance Separable Codes for Symbol-Pair Read Channels

We study (symbol-pair) codes for symbol-pair read channels introduced recently by Cassuto and Blaum (2010). A Singleton-type bound on symbol-pair codes is established and infinite families of optimal symbol-pair codes are constructed. These codes are maximum distance separable (MDS) in the sense that they meet the Singleton-type bound. In contrast to classical codes, where all known q-ary MDS codes have length O(q), we show that q-ary MDS symbol-pair codes can have length \Omega(q^2). In addition, we completely determine the existence of MDS symbol-pair codes for certain parameters

Induced Susceptibility of Host Is Associated with an Impaired Antioxidant System Following Infection with Cryptosporidium parvum in Se-Deficient Mice

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility or resistance to infection with Cryptosporidium parvum (C.parvum) correlates with Selenium (Se) deficiency in response to infection. Both adult Se-adequate and Se-deficient mouse models of cryptosporidiosis were used to study the cell-mediated immune response during the course of C. parvum infection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Blood samples from mouse models were used for Se status. The concentration of MDA, SOD, GPx and CAT in blood has revealed that lower Se level exist in Se-deficient mice. Mesenteric lymph node (MLN) lymphocytes from both mouse models were proliferated after ex vivo re-stimulation with C. parvum sporozoite antigen. The study of the cytokine profiles from the supernatant of proliferated MLN cells revealed that Se-adequate mice produced higher levels of Th1 (IFN-gamma and IL-2) and moderate amounts of Th2 (IL-4) cytokines throughout the course of infection. Whereas, MLN cells from Se-deficient mice produced lower levels of IFN-gamma, IL-2 and IL-4 cytokines. The counts of total white cell and CD3, CD4, CD8 cell in Se-adequate were higher than that in Se-deficient mice. SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that Cell immunity is affected by Se status after infection with C. parvum from kinetic changes of different white cells and cytokine. In conclusion, induced susceptibility of host is associated with an impaired antioxidant system following infection with C. parvum in C57BL/6 Selenium deficient mice

A comparative analysis of waste heat recovery systems in vehicles and their viability in real-world applications

In motor vehicles, an average of 60-70% of the overall fuel energy is dissipated primarily through the heated exhaust gases and engine coolant, which accounts for 90% of an engine’s thermal output. The fuel efficiency and environment impact of vehicles can therefore be improved by implementation of systems designed to recover this wasted energy. This meta- study explores the current methods for waste heat recovery (WHR) currently in production and research phases. A comparison is also made between the thermodynamic viability of each proposed system, from which future strategies to maximise the efficiency of WHR systems can be obtained. These include the use of the organic Rankine cycle (ORC), thermoelectric generators (TEG), and regenerative braking. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current state of research for waste heat recovery in vehicles and therefore provide a basis for further research and investigation. The results indicate a promising future for further study of ORCs in the field of WHR for internal combustion engines (ICE) in vehicles. This is due to the various design opportunities that ORCs offer, including multiple loop configurations, different working fluids and integration of thermal energy storage devices. Current research for TEGs indicate a high cost to efficiency ratio for the materials required for production, meaning that TEGs are not as viable of a solution for WHR in vehicles relative to ORCs. This paper concludes that a fuel savings of 8-19% can be achieved through the integration of multiple energy recovery systems. Keywords: Waste Heat Recovery; Vehicles; Thermodynamics; Organic Rankine Cycle; Thermoelectric Generators; Regenerative Braking; Exerg

Selenium deficiency impairs host innate immune response and induces susceptibility to Listeria monocytogenes infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Susceptibility or resistance to infection with <it>Listeria monocytogenes </it>correlates with Selenium (Se) deficiency in response to infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Se-deficient mouse models of listeriosis were used to study the innate immune response during the course of <it>L. monocytogenes </it>infection. Blood samples from mouse models were used for Se status. The concentration of MDA, SOD, GPx and CAT in blood has revealed that lower Se level exist in Se-deficient mice. Intestine, mesenteric lymph node, liver, spleen and brain from each mouse were to study the bacterial burden in organs. The analysis of cell types of spleen from Se-deficient mice revealed that the ability of the host to elicit a rapid recruitment and activation of systemic innate immune response to infection was to a certain extent compromised under conditions of Se deficiency. The cytokine levels in the serum and cytokine expression levels in the livers from Se-deficient mice revealed that the innate immune response of Se-deficient mice was impaired throughout the course of infection. These results suggest that innate immune response is altered by Se deficiency after infection with <it>L. monocytogenes</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In conclusion, induced susceptibility of host resistance is associated with an impaired innate immune response following infection with <it>L. monocytogenes </it>in C57BL/6 Se-deficient mice.</p