Consumer responses to really new products: examining the impacts of learning strategies and presentation formats on product comprehension and attitude formation

Mental simulations and analogies have been identified as powerful learning tools for RNPs. Furthermore, visuals in advertising have recently been conceptualized as meaningful sources of information as opposed to peripheral cues and thus may help consumers learn about RNPs. The study of visual attention may also contribute to understanding the links between conceptual and perceptual analyses when learning for a RNP. Two conceptual models are developed. the first model consists of causal relationships between the attributes of advertising stimuli for RNPs and consumer responses, as well as mediating influences. The second model focuses on the role of visual attention in product comprehension as a response to advertising stimuli. Two experiments are conducted: a Web-Experiment and an eye-tracking experiment. The first experiment (858 subjects) examines the effect of learning strategies (mental simulation vs. analogy vs. no analogy/no mental simulation) and presentation formats (words vs. pictures) on individual responses. The mediating role of emotions is assessed. The second experiment investigates the effect of learning strategies and presentation formats on product comprehension, along with the role of attention (17 subjects). The findings from experiment 1 indicate that learning strategies and presentation formats can either enhance or undermine the effect of advertising stimuli on individual responses. Moreover, the nature of the product (i.e. hedonic vs. utilitarian vs. hybrid) should be considered when designing communications for RNPs. The mediating role of emotions is verified. Experiment 2 suggests that an increase in attention to the message may either reflect enhanced comprehension or confusion.

H-induced platelet and crack formation in hydrogenated epitaxial Si/Si0.98 B0.02 /Si structures

An approach to transfer a high-quality Si layer for the fabrication of silicon-on-insulator wafers has been proposed based on the investigation of platelet and crack formation in hydrogenated epitaxialSi/Si0.98B0.02/Si structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. H-related defect formation during hydrogenation was found to be very sensitive to the thickness of the buried Si0.98B0.02 layer. For hydrogenated Si containing a 130nm thick Si0.98B0.02 layer, no platelets or cracking were observed in the B-doped region. Upon reducing the thickness of the buried Si0.98B0.02 layer to 3nm, localized continuous cracking was observed along the interface between the Si and the B-doped layers. In the latter case, the strains at the interface are believed to facilitate the (100)-oriented platelet formation and (100)-oriented crack propagation.

Abnormal photosensitivity effects and the formation of type IA FBGs

We report the abnormal photosensitivity effects leading to the formation of Type IA FBGs. We show the rate at which these gratings form is related to the intensity of the UV inscription laser. We report the first measurement of the reflection along the gratings’ length.

Phagocyte oxidation of phospholipids: comparison of hydroperoxide, chlorohydrin and epoxyisoprostane formation by LC-MS

Phagocytic cells produce a variety of oxidants as part of the immune defence, which react readily both with proteins and lipids, and could contribute to the oxidation of low density lipoprotein in atherosclerosis. We have investigated the oxidation of phospholipid vesicles by isolated human polymorphonuclear and mononuclear leukocytes, to provide a model of lipid oxidation in the absence of competing protein. PMA-stimulated cells were incubated with phospholipid vesicles contammg dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC), palmitoyl-arachidonoyl phosphatidylcholine (PAPC), and stearoyl-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (SOPC), before extraction of the lipids for analysis by HPLC coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry. In this system, oxidized phosphatidylcholines elute earlier than the native lipids owing to their decreased hydrophobicity, and can be identified according to their molecular mass. The formation of monohydroperoxides of P APC was observed routinely, together with low levels of hydroxides, but no chlorohydrin derivatives of P APC or SOPC were detected. However, the major oxidized product occurred at 828 m/z, and was identified as I-palmitoyl-2-(5,6-epoxyisoprostane E2)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. These results show that phagocytes triggered by PMA cause oxidative damage to lipids predominantly by free radical mechanisms, and that electrophilic addition involving HOCl is not a major mechanism of attack. The contribution of myeloperoxidase and metal ions to the oxidation process is currently being investigated, and preliminary data suggest that myeloperoxidase-derived oxidants are responsible for the epoxyisoprostane phospholipid formation. The identification of an epoxyisoprostane phospholipid as the major product following phagocyte-induced phospholipid oxidation is novel and has implications for phagocyte involvement in atherogenesis.

Dissipative parametric modulation instability and pattern formation in nonlinear optical systems

We present the essential features of the dissipative parametric instability, in the universal complex Ginzburg- Landau equation. Dissipative parametric instability is excited through a parametric modulation of frequency dependent losses in a zig-zag fashion in the spectral domain. Such damping is introduced respectively for spectral components in the +ΔF and in the -ΔF region in alternating fashion, where F can represent wavenumber or temporal frequency depending on the applications. Such a spectral modulation can destabilize the homogeneous stationary solution of the system leading to growth of spectral sidebands and to the consequent pattern formation: both stable and unstable patterns in one- and in two-dimensional systems can be excited. The dissipative parametric instability provides an useful and interesting tool for the control of pattern formation in nonlinear optical systems with potentially interesting applications in technological applications, like the design of mode- locked lasers emitting pulse trains with tunable repetition rate; but it could also find realizations in nanophotonics circuits or in dissipative polaritonic Bose-Einstein condensates.

Glycogen, the preferred energy source for extracellular protein formation and growth of Aeromonas salmonicida

A study was made of the effect of supplementing a rich 3% (w/v) tryptone soya broth (TSB) medium and a poorer 1.7% (w/v) tryptone-based medium with glucose, maltose and glycogen, as carbon sources, on growth and exoprotein formation by Aeromonas salmonicida. In TSB, glucose inhibited growth and repressed exoprotein formation whilst maltose and glycogen had little effect, up to 20 h, when compared with an unsupplemented control. By contrast, in the poorer medium, over a 24-h incubation period, growth was stimulated three-fold by glycogen, and whilst exoprotein formation was low in comparison with that observed in TSB, the greatest production was observed in the presence of glycogen. Extracellular alpha-amylase was measured in the tryptone medium in the presence of the three carbon sources and the highest level, produced in the presence of glycogen, was 1.6 times that with added maltose whilst none was detectable with glucose present. This pattern was repeated in the case of the maltose-inducible porin, LamB, of the outer membrane.

Leadership through intellect:the meaning of leadership in the intellectual history of nineteenth and early twentieth century Germany

This study examines the understanding of leadership in Germany, as it developed throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The investigation is based on the work of contemporary writers and thinkers, as well as on the leadership styles of key political figures. Given the ideological connotations of the term "Führung" in post-war Germany, the aim is to reconsider the meaning of leadership, with particular reference to the alternative notion of spiritual guidance. The rise to power of Napoleon I fundamentally influenced the understanding of leadership in Germany, as is demonstrated through an analysis of the Napoleonic reception in contemporary literature. Despite polarised responses, the formation of the heroic ideal may be identified, the quest for spiritual guidance having become subordinate to the charismatic legitimisation of political authority. As advocated by Thomas Carlyle, the mid to late nineteenth century witnessed the realisation of this ideal through Bismarck. The intellectual response to this development is characterised by the work of Wagner, Burckhardt and Nietzsche. In different ways each figure emphasised the need to redefine greatness and to seek spiritual guidance from alternative sources. The reflection on leadership in the early twentieth century is traced through the work of Harry Graf Kessler and the circles around Stefan George. Hitherto unpublished material is examined, revealing both the influences of nineteenth century thought and reactions to the "persönliches Regiment" of Wilhelm II. The intellectual debate culminates in Max Kommerell's 1928 study Der Dichter als Führer. Read in conjunction with unpublished notes and correspondence, this provides new insights into Kommerell's thought. The concept of poetic leadership constitutes a potential spiritual and intellectual alternative to the ideal of the political "Führer" which dominated the forthcoming era. It therefore remains of contemporary significance and may contribute to a broader discussion of the leadership dilemma in modern Germany.

Oxidised LDL-lipids increase beta amyloid production by SH-SY5Y cells through glutathione depletion and lipid raft formation

Elevated total cholesterol in midlife has been associated with increased risk of dementia in later life. We have previously shown that low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is more oxidized in the plasma of dementia patients, although total cholesterol levels are not different from those of age-matched controls. β-Amyloid (Aβ) peptide, which accumulates in Alzheimer disease (AD), arises from the initial cleavage of amyloid precursor protein by β-secretase-1 (BACE1). BACE1 activity is regulated by membrane lipids and raft formation. Given the evidence for altered lipid metabolism in AD, we have investigated a mechanism for enhanced Aβ production by SH-SY5Y neuronal-like cells exposed to oxidized LDL (oxLDL). The viability of SH-SY5Y cells exposed to 4 μg oxLDL and 25 μM 27-hydroxycholesterol (27OH-C) was decreased significantly. Lipids, but not proteins, extracted from oxLDL were more cytotoxic than oxLDL. In parallel, the ratio of reduced glutathione (GSH) to oxidized glutathione was decreased at sublethal concentrations of lipids extracted from native and oxLDL. GSH loss was associated with an increase in acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) activity and lipid raft formation, which could be inhibited by the ASMase inhibitor desipramine. 27OH-C and total lipids from LDL and oxLDL independently increased Aβ production by SH-SY5Y cells, and Aβ accumulation could be inhibited by desipramine and by N-acetylcysteine. These data suggest a mechanism whereby oxLDL lipids and 27OH-C can drive Aβ production by GSH depletion, ASMase-driven membrane remodeling, and BACE1 activation in neuronal cells. © 2014 The Authors.