Culture, cognition and e-commerce behavior

Existing research has given little attention to the relationship between culture characteristics and consumer’s internal beliefs particularly in the pre-purchase stage, and how this relationship affects consumer’s purchase decision. This paper considers the theory of cognitive dissonance and its extended model (the 3D-RAB), as a means to study the current distribution of consumer’s pre-purchase cognitive dissonance, which allows us to investigate the effects of culture characteristics on this distribution. Results revealed that individualism versus collectivism and high power distance dimensions, from Hofstede’s cultural model, influence consumer’s pre-purchase cognitive dissonance. These dimensions must be considered in the design of e-commerce website, by tailoring motivational/influences methods and techniques to reflect targeted consumers culture.

Analysing the factors that influence tag choice based on semiotic analysis and activity theory

Social tagging has become very popular around the Internet as well as in research. The main idea behind tagging is to allow users to provide metadata to the web content from their perspective to facilitate categorization and retrieval. There are many factors that influence users' tag choice. Many studies have been conducted to reveal these factors by analysing tagging data. This paper uses two theories to identify these factors, namely the semiotics theory and activity theory. The former treats tags as signs and the latter treats tagging as an activity. The paper uses both theories to analyse tagging behaviour by explaining all aspects of a tagging system, including tags, tagging system components and the tagging activity. The theoretical analysis produced a framework that was used to identify a number of factors. These factors can be considered as categories that can be consulted to redirect user tagging choice in order to support particular tagging behaviour, such as cross-lingual tagging.

The influence of system designer intention over collaborative tagging. an analysis of tagging behaviour in CiteULike and Delicious

Tagging provides support for retrieval and categorization of online content depending on users' tag choice. A number of models of tagging behaviour have been proposed to identify factors that are considered to affect taggers, such as users' tagging history. In this paper, we use Semiotics Analysis and Activity theory, to study the effect the system designer has over tagging behaviour. The framework we use shows the components that comprise the tagging system and how they interact together to direct tagging behaviour. We analysed two collaborative tagging systems: CiteULike and Delicious by studying their components by applying our framework. Using datasets from both systems, we found that 35% of CiteULike users did not provide tags compared to only 0.1% of Delicious users. This was directly linked to the type of tools used by the system designer to support tagging.

Information and knowledge management in complex systems

16th IFIP WG8.1 International Conference on Informatics and Semiotics in Organisations, ICISO 2015

Synthesis, characterization and biological analysis of the complex [VO(Hdhp)(2)] (H(2)dhp=2,3-dihydroxypyridine)

A new vanadium (IV) complex with the monoanion of 2,3-dihydroxypyridine (H(2)dhp), or 3-hydroxy-2(1H)-pyridone, was synthesized, characterized by physicochemical techniques and tested biologically. The EPR data for the [VO(Hdhp)(2)] complex in DMF are: g(x) = 1.9768, g(y) = 1.9768 and g(z) = 1.9390; A values (10(-4) cm(-1)): A(x), 59.4; A(y//), 59.4; A(z), 171.0. The vV=O band in the IR spectrum of the complex is at 986 cm(-1). The complex is paramagnetic, with mu(eff) = 1.65 BM (d(1), spin-only) at 25 degrees C. The irreversible oxidation process [V(V)/V(IV)] of the [VO(Hdhp)(2)] complex, as revealed in a cyclic voltammogram, occurs at 876 mV. The calculated molecular structure of [VO(Hdhp)(2)] shows the vanadium(IV) center in a distorted square pyramidal environment, with the oxo ligand in the apical position and the oxygen donor atoms of the Hdhp ligands in the basal positions. The ability of [VO(Hdhp)(2)] to mimic insulin, and its toxicity to hepato-biliary functions, were investigated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and it was concluded that the length of treatment and the amount of [VO(Hdhp)(2)] administered were effective in reducing experimental diabetes.

The Brazilian financial system and the green economy : alignment with sustainable development

Three studies were prepared and are presented in this document. The first, The Brazilian Financial Sector Institutional Context in the Transition to Sustainable Development looks at the legislation, regulation, and public policies aimed at socio-environmental themes related to the financial sector. The second study, Current Financing for the Green Economy in Brazil, provides an initial estimate of the financial assets already allocated to the green economy, as well as a methodological proposal for the survey and monitoring of the respective flow of assets. The third and final study looks at two important segments of the Brazilian economy and their process of transition to a greener economy: renewable energy and agriculture.

Effects of a ferment soy product on the adipocyte area reduction and dyslipidemia control in hypercholesterolemic adult male rats

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Fermented soy product supplemented with isoflavones affects adipose tissue in a regional-specific manner and improves HDL-cholesterol in rats fed on a cholesterol-enriched diet

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Influence of a probiotic soy product on fecal microbiota and its association with cardiovascular risk factors in an animal model

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Intake of isoflavone-supplemented soy yogurt fermented with Enterococcus faecium lowers serum total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol of hypercholesterolemic rats

The aim of this study was to obtain an isoflavone-supplemented soy yogurt, fermented with Enterococcus faecium CRL 183 and Lactobacillus helveticus ssp jugurti, with suitable sensory properties and to assess the effects of the final product on blood lipids in hypercholesterolemic rats. Four isoflavone supplementation procedures were tested, in which the isoflavone was added at these stages: (1) before heat-treatment; (2) after heating and before fermentation; (3) after fermentation and (4) in the okara (by-product of soy milk) flour stirred into the fermented product when consumed. The products were subjected to a test of sensory acceptability. To assess their potential hypocholesterolemic properties in vivo, four groups of rats were used: control (C), hypercholesterolemic (H), hypercholesterolemic plus fermented product (HF) and hypercholesterolemic plus isoflavone-supplemented fermented product (HFI). Hypercholesterolemia was induced in rats of groups H, HF and HFI by feeding them on a commercial rat chow to which cholesterol and cholic acid had been added. Total, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were measured in the blood of the rats. No significant sensorial differences were detected among the samples of soy yogurt supplemented with isoflavones at various processing stages. Rats fed a fermented soy product enriched with isoflavones (HFI group) had significantly (P < 0.05) less serum total cholesterol (15.5%) compared with rats fed a hypercholesterolemic diet (H group). Non-HDL cholesterol was less (P < 0.05) in rats fed a fermented soy product enriched or not with isoflavones (27.4 and 23.2%) compared to H group. The HDL-C and triglyceride concentrations did not differ significantly among the groups. It was possible to obtain an isoflavone-supplemented soy yogurt with satisfactory sensory characteristics. The resulting supplemented soy yogurt was capable of producing a lipid-lowering effect in hypercholesterolemic rats, relative to the animals that did not consume this product.

Effects of probiotic bacteria, isoflavones and simvastatin on lipid profile and atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits: a randomized double-blind study

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of isoflavone-supplemented soy yogurt on lipid parameters and atherosclerosis development in hypercholesterolemic rabbits: a randomized double-blind study

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Synthesis, characterization and biological analysis of the complex [VO(Hdhp)(2)] (H(2)dhp=2,3-dihydroxypyridine)

A new vanadium (IV) complex with the monoanion of 2,3-dihydroxypyridine (H(2)dhp), or 3-hydroxy-2(1H)-pyridone, was synthesized, characterized by physicochemical techniques and tested biologically. The EPR data for the [VO(Hdhp)(2)] complex in DMF are: g(x) = 1.9768, g(y) = 1.9768 and g(z) = 1.9390; A values (10(-4) cm(-1)): A(x), 59.4; A(y//), 59.4; A(z), 171.0. The vV=O band in the IR spectrum of the complex is at 986 cm(-1). The complex is paramagnetic, with mu(eff) = 1.65 BM (d(1), spin-only) at 25 degrees C. The irreversible oxidation process [V(V)/V(IV)] of the [VO(Hdhp)(2)] complex, as revealed in a cyclic voltammogram, occurs at 876 mV. The calculated molecular structure of [VO(Hdhp)(2)] shows the vanadium(IV) center in a distorted square pyramidal environment, with the oxo ligand in the apical position and the oxygen donor atoms of the Hdhp ligands in the basal positions. The ability of [VO(Hdhp)(2)] to mimic insulin, and its toxicity to hepato-biliary functions, were investigated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and it was concluded that the length of treatment and the amount of [VO(Hdhp)(2)] administered were effective in reducing experimental diabetes.