Asymmetric Product Research Articles

Quality Signaling through Crowdfunding Pricing

Problem definition: This paper studies an entrepreneur’s pricing strategy in a reward-based crowdfund-ing campaign under asymmetric product quality information. We propose two signaling mechanisms and investigate the relative performance of these mechanisms under different market conditions. Academic/practical relevance: This problem is relevant to practice, as asymmetric quality information is a major concern in reward-based crowdfunding; high-quality entrepreneurs are looking for credible mechanisms to signal their quality to customers. Methodology: We develop a stylized game-theoretic signaling model with both funding and regular selling periods that captures asymmetric quality information between an entrepreneur and customers. Results: For a high-quality entrepreneur who lacks a strong fanbase, we propose a new theory on quality signaling. In many cases, a low funding price might be the only signaling tool needed (i.e., one-price signaling); a high-quality entrepreneur should offer a good deal to customers in the funding period to increase the chance of a successful campaign to reach the regular selling period. However, such an entrepreneur can increase his funding price, if he commits to his future price in the regular selling period (i.e., two-price signaling). We characterize financing target levels that allow entrepreneurs to signal quality through one- or two-price mechanisms. In particular, we show that two-price signaling is plausible for a broad range of financing target levels. When both one- and two-price signaling are plausible (i.e., when the financing target level is not large), the gap in potential high- and low-quality levels and the accuracy of the market signal on customers valuation of the product in the regular selling period determine the more efficient signaling mechanism. Managerial implications: Entrepreneurs should be mindful of pricing in both funding and regular selling periods, as it plays an essential role in signaling quality information. Our findings suggest practical quality signaling in crowdfunding. We demonstrate a trade-off between signaling costs and the value of learning of consumer preferences in reward-based crowdfunding. We demonstrate how price commitment significantly increases the possibility of quality signaling for high-quality entrepreneurs without serious funding price compromises, thus making crowdfunding platforms attractive to high-quality entrepreneurs.

ONLINE REPUTATION CONCEPTUALIZATION

The development of information and communication technology is considered to have expanded the concept of reputation in the online realm. This expansion has an urgency for further investigation because in this case the internet has become the main medium used to find various sources of information. The purpose of this study is to further conceptualize online reputation and map the variables that become the impact of this concept based on studies from various academic literature. This article is a literature study using systematic literature review techniques through a qualitative approach. Basically, online reputation is rooted in the concept of word of mouth, this is consistent with the organizational reputation management model that has been formulated previously. The availability of various information on the internet becomes a source for someone to determine the reputation of an object. Online reputation must be followed by management efforts so that the expected results of the online activity strategy can be obtained. The variables that are the impact of online reputation management include: verification of asymmetric information, building personal and product brands, building brand loyalty, building trust in conducting online transactions.

Effect of electrodeposition potential and time for nickel film generation from ionic liquid electrolytes for asymmetric supercapacitor production

The electrochemical performance of nickel-based modified electrodes deposited on stainless steel from ionic liquid was studied in the positive potential regions of alkaline solution to combine with graphite in the negative potential regions for asymmetric supercapacitor applications. Nickel-based electrodes were electroplated, separately, from an ionic liquid solution containing Ni2+ ions and an aqueous solution (Watts solution). The films obtained from the non-aqueous solutions (ionic liquid) were more stable and had better electrochemical performance than those from Watts solutions. The electrochemical performance, including capacitance, power and stability of electrodes were optimized depending on the deposition conditions, specifically, the electrolyte, deposition potential and deposition times. The performance of electrode may be regulated by altering material structure via the deposition conditions. The rate limiting reaction of nickel electrodes deposited from the ionic liquids was not dependent on deposition potentials and time. It was noted to be the mixture of surface and diffusional control mechanisms. As nickel-based coatings electrodeposited from ionic liquid had high surface area, they may be more suitable for energy storage electrodes than the electrodes obtained from Watts solution. The highest specific capacitance of the prepared nickel electrodes was found to be 1690 F g−1 for the electrode electrodeposited from ionic liquid by the application of -0.7 V for 300 s. Ion transfer reactions between nickel electrodes of porous nanostructures and alkaline electrolyte were fast as a direct result of the greater surface areas.

Studies of asymmetric particle production in different multiplicity zones in azimuthal space in high energy nucleus–nucleus interactions

Studies of asymmetric particle production and investigation of dynamical fluctuations in different multiplicity zones in azimuthal space are performed for 16O–AgBr, 22Ne–AgBr, 28Si–AgBr, and 32S–AgBr interactions at (4.1–4.5) AGeV/c. Evidence of strong dynamical fluctuations is observed for the experimental data. Comparisons of the experimental results with the results of Monte Carlo simulated events (MC-RAND) and the results obtained from the analysis of the AMPT model also strengthen the experimental findings.

Does extended warranty depict competitive advantage to a retailer in a retail-e-tail channel supply chain

For a strong presence of online channel with superior policy traditional brick and mortar channel is losing its footprint rapidly. Under this situation does retail channel survive? To analyze this paper considers a retail-e-tail channel supply chain, where the retailer sells an extended warranty policy purely for its existence given the fierce price competition with the e-tail channel. It is realized that by selling a properly designed extended warranty policy the retailer generates a higher rate of profit margin than the manufacturer. Longer duration of extended warranty at a lower price attracts more customers to buy through the retail channel and hence enhances the retailer’s profit margin. Two different coordination contract mechanisms, namely, all unit quantity discount along with franchise fee, and revenue sharing contracts are proposed to resolve channel conflict and asymmetric Nash bargaining product is used for a particular profit split. It revels under any circumstance the retailer denies manufacturer’s warranty cost-sharing proposal for a better pay off.

On the “merger paradox” in price competition with asymmetric product differentiation

AbstractBy assuming asymmetric product differentiation, we consider the “merger paradox” in price competition (or the incentive to collude in prices). We investigate whether the emergence of the merger paradox depends on the degree of product differentiation between firms. In particular, unlike Deneckere and Davidson (1985), we demonstrate that if the degree of product differentiation between the insider and outsider is sufficiently small, then they are strategic substitutes, and thus, the merger paradox arises in price competition.

Chiral Oxazolinyl Hydroxyl Ferrocene Catalysts: Synthesis and Applications in Asymmetric Reactions

AbstractChiral oxazolinyl hydroxyl ferrocenes have been demonstrated as representative catalysts in enantioselective nucleophilic addition reactions in the last few decades. They have received much interest from chemists because of not only the numerous substitution patterns at their sandwich backbones, but also their superior catalytic activity in asymmetric transformations. Recent research has revealed that the planar chirality of these catalysts influences the stereochemistry of asymmetric products and the application scope in enantioselective reactions. Herein, we provide an intensive survey of chiral oxazolinyl hydroxyl ferrocene compounds, including the structures of chiral compounds already published, designed synthetic approaches for ferrocenes with different patterns, and their utilization in the enantioselective preparation of secondary alcohols using organozinc reagents.

Compatibility Strategies of Asymmetric Digital Platforms

We develop a three-stage game-theoretic model within a duopoly setting to investigate the profit-maximizing compatibility strategies of firms that produce revenue-generating asymmetric digital platforms and asymmetric digital application products which are offered as a bundle. For each compatibility strategy we also examine: by how much should the firm that wishes to offer its application product on a rival platform enhance the intrinsic value of the compatible system (i.e., incremental compatibility value). We find that the profit-maximizing compatibility choice depends on the adoption costs of a bundle and on the intrinsic value difference between the two digital platforms and/or application products. An incompatibility strategy is optimal when the adoption costs are low or the intrinsic value difference is small. Larger adoption costs and greater intrinsic value difference, provide greater incentives for both firms to pursue a one-way compatibility whereby the superior application product is compatible with the superior platform since this type of one-way compatibility increases the profitability of both firms. We also find that the greater the intrinsic value difference, the larger is the incremental compatibility value added to the superior application product when it is made compatible and is being customized to the superior platform.

Operando time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals the chemical nature enabling highly selective CO2 reduction

Copper electrocatalysts have been shown to selectively reduce carbon dioxide to hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, the absence of a systematic study based on time-resolved spectroscopy renders the functional agent—either metallic or oxidative Copper—for the selectivity still undecidable. Herein, we develop an operando seconds-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy to uncover the chemical state evolution of working catalysts. An oxide-derived Copper electrocatalyst is employed as a model catalyst to offer scientific insights into the roles metal states serve in carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR). Using a potential switching approach, the model catalyst can achieve a steady chemical state of half-Cu(0)-and-half-Cu(I) and selectively produce asymmetric C2 products - C2H5OH. Furthermore, a theoretical analysis reveals that a surface composed of Cu-Cu(I) ensembles can have dual carbon monoxide molecules coupled asymmetrically, which potentially enhances the catalyst’s CO2RR product selectivity toward C2 products. Our results offer understandings of the fundamental chemical states and insights to the establishment of selective CO2RR.

Design and Implementation of Asymmetric Extrusion Die Using Bezier Technique

Extrusion is a process that used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile. A material is pushed through a die of the desired cross-section. The main advantage of this process with respect to other manufacturing processes is its ability to create very complex cross-sections, while the limitation of extrusion process is used to produced just a symmetric profile so this paper proposed an adopted algorithm that used to design and implementation the Asymmetric extrusion die that used to prevent the twisting that caused in metal when used to produce the Asymmetric product, and in other wise reduce the total extrusion power and die pressure distribution on metal during extrusion process. This adopted design was implemented in this work using Teflon material in both symmetric and asymmetric profile using CNC milling machine to demonstration the success of this algorithm.

High-throughput assay for determining enantiomeric excess of chiral diols, amino alcohols, and amines and for direct asymmetric reaction screening.

Determining enantiomeric excess (e.e.) in chiral compounds is key to development of chiral catalyst auxiliaries and chiral drugs. Here we describe a sensitive and robust fluorescence-based assay for determining e.e. in mixtures of enantiomers of 1,2- and 1,3-diols, chiral amines, amino alcohols, and amino-acid esters. The method is based on dynamic self-assembly of commercially available chiral amines, 2-formylphenylboronic acid, and chiral diols in acetonitrile to form fluorescent diastereomeric complexes. Each analyte enantiomer engenders a diastereomer with distinct fluorescence wavelength/intensity originating from enantiopure fluorescent ligands. In this assay, enantiomers of amines and amine derivatives assemble with diol-type ligands containing a binaphthol moiety (BINOL and VANOL), whereas diol enantiomers form complexes with the enantiopure amine-type fluorescent ligand tryptophanol. The differential fluorescence is utilized to determine the amount of each enantiomer in the mixture with an error of <1% e.e. This method enables high-throughput real-time evaluation of enantiomeric/diastereomeric excess (e.e./d.e.) and product yield of crude asymmetric reaction products. The procedure comprises high-throughput liquid dispensing of three components into 384-well plates and recording of fluorescence using an automated plate reader. The approach enables scaling up the screening of combinatorial libraries and, together with parallel synthesis, creates a robust platform for discovering chiral catalysts or auxiliaries for asymmetric transformations and chiral drug development. The procedure takes ~4-6 h and requires 10-20 ng of substrate per well. Our fluorescence-based assay offers distinct advantages over existing methods because it is not sensitive to the presence of common additives/impurities or unreacted/incompletely utilized reagents or catalysts.

Disrupting habits of North–South research collaboration: Learning in co-authoring

One of the frequently mentioned manifestations of asymmetrical relationships in North–South research collaboration has been challenges in co-authoring joint international publications. We critically reflect on our attempt to counteract this tendency and analyse a process of producing an edited volume on practices of citizenship in East Africa, which reports selected findings of a four-year collaborative research project between Tanzanian, Ugandan and Finnish academics. The project was based on philosophical pragmatism, and especially John Dewey’s ideas concerning learning as reformulation of habits. Consequently, our reflection of learning presented in this paper draws from the pragmatist notions of habit and disruption. We analyse how some prevalent habits in support of asymmetrical knowledge production emerged and the ways in which we attempted to reformulate them in our own practices by initiating continuous dialogue within the team, introduction of writing retreats and offering short-term fellowships.

High-Efficient Production of (S)-1-[3,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanol via Whole-Cell Catalyst in Deep-Eutectic Solvent-Containing Micro-Aerobic Medium System.

The ratio of substrate to catalyst (S/C) is a prime target for the application of asymmetric production of enantiomerically enriched intermediates by whole-cell biocatalyst. In the present study, an attractive increase in S/C was achieved in a natural deep-eutectic solvent (NADES) containing reaction system under microaerobic condition for high production of (S)-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanol ((S)-3,5-BTPE) with Candida tropicalis 104. In PBS buffer (0.2 M, pH 8.0) at 200 rpm and 30 °C, 79.5 g (Dry Cell Weight, DCW)/L C. tropicalis 104 maintained the same yield of 73.7% for the bioreduction of 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)acetophenone (BTAP) under an oxygen-deficient environment compared with oxygen-sufficient conditions, while substrate load increased 4.0-fold (from 50 mM to 200 mM). Furthermore, when choline chloride:trehalose (ChCl:T, 1:1 molar ratio) was introduced into the reaction system for its versatility of increasing cell membrane permeability and declining BTAP cytotoxicity to biocatalyst, the yields were further increased to 86.2% under 200 mM BTAP, or 72.9% at 300 mM BTAP. After the optimization of various reaction parameters involved in the bioreduction, and the amount of biocatalyst and maltose co-substrate remained 79.5 g (DCW)/L and 50 g/L, the S/C for the reduction elevated 6.3 times (3.8 mM/g versus 0.6 mM/g). By altering the respiratory pattern of the whole-cell biocatalyst and exploiting the ChCl:T-containing reaction system, the developed strategy exhibits an attractive potential for enhancing catalytic efficiency of whole-cell-mediated reduction, and provides valuable insight for the development of whole-cell catalysis.

Affine structures of decomposable solvable groups

Bi-crossed products of groups are closely related to braces, a ring-like structure connected with solutions to the Yang-Baxter equation. The asymmetric product of braces, which has become useful for the construction of regular affine groups and simple braces, as well as several other product constructions, are unified, extended, and simplified. All bi-crossed products of bicyclic braces are classified.

Quality incentive contracts considering asymmetric product manufacturability information: Piece rate vs. Tournament

Product quality depends on not only the quality effort spent during the manufacturing process but also the product manufacturability determined at the product design stage. The manufacturer (he) may keep the product design and a part of production in house and outsource some production when he encounters a large unexpected demand. In this case, he may privately own the product manufacturability information (low- or high-type) and should propose an incentive-compatible contract to signal this information to the uninformed supplier. We first consider that the manufacturer outsources to one supplier and proposes a piece rate contract, with which the supplier is charged a quality penalty proportional to the amount of defective products supplied. In the separating equilibrium, the high-type manufacturer employs a smaller quality penalty rate and thus achieves a lower product quality under asymmetric product manufacturability information than under symmetric information. When the manufacturer outsources to multiple suppliers, he can employ a tournament contract, with which the quality penalty is based on the suppliers’ relative performance. In this situation, the equilibrium tournament contract under symmetric product manufacturability information is also the separating equilibrium contract under asymmetric information, hence resulting in the first-best quality and profit. We further find that the separating equilibrium exists and is stable while no pooling equilibrium is stable.

Asymmetric Product Line and Multi-Homing

This paper examines vertical relationships in which a monopolistic upstream producer supplies a product through downstream distributors to consumers who may access multiple distributors (i.e., multi-homing). Given that there are multi-homing consumers, exclusive supply of a product induces more consumers to multi-home than non-exclusive supply. Consequently, the upstream firm deals with only one of the distributors exclusively without any contractual arrangements. We also show that forcing non-exclusive supply on the producer may worsen welfare as a result of the reduction of multi-homing consumers.

Comparison of experimental, analytical and simulation results for hot rolling of S275JR quality steel

Hot rolling allows the material to be shaped in successive steps in different steps since the material is at a temperature above 0.5Tm which is the recrystallization temperature and gives the possibility of deformation with large deformation rates. In the industry, direct applications show negative effects on time and cost. Practical processes by experimenting can be completed in short periods in some symmetrical profile section products and long periods in some asymmetric profile section products. Finite element method (FEM) can be applied in order to predict the results obtained by simulating the designed calibrations in the computer environment before testing in the rolling mill. In this study, the production of HEA 240 profile in S275JR quality is experimentally made in 21 passes and the geometric dimensions of the first three passes of this structure was compared with 3D FEM analysis results. The comparison results are compatible and high similarity ratio as 95–99.1% was found. Following to this, the analytically calculated dimensions of calibrated IPE 140 profile in S275JR quality was compared by the verified 3D FEM analysis. Considering the first 5 passes of 15 passes for saving time, the simulation and analytical results are in close relationship less than 5% deviation ratio. It is possible to say that this simulation, which has small acceptable differences, has a significant effect on minimizing losses in production processes and achieving production targets.

An Ethnic Comparison of Arginine Dimethylation and Cardiometabolic Factors in Healthy Black and White Youth: The ASOS and African-PREDICT Studies.

Proteinic arginine dimethylation (PADiMe) is a major post-translational modification. Proteolysis of asymmetric and symmetric PADiMe products releases asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), respectively, two endogenous atherogenic substances. SDMA, ADMA, and its major metabolite dimethylamine (DMA) are eliminated by the kidney. The urinary concentrations of DMA+ADMA, SDMA, and DMA+ADMA+SDMA are useful measures of the whole-body asymmetric and symmetric PADiMe, respectively. Urinary (DMA+ADMA)/SDMA is an index of the asymmetric to symmetric PADiMe balance. In two bi-ethnic studies, the ASOS (39 black boys, 41 white boys) and the African-PREDICT (292 black young men, 281 white young men) studies, we investigated whether ethnicity is a major determinant of PADiMe, and whether PADiMe is associated with blood pressure and ethnicity-dependent growth and inflammatory factors, including HDL. DMA, ADMA, and SDMA were measured in spot urine samples by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and their excretion was corrected for creatinine excretion. In black boys, creatinine-corrected DMA, DMA+ADMA, and DMA+ADMA+SDMA concentrations were lower by 11.7%, 9.5%, and 7.6% (all p < 0.05), respectively, compared to the white boys, and 3.4%, 2.0%, and 1.8% lower (all p < 0.05), respectively, in black compared to white men. (DMA+ADMA)/SDMA did not differ between black boys and black men, but was higher in white boys compared to white men. ADMA did not differ between black and white boys, or between black and white men. Creatinine-corrected SDMA excretion was lower in black boys compared to white boys (by 8%) and to white men (by 3.1%). None of the PADiMe indices were associated with blood pressure in either study. IGF-binding protein 3 correlated inversely with all PADiMe indices in the black men only. Our study showed that asymmetric proteinic arginine dimethylation is higher in white boys than in black boys, and that this difference disappears in adulthood. ADMA metabolism and SDMA excretion were lower in the black subjects compared to the white subjects, suggesting ethnicity-dependent hepatic and renal elimination of ADMA and SDMA in the childhood. The results of our study may have clinical relevance beyond atherosclerosis, such as in growth and inflammation, which have not been sufficiently addressed thus far.

Design and evaluation of novel bio‐based deep eutectic solvents for highly efficient bioproduction of chiral aryl alcohol

AbstractBACKGROUNDDeep eutectic solvents (DESs) derived from bio‐available materials are promising eco‐friendly solvents in the field of biocatalysis. However, the type of bio‐based DES is still limited and its application in bioprocess has not been well‐explored. We adopted a design strategy via the combination of choline and amino acids to synthesize novel bio‐based DESs, aimed to enhance biocatalytic efficacy by exploiting the developed DESs as co‐solvents.RESULTSVarious bio‐based DESs were synthesized, where the two components are both bio‐available (choline and amino acids). Their performances in the bioreduction of 2‐chloro‐1‐(3,4‐difluorophenyl)ethanone (CFPO) were subsequently evaluated with recombinant Escherichia coli cells. The efficient asymmetric production of (S)‐2‐chloro‐1‐(3,4‐difluorophenyl)ethanol ((S)‐CFPL) was successfully achieved in a developed choline acetate/lysine (ChAc/Lys)‐containing medium. ChAc/Lys can strengthen coenzyme regeneration and properly improve cell membrane permeability during bioreduction, which account for high conversion. After optimized reaction parameters were conducted in the ChAc/Lys‐buffer system, 87.0% (S)‐CFPL yield was observed with &gt; 99.9% enantiomeric excess (ee) value at 1 mol L−1 CFPO content. The substrate loading in the established ChAc/Lys‐buffer system was increased by 3.3‐fold compared to aqueous medium. This bioprocess was also proved to be feasible at 500 mL preparative‐scale with a satisfactory conversion.CONCLUSIONChAc/Lys bio‐DES is a promising and biocompatible co‐solvent. Introducing ChAc/Lys to the reaction system is an effective strategy for challenging high substrate loading for bioreduction. Our results give a valuable insight for developing green and benign sustainable bio‐DESs for biotransformation. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

Parallel Inverse Aggregate Demand Curves in Discrete Choice Models

This paper highlights a previously unnoticed property of commonly-used discrete choice models, which is that they feature parallel demand curves. Specifically, we show that in additive random utility models, inverse aggregate demand curves shift in parallel with respect to variety if and only if the random utility shocks follow the Gumbel (Type 1 Extreme Value) distribution. Using results from Extreme Value Theory, we provide conditions for other distributions to generate parallel demands asymptotically, as the number of varieties increases. We establish these results in the benchmark case of symmetric products, illustrate them using numerical simulations and show that they hold in extended versions of the model with correlated tastes and asymmetric products. Lastly, we provide a “proof of concept” of parallel demands as an economic tool by showing how to use parallel demands to identify the change in consumer surplus from an exogenous change in product variety.