Product Channels Research Articles

The reaction of OH radical with the Criegee intermediate propanone oxide: Theoretical investigations

The mechanism and kinetics of reaction of the Criegee intermediate (CH3)2CO(O) with OH radicals is investigated by theoretical methods. The stationary point on the potential energy surface of the reaction and their corresponding molecular properties are calculated by quantum-chemical methods. The significant product channel is found to be CH3COCH3 + HO2 (P1). The product CH3CO(O)CH2 + H2O (P3) is also predicted to be formed effectively at low temperatures. The reaction path (CH3)2CO(O) + OH → CH3COCH2 + 2 OH which is an auto-catalytic pathway for degradation of the Criegee intermediate has been of special interest. The rate constants for all important product channels including the latter auto-catalytic pathway are computed by statistical rate theories. It is found that the latter auto-catalytic process is not of importance in the kinetics of the title reaction.

Changing the channel: Digitization and the rise of “middle tail” strategies

AbstractResearch SummaryPrior research has studied whether digitization shifts demand away from mass‐appeal blockbusters toward a “long tail” of existing products. We extend this work by studying whether digitization influences the products created. Using unique data on movies, we examine whether the reduced costs of production and new digital distribution channels spur producers to create products aimed at smaller audiences. We employ a flexible, transparent, and largely graphical empirical approach to document changes unfolding with digitization. We find growth in both intended blockbuster and long tail products, but also, the rise of a “middle tail,” movies distributed via digital channels, with budgets suggesting commercial intent but well below the averages for theatrical distribution. The new middle tail is largely due to newcomers rather than major incumbents.Managerial SummaryDigitization has reduced the costs to create movies, while also enabling new distribution channels that avoid the high costs of theatrical distribution. With lower costs, movies no longer need to be “blockbusters” at the box office to be financially successful. In this article, we study whether digitization has spurred an increase in lower‐budget movies that are not aimed for release in theaters. We find that digitization has unleashed a large number of very low budget movies that attract little commercial attention (i.e., the “long tail”). However, we also find an increase in a new category of movies with budgets between $100,000 and $10 million, aimed at smaller audiences via new digital distribution channels. We show growth in this “middle tail” following digitization.

Multi-Erasure Locally Recoverable Codes Over Small Fields: A Tensor Product Approach

Erasure codes play an important role in storage systems to prevent data loss. In this work, we study a class of erasure codes called Multi-Erasure Locally Recoverable Codes (ME-LRCs) for storage arrays. Compared to previous related works, we focus on the construction of ME-LRCs over small fields. Our main contribution is a general construction of ME-LRCs based on generalized tensor product codes, and an analysis of their erasure-correcting properties. A decoding algorithm tailored for erasure recovery is given, and correctable erasure patterns are identified. We then prove that our construction yields optimal ME-LRCs with a wide range of code parameters, and present some explicit ME-LRCs over small fields. Next, we show that generalized integrated interleaving (GII) codes can be treated as a subclass of generalized tensor product codes, thus defining the exact relation between these codes. Finally, ME-LRCs are investigated in a probabilistic setting. We prove that ME-LRCs based upon a generalized tensor product construction can achieve the capacity of a compound erasure channel consisting of a family of erasure product channels.

Thermochemical studies of reactions of Re+ with SO2 using guided ion beam experiments and theory.

The kinetic energy dependent reactions of Re+ with SO2 were studied with guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometry. ReO+, ReO2+, and OReS+ species were observed as products, all in endothermic reactions. Modeling of the kinetic energy dependent cross sections yields 0 K bond dissociation energies (BDEs, in eV) of 4.78 ± 0.06 (Re+-O), 5.75 ± 0.02 (Re+-O2), and 4.35 ± 0.14 (Re+-SO). The latter two values can be combined with other information to derive the additional values 6.05 ± 0.05 (ORe+-O) and 4.89 ± 0.19 (ORe+-S). BDEs of ReO+ and ReO2+ agree with literature values whereas the values for OReS+ are the first measurements. The former result is obtained even though formation of ground state ReO+ is spin-forbidden. Quantum mechanical calculations at the B3LYP level of theory with a def2-TZVPPD basis set yield results that agree reasonably well with experimental values. Additional calculations at the BP86 and CCSD(T) levels of theory using def2-QZVPPD and aug-cc-pVxZ (x = T, Q, and 5) basis sets were performed to compare thermochemistry with experiment to determine that ReO2+ rather than the isobaric ReS+ is formed. Product ground states are 3Δ3(ReO+), 3B1(OReO+), 5Π-1(ReS+), and 3A''(OReS+) after including empirical spin-orbit corrections, which means that formation of ground state products is spin-forbidden for all three product channels. The potential energy surfaces for the ReSO2+ system were also explored at the B3LYP/def2-TZVPPD level and exhibited no barriers in excess of the endothermicities for all products. BDEs for rhenium oxide and sulfide diatomics and triatomics are compared and discussed. The present result for formation of ReO+ is compared to that for formation of ReO+ in the reactions of Re+ + O2 and CO, where the former system exhibited interesting dual cross section features. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that the distinction of in-plane and out-of-plane CS symmetry in the triatomic systems might be the explanation for the two endothermic features observed in the Re+ + O2 reaction.

Experimental study of the proton-transfer reaction C + H2+ → CH+ + H and its isotopic variant (D2+).

We report absolute integral cross section (ICS) measurements using a dual-source merged-fast-beams apparatus to study the titular reactions over the relative translational energy range of Er ∼ 0.01-10 eV. We used photodetachment of C- to produce a pure beam of atomic C in the ground electronic 3P term, with statistically populated fine-structure levels. The H2+ and D2+ were formed in an electron impact ionization source, with well known vibrational and rotational distributions. The experimental work is complemented by a theoretical study of the CH2+ electronic system in the reactant and product channels, which helps to clarify the possible reaction mechanisms underlying the ICS measurements. Our measurements provide evidence that the reactions are barrierless and exoergic. They also indicate the apparent absence of an intermolecular isotope effect, to within the total experimental uncertainties. Capture models, taking into account either the charge-induced dipole interaction potential or the combined charge-quadrupole and charge-induced dipole interaction potentials, produce reaction cross sections that lie a factor of ∼4 above the experimental results. Based on our theoretical study, we hypothesize that the reaction is most likely to proceed adiabatically through the 14A' and 14A'' states of CH2+via the reaction C(3P) + H2+(2Σ+g) → CH+(3Π) + H(2S). We also hypothesize that at low collision energies only H2+(v ≤ 2) and D2+(v ≤ 3) contribute to the titular reactions, due to the onset of dissociative charge transfer for higher vibrational v levels. Incorporating these assumptions into the capture models brings them into better agreement with the experimental results. Still, for energies ⪅0.1 eV where capture models are most relevant, the modified charge-induced dipole model yields reaction cross sections with an incorrect energy dependence and lying ∼10% below the experimental results. The capture cross section obtained from the combined charge-quadrupole and charge-induced dipole model better matches the measured energy dependence but lies ∼30-50% above the experimental results. These findings provide important guidance for future quasiclassical trajectory and quantum mechanical treatments of this reaction.

A MAVEN investigation of O<sup>++</sup> in the dayside Martian ionosphere

O++ is an interesting species in the ionospheres of both the Earth and Venus. Recent measurements made by the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) on board the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft provide the first firm detection of O++ in the Martian ionosphere. This study is devoted to an evaluation of the dominant O++ production and destruction channels in the dayside Martian ionosphere, by virtue of NGIMS data accumulated over a large number of MAVEN orbits. Our analysis reveals the dominant production channels to be double photoionization of O at low altitudes and photoionization of O+ at high altitudes, respectively, in response to the varying degree of O ionization. O++ destruction is shown to occur mainly via charge exchange with CO2 at low altitudes and with O at high altitudes. In the dayside median sense, an exact balance between O++ production and destruction is suggested by the data below 200 km. The apparent discrepancy from local photochemical equilibrium at higher altitudes is interpreted as a signature of strong O++ escape on Mars, characterized by an escape rate of 6×1022 s–1.

N2(A) in the Terrestrial Thermosphere

AbstractRecent work has indicated the presence of a nitric oxide (NO) product channel in the reaction between the higher vibrational levels of the first electronically excited state of molecular nitrogen, N2(A ), and atomic oxygen. A steady‐state model for the N2(A) vibrational distribution in the terrestrial thermosphere is here described and validated by comparison with N2 A‐X, Vegard‐Kaplan dayglow spectra from the Ionospheric Spectroscopy and Atmospheric Chemistry spectrograph. A computationally cheaper method is needed for implementation of the N2(A) chemistry into time‐dependent thermospheric models. It is shown that by scaling the photoelectron impact production of ionized N2 by a Gaussian centered near 100 km, the level‐specific N2(A) production rates between 100 and 200 km can be reproduced to within an average of 5%. This scaling, and thus the N2 electron impact ionization/excitation ratio, is nearly independent of existing uncertainties in the 2–20 nm solar soft X‐ray irradiance. To investigate this independence, the N2 electron‐impact excitation cross sections in the GLOW photoelectron model are replaced with the results of Johnson et al. (2005, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JA011295) and the multipart work of Malone et al. (2009 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.79.032704) (Malone, Johnson, Young, et al., 2009, https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-4075/42/22/225202; Malone, Johnson, Kanik, et al., 2009, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.79.032705; Malone et al., 2009, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.79.032704), together denoted J05M09. Upon updating these cross sections it is found that (1) the total N2 triplet excitation rate remains nearly constant; (2) the steady state N2(A) vibrational distribution is shifted to higher levels; (3) the total N2 singlet excitation rate responsible for the Lyman‐Birge‐Hopfield emission is reduced by 33%. It is argued that adopting the J05M09 cross sections supports (1) the larger X‐ray fluxes measured by the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE) and (2) a temperature‐independent N2(A)+O reaction rate coefficient.

Marketing Strategy of Green Agricultural Products based on Consumption Intention

With the improvement of people's living standards and the increasing emphasis on food safety, the green agricultural products industry has been growing. Based on the current achievements of Heilongjiang agricultural product brand and marketing, this paper analyzes the demand, price, channel, promotion and other aspects of green agricultural products from the perspective of consumer willingness and consumer behavior. Combined with the natural conditions of green agricultural products and based on the actual situation, this paper puts forward feasible marketing strategies for green agricultural products. On the one hand, the development of green agricultural products industry is conducive to creating a green and environmental business environment. On the other hand, it can further promote food safety, tap the local market demand, develop potential customers, and explore the combination of modern information technology and agricultural development. Some marketing strategies to adapt to the green agricultural products are put forward, such as expanding the docking of agricultural supermarkets, developing the community green agricultural products supermarkets, and the new development of mobile e-commerce.

Channels for distributing goods as a factor in the development of the circulation sphere

The article has substantiated the criterion system of channels for distributing commodity resources, as a complex of intermediary activity of the stream of commerce area. The classification of channels for distributing goods has been developed into direct, indirect and mixed depending on the priority of choice. The specificity of their activity has been determined. Wе claim that intermediaries, who perform the functions of both bringing the goods closer to the ultimate consumer and the corresponding ownership, are the channels for distributing commodity products. We also claim that the distribution channels of goods and the commodity flow system have different vectors of information flows, which are revealed through the correction retraction with the consumer. The article has substantiated the factors of influence on purchasing and marketing activity of the subjects of the retail network and intermediary structures, which is justified by the functional structure of sales management, as well as the system of analysis and control over the process of distribution and activity of the participants of distribution channels at the commodity market. The article has improved the system of implementing a specific variant of the logistics center’s placement, which should proceed from the criterion of optimality of the ratio between the expenses for guaranteeing the work of the warehouse economy and increase of the efficiency of servicing of enterprises and organizations of retail trade. It has been concluded in the result of the research that the achievement of an effective level of competitiveness of the subject is achieved by segmenting the market aimed at forming homogeneous groups according to certain criteria. This research has been proved that the formation of methods of stimulating sales through the provision of additional services for the supply of goods and the system of delaying payment for them has the crucial role within the pricing system. It has been noted that the effective indicators of the research in the field of studying distribution channels of commodity products is the analysis of the dynamics of sales and customers’ reactions to changes in the organization of the sales of goods area, where the motives for purchases, the relationship of changes in pricing policy and conditions of sale, the provision of additional services are analyzed.

Constraints as Perceived by Vechur Cattle Farmers of Kerala

A study was undertaken to analyse the constraints faced by the Vechur cattle farmers in Kerala. By employing chain referral sampling technique, a total of 60 cattle farmers from three districts of the state were selected as respondents for the study. Three districts namely Kottayam, Palakkad and Thrissur were selected. The data were collected through personal interview method using a structured pretested interview schedule and focus group discussion. Poor availability of green fodder round the year, non-availability of artificial insemination service in time, poor quality of available Vechur semen, lack of proper marketing channels for Vechur cattle milk and milk products, low availability of good quality pure Vechur animals and lack of government support to encourage Vechur cattlefarming were identified as some important constraint faced bythefarmers.

Making food supply chain sustainable: participating smallholder farmers in modern retail channels

Modern retail channels of food products require continuity of supply of food products such as fruits and vegetables from farmers. The relationship between farmers and retailers in modern retail channels can be created with sustainable food supply chain management (SFSCM). SFSCM is needed in response to increasing consumer concerns about health, food security, and social and environmental issues. The research objective is to determine the enabler to implement SFSCM based on the participation of small-scale farmers in modern retail channels, focused on fruit and vegetable products. The method applied is interpretive structural modelling (ISM) that has the ability to combine and clarify the possibilities and interactions. This helps to discuss direct and indirect relations between farmers and modern retailers. Some enablers, such as physical infrastructure and collaboration and work among supply chain members and stakeholders, are found to have strong and fundamental driving forces in SFSCM.

Making food supply chain sustainable: participating smallholder farmers in modern retail channels

Modern retail channels of food products require continuity of supply of food products such as fruits and vegetables from farmers. The relationship between farmers and retailers in modern retail channels can be created with sustainable food supply chain management (SFSCM). SFSCM is needed in response to increasing consumer concerns about health, food security, and social and environmental issues. The research objective is to determine the enabler to implement SFSCM based on the participation of small-scale farmers in modern retail channels, focused on fruit and vegetable products. The method applied is interpretive structural modelling (ISM) that has the ability to combine and clarify the possibilities and interactions. This helps to discuss direct and indirect relations between farmers and modern retailers. Some enablers, such as physical infrastructure and collaboration and work among supply chain members and stakeholders, are found to have strong and fundamental driving forces in SFSCM.

Performance audit model of incentive measures in sale channels in agricultural households of the Republic of Serbia

Today, in modern business, all organizations and farms, are required to maximize organizational performance in order to achieve appropriate market success. In order to raise organizational performance to the maximum level, continuous monitoring of business activities and their results is necessary. They are monitored by internal control, ie internal audit. Within their sales channels, farms often set up their holdings without a predefined sales plan with well-defined costs. A constant obstacle to the marketing of agricultural products, in addition to the low price, is the high cost of realization. For this reason, the state tries to support the development of farms and promote the sale of agricultural products through various incentive measures. In order to evaluate how much these measures really contribute to its development, it is necessary to conduct a research on this topic and, based on the results of the research, to devise a model of the performance audit of incentive measures for sales channels of agricultural products which are produced on agricultural households of the Republic of Serbia.The abstract should contain a maximum of 150 words. The abstracts should avoid any abbreviations and mathematical formulas.

IL-33/ST2 induces neutrophil-dependent reactive oxygen species production and mediates gout pain.

Objective: Gout, induced by monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition in joint tissues, provokes severe pain and impacts life quality of patients. However, the mechanisms underlying gout pain are still incompletely understood.Methods: We established a mouse gout model by intra-articularly injection of MSU crystals into the ankle joint of wild type and genetic knockout mice. RNA-Sequencing, in vivo molecular imaging, Ca2+ imaging, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, neutrophil influx and nocifensive behavioral assays, etc. were used.Results: We found interleukin-33 (IL-33) was among the top up-regulated cytokines in the inflamed ankle. Neutralizing or genetic deletion of IL-33 or its receptor ST2 (suppression of tumorigenicity) significantly ameliorated pain hypersensitivities and inflammation. Mechanistically, IL-33 was largely released from infiltrated macrophages in inflamed ankle upon MSU stimulation. IL-33 promoted neutrophil influx and triggered neutrophil-dependent ROS production via ST2 during gout, which in turn, activated transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channel in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and produced nociception. Further, TRPA1 channel activity was significantly enhanced in DRG neurons that innervate the inflamed ankle via ST2 dependent mechanism, which results in exaggerated nociceptive response to endogenous ROS products during gout.Conclusions: We demonstrated a previous unidentified role of IL-33/ST2 in mediating pain hypersensitivity and inflammation in a mouse gout model through promoting neutrophil-dependent ROS production and TRPA1 channel activation. Targeting IL-33/ST2 may represent a novel therapeutic approach to ameliorate gout pain and inflammation.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ КОМУНІКАЦІЙНОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ В СИСТЕМІ МАРКЕТИНГУ

The relevance of this topic is that communication policy is one of the most important and difficult stages in the marketing process. There is a need to characterize this policy and explore its main aspects of formation, for the proper organization of production. Significant role is given to the study of communication policy objectives, which are: building a successful reputation, offering new products and services, maintaining the popularity of products that have long been on the market, informing consumers, developing effective marketing strategies and providing customer feedback; informing on the algorithm of formation of this policy, analysis of each of its stages and their significance in general for the enterprise. The main types of means of communication are highlighted and characterized, such as: advertising, ie a form of impersonal product promotion; public relations or public relations, which are necessary to create a favorable image of the enterprise; sales promotion, ie product promotion through short-term use of incentives to encourage consumers to buy a particular product; personal selling is a type of promotion that involves, directly, personal contact of the seller with potential buyers in order to buy goods, as well as establishing relationships with customers; direct marketing is the offering of products through the use of mail, telephone, e-mail on the Internet. We concluded that the marketing policy of communications serves all components of marketing activities, namely: work with the product, pricing policy and distribution channels of these products. The success of the enterprise depends on the correctly organized marketing strategy, mainly it concerns those communications which, directly, form mutual relations between manufacturers and potential buyers. Creating such a strong relationship will not only provide regular customers, but also help the company to adjust its actions for better production of a particular type of product, which is in great demand in the market, but at the same time, the content of communications should not be accidental, but only specific goals and truthful information.

Research on the Marketing Strategy of Burgeoning Sugar-Free Beverages—Taking Yuanqi Forest as an Example

The appearance of sparkling water has set off a new wave in the beverage industry in China, with the annual sales volume increasing by almost 200% in 2019, compared with the 2018. The market share has risen to fourth place in the beverage market, becoming a new beverage that is only lower than water, carbonated drinks, and tea drinks. YuanQi Forest occupies a large market share in Chinese market, and its products are quite competitive. Therefore, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the marketing strategy of the YuanQi Forest at the present stage. This paper mainly adopts SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, and other marketing theories to analyze this kind of situation. The author aims to provide general rules for enterprises engaged in bubble water production and marketing for reference, and provides practical and theoretical guidance for Chinese enterprises to carry out and expand this industry. Through analysis, it can be concluded that YuanQi Forest has three marketing methods, which are product strategy, channel strategy and big data marketing. What is more, Yuanqi Forest has some drawbacks, such as channel construction, lack of supply chain, difficulty in market subsidence, and other problems.

Introduction to the Special Issue: “From The digital economy to the digitalization of the economy”

The Covid crisis has accelerated the digitalization of the economy. Many businesses have been forced to reorganize their production and distribution channels. In response to the Covid-related restrictions (curfew, lockdown, etc.), firms have increased their investment in information technology to facilitate video calling, teleworking, or online ordering and payments. New digital businesses such as Zoom have boomed with the pandemic. These digital transformations are an irreversible process wh...

How to promote chemical literacy? On-line question posing and communicating with scientists

Facilitating students' chemical literacy is a focal point of current science education. This study examines views of chemists and chemistry teachers on chemical literacy and, more broadly, on scientific literacy of four kinds of stakeholders: scientists, teachers, STEM students, and the educated public. We explored the views of 347 participants, representing the four stakeholder groups with diversified scientific literacy, and an Ask-a-Scientist public website as a communication channel for facilitating chemical literacy through posing questions. Research tools included interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and questions retrieved from the website. We found that the questions posed on the website expressed a range of levels of chemical literacy that the students had constructed. The stakeholder groups expressed diverse perspectives of their experiences using various types of communication channels, arguing for the need to encourage students to pose questions and receive scientists' responses. Our study is placed in the larger context of scientific literacy and communication channels, as it takes the example of chemical literacy, with a focus on communications among scientists and chemistry teachers in the context of an Ask-a-Scientist website. It has established a link between responses of various stakeholders and the literature definitions regarding scientific literacy with focus on chemical literacy. From a practical viewpoint, the study presents a productive communication channel for posing questions in the context of chemistry and other sciences. Methodologically, this study includes the design of tools for analyzing both the views of different stakeholders and for evaluating the complexity level of chemistry questions, which might serve chemistry educators.

Industry aspects of farm access to high value-added supply chains

This paper examines the factors characterizing the access of farms to the supply chains of agricultural products with high added value. Indicators of statistical reporting on farm activity grouped by type of products are analyzed, on the basis of which the influence of production size on opportunities selling products at a higher price is assessed. It is concluded that for various sectors of agriculture the level of product sale prices’ dispersion by individual farmers differs, which characterizes differences and opportunities of farmers to increase own share in the added value creation chain. Identified types of agricultural products, producers of which must increase production volumes to gain access to more profitable trade channels of products, as well as types of products where significant production volume is not a prerequisite for higher sales prices. These conclusions can be taken into account in assessing the feasibility of establishing marketing or processing consumer cooperatives of farmers.

Communication Systems in Distributed Generation: A Bibliographical Review and Frameworks

The exhaustion of natural energy and oil reserves has initiated the concept of renewable energy systems (RESs). This has expanded the vision of energy sector towards a diversified power grid while introducing the distributed energy resources (DERs) and distributed generation (DG). Though, this diversification is achieved by adding new energy generation sources and a two-way power flow, it opens the channel of production and trading with alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) energy formats. But DC-based energy, due to its sporadic nature, can be further stored easily by energy storage devices. However, in recent years, a compelling need has arisen to understand the communication systems in distributed generation (DG) for better performance management, control and parallel power transfer. In this article, a bibliographic review on communication systems in distributed generations (DGs) is provided. The study identifies various communication technologies, standards, and protocols used in AC and DC-based DGs. Moreover, it contains the classification of different frameworks and methods involved. The methodology of different approaches and their likely combination are discussed for different types of communication networks. This study also represents useful information for readers, thereby demonstrate the complete life-cycle of digital data in sensors/actuators, transmitter, receiver, filter, decoder for control of DG elements and identifies future challenges as well. A comprehensive list of publications to date are compiled to provide a complete picture of different developments in this area.