Medium Production Research Articles

The more followers the better? The impact of food influencers on consumer behaviour in the social media context

PurposeThe study explores the impact of food influencers on consumer behaviour in the social media context. It assesses the interplay between the number of followers an influencer has and the type of content this influencer communicates to the audience. Doing so, the research contributes to the strategic refinement of influencer marketing practices, especially in the food industry.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed an experimental between-subject design 2 (influencer type: micro vs macro) x 2 (content type: informational vs entertaining). It recruited 197 Prolific participants (45.7% female, Mage = 45.076), testing their perceptions towards the influencer and the endorsed product in the social media post.FindingsThere was a significant interaction between influencer type and content type on consumers’ attitudes towards and their willingness to buy the advertised product. Specifically, the notion that “the more followers, the better” may only be applicable when consumers peruse the content for entertainment purposes, whereas while they read it for information purposes, a micro influencer (with hundreds to thousands of followers) may have as much impact on consumer behaviour as a macro influencer (with hundreds of thousands to a million followers).Originality/valueOur findings offer a nuanced understanding into the conventional wisdom that people often follow crowd behaviour. Using the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM), we explicate when the number of followers matters and when the content type prevails.

Preparation of carbon-based solid acid catalyst from rice straw for furfural production in aqueous media

Preparation of carbon-based solid acid catalyst from rice straw for furfural production in aqueous media

Social Media's Influence on Productivity in Working Space Facilities : Studies on Cofffe Shop in Cimahi City, Indonesia

This study aims to determine and analyze the influence of social media on productivity in workspace facilities located in coffee shops. Employing a quantitative descriptive research method, primary data were collected through questionnaires distributed to 106 respondents who use these workspaces in Cimahi City. Data analysis was conducted using simple regression to measure the relationship between social media usage and productivity levels. The results indicate that social media has a significant positive impact on productivity within coffee shop workspaces, demonstrating a strong correlation between the two variables. These findings have important implications for both the development of knowledge in productivity management and for coffee entrepreneurs. Coffee shop owners are encouraged to leverage social media as a tool to attract customers, build community engagement, and enhance interaction, all of which can contribute to increased visitor productivity. This research also opens avenues for further studies on additional factors influencing productivity in collaborative workspaces in public venues.

Effect of Social Media on Purchasing Habits of Consumers in Kathmandu Valley

This study examines the effect of social media in purchasing habits of consumers in Kathmandu Valley. Consumer purchasing habit is the dependent variable. The selected independent variables are online reviews, advertisement in social media, entertainment marketing, consumer’s satisfaction and trust, social imaging and information search. The primary source of data is used to assess the opinions of the respondents regarding consumer’s purchasing habits through social media in Kathmandu Valley. The study is based on consumers inside Kathmandu Valley with 132 respondents. To achieve the purpose of the study, structured questionnaire is prepared. The correlation coefficients and regression models are estimated to test the significance and importance of in purchasing habits of online reviews, advertisement in social media, entertainment marketing, consumer’s satisfaction and trust, social imaging and information search on consumers purchasing habits in Kathmandu Valley. The study showed that the online review has a positive impact on purchasing habits of consumers. It indicates that positive reviews of the products in social media stimulates the consumer’s purchasing habits. Likewise, the advertisement in social medias is has a positive impact on purchasing habits of consumers. It indicates that advertising through different social media stimulates the purchasing habits of the consumer. In addition, entertainment marketing has a positive impact on purchasing habits of consumers. It indicates that entertainment marketing in social media impulse the purchasing habits of consumers. Further, customer’s satisfaction and trust has a positively impact on purchasing habits of consumers. It indicates that maintaining customer’s satisfaction and trust stimulates the purchasing habits of consumers. Furthermore, social imaging has a positive impact on consumer’s purchasing habits. It indicates that good social imaging of the company drives the consumer’s purchasing habit. The study also revealed that information search has a positive impact on purchasing habits of consumers. It implies that availability of information about the products in social media impulse the purchasing habits of consumer in Kathmandu Valley.

The Implications of Crowdfunding on News Production and Distribution Practices in Indonesia's Online Media

This article investigates the crowdfunding journalism model and its implications for the news production and distribution of Project Multatuli (PM), the first crowdfunding media in Indonesia. Therefore, this research utilizes a crowdfunding journalism perspective, a qualitative approach study, and triangulation methods for data collection (in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentation). The results showed the following findings: First, PM uses a combination funding model of crowdfunding and donor agencies, rather than hybrid funding based on a traditional business model that relies on media owners and advertising. This combination funding model aims to be free from pressure from media owners as investors and profit orientation from advertising revenue. Second, PM creates a transparent, participatory and collaborative co-creation process with its members in content production. Third, PM 'resists' the logic of algorithms through clickbait to increase digital traffic which has implications for the speed and superficiality of coverage. It is a form of PM's dedication to investigative journalism that is committed to in-depth coverage in order to maintain the credibility of the content. Lastly, PM distributes content through national, local and international media networks under creative license. Thus, the distribution strategy is more aimed at expanding the reach of literacy to the general public, rather than just increasing readership.

Characterization, whole-genome sequence analysis, and protease production of a new thermophilic Bacillus licheniformis strain isolated from Debagh hot spring, Algeria.

A new thermophilic strain, designated as Bacillus sp. LMB3902, was isolated from Hammam Debagh, the hottest spring in Algeria (up to 98°C). This isolate showed high protease production in skim milk media at 55°C and exhibited significant specific protease activity by using azocasein as a substrate (157.50 U/mg). Through conventional methods, chemotaxonomic characteristics, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and comparative genomic analysis with the closely related strain Bacillus licheniformis DSM 13 (ATCC 14580T), the isolate Bacillus sp. LMB3902 was identified as a potentially new strain of Bacillus licheniformis. In addition, the gene functions of Bacillus sp. LMB3902 strain were predicted using the Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, Clusters of Orthologous Groups, Non-Redundant Protein Sequence Database, Swiss-Prot, and Pfam databases. The results showed that the genome size of Bacillus sp. LMB3902 was 4.279.557bp, with an average GC content of 46%. The genome contained 4.760 predicted genes, including 8 rRNAs, 78 tRNAs, and 24 sRNAs. A total of 235 protease genes were annotated including 50 proteases with transmembrane helix structures and eight secreted proteases with signal peptides. Additionally, the majority of secondary metabolites found by antiSMASH platform showed low similarity to identified natural products, such as fengicin (53%), lichenysin (57%), and surfactin (34%), suggesting that this strain may encode for novel uncharacterized natural products which can be useful for biotechnological applications. This study is the first report that describes the complete genome sequence, taxono-genomics, and gene annotation as well as protease production of the Bacillus genus in this hydrothermal vent.

Design of an agro-industrial by-products-based media for the production of probiotic bacteria for fish nutrition

Probiotic production in commercial culture media is expensive, so, it is necessary to design culture media based on “low-cost” components like agro-industrial by-products. Therefore, this study aimed to design an agro-industrial by-product-based culture media using whey, sugarcane molasses, and palm kernel cake as components to produce Lactococcus lactis A12, Priestia megaterium M4, and Priestia sp. M10 isolated from Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) associated gut microbiota. Higher bacterial concentrations were achieved at high whey concentrations and low concentrations of sugarcane molasses and palm kernel cake (PKC) using agitation. The optimal conditions were whey, 3.84% w/v; sugarcane molasses, 7.39% w/v; PKC, 0.77% w/v; and agitation speed, 75 RPM. Bacterial growth under optimal conditions was compared to that in commercial Brain–Heart Infusion (BHI) broth. L. lactis A12 showed similar growth in the optimal media and BHI. The estimated cost of the culture media based on component prices was USD $ 3.01/L, which is 86.93% lower than BHI broth (USD $ 23.04/L). It was possible to design a “low-cost agro-industrial by-product-based culture media to produce L. lactis A12 and the two Priestia species under monoculture conditions.

Amorphous core-shell NiMoP@CuNWs rod-like structure with hydrophilicity feature for efficient hydrogen production in neutral media

Amorphous core-shell NiMoP@CuNWs rod-like structure with hydrophilicity feature for efficient hydrogen production in neutral media

The rear window: looking for another side of the experience . First part.

This article presents some theoretical reflections on the conceptual corpus of La ventana indiscreta, asomándose a la experiencia del arte, a research-creation project that gave rise to the CREACOM Laboratory for Creation in Knowledge Management and Social Innovation and the university TV and radio series La Ventana Indiscreta. Asomándonos a la Experiencia del Arte; a space that articulated the relationship between teaching, research and production in the arts of the Faculty of Integrated Arts of the Universidad del Valle and the project of Cultural Policies of the University, allowing the participation of art audiences and their daily experience with the mediation of technologies and communication strategies. Achieving a transversal bet from research to production and broadcasting in university media. At the end of this article we offer a synthetic analysis of the systematization presented by one of the members of the base team, leaving the promise of a second article that gathers a new proposal of systematization of the process.

Optimised stress – intensification of pyocyanin production with zinc oxide nanoparticles

BackgroundPyocyanin is a blue pigment produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Due to its unique redox properties over the last decade, it has gained more and more interest as a utile chemical. Nevertheless, it remains a rather costly reagent. It was previously shown that the production of pyocyanin can be enhanced by employing various methods. Among them are using statistical methods for planning the experiments or exposing bacterial cultures to stressors such as nanoparticles dosed in sublethal concentrations, e.g. zinc oxide nanoparticles.ResultsThe Design of Experiment (DoE) methodology allowed for calculating the optimal process temperature and nanoparticle concentration to intensify pyocyanin production. Low concentrations of the nanoparticles (6.06 µg/mL) and a temperature of 32℃ enhanced pyocyanin production, whereas higher concentrations of nanoparticles (275.75 µg/mL) and higher temperature stimulated biomass production and caused the abolishment of pyocyanin production. Elevated pigment production in zinc oxide nanoparticles-supplemented media was sustained in the scaled-up culture. Conducted analyses confirmed that observed stimulation of pyocyanin production is followed by higher membrane potential, altered gene expression, generation of reactive oxygen species, and accumulation of zinc in the cell’s biomass.ConclusionsPyocyanin production can be steered using ZnO nanoparticles. Elevated production of pyocyanin due to exposure to nanoparticles is followed by the number of changes in physiology of bacteria and is a result of the cellular stress. We showed that the stress response of bacteria can be optimised using statistical methods and result in producing the desired metabolite more effectively.

Biological effects of culture medium on Tetraselmis chuii and Dunaliella tertiolecta: Implications for emerging pollutants degradation

In this study, laboratory-scale cultivation of T. chuii and D. tertiolecta was conducted using Conway, F/2, and TMRL media to evaluate their biochemical composition and economic costs. The highest cell density (30.36 × 106 cells/mL) and dry weight (0.65 g/L) for T. chuii were achieved with Conway medium. This medium also produced biomass with maximum lipid content (25.65%), proteins (27.84%), and total carbohydrates (8.45%) compared with F/2 and TMRL media. D. tertiolecta reached a maximum cell density of 17.50 × 106 cells/mL in F/2 medium, which was notably lower than that of T. chuii. Furthermore, the media cost varied from US$0.23 to US$0.74 for each 1 L of media, primarily due to the addition of Na3PO4, KNO3, and cyanocobalamin. Thus, biomass production rates varied between US$38.81 and US$128.80 per kg on a dry weight basis. These findings comprehensively compare laboratory conditions and the costs associated with biomass production in different media. Additionally, this study explored the potential of T. chuii and D. tertiolecta strains, as well as their consortia with bacteria, for the degradation of various emerging pollutants (EPs), including caffeine, salicylic acid, DEET, imidacloprid, MBT, cimetidine, venlafaxine, methylparaben, thiabendazole, and paracetamol. Both microalgal strains demonstrated effective degradation of EPs, with enhanced degradation observed in microalgae-bacterial consortia. These results suggest that the symbiotic relationship between microalgae and bacteria can be harnessed for the bioremediation of EPs, thereby offering valuable insights into the environmental applications of microalgal cultivation.

Quality of Information About Cosmetic Products in Social Media: One-Year Analysis of Portuguese Influential Instagram Profiles

This work characterizes scientific and health information from posts addressing cosmetic products on Instagram for one-year. Portuguese profiles that cover cosmetic products were selected based on popularity and expertise. Posts concerning cosmetic products were recorded, and those containing scientific and health information were selected. A new method was used, which allows rating each post as “correct,” “confuse,” or “incorrect”. Ten popular profiles and three expert profiles were selected. Forty-five posts containing scientific and health information about cosmetic products were analyzed. Popular profiles were approximately ten times more likely to convey confusing information about cosmetic products than expert profiles.

Evaluation of tauroursodeoxycholic acid in liver cells' cultures by MEKC: Initial hints to comprehend its role in diabetes mellitus of obese individuals.

Genetic factors, diet, lifestyle, and other factors lead to various complications in the body, such as obesity and other chronic diseases. The inflammatory state caused by excessive accumulation of body fat affects the pathways related to the control of glycemic homeostasis, leading to a high demand for insulin, to subsequent failure of stressed β cells, and development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The study of new endocrine signalers, such as bile acids (BAs), becomes necessary as it allows the development of alternatives for T2DM treatment. In this work, a methodology was developed to quantify tauroursodeoxycholic BA (TUDCA) in liver cells of the HepG2 strain treated in hyperlipidic medium. This BA helps to improve insulin clearance by increasing the expression of the insulin-degrading enzyme, restoring sensitivity to this hormone, and making it viable for treating T2DM. Herein, a targeted metabolomic method for TUDCA determination in extracellular medium of hepatocyte matrices by micellar electrokinetic chromatography-UV was optimized, validated, and applied. The optimized background electrolyte was composed of 40mmol/L sodium cholate and 30mmol/L sodium tetraborate at pH 9.0. The following figures of merit were evaluated: linearity, limit of quantification, limit of detection, accuracy, and precision. Data obtained with the validated electrophoretic method showed a self-stimulation of TUDCA production in media supplemented only with BA. On the other hand, TUDCA concentration was reduced in the hyperlipidic medium. This suggests that, in these media, the effect of TUDCA is reduced, such as self-stimulated production and consequent regulation of glycemic homeostasis. Therefore, the results reinforce the need for investigating TUDCA as a potential T2DM biomarker as well as its use to treat several comorbidities, such as obesity and diabetes mellitus.

Hydrophobic-treated yolk-shell SnS2@CSs Z-scheme confinement reactor for solar-electro-driven hydrogen peroxide production in neutral media

The diffusion and adsorption properties of the O2/H2O corpuscles at active sites play a crucial role in the fast photo-electrocatalytic reaction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production. Herein, SnS2 nanosheets with abundant interfacial boundaries and large specific areas are encapsulated into hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (CSs) with flexibility, producing a yolk-shell SnS2@CSs Z-scheme photocatalyst. The nanoconfined microenvironment of SnS2@CSs could enrich O2/H2O in catalyst cavities, which allows sufficient internal O2 transfer, improving the surface chemistry of catalytic O2 to O2− conversion and increasing reaction kinetics. By shaping the mixture of SnS2@CSs and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on carbon felt (CF) using the vacuum filtration method, the natural air-breathing gas diffusion photoelectrode (AGPE) was prepared, and it can achieve an accumulated concentration of H2O2 about 12 mM after a 10 h stability test from pure water at natural pH without using electrolyte and sacrificial agents. The H2O2 product is upgraded through one downstream route of conversion of H2O2 to sodium perborate. The improved H2O2 production performance could be ascribed to the combination of the confinement effect of SnS2@CSs and the rich triple phase interfaces with the continuous hydrophobic layer and hydrophilic layer to synergistically modulate the photoelectron catalytic microenvironment, which enhanced the transfer of O2 mass and offered a stronger affinity to oxygen bubbles. The strategy of combining the confined material with the air-breathing gas diffusion electrode equips a wide practical range of applications for the synthesis of high-yield hydrogen peroxide.

Advances in ectoine biosynthesis and biochemical characteristics of key enzymes

Compatible solutes are highly water-soluble organic osmolytes produced by microorganisms to adapt to extreme environments, such as high salinity and osmotic pressure. Among these, ectoine plays a crucial role in repairing and protecting nucleic acids, protein, biofilms, and cells. As a result, it has found widespread applications in cosmetics, biological agents, the enzyme industry, medicine, and other fields. Currently, the market value of ectoine is around US$ 1 000/kg, with a global demand reaching 15 000 tons per year. Although halophilic bacteria serve as the natural source of ectoine synthesis, its production in high-salinity media presents challenges such as equipment corrosion and high cost for industrial production. Advancements in functional genomics, systems biology, and synthetic biology have paved the way for the development of high-yielding cell factories through metabolic engineering, leading to significant progress. For example, engineered Escherichia coli achieved a maximum ectoine titer of 131.8 g/L, with a productivity of 1.37 g/(L·h). This review aims to explore the biosynthetic pathway, biochemical characteristics of key enzymes, and the biosynthesis of ectoine, shedding light on current research status and offering insights for industrial-scale ectoine production.

Lab-scale validation and parametric numerical investigation on hydrogen production in a porous media as a byproduct of in-situ combustion

A numerical 1D model was developed and validated using the measured data on a porous tube lab experiment for hydrogen generation as an in-situ combustion (ISC) byproduct, and a detailed parametric numerical study was performed. This work explores the impacts of various water injection parameters on the generation of hydrogen, the oil recovery factor (ORF), and carbon monoxide using a thorough parametric analysis. The methodology included simulating the injection of mutually enriched air and water into the combustion tube, focusing on parameters such as water temperature, quality, and flow rates. Key findings reveal that the oxygen ratio in the oxidizer substantially influences hydrogen production and ORF, with hydrogen generation increasing from 1.65 × 103 cm3 to 3.0 × 103 cm3, which is around 82 % when the oxygen percentage is raised from 50 % to 95 %. The results showed that employing wet combustion instead of dry combustion increased the hydrogen production rate by roughly four times. Variable water temperature has insignificant impacts on the hydrogen production rate and ORF. Increasing the steam quality has an opposed effect on the hydrogen generation rate. Additionally, escalating the injected water flow rate from 3000 cm³/day to 15000 cm³/day boosts hydrogen production from 10000 cm³ to 53400 cm³, respectively.

Metabolic Engineering of Bacillus subtilis for the Production of Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid from Glycerol Feedstock

Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is an attractive biopolymer for medical, agri-food, and environmental applications. Although microbial synthesis by Bacilli fed on waste streams has been widely adopted, the obtainment of efficient sustainable production processes is still under investigation by bioprocess and metabolic engineering approaches. The abundant glycerol-rich waste generated in the biodiesel industry can be used as a carbon source for γ-PGA production. Here, we studied fermentation performance in different engineered Bacillus subtilis strains in glycerol-based media, considering a swrA+ degU32Hy mutant as the initial producer strain and glucose-based media for comparison. Modifications included engineering the biosynthetic pgs operon regulation (replacing its native promoter with Physpank), precursor accumulation (sucCD or odhAB deletion), and enhanced glutamate racemization (racE overexpression), predicted as crucial reactions by genome-scale model simulations. All interventions increased productivity in glucose-based media, with Physpank-pgs ∆sucCD showing the highest γ-PGA titer (52 g/L). Weaker effects were observed in glycerol-based media: ∆sucCD and Physpank-pgs led to slight improvements under low- and high-glutamate conditions, respectively, reaching ~22 g/L γ-PGA (26% increase). No performance decrease was detected by replacing pure glycerol with crude glycerol waste from a biodiesel plant, and by a 30-fold scale-up. These results may be relevant for improving industrial γ-PGA production efficiency and process sustainability using waste feedstock. The performance differences observed between glucose and glycerol media also motivate additional computational and experimental studies to design metabolically optimized strains.

Semiotic Analysis in Film Mat Kilau: A Hero's Awakening

The many forms of communication media technology are advancing at an increasing rate in the contemporary globalization period. Global society has been significantly impacted by this. The mass media's emergence, which allows people to instantaneously communicate and enjoy content, is among the most significant achievements. Film is one of the products of mass media. A lot of movies are produced to impart life lessons, such the heroic and religious ideals of historical heroes, in an effort to instill in the millennial age a growing love for their nation and its religion, whatever form it may take. The selected item for this research was the movie Mat Kilau: Awakening of a Hero. The film's portrayal of the da'wah as well as the definitions of denotation, connotation, and myth present issues. Roland Barthes' semiotic analysis model is employed in this study. The study's findings demonstrate that the movie Mat Kilau conveys the Malay people's values of bravery and hardship in keeping with Islamic teachings. It also incorporates values of preaching through the actors' conversation.

Elevated Lipid Metabolites in Stored Clinical OCA Media Correlate With Chondrocyte Death

Background: A major limitation of osteochondral allografts (OCA) is the deterioration of cartilage health associated with cell death during prolonged storage. However, little is known about the mechanisms that contribute to chondrocyte death during storage. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study aimed to determine whether bioactive lipid metabolites accumulate in the storage media of OCA and whether they are associated with a loss of chondrocyte viability during prolonged storage. It was hypothesized that free fatty acids (FFAs) would accumulate over time in the storage media of OCA and adversely affect cartilage health during storage. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: A group of 21 (n = 6-8 OCA/treatment group) fresh human hemicondylar OCA tissues and media were analyzed after 7, 28, and 68 days of prolonged cold (4°C) storage. Targeted mass spectrometry analysis was used to quantify bioactive FFAs, as well as primary (lipid hydroperoxide [ROOH]) and secondary (malondialdehyde) lipid oxidation products. Chondrocyte viability was measured using a fluorescence-based live/dead assay and confocal microscopy. Results: The concentration of all targeted fatty acid metabolites in storage media was significantly increased with increased cold storage time (P < .05). ROOH was significantly higher on day 28 of cold storage. No difference in secondary ROOH products in storage media was observed. Chondrocyte viability significantly declined in both the en face and the vertical cross-sectional analysis with increased cold storage time and inversely correlated with fatty acid metabolites (P < .05). Conclusion: It is well established that elevated levels of certain FFAs and lipid oxidation products can alter cell function and cause cell death via lipotoxicity and other mechanisms. This work is the first to identify elevated levels of FFA metabolites and primary oxidation lipid products in the storage media from clinical OCA. The concentrations of FFA metabolites were measured at levels (>100 µM) known to induce cell death and were directly correlated with chondrocyte viability. Clinical Relevance: These findings provide important targets for understanding why cartilage health declines during cold storage, which can be used to optimize media formulations and improve graft health.

Kinetics of permanganate–sulfuric acid redox reaction with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

AbstractThe permanganate–H2SO4 redox reaction, useful in oxidative treatments under aqueous conditions, was studied spectrophotometrically in the absence and presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The decolorization reactions were influenced by the [MnO4−], [H2SO4], and temperature. Permanganate reduction follows first‐, and complex–order kinetics with permanganate, and H2SO4 concentrations, respectively. The reduction of permanganate (Mn(VII)) proceeds through a complex formation between MnO4− and H2SO4. The characteristic absorption peaks for MnO42− (λmax = 439 and 606 nm), MnO43− (λmax = 667 nm), and MnO2 (λmax = 400–418 nm) were not appeared during the redox reaction. The KMnO4 degradation efficiency remains unaffected with sodium pyrophosphate and sodium fluoride. The results of this study demonstrated the formation of Mn(II) as the stable product in acidic reaction media. The degradation efficiency increases drastically from 15 to 100% with 2.0 × 10−4 to 16.0 × 10−4 mol/L CTAB concentration under sub‐, and post‐micellar reaction conditions, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters (activation energy = 98.8 and 43.2 kJ/mol), activation of enthalpy (96.3, and 39.0 kJ/mol), activation of entropy (16.2 and −149.5 J/K/mol), free energy of activation (93.1 and 83.5 kJ/mol) were calculated without and with CTAB, respectively. Hence, CTAB can be exploited for its multifunctional applications, and specifically for the catalytic role in the permanganate‐assisted redox reactions in future.