Two-sided Effects Research Articles

Investigating the motivations driving meat analogue purchase among middle-income consumers in Mbombela, South Africa

ABSTRACT Meat analogues are becoming widely accepted in high-income countries as substitutes for meat. As consumer acceptance of faux meat is beginning to follow a similar trend in South Africa, this study investigated the aspects of the product’s positioning that could be used to further grow the product’s market. Using data collected from 130 middle-income consumers in Mbombela, the study determined consumer perceptions of meat analogues. These were measured using composite indices extracted using principal component analysis, and these indices were regressed against the consumers’ purchase probability of meat alternatives. The study’s results showed that meat alternatives were perceived as a pricey symbol of class and status. This was found to have a two-sided effect on consumer behaviour. On one hand, the products' position encouraged purchase among the survey respondents and encouraged them to recommend the products to their peers and on the other, it discouraged consumption with their families. As this finding shows that meat analogues remain niche products in the study area, the study offers recommendations on ways to improve product performance in the niche market. It also suggests changes in the products’ marketing that could assist in launching them into the mainstream food market of South Africa.

Revisiting Analog Over-the-Air Machine Learning: The Blessing and Curse of Interference

We study a distributed machine learning problem carried out by an edge server and multiple agents in a wireless network. The objective is to minimize a global function that is a sum of the agents&#x2019; local loss functions. And the optimization is conducted by analog over-the-air model training. Specifically, each agent modulates its local gradient onto a set of waveforms and transmits to the edge server simultaneously. From the received analog signal the edge server extracts a noisy aggregated gradient which is distorted by the channel fading and interference, and uses it to update the global model and feedbacks to all the agents for another round of local computing. Since the electromagnetic interference generally exhibits a heavy-tailed intrinsic, we use the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha$</tex-math></inline-formula>-stable distribution to model its statistic. In consequence, the global gradient has an infinite variance that hinders the use of conventional techniques for convergence analysis that rely on second-order moments&#x2019; existence. To circumvent this challenge, we take a new route to establish the analysis of convergence rate, as well as generalization error, of the algorithm. We also show that the training algorithm can be run in tandem with the momentum scheme to accelerate the convergence. Our analyses reveal a two-sided effect of the interference on the overall training procedure. On the negative side, heavy tail noise slows down the convergence rate of the model training: the heavier the tail in the distribution of interference, the slower the algorithm converges. On the positive side, heavy tail noise has the potential to increase the generalization power of the trained model: the heavier the tail, the better the model generalizes. This perhaps counterintuitive conclusion implies that the prevailing thinking on interference &#x2013; that it is only detrimental to the edge learning system &#x2013; is outdated and we shall seek new techniques that exploit, rather than simply mitigate, the interference for better machine learning in wireless networks.

Effect of different expression patterns of HAX-1 on the proliferation and apoptosis of human astrocyte

Spinal cord injury (SCI), a serious damage of the central nervous system, has become an extremely important issue that threatens the health of people worldwide. The proliferation of astrocytes plays an important role in the repair of SCI, which has typical two-sided effects. The HS1-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1), plays an important role in the physiological and pathological processes of cell apoptosis, proliferation, migration, and invasion. However, the specific role and mechanism of HAX-1 in human astrocyte HA1800 are still unclear.To explore the effect of HAX-1 on the proliferation and apoptosis of HA1800 cells and preliminarily explore its possible underlying mechanism.The HA1800 cell lines with highand low-expression levels of HAX-1 were established using lentiviral vector pcDNA3.1. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot were employed to determine the expression of HAX-1 after transfection. Cell viability and proliferation ability were estimated using MTT and 5-Ethynyl-2'deoxyuridine (EdU) assay. The effects of HAX-1 on the HA1800 cell cycle and apoptosis were determined using flow cytometry. The BCL-2/BAX ratio and the expression of Ki67 and c-Myc in the transfected cells were detected using qRT-PCR. The Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database was used to determine the relationships of HAX-1, BAX and BCL-2.The HA1800 cell lines with high and low expression of HAX-1 were obtained. The MTT, EdU and flow cytometry showed that elevated HAX-1 could inhibit the proliferation, reduce the viability and promote the apoptosis of HA1800 cells. The qRT-PCR showed that the mRNA levels of Ki67, c-Myc and the BCL-2/BAX ratio were significantly decreased in the HAX-1 high-expression group, but increased in the HAX-1 low-expression group. The results from the GEPIA database showed that HAX-1 was positively correlated with BAX and BCL-2 in the spinal cord.The HAX-1 may influence the biological behavior of human HA1800 cells due to the progression of cell cycle and apoptosis associated with BCL-2/BAX.

Research on Platform Operation Strategy Considering Consumers’ Hassle Costs

Based on consumers’ different preferences for hassle costs, we study two platform operation strategies: selected platforms and diversified platforms. Considering diverse charging systems of merchants on the platform, a two-sided user utility function and profit function are established to examine the influence of hassle costs, platform services and the strength of two-sided network effects on the scale of platform users, and platforms’ profits and price. The results show that: (1) The selected platform strategy adopting the transaction fee system is better than other strategies. (2) Under the selected platform strategy, the scale of bilateral users and platform profits will decrease with the increase in hassle costs, and increase with the strengthening of the bilateral network effects. However, the proportion of equilibrium pricing for merchants will increase with the increase in consumer hassle costs, and will decrease with the increase in the network effect on the consumer side. (3) The less value-added services that selected platforms provide to consumers, the more value-added services exist to merchants and the higher the equilibrium pricing is for merchants. However, as the network effect on the side of merchants is increasing, the equilibrium pricing ratio of the platform to merchants shows three trends However, the general trend is that the greater the network effect of the business side, the lower the fee ratio and the higher the platform profit.

The Influence of Particle Size on Sliding Wear of a Convex Pattern Surface

Sliding wear of bulk handling equipment (e.g., shovel bucket, mill and transfer chute) can be dramatically reduced by using a convex pattern surface compared to a flat surface, by adjusting the flow behavior of particles moving along the convex pattern surface. To study the effect of particle size relative to the dimensions of the convex pattern surface, a coarse graining technique is applied. Comparisons of bulk flow and wear behavior between the convex pattern and flat surfaces illustrate the two-sided effect of the convex pattern surface on sliding wear. The bulk flow behavior indicates that the particle size has a minor effect on the velocity and angular velocity of particles for the flat surface, while it has a significant effect on those of the convex pattern surface. The wear results show that the particle size has negligible influence on the sliding wear of a flat surface and a linear relationship with the sliding wear of the convex pattern surface. The convex pattern surface can reduce the sliding wear through influencing the flow behavior of the bulk material when the equivalent radius of the convex is larger than r50 of particles. This research reveals the relationship between the dimensions of the convex pattern and the particle size on the sliding wear caused by the interaction between bulk material and bulk handling equipment. The relationship should be carefully considered for the applications of the convex pattern surface to bulk handling equipment.

The Personalization Paradox in Facebook Advertising: The Mediating Effect of Relevance on the Personalization–Brand Attitude Relationship and the Moderating Effect of Intrusiveness

Advertisers increasingly use personal information in social media advertisements as a strategy to promote positive brand attitudes. Personalized ads can be perceived as both positive and negative. This two-sided effect of personalization refers to the personalization paradox. An online experiment (N = 209), in which the level of personalization was manipulated in a Facebook setting, aimed to provide a potential explanation for this paradox. The findings showed that a highly personalized ad resulted in stronger perceived personalization than a less personalized ad. Furthermore, the stronger the perceived personalization, the stronger the relevance. The relevance of the ad positively influenced brand attitude and fully mediated the relationship between personalization and attitude. However, in line with the assumptions of the information boundary theory, the more the ad was perceived as intrusive, the weaker the relevance–attitude relationship, thereby showing a boundary condition for the effectiveness of personalized information when targeting consumers on Facebook.

Acoustic scattering properties of multilayer membrane structured magnetic microbubbles

Normal ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) loaded with magnetic nanoparticles are called magnetic microbubbles (MMBs), which can be used in multimodal imaging, thrombolytic therapy, and targeted drug delivery. The MMBs are often studied by &lt;i&gt;in situ&lt;/i&gt; measurement techniques, however scattering model is the basis of inversion techniques. Therefore, we develop a scattering model of multilayer structured MMBs with magnetic fluid inner layer and phospholipid outer layer, in which outer layer’s viscoelasticity and the effect of nanoparticles on inner layer’s density are considered, while scattered sound fields in each region are obtained by solving normal series. The MMB model is compared with other bubbles, and its acoustic scattering characteristics are analyzed numarically, including the effects of radius, magnetic nanoparticle volume fraction, inner layer thickness and outer layer characteristics parameters. The results show that when the volume fraction &lt;i&gt;α&lt;/i&gt; of magnetic nanoparticles in the inner layer does not exceed 0.1, magnetic nanoparticles have a two-sided effect on resonant scattering of MMBs, depending mainly on its radius, and the bubble has a critical radius value. If the radius of MMBs exceeds this critical value, the particles will enhance scattering, on the contrary, if the radius of MMBs is smaller than this critical value, the particles will reduce scattering; for a given microbubble radius, when &lt;i&gt;α&lt;/i&gt; is not more than 0.1, the larger the &lt;i&gt;α&lt;/i&gt; value&lt;i&gt;,&lt;/i&gt; the stronger the resonant scattering of MMBs will be; the smaller the thickness of the inner film layer and outer film layer or the Larmé constant, the stronger the scattering will be. This study provides a theoretical guidance for the optimal structural design of MMBs and its &lt;i&gt;in situ&lt;/i&gt; monitoring and therapeutic applications.

Winner Takes All? Product Differentiation and Two-Sided Network Effects in the Rideshare Industry

Winner Takes All? Product Differentiation and Two-Sided Network Effects in the Rideshare Industry

Attract or Divert: Two-sided Effects of Physicians’ Online Sharing on Offline Demand

Attract or Divert: Two-sided Effects of Physicians’ Online Sharing on Offline Demand

How argillaceous reservoirs exhibit better quality than silty mudstones? Anomalous behavior of shale gas-bearing properties of continental fine-grained sediments in Southwest China and its possible forcing mechanisms

Achieving a thorough understanding of how primary sedimentary granularity drives considerable heterogeneity in internal reservoir attributes of terrigenous fine-grained deposits is of great significance. We investigated the quantitative differentiation and its corresponding driving forces of physical reservoir properties and pore-structure characteristics of silty-mud sediments in the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation (SW China) using a multi-method approach. The results show that the micro-mesopore volume and surface area of mudstones/shales are apparently higher than those of silty mudstones and a remarkable threefold rise in average permeability also presents. Extensively distributed bitumen pores occurring mostly along brittle mineral grains or forming clay-organic complexes make considerable contributions to shrinking microcracks. Furthermore, an evidently higher concentration of clay minerals in mudstone/shale reservoirs is primarily responsible for development of the two types of clay inter-crystalline pores distributed along grain aggregates and between well-oriented platelets. These two major causes facilitate the formation of micro-bedding fractures/non-bedding microfractures and connected fracture and pore-fracture networks, and also high-quality argillaceous reservoirs by strongly enhancing storage spaces and seepage capacities. Finally, a conceptual model is established for interpreting a differential reservoir-forming mechanism and corresponding two-sided effects on petrophysical and reservoir quality properties for continental silty-mud sediments.

Effect of Ta addition on microstructures, mechanical and damping properties of Cu–Al–Mn–Ti alloy

Cu–Al–Mn–Ti–xTa alloys (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, wt.%) prepared by spark plasma sintering were investigated for the effect of Ta content on the microstructure, mechanical and damping properties. The microstructure and phase composition indicate that the alloy is mainly composed of β′1 martensite, γ′1 martensite, Ti-rich and Ta-rich phase. As the Ta content increases, the grain size of the alloy first decreases and then increases. The reverse trend was observed for hardness, tensile and compressive strength. The hardness, tensile strength and compressive strength increased by 18.2%, 44.9% and 28%, respectively, when the Ta content was 1 wt.% compared to the alloy without Ta element. The presence of martensite provides the alloy with promising damping properties. Meanwhile, the formation of the second phase has a two-sided effect on the damping characteristics. That is, the increase in grain boundaries provides more interfaces for energy dissipation, but the increased compressive stress between the interfaces also hinders the movement of the interfaces. Excellent damping performance is demonstrated with the addition of 1 wt.% of Ta element. The peak values of damping capacity at room temperature and at about 580 °C reached 0.026 and 0.19, respectively. The results confirm that the addition of Ta elements is achievable to obtain Cu–Al–Mn–Ti alloys with both high mechanical and damping properties.

Threshold effects of energy consumption, technological innovation, and supply chain management on enterprise performance in China's manufacturing industry

China's economy is changing from high-speed growth to high-quality development. Now its development is green and sustainable, characterized by low energy consumption and high innovation. Under the circumstance, it is vital to research on the threshold effects of energy consumption, technological innovation, and supply chain management on enterprise performance in China's manufacturing industry. This study selects data from 115 manufacturing companies listed in the Stock Exchange of Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010 to 2019 as samples. We adopt the panel threshold model to analyze the impact of energy consumption, technological innovation, and supply chain management on enterprise performance. Our results show that energy consumption, technology innovation and supply chain management all have non-linear relationship on enterprise performance. There is an inverse S-shaped relationship between energy consumption and enterprise performance, and a significant threshold effect of technology innovation. Moreover, technological innovation has a two-sided effect on enterprise performance. In addition, supply chain management has a significant positive impact on enterprise performance. According to the project of China's carbon peaking by 2030, we put forward some methods for energy conservation, emission reduction, cost saving, and efficiency improvement for China's manufacturing industry. We also provide some suggestions for enhancing enterprises' technological innovation and supply chain management.

Effects of Subchronic Copper Poisoning on Cecal Histology and Its Microflora in Chickens.

Copper (Cu) is an important trace element with a two-sided effect on the growth performance of animals, which depends on the timing and dosage of Cu addition, etc. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of oral copper sulfate (CuSO4, 350 ppm) on growth performance, cecal morphology, and its microflora of chickens (n = 60) after 30, 60, and 90 days. The results showed that after 90 days of copper exposure, the chickens lost weight, the cecum mucosa was detached, and vacuolation and inflammatory infiltration occurred at the base of the lamina propria. In addition, using the 16S rDNA sequencing method, we observed that copper exposure changed the richness and diversity of intestinal microorganisms. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria both significantly increased, while Bacteroidetes significantly decreased in the Cu group compared with control check (CK) group. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group decreased significantly, while Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, Lachnoclostridium, and [Eubacterium]_coprostanoligenes_group increased significantly after copper exposure, and the change in microflora was most significant at 90 days. Moreover, the relevance of genus-level bacteria was altered. PICRUST analysis revealed potential metabolic changes associated with copper exposure, such as Staphylococcus aureus infection and metabolic disorders of nutrients. To sum up, these data show that subchronic copper exposure not only affects the growth and development of chickens but also causes the imbalance of intestinal microflora, which may further induce metabolic disorders in chickens.

An emerging chemical fumigant: two-sided effects of dazomet on soil microbial environment and plant response.

Methyl bromide has been banned worldwide because it causes damage to the ozone layer and the environment. To find a substitute for methyl bromide, the relationships among fumigation, plant growth, and the microbial community in replant soil require further study. We performed pot and field experiments to investigate the effects of dazomet fumigation on soil properties and plant performance. Changes in soil microbial community structure and diversity were assessed using high-throughput sequencing, and plant physiological performance and soil physicochemical properties were also measured. Dazomet fumigation enhanced photosynthesis and promoted plant growth in replant soil; it altered soil physical and chemical properties and reduced soil enzyme activities, although these parameters gradually recovered over time. After dazomet fumigation, the dominant soil phyla changed, microbial diversity decreased significantly, the relative abundance of biocontrol bacteria such as Mortierella increased, and the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria such as Fusarium decreased. Over the course of the experiment, the soil microbial flora changed dynamically, and soil enzyme activities and other physical and chemical properties also recovered to a certain extent. This result suggested that the effect of dazomet on soil microorganisms was temporary. However, fumigation also led to an increase in some resistant pathogens, such as Trichosporon, that affect soil function and health. Therefore, it is necessary to consider potential negative impacts of dazomet on the soil environment and to perform active environmental risk management in China.

Trademarks, patents and the appropriation strategies of incumbents: the scope of new firm formation in European regions

ABSTRACT Analysis of the relationship between knowledge spillovers and new firm formation in 980 NUTS-3 regions at the industry level shows that regional knowledge stocks represented by patents positively influence new firm formation, but that knowledge protection and appropriation strategies of incumbents discourage it. Knowledge stocks represented by trademarks translate into higher entry rates in the absence of a pronounced appropriation strategy of incumbents or when entrants do not directly compete with the trademarking incumbents. Our findings highlight the two-sided effects of trademarks: as an indicator of product novelties as well as a potential expression of strengthened incumbent appropriation strategies.

Tariff liberalization and firm-level markups in Indian manufacturing

Tariff liberalization has a significant bearing on firm performance. Existing theoretical studies predict that input tariff liberalization would raise firm-level markups while final goods tariff liberalization would lower markups. This paper examines whether this two-sided effect holds for Indian manufacturing firms and the role of size and classification. It employs fixed effects models and Heckman's two-step estimation procedure to estimate the impact of input and final goods tariff liberalization under India's Export-Import Policy of 1997–2003 and 2004-09 for large versus Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) firms. It confirms the two-sided effect and finds that the input channel is stronger, with large rather than MSME firms experiencing higher markups following input tariff reduction. Further, using a semiparametric Difference-in-Difference model it finds that relaxed size limits in 2006 resulted in higher markups for importing MSMEs. This study highlights the importance of firm size, liberalization channel, and policy framework for firm-level markups.

보행증진을 위한 도시 지역사회 조직의 네트워크 구조와 운영맥락 탐색: 서울시 일개 자치구 사례

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the network structure and operational context of urban community organizations for the promotion of walking in Seoul. Methods: We conducted social network analysis (SNA) with working-level staff in 63 organizations and conducted in-depth interviews with 17 cases. Results: The total network density was 0.04 in seven diameters. The network was centralized around governmental organizations, with a proportion of 50.8%. The network consisted of four clusters that each operate walking growth projects. In central analysis results, the public health center was identified as an organization that can exert the most significant structural influence. In-depth interviews, the decision-making process, and the operational contexts of urban walking policy were categorized into four overarching themes: “Differences in perceptions of the organization,” “Two-sided effects of budget use,” “Differences in attitudes toward cooperation,” and “Challenges of inter-organizational cooperation for promoting walking.” Conclusion: The network structure for promoting walking in district A was formed around governmental organizations, which is insufficient for reflecting the opinions and surveillance of civil society. Only in the urban walking project of the health center was a civic organization actively participating in the decision-making process and was multi-sector cooperation taking place.

The two-sided effects of foreign direct investment on carbon emissions performance in China

Climate change caused by rapid increases in greenhouse gas concentrations is now a global challenge. Foreign direct investment (FDI), as a key player in global economic growth, is a major contributor to carbon emissions. Based on panel data of 30 provinces in China collected from 2007 to 2018, this paper uses the two-tier stochastic frontier model to analyse the opposing two-sided effects of FDI on carbon emission performance and calculates their combined effects. The empirical study shows that FDI has both a promoting and an inhibiting effect on carbon emission performance, and the overall effect is characterized by less of an inhibiting effect than a promoting effect, resulting in the positive driving characteristic of the combined effect. The average inhibiting effect is 0.0402, and the average promoting effect is 0.1065, causing the comprehensive effect of FDI on carbon emission performance to have an average value of 0.0663. The empirical results also show that the promoting effects of FDI are greater than the inhibiting effects in most regions; however, after 2013, the level of the promoting effect declined overall. There are regional differences in the combined effects of FDI on carbon emission performance, and the driving effects present in the central and western regions of China are significantly lower than that in the eastern region. Based on the research conclusions, while promoting a “green” revolution in FDI utilization patterns, it is necessary to strengthen the interaction mechanism between FDI and low-carbon economic development in China and to enhance the driving effect of FDI on carbon emission performance in China.

O-GlcNAcylation inHyperglycemic Pregnancies: Impact on Placental Function.

The dynamic cycling of N-acetylglucosamine, termed as O-GlcNAcylation, is a post-translational modification of proteins and is involved in the regulation of fundamental cellular processes. It is controlled by two essential enzymes, O-GlcNAc transferase and O-GlcNAcase. O-GlcNAcylation serves as a modulator in placental tissue; furthermore, increased levels of protein O-GlcNAcylation have been observed in women with hyperglycemia during pregnancy, which may affect the short-and long-term development of offspring. In this review, we focus on the impact of O-GlcNAcylation on placental functions in hyperglycemia-associated pregnancies. We discuss the following topics: effect of O-GlcNAcylation on placental development and its association with hyperglycemia; maternal-fetal nutrition transport, particularly glucose transport, via the mammalian target of rapamycin and AMP-activated protein kinase pathways; and the two-sided regulatory effect of O-GlcNAcylation on inflammation. As O-GlcNAcylation in the placental tissues of pregnant women with hyperglycemia influences near- and long-term development of offspring, research in this field has significant therapeutic relevance.

The dominating role of austenite stability and martensite transformation mechanism on the toughness and ductile-to-brittle-transition temperature of a quenched and partitioned steel

The effect of austenite stability and martensite transformation (MT) mechanism on the tensile and impact properties has been investigated for Fe-0.3C-2.7Mn-1.7Si (wt.%) quenched and partitioned (Q&P) steel. The stability of metastable retained austenite (γM) in the Q&P steel samples, which were subjected to different quenching temperatures (20, 120, and 240 °C), was quantitatively evaluated according to the Msσ temperature. Results suggest that the stability of γM was mainly related to the carbon content, grain size/morphology, and stress shielding effects provided by the surrounding martensite. In addition, in contrast to the consistently positive transformation-induced plasticity effect (TRIP) of γM on the tensile properties, MT had a two-side effect on the dynamic impact properties, depending on the MT mechanism and the related Msσ temperature. At high temperatures, the strain-induced MT in the QP120 and QP240 samples relieved the local stress concentration and impeded the crack initiation and propagation by the TRIP effect, whereas the stress-assisted MT at low temperatures resulted in a low crack initiation, propagation energy, and intergranular fracture mode, thereby resulting in a lower impact toughness of the QP240 sample than that of the almost austenite-free QP20 sample. Furthermore, the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of the Q&P samples showed an almost linear relationship with their Msσ temperature. Finally, an excellent combination of large product of strength and elongation, low DBTT, and high toughness was obtained in the QP120 sample, which was mainly attributed to the good stability of the film γM during the tensile or impact tests.