Balancing the fit and logistics costs of market segmentations

Segments are typically formed to serve distinct groups of consumers with differentiated marketing mixes, that better fit their specific needs and wants. However, buyers in a segment are not necessarily geographically closely located. Serving a geographically dispersed segment with one marketing mix can increase the logistics costs in the form of high transportation costs and long lead times.This study proposes a segmentation method that balances the fit of a segmentation strategy against the corresponding logistics costs. An application to the problem of segmenting a set of European regions, using consumers’ store attribute preferences as a segmentation basis, suggests segment-specific retail positioning strategies that reflect different decisions about store image attributes such as price, assortment, and atmosphere. This approach designates transnational segments that require acceptable logistics costs and offer the highest possible level of within segment homogeneity.     

Passive and Active Mixing in Microfluidic Devices

In microfluidics the Reynolds number is small, preventing turbulence as a tool for mixing, while diffusion is that slow that time does not yield an alternative. Mixing in microfluidics therefore must rely on chaotic advection, as well-known from polymer technology practice where on macroscale the high viscosity makes the Reynolds numbers low and diffusion slow. The mapping method is used to analyze and optimize mixing also in microfluidic devices. We investigate passive mixers like the staggered herringbone micromixer (SHM), the barrier embedded micromixer (BEM) and a three-dimensional serpentine channel (3D-SC). Active mixing is obtained via incorporating particles that introduce a hyperbolic flow in e.g. two dimensional serpentine channels. Magnetic beads chains-up in a flow after switching on a magnetic field. Rotating the field creates a physical rotor moving the flow field. The Mason number represents the ratio of viscous forces to the magnetic field strength and its value determines the fate of the rotor: a single, an alternating single and double, or a multiple part chain-rotor results. The type of rotor determines the mixing quality with best results in the alternating case where crossing streamlines introduce chaotic advection. Finally, an active mixing device is proposed that mimics the cilia in nature. The transverse flow induced by their motion indeed enhances mixing at the microscale.     

Experimental studies of the 13C NMR of iodoalkynes in Lewis-basic solvents

The (13)C NMR spectra of two different iodoalkynes, 1-iodo-1-hexyne (1) and diiodoethyne (2), exhibit a strong solvent dependence. Comparisons of the data with several common empirical models, including Gutmann's Donor numbers, Reichardt's E(N)(T), and Taft and Kamlet's beta and pi, demonstrate that this solvent effect arises from a specific acid-base interaction. Solvent basicity measures such as Donor numbers and beta values correlate well with the alpha-carbon chemical shift of 1, but polarity measures such as E(N)(T) and pi do not correlate. The similarity of the solvent effect for 1 and 2 suggests that carbon-carbon bond polarization may not play a role in the change in chemical shift, as previously hypothesized.     

Liquid chromatographic method to determine narasin in feedingstuffs and premixtures: development, validation, and interlaboratory study

A reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) method for narasin in feedingstuffs and premixtures was developed, validated, and interlaboratory studied. The extraction solvent was methanol-K2HPO4 solution (9 + 1, v/v). Narasin was detected at 600 nm after post-column derivatization with dimethylamino-benzaldehyde. Recovery was >90%. The repeatability (RSDr) in feed (20-140 mg/kg) ranged between 1.2 and 10.5%; the within-laboratory reproducibility (RSD(R)) ranged between 2.2 and 4.9%. The limit of determination was <20 mg/kg. Other feed additives did not interfere in the assay. The method showed ruggedness against changes in the composition of extraction solvent, eluent, and conditions for post-column reactions. In an interlaboratory study, 5 broiler feeds (4 positive, 1 blank) and 1 premixture were analyzed by 13 laboratories. The RSDr of the feedingstuffs (20-120 mg/kg) varied between 2.17 and 7.57%. The HORRAT ranged between 0.77 and 0.88, with recoveries between 82 and 104%. One laboratory detected small signals in the blank sample, calculated as 0.6 and 2.8 mg/kg. For the premixture, acceptable results for reproducibility could only be obtained after modification of the method: the RSDr was 4.42% and the HORRAT was 1.56 (12 laboratories).     

In vivo synthesized proteins with monoexponential fluorescence decay kinetics

Tryptophan, when in a protein, typically shows multiexponential fluorescence decay kinetics. Complex kinetics prevents a straightforward interpretation of time-resolved fluorescence protein data, particularly in anisotropy studies or if the effect of a dynamic quencher or a resonance energy transfer (RET) acceptor is investigated. Here, time-resolved fluorescence data are presented of an isosteric tryptophan analogue, 5-fluorotryptophan, which when biosynthetically incorporated in proteins shows monoexponential decay kinetics. Data are presented indicating that the presence of a fluoro atom at the 5-position suppresses the electron transfer rate from the excited indole moiety to the peptide bond. This process has been related to the multiexponential fluorescence decay of tryptophan in proteins. The monoexponential decay of 5-fluorotryptophan makes it possible to measure simultaneously multiple distances between 5-fluorotryptophan and a RET acceptor. We demonstrate that for an oligomeric protein, consisting of two single-tryptophan-containing subunits, the individual distances between 5-fluorotryptophan and the single substrate binding site can be resolved using a substrate harboring a RET acceptor.     

Performance of combined 〈1 0 0〉-〈1 1 0〉 ZnTe crystals in an amplified THz time-domain spectrometer

In this work we report on the performance of combined index-matched ZnTe 〈1 1 0〉-〈1 0 0〉 THz emitters and detectors for reduction of etalon effects in a nonlinear crystal-based THz time-domain spectrometer, driven by an amplified femtosecond laser. We demonstrate that the application of a combined electrooptic detector crystal reduces the strength of the first etalon and the average spectral dynamic range oscillations by a factor of two. We also show that even in a simple emitter configuration the emitter-related etalon is significantly reduced due to the transient dielectric effects of carriers created by two-photon absorption in the emitter.     

A numerical method for steady and nonisothermal viscoelastic fluid flow for high Deborah and Péclet numbers

A combined finite element/streamline integration method is presented for nonisothermal flows of viscoelastic fluids. The attention is focused on some characteristic problems that arise for numerical simulation of flows with high Deborah and Péclet numbers. The two most important problems to handle are the choice of an outflow boundary condition for not completely developed flow and the treatment of the dissipative term in the temperature equation. The ability of the numerical method to handle high Deborah and Péclet numbers will be demonstrated on a contraction flow of an LDPE melt with isotropic and anisotropic heat conductivity. The influence of anisotropic heat conduction and the difference between the stress work and mechanical dissipation will be discussed for contraction flows. Received:  4 February 1997 Accepted: 23 October 1997