Silage inoculants, crucial in modern silage production, comprise beneficial microorganisms, primarily lactic acid bacteria (LAB), strategically applied to forage material during ensiling. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of various inoculants produced by different companies. Five treatments were evaluated, including a control group: T1 (Lactobacillus plantarum), T2 (Lactobacillus plantarum + Pediococcus pentosaceus), T3 (Lactobacillus plantarum + Pediococcus pentosaceus + Lactobacillus buchneri), T4 (Lactobacillus plantarum + Lactobacillus acidophilus + Lactobacillus bulgaricus), and T5 (Lactobacillus plantarum + Pediococcus pentosaceus + Enterococcus faecium). Italian ryegrass was harvested at the heading stage and treated with these silage inoculants. Samples were collected over a 60-day ensiling period. Co-inoculation with L. plantarum and P. pentosaceus (T2) resulted in significantly higher CP compared to the control group co-inoculation exhibited with resulted in Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus pentosaceus in the T2 treatment exhibited higher CP content of 106.35 g/kg dry matter (DM). The T3 treatment, which included heterofermentative bacterial strains such as Lactobacillus buchneri, exhibited an increase in acetic acid concentration (11.15 g/kg DM). In the T4 treatment group, which utilized a mixed culture of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, the NH3-N/TN content was observed to be the lowest (20.52 g/kg DM). The T5 containing Enterococcus faecium had the highest RFV (123) after 60 days. Expanding upon these findings, the study underscores not only the beneficial effects of particular inoculant treatments on silage quality but also underscores the potential of customized inoculation strategies in maximizing nutrient retention and overall silage preservation.

The emergence of ferrous-medium entropy alloys (FeMEAs) with excellent tensile properties represents a potential direction for designing alloys based on metastable engineering. In this study, an FeMEA is successfully fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), a metal additive manufacturing technology. Tensile tests are conducted on the LPBF-processed FeMEA at room temperature and cryogenic temperatures (77 K). At 77 K, the LPBF-processed FeMEA exhibits high yield strength and excellent ultimate tensile strength through active deformation-induced martensitic transformation. Furthermore, due to the low stability of the face-centered cubic (FCC) phase of the LPBFprocessed FeMEA based on nano-scale solute heterogeneity, stress-induced martensitic transformation occurs, accompanied by the appearance of a yield point phenomenon during cryogenic tensile deformation. This study elucidates the origin of the yield point phenomenon and deformation behavior of the FeMEA at 77 K.

This research investigated the preparation of activated carbon derived from Krabok (Irvingia malayana) seed shells to improve the quality of crude glycerol obtained during biodiesel production. The activated carbon was prepared using a dry chemical activation method with NaOH, utilizing an innovative biomass incinerator. The results revealed that the resulting KC/AC-two-step exhibited favorable physicochemical adsorption properties, with a high surface area of 758.72 m2/g and an iodine number of 611.10 mg/g. These values meet the criteria of the industrial product standard for activated carbon No. TIS 900-2004, as specified by the Ministry of Industry in Thailand. Additionally, the adsorption efficiency for methylene blue reached an impressive 99.35 %. This developed activated carbon was then used to improve the quality of crude glycerol obtained from biodiesel production. The experimental results showed that the KC/AC-two-step increased the purity of crude glycerol to 73.61 %. In comparison, commercially available activated carbon (C/AC) resulted in a higher crude glycerol purity of 81.19 %, as analyzed by the GC technique. Additionally, the metal content (Zn, Cu, Fe, Pb, Cd, and Na) in purified glycerol using KC/AC-two-step was below the standards for heavy metals permitted in food and cosmeceuticals by the Food and Drug Administration of Thailand and the European Committee for Food Contact Materials and Articles. As a result, it can be inferred that Krabok seed shells have favorable properties for producing activated carbon suitable as an adsorbent to enhance crude glycerol purity. Furthermore, the improved crude glycerol from this research has potential for various industrial applications.

Hierarchically porous carbon foam composites with highly dispersed Fe2O3 nanoparticles confined in the foam pores, facilely fabricated by hydrolysis-driven emulsion polymerization strategy. The as-generated acidic conditions of Fe3+ hydrolysis could catalyze the polymerization of phenolic resin, and the carbon-based composite materials containing iron oxides were obtained in situ. The structural characterization results show that HCF@Fe2O3 NPs-2 electrode has the largest specific surface area (549 m2/ g) and pore volume (0.46 cm3/ g). Electrochemical results indicates that typical HCF@Fe2O3 NPs-2 electrode displays good capacitive properties. including high specific capacitance (225 F/g at 0.2 A/g current density). Excellent magnification performance (capacity retention rate 80% as current density increases from 0.2 to 10 A/g). At the same time, HCF@SnO2 NPs was successfully synthesized by replacing hydrolyzed tin tetrachloride with ferric chloride. This study provides a new idea for the preparation of metal oxide–carbon matrix composites, and also highlights the potential of such carbon foams in application of energy storage.

Mg81Ni19-8wt.% REO (oxides of Lanthanum and Cerium) alloys were successfully prepared using mechanical alloying method with Mg-Ni alloy and REO powder. Phase analysis, structural characterization, and microstructure imagine of the alloys were conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), metallurgical microscope, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. Multi-phase structures, including the primary phase of Mg2Ni and several secondary phases of Mg + Mg2Ni, MgNi-LaO, and MgNi-CeO, were found in in the as-cast Mg81Ni19- 8wt.% REO alloys. XRD and TEM results showed that Ce exhibits variable valence behavior at various stages, and the addition of REO promotes the nanocrystalline of the alloy. The hydrogen absorption capacity of ball-milled Mg81Ni19 and Mg81Ni19- 8wt.%REO alloy for 2 h at 343 K is 1.34 wt.% and 1.83 wt.%, which are much larger than 0.94 wt.% of as-cast Mg81Ni19 alloy. The addition of REO led to a decrease of the thermal decomposition temperature of the alloy hydride by approximately 20 K and a reduction of the activation energy of the hydrogen desorption reaction by 10% and 13%, respectively.

Black phosphorus (BP) is incorporated in the electrochemical detection of uric acid (UA) to form few layers of BP nanosheets (BPNS)-modified glassy carbon electrodes (BPNS/GCE), investigated by means of ultrasound-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation. We find a significant increase in the peak current magnitude and positive potential shift in the electrochemical response of BPNS/GCE, which may be attributed to the larger specific surface area and good charge transfer ability of BPNS. Further, the electrochemical response of BPNS/GCE is evaluated under different conditions to achieve the optimal conditions. UA detection using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) shows linear response within the range of 1–1000 μM with a detection limit of 0.33 μM. This work reveals new applications of BP nanomaterials in the electrochemical sensing, thereby promoting further advancement in terms of practical applications of two-dimensional nanomaterials.

본 연구는 국내에서 실내 관상용으로 많이 활용되는 스킨답 서스의 실내재배 시 적정 인공광원, 수경재배 전기전도도 농 도 및 용토를 선발하기 위하여 수행하였다. 실내재배 시 인공 광원은 형광등, 적청 LED, 백색 LED로 처리하였다. 수경재배 시 양액 농도는 EC 1.2, 1.6, 2.0ds·m-1 수준으로 하였고, 재 배용토는 제올라이트, 코코피트, 펄라이트, 황토볼 4가지로 달리하였다. 스킨답서스의 실내 재배 시 줄기 길이는 형광등 과 적청 LED 처리보다 백색 LED 처리에서 길어졌다. 잎의 크기는 적청 LED 처리에서 형광등과 백색 LED 처리보다 커 지는 경향이었다. 엽록소 지수값은 백색 LED>적청 LED>형광 등 순으로 높았다. 수경재배 시 스킨답서스의 줄기길이는 EC 농도가 높아질수록 길어지는 경향이었고, 용토별로 비교하면 제올라이트와 코코피트에서 높은 경향이었다. 엽록소 지수값 도 EC 농도와 비례하여 높아졌고, 용토별로는 제올라이트와 코코피트에서 높았다. 스킨답서스의 생체중도 EC 농도가 높 을수록 높았고, 제올라이트와 코코피트에 높은 경향이었다. 상기 결과들을 종합할 때, 스킨답서스의 NFT를 이용한 실내 재배 시 적정 인공광원으로는 백색 LED를, 수경재배 양액의 농도는 EC 1.6∼2.0ds·m-1를, 그리고 NFT 용토는 제올라이 트나 코코피트가 적합하다는 것을 알 수 있었다.

PURPOSES : A model for minimizing cutting loss and determining the optimum layout of blocks in pavements was developed in this study. METHODS : Based on literature review, a model which included constraints such as the amount, volume, overlap, and pattern, was developed to minimize the cutting loss in an irregular pavement shape. The Stach bond, stretcher bond, and herringbone patterns were used in this model. The harmony search and particle swarm algorithms were then used to solve this model. RESULTS : Based on the results of the model and algorithms, the harmony search algorithm yielded better results because of its fast computation time. Moreover, compared to the sample pavement area, it reduced the cutting loss by 20.91%. CONCLUSIONS : The model and algorithms successfully optimized the layout of the pavement and they have potential applications in industries, such as tiling, panels, and textiles.

This study supplements the literature by determining how restaurant innovativeness is linked to customer advocacy as well as considering self-image congruity as mediator of this relationship. A questionnaire survey of 385 restaurant customers was conducted in Taiwan. The results indicated that restaurant innovativeness is positively related to customers’ self-image congruity and customer advocacy. Customers’ self-image congruity is positively associated with customer advocacy. In addition, self-image congruity mediates the relationship between restaurant innovativeness and customer advocacy. The research contributes to literature by extend the relationships between restaurant innovativeness, self-image congruity, and customer advocacy. Restaurant managers should adopt approaches (e.g. innovativeness-related activities) for enhancing self-image congruity in customers.

The integration of Live streaming and E-commerce, also known as Live commerce, has been widely used in Asia. The live commerce market in China, which leads the live commerce business, reached 2.36 trillion yuan (about 340 billion dollars) at the end of 2021. While revenue is an important indicator for a company, customer engagement in live commerce, which can acquire potential customers through brand loyalty formation, community building, and information sharing, is also a crucial indicator in consideration of long-term development.

With the evolution of Artificial intelligence (AI), emotional artificial intelligence service agents (AISA) have become common in service industry. However, how artificial empathy of AISA contributes to customer acceptance remains an open question. This study draws on Anthropomorphism Theory and Customer AI Experience Theory to examine whether and how artificial empathy has influence on customer acceptance of AISA. Evidence from three experiments (N=1057) designed by the Experimental vignette method (EVM) shows that: (1) artificial empathy including perspective-taking, empathic concern and emotional contagion has a positive impact on customer acceptance of AISA (study 1); (2) customer AI experience (emotional experience quality, social experience activation and social experience quality) mediates the relationship between artificial empathy and customer acceptance of AISA (study 2); (3) artificial empathy for hedonic (vs. utilitarian) services leads to a stronger effect on customer acceptance of AISA (study 3). This paper enriches our understanding of artificial empathy and provides practical guidance for practitioners strategically managing AISA services in AI-enabled marketing interactions.

The popularity of live streaming is driving the emergence of a new business model, known as live-streaming commerce (LSC). While there are more and more broadcasters in LSC, their behaviors and performance of them are significantly different. To have a better understanding of broadcasters, we employ different machine learning models to identify different portraits in both static and dynamic dimensions. We collect a rich live-streaming dataset from one leading platform in China. Our dataset features information for both broadcasters and viewers, including viewers’ purchasing behaviors, viewers’ records of posting words, broadcasters’ gender, the number of followers for broadcasters, and the live streaming show information, including the start and end time, and the viewers in each live streaming show. The rich textual information in broadcasters’ profile induction provides us a good opportunity to uncover different static portraits and the records in live streaming shows give us a chance to identify different dynamic behavioral portraits for broadcasters.

The popularity of live streaming is driving the emergence of a new business model, known as live-streaming commerce (LSC). Consumers spend more and more time on smartphones, and the emerging business model of live-streaming commerce (LSC) is flourishing in the retail industry. With highly interactive features, LSC social interactions influence viewer purchase behaviors. To examine the interactions between influencers and viewers, we collected a rich dataset from a leading LSC service platform and integrated research models from the natural language process (NLP) field and econometric models.

Given the conundrum of moral washing in CSR communication, this research examines the effectiveness of narrative richness using storytelling in marketing. In the process, the moderating role of moral imagination is further explored. An online experiment with a 2 (Narrative Richness: High vs. Low) x 2 (Moral Imagination: High vs. Low) between-subjects factorial design was conducted with two well-known companies (Shell vs. Facebook) suffered from a reputation crisis as the target brands. The results (N = 287) showed that the effects of narrative richness on consumer responses, including positive emotion, negative emotion, and behavioral intention, were significant for Facebook whereas its effect on positive emotion was significant for Shell. Most importantly, the two-way interaction between narrative richness and moral imagination on attitude toward the brand was significant for Shell, indicating that the effect of narrative richness on attitude toward the brand was augmented by moral imagination. In other words, consumers with high moral imagination view narrative-rich messages with virtuous thoughts to figure out the conundrum of CSR communication for the company, and vice versa. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

The development and application of NFTs has gained great attentions. Especially, with the eyes on the potential of Metaverse and Web 3.0, NFTs are regarded as one of the foundational parts of the future internet. The main contribution of NFTs is the innovative solution for creating digital uniqueness through its property of non-fungibility. With this property, the ubiquity caused by replicable data on the current internet can be advanced with NFT-backed uniqueness, which can assist in certifying authenticity, authorship, and possessions of contents, products, and assets online. This has tremendous meaning for the luxury brand industry, which has been struggling with the ubiquity of the internet for years. The emergence of NFTs, however, represents hope and a potential mean to represent scarcity in a digital context. By the use of NFTs, luxury brands’ conservative digital marketing strategies and their ways of production design, marketing, consumer management could be fundamentally changed. This study aims to discuss the NFT marketing strategy from the perspective of luxury brands. Particularly, the study will investigate the desirability strategies in these luxury NFT cases. To do so, the study uses a socio-technical perspective to understand how luxury brands embody the desirability strategy through NFTs, by considering the technical factors of NFTs (i.e., design, issuance, and ecosystem functioning) and social factors of desirability (i.e., exclusivity, rarity, prestige, and creative leadership). The study explores applicable strategy of how to realize luxury desirability through NFT technics. As a result, this study investigates 39 luxury NFT cases from 2021 to 2022, including the NFTs launched by famous luxury brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, and KARL LAGERFELD. The study showcases three within-case analyses to exhibit vivid examples of NFT innovations. Besides, the study generates a common framework by a complete cross-case analysis. The framework contains three domains and seven dimensions to guide further luxury NFT innovations and contributes to theory development in the field of NFT marketing and branding.

How to shifting consumer behavior to be more sustainable has been a hot research topic. The COVID-19 Pandemic has ignited this since consumers pay more attention to sustainability issues. Sustainability application (app) has been a promising way to connect individuals and provide information to promote a habit of sustainable consumption. The use of these apps to facilitate sustainable consumption has been a recent research focus. The strategy to encouraging app adoption is a research priority identified in a synthesized literature review of prior studies on mobile app marketing. As such, it is imperative to understand how to design sustainability apps to motivate consumers to facilitate app use intention. Attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS) model is one commonly used motivational design model, which has been applied to mobile learning systems to examine gamification design. The four factors of ARCS correspond to different strategies to increase users’ motivation to use the app. Thus, the aim of this research is to develop an ARCS motivational model for sustainability apps. A simulated gamified sustainability app was utilized with the aim of reducing carbon footprint. A market research firm was contracted to collect data by using an online questionnaire. Respondents were shown the pictures and functions of the app including the interface of the app, carbon footprint status, the leaderboard of carbon emissions in the community, shop, personal profile and then answered questions. 346 usable questionnaires were obtained. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

Livestreaming commerce is a form of e-commerce that embedded real-time video presentation and social interaction. It provides immersive shopping experience reinforced by high levels of interactivity and instant bidirectional communication. China, as one of the biggest livestreaming markets, has reached 2.3 trillion (CNY) livestreaming commerce market value in 2022. In a 2020 survey, two-thirds of Chinese consumers experienced livestreaming shopping in the previous year. Accordingly, luxury brands, such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton have started to implement livestreaming commerce in China. However, for years, luxury brands have struggled with online commerce as it may impact upon perceptions of exclusivity and dilute brand value. Research on the efficacy of live commerce emerged in recent years and mostly focused on non-luxury brands. However, luxury brands cannot simply copy digital marketing strategies that proved to be effective for non-luxury brands. To date, limited academic attention has been devoted to the luxury commerce in a livestreaming context.

The attitude-behavior gap and intention-behavior gap has not been research extensively. The purpose of this study is to provide a review of moderating or mediating factors on the relationship between intention or attitude and behavior of sustainable tourism. Intention was defined as the degree of a human being’s resolve to perform a certain action. The construct ‘Intention” has been used widely in some theories like the Theory of Planned Behavior. Researchers usually include the intention construct into their research framework to explain the theoretical mechanism. Sustainable or ecological tourism education has been implemented for years and empirical evidence provides us that almost all tourists are alerted to the importance of sustainability. There is a great challenge that tourists’ behavior might not concur with their intention. Policymakers and marketers really want to know the real factors affecting the association between the intention and behavior of sustainable tourism. Tourists’ purchase intention is a rational process and is affected by safety. Tourist behavior is associated with price and service environment which is a mixture of rational and emotional considerations.

People spent around 90% of smartphone usage time on mobile applications (apps). In response to these opportunities, companies have developed branded apps to interact with consumers and facilitate loyalty. However, companies have hard time retaining consumers to their own brand due to the fierce competition in the app market. As such, it is imperative to unveil factors driving continuance intention of branded apps. This is one of a key research themes in a recent literature review of marketing research on mobile apps. Most of prior studies have adopted the utilitarian perspective where perceived usefulness and ease of use are identified as the key drivers. However, the fit perspective has received limited attention. It has gained increasing importance as recent studies have emphasized the role of person-app fit and person-brand fit in driving consumers’ purchase decision performance and as consumers’ lives are highly embedded into branded apps. This study aims to investigate continuance intention of branded apps from the fit perspective. This research selected the target branded apps in Taiwan based on prior studies. A market research firm was contracted to collect data randomly on various social media sites, and its membership database by using online questionnaires. 198 usable questionnaires were obtained. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.