• Title/Summary/Keyword: Development factor

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Development of a New Direct Marketing Channel in the Chinese Rural Market: The Case of Hongfu Fertilizer Company

  • Li, Dao-sheng;Hong, Jinhwan
    • Asia Marketing Journal
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    • v.15 no.2
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    • pp.29-47
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    • 2013

  • Distribution channel decisions involve long-term commitments with other firms that are very difficult to change or replace. In particular, marketing channel decisions in emerging markets are much more complicated due to unfamiliar conditions and problems such as lack of market data and distribution systems. Therefore, when a company considers changing or introducing a marketing channel in an area, it is much more difficult to judge its effectiveness in an emerging market than in a developed market. In this study, we investigate the development process of a new direct marketing channel of Hongfu Fertilizer Company (hereafter Hongfu), a medium-sized Chinese fertilizer manufacturer, and propose an approach to test the feasibility of this new marketing channel in the Chinese rural market. We measure the effectiveness of Hongfu's new marketing channel from two perspectives: i) from customers' perspective through direct responses of farmers, which showed that a new channel can increase the convenience and lower the purchasing costs for the farmers, and ii) from the company's perspective, by calculating the incremental profit of the company using the expansion factor (T/Q) method, which suggested that the execution of Hongfu's strategy to expand a new marketing channel will result in an increase in profits. The results of this study contribute to the development of a methodology to test the feasibility of a new direct marketing channel in the emerging markets such as the Chinese rural market. Traditional and indirect distribution channels in emerging markets are generally not very efficient and difficult to change. Especially, in emerging markets, like the Chinese rural market, the methods of testing channel feasibility must be different from that of developed markets. Considering market situations, market experiments can be more effective then systematic market surveys in testing channel feasibility in emerging markets. This study implies that managers must learn to cope with a transition from the traditional marketing channels in emerging markets. With the development in farmers' understanding of marketing concept, the transition from traditional marketing channel is unavoidable for all firms. Farmers in China are generally very conservative, however, their buying behaviors are changing. Therefore, fertilizer companies should try to adjust in accordance with farmers' demand characteristics that the efforts to meet the economic needs of farmers with new marketing channels as well as trust building are critical in the near future.

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TCF4-Targeting miR-124 is Differentially Expressed amongst Dendritic Cell Subsets

  • Sun Murray Han;Hye Young Na;Onju Ham;Wanho Choi;Moah Sohn;Seul Hye Ryu;Hyunju In;Ki-Chul Hwang;Chae Gyu Park
    • IMMUNE NETWORK
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.61-74
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    • 2016

  • Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells that sample their environment and present antigens to naïve T lymphocytes for the subsequent antigen-specific immune responses. DCs exist in a range of distinct subpopulations including plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) and classical DCs (cDCs), with the latter consisting of the cDC1 and cDC2 lineages. Although the roles of DC-specific transcription factors across the DC subsets have become understood, the posttranscriptional mechanisms that regulate DC development are yet to be elucidated. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are pivotal posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression in a myriad of biological processes, but their contribution to the immune system is just beginning to surface. In this study, our in-house probe collection was screened to identify miRNAs possibly involved in DC development and function by targeting the transcripts of relevant mouse transcription factors. Examination of DC subsets from the culture of mouse bone marrow with Flt3 ligand identified high expression of miR-124 which was able to target the transcript of TCF4, a transcription factor critical for the development and homeostasis of pDCs. Further expression profiling of mouse DC subsets isolated from in vitro culture as well as via ex vivo purification demonstrated that miR-124 was outstandingly expressed in CD24+ cDC1 cells compared to in pDCs and CD172α+ cDC2 cells. These results imply that miR-124 is likely involved in the processes of DC subset development by posttranscriptional regulation of a transcription factor(s).

  • https://doi.org/10.4110/in.2016.16.1.61 인용 PDF

Actin Depolymerizing Factor Destrin Regulates Cilia Development and Function during Vertebrate Embryogenesis

  • Youni Kim;Hyun-Kyung Lee;Kyeong-Yeon Park;Tayaba Ismail;Hongchan Lee;Hyun-Shik Lee
    • Development and Reproduction
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.109-119
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    • 2024

  • The actin cytoskeleton plays fundamental roles in ciliogenesis and the actin depolymerizing factor destrin regulates actin dynamics by treadmilling actin filaments and increasing globular actin pools. However, the specific developmental roles of destrin in ciliogenesis have not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the function of destrin in ciliogenesis using Xenopus laevis and human retinal pigmented epithelial (hRPE1) cells. We discovered the loss of destrin increased the number of multiciliated cells in the Xenopus epithelium and impeded cilia motility. Additionally, destrin depletion remarkably reduced the length of primary cilia in the Xenopus neural tube and hRPE1 cells by affecting actin dynamics. Immunofluorescence using markers of ciliary components indicated that destrin controls the directionality and polarity of basal bodies and axonemal elongation by modulating actin dynamics, independent of basal body docking. In conclusion, destrin plays a significant role during vertebrate ciliogenesis regulating both primary and multicilia development. Our data suggest new insights for understanding the roles of actin dynamics in cilia development.

  • https://doi.org/10.12717/DR.2024.28.3.109 인용 PDF