Social Media Analysis to Understand the Expected Benefits by Plant-Based Meat Alternatives Consumers

The plant-based alternative meat products market has attracted attention in recent years, as the demand for these products has grown worldwide. To meet the needs of this promising market, marketers must pay attention to the expected benefits of consumers and the insights that can be gleaned from comments posted on social media. This article proposed an investigation of the potential of the content analysis of comments posted on the Instagram social network of food companies that manufacture plant-based alternative meat products to understand the expected benefits by end consumers from the perspective of the classic marketing mix variables. The content posted voluntarily by consumers was organized into 13 categories of expected benefits analyzed within a proposal of evidence from the perspective of the marketing mix. The results showed that, among the insights obtained, 63% were related to the place variable, 21% to the product variable, 11% to the price variable, and 5% to the promotion variable. The insights reinforce the notion that marketing mix variables are crucial factors for companies to make products available in the right place, in the right quantity, and at a fair price, in addition to engaging with consumers through social media.

Towards synthetic biological approaches to resource utilization on space missions

This paper demonstrates the significant utility of deploying non-traditional biological techniques to harness available volatiles and waste resources on manned missions to explore the Moon and Mars. Compared with anticipated non-biological approaches, it is determined that for 916 day Martian missions: 205 days of high-quality methane and oxygen Mars bioproduction with Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum can reduce the mass of a Martian fuel-manufacture plant by 56%; 496 days of biomass generation with Arthrospira platensis and Arthrospira maxima on Mars can decrease the shipped wet-food mixed-menu mass for a Mars stay and a one-way voyage by 38%; 202 days of Mars polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis with Cupriavidus necator can lower the shipped mass to three-dimensional print a 120 m 3 six-person habitat by 85% and a few days of acetaminophen production with engineered Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 can completely replenish expired or irradiated stocks of the pharmaceutical, thereby providing independence from unmanned resupply spacecraft that take up to 210 days to arrive. Analogous outcomes are included for lunar missions. Because of the benign assumptions involved, the results provide a glimpse of the intriguing potential of ‘space synthetic biology’, and help focus related efforts for immediate, near-term impact.

Development of Product Options for Modular Product Development

Modular product development plays an important role in helping manufacturing companies provide product variety rapidly in achieving competitive advantages. The development of product options plays a significant role by providing a selecting list for customizing, and has a key impact on the development of modular products. A process for product options development has been developed to guide the activities of determining product options and their values. And mathematical models have been brought forward to support decision-makings within the proposed process. A prototype system based on this process and mathematical models has been developed and tested in a machine manufacture plant, with satisfactory results.

Agronomic effectiveness of partially acidulated phosphate rock fertilisers in selected New Zealand soils

The agronomic performances of some longlife superphosphate (LSP) and partially acidulated phosphate rock (PAPR) fertilizers were compared with single superphosphate in glasshouse pot trials over 9-10 months using a range of New Zealand soils. The fertilizers used differed in the type (origin) of phosphate rock (PR), the acid to rock ratio used in the production of LSP, percentage acidulation of PAPR, and incorporation of elemental sulfur into LSP. The agronomic effectiveness of the fertilizers studied was primarily influenced by the type of PR and percentage acidulation of PAPR, but not by the acid to rock ratio. Variations in the agronomic effectiveness of LSP and PAPR fertilizers made from different PRs did not reflect the relative solubilities of the original PRs. This was mainly attributed to alterations in the chemistry and consequent solubility of PR which occurred during fertilizer manufacture. Plant phosphorus uptake was highly correlated with fertilizer solubility in 2% citric and 2% formic acids. The relative agronomic effectiveness of LSP and PAPR fertilizers was not significantly related to any single soil property.