Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of customer loyalty programs on relationship quality, relationship commitment, and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach-A survey with 480 qualified observations from department store customers in Taiwan was conducted. A structural equation modeling approach was used. Findings-Customer loyalty programs have a partially supported positive impact on relationship quality; service quality has a positive impact on relationship quality; customers with a positive relationship quality impact their relationship commitment; the higher the relationship commitment, the higher the loyalty; and a customer loyalty program partially supports a positive impact on loyalty. Originality/value-The paper shows that customer loyalty programs have positive influences on loyalty. However, short-term customer loyalty programs, namely, Minimum Purchase Gift Cards, displayed no significant influence on loyalty. The incentive of short-term customer loyalty programs is not sufficient for loyalty.

Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3 (CCL3), also known as macrophage inflammatory protein-1α, is a cytokine involved in inflammation and activation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. CCL3 has been detected in infiltrating cells and tumor cells. Chondrosarcoma is a highly malignant tumor that causes distant metastasis. However, the effect of CCL3 on human chondrosarcoma metastasis is still unknown. Here, we found that CCL3 increased cellular migration and expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 in human chondrosarcoma cells. Pre-treatment of cells with the MMP-2 inhibitor or transfection with MMP-2 specific siRNA abolished CCL3-induced cell migration. CCL3 has been reported to exert its effects through activation of its specific receptor, CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5). The CCR5 and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibitor or siRNA also attenuated CCL3-upregulated cell motility and MMP-2 expression. CCL3-induced expression of MMP-2 and migration were also inhibited by specific inhibitors, and inactive mutants of AMPK, p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (p38 or p38-MAPK), and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) cascades. On the other hand, CCL3 treatment demonstrably activated AMPK, p38, and NF-κB signaling pathways. Furthermore, the expression levels of CCL3, CCR5, and MMP-2 were correlated in human chondrosarcoma specimens. Taken together, our results indicate that CCL3 enhances the migratory ability of human chondrosarcoma cells by increasing MMP-2 expression via the CCR5, AMPK, p38, and NF-κB pathways.

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) was used for an in situ thermal decomposition study of Zn(CH 3 COO) 2 ·2H 2 O forming ZnO nanoparticles. TOF-SIMS spectra were recorded at regular temperature intervals of 25• C in positive and negative detection modes in a dynamic thermal process.Controlled heating (5 • C min −1 ) of Zn(CH 3 COO) 2 ·2H 2 O was also carried out using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in an oxygen atmosphere (20 ml min −1 ). Nearly spherical ZnO nanoparticles with no agglomeration and a narrow size distribution (diameter ∼50 nm) were observed, which were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. In situ thermo-TOF-SIMS was used to monitor the 64 Zn + and 66 Zn + ion abundances as a function of temperature, which showed a similar profile to that observed for weight loss in TGA during decomposition. Based on the experimental results, a possible decomposition mechanism for the formation of ZnO is proposed.

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