THE 2003 SUPERMARKET PANEL ANNUAL REPORT

Executive Summary The Food Industry Center established the Supermarket Panel in 1998 as the basis for an ongoing study of the supermarket industry. Since 2000 the core of the Panel has been a random sample of stores drawn from the approximately 32,000 supermarkets in the U.S. that accept food stamps. The purpose of collecting data on supermarket operations and performance is to: Provide timely, useful information for the industry through benchmark reports and annual summaries, trends on key indices of technology adoption, competitive positions and performance. Be a ready source of data for research on current and emerging issues - to be able to track the changes in operation and its impacts on performance over time. This report presents findings from the 2003 Supermarket Panel, and provides an overview of findings from the past four years. The 2003 Panel includes 391 stores that are a representative cross-section of the supermarket industry. The Panel tries to follow the same stores over time. Of the 391 stores, 268 were in the Panel in 2002. Nine percent of the stores have been in the Panel all four years. At least one store from every state is in the Panel. New in 2003 The Panel was offered over the Internet. Forty-seven percent responded on-line. An index on variety offering was created. Questions about offering irradiated fresh ground beef are included (with a follow up study). Supply Chain Technology Practices The Supply Chain Score measures the extent to which stores have adopted computerized methods of communicating with suppliers, handling inventory management, ordering, invoicing, and analyzing consumer purchases. The average score has almost doubled in four years. Stores in groups (chains) with more than 750 stores and/or supercenter formats have adopted supply chain practices most intensively. Internet/Intranet is used by at least two-thirds of all stores; over ninety percent of stores in groups with more than 50 stores use this technology. Vendor managed inventory has been adopted by only 42 percent of stores in the biggest store groups with much lower rates of adoption in smaller store groups. A higher Supply Chain Score benefited significantly higher sales per labor hour. Service and Variety Scores About eighty percent of stores in all size groups offer bagging and custom meat cutting. Variety pays off in better performance for five out of eight measures. Variety helps to grow annual percentage sales. Supercenters/Top Stores/Unions Supercenters have significantly higher sales per labor hour and per transaction. They have lower sales growth. Fifty-three percent of supermarkets face supercenter competition. They have somewhat higher sales per square foot of selling area and higher annual sales growth than stores that do not face supercenter competition. Eleven percent of stores in the 2003 Panel qualified as "top stores." They had above the median levels for each of three performance measures: weekly sales per square foot, sales per labor hour, and annual percentage sales growth. Top stores are more likely to have a unionized labor force, be a price and variety leader, and be wholesaler supplied. One-third of 2003 Panel stores have unionized labor. These stores have more productive labor with significantly higher sales per labor hour. Statistically Significant Drivers of Performance Over Time The descriptive profile and analysis of the Panel provide useful insights on the structure of the supermarket industry and factors associated with strong performance. However, statistical regression analysis identifies whether a variable is significantly correlated with a performance measure holding all else constant. This section presents findings from a multivariate regression analysis of five key performance measures. These regression analyses are summarized on the table below. If a characteristic is listed on the table it was a significant correlate in at least three out of the past four years. For example, in the last row, the only variable that was consistently significant for increasing annual percentage sales growth is being in an area with higher household incomes. Having a warehouse format decreased sales growth and three other factors were significant in at least three years but alternated with positive and negative effects.Industrial Organization, Marketing,

Shape-memory properties of magnetically active triple-shape nanocomposites based on a grafted polymer network with two crystallizable switching segments

Thermo-sensitive shape-memory polymers (SMP), which are capable of memorizing two or more different shapes, have generated significant research and technological interest. A triple-shape effect (TSE) of SMP can be activated e.g. by increasing the environmental temperature (Tenv), whereby two switching temperatures (Tsw) have to be exceeded to enable the subsequent shape changes from shape (A) to shape (B) and finally the original shape (C). In this work, we explored the thermally and magnetically initiated shape-memory properties of triple-shape nanocomposites with various compositions and particle contents using different shape-memory creation procedures (SMCP). The nanocomposites were prepared by the incorporation of magnetite nanoparticles into a multiphase polymer network matrix with grafted polymer network architecture containing crystallizable poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) crosslinks named CLEGC. Excellent triple-shape properties were achieved for nanocomposites with high PEG weight fraction when two-step programming procedures were applied. In contrast, single-step programming resulted in dual-shape properties for all investigated materials as here the temporary shape (A) was predominantly fixed by PCL crystallites

Effects of fibre content and textile structure on dynamic-mechanical and shape-memory properties of ELO/flax biocomposites

Biocomposites were prepared using epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) and flax fibre reinforcements in different assemblies. ELO was cured by two different anhydrides to check how its thermomechanical properties can be influenced. As reinforcements nonwoven mat, twill weave and quasi-unidirectional textile fabrics with two different yarn finenesses were used. Their reinforcing effect was determined in dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) in flexure. DMA served also to determine the glass transition temperature (Tg). Shape memory properties were derived from quasiunconstrained flexural tests performed near to the Tg of the ELO and its biocomposites. Flax reinforcement reduced the Tg that was attributed to off-stoichiometry owing to chemical reaction between the hydroxyl groups of flax and anhydride hardener. The shape memory parameters were moderate or low. They were affected by both textile content and type

3D printing of twisting and rotational bistable structures with tuning elements

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is ideal for the fabrication of various customized 3D components with fine details and material-design complexities. However, most components fabricated so far have been static structures with fixed shapes and functions. Here we introduce bistability to 3D printing to realize highly-controlled, reconfigurable structures. Particularly, we demonstrate 3D printing of twisting and rotational bistable structures. To this end, we have introduced special joints to construct twisting and rotational structures without post-assembly. Bistability produces a well-defined energy diagram, which is important for precise motion control and reconfigurable structures. Therefore, these bistable structures can be useful for simplified motion control in actuators or for mechanical switches. Moreover, we demonstrate tunable bistable components exploiting shape memory polymers. We can readjust the bistability-energy diagram (barrier height, slope, displacement, symmetry) after printing and achieve tunable bistability. This tunability can significantly increase the use of bistable structures in various 3D-printed components

Simple models for the heat flux from the Atlantic meridional overturning cell to the atmosphere

It has been suggested that a slowdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning cell (AMOC) would cause the Northern Hemisphere to cool by a few degrees. We use a sequence of simple analytical models to show that due to the nonlinearity of the system, the simplified heat flux from the modeled AMOC to the atmosphere above is so robust that even changes of as much as 50% in the present AMOC transport are not enough to significantly change the temperature of the outgoing warmed atmosphere (i.e., the fraction of the atmosphere warmed by the AMOC). Our most realistic model (which is still a far cry from reality) involves a warm ocean losing heat to an otherwise motionless and colder atmosphere. As a result, the compressible atmosphere convects, and the generated airflow ultimately penetrates horizontally into the surrounding air. The behavior of the system is attributable to four key aspects of the underlying physical processes: (1) convective atmospheric transport increases by warming the atmosphere, (2) the ocean is warmer than the atmosphere, (3) the surface heat flux is usually proportional to the temperature difference between the ocean and the atmosphere, and (4) the specific heat capacity of water is much larger than that of the air. Taken together, these properties of the system lead to the existence of a dynamic “asymptotic” state, a modeled regime, in which even significant changes in the AMOC transport have almost no effect on the ocean-atmosphere heat flux and the resulting outgoing atmospheric temperature. In the hypothetical limit of an infinitely large specific heat capacity of water, Cpw there is no change in either the atmospheric transport or the temperatures of the ocean and the atmosphere, regardless of how large the reduction in the AMOC transport is. Although our models may be too simple to allow for a direct application to the ocean and atmosphere, they do shed light on the processes in question

Efficient derivation of NPCs, spinal motor neurons and midbrain dopaminergic neurons from hESCs at 3% oxygen

This protocol has been designed to generate neural precursor cells (NPCs) from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) using a physiological oxygen (O(2)) level of 3% and chemically defined conditions. The first stage involves suspension culture of hESC colonies at 3% O(2), where they acquire a neuroepithelial identity over two weeks. This timescale is comparable to that at 20% O(2), but survival is enhanced. Sequential application of retinoic acid (RA) and purmorphamine (PM), from day 14 to 28, directs differentiation towards spinal motor neurons. Alternatively, addition of FGF-8 and PM generates midbrain dopaminergic neurons. OLIG2 induction in motor neuron precursors is 2-fold greater than at 20% O(2), whereas EN1 is 5-fold enhanced. 3% NPCs can be differentiated into all three neural lineages, and such cultures can be maintained long-term in the absence of neurotrophins. The ability to generate defined cell types at 3% O(2) should represent a significant advance for in vitro disease modelling and potentially cell-based therapies

Effect of venlafaxine on bone loss associated with ligature-induced periodontitis in Wistar rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present study investigated the effects of venlafaxine, an antidepressant drug with immunoregulatory properties on the inflammatory response and bone loss associated with experimental periodontal disease (EPD).</p> <p>Materials and Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats were subjected to a ligature placement around the second upper left molar. The treated groups received orally venlafaxine (10 or 50 mg/kg) one hour before the experimental periodontal disease induction and daily for 10 days. Vehicle-treated experimental periodontal disease and a sham-operated (SO) controls were included. Bone loss was analyzed morphometrically and histopathological analysis was based on cell influx, alveolar bone, and cementum integrity. Lipid peroxidation quantification and immunohistochemistry to TNF-α and iNOS were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Experimental periodontal disease rats showed an intense bone loss compared to SO ones (SO = 1.61 ± 1.36; EPD = 4.47 ± 1.98 mm, p < 0.001) and evidenced increased cellular infiltration and immunoreactivity for TNF-α and iNOS. Venlafaxine treatment while at low dose (10 mg/kg) afforded no significant protection against bone loss (3.25 ± 1.26 mm), a high dose (50 mg/kg) caused significantly enhanced bone loss (6.81 ± 3.31 mm, p < 0.05). Venlafaxine effectively decreased the lipid peroxidation but showed no significant change in TNF-α or iNOS immunoreactivity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The increased bone loss associated with high dose venlafaxine may possibly be a result of synaptic inhibition of serotonin uptake.</p

Determination of nutrient salts by automatic methods both in seawater and brackish water: the phosphate blank

9 páginas, 2 tablas, 2 figurasThe main inconvenience in determining nutrients in seawater by automatic methods is simply solved: the preparation of a suitable blank which corrects the effect of the refractive index change on the recorded signal. Two procedures are proposed, one physical (a simple equation to estimate the effect) and the other chemical (removal of the dissolved phosphorus with ferric hydroxide).Support for this work came from CICYT (MAR88-0245 project) and Conselleria de Pesca de la Xunta de GaliciaPeer reviewe

Direct targeting of hippocampal neurons for apoptosis by glucocorticoids is reversible by mineralocorticoid receptor activation

Prova tipográfica (In Press)An important question arising from previous observations in vivo is whether glucocorticoids can directly influence neuronal survival in the hippocampus. To this end, a primary postnatal hippocampal culture system containing mature neurons and expressing both glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptors was developed. Results show that the GR agonist dexamethasone (DEX) targets neurons (microtubule-associated protein 2-positive cells) for death through apoptosis. GR-mediated cell death was counteracted by the MR agonist aldosterone (ALDO). Antagonism of MR with spironolactone ([7a-(acetylthio)-3-oxo-17a-pregn- 4-ene,21 carbolactone] (SPIRO)) causes a dose-dependent increase in neuronal apoptosis in the absence of DEX, indicating that nanomolar levels of corticosterone present in the culture medium, which are sufficient to activate MR, can mask the apoptotic response to DEX. Indeed, both SPIRO and another MR antagonist, oxprenoate potassium ((7a,17a)-17-Hydroxy-3-oxo-7- propylpregn-4-ene-21-carboxylic acid, potassium salt (RU28318)), accentuated DEX-induced apoptosis. These results demonstrate that GRs can act directly to induce hippocampal neuronal death and that demonstration of their full apoptotic potency depends on abolition of survival-promoting actions mediated by MR

Measuring Costs and Outcomes of Tele-Intervention When Serving Families of Children who are Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing

Background: Optimal outcomes for children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH) depend on access to high quality, specialized early intervention services. Tele-intervention – the delivery of early intervention services via telehealth technology - has the potential to meet this need in a cost-effective manner.Method: Twenty-seven families of infants and toddlers with varying degrees of hearing loss participated in a randomized study, receiving their services primarily through TI or via traditional in-person home visits. Pre- and post-test measures of child outcomes, family and provider statisfaction, and costs were collected.Results: The TI group scored statistically significantly higher on the expressive language measure than the in-person group (p =.03). A measure of home visit quality revealed that the TI group scored statistically significantly better on the Parent Engagement subscale of the Home Visit Rating Scales-Adapted &amp; Extended (HOVRS-A+; Roggman, et al., 2012). Cost savings associate with providing services via TI increased as the intensity of service delivery increased. Although most providers and families were positive about TI, there was great variability in their perceptions.Conclusions: Tele-intervention is a promising cost-effective method for delivering high quality early intervention services to families of children who are DHH