The Impact of Retail Promotion on the Purchase of Private Label Products: The Case of U.S. Processed Cheese

This study examines the impact of retail promotion on the purchase of private label products. The influence of private label coupons, national brand coupons, and store features is examined. To identify these effects, a logistic model Probit is estimated where the binary variable equals 1 if the household buys the private label product, and equals 0 if the private label product is not bought. The model gives the probability that Y=1 is chosen conditional on a set of explanatory variables. In this study we focus on the American processed cheese transactions and we use the ACNielsen Homescan Panel of U.S. households for the year 2005. No significant relationship was found between private label purchase and the level of private label couponing activity. Although increasing private label couponing has no impact on increasing private label purchase, a strong negative relationship was found between national brand manufacturer couponing activity and private label purchase decision. Therefore, national brand couponing appears to be an effective strategy for manufacturers to deter the private label growth in the processed cheese market.retail promotion, coupon, private label, cheese consumption, probit, endogenous explanatory variable, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,

Impacts on Producer Profits Attributed to Fortifying Processed Cheese with Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis,

The effectiveness of written corrective feedback on French as a second language accuracy

Cette étude quasi-expérimentale a pour objectifs de (1) comparer les effets de trois techniques de rétroaction corrective à l’écrit (RCÉ), à savoir la RCÉ directe (reformulation) et deux RCÉs indirectes (soulignement et soulignement plus indices métalinguistiques) sur la précision langagière à l’écrit, (2) d’examiner les effets modérateurs de la catégorie d’erreur et (3) d’examiner les effets modérateurs du niveau de compétence langagière des apprenants ainsi que leur capacité d’analyse verbale. Quatre groupes de français langue seconde (n = 65) inscrits dans des programmes de français enrichi dans des écoles secondaires anglophones à Montréal ont participé à cette étude. L’intervention expérimentale a comporté trois cycles d’écriture, de rétroaction et de révision qui ont été complétés sur des intervalles de deux semaines, et a ciblé l’accord dans le groupe nominal (GN), l’accord dans le prédicat, la structure du GN, la structure du groupe verbal (GV) ainsi que les homophones grammaticaux. L’intervention a été réalisée à travers trois conditions expérimentales (RCÉ directe, RCÉ indirecte sous forme de soulignement, RCÉ indirecte sous forme de soulignement plus indices métalinguistiques) et une condition de comparaison (pas de RCÉ). Chaque groupe expérimental a complété six tâches d’écriture (rappel de texte) : une tâche durant le pré-test et le post-test immédiat, une autre tâche pour le post-test différé et trois tâches différentes durant l’intervention expérimentale. Les quatre groupes ont révisé les textes complétés durant l’intervention expérimentale. Tous les participants ont aussi complété un test d’analyse verbale. Les résultats indiquent que (1) la provision de la RCÉ est plus bénéfique que son absence, (2) la RCÉ indirecte est meilleure que la RCÉ directe, (3) la RCÉ combinée avec des indices métalinguistiques (i.e., RCÉ indirecte métalinguistique) est plus efficace que le soulignement sans indices métalinguistiques. Concernant la deuxième question, les résultats suggèrent que certaines catégories d'erreurs étaient plus sensibles à la RCÉ que d'autres. Bien qu'aucune amélioration n'ait été constatée pour l'accord dans le GN ou pour l'accord dans le prédicat, l'utilisation précise des homophones grammaticaux s’est améliorée pour tous les groupes. Une telle amélioration était plus durable pour le groupe ayant reçu la RCÉ indirecte métalinguistique. Quant à la troisième question, les résultats indiquent que le niveau de compétence langagière n'a joué un rôle modérateur que pour le groupe recevant la RCÉ indirecte métalinguistique, mais aucun effet de ce type n'a été observé pour la capacité d'analyse verbale, et ce, quelle que soit la condition expérimentale.This quasi-experimental study aims (1) to compare the effects of three written corrective feedback (WCF) techniques on linguistic accuracy in writing. The three techniques consist of direct WCF, a technique in which the teacher provides the correct form, and two indirect WCF types, underlining only versus underlining plus metalinguistic clues, techniques in which the teacher elicits the correct form from the student. This study also aims (2) to examine the moderating effects of error category, and (3) to explore the moderating effects of individual variables such as language proficiency and language analytical ability. Four groups of French as a second language students (n = 65) enrolled in enriched French language programs in English secondary schools in Montreal participated in this study. They were divided into three experimental conditions, namely 1) direct WCF, 2) underlining only and 3) underlining plus metalinguistic clues, and a comparison condition - no WCF. The experimental intervention, which consisted of three cycles of writing, feedback and revision, was completed over two-week intervals. It targeted five grammatical categories: agreement in the nominal phrase (NP), agreement in the verb phrase (VP), the structure of the NP, the structure of the VP as well as grammatical homophones. Each group completed six writing tasks (text-reconstruction tasks): one task during the pre-test and the immediate post-test, another task for the delayed post-test and three different tasks during the experimental intervention. All four groups revised the texts they completed during the intervention. All participants also completed a test of language analytical ability. Results indicate that (1) providing WCF was more beneficial than withholding it, (2) indirect WCF was better than direct WCF, (3) that indirect WCF plus metalinguistic clues was more effective than indirect WCF only. Regarding the second question, results suggest that some error categories were more responsive to WCF, regardless of its type, than others. While no improvement was found for agreement in the NP or for agreement in the VP, the accurate use of grammatical homophones increased for all groups. Such an increase was more lasting for the group that received indirect WCF that is combined with metalinguistic clues. As for the third question, results indicate that proficiency played a moderating role only for the group receiving indirect WCF that is combined with metalinguistic clues, but no such effects were observed for the language analytical abilities, irrespective of the experimental condition

High-throughput evaluation of the combinatorial approach to improve NK cell immunotherapy using anti-cancer drugs in acute myeloid leukaemia

Viimeisten vuosikymmenten merkittävistä syöpälääketieteen edistysaskelista huolimatta akuutin myeloisen leukemian (AML:n) 5 vuoden elossaoloennuste on edelleen huono, erityisesti vanhemmissa potilaissa, joissa AML:n ilmaantuvuus on suurimmillaan. Huono elossaoloennuste johtuu usein monimutkaisista heterogeenisistä molekyylitason muutoksista, jotka määrittävät taudin etenemisen, mutta ovat vaikeita hoitaa, sillä tehokkaammat hoidot onnistuvat usein vain nuoremmille potilaille. Lisääntynyt syövän immunologian ymmärryksemme ja immunoterapian kehittyminen on kuitenkin johtanut uusiin innovaatioihin syövän hoidossa, jotka antavat toivoa tehokkaiden hoitomuotojen löytymiselle. Luonnolliseen tappajasoluun (NK-solu) perustuva immunoterapia on orastava hoitomuoto, joka kohdistuu pahanlaatuisiin soluihin ollen samalla vähemmän myrkyllinen ja soveltuvampi muihin hoitomuotoihin verrattuna. Käyttäen suurikapasiteettista lääkeaineseulontaa yhdistettynä yksisolu-RNA-sekvensointiin, tutkimuksemme keskittyi löytämään lääkeaineita, joilla on kyky synergiaan NK-solujen kanssa parantaen niiden leukemiasoluihin kohdistettua tappokykyä. Tutkimuksessamme löysimme useita lääkeaineita, joilla on kyky edesauttaa NK-solujen tappokykyä, joista erityisesti daporinad ja pevonedistat johtivat huomattaviin eroihin verrattuna kontrolleihin. Janus-kinaasien (JAK) estäjät edesauttoivat myös NK-solujen tappokykyä, osoittaen mahdollisen keinon lisätä NK-solujen aktiivisuutta leukemiasoluja vastaan vähentämällä I-luokan kudosyhteensopivuustekijöitä (MHC) leukemiasolujen pinnalla. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että tutkimuksessa tehdyt löydökset osoittavat synergistisen yhteisvaikutuksen mahdollisuuden NK-solujen ja lääkeaineiden välillä, jota hyödyntämällä tulevaisuudessa voisi olla mahdollista hoitaa syöpää tehokkaammin.Despite of great advancements in the field of cancer therapy in the past decades, the 5-year survival of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients remains low with high mortality especially in elderly patients, in whom the disease is most often observed. Poor prognosis often results from complex heterogenous molecular abnormalities defining the progress of the disease, while making it more difficult to treat due to intensive treatments only being feasible for younger patients. Our increased understanding of cancer immunology and the potential of immunotherapy has, however, led to promising therapeutic innovations, which give hope for discovering long-lasting and effective treatment options. Natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapies are amongst the emerging novel therapeutic approaches that aim to target malignant cells with less toxicity and improved applicability. Using high-throughput drug sensitivity and resistance testing combined with single cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing, this study focused on finding drug compounds that could synergise with NK cells to improve their effectiveness in killing leukemic cells. In this study, many drugs showed promising results in being able to potentiate NK cell cytotoxicity, with daporinad and pevonedistat showing the most notable differences when compared to controls. The potentiating effect of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors also suggested a method of increasing NK cell activity against leukemic cells through downregulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. In conclusion, findings shed light on the synergetic potential of drugs and NK cells, giving hope for clinically relevant findings following further validation and testing

Experimental Measurement and Simulation of Railway Track Irregularities

The study of railway dynamics is still a productive area of research given the rapid technological evolution of this transport system regarding load and speed. Morocco is no exception to this rule, especially after the commissioning of the first high-speed line in Africa. This study describes herein an experiment to measure vertical and transverse accelerations in a locomotive on a railroad line connecting the two cities of Mchraa Ben Abbou and Marrakech. The observed accelerations constitute the vehicle's dynamic responses while running at a constant speed on a track with irregularities (also known as track geometry), which is considered the main driving force of train dynamics and the track system. They are used to evaluate passenger comfort and safety. It can also be observed that body accelerations increase with the introduction of track irregularities as compared to a smoother track. In this study, an analysis of these experimental measurements is performed based on boxplot simulations comparing the distributions of the transverse and vertical components of vehicle acceleration. It was found that the medians and first and third quartiles of both distributions are very close. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-10-014 Full Text: PD

Antiviral activity of the extracts of Rhodophyceae from Morocco

Fifty-five aqueous, methanolic, chloroforme-methanolic and dichloromethanolic extracts derived from sixteen species of marine Rhodophyta from the coast of Morocco have been screened for the presence of inhibitory compounds against Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) by cell viability method. The aqueous extracts of Asparagopsis armata, Ceramium rubrum, Gelidium pulchellum, Gelidium spinulosum, Halopitys incurvus, Hypnea musciformis, Plocamium cartilagineum, Boergeseniella thuyoides, Pterosiphonia complanata and Sphaerococcus coronopifolius were capable of inhibiting the replication of HSV-1 in vitro at an EC50 (Effective Concentration 50%) ranging from <2.5 to 75.9 μg mL-1. No cytotoxic effect of the aqueous extracts on the Vero cells was observed in the range of the concentrations assayed for all extracts. The results corroborate that marine algae from Morocco can be a rich source of potential antiviral compounds.Keywords: Antiviral, Aqueous extracts, Organic extracts, Rhodophyceae, Herpes simplex viru

Zero-energy states in graphene quantum dot with wedge disclination

We investigate the effects of wedge disclination on charge carriers in circular graphene quantum dots subjected to a magnetic flux. Using the asymptotic solutions of the energy spectrum for large arguments, we approximate the scattering matrix elements, and then study the density of states. It is found that the density of states shows several resonance peaks under various conditions. In particular, it is shown that the wedge disclination is able to change the amplitude, width, and positions of resonance peaks.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Salt content impacts food preferences and intake among children

This work was supported by a PhD grant from the Nutrition, Chemical Food Safety and Consumer Behavior Division of INRA (French National Institute for Agronomical Research, France) and the Regional Council of Burgundy (France) received by SB; and by a research grant (Gustolf) from Regional Council of Burgundy (France) received by SN. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Decreasing dietary sodium intake, which can be achieved by reducing salt content in food, is recommended. Salt contributes to the taste of foods and makes them more enjoyable. Whether a food is liked or disliked is an important determinant of food intake, especially among children. However, the role of salt in children's food acceptance has received little attention. The impact of salt content on children's hedonic rating and intake of two foods was investigated in children. Using a within-subject crossover design, we recruited 75 children (8–11 years) to participate in five lunches in their school cafeteria. The target foods were green beans and pasta. The added salt content was 0, 0.6 or 1.2 g/100 g. The children's intake (g) of all lunch items was measured. The children provided their hedonic rating of the food, a preference ranking and a saltiness ranking in the laboratory. Children could rank the foods according to salt content, and they preferred the two saltier options. A food-specific effect of salt content on intake was observed. Compared to the intermediate level (0.6 g salt/100 g), not adding salt decreased green bean intake (−21%; p = 0.002), and increasing the salt content increased pasta intake (+24%; p<0.0001). Structural Equation Modeling was used to model the relative weights of the determinants of intake. It showed that the primary driver of food intake was the child's hunger; the second most important factor was the child's hedonic rating of the food, regardless of its salt content, and the last factor was the child's preference for the particular salt content of the food. In conclusion, salt content has a positive and food-specific effect on intake; it impacted food preferences and intake differently in children. Taking into account children's preferences for salt instead of their intake may lead to excessive added salt