The country of brand communication in the retail setting: An analysis of Italian products in China

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of country of brand (COB) communication within the retail environment of emerging markets. Drawing from the literature on store image, we developed a framework to analyse static and dynamic elements of COB communication. By adopting an inductive approach, we analysed COB use in a sample of 20 stores of Italian fashion brands in China using the mystery shopping technique. Given the increasing growth of e-retailing in China, the in-store observation is complemented by an analysis of the use of COB within the brand's local website and e-commerce page. In order to have a multi-layered representation of the phenomenon, in-depth interviews with managers of Italian firms in fashion industry are carried out. Findings confirm that retailing represents a primary communication channel for firms operating in China; however, the results of the participant observation show that COB is a cue information utilised only by a small percentage of the sample, mainly in a textual and iconic way. Managerial implications are discussed on the extent to which COB communication in store should be managed within an effective marketing strategy in line with the country and consumer characteristics in order to enhance the brand image in a growing market like China

Comparison of two bias correction methods for TRMM 3B42 satellite daily rainfall estimates over Northern Tunisia

The overall objective of this study is to evaluate and correct the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 algorithm for Northern Tunisia focusing on heavy rainfall events. Two types of correction methods are tested. The first is the combined scheme (CoSch) which was applied in two different ways. CoSch (1) combines satellite data with interpolated in situ data. However, CoSch (2) combines satellite data with a not interpolated in situ map where the pixel value is randomly selected from the rainfall stations belonging this pixel. The second type of correction is the best linear unbiased estimator. The study period is from January 2007 to August 2009. The in situ database is composed of an average of 318 rain gauges. Heavy events are defined as those daily events exceeding 50 mm/day for at least one station. A total of 77 heavy rainfall events result from this selection criterion; 35 events were recorded during the dry period (May to October) and 42 during the wet season (November to April). We first investigate the boxplots of the various evaluation indicators for raw TRMM. The best achievement is for moderate events. The worst performance is for very light and light events. Moreover, we noticed that raw TRMM estimates perform better during wet season. The error decomposition underlined that the highest underestimated values are localized in orographic areas in Le Kef, also in Cap Bon. However, the rainfall overestimation appeared in the central part of the study area (Bizerte and Zaghouan). About the bias correction method comparison, CoSch (1) performance showed a stronger correction than the unbiased estimator which outperforms CoSch (2). As for raw TRMM, CoSch (1) reports better correlation during wet season. The correction of probability of detection (POD) is more important for the wet season reaching 0.9 by the CoSch (1) and unbiased estimator methods. The threat score (TS) coefficients are found not sensitive to the season whatever the correction method

Risk characterization of spent foundry sands in soil-related applications

Spent molding sand is generated at about 2000 foundries in the U.S. when the sand can no longer be reclaimed within the foundry. Interest in beneficial use, rather than disposal of spent foundry sand (SFS), grew in recent years as the cost of landfilling increased and the potential benefit of using SFS in agriculture and horticulture became increasingly apparent. Thus, USDA-ARS researchers and the U.S. EPA's Office of Solid Waste, and researchers at The Ohio State University cooperated to conduct a risk assessment for beneficial use of SFS, and to develop guidance for such use. The available literature on SFS was reviewed and a program of sampling and comprehensive analysis of SFS was undertaken. The sample sets included foundries which cast iron, steel, or aluminum, and generated SFSs which contained low levels of potentially toxic trace elements and organic compounds. Data from these SFSs were evaluated using a pathway risk assessment approach, and it was concluded that most could be beneficially used due to high levels of copper and zinc commonly found in those sands. While most foundries use silica sand, it was also suggested that olivine sands not be beneficially used in soil-related applications, as they contain elevated levels of nickel which may present a phytotoxicity risk in acidic soils. Overall, however, the trace element concentrations in spent sands from iron, steel, and aluminum foundries were not unlike those found in U.S. soils. This guidance document recommends that SFSs with trace elements concentrations below the 95th percentile concentration of background U.S. soils can be safely applied to land or used in manufactured soils. Furthermore, none of the measured organic compounds were present at levels which would comprise excessive risk to humans or environmental receptors. The compounds present were largely biodegradable and mixing SFS in soils would promote natural biodegradation of these compounds

Risk characterization of spent foundry sands in soil-related applications

Spent molding sand is generated at about 2000 foundries in the U.S. when the sand can no longer be reclaimed within the foundry. Interest in beneficial use, rather than disposal of spent foundry sand (SFS), grew in recent years as the cost of landfilling increased and the potential benefit of using SFS in agriculture and horticulture became increasingly apparent. Thus, USDA-ARS researchers and the U.S. EPA's Office of Solid Waste, and researchers at The Ohio State University cooperated to conduct a risk assessment for beneficial use of SFS, and to develop guidance for such use. The available literature on SFS was reviewed and a program of sampling and comprehensive analysis of SFS was undertaken. The sample sets included foundries which cast iron, steel, or aluminum, and generated SFSs which contained low levels of potentially toxic trace elements and organic compounds. Data from these SFSs were evaluated using a pathway risk assessment approach, and it was concluded that most could be beneficially used due to high levels of copper and zinc commonly found in those sands. While most foundries use silica sand, it was also suggested that olivine sands not be beneficially used in soil-related applications, as they contain elevated levels of nickel which may present a phytotoxicity risk in acidic soils. Overall, however, the trace element concentrations in spent sands from iron, steel, and aluminum foundries were not unlike those found in U.S. soils. This guidance document recommends that SFSs with trace elements concentrations below the 95th percentile concentration of background U.S. soils can be safely applied to land or used in manufactured soils. Furthermore, none of the measured organic compounds were present at levels which would comprise excessive risk to humans or environmental receptors. The compounds present were largely biodegradable and mixing SFS in soils would promote natural biodegradation of these compounds

Low-dose high-dose-rate brachytherapy in the treatment of facial lesions of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

The use of many of the standard skin-directed mycosis fungoides (MF) therapies on facial skin may be limited by site-specific increased risks of side effects, excessive inflammation, and ocular toxicity. Our study aimed to describe the levels of erythema, scale, and induration of facial lesions in MF before and after low-dose high-dose-rate surface applicator brachytherapy and to examine the overall clinical response to brachytherapy. A total of 23 facial MF lesions in 10 patients were treated with high-dose-rate brachytherapy doses of 4 Gy per session for a total of 2 fractions at our multidisciplinary cutaneous oncology clinic between August 17, 2009, and March 12, 2012. In all 23 lesions, dramatic clinical improvement was observed. Patients were followed up for a median of 6.3 months. No recurrences were reported in the follow-up period. Long-term follow-up is lacking. Reassessment of all included patients at annual intervals for a period of at least 5 years is the authors' goal. Low-dose high-dose-rate brachytherapy using custom-made surface molds is a highly efficacious therapy in the treatment of facial lesions in MF

Cardiopulmonary dysfunction in the osteogenesis imperfecta mouse model Aga2 and human patients are caused by bone-independent mechanisms.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is an inherited connective tissue disorder with skeletal dysplasia of varying severity, predominantly caused by mutations in the collagen I genes (COL1A1/COL1A2). Extraskeletal findings such as cardiac and pulmonary complications are generally considered to be significant secondary features. Aga2, a murine model for human OI, was systemically analyzed in the German Mouse Clinic by means of in vivo and in vitro examinations of the cardiopulmonary system, to identify novel mechanisms accounting for perinatal lethality. Pulmonary and, especially, cardiac fibroblast of perinatal lethal Aga2/+ animals display a strong down-regulation of Col1a1 transcripts in vivo and in vitro, resulting in a loss of extracellular matrix integrity. In addition, dysregulated gene expression of Nppa, different types of collagen and Agt in heart and lung tissue support a bone-independent vicious cycle of heart dysfunction, including hypertrophy, loss of myocardial matrix integrity, pulmonary hypertension, pneumonia and hypoxia leading to death in Aga2. These murine findings are corroborated by a pediatric OI cohort study, displaying significant progressive decline in pulmonary function and restrictive pulmonary disease independent of scoliosis. Most participants show mild cardiac valvular regurgitation, independent of pulmonary and skeletal findings. Data obtained from human OI patients and the mouse model Aga2 provide novel evidence for primary effects of type I collagen mutations on the heart and lung. The findings will have potential benefits of anticipatory clinical exams and early intervention in OI patients