An analysis of at-home demand for ice cream in the United States

Ice cream has been manufactured commercially in the United States since the middle of the 19th century. Ice cream and frozen dessert products comprise an important and relatively stable component of the United States dairy industry. As with many other dairy products, ice cream is differentiated in several dimensions. A censored translog demand system model was employed to analyze purchases of 3 ice cream product categories. The objective of this study was to determine the effect that changes in retail prices and consumer income have on at-home ice cream consumption. The analysis was based on Nielsen 2005 home scan retail data and used marital status, age, race, education, female employment status, and location in the estimations of aggregate demand elasticities. Results revealed that price and consumer income were the main determinants of demand for ice cream products. Calculated own-price elasticities indicated relatively elastic responses by consumers for all categories except for compensated bulk ice cream. All expenditure elasticities were inelastic except for bulk ice cream, and most of the ice cream categories were substitutes. Ongoing efforts to examine consumer demand for these products will assist milk producers, dairy processors and manufacturers, and dairy marketers as they face changing consumer responses to food and diet issues.Nielsen home scan retail data; dairy demand; elasticity; ice cream

An analysis of at-home demand for ice cream in the United States

Ice cream has been manufactured commercially in the United States since the middle of the 19th century. Ice cream and frozen dessert products comprise an important and relatively stable component of the United States dairy industry. As with many other dairy products, ice cream is differentiated in several dimensions. A censored translog demand system model was employed to analyze purchases of 3 ice cream product categories. The objective of this study was to determine the effect that changes in retail prices and consumer income have on at-home ice cream consumption. The analysis was based on Nielsen 2005 home scan retail data and used marital status, age, race, education, female employment status, and location in the estimations of aggregate demand elasticities. Results revealed that price and consumer income were the main determinants of demand for ice cream products. Calculated own-price elasticities indicated relatively elastic responses by consumers for all categories except for compensated bulk ice cream. All expenditure elasticities were inelastic except for bulk ice cream, and most of the ice cream categories were substitutes. Ongoing efforts to examine consumer demand for these products will assist milk producers, dairy processors and manufacturers, and dairy marketers as they face changing consumer responses to food and diet issues

Will "Combined Prevention" Eliminate Racial/Ethnic Disparities in HIV Infection among Persons Who Inject Drugs in New York City?

It has not been determined whether implementation of combined prevention programming for persons who inject drugs reduce racial/ethnic disparities in HIV infection. We examine racial/ethnic disparities in New York City among persons who inject drugs after implementation of the New York City Condom Social Marketing Program in 2007. Quantitative interviews and HIV testing were conducted among persons who inject drugs entering Mount Sinai Beth Israel drug treatment (2007–2014). 703 persons who inject drugs who began injecting after implementation of large-scale syringe exchange were included in the analyses. Factors independently associated with being HIV seropositive were identified and a published model was used to estimate HIV infections due to sexual transmission. Overall HIV prevalence was 4%; Whites 1%, African-Americans 17%, and Hispanics 4%. Adjusted odds ratios were 21.0 (95% CI 5.7, 77.5) for African-Americans to Whites and 4.5 (95% CI 1.3, 16.3) for Hispanics to Whites. There was an overall significant trend towards reduced HIV prevalence over time (adjusted odd ratio = 0.7 per year, 95% confidence interval (0.6–0.8). An estimated 75% or more of the HIV infections were due to sexual transmission. Racial/ethnic disparities among persons who inject drugs were not significantly different from previous disparities. Reducing these persistent disparities may require new interventions (treatment as prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis) for all racial/ethnic groups

Metropolitan Social Environments and Pre-HAART/HAART Era Changes in Mortality Rates (per 10,000 Adult Residents) among Injection Drug Users Living with AIDS

Background Among the largest US metropolitan areas, trends in mortality rates for injection drug users (IDUs) with AIDS vary substantially. Ecosocial, risk environment and dialectical theories suggest many metropolitan areas characteristics that might drive this variation. We assess metropolitan area characteristics associated with decline in mortality rates among IDUs living with AIDS (per 10,000 adult MSA residents) after highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was developed. Methods This is an ecological cohort study of 86 large US metropolitan areas from 1993–2006. The proportional rate of decline in mortality among IDUs diagnosed with AIDS (as a proportion of adult residents) from 1993–1995 to 2004–2006 was the outcome of interest. This rate of decline was modeled as a function of MSA-level variables suggested by ecosocial, risk environment and dialectical theories. In multiple regression analyses, we used 1993–1995 mortality rates to (partially) control for pre-HAART epidemic history and study how other independent variables affected the outcomes. Results In multivariable models, pre-HAART to HAART era increases in ‘hard drug’ arrest rates and higher pre-HAART income inequality were associated with lower relative declines in mortality rates. Pre-HAART per capita health expenditure and drug abuse treatment rates, and pre- to HAART-era increases in HIV counseling and testing rates, were weakly associated with greater decline in AIDS mortality. Conclusions Mortality among IDUs living with AIDS might be decreased by reducing metropolitan income inequality, increasing public health expenditures, and perhaps increasing drug abuse treatment and HIV testing services. Given prior evidence that drug-related arrest rates are associated with higher HIV prevalence rates among IDUs and do not seem to decrease IDU population prevalence, changes in laws and policing practices to reduce such arrests while still protecting public order should be considered

Muscle glycogen utilisation during Rugby match play: Effects of pre-game carbohydrate

Objectives: Although the physical demands of Rugby League (RL) match-play are well-known, the fuel sources supporting energy-production are poorly understood. We therefore assessed muscle glycogen utilisation and plasma metabolite responses to RL match-play after a relatively high (HCHO) or relatively low CHO (LCHO) diet. Design: Sixteen (mean ± SD age; 18 ± 1 years, body-mass; 88 ± 12 kg, height 180 ± 8 cm) professional players completed a RL match after 36-h consuming a non-isocaloric high carbohydrate (n = 8; 6 g kg day−1) or low carbohydrate (n = 8; 3 g kg day−1) diet. Methods: Muscle biopsies and blood samples were obtained pre- and post-match, alongside external and internal loads quantified using Global Positioning System technology and heart rate, respectively. Data were analysed using effects sizes ±90% CI and magnitude-based inferences. Results: Differences in pre-match muscle glycogen between high and low carbohydrate conditions (449 ± 51 and 444 ± 81 mmol kg−1 d.w.) were unclear. High (243 ± 43 mmol kg−1 d.w.) and low carbohydrate groups (298 ± 130 mmol kg−1 d.w.) were most and very likely reduced post-match, respectively. For both groups, differences in pre-match NEFA and glycerol were unclear, with a most likely increase in NEFA and glycerol post-match. NEFA was likely lower in the high compared with low carbohydrate group post-match (0.95 ± 0.39 mmol l−1 and 1.45 ± 0.51 mmol l−1, respectively), whereas differences between the 2 groups for glycerol were unclear (98.1 ± 33.6 mmol l−1 and 123.1 ± 39.6 mmol l−1) in the high and low carbohydrate groups, respectively. Conclusions: Professional RL players can utilise ∼40% of their muscle glycogen during a competitive match regardless of their carbohydrate consumption in the preceding 36-h

Notch1 is required for maintenance of the reservoir of adult hippocampal stem cells

Notch1 regulates neural stem cell (NSC) number during development, but its role in adult neurogenesis is unclear. We generated nestin-CreER(T2)/R26R-YFP/Notch1(loxP/loxP) [Notch1inducible knock-out (iKO)] mice to allow tamoxifen (TAM)-inducible elimination of Notch1 and concomitant expression of yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) in nestin-expressing Type-1 NSCs and their progeny in the adult hippocampal subgranular zone (SGZ). Consistent with previous research, YFP+ cells in all stages of neurogenesis were evident in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of wild-type (WT) mice (nestin-CreER(T2)/R26R-YFP/Notch1(w/w)) after tamoxifen (post-TAM), producing adult-generated YFP+ dentate gyrus neurons. Compared with WT littermates, Notch1 iKO mice had similar numbers of total SGZ YFP+ cells 13 and 30 d post-TAM but had significantly fewer SGZ YFP+ cells 60 and 90 d post-TAM. Significantly fewer YFP+ Type-1 NSCs and transiently amplifying progenitors (TAPs) resulted in generation of fewer YFP+ granule neurons in Notch1 iKO mice. Strikingly, 30 d of running rescued this deficit, as the total YFP+ cell number in Notch iKO mice was equivalent to WT levels. This was even more notable given the persistent deficits in the Type-1 NSC and TAP reservoirs. Our data show that Notch1 signaling is required to maintain a reservoir of undifferentiated cells and ensure continuity of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, but that alternative Notch- and Type-1 NSC-independent pathways compensate in response to physical activity. These data shed light on the complex relationship between Type-1 NSCs, adult neurogenesis, the neurogenic niche, and environmental stimuli

Predictors of Virological Outcome and Safety in Primary HIV Type 1-Infected Patients Initiating Quadruple Antiretroviral Therapy: QUEST GW PROB3005

Background. Initiation of antiretroviral therapy during primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection may confer long-term benefit. Methods. After initiation of zidovudine, lamivudine, abacavir, and amprenavir therapy in patients in the QUEST cohort, predictors of virological outcome, virological and immunological changes, and adverse events were evaluated over 48 weeks. Results. One hundred forty-eight patients started antiretroviral therapy during primary HIV-1 infection with ⩽3 bands on Western Blot (median plasma HIV-1 RNA load, 5.4 log copies/mL; median CD4 cell count, 517 cells/mm3). By week 48, 36% of patients had stopped treatment or were lost to follow-up. Among the 115 patients receiving follow-up care at week 48 (102 of whom were receiving antiretroviral therapy), the median viral load decrease was -5.4 log copies/mL (interquartile range [IQR], -6.4 to -3.9 log copies/mL), and the median increase in CD4 cell count was 147 cells/mm3 (IQR, -1 to 283 cells/mm3); 84.2% of patients had a viral load ⩽50 copies/mL, and 44.7% of patients had a viral load ⩽3 copies/mL. The median cell-associated RNA level decreased from 3.4 log copies/million PBMCs (IQR, 2.9-4.1 log copies/million PBMCs) to 0.8 log copies/million PBMCs (IQR, 0.5-1.4 log copies/million PBMCs), and the median cell-associated DNA level decreased from 2.8 log copies/million PBMCs (IQR, 2.4-3.0 log copies/million PBMCs) to 1.6 log copies/million PBMCs (IQR, 1.2-1.9 log copies/million PBMCs); 33.3% of patients had an undetectable RNA level, and 9.5% of patients had an undetectable cell-associated DNA level. The median CD8+/CD38++ T cell count decreased from 459 cells/mm3 (IQR, 208-974 cells/mm3) to 33 cells/mm3 (IQR, 19-75 cells/mm3). Baseline CD8+/CD38++ T cell count and cell-associated DNA level were independent inverse predictors for reaching a viral load ⩽3 copies/mL. Eighty-three patients experienced a serious adverse event (median duration of an adverse event, 15 days). Conclusions. Initiation of antiretroviral therapy during primary HIV-1 infection was associated with very significant antiretroviral activity and a decrease in immune activation. Lower baseline CD8+/CD38++ T cell count and cell-associated DNA level were predictive of achieving a viral load ⩽3 copies/m

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO