MEASURING FOOD SAFETY PREFERENCES: IDENTIFYING CONSUMER SEGMENTS

Conjoint analysis was used to estimate individual preference functions for food safety attributes. Consumer segments were constructed by using cluster analysis to form groups which were homogeneous with respect to preferences regarding food safety. Although substantial differences existed among the three distinct groups, consumers in all segments were willing to pay a moderate amount to ensure that apples met established safety standards. However, a policy which restricts pesticide use would likely result in substantial consumer dissatisfaction, unless it could be achieved with little impact on price or quality.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Soils of the Closed Forest zone of Ghana

This is a study of the edaphic factor in the ecology of the tropical rain forest. Within this environment, the processes of soil formation have been intense in operation and of long duration, and soils with distinct properties have developed. The factors of pedogenesis underlying the formation of the soils of the closed forest zone af Ghana are outlined according to the evidence of profile morphology, and the characteristic features of the great sail groups which occur are described. On the basis of their physical properties and nutrient status in relation to the tropical environment, principles of agricultural land use are indicated.A geographical approach is maintained throughout. The spatial relations of soils as expanses forming integral parts of the landscape are emphasised and, in conclusion, the special contributions which the geographer can make to pedology are summarised.The thesis is based on work carried out in Ghana as a member of the Department of Soil and Land -Use Survey from 1953 to 1957. By 1955, Charter had devised methods of soil surveying for tropical forest lands (Charter, 1949a, 1949e), developed the organisation required for such projects (Charter 1950, S. L.U. S. 1957), and established the characteristics of the principal cocoa growing soils (Charter, 1949b). Just over 2,000 square miles of the forest zone had been surveyed. From 1953 to 1957, a further 14,000 square miles approximately of the forest zone were surveyed, of which the Kumasi Region (3,300 square miles) and the Birim Basin (1,500 square miles) were completed by the author.Field work occupied some 30 months in total. It was during this period that the soil relationships with vegetation, geomorphology and parent material were observed and recorded, and these form the basis of the thesis. Although the forest surveys covered just over 50 per cent of the forest zone, they had been carefully selected so that the pattern of soils over the major geological formations under a representative range of vegetation and climatic conditions could be studied and comprehended. This was done in 1956 and 1957 when the author was responsible for forest zone surveys and for the correlation of data from all surveys throughout the country. During this period, various maps were produced of soils at different levels of classification for the country as a whole (S.L.U.S., 1958), the correlation of field characteristics and analytical data for the major forest soils was demonstrated (Crosbie and de Bndredy, 1956), and the latter soils were also classified in terms of suitability for cocoa production (Crosbie, 1957a).The principles of agricultural land -use outlined in the final section are evolved on the donnant environmental factors of climate and soil described in the main text.There has been no previous account of pedogenesis in Ghana. In the second part of the thesis however, the classification scheme of C. F. Charter is adopted as a framework for description because it is soundly based on genetic factors. A chapter entitled 'Lower Slope Soils' has been included iá this section because of the areal extent of these soils in the aggregate and because they do not conform to any of the classification categories of Charter

Grow barley for malt or feed

MALTING barley can be grown in certain areas receiving more than 13 inches annual rainfall, and farmers have to make a choice between growing barley for malt or feed in these areas

Hypoxia and hyperglycaemia determine why some endometrial tumours fail to respond to metformin

High expression of Ki67, a proliferation marker, is associated with reduced endometrial cancer-specific survival. Pre-surgical metformin reduces tumour Ki-67 expression in some women with endometrial cancer. Metformin's anti-cancer activity may relate to effects on cellular energy metabolism. Since tumour hypoxia and glucose availability are major cellular redox determinants, we evaluated their role in endometrial cancer response to metformin. Endometrial cancer biopsies from women treated with pre-surgical metformin were tested for the hypoxia markers, HIF-1α and CA-9. Endometrial cancer cell lines were treated with metformin in variable glucose concentrations in normoxia or hypoxia and cell viability, mitochondrial biogenesis, function and energy metabolism were assessed. In women treated with metformin (n = 28), Ki-67 response was lower in hypoxic tumours. Metformin showed minimal cytostatic effects towards Ishikawa and HEC1A cells in conventional medium (25 mM glucose). In low glucose (5.5 mM), a dose-dependent cytostatic effect was observed in normoxia but attenuated in hypoxia. Tumours treated with metformin showed increased mitochondrial mass (n = 25), while in cultured cells metformin decreased mitochondrial function. Metformin targets mitochondrial respiration, however, in hypoxic, high glucose conditions, there was a switch to glycolytic metabolism and decreased metformin response. Understanding the metabolic adaptations of endometrial tumours may identify patients likely to derive clinical benefit from metformin

Sarcospan Regulates Cardiac Isoproterenol Response and Prevents Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy-Associated Cardiomyopathy.

BackgroundDuchenne muscular dystrophy is a fatal cardiac and skeletal muscle disease resulting from mutations in the dystrophin gene. We have previously demonstrated that a dystrophin-associated protein, sarcospan (SSPN), ameliorated Duchenne muscular dystrophy skeletal muscle degeneration by activating compensatory pathways that regulate muscle cell adhesion (laminin-binding) to the extracellular matrix. Conversely, loss of SSPN destabilized skeletal muscle adhesion, hampered muscle regeneration, and reduced force properties. Given the importance of SSPN to skeletal muscle, we investigated the consequences of SSPN ablation in cardiac muscle and determined whether overexpression of SSPN into mdx mice ameliorates cardiac disease symptoms associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy cardiomyopathy.Methods and resultsSSPN-null mice exhibited cardiac enlargement, exacerbated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, and increased fibrosis in response to β-adrenergic challenge (isoproterenol; 0.8 mg/day per 2 weeks). Biochemical analysis of SSPN-null cardiac muscle revealed reduced sarcolemma localization of many proteins with a known role in cardiomyopathy pathogenesis: dystrophin, the sarcoglycans (α-, δ-, and γ-subunits), and β1D integrin. Transgenic overexpression of SSPN in Duchenne muscular dystrophy mice (mdx(TG)) improved cardiomyofiber cell adhesion, sarcolemma integrity, cardiac functional parameters, as well as increased expression of compensatory transmembrane proteins that mediate attachment to the extracellular matrix.ConclusionsSSPN regulates sarcolemmal expression of laminin-binding complexes that are critical to cardiac muscle function and protects against transient and chronic injury, including inherited cardiomyopathy

Barley staining

GRAIN discolouration or staining is a quality defect in W.A. barley which substantially reduces the marketable value oi the crop. It also causes heavy losses to individual growers whose grain is docked or rejected