A Marketing plan for Nesvita

Nesvita, one of the newest products of Nestle Philippines, was launched in the local market last June 1994. It is categorized as a filling cereal beverage made of natural-based ingredients such as soya, milk, wheat and corn. The product is currently targeting children ages 5-12 yrs. old belonging to the AB and upper C strata and residing in the urban sectors. In less than half a year, the product already shows a modest growth as revealed in the company\u27s sales records. Sales target for 1994 has been adequately met as early as end of October. Initial feedback, as noted by the company\u27s Consumer Services Department, shows that a significant share of Nesvita\u27s sales, however, is contributed by young urban professionals or yuppies . Research conducted by Nestle in 1993 showed that yuppies do have a high acceptance rating for the product. In the effort to improve the performance of this new product in the market, the following action plans are recommended: (1) Repositioning of Nesvita to an older target market, specifically yuppies ages 20-34 yrs. old, who are characterized as busy-bodies (2) Developing better product features such as label, packaging size and material to elicit an image suited to yuppies (3) Conducting promos such as dry sampling, premiums, and sponsorship of events to provide product exposure (4) Launching an appropriate ad product\u27s retail price from P3.75 to P4.50 to create a premium image for Nesvita and to allow a more extensive ad campaign (6) Widening sales & distribution by covering groceries and convenience stores to effectively reach a greater market and (7) Conducting test market in areas outside GMA to determine the feasibility of widening distribution even further. These proposals are expected to increase peso sales by 267% and profit by 133%, amounting to P 1.7M. Total investment costs, on the other hand, are estimated at P 20M

A self-concept enhancement program for the freshman students of the College of Liberal Arts of DLSU

This study aims to design a self-concept enhancement program for college freshman of De La Salle University. The study is made up of four phases. In the Needs Analysis phase, the descriptive research design was utilized. A total of 275 CLA freshman students of DLSU were randomly selected to take the Pasao Self-Concept Rating Scale. Results show that a considerable percentage (44 percent) of the freshman students have a low self-concept, or that they lag in most of the self-concept, or that they lag in most of the self-concept areas of dimensions. For purposes of this study, however, only the two self-concept areas (Emotionality and Goal Directedness) which obtained the lowest mean scores, were the ones given focus by the researchers in writing a self-concept enhancement program. The activities in the program were either sourced from renowned books or authors, or developed by the researchers themselves. Objectives, contents and strategies adopted in the program were subjected to the appraisal of two groups of experts. The reviews given by the experts were taken into regard in improving the program. Afterwhich, the revised program was then tried out among 13 selected CLA freshman students. This was done to assess possible short-term and long-term indicators of the program\u27s effectiveness, as well as the best/least liked components of the program. Effectiveness of the program was, likewise, tested through the try-out. Results of the McNemar Change Test indicate that the level of self-concept of the participants was indeed improved after the program. However, no significant difference was found between the self-concept levels of the participants and non-participants through the Wilcoxon Mann Whitney Test. The level of significance for the two tests were set at .05, with a degree of freedom of one (df=1)

Electrochemical Transformations of Methylxanthines in Non‐Aqueous Medium

Coffee, cocoa and tea are the main sources of the natural methylxanthines caffeine, theobromine and theophylline. They are the most consumed alkaloids worldwide, with both beneficial and harmful effects on health. In addition to more traditional therapeutic uses, beneficial effects related to the oxidative stress have been more recently ascribed to these compounds. Moreover, natural methylxanthines have recently attracted attention as bio-based and renewable starting materials for organic synthesis. By using the electron as a green and sustainable reagent, organic electrochemistry provides a precious tool to carry out redox reactions for both mechanistic and synthetic purposes. The electrochemistry of natural methylxanthines was studied previously in an aqueous electrolytes, in which their chemistry is closely related to that of uric acid. Conversely, their electrochemistry in organic solvent is recent history: a few but successful examples of organic electrosyntheses and functionalizations have been reported, with promising applications in the pharmaceutical field. Moreover, some advances in molecular mechanisms might shed light on their potentialities as antioxidants. A prospective is given in the present minireview

Treatment with A2A receptor antagonist KW6002 and caffeine intake regulate microglia reactivity and protect retina against transient ischemic damage

Transient retinal ischemia is a major complication of retinal degenerative diseases and contributes to visual impairment and blindness. Evidences indicate that microglia-mediated neuroinflammation has a key role in the neurodegenerative process, prompting the hypothesis that the control of microglia reactivity may afford neuroprotection to the retina against the damage induced by ischemia-reperfusion (I-R). The available therapeutic strategies for retinal degenerative diseases have limited potential, but the blockade of adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) emerges as candidate strategy. Therefore, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of a selective A2AR antagonist (KW6002) against the damage elicited by I-R. The administration of KW6002 after I-R injury reduced microglia reactivity and inflammatory response and afforded protection to the retina. Moreover, we tested the ability of caffeine, an adenosine receptor antagonist, in mediating protection to the retina in the I-R injury model. We demonstrated that caffeine administration dually regulated microglia reactivity and cell death in the transient retinal ischemic model, depending on the reperfusion time. At 24 h of reperfusion, caffeine increased microglial reactivity, inflammatory response and cell death elicited by I-R. However, at 7 days of reperfusion, caffeine administration decreased microglia reactivity and reduced the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and cell death. Together, these results provide a novel evidence for the use of adenosine A2AR antagonists as potential therapy for retinal ischemic diseases and demonstrate the effect of caffeine on the regulation of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in the transient ischemic model