Impact of retailer's promotional activities on customer traffic

The usual theoretical assumption that the retailer's promotional activities serve the purpose of attracting customers into stores lacks empirical verification. The relationship between promotional activity and customer count is examined empirically in just a few studies, and no significantly positive association is found. This dissertation is a comprehensive empirical study of a unique time series cross section dataset, which contains scanner data representing 28 product categories in a large supermarket chain over two and a half year long period. The main result of this dissertation is that retailer's promotional activities are positively related to customer count. Two constructed measures of the promotional activity have a positive significant effect on store traffic that is comparable with the customer count effect of an average holiday. Some 55 percent of the positive long-run promotional activity effect is felt immediately, and the remaining 45 percent is spread over a five week long period. The promotions have prolonged effects that last until the next promotional peak -ÃÂÃÂ the next holiday. It is also found that promotional discounts have positive and significant effect on store profit

Nivo policikličnih aromatičnih ugljovodonika u gasnoj i čestičnoj fazi u školama na različitim lokacijama u Srbiji

This study investigated seasonal variation of PAHs and their partition between gas and particulate-bounded phases in indoor and outdoor air in 4 schools In Serbia located at different locations. The sampling campaigns were conducted during one workweek at each school successively. Campaigns were conducted in schools during heating and non-heating seasons in December 2011 and June 2012. Seasonal variations of gas and particle-bounded PAHs concentrations were observed with higher levels during heating season. The highest total PAH values were associated with the gas phase in both sampling periods. The total PAHs concentration at indoor and at the outdoor sites, during heating season, ranged from 88.45 to 447.72 ng/m(3) and 201.69 to 1017.15 ng/m(3), respectively. During non-heating season, the total PAHs concentration ranged from 36.91 to 271.57 ng/m(3) in Indoor environment and 27.00 to 132.32 ng/m(3) in outdoor environment. Most of the I/O ratios were less than 1, which indicated that the indoor PAHs were mostly from outdoor sources. The use of diagnostic ratio showed that traffic emission and coal combustion are the major sources of PAHs. Only the diagnostic ratios for the school located near the industrial area showed significant deviation compared to other schools.U ovom radu su istraživane sezonske promene PAH i njihova raspodela, u gasnoj fazi i respirabilnim česticama u vazduhu unutrašnjeg prostora i spoljašnje sredine u 4 škole u Srbiji koje se nalaze na različitim lokacijama. Kampanja uzorkovanja je sprovedena tokom jedne radne nedelje u toku grejnog i negrejnog perioda (od decembra 2011. do juna 2012.) u svakoj školi. Uočene su sezonske promene nivoa PAH u gasnoj fazi i česticama, sa višim koncentracijama tokom grejnog perioda. Izmerena je veća vrednost zbira ukupnih PAH tokom oba perioda u gasnoj fazi nego PAH u česticama. Ukupna koncentracija PAH tokom grejnog perioda u unutrašnjem prostoru se kretala u opsegu od 88,45 do 447,72 ng/m3, a u spoljašnjoj sredini od 201,69 do 1017,15 ng/m3. Tokom negrejnog perioda, ukupna koncentracija PAH-ova je bila 36,91-271,57 ng/m3 u unutrašnjem prostoru, dok je u spoljašnjoj sredini bila 27,00-132,32 ng/m3. Većina I/O odnosa je bila manja od 1, što ukazuje da PAH u unutrašnjem prostoru uglavnom potiču iz spoljašnjeg vazduha. Na osnovu dijagnostičkih odnosa zaključeno je da su saobraćaj i sagorevanje uglja glavni izvori PAH. Jedino dijagnostički odnosi za školu koja se nalazi u blizini industrijske zone pokazuju značajno odstupanje u poređenju sa drugim školama

Levels of DDT in sterilized milk

Milk is an important source of nutrients for newborns, babies, and children. Sterilized milk is a nutritional food of modern times and a fast lifestyle. On the other hand, concerns about the safety of milk date back to the end of the last century. Various sources of contamination can threaten the safety of milk and the health of children, but also adults. The concern is primarily related to the presence of pesticides, the main source of which is the feed and the environment. The aim of this work is to systematize the results obtained from milk control in recent years. Research was carried out by monitoring the presence of the sum of DDT metabolites in sterilized milk in the period from 2018 to 2022

Pesticidi i polutanti životne sredine u organskom medu prema njihovoj raznolikosti u proizvodnim područjima u cilju zaštite zdravlja ljudi

U poslednjoj deceniji trend potrošnje meda je drastično porastao u svetu. Razlog je sve veći kcenat na konzumaciji meda zbog njegovih pozitivnih efekata na zdravlje zbog antibakterijskih i antioksidativnih svojstava meda. S druge strane, pesticidi, posebno insekticidi i akaricidi, su glavni uzročnici koji mogu da kontaminiraju med i ugroze njegov kvalitet. Iz tog razloga je određivanje ovih polutanata neophodno i važno, budući da je upotreba pesticida svake godine sve veća zbog potrebe proizvodnje hrane, a mnogi od njih se nakon upotrebe dugo nalaze u životnoj sredini. Na ovaj način pčele i med se mogu svrstati u ekološke indikatore. Savremene tehnike, kao što je gasna hromatografija sa masenom detekcijom, imaju mogućnost da detektuju veliki broj pesticida istovremeno na nivou tragova. Ekstrakcija pesticida iz meda je veliki analitički izazov zbog složenosti matriksa koji sadrži oko 300 hemijskih jedinjenja iz različitih grupa kao što su šećeri (monosaharidi i oligosaharidi), organske kiseline, aminokiseline, enzimi, hormoni, flavonoidi, vitamini, eterična ulja i steroli. Različiti pristupi zasnovani na novim sorbentima u fazi prečišćavanja tokom postupka pripreme nedavno su evaluirani kako bi se dobili zadovoljavajući parametri validacije metode. Brza metoda prečišćavanja korišćenjem disperzivne ekstrakcije čvrste faze obezbeđuje način da se dobiju čisti ekstrakti sa odličnim rezultatima za spajk. Poslednjih godina je veliki broj naučnih publikacija koje su razvile osetljivu i tačnu metodu za određivanje rezidua pesticida u uzorcima meda. Fokus istraživanja bio je na validaciji metode za određivanje organohlornih pesticida, amitraza i 2,4 dimetilanilina u medu proizvedenom u Srbiji. Cilj je bio da se validira metoda kako bi se pronašao najpouzdaniji odgovor na pitanje o bezbednosti meda na teritoriji Republike Srbije i odgovor na pitanje o prisustvu rezidua pesticida u medu. Rezultati istraživanja su rezultati dobijenih analiza o prisustvu pesticida u različitim vrstama meda iz Srbije. Dalje je prikazan pregled rezultata drugih autora, kako o najnovijim rezultatima ispitivanog meda, tako i o prisustvu polutanata u zemljama u okruženjuIn the last decade, the consumption trend of honey has increased dramatically in the world. The reason is the growing emphasis on the consumption of honey due to its positive effects on health due to the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of honey. On the other hand, pesticides, especially insecticides and acaricides, are the main causes that can contaminate honey and compromise its quality. For that reason, the determination of these pollutants is necessary and important, since the use of pesticides is increasing every year due to the need to produce food, and many of them are in the environment for a long time after use. In this way, bees and honey can be classified as environmental indicators. Modern techniques, such as gas chromatography with mass detection, have the ability to detect a large number of pesticides simultaneously at the trace level. Extraction of pesticides from honey is a great analytical challenge due to the complexity of the matrix containing about 300 chemical compounds from different groups such as sugars (monosaccharides and oligosaccharides), organic acids, amino acids, enzymes, hormones, flavonoids, vitamins, essential oils and sterols. Different approaches based on novel sorbents for clean-up step in preparation procedure have been recently evaluated in order to obtain satisfactory method validation parameters. A quick purification method using dispersive solid phase extraction provides a way to obtain pure extracts with excellent recovery results. In recent years, a large number of scientific publications have developed a sensitive and accurate method for pesticide residue determination in honey samples. The focus of the research was on the validation of the method for the determination of organochlorine pesticides, amitraz and 2, 4 dimethylaniline in honey produced in Serbia. The aim was to validate the method in order to find the most reliable answer to the question about the safety of honey in the territory of the Republic of Serbia and the answer to the question about the presence of pesticide residues in honey. The results of the research are the results of the obtained analyzes on the presence of pesticides in different types of honey from Serbia. Further it gives an overview of the results of other authors, as about the latest results of the examined honey and the presence of contaminants in the surrounding countries

PREVALENCE OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN PATIENTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND ITS IMPACT ON ASYMPTOMATIC CAROTID ATHEROSCLEROSIS

The importance of metabolic syndrome (MetSy) lies in the fact that its components are proven risk factors for early blood vessel atherosclerosis and thrombosis.Aim of the paper: Our aim was to establish the prevalence of MetSy in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and its impact on asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis. The study involved 391 examinees, divided into two groups. The study group consisted of patients with arterial hypertension (n=342; average age, 66.56 ± 09.52; with 51% of female gender). The presence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors was established for all involved patients, cardiovascular risk score was determined (SCORE risk), laboratory analyses were performed, as well as anthropometric measurements and color Doppler sonography of the great blood vessels of the neck. The patients with AH were divided into two groups according to the presence of MetSy. Metabolic syndrome was confirmed in 198 patients who comprised group I; there were 144 examinees without MetSy and these comprised group II. Those with MetSy had a greater average number of CV risk factors, a higher SCORE risk score, higher body mass index (p<0.0001), and more frequently had diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity. The thickness of the intimal medial complex (IMC) of the carotid arteries was significantly greater in the group with MetSy (p<0.0001) – 51% of examinees had IMC thickness ≥0.90. The patients with MetSy more commonly had one or more carotid plaques (p=0.03), a higher average number of plaques (p=0.01) and percentage of stenosis (p=0.01). As the most important factors associated with early carotid atherosclerosis, multivariant regression analysis singled out the following (for the model R=0.512. R2=0.262. adjusted R2=0.255. standard error of the estimate = 0.174; p<0.0001): age (coefficiant β=0.331. p<0.0001), number of MetSy components (coefficient β=0.158. p=0.002), level of serum uric acid (coefficient β=0.284; p<0.0001). Our results demonstrated a significant association of MetSy and its components with early atherosclerotic changes in the carotid arteries

Intracerebral hemorrhage as a first sign of pheochromocytoma: case report and review of the literature

Pheochromocytomas and sympathetic paragangliomas are rare catecholamine-secreting tumours that represent very rare causes of intracerebral haemorrhage in the young, with only a few cases reported. A 32-year-old man presented to our emergency department because of sudden onset of severe headache. He had a six-month history of paroxysmal headache, palpitations, and sweating. During examination he became somnolent and developed left-sided hemiplegia. A computed tomographic (CT) scan of the brain showed a right temporoparietal haematoma. He was admitted to the Clinic for Neurosurgery and the haematoma was evacuated. The patient was comatose, on assisted respiration, with frequent hypertensive crises. An examination for possible secondary causes of hypertension was undertaken. Plasma metanephrine value was elevated (414 pg/mL, reference values &lt; 90 pg/mL). Abdominal CT scans revealed a large mass (6 cm) in the right adrenal gland. After adequate control of the hypertension was achieved with nonselective alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockers the tumour was excised. The histopathologic findings confirmed the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. The genetic analysis demonstrated a duplication in exon 1 of the VHL gene. We reported a rare, potentially fatal complication of pheochromocytoma — an intracerebral haemorrhage. This case and review of similar rare cases in the literature illustrate the importance of early recognition of the characteristic symptoms of catecholamine excess in young patients with hypertension

Cardiopoietic cell therapy for advanced ischemic heart failure: results at 39 weeks of the prospective, randomized, double blind, sham-controlled CHART-1 clinical trial

Cardiopoietic cells, produced through cardiogenic conditioning of patients' mesenchymal stem cells, have shown preliminary efficacy. The Congestive Heart Failure Cardiopoietic Regenerative Therapy (CHART-1) trial aimed to validate cardiopoiesis-based biotherapy in a larger heart failure cohort

SARCOSPORIDIOSIS - MEDICAL IMPORTANCE AND DIAGNOSIS

Sarcosporidiosis (Sarcocystis infection) is caused by an intracellular protozoan parasite that predominantly affects animals. It can rarely be found in human skeletal and cardiac muscle in humans. There are two different forms of sarcosporidiosis in humans. These cases of muscular sarcocystosis were probably zoonotic in origin and associated with close contact with definitive hosts (both domestic and wild animals) thus permitting the contamination of food and drink with sporocystis shed by these definitive hosts. The second mode of infection for humans is ingested animal tissues which containing sporozoites (e.g., undercooked meats). These sporozoited directly intestinal epithelial cells and can enter the circulation in an manner similiar to those released from oocysts from the intermediate or accidental host