Digging deeper: How do different types of organic consumers influence the increasing organic market share?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how sub markets with different degrees of maturity develop during a period of general organic growth, and how different consumer segments behave on these sub markets. The paper uses actual purchasing behaviour of six consumer segments with different attitudes towards food in general and organic production and products in particular. The data is from the Danish market for organic foods, which is one of the most mature markets in the world. The segmentation splits consumers into a positive and a non-positive half, each half consisting of three different segments. The estimations show that the development in general organic consumption varies between segments, and that their behaviour varies between sub markets. The positive half of the population has driven the overall growth in organic budget share at the Danish market over the period 2005 to 2007, while the other half have not changed their consumption significantly. The results indicate that for the most dedicated organic consumers, the organic budget share may be approaching a saturation point for some types of food, but also identifies other types of food which still have a growing organic budget share, even among the most dedicated consumers. The combination of attitudes and actual behaviour for a large number of consumers is new, and the results provide a valuable contribution to the ongoing investigation of organic consumers, and provide new nuances to the understanding of the latest organic growth.organic budget shares, organic consumers, consumer segments, latent class analysis, demand

Udviklingen i det økologiske forbrug

I DETTE KAPITEL undersøges, hvordan forbruget af økologi har udviklet sig i perioden fra 2005 til 2007. Resultaterne viser, at de segmenter, der er beskrevet i kapitel 1, har meget forskellig adfærd både med hensyn til udvikling i generelt øko-forbrug og med hensyn til udvikling inden for forbruget af økologi i specifikke varegrupper. Overordnet set har den ene halvdel af befolkningen drevet den generelle vækst i øko-andelen, vi har set i perioden, mens den anden halvdel ikke har ændret sit forbrug signifikant. Med hensyn til forbrug i specifikke varegrupper er det interessant, at øko-andelene for frugt og grønt er steget relativt meget, og at en stor del af denne stigning kommer af, at nye husstande er begyndt at købe økologi. Kapitlet beskriver også, hvordan de forskellige segmenter fordeler deres indkøb på butikstyper. Det viser sig, at disse mønstre ikke har ændret sig i perioden, så den observerede stigning i øko-andele skyldes ikke, at folk er begyndt at købe mere ind i butikker med fokus på økologi. Det tyder altså på, at udbuddet af økologi er steget i alle typer af butikker. Resultaterne viser også, at alle køber en stor del af deres økologi i discount-supermarkeder, og understreger dermed, at udbuddet af økologi i de relativt billige butikker må fastholdes og eventuelt udvides, hvis man ønsker at fremme forbruget af økologiske fødevarer. Samtidig køber alle segmenter dog så meget ind i supermarkeder, der ikke fokuserer ret meget på økologi, at der er grund til at tro, at det samlede salg af økologi kunne øges, hvis udbuddet af økologi blev øget i disse supermarkeder

Økologiske forbrugere i Danmark – hvem er de?

I DETTE KAPITEL tegnes et billede af danskernes holdninger til økologi og deres indkøbs- og forbrugsadfærd i forhold dertil. Dette gøres ved at beskrive forskellige grupper, såkaldte segmenter, af danske husholdninger. Det viser sig, at økologisk forbrug i Danmark ikke længere udelukkende bæres af en lille, eksklusiv gruppe af overbeviste forbrugere, som formentlig stod for størstedelen af forbruget i 1990’erne. I kapitlet beskrives to yderligere segmenter, der er positivt indstillede til økologiske fødevarer. De forbrugere, som falder ind under det ene segment, kan kaldes mad-engagerede, mens det andet segment består af forbrugere, vi kalder discountorienterede. Disse to segmenter har en relativt stor interesse for økologi, dog ikke med samme dedikation som de overbeviste. De adskiller sig fra hinanden i forhold til involvering i mad og indkøbsvaner. Tilsammen udgør de tre positivt orienterede segmenter ca. halvdelen af de danske husholdninger, og de står for en meget stor andel (cirka 87 procent) af det økologiske forbrug. Der kan identificeres tre yderligere segmenter, der består af forbrugere, som ikke ser nogen særlig grund til at købe økologiske produkter og derfor fravælger dem på grund af den højere pris. På baggrund af den nuancerede viden om segmenterne, der præsenteres i kapitlet, fremsættes det sandsynlige fremtidsscenarie, at efterspørgslen efter økologiske varer vil gå i to retninger. Den ene retning repræsenteres af folk, som vil efterspørge varer, der, ud over at være økologiske, skal være etisk forsvarligt produceret. Den anden retning repræsenteres af forbrugere, som fortsat kun vil købe økologiske varer, hvis de er relativt billige og nemt tilgængelige. Idet begge efterspørgselstyper udgør betragtelige dele af den samlede økologiske afsætning, synes det fortsat at være den rigtige strategi med et dobbelt fokus – både på produktionen og på salgs-og distributionsleddene, hvis man vil fremme forbruget af økologiske fødevarer

Isolation, Purification, and Antimicrobial Characterization of Cannabidiolic Acid and Cannabidiol from <i>Cannabis sativa </i>L.

The emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes a major threat to public health due to its limited therapeutic options. There is an urgent need for the development of new effective antimicrobial agents and alternative strategies that are effective against resistant bacteria. The parallel legalization of cannabis and its products has fueled research into its many therapeutic avenues in many countries around the world. This study aimed at the development of a reliable method for the extraction, purification, characterization, and quantification of cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and its decarboxylated form cannabidiol (CBD) present in the fiber type Cannabis sativa L. The two compounds were extracted by ethanol, purified on a C18 sep-pack column, and the extracts were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet (UV)&ndash;vis and ESI-MS (electrospray ionization mass spectrometry) detection. The antimicrobial effect of CBDA and CBD was also evaluated. CBD displayed a substantial inhibitory effect on Gram-positive bacteria with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging from 1 to 2 &micro;g/mL. Time kill analysis and minimal bactericidal concentration revealed potential bactericidal activity of CBDA and CBD. While cannabinoids showed a significant antimicrobial effect on the Gram-positive S. aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, no activity was noticed on Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. CBDA presented a two-fold lower antimicrobial activity than its decarboxylated form, suggesting that the antimicrobial pharmacophore of the analyzed cannabinoids falls in the ability for permeabilizing the bacterial cell membrane and acting as a detergent-like agent. A synergy test performed on MRSA with CBD and a range of antibiotics did not indicate a synergetic effect, but noteworthy no antagonist influence either. CBD and CBDA manifested low hemolytic activity on human red blood cells. Likewise, the safety of CBD toward human keratinocyte cells presents no toxicity at a concentration of up to seven-fold higher than the antibacterial minimal inhibitory concentration. Similarly, both CBD and CBDA are well tolerated by mammals, including humans, and conserve a safe value limits for blood-contacting drug development. Overall, CBD exhibited a strong antimicrobial effect against Gram-positive strains and could serve as an alternative drug for tackling MRSA

The Art of Teaching Anthropology: Examples from Biological Anthropology

Teaching in a college or university setting has many challenges, including often-inadequate preparation in graduate school and the requirement to develop new courses, often in a short period of time. Anthropology faculty are at a particular disadvantage because anthropology lacks any discipline-specific journals for the publication of articles on the scholarship of teaching and learning. Many anthropology faculty desire to have more resources available for course and assignment development. In this chapter, we present several examples of course syllabi, class activities, and a sample student paper that faculty can use as they develop or revise anthropology courses

Biochemical and clinical response after umbilical cord blood transplant in a boy with early childhood-onset beta-mannosidosis.

BACKGROUND: Deficiency in the enzyme β-mannosidase was described over three decades ago. Although rare in occurrence, the presentation of childhood-onset β-mannosidase deficiency consists of hypotonia in the newborn period followed by global development delay, behavior problems, and intellectual disability. No effective pharmacologic treatments have been available. METHODS: We report 2-year outcomes following the first umbilical cord blood transplant in a 4-year-old boy with early childhood-onset disease. RESULTS: We show restoration of leukocyte β-mannosidase activity which remained normal at 2 years posttransplant, and a simultaneous increase in plasma β-mannosidase activity and dramatic decrease in urine-free oligosaccharides were also observed. MRI of the brain remained stable. Neurocognitive evaluation revealed test point gains, although the magnitude of improvement was less than expected for age, causing lower IQ scores that represent a wider developmental gap between the patient and unaffected peers. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that hematopoietic cell transplant can correct the biochemical defect in β-mannosidosis, although preservation of the neurocognitive trajectory may be a challenge

Emerging Asian aerosol patterns

Anthropogenic aerosol emissions over Asia are changing rapidly, both in composition and spatial distribution1. The Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), potential narratives of development used by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change in future projections, span a range of influences of aerosols on climate over the next decades. Several of these narratives project the continuation of a trend manifested in observations since 2010, with a clear dipole between South and East Asia. The patterns of radiative forcing that result from these distributions of aerosols will differ from those of the late 20th century. They may instigate large-scale atmospheric responses that could have wide ranging impacts on climate and society well beyond the aerosol source regions. South and East Asia are particularly vulnerable to climate change because of strong seasonal variations in precipitation, high average temperature, and very high population density. Therefore, any aerosol impacts on the strength or seasonal variations in monsoon rainfall, freshwater availability, or climate extremes, will incur large societal costs. We urge the scientific community to make definite progress towards understanding and quantifying the impacts of Asian aerosols and to tackle the potentially large regional and hemispheric implications of these emerging trends

Promoviendo el desarrollo de habilidades blandas en entornos distribuidos y colaborativos: una estrategia de enseñanza-aprendizaje en tiempos de pandemia

El trabajo expone la implementación de una estrategia de enseñanza, aplicando técnicas de aprendizaje colaborativo en entornos distribuidos, forzada por el aislamiento social, preventivo y obligatorio decretado a nivel nacional en Argentina con el fin de minimizar el impacto y curva de contagio del Covid-19. Se presenta la aplicación a un caso real de un método de aprendizaje colaborativo, con alumnos de 4to año de las carreras de Informática de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Argentina, con el fin no sólo lograr el aprendizaje de contenidos, sino también de fomentar el desarrollo de las habilidades blandas o “soft skills” en los alumnos mientras trabajan en grupos. Estas características fueron medidas utilizando encuestas de co-evaluación entre pares. Se logró que los participantes desarrollaran habilidades específicas de colaboración, modificaran o ejercitaran algunas actitudes en pos del beneficio grupal y por ende del personal.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Theory of Change: a theory-driven approach to enhance the Medical Research Council's framework for complex interventions.

BACKGROUND: The Medical Research Councils' framework for complex interventions has been criticized for not including theory-driven approaches to evaluation. Although the framework does include broad guidance on the use of theory, it contains little practical guidance for implementers and there have been calls to develop a more comprehensive approach. A prospective, theory-driven process of intervention design and evaluation is required to develop complex healthcare interventions which are more likely to be effective, sustainable and scalable. METHODS: We propose a theory-driven approach to the design and evaluation of complex interventions by adapting and integrating a programmatic design and evaluation tool, Theory of Change (ToC), into the MRC framework for complex interventions. We provide a guide to what ToC is, how to construct one, and how to integrate its use into research projects seeking to design, implement and evaluate complex interventions using the MRC framework. We test this approach by using ToC within two randomized controlled trials and one non-randomized evaluation of complex interventions. RESULTS: Our application of ToC in three research projects has shown that ToC can strengthen key stages of the MRC framework. It can aid the development of interventions by providing a framework for enhanced stakeholder engagement and by explicitly designing an intervention that is embedded in the local context. For the feasibility and piloting stage, ToC enables the systematic identification of knowledge gaps to generate research questions that strengthen intervention design. ToC may improve the evaluation of interventions by providing a comprehensive set of indicators to evaluate all stages of the causal pathway through which an intervention achieves impact, combining evaluations of intervention effectiveness with detailed process evaluations into one theoretical framework. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating a ToC approach into the MRC framework holds promise for improving the design and evaluation of complex interventions, thereby increasing the likelihood that the intervention will be ultimately effective, sustainable and scalable. We urge researchers developing and evaluating complex interventions to consider using this approach, to evaluate its usefulness and to build an evidence base to further refine the methodology. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trials.gov: NCT02160249