The major transcriptional regulatory protein of herpes simplex virus type 1 includes a protease resistant DNA binding domain

Herpes simplex virus type 1 expresses five immediateearly (IE) polypeptides. In the absence of functional Vmw175 (the product of IE gene 3) activation of transcription of later classes of viral genes and repression of IE gene expression does not occur. The recognition of specific DNA sequences by Vmw175 requires, as determined by sensitivity to mutation, a part of the protein highly conserved in the corresponding proteins of related herpes viruses. However, mutations in other parts of the protein can also disrupt specific DNA binding. This paper shows that the DNA binding domain of Vmw175 can be liberated as a functional unit by digestion with proteinase K. Analysis of mutant Vmw175 proteinsshowed that the proteinase K resistant domain has an amino terminus between amino acid residues 229 and 292, while its carboxy terminus is between residues 495 and 518. Mutations outside this region which affect DNA binding by the intact protein do not eliminate binding of the proteinase K resistant domain. This implies that direct DNA binding by Vmw175 involves a linear subsection of the polypeptide, and that mutations in other parts of the polypeptide which affect DNA binding of the whole protein do so by indirect means

ENDOGENOUS CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT NUTRITION

What are the important determinants of consumer demand and how have they been changing over the last decade? Understanding these factors is crucial for evaluating the benefits and costs of government regulations, such as labeling, intended to influence consumer food choice and, ultimately, public health; for assessing the competitiveness of U.S. agricultral producers and food processors as they choose product designs and marketing strategies; and for assessing the impact of changing consumer demand for food on the agricultural and food sectors of the U.S. economy. The objectives of this paper are to make a significant contribution to demand analysis by basing this understanding on the use of uniquely comprehensive data sets and theoretical/modeling techniques that evaluate demand on the brand level; and to build a comprehensive understanding of the relative importance of different determinants of consumer food choices in the decade from 1993-2002. The overall goal is to analyze what is driving consumer choices and the implications of these drivers for food and nutrition policy in the United States. A particular focus is the relative importance of advertising, other company marketing strategies, nutritional quality, privately and publicly provided nutritional information, and consumer dietary concerns and knowledge in determining consumer demand for food products.Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,

NEW ESTIMATES OF WELFARE AND CONSUMER LOSSES IN U.S. FOOD MANUFACTURING

In the past 15 years, industrial-organization economists have significantly expanded the range of algorithms for calculating welfare losses due to imperfect competition. We compare eleven empirical estimates of economic losses due to market power in 47 U.S. food manufacturing industries, almost all of them previously unpublished. Each of the studies incorporate different theoretical assumptions about demand conditions, supply conditions, or industry pricing behavior; or they utilize various data sources, time periods, and assumptions about the proper competitive benchmark. The estimates of average allocative losses due imperfect competition range from 0.2 percent to an impossibly high 289 percent of industry output; consumer losses range from 6.0 percent to 816 percent. However, there is a high degree of congruence in the rankings of economic losses due to market power. Hence, from the perspective of antitrust enforcement, the choice of industry targets has not been greatly altered by advances in estimation techniques.Agribusiness,

MARKET-STRUCTURE DETERMINANTS OF NATIONAL BRAND-PRIVATE LABEL PRICE DIFFERENCES OF MANUFACTURED FOOD PRODUCTS

This paper estimates the relationships between market structure and the Lerner index of monopoly constructed from price data on processed food products sold through grocery stores. A theoretical model of a differentiated oligopoly specifies two determinants of price-cost margins: the Herfindahl-Hirschman index of seller concentration adjusted for the elasticity of demand and the industry advertising-to-sales ratio. The results indicate that the three principal determinants of price-cost margin variation, in order of their impacts, are: advertising intensity, elasticity of demand, and concentration. Previous structure-performance studies that did not incorporate the elasticity of demand were probably misspecified.Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis,

Exogenous vs. Endogenous Consumer Preferences and Knowledge about Nutrition

Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,