Towards evidence-based marketing: The case of childhood obesity

Contentious commodities such as tobacco, alcohol and fatty foods are bringing marketing under scrutiny from consumers and policymakers. Yet there is little agreement on whether marketing is harmful to society. Systematic review (SR), a methodology derived from clinical medicine, offers marketers a tool for providing resolution and allowing policymakers to proceed with greater confidence. This article describes how SR methods were applied for the first time to a marketing problem -- the effects of food promotion to children. The review withstood scrutiny and its findings were formally ratified by government bodies and policymakers, demonstrating that SR methods can transfer from clinical research to marketing

Second asymptomatic carotid surgery trial (ACST-2): a randomised comparison of carotid artery stenting versus carotid endarterectomy

Background: Among asymptomatic patients with severe carotid artery stenosis but no recent stroke or transient cerebral ischaemia, either carotid artery stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) can restore patency and reduce long-term stroke risks. However, from recent national registry data, each option causes about 1% procedural risk of disabling stroke or death. Comparison of their long-term protective effects requires large-scale randomised evidence. Methods: ACST-2 is an international multicentre randomised trial of CAS versus CEA among asymptomatic patients with severe stenosis thought to require intervention, interpreted with all other relevant trials. Patients were eligible if they had severe unilateral or bilateral carotid artery stenosis and both doctor and patient agreed that a carotid procedure should be undertaken, but they were substantially uncertain which one to choose. Patients were randomly allocated to CAS or CEA and followed up at 1 month and then annually, for a mean 5 years. Procedural events were those within 30 days of the intervention. Intention-to-treat analyses are provided. Analyses including procedural hazards use tabular methods. Analyses and meta-analyses of non-procedural strokes use Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN21144362. Findings: Between Jan 15, 2008, and Dec 31, 2020, 3625 patients in 130 centres were randomly allocated, 1811 to CAS and 1814 to CEA, with good compliance, good medical therapy and a mean 5 years of follow-up. Overall, 1% had disabling stroke or death procedurally (15 allocated to CAS and 18 to CEA) and 2% had non-disabling procedural stroke (48 allocated to CAS and 29 to CEA). Kaplan-Meier estimates of 5-year non-procedural stroke were 2·5% in each group for fatal or disabling stroke, and 5·3% with CAS versus 4·5% with CEA for any stroke (rate ratio [RR] 1·16, 95% CI 0·86–1·57; p=0·33). Combining RRs for any non-procedural stroke in all CAS versus CEA trials, the RR was similar in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (overall RR 1·11, 95% CI 0·91–1·32; p=0·21). Interpretation: Serious complications are similarly uncommon after competent CAS and CEA, and the long-term effects of these two carotid artery procedures on fatal or disabling stroke are comparable. Funding: UK Medical Research Council and Health Technology Assessment Programme

International Marketing: Modern and Classic Papers

This authoritative three-volume collection presents the most important articles and papers published during the last thirty years. It includes both classic articles as well as cutting edge papers from the new breed of top researchers informed by theoretical rigour and using the most up-to-date research methodologies. International Marketing: Modern and Classic Papers is a major three volume work with the material being divided into twenty sections, each part seeking to achieve a balance between the conceptual and the empirical, the explanatory and the exploratory. It will be essential reading for both scholars, researchers, graduate students and practitioners grappling with the complexities of marketing in the new globalised world

High-pressure crystallography : how to see the structure of materials…deeper

During recent decades the number of high-pressure crystallographic studies has rapidly increased. This has been possible owing to the diamond-anvil cell, a small, relatively cheap and save apparatus breaking all records of static pressure. The diamond-anvil cell is suitable for diffraction structural studies, optical and IR spectroscopy and many other types of physical measurements; it can be also applied as a microscopic chemical reaction chamber. High pressure is now often used for synthesizing super-hard materials, new polymorphs and solvates with unique properties required in high-tech applications as well as in food processing and pharmaceutical industry

Process for coating fine particles with conductive polymers

A process is disclosed for coating fine particles, in which the feed mixture contains: at least one monomer and/or at least one oligomer selected from monomers and/or oligomers of aromatic compounds and/or unsaturated hydrocarbon compounds suitable for forming an electroconductive oligomer, polymer, copolymer, block copolymer or graft copolymer; at least one type of anions which (1) are and/or can be incorporated as doping ions into the structure of the conductive polymer; (2) can be discharged from said structure in the event of a potential fall of the conductive polymer (reduction); and (3) can have an anti-corrosive effect in the presence of a metallic surface; at least one type of particles; if necessary, at least one oxidising agent and water and/or at least another solvent. A coating is formed from the feed mixture on the particle surface, the feed mixture being converted by oxidation into a conductive polymer in the presence of at least one type of mobile anti-corrosive anions. Alternatively, the fine particles are coated with a product mixture that contains a conductive polymer