ESTIMATING IMPLICIT MARGINAL PRICES OF QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF TOMATOES

A hedonic price function is developed for estimating the implicit prices for selected quality characteristics of fresh tomatoes at three points in the marketing season. The estimation of this function, proposed as a method of evaluating change in the post-harvest system, is accomplished using a flexible functional form. Those quality characteristics that most affect the price of tomatoes can help determine the economic feasibility of alternative handling techniques or new technologies.Demand and Price Analysis,

PRICING QUALITY ATTRIBUTES AT THE WHOLESALE LEVEL

Demand and Price Analysis,

Beyond Higher Ed Marketing: Unsanctioned User Generated Conten

The impact of User Generated Content (UGC) on higher-education marketing is an entirely untouched area of marketing research, therefore the current study aims to better understand how widely disseminated this content is among students, how they perceive this content and its impact upon their university, as well as what kinds of students are drawn to participate in and consume this content. A sample of 238 university students at a large public institution were surveyed regarding their engagement with UGC content associated with their school, the reasons for their interest in this content, and the ways in which it may effect their perception of the institution

The Coral reef fishes of Broward County Florida, species and abundance: a work in progress

The inshore environment of Broward County, FL consists of three coral reef/hard bottom reef tracts, separated by sand substrate, running parallel to the coast in sequentially deeper water. At quarter nautical mile intervals, for a five mile coastline section, fishes were censused at western, eastern and crest sites of each of the three reef tracts. On SCUBA and using the Bohnsack/Bannerot point-count method, we recorded: fish abundance, species richness, size, and general habitat of an imaginary cylinder 15 m in diameter. The position of each site was recorded by DGPS after census. One hundred and eighty-one sites were censused during a 10 month period (August 1998 to May 1999). A total of 16,746 fish belonging to 139 species of 39 families were recorded. There were significant differences (p \u3c 0.05, ANOVA) in the species richness and the total abundance of fishes among the three reef tracts. There were significantly fewer total fish (p \u3c 0.001) and fewer fish species (p \u3c 0.001) on the inshore reef tract as compared to either the middle or offshore reef tracts. The middle and offshore reefs tracts did not differ (p \u3e 0.05, SNK). Differences were also found based on the location (edges or crest) on the reef. With all data from the three reef tracts combined, the eastern edge showed significantly fewer total fish (p \u3c 0.001) than either the crest of the reef or the western edge, which did not differ significantly (p\u3e 0.05). Species richness also varied with the western edges of the tracts having significantly more species (p \u3c 0.01) than the crests or the eastern edges, again there was no significant difference between these two (p \u3e 0.05). Statistical analysis of a subjective complexity rating taken at each site mirrored the results of fish abundance and species richness. This supports the hypothesis that topographical complexity is, at least in part, a determinant in the differences in fish assemblages among the three reef tracts

UK Public Sector Information and Re-use Policy – A 2008 Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Earlier antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation reduces HIV-1 incidence. This benefit may be offset by increased transmitted drug resistance (TDR), which could limit future HIV treatment options. We analyze the epidemiological impact and cost-effectiveness of strategies to reduce TDR. METHODS: We develop a deterministic mathematical model representing Kampala, Uganda, to predict the prevalence of TDR over a 10-year period. We then compare the impact on TDR and cost-effectiveness of: (1) introduction of pre-therapy genotyping; (2) doubling use of second-line treatment to 80% (50-90%) of patients with confirmed virological failure on first-line ART; and (3) increasing viral load monitoring from yearly to twice yearly. An intervention can be considered cost-effective if it costs less than three times the gross domestic product per capita per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained, or less than $3420 in Uganda. RESULTS: The prevalence of TDR is predicted to rise from 6.7$1612 to $2234 (IQR$450-dominated) per QALY gained. CONCLUSIONS: While earlier treatment initiation will result in a predicted increase in the proportion of patients infected with drug-resistant HIV, the absolute numbers of patients infected with drug-resistant HIV is predicted to decrease. Increasing use of second-line treatment to all patients with confirmed failure on first-line therapy is a cost-effective approach to reduce TDR. Improving access to second-line ART is therefore a major priority

Joint generative model for fMRI/DWI and its application to population

Author Manuscript 2011 March 12. 13th International Conference, Beijing, China, September 20-24, 2010, Proceedings, Part IWe propose a novel probabilistic framework to merge information from DWI tractography and resting-state fMRI correlations. In particular, we model the interaction of latent anatomical and functional connectivity templates between brain regions and present an intuitive extension to population studies. We employ a mean-field approximation to fit the new model to the data. The resulting algorithm identifies differences in latent connectivity between the groups. We demonstrate our method on a study of normal controls and schizophrenia patients.National Alliance for Medical Image Computing (U.S.) (NIH NIBIBNAMICU54-EB005149)Neuroimaging Analysis Center (U.S.) (NIH NCRR NAC P41-RR13218)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01MH074794)National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate FellowshipNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER Grant 0642971