Relationship between sensory attributes, hidden attributes and price in influencing consumer perception of organic foods

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Consumer attitudes to foods are mainly influenced by quality attributes. Ethical factors are important in some cases, but they may be overstated. The relationships between consumers' awareness of organic food, price and perceived quality of food were investigated by tests involving series of consumer panels and sensory evaluation. Sensory responses were also matched to instrumental analysis data. Results indicated that overall there was no relation between panellist’s views about organic foods and their sensory perceptions. Eighty percent of the panellists felt that organic products were too expensive, but would buy them if they were cheaper. However the study showed that most of the people would not be likely to change their preference once they had made a product choice based upon sensory attributes. This has important implications, indicating that not only price, but also sensory quality of organic food must be considered in order to maintain repeated purchases by most consumers

Concepts in cardiology : a historical perspective

Our current knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the circulatory system has been reached by deduction and reasoning over several centuries. In this article, the history of these theories is briefly outlined.peer-reviewe

Applied aerodynamics: Challenges and expectations

Aerospace is the leading positive contributor to this country's balance of trade, derived largely from the sale of U.S. commercial aircraft around the world. This powerfully favorable economic situation is being threatened in two ways: (1) the U.S. portion of the commercial transport market is decreasing, even though the worldwide market is projected to increase substantially; and (2) expenditures are decreasing for military aircraft, which often serve as proving grounds for advanced aircraft technology. To retain a major share of the world market for commercial aircraft and continue to provide military aircraft with unsurpassed performance, the U.S. aerospace industry faces many technological challenges. The field of applied aerodynamics is necessarily a major contributor to efforts aimed at meeting these technological challenges. A number of emerging research results that will provide new opportunities for applied aerodynamicists are discussed. Some of these have great potential for maintaining the high value of contributions from applied aerodynamics in the relatively near future. Over time, however, the value of these contributions will diminish greatly unless substantial investments continue to be made in basic and applied research efforts. The focus: to increase understanding of fluid dynamic phenomena, identify new aerodynamic concepts, and provide validated advanced technology for future aircraft

Declining mortality from congenital heart disease in Malta

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital anomaly occurring in approximately 10/1000 live births. Analysis of official Maltese Health Division statistics listing CHD as the primary cause of death on death•certificates has shown a significant fall in mortality from CHD in Malta from 1952 to 1993 (r = -0.84, p<0.0001). This decline has persisted despite the steady incidence of CHD and has not yet plateaued. The decreasing mortality from CHD may be attributed to advances in paediatric cardiology and paediatric cardiac surgery over the past four decades.peer-reviewe

Proximal femoral focal deficiency : a case report

Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD) is a rare and complex congenital anomaly (1:50,000-200,000 population) that results in varying degrees of femoral hypoplasia with limb shortening and pelvic abnormalities. It may be present bilaterally in association with other malformations/deficiencies of the lower limbs, and the upper limbs may also be involved. Other anomalies may also be present such as cleft palate, congenital heart defects, and spinal anomalies. The aetiology is unknown. We present a case of PFFD who was born locally.peer-reviewe

The male to female ratio at birth in different regions in Malta

Males are usually born in excess of females and the ratio of male births to female births is conventionally referred to as M/F. Many factors, including stress, privation and natural disasters are associated with a lowering of M/F. Malta has a North-South divide, with a more affluent North as opposed to a more industrialised and less prosperous South. This study was carried out in order to ascertain whether regional economic differences influenced M/F in Malta. Births by gender, year of birth and locality from 1999 to 2013 were subdivided into ten regions in a geographic distribution devised by the Department of Health Information and Research. Regions were also amalgamated into two groups of five which represented North-West and South-East Malta. The island of Gozo was considered separately. There were no statistically significant differences in M/F between the ten regions nor between North-West, South-East and Gozo regions. There were no significant secular trends in M/F in these regions. M/F declines under adverse environmental factors (including economic stress) but despite the overall poorer economic circumstances in the South of the Island, this study failed to show a significant difference in M/F by region. This may be due at least in part to the relatively small numbers involved. Alternatively, the purported socio-economic differences may not have been sufficiently large so as to skew M/F to statistically significant levels.peer-reviewe

Costs and benefits of electricity subsidies in Uganda

Electricity subsidies in Uganda have been pervasive in support of industrial output and government revenues since 2005, until their reduction in January 2012. While economic theory suggests that market mechanisms maximise social welfare, the necessity for subsidies arises when a markets fail. However, market failure alone is not a sufficient condition to provide subsidies, as they are costly, and therefore have to be properly targeted and justified. This research seeks to establish the relationship between electricity subsidies, on the one hand and industrial output and government revenues in Uganda. It also attempts to ascertain the equitability of the electricity subsidy policy. Information and data was gathered from secondary sources in Uganda on electricity subsidies, industrial output and revenues during the period 2005 to 2012. For an empirical investigation of the costs and benefits of electricity subsidies in Uganda, certain logical relationships are identified in the study to guide the empirical investigation and the analyses. It is assumed that government revenues were dependent on electricity subsidies and industrial output during the period under investigation, in order to maintain social welfare. It was also argued that the maintenance of industrial output through electricity subsidies support was justified given that about one third of Uganda total revenues are contributed by the manufacturing sub-sector. To ascertain the extent of vertical equity, the research also investigated the benefit incident of electricity subsides, from a macro-level standpoint. This is pertinent given that only 11 per cent of Ugandans have access to grid-power and electricity use favours higher income, urban end-users. Secondary data on excise and corporate tax collections and electricity subsidies provided to end-users in Uganda during period are statistically analysed for relational effects using Ordinary Least Square regression models. The respective estimators in the relationship reveal very strong relationships between excise and corporate tax revenues, on the one hand, and electricity subsidies. Electricity subsidies were found to be positively related to both excise and corporate tax revenues and industrial output during the period under study. From the evidence, the overall objective of the electricity subsidy policy seems to have been attained, in as far as revenues base was protected and industrial output was maintained. The evidence also reveals that at a macro-level, end-user beneficiaries of subsidies in the manufacturing sub-sector continued to make profits, enabling them meet their corporate tax obligations

Maltese national birth weight for gestational age centile values

The relevance of using literature derived birth weight for gestational age centile charts for the Maltese population is debatable. The study set out to develop national weight for gestational age centile charts and compare these to other populations. Method: Anonymised birth weight for gestational age data with relevant maternal and neonatal observations over the period 1995-2009 were obtained from national statistics. The formats were standardised and imported into an SQL database that enabled filtration for single live births and grouping by sex. The data was scrutinized manually for obvious keying errors. The best estimate of gestational age from the last menstrual period (LMP) and expected date of delivery (EDD) was selected using established guidelines. A Box-Cox gamma transform was used to fit the model and generate separate centile charts. The data was compared to previous birth weight data reported in Maltese newborns in previous decades and to data from other countries. Results: A total of 58,899 neonates were included in the study and birth weight for gestational age centile charts were generated between 23 and 42 weeks of gestation using Revolution R with VGAM. There has been a statistically significant gradual fall in mean birth weight in Maltese newborns over the last four decades. There are also statistically significant differences between the Maltese data and those from other countries. Conclusion: The observed differences make the use of national birth weight for gestational age centile charts desirable both for routine clinical assessment and epidemiological studies.peer-reviewe