Strategic Vertical Pricing in the U.S. Butter Market

This article develops a methodology for empirically analyzing vertically strategic interactions in a multi-level supply channel. The model is used to analyze the vertical channel for U.S. butter manufacturing and retailing. Aggregating products to the firm level and using a nonlinear AIDS demand system under alternative strategic pricing assumptions is estimated using full information maximum likelihood (FIML) for seven geographic markets from 1998-2002. The market demand for butter was found to very price elastic. Furthermore, cross price elasticities between private labels and the two large national brands were also very elastic. The selected market structure was one indicating category profit maximization of national brands (separate from private label) at the retail level, Vertical Nash competition in the vertical channel, and Bretrand competition at the manufacturing level. Our results strongly suggest that the retail market for food products is impacted by the underlying vertical structure. The study provides useful measures of imperfect competition in the retail manufacturing sector.Vertical interaction, market structure, strategic pricing, market power, AIDS model, butter., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Industrial Organization, L13, L22, L66,

Secondary Liability for Trademark Infringement Online: Legislation and Judicial Decisions in China

Secondary liability in China for trademark infringement online can be best understood in the context of the three periods of e-commerce development that took place in the country. During the embryonic stage (1999 to 2002), there were very few netizens and online business operators, and a number of enterprises, including 8848—China’s e-commerce enterprise flagship—rose but then quickly fell. In the rising phase (2003 to 2007) that followed, small and medium-sized e-commerce platforms like Alibaba—an e-commerce company that eventually established Taobao.com and other businesses—began to make profits and a number of e-commerce providers, including E-Commerce China Dangdang and EachNet, rose rapidly. Throughout this period, the number of online vendors increased from 4 million to 35.5 million. An e-commerce boom began in 2008, and Alibaba, NetSun, Suning Appliance Company, GOME Electrical Appliances and other traditional retailers became publicly traded companies. Meanwhile, Redbaby and Beijing Jingdong Trading Co. entered into and started the competition of business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing

Switchable solvent for lipid extraction from microalgae

In the work described in the thesis a novel effective switchable solvent system for direct lipid extraction from (unbroken) microalgae in (concentrated) aqueous solutions was investigated and evaluated. The secondary amine N-ethylbutylamine (EBA) which uses CO2 as stimulus for switching was selected for it switchable hydrophilicity and outstanding extraction performance. the lipid extraction yield from non-broken Neochloris oleoabundans slurries (~5% dry weight) using EBA was maximized for both single stage extractions, and for multistage extractions. For FW-stressed Neochloris oleoabundans, in one stage extraction the lipid extraction yield was 47.0 wt.% (all based on algae dry weight) of which 52.9 wt.% total fatty acids. A maximum yield of 61.3 wt.% was reached after four stages of extraction. A model was developed that described the equilibrium stage of lipid extraction from fresh water stressed Neochloris Oleoabundans sp.. With the hypothesis that after extraction, the algae cells were completely filled with the organic solvent phase, having the same composition as the organic phase outside the cells, the model was successfully fitted to the experimental crude lipid yields of the four stage extractions at various solvent to feed ratios. Moreover, an alternative solvent switching method (using the lower critical solution temperature behavior of EBA-water mixtures) for lipid separation and solvent recovery was found and investigated. Besides the lipid extraction, attention has been paid to the EBA recovery from both the raffinate and from the residual microalgae cells after extraction. At last, the energy flows of the two process options studied in this thesis for wet lipid extraction from microalgae with EBA were compared and evaluated

Dissolved carbon and CDOM in lake ice and underlying waters along a salinity gradient in shallow lakes of Northeast China

The variations of DOC and DIC concentrations in lake ice and underlying waters were examined in 40 shallow lakes across the Songnen Plain, Northeast China. The lakes, frozen annually during winter, included freshwater and brackish systems (EC > 1000 μS cm−1; range: 171–12607 μS cm−1 in underlying water). Results showed that lake ice contained lower DOC (7.2 mg L−1) and DIC (6.7 mg L−1) concentration compared to the underlying waters (58.2 and 142.4 mg L−1, respectively). Large differences in DOC and DIC concentrations of underlying waters were also observed between freshwater (mean ± SD: 22.3 ± 11.5 mg L−1, 50.7 ± 20.6 mg L−1) and brackish lakes (83.3 ± 138.0 mg L−1, 247.0 ± 410.5 mg L−1). A mass balance model was developed to describe the relative distribution of solutes and chemical attributes between ice and the underlying waters. Results showed that water depth and ice thickness were the key factors regulating the spatial distribution of solutes in the frozen lakes. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption coefficient at 320 nm, aCDOM(320) and specific UV absorbance (SUVA254) were used to characterize CDOM composition and quality. Compared to the underlying waters, CDOM present in ice largely included low aromaticity organic substances, an outcome perhaps facilitated by ice formation and photo-degradation. In ice and underlying freshwaters, CDOM predominantly included organic C fractions of high aromaticity, while low aromaticity organic substances were observed for brackish lakes. Results of this study suggest that, if water salinity increases due to climate change and anthropogenic activities, significant changes can occur in the dissolved carbon and fate of CDOM in these shallow lakes

Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction enhances AAV mediated gene transfection: human RPE cells in vitro and the rat retina in vivo

The present study was performed to investigate the efficacy and safety of Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) mediated rAAV2-EGFP to cultured human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells _in vitro_ and the rat retina _in vivo_. _In vitro_ study, cultured human RPE cells were exposed to US under different conditions with or without microbubbles. Furthermore, the effect of UTMD to rAAV2-EGFP itself and the cells were evaluated. _In vivo_ study, gene transfer was examined by injecting rAAV2-EGFP into the subretinal space of the rats with or without microbubbles and then exposed to US. We investigated EGFP expression _in vivo_ via stereomicroscopy and performed quantitative analysis by Axiovision 3.1 software. HE staining and frozen sections were used to observe tissue damage and location of EGFP gene expression. _In vitro_ study, the transfection efficiency of rAAV2-EGFP increased 74.85% under the optimal UTMD conditions. Furthermore, there was almost no cytotoxicity to the cells and rAAV2-EGFP itself. _In vivo_ study, UTMD could be used safely to enhance and accelerate transgene expression of the retina. Fluorescence expression was mainly located in the layer of retina. UTMD is a promising method for gene delivery to the retina

Student perspectives on rubric-referenced assessment

This study suggests that students use rubrics to support their own learning and academic..performance. In focus groups, fourteen undergraduate students discussed the ways in which..they used rubrics to plan an approach to an assignment, check their work, and guide or reflect..on feedback from others. The students said that using rubrics helped them focus their efforts,..produce work of higher quality, earn a better grade, and feel less anxious about an..assignment. Their comments also revealed that most of the students tend not to read a rubric..in its entirety, and that some may perceive of a rubric as a tool for satisfying a particular..teacher’s demands rather than as a representation of the criteria and standards of a discipline. Accessed 32,451 times on https://pareonline.net from April 20, 2005 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right