Cloned Meat, Voluntary Food Labeling, and Organic Oreos

[Excerpt] “In December 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had reviewed all the available evidence and was poised to approve meat and milk from cloned animals and their progeny. I remember telling one of my colleagues, a patent law professor, who should be as comfortable with technology as anyone, about this development, and his response was, “Yuck. I’m not eating it!” To which of course I replied, “Humph. You won’t know the difference.” Meat or milk from a clone or its descendant is virtually identical to meat or milk from a non-clone, said the FDA, as it also announced that it would almost certainly not require food from clones to be labeled. Consumers often want information about where their food came from or about the processes employed in producing it. The food identity approach to labeling cannot take process into account unless the process affects the identity of the food. When the process does not change the food in any material way, process information on a label might suggest a difference that does not exist. The instinctive “yuck” to the thought of cloned meat highlights the tension between consumer preferences, the government’s science-based, food identity approach, and producers’ efforts to differentiate their products. Part I of this article identifies three functions that labels perform, outlines the types of information usually required, and introduces the rule that voluntary label information cannot be misleading. Part II focuses on process information and its implications. I argue that there is no truly voluntary labeling when consumers care about a feature; if some products are labeled, then unlabeled products bear a de facto label by implication. Partly because of the de facto mandatory labeling principle, process labeling has the potential to mislead consumers. In Part III, I examine some relevant characteristics of consumers. I argue that not all consumers can be misled by label information. Consumers who have no preferences or who are very knowledgeable about the labeled feature are not misled by process labeling. Finally, using labeling of genetically modified (GM) ingredients as an example, I suggest that mandatory labeling of some process information could enhance consumer sovereignty and welfare.

Cloned Meat, Voluntary Food Labeling, and Organic Oreos

In December 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had reviewed all the available evidence and was poised to approve meat and milk from cloned animals and their progeny. Such products, said the FDA, are virtually identical to meat or milk from a non-clone. Further, the FDA announced it would almost certainly not require food from clones to be labeled as such. Part I of this article identifies three functions that labels perform, outlines the types of information usually required, and introduces the rule that voluntary label information cannot be misleading. Part II focuses on process information and its implications. The article argues that there is no truly voluntary labeling when consumers care about a feature; if some products are labeled, then unlabeled products bear a de facto label by implication. Partly because of the de facto mandatory labeling principle, process labeling has the potential to mislead consumers. In Part III the article examines some relevant characteristics of consumers and argues that not all consumers can be misled by label information. Consumers who have no preferenc3es or who are very knowledgeable about the labeled feature are not misled by process labeling. Finally, using labeling of genetically modified (GM) ingredients as an example, the article suggests that mandatory labeling of some process information could enhance consumer sovereignty and welfare

Models of school breakfast program implementation in Western Australia and the implications for supporting disadvantaged students

A substantial body of literature points to the educational and social benefits of school breakfast programs. Most high-income countries provide free or subsidized school breakfasts to support disadvantaged children. Australia does not have a nationally-funded school meal program. Instead, charitable organizations offer school breakfast programs on a voluntary basis, often with funding support from state/territory governments. Decisions about participating in a school breakfast program (SBP), which students to support, and the degree of integration with other strategies to support disadvantaged students are made at the school level. This large-scale, multi-year study examined models of SBP implementation in Western Australian (WA) schools and stakeholder perceptions of the impact of SBPs at the classroom and whole school level. Findings indicate that the approaches adopted by WA schools reflect the extent to which SBPs are part of an integrated approach to supporting disadvantaged students. Minimalist approaches were evident where the focus was limited to alleviating hunger. More inclusive, resource‐intensive models were apparent where the SBP was positioned within a whole school approach to student wellbeing and/or community capacity-building. All schools reported benefits for disadvantaged students, however, the social benefits of SBPs that manifested at the classroom and whole school level were more pronounced in schools that had adopted more integrated, whole school approaches. The findings have implications for Australian schools and other countries that seek to optimize the role of SBPs to provide more holistic support for vulnerable students and reduce the impact of social and economic disadvantage

Predictors of financial capacity performance in older adults using the Financial Competence Assessment Inventory

Background

Impaired phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by macrophages in chronic granulomatous disease is reversed by IFN-γ in a nitric oxide-dependent manner

Immunodeficiency in chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is well characterized. Less understood are exaggerated sterile inflammation and autoimmunity associated with CGD. Impaired recognition and clearance of apoptotic cells resulting in their disintegration may contribute to CGD inflammation. We hypothesized that priming of macrophages (Ms) with IFN-γ would enhance impaired engulfment of apoptotic cells in CGD. Diverse M populations from CGD (gp91(phox)(-/-)) and wild-type mice, as well as human Ms differentiated from monocytes and promyelocytic leukemia PLB-985 cells (with and without mutation of the gp91(phox)), demonstrated enhanced engulfment of apoptotic cells in response to IFN-γ priming. Priming with IFN-γ was also associated with increased uptake of Ig-opsonized targets, latex beads, and fluid phase markers, and it was accompanied by activation of the Rho GTPase Rac. Enhanced Rac activation and phagocytosis following IFN-γ priming were dependent on NO production via inducible NO synthase and activation of protein kinase G. Notably, endogenous production of TNF-α in response to IFN-γ priming was critically required for inducible NO synthase upregulation, NO production, Rac activation, and enhanced phagocytosis. Treatment of CGD mice with IFN-γ also enhanced uptake of apoptotic cells by M in vivo via the signaling pathway. Importantly, during acute sterile peritonitis, IFN-γ treatment reduced excess accumulation of apoptotic neutrophils and enhanced phagocytosis by CGD Ms. These data support the hypothesis that in addition to correcting immunodeficiency in CGD, IFN-γ priming of Ms restores clearance of apoptotic cells and may thereby contribute to resolution of exaggerated CGD inflammation

Tumour infiltrating lymphocytes correlate with improved survival in patients with oesophageal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: Oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) is increasingly common in the west, and survival remains poor at 10-15 % at 5 years. Immune responses are increasingly implicated as a determining factor of tumour progression. The ability of lymphocytes to recognise tumour antigens provides a mechanism for a host immune attack against cancer providing a potential treatment strategy.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and FOXp3+) were assessed by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays in a contemporary and homogeneous cohort of OAC patients (n = 128) undergoing curative treatment.RESULTS: Multivariate analysis identified three independent prognostic factors for improved cancer-specific survival (CSS): increased CD8+ TILs (p = 0.003), completeness of resection (p < 0.0001) and lower pathological N stage (p < 0.0001). Independent prognostic factors for favourable disease-free survival included surgery-only treatment (p = 0.015), completeness of resection (p = 0.001), increased CD8+ TILs (p < 0.0001) and reduced pathological N stage (p < 0.0001). Higher levels of TILs in the pathological specimen were associated with significant pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). On multivariate analysis increased levels of CD4+ (p = 0.017) and CD8+ TILs (p = 0.005) were associated with significant local tumour regression and lymph node downstaging, respectively.DISCUSSION: Our results establish an association of TILs and survival in OAC, as seen in other solid tumours, and identify particular TIL subsets that are present at higher levels in patients who responded to NAC compared to non-responders. These findings highlight potential therapeutic strategies in EAC based on utilising the host immunological response and highlight the immune responses biomarker potential

BMQ

BMQ: Boston Medical Quarterly was published from 1950-1966 by the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Memorial Hospitals

Characteristics of frequent emergency department presenters to an Australian emergency medicine network

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To describe the characteristics of emergency department (ED) patients defined as frequent presenters (FP) presenting to an Australian emergency department network and compare these with a cohort of non-frequent presenters (NFP).</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A retrospective chart review utilising an electronic emergency medicine patient medical record database was performed on patients presenting to Southern Health EDs from March 2009 to March 2010. Non-frequent presenters were defined as patients presenting less than 5 times and frequent presenters as presenting 8 or more times in the study period. Characteristics of both groups were described and compared.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the 12-month study period there were 540 FP patients with 4549 admissions and 73,089 NFP patients with 100,943 admissions. FP patients were slightly older with a significant increase in frequency of patients between the ages of 70 to 79 years and they were more likely to be divorced or separated than NFP patients. Frequent presenters to the emergency department were more likely to utilise the ambulance service to arrive at the hospital, or in the custody of police than NFP patients. FPs were more likely to be admitted to hospital, more likely to have an admission to a mental health bed than NFP patients and more likely to self-discharge from the emergency department while waiting for care.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There are major implications for the utilisation of limited ED resources by frequent presenters. By further understanding the characteristics of FP we may be able to address the specific health care needs of this population in more efficient and cost effective ways. Further research analysing the effectiveness of targeted multidisciplinary interventions aiming to reduce the frequency of ED attendances may be warranted.</p

Market segmentation strategies for complex automotive products

With the advent of 'big data', the purpose of this empirical study was to take the opportunity to rethink conventional market segmentation strategies. This is particularly relevant for the automotive industry which is going through a period of rapid change with advanced technologies such as electric powered and autonomous vehicles, creating increased concerns as to how this complexity is communicated effectively. A mixed methods approach was utilised to collect data from multiple sources, incorporating in-depth discussion groups, semi-structured interviews, an online survey, and data collection of communication processes through the attendance of new car product launches. The results suggest that marketing departments should rethink their data capture methods to collect more relevant consumer information, not the contemporary trend of needs, attitude, and motivation variables that are difficult to identify and collect, but basic information on their level of familiarity with products through previous experience and exposure. The basic dimensions identified are characterised by a consumer's expertise, involvement, and familiarity with a product. The findings are synthesised into a theoretical framework to define differing levels of product complexity, which would enable manufacturers to provide more closely defined market segmentation strategies when communicating new product information

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy