Factory Gate Pricing: An Analysis of the Dutch Retail Distribution

Factory Gate Pricing (FGP) is a relatively new phenomenon in retail distribution. Under FGP, products are no longer delivered at the retailer distribution center, but collected by the retailer at the factory gates of the suppliers. Owing to both the asymmetry in the distribution networks (the supplier sites greatly outnumber the retailer distribution centers) and the better inventory and transport coordination mechanisms, this is likely to result in high savings. A mathematical model was used to analyze the benefits of FGP for a case study in the Dutch retail sector. Extensive numerical results are presented to show the effect of the orchestration shift from supplier to retailer, the improved coordination mechanisms, and sector-wide cooperation

Morphometric discrimination of two sympatric sibling species in the Palaearctic region, Culicoides obsoletus Meigen and C-scoticus Downes & Kettle (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), vectors of bluetongue and Schmallenberg viruses

Background Some Palaearctic biting midge species (subgenus Avaritia) have been implicated as vectors of bluetongue virus in northern Europe. Separation of two species (C. obsoletus and C. scoticus) is considered difficult morphologically and, often, these female specimens are grouped in entomological studies. However, species-specific identification is desirable to understand their life history characteristics, assess their roles in disease transmission or measure their abundance during arboviral outbreaks. This study aims to investigate whether morphometric identification techniques can be applied to female C. obsoletus and C. scoticus individuals trapped at different geographical regions and time periods during the vector season. Methods C. obsoletus and C. scoticus were collected using light-suction traps from the UK, France and Spain, with two geographical locations sampled per country. A total of 759 C. obsoletus/C. scoticus individuals were identified using a molecular assay based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. Fifteen morphometric measurements were taken from the head, wings and abdomen of slide-mounted specimens, and ratios calculated between these measurements. Multivariate analyses explored whether a combination of morphometric variables could lead to accurate species identification. Finally, Culicoides spp. collected in France at the start, middle and end of the adult vector season were compared, to determine whether seasonal variation exists in any of the morphometric measurements. Results The principal component analyses revealed that abdominal characteristics: length and width of the smaller and larger spermathecae, and the length of the chitinous plates and width between them, are the most reliable morphometric characteristics to differentiate between the species. Seasonal variation in the size of each species was observed for head and wing measurements, but not abdominal measurements. Geographical variation in the size of Culicoides spp. was also observed and is likely to be related to temperature at the trapping sites, with smaller individuals trapped at more southern latitudes. Conclusions Our results suggest that female C. obsoletus and C. scoticus individuals can be separated under a stereomicroscope using abdominal measurements. Although we show the length and width of the spermathecae can be used to differentiate between the species, this can be time-consuming, so we recommend undertaking this using standardized subsampling of catches. (Résumé d'auteur

Near-forward Raman selection rules of the phonon-polariton created by alloying in (Zn,Be)Se

The Raman selection rules of the (ZnSe, BeSe) mixed phonon polariton created by alloying in the three mode (1ZnSe, 2BeSe) ZnBeSe system, whose dramatic S like dispersion covers the large frequency gap between the ZnSe and BeSe spectral ranges, is studied in its wave vector dependence by near forward scattering. Both the collapse regime away from the Brillouin zone centre and the reinforcement regime near the Brillouin zone centre are addressed, using appropriate laser lines and Be contents. We find that in both regimes the considered phonon polariton, in fact a transverse mode with mixed mechanical and electrical character, obeys the same nominal Raman selection rules as its purely mechanical variant commonly observed in the backscattering geometry. Besides, marked differences in the phonon polariton Raman lineshapes in the two regimes give a hint about how the phonon polariton electrical field E develops while descending the S like dispersion towards the Brillouin zone centre. In the reinforcement regime E is large, leading to intramode on top of intermode transfers of oscillator strength mediated by E between the two BeSe modes, that both exhibit a fine structure on account of the alloy disorder. In contrast, in the collapse regime E remains weak, as testified by the absence of intramode transfer. The discussion is supported by contour modeling of the multi phonon polariton Raman lineshapes in their wave vector dependence within the linear dielectric approach.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Tumour invasiveness, the local and systemic environment and the basis of staging systems in colorectal cancer

background: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between tumour invasiveness (T stage), the local and systemic environment and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with primary operable colorectal cancer. methods: The tumour microenvironment was examined using measures of the inflammatory infiltrate (Klintrup-Makinen (KM) grade and Immunoscore), tumour stroma percentage (TSP) and tumour budding. The systemic inflammatory environment was examined using modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR). A 5-year CSS was examined. results: A total of 331 patients were included. Increasing T stage was associated with colonic primary, N stage, poor differentiation, margin involvement and venous invasion (P<0.05). T stage was significantly associated with KM grade (P=0.001), Immunoscore (P=0.016), TSP (P=0.006), tumour budding (P<0.001), and elevated mGPS and NLR (both P<0.05). In patients with T3 cancer, N stage stratified survival from 88 to 64%, whereas Immunoscore and budding stratified survival from 100 to 70% and from 91 to 56%, respectively. The Glasgow Microenvironment Score, a score based on KM grade and TSP, stratified survival from 93 to 58%. conclusions: Although associated with increasing T stage, local and systemic tumour environment characteristics, and in particular Immunoscore, budding, TSP and mGPS, are stage-independent determinants of survival and may be utilised in the staging of patients with primary operable colorectal cancer

A framework for dissecting affinities of multidrug efflux transporter AcrB to fluoroquinolones

Sufficient concentration of antibiotics close to their target is key for antimicrobial action. Among the tools exploited by bacteria to reduce the internal concentration of antibiotics, multidrug efflux pumps stand out for their ability to capture and expel many unrelated compounds out of the cell. Determining the specificities and efflux efficiency of these pumps towards their substrates would provide quantitative insights into the development of antibacterial strategies. In this light, we developed a competition efflux assay on whole cells, that allows measuring the efficacy of extrusion of clinically used quinolones in populations and individual bacteria. Experiments reveal the efficient competitive action of some quinolones that restore an active concentration of other fluoroquinolones. Computational methods show how quinolones interact with the multidrug efflux transporter AcrB. Combining experiments and computations unveils a key molecular mechanism acting in vivo to detoxify bacterial cells. The developed assay can be generalized to the study of other efflux pumps

ShortRead: a bioconductor package for input, quality assessment and exploration of high-throughput sequence data

Summary: ShortRead is a package for input, quality assessment, manipulation and output of high-throughput sequencing data. ShortRead is provided in the R and Bioconductor environments, allowing ready access to additional facilities for advanced statistical analysis, data transformation, visualization and integration with diverse genomic resources

Enzootie de tumeurs cutanées chez le lièvre

Lafenêtre Henri, Cortez A., Rioux J.-A., Pages A., Vollhardt Yves, Quatrefages H. Enzootie de tumeurs cutanées chez le lièvre. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 113 n°7, 1960. pp. 379-389