An investigation of low-income consumer-buying behaviour in the personal-care industry in South Africa

South African companies are said to be mining the so-called "Black Diamond", the emerging middle-class segment that is driving economic growth within the country (Mahajan, 2009:9). The focus on the emerging Middle Class in South Africa (SA) has left a knowledge gap on Low-Income consumers - even though they are still the largest consumer group in SA (Connecting with Survivors, 2014). The Unilever "Connecting with Survivors Report" (2014) highlights the fact that 70% of the SA Market earn less than R6000 per month, while together they have a spending power of R300 Billion per annum. According to Martin (2012:71), 5.8% of Low-Income Consumer Households (HH) spending is prioritised for the purchase of personal care products, while 64.2% of their HH income is prioritised for food and housing expenses. Given the trivial proportion allocated to personal care products, this research has been guided by the problem statement that Low-Income consumers are forced to make trade-offs, when purchasing personal care products, which fall outside their realm of affordability. The primary objective of this study was to investigate Low-Income consumers' buying behaviour in the Personal Care Industry in South Africa. The Theory of Buyer Behaviour was used as a theoretical framework to assist in the understanding of Low-Income consumer behaviour in the Personal Care industry. The phenomenological research paradigm was used in this study, utilising interviews to collect the data from respondents in the Western Cape Province. Inductive reasoning was practised to draw a conclusion on the investigation of Low-Income consumer buying behaviour in the personal care industry in South Africa. The findings from the study indicate that Low-Income consumers do indeed make trade-offs when personal care products fall outside their realm of affordability. The extent to which they do so varies, based on necessity. This research stands to contribute to the body of knowledge by narrowing the knowledge gap on the Low-Income Consumer market in South Africa with the focus on the Personal Care Industry, thereby allowing marketers to develop and implement effective marketing strategies

Hypoxia shapes the immune landscape in lung injury and promotes the persistence of inflammation

Hypoxemia is a defining feature of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an often-fatal complication of pulmonary or systemic inflammation, yet the resulting tissue hypoxia, and its impact on immune responses, is often neglected. In the present study, we have shown that ARDS patients were hypoxemic and monocytopenic within the first 48 h of ventilation. Monocytopenia was also observed in mouse models of hypoxic acute lung injury, in which hypoxemia drove the suppression of type I interferon signaling in the bone marrow. This impaired monopoiesis resulted in reduced accumulation of monocyte-derived macrophages and enhanced neutrophil-mediated inflammation in the lung. Administration of colony-stimulating factor 1 in mice with hypoxic lung injury rescued the monocytopenia, altered the phenotype of circulating monocytes, increased monocyte-derived macrophages in the lung and limited injury. Thus, tissue hypoxia altered the dynamics of the immune response to the detriment of the host and interventions to address the aberrant response offer new therapeutic strategies for ARDS

Hypoxia shapes the immune landscape in lung injury and promotes the persistence of inflammation

Hypoxemia is a defining feature of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an often-fatal complication of pulmonary or systemic inflammation, yet the resulting tissue hypoxia, and its impact on immune responses, is often neglected. In the present study, we have shown that ARDS patients were hypoxemic and monocytopenic within the first 48 h of ventilation. Monocytopenia was also observed in mouse models of hypoxic acute lung injury, in which hypoxemia drove the suppression of type I interferon signaling in the bone marrow. This impaired monopoiesis resulted in reduced accumulation of monocyte-derived macrophages and enhanced neutrophil-mediated inflammation in the lung. Administration of colony-stimulating factor 1 in mice with hypoxic lung injury rescued the monocytopenia, altered the phenotype of circulating monocytes, increased monocyte-derived macrophages in the lung and limited injury. Thus, tissue hypoxia altered the dynamics of the immune response to the detriment of the host and interventions to address the aberrant response offer new therapeutic strategies for ARDS

Author correction : Hypoxia shapes the immune landscape in lung injury and promotes the persistence of inflammation

In the version of this article originally published, in the Methods section "Mouse LPS ALI model," the second sentence needed clarification of wording and dosage (mg kg–1, not mg g–1) and has been amended to read "Mice were treated daily (days 1–4 post-LPS), by subcutaneous injection, with PBS or 0.75 mg kg–1 of porcine CSF-1 fused to the Fc region of porcine IgG1a (generated by David Hume), prior to cull on day 5" in the HTML and PDF versions of the article

Desempenho de leguminosas nativas (Adesmia) e exóticas (Lotus, Trifolium), em função do estádio fenológico no primeiro corte Performance of native (Adesmia) and exotic (Lotus, Trifolium) legumes as for the phenological stage on first-cutting

Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de analisar aspectos fenológicos e produtivos de leguminosas nativas (Adesmia latifolia, A. tristis) e exóticas (Lotus corniculatus, L. uliginosus, Trifolium repens), em função do estádio fenológico no primeiro corte: vegetativo (CEV) e florescimento (CEF). As plantas foram estabelecidas em monocultura, no campo, e avaliadas entre maio/2000 e setembro/2001, em Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul. Após o primeiro corte, as plantas foram desfolhadas em intervalos de 45 dias. Foram realizadas nove desfolhações no manejo CEV e sete no CEF. O estádio fenológico no primeiro corte influenciou a produção de massa seca (MS) de T. repens (CEV= 9.000 kg/ha de MS, CEF = 7.000 kg/ha de MS) e A. tristis (CEV = 4.000 kg/ha de MS, CEF = 8.000 kg/ha de MS). O L. corniculatus produziu cerca de 15.000 kg/ha de MS e A. latifolia, de 2.000 a 3.000 kg/ha de MS, independentemente do manejo. O L. uliginosus não floresceu, produzindo 7.000 kg/ha de MS no manejo CEV. As espécies nativas mostraram baixa persistência, com morte de plantas (A. tristis) e estolões (A. latifolia) no final da estação de crescimento. A maior produção de T. repens foi na primavera e a das espécies de Lotus, no verão.<br>This work had the objective to evaluate phenological and productive aspects of native (Adesmia latifolia, A. tristis) and exotics legumes (Lotus corniculatus, L. uliginosus, Trifolium repens) as for the phenological stage on first-cutting: vegetative (CEV) and flowering (CEF). The plants were established as monoculture in the field and evaluated between May/2000 and September/2001, in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul. After the first cutting the plants were defoliated in 45 days intervals. There were nine cuttings in CEV-management and seven in the CEF-management. The phenological stage on first-cutting modified significantly (P<0,05) the dry matter (DM) production of T. repens (CEV = 9.000 kg/ha of DM, CEF = 7.000 kg/ha of DM) and A. tristis (CEV = 4.000 kg/ha of DM, CEF = 8.000 kg/ha of DM). L. corniculatus produced about 15.000 kg/ha of DM and A. latifolia, 2.000 to 3.000 kg/ha of DM, regardless the management. L. uliginosus did not flowered, producing 7.000 kg/ha of DM in the CEV-management. The native legumes showed poor persistence with death of the plants (A. tristis) and stolons (A. latifolia) at the end of the growing season. The highest production of the T. repens was in the spring and for the Lotus species, in the summer

In vivo monitoring of lung inflammation in CFTR-deficient mice

Experimentally, lung inflammation in laboratory animals is usually detected by the presence of inflammatory markers, such as immune cells and cytokines, in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of sacrificed animals. This method, although extensively used, is time, money and animal life consuming, especially when applied to genetically modified animals. Thus a new and more convenient approach, based on in vivo imaging analysis, has been set up to evaluate the inflammatory response in the lung of CFTR-deficient (CF) mice, a murine model of cystic fibrosis