Effect of Copper Source (Cupric Citrate vs Cupric Sulfate) and Level on Growth Performance and Copper Metabolism in Pigs

Armstrong, T.A.,Spears, J.W.,van Heugten, E.,Engle, T.E.,Wright, C.L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2000 Animal Bioscience Vol.13 No.8

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of cupric citrate (Cu-citrate) relative to cupric sulfate $(CuSO_4)$ as a Cu source for weanling and grow-finish pigs. In addition, the use of liver and bile Cu concentrations as indices of the bioavailability of Cu sources was investigated. Experiment one consisted of a nursery phase (35 d; initial BW=6.4 kg, final BW=21.4 kg) followed by a grow-finish phase (103 d; initial BW=21.5 kg, final BW=111.7 kg). Experiment two only consisted of a nursery phase (35 d; initial BW=6.3 kg, final BW=18.6 kg). Dietary treatments were identical for both experiments and consisted of: control (10 ppm $CuSO_4$); control+66 or 225 ppm $CuSO_4$; control+33, 66, or 100 ppm Cu-citrate. An antibiotic was included in diets for Exp. 1 but not Exp. 2. In both experiments, growth performance variables were similar for pigs receiving Cu-citrate and $CuSO_4$; however, growth performance was not improved by high concentrations of $CuSO_4$. Liver and bile Cu were increased (p<0.05) by 225 ppm $CuSO_4$; however, lower dietary concentrations of Cu from either $CuSO_4$ or Cu-citrate did not affect the Cu concentration of liver or bile relative to that observed in the control pigs. Irrespective of Cu source, there was no linear (p>0.10) increase in plasma Cu with increasing Cu concentrations in the diet for both experiments. However, the plasma Cu concentrations were highest (p<0.10) in pigs receiving diets supplemented with 225 ppm $CuSO_4$. Sixteen randomly chosen pigs per treatment in Exp. 1 were continued through the grow-finish phase. Body weight gain and feed intake were improved (p<0.10) by 66 ppm $CuSO_4$, but other dietary Cu treatments did not alter pig performance compared to the control diet. Plasma Cu concentrations were increased (p<0.10) by 225 ppm $CuSO_4$ in the growing phase and by 225 ppm $CuSO_4$ and 100 ppm Cu-citrate in the finishing phase. These data reveal no consistent effect of $CuSO_4$ on performance; therefore, it is difficult to assess the efficacy of these two Cu sources. In addition, these studies demonstrate that liver and bile Cu are not good indicators of Cu bioavailability in pigs fed adequate to pharmacological concentrations of Cu.

Identification of new SLE-associated genes with a two-step Bayesian study design

Armstrong, D L,Reiff, A,Myones, B L,Quismorio Jr, F P,Klein-Gitelman, M,McCurdy, D,Wagner-Weiner, L,Silverman, E,Ojwang, J O,Kaufman, K M,Kelly, J A,Merrill, J T,Harley, J B,Bae, S-C,Vyse, T J,Gilkeso Macmillan Publishers Limited 2009 GENES AND IMMUNITY Vol.10 No.5

In our earlier study, we utilized a Bayesian design to probe the association of ∼1000 genes (∼10 000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) on a moderate number of trios of parents and children with SLE. Two genes associated with SLE, with a multitest-corrected false discovery rate (FDR) of <0.05, were identified, and a number of noteworthy genes with FDR of <0.8 were also found, pointing out a future direction for the study. In this report, using a large population of controls and adult- or childhood-onset SLE cases, we have extended the earlier investigation to explore the SLE association of 10 of these noteworthy genes (109 SNPs). We have found that seven of these genes exhibit a significant (FDR<0.05) association with SLE, both confirming some genes that have earlier been found to be associated with SLE (PTPN22 and IRF5) and presenting novel findings of genes (KLRG1, interleukin-16, protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type T, toll-like receptor (TLR)8 and CASP10), which have not been reported earlier. The results signify that the two-step candidate pathway design is an efficient way to study the genetic foundations of complex diseases. Furthermore, the novel genes identified in this study point to new directions in both the diagnosis and the eventual treatment of this debilitating disease.Genes and Immunity (2009) 10, 446–456; doi:10.1038/gene.2009.38; published online 14 May 2009

Longer-Term Impact of High and Low Temperature on Mortality: An International Study to Clarify Length of Mortality Displacement

Armstrong, Ben,Bell, Michelle L.,de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, Micheline,Leon Guo, Yue-Liang,Guo, Yuming,Goodman, Patrick,Hashizume, Masahiro,Honda, Yasushi,Kim, Ho,Lavigne, Eric,Michelozzi, Pao U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Publ 2017 Environmental health perspectives Vol.125 No.10

<P><B>Background:</B></P><P>In many places, daily mortality has been shown to increase after days with particularly high or low temperatures, but such daily time-series studies cannot identify whether such increases reflect substantial life shortening or short-term displacement of deaths (harvesting).</P><P><B>Objectives:</B></P><P>To clarify this issue, we estimated the association between annual mortality and annual summaries of heat and cold in 278 locations from 12 countries.</P><P><B>Methods:</B></P><P>Indices of annual heat and cold were used as predictors in regressions of annual mortality in each location, allowing for trends over time and clustering of annual count anomalies by country and pooling estimates using meta-regression. We used two indices of annual heat and cold based on preliminary standard daily analyses: <I>a</I>) mean annual degrees above/below minimum mortality temperature (MMT), and <I>b</I>) estimated fractions of deaths attributed to heat and cold. The first index was simpler and matched previous related research; the second was added because it allowed the interpretation that coefficients equal to 0 and 1 are consistent with none (0) or all (1) of the deaths attributable in daily analyses being displaced by at least 1 y.</P><P><B>Results:</B></P><P>On average, regression coefficients of annual mortality on heat and cold mean degrees were 1.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.3, 3.1] and 1.1% (95% CI: 0.6, 1.6) per degree, respectively, and daily attributable fractions were 0.8 (95% CI: 0.2, 1.3) and 1.1 (95% CI: 0.9, 1.4). The proximity of the latter coefficients to 1.0 provides evidence that most deaths found attributable to heat and cold in daily analyses were brought forward by at least 1 y. Estimates were broadly robust to alternative model assumptions.</P><P><B>Conclusions:</B></P><P>These results provide strong evidence that most deaths associated in daily analyses with heat and cold are displaced by at least 1 y. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1756</P>

A university for the 21st century

Armstrong, Warren B. 中齋 張忠植博士 華甲記念論叢刊行委員會 1992 中齋 張忠植博士 華甲記念論叢 Vol.2 No.-

Bioprecipitation of Calcium Carbonate Mediated by Ureolysis: A review

Armstrong I. Omoregie,Enzo A. Palombo,Peter M. Nissom 대한환경공학회 2021 Environmental Engineering Research Vol.26 No.6

Ureolysis-driven microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a naturally occurring process facilitated through microbial activities and biogeochemical reactions to produce calcium carbonate (CaCO3) mineral. MICP serves as an alternative ground improvement binder method to conventional technologies which is sustainable, requires low energy for its treatment process, results in a minimal carbon footprint and could offer economic benefits. In the last two decades, MICP has drawn great interest from the scientific community because of its practicality to stabilize granular soils, repair concrete cracks and remediate heavy metals. To obtain successful MICP application, it is vital to understand the conditions that favor its process. This paper, therefore, provides an overview of literature on CaCO3 precipitation mediated by ureolysis-driven MICP and its mechanism. The review includes a discussion on sources of urease enzyme from microorganisms used to induce CaCO3 crystal formation required for implementation of MCIP for ground improvement. Moreover, the key factors that influence the outcome of MICP and bio-engineering testing methods typically used to evaluate MICP performance are also highlighted. Finally, this review also provides insight on the current drawbacks (i.e. ammonium production, scale-up bioprocess and treatment cost) affecting MICP technology and recommendations for future consideration.

Bioprecipitation of calcium carbonate mediated by ureolysis: A review

Armstrong I. Omoregie,Enzo A. Palombo,Peter M. Nissom 대한환경공학회 2021 Environmental Engineering Research Vol.26 No.6

Ureolysis-driven microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a naturally occurring process facilitated through microbial activities and biogeochemical reactions to produce calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) mineral. MICP serves as an alternative ground improvement binder method to conventional technologies which is sustainable, requires low energy for its treatment process, results in a minimal carbon footprint and could offer economic benefits. In the last two decades, MICP has drawn great interest from the scientific community because of its practicality to stabilize granular soils, repair concrete cracks and remediate heavy metals. To obtain successful MICP application, it is vital to understand the conditions that favor its process. This paper, therefore, provides an overview of literature on CaCO₃ precipitation mediated by ureolysis-driven MICP and its mechanism. The review includes a discussion on sources of urease enzyme from microorganisms used to induce CaCO₃ crystal formation required for implementation of MCIP for ground improvement. Moreover, the key factors that influence the outcome of MICP and bio-engineering testing methods typically used to evaluate MICP performance are also highlighted. Finally, this review also provides insight on the current drawbacks (i.e. ammonium production, scale-up bioprocess and treatment cost) affecting MICP technology and recommendations for future consideration.

Assessment of Tobacco Habits, Attitudes, and Education Among Medical Students in the United States and Italy: A Cross-sectional Survey

Armstrong, Grayson W.,Veronese, Giacomo,George, Paul F.,Montroni, Isacco,Ugolini, Giampaolo The Korean Society for Preventive Medicine 2017 Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Vol.50 No.3

Objectives: Medical students represent a primary target for tobacco cessation training. This study assessed the prevalence of medical students' tobacco use, attitudes, clinical skills, and tobacco-related curricula in two countries, the US and Italy, with known baseline disparities in hopes of identifying potential corrective interventions. Methods: From September to December 2013, medical students enrolled at the University of Bologna and at Brown University were recruited via email to answer survey questions assessing the prevalence of medical students' tobacco use, attitudes and clinical skills related to patients' smoking, and elements of medical school curricula related to tobacco use. Results: Of the 449 medical students enrolled at Brown and the 1426 enrolled at Bologna, 174 Brown students (38.7%) and 527 Bologna students (36.9%) participated in this study. Italian students were more likely to smoke (29.5% vs. 6.1%; p<0.001) and less likely to receive smoking cessation training (9.4% vs. 80.3%; p<0.001) than their American counterparts, even though the majority of students in both countries desired smoking cessation training (98.6% at Brown, 85.4% at Bologna; p<0.001). Additionally, negative beliefs regarding tobacco usage, the absence of formal training in smoking cessation counseling, and a negative interest in receiving specific training on smoking cessation were associated with a higher risk of not investigating a patient's smoking status during a routine history and not offering tobacco cessation treatment to patients. Conclusions: Medical curricula on tobacco-related health hazards and on smoking cessation should be mandatory in order to reduce smoking among medical students, physicians, and patients, thereby improving tobacco-related global health.

Twentieth Century Urban Regeneration Policy in Britain : Charting Discourses of ‘Community’ and ‘Sustainability’

Andrea Armstrong 행정언어와 질적연구학회 2012 행정언어와 질적연구 Vol.3 No.1

EXPERIENTIAL E-LUXURY: THE RISE OF ONLINE FASHION BRANDING

Kate Armstrong,Eva Schwarz,Nikita Richards 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2015 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2015 No.06

The global luxury goods sector is particularly buoyant and showing steady growth, it was worth an estimated €122.2 billion in 2012 (Mintel, 2013), and generated more than 230 billion Euros in worldwide sales in 2014 (Bain 2014). These factors signify that the luxury sector is experiencing a boom with strong annual growth in terms of both value and volume. Practitioners and researchers are increasingly interested in the complexities associated with the consumption of luxury products, a focus that has led to the need of contribution to the understanding in the field and as a result, new concepts and research frameworks are emerging. Strong competition from an over-subscribed luxury market is further challenged by the practice of counterfeiting, which can damage brand image and profitability of luxury brands, but serves to further reinforce the importance and aspirational attributes of luxury goods. Similarly, e-commerce is growing rapidly and the fashion industry has become the fastest growing product category in the UK (Mintel, 2012). As Internet penetration is increasing rapidly, e-commerce becoming an indispensable complimentary distribution channel for offline retailers. In particular, the demand for luxury online sales is growing as the luxury consumer is reported to be more tech savvy and willing to purchase online in comparison to the offline purchases preferred by the average consumer (Google, 2013, Brandchannel, 2014) Luxury fashion brands have been slow to adopt digital and online channels, as the internet challenges a number of characteristics that have been intrinsic to luxury fashion brands (Okonkwo, 2010). Kapferer and Bastien (2012) proclaim that digital is in strong contradiction with luxury in most aspects. The main question this poses for luxury brands is how to be exclusive in an inherent democratic medium that can be accessed by anyone at anytime (Okonkwo, 2017, Kontu and Vecchi, 2014, Jin 2012). Whereas the digital world is about being instant, available and accessible, luxury fashion brands are very careful to exude timeless style, heritage, rarity and service (Kapferer and Bastien 2012, Pucci-Sisti Maisonrouge, 2013). Luxury brands have been keen to maintain full control over their distribution channels and marketing messages whereas the internet and in particular social media empowers the consumer, allowing them to co-create the brand message (Christodoulides et al., 2012). Further distribution is essential in luxury management (Kapferer and Bastien, 2012) and direct operated points of sale of luxury fashion brands are often based on their flagship stores and act as a marketing communication tool as much as a sales channel (Manlow and Knobbs, 2013; Moore and Doherty, 2007). As such, luxury retail brands have been careful to create exclusive and sensory rich experiences with particular attention to the materials of the product and the environment they are being displayed and sold in (Okonkwo, 2007, Fionda and Moore, 2009, Kapferer, 1998, Kapferer and Bastien, 2012). This points to another difficulty for luxury fashion brands who seek to communicate and distribute their goods online; the sensory appeal of websites is limited to visual and audio stimulation which does not satisfy the requirement for multisensory experiences deemed necessary for promoting luxury products. Due to these challenges scholars are in disagreement whether online fashion brands should distribute their products online or purely use the online channels to engage their consumers, but keep sales to their physical stores. Kapferer and Bastien (2012) consider selling a luxury product online as “extremely dangerous” as it reduces the “dream value”, Okonkwo (2007, p179) argues that the “adoption of the internet as a sales channel is now essential for luxury brands that aim to maintain a competitive edge.” This is supported by the prediction that by 2018 the online channel will account for 14% of worldwide luxury expenditure (Verdict, 2013), and that the luxury consumers in all markets are more tech-savvy than the general population with over 97% of luxury buyer using the internet (Google, 2013). This study adopts Okonkwo’s (2007) point of view that most luxury fashion brands will have to adapt and distribute their products across multiple channels to satisfy the consumer’s expectations. It is theorised that the digital revolution has empowered consumers, raising expectations for different experiences and changing behaviour (Deloitte, 2011; Pine and Gilmore, 2011; Rosenblum and Rowen, 2012): The consumer experiences their shopping experience as a whole (Interbrand, 2012) and looks for an integrated and consistent experience between channels (Roy et al., 2005; Zhang et al. 2010). These new shopping behaviours have exposed retailers’ vulnerabilities in brand and process and the challenge for fashion retailers is to provide a consistent experience and tone of voice across each of these channels. This difficulty is even more prominent for luxury fashion brands. Despite the difficulties and risks for luxury fashion brands to adapt to the multichannel retail environment several advantages in serving the multichannel consumer are identified: the multichannel consumer is considered to spend on average more money (Schoenbachler and Gordon, 2002; Lu and Rucker, 2006, Weinberg et al., 2007), buy more frequently (Kumar and Venkatesan, 2005) and has a longer customer lifetime value (Neslin et al., 2006, Schramm-Klein et al., 2011). An alterative interpretation of the luxury brand paradox could be viewed as the contradiction between the need for luxury brands to increase sales and explore new consumer segments, whilst also retaining their aura of mystery and exclusivity.. Consequently luxury fashion brands have to develop strategies to sustain their luxurious image in the online channels and even though there are an increasing number of luxury fashion houses to do so successfully like Burberry (Kapferer and Bastien, 2012) there remains a need to gain insight into how luxury fashion brands can utilise the online channel efficiently to communicate and engage with its customers. (Tungate, 2009; Okonkwo, 2010; Hanna, Rohm and Crittenden, 2011; Geerts, 2013; Heine and Berghaus, 2014; Kontu and Vecchi, 2014). This working paper seeks to address questions relating to the online consumption experiences and explores online atmospherics and their role in providing a luxury experience. This robust, inclusive approach aspires to contribute to current understanding of online luxury fashion consumption with the aim of identifying meaningful, workable recommendations for both future research and current practice within these sectors. The study will integrate the research findings with current literature in the experiential marketing and atmospherics debate positioning the research in an area where experience and atmospherics are found to be of crucial importance to the brand: luxury fashion retail. We propose a new phrase called ‘e-luxury’ to denote our conceptual framework, which has been developed to address the current gap in knowledge surrounding online experiences in the luxury retail sector. Research that employs experiential e-luxury as the conceptual framework has not been used in the context of understanding online luxury brand consumption, as it is a recent area of growth. As such, more research is required that interrogates the complexities associated with this sector, so it is hoped that by doing so, we may better understand what is driving luxury brands to co-exist online alongside fast fashion and how they can retain their brand equity and position whilst doing so. This notable rise in interest in online behaviour in the luxury good sector is receiving increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers as an area of growth, as such, there are many gaps in our understanding of e-luxury and the experiences of consumers online, that a study of this kind hopes to address. Thus, the aim of this working paper is to explore how to translate the crucial experiential value from the physical luxury retail environment to an omni-channel brand experience to engage a luxury consumers senses and emotions across all channels.

The Economic Cooperation Potential of East Asia’s RCEP Agreement

Shiro Armstrong,Peter Drysdale 대외경제정책연구원 2022 East Asian Economic Review Vol.26 No.1

East Asia’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into force in 2022 as the world’s largest free trade agreement. RCEP was concluded, signed and brought into force in the face of major international uncertainty and is a significant boost to the global trading system. RCEP brings Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand into the same agreement with the ten member ASEAN group at its centre. It keeps markets open and updates trade and investment rules in East Asia, a major centre of global economic activity, at a time of rising protectionism when the WTO itself is under threat. The agreement builds on ASEAN’s free trade agreements and strengthens ASEAN centrality. One of the pillars of RCEP is an economic cooperation agenda which has its antecedents in ASEAN’s approach to bringing along its least developed members and builds on the experience of capacity building in APEC and technical cooperation under the ASEAN Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. There is an opportunity to create a framework that facilitates deeper economic cooperation that involves experience-sharing, extending RCEP’s rules and membership at the same time as strengthening political cooperation. The paper suggests some areas that might be best suited to cooperation — that is confidence and trust building instead of or before negotiation — and discusses how non-members may be engaged and the membership expanded. Options such as multilateralising provisions and becoming a platform for policy convergence and coordinating unilateral reforms are canvassed.