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This study uses a discrete choice experiment to examine consumers’ preferences for Fuji apple product attributes and willingness to pay (WTP) estimates for consumers in six cities in China. We estimated the preference heterogeneity by linking the stated preference choice data with consumers’ past experience and socioeconomic characteristics in the latent class model. The empirical results show that, first, the past experience variables are crucial in explaining consumer preferences and WTP. Second, three classes, namely, certification-oriented, price- and origin-oriented, and not interested, are identified. Furthermore, the same type of Fuji apple attribute does not appeal to every respondent. Third, our results indicate the heterogeneity of preferences across different classes of respondents, as well as differences in WTP for Fuji apples.

Faced with reduced domestic supply, competition from imports, and high production costs, the Florida citrus industry and Florida growers need to understand how consumers perceive Florida-produced orange juice and whether they value it more than OJ produced elsewhere. We conducted a national survey to understand consumers' perceptions and confirmed that consumers have a superior perception of Florida OJ, which could lead to higher rates of willingness-to-buy and willingness-to-pay.

Accounting for a quarter of the population in the United States, the millennial generation is believed to have stronger buying power than other generations. But does targeting orange juice marketing to millennials, and, in particular, millennial parents, reap rewards? This 4-page fact sheet written by Yan Heng, Ronald W. Ward, and Lisa A. House and published by the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department presents the results of a survey examining several generations and their impact on demand for orange juice to find out whether targeting this one is a wise marketing strategy. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe1089

This 4-page fact sheet written by Yan Heng, Marisa Zansler, and Lisa House and published by the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department presents consumers’ responses to a monthly survey and provides a look at those consumers who have contributed to a surge in orange juice sales since April. It is intended to help the industry understand the possible impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and develop marketing plans to sustain orange juice purchases beyond the short run.

Most previous studies have investigated country-of-origin effect for agricultural products from the economically developed country, but few have focused on the impact of country-of-origin on agricultural products from economically developing countries. Using a national online survey in France, we determine French consumers' perceptions and preferences for fresh fruit from China. Results of ordered logit models show that fresh fruit from China was perceived as low quality and unsafe. Respondents who care about country-of-origin were less likely to purchase fresh fruit from China, while those who care about brand were more likely to buy Chinese fresh fruit. Risk perception and quality perception both had a significant impact on the purchase of Chinese fresh fruit. Results of latent class models obtained with key consumer demographics show that heterogeneous preferences exist among different consumer groups. The results provide critical information to both China and other economically developing countries in their efforts to improve market penetration in economically developed countries.

The authors of this 4-page fact sheet, Yan Heng, Mitzey Tejeda, and Lisa House, used a national survey to analyze and understand French consumer preferences and consumption behavior regarding grapefruit. They found that more than half of the respondents were willing to purchase grapefruit in the upcoming year, suggesting that French consumers hold an overall positive image of grapefruit. As a major and well-recognized supplier providing high-quality products, Florida has the opportunity to continue producing and exporting grapefruit to France. Published by the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe1072

Concerns over laying hens' welfare have led to many different labels for eggs and changes to state regulations. Consumer attitudes toward farm-animal welfare were examined using a national survey in the context of preferences for eggs differentiated by layer management practices. Most respondents perceived caged housing and other conventional management practices as reducing hens' welfare and were willing to pay a premium for eggs produced in cage-free and other nonconventional production systems. Although participants responded to information about environmental consequences of management practices, they placed more weight on animal welfare issues than environmental issues in their egg-purchase decisions.

According to the Foreign Agricultural Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, worldwide consumption of fresh grapefruit in 2014/15 increased from 4.2 million to 5.2 million metric tons. China, which is the largest producer of grapefruit, was largely responsible for the increase. In South Korea, however, the state of Florida in the United States has traditionally dominated the grapefruit market. The South Korean grapefruit market has been increasing in recent years and is expected to keep growing. The industry in Florida now faces fierce competition from other suppliers with lower import prices and different harvest seasons. This 5-page fact sheet written by Yan Heng, Hyeyoung Kim, and Lisa House and published by the Food and Resource Economics Department aims to provide an overview of the grapefruit market in South Korea and evaluate the potential of this market for Florida fresh grapefruit producers.­http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe1003

In order to improve the specific capacity and energy density of activated carbon electrode materials activated carbon was modified by surface treatment using hydrogen peroxide. The modified carbons were characterized the changes of pore structure and functional groups before and after modification by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms and FTIR spectroscopy. The three electrode system was assembled with modified activated carbon as electrode materials and Na2SO4 as the electrolyte. The influence of surface modification on the performance of EDLCs was studied by galvanostatic charge-discharge, cyclic voltammetry, and alternating current impedance. The results show that the surface chemistry of the modified activated carbon material has changed, the specific surface area has changed and the pore size has not changed much with the introduction of new oxygen-containing functional groups. The specific capacity of the activated carbon material modified by 5h is 75F/g, which is 86.1% higher than that before the modification. It can be seen that the change of functional group after the modification of activated carbon can help to increase the specific capacity.

Abstract Background Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis, therefore antiangiogenic therapy was widely investigated as a promising approach for cancer therapy. Recently, pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has been shown to be the most potent inhibitor of angiogenesis. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have been intensively studied due to their wide tropisms, nonpathogenicity, and long-term transgene expression in vivo. The objective of this work was to evaluate the ability of AAV-mediated human PEDF (hPEDF) as a potent tumor suppressor and a potential candidate for cancer gene therapy. Methods Recombinant AAV2 encoding hPEDF (rAAV2-hPEDF) was constructed and produced, and then was assigned for in vitro and in vivo experiments. Conditioned medium from cells infected with rAAV2-hPEDF was used for cell proliferation and tube formation tests of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Subsequently, colorectal peritoneal carcinomatosis (CRPC) mouse model was established and treated with rAAV2-hPEDF. Therapeutic efficacy of rAAV2-hPEDF were investigated, including tumor growth and metastasis, survival time, microvessel density (MVD) and apoptosis index of tumor tissues, and hPEDF levels in serum and ascites. Results rAAV2-hPEDF was successfully constructed, and transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that rAAV2-hPEDF particles were non-enveloped icosahedral shape with a diameter of approximately 20 nm. rAAV2-hPEDF-infected cells expressed hPEDF protein, and the conditioned medium from infected cells inhibited proliferation and tube-formation of HUVECs in vitro. Furthermore, in CRPC mouse model, rAAV2-hPEDF significantly suppressed tumor growth and metastasis, and prolonged survival time of treated mice. Immunofluorescence studies indicated that rAAV2-hPEDF could inhibit angiogenesis and induce apoptosis in tumor tissues. Besides, hPEDF levels in serum and ascites of rAAV2-hPEDF-treated mice were significant higher than those in rAAV2-null or normal saline (NS) groups. Conclusions Thus, our results suggest that rAAV2-hPEDF may be a potential candidate as an antiangiogenic therapy agent.

This study investigated the impact of an improved body positioning on the effectiveness of EDGE MP1000 robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. We compared clinical data from 39 patients who underwent the procedure at Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University between November 2023 and May 2024. The control group (18 patients) received conventional positioning, while the experimental group (21 patients) received precise positioning, which included patient assessments, optimized positioning techniques, and enhanced nursing measures. Key metrics compared between the groups included the duration of postural placement, incidence of intraoperative stress injuries, and patient satisfaction. All procedures were successfully completed. The experimental group had a significantly shorter duration of postural placement (P < 0.001) and a lower incidence of intraoperative stress injuries (P = 0.023) compared to the control group. In addition, patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the experimental group (P < 0.001). These findings suggest that the implementation of precise positioning in EDGE MP1000 robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy enhances operational efficiency and surgeon satisfaction, while ensuring patient safety and comfort, supporting its clinical adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]