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The erosion of high-end fashion brands by fast-fashion copycats (e.g., Zara, H&M) has stirred controversies and unceasing legal attempts to copyright fashion designs. Despite the purported negative impact of copycats, the effect of fashion copycats on high-end brands remains empirically unclear. Research on this topic has been impeded by the absence of a modeling framework to quantify fashion and by the lack of consumer-level data on fashion choices. The authors collect data on the posting behaviors of consumers on a fashion-specific social media platform and develop a dynamic structural model with deep learning image analytics to characterize consumers' choices of brands and styles. Results suggest that fast-fashion copycats can both harm high-end brands (a cannibalization effect) and help them (a market expansion effect). The authors also identify both static and dynamic mechanisms that contribute to the market expansion effect: The affordability of mixing copycats with high-end brands boosts the number of high-end items featured in posts by financially constrained consumers (a static mechanism). In addition, good styles from copycats enable users to build their popularity on social media over time, which may increase the users' valuation of high-end brands and reduce the users' future costs via sponsorship opportunities (dynamic mechanisms). The results could inform policy makers about the potential consequences of prohibiting fashion copycats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of local self-government (LSG) bodies in planning community-level interventions for noncommunicable diseases (NCD) control is critical. An understanding of how much priority is given to NCD in decentralized health planning is needed. Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze the pattern of budgetary allocation for health sector projects at different levels of LSGs in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, with specific reference to NCD control. Materials and Methods: Secondary data analysis was done on economic review reports and reports on health sector projects obtained from LSG department with permission. The pattern of budgetary allocation of health projects in both urban and rural local bodies of Thiruvananthapuram district for 2019–2020 was studied. Results: The proportion of NCD projects in terms of number and budget allocation, respectively, among health sector projects for gram panchayaths (GP) was 47 projects (5.25%) and 63.19 lakhs (1.8%). Figures for block panchayaths (BP) were 13 (9%) and 98.10 lakhs (10.94%), for district panchayath (DP), 1 (0.9%) and 48 lakhs (3%), for municipalities 1 (1.6%) and 4.66 lakhs (1.2%), and for corporation were 1 (1.4%) and 3 lakhs (0.16%). Only 29 (40%) GP and 5 (45%) BP had at least one NCD project. At the GP level, 21% of projects were community-based interventions and 15% of projects were for cancer screening, mental health, and hospital-based NCD clinics each. Among local bodies with lower allocation for NCD projects, the amount allocated for construction and maintenance work in health institutions was higher. Conclusion: Decision-making in decentralized health planning needs an evidence-based realignment of priorities toward NCD.

Background: Organ transplant recipients are at increased risk of infections which may result in acute graft dysfunction and death. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the ongoing global infectious challenge and little is known about the impact of this novel virus in kidney transplant recipients. We here describe the clinical presentations, laboratory profile, and outcomes of 42 such patients, from a large tertiary care center in south India. Materials and Methods: This prospective, observational study included all renal transplant recipients with confirmed COVID-19 by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction from the start of the outbreak till August, 2020. Clinical features at presentation, laboratory and radiological data, and outcomes were analyzed. Results: Forty-two patients were included in the analysis. As many as, 86.7% patients of our cohort had symptoms at presentation, with the most common symptoms being fever (52.5%), breathlessness (50%), and cough (40.5%). Significant need for respiratory support was noted in individuals with longer duration posttransplant (P < 0.03). Acute worsening of allograft function was observed in 22 (52.4%) patients. Fourteen (65%) of them had acute on chronic graft dysfunction and acute graft dysfunction was noted in 8 (35%) patients. Six patients (14.5%) died due to the disease and none of the parameters were found to be an independent predictor of mortality in regression analytic models including acute graft dysfunction (P = 0.49) or acute on chronic graft dysfunction (P = 0.07). There was no correlation between disease severity and baseline immunosuppressive agents whether tacrolimus or cyclosporine (P = 0.57) and mycophenolate mofetil or azathioprine (P = 0.91). Conclusions: Our largest cohort of patients from India showed higher incidence of acute graft dysfunction and significant mortality in patients with COVID-19.

Abstract. The entry of flexible-capacity sharing economy platforms (e.g., Airbnb and Uber) has potentially changed the competitive landscape in traditional industries with fixed-capacity incumbents and volatile demand. Leveraging panel data [...]

Abstract. Despite its immense popularity, the freemium business model remains a complex strategy to master and often a topic of heated debate. Adopting a generalized version of the screening framework, [...]

Consumers' choices about health products are heavily influenced by public information, such as news articles, research articles, online customer reviews, online product discussion, and TV shows. Dr. Oz, a celebrity physician, often makes medical recommendations with limited or marginal scientific evidence. Although reputable news agencies have traditionally acted as gatekeepers of reliable information, they face the intense pressure of "the eyeball game." Customer reviews, despite their authenticity, may come from deceived consumers. Therefore, it remains unclear whether public information sources can correct the misleading health information. In the context of over-the-counter weight loss products, the authors carefully analyze the cascading of information post endorsement. The analysis of extensive textual content with deep-learning methods reveals that legitimate news outlets respond to Dr. Oz's endorsement by generating more news articles about the ingredient; on average, articles after the endorsement contain higher sentiment, so news agencies seem to amplify rather than rectify the misleading endorsement. The finding highlights a serious concern: the risk of hype news diffusion. Research articles react too slowly to mitigate the problem, and online customer reviews and product discussions provide only marginal corrections. The findings underscore the importance of oversight to mitigate the risk of cascading hype news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]