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Considering a channel comprising a national brand (NB) manufacturer and a retailer who sells both the NB and its own store brand (SB) products, this article aims to study the promotional pricing and advertising strategies under an exogenous pricing approach when the two members jointly use consumer promotion and co-operative advertising. Specifically, this article explores how both the spillover effect of advertising and the quality difference between the brands affect the equilibrium outcomes and the NB manufacturer's profits. Several results are obtained: (1) as long as the spillover effect is lower than a threshold, both channel members will participate in the promotion campaign; (2) a higher spillover effect improves the NB manufacturer's profit by not only enhancing her revenue but also reducing her advertising cost; and (3) a larger quality difference also increases the NB manufacturer's profit, by growing her revenue more quickly than her advertising cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment-free remission (TFR) is emerging as a new therapy goal for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in the tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) era. Data indicates the unfavorable success rate of TFR. This study aimed to compare and evaluate the clinical value of dd-PCR in predicting relapse in CML patients entering TFR. Using dd-PCR and RT-qPCR technology, dynamic BCR/ABL transcripts were detected in 13 CML patients who discontinued TKI treatment after sustaining undetectable BCR-ABL levels for a median time of 25 months. The results showed that in 13 patients, only 2 cases (22.2%) of 9 patients who executed planned discontinuation achieved TFR within 12 months. In the first 6 months, the detection rate of BCR/ABL transcripts by dd-PCR was higher than that by RT-qPCR and the two methods kept a positive correlation (r=0.9651, P =0.0349). Meanwhile, the time of detectable BCR/ABL by dd-PCR were significantly shorter ( P <0.05), which was an average of 2.98 months earlier than RT-qPCR. The total TKI therapy and MR4.5 duration time related with TFR were longer in patients with intermediate or high Sokal risk scores ( p <0.05). The dd-PCR could be more sensitive than RT-qPCR for monitoring BCR/ABL transcripts of CML patients with deep molecular response to TKI. The technique can be used as a preferred method to detect the transcripts in the first 6 months after TKI cessation., (© 2020 by the Association of Clinical Scientists, Inc.)