ABSTRACT Visible-wavelength Raman spectroscopy was used to investigate the uptake and metabolism of the five-carbon sugar alcohol xylitol by Gram-positive viridans group streptococcus and the two extensively used strains of Gram-negative Escherichia coli, E. coli C and E. coli K-12. E. coli C, but not E. coli K-12, contains a complete xylitol operon, and the viridans group streptococcus contains an incomplete xylitol operon used to metabolize the xylitol. Raman spectra from xylitol-exposed viridans group streptococcus exhibited significant changes that persisted even in progeny grown from the xylitol-exposed mother cells in a xylitol-free medium for 24 h. This behavior was not observed in the E. coli K-12. In both viridans group streptococcus and the E. coli C derivative HF4714, the metabolic intermediates are stably formed to create an anomaly in bacterial normal survival. The uptake of xylitol by Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens occurs even in the presence of other high-calorie sugars, and its stable integration within the bacterial cell wall may discontinue bacterial multiplication. This could be a contributing factor for the known efficacy of xylitol when taken as a prophylactic measure to prevent or reduce occurrences of persistent infection. Specifically, these bacteria are causative agents for several important diseases of children such as pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis, and dental caries. If properly explored, such an inexpensive and harmless sugar-alcohol, alone or used in conjunction with fluoride, would pave the way to an alternative preventive therapy for these childhood diseases when the causative pathogens have become resistant to modern medicines such as antibiotics and vaccine immunotherapy.

U radu je prikazana primjena conjoint analize u proucavanju procesa vrednovanja i kriterija odabira pri kupnji MP3 playera kod segmenta mladih, kao najznacajnijeg segmenta za tu kategoriju proizvoda. Metodologija: Provedeno je nekoliko istraživanja mladih potrosaca u sarajevskoj regiji. Najprije su provedeni nestrukturirani intervjui pomocu fokus grupa u kombinaciji s nizom pitanja visestrukoga izbora i otvorenih pitanja, a sve radi identificiranja varijabli proizvoda i razine njihove važnosti za preferencije potrosaca. Nakon sto su izdvojene glavne varijable i određene razine njihove važnosti, one su kombinirane kako bi se dobili razliciti profili hipotetskog proizvoda. Dobiveni rezultati analizirani su pomocu softvera za conjoint analizu. Spoznaje: Rezultati pokazuju da bi proizvođaci i prodavaci MP3 playara svoje strategije trebali usmjeriti na marku kada ciljaju na segment mladih kao najznacajniji segment za takve proizvode. Istraživanje potražnje i osjetljivosti na cijene pokazalo je da su kupci ove kategorije proizvoda osjetljivi na cijene i zbog toga su spremni mijenjati marke. Ogranicenja: Iako istraživanje obuhvaca vecinu cimbenika koji se odnose na MP3 playere, poželjno bi bilo ukljuciti dizajn kao dodatni cimbenik te vise razlicitih marki. Isto tako, velicina uzorka mogla bi biti veca sto bi omogucilo segmentaciju tržista temeljem dobivenih part-worths.