596 research outputs found
Our products are safe (don’t tell anyone!). Why don’t supermarkets advertise their private food safety standards?
Large retail chains have spent considerable resources to promote production protocols andtraceability across the supply chain, aiming at increasing food safety. Yet, the majority of consumers areunaware of these private food safety standards (PFSS) and retailers are not informing them. This behaviordenotes a pooling paradox: supermarkets spend a large amount of money for food safety and yet they forgetto inform consumers. The result is a pooling equilibrium where consumers cannot discriminate among highquality and low quality products and supermarkets give up the potential price premium. This paper providesan economic explanation for the paradox using a contract-theory model. We found that PFSSimplementation may be rational even if consumers have no willingness to pay for safety, because thestandard can be used as a tool to solve asymmetric information along the supply chain. Using the PFSS,supermarkets can achieve a separating equilibrium where opportunistic suppliers have no incentive to acceptthe contract.Even if consumers exhibit a limited (but strictly positive) willingness to pay for safety, advertisingmay be profit-reducing. If the expected price margin is high enough, supermarkets have incentive to supplyboth certified and uncertified products. In this case, we show that, if consumers perceive undifferentiatedproducts as “reasonably safe”, supermarkets may maximize profits by pooling the goods and selling them asundifferentiated. This result is not driven by advertising costs, as we derive it assuming free advertising.[...
The Role of LRRK2 in Parkinson's Disease
This thesis focuses on the role of the leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene in
Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD is the second most frequent human neurodegenerative
disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. The etiology of PD remains unknown in most cases, but
several genetically-determined forms have been recently identified, which are greatly
promoting our understanding of the disease mechanisms. Mutations in the LRRK2 gene
were initially identified through positional cloning within the PARK8 locus in families
with autosomal dominant inheritance of PD. Subsequent studies, included some of those
described in this thesis, have delineated LRRK2 mutations as the most frequent, known
cause of familial and sporadic PD
Autophagy in motor neuron disease: Key pathogenetic mechanisms and therapeutic targets
Autophagy is a lysosome-dependant intracellular degradation process that eliminates long-lived proteins as well as damaged organelles from the cytoplasm. An increasing body of evidence suggests that dysregulation of this system plays a pivotal role in the etiology and/or progression of neurodegenerative diseases including motor neuron disorders. Herein, we review the latest findings that highlight the involvement of autophagy in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the potential role of this pathway as a target of therapeutic purposes. Autophagy promotes the removal of toxic, cytoplasmic aggregate-prone pathogenetic proteins, enhances cell survival, and modulates inflammation. The existence of several drugs targeting this pathway can facilitate the translation of basic research to clinical trials for ALS and other motor neuron diseases
In vitro models of multiple system atrophy from primary cells to induced pluripotent stem cells
Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative disease with a fatal outcome. Nowadays, only symptomatic treatment is available for MSA patients. The hallmarks of the disease are glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs), proteinaceous aggregates mainly composed of alpha-synuclein, which accumulate in oligodendrocytes. However, despite the extensive research efforts, little is known about the pathogenesis of MSA. Early myelin dysfunction and alpha-synuclein deposition are thought to play a major role, but the origin of the aggregates and the causes of misfolding are obscure. One of the reasons for this is the lack of a reliable model of the disease. Recently, the development of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology opened up the possibility of elucidating disease mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases including MSA. Patient specific iPSC can be differentiated in glia and neurons, the cells involved in MSA, providing a useful human disease model. Here, we firstly review the progress made in MSA modelling with primary cell cultures. Subsequently, we focus on the first iPSC-based model of MSA, which showed that alpha-synuclein is expressed in oligodendrocyte progenitors, whereas its production decreases in mature oligodendrocytes. We then highlight the opportunities offered by iPSC in studying disease mechanisms and providing innovative models for testing therapeutic strategies, and we discuss the challenges connected with this technique
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Chorea-Acanthocytosis Presenting with Parkinsonism-Dystonia without Chorea.
Microscopic Polyangiitis With Selective Involvement of Central and Peripheral Nervous System : A Case Report
Background: Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) is a necrotizing vasculitis that affects predominantly small-sized vessels in many organ systems. The disease generally causes glomerulonephritis, pulmonary damage, arthritis, and neuropathy. An exclusive involvement of both central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) is extremely rare. Case Presentation: A 62-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a 3 months history of right foot drop, recently complicated by intense myalgia, arthralgia, and allodynia to tactile, vibratory, and pressure stimuli. Since blood tests revealed elevated inflammatory indexes, we suspected either infectious or immune-mediated disorders. Chest radiograph, blood culture series, and echocardiogram revealed normal findings, while urinalysis showed a bacterial infection that was successfully treated. The neurophysiological findings were compatible with multiple mononeuritis, and a brain MRI evidenced ischemic lesions of both basal ganglia and thalamus. A wide-spectrum autoantibody assay revealed the presence of high-titer perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies specific for myeloperoxidase (MPO-ANCA). According to these findings, the diagnosis of MPA was made, and the patient was successfully treated with intravenous (IV) methylprednisolone, followed by two doses of rituximab. Conclusions: An assessment of both CNS and PNS should be included in the diagnostic evaluation of MPA. The involvement of the PNS may raise the risk of a relapsing course and treatment failure, therefore it should be considered in the choice of induction and maintenance therapy
HOPS-associated neurological disorders (HOPSANDs): linking endolysosomal dysfunction to the pathogenesis of dystonia
The homotypic fusion and protein sorting (HOPS) complex is the structural bridge necessary for the fusion of late endosomes and autophagosomes with lysosomes. Recent publications linked mutations in genes encoding HOPS complex proteins with the aetiopathogenesis of inherited dystonias (i.e. VPS16, VPS41, and VPS11). Functional and microstructural studies conducted on patient-derived fibroblasts carrying mutations of HOPS complex subunits displayed clear abnormalities of the lysosomal and autophagic compartments. We propose to name this group of diseases HOPS-associated neurological disorders (HOPSANDs), which are mainly characterized by dystonic presentations. The delineation of HOPSANDs further confirms the connection of lysosomal and autophagic dysfunction with the pathogenesis of dystonia, prompting researchers to find innovative therapies targeting this pathway
Peri-ictal and inter-ictal headache in children and adolescents with idiopathic epilepsy: a multicenter cross-sectional study.
PURPOSE: Headache in epileptic population ranges from 8% to 15%. The aim of this paper was to study the clinical and temporal characteristics of primary headache comorbidity in idiopathic epileptic children.
METHODS: From June 2006 to June 2009, a cross-sectional multi-center study involving five Italian Child Neurology University Centers (two in Rome, one in Chieti, one in Naples, and one in L'Aquila) was conducted. Among 1,264 consecutively newly diagnosed, idiopathic, partial, or generalized, epileptic children, according to ILAE diagnostic criteria (aged between 5 and 15 years of age), we selected 142 children (11.2%) (130 of whom completed the study) who showed an associated peri-ictal and/or inter-ictal headache diagnosed according to the International Headache Society Criteria. Rare cases of "ictal epileptic headache", in which headache represents the sole ictal epileptic manifestation, were excluded from this study.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Post-ictal headaches were most frequent (62%). Pre-ictal headaches were less common (30%). Inter-ictal headaches were described in 57.6%. Clear migrainous features were present in 93% of pre-ictal and 81.4% of post-ictal headaches. Inter-ictal headaches meet criteria for migraines in 87%. The association between partial epilepsy and migraine without aura is most common and reported in 82% of our patients with peri-ictal headache and in 76.5% of patients with post-ictal headache
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Quasi-1D hyperbranched WO<inf>3</inf> nanostructures for low-voltage photoelectrochemical water splitting
Arrays of hyperbranched mesostructures self-assembled from the gas phase display a decreased overpotential for the water oxidation reaction.M.B. and A.M. and F.D.F acknowledge financial support from
European Union through projects PHOCS, ENERGY 2012-
10.2.1, Future Emerging Technologies Collaborative Project,
grant N. 309223.
G.D. and C.D. acknowledge funding from the ERC under grant
number 259619 PHOTO EM.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/TA/c4ta06786j#!divAbstract
Structure-dependent optical and electrical transport properties of nanostructured Al-doped ZnO
The structure-property relation of nanostructured Al-doped ZnO thin films has
been investigated in detail through a systematic variation of structure and
morphology, with particular emphasis on how they affect optical and electrical
properties. A variety of structures, ranging from compact polycristalline films
to mesoporous, hierarchically organized cluster assemblies, are grown by Pulsed
Laser Deposition at room temperature at different oxygen pressures. We
investigate the dependence of functional properties on structure and morphology
and show how the correlation between electrical and optical properties can be
studied to evaluate energy gap, conduction band effective mass and transport
mechanisms. Understanding these properties opens the way for specific
applications in photovoltaic devices, where optimized combinations of
conductivity, transparency and light scattering are required.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
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