Voluntary traceability standards: which is the role of economic incentives?

Over the past decades increasing consumers’ concerns due to repeated food scares has lead firms and policy makers to adopt mandatory and voluntary normative instruments in order to reduce consumers loss of confidence towards food products. Traceability is one of the most important interventions aimed at assuring the safety and quality characteristics of food products. Firms can use such tool to reduce the risk of food safety non-compliance, to impact on consumer behaviour through the labelling of traced quality attributes, and to reinforce vertical relationships within the food supply chain through a system aimed at guaranteeing a more transparent management of transactions

Trust to Go Green: An Exploration of Consumer Intentions for Eco-friendly Convenience Food

Interest in food products with eco-friendly characteristics and certifications has grown in recent decades. Consumers are also increasingly demanding ready-to-eat products, especially in urban environs, where modem lifestyles tend to limit their available time. Understanding the pro-environmental behaviour of convenience food consumers is particularly challenging because there is often a contradiction between eco-friendly behavioural intent and time constraints imposed by modern lifestyles in large cities. It is not clear to what extent information labels on such products are trusted by consumers and considered when making food choices. This study aims at contributing to the debate investigating the determinants influencing consumer purchase intention, focusing on minimally processed vegetables labelled with integrated-pest-management standards. More specifically, the analysis investigates the role consumer trust plays in consumer intention to buy such products. The conceptual framework builds on and extends the theory of planned behaviour. The analyses are based on face-to-face interviews in a large European city (Milan, Italy). Data were analysed by means of structural equation modelling. Results confirm the important role of consumer trust, which positively affects attitudes towards the purchase of convenience food with eco-friendly attributes, and negatively affects consumer concerns around agricultural practices in relation to environmental and health impacts

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES FOR THE CLINICO-PATHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF FELINE INFECTIOUS PERITONITIS AND FELINE CORONAVIRUS INFECTION

La peritonite infettiva felina (FIP) \ue8 una patologia letale dei felidi, a patogenesi virale ed immunomediata. La propensione dell\u2019agente eziologico alle mutazioni \u2013 coronavirus felino, FCoV \u2013 e la sintomatologia spesso aspecifica, rendono questa patologia complessa sia dal punto di vista diagnostico che patogenetico. Non si \ue8 ancora a conoscenza, infatti, della mutazione virale responsabile della patologia, non esiste ancora un gold standard per la diagnosi intra vitam e non \ue8 ancora disponibile una terapia valida. Lo scopo di questa tesi \ue8 di tentare di chiarire alcuni di questi aspetti. I primi due obiettivi (studio I e II) erano diretti allo sviluppo di un test per la diagnosi di FIP in forma effusiva. In particolare, \ue8 stata valutata l\u2019accuratezza diagnostica del valore ottenuto dal rapporto tra le due conte leucocitarie fornite dal Sysmex XT-2000iV (\u394 total nucleated cell count \u2013 TNCC) su campioni di versamento FIP indotto. Successivamente, \ue8 stato valutata la possibilit\ue0 di effettuare lo stesso test su surnatanti di versamenti dopo aggiunta di sangue intero felino, in modo da poter ottenere questo valore su campioni congelati o con risultati dubbi ad altri esami. Il terzo scopo (studio III) era volto a confermare o smentire la presenza di pattern elettroforetici atipici in corso di FIP, come registrato nel nostro laboratorio negli ultimi anni. E\u2019 stato quindi svolto uno studio retrospettivo per confrontare pattern elettroforetici in due periodi di tempo diversi. Il quarto obiettivo (studio IV) si prefissava di valutare l\u2019accuratezza diagnostica di diversi test, sia clinico patologici che molecolari, per trovare il miglior test o la miglior combinazione di test per la diagnosi di FIP in vivo. Nello stesso studio \ue8 stato anche valutato il sequenziamento del gene spike (S), ultimamente proposto come discriminante, quando mutato, tra i due patotipi del FCoV. Il quinto scopo (studio V) era di mettere a punto una metodica molecolare isotermica (loop isothermal amplification method \u2013 LAMP) per il rilevamento del FCoV. Questa metodica, essendo veloce ed economica, potrebbe facilitare l\u2019identificazione dei gatti eliminatori del FCoV o, per alcuni campioni, la diagnosi di FIP. Durante il mio percorso di dottorato ho anche partecipato ad un progetto sotto la supervisione della prof. S\ue9verine Tasker e della dott.ssa Emi Barker dell\u2019universit\ue0 di Bristol. Questo progetto (studi VI e VI.1) ha lo scopo di scoprire la vera prevalenza, in un ampio numero di tessuti, fluidi e feci ottenute da gatti affetti e non affetti da FIP, di due mutazioni del gene spike considerate ultimamente come co-responsabili della FIP. Gli studi I e II hanno dimostrato che il \u394TNC pu\uf2 essere usato per diagnosticare la FIP con buona accuratezza. Lo studio III ha confermato che i pattern elettroforetici tipici di FIP sono meno frequenti negli ultimi anni, possibilmente per modificazioni nella patogenicit\ue0 dei FCoVs. Dallo studio IV si evince che i test molecolari possono confermare la diagnosi di FIP, ma che solo l\u2019AGP puo\u2019 escluderla; l\u2019esame citologico dei versamenti dovrebbe essere il test di scelta sui versamenti, mentre sui tessuti il sequenziamento del gene S dovrebbe essere usato per confermare la diagnosi, mentre la PCR 3\u2019 UTR PCR quando la FIP \ue8 meno probabile. La metodica LAMP sviluppata nello studio V si \ue8 rivelata molto specifica ma poco sensibile, dimostrandosi un buon test per confermare la presenza di FCoV in campioni biologici, ma non per escluderla. Infine, lo studio VI ha messo in evidenza la presenza di coronavirus mutati anche nelle feci di gatti non affetti da FIP, mostrando che i successivi progressi in questo studio metteranno in evidenza nuovi aspetti della patogenesi della FIP.Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a deadly disease of felids with a viral and immune-mediated pathogenesis. The nature of the etiological agent \u2013 feline coronavirus, FCoV \u2013 and the non specific clinical presentation make this disease particularly challenging both from a pathogenetic and a diagnostic point of view. Many aspects still represent an issue, like not knowing the mutation(s) responsible for the development of FIP, the lack of a gold standard for the diagnosis of FIP in vivo and the absence of an effective treatment. This thesis was aimed to clarify some of these aspects, specifically: a novel test on effusions was developed (namely, \u394 total nucleated cell count \u2013 \u394TNC \u2013 i.e. the ratio between the two white blood cell count provided by the Sysmex XT-2000iV analyzer) (studies I and II); the frequency of atypical serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) patterns in cats with FIP, anecdotally reported during our diagnostic activity (study III) was investigated, a comparison of clinico-pathological and molecular tests for the diagnosis of FIP (study IV) was performed, a loop isothermal amplification method (LAMP) for the detection of FCoV was developed(study V) and an investigation on the prevalence of two mutations of the spike (S) protein gene in a wide number of samples from FIP and non-FIP cats was carried out (this latter study developed during an externship at the University of Bristol in collaboration with Prof. S\ue9verine Tasker and Dr. Emi Barker) (study VI). The results of studies I and II demonstrated that the \u394TNC is a reliable method to support the diagnosis of FIP either on fresh or on frozen effusions. Study III confirmed that SPE profiles consistent with FIP are less frequent in recent years than in the past, possibly due to changes in the pathogenic characteristics of the FCoVs. However, study IV demonstrated that: on blood molecular tests may support a clinical diagnosis of FIP but none of the test, except the measurement of a1 acid-glycoprotein (AGP) may rule out this disease; cytology should be preferred on effusions either to exclude or confirm the disease and, on tissues, S gene sequencing should be preferred when histology is highly consistent with FIP while 3\u2019 UTR PCR when FIP is less likely; the LAMP method developed in study V may be used to confirm the presence of FCoVs in the samples but is poorly sensitive and cannot exclude the presence of FCoVs. Finally, pyrosequencing of FCoV performed in study VI demonstrated the presence of gene S mutations also in FCoVs from fecal samples. The analysis of sequences recorded in this latter study, however, is still ongoing and future results may provide new insights on the pathogenesis and diagnosis of FIP

ToolSHeD™: The development and evaluation of a decision support tool for health and safety in construction design

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative information and decision support tool (ToolSHeD(TM)) developed to help construction designers to integrate the management of OHS risk into the design process. The underlying structure of the prototype web-based system and the process of knowledge acquisition and modelling are described. Design/methodology/approach - The ToolSHeD(TM) research and development project involved the capture of expert reasoning regarding design impacts upon occupational health and safety (OHS) risk. This knowledge was structured using an innovative method well-suited to modelling knowledge in the context of uncertainty and discretionary decision-making. Example "argument trees" are presented, representing the reasoning used by a panel of experts to assess the risk of falling from height during roof maintenance work. The advantage of using this method for modelling OHS knowledge, compared to the use of simplistic rules, is discussed. Findings - The ToolSHeD™ prototype development and testing reveals that argument trees can represent design safety risk knowledge effectively. Practical implications - The translation of argument trees into a web-based decision support tool is described and the potential impact of this tool in providing construction designers (architects and engineers) with easy and inexpensive access to expert OHS knowledge is discussed. Originality/value - The paper describes a new computer application, currently undergoing testing in the Australian building and construction industry. Its originality lies in the fact that ToolSHeD(TM) deploys argument trees to represent expert OHS reasoning, overcoming inherent limitations in rule-based expert systems

Decision trees and multi-level ensemble classifiers for neurological diagnostics

Cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a well known complication of diabetes leading to impaired regulation of blood pressure and heart rate, and increases the risk of cardiac associated mortality of diabetes patients. The neurological diagnostics of CAN progression is an important problem that is being actively investigated. This paper uses data collected as part of a large and unique Diabetes Screening Complications Research Initiative (DiScRi) in Australia with data from numerous tests related to diabetes to classify CAN progression. The present paper is devoted to recent experimental investigations of the effectiveness of applications of decision trees, ensemble classifiers and multi-level ensemble classifiers for neurological diagnostics of CAN. We present the results of experiments comparing the effectiveness of ADTree, J48, NBTree, RandomTree, REPTree and SimpleCart decision tree classifiers. Our results show that SimpleCart was the most effective for the DiScRi data set in classifying CAN. We also investigated and compared the effectiveness of AdaBoost, Bagging, MultiBoost, Stacking, Decorate, Dagging, and Grading, based on Ripple Down Rules as examples of ensemble classifiers. Further, we investigated the effectiveness of these ensemble methods as a function of the base classifiers, and determined that Random Forest performed best as a base classifier, and AdaBoost, Bagging and Decorate achieved the best outcomes as meta-classifiers in this setting. Finally, we investigated the meta-classifiers that performed best in their ability to enhance the performance further within the framework of a multi-level classification paradigm. Experimental results show that the multi-level paradigm performed best when Bagging and Decorate were combined in the construction of a multi-level ensemble classifier

Sysmex XT-2000iV scattergram analysis in a cat with basophilia

A 13-year-old female Domestic Shorthair cat was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Milan for an interscapular mass suspected to be a mesenchymal malignant tumor. A preoperative CBC performed with Sysmex XT-2000iV showed leukocytosis with neutrophilia and eosinophilia. The Sysmex WBC/DIFF scattergram showed an additional, well-separated cluster of events between the neutrophil, eosinophil, and lymphocyte clusters. Blood smear evaluation revealed the presence of a significant number of basophils; thus, it was hypothesized that the additional cluster could represent the basophilic population. A second CBC, 24 days later, showed the same pattern on the WBC/DIFF scattergram in the absence of leukocytosis and neutrophilia. After surgical excision of the mass, a definitive diagnosis of feline injection site sarcoma was made. To the author's knowledge, there are no previous reports about the identification of feline basophils in the WBC/DIFF scattergram of Sysmex XT-2000iV

Improving classifications for cardiac autonomic neuropathy using multi-level ensemble classifiers and feature selection based on random forest

This paper is devoted to empirical investigation of novel multi-level ensemble meta classifiers for the detection and monitoring of progression of cardiac autonomic neuropathy, CAN, in diabetes patients. Our experiments relied on an extensive database and concentrated on ensembles of ensembles, or multi-level meta classifiers, for the classification of cardiac autonomic neuropathy progression. First, we carried out a thorough investigation comparing the performance of various base classifiers for several known sets of the most essential features in this database and determined that Random Forest significantly and consistently outperforms all other base classifiers in this new application. Second, we used feature selection and ranking implemented in Random Forest. It was able to identify a new set of features, which has turned out better than all other sets considered for this large and well-known database previously. Random Forest remained the very best classier for the new set of features too. Third, we investigated meta classifiers and new multi-level meta classifiers based on Random Forest, which have improved its performance. The results obtained show that novel multi-level meta classifiers achieved further improvement and obtained new outcomes that are significantly better compared with the outcomes published in the literature previously for cardiac autonomic neuropathy

Consumer interest in meat labelled attributes : Who cares?

The aim of the study is to better understand consumer attitudes about meat origin, cattle breeding and feeding systems. We analysed the determinants that lead consumers to use labelled information contained on fresh beef and processed beef products. Information was gathered by telephone using a questionnaire survey conducted in the northern Italy. The survey sampled nearly 1000 consumers. Four binary logit models were used to investigate consumers' use of specific labelled information using a set of variables to identify the primary determinants. Results showed that the use of different types of labelled meat-information is affected by the variables related to socio-demographics, product quality, safety perception, and consumer food knowledge

EZETIMIBE PROTECTS THP-1 CELLS FROM ISCHEMIA-REPERFUSION INJURY REDUCING OXIDATIVE STRESS AND UP-REGULATING NRF2/ ARE GENE EXPRESSION

Background and Aims: We demonstrated that physical training, characterized by repeated ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) episodes (ischemic conditioning, IC), protects circulating cells from peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients against ischemic harms by reducing oxidative stress (OS) and by up-regulating nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway expression. Ezetimibe (Eze) has been shown to alleviate OS enhancing Nrf2 nuclear translocation in an AMPK/p62-dependent manner. In a cellular I-R and IC model, we aimed to investigate: 1) the effect of Eze on OS and Nrf2/ARE gene expression 2) whether Eze could have a synergistic effect on IC. Methods: THP-1 cells were treated with or without Eze (50mM) overnight, then subjected to 1 or 6 repetitive I-R cycles using EVOS FL Auto Imaging System. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation was evaluated with DCF in cytofluorimetry. Nrf2/ARE and p62 gene expression were evaluated by RT-PCR and western blotting. Results: When THP-1 cells were exposed to 1 I-R cycle, the preincubation with Eze significantly reduced ROS formation (p<0.01) and up-regulated Nrf2/ARE pathway expression and p62 phosphorylation (p<0.001). Multiple I-R cycles, acting as IC, significantly reduced ROS formation and upregulated Nrf2/ARE gene expression (p<0.001); in these conditions, Eze preincubation was able not only to almost abolish ROS formation (p<0.01) but also further up-regulate Nrf2/ARE expression. Conclusions: In our I-R model, Eze not only restores I-R-induced oxidative damages through Nrf2/ARE signaling up-regulation but also has a synergistic effect on IC. This new \u201cpleiotropic\u201d effect, if confirmed in vivo, may strengthen the use of Eze in PAD patien

Sustainability standards and the reorganization of private label supply chains : a transaction cost perspective

Private standards are among the main measures that can be implemented to differentiate food production. Retailers have been particularly active in setting food safety and quality systems for the development of their private labels. The purpose of this paper is to identify the effects of introducing measures that guarantee the environmental sustainability of food production on vertical dyadic relations. We focus our attention on the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) systems that are designed by retailers to support private label products, with the aim of studying how these systems affect the governance structure of transactions between retailer and farmer/processor. Transaction cost analysis is used as theoretical framework to assess changes in vertical coordination after the adoption of an IPM system. Four case studies related to food retailers in Italy were analyzed to identify changes in transaction characteristics, costs, and governance that are related to the adoption of this system. The results show that the introduction of an IPM system leads to an increase of transaction asset specificity (i.e., especially of human and material asset specificity) among the agents of the supply chain, and a decrease of the degree of transaction uncertainty. The variations in transaction characteristics determine changes in transaction costs. These changes lead to new hybrid forms of transaction governance, namely dyadic contracts, and a centralized organization of vertical relationship