Food Sharing Initiatives and Food Democracy: Practice and Policy in Three European Cities

Calls for greater food democracy in Europe have emerged as the limitations of urban food systems dominated by commercial organisations are documented, but little attention has been paid to how policy arrangements affect attempts to transition to more democratic food futures. This article examines food sharing initiatives - increasingly facilitated by the use of information and communication technologies - as a potential means to enhance urban food democracy, and explores the role of policy in shaping those practices in three European capital cities: Berlin, London, and Dublin. We pose two related questions: To what extent are diverse food sharing initiatives exemplars of food democracy, and to what extent do policy arrangements affect food sharing practices and the nature of any food democracy they might embody? Our empirical evidence demonstrates where the goals and impacts of food sharing initiatives align with key dimensions of food democracy. We also consider how food sharing initiatives - and any food democracy dimensions that they support - are affected by the policy environment in which they operate. The food sharing initiatives examined revealed to be agents of pro-democratic change, at least within the boundaries of their spheres of influence, despite policies rarely having their activities and aspirations in mind

Estakhr Project - Third preliminary report of the joint Mission of the Iranian center for archaeological research, the Parsa-Pasargadae research foundation and the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

This report presents the preliminary results of the study of the pottery collected during the excavation campaign carried out in 2012 in the framework of the joint Iranian-Italian Archaeological Mission in Estakhr. The ceramic finds relate to a time span ranging from the 9th to the 12th century, corresponding to the occupation phases identified within the stratigraphy. Moreover, the use of archaeometry made it possible to identify both imported and locally manufactured wares

Potvrda predviđanja: venecijanska laguna (Italija) obiluje invazivnim jednakonošcem Ianiropsis serricaudis Gurjanova, 1936 (Crustacea: Peracarida)

The janirid isopod Ianiropsis serricaudis, native to the North-West Pacific region, has recently been identified as a non-indigenous species in several localities in the Northern Hemisphere. Hereby, we present evidence of its occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea, namely in the Lagoon of Venice (Italy). This finding confirms the hypothesis that this species is more widespread in Europe than expected, but has long been underreported on account of the small size of isopods (most of them being in the size range of 3 to 20 mm) and the taxonomic complexity of the genus.Janiridni jednakonošci Ianiropsis serricaudis, koji izvorno potječu iz sjeverozapadne pacifičke regije, nedavno su identificirani kao alohtona vrsta na nekoliko lokaliteta u sjevernoj hemisferi. Ovime iznosimo dokaze o njihovom pojavljivanju u Sredozemnom moru, i to u venecijanskoj laguni (Italija). Ovi nalazi potvrđuju tezu da je ova vrsta rasprostranjenija u Europi nego što se mislilo, ali se o njoj dugo vremena malo izvješćivalo zbog veličine jednakonožaca (većina je veličinom varirala između 3 i 20 mm) te zbog taksonomske složenosti roda

Infection as the cause of perinatal mortality in Latvia

Infection is one of the leading causes of perinatal mortality worldwide – accounting for 36% of cases. Perinatal mortality in Latvia is slowly decreasing: from 7.3 per 1000 live births in 2013 to 6.7 per 1000 live births in 2015. Intrauterine infection still is a global problem and a significant factor that affects morbidity and mortality of the mother and the child.This study includes data about the cause of death, including infections, from 417 autopsy protocols of all fetuses and neonates between 22 weeks of gestation and < 7 days postpartum from 2013 to 2015.The main cause of perinatal mortality was antenatal fetal asphyxia in 50% (n=210), followed by infections – 39% (n=163), including cases of chorioamnionitis. The highest mortality rate was found in the 22nd–27th+6 (i.e. 27 full weeks and 6 days) gestational weeks – 32% of cases (n=135). Intrauterine pneumonia accounted for 24% (n=39) of all the infection caused deaths, meconium aspiration pneumonia – 0.04% (n=6), early neonatal sepsis – 0.03% (n=4) and specific infections like syphilis and cytomegalovirus – 0.02% (n=3). Histological examination of the placenta, the placental cord and fetal membranes was made in 61% (n=255) of cases, and 19.6% (n=50) of them had an infection

Comparison of antioxidant activity in various spirulina containing products and factors affecting it

© 2023. The Author(s).Spirulina is a popular food supplement known for its high antioxidant activity. Several studies have shown that antioxidant activity fluctuates depending on the combination of ingredients in the food. Fresh spirulina is a growing market trend; however, pure spirulina short shelf life is a strong limitation. This study aims to investigate antioxidant activity of various novel commercial fresh spirulina-containing products and the factors affecting it. Antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of each ingredient and binary combinations of spirulina and apple juices, Japanese quince syrup, or cranberry syrup were measured. Synergic, antagonistic, and additive interactions between samples were determined and expressed using the synergy coefficient. FRAP assay showed apparent synergism of spirulina and all the studied ingredients whereas ABTS and Folin–Ciocalteu methods revealed an antagonistic interaction between spirulina and apple juice. Despite the antagonistic interactions, all the products demonstrated at least the same antioxidant activity as pure fresh spirulina and had longer shelf life than, pointing to their commercial potential.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Teachers’ perspectives on the intertwining of tangible and digital modes of activity with a drawing robot for geometry

The GeomBot is a drawing robot that combines the well-known strengths and opportunities offered by Scratch with those of Papert’s original robotic drawing-turtle. In this study we look at the GeomBot as a physical programmable artifact around which action research with a group of teachers and a researcher was carried out with the aim of designing, implementing and discussing geometry activities for primary school classes. The aim of this article is to investigate teachers’ positioning and perspectives with respect to the activities and the educational environment emerging around the Geombot in the action research. The action research meetings between September 2018 and June 2019 included nine primary school teachers from seven different Italian schools, who met regularly with the first author. After the design and experimentation sessions, in June 2019, the teachers shared their experiences during a final meeting and group discussion guided by the first author. The data collected from the teachers were analyzed using cultural categories from the Semiotic Systems of Cultural Signification, theorized by the Theory of Objectification, to identify the most significant features defining the teachers’ perspectives and identity. The seven emergent features cover teachers’ positioning with respect to: forms of rationality and language and languages: sensuous cognition and the use of ideal and material semiotic resources; accepted teaching practices, problems and situations; mathematical knowledge; the conception of the student; social interaction and forms of rationality; ethical issues; technology

ACCUMULATED LABORATORY DATA IN B12 VITAMIN BLOOD LEVEL TIME DEPENDENCY STUDIES IN PATIENTS WITH MYELOMA, LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA AND MYELOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA IN LATVIA

Vitamin B12 blood level in patients with myeloma (C90 - International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10)), lymphocytic leukemia (C91) and myeloblastic leukemia (C92) prior and after the diagnosis and also BCR-ABL (fusion gene from breakpoint cluster region BCR gene and tyrosine-protein kinase ABL1 (Abelson murine leukemia) gene) tests for C92 patients were studied.Clinical records of 20 C92 patients in Riga East University Hospital were complemented with 6987 B12 clinical test data accumulated in E Gulbis laboratory (EGL) for 7451 patients over 20 years period. BCR-ABL and B12 dynamics for 11 patients with sufficient number of BCRABL and B12 tests were studied.Oracle Cloud with pseudonymized data replica from more than 350 000 000 original EGL clinical test data was used. The data were selected by online analytical processing and SQL built in tools and then used in offline analysis and visualization.Annually there are 107, 189 and 91 confirmed cases of C90, C91 and C92 in Latvia. EGL has 30% more C90-92 patients, due to suspected but later unconfirmed cases. Out of 7451 patients 1386 had one B12 test, two- 548, three and more- 864. The patients with diagnosis fluctuating between C90, C91 and C92 were excluded from the study. The data for the time period of 10 years before and after the first diagnosis were analyzed.Results. Methods and tools for data extraction and analysis from large amount of archived clinical test data were developed and applied. High and very high B12 level was observed for 53% of C92 patients starting from 3 years prior to diagnosis. For C90 and C91 patients B12 level changes around the diagnosis date were also observed although the effect was considerably smaller. Analysis of 11 selected patient data with clinical records showed timewise correlation between B12 and BCR-ABL for 3 of the patients.

A novel mutation in SACS gene in a family from southern Italy

A form of autosomal recessive spastic ataxia (ARSACS) has been described in the Charlevoix and Saguenay regions of Quebec. So far a frameshift and a nonsense mutation have been identified in the SACS gene. The authors report a new mutation (1859insC), leading to a frameshift with a premature termination of the gene product sacsin, in two sisters from consanguineous parents. The phenotype is similar to previously described patients with ARSACS