D6.7 Report on the experience of conducting the case studies

One of the main aims of the case studies was to publish improved market reports. The data collected as part of the six case studies have been, or will shortly be, published in the five improved national organic market reports and one first regional market report (MOAN case study). This will make a contribution towards filling the many gaps that continue to exist in organic market data collection in Europe

Optimization of organic and conventional olive agricultural practices from a Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing perspectives

Olive growing is an important cultural and traditional system in the Mediterranean region that has considerable environmental impacts. Italy is ranked second in the world in terms of olive production and olive-cultivated area. Apulia is Italy’s largest olive growing region and accounts for 33% of the total Italian surface area planted to olive trees. Organic farming is assumed to have beneficial effects by reducing the environmental impacts of agricultural practices. However, literature shows that this system is not always less harmful to the environment than the conventional one. This study investigates this hypothesis through the comparison of environmental impacts and economic performances between organic and conventional olive systems in Apulia region. It also provides options to optimize the agricultural practices that could contribute to the reduction of the environmental impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to evaluate the environmental impacts, and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) was utilized to assess the economic performance of the studied systems referring to one hectare as functional unit and to a system boundary limited to olive production (cradle-to-farm gate). Results showed a lower environmental impact of agricultural practices in the organic system, mainly due to the higher efficiency in reducing the impact on fossil fuel depletion. Moreover, the organic system resulted to have higher Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return values that indicate its higher profitability as compared to the conventional system. Optimization of fertilization is the first priority to optimize olive growing, particularly in the organic system, since manure fertilization results in higher costs and higher environmental impact on almost all impact categories compared to synthetic foliar fertilization. Good agricultural practices with electrically-driven irrigation system, mechanical weeding and biological pest control, no-tillage or reduced tillage can be considered as further optimization options to mitigate environmental burdens and reduce their costs

Strategies to improve quality and safety and reduce costs along the food supply chain

The paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of the linkage between supply chain performance and possible performance improvement with respect to food quality and safety. Therefore, the paper addresses the question whether the level of collaborative planning and close supply chain relationships could help improve quality and safety of organic supply chains. The three main weaknesses in the performance of European organic supply chains identified are high logistic and transport costs, the level of input costs and low expenditure on research and product development. While we found a high level of collaboration for information sharing, there is almost no collaboration with respect to joint decisions on optimal order quantity and inventory requirements as well as for all cost relevant issues of the supply chain. As the potential to benefit from economics of scale on a company level is often limited in organic supply chains, we suggest to make use of the cost reducing potential of collaboration

Economic Performance of Pre-Crops in a Three-Year Rotation Program for Organic Vegetable Production

28th International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC) / International Symposium on Organic Horticulture - Productivity and Sustainability -- AUG 22-27, 2010 -- Lisbon, PORTUGALWOS: 000314777600041A four year experiment is being carried out, at Ege University Department of Horticulture, in which three different pre-crops are tested under an organic management system as compared to fallow. The aim of the experiment is to identify the most suitable rotation program for organic vegetable production in Turkey. Vicia sativa (common vetch), Brassica oleracea var. italica (broccoli), Vicia faba 'Sevilla' (faba bean) and fallow are tested as preceding (winter) crops. During the experiment carried out between 2007 and 2009, the main crops were tomato (2007), zucchini (2008) and pepper (2009). Broccoli represented the farmers' choice as a winter vegetable. Vetch (incorporated) and faba bean (partially harvested and incorporated) were selected as legumes well adapted to the regional conditions. Soil fertility was maintained by incorporation of the crop residues at the end of both cycles and addition of organic-certified commercial compost (Bioaktif) and compost tea during the main cycle. All the management, including disease and pest management, was carried out according to the organic regulations valid in Turkey and the EU. During the production seasons, all variable costs and revenue, during both the pre-crop and main crop cycles, were recorded and gross margin calculated for each treatment. Economic analysis showed that broccoli as a pre-crop required the highest variable costs followed by faba bean, vetch and fallow, in all three years. Total revenue was the highest in plots where broccoli was the pre-crop. It is followed by faba bean plots mostly because higher yields were obtained in main crop plots following faba bean. The least profitable was fallow - main crop rotation. Broccoli plants also have some extra benefits like adding a high amount of biomass to soil and suppressing weed growth due to shading and allelopathic effects.Int Soc Hort Sci (ISHS

Immunotherapy Efficacy in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Diverse and Underserved Population in the United States

Fernand Bteich,1 Kush Desai,1 Chenxin Zhang,1,2 Anahat Kaur,3 Rachel A Levy,1 Lydia Bioh,1 Aaron Wang,1 Sharmin Sultana,1 Andreas Kaubisch,1 Milan Kinkhabwala,1,4 Sarah Bellemare,1,4 Shabnam Fidvi,5 Devaraju Kanmaniraja,5 Robert Berkenblit,5 Jee-Young Moon,1,2 Adebola Adedimeji,2 Clara Y Tow,6 Yvonne Saenger1 1Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bronx, NY, USA; 2Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA; 3Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA; 4Department of General Surgery, Division of Abdominal Transplantation, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA; 5Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA; 6Department of Medicine, Division of Transplant Hepatology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USACorrespondence: Yvonne Saenger, Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Golding Building, Room 701, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA, Tel +1 718-430-2715, Email [email protected]:  :   Incidence of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) in the Bronx is 61% higher than the rest of New York State. Underserved populations are not well represented in clinical trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI).Methods: Demographics were tabulated for 194 patients treated with ICI at the Montefiore-Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) between 2017 and 2022. Categorical variables were analyzed by Chi-squared test, and survival was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier (KM) curves.Results: MECCC patients were 40.7% Hispanic and 20.6% Black, compared with 3% and 2%, respectively, in the landmark IMbrave 150 study. Median overall survival (mOS) on ICI was 9.0 months, 25.0 months for the 100 (51.5%) favorable-prognosis Child Pugh A (CPA) patients included in HCC clinical trials. Disease control rate (DCR) was 58.5% among 123 evaluable patients per mRECIST 1.1. Baseline liver function, as defined by CP and the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Sodium (MELD-Na), correlated with survival (p < 0.001). Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and alcoholism were over-represented relative to National Cancer Institute (NCI) data (56.2% vs 4.7% and 38.7% vs 8.2%, respectively). HCV treatment correlated with prolonged survival in infected patients (p = 0.0017). AFP decline correlated with response (p = 0.001). Hispanic patients lived longer when clinical variables were controlled for (mOS 52 vs 23 months; p = 0.011).Conclusion: In an underserved HCC population, ICI yielded a DCR of 58.5% and low rates of severe toxicity. This work highlights ICI efficacy in minority groups, a need for earlier HCC diagnosis and for studies of genetic and environmental factors in Hispanics with HCC.Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, systemic therapy, immunotherapy, checkpoint inhibitors, minoritie

Large Amplitude Torsions in Nitrotoluene Isomers Studied by Rotational Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemistry Calculations

Rotational spectra of ortho-nitrotoluene (2-NT) and para-nitrotoluene(4-NT) have been recorded at low and room temperatures using a supersonic jet Fourier Transform microwave (MW) spectrometer and a millimeter-wave frequency multiplier chain, respectively. Supported by quantum chemistry calculations,the spectral analysis of pure rotation lines in the vibrational ground state has allowed to characterise the rotational energy, the hyperfine structure due to the 14N nucleus and the internal rotation splittings arising from the methyl group. For 2-NT, an anisotropic internal rotation of coupled CH3 and NO2 torsional motions was identified by quantum chemistry calculations and discussed from the results of the MW analysis. The study of the internal rotation splittings in the spectra of three NT isomers allowed to characterise the internal rotation potentials of the methyl group and to compare them with other mono-substituted toluene derivatives in order to study the isomeric influence on the internal rotation barrier