Consumer complaint behavior (CCB)

During a period of around forty years, the research on CCB has developed several models in order to explain the basic mechanisms of the complaint behavior and to identify the numerous and heterogeneous variables involved. Despite some differences, due mainly to the extreme complexity of the subject, the proposed models offer some common features. Gradually, the research on CCB has focused on testing these models in particular geographical and cultural area, considering a singular aspect of the market structure or in relation to specific services and products, libraries included. However, the general framework of CCB seems to be generally accepted. This does not mean that the research on CCB is static and without evolution

Flavonoids from engineered tomatoes inhibit gut barrier pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, via SAPK/JNK and p38 MAPK pathways

Flavonoids are a diverse group of plant secondary metabolites, known to reduce inflammatory bowel disease symptoms. How they achieve this is largely unknown. Our study focuses on the gut epithelium as it receives high topological doses of dietary constituents, maintains gut homeostasis, and orchestrates gut immunity. Dysregulation leads to chronic gut inflammation, via dendritic cell (DC)-driven immune responses. Tomatoes engineered for enriched sets of flavonoids (anthocyanins or flavonols) provided a unique and complex naturally consumed food matrix to study the effect of diet on chronic inflammation. Primary murine colonic epithelial cell-based inflammation assays consist of chemokine induction, apoptosis and proliferation, and effects on kinase pathways. Primary murine leukocytes and DCs were used to assay effects on transmigration. A murine intestinal cell line was used to assay wound healing. Engineered tomato extracts (enriched in anthocyanins or flavonols) showed strong and specific inhibitory effects on a set of key epithelial pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Chemotaxis assays showed a resulting reduction in the migration of primary leukocytes and DCs. Activation of epithelial cell SAPK/JNK and p38 MAPK signaling pathways were specifically inhibited. The epithelial wound healing-associated STAT3 pathway was unaffected. Cellular migration, proliferation, and apoptosis assays confirmed that wound healing processes were not affected by flavonoids. We show flavonoids target epithelial pro-inflammatory kinase pathways, inhibiting chemotactic signals resulting in reduced leukocyte and DC chemotaxis. Thus, both anthocyanins and flavonols modulate epithelial cells to become hyporesponsive to bacterial stimulation. Our results identify a viable mechanism to explain the in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of flavonoids

abCDEuropa: guida al wiki dei CDE italiani

Il wiki dei CDE italiani è uno strumento pensato e creato specificamente per l’uso online poiché ha una struttura reticolare di rimandi incrociati invece di un’esposizione lineare. Questa breve guida non intende quindi riproporre il wiki dei CDE, che è uno strumento dinamico in continua evoluzione e aggiornamento, bensì fornire in una pluralità di supporti oltre al web - carta, libro elettronico - indicazioni generali e sintetiche sui principali contenuti del wiki

Consumer sensory analysis of high flavonoid transgenic tomatoes

Tomatoes have ameliorative effects on cardiovascular disease and cancer (Agarwal and Rao 2000; Rao 2002). In this study, metabolic engineering of flavonoids was utilized to improve the nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing flavonol and anthocyanin content. Total flavonol content was significantly increased in both the peel and flesh using the onion chalcone isomerase (CHI) gene. The Delila (Del) and Rosea1 (Ros1) genes from the snapdragon Antirrhinum majus were concomitantly expressed to produce an anthocyanin‐rich tomato which was purple in color. Sensory evaluation by a panel of 81 untrained consumers revealed no significant difference in liking of color or texture between CHI, Del/Ros1, and wild‐type tomatoes. Consumers reported marginal but significantly higher preference for the flavor and overall liking of CHI tomatoes over Del/Ros1 and wild‐type tomatoes. This study is the first to report the results of sensory tests of transgenic tomatoes by a consumer panel representing the general consuming public

Identification and quantification of anthocyanins in transgenic purple tomato

Citation: Su, X., Xu, J., Rhodes, D., Shen, Y., Song, W., Katz, B., … Wang, W. (2016). Identification and quantification of anthocyanins in transgenic purple tomato. Food Chemistry, 202, 184–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.01.128Anthocyanins are natural pigments derived from the phenylpropanoid pathway. Most tomatoes produce little anthocyanins, but the transgenic purple tomato biosynthesizes a high level of anthocyanins due to expression of two transcription factors (Del and Ros1). This study was to identify and quantify anthocyanins in this transgenic tomato line. Seven anthocyanins, including two new anthocyanins [malvidin-3-(p-coumaroyl)-rutinoside-5-glucoside and malvidin-3-(feruloyl)-rutinoside-5-glucoside], were identified by LC-MS/MS. Petunidin-3-(trans-coumaroyl)-rutinoside-5-glucoside and delphinidin-3-(trans-coumaroyl)-rutinoside-5-glucoside were the most abundant anthocyanins, making up 86% of the total anthocyanins. Compared to undetectable anthocyanins in the wild type, the contents of anthocyanins in the whole fruit, peel, and flesh of the Del/Ros1-transgenic tomato were 5.2 ± 0.5, 5.1 ± 0.5, and 5.8 ± 0.3 g/kg dry matter, respectively. Anthocyanins were undetectable in the seeds of both wide-type and transgenic tomato lines. Such novel and high levels of anthocyanins obtained in this transgenic tomato may provide unique functional products with potential health benefits

Definizioni di indici di qualità delle pavimentazioni stradali ai fini della programmazione della manutenzione

Riassunto analitico Questa tesi individua a livello di rete gli indici utili per classificare lo stato della pavimentazione stradale. Gli indici ricavati sono di diversi tipi: indici individuali che considerano singolarmente le misure relative a fessurazione, irregolarità della tessitura longitudinale, regolarità trasversale, rugosità e portanza; indici composti che sono combinazioni degli indici individuali e considerano qualità del rivestimento, aspetto della sicurezza, qualità della sovrastruttura; indice globale della pavimentazione che combina tra loro gli indici composti classificando in una scala di valutazione l’infrastruttura in esame. La trattazione di ogni indice individuale comprende sia il calcolo dell’indice stesso, sia un grafico cartesiano utile ad una sua immediata visualizzazione. I modelli e le formule proposte sono state elaborate su base della letteratura esistente e la calibrazione è stata eseguita tenendo conto dei dati misurati con apparecchiature ad alto rendimento su strade facenti parti di province della regione Toscana. Lo scopo di questi indici è dare una misura sintetica dello stato della pavimentazione e valutarne il livello di degrado in modo tale da poter pianificare consapevolmente gli interventi con i metodi della manutenzione stradale. Tuttavia per tener conto del degrado della pavimentazione si ricorre ad un catalogo dei dissesti, che di solito è molto oneroso da compilare poiché servono visite in sito e foto dei danni alla sovrastruttura. Inoltre la scelta di un “voto” ad ogni dissesto può variare con la sensibilità del progettista. Questa Tesi si propone di individuare un indice globale che sia valido anche in assenza del catalogo dei dissesti con notevole risparmio di tempo e di lucro da parte dei progettisti. Sarà fatto un confronto nell’ambito di ogni provincia tra l’indice globale calcolato computando anche i dissesti e l’indice globale semplificato che invece non gli utilizza. Si dimostrerà che i valori di questi due ultimi indici si discostano poco e quindi la validità dell’indice globale semplificato permette di fare a meno del catalogo dei dissesti

Accumulation of anthocyanins in tomato skin extends shelf life

Shelf life is one of the most important traits for the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) industry. Two key factors, post-harvest over-ripening and susceptibility to post-harvest pathogen infection, determine tomato shelf life. Anthocyanins accumulate in the skin of Aft/Aft atv/atv tomatoes, the result of introgressing alleles affecting anthocyanin biosynthesis in fruit from two wild relatives of tomato, which results in extended fruit shelf life. Compared with ordinary, anthocyanin-less tomatoes, the fruits of Aft/Aft atv/atv keep longer during storage and are less susceptible to Botrytis cinerea, a major tomato pathogen, post-harvest. Using genetically modified tomatoes over-producing anthocyanins, we confirmed that skin-specific accumulation of anthocyanins in tomato is sufficient to reduce the susceptibility of fruit to Botrytis cinerea. Our data indicate that accumulation of anthocyanins in tomato fruit, achieved either by traditional breeding or genetic engineering can be an effective way to extend tomato shelf life

Pianificazione ambientale autosostenibile e alimentazione: il Piano del cibo della Provincia di Pisa

The Food plan of the Province of Pisa was founded to build an alliance between city and countryside with the objective of protecting food production and environmental resources, granting to all citizens access to healthy and sustainable food, and ensuring a more adequate level of income for farmers. The Province, with the scientific support of the University of Pisa, launched in 2010 the development of the Food plan, opening a reflection on sustainable planning connected to food, analyzing and comparing the needs of the citizen with the existing network of local producers and involving a multiplicity of public and private partners. Thanks to the network created among professionals in the health care business and researchers from different Faculties of the University, it built a space of multidisciplinary dialogue, collaboration and planning, to create shared rules and promote collective knowledge on the theme of food and its implications on society, health, environment, economy and production. Food democracy actions were thus lunched, developing civic innovation paths pointed at improving eating habits and reduce waste, involving citizens and institu-tions in helping the construction of a city model able to maintain a virtuous relationship between community and territorial well-being.Il Piano del Cibo della Provincia di Pisa nasce per costruire un’alleanza tra città e campagna con l’obiettivo di tutelare la produzione di cibo e le risorse ambientali, garantire a tutti i cittadini l’accesso a un’alimentazione sana e sostenibile, nonché assicurare un più adeguato livello di reddito per gli agricoltori. La Provincia, con il supporto scientifico dell’Università di Pisa, ha avviato nel 2010 l’elaborazione del Piano, aprendo una riflessione sulla pianificazione sostenibile legata all’alimentazione, analizzando e confrontando i bisogni della cittadinanza con la rete esistente di produttori locali e coinvolgendo una molteplicità di soggetti pubblici e privati. Grazie alla rete creata tra operatori dell’area sanitaria e ricercatori afferenti a diverse Facoltà dell’ateneo pisano, si è realizzato uno spazio di confronto, collaborazione e progettazione multidisciplinare, per creare delle regole condivise e promuovere una conoscenza collettiva sul tema del cibo e sulle sue implicazioni dal punto di vista sociale, della salute, dell’ambiente e del sistema economico-produttivo. Sono state così proposte azioni di democrazia alimentare, sviluppando percorsi di innovazione civica volti a migliorare le abitudini alimentari e ridurre gli sprechi, coinvolgendo i cittadini e le istituzioni per contribuire alla costruzione di un modello di città in grado di mantenere nel tempo un rapporto vir-tuoso tra il benessere della comunità e quello del territorio.

A Bronze-Tomato Enriched Diet Affects the Intestinal Microbiome under Homeostatic and Inflammatory Conditions

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are debilitating chronic inflammatory disorders that develop as a result of a defective immune response toward intestinal bacteria. Intestinal dysbiosis is associated with the onset of IBD and has been reported to persist even in patients in deep remission. We investigated the possibility of a dietary-induced switch to the gut microbiota composition using Winnie mice as a model of spontaneous ulcerative colitis and chow enriched with 1% Bronze tomato. We used the near isogenic tomato line strategy to investigate the effects of a diet enriched in polyphenols administered to mild but established chronic intestinal inflammation. The Bronze-enriched chow administered for two weeks was not able to produce any macroscopic effect on the IBD symptoms, although, at molecular level there was a significant induction of anti-inflammatory genes and intracellular staining of T cells revealed a mild decrease in IL17A and IFNγ production. Analysis of the microbial composition revealed that two weeks of Bronze enriched diet was sufficient to perturb the microbial composition of Winnie and control mice, suggesting that polyphenol-enriched diets may create unfavorable conditions for distinct bacterial species. In conclusion, dietary regimes enriched in polyphenols may efficiently support IBD remission affecting the intestinal dysbiosis