Consumers’ perception of Prosecco wine packaging: A pilot study in Padua and Milan

This paper aims to illustrate and discuss the importance of packaging attributes in the wine market. A survey was conducted in the north of Italy to assess how different attributes affect the probability of choosing a bottle of Prosecco wine. Two hundred face-to-face interviews based on a structured questionnaire were administered in Milan and Padua supermarkets to elicit preferences. Each respondent ranked three new bottles of Prosecco wine and expressed the importance of different packaging characteristics in its choice. Product attributes include Label’s form, Label’s colours, the Label in its entirety, the Writing “Prosecco”, the Band on the bottle’s neck and the Bottle’s shape. The interviews allowed us to recognise the bottle customers found the most attractive, and rank-ordered logistic regression was able to disentangle which packaging characteristic led to their decision

Towards the twin transition in the agri-food sector? Framing the current debate on sustainability and digitalisation

A significant weight on the environment is created by the agricultural processes starting from the exploitation of the soil and production to the physical distribution of goods, the retailers’ operations and consumption. Agriculture and particularly agri-food is imperative to contribute to solving such global challenges as climate change and food security through cleaner and greener supply chains, where the implementation of smart technologies is one of the major ways to create an impact. The pairing between the potential of digital technologies and sustainability inputs, called twin transition, is currently one of the EU policy’s priorities. This research focuses on linking digitalisation and sustainability in the agri-food sector through applications of various digital technologies and the associated contributions to sustainability through the three – environmental, economic, and social - dimensions. To analyse the current debate on sustainability and digitalisation, we have utilised a systematic literature review and qualitative analysis of (policy) documents. The discussion presents a conceptual framework, which follows the process of the integration of a digital technology from its reasoning to the associated sustainability outcomes. The research identifies uneven representation of digital technologies and the structural imbalance of applications towards farming as the agri-food supply chain node and farmers as the major actors’ group. The scale of these applications frame the associated contributions to the sustainability dimensions. The analysis of the sustainability outcomes brought by digitalisation through classification of their aspects can advise not only a choice of technology but also managerial and policy directions leading to the transformation. One of the ways to manage twin transition and support competitiveness on both firm and sector levels is development of a strategy, which can be supported by policy making

The organic aquaculture sector in Italy: a Delphi evaluation of the market potentialities

The paper draws out the possibilities of development and increase of organic farmed fish in Italy, evaluating both technical and economic aspects, for breeding, market, political, regulatory and environmental issues. The survey has been conducted using the Delphi technique, in three rounds with a panel of national experts. The analysis offers interesting insights and useful suggestions addressed to the organic aquaculture sector. Authors chose Delphi methodology according to the paper’s objective: the study is in fact aimed at exploring the evolution dynamics (positive or absent) for a less-developed market like the one of the Italian organic fish. This method allows to create a forecast by collecting and evaluating experts’ opinions about the organic fish market; these experts are divided in homogeneous groups and selected as privileged observers of the phenomenon

European Working Time Directive : a prescription for regulating junior doctors' Working Time?

This study explores attempts to regulate working time in a particular part of the medical sector. The specific focus is upon the perceptions and experiences of those in whose benefit the legislation purports to be, namely the junior doctors. It considers how the broader debates surrounding the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) are manifested in this specific section of the medical profession. The study argues that historical modes of regulation through self-governance, professional autonomy and minimal state intervention have helped to foster opposition to the EC law among many senior doctors. Their views about working-time regulation are compared to those provided by junior doctors. This enables an assessment of the ways in which traditional self-regulation has been overtaken by subsequent forms of governance in the medical profession, namely new public management and statutory control. The accommodation in process underlines the significance of the medical profession's exclusive culture and socialisation processes. These processes facilitate the transmission of ideas on issues such as work conditions, and occupational resistance to measures such as the Directive. Conversely, the difference in attitudes between senior and junior doctors reflects the evolving nature of the profession in response to increasing in managerial authority and state intervention. Following on from these debates, the study explores the processes by which the various modes of regulation have been implemented and enforced. It considers the respective roles played by the state, hospital managers and the medical profession, exploring the impact of working time regulation, with particular reference to doctors' health, medical training, and medical staffing and services. The study provides an assessment of the emerging impact of the regulation itself. The study draws upon a mix of methods including semi-structured interviews with Pre-Registration House Officers and elite figures. The latter comprise policy-makers at EC, UK and devolved levels senior figures within the medical and health services, including employer and employee representatives and members of both the UK and European judiciary. Questionnaire surveys were also administered to all PRHOs practising in Wales. The study concludes that a combination of factors have diluted the potential impact of the EWTD. These include the inadequate monitoring and enforcement mechanisms of a regulation whose fundamental terms have been 'fudged' by the state on the one hand, and the widespread application of a rigid shift system by the medical profession and hospital managers to junior doctors' training and service on the other. As a result, views on the EWTD are inconsistent and the degree of compliance with its provisions is variable.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Breast Cancer and Beyond: Current Perspectives on NET Stimuli, Thrombosis and Metastasis, and Clinical Utility for Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract The formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), known as NETosis, was first observed as a novel immune response to bacterial infection, but has since been found to occur abnormally in a variety of other inflammatory disease states including cancer. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women. In breast cancer, NETosis has been linked to increased disease progression, metastasis, and complications such as venous thromboembolism. NET-targeted therapies have shown success in preclinical cancer models and may prove valuable clinical targets in slowing or halting tumor progression in breast cancer patients. We will briefly outline the mechanisms by which NETs may form in the tumor microenvironment and circulation, including the crosstalk between neutrophils, tumor cells, endothelial cells, and platelets as well as the role of cancer-associated extracellular vesicles in modulating neutrophil behavior and NET extrusion. The prognostic implications of cancer-associated NETosis will be explored in addition to development of novel therapeutics aimed at targeting NET interactions to improve outcomes in patients with breast cancer

Roadmap on dynamics of molecules and clusters in the gas phase

This roadmap article highlights recent advances, challenges and future prospects in studies of the dynamics of molecules and clusters in the gas phase. It comprises nineteen contributions by scientists with leading expertise in complementary experimental and theoretical techniques to probe the dynamics on timescales spanning twenty order of magnitudes, from attoseconds to minutes and beyond, and for systems ranging in complexity from the smallest (diatomic) molecules to clusters and nanoparticles. Combining some of these techniques opens up new avenues to unravel hitherto unexplored reaction pathways and mechanisms, and to establish their significance in, e.g. radiotherapy and radiation damage on the nanoscale, astrophysics, astrochemistry and atmospheric science