Cosa c’è di alternativo negli Alternative Food Networks? Un’agenda di ricerca per un approccio interdisciplinare

The paper outlines a framework of the existing literature upon Alternative Food Networks moving from four different although interrelated standpoints: territorial, environmental, economic, and sociological. The territorial perspective will highlight the modalities through which agri-food networks are organised at different geographical scales and affect the territories they are linked to. The environmental analysis will urge to go beyond a simple, even if very complex to study, “Life Cycle Assessment” to take into account the multi-functionality of farms and the territorial dimensions of the area where the supply chains is placed. The economic standpoint will outline the necessity to examine both the economic determinants of the farmers’ choice to use the AFNs and the mechanisms explaining why consumers are using, from the demand side, the same chains. Finally, the sociological analysis will point to the mechanisms through which quality conventions emerge and diffuse in AFNs.Il contributo presenta un inquadramento della letteratura sugli Alternative Food Network integrando quattro prospettive differenti per quanto interrelate: territoriale, ambientale, economica e sociologica. L’approccio territoriale pone in rilievo le modalità attraverso le quali le reti agro-alimentari si organizzano a diverse scale geografiche ed entrano in relazione con i diversi contesti territoriali. La prospettiva ambientale afferma la necessità di superare un approccio incentrato sul Life Cycle Assessment per l’analisi degli AFN, considerato eccessivamente riduttivo (per quanto complesso da realizzare), per considerare in alternativa la multifunzionalità delle aziende agricole e la dimensione territoriale dell’area in cui il network è sviluppato. L’approccio economico si propone di indagare sia le determinanti economiche della scelta di sviluppare una rete alternativa da parte degli imprenditori agricoli, sia i meccanismi per i quali i consumatori utilizzano le stesse reti. Infine, l’approccio sociologico si concentra sui dispositivi attraverso i quali il concetto di qualità viene definito e diffuso all’interno degli AFN

Carbon Fiber-Reinforced PolyEtherEtherKetone (CFR-PEEK) Instrumentation in Degenerative Disease of Lumbar Spine: A Pilot Study

: CFR-PEEK is gaining popularity in spinal oncological applications due to its reduction of imaging artifacts and radiation scattering compared with titanium, which allows for better oncological follow-up and efficacy of radiotherapy. We evaluated the use of these materials for the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases (DDs) and considered the biomechanical potential of the carbon fiber in relation to its modulus of elasticity being similar to that of bone. Twenty-eight patients with DDs were treated using CRF-PEEK instrumentation. The clinical and radiographic outcomes were collected at a 12-month FU. Spinal fusion was evaluated in the CT scans using Brantigan scores, while the clinical outcomes were evaluated using VAS, SF-12, and EQ-5D scores. Out of the patients evaluated at the 12-month FU, 89% showed complete or almost certain fusion (Brantigan score D and E) and presented a significant improvement in all clinical parameters; the patients also presented VAS scores ranging from 6.81 ± 2.01 to 0.85 ± 1.32, EQ-5D scores ranging from 53.4 ± 19.3 to 85.0 ± 13.7, SF-12 physical component scores (PCSs) ranging from 29.35 ± 7.04 to 51.36 ± 9.75, and SF-12 mental component scores (MCSs) ranging from 39.89 ± 11.70 to 53.24 ± 9.24. No mechanical complications related to the implant were detected, and the patients reported a better tolerance of the instrumentation compared with titanium. No other series of patients affected by DD that was stabilized using carbon fiber implants have been reported in the literature. The results of this pilot study indicate the efficacy and safety of these implants and support their use also for spinal degenerative diseases