Behavioral spillovers in local public good provision: an experimental study

In a circular neighborhood, each member has a left and a right neighbor with whom(s) he interacts repeatedly. From their two separate endowment amounts individuals can contribute to each of their two structurally independent public goods, either shared only with their left, respectively right, neighbor. If most group members are discrimination averse and conditionally cooperating with their neighbors, this implies intra- as well as inter personal spillovers which link all neighbors. Investigating individual adaptations in one’s two games with differing freeriding incentives confirms, through behavioral spillovers, that both individual contributions anchor on the local public good with the smaller free-riding incentive. Therefore asymmetry in gaining from local public goods allows to establish a higher level of voluntary cooperation

Does heterogeneity spoil the basket? The role of productivity and feedback information on public good provision

In a circular neighborhood of eight, each member contributes repeatedly to two local public goods, one with the left and one with the right neighbor. All eight two-person games provide only local feedback information and are structurally independent in spite of their overlapping player sets. Heterogeneity is induced intra-personally by asymmetric productivity in left and right games and inter-personally by two randomly selected group members who are less privileged (LP) by being either less productive or excluded from end-of-period feedback information about their payoffs and neighbors’ contributions. Although both LP-types let the neighborhood as a whole evolve less cooperatively, their spillover dynamics differ. While less productive LPs initiate “spoiling the basket” via their low contributions, LPs with no-end-of-round information are exploited by their neighbors. Furthermore, LP-positioning, closest versus most distant, affects how the neighborhood evolves

Smart Metering Projects: An Interpretive Framework for Successful Implementation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze a set of smart meters implementation projects and provide insights and recommendations to facilitate smart metering deployment strategies. Design/methodology/approach – Several significant projects are analyzed on different fronts: scale, technology, economics and regulation, using a common methodology to unfold patterns that constitute key components of successful smart meters diffusion. Findings – Key elements and controllable enabling patterns from Europe-wide SM implementation projects are identified together with drivers and barriers for patterns replication. Research limitations/implications – The authors provide a framework considering different stakeholders that will help distribution systemoperators to accelerate and extend smart meters’ penetration. Originality/value – Based on the Meter-ON project (supported by the 7th Framework Program of the European Commission), we provide valuable information aimed at facilitating the large-scale deployment of smart meters

Make-Up and Suspicion in Acquiring-a-Company. An experiment controlling for gender and gender constellations

The privately informed seller of a company sends a value message to the uninformed potential buyer who then proposes a price for the company. “Make-up” is measured by how much the true value is overstated, “Suspicion” by how much the price offer differs from the value message. Treatments vary in information about gender via (not ) informing about the gender constellation and inembeddedness of gender information. Female participants engage more in “make-up”, i .e. overstate more the value of the company, but are not more “suspicious”. Furthermore, homogeneous female constellations make up more

Ascorbate content of wheat leaves is not determined by maximal L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase (GalLDH) activity under drought stress

Although ascorbic acid (AA) is a high-abundance metabolite, relatively little is known about the factors controlling its accumulation in leaves. To address this issue, we examined the role of l-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase (GalLDH), the enzyme which catalyses the last step of this pathway, in the control of AA content under optimal and stress conditions. In a range of species, no clear relationship between AA content and leaf GalLDH protein and activity was found under optimal growth conditions. To explore the effect of drought stress on GalLDH activity and protein content, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was selected for detailed analysis, using two cultivars that differ in their constitutive AA level. In well-watered plants, the AA content of cv Buck Chambergo (BCH) was over twice that of cv Cooperativa Maipún (CM) but dehydroascorbic acid content was similar in both cv. In agreement with this, dehydroascorbate reductase and glutathione reductase activities were higher in cv BCH than in cv CM, indicating a higher capacity for AA regeneration. Neither leaf DHA content nor activities of AA regenerating enzymes were modified by drought. Although drought caused a substantial increase in GalLDH protein and activity in the low AA cv CM, this treatment had no effect on these parameters in cv BCH. Notably, leaf AA content was unaffected by drought in either cv. These results suggest that GalLDH protein and activity cannot be used as an indicator for changes in the capacity for ascorbate biosynthesis and that AA biosynthesis is constrained by other factors under stress. This can be explained by the importance of regeneration in maintaining AA levels and possibly also by redox regulation of GalLDH.Instituto de Fisiología Vegeta

Lactic acid fermentation as a tool to enhance the antioxidant properties of Myrtus communis berries

Background: Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) is a medicinal and aromatic plant belonging to Myrtaceae family, which is largely diffused in the Mediterranean areas and mainly cultivated in Tunisia and Italy. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have already considered the use of the lactic acid fermentation to enhance the functional features of M. communis. This study aimed at using a selected lactic acid bacterium for increasing the antioxidant features of myrtle berries, with the perspective of producing a functional ingredient, dietary supplement or pharmaceutical preparation. The antioxidant activity was preliminarily evaluated through in vitro assays, further confirmed through ex vivo analysis on murine fibroblasts, and the profile of phenol compounds was characterized. Results: Myrtle berries homogenate, containing yeast extract (0.4%, wt/vol), was fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum C2, previously selected from plant matrix. Chemically acidified homogenate, without bacterial inoculum and incubated under the same conditions, was used as the control. Compared to the control, fermented myrtle homogenate exhibited a marked antioxidant activity in vitro. The radical scavenging activity towards DPPH increased by 30%, and the inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation was twice. The increased antioxidant activity was confirmed using Balb 3 T3 mouse fibroblasts, after inducing oxidative stress, and determining cell viability and radical scavenging activity through MTT and DCFH-DA assays, respectively. The lactic acid fermentation allowed increased concentrations of total phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins, which were 5–10 times higher than those found for the non-fermented and chemically acidified control. As shown by HPLC analysis, the main increases were found for gallic and ellagic acids, and flavonols (myricetin and quercetin). The release of these antioxidant compounds would be strictly related to the esterase activities of L. plantarum. Conclusions: The lactic acid fermentation of myrtle berries is a suitable tool for novel applications as functional food dietary supplements or pharmaceutical preparations

Distribution of antibiotic resistance genes in the saliva of healthy omnivores, ovo-lacto-vegetarians, and vegans

Food consumption allows the entrance of bacteria and their antibiotic resistance (AR) genes into the human oral cavity. To date, very few studies have examined the influence of diet on the composition of the salivary microbiota, and even fewer investigations have specifically aimed to assess the impact of different long-term diets on the salivary resistome. In this study, the saliva of 144 healthy omnivores, ovo-lacto-vegetarians, and vegans were screened by nested PCR for the occurrence of 12 genes conferring resistance to tetracyclines, macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B, vancomycin, and \u3b2-lactams. The tet(W), tet(M), and erm(B) genes occurred with the highest frequencies. Overall, no effect of diet on AR gene distribution was seen. Some differences emerged at the recruiting site level, such as the higher frequency of erm(C) in the saliva of the ovo-lacto-vegetarians and omnivores from Bologna and Turin, respectively, and the higher occurrence of tet(K) in the saliva of the omnivores from Bologna. A correlation of the intake of milk and cheese with the abundance of tet(K) and erm(C) genes was seen. Finally, when the occurrence of the 12 AR genes was evaluated along with geographical location, age, and sex as sources of variability, high similarity among the 144 volunteers was seen

Design and Characterization of an Ethosomal Gel Encapsulating Rosehip Extract

: Rising environmental awareness drives green consumers to purchase sustainable cosmetics based on natural bioactive compounds. The aim of this study was to deliver Rosa canina L. extract as a botanical ingredient in an anti-aging gel using an eco-friendly approach. Rosehip extract was first characterized in terms of its antioxidant activity through a DPPH assay and ROS reduction test and then encapsulated in ethosomal vesicles with different percentages of ethanol. All formulations were characterized in terms of size, polydispersity, zeta potential, and entrapment efficiency. Release and skin penetration/permeation data were obtained through in vitro studies, and cell viability was assessed using an MTT assay on WS1 fibroblasts. Finally, ethosomes were incorporated in hyaluronic gels (1% or 2% w/v) to facilitate skin application, and rheological properties were studied. Rosehip extract (1 mg/mL) revealed a high antioxidant activity and was successfully encapsulated in ethosomes containing 30% ethanol, having small sizes (225.4 ± 7.0 nm), low polydispersity (0.26 ± 0.02), and good entrapment efficiency (93.41 ± 5.30%). This formulation incorporated in a hyaluronic gel 1% w/v showed an optimal pH for skin application (5.6 ± 0.2), good spreadability, and stability over 60 days at 4 °C. Considering sustainable ingredients and eco-friendly manufacturing technology, the ethosomal gel of rosehip extract could be an innovative and green anti-aging skincare product

Environmental impact of omnivorous, ovo-lacto-vegetarian, and vegan diet

Food and beverage consumption has a great impact on the environment, although there is a lack of information concerning the whole diet. The environmental impact of 153 Italian adults (51 omnivores, 51 ovo-lacto-vegetarians, 51 vegans) and the inter-individual variability within dietary groups were assessed in a real-life context. Food intake was monitored with a 7-d dietary record to calculate nutritional values and environmental impacts (carbon, water, and ecological footprints). The Italian Mediterranean Index was used to evaluate the nutritional quality of each diet. The omnivorous choice generated worse carbon, water and ecological footprints than other diets. No differences were found for the environmental impacts of ovo-lacto-vegetarians and vegans, which also had diets more adherent to the Mediterranean pattern. A high inter-individual variability was observed through principal component analysis, showing that some vegetarians and vegans have higher environmental impacts than those of some omnivores. Thus, regardless of the environmental benefits of plant-based diets, there is a need for thinking in terms of individual dietary habits. To our knowledge, this is the first time environmental impacts of three dietary regimens are evaluated using individual recorded dietary intakes rather than hypothetical diet or diets averaged over a population