Modelling risk-based inspections in EU organic certification: data requirements and analysis tools

Abstrac

Systemic Inhibition of NF-κB Activation Protects from Silicosis

Background: Silicosis is a complex lung disease for which no successful treatment is available and therefore lung transplantation is a potential alternative. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of silicosis. TNFα signaling is mediated by the transcription factor, Nuclear Factor (NF)-κB, which regulates genes controlling several physiological processes including the innate immune responses, cell death, and inflammation. Therefore, inhibition of NF-κB activation represents a potential therapeutic strategy for silicosis. Methods/Findings: In the present work we evaluated the lung transplant database (May 1986-July 2007) at the University of Pittsburgh to study the efficacy of lung transplantation in patients with silicosis (n = 11). We contrasted the overall survival and rate of graft rejection in these patients to that of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF, n = 79) that was selected as a control group because survival benefit of lung transplantation has been identified for these patients. At the time of lung transplantation, we found the lungs of silica-exposed subjects to contain multiple foci of inflammatory cells and silicotic nodules with proximal TNFα expressing macrophage and NF-κB activation in epithelial cells. Patients with silicosis had poor survival (median survival 2.4 yr; confidence interval (CI): 0.16-7.88 yr) compared to IPF patients (5.3 yr; CI: 2.8-15 yr; p = 0.07), and experienced early rejection of their lung grafts (0.9 yr; CI: 0.22-0.9 yr) following lung transplantation (2.4 yr; CI:1.5-3.6 yr; p<0.05). Using a mouse experimental model in which the endotracheal instillation of silica reproduces the silica-induced lung injury observed in humans we found that systemic inhibition of NF-κB activation with a pharmacologic inhibitor (BAY 11-7085) of IκBα phosphorylation decreased silica-induced inflammation and collagen deposition. In contrast, transgenic mice expressing a dominant negative IκBα mutant protein under the control of epithelial cell specific promoters demonstrate enhanced apoptosis and collagen deposition in their lungs in response to silica. Conclusions: Although limited by its size, our data support that patients with silicosis appear to have poor outcome following lung transplantation. Experimental data indicate that while the systemic inhibition of NF-κB protects from silica-induced lung injury, epithelial cell specific NF-κB inhibition appears to aggravate the outcome of experimental silicosis. © 2009 Di Giuseppe et al

A decision network for inspections in organic farms in Italy

Inspections in organic farming systems are the key tool to assure reliability of the organic business and detection of non-compliant operators. Supporting control bodies in the inspection procedure can increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the sector. Here we propose a decision support system for inspections based on Bayesian networks. Our model is based on statistical information taken from the archives of main Italian control body, and considers decision strategies according to the maximization of expected utility based on risk minimization

Economic performance of organic aquaculture: A systematic review

The aim of this study was to analyse the economic aspects related to organic aquaculture through a systematic review of the scientific literature. Production from organic aquaculture has grown rapidly over the last few years, although it remains at low volumes worldwide. We followed the ‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses’ procedures for literature selection, and performed a qualitative review of the selected studies. The review is based on three research questions: “What are the main factors that affect the socio-economic development of organic aquaculture?“; “Is there evidence for better economic performance of organic aquaculture with respect to conventional aquaculture?“; “Do consumers show tangible preference for organically farmed seafood?” The main results show that profitability in organic aquaculture is not guaranteed for all aquaculture species, and the feed and fixed costs can be an issue if they are not balanced by adequate price premiums. Lack of homogenisation of organic standards for aquaculture is considered to be the main issue. Socio-economic aspects of organic aquaculture are particularly relevant in developing countries, where this farming practice can contribute to an improved livelihood and can integrate effectively with local farming practices. Consumers show a generally positive attitude towards organic seafood, although other aspects such as local origin might represent more relevant attributes. Consumer knowledge of organic aquaculture standards is also limited

A building energy management system based on an equivalent electric circuit model

In recent decades, many EU and national regulations have been issued in order to increase the energy efficiency in different sectors and, consequently, to reduce environmental pollution. In the building sector, energy efficiency interventions are usually based on the use of innovative insulated materials and on the installation of cogeneration and tri-generation units, as well as solar technologies. New and retrofitted buildings are more and more commonly being called "smart buildings", since they are characterized by the installation of electric and thermal power generation units, energy storage systems, and flexible loads; the presence of such technologies determines the necessity of installing Building Energy Management Systems (BEMSs), which are used to optimally manage their operation. The present paper proposes a BEMS for a smart building, equipped with plants based on renewables (photovoltaics, solar thermal panels, and geothermal heat pump), where the heating and cooling demand are satisfied by a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning System (HVAC) fed by a geothermal heat pump. The developed BEMS is composed of two different modules: An optimization tool used to optimally manage the HVAC plant, in order to guarantee a desired level of comfort inside rooms, and a simulation tool, based on an equivalent electric circuit model and used to evaluate the thermal dynamic behavior of the building. The paper describes the two modules and shows the main results of the validation phase that has been conducted on a real test-case represented by the Smart Energy Building (SEB) located at the Savona Campus of the University of Genoa, Italy