Enhancing supply chain stability, resilience and sustainability through improved sub-supplier management – chocolate and cotton apparel case studies

The majority of Swiss agri-food companies source from global supply chains. Yet, only occasionally supply chain initatives achieve the desired improvements in sustainability performance. In close collaboration with six companies of two important sectors of the Swiss economy – chocolate and textile – this project will identify and analyse various supply chain management options in order to support science-based decision making with respect to global supplier management

Enhancing supply chain stability, resilience and sustainability through improved sub-supplier management – chocolate and cotton apparel case studies

The majority of Swiss agri-food companies source from global supply chains. Yet, only occasionally supply chain initatives achieve the desired improvements in sustainability performance. In close collaboration with six companies of two important sectors of the Swiss economy – chocolate and textile – this project will identify and analyse various supply chain management options in order to support science-based decision making with respect to global supplier management

Lebensmittel-Konversionseffizienz von stall- und weidebasierten Milchproduktionssystemen

In einer dreijährigen Schweizer Systemstudie wurden die Milchproduktionssysteme Stall- (SH) und Vollweidehaltung (VW) auf einem geteilten Versuchsbetrieb hinsichtlich produktionstechnischer, ökonomischer und ökologischer Aspekte verglichen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden darauf aufbauend die Milchproduktionssysteme SH und VW hinsichtlich ihres Beitrags zur Netto-Lebensmittelversorgung untersucht. Je nach Berücksichtigung an für den Menschen verwertbaren Nährstoffen in den Futtermitteln produzierte das System VW über die tierischen Produkte zwischen 6,6 bis 11,2 mal mehr für den Menschen verwertbares Protein und 3,5 bis 6,6 mal mehr verwertbare Energie als die Tiere über das eingesetzte Futter verbrauchten. Für das SH-System waren diese Faktoren deutlich niedriger, aber immer noch in einem positiven Bereich (1,0 bis 2,5 für das Protein und 0,9 bis 1,9 für die Energie). Darüber hinaus war die Proteinqualität in den tierischen Produkten wesentlich höher als die Proteinqualität in den für den Menschen potenziell essbaren Futterkomponenten

Cuff overinflation and endotracheal tube obstruction: case report and experimental study

Background: Initiated by a clinical case of critical endotracheal tube (ETT) obstruction, we aimed to determine factors that potentially contribute to the development of endotracheal tube obstruction by its inflated cuff. Prehospital climate and storage conditions were simulated. Methods: Five different disposable ETTs (6.0, 7.0, and 8.0 mm inner diameter) were exposed to ambient outside temperature for 13 months. In addition, every second of these tubes was mechanically stressed by clamping its cuffed end between the covers of a metal emergency case for 10 min. Then, all tubes were heated up to normal body temperature, placed within the cock of a syringe, followed by stepwise inflation of their cuffs to pressures of 3 kPa and >=12 kPa, respectively. The inner lumen of the ETT was checked with the naked eye for any obstruction caused by the external cuff pressure. Results: Neither in tubes that were exposed to ambient temperature (range: -12°C to +44°C) nor in those that were also clamped, visible obstruction by inflated cuffs was detected at any of the two cuff pressure levels. Conclusions: We could not demonstrate a critical obstruction of an ETT by its inflated cuff, neither when the cuff was over-inflated to a pressure of 12 kPa or higher, nor in ETTs that had been exposed to unfavorable storage conditions and significant mechanical stress

Nachhaltigkeit von drei graslandbasierten Milchproduktionssystemen in der Schweiz mit der Bewertungsmethode RISE

Dairy farming is a key sector for Swiss agriculture and the food industry. Therefore, sustainability of dairy farms is important. Grassland-based farming systems are the most common production system, combining the indoor feeding of fresh grass with partial grazing. The effects of three dairy production systems (VW: full grazing plus on avg. 46±93 SD kg concentrate (KF), GFKF: indoor feeding/partial grazing plus on avg. 345±204 SD kg KF and GFKFplus: indoor feeding/partial grazing plus on avg. 1007±353 SD kg KF) on sustainability, according to RISE, were studied on 12 pilot farms in the lowland of Switzerland. In most of the sustainability themes, the farms performed medium to good according to the RISE evaluation scale. The GFKFplus farms produced the highest output of milk by low N- and P-self-sufficiency, showed the highest energy input and the lowest greenhouse gas output per kg milk. The GFKF group achieved remarkable results by moderate N-, P- and energy inputs. The VW farms showed a lower milk output but a higher level of feed self-sufficiency and a lower energy consumption. In the search for the optimal production strategy, farms should consider the individual farm structure (contiguous areas), the market potential but also social aspects such as the preferences of the farmer`s family

Magnetism and d-wave superconductivity on the half-filled square lattice with frustration

The role of frustration and interaction strength on the half-filled Hubbard model is studied on the square lattice with nearest and next-nearest neighbour hoppings t and t' using the Variational Cluster Approximation (VCA). At half-filling, we find two phases with long-range antiferromagnetic (AF) order: the usual Neel phase, stable at small frustration t'/t, and the so-called collinear (or super-antiferromagnet) phase with ordering wave-vector $(\pi,0)$ or $(0,\pi)$, stable for large frustration. These are separated by a phase with no detectable long-range magnetic order. We also find the d-wave superconducting (SC) phase ($d_{x^2-y^2}$), which is favoured by frustration if it is not too large. Intriguingly, there is a broad region of coexistence where both AF and SC order parameters have non-zero values. In addition, the physics of the metal-insulator transition in the normal state is analyzed. The results obtained with the help of the VCA method are compared with the large-U expansion of the Hubbard model and known results for the frustrated J1-J2 Heisenberg model. These results are relevant for pressure studies of undoped parents of the high-temperature superconductors: we predict that an insulator to d-wave SC transition may appear under pressure.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Do business customers perceive what salespeople believe? Perceptions of salesperson adoption of innovations

A salesperson's commitment and effort toward an innovation can determine whether the customer agrees to buy it, such that customers' perceptions of such commitment and effort are critical. But these perceptions also might differ fundamentally from the salesperson's self-perceptions of commitment and effort. Therefore, this paper presents a theoretical framework of the relation between salesperson-perceived and customer-perceived commitment and effort, as exhibited by the salesperson while selling an innovation, which represents salesperson adoption. In the framework, job satisfaction factors also exert contingent, moderating effects. The authors gather unique, dyadic data from surveys of salespeople and their (potential) business customers during visits to sell a conventional, incremental innovation, complemented by objective purchase data gathered from company records. Three key insights emerge fromt this study. First, salespeople's own perceptions of their commitment and effort have only moderate influences on customers' perceptions of salespeople's commitment and effort. Second, customers seem to recognize salesperson effort more readily than salesperson commitment, although salesperson commitment has a higher sales performance impact than salesperson effort. Thus, sales managers should seek to encourage and support both the commitment of salespeople and also perceptions of that commitment among customers. Third, while a higher organizational support or job autonomy strengthens customers' perceptions of salesperson adoption, a higher pay satisfaction diminishes it. Thus, firms might need to find ways to increase the support for the salespeople and their autonomy and to reduce salespeople's satisfaction with their (direct) payments. In total, these findings suggest significant scientific and managerial implications

Natural chalcones elicit formation of specialized pro-resolving mediators and related 15-lipoxygenase products in human macrophages

Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) comprise lipid mediators (LMs) produced from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) via stereoselective oxygenation particularly involving 12/15-lipoxygenases (LOXs). In contrast to pro-inflammatory LMs such as leukotrienes formed by 5-LOX and prostaglandins formed by cyclooxygenases, the SPMs have anti-inflammatory and inflammation-resolving properties. Although glucocorticoids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that block prostaglandin production are still prime therapeutics for inflammation-related diseases despite severe side effects, novel concepts focus on SPMs as immunoresolvents for anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapy. Here, we studied the natural chalcone MF-14 and the corresponding dihydrochalcone MF-15 from Melodorum fruticosum, for modulating the biosynthesis of LM including leukotrienes, prostaglandins, SPM and their 12/15-LOX-derived precursors in human monocyte-derived macrophage (MDM) M1- and M2-like phenotypes. In MDM challenged with Staphylococcus aureus-derived exotoxins both compounds (10 µM) significantly suppressed 5-LOX product formation but increased the biosynthesis of 12/15-LOX products, especially in M2-MDM. Intriguingly, in resting M2-MDM, MF-14 and MF-15 strikingly evoked generation of 12/15-LOX products and of SPMs from liberated PUFAs, along with translocation of 15-LOX-1 to membranous compartments. Enhanced 12/15-LOX product formation by the chalcones was evident also when exogenous PUFAs were supplied, excluding increased substrate supply as sole underlying mechanism. Rather, MF-14 and MF-15 stimulate the activity of 15-LOX-1, supported by experiments with HEK293 cells transfected with either 5-LOX, 15-LOX-1 or 15-LOX-2. Together, the natural chalcone MF-14 and the dihydrochalcone MF-15 favorably modulate LM biosynthesis in human macrophages by suppressing pro-inflammatory leukotrienes but stimulating formation of SPMs by differential interference with 5-LOX and 15-LOX-1