La certificación como estrategia para la recuperación de la confianza del consumidor en la adquisición de la carne de ternera

[EN] The objective of the paper is to analyse the effect of the label product presence in the reduction of the health hazard perceived or in the uncertainty associated to a product. The market selected like an example was the fresh beef, because in Europe, in general, and in Spain in particular, has been serious problems related with the food safety. These problems had influenced in the lost confidence of the consumers with important consequences in the supply. We propose a consumer decision model with two steps: 1) to consume more or no, 2) if the consumer decided to increase the consume analyse the factors which affect the quantity to increment; these decisions are considered simultaneous. The results obtained in the three Spanish regions (Comunidad de Aragón, Comunidad Foral de Navarra and Comunidad Valenciana) showed the suitability of the utilisation of the labels in the product to reduce or mitigate the demand effects of these supply complications, specially in the market which major food safety problems.[ES] El objetivo del trabajo se centra en analizar el efecto de la presencia de etiqueta en un producto con el fin de minimizar el riesgo percibido o la incertidumbre asociada al producto. El análisis ha sido realizado tomando como ejemplo la carne fresca de ternera, producto que ha presentado en Europa, en general, y en España, en particular, importantes problemas de salubridad o seguridad alimentaria que han generado una importante pérdida de confianza por parte de los consumidores e, indirectamente, una disminución de su consumo, lo que ha supuesto, a su vez, serias implicaciones sobre la oferta. Teniendo en cuenta el objetivo planteado, se especifica un modelo para analizar la disposición del consumidor a aumentar el consumo de carne de ternera si se le garantiza su salubridad. Se considera que el consumidor realiza una doble decisión: 1) consumir más o no; y 2) una vez que ha decidido incrementar su consumo, determina en qué cantidad, considerándose, adicionalmente, que ambas decisiones se adoptan de forma simultánea. Los resultados obtenidos en tres Comunidades Autónomas españolas (Comunidad de Aragón, Comunidad Foral de Navarra y Comunidad Valenciana) muestran la idoneidad de las etiquetas para mitigar los efectos que sobre la demanda tienen estos problemas surgidos en la oferta, siendo los resultados especialmente relevantes en el mercado que ha presentado mayores problemas de salubridad.Barrena, R.; Sánchez, M.; Gil, JM.; Gracia, A.; Rivera, LM. (2003). The certification as a strategy for the recovery of the consumer confidence in the veal adquisition. 7-29. doi:10.7201/earn.2003.01.01SWORD72

Trans-ancestry genome-wide association study identifies 12 genetic loci influencing blood pressure and implicates a role for DNA methylation

We carried out a trans-ancestry genome-wide association and replication study of blood pressure phenotypes among up to 320,251 individuals of East Asian, European and South Asian ancestry. We find genetic variants at 12 new loci to be associated with blood pressure (P = 3.9 × 10-11 to 5.0 × 10-21). The sentinel blood pressure SNPs are enriched for association with DNA methylation at multiple nearby CpG sites, suggesting that, at some of the loci identified, DNA methylation may lie on the regulatory pathway linking sequence variation to blood pressure. The sentinel SNPs at the 12 new loci point to genes involved in vascular smooth muscle (IGFBP3, KCNK3, PDE3A and PRDM6) and renal (ARHGAP24, OSR1, SLC22A7 and TBX2) function. The new and known genetic variants predict increased left ventricular mass, circulating levels of NT-proBNP, and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (P = 0.04 to 8.6 × 10-6). Our results provide new evidence for the role of DNA methylation in blood pressure regulation

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Analysis of wear behavior and surface properties of detonation gun-sprayed composite coating of Cr3C2–NiCr–CeO2 on boron steel

The present paper reports the analysis of wear behavior and surface properties of detonation gun-sprayed composite coating of chromium carbide–nichrome–cerium oxide (Cr3C2–NiCr–CeO2) on boron steel. Experiments were performed to have complete understanding of wear rate and volume loss for the worn out surfaces. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analysis were used for phase detection and microstructural characterization. Addition of rare earth metal improves the stickiness and avoids corrosion in the coating. Pin on disc test rig was used for the experimental purpose, and wear rate was calculated at three loads (30 N, 60 N and 90 N) in both dry and lubricating conditions. These tests were done for different cycles (to completely understand the wear behavior). From the results, it could be concluded that in lubrication state when the applied load is less, Cr3C2–NiCr+10% CeO2 coated sample shows the better result as compared to Cr3C2–NiCr+5% CeO2 and uncoated samples.Scopu

A role for DNA polymerase α in epigenetic control of transcriptional silencing in fission yeast

In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, transcriptional silencing at the mating-type region, centromeres and telomeres is epigenetically controlled, and results from the assembly of higher order chromatin structures. Chromatin proteins associated with these silenced loci are believed to serve as molecular bookmarks that help promote inheritance of the silenced state during cell division. Specifically, a chromodomain protein Swi6 is believed to be an important determinant of the epigenetic imprint. Here, we show that a mutation in DNA polymerase α (polα) affects Swi6 localization at the mating-type region and causes a 45-fold increase in spontaneous transition from the silenced epigenetic state to the expressed state. We also demonstrate that polα mutant cells are defective in Swi6 localization at centromeres and telomeres. Genetic analysis suggests that Polα and Swi6 are part of the same silencing pathway. Interestingly, we found that Swi6 directly binds to Polα in vitro. Moreover, silencing-defective mutant Polα displays reduced binding to Swi6 protein. This work indicates involvement of a DNA replication protein, Polα, in heterochromatin assembly and inheritance of epigenetic chromatin structures

Performance Evaluation of a Stellar-Inertial Attitude Sensor Based on Particle Filtering

In this paper an attitude estimation approach relying on a particle filter is proposed for an autonomous attitude sensor which integrates rate gyros with a star sensor. Thanks to the complementary characteristics of modern inertial and star sensors, with the former being able of performing measurements at high data rates with precision decreasing over time, and the latter being able of high-precision measurements at lower updating frequency, the integrated sensor can provide complete operational autonomy during all the mission phases. Particle filters are Sequential Monte Carlo methods relying on a point-mass representation of probability density distributions, which allows generalizing traditional Kalman filtering approaches. Specifically, for inherently non-linear estimation problems, the particle filter allows overcoming the well-known limitations of the Kalman Filtering approaches, leading also to faster convergence from inaccurate initial conditions. The adopted filter formulation incorporates standard gyro-based model, for attitude propagation, and star sensor measurement model, for measurement update. The attitude parameterization is given in terms of Euler’s angles. The filter algorithm is implemented into a numerical model of the spacecraft orbital and attitude dynamics. Filter performance is numerically tested considering different dynamics conditions, and initial estimation errors. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed filtering scheme in comparison with a standard Kalman Filter approach. They also indicate that the particle filter is more robust under realistic initial attitude-error conditions