Personal determinants of organic food consumption: a review

Purpose - A lot of literature is available that discusses personal determinants of organic food consumption. However different models and determinants are used in the literature. This paper aims to provide an overview, within a framework linking Schwartz' values theory and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Also it seeks to focus on the importance of affective attitude, emotions, personal norm, involvement and uncertainty related to organic food consumption. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on secondary data sources, namely the literature concerning personal determinants of organic food consumption. Findings - Both the values theory and the theory of planned behaviour have been referred to as relevant theories for better understanding consumers' choice for organic food. Organic food consumption decisions can be explained by relating attributes of organic food with more abstract values such as "security", "hedonism", "universalism", "benevolence", "stimulation", "self-direction" and "conformity". Appealing to these values can positively influence attitudes towards organic food consumption. Besides attitude, subjective and personal norm and (perceived) behavioural control influence consumption of organic food. Research limitations/implications - More research related to the role of uncertainty (reduction) during the process of buying organic food is recommended. Practical implications - Relatively little research has examined the affective component of attitude and emotions in relation to organic food consumption, while these may play an important role as drivers of involvement and thus help to jolt food purchasers out of their routine of buying conventional food and set a first step to adopt organic food. Originality/value - To the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper providing a comprehensive overview and linking the literature on organic food consumption to the values theory and the theory of planned behaviour, including the role of personal norm and focusing on emotions. The proposed integration of mental processing in an organic food consumption model leads to interesting hypotheses and recommendations for policy makers, researchers and stakeholders involved in the organic food market

The nutritional and toxicological value of organic vegetables : consumer perception versus scientific evidence

Purpose - The present study aims to explore and compare consumer perception and scientific evidence related to food quality and food safety aspects of organic versus conventional vegetables. Design/methodology/approach - Primary data on consumer perception were gathered in 2006-2007 through a consumer survey with Flemish adults (n = 529) and compared with scientific evidence from literature. Consumers of organic and conventional vegetables were selected by means of a convenience sampling procedure. Subjects were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire concerning the perception of the nutritional and toxicological value of organic relative to conventional vegetables. Data processing and analysis included descriptive analysis (frequency distributions), data reduction (Cronbach's alpha test, factor analysis), bivariate analysis (correlations, t-test, ANOVA) and multivariate analysis (stepwise multiple regression). Findings - It was found that organic vegetables are perceived as containing less contaminants and more nutrients, and as such, being healthier and safer compared to conventional vegetables. However, not enough evidence is currently available in the literature to support or refute such a perception, indicating a certain mismatch between consumer perception and scientific evidence. The gap between perception and evidence is larger among older consumers with children. The perception is stronger when the consumption frequency is higher, but is independent of gender, place of residence (rural or urban), education and income level. Also non-users, on average, perceive that organic vegetables have a nutritional and toxicological advantage over conventional vegetables. Research limitations/implications - A non-probability convenience sampling method was applied which limits generalisation of the findings beyond the sample characteristics. Originality/value - This paper is original in comparing consumer perception and scientific facts related to both nutritional and safety aspects of organic versus conventional vegetables

Survival After Methemoglobinemia Associated with Massive Paracetamol Ingestion: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Introduction: Paracetamol is a frequently used agent in intoxications and known to cause hepatic failure. However, methemoglobinemia secondary to paracetamol toxicity has only been described in a handful of case reports and may be an important determining factor for morbidity and mortality. Methemoglobinemia results in functional anemia with cellular hypoxia. Severe cases are usually fatal. Case Presentation: We present a case of survival after severe methemoglobinemia in a 67-year-old female. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit after auto-ingestion of a large amount of paracetamol. Hemoglobin-oximetry showed a methemoglobin level of 24.6%, treated with intravenous methylene blue, exchange-transfusion, ascorbic acid, and riboflavin. Toxicological screening revealed a high plasma concentration of paracetamol (611.7 mg/L). Treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was initiated. The patient deteriorated and developed acute liver failure, but refused liver transplantation. Furthermore, she developed septic shock with multi-organ failure and bowel ischemia. In spite of her severe condition and her refusing transplantation, the patient survived. There was a complete resolution of acute liver failure and she fully recovered from her critical condition. Conclusions: A case of survival after paracetamol-induced methemoglobinemia is presented. Paracetamol-induced methemoglobinemia seems to be a rare (but possibly under-diagnosed) condition. With this report, we would like to focus more attention on the possibility of methemoglobinemia associated with paracetamol intoxication and emphasize the possible impact on morbidity and mortality. Therefore, we think there should be a low threshold for screening for this rare but hazardous problem when there is clinical suspicion

Design thesis : case oriented research

Quality criteria for an academic design thesis (MPhil and Doctorate-level), and other academic design output are formulated. Research in the program is executed by the research-oriented disciplines of the department from the domains of the humanities, the engineering, natural, and social sciences. The research includes the designrelevance that can be attained by the so-called Research-by-Design-approach. Originally the ‘Research by Design’-assumption led to the idea that Doctor-theses in Architecture should be mainly consisting of actual design. However, the policy of the USO-Built group has gradually changed. Although design could be part of theses towards a Doctor degree, Design Thesis should meet the requirements of a regular Doctorate ThesisPostprint (published version

Influence of climate change on summer cooling costs and heat stress in urban office buildings

Indoor climatic conditions are strongly influenced by outdoor meteorological conditions. It is thus expected that the combined effect of climate change and the urban heat island effect negatively influences working conditions in urban office buildings. Since office buildings are particularly vulnerable to overheating because of the profound internal heat gains, this is all the more relevant. The overheating in office buildings leads to elevated cooling costs or, because additional work breaks are required by legislation in some countries, productivity losses. We have developed a methodology incorporating urban climate modelling and building energy simulations to assess cooling costs and lost working hours in office buildings, both for current-day and future climate, extending towards the end of the twenty-first century. The methodology is tailored to additionally assess the impact and benefits of adaptation measures, and it is designed to be transferable from one city to another. Results for a prototype building located in three different European cities (Antwerp, Bilbao and London) illustrate the challenge in keeping Western-European office buildings comfortable until the end of the twenty-first century without adaptation measures, and the beneficial effect of adequate adjustments. The results further illustrate the large decreases in cooling costs (up to 30%) caused by the introduction of (external) shading and increased night-time ventilation in actively cooled buildings, and the improvements in working conditions in free-running buildings caused by moving workers to cooler locations and splitting workdays in morning and evening shifts

Target-Controlled Infusion of Cefepime in Critically Ill Patients:single center experience

Attainment of appropriate pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) targets for antimicrobial treatment is challenging in critically ill patients, particularly for cefepime, which exhibits a relative narrow therapeutic-toxic window compared to other beta-lactam antibiotics. Target-controlled infusion (TCI) systems, which deliver drugs to achieve specific target drug concentrations, have successfully been implemented for improved dosing of sedatives and analgesics in anesthesia. We conducted a clinical trial in an intensive care unit (ICU) to investigate the performance of TCI for adequate target attainment of cefepime. Twenty-one patients treated with cefepime according to the standard of care were included. Cefepime was administered through continuous infusion using TCI for a median duration of 4.5 days. TCI was based on a previously developed population PK model incorporating the estimated creatinine clearance based on the Cockcroft-Gault formula as the input variable to calculate cefepime clearance. A cefepime blood concentration of 16 mg/liter was targeted. To evaluate the measured versus predicted plasma concentrations, blood samples were taken (median of 10 samples per patient), and total cefepime concentrations were measured using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The performance of the TCI system was evaluated using Varvel criteria. Half (50.3%) of the measured cefepime concentrations were within +/- 30% around the target value of 16 mg liter(-1). The wobble was 11.4%, the median performance error (MdPE) was 21.1%, the median absolute performance error (MdAPE) was 32.0%, and the divergence was -3.72% h(-1). Based on these results, we conclude that TCI is useful for dose optimization of cefepime in ICU patients

Intracellular delivery of mRNA in adherent and suspension cells by vapor nanobubble photoporation

Efficient and safe cell engineering by transfection of nucleic acids remains one of the long-standing hurdles for fundamental biomedical research and many new therapeutic applications, such as CAR T cell-based therapies. mRNA has recently gained increasing attention as a more safe and versatile alternative tool over viral- or DNA transposon-based approaches for the generation of adoptive T cells. However, limitations associated with existing nonviral mRNA delivery approaches hamper progress on genetic engineering of these hard-to-transfect immune cells. In this study, we demonstrate that gold nanoparticle-mediated vapor nanobubble (VNB) photoporation is a promising upcoming physical transfection method capable of delivering mRNA in both adherent and suspension cells. Initial transfection experiments on HeLa cells showed the importance of transfection buffer and cargo concentration, while the technology was furthermore shown to be effective for mRNA delivery in Jurkat T cells with transfection efficiencies up to 45%. Importantly, compared to electroporation, which is the reference technology for nonviral transfection of T cells, a fivefold increase in the number of transfected viable Jurkat T cells was observed. Altogether, our results point toward the use of VNB photoporation as a more gentle and efficient technology for intracellular mRNA delivery in adherent and suspension cells, with promising potential for the future engineering of cells in therapeutic and fundamental research applications

ERS International Congress 2023: highlights from the Thoracic Oncology Assembly

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the world. It greatly affects the patients' quality of life, and is thus a challenge for the daily practice in respiratory medicine. Advances in the genetic knowledge of thoracic tumours' mutational landscape, and the development of targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors, have led to a paradigm shift in the treatment of lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma. During the 2023 European Respiratory Society Congress in Milan, Italy, experts from all over the world presented their high-quality research and reviewed best clinical practices. Lung cancer screening, management of early stages of lung cancer, application of artificial intelligence and biomarkers were discussed and they will be summarised here

Cross-validated stepwise regression for identification of novel non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance associated mutations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Linear regression models are used to quantitatively predict drug resistance, the phenotype, from the HIV-1 viral genotype. As new antiretroviral drugs become available, new resistance pathways emerge and the number of resistance associated mutations continues to increase. To accurately identify which drug options are left, the main goal of the modeling has been to maximize predictivity and not interpretability. However, we originally selected linear regression as the preferred method for its transparency as opposed to other techniques such as neural networks. Here, we apply a method to lower the complexity of these phenotype prediction models using a 3-fold cross-validated selection of mutations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to standard stepwise regression we were able to reduce the number of mutations in the reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitor models as well as the number of interaction terms accounting for synergistic and antagonistic effects. This reduction in complexity was most significant for the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) models, while maintaining prediction accuracy and retaining virtually all known resistance associated mutations as first order terms in the models. Furthermore, for etravirine (ETR) a better performance was seen on two years of unseen data. By analyzing the phenotype prediction models we identified a list of forty novel NNRTI mutations, putatively associated with resistance. The resistance association of novel variants at known NNRTI resistance positions: 100, 101, 181, 190, 221 and of mutations at positions not previously linked with NNRTI resistance: 102, 139, 219, 241, 376 and 382 was confirmed by phenotyping site-directed mutants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We successfully identified and validated novel NNRTI resistance associated mutations by developing parsimonious resistance prediction models in which repeated cross-validation within the stepwise regression was applied. Our model selection technique is computationally feasible for large data sets and provides an approach to the continued identification of resistance-causing mutations.</p