823 research outputs found
Agrifood Certification Schemes in an Intercultural Context: Theoretical Reasoning and Empirical Findings
The need for adequate systems to guarantee the quality of food products has become more and more obvious in recent years. As a consequence, not only in Germany but throughout the world, the number of certification schemes has been increasing for nearly a decade. Due to the implementation of these standards in various countries, a considerable number of contingency factors exist that may influence the effectiveness and efficiency of such schemes. These factors include the diverse political, economic and social conditions in the different countries. Numerous studies attribute a decisive role in the successful implementation of management instruments to cultural influences. Cultural conditions may differ considerably from region to region around the world. Against the background of this multiplicity of cultures, this study analyzes the impact of cultural context on the way certification schemes are implemented and work in different parts of the world. Based on theories concerning the influence of culture on the implementation of certification schemes, an empirical study was devised and conducted in 2008. Ninety-six respondents answered the extensive questionnaire, which helped identify how cultural differences are perceived by auditors and how these differences influence the implementation, effectiveness and efficiency of certification schemes. Based on the results, the authors formulate recommendations for standard setters and auditors, as well as the companies that implement these standards.Agribusiness, Certification Schemes, Culture, Intercultural Context., Agricultural and Food Policy,
Heterogeneity in the Evaluation of Quality Assurance Systems: The International Food Standard (IFS) in European Agribusiness
Due to the growing demands of customers and several food crises, quality assurance schemes have become increasingly popular in agribusiness. With this trend in mind, it seems worthwhile to take a closer look at the satisfaction of participating European companies. The study focuses on the IFS, which has gained much relevance in the food industry. A questionnaire concerned with perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of the IFS was answered by 389 companies. The results indicate that the overall evaluation of the IFS is primarily affected by the perceived usefulness of the catalogue of requirements and its evaluation. Furthermore, a cluster analysis was conducted and three clusters were identified, representing heterogeneous evaluations of the IFS.evaluation, quality assurance systems, International Food Standard, agribusiness, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q10, Q13, Q18,
Zertifizierungssysteme des Agribusiness im interkulturellen Kontext: Forschungsstand und Darstellung der kulturellen Unterschiede
In der Agrar- und ErnĂ€hrungswirtschaft haben Fragen der QualitĂ€t und Sicherheit in den vergangenen Jahren erheblich an Bedeutung gewonnen. UrsĂ€chlich dafĂŒr sind u.a. verschiedene Lebensmittelkrisen. Es wurden daher erhebliche Anstrengungen unternommen, die QualitĂ€t und gesundheitliche Unbedenklichkeit von Lebensmitteln zu steigern, das verloren gegangene Verbrauchervertrauen wiederzugewinnen und den Forderungen des Lebensmitteleinzelhandels wie auch groĂer Abnehmer nach einer Reduzierung der QualitĂ€tsunsicherheit zu entsprechen (vgl. im Ăberblick etwa Schiefer/Rickert 2004; Theuvsen et al. 2007)... --
Costs of Processing Genetically Modified Organisms: Analysis of the Rapeseed and Corn Industries
Die zunehmende Verbreitung gentechnisch verĂ€nderter Organismen (GVO) wirft die Frage nach möglichen wirtschaftlichen Konsequenzen auf. Die parallele Existenz von GVO- und GVO-freier Ware im Markt kann mit Kosten- und Nutzeneffekten verbunden sein und spielt somit aus betriebswirtschaftlicher Sicht eine wachsende Rolle fĂŒr die Unternehmen der ErnĂ€hrungswirtschaft. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde im Herbst 2006 eine empirische Studie durchgefĂŒhrt, um am Beispiel Raps und Mais die Strategien deutscher Lebensmittelverarbeiter im Umgang mit GVO sowie mögliche Zusatzkosten, die sich aus der zunehmenden Verbreitung von GVO ergeben können, zu ermitteln.GMO, costs of processing, rapeseed, corn, food industry, GVO, GVO-Vermeidungsstrategie, Investitions- und Betriebskosten, Parallelbetrieb,
Titanium Nitride as a Seed Layer for Heusler Compounds
Titanium nitride (TiN) shows low resistivity at room temperature, high
thermal stability and thus has the potential to serve as seed layer in magnetic
tunnel junctions. High quality TiN thin films with regard to the
crystallographic and electrical properties were grown and characterized by
X-ray diffraction and 4-terminal transport measurements. Element specific X-ray
absorption spectroscopy revealed pure TiN in the bulk. To investigate the
influence of a TiN seed layer on a ferro(i)magnetic bottom electrode, an
out-of-plane magnetized Mn2.45Ga as well as in- and out-of-plane magnetized
Co2FeAl thin films were deposited on a TiN buffer, respectively. The magnetic
properties were investigated using a superconducting quantum interference
device (SQUID) and anomalous Hall effect (AHE) for Mn2.45Ga. Magneto optical
Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements were carried out to investigate the magnetic
properties of Co2FeAl. TiN buffered Mn2.45Ga thin films showed higher
coercivity and squareness ratio compared to unbuffered samples. The Heusler
compound Co2FeAl showed already good crystallinity when grown at room
temperature
Hyperlipidemic Conditions Impact Force-Induced Inflammatory Response of Human Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts Concomitantly Challenged with P. gingivalis -LPS
In obese patients, enhanced serum levels of free fatty acids (FFA), such as palmitate (PA) or oleate (OA), are associated with an increase in systemic inflammatory markers. Bacterial infection during periodontal disease also promotes local and systemic low-grade inflammation. How both conditions concomitantly impact tooth movement is largely unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to address the changes in cytokine expression and the secretion of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPdLF) due to hyperlipidemic conditions, when additionally stressed by bacterial and mechanical stimuli. To investigate the impact of obesity-related hyperlipidemic FFA levels on HPdLF, cells were treated with 200 ”M PA or OA prior to the application of 2 g/cm(2) compressive force. To further determine the additive impact of bacterial infection, HPdLF were stimulated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) obtained from Porphyromonas gingivalis. In mechanically compressed HPdLF, PA enhanced COX2 expression and PGE2 secretion. When mechanically stressed HPdLF were additionally stimulated with LPS, the PGE2 and IL6 secretion, as well as monocyte adhesion, were further increased in PA-treated cultures. Our data emphasize that a hyperlipidemic condition enhances the susceptibility of HPdLF to an excessive inflammatory response to compressive forces, when cells are concomitantly exposed to bacterial components
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Webinar Science-Tracking : Ad-hoc Arbeitsgruppe der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft zum Datentracking in den Wissenschaften
Die Ad-hoc Arbeitsgruppe zum Datentracking in den Wissenschaften des Ausschusses
fĂŒr Wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken und Informationssysteme (AWBI) der Deutschen
Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) hat im Rahmen eines Webinars am 11. MĂ€rz 2024 von
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Cardioprotective Effects of Palmitoleic Acid (C16:1n7) in a Mouse Model of Catecholamine-Induced Cardiac Damage Are Mediated by PPAR Activation
Palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) has been identified as a regulator of physiological cardiac hypertrophy. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the molecular pathways involved in C16:1n7 responses in primary murine cardiomyocytes (PCM) and a mouse model of isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiac damage. PCMs were stimulated with C16:1n7 or a vehicle. Afterwards, RNA sequencing was performed using an Illumina HiSeq sequencer. Confirmatory analysis was performed in PCMs and HL-1 cardiomyocytes. For an in vivo study, 129 sv mice were orally treated with a vehicle or C16:1n7 for 22 days. After 5 days of pre-treatment, the mice were injected with ISO (25 mg/kg/d s. c.) for 4 consecutive days. Cardiac phenotyping was performed using echocardiography. In total, 129 genes were differentially expressed in PCMs stimulated with C16:1n7, including Angiopoietin-like factor 4 (Angptl4) and Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 (Pdk4). Both Angptl4 and Pdk4 are proxisome proliferator-activated receptor α/Ύ (PPARα/Ύ) target genes. Our in vivo results indicated cardioprotective and anti-fibrotic effects of C16:1n7 application in mice. This was associated with the C16:1n7-dependent regulation of the cardiac PPAR-specific signaling pathways. In conclusion, our experiments demonstrated that C16:1n7 might have protective effects on cardiac fibrosis and inflammation. Our study may help to develop future lipid-based therapies for catecholamine-induced cardiac damage
Liver X Receptor Agonist AZ876 Induces Beneficial Endogenous Cardiac Lipid Reprogramming and Protects Against IsoproterenolâInduced Cardiac Damage
Background: It is known that dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids may improve cardiac function. However, relatively high daily doses are required to achieve sufficient cardiac concentrations of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. The liver X receptor (LXR) is a nuclear hormone receptor and a crucial regulator of lipid homeostasis in mammals. LXR activation has been shown to endogenously reprogram cellular lipid profiles toward increased polyunsaturated fatty acids levels. Here we studied whether LXR lipid reprogramming occurs in cardiac tissue and exerts cardioprotective actions.
Methods and Results: Male 129SV mice were treated with the LXR agonist AZ876 (20 mu mol/kg per day) for 11 days. From day 6, the mice were injected with the nonselective beta-agonist isoproterenol for 4 consecutive days to induce diastolic dysfunction and subendocardial fibrosis while maintaining systolic function. Treatment with isoproterenol led to a marked impairment of global longitudinal strain and the E/e' ratio of transmitral flow to mitral annular velocity, which were both significantly improved by the LXR agonist. Histological examination showed a significant reduction in isoproterenol-induced subendocardial fibrosis by AZ876. Analysis of the cardiac lipid composition by liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry revealed a significant increase in cardiac polyunsaturated fatty acids levels and a significant reduction in saturated fatty acids by AZ876.
Conclusions: The present study provides evidence that the LXR agonist AZ876 prevents subendocardial damage, improves global longitudinal strain and E/e' in a mouse model of isoproterenol-induced cardiac damage, accompanied by an upregulation of cardiac polyunsaturated fatty acids levels. Cardiac LXR activation and beneficial endogenous cardiac lipid reprogramming may provide a new therapeutic strategy in cardiac disease with diastolic dysfunction
Electronic sculpting of ligand-GPCR subtype selectivity:the case of angiotensin II
GPCR subtypes possess distinct functional
and pharmacological profiles,
and thus development of subtype-selective ligands has immense therapeutic
potential. This is especially the case for the angiotensin receptor
subtypes AT1R and AT2R, where a functional negative control has been
described and AT2R activation highlighted as an important cancer drug
target. We describe a strategy to fine-tune ligand selectivity for
the AT2R/AT1R subtypes through electronic control of ligand aromatic-prolyl
interactions. Through this strategy an AT2R high affinity (<i>K</i><sub>i</sub> = 3 nM) agonist analogue that exerted 18,000-fold
higher selectivity for AT2R versus AT1R was obtained. We show that
this compound is a negative regulator of AT1R signaling since it is
able to inhibit MCF-7 breast carcinoma cellular proliferation in the
low nanomolar range
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