Responsabilidade Social Corporativa e Comportamento do Consumidor: Revisitando o Tema

Este trabalho buscou identificar a relação entre Responsabilidade Social Corporativa (RSC) e comportamento dos consumidores através dos seguintes objetivos: verificar a confiabilidade do modelo traduzido e adaptado por Urdan (2001); melhorar o modelo original; compreender a relação causal entre importância atribuída à RSC e propensão a recompensar empresas com RSC. Foi realizada uma pesquisa com 177 respondentes e os resultados apontaram a fragilidade do modelo original e uma relação significativa de 60% entre importância e recompensa, resultados similares ao do estudo de Urdan (2001). Para a melhoria do modelo, foi realizada a fatorial exploratória que gerou uma estrutura unifatorial para o construto Importância e com dois fatores para Recompensa (Recompensa da Sociedade e Recompensa Individual), em seguido comprovou-se que o ajuste global deste modelo foi muito bom. Por fim, para identificar qual a relação de dependência entre a Importância e Recompensa, foram realizadas regressões múltiplas e os resultados apontaram que a relação é de 52% com recompensa individual e de 64% com recompensa da sociedade, o que demonstra que os consumidores consideram que as empresas com RSC devem ser recompensadas, porém se isso exigir um esforço pessoal e individual do respondente, a relação é um pouco menor.

Verification of analytical methods for GMO testing when implementing interlaboratory validated methods: Version 2

In the EU, method validation is an essential part of the process that regulates the introduction of new GMOs as food and/or feed into the market. When the inter-laboratory validation study is completed, the method is ready to be implemented in routine testing laboratories. When implementing the new method, the laboratory has to verify that the method can be used for its intended purpose (method verification). The scope of this document is to provide guidance on how to carry out the method verification of inter-laboratory validated methods for the qualitative and quantitative detection of GMOs. Considering that the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is the method of choice in the EU for the identification and quantification of GMOs, this document refers exclusively to real time PCR. However, if novel methods are subsequently developed that fulfil legal requirements, then this document will be amended accordingly.JRC.F.5-Food and Feed Complianc

The underestimated burden of monogenic kidney disease in adults waitlisted for kidney transplantation

Purpose: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health-care burden. Increasing evidence suggests that a considerable proportion of patients are affected by a monogenic kidney disorder. Methods: In this study, the kidney transplantation waiting list at the Charité was screened for patients with undetermined cause of CKD. By next-generation sequencing (NGS) we targeted all 600 genes described and associated with kidney disease or allied disorders. Results: In total, 635 patients were investigated. Of these, 245 individuals had a known cause of CKD (38.5%) of which 119 had a proven genetic disease (e.g., ADPKD, Alport). The other 340 patients (53.5%) were classified as undetermined diagnosis, of whom 87 had kidney failure (KF) onset <40 years. To this latter group genetic testing was offered as well as to those patients (n = 29) with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and all individuals (n = 21) suspicious for thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) in kidney biopsy. We detected diagnostic variants in 26 of 126 patients (20.6%) of which 14 of 126 (11.1%) were pathogenic or likely pathogenic. In another 12 of 126 (9.5%) patients, variants of unknown significance (VUS) were detected. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the diagnostic value of comprehensive genetic testing among patients with undetermined CKD

Detection and Identification of Genome Editing in Plants: Challenges and Opportunities

Conventional genetic engineering techniques generate modifications in the genome via stable integration of DNA elements which do not occur naturally in this combination. Therefore, the resulting organisms and (most) products thereof can unambiguously be identified with event-specific PCR-based methods targeting the insertion site. New breeding techniques such as genome editing diversify the toolbox to generate genetic variability in plants. Several of these techniques can introduce single nucleotide changes without integrating foreign DNA and thereby generate organisms with intended phenotypes. Consequently, such organisms and products thereof might be indistinguishable from naturally occurring or conventionally bred counterparts with established analytical tools. The modifications can entirely resemble random mutations regardless of being spontaneous or induced chemically or via irradiation. Therefore, if an identification of these organisms or products thereof is demanded, a new challenge will arise for (official) seed, food, and feed testing laboratories and enforcement institutions. For detailed consideration, we distinguish between the detection of sequence alterations – regardless of their origin – the identification of the process that generated a specific modification and the identification of a genotype, i.e., an organism produced by genome editing carrying a specific genetic alteration in a known background. This article briefly reviews the existing and upcoming detection and identification strategies (including the use of bioinformatics and statistical approaches) in particular for plants developed with genome editing techniques

A Key Role of Dendritic Cells in Probiotic Functionality

BACKGROUND: Disruption of the intestinal homeostasis and tolerance towards the resident microbiota is a major mechanism involved in the development of inflammatory bowel disease. While some bacteria are inducers of disease, others, known as probiotics, are able to reduce inflammation. Because dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in regulating immune responses and in inducing tolerance, we investigated their role in the anti-inflammatory potential of probiotic lactic acid bacteria. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Selected LAB strains, while efficiently taken up by DCs in vitro, induced a partial maturation of the cells. Transfer of probiotic-treated DCs conferred protection against 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis. Protection was associated with a reduction of inflammatory scores and colonic expression of pro-inflammatory genes, while a high local expression of the immunoregulatory enzyme indolamine 2, 3 dioxgenase (IDO) was observed. The preventive effect of probiotic-pulsed DCs required not only MyD88-, TLR2- and NOD2-dependent signaling but also the induction of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory cells in an IL-10-independent pathway. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Altogether, these results suggest that selected probiotics can stimulate DC regulatory functions by targeting specific pattern-recognition receptors and pathways. The results not only emphasize the role of DCs in probiotic immune interactions, but indicate a possible role in immune-intervention therapy for IBD

Update on Dendritic Cell-Induced Immunological and Clinical Tolerance.

Dendritic cells (DCs) as highly efficient antigen-presenting cells are at the interface of innate and adaptive immunity. As such, they are key mediators of immunity and antigen-specific immune tolerance. Due to their functional specialization, research efforts have focused on the characterization of DCs subsets involved in the initiation of immunogenic responses and in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Tolerogenic DCs (tolDCs)-based therapies have been designed as promising strategies to prevent and control autoimmune diseases as well as allograft rejection after solid organ transplantation (SOT). Despite successful experimental studies and ongoing phase I/II clinical trials using autologous tolDCs in patients with type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and in SOT recipients, additional basic research will be required to determine the optimal DC subset(s) and conditioning regimens for tolDCs-based treatments in vivo. In this review, we discuss the characteristics of human DCs and recent advances in their classification, as well as the role of DCs in immune regulation and their susceptibility to in vitro or in vivo manipulation for the development of tolerogenic therapies, with a focus on the potential of tolDCs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and the prevention of allograft rejection after SOT