Effects of food-related health concerns and risk perception on the consumption frequency of fresh vegetables

Consuming fresh vegetables certainly brings health benefits; however, these types of products may also contain biological, chemical and technological elements that can affect people´s health due to lack of food safety. We developed a conceptual model to explain the main relationships between food-related health concerns (FHCs) and risk perceptions (RPs) on consumption frequency of fresh vegetables (CFFV) from a food safety point of view. We applied a structured questionnaire to 1028 consumers in the Central and South Central zones of Chile, where the main agricultural production of the country is concentrated. Through a structural equation model, we determined the moderator effect of RP on the relationship between FHC and CFFV. As a result, CFFV is less if RP is present in the minds of the consumer, impacting the direct effect of FHC on CFFV. Finally, our results suggest that reducing risks associated with the production and commercialization of fresh vegetables can improve health concerns related to food and the consumption of fresh vegetables. Therefore, the state must improve surveillance systems of fresh vegetables commercialized in local markets.Consuming fresh vegetables certainly brings health benefits; however, these types of products may also contain biological, chemical and technological elements that can affect people´s health due to lack of food safety. We developed a conceptual model to explain the main relationships between food-related health concerns (FHCs) and risk perceptions (RPs) on consumption frequency of fresh vegetables (CFFV) from a food safety point of view. We applied a structured questionnaire to 1028 consumers in the Central and South Central zones of Chile, where the main agricultural production of the country is concentrated. Through a structural equation model, we determined the moderator effect of RP on the relationship between FHC and CFFV. As a result, CFFV is less if RP is present in the minds of the consumer, impacting the direct effect of FHC on CFFV. Finally, our results suggest that reducing risks associated with the production and commercialization of fresh vegetables can improve health concerns related to food and the consumption of fresh vegetables. Therefore, the state must improve surveillance systems of fresh vegetables commercialized in local markets

El rol del género sobre el efecto moderador de una etiqueta de inocuidad alimentaria entre la calidad y riesgo percibido en vegetales frescos

The role of food safety label in fresh vegetables has received little attention in developing economies and less attention from the perspective of gender. In this context, a conceptual model was developed to explain the effect of food safety label as a moderator variable of risk perception and quality perceived for fresh vegetables from the perspective of gender. A structural equation model was developed in central and south central Chile, using a convenience sample (n = 1114) of vegetables buyers. The main finding of the study was that for females, the food safety label moderated the effect of risk perception on perceived quality; while for males this effect was not significant. However, given that females are primarily responsible for purchasing food, food safety labels are a tool for consumers to recognize unsafe vegetables; at the same time, it can influence the purchase decision of those consumers worried by certain risks associated with fresh vegetables.El rol de la etiqueta de inocuidad alimentaria en hortalizas frescas ha recibido poca atención en economías en desarrollo y menos atención desde la perspectiva del género. En este contexto, se desarrolló un modelo conceptual para explicar el efecto de la etiqueta de inocuidad alimentaria como una variable moderadora de la percepción de riesgo y la calidad percibida para hortalizas frescas desde la perspectiva del género. Se desarrolló un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales en el centro y sur de Chile central, utilizando una muestra por conveniencia (n = 1114) de compradores de hortalizas. El principal hallazgo del estudio fue que para las mujeres la etiqueta de inocuidad alimentaria moderó el efecto de la percepción de riesgo sobre la calidad percibida; mientras que para los hombres este efecto no fue significativo. Sin embargo, dado que las mujeres son las principales responsables de la compra de alimentos, las etiquetas de inocuidad alimentaria son una herramienta para que estos consumidores reconozcan las hortalizas riesgosas; al mismo tiempo, puede influir en la decisión de compra de aquellos consumidores preocupados por ciertos riesgos asociados con las hortalizas frescas.Fil: Adasme-Berríos, Cristian. Universidad Católica del Maule (Talca, Chile)Fil: Sánchez, Mercedes. Universidad Pública de Navarra (Pamplona, España)Fil: Mora, Marcos. Universidad de Chile. Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas.Fil: Díaz, José. Universidad de TalcaFil: Schnettler, Berta. Universidad de La Frontera (Chile)Fil: Lobos, Germán. Universidad de Talc

The gender role on moderator effect of food safety label between perceived quality and risk on fresh vegetables

The role of food safety label in fresh vegetables has received little attention in developing economies and less attention from the perspective of gender. In this context, a conceptual model was developed to explain the effect of food safety label as a moderator variable of risk perception and quality perceived for fresh vegetables from the perspective of gender. A structural equation model was developed in central and south central Chile, using a convenience sample (n = 1114) of vegetables buyers. The main finding of the study was that for females, the food safety label moderated the effect of risk perception on perceived quality; while for males this effect was not significant. However, given that females are primarily responsible for purchasing food, food safety labels are a tool for consumers to recognize unsafe vegetables; at the same time, it can influence the purchase decision of those consumers worried by certain risks associated with fresh vegetables.The role of food safety label in fresh vegetables has received little attention in developing economies and less attention from the perspective of gender. In this context, a conceptual model was developed to explain the effect of food safety label as a moderator variable of risk perception and quality perceived for fresh vegetables from the perspective of gender. A structural equation model was developed in central and south central Chile, using a convenience sample (n = 1114) of vegetables buyers. The main finding of the study was that for females, the food safety label moderated the effect of risk perception on perceived quality; while for males this effect was not significant. However, given that females are primarily responsible for purchasing food, food safety labels are a tool for consumers to recognize unsafe vegetables; at the same time, it can influence the purchase decision of those consumers worried by certain risks associated with fresh vegetables

¿Quiénes son los potenciales consumidores de frutas y verduras orgánicas en Chile Central? Una aproximación CHAID

La demanda por frutas y verduras (F&V) orgánicas está creciendo alrededor del mundo, creando oportunidades de mercado para los países en desarrollo como principales proveedores. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los países en vías de desarrollo orientados a la exportación, tales como Chile, tienen un mercado interno no desarrollado para los productos orgánicos. Este artículo identifica los segmentos de potenciales consumidores de frutas y verduras orgánicas en el centro de Chile, utilizando un modelo CHAID exploratorio. Se aplicó un cuestionario a una muestra aleatoria de 425 compradores de frutas y verduras. Los resultados del modelo CHAID sugieren dos segmentos de potenciales consumidores de frutas y verduras orgánicas. Ambos grupos demuestran conocimiento del concepto de alimento orgánico. Adicionalmente, el primer segmento percibe que la agricultura orgánica entrega beneficios éticos a la sociedad y considera que F&V orgánicas son saludables y nutritivos; este grupo tiene una probabilidad de más de 80% de consumir F&V orgánicas. El segundo segmento demuestra menos conciencia de los beneficios éticos a la sociedad y su probabilidad de consumir F&V orgánicas, depende del nivel de ingreso familiar. Otras implicancias son discutidas para estudios posteriores en consumidores de alimentos orgánicos.The demand for organic fruits and vegetables (F&V) is growing worldwide, creating market opportunities for developing countries as major suppliers. However, most export-oriented developing countries such as Chile have an undeveloped domestic market for organic products. This article identifies the segments of potential consumers of organic F&V in Central Chile using an exploratory CHAID model. A questionnaire was administered by surveying a random sample of 425 F&V consumers in central Chile. The results of the CHAID model suggest two segments of potential consumers of organic F&V. Both groups show awareness of the concept of organic food. Additionally, the first segment perceives organic agriculture to have ethical benefits to the society and considers organic F&V as healthy and nutritious; this group has a probability of over 80% to consume organic F&V. The second segment shows less awareness of the ethical benefits to society and its probability of consuming organic F&V depends on family income level. We discuss major implications for further studies on organic consumers.The authors thank the project PIT-2007-0168, Agroindustrial Surfrut Ltda

Efecto "país de origen" y etnocentrismo en la compra de alimentos en el sur de Chile

This study sought to determine the relative importance of the country of origin in the selection of four foodstuffs (rice, sugar, chicken meat and oil); to identify consumer segments; and to evaluate which sociodemographic variables affect ethnocentrism in food consumption, through a survey responded by 800 habitual supermarket shoppers in southern Chile. It was determined that the country of origin was the most important attribute in the selection of the four foods. Three consumer segments were distinguished which assigned a different degree of importance to the country of origin, although in two segments the country of origin was highly important in the purchase choice. The consumers of the three segments preferred Chilean foods and expressed a lower preference for food imported from countries that were farther away and more culturally different from Chile. The segments differed significantly in the frequency of purchase of imported foods, reasons for preferring to buy imported foods, and ethnocentrism. It was found that if the respondent was a woman, of older age, belonged to the medium or high socioeconomic level, and had a conservative lifestyle, the probability of being ethnocentric in food consumption increased.Este estudio buscó determinar la importancia relativa del país de origen en la elección de cuatro alimentos (arroz, azúcar, carne de pollo y aceite); identificar segmentos de consumidores, y evaluar qué variables sociodemográficas afectan el etnocentrismo en el consumo de alimentos, a través de una encuesta respondida por 800 compradores habituales de supermercados en el sur de Chile. Se obtuvo que el país de origen fue el atributo de mayor importancia en la elección de los cuatro alimentos. Se distinguieron tres segmentos de consumidores que asignaron diferente importancia al país de origen, aun cuando en dos de ellos el país de origen tuvo elevada relevancia en la elección. Los consumidores de los tres segmentos prefirieron los alimentos chilenos y expresaron una menor preferencia hacia los alimentos importados desde países más lejanos y diferentes culturalmente de Chile. Los segmentos difirieron significativamente según la frecuencia de compra de alimentos importados, razones para preferir comprar alimentos importados y etnocentrismo. Se obtuvo que si la persona es mujer, si es de mayor edad, pertenece al nivel socioeconómico medio o alto y posee un estilo de vida conservador, aumenta la probabilidad de que sea etnocéntrico en el consumo de alimentos.Fil: Schnettler, Berta. Universidad de La Frontera (Chile). Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Forestales. Departamento de Producción Agropecuaria.Fil: Sánchez, Mercedes. Universidad Pública de Navarra (Pamplona, España)Fil: Miranda, Horacio. Universidad de La Frontera (Chile). Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Forestales. Departamento de Producción Agropecuaria.Fil: Orellana, Ligia. University of Sheffield. Department of Psychology,Fil: Sepúlveda, José. University of Sheffield. Department of Psychology,Fil: Mora, Marcos. Universidad de Chile. Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas. Departamento de Economía Agraria.Fil: Lobos, Germán. Universidad de Talca (Chile)Fil: Hueche, Clementina. Chile. Universidad de La Frontera. Centro de Psicología Económica y del Consumo

Simultaneous boron ion-channel/growth factor receptor activation for enhanced vascularization

[EN] Boron ion is essential in metabolism and its concentration is regulated by ion-channel NaBC1. NaBC1 mutations cause corneal dystrophies such as Harboyan syndrome. Here we propose a 3D molecular model for NaBC1 and show that simultaneous stimulation of NaBC1 and vascular growth factor receptors (VEGFR) promote angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo with ultra-low concentrations of VEGF. We show Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) organization into tubular structures indicative of vascularization potential. Enhanced cell sprouting was found only in the presence of VEGF and boron, effect abrogated after blocking NaBC1. We demonstrate that stimulated NaBC1 promotes angiogenesis via PI3k-independent pathways and that ¿5ß1/¿vß3-integrin binding is not essential to enhanced HUVEC organization. We describe a novel vascularization mechanism that involves the crosstalk and colocalization between NaBC1/VEGFR receptors. This has important translational consequences: just by administering boron, taking advantage of endogenous VEGF, in vivo vascularization is shown in a chorioallantoic membrane assay.P.R. acknowledges support from the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de Espana (MINECO) (MAT2015-69315-C3-1-R), and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&I Plan 2008-2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program, CIBER Actions and financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund. M. S. S. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC-HealInSynergy 306990) and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC-EP/P001114/1). The authors are very grateful to Productos Florida farm for kindly providing chick embryos for CAM assay.Rico Tortosa, PM.; Rodrigo Navarro, A.; La Peña Del Rivero, MD.; Moulisova, V.; Costell, M.; Salmerón Sánchez, M. (2018). Simultaneous boron ion-channel/growth factor receptor activation for enhanced vascularization. Advanced Biosystems. 3(1):1-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.201800220S11231Yancopoulos, G. D., Davis, S., Gale, N. W., Rudge, J. S., Wiegand, S. J., & Holash, J. (2000). Vascular-specific growth factors and blood vessel formation. Nature, 407(6801), 242-248. doi:10.1038/35025215Carmeliet, P. (2005). Angiogenesis in life, disease and medicine. Nature, 438(7070), 932-936. doi:10.1038/nature04478Moulisová, V., Gonzalez-García, C., Cantini, M., Rodrigo-Navarro, A., Weaver, J., Costell, M., … Salmerón-Sánchez, M. (2017). Engineered microenvironments for synergistic VEGF – Integrin signalling during vascularization. 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Biocompatible and Thermoresistant Hydrogels Based on Collagen and Chitosan

Hydrogels are considered good biomaterials for soft tissue regeneration. In this sense, collagen is the most used raw material to develop hydrogels, due to its high biocompatibility. However, its low mechanical resistance, thermal stability and pH instability have generated the need to look for alternatives to its use. In this sense, the combination of collagen with another raw material (i.e., polysaccharides) can improve the final properties of hydrogels. For this reason, the main objective of this work was the development of hydrogels based on collagen and chitosan. The mechanical, thermal and microstructural properties of the hydrogels formed with different ratios of collagen/chitosan (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100) were evaluated after being processed by two variants of a protocol consisting in two stages: a pH change towards pH 7 and a temperature drop towards 4 °C. The main results showed that depending on the protocol, the physicochemical and microstructural properties of the hybrid hydrogels were similar to the unitary system depending on the stage carried out in first place, obtaining FTIR peaks with similar intensity or a more porous structure when chitosan was first gelled, instead of collagen. As a conclusion, the synergy between collagen and chitosan improved the properties of the hydrogels, showing good thermomechanical properties and cell viability to be used as potential biomaterials for Tissue Engineering.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación RTI2018-097100-B-C2

Prediction Accuracy of Serial Lung Ultrasound in COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients (Pred-Echovid Study)

The value of serial lung ultrasound (LUS) in patients with COVID-19 is not well defined. In this multicenter prospective observational study, we aimed to assess the prognostic accuracy of serial LUS in patients admitted to hospital due to COVID-19. The serial LUS protocol included two examinations (0–48 h and 72–96 h after admission) using a 10-zones sequence, and a 0 to 5 severity score. Primary combined endpoint was death or the need for invasive mechanical ventilation. Calibration (Hosmer–Lemeshow test and calibration curves), and discrimination power (area under the ROC curve) of both ultrasound exams (SCORE1 and 2), and their difference (DIFFERENTIAL-SCORE) were performed. A total of 469 patients (54.2% women, median age 60 years) were included. The primary endpoint occurred in 51 patients (10.9%). Probability risk tertiles of SCORE1 and SCORE2 (0–11 points, 12–24 points, and ≥25 points) obtained a high calibration. SCORE-2 showed a higher discrimination power than SCORE-1 (AUC 0.72 (0.58–0.85) vs. 0.61 (0.52–0.7)). The DIFFERENTIAL-SCORE showed a higher discrimination power than SCORE-1 and SCORE-2 (AUC 0.78 (0.66–0.9)). An algorithm for clinical decision-making is proposed. Serial lung ultrasound performing two examinations during the first days of hospitalization is an accurate strategy for predicting clinical deterioration of patients with COVID-19