Price Fairness of Processed Tomato Agro-Food Chain: The Italian Consumers' Perception Perspective

Food consumers are increasingly searching for emotions and values when purchasing and consuming food. They search for products that ensure social and environmental sustainability, in addition to more common extrinsic product attributes, such as price, packaging, origin, and brand. In particular, there is increasing interest towards product price fairness. The current study aims at exploring consumers’ perception and understanding of price fairness, focusing on the processed tomato products agro-food chain. The study interviewed 832 people. Data were collected through an online questionnaire with the support of Qualtrics software, and data elaboration was carried out with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The elaboration includes an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to identify existing latent factors in the consumers’ perception of enabling agro-food system elements influencing farmers’ reception of fair prices. Then, factor mean values were cross-analysed with socio-economic characteristics and processed tomato consumption habits with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results support the idea that consumers are limitedly aware of the processed tomato agro-food chain dynamics and consider farmers as the most unfairly remunerated partner. Women and frequently purchasing consumers of processed tomato products believe farmers should be treated more fairly. There is a difference between what consumers perceive as fair price distribution and actual price distribution among processed tomato chain actors. Further studies may focus on how fairness attribute impacts on consumer purchasing behaviour

RELAP5-3D thermal hydraulic analysis of the target cooling system in the SPES experimental facility

The SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) experimental facility, under construction at the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) Laboratories of Legnaro, Italy, is a second generation Isotope Separation On Line (ISOL) plant for advanced nuclear physic studies. The UCx target-ion source system works at temperature of about 2273 K, producing a high level of radiation (10^5 Sv/h), for this reason a careful risk analysis for the target chamber is among the major safety issues. In this paper, the obtained results of thermofluid-dynamics simulations of accidental transients in the SPES target cooling system are reported. The analysis, performed by using the RELAP5-3D 2.4.2 qualified thermal-hydraulic system code, proves good safety performance of this system during different accidental conditions

Caspase-independent programmed cell death triggers Ca2PO4 deposition in an in vitro model of nephrocalcinosis

We provide evidence of caspase-independent cell death triggering the calcification process in GDNF-silenced HK-2 cells

Fuzzy FMECA analysis of radioactive gas recovery system in the SPES experimental facility

Selective Production of Exotic Species is an innovative plant for advanced nuclear physic studies. A radioactive beam, generated by using an UCx target-ion source system, is ionized, selected and accelerated for experimental objects. Very high vacuum conditions and appropriate safety systems to storage exhaust gases are required to avoid radiological risk for operators and people. In this paper, Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis of a preliminary design of high activity gas recovery system is performed by using a modified Fuzzy Risk Priority Number to rank the most critical components in terms of failures and human errors. Comparisons between fuzzy approach and classic application allow to show that Fuzzy Risk Priority Number is able to enhance the focus of risk assessments and to improve the safety of complex and innovative systems such as those under consideration

Innovative manufacturing process of functionalized PA2200 for reduced adhesion properties

This work proposes an approach to fabricate micro patterned surfaces on PA2200 polyamide in order to improve its performance in terms of wettability and adhesion. In more detail, the present work aims to change the wettability of the surface and decrease their bacteria adhesion tendency. The experimental procedure consists of imprinting a set of different micro patterned structures over the polymer in order to verify the effectiveness of the methodology to change the contact angle of the surface, and in turn, reduce the occurrence of bacteria adhesion. Four different surface patterning were produced by laser ablation of a commercially pure titanium alloy, and then imprinted over the polyamide by surface stamping. The resulting surfaces were analyzed by topographical characterization and scanning electron microscopy. The wettability was probed by contact angle measurements while the bacteria adhesion was analyzed by adhesion test. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method to modify the surface characteristics and to obtain a reliable patterned surface without using chemical hazardous material; opening to the possibility to replicate more complex structures and to obtain graded engineering surfaces

Contributions to the linear and nonlinear theory of the beam-plasma interaction

We focus our attention on some relevant aspects of the beam-plasma instability in order to refine some features of the linear and nonlinear dynamics. After a re-Analysis of the Poisson equation and of the assumption dealing with the background plasma in the form of a linear dielectric, we study the non-perturbative properties of the linear dispersion relation, showing the necessity for a better characterization of the mode growth rate in those flat regions of the distribution function where the Landau formula is no longer predictive. We then upgrade the original-body approach in O'Neil et al. (Phys. Fluids, vol. 14, 1971, pp. 1204-1212), in order to include a return current in the background plasma. This correction term is responsible for smaller saturation levels and growth rates of the Langmuir modes, as result of the energy density transferred to the plasma via the return current. Finally, we include friction effects, as those due to the collective influence of all the plasma charges on the motion of the beam particles. The resulting force induces a progressive resonance detuning, because particles are losing energy and decreasing their velocity. This friction phenomenon gives rise to a deformation of the distribution function, associated with a significant growth of the less energetic particle population. The merit of this work is to show how a fine analysis of the beam-plasma instability outlines a number of subtleties about the linear, intermediate and late dynamics which can be of relevance when such a system is addressed as a paradigm to describe relevant nonlinear wave-particle phenomena (Chen Zonca, Rev. Mod. Phys., vol. 88, 2016, 015008)

Usefulness of (13)C-urea breath test in the diagnosis of gastric helicobacter pylori infection

Helicobacter pylori chronically infects half of the human population and is associated with gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. C-13-urea breath test (UBT) is the main in vivo tool for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. In this study, the safety and the accuracy of UBT were evaluated.A group of 492 dyspeptic patients was studied by UBT, the results were expressed as the difference over baseline at 30 min (DOB30). All patients were evaluated for systemic, gastrointestinal or allergic-type adverse reactions after ingestion of 75 mg C-13-urea and citric acid in aqueous solution, The first 256 patients enrolled also underwent endoscopy and gastric biopsy. Patients positive on histology were considered infected.UBT was well tolerated and none of the 492 patients had any systemic or allergic-type adverse reaction. Among the 256 patients studied with histology, 116 were H. pylori positive on biopsies. Using 4 %o as cut-off value for DOB30, 115 out of the 256 patients were positive on UBT, with only 2 false positive and 3 false negative, With this threshold, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the UBT were 97.4 %, 98.5 %, and 98.0 %, respectively.C-13-UBT has proven to be a safe and simple, yet accurate, test for the non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring of H. pylori infection

Cell death in the kidney

Apoptotic cell death is usually a response to the cell’s microenvironment. In the kidney, apoptosis contributes to parenchymal cell loss in the course of acute and chronic renal injury, but does not trigger an inflammatory response. What distinguishes necrosis from apoptosis is the rupture of the plasma membrane, so necrotic cell death is accompanied by the release of unprocessed intracellular content, including cellular organelles, which are highly immunogenic proteins. The relative contribution of apoptosis and necrosis to injury varies, depending on the severity of the insult. Regulated cell death may result from immunologically silent apoptosis or from immunogenic necrosis. Recent advances have enhanced the most revolutionary concept of regulated necrosis. Several modalities of regulated necrosis have been described, such as necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, and mitochondrial permeability transition-dependent regulated necrosis. We review the different modalities of apoptosis, necrosis, and regulated necrosis in kidney injury, focusing particularly on evidence implicating cell death in ectopic renal calcification. We also review the evidence for the role of cell death in kidney injury, which may pave the way for new therapeutic opportunities

Microstructural and morphological properties of homoepitaxial (001)ZnTe layers investigated by x-ray diffuse scattering

The microstructural and morphological properties of homoepitaxial (001)ZnTe layers are investigated by x-ray diffuse scattering. High resolution reciprocal space maps recorded close to the ZnTe (004) Bragg peak show different diffuse scattering features. One kind of cross-shaped diffuse scattering streaks along directions can be attributed to stacking faults within the epilayers. Another kind of cross-shaped streaks inclined at an angle of about 80deg with respect to the in-plane direction arises from the morphology of the epilayers. (abridged version