Territory, environment, and healthiness in traditional food choices: Insights into consumer heterogeneity

Traditional foods are facing new market challenges tied to current trends in food habits and their determinants, such as the decline of domestic food preparation, the increased demand for convenience foods, the increasing importance of industrial food production, and the evolution of regulations on food safety. In this context our study aims at improving the knowledge of consumer segments in traditional foods market in order to develop better marketing strategies. The preferences for different credence attributes are investigated applying a latent class choice model to the extra-virgin olive oil market in Italy. Results show the existence of a marked heterogeneity of preferences, which determines the presence of both vertical and horizontal differentiation of the product

The present and future of sustainability disclosure in equity investment funds’ pre-contractual documents: Mapping ESG discourse through STM

To show how pre-contractual documents are currently employed to disclose sustainability and ESG-related information, we map and examine the contents of 945 Key Investor Information Documents (KIIDs) from ten major asset managers, including sustainable and non-sustainable funds. Through a Structural Topic Modelling approach, we infer sustainability-related topics and compare their contents and prevalence in different sections of these documents. Sustainability is a cross-cutting and multifaceted issue, discussed coherently with the SFDR fund classification across multiple sections of the KIID, making the option to convey sustainable information in a single section complex to implement

Patrones de actividad y abundancias estacionales del Flamenco Andino (Phoe-nicoparrus andinus) en dos humedales contrastantes en Argentina

El Flamenco Andino utilizade forma complementaria y alternativa humedales altoandinos de Argentina, Bolivia, Chile y Perú,además de humedales en las tierras bajas de Argentina. Estudios previos se enfocaron en su com-portamiento en sitios andinos, pero no existen al momento estudios de este tipo en sitios de tierrasbajas. Debido a esto, el objetivo del estudio fue analizar los patrones de actividad, de despliegues decortejo y abundancias de esta especie de flamenco en dos humedales contrastantes. Los sitios de es-tudio fueron: la Laguna de Vilama, en el noroeste de Argentina y a 4500 m s.n.m., la cual es utilizadaen el verano durante el período reproductivo; y la Laguna Melincué, en la planicie del centro-este deArgentina y a 84 m s.n.m., que es utilizada durante el período no reproductivo invernal. Entre sitios yentre años hubo marcadas diferencias en la abundancia y en los patrones de actividad. En la Lagunade Vilama, los flamencos se alimentaron durante la mayor parte del tiempo (95%), mientras que enla Laguna Melincué, los flamencos mostraron un rango más amplio de comportamientos, destinandosólo el 60% del tiempo a alimentarse. No registramos despliegues nupciales (marchas) en la Lagunade Vilama, mientras que en la Laguna Melincué sí registramos marchas, las cuales fueron másfrecuentes y de mayor duración en aquellos años con mayores abundancias de flamencos. Las dife-rencias en actividades entre los sitios estarían asociadas a la calidad y disponibilidad de recursos yal momento del ciclo reproductivo, donde los sitios de tierras bajas proveen hábitats críticos paralas actividades de cortejo que finalmente influyen el éxito reproductivo en los humedales de los AltosAndes.The Andean Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus), one of three flamingo species in southernSouth America makes complementary and alternative use of high Andean wetlands in Argentina, Bolivia,Chile and Peru, and lowland wetlands in Argentina over its life cycle. Previous studies have focused onits behavior in Andean sites, but there are no such studies in lowland sites. Therefore, we analyzed theactivity patterns, courtship displays, and individual abundance of this flamingo species at two contrastingwetland sites, Laguna de Vilama, located at 4500 m a.s.l. in northwestern Argentina and used in summerduring the breeding season, and Laguna Melincué, a lowland wetland located at 84 m a.s.l. in the plainsof central east Argentina and used in winter during the non-breeding season. There were marked differ-ences in flamingo abundance and activity patterns between sites and years. In Laguna de Vilama, fla-mingos were feeding most of the time (95%), whereas at Laguna Melincué, flamingos showed a broaderrange of behaviors, with only a 60% of time spent feeding. We did not record marching displays atLaguna de Vilama, whereas at Laguna Melincué we recorded marching events in each of the three studyyears, being more frequent and lasting longer in the year with higher flamingo abundance. The differ-ences in behaviors at these sites are associated with resource quality and availability and with timing ofthe reproductive cycle, with lowland wetlands providing critical habitats for courtship displays that influ-ence reproductive success of this species breeding colonies in high Andean wetlands. Accepted 1 Octo-ber 2014Fil: Derlindati, Enrique Javier. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto Geonorte; Argentina. Grupo de Conservación Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Romano, Marcelo C. Grupo de Conservación Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Ambiente. Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Cruz, Nancy N.. Grupo de Conservación Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto Geonorte; ArgentinaFil: Barisón, Caterina. Grupo de Conservación Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Arengo, Felicity. Grupo de Conservación Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentina. American Museum Of Natural History; Estados UnidosFil: Barberis, Ignacio Martín. Grupo de Conservación Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

An Italian Adaptation of the Burnout Assessment Tool-Core Symptoms (BAT-C) for Students

Burnout is psychological, physical, and emotional suffering that may affect students with low or inadequate resources to face stressful events at school. Although the existing instruments are used worldwide to assess school burnout risk, they show several flaws and mainly focus on the emotional facets of the syndrome. No previous studies have developed a multi-component tool to reveal students' burnout by simultaneously analyzing cognitive, behavioral, and emotional problems. The central core of the current study is to adapt the Burnout Assessment Tool-Core symptoms (BAT-C; Schaufeli et al., 2020), comprising four subscales, exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive impairment, and emotional impairment, for a sample of Italian students. The factor structure, the reliability, and the validity of the scale are investigated. The participants are 745 middle school students (male, 52.2%; aged 9-13, M = 11.84, and SD = 1.21). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the best fit of the second-order model (four first-order factors and one second-order factor). Specifically, four factors were loaded onto a main high-order factor, which constitutes the BAT-C. Our findings support the Italian adaptation of the BAT-C for students' samples as a valid instrument for measuring the core symptoms of school burnout

Behavioural patterns of two flamingo species (Phoenicoparrus andinus and Phoenicopterus chilensis) and their relationship with weather conditions of Melincué lagoon, Argentina, during winter

Los flamencos son aves gregarias que habitan ambientes de agua salina. El Flamenco Austral (Phoenicopterus chilensis) y la Parina Grande (Phoenicoparrus andinus) están presentes en las lagunas del sur de Santa Fe, Argentina, durante el invierno. Este trabajo tiene por objetivos determinar los patrones de comportamiento de estas dos especies durante la estación invernal en la laguna Melincué y evaluar la influencia de variables meteorológicas sobre el comportamiento. Se seleccionaron individuos adultos de ambas especies y se registraron los comportamientos que realizaban y, simultáneamente, los valores de cinco variables meteorológicas (temperatura, sensación térmica, presión atmosférica, humedad relativa, velocidad del viento). Las principales actividades registradas para las dos especies fueron el descanso, el aseo y la alimentación. Se detectaron diferencias significativas entre especies en sus patrones de comportamiento. La Parina Grande dedicó mayor tiempo a actividades de traslado y alerta, mientras que el Flamenco Austral pasó más tiempo en descanso. Los individuos de ambas especies dedicaron mayor tiempo a la alimentación durante períodos de elevada presión atmosférica y al descanso cuando se registraron fuertes vientos. La Parina Grande fue más activa, siendo menos afectada por el viento. Se señala la necesidad de continuar con estudios ecoetológicos de largo plazo sobre estas especies. El conocimiento de la biología de los flamencos podría ser utilizado en el diseño e implementación de planes de acción para su conservación y la de los humedales que habitanFlamingos are gregarious birds that live in brackish lakes. During winter, Andean Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus) and Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) inhabit shallow lakes of southern Santa Fe Province, Argentina. Our objectives were to assess the behavioural patterns of these species during winter at Melincué Lagoon, and to evaluate the influence of weather conditions on these patterns. We selected adult individuals of each species and recorded simultaneously their behaviours and the values of five weather conditions (temperature, wind-chill factor, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed). Main behaviours recorded for both species were resting, preening and feeding. There were significant differences between species in their behavioural patterns. Andean Flamingo spent more time walking and in alert, while the Chilean Flamingo spent more time resting. Individuals of both species spent more time feeding during periods of high atmospheric pressure, and resting during strong winds. The Andean Flamingo was more active, being less affected by strong winds. These results highlight the need to do long-term ecoethological studies of these species. Knowledge about flamingo biology should help the design and implementation of action plans for its conservation and the conservation of the wetlands they inhabitFil: Barisón, Caterina. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Grupo Conservación de Flamencos Altoandinos; ArgentinaFil: Cruz, Nancy. Grupo Conservación de Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Romano, Marcelo. Grupo Conservación de Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentina. Centro de Investigacion en Biodiversidad y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Barberis, Ignacio Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentina. Grupo Conservación de Flamencos Altoandinos; Argentin

Palmitoylethanolamide dampens reactive astrogliosis and improves neuronal trophic support in a triple transgenic model of Alzheimer’s disease: in vitro and in vivo evidence

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder responsible for the majority of dementia cases in elderly people. It is widely accepted that the main hallmarks of AD are not only senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles but also reactive astrogliosis, which often precedes detrimental deposits and neuronal atrophy. Such phenomenon facilitates the regeneration of neural networks; however, under some circumstances, like in AD, reactive astrogliosis is detrimental, depriving neurons of the homeostatic support, thus contributing to neuronal loss. We investigated the presence of reactive astrogliosis in 3×Tg-AD mice and the effects of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a well-documented anti-inflammatory molecule, by in vitro and in vivo studies. In vitro results revealed a basal reactive state in primary cortical 3×Tg-AD-derived astrocytes and the ability of PEA to counteract such phenomenon and improve viability of 3×Tg-AD-derived neurons. In vivo observations, performed using ultramicronized- (um-) PEA, a formulation endowed with best bioavailability, confirmed the efficacy of this compound. Moreover, the schedule of treatment, mimicking the clinic use (chronic daily administration), revealed its beneficial pharmacological properties in dampening reactive astrogliosis and promoting the glial neurosupportive function. Collectively, our results encourage further investigation on PEA effects, suggesting it as an alternative or adjunct treatment approach for innovative AD therapy