CONVEGNO LA RICERCA PER L’AGRICOLTURA BIOLOGICA E BIODINAMICA: UNA VISIONE DI INSIEME

This Conference was organized by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and was aimed to an overview of the Research in Organic Farming in Italy. This event was adapted for the presentation of FAVORDENONDE Project

Approximate social nash equilibria and applications

In this paper, a concept of approximate social Nash equilibria is considered and an existence result is given when the strategic spaces of the players are not compact. These have been obtained using an approximate fixed point theorem. As an application of the existence of such approximate social Nash equilibria, sufficient conditions for the existence of a suitable approximate walrasian equilibrium in finite economies are obtained. Among others things, it is shown that the approximate walrasian equilibrium here considered is approximatively weakly efficient.Abstract economy, approximate social Nash equilibrium, finite economy, approximate walrasian equilibrium, approximate fixed point theorems.

Existence of Equilibrium Prices for Discontinuous Excess Demand Correspondences

The aim of the paper is to obtain the existence of equilibrium prices in economies where the excess demand correspondences—differently from the usual condition—are not necessarily upper semicontinuous. So, in our setting, we cannot use the Gale-Debreu-Nikaido Lemma. The existence of equilibrium prices is obtained for discontinuous excess demand correspondences which obey to a condition like of the weak axiom of reveled preferences.Discontinuous excess demand correspondences, existence of equilibrium prices, weak axiom of revealed preferences

Data science of stroke imaging and enlightenment of the penumbra.

Imaging protocols of acute ischemic stroke continue to hold significant uncertainties regarding patient selection for reperfusion therapy with thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy. Given that patient inclusion criteria can easily introduce biases that may be unaccounted for, the reproducibility and reliability of the patient screening method is of utmost importance in clinical trial design. The optimal imaging screening protocol for selection in targeted populations remains uncertain. Acute neuroimaging provides a snapshot in time of the brain parenchyma and vasculature. By identifying the at-risk but still viable penumbral tissue, imaging can help estimate the potential benefit of a reperfusion therapy in these patients. This paper provides a perspective about the assessment of the penumbral tissue in the context of acute stroke and reviews several neuroimaging models that have recently been developed to assess the penumbra in a more reliable fashion. The complexity and variability of imaging features and techniques used in stroke will ultimately require advanced data driven software tools to provide quantitative measures of risk/benefit of recanalization therapy and help aid in making the most favorable clinical decisions

Major League Baseball\u27s Antitrust Exemption and the Impact of the Curt Flood Act

For many years, professional baseball has enjoyed a privileged antitrust exemption apart from other professional sports. With the passing of the Curt Flood Act in 1998 this exemption was removed; however, the act may not be as influential as it seems. Court rulings were prominent in initiating and maintaining the antitrust exemption for professional baseball. These include the Supreme Court Trilogy, especially the case of Curt Flood, a baseball player who fought against the reserve clause system which limited his and other players’ employment options. Collective bargaining as well as arbitration became dominant in professional baseball labor relations under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board and the National Labor Relations Act. Although the collective bargaining process in Major League Baseball has been contentious, it provided more bargaining power to the players, resulting in the elimination of many unfair labor practices including the reserve system. The Curt Flood Act of 1998, which allows professional Major League Baseball players to file lawsuits under antitrust regulations, served as the final step in equalizing the power between players and owners. Early predictions about the act concluded that it would either help strengthen baseball’s antitrust exemption or harm the collective bargaining process. Other researchers thought that the act would not have much of an effect at all because of its limitations and requirements. But others have noted some positive results, specifically in labor negotiations between players and owners, which point to the act having a genuine influence on Major League Baseball

Effect of pressing method on the sensory quality of organic apple juice

There is a need for alternative, gentle processing methods that can be used for processing of organic food products. The pressing methods used for organic apple juice include the slow rack-and-frame press and the faster water press or belt press. The aim was to evaluate the influence of these three pressing methods on the sensory quality of cloudy organic apple juice produced from two apple cultivars

Effect of tomato variety, cultivation, climate and processing on Sola l 4, an allergen from Solanum lycopersicum

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are one of the most consumed vegetables worldwide. However, tomato allergies in patients suffering from birch pollen allergy occur frequently. Due to highly similar protein structures of the tomato allergen Sola l 4 and the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1, patients cross-react with allergenic proteins from tomato as well as other fruits or vegetables. The aim of this study was to quantify Sola l 4 in various tomatoes differing in color, size and shape for identification of varieties with a reduced allergen level. Therefore, an indirect competitive ELISA using a specific polyclonal Sola l 4 antibody was developed. In addition, two varieties, both cultivated either conventionally or organically and furthermore dried with different methods, were analyzed to investigate the influence of the cultivation method and processing techniques on Sola l 4 level. Within 23 varieties, Sola l 4 content varied significantly between 0.24 and 1.71 μg Sola l 4/g FW. The tomato cultivars Rugantino and Rhianna showed the significantly lowest level, whereas in cultivars Farbini and Bambello the significantly highest concentration was determined. Drying of tomatoes in the oven and by sun resulted in a significant decrease. The thermal instability was verified for the recombinant Sola l 4 emphasizing the results for the native protein in dried tomato samples. Overall, the Sola l 4 content is cultivar-dependent and no correlation between color and Sola l 4 amount was found. During the drying process of tomatoes Sola l 4 level was significantly reduced due to thermal instability. Growing conditions have a minor effect whereas seasonal effects show a more pronounced impact. These findings could extend the knowledge about the allergen level of different tomato varieties and may help to improve food safety to potentially increase the life quality of patients suffering from birch pollen allergy