Introduction to Challenge Test and Microbiological Characterisation of Local Products

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“A CvaR Model for ETF Portfolio Selection”

Working paper - Università della Florida - Gainesvill

Fostering the entrepreneurial intention of university students: the role of challenge-based learning approach

Building on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the aim of this paper is to investigate the moderating effect of entrepreneurship education in the relationship between attributes like attitude, social norms and perceived behavioral control, and the entrepreneurial intention of university students. Specifically, the moderation effect of entrepreneurship programs that adopt a Challenge-Based Learning approach is analyzed. To do so, the Italian sample of university students who participated in the 2021 Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students' Survey (GUESSS) was used. Results confirm that participation in entrepreneurial programs that adopt a Challenge-Based Learning positively moderate the relationship between Theory of Planned Behavior attributes and entrepreneurial intention of the students. Specifically, the results show that participation in Challenge-Based programs increases the positive effect of attitude on entrepreneurial intention

Physical and mental health of university staff during the Covid-19 pandemic

The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic caused a sudden and massive change in work organizations. One of the major consequences of the crisis was the acceleration towards teleworking, through the specific phenomenon of Mandatory Work From Home: the situations in which workers overnight found themselves to work seven days a week from their home environment, constantly online, often without adequate equipment and little to no preparation. Different workers reacted in different way to this important change, depending on age, gender, family characteristics and other impacting factors. Mandatory work from home and these other variables impacted employees’ physical and mental health, triggering or increasing symptoms of overwork and emotional exhaustion among others. This paper contributes to the literature on the impact of the pandemic on workers’ health by giving an overview of the effects of MWFH on university staff, using Politecnico di Torino as a case study

Vitamin B12 determination in milk, whey and different by-products of ricotta cheese production by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a metal complex composed of a central cobalt ion bonded to six ligands. It is essential for major biological functions such as protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism, the maintenance of the central nervous system, and the formation of red blood cells. Since mammals cannot synthesize cobalamin, dietary intake represents the only natural source for humans. Dairy products can provide significant levels of cobalamin; moreover, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel has set the recommended intake at 4 \uce\ubcg/day for adults. Vitamin B12 content was determined in milk and several matrices related to the process of transformation of the residual whey from Parmigiano Reggiano cheese-making to obtain ricotta cheese. In addition, vitamin B12 degradation during ricotta cheese shelf-life was studied. The analyses were performed using an ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. Results show that vitamin B12 amount in ricotta from dairy and experimental cheese-making brings respectively 1/8 to 1/4 of the adequate intake in adults established by EFSA. In addition, shelf-life experiment shows that cobalamine is fairly rapidly degraded in ricotta: light effect seems to be significant, even if the light exposure is short. The use of photoprotective packaging material increases B12 shelf-life in the early stage of storage

Pre-packaged food products business to consumer (B2C) distance selling and information obligations in Italian mass market retailers

The supply and sale of food online are on the rise. The value of e-commerce in Europe has been estimated in 602 billion euros in 2017, 324 million people in the old continent purchase online. In the European area, the Netherlands and Italy are the countries where the e-commerce market grew faster in the last five years. Nevertheless, in Italy the spread of online shopping has reached the 89.9% of the population between 11 and 74 years old. The access to the Internet, as declared by 43 million Italians, it is carried out from fixed or mobile locations. In terms of revenues the food sector recorded a +24% among the different sectors facing one of the higher grows in terms of percentages. The regulatory framework that disciplines the food products distance selling can be traced back to two fundamental pillars: the European legislation on e-commerce on the one side and the food information to consumers on the other side. Under article 14 of the Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011, the European legislator states that the mandatory information, as indicated in article 9, shall be available to the consumer before the purchase is concluded and when the product is delivered. The study aims at verifying: the level of compliance by Italians MMR with the information regulation about food products distance selling in relation to (a) the fulfillment of the obligation concerning mandatory provisions and (b) the fulfillment of the obligations concerning availability and readability of the information provided. The research has been conducted analyzing the websites of the ten largest Italian MMR and in particular: if the mandatory information were provided, the availability of the information according to the Regulation (EU) 1169/2011; the number of clicks needed to identify the food product in the website and the number of clicks Non required to obtain all the information. The observation testified a substantial compliance with the information obligations according to the European regulation. Differently, when considering the availability and readability of the information, from the analysis emerged that consumers have to follow a path that is not immediate and intuitive. Conclusions are provided in relation to the presented research

BsmI (rs1544410) and FokI (rs2228570) vitamin D receptor polymorphisms, smoking, and body mass index as risk factors of cutaneous malignant melanoma in northeast Italy

Objective: To investigate whether vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) BsmI-rs1544410 and FokI-rs2228570 polymorphisms, smoking duration, and body mass index (BMI) are risk factors for cutaneous melanoma, especially metastatic melanoma. Methods: We studied 120 cutaneous melanoma cases [68 stage I and II non-metastatic melanoma (NMetM) patients, plus 52 Stage III and IV metastatic melanoma (MetM) patients], and 120 matching healthy controls from northeast Italy. VDR polymorphisms were measured by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Absence or presence of BsmI and FokI restriction sites was denoted by \u201cB\u201d and \u201cF\u201d or by \u201cb\u201d and \u201cf,\u201d respectively. Results: VDR-BsmI bb genotype was more frequent among MetM (32.7%) than among NMetM cases (13.2%), with odds ratio (OR)=3.18. Comparison of all melanoma patients vs healthy controls showed that the following biomarkers were at risk: 6520 years of smoking (OR=2.43); 6520 years of smoking combined with bb (OR=4.78), Bb+bb (OR=2.30), Ff (OR=3.04), and Ff+ff (OR=3.08); obesity (BMI>30 kg/m2 ) alone (OR=3.54); and obesity combined with Bb+bb (OR=3.52), Ff (OR=4.78), and Ff+ff (OR=6.56). Comparison of MetM vs NMetM patients revealed that the following biomarkers were at risk: 6520 years of smoking (OR=2.39), 6520 years of smoking combined with bb (OR=5.13), Bb+bb (OR=3.07), and Ff+ff (OR=2.66); and obesity combined with Bb+bb (OR=5.27), Ff (OR=6.28), and Ff+ff (OR=9.18). Triple combination of 6520 years of smoking, obesity, and Bb+bb yielded OR=9.65 for melanoma patients vs healthy controls and OR=12.2 for MetM vs. NMetM patients. Conclusions: Risk factors for cutaneous MetM include two VDR polymorphisms combined with smoking duration and obesity. Results suggest gene-environment implications in melanoma susceptibility and severity. Future studies in larger cohorts and in subjects with different genetic background are warranted to extend our findings

Challenge-based learning as a practice for engineering education to develop students' entrepreneurial mindset

This paper aims to investigate the implications of Challenge Based Learning programs on entrepreneurial skills, mindset and intentions of university students using a quantitative approach. Using an original database, we analyzed pre and post levels of entrepreneurial skills, mindset and intention of 127 students who attended a Challenge Based Learning program. Results show a positive and significant effect of Challenge Based Learning programs on entrepreneurial mindset and skills – such as financial literacy, creativity and planning – of the students. Moreover, results show a positive but non-significative effect on entrepreneurial intention