The current situation of EU’s food chain

The sharp fluctuations in agricultural commodity and food prices at a time of great uncertainty about the economic outlook illustrate the need to improve the functioning of the European food supply chain with a view to enhancing its efficiency and competitiveness. Better regulation and ensuring a vigorous and coherent enforcement of competition and consumer protection rules will contribute to limiting price increases for the benefit of European consumers, in particular lower income households. Moreover, it will also help overcome the present fragmentation of the food supply chain and remove artificial entry barriers for producers, which will help European consumers benefit from the widest possible choice of quality food products. Additionally, this could help rebalancing the bargaining power in the food supply chain. Global demand and supply developments have been one of the main determinants of the rapid increase in food prices observed. Nevertheless, problems in the functioning of the food supply chain, either in terms of the degree of competition or concerning regulation may have played an important role as well. In the present economic conditions, it is therefore particularly important to analyse how to improve the functioning of the food supply chain and, in particular, to better understand the transmission mechanisms linking commodity prices with producer and consumer prices. This would help identify appropriate measures in support of the consumer's purchasing power and the competitiveness of the sectors involved. The food supply chain connects three economically important sectors: the agricultural sector, the food processing industry and the distribution sectors. These sectors account for 6% of EU value added and 12% of EU employment. As the food processing industry and the distribution sectors have many interactions with other sectors, market malfunctioning along the food supply chain can have significant repercussions. The slow productivity growth in these sectors in comparison with the US indicates that there is room for efficiency improvements.food chain, demand and supply, retirements, consumer, foodstuff’s price, Agricultural and Food Policy,

Non-invasive imaging of fibrosis with positron emission tomography in a rat model with systemic hypertension and myocardial fibrosis

Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Hypertension can initiate myocardial remodelling processes which, often via fibrotic triggers through the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, can lead to the development of heart failure. A main contributor of these pathways is angiotensin II, increased levels of which can induce volume and pressure overload in the cardiovascular system, making it an important factor in both hypertension and associated cardiovascular disease. A main process during cardiac remodelling is fibrosis which can be divided into two types: reactive and replacement fibrosis. The latter refers to the changes via scar formation at an injury site while the former (interstitial or perivascular fibrosis) can happen as a response to changes in the physical or chemical environment within the tissue such as hypertension or inflammation. Fibrillary collagen is an important extracellular matrix component and abundantly deposited during fibrosis. Collagen can have various subtypes based on its structure which can add different characteristics to the tissue. During collagen biosynthesis, cis- or trans-proline containing pro-α chains can be integrated into the protein, where chains containing cis isomer are associated with more distensible and abnormal collagen and those with trans isomer with more rigid triple helix collagen. Other factors can also influence the development of heart failure via the myocardial remodelling processes, such as inflammatory and angiogenic pathways. Heart failure can be diagnosed and assessed in the clinic via blood tests and imaging techniques such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerised tomography (CT), and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) / positron emission tomography (PET). This thesis aimed to investigate the effect of increased angiotensin II and subsequent hypertension on the levels of myocardial collagen synthesis and to test PET radiotracers cis-4-18F-fluoro-L-proline and trans-4-18F-fluoro-L-proline for the detection of myocardial fibrosis and potential differentiation of the types of collagen fibers. The overarching hypothesis of the project was that myocardial fibrosis can be imaged non-invasively with PET in a rat pressure overload model with via persistent hypertension resulting in end-organ damage. A hypertensive rat model with myocardial remodelling was established via angiotensin II infusion using osmotic mini-pumps. Treatment length and dosage were tested and the optimal protocol was chosen to induce myocardial fibrosis. The model was assessed for myocardial collagen content as well as markers of inflammation and vasculature. On a separate set of experiments, the performance of PET radiotracers, cis-4-18F-fluoro-L-proline and trans-4-18F-fluoro-L-proline, was assessed in naïve rats to understand their in vivo metabolism and kinetics. Then, the optimised animal model of hypertensive heart failure and PET imaging protocols were used to investigate whether the new imaging probes could visualise areas if increased collagen synthesis and whether the uptake was related to the type of collagen involved. Using 500 ng/kg/min angiotensin II dose for 4 weeks duration was adequate to induce myocardial fibrosis and hypertension in the rat model. The fibrosis pattern was mainly perivascular in nature. Immunostaining also showed increased CD68 in the myocardium of rats on 250 ng/kg/min but not with the higher dose. The highest percentage of cells stained positive for all three of CD68, TSPO and isolectin B4 was found in the atria of animals on the higher angiotensin II dose, which area also showed the most fibrosis overall. Both radiotracers were successfully assessed in naïve rats, showing no metabolism and favourable kinetics in vivo, allowing for simplified quantification of radiotracer uptake. Myocardial radiotracer uptake in the angiotensin II treated cohort showed increased myocardial signal with the trans-4-18F-fluoro-L-proline radiotracer but no significant differences with cis-4-18F-fluoro-L-proline compared to vehicle treated animals. Animals undergoing the imaging experiment showed increased myocardial fibrosis similarly to rats in the model development experiments. Myocardial fibrosis develops during hypertension induced via angiotensin II treatment, and this change can be measured with PET imaging targeting collagen biosynthesis. Further investigation into the types of collagens involved and how they contribute to pathology needs to be carried out to characterise the underlying biological processes in more detail. Fluoroproline radiotracer PET imaging can become a valuable tool for the assessment of fibrosis pathology both in terms of early detection and disease progression

Positron Emission Tomography Techniques to Measure Active Inflammation, Fibrosis and Angiogenesis in Hypertensive Heart Failure

Heart failure, which is responsible for a high number of deaths worldwide, can develop due to chronic hypertension. Heart failure can involve and progress through several different pathways, including: fibrosis, inflammation, and angiogenesis. Early and specific detection of changes in the myocardium during the transition to heart failure can be made via the use of molecular imaging techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET). Traditional cardiovascular PET techniques, such as myocardial perfusion imaging and sympathetic innervation imaging, have been established at the clinical level but are often lacking in pathway and target specificity that is important for assessment of heart failure. Therefore, there is a need to identify new PET imaging markers of inflammation, fibrosis and angiogenesis that could aid diagnosis, staging and treatment of hypertensive heart failure. This review will provide an overview of key mechanisms underlying hypertensive heart failure and will present the latest developments in PET probes for detection of cardiovascular inflammation, fibrosis and angiogenesis. Currently, selective PET probes for detection of angiogenesis remain elusive but promising PET probes for specific targeting of inflammation and fibrosis are rapidly progressing into clinical use

The current situation of EU’s food chain

The sharp fluctuations in agricultural commodity and food prices at a time of great uncertainty about the economic outlook illustrate the need to improve the functioning of the European food supply chain with a view to enhancing its efficiency and competitiveness. Better regulation and ensuring a vigorous and coherent enforcement of competition and consumer protection rules will contribute to limiting price increases for the benefit of European consumers, in particular lower income households. Moreover, it will also help overcome the present fragmentation of the food supply chain and remove artificial entry barriers for producers, which will help European consumers benefit from the widest possible choice of quality food products. Additionally, this could help rebalancing the bargaining power in the food supply chain. Global demand and supply developments have been one of the main determinants of the rapid increase in food prices observed. Nevertheless, problems in the functioning of the food supply chain, either in terms of the degree of competition or concerning regulation may have played an important role as well. In the present economic conditions, it is therefore particularly important to analyse how to improve the functioning of the food supply chain and, in particular, to better understand the transmission mechanisms linking commodity prices with producer and consumer prices. This would help identify appropriate measures in support of the consumer's purchasing power and the competitiveness of the sectors involved. The food supply chain connects three economically important sectors: the agricultural sector, the food processing industry and the distribution sectors. These sectors account for 6% of EU value added and 12% of EU employment. As the food processing industry and the distribution sectors have many interactions with other sectors, market malfunctioning along the food supply chain can have significant repercussions. The slow productivity growth in these sectors in comparison with the US indicates that there is room for efficiency improvements

Efficiency indicators in different dimension

There are several variations of efficiency definitions and of course ratios concerned with efficiency. A better understanding of the notion of efficiency is critical to dissolve ambiguity about it. Many confuse efficiency with other supposedly synonymous notions such as profitability, successfulness, competitiveness, liquidity or productivity. This ambiguity originates not only in subjective reasons, but the lack of hierarchical order among certain ideas. The primary driver in our research is, to systematize efficiency in general, and formulate a new categorical approach of the efficiency in corporate level

Efficiency indicators in different dimension

There are several variations of efficiency definitions and of course ratios concerned with efficiency. A better understanding of the notion of efficiency is critical to dissolve ambiguity about it. Many confuse efficiency with other supposedly synonymous notions such as profitability, successfulness, competitiveness, liquidity or productivity. This ambiguity originates not only in subjective reasons, but the lack of hierarchical order among certain ideas. The primary driver in our research is, to systematize efficiency in general, and formulate a new categorical approach of the efficiency in corporate level.efficiency, corporate level, new categories, Productivity Analysis,

Remodeling of Liver and Plasma Lipidomes in Mice Lacking Cyclophilin D

In recent years, several studies aimed to investigate the metabolic effects of non-functioning or absent cyclophilin D (CypD), a crucial regulatory component of mitochondrial permeability transition pores. It has been reported that the lack of CypD affects glucose and lipid metabolism. However, the findings are controversial regarding the metabolic pathways involved, and most reports describe the effect of a high-fat diet on metabolism. We performed a lipidomic analysis of plasma and liver samples of CypD-/- and wild-type (WT) mice to reveal the lipid-specific alterations resulting from the absence of CypD. In the CypD-/- mice compared to the WT animals, we found a significant change in 52% and 47% of the measured 225 and 201 lipid species in liver and plasma samples, respectively. The higher total lipid content detected in these tissues was not accompanied by abdominal fat accumulation assessed by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. We also documented characteristic changes in the lipid composition of the liver and plasma as a result of CypD ablation with the relative increase in polyunsaturated membrane lipid species. In addition, we did not observe remarkable differences in the lipid distribution of hepatocytes using histochemistry, but we found characteristic changes in the hepatocyte ultrastructure in CypD-/- animals using electron microscopy. Our results highlight the possible long-term effects of CypD inhibition as a novel therapeutic consideration for various diseases

Pharmacological induction of ferritin prevents osteoblastic transformation of smooth muscle cells

Vascular calcification is a frequent complication of atherosclerosis, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. In the latter group of patients, calcification is commonly seen in tunica media where smooth muscle cells (SMC) undergo osteoblastic transformation. Risk factors such as elevated phosphorus levels and vitamin D3 analogs have been identified. Inlight of earlier observations by our group and others, we sought to inhibit SMC calcification via induction of ferritin. Human aortic SMC were cultured using β-glycerophosphate with activated vitamin D3, or inorganic phosphate with calcium, and induction of alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin as well as accumulation of calcium were used to monitor osteoblastic transformation. Additionally, to examine the role of vitamin D3 analogs, plasma samples from patients on hemodialysis who hadreceived calcitriol or paricalcitol were tested for their tendency to induce calcification of SMC. Addition of exogenous ferritin mitigates the transformation of SMC into osteoblast-like cells. Importantly, pharmacologic induction of heavy chain ferritin by 3H-1,2-Dithiole-3-thione was able to inhibit the SMC transition into osteoblast-like cells and calcification of extracellular matrix. Plasma samples collected from patients after administration of activated vitamin D3 caused significantly increased alkaline phosphatase activity in SMC compared to samples drawn prior to activated vitamin D3 and here, again induction of ferritin diminished the osteoblastic transformation. Our data suggests that pharmacologic induction of ferritin prevents osteoblastic transformation of SMC. Hence, utilization of such agents thatwill cause enhanced ferritin synthesis may have important clinical application in prevention of vascular calcification