Exploring the environmental impact associated with the abandonment of the Mediterranean diet, and how to reduce it with alternative sustainable diets

This paper estimates the environmental impact of different diets and explores how changes in the diet composition can reduce Carbon Footprint and Ecological Footprint, meanwhile ensuring that diets are nutritionally adequate, culturally acceptable for consumers, and affordable form an economic standpoint. Focusing on Italy as one of the main Mediterranean countries, the paper develops a Sustainable Diet Model to explore the environmental impact of different diets. The results indicate that the reduction of diet-related environmental impact can be achieved also without complete exclusion of animal-based products and provide novel insights for future policies geared at promoting sustainable food consumption and at achieving international sustainability goals

Water scarcity and consumer behavior: An analysis of diet-related water footprint

Within the framework of an increasing water scarcity, fostered by the climate change, in this study we investigate the environmental impact associated with current food consumption by means of the Water footprint indicator focusing on the case of Italy. For the analysis of the real food consumption and its impact, we selected the Mediterranean diet as a benchmark, since previous evidence shows that Italians are shifting their dietary habits away from the traditional Mediterranean Diet in favor of dietary patterns rich in animal-based products, especially meat. To promote more sustainable food choices, we applied a Sustainable Diet Model to analyze alternative diets that can reduce the Water footprint associated with food consumption. The results of the analysis show that by adopting slight changes in the consumption of certain categories of foods, it is possible to reduce the Water footprint of diets. The findings of this research are useful for supporting policies for the promotion of sustainable food consumption that would lead to a reduction in the exploitation of a scarce resource such as water, improving the allocation of this resource and achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda

New technologies and firm organization : the case of electronic traceability systems in French agribusiness

This paper considers the relationship between the adoption of electronic traceability systems (ETSs) and the organization of firms. More precisely, it analyzes the respective roles of a firm's organizational structure, and organizational changes, in the process of ETS adoption in agribusiness. We use data from the French "Organizational Changes and Computerization" survey from 2006. We test a probit model to demonstrate the organizational structure and organizational changes underlying the firm's ETS adoption choice. Results show that ETS adoption is strongly favored by organizations with heavy hierarchical structures, standardized managerial practices and contractual mechanisms with external partners. This adoption process seems to coevolve with the organization: firms that implemented an ETS during the observed period (2003-2006) have experienced the most important organizational changes in terms of managerial practices, information systems and contractual relations, as well as the strengthening of the intermediate levels in the hierarchy

GWAS on longitudinal growth traits reveals different genetic factors influencing infant, child, and adult BMI

Early childhood growth patterns are associated with adult health, yet the genetic factors and the developmental stages involved are not fully understood. Here, we combine genome-wide association studies with modeling of longitudinal growth traits to study the genetics of infant and child growth, followed by functional, pathway, genetic correlation, risk score, and colocalization analyses to determine how developmental timings, molecular pathways, and genetic determinants of these traits overlap with those of adult health. We found a robust overlap between the genetics of child and adult body mass index (BMI), with variants associated with adult BMI acting as early as 4 to 6 years old. However, we demonstrated a completely distinct genetic makeup for peak BMI during infancy, influenced by variation at the LEPR/LEPROT locus. These findings suggest that different genetic factors control infant and child BMI. In light of the obesity epidemic, these findings are important to inform the timing and targets of prevention strategies

GWAS on longitudinal growth traits reveals different genetic factors influencing infant, child, and adult BMI

Early childhood growth patterns are associated with adult health, yet the genetic factors and the developmental stages involved are not fully understood. Here, we combine genome-wide association studies with modeling of longitudinal growth traits to study the genetics of infant and child growth, followed by functional, pathway, genetic correlation, risk score, and colocalization analyses to determine how developmental timings, molecular pathways, and genetic determinants of these traits overlap with those of adult health. We found a robust overlap between the genetics of child and adult body mass index (BMI), with variants associated with adult BMI acting as early as 4 to 6 years old. However, we demonstrated a completely distinct genetic makeup for peak BMI during infancy, influenced by variation at the LEPR/LEPROT locus. These findings suggest that different genetic factors control infant and child BMI. In light of the obesity epidemic, these findings are important to inform the timing and targets of prevention strategies.</p

Fourier ring correlation as a resolution criterion for super-resolution microscopy

Optical nanoscopy techniques using localization based image reconstruction, also termed super-resolution microscopy (SRM), have become a standard tool to bypass the diffraction limit in fluorescence light microscopy. The localization precision measured for the detected fluorophores is commonly used to describe the maximal attainable resolution. However, this measure takes not all experimental factors, which impact onto the finally achieved resolution, into account. Several other methods to measure the resolution of super-resolved images were previously suggested, typically relying on intrinsic standards, such as molecular rulers, or on a priori knowledge about the specimen, e.g. its spatial frequency content. Here we show that Fourier ring correlation provides an easy-to-use, laboratory consistent standard for measuring the resolution of SRM images. We provide a freely available software tool that combines resolution measurement with image reconstruction