186,682 research outputs found
A consumer perspective on mobile market evolution
No full textIn 2007 (Mazzoni, Castaldi, Addeo) we performed a wide research on consumer behavior in the Italian mobile communication market. Using a multidimensional segmentation approach, we identified three consumer clusters according to lifestyles, mobile phone use motivations and product attributes. One of the most interesting finding was that two clusters out of three were characterized by a minor propensity to an integrated and service-oriented use of mobile communication. In other words, some consumers conceived mobile phone not only as a simple communication devices, but more like a technologically advanced multipurpose tool. In mid-2000s Italian mobile companies and operators tried to push mobile communication market toward an integrated use, mostly relying on videophone communication. Although videophone communication had a very low impact on mobile market, integrated and service oriented use of cellular phones are becoming more and more the pillars of mobile communication market.
Considering that the mobile communication market changes quickly under the spur of many technological innovations, new challenges or opportunities stem from the exploitation of innovations in mobile devices. The service economy (Fuchs, 1968; Gustafsson & Johnson, 2003), that implies the shift of manufacturers from goods selling to services delivering, is one of those challenges for mobile industry. Mainly since 2007, with the iPhone introduction, the “servitization” (Vandermerwe & Rada, 1988) has been an extending trend (Neely, 2007) among the mobile phones suppliers as they try to mix in their offerings either good and service, integrating phone devices with increasing software and applications.
In a supplier perspective, this shift has an important impact on economical aspects, in term of cash-flows growth, or additional revenues - those streaming from selling more complementary services for products. Nevertheless, servitization also brings implications in the operation management, in the innovation strategy and compels providers to revise their business model also. But what is happening in the consumer perspective? A mass-market product like the mobile phone becomes extremely customizable by the complementary services that can be integrated into it: software updating allows customers to entail the mobile phone functionality on their unique needs.
Analyzing the consumer perspective through the adoption of a behavior model above outlined (Mazzoni, 1995) and already applied and tested into the exploration of mobile market (Mazzoni, Castaldi, Addeo, 2007), this chapter aims - through a literature review - to understand how changes in the offerings can affect the three dimensions: lifestyles, use motivations and product attributes. Particularly, if shifts in product attributes are clear and evident, the chapter aims to consider the impact in the way in which customer’s expectations, needs and use of mobile phones are transforming
Odour-impact compounds of Gorgonzola cheese
No full textVolatile concentrates were obtained by vacuum distillation from both
natural and creamy Gorgonzola cheese and isolated by continuous liquid–liquid
extraction. Both were analysed by high resolution gas chromatography (HRGC),
HRGC–mass spectrometry and HRGC–olfactometry. A total of 63 components were
identified in the neutral extract of the natural type (21 esters, 13 ketones, 14 alcohols,
5 aldehydes, 1 sulphur compound, 7 aromatic compounds and 2 terpenes) and 52
in the creamy type (17 esters, 12 ketones, 10 alcohols, 5 aldehydes, 1 sulphur
compound, 5 aromatic compounds and 2 terpenes). Ketones, whose major
components were 2-nonanone and 2-heptanone, were the predominant constituents
of the neutral fraction. By olfactometric analysis of the neutral extracts, 23 odour-impact compounds were found in the natural and 21 in the creamy Gorgonzola
cheese. 1-Octen-3-ol, ethyl hexanoate, 2-nonanone, 2-heptanone, 2-heptanol, ethyl
butanoate, 2-nonanol and 4-methylanisole were the key odorants of the natural
cheese, whereas 2-heptanone, 2-heptanol, ethyl butanoate, 3-methyl thiopropanal
and an unidentified constituent with a fruity odour were characteristic of the creamy
Gorgonzola cheese. On the basis of high odour unity values, 2-nonanone, 1-octen-3-ol, 2-heptanol, ethyl hexanoate, methylanisole and 2-heptanone were the most
important odorants of natural and creamy Gorgonzola cheese aroma.</jats:p
Nuovi marcatori per stabilire ex-post l'intensità del trattamento termico nel latte del commercio.
No full textI trattamenti termici del latte (pastorizzazione e sterilizzazione UHT) causano la denaturazione delle sieroproteine in proporzione diretta all’intensità del riscaldamento. La denaturazione termica comporta modificazioni di struttura secondaria e terziaria con formazione di aggregati proteici. Da molti anni sono stati messi in evidenza aggregati tra sieroproteine denaturate e κ-caseina con legami disolfurici. Con l’ausilio di varie tecniche analitiche (elettroforesi su gel, immunoblotting e cromatografia seguita da analisi turbidimetriche) (O’ Kennedy, B. T., et al 2006) sono stati discriminati addotti tra proteine classificati con legame “debole” (legami idrogeno) o “forte” (di tipo covalente). E’ stato possibile stabilire anche la taglia molecolare degli aggregati proteici e stimare la composizione in proteine costitutive. Recentemente gli studi si sono concentrati sulla determinazione quantitativa di proteine del siero che si denaturano in seguito a trattamenti termici di varia intensità e sulla natura degli aggregati proteici. Si sono usate le ormai note tecniche immunochimiche del tipo ELISA o l’elettroforesi seguita da densitometria (Jovanovic, S., et al 2007). Il presente lavoro di tesi parte da queste acquisizioni per spingersi più lontano nell’identificare la natura degli aggregati proteici formatisi nel latte alimentare. Un altro obiettivo è quello di quantificare le sieroproteine 34 denaturate separatamente dalle proteine solubili del latte. Per raggiungere tale obiettivo è necessario estrarre selettivamente le proteine del siero denaturate libere od impegnate in aggregati proteici e procedere alla loro identificazione. Nel presente lavoro di tesi le proteine del siero denaturate sono state identificate mediante SDS-PAGE seguita da immunoblotting con anticorpi policlonali specifici per le singole proteine. Identificazioni complementari sono state effettuate mediante cromatografia RP-HPLC in cui l’identità di ciascuna proteina è stata confermata mediante tecniche varie tra cui la spettrometria di massa MALDI-TOF. Lo studio preliminare è stato effettuato su latte alimentare sottoposto a pastorizzazione, UHT e sterilizzazione in bottiglia. Data la complessità delle situazioni, diverse da tipo di latte a tipo di latte, è stato scelto di focalizzare l’attenzione sul latte UHT per il profilo di temperatura del trattamento termico del latte, preriscaldamento a circa 80 °C/15sec., equivalente a pastorizzazione “alta” e sterilizzazione vera e propria a 145 °C/1,5sec. Data l’enorme varietà di modificazioni a cui vanno soggette le proteine denaturate, l’obiettivo minimo da raggiungere nella tesi è stato fissato nell’identificare un marcatore molecolare per almeno una significativa proteina del siero del latte che sia incorsa in sensibili modificazioni strutturali. Disponendo di tale indicatore diviene semplice stimare in termini quantitativi le proteine denaturate dal calore indipendentemente dalla natura e dal tipo di aggregato in cui esse si trovano impegnate. 35 L’indagine è stata estesa alle polveri di latte (caseinato di calcio) ed ad un preparato di proteine totali del latte. E’ stata verificata una difficoltà di frazionamento delle sieroproteine denaturate dalle caseine nelle polveri di latte a causa delle temperature elevate occorse per l’essiccazione dei prodotti. Per tale ragione è stato necessario modificare la procedura analitica valida per il latte liquido facendo ricorso alla pepsina invece che alla tripsina per la digestione enzimatica delle proteine. Lo studio è estendibile in linea teorica a tutti i derivati del latte come i formaggi ed i latti fermentati e questo costituisce al momento una delle linee di ricerca attualmente partite presso i nostri laboratori, nei quali si è iniziato a studiare la genuinità dei formaggi DOP e dei formaggi fusi per i quali è previsto l’utilizzo di latti non trattati termicamente
Mass spectrometry in the study of anthocyanins and their derivatives: differentiation of Vitis vinifera and hybrid grapes by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry.
No full textA mass spectrometric-based procedure for anthocyanin profiling was set up to distinguish authentic Vitis vinifera from hybrid red grapevine cultivars. 3-O-Monoglucoside and the related acetyl-, p-coumaryland caffeoyl-monoglucoside anthocyanins occurred only in Vitis vinifera, whereas 3,5-O-diglucoside and the substituted acetyl-, p-coumaryl-, feruloyl- and caffeoyl-diglucoside anthocyanins were the additional pigments in hybrid grapevines. The procedure was applied expressly to identify red grape cultivars based on the anthocyanin chemo-type determination. In particular, a red grape cultivar, having 3,5-O-diglucoside anthocyanins and a novel class of anthocyanin monoglucosides, such as cyanidin-3-O-, cyanidin-3-O-(6-O-acetyl)- and cyanidin-3-O-(6-O-p-coumaryl)pentoside, was classified as hybrid. A second vine cultivar, characterized exclusively by 3-O-monoglucoside anthocyanins, was included among the Vitis vinifera species. Anthocyanin profiling by mass spectrometry could represent the core of a chemotaxonomic procedure for distinguishing American and European grapevines based on the identification of postsynthetic anthocyanidin modification
Production of Angiotensin-I-Converting-Enzyme-Inhibitory peptides in fermented milks started by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus SS1 and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris FT4
No full textPHOSPHOPEPTIDES AS POSSIBLE NUTRACEUTICALS FOR FUNCTIONAL FOODS
No full textA new functional drink has been formulated using as nutraceutical ingredient a preparation of casein phosphopeptides (CPP). Nutraceutical is a term combining the words “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical”. Enzymes at predetermined specificity can digest in vivo or in vitro proteins delivering a number of bioactive casein peptides, among which are comprised the CPP. κ-, αs1-, αs2- and β-casein (CN)-derived CPP are characterized by the consensus sequence SerP-X-SerP/ThrP/Glu/Asp (P means a phosphate group) where X is any amino acid residue, but Pro. CPP as well as other bioactive peptides are encrypted within the sequence of casein and they can be in vivo or in vitro released through enzymatic hydrolysis. CPP for their ability to form soluble organophosphate salts prevent their precipitation as insoluble phosphates. Since CPP function as mineral carriers, an increased level of cations can be specifically absorbed in the small intestine. The literature data suggest the possibility of using CPP as vectors of Ca2+ (or other microelements) in functional foods to increase mineral bioavailability during organism development, bone calcification and osteoporosis prevention. The CPP have the remarkable ability to stabilize calcium phosphate in solution, preventing the growth of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) to the critical crystal size for nucleation and precipitation. Other studies have highlighted the importance of CPP in delivering ACP to the tooth surface, preventing tooth enamel demineralization and/or increasing remineralization of enamel subsurface lesions. The CPP-ACP complex is already available as oral care product (RecaldentTM), nutraceutical for chewing gum (Trident White Gum), toothpaste (GC Tooth Mousse) and other products. To demonstrate the CPP feasibility in food technology as well in other fields, fractionation of casein tryptic digests into phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated peptides is presented with the objective to obtain a nutraceutical enriched preparation of CPP immobilized on a solid matrix. Various chromatographic adsorbents for immobilizing metal ion (IMAC) and metal oxide (MO) have been evaluated for obtaining phosphorylated peptides from complex peptide mixtures. None of the analyzed analytical system has resulted suitable for milk fortification with CPP. A new selective technique based on hydroxyapatite (HA) has been developed for CPP enrichment. CPP immobilized on HA microgranules formed a complex that was included in the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI) matrix before desorbing directly from the well plate. The HA-bound casein enzymolysis was performed in situ with trypsin to remove non-phosphorylated peptides and isolate the immobilized CPP. The latter were recovered by centrifugation, dried and co-crystallized with a 1% phosphoric acid (PA) solution in the matrix that was appropriate for detecting CPP in MALDI-MS spectra. This approach resulted in the identification of 32 CPP by MALDI-time of flight (TOF). The CPP sequences were confirmed by LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis. Once confirmed the purity of CPP, the preparation in semi-industrial scale was realized for fortifying milk with CPP. In order to reduce production costs, HA was synthesized and the binding capacity of HA evaluated using three different protein mixtures as substrate. The protein mixture was chosen on the basis of the specific industrial needs. The HA-CPP complex was finely ground for fortifying milk. The sensory properties of HA-CPP complex were compatible with the use of the novel formulation as nutraceuticals. In order to quantify CPP bound to HA beads to be added to milk, two synthetic peptides, a natural and the modified counterpart that differed by single amino acid substitution, were used as internal standards (IS).
A parallel study on the quality of ovine milks and Grana Padano cheeses was carried out to exploit the casein phosphorylation as index of the protein quality. The phosphoproteomic approach has allowed to detect some proteotypic CPP predictors of abnomalous milk for the high content of somatic cells and of milk quality used for Grana Padano production. Finally, CPP provided significant information on milk and cheese genuineness
Incidental Gallbladder Carcinoma Discovered after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Identifying Patients Who will Benefit from Reoperation
No full textBackground: Despite an early radical reoperation, recurrence and poor survival are observed in up to 40% of patients with an incidentally discovered gallbladder carcinoma (I-GBC) after undergoing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). This study seeks to identify prognostic factors after re-I-GBC resection. Methods: A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained patient database with patients who were undergoing resection for I-GBC from January 1995 to March 2017 was performed. Prognostic factors for survival were assessed by multivariate Cox analysis. Results: There were 50 consecutive patients (median age 64 years; range 38–82) undergoing reoperation 45 ± 30 days after LC. Re-resection entailed a major hepatectomy in five patients (10%) and lymphadenectomy in all patients. Ninety-day morbidity and mortality were 22 and 2%, respectively. Lymph node (LN) involvement was present in 24 (48%) patients with a mean of 5.79 ± 14.4 LN+. Median overall survival was 40 months with 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year survival rates of 80, 50, 41 and 36%, respectively. Independent risk factors for overall survival were T3 tumours (HR = 7.58; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 2.41–23.83.) and LN involvement (HR = 3.66; 95% CI, 1.42–9.45). Patients presenting with zero, one and two risk factors had 3-year survival rates of 85, 31 and 0%, respectively, and median overall survival of 80, 22 and 13 months, respectively (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: After I-GBC discovery following an LC, T3 tumours and tumours with LN+ are characterised by poor prognosis. The presence and the identification of these prognostic factors help identify patients in need of alternative perioperative treatments
Next generation sequencing and genetic alterations in squamous cell lung carcinoma: Where are we today?
No full textLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality and will affect ∼6% of the population. It is divided into two broad categories, small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the latter representing 85% of all lung cancers. It mainly comprises adenocarcinoma (65%) and squamous cell carcinoma (30%) histologies. In recent years, there have been two major therapeutic advances in NSCLC. The first, immunotherapy, has greatly improved the prognosis of adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. The second, the treatment of targetable driver mutations, has so far only benefited adenocarcinomas. Squamous cell carcinoma carries a high rate of mutations and is found mostly among smokers. This raises two important problems: identifying driver mutations and finding those of clinical relevance. Large-scale genomic analyses such as The Cancer Genome Atlas have allowed for the identification of frequent gene alterations, although their role and potential for targeted therapy remain unknown. The emergence of next generation sequencing has changed the landscape of precision medicine, in particular in lung cancer. In this review, we discuss the landscape of genetic alterations found in squamous cell lung cancer, the results of current targeted therapy trials, the difficulties in identifying and treating these alterations and how to integrate modern tools in clinical practice
- …
