Search

The purpose of this paper is to thoroughly assess the value of colours in consumers' preferences for sweet peppers, and the association with more sustainable methods of production in the consumers' minds. Furthermore, this study provides novel insights into the influence of colours on the willingness to pay (WTP) for vegetables. It explores the interplay between colours, food attributes, and socio-demographic characteristics among consumers, marking the first attempt to examine this relationship comprehensively. A discrete choice experiment, based on consumers' preferences for sweet pepper attributes (price, colour, and production method), was implemented and a Seemingly Unrelated Regression model was then applied to evaluate the willingness to pay for different colours. The study has revealed that different colours provide consumers with different utilities and WTP in the choices of potential healthier foods. In addition, gender, age, education and number of family components play a role in affecting consumers' WTP of food linked to colour. Finally, it was found that consumers' knowledge for certain pepper colours with different antioxidant contents is interrelated. This study introduces several novelties, in particular a positive correlation between interest in antioxidants and colours was found, suggesting that interest in healthy food properties might move consumers towards a specific sensory choice., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Rural development is complex in marginal and disadvantaged areas, such as mountains, which impose high labour costs and restrict farmers in their choices of crop and livestock. To recognise this problem, the European Union regulates the use of the optional quality term " Mountain product " on the label. Consumers may recognise this label and be more willing to pay for it, resulting in higher revenues for producers using it. This study estimates the willingness to pay (WTP) for a mountain quality label. This WTP is then compared to that of functional and nutrition claims. For this purpose, we used a ranking conjoint experiment, using goat's milk yoghurt-a typical mountain product-as a case study. Using a rank-ordered logit, we show that mountain quality labels generate a significant WTP, higher than that of functional claims. WTP differs by the demographic profile of the consumer. The study provided useful insights about the combination of the mountain quality label with different attributes. However, future studies are needed to adequately understand the potential of mountain certification as a supporting tool for farmers in marginal areas and for rural development., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Food-related diseases are a topic of concern for the population and institutions; therefore, regulations have been envisaged to improve consumer knowledge about food properties and to guide them towards healthy food consumption. Europe has addressed the use of claims on labels with two important regulations in 2006 and 2012. The use of claims allows for the differentiation of food products, particularly functional foods, i.e., those that can provide health benefits as part of a standard diet. The study aims to describe the interest of researchers on the topic of functional foods and health claims by observing the trend of publications and highlighting the role of the country on the topic through a network analysis. Another objective is to evaluate the role of lifestyle, psychological and socio-demographic predictors in the choice of functional foods bearing label claims or not, using a systematic literature review. To this aims, a bibliometric and a network analysis were assessed. The results reveal a positive trend in publications and a growing interest in the topic, thus showing that socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyle variables partially influence consumer behaviour. In particular, it emerges that educated people and women are more interested in functional foods, showing a higher willingness to pay for them. In addition, physical activity and beliefs regarding the nutritional quality of functional foods are positively correlated with WTP. However, several contradictory results were observed for some variables in the collected studies. For these reasons and considering the high number of functional foods and claims yet to be evaluated, further investigations are recommended.

This study aims to examine Italian consumer preferences for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) enriched with vitamins and to analyze the key drivers that affect consumer choices for this product. Specifically, we assessed consumers' intention to purchase the enriched product compared to the conventional one. The methodology adopted inferential and multivariate statistical techniques: (1) exploratory factor analysis (EFA), (2) ordinary least squares regression (OLS) and (3) non-hierarchical clustering. This study appears to be the first research project related to exploring consumers' interest in an extra virgin olive oil enhanced with vitamins, thereby providing preliminary indications. The main results represent a significant starting point for the development of new marketing strategies for the food industry.

Purpose: Primary care physicians (PCPs) constitute an appropriate target for new interventions and educational campaigns designed to increase skin cancer screening and prevention. The aim of this randomized study was to determine whether the adjunct of dermoscopy to the standard clinical examination improves the accuracy of PCPs to triage lesions suggestive of skin cancer., Patients and Methods: PCPs in Barcelona, Spain, and Naples, Italy, were given a 1-day training course in skin cancer detection and dermoscopic evaluation, and were randomly assigned to the dermoscopy evaluation arm or naked-eye evaluation arm. During a 16-month period, 73 physicians evaluated 2,522 patients with skin lesions who attended their clinics and scored individual lesions as benign or suggestive of skin cancer. All patients were re-evaluated by expert dermatologists at clinics for pigmented lesions. Referral accuracy of both PCP groups was calculated by their scores, which were compared to those tabulated for dermatologists., Results: Referral sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 54.1%, 71.3%, 11.3%, and 95.8%, respectively, in the naked-eye arm, and 79.2%, 71.8%, 16.1%, and 98.1%, respectively, in the dermoscopy arm. Significant differences were found in terms of sensitivity and negative predictive value (P = .002 and P = .004, respectively). Histopathologic examination of equivocal lesions revealed 23 malignant skin tumors missed by PCPs performing naked-eye observation and only six by PCPs using dermoscopy (P = .002)., Conclusion: The use of dermoscopy improves the ability of PCPs to triage lesions suggestive of skin cancer without increasing the number of unnecessary expert consultations.

Congenital melanocytic nevi carry a risk for malignant transformation into melanoma, therefore early detection of suspicious features is crucial to reduce mortality rates. Dermoscopy improves the early detection of melanoma while reducing the number of unnecessary excisions of benign pigmented skin lesions. Dermoscopically, congenital melanocytic nevi are often characterized by the presence of a cobblestone pattern, but to date, little is known about the dermoscopic features of acral congenital melanocytic nevi. We report an acral congenital melanocytic nevus typified by the presence of three different dermoscopic patterns that are commonly seen in acquired melanocytic nevi of palms and soles.

A 62-year-old man presented with the unusual association of acrokeratosis verruciformis of Hopf and multiple keratoacanthomas. Both conditions were treated successfully with acitretin.

The lung is one of the organs most severely affected by complications during the course of hematologic disorders. In the last years an impressive amount of progress has been made in clarifying the pathogenesis of lung diseases, particularly those occurring in conditions of severe immunosuppression such as bone marrow transplantion, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or leukemia. Peculiar anatomical characteristics render the lung parenchyma highly susceptible to infections, but the clinical outcome is due not only to the injury induced by the pathogens but also to their interactions with inflammatory cells and particularly to the effects of a wide network of secreted cytokines. Polymorphonuclear cells, macrophages, lymphocytes and structural pulmonary cells (epithelial cells, interstitial cells) generate a variety of cytokines and growth factors which, in turn, may be responsible for the majority of the clinical effects in response to infections, such as those of Pneumocystis carinii and cytomegalovirus, but also to certain drugs or to radiation. The pathogenesis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is still poorly understood, but animal models seem to demonstrate the involvement of a number of cytokines and growth factors, together with toxic effects induced by conditioning regimens.

We assessed the outcome in 65 patients with limited small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treated from 1980 through 1989 with combination chemotherapy and chest and cranial irradiation. Of the 65 patients, 32.3% (21/65) achieved a complete remission (CR) prior to radiation therapy; six additional cases achieved a CR after radiotherapy with an improvement of 10% in the incidence of CR. In our group, 8 patients were alive and free of disease at 30 months (12.3%). We think that a combination of local thoracic irradiation in SCLC limited disease plus chemotherapy yields more CR and improves survival, especially in the group of patients who obtained the CR after initial induction chemotherapy.

In this review of current therapy for mycosis fungoides, the analytical data have been extrapolated from the literature. We have considered the various therapeutic modalities such as topical therapy, photochemotherapy, electron beam radiation therapy, systemic chemotherapy, the combined modalities, as well as the use of interferon and other alternative biological approaches. We conclude with a final section on comments and recommendations that may prove useful in the design of appropriate therapeutic strategies.

Background: The treatment strategy for stage I non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) is far from being clearly established., Methods: Thirty-seven patients (pts) with clinical stage I high-grade NHL treated between 1983 and 1989 have been retrospectively reviewed. Nineteen pts were treated by radiotherapy (RT) alone; 14 pts received chemotherapy (CT) followed by adjuvant RT, 3 pts CT alone and 1 pt underwent surgery alone. All pts with bulky disease were submitted to combined therapy., Results: Estimated 7-yr overall survival (OS) was 82%, while freedom from relapse (FFR) was 73%. No differences in OS and FFR were recorded with regard to the type of treatment, site of the tumor, sex or histology., Conclusions: Our conclusion is that stage I NHL, even with unfavourable histology, may be successfully treated with RT only; however, CT before RT may be recommended in pts with a higher risk of relapse, i.e. the presence of bulky mass.

Background and Methods: From February, 1987 to August, 1988, fifty-one patients with high and intermediate grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) entered a chemotherapy program MNCOP-B (M = Methotrexate, N = Novantrone, C = Cytoxan, O = Oncovin, P = 6 methyl-prednisolone, B = Bleomycin). Forty patients received MNCOP-B as first-line therapy and 11 patients as salvage therapy after relapse-resistance to other schemes or radiotherapy., Results: The overall remission rate was 51% with a similar distribution of remissions between the two groups under study. At a mean follow-up of 28 months, 20 patients (40%) remain in CR with a disease-free probability of 83% for patients treated with MNCOP-B as up-front therapy and 67% for patients treated with MNCOP-B as salvage therapy. The overall survival at 3 years is 45%; bulky, disease stages III-IV and symptoms are not correlated with poorer survival or a lower remission rate. Patients who received less than 70% of the scheduled doses paradoxically figure better than the others, showing an 87% remission rate, as compared to those who received 100% of the scheduled doses and obtained a 35% remission rate. Major toxicity consisted of mucositis, recorded in 15% and 9% of previously untreated and treated patients, respectively; severe neutropenia was recorded in 27% and 63%, respectively. Despite the number of recorded side effects, only one toxic death due to sepsis occurred., Conclusions: MNCOP-B is an effective regimen in intermediate and high grade NHL and easily manageable in the out-patient clinic. The incidence of mucositis is sensibly reduced as compared to the parental regimen MACOP-B reported in the literature; this result allows the use of MNCOP-B in older patients.

Between March 1987 and December 1988, 30 previously untreated patients with low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), according to the Kiel classification, were treated by a combination of therapy including cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CEOP). Eighteen patients (60%) achieved a complete pathologic remission, and 8 patients (26.6%) had a partial response with a reduction of more than 50% of tumor-related manifestations. Four patients (13.4%) were primary resistant to CEOP. The overall survival was 96.6% with a median follow-up of 25 months from the diagnosis; none of the patients who achieved complete response relapsed at a median follow-up of 21 months from the completion of treatment. Clinical and hematologic toxicities were irrelevant. This regimen was effective in inducing a good remission rate of low-grade NHL, but a longer follow-up for definitive conclusions is warranted.