Search results for "Neri"
showing 10 items of 1617 documents
The magnitude of a product recall: offshore outsourcing vs. captive offshoring effects
2018
The escalation in product recalls in recent years is attributed to the rise of globalisation and associated challenges of offshoring. Extant SCM research suggests that product recalls have a significant negative impact on financial performance, but gaps exist relative to the managerial actions to minimise their impact. Recall response strategies have become more important in the press, given that a single recall may result in the mandatory withdrawal of millions of products from the market, with firms incurring enormous logistics costs and brand damage. In this study, we address this gap in the research, and using a measure of product recall defined as the volume of products withdrawn from …
How selection of collaborating partners impact on the green performance of global businesses? An empirical study of green sustainability
2020
In recent days, both collaboration and sustainability have become an integral part of many global supply chains to achieve business excellence. Although previous literature and actual practices confirmed the successful implementation of sustainability practices through supply chain collaborations, it is not clear how collaborating partners can support financial and environmental performance, and hence strengthen the partnership performance in the global supply chains. To address this practice-based research question, we test the theoretical underpinning of suppliers and logistics partners in relation to required skills selection. We capture the depth of interdependencies in collaborations f…
The role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on aerobic granules formation: comparison between a case of synthetic wastewater supply and anot…
2017
The paper focused on the evolution and the comparison of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) content during the granulation process in two Granular Sequencing Batch Airlift Reactors (GSBAR) (3,5 L) fed with synthetic (R1) and industrial wastewater (R2). The results showed that in both the reactors the EPSs, in particular proteins (PN), were mainly produced during the feast phase because of the high substrate availability, especially under conditions of metabolic stress. Then, the EPSs content reduced during the famine period, because of biodegradation by bacteria. More in detail, during the granulation process, a greater polysaccharides (PS) consumption occurred in both reactors, …
Phosphorylation of CENP-A on serine 7 does not control centromere function.
2019
CENP-A is the histone H3 variant necessary to specify the location of all eukaryotic centromeres via its CENP-A targeting domain and either one of its terminal regions. In humans, several post-translational modifications occur on CENP-A, but their role in centromere function remains controversial. One of these modifications of CENP-A, phosphorylation on serine 7, has been proposed to control centromere assembly and function. Here, using gene targeting at both endogenous CENP-A alleles and gene replacement in human cells, we demonstrate that a CENP-A variant that cannot be phosphorylated at serine 7 maintains correct CENP-C recruitment, faithful chromosome segregation and long-term cell viab…
Engineering approaches in siRNA delivery.
2017
siRNAs are very potent drug molecules, able to silence genes involved in pathologies development. siRNAs have virtually an unlimited therapeutic potential, particularly for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. However, their use in clinical practice is limited because of their unfavorable properties to interact and not to degrade in physiological environments. In particular they are large macromolecules, negatively charged, which undergo rapid degradation by plasmatic enzymes, are subject to fast renal clearance/hepatic sequestration, and can hardly cross cellular membranes. These aspects seriously impair siRNAs as therapeutics. As in all the other fields of science, siRNAs management ca…
The Gut Metagenome Changes in Parallel to Waist Circumference, Brain Iron Deposition, and Cognitive Function.
2017
Context Microbiota perturbations seem to exert modulatory effects on emotional behavior, stress-, and pain-modulation systems in adult animals; however, limited information is available in humans. Objective To study potential relationships among the gut metagenome, brain microstructure, and cognitive performance in middle-aged, apparently healthy, obese and nonobese subjects after weight changes. Design This is a longitudinal study over a 2-year period. Setting A tertiary public hospital. Patients or other participants Thirty-five (18 obese) apparently healthy subjects. Intervention(s) Diet counseling was provided to all subjects. Obese subjects were followed every 6 months. Main outcome me…
Identification of circumferential regional heterogeneity of ascending thoracic aneurysmal aorta by biaxial mechanical testing
2019
Abstract Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA) in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) can present an asymmetrical aortic dilatation compared with patients with tricuspid aortic valve (TAV). This pattern of aneurysm dilatation led us to hypothesize that biomechanical differences likely induced by regional heterogeneity of material properties can underlie the observed asymmetric enlargement discrepancies between BAV ATAA and TAV ATAA. This study aimed to characterize the mechanical properties and associated aortic tissue stiffness changes along the circumferential direction of aortic rings collected from surgically-repaired patients with ATAA. Biaxial material testing was performed …
CENP-A Is Dispensable for Mitotic Centromere Function after Initial Centromere/Kinetochore Assembly
2016
SummaryHuman centromeres are defined by chromatin containing the histone H3 variant CENP-A assembled onto repetitive alphoid DNA sequences. By inducing rapid, complete degradation of endogenous CENP-A, we now demonstrate that once the first steps of centromere assembly have been completed in G1/S, continued CENP-A binding is not required for maintaining kinetochore attachment to centromeres or for centromere function in the next mitosis. Degradation of CENP-A prior to kinetochore assembly is found to block deposition of CENP-C and CENP-N, but not CENP-T, thereby producing defective kinetochores and failure of chromosome segregation. Without the continuing presence of CENP-A, CENP-B binding …
DEBATE: Do interventions based on behavioral theory work in the real world?
2019
Abstract Background Behavioral scientists suggest that for behavior change interventions to work effectively, and deliver population-level health outcomes, they must be underpinned by behavioral theory. However, despite implementation of such interventions, population levels of both health outcomes and linked behaviors have remained relatively static. We debate the extent to which interventions based on behavioral theory work in the real world to address population health outcomes. Discussion Hagger argues there is substantive evidence supporting the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions based on behavioral theory in promoting population-level health behavior change in the ‘real world…
Bacterial community structure and removal performances in IFAS-MBRs: A pilot plant case study
2017
Abstract The paper reports the results of an experimental campaign carried out on a University of Cape Town (UCT) integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant. The pilot plant was analysed in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrients removal, kinetic/stoichiometric parameters, membrane fouling and sludge dewaterability. Moreover, the cultivable bacterial community structure was also analysed. The pilot plant showed excellent COD removal efficiency throughout experiments, with average value higher than 98%, despite the slight variations of the influent wastewater. The achieved nitrification efficiency was close to 98% for most of the experimen…