Perfect Information vs Random Investigation: Safety Guidelines for a Consumer in the Jungle of Product Differentiation

We present a graph-theoretic model of consumer choice, where final decisions are shown to be influenced by information and knowledge, in the form of individual awareness, discriminating ability, and perception of market structure. Building upon the distance-based Hotelling’s differentiation idea, we describe the behavioral experience of several prototypes of consumers, who walk a hypothetical cognitive path in an attempt to maximize their satisfaction. Our simulations show that even consumers endowed with a small amount of information and knowledge may reach a very high level of utility. On the other hand, complete ignorance negatively affects the whole consumption process. In addition, rather unexpectedly, a random walk on the graph reveals to be a winning strategy, below a minimal threshold of information and knowledge.     

A red orange and lemon by-products extract rich in anthocyanins inhibits the progression of diabetic nephropathy

The major cause of end-stage renal disease is the diabetic nephropathy. Oxidative stress contributes to the development of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this study we have evaluated the effect of a diet with a new standardized of red orange and lemon extract (RLE) rich in anthocyanins (ANT) in the progression of the kidney disease on Zucker diabetic fatty rats. Oxidative stress and renal function were analyzed. In diabetic rats, the RLE restored the blood glucose levels, body weight, and normalized the reactive oxygen species (ROS) total pathways. The kidney inflammation, in diabetic rats, has not shown significant change, showing that the oxidative stress rather than to inflammatory processes is a triggering factor in the renal complication associated with T2DM. Therefore, the administration of the RLE prevents this complication and this effect could be related to the inhibition of ROS production.     

Effects of exposure to fluoro-edenite fibre pollution on the respiratory system: an in vivo model

An increased standardised rate of mortality from pleural mesothelioma among the population of Biancavilla (Sicily, Italy) has been attributed to exposure to fluoro-edenite fibres. Our aim was to establish whether and how these fibres may induce pathological effects using an in vivo model. Lung tissue collected from 60 healthy sheep selected from six flocks habitually grazing near Biancavilla and from 10 control sheep was fixed formalin and paraffin-embedded; sections were stained with haematoxylin-eosin, Masson trichrome and Gomori argentic impregnation. Histochemical studies and immunohistochemical analysis for the localisation of TRAIL, DR5 and MMP13 were also performed. The lungs of exposed sheep exhibited fibrosis and loss of alveolar architecture with honeycombing of alveolar cavities. Fluoro-edenite fibres were detected close to the alveolar epithelium and interstitia. The parenchyma showed hyaline degeneration and strong PAS-positivity in the interstitium, proteoglycan alterations, reflecting a damaged basal membrane and an involvement of the interstitial matrix. MMP-13 was overexpressed, mainly in fibroblasts and epithelial cells, while positivity for TRAIL and DR5 was detected on alveolar surfaces and in the vascular stroma. The initial pathological event seems to involve first the alveoli and subsequently the interstitium, giving rise to classic honeycombing. The triggering event at the level of type I pneumocytes would damage the cytoplasmic membrane resulting in loss of cell elements and exposure of underlying capillaries, and eventually in a series of reactions including macrophage activation, possible release of growth factors and metaplasic reconstruction of lung alveoli. Immunopositivity for TRAIL and MMP-13 receptor suggests that apoptotic processes may also be activated by fluoro-edenite.