Spatial and temporal trends in food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia Pacific countries: India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Background/objectives: The economic recession caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic disproportionately affected poor and vulnerable populations globally. Better uunderstanding of vulnerability to shocks in food supply and demand in the Asia Pacific region is needed.

Subjects/methods: Using secondary data from rapid assessment surveys during the pandemic response (n = 10,420 in mid-2020; n = 6,004 in mid-2021) in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, this study examined the risk factors for reported income reduction or job loss in mid-2021 and the temporal trend in food security status (household food availability, and market availability and affordability of essential items) from mid-2020 to mid-2021.

Sensory Perception and Willingness to Pay for a Local Ancient Pear Variety: Evidence from In-Store Experiments in Italy.

Product optimisation is one of the most crucial phases in the new product development or launch process. This work proposes applying penalty analysis to investigate the impact of not just-about-right (JAR) sensorial aspects on willingness to pay (WTP) and an overall liking for a local Italian ancient pear variety and to verify the mediating role of pleasantness in the relationship between not-JAR sensory attributes and consumers' WTP using structural equation model (SEM). One hundred and twelve non-expert participants recruited during an in-store experiment evaluated overall liking and JAR attributes and were involved in an in-field experimental auction based on the non-hypothetical Becker-DeGroot-Marshak (BDM) mechanism.

[Lipoma of the small intestine as a rare cause of intestinal occlusion].

Lipoma is a benign tumour of mesenchymal origin which is not frequently localized in the gastroenteric tract; in anatomopathological statistics it is less rare: this is due to the fact that it rarely reaches dimensions which warrant surgical treatment. It is usually either an occasional finding during the course of laparotomy due to other motives or is the cause of complications, as in the present case of intestinal occlusion due to ileocolic invagination, resulting in emergency surgery. As a cause of occlusion tumours of the small bowel are second in terms of incidence to adhesive factors, volvuli and hernias.

[Symmetry, ptosis and a new infra-mammary border in the reconstruction of the breast with a tissue expander].

The aim of this procedure is to obtain a permanent prosthesis (after mastectomy and the insertion of a tissue expander) that is similar to the contralateral breast in volume, morphology and inframammary border. The technique involves aspiration of the tissue expander fluid until the desired volume is obtained and the measurement of the fluid which indicates the volume of the prosthesis to be inserted. Given the satisfactory results obtained, the intention is to continue adopting this procedure.