Amid the trend of sustainable development, reducing food waste is a global concern and campaigns to reduce food waste have been launched. For example, the term “food sharing” has originated from Germany and promotes sharing food instead of wasting. “The Guerilla Kitchen”, which originated from Netherlands, is an organization that also promotes avoiding wasting food. Consequently, more and more people are paying attention on this issue and we think it is necessary to understand people’s acceptance of suboptimal food, as discarded suboptimal food represents a significant proportion of food waste. Additionally, at least one-third of the food globally produced each year is classified as suboptimal and cannot be sold in the market because of a poor appearance, damaged packaging, or near expiration date, thus presenting challenges for environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Previous studies on suboptimal food have focused more on appearances and packaging dates and less on investigating traceable agricultural and price discounts, which is where food classified as suboptimal entails a discount. Moreover, citrus product attributes such as appearance, size, freshness indicators, traceable agricultural products, and price discounts were determined in terms of consumer preference through pre-measurement here, then using a choice experiment method to clarify which attributes consumers care about most (N = 485 respondents). Conditional logistic regression and a random parameter logit model (RPL) are employed to examine the various properties of a marginal willingness to pay (WTP). RPL was also used to deduce the respondents’ choices based on differences in appearance and freshness indicator. The results showed that consumers place greater emphasis on the freshness indicators (harvesting/packaging date labels) and appearance of suboptimal citrus fruits but do not focus on the size. Consumers are willing to purchase citrus fruit with a flawed appearance, although the price needs to be reduced from the original price. Although suboptimal food does not reduce health, people may still not buy it and this result in food wastage. As a result, it is essential to increase awareness regarding suboptimal foods and reduce food waste to support sustainable development.

Background/Aims: A combination of fluorescence two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry approach was used to search for potential markers for prognosis and intervention of colorectal cancer (CRC) at different stages of lymph node metastasis (LMN). This quantitative proteomic survey aimed to investigate the LNM-associated proteins and evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics of these target proteins in CRC from stage I to stage IV. Methods: Sixteen CRC cases were categorized into paired non-LNM and LNM groups, and two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis and MS proteome analysis were performed. Differential protein expression between non-LNM and LNM CRC was further validated in a tissue microarray, including 40 paraffin-embedded samples by immunohistochemistry staining. Moreover, a Boyden chamber assay, flow cytometry, and shRNA were used to examine the epithelial–mesenchymal transition and mechanism invasiveness of the differentially expressed proteins in DLD-1 cells and in vivo xenograft mouse model. Results: Eighteen differentially expressed proteins were found between non-LNM and LNM CRC tissues. Among them, protein levels of Gelsolin (GSN) and peroxiredoxin 4 (PRDX4) were abundant in node-positive CRC. Downregulation of GSN and PRDX4 markedly suppressed migration and invasiveness and also induced cell cycle G1/S arrest in DLD-1. Mechanistically, the EGFR/RhoA/PKCα/ERK pathways are critical for transcriptional activation of histone modification of H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) of GSN and PRDX4 promoters, resulting in upregulation of GSN, PRDX4, Twist-1/2, cyclinD1, proliferating cell-nuclear antigen, β-catenin, N-cadherin, and matrix metalloprotein-9. Conclusions: GSN and PRDX4 are novel regulators in CRC lymph node metastasis to potentially provide new insights into the mechanism of CRC progression and serve as a biomarker for CRC diagnosis at the metastatic stage.

This case report combined PEST, SWOT, a business model canvas, and knowledge management to develop a theoretical framework for assessing business models, and smart and sustainable management of two case study companies—Tung Sheng and Strong Basic—in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic. A case study and heuristic inquiry research design was adopted. Secondary data and interviews with top managers were used to triangulate within the same cases. The results show that the case study companies owned capabilities in R&D as a foundation to further apply new smart ICT (information and communication technology) and execute green manufacturing. Strong key partnerships were useful resources to diversify business investment, although current qualified employees were not sufficient. Resilient practices included adopting new and green technology to mitigate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study establishes a useful framework for case study research and provides practical information about business models, and smart and sustainable management in two case studies.

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In recent years, climate change and global warming have been exacerbated by human over-development, and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of environmental protection. Therefore, many companies are now implementing green production approaches, taking environmental protection as an integral aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This study aims to explore the influence of green perceived value (GPV), CSR, and consumer conformity on consumer purchase intention toward environmentally friendly Nike sneakers. The data were collected by employing an online survey of 18–24-year-old Taiwanese consumers. A total of 660 consumers were randomly selected and 480 valid responses were acquired. The data were analyzed using SPSS25.0 (IBM Corp, New York, NY, USA).and a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) is used to test the hypotheses. The results of the study are as follows: (1) GPV and brand image had a significant effect on consumers’ attitude toward purchasing environmentally friendly sneakers; (2) GPV and CSR had a significant effect on brand image; (3) the attitude toward purchasing environmentally friendly sneakers had a significant effect on consumers’ purchase intention; (4) CSR and consumer conformity had no significant effect on consumers’ attitude toward purchasing environmentally friendly sneakers; (5) brand image had no significant effect on consumers’ purchase intention; (6) consumers’ environmental awareness had no significant moderating relationship between their attitude toward purchasing environmentally friendly sneakers and consumer purchase intention. The research results suggest that Nike can hold events to recycle old shoes, so that consumers can directly participate in advancing green initiatives and understand all the efforts the company has made for society. Moreover, through news media coverage of such events, the company’s intentions to promote its CSR commitment can be more fully understood by people, while simultaneously publicizing its CSR performance.