public function remove($alias)
    {
        $repo = $this->getItemsName();
        $loc = &$this->$repo;
        $parts = explode('.', $alias);

        while (count($parts) > 1) {
            $step = array_shift($parts);
            if (isset($loc[$step]) && is_array($loc[$step])) {
                $loc = &$loc[$step];
            }
        }

        unset($loc[array_shift($parts)]);
        return $this;
    }