Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Intellectual Capital

These proceedings represent the work of presenters at the 8th European Conference on Intellectual Capital (ECIC 2016). This year the conference is being hosted by Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy on the 12-13 May 2016. The Conference Co-Chairs are Professor Carlo Bagnoli and Professor Chiara Mio from Ca' Foscari University of Venice and the Programme Co-Chairs are Prof Andrea Garlatti and Dr Maurizio Massaro from Udine University, Italy. The opening keynote address is by James Guthrie from the University of Sydney, Australia on A structured literature review of the intellectual capital research literature. The second day Keynote is being presented by John Dumay from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia on the topic of \u201cInvoluntary disclosure of Intellectual Capital: Is it relevant?\u201d. The primary aim of this conference is to contribute to the further advancement of intellectual capital theory and practice. The conference provides a platform for presenting findings and ideas for the intellectual capital community and associated fields. The range of people, issues and the mix of approaches followed will ensure an interesting two days. 143 abstracts were received for this conference. After the double blind, peer review process there are 41 Academic Research Papers, 7 PhD Papers and 3 Masters Research Papers and 1 Work in Progress Paper published in these Conference Proceedings. These papers represent truly global research from some 31 different countries, including Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, M\ue9xico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, UK, Uruguay, and USA. We hope that you have an enjoyable conference. Carlo Bagnoli, Chiara Mio, Andrea Garlatti and Maurizio Massaro May 201

Ambulatory arterial stiffness indices and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in essential hypertension

Abstract Background and aim: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been found to be strongly related to an increased arterial stiffness in patients with essential hypertension, suggesting a pathophysiologic link between major cardiovascular and metabolic abnormalities associated with liver steatosis and the functional and structural alterations of the arterial wall. The aim of our study was to investigate, in a group of essential hypertensive patients without additional cardiovascular risk factors, the relationship between NAFLD and arterial stiffness. Methods and Results: Sixty-eight consecutive patients with essential hypertension underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and were separated according to the pres- ence (n Z 40) or absence (n Z 28) of NAFLD at liver ultrasonography. The Ambulatory Arte- rial Stiffness Index (AASI) and Symmetric AASI (Sym-AASI) were derived from ABPM tracings. Patients with diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidaemia or other risk factors for cardiovascular or liver disease were excluded. Hypertensive patients were compared with a normotensive control group.The two hypertensive groups had comparable age, sex distribution and clinic/ABPM blood pressure levels. In hypertensive patients with NAFLD, body mass index, fasting glucose, insulin, homeostasis model of assessment of insulin resistance index and triglyceride levels were higher, whereas plasma adiponectin was lower than in patients without NAFLD. In hypertensive patients, AASI and Sym-AASI were higher (P < 0.001) than in normotensive subjects, but both indices of vascular stiffness were comparable in patients with and without NAFLD.Conclusions: In essential hypertensive patients without additional cardiovascular risk factors, NAFLD is associated with insulin resistance but not with increased arterial stiffness

Prognostic role of somatosensory and auditory evoked potentials in paediatric hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy managed with hypothermia: An illustrative case

ntroduction: The contribution of clinical neurophysiology in the neurological prognosis of hypoxic-ischemic coma has been well established in adults: the bilateral absence of cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) is considered the single best indicator of adverse outcome, while the presence of the auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) is thought to herald arousal. Study aim: To use MMN combined with serial EEG recordings, somatosensory and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) in a paediatric case of postanoxic coma managed with hypothermia, since they have not yet been described in children. Methods: We report the case of a nine-year-old boy with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy due to cardiorespiratory arrest after accidental burial in sand, who was treated with therapeutic hypothermia for 72 hours. Serial EEG recordings, evoked potentials, brain CT scan and brain MRI were performed in the first few days after the event. Results: SEP to median nerve stimulation showed bilateral absence of the N20 component, while the N13 and P14 peaks were preserved; BAEP showed normal I-V interpeak latency and normal hearing threshold. At the same time, the MMN component of auditory event related potentials, recorded in the classical oddball paradigm, was absent. Seventeen months after the accident, the patient is alive in persistent vegetative state. Conclusions: This case illustrates the particular significance of SEP and MMN together with EEG in gaining prognostic information, even in sedated and hypothermic patients, and encourages systematic study of these prognostic tools in paediatric postanoxic coma

Theoretical evaluation of supermarket refrigeration systems using R1234ze(E) as an alternative to high-global warming potential refrigerants

Hydro-fluoro-olefin-1234ze(E) features an insignificant global warming potential and it could be successfully used in supermarket applications in an attempt to foster solutions which are more eco-friendly than the currently employed ones. In this article, four indirect refrigeration systems using R1234ze(E) as the primary working fluid were theoretically compared with both a R404A multiplex solution and a R744/R134a cascade configuration. The annual electricity consumption and the total equivalent warming impact were assessed in three different American locations and in two European cities. The outcomes obtained demonstrate that R1234ze(E) can suitably replace R404A in commercial refrigerating plants, especially in warm climates. In fact, R1234ze(E)-based solutions exhibits similar energy saving and at least a decrement by 26.7% in total equivalent warming impact beside the configurations employing R404A

Effects of the lercanidipine - Enalapril combination vs. The corresponding monotherapies on home blood pressure in hypertension: Evidence from a large database

Objective: To compare a combination of a dihydropyridine calcium-channel blocker with an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor vs. monotherapy with one or the other drug and placebo for their effects on home blood pressure (HBP). Methods: After a 2-week placebo wash-out, patients with an elevated office blood pressure (BP) (diastolic 100\u2013109 and systolic <180 mmHg) and HBP (diastolic 85 mmHg) were randomized double-blind to a 10-week treatment with placebo, lercanidipine, 10 or 20mg daily, enalapril, 10 or 20mg daily, or the four possible combinations. In addition to office BP, HBP was self-measured via a validated semiautomatic device twice in the morning and twice in the evening during the 7 days before randomization and at the end of treatment. Baseline and treatment HBP values were separately averaged for each day, morning, evening or the whole monitoring period, excluding the first day. Day-by-day HBP variability was defined as the SD or the variation coefficient of the daily BP averages. Results: Eight hundred and fifty-four patients with valid HBP recordings at baseline and at the end of treatment were analyzed (intention-to-treat population). From the baseline value (147.011.6 mmHg) systolic/diastolic HBP showed a small reduction (average baseline-adjusted change: \u20131.8/\u20131.6 mmHg) with placebo, a more marked significant fall with monotherapies (8.8/5.9 mmHg, P<0.001/<0.001 vs. placebo) and even more with combination treatment (11.6/7.6 mmHg, P<0.001/ <0.001 vs. placebo and P<0.01/<0.05 vs. monotherapy). A similar pattern was observed for each of the days of the BP self-monitoring period as well as for either morning or evening values, although the difference between mono and combination treatment appeared to be consistently significant for the morning values only. Dayby- day systolic BP-SD was unaffected by placebo and slightly reduced by drug treatments, with no, however, significant changes in SBP-variation coefficient. Baseline and end of treatment HBP values showed a limited correlation with office BP values, this being particularly the case for treatment-induced changes (correlation coefficients: 0.37 for systolic and 0.45 for diastolic BP). Conclusion: This large HBP database shows that the lercanidipine\u2013enalapril combination lowers HBP more effectively than the corresponding monotherapies and placebo, and that this greater effect is consistent between days

Per l\u201985\ub0 anniversario di Ivan Golub,sacerdote, teologo, storico, filologo, traduttore e poeta

Ivan Golub was born in Kalinovac in Croatia on 21st June 1930. He graduated in theology at the University of Zagreb in 1958 and obtained a PHD from Rome\u2019s Pontifical Gregorian University with a dissertation on Juraj Kri\u17eani\u107. Over the last few decades Golub has successfully dedicated himself to metaphysical poetry in Croatian, Latin and Kajkavian dialect. Golub is the author of more than 250 works: essays, studies and translation

Promuovere l'inclusione: l'insegnante specializzato per le attivit\ue0 di sostegno in primo piano

Nella recente Assemblea della Societ\ue0 Italiana di Pedagogia Speciale (SIPeS), abbiamo posto al centro della nostra riflessione scientifica e della conseguente azione propositiva i temi dell\u2019inclusione e del ruolo, funzione e formazione dell\u2019insegnante specializzato per le attivit\ue0 di sostegno. Da questa scelta deriva il presente numero monotematico della rivista, costruito sulla scorta di una specifica call, che accoglie contributi fra loro diversi, ma assolutamente importanti per orientarci in questa tematica cos\uec articolata e sensibile