Cambios en la estructura social del Mezzogiorno

En este trabajo sobre los cambios en la estructura social en la Italia meridional se tratan tres categorías de problemas. La primera es relativa a la evolución del bloque social dominante y de su estructura interna; la segunda, a la evolución de la relación ciudad-campo en el Sur y el papel que desempeña la realidad urbana en relación a los procesos de industrialización del territorio y de intervención del sector público en la economía meridional; la tercera, en cambio, se refiere sobre todo a la composición de las clases subalternas tomando en cuenta el origen y los aspectos de la estructura socio-profesional, fundamentalmente en lo concerniente a los estratos que se pueden agregar al bloque dominante, y en particular sectores de la pequeña burguesía. Se trata de tres aspectos estrechamente interrelacionados. La nueva relación ciudad-campo se expresa también en la progresiva concentración del poder económico y político en la ciudad, en que las clases –o, para ser más precisos, las fracciones de clase– que constituyen el bloque dominante son esencialmente urbanas, y en que la nueva estructura socio-profesional asiste a la consolidación de figuras sociales típicamente urbanas, con el drástico redimensionamiento de figuras sociales ligadas a la agricultura

Operations and Performance of the CMS DT and RPC muon systems

The muon spectrometer of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is equipped with a redundant muon system based on Drift Tubes (DT) Chambers, Cathode Strip Chambers (CSC) and Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) for muon identification, precise momentum measurement and triggering. On 30th March 2010, LHC started proton proton collisions at a center of mass energy of 7 TeV. The operations and performance of the DT and RPC systems during the first three years of LHC activity with increasing instantaneous luminosity will be reported. The DT local trigger performance is described, showing how the challenging design goals have been met. Special attention will be given to the RPC working point calibration procedure and to the efficiency stability of the RPC system, confirming the excellent behavior and the fulfillment of the CMS requirements. Finally the radiation background levels in the DT and RPC systems have been measured. Extrapolations to the LHC design conditions are also discussed

Simple and complex images: Operationalization and first calibration

The aim of this study is to operationalize the construction of the complexity related to images. In particular, we want to calibrate the judgments of complexity related to colourful images and black and white images who belong to different categories (animals, fruit, transports, technological tools and faces) and examine the parameters related to the different levels of their categorical complexity.The first part of this composition put forward a definition of the construction, a comparison between the various theories of the complexity of the images and an analysis of the various fields of application.In the second part, the purpose is to operationalize the construction, together with the method, the procedures used, and the sample that are described in detail.The article ends with a debate about the results and some thoughts about the importance to operationalize the construct of the complexity.The added value of this study is to provide, for the first time, a contribution to the operationalization of the construct of complexity. The complex and simple images can be used by the scientific community as a catalog that could be used in different fields of application (for example clinical/experimental, marketing/advertising, etc.)

Association of Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) with the Clinical Severity of Hidradenitis Suppurativa (Acne Inversa)

: In this case-control, cross-sectional, observational study, we evaluated circulating trimethylamine n-oxide (TMAO) levels, a gut-derived metabolite associated with inflammation and cardiometabolic risk, in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a highly disabling inflammatory skin disease associated with an elevated prevalence of comorbidities, especially cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. In this study, we enrolled 35 naive-treatment patients with HS and 35 controls, matched for sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). HS Sartorius score was 49.0 (33.0-75.0), while according to the Harley system 12 and 23 patients presented grade 1 and grade 2 severity, respectively. HS patients had a lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) (p = 0.002), lower phase angle (PhA) (p < 0.001), and higher circulating TMAO levels (p < 0.001) than the control group. HS patients with grade 2 rather than grade 1 of Harley grade severity showed a higher BMI (p = 0.007), waist circumference (p = 0.016), total energy intake (p = 0.005), and lower PhA (p < 0.001) and adherence to the MD (p = 0.003). Of interest, patients with Hurley grade 2 of severity exhibited higher circulating TMAO levels (p < 0.001) compared to grade 1. Circulating TMAO levels showed a positive correlation with HS Sartorius score even after adjustment for confounding covariates, including BMI, waist circumference, adherence to the MD, total energy intake, and PhA (r = 0.570, p = 0.001). Using a linear regression model, circulating TMAO levels and PhA were the main predictors of the clinical severity of HS

Seasonal response of benthic foraminifera to anthropogenic pressure in two stations of the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy): the marine protected area of Miramare versus the Servola water sewage outfall

A seasonal survey of living benthic foraminifera was performed in 2013 in the Gulf of Trieste (N Adriatic Sea) to compare two marine coastal sites with different degrees of anthropogenic influence. An assessment of ecological quality statuses showed that the station located near the end of an urban pipeline (Ser station), has worse ecological conditions than the site located in a protected marine area (Res station) all year around. Stressed conditions at Ser station were mainly related to high contents of total organic carbon (TOC) and Zn in the bioavailable fraction, which were a limiting factor for the studied foraminiferal communities. Ammonia tepida, Bolivina spp., and Bulimina spp., which characterised this station, were the most tolerant taxa of the studied assemblage. Conversely, Elphidium spp., H. depressula, N. iridea, Quiqueloculina spp., R. nana and Textularia spp., could be considered less tolerant species as they benefitted from the less stressful conditions recorded at Res station, despite slightly higher concentrations of some potentially toxic elements (PTEs), especially Pb, being recorded in this station in comparison to Ser station. Furthermore, foraminiferal assemblages were found to be quite resilient over an annual cycle, being able to recover from a seasonal unbalanced state to a mature one. The beginning of spring and latest summer would be the best period to assess the ecological quality status to avoid any under- or overestimation of the health of the environment

Chronotype. what role in the context of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors?

Background Chronotype is defined as a trait determining the subject circadian preference in behavioral and biological rhythms relative to external light-dark cycle. Although individual differences in chronotype have been associated with an increased risk of developing some types of cancer, no studies have been carried out in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NET). Materials We investigate the differences in chronotype between 109 GEP-NET and 109 healthy subjects, gender-, age-, and BMI-matched; and its correlation with tumor aggressiveness. Results GEP-NET patients have a lower chronotype score (p = 0.035) and a higher percentage of evening chronotype (p = 0.003) than controls. GEP-NET patients with morning chronotype had lower BMI, waist circumference, and higher percentage of MetS (p &lt; 0.001) than evening type. Interestingly, considering the clinical pathological characteristics, patients with the presence of metastasis, grading G2, and in progressive disease presented the lower chronotype score (p = 0.004, p &lt; 0.001, and p = 0.002; respectively) compared to other categories. Chronotype score was negatively associated with anthropometric measurements, metabolic profile, percentage of MetS, and Ki67 index (p &lt; 0.001 for all). Conclusions GEP-NET patients have an unhealthy metabolic profile and present more commonly an evening chronotype. These results support the importance of including the assessment of chronotype in an adjunctive tool for the prevention of metabolic alterations and tumor aggressiveness of GEP-NET

Cardio-Metabolic Indices and Metabolic Syndrome as Predictors of Clinical Severity of Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

BackgroundObesity, mainly visceral obesity, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are major risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Data analyzing the association of obesity and MetS with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NEN) are lacking. Fatty liver index (FLI) is a non-invasive tool for identifying individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Visceral adiposity index (VAI) has been suggested as a gender-specific indicator of adipose dysfunction. Both indexes have been proposed as early predictors of MetS. This study aimed to investigate the association of FLI VAI as early predictors of MetS with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).MethodsA cross-sectional, case-control, observational study was carried out at the ENETS Centers of Excellence Multidisciplinary Group for Neuroendocrine Tumors, University "Federico II". VAI and FLI were calculated.ResultsWe enrolled 109 patients with histologically confirmed G1/G2 GEP-NET (53 M; 57.06 +/- 15.96 years), as well as 109 healthy subjects, age, sex- and body mass index-matched. Forty-four GEP-NET patients were G2, of which 21 were with progressive disease, and 27 patients had metastases. GEP-NET patients had a higher value of VAI (p &lt; 0.001) and FLI (p = 0.049) and higher MetS presence (p &lt; 0.001) compared with controls. VAI and FLI values and MetS presence were higher in G2 than in G1 patients (p &lt; 0.001), in patients with progressive disease, and in metastatic vs non-metastatic patients (p &lt; 0.001). In addition, higher values of VAI and FLI and higher MetS presence were significantly correlated with the worst clinical severity of NENs. The cut-off values for the FLI and MetS to predict high grading of GEP-NETs and the presence of metastasis were also provided.ConclusionsThis is the first study investigating an association between VAI and FLI as early predictors of MetS and GEP-NET. Our findings report that the worsening of clinicopathological characteristics in GEP-NET is associated with higher presence of MetS, NAFLD, evaluated by FLI, and visceral adiposity dysfunction, evaluated by VAI. Addressing the clinical evaluation of MetS presence, NAFLD, and visceral adiposity dysfunction might be of crucial relevance to establish targeted preventive and treatment interventions of NEN-related metabolic comorbidities

Acute appendicitis in a patient immunised with COVID-19 vaccine: a case report with morphological analysis

Although the benefit/risk profile for mRNA COVID‐19 vaccines is recognised as extremely favourable, appendicitis is currently considered an adverse event (AE) of special interest. We describe the case of a 58‐year‐old female who presented with signs and symptoms of appendicitis approximately 48 hours after her first injection of the Pfizer‐BioNTech vaccine. Abdominal ultrasound revealed fluid collection in the right iliac fossa and cecal wall thickening. Following the surgical visit, CT scan with contrast showed a distended appendix with thickened walls, suggestive of acute appendicitis. The patient tested negative to upper respiratory COVID‐19 reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction. Clinical trials and observational studies suggest a possible association between appendicitis and COVID‐19 vaccines. Th‐1 driven granulomatous inflammation reported in our case represents an infrequent nonspecific chronic inflammation of the appendix, especially in the setting of delayed or interval appendectomy. In view of the current paediatric vaccination campaign, we recommend monitoring the safety profile and potential gastrointestinal AEs associated with mRNA COVID‐19 vaccines to swiftly manage subjects with gastrointestinal symptoms and prevent potential complications

The influence of cognitive factors on pathological gambling

The purpose of this study wasto examine the role of cognitive factors, such as superstition, locus of control, decision-making and unrealistic optimism,on gambling.Eighty-six subjects participated in this study. They were divided into four groups: non-players, social players, problem gamblers, and pathological gamblers. Groups were formed on the basis of South Oaks Gambling Screen  Scale. Results showed that pathological gamblers group obtained a high superstition index. With reference to unrealistic optimism, gambler groupbelieved that they had a better chance of success compared to non-gamblers. They also showed a higher impulsivity index in decision making than non-gamblers. This study supports the idea that cognitive factors such as superstition, unrealistic optimism, impulsivity and external locus of control are involved in gambling

Psychological factors may impacton postmenopausal women fracture risk

Anxiety and osteoporosis are common diseases and major public health problems. The association between  anxiety levels and bone loss was poorly investigated, thus we aimed to explore whether anxiety severity could be considered as an independent fracture risk. In a setting of postmenopausal women we measured anxiety levels by Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), depressive symptoms by Beck Depression Inventory and evaluated quality of life by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Women with higher anxiety levels showed lower BMD at lumbar spine and femoral neck, and exhibited a poorer quality of life after grouping our population in tertiles of HAMA score. Anxiety levels were predictive of reduced BMD after correcting for other known clinical risk of fractures