Patterns of infections in older patients acutely admitted to medical wards: data from the REPOSI register

11N/Apartially_openopenRossio, Raffaella; Ardoino, Ilaria; Franchi, Carlotta; Nobili, Alessandro; Mannuccio Mannucci, Pier; Peyvandi, Flora; Biolo, G.; Zanetti, M.; Guadagni, M; Zaccari, M.; Chiuch, M.Rossio, Raffaella; Ardoino, Ilaria; Franchi, Carlotta; Nobili, Alessandro; Mannuccio Mannucci, Pier; Peyvandi, Flora; Biolo, G.; Zanetti, M.; Guadagni, M; Zaccari, M.; Chiuch, M

Flow stability in a wide vaneless diffuser

Abstract This work is concerned with the theoretical aspects of flow stability in a two dimensional vaneless diffuser. Specifically, the appearance of self-excited oscillations, also referred to as rotating stall, is investigated considering a two-dimensional inviscid flow in an annulus. We consider a linear perturbation method, taking as basic flow the steady potential velocity field whose radial and tangential components are inversely proportional to the radial coordinate. We show that such flow may become unstable to small two-dimensional perturbations provided that the ratio between the inlet tangential velocity and the radial one is sufficiently large and a certain amount of vorticity is injected in the flow field. Such an instability is purely kinematical, i.e. it does not involve any boundary layer effects, contrary to the classical hypothesis which ascribes the instability to a peculiar boundary layers interaction

Technical efficiency under resource scarcity: Non-parametric approach Uzbekistan agriculture

Water scarcity and land degradation increases led to a sharp rise in input resource's costs. These developments make it increasingly difficult for agricultural farms to produce according to the demand for food and other commodities, especially owing a rapid population growth. The present study aims to focus on scarce resource use in the agricultural production of the Zarafshan valley by means of the efficiency analysis. A DEA model is estimated to investigate the farm level efficiency levels with respect to the use of the limited resources available to the farmers. By the application of linear programming methods a "best practice frontier is estimated‟, classifying farms on the frontier as efficient and others as inefficient with respect to different scales. Technical and allocative efficiencies are calculated relative to the frontier. Results shows input resources are not used efficiently and a great majority of farms could effectively reduce considerable amounts of input use by still producing the same output.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

RELAXING CONTROL OVER THE CROPPING STRUCTURE: THE NEXT STEP FOR LAND REFORM IN UZBEKISTAN

Omnipresent control of Uzbekistan government in agriculture undermines land tenure security among the farmers and as result leads to low productivity and low incentives for investment into the land. In its turn low productivity in cotton farms worries the Uzbek policy makers on whether giving more freedom to 'private' farms will adversely alter vital production of cotton. In this study we hypothesized on opportunity of enhancing land tenure security in today's Uzbekistan without altering government's demand for cotton. Specifically we showed that relaxing requirement over the land occupation under cotton while leaving only government demand for output will result in freeing significant percentage of land area and consequently enhancing land [property] rights. Indeed, our estimates suggest that depending on the soil quality and entrepreneurship skills of farmer, from 3% to 6% of farm lands can be potentially taken out off the cotton production and used for producing alternative crops.Uzbekistan, cropping structure, land tenure security, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Early lean mass sparing effect of high-protein diet with excess leucine during long-term bed rest in women

Muscle inactivity leads to muscle atrophy. Leucine is known to inhibit protein degradation and to promote protein synthesis in skeletal muscle. We tested the ability of a high-protein diet enriched with branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) to prevent muscle atrophy during long-term bed rest (BR). We determined body composition (using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) at baseline and every 2-weeks during 60 days of BR in 16 healthy young women. Nitrogen (N) balance was assessed daily as the difference between N intake and N urinary excretion. The subjects were randomized into two groups: one received a conventional diet (1.1 ± 0.03 g protein/kg, 4.9 ± 0.3 g leucine per day) and the other a high protein, BCAA-enriched regimen (1.6 ± 0.03 g protein-amino acid/kg, 11.4 ± 0.6 g leucine per day). There were significant BR and BR × diet interaction effects on changes in lean body mass (LBM) and N balance throughout the experimental period (repeated measures ANCOVA). During the first 15 days of BR, lean mass decreased by 4.1 ± 0.9 and 2.4 ± 2.1% (p < 0.05) in the conventional and high protein-BCAA diet groups, respectively, while at the end of the 60-day BR, LBM decreased similarly in the two groups by 7.4 ± 0.7 and 6.8 ± 2.4%. During the first 15 days of BR, mean N balance was 2.5 times greater (p < 0.05) in subjects on the high protein-BCAA diet than in those on the conventional diet, while we did not find significant differences during the following time intervals. In conclusion, during 60 days of BR in females, a high protein-BCAA diet was associated with an early protein-LBM sparing effect, which ceased in the medium and long term

Chapter Arte, storia e prestigio. Per un’introduzione alla ‘ritrattistica genealogica’: la serie Guadagni di Firenze

The paper describes the interesting and widespread phenomenon of genealogic portraiture in Florence by analyzing the case of the Guadagni family and its series of portraits. The series was commissioned during the mid-Seventeenth century by senator Tommaso di Francesco and it was intended to decorate the family House behind the Nunziata thanks to the contributions of many artists. Both in terms of quantity and artistic quality, the Guadagni portrait series represents a precious testimony of this specific portraiture genre, which started during the middle of the sixteenth century and reached its climax during the following century. This genre saw its decline in the 1700s, when the aristocratic ancient families lost their importance, and their illustrious ancestors’ portraits became simple relics of a remote past

Agricultural Polices To Enhance The Development Of Fruit And Vegetable Subsectors In Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s fertile land is highly suitable for growing fruits and vegetables, making it one of the main producers among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The location of Uzbekistan also provides a ready access to the growing Central Asian and Russian consumer markets. Since its independence, the country implemented a number of agricultural policies targeted at the development of agricultural sector, comprising institutional and structural reforms. The aim of the study is to review the agricultural sector of Uzbekistan and to identify the major constraints to the development of fruits and vegetables subsectors. In doing this, the objective is to put forward policy recommendations for the development of these sector. Fruit and vegetables supply chain potential of the Samarkand region is the key topic of investigation. The recent reforms have provided opportunities for liberalization in agricultural production, especially for the fruit and vegetable subsectors. Yet, modernization of agriculture per se and of the marketing system in Uzbekistan remain areas requiring continued attention for the overall sectorial development. Based on the analysis, the paper provides policy suggestions for implementation. Specific recommendations are outlined pertaining to the identified key constraints; namely, pertaining to agricultural production and productivity, quality of land resources, irrigation, reforms, R&amp;D, and agricultural marketing