Nuove strategie per il bene collettivo: crowdfunding civico al Parco Uditore di Palermo

Il tema del crowdfunding civico riguarda la partecipazione pubblica alla gestione del territorio. In particolare, la possibilit\ue0 di attuare meccanismi di finanziamento autonomi e autogestiti per la realizzazione di opere pubbliche (seppure di limitata entit\ue0) costringe gli amministratori e i tecnici a confrontarsi con l\u2019avvenuta conquista, da parte della cittadinanza, di una parte del potere decisionale. Quanto \ue8 opportuno che gli esiti della consultazione pubblica abbiano un canale di finanziamento specifico? Quali garanzie del processo partecipativo sono necessarie perch\ue9 le richieste dei cittadini siano coerenti con le linee generali della pianificazione locale e sovralocale, e si possano quindi coordinare e integrare alle azioni della pubblica amministrazione? L\u2019applicazione pratica di questo meccanismo ad un contesto urbano specifico, in questo caso ad un parco urbano della citt\ue0 di Palermo, prova a trovare una risposta a questi e molti altri interrogativi riguardo il crowdfunding civico, che pur essendo un\u2019iniziativa nata dal basso necessita di un team di tecnici che possano coordinare i contributi di tutti al fine di raggiungere l\u2019obiettivo. Il ruolo di tali gestori della campagna di crowdfunding \ue8 complesso: sono esperti di pratiche di partecipazione pubblica e di politiche territoriali, ma devono anche avere notevoli competenze nel campo della comunicazione e del marketing, nonch\ue9 dell\u2019informatica; infine essi sono il soggetto mediatore tra le istanze e le richieste della comunit\ue0 cittadina e le istituzioni che devono supportare/autorizzare in vari modi le iniziative civiche per cui viene attivato il crowdfunding

In Vitro Cytotoxic Effect of Aqueous Extracts from Leaves and Rhizomes of the Seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile on HepG2 Liver Cancer Cells: Focus on Autophagy and Apoptosis

Aqueous extracts from Posidonia oceanica’s green and brown (beached) leaves and rhizomes were prepared, submitted to phenolic compound and proteomic analysis, and examined for their potential cytotoxic effect on HepG2 liver cancer cells in culture. The chosen endpoints related to survival and death were cell viability and locomotory behavior, cell-cycle analysis, apoptosis and autophagy, mitochondrial membrane polarization, and cell redox state. Here, we show that 24 h exposure to both green-leaf- and rhizome-derived extracts decreased tumor cell number in a dose– response manner, with a mean half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) estimated at 83 and 11.5 µg of dry extract/mL, respectively. Exposure to the IC50 of the extracts appeared to inhibit cell motility and long-term cell replicating capacity, with a more pronounced effect exerted by the rhizomederived preparation. The underlying death-promoting mechanisms identified involved the downregulation of autophagy, the onset of apoptosis, the decrease in the generation of reactive oxygen species, and the dissipation of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, although, at the molecular level, the two extracts appeared to elicit partially differentiating effects, conceivably due to their diverse composition. In conclusion, P. oceanica extracts merit further investigation to develop novel promising prevention and/or treatment agents, as well as beneficial supplements for the formulation of functional foods and food-packaging material with antioxidant and anticancer propertie

Supplementary Material for: Estimating the Quantitative Demand of NOAC Antidote Doses on Stroke Units

<i>Background:</i> The first specific antidote for non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOAC) has recently been approved. NOAC antidotes will allow specific treatment for 2 hitherto problematic patient groups: patients with oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT)-associated intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and maybe also thrombolysis candidates presenting on oral anticoagulation (OAT). We aimed to estimate the frequency of these events and hence the quantitative demand of antidote doses on a stroke unit. <i>Methods:</i> We extracted data of patients with acute ischemic stroke and ICH (<24 h after symptom onset) in the years 2012-2015 from a state-wide prospective stroke inpatient registry. We selected 8 stroke units and determined the mode of OAT upon admission in 2012-2013. In 2015, the mode of OAT became a mandatory item of the inpatient registry. From the number of anticoagulated patients and the NOAC share, we estimated the current and future demand for NOAC antidote doses on stroke units. <i>Results:</i> Eighteen percent of ICH patients within 6 h of symptom onset or an unknown symptom onset were on OAT. Given a NOAC share at admission of 40%, about 7% of all ICH patients may qualify for NOAC reversal therapy. Thirteen percent of ischemic stroke patients admitted within 4 h presented on anticoagulation. Given the availability of an appropriate antidote, a NOAC share of 50% could lead to a 6.1% increase in thrombolysis rate. <i>Conclusions:</i>Stroke units serving populations with a comparable demographic structure should prepare to treat up to 1% of all acute ischemic stroke patients and 7% of all acute ICH patients with NOAC antidotes. These numbers may increase with the mounting prevalence of atrial fibrillation and an increasing use of NOAC