Petty corruption and citizen feedback

Numerous countries are introducing citizen feedback schemes to tame corruption. We study how best to incorporate feedback in public officials’ incentives. The main novelty of our proposal is to allow citizens to directly influence officials’ pay. We consider a situation in which entrepreneurs must comply with regulation before undertaking a risky activity. Officials verify compliance to determine whether to grant permits, and may engage in either bribery or extortion. Without feedback, the government has no choice but to tolerate bribery, which leads to too many permits being granted and large negative externalities. By contrast, implementing a feedback scheme that (i) rewards entrepreneurs filing complaints and (ii) ties officials’ pay to these complaints makes deterring both bribery and extortion possible. Our proposed scheme does not require the government to be able to verify the accuracy of complaints. In an extension, we incorporate the role played by intermediaries, and show their involvement makes the feedback scheme even more valuable

Libertà religiosa e circoncisione in Italia: una questione di specialità confessionale

Contributo sottoposto a valutazione.SOMMARIO: 1. Note introduttive - 2. La rilevanza sociale del fenomeno - 3. I principi costituzionali di riferimento - 4. La tutela pattizia (segue) - 5. (segue) e giurisprudenziale - 6. Circoncisione e sanità pubblica - 7. Riflessioni conclusive e prospettive

Libertà religiosa e cittadinanza integrativa. Alcune note sul ‘vivere assieme’ in una società plurale

SOMMARIO: 1. Cittadinanza e identità religiosa - 2. Cittadinanza e pluralismo religioso - 3. “Cittadinanza integrativa” e libertà religiosa - 4. La Risoluzione 2076 (2015) e la Raccomandazione 2080 (2015).Religious Freedom and Integrative Citizenship. Some Notes on 'Living Together' in a Plural SocietyABSTRACT: Circumcision concerns the religious identity of Jews and Muslims. In addition to these circumcisions which can be defined as "confessional-religious" there are also those related to local customs. These types deserve renewed attention after Resolution 1952 (2013) and Recommendation 2023 (2013) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, both concerning "the right of children to physical integrity", and subsequent resolutions 2076 (2015) and Recommendation 2080 (2015) devoted to "(R) Religion and Living together in a Democratic Society". Citizenship is, in fact, the much broader horizon to be found behind circumcision. While the first two documents tend to consider non-therapeutic circumcision as a possible assault to the physical integrity of children without, therefore, focusing on the profiles inherent the right to religious freedom and the possible inclusive value of its "recognition" for the purposes of universal citizenship, the latter two, focusing on the freedom of 'living together' according to the practices of each religion, seem to be more aware of the need to move towards the realization of a European, inclusive and plural citizenship. However, the category of 'living together', evanescent and ambiguous for its correlation with the principle of majority (as is evident from the most recent case law of the ECHR), requires a new approach that gives it greater objectivity. Concepts such as those of pluralism and plural citizenship, in which civic belonging and religious affiliation can live together, help to go in that direction, renewing, in the end, the membership of a Europe of peoples and not just of economies

La legge civile ecclesiastica ticinese del 1855 nel quadro storico della prima metà dell’ottocento

Il contributo - segnalato dal Prof. Alessandro Ferrari, che ne attesta la scientificità e l’originalità - è destinato alla pubblicazione nella rivista  Il diritto ecclesiastico.  È stato realizzato grazie a un finanziamento della Fondazione Ferdinando e Laura Pica-Alfieri di Lugano.SOMMARIO: PRIMA PARTE – 1. Il contesto storico-politico e la produzione legislativa in materia ecclesiastica antecedente alla legge del 1855 – 2. La prima fase (1803-1829): dall’Atto di Mediazione al progetto di Statuto civile ed ecclesiastico del 1819 – 3. La seconda fase (1830-1839): la Costituzione del 4 luglio 1830 e l’opposizione tra istanze moderate e idee liberal-radicali – 4. La terza fase (1840-1847): il prevalere delle idee liberali – 5. La quarta fase (1848-1855): i provvedimenti antiecclesiastici degli anni tra il 1848 e il 1855 – SECONDA PARTE – 6. La legge civile ecclesiastica del 24 maggio 1855: genesi e contenuto. Dalle prime richieste di una legge al progetto del 1852 – 7. Il 1855: l’iter di formazione della legge – 8. L’intento programmatico della legge: gli articoli 1 e 2 – 9. Il contenuto della legge e la centralità del placet governativo – 10. Conclusioni.ABSTRACT: The essay describes the historical and political context, as well as the law production in Canton Ticino during the first half of the nineteenth-century, which will lead to the Civil Ecclesiastical Law of 1855. The article is structured in two parts. The first part deals with the historical period between 1803 and 1829 and is divided into four sections: from the Act of Mediation to the project of the Civil Ecclesiastical Statute of 1819; the Constitution of 1830; the predominance of liberal ideas and the anti-ecclesiastical measures from 1848 to 1855. The second part is entirely dedicated to the Civil Ecclesiastical Law of 1855 – peak of the historical political process described in the first part – and to the analysis of its origin and the contents from the 1852 bill. The development procedure, the purpose and the kernel of the Law, specifically the government placet, are particularly stressed

Occurrence of Tetracycline Resistance Gene TetA(P) in Apennine wolves (Canis lupus italicus) from different human-wildlife interfaces

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Microbial community and antimicrobial resistance in fecal samples from wild and domestic ruminants in Maiella National Park, Italy

This study aimed to provide new insights about antimicrobial resistance genes abundance and microbial communities of wild and domestic ruminants in wildlife-livestock interface. In total, 88 fecal samples were recovered from Apennine chamois, red deer, goat, cattle and sheep, and were collected in pools. The populations under study were selected based on ecological data useful to define sympatric and non-sympatric populations. Samples were screened for commonly used in farms under study or critically important antimicrobial resistance genes (aadA2, TetA, TetB, TetK, TetM, mcr-1). The microbial community composition was found to be different based on the species and land use of animals under study. Indeed, it was mostly characterized by phyla Firmicutes in bovine, Bacteroidota in chamois and Proteobacteria in red deer. Additionally, positive correlations between antibiotic resistance genes and microbial taxa (e.g., Tet genes correlated with Firmicutes and Patescibacteria) were described. Of the antimicrobials investigated, the abundance of mcr-1 gene suggests the importance of monitoring the wildlife in order to detect the emerging resistance genes contamination in environment. This study provides new data that highlight the importance of multidisciplinary and uncultured study in order to describe the spreading of antimicrobial resistance and related contamination in the environment

Isthmocele and Infertility

Isthmocele is a gynecological condition characterized by a disruption in the uterine scar, often associated with prior cesarean sections. This anatomical anomaly can be attributed to inadequate or insufficient healing of the uterine wall following a cesarean incision. It appears that isthmocele may impact a woman's quality of life as well as her reproductive capacity. The incidence of isthmocele can range from 20% to 70% in women who have undergone a cesarean section. This review aims to sum up the current knowledge about the effect of isthmocele on fertility and the possible therapeutic strategies to achieve pregnancy. However, currently, there is not sufficiently robust evidence to indicate the need for surgical correction in all asymptomatic patients seeking fertility. In cases where surgical correction of isthmocele is deemed necessary, it is advisable to evaluate residual myometrial thickness (RMT). For patients with RMT >2.5-3 mm, hysteroscopy appears to be the technique of choice. In cases where the residual tissue is lower, recourse to laparotomic, laparoscopic, or vaginal approaches is warranted

Cellular Prion Protein Expression in the Brain Tissue from Brucella ceti-Infected Striped Dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Brucella ceti, a zoonotic pathogen of major concern to cetacean health and conservation, is responsible for severe meningo-encephalitic/myelitic lesions in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), often leading to their stranding and death. This study investigated, for the first time, the cellular prion protein (PrPc) expression in the brain tissue from B. ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins. Seven B. ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins, found stranded along the Italian coastline (6) and in the Canary Islands (1), were investigated, along with five B. ceti-uninfected striped dolphins from the coast of Italy, carrying no brain lesions, which served as negative controls. Western Blot (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) with an anti-PrP murine monoclonal antibody were carried out on the brain parenchyma of these dolphins. While PrPc IHC yielded inconclusive results, a clear-cut PrPc expression of different intensity was found by means of WB analyses in the brain tissue of all the seven herein investigated, B. ceti-infected and neurobrucellosis-affected cetacean specimens, with two dolphins stranded along the Italian coastline and one dolphin beached in Canary Islands also exhibiting a statistically significant increase in cerebral PrPc expression as compared to the five Brucella spp.-negative control specimens. The significantly increased PrPc expression found in three out of seven B. ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins does not allow us to draw any firm conclusion(s) about the putative role of PrPc as a host cell receptor for B. ceti. Should this be the case, an upregulation of PrPc mRNA in the brain tissue of neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins could be hypothesized during the different stages of B. ceti infection, as previously shown in murine bone marrow cells challenged with Escherichia coli. Noteworthy, the inflammatory infiltrates seen in the brain and in the cervico-thoracic spinal cord segments from the herein investigated, B. ceti-infected and neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins were densely populated by macrophage/histiocyte cells, often harboring Brucella spp. antigen in their cytoplasm, similarly to what was reported in macrophages from mice experimentally challenged with B. abortus. Notwithstanding the above, much more work is needed in order to properly assess the role of PrPc, if any, as a host cell receptor for B. ceti in striped dolphins

Immunohistochemical investigations on Brucella ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Bacteria of the genus Brucella cause brucellosis, an infectious disease common to humans as well as to terrestrial and aquatic mammals. Since 1994 several cases of Brucella spp. infection have been reported in marine mammals worldwide. Indeed, since human brucellosis ranks as one of the most common bacterial zoonotic infections on a global scale, it is necessary to increase our knowledge about it also in the marine environment. Brucella ceti, which is phenotypically similar to other smooth brucellae as B. abortus and B. melitensis, shares with the latter two the same surface antigens that are routinely used for the serological diagnosis of Brucella spp. infection. Marine mammal Brucella spp. infections are characterized by a pathogenicity similar to their terrestrial counterparts, with the occurrence of abortion, stillbirth and orchitis and an involvement of the host’s central nervous system (CNS), similarly to what happens in mankind. While sero-epidemiological data suggest that Brucella spp. infection is widespread globally, detecting Brucella spp.-associated antigens by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in tissues from infected animals is often troublesome. The present study was aimed at investigating, by means of IHC based upon the utilization of an anti-Brucella LPS monoclonal antibody (MAb), the CNS immunoreactivity (IR) shown by B. ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins