The quality of web communication by Italian tourist ports

Nautical tourism is a growing form of tourism, and the Mediterranean Sea is a major destination. Italy has a long tradition in nautical tourism, as its large number of tourism ports refl ects. Ports are core actors in nautical tourism systems, devoted to meeting increasing and complex demand by nautical tourists; marketing communication is consequently a critical activity, for tourist ports, where websites play a crucial role. However, despite its importance, the evaluation of tourist ports websites is an almost unexplored research fi eld, where a large research gap exists. Our paper evaluates the quality of 51 Italian tourist ports websites using the 2QCV3Q model, a multi-purpose qualitative evaluation tool. Th e overall quality of Italian tourist ports websites was assessed on the basis of comparison to a group of benchmark ports in the Mediterranean Sea and worldwide. Results suggest that Italian tourist ports websites require improvement, especially of their content and the services provided. In this respect, our methodology provides an exhaustive assessment of the quality of a port's website and its determinants, helping to support managers in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of their website and prioritizing related actions

Urban Geometry, SVF and Insolation of Open Spaces: the case of London and Paris

The radiant environment in open spaces is very sensitive to the surrounding built form, which determines their openness to the sky and exposure to the sun. This paper presents the analysis of 132 urban forms in London and Paris, two cities at similar geographical latitude, but of different urban geometry, focusing on the relationship between urban geometry and insolation of open spaces at neighbourhood scale. The method consists of three stages: (1) the geometric analysis of the urban forms, (2) their solar access analysis and (3) the statistical exploration of the results. Special emphasis is on the sky view factor (SVF), which is employed as an integrated geometry variable and environmental performance indicator. The comparative analysis of the two cities underlines the significance of urban layout for modifying the outdoor radiant environment, and reveals temporal characteristics of the relation between urban geometry and insolation of urban forms, induced by the varying solar geometry. Indicatively, the average mean ground SVF (mSVF) was found to be primarily affected by the quantitative characteristics of the open space, and able to predict average daytime insolation on March 21 and June 21 (R2?>?0.8), in both cities

HPV sensitizes OPSCC cells to cisplatin-induced apoptosis by inhibiting autophagy through E7-mediated degradation of AMBRA1

Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is an increasing world health problem with a more favorable prognosis for patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive tumors compared to those with HPV-negative OPSCC. How HPV confers a less aggressive phenotype, however, remains undefined. We demonstrated that HPV-positive OPSCC cells display reduced macroautophagy/autophagy activity, mediated by the ability of HPV-E7 to interact with AMBRA1, to compete with its binding to BECN1 and to trigger its calpain-dependent degradation. Moreover, we have shown that AMBRA1 downregulation and pharmacological inhibition of autophagy sensitized HPV-negative OPSCC cells to the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin. Importantly, semi-quantitative immunohistochemical analysis in primary OPSCCs confirmed that AMBRA1 expression is reduced in HPV-positive compared to HPV-negative tumors. Collectively, these data identify AMBRA1 as a key target of HPV to impair autophagy and propose the targeting of autophagy as a viable therapeutic strategy to improve treatment response of HPV-negative OPSCC. Abbreviations: AMBRA1: autophagy and beclin 1 regulator 1; CDDP: cisplatin (CDDP); FFPE: formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE); HNC: head and neck cancers (HNC); HPV: human papillomavirus (HPV); hrHPV: high risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV); OCSCC: oral cavity squamous carcinomas (OCSSC); OPSCC: oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC); OS: overall survival (OS); qPCR: quantitative polymerase chain reaction; RB1: RB transcriptional corepressor 1; ROC: receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC)

Smart mobility: a mobile approach

The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the key ingredients for the realization of Smart Cities. IoT devices are essential components of the Smart Cities infrastructure, as they can provide information collected from the environment through sensors or allow other systems to reach out and act on the world through actuators. IoT data collection, however, is not limited to sensors and machines, but to data from social networks, and the web. Social networks have a huge impact on the amount of data being produced daily, becoming an increasingly central and important data source. The exploitation of these data sources, combined with the growing popularity of mobile devices, can lead to the development of better solutions to improve people’s quality of life. This paper discusses how to take advantage of the benefits of mobile devices and the vast range of information sources and services, such as traffic conditions, and narrow, closed or conditioned roads data. The proposed system uses a real-time collection, organization, and transmission of traffic and road conditions data to provide efficient and accurate information to drivers. With the purpose of supporting and improving traffic data collection and distribution, an Android application was developed to collect information about extraordinary events that take place in a city, providing warnings and alternative routes to drivers and helping them to improve their time management. The developed solution also exploits the existing gaps in other applications, implementing a more specific solution for the Madeira Island traffic condition problems.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Carfilzomib, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone for newly diagnosed, high-risk myeloma patients not eligible for transplant: A pooled analysis of two studies

Despite remarkable advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) in the last decades, the prognosis of patients harboring high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities remains dismal as compared to that of standard-risk patients. Proteasome inhibitors have been demonstrated to partially ameliorate the prognosis of high-risk patients. We pooled together data from two phase I/II trials on transplant-ineligible patients with MM receiving upfront carfilzomib cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone followed by carfilzomib maintenance. The aim of this analysis was to compare treatment outcomes in patients with standard-risk versus high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. High risk was defined by the presence of at least one chromosomal abnormality, including t(4;14), del17p and t(14;16). Overall, 94 patients were included in the analysis: 57 (61%) in the standard-risk and 37 (39%) in the high-risk group. Median follow-up was 38 months. In standard-risk versus high-risk patients, we observed similar progression-free survival (PFS) (3-year PFS: 52% vs. 43%, respectively; P=0.50), overall survival (OS) (3-year OS: 78% vs. 73%; P=0.38), and overall response rate (88% vs. 95%; P=0.47), with no statistical differences between the two groups. No difference in terms of PFS was observed between patients with or without del17p. Carfilzomib, used both as induction and maintenance agent for transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed MM patients, mitigated the poor prognosis carried by high-risk cytogenetics and resulted in similar PFS and OS as in standard-risk patients

Triplet vs doublet lenalidomide-containing regimens for the treatment of elderly patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Lenalidomide-dexamethasone improved outcome in newly diagnosed elderly multiple myeloma patients. We randomly assigned 662 patients who were age \u202165 years or transplantation-ineligible to receive induction with melphalan-prednisone-lenalidomide (MPR) or cyclophosphamide-prednisone-lenalidomide (CPR) or lenalidomide plus lowdose dexamethasone (Rd). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) in triplet (MPR and CPR) vs doublet (Rd) lenalidomide-containing regimens. After a median follow-up of 39 months, the medianPFSwas22 months for the triplet combinations and 21 months for the doublet (P 5 .284). The median overall survival (OS) was not reached in either arms, and the 4-year OS was 67% for the triplet and 58% for the doublet arms (P 5 .709). By considering the 3 treatment arms separately, no difference in outcome was detected among MPR, CPR, and Rd. The most common grade \u20213 toxicity was neutropenia: 64% in MPR, 29% in CPR, and 25% in Rd patients (P < .0001). Grade \u20213 nonhematologic toxicities were similar among arms and were mainly infections (6.5% to 11%), constitutional (3.5% to 9.5%), and cardiac (4.5% to 6%), with no difference among the arms. In conclusion, in the overall population, the alkylator-containing tripletsMPRandCPRwere not superior to the alkylator-free doublet Rd, which was associated with lower toxicit

Carfilzomib, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone for newly diagnosed, high-risk myeloma patients not eligible for transplant: A pooled analysis of two studies

open20noFunding: The IST-CAR-561 (NCT01857115) study was sponsored by Stichting Hemato-Oncologie voor Volwassenen Nederland (HOVON, the Netherlands), in collaboration with Fondazione Neoplasie Sangue ONLUS (Italy). The IST-CAR-506 (NCT01346787) study was sponsored by the HOVON Foundation and co-sponsored by Fondazione Neoplasie Sangue ONLUS. Both trials were supported by funding from AMGEN (Onyx Pharmaceuticals), which had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, writing of the report or publication of this article. The corresponding author had full access to all the data in the two studies, and had final responsibility for the decision to prepare and submit this manuscript for publication, together with the other authors.Despite remarkable advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) in the last decades, the prognosis of patients harboring high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities remains dismal as compared to that of standard-risk patients. Proteasome inhibitors have been demonstrated to partially ameliorate the prognosis of high-risk patients. We pooled together data from two phase I/II trials on transplant-ineligible patients with MM receiving upfront carfilzomib cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone followed by carfilzomib maintenance. The aim of this analysis was to compare treatment outcomes in patients with standard-risk versus high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. High risk was defined by the presence of at least one chromosomal abnormality, including t(4;14), del17p and t(14;16). Overall, 94 patients were included in the analysis: 57 (61%) in the standard-risk and 37 (39%) in the high-risk group. Median follow-up was 38 months. In standard-risk versus high-risk patients, we observed similar progression-free survival (PFS) (3-year PFS: 52% vs. 43%, respectively; P=0.50), overall survival (OS) (3-year OS: 78% vs. 73%; P=0.38), and overall response rate (88% vs. 95%; P=0.47), with no statistical differences between the two groups. No difference in terms of PFS was observed between patients with or without del17p. Carfilzomib, used both as induction and maintenance agent for transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed MM patients, mitigated the poor prognosis carried by high-risk cytogenetics and resulted in similar PFS and OS as in standard-risk patients.noneMina R.; Bonello F.; Petrucci M.T.; Liberati A.M.; Conticello C.; Ballanti S.; Musto P.; Olivieri A.; Benevolo G.; Capra A.; Gilestro M.; Galieni P.; Cavo M.; Siniscalchi A.; Palumbo A.; Montefusco V.; Gaidano G.; Omede P.; Boccadoro M.; Bringhen S.Mina R.; Bonello F.; Petrucci M.T.; Liberati A.M.; Conticello C.; Ballanti S.; Musto P.; Olivieri A.; Benevolo G.; Capra A.; Gilestro M.; Galieni P.; Cavo M.; Siniscalchi A.; Palumbo A.; Montefusco V.; Gaidano G.; Omede P.; Boccadoro M.; Bringhen S

Evaluation of MCM-2 Expression in TMA Cervical Specimens

Background:Minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCM) are highly expressed in actively replicating cells. The need for biological markers for cervical carcinoma and its precursor lesions is emerging. Our main aim was to determine the immunohistochemical expression of MCM-2 in HIV-positive and -negative dysplastic cervical specimens. Methods:Immunohistochemical analysis of MCM-2 was performed in a total of 352 cervical TMA specimens of normal control, low-grade CIN, high-grade CIN and invasive tumor. 38 specimens were from HIV-positive women. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to determine the best cutoff to diagnose high-grade CIN and invasive cervical cancer. Results:In the progression from normal epithelium to high-grade CIN and invasive tumor we found significant differences in the MCM-2 expression (p,0.05). Based on the ROC curve of 80% with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.78, expression of MCM-2 to diagnose high-grade CIN and invasive tumor resulted in sensitivity of 81%, specificity of 66%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 86% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 57%. HIV-positive cervices revealed a decreasing expression of MCM-2 in both LGCIN and HGCIN compared with HIV-negative specimens (p,0.0001). Conclusions:The present study suggests that immunohistochemical MCM-2 may not be a promising biomarker for diagnosing high-grade CIN and invasive cance