La promozione dell'occupazione

The research aims to verify if an Italian model of occupation promotion exists, in order to consider its compatibility level with the European social policy. First of all, it is necessary to consider the steps of the EC social policy (from the SEO, to the Lisbona Strategy until the passing of the Europe 2020 Strategy), through the analysis of the suitably provided tools, that is to say the occupation trends issued over the years, and of the opened coordination method (MAC). These supporting documents are useful to give to the member States the directives whom they have to draw inspiration drafting occupation and labour market regulations. From this analysis it comes out that one of the most important occupation goals has been the harmonization of all member States labour policy, in order to create more and better workplaces. The remarkable labour policy part is the active one [Active Labour Market Policy (Almp)], including all services and measures useful to gear job offer features to the job demand ones in order to promote occupation and improve workers and unemployed employability. With reference to our country, in the first instance a particular attention has been paid on employability, then on adaptability (aiming at the increase of the labour market admission tools), finally on the last labour market reform (brought about the law 92/2012), that tried to recover and promote the role of the employment services, considered the main actors who are able to promote employability of all the ones that have to be led in or reinstated in the labour market, definitely changing the relationship between the employment services and their end users, above all if they are receiving unemployment benefits. In the law provisions it is possible to identify three macro areas of intervention: the first one is linked to the employment services and the active labour policy; the second area includes vocational training (rectius permanent learning) vocational and orientation courses; the third and last one concerns employment incentives. Examining the basics of Fornero Reform, it has been made a second reading of the regional rules of the labour market, mostly preceding the 2012, in order to verify their elegibility to discipline the active policy. The object of the analysis has been the active policy tools as the “conditionality”, the concept of “fair” job offer, suspension from unemployment, the different services the employment services have to offer to the unemployed. Fornero reform put attention to the instrumental profile, returning to the deputy legislator the reform of the employment services system, who has to fix a short term (six months) already overdue. Then the observation has been focused on the vocational training, with an in depth-analysis of the institution of vocational and orientation courses, considered pre-eminently the best active policy tool. Alternatively, the Italian system of occupation promotion is the occupation policy that affects the job offer market. Analyzing the administrative and normative material of the matter, it has been tried to find out a process model for the incentive measures conforming to the European one due to the disjointed intervention of our legislator. In the light of this research, we can confirm with great optimism that our country is halfway, waiting to implement the reforms of employment services, vocational training system and employment incentives, already forecasted but never realized. The reasons of the delay are most of all financial one

Selection of indigenous yeast strains for the production of sparkling wines from native Apulian grape varieties

Abstract We report the first polyphasic characterization of native Saccharomyces cerevisiae in order to select candidate strains for the design of starter cultures tailored for Apulian sparkling wines obtained from local grape variety. In addition, it is the first survey in our region that propose the selection of autochthonous starter cultures for sparkling wine i) including a preliminary tailored genotypic and technological screening, and ii) monitoring analytical contribution during secondary fermentation in terms of volatile compounds (VOCs). Furthermore, we exploit the potential contribute of autochthonous cultures throughout the productive chain, including the possible improvement of base wine. One representative strain from each cluster was characterized i) for tolerance to abiotic and biotic stressors peculiar of sparkling wine fermentation, ii) for the performances in base wine production, and iii) for the aptitudes to promote in-bottle secondary fermentation in white and rose sparkling wines, both obtained from Apulian grape varieties. Genetic characterization led to group 164 S. cerevisiae in 16 genetic clusters based on interdelta profiles. Stress tolerance assays shown a certain correlation with fermentative attitude. Our evidences demonstrated a different fermentative behavior and release of VOCs of the different strains in association with primary and secondary fermentations and as function of wine and rose sparkling wine. Furthermore, performances in white/rose sparkling wines have been found to be strain-dependent characters. Overall, we propose different strains as biotechnological resources suitable to improve the quality of regional sparkling wines and to provide a driver of innovation/segmentation in the market

Use of autochthonous yeasts and bacteria in order to control Brettanomyces bruxellensis in wine

Biocontrol strategies for the limitation of undesired microbial developments in foods and beverages represent a keystone toward the goal of more sustainable food systems. Brettanomyces bruxellensis is a wine spoilage microorganism that produces several compounds that are detrimental for the organoleptic quality of the wine, including some classes of volatile phenols. To control the proliferation of this yeast, sulfur dioxide is commonly employed, but the efficiency of this compound depends on the B. bruxellensis strain; and it is subject to wine composition and may induce the entrance in a viable, but nonculturable state of yeasts. Moreover, it can also elicit allergic reactions in humans. In recent years, biological alternatives to sulfur dioxide such as the use of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria starter cultures as biocontrol agents are being investigated. The controlled inoculation of starter cultures allows secure, fast and complete alcoholic and malolactic fermentations, limiting the residual nutrients that B. bruxellensis utilizes to survive and grow in wine. The current study is focused on the assessment of the effect of autochthonous yeasts and bacterial strains from the Apulia Region on the development of B. bruxellensis in wine, in terms of both growth and volatile phenols' production. The investigation evidences the positive role of indigenous mixed cultures in the control of this spoilage yeast, either co-inoculating different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. cerevisiae/non-Saccharomyces or co-inoculating S. cerevisiae/Oenococcus oeni. Our findings expand the existing knowledge of the application of protechnological microbial diversity and of non-Saccharomyces as a biocontrol agent in oenology. We report a further demonstration of the interest in selecting indigenous strains as a strategic tool for winemakers interested in the improvement of regional wines

Systemic inflammatory response in erderly patients following hernioplastical operation

The number of old and oldest old patients undergoing surgery of varying severity is increasing. Ageing is a process that changes the performances of most physiological systems and increases susceptibility to diseases and death; accordingly, host responses to surgical stress are altered with ageing and the occurrence of age-related increase in susceptibility to post-operative complications has been claimed. Twenty-four male patients undergoing Lichtenstein (LH) hernioplasty for unilateral inguinal hernia were included in this study and divided in two groups (Young and Old respectively), according to their age. As expression of the acute phase response, we measured changes in concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines Tumor necrosis factor-α and Interleukin-1β, leukocytes, acute phase proteins C-reactive protein and α 1-antitrypsin. Elderly humans showed prolonged and strong inflammatory activity compared to younger subjects in response to surgical stress, indicating that the acute-phase response to surgical stress of elderly humans varies from that of the young, showing initial hyperactivity and a delayed termination of the response. Thus, the acute phase response to surgical stress is higher in old subjects, but the clinical significance of this remains unclear. It is not known whether a causal relationship exists between this stronger acute phase response and the increases in susceptibility to post-operative complications observed in aged patients

An observational study on chronic pain biomarkers in fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis patients:.which role for mu opioid receptor’s expression on NK cells.

The evaluation of chronic pain is challenging because of the lack of specific biomarkers. We identified the Mu opioid receptor-positive (Mu+) B cell percentage of expression, named Mu-Lympho-Marker (MLM), as a candidate marker for chronic pain in fibromyalgia (FM) and osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Here, we investigate the role of MLM on natural killer (NK) cells in the same patients. Twenty-nine FM and twelve OA patients were analyzed, and twenty-three pain-free subjects were considered as the control group. Blood samples were collected to perform immunophenotyping and Western blot analysis. Biological and clinical data were statistically analyzed. The final results showed that the percentage of NK cells expressing Mu was statistically lower in FM and OA patients than in pain-free subjects, as already demonstrated for B cells. A Western blot analysis was performed in order to detect NK cells' functional status. Moreover, the correlation analysis of MLM expression with pharmacological therapy did not show any significant results. In conclusion, here, we confirm the role of MLM as a suitable marker for chronic pain and underline NK cells as a new possible immune cell type involved in the "Mu opioid receptor reserve theory"

Myopalladin promotes muscle growth through modulation of the serum response factor pathway

Myopalladin (MYPN) is a striated muscle-specific, immunoglobulin-containing protein located in the Z-line and I-band of the sarcomere as well as the nucleus. Heterozygous MYPN gene mutations are associated with hypertrophic, dilated, and restrictive cardiomyopathy, and homozygous loss-of-function truncating mutations have recently been identified in patients with cap myopathy, nemaline myopathy, and congenital myopathy with hanging big toe