Theory and Practice of Emissions Trading in the European Union: Some Reflections on Allowance Allocation in Light of the DK Recycling Case

In its judgment of 22 June 2016, DK Recycling und Roheisen GmbH v. Commission, the Court of Justice ruled on an appeal brought by a German undertaking operating installations subject to the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), i.e. a “carbon market” where operators trade greenhouse gas emission allowances. At issue in the case were the rules on free allocation of emission allowances. After putting the case in context by providing an overview of the normative framework of the mechanism, the present analysis examines how the case contributes to the un-derstanding of the theoretical implications of the EU ETS

CARTOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY, LANDSCAPES

Il paesaggio gode oggi di una grande attenzione non solo sotto il profilo scientifico ma anche dal punto di vista politico e culturale, tanto da renderlo protagonista delle più recenti politiche territoriali. Con il presente lavoro si intende analizzare il contributo che la cartografia topografica può fornire per la redazione degli strumenti di pianificazione e gestione del territorio tenendo conto dell’esigenza di conservare, valorizzare e recuperare i paesaggi, proponendo alcune riflessioni, basate sulla redazione di piani a valenza paesaggistica, maturate in Sardegna.The landscape is today in a great deal of attention not only from the scientific point of view but also politically and culturally, so as to make it the protagonist of the most recent territorial policies. The present paper seeks to analyze the contribution of topographic maps for the preparation of planning instruments and land management, taking into account the need to conserve, enhance and recover landscapes, offering a few thoughts, based on the drafting of plans valued landscapes, work out in Sardinia

CARTOGRAFIA E NUOVI ORIENTAMENTI DELLE POLITICHE DEL TURISMO IN SARDEGNA

Il lavoro analizza il rapporto tra la cartografia redatta in occasione della predisposizione del Piano Paesaggistico Regionale (PPR) e le recenti politiche del turismo. Viene posto in evidenza il ruolo che la cartografia tematica assume nella nuova gestione del territorio con particolare riferimento alla valorizzazione e tutela del paesaggio e dell’ambiente.The work analyzes the connection between the cartography made on the occasion of Regional landscape plan (PPR) and the recent tourism policy. It is pointed out the role that the thematic cartography plays in the new territory management with a particular reference to the enhancement and protection of the landscape and of the environment

Aiuti di Stato e servizi socio-sanitari

I servizi socio-sanitari nel diritto dell’Unione europea: inquadramento generale. L’assoggettamento dei servizi socio-sanitari alla disciplina degli aiuti di Stato: i servizi sociali di interesse generale di carattere economico. Finanziamento dei servizi socio-sanitari e disciplina degli aiuti di Stato: quadro giuridico. Finanziamento dei servizi socio-sanitari e disciplina degli aiuti di stato: giurisprudenza della Corte e prassi decisionale della Commissione. Il diritto degli aiuti di stato e gli «spazi sociali nazionali» alla luce dell’azione delle istituzioni Ue: sfide e strade per la riconciliazione dell’economico e del sociale in Europa.I servizi socio-sanitari nel diritto dell’Unione europea: inquadramento generale. L’assoggettamento dei servizi socio-sanitari alla disciplina degli aiuti di Stato: i servizi sociali di interesse generale di carattere economico. Finanziamento dei servizi socio-sanitari e disciplina degli aiuti di Stato: quadro giuridico. Finanziamento dei servizi socio-sanitari e disciplina degli aiuti di stato: giurisprudenza della Corte e prassi decisionale della Commissione. Il diritto degli aiuti di stato e gli «spazi sociali nazionali» alla luce dell’azione delle istituzioni Ue: sfide e strade per la riconciliazione dell’economico e del sociale in Europa.LUISS PhD Thesi

Genes and Aggressive Behavior: Epigenetic Mechanisms Underlying Individual Susceptibility to Aversive Environments

Over the last two decades, the study of the relationship between nature and nurture in shaping human behavior has encountered a renewed interest. Behavioral genetics showed that distinct polymorphisms of genes that code for proteins that control neurotransmitter metabolic and synaptic function are associated with individual vulnerability to aversive experiences, such as stressful and traumatic life events, and may result in an increased risk of developing psychopathologies associated with violence. On the other hand, recent studies indicate that experiencing aversive events modulates gene expression by introducing stable changes to DNA without modifying its sequence, a mechanism known as “epigenetics”. For example, experiencing adversities during periods of maximal sensitivity to the environment, such as prenatal life, infancy and early adolescence, may introduce lasting epigenetic marks in genes that affect maturational processes in brain, thus favoring the emergence of dysfunctional behaviors, including exaggerate aggression in adulthood. The present review discusses data from recent research, both in humans and animals, concerning the epigenetic regulation of four genes belonging to the neuroendocrine, serotonergic and oxytocinergic pathways—Nuclear receptor subfamily 3-group C-member 1 (NR3C1), oxytocin receptor (OXTR), solute carrier-family 6 member 4 (SLC6A4) and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA)—and their role in modulating vulnerability to proactive and reactive aggressive behavior. Behavioral genetics and epigenetics are shedding a new light on the fine interaction between genes and environment, by providing a novel tool to understand the molecular events that underlie aggression. Overall, the findings from these studies carry important implications not only for neuroscience, but also for social sciences, including ethics, philosophy and law

Effects on human transcriptome of mutated BRCA1 BRCT domain: A microarray study

BACKGROUND: BRCA1 (breast cancer 1, early onset) missense mutations have been detected in familial breast and ovarian cancers, but the role of these variants in cancer predisposition is often difficult to ascertain. In this work, the molecular mechanisms affected in human cells by two BRCA1 missense variants, M1775R and A1789T, both located in the second BRCT (BRCA1 C Terminus) domain, have been investigated. Both these variants were isolated from familial breast cancer patients and the study of their effect on yeast cell transcriptome has previously provided interesting clues to their possible role in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. METHODS: We compared by Human Whole Genome Microarrays the expression profiles of HeLa cells transfected with one or the other variant and HeLa cells transfected with BRCA1 wild-type. Microarray data analysis was performed by three comparisons: M1775R versus wild-type (M1775RvsWT-contrast), A1789T versus wild-type (A1789TvsWT-contrast) and the mutated BRCT domain versus wild-type (MutvsWT-contrast), considering the two variants as a single mutation of BRCT domain. RESULTS: 201 differentially expressed genes were found in M1775RvsWT-contrast, 313 in A1789TvsWT-contrast and 173 in MutvsWT-contrast. Most of these genes mapped in pathways deregulated in cancer, such as cell cycle progression and DNA damage response and repair. CONCLUSIONS: Our results represent the first molecular evidence of the pathogenetic role of M1775R, already proposed by functional studies, and give support to a similar role for A1789T that we first hypothesized based on the yeast cell experiments. This is in line with the very recently suggested role of BRCT domain as the main effector of BRCA1 tumor suppressor activity

Expressed Alu repeats as a novel, reliable tool for normalization of real-time quantitative RT-PCR data

Expressed Alu repeats are a reliable, accurate and universal reference for use in RT-qPCR normalization of human gene

Very late-onset friedreich ataxia with laryngeal dystonia

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive gait and limb ataxia, cerebellar, pyramidal and dorsal column involvement, visual defects, scoliosis, pes cavus and cardiomyopathy. It is caused by a homozygous guanine-adenine-adenine (GAA) trinucleotide repeat expansion in intron 1 of the frataxin gene (FXN) on chromosome 9q13-q21.1. Onset is usually in the first or second decade of life; however, late-onset cases of Freidreich ataxia (LOFA), after the age of 25 years, and very late-onset cases of Freidreich ataxia (VLOFA), after the age of 40 years, have been reported. VLOFA is quite rare and usually presents a milder progression of the disease. We report the case of a 64-year-old woman affected with VLOFA whose first symptoms (balance and gait disturbances) occurred at the age of 44 years. At the age of 62 years, she started complaining of a slowly progressive dysphonia showing the clinical aspects of laryngeal dystonia. Molecular analysis showed a 210- and 230-trinucleotide GAA repeat expansion in the two alleles of the FXN gene. Laryngeal dystonia has been reported only in very few cases of ataxia syndrome and never before in FRDA patients. It may represent a rare clinical manifestation of VLOFA thus confirming the high variability of the clinical spectrum of FRDA

shear modulus of masonry walls a critical review

Abstract In the assessment of seismic performance of masonry buildings, the proper definition of mechanical parameters of masonry, the shear modulus in particular, is a critical issue. Moreover, considering that existing buildings are characterized by several masonry types, depending on the material as well as on the texture, mechanical parameters can vary in a very wide range, also because they depend on many other parameters and in particular on the integrity of the walls and on the stress level. Although the in situ or laboratory experimental evaluation of the G modulus has been the subject of a wide literature concerning flat jacks, diagonal and single compression and shear-compression test results, its outcomes are often contradictory. In effect, values given by different studies often differ significantly, even for the same class of masonry. Since the intrinsic scattering of the parameter is not sufficient by itself to justify the huge variability of the results, a critical discussion of the results as well as of the individual test arrangements is necessary to make the background more reliable, also in view of better addressing further studies- A huge database has been setup combining masonry test results available in the relevant scientific literature with the test results obtained in the framework of the in situ experimental campaign carried out by the authors for the assessment of seismic vulnerability of masonry school buildings in the Municipality of Florence. The analysis of the database underlines that values of the shear modulus G, which is a fundamental parameter for the definition of capacity curve for walls commonly used in non-linear static analysis, are extremely scattered. Testing methodology and arrangement are discussed and a possible procedure is proposed to arrive to sounder estimations of relevant mechanical parameter of existing building masonry

Characterisation of gene expression profiles of yeast cells expressing BRCA1 missense variants

Germline mutations in breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) confer high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. Even though most BRCA1 cancer-predisposing mutations produce a non-functional truncated protein, 5-10% of them cause single amino acid substitutions. This second type of mutations represents a useful tool for examining BRCA1 molecular functions. Human BRCA1 inhibits cell proliferation in transformed Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and this effect is abolished by disease-associated mutations in the BRCT domain. Moreover, BRCA1 mutations located both inside and outside the BRCT domain may induce an increase in the homologous recombination frequency in yeast cells. Here we present a microarray analysis of gene expression induced in yeast cells transformed with five BRCA1 missense variants, in comparison with gene expression induced by wildtype BRCA1. Data analysis was performed by grouping the BRCA1 variants into three sets: Recombination (R)-set (Y179C and S1164I), Recombination and Proliferation (RP)-set(I1766S and M1775R) and Proliferation (P)-set (A1789T), according to their effects on yeast cell phenotype. We found 470, 740 and 1136 differentially expressed genes in R-, P- and RP-set, respectively. Our results point to some molecular mechanisms critical for the control of cell proliferation and of genome integrity providing support to a possible pathogenic role of the analysed mutations. They also confirm that yeast, despite the absence of a BRCA1 homologue, represents a valid model system to examine BRCA1 molecular functions, as the molecular pathways activated by BRCA1 variants are conserved in humans