Global virtual water trade and the hydrological cycle: patterns, drivers, and socio-environmental impacts

The increasing global demand for farmland products is placing unprecedented pressure on the global agricultural system and its water resources. Many regions of the world, that are affected by a chronic water scarcity relative to their population, strongly depend on the import of agricultural commodities and associated embodied (or virtual) water. The globalization of water through virtual water trade (VWT) is leading to a displacement of water use and a disconnection between human populations and the water resources they rely on. Despite the recognized importance of these phenomena in reshaping the patterns of water dependence through teleconnections between consumers and producers, their effect on global and regional water resources has just started to be quantified. This review investigates the global spatiotemporal dynamics, drivers, and impacts of VWT through an integrated analysis of surface water, groundwater, and root-zone soil moisture consumption for agricultural production; it evaluates how virtual water flows compare to the major 'physical water fluxes' in the Earth System; and provides a new reconceptualization of the hydrologic cycle to account also for the role of water redistribution by the hidden 'virtual water cycle'

Conventional CT versus Dedicated CT Angiography in DIEP Flap Planning: A Feasibility Study

The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap is used with increasing frequency in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. Preoperative mapping with CT angiography (CTa) is crucial in reducing surgical complications and optimizing surgical techniques. Our study\u2019s goal was to investigate the accuracy of conventional CT (cCT), performed during disease staging, compared to CTa in preoperative DIEP flap planning. In this retrospective, single-center study, we enrolled patients scheduled for mastectomy and DIEP flap breast reconstruction, subjected to cCT within 24 months after CTa. We included 35 patients in the study. cCT accuracy was 95% (CI 0.80\u20130.98) in assessing the three largest perforators, 100% (CI 0.89\u2013100) in assessing the dominant perforator, 93% (CI 0.71\u20130.94) in assessing the perforator intramuscular course, and 90.6% (CI 0.79\u20130.98) in assessing superficial venous communications. Superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) caliber was recognized in 90% of cases (CI 0.84\u20130.99), with an excellent assessment of superficial inferior epigastric vein (SIEV) integrity (96% of cases, CI 0.84\u20130.99), and a lower accuracy in the evaluation of deep inferior epigastric artery (DIEA) branching type (85% of cases, CI 0.69\u20130.93). The mean X-ray dose spared would have been 788 \ub1 255 mGy/cm. Our study shows that cCT is as accurate as CTa in DIEP flap surgery planning

Economic consequences of investing in anti-HCV antiviral treatment from the Italian NHS perspective : a real-world-based analysis of PITER data

OBJECTIVE: We estimated the cost consequence of Italian National Health System (NHS) investment in direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy according to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment access policies in Italy. METHODS: A multistate, 20-year time horizon Markov model of HCV liver disease progression was developed. Fibrosis stage, age and genotype distributions were derived from the Italian Platform for the Study of Viral Hepatitis Therapies (PITER) cohort. The treatment efficacy, disease progression probabilities and direct costs in each health state were obtained from the literature. The break-even point in time (BPT) was defined as the period of time required for the cumulative costs saved to recover the Italian NHS investment in DAA treatment. Three different PITER enrolment periods, which covered the full DAA access evolution in Italy, were considered. RESULTS: The disease stages of 2657 patients who consecutively underwent DAA therapy from January 2015 to December 2017 at 30 PITER clinical centres were standardized for 1000 patients. The investment in DAAs was considered to equal €25 million, €15 million, and €9 million in 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. For patients treated in 2015, the BPT was not achieved, because of the disease severity of the treated patients and high DAA prices. For 2016 and 2017, the estimated BPTs were 6.6 and 6.2 years, respectively. The total cost savings after 20 years were €50.13 and €55.50 million for 1000 patients treated in 2016 and 2017, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study may be a useful tool for public decision makers to understand how HCV clinical and epidemiological profiles influence the economic burden of HCV

Presupposti epistemologici della valutazione/misurazione

Analisi della nozione di valutazione, in relazione a quella di commisurazione e ai sistemi di (neo)valutazione della ricerca scientifica

ZoneModa Journal

ZoneModa Journal nasce dall'idea di un gruppo di docenti dei Corsi di Laurea di Moda, sede di Rimini, Universit\ue0 di Bologna allo scopo di istituire uno strumento di ricerca focalizzato sui Fashion Studies e immaginato per un pubblico di studiosi italiani e stranieri. La necessit\ue0 che ci ha spinto a produrre il progetto editoriale \ue8 stata dettata soprattutto dalla mancanza, in Italia, di uno strumento di questo tipo, capace di raccogliere studi e riflessioni sul complesso e articolato universo del fashion. L\u2019obiettivo, che rappresenta un costante work in progress, \ue8 di far diventare ZoneModa Journal un punto di riferimento imprescindibile per degli studiosi di moda. L\u2019osservazione del contesto entro il quale i fenomeni di moda si manifestano e si consolidano \ue8 sempre pi\uf9 globale, uno spazio dai confini geografici, politici e massmediali sempre pi\uf9 ampi. Per questi motivi, fin dal primo numero, il progetto ha previsto la definizione di nuovi contatti sia con colleghi italiani che stranieri, nonch\ue9 la sua diffusione nelle due lingue, italiano ed inglese. ZoneModa Journal intende proporsi come un appuntamento fisso, un\u2019area di raccordo, per dar vita a occasioni di riflessione comune su un tema di volta in volta suggerito e affrontato sotto molti e diversi punti di vista, con la regia di un curatore per ogni numero. Lo scopo \ue8 quello di sollecitare discussioni e confronti pi\uf9 allargati possibile, di mettere a disposizione uno spazio per contatti, convergenze e critiche costruttive. La rivista si rivolge agli studiosi di Fashion Studies e agli studenti universitari dei corsi umanistici, con l\u2019obiettivo di costituire uno strumento utile ad inquadrare i fenomeni legati al fashion entro un quadro di riflessione ampio, che faccia riferimento a pi\uf9 ambiti culturali e di ricerca. I suoi punti di forza sono l\u2019aspetto multidisciplinare e la predisposizione ad ospitare discussioni critiche su aspetti culturali di ampio respiro (come ad esempio: morphing, made in Italy, cultura pop, well-being)