Accounting and the Banality of Evil: Expropriation of Jewish Property in Fascist Italy (1939-1945)

Purpose – This study identifies the significant role of accounting in the expropriation of Jewish real estate after the enforcement of race laws under Benito Mussolini’s Fascist regime in Italy. Design/methodology/approach – Hannah Arendt’s understanding of government bureaucracy in 20th century totalitarian regimes informs the research which draws upon a wide range of primary sources. Findings – Implementation of the program of expropriation was the responsibility of a government body, EGELI, which was created specifically for this purpose. The language of accounting provided the means to disguise the nature and brutality of the process and allow bureaucrats to be removed from the consequences of their actions. Accounting reports from EGELI to the Ministry of Finance confirmed each year that those who worked in EGELI were devoted to its mission as an agency of the Fascist State. Research limitations/implications – The paper refers to the Jews expropriation from the Fascist institutions point of view while the Jews’ documents and their economic, social and human lives were not considered. It paved the way to further research about Jews discrimination and persecution in European countries other than Nazi Germany from an Accounting History viewpoint. Originality/value – The paper is the first contribution coming from Italy about the role played by Accounting and Accountants in Jews persecution under the Fascism

Nanoparticles and thin films formation in ultra-short pulsed laser deposition of vanadium oxide

The ultrashort pulsed laser deposition of vanadium oxide thin films has been carried out by a frequency-doubled Nd:glass laser with a pulse duration of 250 fs. The characteristics of the plasma produced by the laser-target interaction have been studied by ICCD imaging and optical emission spectroscopy. The results confirm that an emitting plasma produced by Ultrashort laser pulses is formed by both a primary and a secondary component. The secondary component consists of particles with a nanometric size, and their composition and spatial angular distribution influence the deposited films. In fact, these films, analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, are formed by the aggregation of a large number of nanoparticles whose composition is explained by a model based on equilibrium thermal evaporation from particles directly ejected from the target. On these basis, the presence in the films of a mixture of V2O5 and VO2 is discussed

Impact of Underlying Disease and Preoperative Factors on Postoperative Outcomes After Laparoscopic Splenectomy: A Bicentric Retrospective Analysis

Although the laparoscopic approach is considered the gold standard for elective splenectomy, it is still debated whether the underlying disease affects postoperative outcomes. Given the importance of good patient selection in the early stages of the learning curve for laparoscopic splenectomy (LS), this study aimed to compare the postoperative outcomes following LS for malignant diseases and benign diseases (MDs and BDs)

A Plasma Circular RNA Profile Differentiates Subjects with Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment from Healthy Controls

The most frequently used biomarkers to support the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) are Aβ42, total-Tau, and phospho-tau protein levels in CSF. Moreover, magnetic resonance imaging is used to assess hippocampal atrophy, 18F-FDG PET to identify abnormal brain metabolism, and PET imaging for amyloid deposition. These tests are rather complex and invasive and not easily applicable to clinical practice. Circulating non-coding RNAs, which are inherently stable and easy to manage, have been reported as promising biomarkers for central nervous system conditions. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs) as a novel class of ncRNAs have gained attention. We carried out a pilot study on five participants with AD and five healthy controls (HC) investigating circRNAs by Arraystar Human Circular RNA Microarray V2.0. Among them, 26 circRNAs were differentially expressed (FC ≥ 1.5, p < 0.05) in participants with AD compared to HC. From a top 10 of differentially expressed circRNAs, a validation study was carried out on four up-regulated (hsa_circRNA_050263, hsa_circRNA_403959, hsa_circRNA_003022, hsa_circRNA_100837) and two down-regulated (hsa_circRNA_102049, hsa_circRNA_102619) circRNAs in a larger population. Moreover, five subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were investigated. The analysis confirmed the upregulation of hsa_circRNA_050263, hsa_circRNA_403959, and hsa_circRNA_003022 both in subjects with AD and in MCI compared to HCs. We also investigated all microRNAs potentially interacting with the studied circRNAs. The GO enrichment analysis shows they are involved in the development of the nervous system, and in the cellular response to nerve growth factor stimuli, protein phosphorylation, apoptotic processes, and inflammation pathways, all of which are processes related to the pathology of AD

Tremblements de terre, éruptions volcaniques et vie des hommes dans la Campanie antique

L'histoire des hommes en Campanie est indissociable des manifestations d'une terre toujours en travail. Ici, l'archéologue et l'historien doivent collaborer étroitement avec le volcanologue et le géophysicien pour reconstruire un passé sur lequel les phénomènes naturels — éruptions, séismes, bradysisme — ont imprimé leur marque indélébile. C'est un premier bilan de cette entreprise pluridisciplinaire que dresse ce volume : des chercheurs en Sciences Humaines du CNRS et des Surintendances Archéologiques Campaniennes, des spécialistes des Sciences de la Terre des Universités de Naples et de Pise se penchent, en une série d'enquêtes complémentaires, sur la zone vésuvienne et les Champs Phlégréens (Ischia comprise). La documentation archéologique et l'analyse géophysique se confortent mutuellement pour permettre de dater un certain nombre d'événements éruptifs et telluriques, depuis la Préhistoire jusqu'à l'Antiquité tardive (et, au-delà, jusqu'au seuil de l'époque moderne), d'évaluer l'ampleur et la périodicité de ceux-ci, d'en mesurer les conséquences sur les populations lorsque leur économie, leurs conditions de vie, leur culture, se trouvent, à l'improviste, ruinées par la catastrophe

Thrombin Generation and D-Dimer for Prediction of Disease Progression and Mortality in Patients with Metastatic Gastrointestinal Cancer

Background: the tight and reciprocal interaction between cancer and hemostasis has stimulated investigations on the possible role of hemostatic biomarkers in predicting specific cancer outcomes, such as disease progression (DP) and overall survival (OS). In a prospective cohort of newly diagnosed metastatic gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients from the HYPERCAN study, we aimed to assess whether the hemostatic biomarker levels measured before starting any anticancer therapy may specifically predict for 6-months DP (6m-DP) and for 1-year OS (1y OS). Methods: plasma samples were collected and tested for thrombin generation (TG) as global hemostatic assay, and for D-dimer, fibrinogen, and prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 as hypercoagulation biomarkers. DP and mortality were monitored during follow-up. Results: A prospective cohort of 462 colorectal and 164 gastric cancer patients was available for analysis. After 6 months, DP occurred in 148 patients, providing a cumulative incidence of 24.8% (21.4&ndash;28.4). D-dimer and TG endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) were identified as independent risk factors for 6m-DP by multivariate Fine&ndash;Gray proportional hazard regression model corrected for age, cancer site, and &gt;1 metastatic site. After 1 year, we observed an OS of 75.7% (71.9&ndash;79.0). Multivariate Cox regression analysis corrected for age, site of cancer, and performance status identified D-dimer and ETP as independent risk factors for 1y OS. Patients with one or both hemostatic parameters above the dichotomizing threshold were at higher risk for both 6m-DP and 1-year mortality. Conclusion.: in newly diagnosed metastatic GI cancer patients, pretreatment ETP and D-dimer appear promising candidate biomarkers for predicting 6m-DP and 1y OS. In this setting, for the first time, the role of TG as a prognostic biomarker emerges in a large prospective cohort

Identification ofN,1,4,4-Tetramethyl-8-{[4-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)phenyl]amino}-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-h]quinazoline-3-carboxamide (PHA-848125), a Potent, Orally Available Cyclin Dependent Kinase Inhibitor

The discovery of a novel class of inhibitors of cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) is described. Starting from compound 1, showing good potency as inhibitor of CDKs but being poorly selective against a panel of serine−threonine and tyrosine kinases, new analogues were synthesized. Enhancement in selectivity, antiproliferative activity against A2780 human ovarian carcinoma cells, and optimization of the physical properties and pharmacokinetic profile led to the identification of highly potent and orally available compounds. Compound 28 (PHA-848125), which in the preclinical xenograft A2780 human ovarian carcinoma model showed good efficacy and was well tolerated upon repeated daily treatments, was identified as a drug candidate for further development. Compound 28 is currently undergoing phase I and phase II clinical trials