Diagnostic imaging and CEUS findings in a rare case of Desmoid-type fibromatosis. A case report

Desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF), also known as aggressive fibromatosis, is a locally aggressive benign fibroblastic neoplasm that can infiltrate or recur but cannot metastasize. It is rare, with an estimated annual incidence of two to four new cases per million people. Most DFs occur sporadically, but it may also be associated with the hereditary syndrome familial adenomatous polyposis. Treatment is necessary when the disease is symptomatic, especially in case of compression of critical structures. When possible, surgical resection is the treatment of choice; however, recurrence is common. Due to the high rate of recurrence, imaging plays an important role not only in diagnosis, but also in the management of DF. Although there are a number of studies describing CT and MRI findings of DF, there is no description of contrast-enhanced ultrasound findings

Corporate taxation and exports

The paper analyses the relationship between corporate taxes and exports at firm level. We use an integrated dataset that combines, for the period 2004-2006, survey data(Indagine sulle Imprese Manifatturiere) and company accounts for the manufacturing sector to estimate a Probit and a Tobit model. Our results suggest that export participation as well as export intensity increase with corporate taxation. Consistently with recent developments of the corporate tax incidence theory, this finding can be traced out to the greater ability of exporting firms to shift the tax burden on international markets, compared to domestic firms. Calculation of the average and marginal corporate tax rates uses the methodology recently developed by Egger et al. (2009) which allows deriving firm-specific effective corporate tax rates

Corporate taxation and exports

The paper analyses the relationship between corporate taxes and exports at firm level. We use an integrated dataset that combines, for the period 2004-2006, survey data(Indagine sulle Imprese Manifatturiere) and company accounts for the manufacturing sector to estimate a Probit and a Tobit model. Our results suggest that export participation as well as export intensity increase with corporate taxation. Consistently with recent developments of the corporate tax incidence theory, this finding can be traced out to the greater ability of exporting firms to shift the tax burden on international markets, compared to domestic firms. Calculation of the average and marginal corporate tax rates uses the methodology recently developed by Egger et al. (2009) which allows deriving firm-specific effective corporate tax rates

NATURAL FIBRE INSULATION MATERIALS: USE OF TEXTILE AND AGRI-FOOD WASTE IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY PERSPECTIVE

Fibrous materials are among those most used for the thermal and acoustic insulation of building envelopes and are also suitable for a wide range of applications. In building construction, the demand for products with low environmental impact - in line with the Green Deal challenge of the European Community - is growing, but the building market is still mostly oriented towards traditional products, missing the many opportunities for using waste materials from existing industrial production. The paper presents the experimental results of new thermal and acoustic insulation products for building construction and interior design, based on previous experiences of the research group. They are produced entirely using waste sheep's wool as a "matrix" and other waste fibres, as “fillers”. The materials proposed originate from textile and agri-industrial chains in the Piedmont region and have no uses other than waste-to-heat biomass. The panels have characteristics of rigidity, workability, and thermal conductivity that make them suitable for building envelope insulation

Natural fibers insulation panels: an adaptive production

The research team recently developed an innovative system with low environmental impact for the production of semi-rigid panels for thermal and acoustic insulation, obtained from recycled sheep's wool from Piemonte region. Starting from the previous work, a new semi-rigid panel has been produced, combining sheep wool with hemp technical fibers. Both sheep wool and hemp comes from agri-food systems and are considered as a wastes from existing production chains. Panels show low environmental impact and stiffness as main innovative features, if compared with other similar products on the market. A further experimentation phase allowed to improve the production process adaptability degree to the availability of natural by-products from local agri-food systems, with the aim to develop an “open recipe” able to answer to the building market different requests. The contribution presents the methodology adopted for the research in progress, the "open" technology assessment adopted for panels production and results of preliminary thermal tests

Natural Fibers Insulation Materials: Use of textile and agri-food waste in a circular economy perspective

Fibrous-based materials are among the most used for the thermal and acoustic insulation of building envelopes and among the ones with the best flexibility in use. In building construction, the demand for products with low environmental impact - in line with the Green Deal challenge of the European Community - is growing, but the building market is still mostly oriented towards traditional products, missing the many opportunities for using waste materials from existing industrial production. The paper presents the experimental results of new thermal and acoustic insulation products for building construction and interior design, based on previous experiences of the research group. They are entirely produced using waste sheep's wool as a "matrix" and other waste fibers, as "fillers". Proposed materials derive from textile and agro-industrial chains of Piedmont region and have no other uses, different from the thermal valorization as biomass. The panels have characteristics of rigidity, workability, and thermal conductivity that make them suitable for building envelope insulation

University Students and Entrepreneurship. Some insights from a population-based survey

Start-ups founded by university students and graduates play a substantial role in bringing new knowledge to the market and in employment creation; a role that appears to be even more important than the one played by the typical technology transfer activities carried out by universities, i.e. patenting and licensing activities, or spin-offs founded by academic staff. Indeed, robust empirical evidence suggests that entrepreneurs’ education is a good predictor of firms’ performance. Unfortunately, data show that the share of Italian entrepreneurs with tertiary educations is quite small, and this is especially the case of the younger generation. In this paper, we use a population-based approach to explore entrepreneurship among 61,115 graduates, alumni of the 64 Italian universities that belong to the AlmaLaurea consortium, in the second half of 2014, at the time when they completed their academic experience. We detect various levels of engagement and intentions to be involved in entrepreneurship, and we assess which factors appear to weigh more in a positive or negative manner. The bad news is that also our analysis finds that the share of Italian graduates who have started a business after their enrolment at university (1.3%) or who have taken concrete actions to start a business (4.5%) is quite small. The good news is that the number of intentional, i.e. potential highly educated, entrepreneurs among university students is much larger (at least 23%). On the basis of our results, we argue that the provision by universities of entrepreneurial education and training, internships, and ICT skills can be effective tools with which to cultivate entrepreneurial attitudes and skills, thereby fostering entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship among university graduates and enhancing their employability

University Students and Entrepreneurship. Some insights from a population-based survey

Start-ups founded by university students and graduates play a substantial role in bringing new knowledge to the market and in employment creation; a role that appears to be even more important than the one played by the typical technology transfer activities carried out by universities, i.e. patenting and licensing activities, or spin-offs founded by academic staff. Indeed, robust empirical evidence suggests that entrepreneurs’ education is a good predictor of firms’ performance. Unfortunately, data show that the share of Italian entrepreneurs with tertiary educations is quite small, and this is especially the case of the younger generation. In this paper, we use a population-based approach to explore entrepreneurship among 61,115 graduates, alumni of the 64 Italian universities that belong to the AlmaLaurea consortium, in the second half of 2014, at the time when they completed their academic experience. We detect various levels of engagement and intentions to be involved in entrepreneurship, and we assess which factors appear to weigh more in a positive or negative manner. The bad news is that also our analysis finds that the share of Italian graduates who have started a business after their enrolment at university (1.3%) or who have taken concrete actions to start a business (4.5%) is quite small. The good news is that the number of intentional, i.e. potential highly educated, entrepreneurs among university students is much larger (at least 23%). On the basis of our results, we argue that the provision by universities of entrepreneurial education and training, internships, and ICT skills can be effective tools with which to cultivate entrepreneurial attitudes and skills, thereby fostering entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship among university graduates and enhancing their employability

YouTube™ as a Source of Information on Acupuncture for Correction of Breech Presentation

Background and Aim: Breech presentation is a condition that occurs in rare cases in pregnancy. Although guidelines recommend a cesarian section or an external cephalic version in case of breech, alternative procedures like acupuncture, are also available. Information on this approach is mostly found by patients through social media; we aimed to study content quality and the reliability of information present on YouTubeTM (Google LLC, Mountain View, California, United States), one of the most popular.Methods: Two gynecologists and an anesthesiologist, who was qualified as an acupuncturist, rated the reliability and the content quality of 23 of the first 100 results from YouTube. Normal data distribution was tested with the Shapiro-Wilk test. General features of videos, reliability, and content quality were compared with the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test (continuous variables) and the Chi-square test (categorical variables). All tests were two-sided, and the statistical significance level was determined at p<0.05.Results: Concerning reliability, all videos were rated poorly while only one was judged as sufficiently high in quality content. Lower scores in terms of reliability and content quality resulted from the reviewers' evaluation with no videos reported as suggestable to patients. Two videos were considered fit to be suggested to patients by the gynecologist reviewers.Conclusions: Information about the role and the success rate of acupuncture for converting breech presentation found on YouTube are poorly reliable, low-quality, and not valid for patients. It should be a physician's duty to provide correct information to patients