Communities of consumption and Made in Italy

The interest towards the role of user communities in innovation has grown among scholars and practitioners. Research has explored the role of communities in high‐tech and medium‐tech industries with a focus on innovation in the functional dimension of products. Less attention has been devoted to user communities' contribution in industries such as fashion, where innovation is much more related to communication and aesthetics. This paper provides a preliminary set of concepts and working hypotheses regarding the contribution of communities to the non‐functional dimension of product innovation in low‐tech industries and to the relationship between user involvement in brand communities and their incentives to contribute to innovation both tangible and intangible. The paper discusses two case studies of Made in Italy enterprises that refer to communities for their innovation strategies

Supervivencia de una pequeña población trasladada de Procolobus kirkii en la isla de Pemba

A survey to evaluate the distribution of Procolobus kirkii on Pemba island (Tanzania) was conducted, 20 years after they had been translocated from Zanzibar in the Ngezi forest park. A team of both expert and trained observers, guided by the authors, censused 68.3 linear km of forest, corresponding to an estimated area of 3.5 km2 (63.6%) of the protected Ngezi forested area of 5.5 km2. Nineteen groups of Cercopithecus aethiops were observed, with a total of 166 animals and an estimated density of 47.43 individuals per km2, and only one troop of Procolobus kirkii. Supplemented by interviewing the local people we obtained an estimate of 15–30 P. kirkii, including a small troop outside the protected area. This small population survived but did not increase, possibly due to adverse relations with humans.Se realizó un estudio para evaluar la distribución de Procolobus kirkii en la isla de Pemba (Tanzania), veinte años después de que fuera trasladada desde Zanzíbar al Parque Ngezi. Un equipo de observadores expertos y entrenados, guiados por los autores, efectuó un censo a lo largo de 68,3 km lineales de bosque, correspondiente a un área estimada de 3,5 km2 (63,6%) del área protegida del bosque de Ngezi de 5,5 km2. Se observaron 19 grupos de Cercopithecus aethiops, con un total de 166 animales y una densidad estimada de 47,43 individuos/km2, y sólo un grupo de Procolobus kirkii. Complementando los datos con entrevistas a la población local se obtuvo una estimación de 15–30 ejemplares de P. kirkii, incluyendo un pequeño grupo localizado fuera del área protegida. Este pequeño grupo sobrevivía pero no se incrementaba en número, posiblemente debido a las relaciones adversas con los humanos

Web 2.0 as a marketing tool: an investigation in the furniture industry

The steady increase in web 2.0 adoption rate by internet users has conveyed a great deal of attention of marketing practitioners and scholars on the opportunities presented by active and participant consumers. While marketing literature has focused on the potential of these instruments as marketing tools to be implemented by firms, few investigations have shed light on the actual adoption of social media and web 2.0 tools and services among firms in specific industries. The paper presents the results of an analysis of the diffusion of web 2.0 services and technologies among a sample of firms in the furniture industry, as to assess the maturity – or lack thereof – of adoption models as well as the ways in which these instruments are used by small and medium-sized firms

Survival of a small translocated Procolobus kirkii population on Pemba Island

A survey to evaluate the distribution of Procolobus kirkii on Pemba island (Tanzania) was conducted, 20 years after they had been translocated from Zanzibar in the Ngezi forest park. A team of both expert and trained observers, guided by the authors, censused 68.3 linear km of forest, corresponding to an estimated area of 3.5 km2 (63.6%) of the protected Ngezi forested area of 5.5 km2. Nineteen groups of Cercopithecus aethiops were observed, with a total of 166 animals and an estimated density of 47.43 individuals per km2, and only one troop of Procolobus kirkii. Supplemented by interviewing the local people we obtained an estimate of 15-30 P. kirkii, including a small troop outside the protected area. This small population survived but did not increase, possibly due to adverse relations with humans

Teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing curricula in six European countries—A descriptive study

©2020. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the Accepted version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Nurse Education Today. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104561Background: Teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing education varies among nurse educators and universities. Lack of nurses' knowledge and skills are among the barriers commonly associated with the limited use of EBP in practice. Objectives: To describe the presence, characteristics and content of courses of EBP in nursing bachelor's, master's, and PhD programs in six European countries. Design: A descriptive study design was employed. Settings: The study was implemented as part of the EBP e-Toolkit Project as a strategic partnership of six European higher education institutions from six countries in the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme. Participants: Census sampling (N = 225) was used. A total of 162 (72%) faculties responded from the following countries: Spain (79), Italy (44), the Czech Republic (15), Poland (12), Greece (7), and Slovenia (5). Methods: Three structured instruments were developed by using the consensus development panel. The research was conducted from December 2018 to March 2019. For names of subjects, a manual narrative Template Analysis was used with open descriptive coding. Results: Subjects in “EBP in Nursing or Health Care” are included in 45 (29.2%) bachelor's programs, mostly worth 180 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits, 30 (28%) master's, and 6 (40%) PhD programs. In bachelor's programs, an average of 134 h are spent teaching EBP steps, followed by 127 h in master's programs and 52 h in PhD programs. EBP subjects have different focuses: clear topics in EBP, development of research knowledge, awareness of the need for evidence-based clinical work, and understanding the needs of the profession. Conclusions: Teaching EBP is not yet sufficiently integrated into nursing curricula. For more efficient integration, guidelines on the standardization of teaching approaches and content have to be developed in all three cycles of higher education. Further research is needed on the implementation of teaching at master's and PhD levels of nursing curricul

PU.1 controls fibroblast polarization and tissue fibrosis

Fibroblasts are polymorphic cells with pleiotropic roles in organ morphogenesis, tissue homeostasis and immune responses. In fibrotic diseases, fibroblasts synthesize abundant amounts of extracellular matrix, which induces scarring and organ failure. By contrast, a hallmark feature of fibroblasts in arthritis is degradation of the extracellular matrix because of the release of metalloproteinases and degrading enzymes, and subsequent tissue destruction. The mechanisms that drive these functionally opposing pro-fibrotic and pro-inflammatory phenotypes of fibroblasts remain unknown. Here we identify the transcription factor PU.1 as an essential regulator of the pro-fibrotic gene expression program. The interplay between transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms that normally control the expression of PU.1 expression is perturbed in various fibrotic diseases, resulting in the upregulation of PU.1, induction of fibrosis-associated gene sets and a phenotypic switch in extracellular matrix-producing pro-fibrotic fibroblasts. By contrast, pharmacological and genetic inactivation of PU.1 disrupts the fibrotic network and enables reprogramming of fibrotic fibroblasts into resting fibroblasts, leading to regression of fibrosis in several organs

Educational interventions for teaching evidence-based practice to undergraduate nursing students: a scoping review

©2020. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the Published, version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176351Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the appropriate approach to guide healthcare personnel in their clinical practice. Despite the importance of EBP, undergraduate nursing students are not very much engaged and have a lack of knowledge and skills. Aim: The aim of this study was to gather, assess and synthesize evidence on educational interventions promoting evidence-based practice competencies in traditional undergraduate nursing students. Methods: This is a scoping review on sixteen English and non-English databases. A data extraction form was established including authors, year of publication, country, types of participant, specific objectives, study design, educational intervention, comparison if existed, and outcomes of significance. Results: The search strategy retrieved 8901 records in total. After screening for duplicates and eligibility, 20 articles were included in the qualitative synthesis. Improvement in EBP domains such as knowledge, skills, attitudes/behaviours, EBP beliefs, use, practice, level of evidence, critical thinking and future use of EBP were mentioned and assessed in different studies. Conclusions: EBP training can improve nursing students’ capacity in healthcare provision. Teaching EBP competencies along undergraduate nursing curricula should be a high priority at nursing programmes. The use of innovative approaches seems to be more effective than traditional ways. Education of EBP increases its future use and critical thinking and EBP programs improve self-efficacy and the level of evidence utilization

The helminth product, ES-62, protects against airway inflammation by resetting the Th cell phenotype

We previously demonstrated inhibition of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic airway hyper-responsiveness in the mouse using ES-62, a phosphorylcholine-containing glycoprotein secreted by the filarial nematode, Acanthocheilonema viteae. This inhibition correlated with ES-62-induced mast cell desensitisation, although the degree to which this reflected direct targeting of mast cells remained unclear as suppression of the Th2 phenotype of the inflammatory response, as measured by eosinophilia and IL-4 levels in the lungs, was also observed. We now show that inhibition of the lung Th2 phenotype is reflected in ex vivo analyses of draining lymph node recall cultures and accompanied by a decrease in the serum levels of total and OVA-specific IgE. Moreover, ES-62 also suppresses the lung infiltration by neutrophils that is associated with severe asthma and is generally refractory to conventional anti-inflammatory therapies, including steroids. Protection against Th2-associated airway inflammation does not reflect induction of regulatory T cell (Treg) responses (there is no increased IL-10 or Foxp3 expression) but rather a switch in polarisation towards increased T-bet expression and IFNγ production. This ES-62-driven switch in the Th1/Th2 balance is accompanied by decreased IL-17 responses, a finding in line with reports that IFNγ and IL-17 are counter-regulatory. Consistent with ES-62 mediating its effects via IFNγ-mediated suppression of pathogenic Th2/Th17 responses, we found that neutralising anti-IFNγ antibodies blocked protection against airway inflammation in terms of pro-inflammatory cell infiltration, particularly by neutrophils and lung pathology. Collectively, these studies indicate that ES-62, or more likely small molecule analogues, could have therapeutic potential in asthma, in particular for those subtypes of patients (e.g. smokers, steroid-resistant) who are refractory to current treatments