How many Italies ? What Data Show about Growth and Convergence across Italian Regions, 1970-91

The paper analyses the evidence about the growth of the Italian regions over the period 1970-91; in particular it studies the beta-convergence across regions, the convergence of each region towards its possible steady-state equilibrium path and the existence of groups of regions sharing the same stochastic trend. Besides the specific results on Italian regions, the paper provides and analyses some applications of different econometric methods for the investigation of the growth process

Segmented stochastic convergence across the G-7 countries

This paper analyzes the stochastic convergence in per capita income levels among the current G-7 over the period 1900-89. We show that, in the presence of possible structural breaks, the strong condition of stationary pair-wise differences between per capita GDP holds in many more cases than generally supposed. However, it occurs more frequently in the first part of the time sample than in the second one

Istituzioni, Stabilità e Crescita nelle Regioni Italiane

Il lavoro analizza la relazione tra la diversa performance nella crescita economica delle regioni italiane nel periodo 1970-91, da un lato, e le caratteristiche di assetto istituzionale e di stabilità economica e sociale dall’altro. Gli indicatori per tali fenomeni, che risultano rilevanti nelle comparazioni internazionali, hanno un effetto più sfumato nel caso dell’esperienza delle regioni italiane

Istituzioni, stabilita’ e crescita nelle regioni italiane

Il lavoro analizza la relazione tra la diversa performance nella crescita economica delle regioni italiane nel periodo 1970-91, da un lato, e le caratteristiche di assetto istituzionale e di stabilità economica e sociale dall’altro. Gli indicatori per tali fenomeni, che risultano rilevanti nelle comparazioni internazionali, hanno un effetto più sfumato nel caso dell’esperienza delle regioni italiane

Nuove e vecchie periferie popolari. Una ricerca etnografica in due aree di edilizia residenziale pubblica

Public housing suburbs are often an important element in reshaping the social and spatial geography of the city. This article is based on the study of two areas of public housing in Livorno: an historical and a more recent one. In Livorno social housing has led the urban development and the concentration of homogeneous groups of inhabitants. We report some results of an ethnographic research reconstructing how the spatial separation interacts with social relations of inhabitants of physically and socially peripheral areas. This kind of so called weak suburbs, despite possible trajectories of change, present complex patterns of problems. Attention has also been paid to the way concepts of neighborhood, suburb and community are merged in different combinations in the two areas, highlighting the «neighborhood effect», segregation, and encapsulation forms

Closed-Loop Targeted Memory Reactivation during Sleep Improves Spatial Navigation

Sounds associated with newly learned information that are replayed during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep can improve recall in simple tasks. The mechanism for this improvement is presumed to be reactivation of the newly learned memory during sleep when consolidation takes place. We have developed an EEG-based closed-loop system to precisely deliver sensory stimulation at the time of down-state to up-state transitions during NREM sleep. Here, we demonstrate that applying this technology to participants performing a realistic navigation task in virtual reality results in a significant improvement in navigation efficiency after sleep that is accompanied by increases in the spectral power especially in the fast (12\u201315 Hz) sleep spindle band. Our results show promise for the application of sleep-based interventions to drive improvement in real-world tasks

Comportamenti d'impresa e informazione del consumatore Un’analisi empirica sui prezzi del pernottamento turistico

The paper analyses the relationship between the average quantity of a good demanded by a consumer in a single act of purchase and the price setting behaviour of firms, in the presence of consumers’ uncertainty about prices. A decrease of the average quantity purchased leads consumers to reduce the collection of information and increases the room for larger mark-up set by firms, with a consequent higher average price and higher variance of prices. An empirical analysis on the data about hotel stays in seaside resorts in Italy during the summer seasons in the period 1988-1997 is consistent with this point

Serratiopeptidase reduces the invasion of osteoblasts by Staphylococcus aureus

Finding new strategies to counteract periprosthetic infection and implant failure is a main target in orthopedics. Staphylococcus aureus, the leading etiologic agent of orthopedic implant infections, is able to enter and kill osteoblasts, to stimulate pro-inflammatory chemokine secretion, to recruit osteoclasts, and to cause inflammatory osteolysis. Moreover, by entering eukaryotic cells, staphylococci hide from the host immune defenses and shelter from the extracellular antibiotics. Thus, infection persists, inflammation thrives, and a highly destructive osteomyelitis occurs around the implant. The ability of serratiopeptidase (SPEP), a metalloprotease by Serratia marcescens, to control S. aureus invasion of osteoblastic MG-63 cells and pro-inflammatory chemokine MCP-1 secretion was evaluated. Human osteoblast cells were infected with staphylococcal strains in the presence and in the absence of SPEP. Cell proliferation and cell viability were also evaluated. The release of pro-inflammatory chemokine MCP-1 was evaluated after the exposure of the osteoblast cells to staphylococcal strains. The significance of the differences in the results of each test and the relative control values was determined with Student’s t-test. SPEP impairs their invasiveness into osteoblasts, without affecting the viability and proliferation of bone cells, and tones down their production of MCP-1. We recognize SPEP as a potential tool against S. aureus bone infection and destruction