Innovation activities and learning processes in the crisis: evidence from Italian export in manufacturing and services

Are there any factors driving firms' internationalization process other than productivity? By means of a firm-level data set on manufacturing and production services sectors collected by MET, this article investigates the export performance of enterprises in Italy in the aftermath of the recent economic crisis. Our results suggest that productivity is not the only (and most important) determinant in this matter. Innovation activity and learning processes are indeed pivotal in boosting enterprises to sell their products abroad and, to a certain extent, in backing their success on foreign markets. In particular, by estimating dynamic probability models, as well as Tobit II-Heckman and two-part models, we provide evidence that firm's ability to learn from its past export experiences lowers international trade informal barriers, while its ability to learn, thanks to local spillovers, is important in terms of both extensive and intensive performances on foreign markets

CONSERVATION AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL: SUCCESSFUL REHABILITATION AND POST-RELEASE MONITORING OF AN ITALIAN WOLF (Canis lupus italicus) INJURED IN A CAR ACCIDENT.

This case report describes the rescue of an eight-month-old male Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus), the victim of a car accident that caused it a pulmonary contusion, a fracture of the shaft of right femur, and a metaphyseal fracture of the left stifle. A lateral surgical approach was performed to treat the animal\u2019s multiple contusions and fractures. Afterwards the wolf was transferred to a wild animal recovery center for its rehabilitation, where it fully recovered. After 35 days in captivity the wolf was thus released into the supposed home-range of its original pack, and its movements were monitored by a GPS satellite collar. The collar worked correctly for 479 days. During that period the collar acquired a total of 1202 locations, indicating that the wolf had traveled at least 1590 km, with an average monthly distance (\ub1 SD) of 102 \ub1 40 km, exploring an overall area of about 270 km2. During the first 10 days after its release, the wolf remained in the area of its supposed native pack, whereas at about the age of 10 months the wolf began to make wide extraterritorial movements. The wolf\u2019s last localization was acquired on 13th May 2018, about 17 months after its release, at a linear distance of about 65 km from the release site. This preliminary data showed that the wolf was alive and travelled long distances after its release, and demonstrates how a multidisciplinary management approach can support the recovery and successful release into nature of a rescued wild animal belonging to a flagship species with a notable ecological role, such as the Italian wolf

Očuvanje na individualnoj razini: uspješna rehabilitacija i praćenje talijanskog vuka (Canis lupus italicus) nastradalog na prometnici nakon puštanja na slobodu

This case report describes the rescue of an eight-month-old male Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus), the victim of a car accident that caused it a pulmonary contusion, a fracture of the shaft of right femur, and a metaphyseal fracture of the left stifle. A lateral surgical approach was performed to treat the animal’s multiple contusions and fractures. Afterwards the wolf was transferred to a wild animal recovery center for its rehabilitation, where it fully recovered. After 35 days in captivity the wolf was thus released into the supposed home-range of its original pack, and its movements were monitored by a GPS satellite collar. The collar worked correctly for 479 days. During that period the collar acquired a total of 1202 locations, indicating that the wolf had traveled at least 1590 km, with an average monthly distance (± SD) of 102 ± 40 km, exploring an overall area of about 270 km2. During the first 10 days after its release, the wolf remained in the area of its supposed native pack, whereas at about the age of 10 months the wolf began to make wide extraterritorial movements. The wolf’s last localization was acquired on 13th May 2018, about 17 months after its release, at a linear distance of about 65 km from the release site. These preliminary data showed that the wolf was alive and travelled long distances after its release, and demonstrates how a multidisciplinary management approach can support the recovery and successful release into nature of a rescued wild animal belonging to a flagship species with a notable ecological role, such as the Italian wolf.Ovaj prikaz slučaja opisuje spašavanje osmomjesečnog mužjaka talijanskog vuka (Canis lupus italicus) koji je bio žrtva naleta vozila s posljedičnim nagnječenjem pluća, prijelomom vrata desne bedrene kosti prijelomom u području metafize lijevoga koljena. Primijenjen je lateralni kirurški pristup kako bi se sanirala višestruka nagnječenja i prijelomi u životinje. Nakon toga je vuk prevezen u centar za oporavak divljih životinja gdje se potpuno oporavio. Nakon 35 dana u zatočeništvu vuk je pušten u okoliš nalik na njegov prirodni te je praćen preko GPS ogrlice. Ogrlica je ispravno radila 479 dana. Za to je vrijeme pokazala 1202 lokacije, upućujući na to da je vuk prešao 1590 km, u prosjeku mjesečno 102 ± 40 km (± SD), istražujući područje od 270 km2. Prvih 10 dana nakon oslobađanja vuk je ostao u području nalik na njegov prirodni okoliš, no u dobi od 10 mjeseci počeo je odlaziti na šire područje. Posljednja je njegova lokacija zabilježena 13. svibnja 2018., oko 17 mjeseci nakon puštanja, na zračnoj udaljenosti od oko 65 km od mjesta ispuštanja. Ovaj preliminarni podatak pokazuje da je vuk bio živ i prelazio velike udaljenosti nakon oslobađanja. Također pokazuje da multidisciplinarni pristup spašavanju može pospješiti oporavak i uspješno vraćanje u prirodu divljih životinja koje pripadaju vodećim vrstama s velikom ekološkom važnošću, kao što je talijanski vuk

Sequential or Concomitant Inhibition of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Before mTOR Pathway in Hormone-Positive HER2 Negative Breast Cancer: Biological Insights and Clinical Implications

About 75% of all breast cancers are hormone receptor-positive (HR+). However, the efficacy of endocrine therapy is limited due to the high rate of either pre-existing or acquired resistance. In this work we reconstructed the pathways around estrogen receptor (ER), mTOR, and cyclin D in order to compare the effects of CDK4/6 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitors. A positive feedback loop links mTOR and ER that support each other. We subsequently considered whether a combined or sequential inhibition of CDK4/6 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR could ensure better results. Studies indicate that inhibition of CDK4/6 activates mTOR as an escape mechanism to ensure cell proliferation. In literature, the little evidence dealing with this topic suggests that pre-treatment with mTOR pathway inhibitors could prevent or delay the onset of CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance. Additional studies are needed in order to find biomarkers that can identify patients who will develop this resistance and in whom the sensitivity to CDK4/6 inhibitors can be restored

Rottlerin-mediated inhibition of Toxoplasma gondii growth in BeWo trophoblast-like cells

Autophagy is a crucial and physiological process for cell survival from yeast to mammals, including protozoan parasites. Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular parasite, typically exploits autophagic machinery of host cell; however host cell upregulates autophagy to combat the infection. Herein we tested the efficacy of Rottlerin, a natural polyphenol with autophagic promoting properties, against Toxoplasma infection on the chorioncarcinoma-derived cell line BeWo. We found that Rottlerin, at sub-toxic doses, induced morphological and biochemical alterations associated with autophagy and decreased Toxoplasma growth in infected cells. Although autophagy was synergically promoted by Toxoplasma infection in combination with Rottlerin treatment, the use of the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine revealed that Rottlerin anti-parasitic effect was largely autophagy-independent and likely mediated by the converging inhibitory effect of Rottlerin and Toxoplasma in host protein translation, mediated by mTOR inhibition and eIF2α phosphorylation. Both events, which on one hand could explain the additive effect on autophagy induction, on the other hand led to inhibition of protein synthesis, thereby depriving Toxoplasma of metabolically essential components for multiplication. We suggest that modulation of the competition between pathogen requirement and host cell defense might be an attractive, novel therapeutic approach against Toxoplasma infection and encourage the development of Rottlerin-based new therapeutic formulations

Sudden Unexpected Deaths and Vaccinations during the First Two Years of Life in Italy: A Case Series Study

Background The signal of an association between vaccination in the second year of life with a hexavalent vaccine and sudden unexpected deaths (SUD) in the two days following vaccination was reported in Germany in 2003. A study to establish whether the immunisation with hexavalent vaccines increased the short term risk of SUD in infants was conducted in Italy. Methodology/Principal Findings The reference population comprises around 3 million infants vaccinated in Italy in the study period 1999–2004 (1.5 million received hexavalent vaccines). Events of SUD in infants aged 1–23 months were identified through the death certificates. Vaccination history was retrieved from immunisation registries. Association between immunisation and death was assessed adopting a case series design focusing on the risk periods 0–1, 0–7, and 0–14 days after immunisation. Among the 604 infants who died of SUD, 244 (40%) had received at least one vaccination. Four deaths occurred within two days from vaccination with the hexavalent vaccines (RR = 1.5; 95% CI 0.6 to 4.2). The RRs for the risk periods 0–7 and 0–14 were 2.0 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.5) and 1.5 (95% CI 0.9 to 2.4). The increased risk was limited to the first dose (RR = 2.2; 95% CI 1.1 to 4.4), whereas no increase was observed for the second and third doses combined. Conclusions The RRs of SUD for any vaccines and any risk periods, even when greater than 1, were almost an order of magnitude lower than the estimates in Germany. The limited increase in RRs found in Italy appears confined to the first dose and may be partly explained by a residual uncontrolled confounding effect of age

Prolonged higher dose methylprednisolone vs. conventional dexamethasone in COVID-19 pneumonia: a randomised controlled trial (MEDEAS)

Dysregulated systemic inflammation is the primary driver of mortality in severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Current guidelines favor a 7-10-day course of any glucocorticoid equivalent to dexamethasone 6 mg·day-1. A comparative RCT with a higher dose and a longer duration of intervention was lacking