On the substitution between saving and prevention

This work makes a joint analysis of prevention and saving decisions. First we determine the optimal levels of the two variables and we analyze substitution between them. Second we provide some comparative statics results in order to determine the effects on optimal saving and prevention of changes in exogenous present and future wealth and in possible future loss. Finally we introduce insurance into the model and we extend the separation result, derived in the literature which studies the substitution between insurance and saving, to the case where prevention is considered too.Prevention, Saving, Insurance

Was Mattarella worth the trouble? Explaining the failure of the 2016 Italian constitutional referendum

The election of President Mattarella is a turning point in Matteo Renzi\u2019s attempt to reform the constitution. This choice determined the loss of Forza Italia\u2019s support to the constitu- tional reform, thus leaving the Renzi cabinet and the Democratic Party alone on the Yes-side. Our goal is to assess the degree of Renzi\u2019s misjudgment by comparing two theoretical perspectives on voting behavior in direct-democratic settings through a nested design. Our results highlight that vote choices can be explained by both the systematic and the heuristic modes of information processing. Respondents\u2019 agreement with the content of the reform (systematic mode) and a positive evaluation of the Renzi cabinet (heuristic mode) are key predictors of Yes vote. Instead, the negative assessment of the economic situation is a crucial driver of No vote. Lastly, we build a bridge between these two perspectives by showing that partisan attachments conditioned the effect of respondents\u2019 content evaluation on voting behavior

A clustering of heterozygous missense variants in the crucial chromatin modifier WDR5 defines a new neurodevelopmental disorder

WDR5 is a broadly studied, highly conserved key protein involved in a wide array of biological functions. Among these functions, WDR5 is a part of several protein complexes that affect gene regulation via post-translational modification of histones. We collected data from 11 unrelated individuals with six different rare de novo germline missense variants in WDR5; one identical variant was found in five individuals, and another variant in two individuals. All individuals had neurodevelopmental disorders including speech/language delays (N=11), intellectual disability (N=9), epilepsy (N=7) and autism spectrum disorder (N=4). Additional phenotypic features included abnormal growth parameters (N=7), heart anomalies (N=2) and hearing loss (N=2). Three-dimensional protein structures indicate that all the residues affected by these variants are located at the surface of one side of the WDR5 protein. It is predicted that five out of the six amino acid substitutions disrupt interactions of WDR5 with RbBP5 and/or KMT2A/C, as part of the COMPASS (complex proteins associated with Set1) family complexes. Our experimental approaches in Drosophila melanogaster and human cell lines show normal protein expression, localization and protein-protein interactions for all tested variants. These results, together with the clustering of variants in a specific region of WDR5 and the absence of truncating variants so far, suggest that dominant-negative or gain-of-function mechanisms might be at play. All in all, we define a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with missense variants in WDR5 and a broad range of features. This finding highlights the important role of genes encoding COMPASS family proteins in neurodevelopmental disorders

On the substitution between saving and prevention

This work makes a joint analysis of prevention and saving decisions. First we determine the optimal levels of the two variables and we analyze substitution between them. Second we provide some results about the effects on optimal saving and prevention of changes in exogenous present and future wealth and in possible future loss. Finally we introduce insurance into the model and we extend the separation result, derived in the literature which studies the substitution between insurance and saving, to the case where prevention is considered too

Quando il giudice diventa il consulente giuridico del governo : il ruolo del Consiglio di Stato nella politica dell’esecutivo in prospettiva comparata

With the exception of few important contributions (M\ue9ny 1994, Righettini 1998, RoseAckerrman and Lindseth 2010) the study of the relationship between administrative courts and the executives appears under-investigated from a political science perspective. Administrative courts supervise the lawfulness of government acts and, as a sanction of their control, they can declare administrative decisions void. In the majority of continental European countries, the judicial review of administrative acts is provided by courts organized in a separate system within the judiciary, parallel to civil and criminal tribunals. Less well known is that administrative courts are also, in some countries, involved in the drafting of the administrative acts. In this paper we analyze in-depth the Italian case by considering the interaction between governments and the Council of State, which is the highest administrative court and the most important consultative body of the government. Such analysis sheds light on the political conditions under which government actors decide to avail themselves of the services of the Council of State as advisor. The great variety of the political conditions that have characterized Italy during the last thirty years and the dual role played by the Council (as judge and advisor), allows us to use the Italian case to put forward plausible hypotheses about the country difference in the level of involvement of the administrative courts in executive politics

The role of the Italian Constitutional Court in the policy agenda: persistence and change between the First and Second Republic

If we examine the current literature, no study on policy agenda has so far addressed the agenda of a Constitutional Court in a country that has recently experienced crucial changes in its political system. The present contribution on the Italian Constitutional Court seeks to bridge this gap. We aim at assessing the role the Italian Court plays in the policy process in both the First and the Second Republic by answering two research questions: (1) in its decisions does the Court accommodate themes that are neglected in the parliamentary legislative process? (2) Does the Court (and if so, how often) represent interests and values in opposition to the interests and values supporting the current legislative majorities? By employing an original data set that puts together all decisions of constitutional illegitimacy under incidental review between the years 1983 and 2013, we found that in both Republics Court\u2019s agenda is significantly more concentrated than Parliament\u2019s agenda, and it does not broadly offer an alternative access point to the policy-making for new or neglected issues. However, at the same time, the alternational system of the Second Republic seems to trigger more immediate and \u2018salient\u2019 reactions from the Constitutional Court, which in that period becomes more prone to sanction recent legislation

Behavioral disorders as unusual presentation of pediatric extraventricular neurocytoma: Report on two cases and review of the literature

Background: Extraventricular neurocytomas (EVNs) are rare parenchymal brain tumors, distinct from central neurocytomas that are typically located within the supratentorial ventricular system. Seizures and headache represent the most common symptoms of extraventricular neurocytomas in the cerebral hemisphere both in adult and pediatric population. Case presentation: We describe two cases of pediatric EVN with clinical onset characterized by behavioral and attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorders. The association between behavioral/attention disorders in childhood and the presence of a frontal neurocytoma has never been described before. Furthermore, inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are common among the neurobehavioral and developmental disorders in childhood. We reviewed 43 pediatric cases of extraventricular neurocytoma included in the PubMed database and their clinical presentation, and we never found this unusual relationship. Conclusion: In childhood, the attention/hyperactivity disorders seem to be often over-diagnosed. When these deficits are more subtle and do not well-fit in a specific neurocognitive disorder, the clinicians should have a suspicion that they might mask the clinical features of a frontal lesion. This paper is focused on the clinical presentation of the extraventricular neurocytoma and the possible organic etiology of an attention and hyperactivity deficit