The effect of employment protection legislation and financial market imperfections on investment : evidence from a firm-level panel of EU countries

This paper analyzes the joint effect of EPL and financial market imperfections on investment, capital-labour substitution, labour productivity and job reallocation in a cross-country framework. In the spirit of Rajan and Zingales (1998) and Ciccone and Papaioannou (2006), we exploit variation in the need for reallocation at the sectoral and aggregate level to assess the average effect of EPL on firms’ policies. Then, exploiting firm-level information we study if the effect of EPL is stronger in firms with lower levels of internal resources. We find that, on average, EPL reduces investment per worker, capital per worker and value added per worker in high reallocation sectors relative to low reallocation sectors. The reduction in the capital-labour ratio is less pronounced in firms with higher internal resources, suggesting that financial constraints exacerbate the negative effects of EPL on capital deepenin

The unintended consequences of an Italian labour protection law

Fewer people were hired; firms increased their capital stock but their productivity declined, write Federico Cingano, Marco Leonardi, Julián Messina and Giovanni Pic

Enhancing cultural tourism by a mixed reality application for outdoor navigation and information browsing using immersive devices

In this paper a mixed reality application is introduced; this application runs on Microsoft Hololens and has been designed to provide information on a city scale. The application was developed to provide information about historical buildings, thus supporting cultural outdoor tourism. The huge amount of multimedia data stored in the archives of the Italian public broadcaster RAI, is used to enrich the user experience. A remote application of image and video analysis receives an image flow by the user and identifies known objects framed in the images. The user can select the object (monument/building/artwork) for which augmented contents have to be displayed (video, text audio); the user can interact with these contents by a set of defined gestures. Moreover, if the object of interest is detected and tracked by the mixed reality application, also 3D contents can be overlapped and aligned with the real world

Flow-volume curve analysis for predicting recurrence after endoscopic dilation of airway stenosis

The flow-volume curve is a simple test for diagnosing upper airway obstruction. We evaluated its use to predict recurrence in patients undergoing endoscopic dilation for treatment of benign upper airway stenosis

Factors influencing the development of otitis media among Sicilian children affected by upper respiratory tract infections

Introduction: Upper respiratory tract infection is a nonspecific term used to describe an acute infection involving the nose, paranasal sinuses, pharynx and larynx. Upper respiratory tract infections in children are often associated with Eustachian tube dysfunction and complicated by otitis media, an inflammatory process within the middle ear. Environmental, epidemiologic and familial risk factors for otitis media (such as sex, socioeconomic and educational factors, smoke exposure, allergy or duration of breastfeeding) have been previously reported, but actually no data about their diffusion among Sicilian children with upper respiratory tract infections are available. Objective: To investigate the main risk factors for otitis media and their prevalence in Sicilian children with and without upper respiratory tract infections. Methods: A case-control study of 204 children with upper respiratory tract infections who developed otitis media during a 3 weeks monitoring period and 204 age and sex-matched healthy controls. Seventeen epidemiologically relevant features were inventoried by means of standardized questionnaires and skin tests were performed. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to examine the association between risk factors and occurrence of otitis media. Results: Otitis media resulted strongly associated to large families, low parental educational attainment, schooling within the third years of life (p <. 0.05); children were more susceptible to develop otitis media in the presence of asthma, cough, laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, snoring and apnea (p <. 0.05). Allergy and urban localization increased the risk of otitis media in children exposed to smoke respectively of 166% and 277% (p <. 0.05); the joint effect of asthma and presence of pets in allergic population increased the risk of recurrence of 11%, while allergy, cough and runny nose together increased this risk of 74%. Conclusions: Upper respiratory tract infections and otitis media are common childhood diseases strongly associated with low parental educational attainment (p = 0.0001), exposure to smoke (p = 0.0001), indoor exposure to mold (p = 0.0001), laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (p = 0.0002) and the lack of breast-feeding (p = 0.0014); an increased risk of otitis media recurrences was observed in the presence of allergy, persistent cough and runny nose (p = 0.0001). The modification of the identified risk factors for otitis media should be recommended to realize a correct primary care intervention

Use of nutritional supplement to improve performance in professional soccer players: A case report

The aim of the study was to investigate the intake percentage and the satisfaction level of some nutritional supplements used by professional soccer players. Twenty-nine professional soccer players (age: 24.6 ± 5.2 years, body weight: 79.2 ± 4.9 kg, body height: 1.83 ± 0.05 m) belonging to a team of Serie A were interviewed on: frequency of use, tolerability, and acceptance of the supplements (creatine, β-alanine, whey protein, nitrates, vitamin D3, caffeine) proposed by the nutritionist team. This survey revealed a great inter-individual variability on the intake of the proposed supplements. All respondents (n = 29) said they take cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), 17 out of 29 creatine, 14 out of 29 whey protein, and 10 out of 29 dietary nitrates. No participants declared to assume β-alanine or caffeine anhydrous. Cholecalciferol resulted the most accepted supplement, followed by creatine and whey protein. Study participants prefer to take dietary nitrates through the consumption of vegetable juices, primarily from fennel and celery juice, and only two out of twenty-nine regularly taking concentrated beet juice. Since none of the twenty-nine participants interviewed uses β-alanine and caffeine in anhydrous form, the daily contribution of caffeine is mainly guaranteed by the consumption of coffee

Sutureless aortic valve replacement in high risk patients neutralizes expected worse hospital outcome: A clinical and economic analysis

Background: Aortic valve replacement (AVR) by sutureless prostheses is changing surgeon options, although which patients benefit most, as well as their possible economic impact is still to be defined. Methods: Perceval-S prosthesis (LivaNova) is reserved, at the documented Institution, for patients at perceived high surgical risk. This retrospective analysis of outcome and resource consumption compared Perceval with other tissue valves. To clarify the comparison, only patients respecting ‘instructions-for- use’ of Perceval were reviewed. Inclusion criteria: > 65 years, +/– coronary artery bypass grafting, patent foramen ovale closure or myectomy. Exclusion criteria: bicuspid, combined valve or aortic sur- gery. Costs were calculated per patient on a daily basis including preoperative tests, operating costs (hourly basis), disposables, drugs, blood components and personnel. Results: The sutureless group (SU-AVR) had a higher risk profile than the sutured group (ST-AVR). Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and cross-clamp times were significantly shorter in SU-AVR (isolated AVR: cross-clamp 52.9 ± 12.6 vs. 69 ± 15.3 min, p < 0.001; CPB 79.4 ± 20.3 vs. 92.7 ± 18.2 min, p < 0.001). Hospital mortality was 0.9% in SU-AVR and nil in ST-AVR, p = 0.489; intubation 7 (IQR 5–10.7) and 7 h (IQR 5–9), p = 0.785; intensive care unit 1 (IQR 1–1) and 1 day (IQR 1–1), p = 0.258; ward stay 5.5 (IQR 4–7) and 5 days (IQR 4–6), p = 0.002; pacemaker 5.7% (6/106) and 0.9% (1/109), p = 0.063, respectively. Hospital costs (excluding the prosthesis) were $12,825 (IQR 11,733–15,334) for SU-AVR and$12,386 (IQR 11,217–14,230) in ST-AVR, p = 0.055. Conclusions: Despite higher operative risks in SU-AVR, hospital mortality, morbidity and resource consumption did not differ. Operative times were shorter with the sutureless device and this improve- ment, along with more frequent ministernotomy, may have improved many postoperative aims.

Extramedullary plasmacytoma of the tonsil: A new management

Introduction: Extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) is a rare tumor of all plasma cell neoplasms. The tumor is mainly localized in the head and neck region, but rarely involving the tonsil. Case presentation: The authors report the 5th case of EMP of the tonsil in the literature occurred in a 57-year-old Caucasian male. Conclusions: Through a review of the relevant literature, we consider adjuvant radiotherapy not necessary for EMP of tonsil because of an adequate resection achieved by surgery

Anxiety, Depression, and Body Weight in Children and Adolescents With Migraine

Background: There is a lack of studies that explore the possible association between body weight, psychological symptoms, and migraine severity in pediatric populations. The purpose of the study was to explore: (1) the association between body weight and the frequency of migraine attacks, (2) the possible differences in anxiety and depression symptoms according to the frequency of attacks and body weight, and (3) the possible mediating role of anxiety and/or depression in the association between body weight and frequency of migraine attacks in children.Methods: One hundred and eleven children/adolescents with migraine were included (47 boys and 64 girls; mean age 11.7; +/- 2.4 years). The patients were classified as: (1) high frequency patients, reporting from weekly to daily episodes and (2) low frequency patients, with <= 3 episodes per month. According to their body mass index percentiles, the patients were divided in "Normal weight" (from >= 5 to <85 percentile), "Overweight" (from >= 85 to <95 percentile), and "Obese" (>= 95 percentile). Given the low number of obese patients, the overweight and obese groups were considered together in the "Overweight" group. Anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed by the Self-Administered Psychiatric Scales for Children and Adolescents (SAFA).Results: Fifty-four patients were normal in weight (49.6%), while 56 patients (50.4%) were overweight. The overweight patients showed a higher frequency of migraine attacks (64.7%; p < 0.05). Patients with a high frequency of attacks reported higher scores in all SAFA-Anxiety subscales (SAFA-A Tot: F = 15.107; p = 0.000). Overweight patients showed a significantly higher score in the "Separation anxiety" subscale (F = 7.855; p = 0.006). We found a mediating role between the overweight and high frequency for total anxiety (z = 2.11 +/- 0.03; p < 0.05) and social anxiety (z = 2.04 +/- 0.03; p < 0.05).Conclusions: Our results suggest that, among the children suffering from migraine, the overweight status is associated with a higher frequency of attacks and separation anxiety symptoms. In particular, our study provides the first evidence of the role of anxiety in linking overweight and the frequency of migraine attacks in children and adolescents

Inhalation therapy in the next decade : Determinants of adherence to treatment in asthma and COPD

Peer reviewedPublisher PD