Pyramidal groups and external finance: An empirical investigation

In Italy an extremely large number of companies is organized as a pyramidal group. As compared to other control structures, pyramidal groups might offer minority shareholders less protection and hence discourage them from holding shares. We evaluate empirically the impact of some variables that proxy the degree of shareholder protection on non controlling equity finance and, in particular, the effect of the degree of group vertical integration. Ceteris paribus, vertical integration is associated with lower participation of outside minority shareholders. The paper argues that this finding is due to greater opportunities for the controlling shareholder to transfer resources across the subsidiaries, which reduces the incentives for potential outside equity finance

Evaluation of two different concentration methods for surveillance of human viruses in sewage and their effects on SARS-CoV-2 sequencing

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) emerged as a reliable strategy both as a surveillance method and a way to provide an overview of the SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating among the population. Our objective was to compare two different concentration methods, a well-established aluminum-based procedure (AP) and the commercially available Maxwell® RSC Enviro Wastewater TNA Kit (TNA) for human enteric virus, viral indicators and SARS-CoV-2 surveillance. Additionally, both concentration methods were analyzed for their impact on viral infectivity, and nucleic acids obtained from each method were also evaluated by massive sequencing for SARS-CoV-2. The percentage of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples using the AP method accounted to 100 %, 83.3 %, and 33.3 % depending on the target region while 100 % positivity for these same three target regions was reported using the TNA procedure. The concentrations of norovirus GI, norovirus GII and HEV using the TNA method were significantly greater than for the AP method while no differences were reported for rotavirus, astrovirus, crAssphage and PMMoV. Furthermore, TNA kit in combination with the Artic v4 primer scheme yields the best SARS-CoV-2 sequencing results. Regarding impact on infectivity, the concentration method used by the TNA kit showed near-complete lysis of viruses. Our results suggest that although the performance of the TNA kit was higher than that of the aluminum procedure, both methods are suitable for the analysis of enveloped and non-enveloped viruses in wastewater by molecular methods

Perception of nursing students about couples' violence: knowledge, beliefs and professional role

Podeu consultar la versió en castellà a http://hdl.handle.net/2445/67372Objectives: to analyse the knowledge, beliefs and perception of the professional role that nursing students have, about exerted violence against women in relationships. Method: a descriptive qualitative study following the ecological model through 16 focus groups realized with 112 students from four nursing courses of four Spanish universities. Results: the analytical categories were: knowledge, professional role, and beliefs about ones behaviour before the victim and the abuser. Students are unfamiliar with the characteristics of abuse, guidelines, protocols and screening questions and demand patterns for specific intervention. They do not identify their own professional role, be it delegated or specialized. Beliefs regarding their behaviour with the victim, not guided by professional criteria, perceive violence as a specific situation and disassociate the prevention of health care. They perceive the abuser as mentally ill, justifying the tolerance or delegation of performances. Conclusions: students define preconceived ideas about couples' violence. Speeches reproduce and reinforce stereotypical myths, values indicative of inadequate training for nursing studies which raises the need to fortify the competencies in relation to intimate couples' violence in the curriculum

Percepción de los estudiantes de enfermería sobre violencia de pareja: conocimientos, creencias y rol profesional

Podeu consultar la versió en anglès a http://hdl.handle.net/2445/67422Objectivos: analizar los conocimientos, las creencias y la percepción del rol profesional que tienen los estudiantes de Enfermería, acerca de la violencia ejercida contra las mujeres en las relaciones de pareja. Método: estudio cualitativo descriptivo siguiendo el modelo ecológico a través de 16 grupos focales realizados con 112 estudiantes de cuatro cursos de enfermería de cuatro universidades españolas. Resultados: las categorías analíticas fueron: conocimientos, rol profesional, y creencias sobre las actuaciones ante la víctima y actuaciones ante el agresor. Los estudiantes desconocen características del maltrato, guías, protocolos y preguntas de detección y reclaman pautas de intervención puntuales. No identifican un rol profesional propio, sino delegado o especializado. Las creencias en relación a la actuación con la víctima, no se orientan por criterios profesionales, perciben la violencia como una situación puntual y desvinculan la prevención de la atención en salud. Perciben al maltratador como enfermo mental, lo que justifica la tolerancia o delegación de actuaciones. Conclusiones: los estudiantes definen ideas preconcebidas sobre violencia de pareja. Los discursos reproducen mitos y refuerzan valores estereotipados, indicativos de insuficiente formación durante los estudios de enfermería lo que plantea la necesidad de reforzar las competencias en relación a la violencia de pareja en los planes de estudios

In vitro Interactions between Streptococcus intermedius and Streptococcus salivarius K12 on a Titanium Cylindrical Surface

Peri-implantitis is a steadily rising disease and is caused by oral bacterial pathogens able to form biofilm on implant surfaces and peri-implant tissues, making antibiotics treatment less effective. The use of commercial probiotics against oral pathogens could serve as an alternative to prevent biofilm formation. Streptococcus intermedius is one of the early colonizers of biofilm formation in dental implants. The aim of this study was to model the interaction between S. intermedius and Streptococcus salivarius strain K12, a probiotic bacterium producing bacteriocins. S. intermedius was co-cultured with S. salivarius K12 in an in vitro model simulating the biofilm formation in a dental implant composed by a titanium cylinder system. Biofilm formation rate was assessed by Real-Time PCR quantification of bacterial count and expression levels of luxS gene, used in response to cell density in the biofilm. Biofilm formation, bacteriocin production, luxS expression patterns were found to be already expressed within the first 12 h. More importantly, S. salivarius K12 was able to counter the biofilm formation in a titanium cylinder under the tested condition. In conclusion, our dental implant model may be useful for exploring probiotic-pathogen interaction to find an alternative to antibiotics for peri-implantitis treatment

Biomonitoring of coastal areas: cadmium effect on cytoskeleton of the calcisponge <i>Clathrina clathrus</i> = Monitoraggio costiero: effetto del cadmio sul citoscheletro della calcispongia <i>Clathrina clathrus</i>

We detected the effect of Cadmium on the cytoskeleton of Clathrina clathrus by immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy and immunoblotting. Results highlighted the potential of the sponge to resist to the action of heavy metals through the reorganisation of the tubulins and suggest the utilization of sponges for biomonitoring of environmental pollution