Heterogeneous effects of the Covid-19 crisis on Italian workers’ incomes: the role played by jobs routinization and teleworkability

The Covid-19 pandemic appears to have engendered heterogeneous effects on individuals’ labour market prospects. This paper focuses on two possible sources of a heterogeneous exposition to labour market risks associated with the pandemic outbreak: the routine task content of the job and the teleworkability. To evaluate whether these dimensions played a crucial role in amplifying employment and wage gaps among workers, we focus on the case of Italy, the first EU country hit by the Covid-19 first wave. We use a static microsimulation model based on data from the Statistics on Income and Living Condition survey (IT-SILC) enriched with administrative data and aligned to monthly observed labour market dynamics by industry and regions. We simulate changes in the wage distribution in 2020 and investigate whether income drops risks – before and after income support measures to capture the effect of public redistribution – differed among workers whose jobs are characterised by a different degree of routinization (as proxied by the routine task intensity - RTI index) and teleworkability (as proxied by the TWA index). We find that RTI and TWA are negatively and positively associated with wages, respectively, and they are correlated with higher (respectively lower) risks of a large labour income drop due to the pandemic. However, differences in income drop risks for workers who differ by RTI and TWA largely reduce when income support measures are considered

Morpho-Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Apennines and Calabrian Arc: Insights From Pollino Range and Surrounding Extensional Intermontane Basins

The evolution of topography in forearc regions results from the complex interplay of crustal and mantle processes. The Southern Apennines represent a well-studied forearc region that experienced several tectonic phases, initially marked by compressional deformation followed by extension and large-scale uplift. We present a new structural, geomorphic and fluvial analysis of the Pollino Massif and surrounding intermontane basins (Mercure, Campotenese and Castrovillari) to unravel their evolution since the Pliocene. We constrain multiple tectonic transport directions, evolution of the drainage, and magnitude and timing of long-term incision following base level falls. Two sets of knickpoints suggest two phases of base level lowering and allow to estimate similar to 500 m of long-term uplift (late Pleistocene), as observed in the Sila Massif. On a smaller spatial scale, the evolution and formation of topographic relief, sedimentation, and opening of intermontane basins is strongly controlled by the recent increase in rock uplift rate and fault activity. At the regional scale, an along-strike, long-wavelength uplift pattern from north to south can be explained by progressive lateral slab tearing and inflow of asthenospheric mantle beneath Pollino and Sila, which in turn may have promoted extensional tectonics. The lower uplift of Le Serre Massif may be explained as result of weak plate coupling due to narrowing of the Calabrian slab. The onset of uplift in the Pollino Massif, ranging from 400 to 800 ka, is consistent with that one proposed in the southern Calabrian forearc, suggesting a possible synchronism of uplift, and lateral tearing of the Calabrian slab.Topographic evolution constrained by structural, geomorphic and river analysis of the Pollino range and surrounding extensional basins At short spatial scale, increase in rock uplift and fault activity controls the endorheic-exorheic transition At regional scale, uplift increases between 400 and 800 ka, due to progressive lateral slab tearing, and inflow asthenospheric mantl

Abbreviated Versus Multiparametric Prostate MRI in Active Surveillance for Prostate-Cancer Patients: Comparison of Accuracy and Clinical Utility as a Decisional Tool

(1) Purpose: To compare the diagnostic accuracy between full multiparametric contrast-enhanced prostate MRI (mpMRI) and abbreviated dual-sequence prostate MRI (dsMRI) in men with clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) who were candidates for active surveillance. (2) Materials and Methods: Fifty-four patients with a diagnosis of low-risk PCa in the previous 6 months had a mpMRI scan prior to a saturation biopsy and a subsequent MRI cognitive transperineal targeted biopsy (for PI-RADS ≥ 3 lesions). The dsMRI images were obtained from the mpMRI protocol. The images were selected by a study coordinator and assigned to two readers blinded to the biopsy results (R1 and R2). Inter-reader agreement for clinically significant cancer was evaluated with Cohen’s kappa. The dsMRI and mpMRI accuracy was calculated for each reader (R1 and R2). The clinical utility of the dsMRI and mpMRI was investigated with a decision-analysis model. (3) Results: The dsMRI sensitivity and specificity were 83.3%, 31.0%, 75.0%, and 23.8%, respectively, for R1 and R2. The mpMRI sensitivity and specificity were 91.7%, 31.0%, 83.3%, and 23.8%, respectively, for R1 and R2. The inter-reader agreement for the detection of csPCa was moderate (k = 0.53) and good (k = 0.63) for dsMRI and mpMRI, respectively. The AUC values for the dsMRI were 0.77 and 0.62 for the R1 and R2, respectively. The AUC values for the mpMRI were 0.79 and 0.66 for R1 and R2, respectively. No AUC differences were found between the two MRI protocols. At any risk threshold, the mpMRI showed a higher net benefit than the dsMRI for both R1 and R2. (4) Conclusions: The dsMRI and mpMRI showed similar diagnostic accuracy for csPCa in male candidates for active surveillance

Learning curve for laparoscopic cholecystectomy has not been defined: A systematic review

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is one of the most performed surgeries worldwide but its learning curve is still unclear. Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the 2009 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Two independent reviewers searched the literature in a systematic manner through online databases, including Medline, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar. Human studies investigating the learning curve of laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included. The Newcastle–Ottawa scale for cohort studies and the GRADE scale were used for the quality assessment of the selected articles. Results: Nine cohort studies published between 1991 and 2020 were included. All studies showed a great heterogeneity among the considered variables. Seven articles (77.7%) assessed intraoperative variables only, without considering patient's characteristics, operator's experience, and grade of gallbladder inflammation. Only five articles (55%) provided a precise cut-off value to see proficiency in the learning curve, ranging from 13 to 200 laparoscopic cholecystectomies. Conclusions: The lack of clear guidelines when evaluating the learning curve in surgery, probably contributed to the divergent data and heterogeneous results among the studies. The development of guidelines for the investigation and reporting of a surgical learning curve would be helpful to obtain more objective and reliable data especially for common operation such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Volcano monitoring and early warning on Mt Etna, Italy, using volcanic tremor – Methods and technical aspects

Recent activity on Mt Etna was characterized by 25 lava fountains occurred on Mt Etna in 2011 and the first semester of 2012. In summer 2012 volcanic activity in a milder form was noticed within the Bocca Nuova crater, before it came to an essential halt in August 2012. Together with previous unrests (e. g., in 2007-08) these events offer rich material for testing automatic data processing and alert issue in the context of volcano monitoring. Our presentation focuses on the seismic background radiation – volcanic tremor – which has a key role in the surveillance of Mt Etna. From 2006 on a multi-station alert system exploiting STA/LTA ratios, has been established in the INGV operative centre of Catania. Besides, also the frequency content has been found to change correspondingly to the type of volcanic activity, and can thus be exploited for warning purposes. We apply Self Organizing Maps and Fuzzy Clustering which offer an efficient way to visualize signal characteristics and its development with time. These techniques allow to identify early stages of eruptive events and automatically flag a critical status before this becomes evident in conventional monitoring techniques. Changes of tremor characteristics are related to the position of the source of the signal. Given the dense seismic network we can base the location of the sources on distribution of the amplitudes across the network. The locations proved to be extremely useful for warning throughout both a flank eruption in 2008 as well as the 2011 lava fountains. During all these episodes a clear migration of tremor sources towards the eruptive centres was revealed in advance. The location of the sources completes the picture of an imminent volcanic unrest and corroborates early warnings flagged by the changes of signal characteristics. Automatic real time data processing poses high demands on computational efficiency, robustness of the methods and stability of data acquisition. The amplitude based multi-station approach is not sensitive to the failure of single stations and therefore offers a good stability. On the other hand, the single station approach, exploiting unsupervised classification techniques, limits logistic efforts, as only one or few key stations are necessary. A common characteristics of both strategies is their robustness to disturbances (undesired transients like earthquakes, noise, short gaps in the continuous data flow). False alarms were not encountered so far. A critical issue it the reliability of data storage and access. Therefore, a specific hardware cluster architecture has been proposed for failover protection, including a Storage Area Network system. We present concepts of the software architectures which allow easy data access following predefined user policies. We also envisage the integration of seismic data and those originating from other scientific fields (e. g., volcano imagery, geochemistry, deformation, gravity, magneto-telluric). This will facilitate cross-checking of evidences encountered from the single data streams, in particular allow their immediate verification with respect to ground truth

The July 2006 eruption of Mount Etna (Italy) monitored through continuous soil radon measurements

Radon (222Rn) is a short-lived decay product derived from 238U, with a half-life of only 3.8 days. This gas ascends towards the earth’s surface mainly through cracks or faults. In recent decades radon has been used as a tool for predicting earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, because anomalous variations of its activity have often been reported before the occurrence of such geodynamic events. The recent eruptive activity of Mount Etna in Sicily (Italy) has been documented by multidisciplinary visual, geochemical, and instrumental observations. Here we describe the results obtained during the 10-day July 2006 Strombolian-effusive eruption of Mount Etna by using a radon probe installed near Torre del Filosofo (˜2950 m above sea level). This site is located ˜1 km south of the Southeast Crater, the youngest and most active of the four summit craters of the volcano, and the site of the July 2006 eruption. In order to better interpret the soil radon data we have compared them with simultaneously acquired volcanic tremor signals and a relative measurement of the thermal radiance emitted from the eruption area, derived from thermal camera measurements. During the month prior to the onset of the 2006 eruption, soil radon activity remained at low levels (˜1 x 103 Bq/m3); similar values persisted even when effusive activity started late on 14 July 2006. Only at ˜02:50 on the 15th July, radon activity showed a sharp increase (up to ˜50 x 103 Bq/m3) in a 20 minute interval, and a further increase to ˜20 x 106 Bq/m3 during the following hours. Explosive activity started at 04:30, 100 minutes after the initial rise in soil radon activity. High values in radon activity with numerous peaks persisted through the following four days, and were then followed by a marked decline until early on 20th July, when an extremely sharp rise brought the levels of radon activity to unprecedented values of nearly 1.7 x 108 Bq/m3, and remained very high for the next ˜24 hours. The episode of lava fountaining of 20th July occurred during this interval, starting 10 hours after the maximum in radon activity. From then on through the end of the eruptive phase, the levels of radon activity fluctuated with values rarely exceeding 106 Bq/m3 and then gradually declined starting from around noon on 22nd July. At the end of the eruption, radon levels remained higher (10-100 x 103 Bq/m3) than those recorded before the eruption. In conclusion, the onset of the Strombolian activity (15 July) and the lava fountaining (20 July) were related to significant changes in the magma pressure within the conduit. These two events were preceded by some hours with increases in radon soil emission by 4-5 orders of magnitude. For this reason we can imagine in the future the use of this signal as a potential precursor of this type of volcanic activity. Minor changes in eruptive behaviour did not produce significant variations in the monitored parameters. We interpret peaks in radon activity as due primarily to microfracturing of uranium-bearing rock. These observations suggest that radon measurements in the summit area of Etna are strongly controlled by the state of stress within the volcano and demonstrate the usefulness of radon data acquisition before and during eruptions

Su un caso di carcinoma a cellule squamose dello stomaco nel cavallo

SUMMARY - The Authors describe thè clinical, pathological and histotogical features of a case of squamous celi carcinoma (SCC) in a borse. A 13 year old, male, castrated, Irish horse, was kepi under observation after being sick for 9 months with thè following symptoms: dysoressia, chronic weight loss, sensory depression, pallor of thè apparent mucosae and, in thè last 30 days, diarrhoea, raeìena and diffuse oedemas. Physical and endoscopie examination and laboratory test» suggested a cachectic syndrome secondary to a neoplastic disease involving thè alimentary traci. Due to thè unfavourable prognosis, thè horse was euthanised according to thè owner's will, Anatomo-histopathological examination showed thè presence of stomach SCC. In this note thè Authors emphasize thè difficuity in diagnosing such neoplastic disease intra vitam

Neural stem cells engrafted in the adult brain fuse with endogenous neurons.

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TheKnowRISKproject:Tools and strategies for risk communication and learning

Damage of non-structural elements of buildings (i.e. partitions, ceilings, cladding, electrical and mechanical sys- tems and furniture) is known to cause injuries and human losses. Also it has a significant impact on earthquake resilience and is yet being worldwide underestimated. The project KnowRISK (Know your city, Reduce seISmic risK through non-structural elements) is financed by the European Commission to develop prevention measures that may reduce non-structural damage in urban areas. Pilot areas of the project are within the three European participating countries, namely Portugal, Iceland and Italy. They were chosen because they are prone to damage level 2 and 3 (EMS-98, European Macroseismic Scale) that typically affects non-structural elements. We will develop and test a risk communication strategy taking into ac- count the needs of households and schools, putting into practice a portfolio of best practice to reduce the most common non-structural vulnerabilities. Wewilltargetouractionstodifferentsocietalgroups,consideringtheirculturalbackgroundandsocialvulnerabil- ities, and implement a participatory approach that will promote engagement and interaction between the scientific community, practitioners and citizens to foster knowledge on everyone’s own neighborhoods, resilience and vul- nerability. A Practical Guide for citizens will highlight that low-cost actions can be implemented to increase safety of house- holds,meantasbeingtheplaceswherethemostvulnerablesocietalgroups,includingchildrenandelderlypeople, spend much of their time. Since our actions towards communication will include education, we will define tools that allow a clear and direct understanding of elements exposed to risk. Schools will be one of our target societal groups and their central role played at the community level will ensure spreading and strengthening of the communication process. Schools are often located in old or re-adapted build- ings,formerlyusedforotheruses,orwhenthegrowingnumberofstudentsornewneedsrequireadaptingthespace to the necessities, often without taking enough care of safety. Moreover, in urban areas, schools may be hosted in tall buildings where the shaking of moderate-to-low magnitude earthquakes can cause damage level 2 and 3. Students will be involved into looking after their own situation in terms of non-structural vulnerability to promote education and prevention, while increasing resilience in terms of societal capacity to cope with future disasters. The actions will undergo specific effectiveness assessment with ex-ante and ex-post surveys. The results of this assessmentwillallowanevaluationofon-siteriskcommunicationactivities,thecomparabilitybetweenpilot-areas achievements, and an opportunity for learning and guidance for future risk communication.PublishedVienna, Austria3T. Pericolosità sismica e contributo alla definizione del rischioope