The Italian mafias in the world: a systematic assessment of the mobility of criminal groups

This study complements existing literature on the mobility of criminal groups (mainly based on country case studies) with the first systematic assessment of the worldwide activities of the four main types of Italian mafias (Cosa Nostra, Camorra, ’Ndrangheta and Apulian mafias) from 2000 to 2012. Drawing from publicly available reports, a specific multiple correspondence analysis identifies the most important associations among mafias, activities, and countries. The results show that the mafias concentrate in a few countries; drug trafficking is the most frequent activity, whereas money laundering appears less important than expected; a stable mafia presence is reported in a few developed countries (mainly Germany, Canada, Australia, and the United States). The mafias show significant differences: the ’Ndrangheta tends to establish structured groups abroad, whereas the other mafias mainly participate in illicit trades

Counterfeiting, illegal firearms, gambling and waste management: an exploratory estimation of four criminal markets

This article focuses on four different criminal markets: counterfeiting, illegal firearms trafficking, gambling and waste management. Despite recurrent allegations that these markets have a high mafia presence, there is a lack of reliable estimates of their sizes and the revenues that they generate. Figures in reports and media vary significantly, and the methods used to obtain them are often obscure. This study develops four different estimation methodologies with which to estimate the four criminal markets in Italy at the national and regional levels. Considering that these are the first attempts to estimate these markets, the aim of the article is to stimulate debate on how to improve measurement of the crime proceeds from these criminal market

Nerve growth factor- andor monosialoganglioside GM1-induced neuroplasticity in brain of decorticated adult and aged rats

The ability of two putative trophic agents, nerve growth factor (NGF) and the monosialoganglioside GM1, to induce neurochemical, morphological and behavioral recovery following injury to the adult rat basalo-cortical cholinergic pathway was studied. Treatment of unilaterally decorticated rats with these agents was shown to: attenuate deficits in holinergic markers of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM), prevent shrinkage of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)- and p75$sp{ rm NGFR}$-immunoreactive (IR) NBM neurons, and stimulate cortical ChAT activity and high affinity choline uptake, in a dose-dependent manner with equal efficacies but different potencies. Quantitative light and electron microscopic studies, assisted by image analysis, showed that GM1 or NGF treatment also similarly attenuated lesion-induced deficits in cortical ChAT-IR fiber length. By contrast, NGF, but not GM1, treatment caused significant synaptic remodelling in the remaining cortex of adult lesioned rats; this was reflected by increases in ChAT-IR varicosity number, presynaptic terminal size, and in the number of boutons with synaptic contacts. GM1 treatment only attenuated such lesion-induced deficits. Exogenous GM1 was also shown to potentiate NGF-reduced effects on basalo-cortical cholinergic markers and on cortical synaptic remodelling, but did not affect the affinity or number of NGF binding sites in brain membranes isolated from lesioned animals. This suggests that GM1 probably affects an alternative step of the NGF signal transduction cascade to potentiate NGF effects. Moreover, NGF or GM1 treatment were also shown to: distinctly regulate striatal cholinergic markers, differ with respect to the delay possible in treatment time onset for effective protection from retrograde regeneration, and diversely affect the behaviour of these animals in passive avoidance and Morris water maze tasks. In aged rats ($>$20 months), NGF and/or GM1 treatment were also shown to effectively prevent deThe work of this thesis has thus provided evidence that the injured adult rat basalo-cortical cholinergic pathway can exhibit substantial neurochemical and morphological plasticity in response to NGF and/or GM1 treatment. In particular, it has been shown that these agents cause significant alterations in cholinergic innervation

The Italian mafias in the world: A systematic assessment of the mobility of criminal groups

This study complements existing literature on the mobility of criminal groups (mainly based on country case studies) with the first systematic assessment of the worldwide activities of the four main types of Italian mafias (Cosa Nostra, Camorra, ’Ndrangheta and Apulian mafias) from 2000 to 2012. Drawing from publicly available reports, a specific multiple correspondence analysis identifies the most important associations among mafias, activities, and countries. The results show that the mafias concentrate in a few countries; drug trafficking is the most frequent activity, whereas money laundering appears less important than expected; a stable mafia presence is reported in a few developed countries (mainly Germany, Canada, Australia, and the United States). The mafias show significant differences: the ’Ndrangheta tends to establish structured groups abroad, whereas the other mafias mainly participate in illicit trades

A framework for the quantification of organized crime and assessment of availability a quality of relevant data in three selected countries of Latin America and the Caribbean

Measuring Organized Crime (OC) is a challenge that policy makers and law enforcement agencies have to face. Enhancing knowledge on Organized Crime is central for taking effective measures and reducing its human, social and economic consequences. This can be particularly important for Latin American and Caribbean countries, since most of them are affected by serious problems caused by OC. The aim of this paper is to suggest indicators for measuring OC and assess the current availability of data related to specific indicators of the region. First, the concept of OC has been divided into five dimensions (groups, activities, state response, enablers and civil society response) and related sub-dimensions. Then, for each of them a set of indicators is suggested. The resulting list should orient data collection, explaining what information is required for counteracting actions, and act as a road map for improving the quality and caliber of data. Starting from this framework, each country, according to its priorities and resources, can develop its own road map for data collection. In the last part of the paper, a pilot study conducted to assess the availability of the suggested indicators within three Latin American and Caribbean states (Mexico, Colombia and Dominican Republic) is presented

La sicurezza nel retail in Italia. Uno studio su furti, rapine e nuovi sistemi di sicurezza.

Scopo di questo studio è fornire un quadro dello stato della sicurezza del settore retail in Italia. In particolare, analizzare le perdite e le differenze inventariali derivanti da furti, rapine e altre forme di illegalità, individuare le diversità territoriali e settoriali e fornire una panoramica sulle misure e le tecnologie di sicurezza adottate dagli esercenti. Questo studio è il risultato della collaborazione di tre mondi: quello della ricerca accademica, quello dei retailer e quello dei fornitori di soluzioni per la sicurezza e la loss prevention. È stato condotto da Crime&tech con la collaborazione del Laboratorio per la Sicurezza e il supporto di Checkpoint Systems

Counterfeiting, illegal fiearms, gambling and waste management: an exploratory estimation of four criminal markets

This article focuses on four different criminal markets: counterfeiting, illegal firearms trafficking, gambling and waste management. Despite recurrent allegations that these markets have a high mafia presence, there is a lack of reliable estimates of their sizes and the revenues that they generate. Figures in reports and media vary significantly, and the methods used to obtain them are often obscure. This study develops four different estimation methodologies with which to estimate the four criminal markets in Italy at the national and regional levels. Considering that these are the first attempts to estimate these markets, the aim of the article is to stimulate debate on how to improve measurement of the crime proceeds from these criminal markets

Different Insight into Amphiphilic PEG-PLA Copolymers: Influence of Macromolecular Architecture on the Micelle Formation and Cellular Uptake

One constrain in the use of micellar carriers as drug delivery systems (DDSs) is their low stability in aqueous solution. In this study “tree-shaped” copolymers of general formula mPEG-(PLA)_n (<i>n</i> = 1, 2 or 4; mPEG = poly­(ethylene glycol) monomethylether 2K or 5K Da; PLA = atactic or isotactic poly­(lactide)) were synthesized to evaluate the architecture and chemical composition effect on the micelles formation and stability. Copolymers with mPEG/PLA ratio of about 1:1 wt/wt were obtained using a “core-first” synthetic route. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and Zeta Potential measurements showed that mPEG_2K-(PD,LLA)₂ copolymer, characterized by mPEG chain of 2000 Da and two blocks of atactic PLA, was able to form monodisperse and stable micelles. To analyze the interaction among micelles and tumor cells, FITC conjugated mPEG-(PLA)_<i>n</i> were synthesized. The derived micelles were tested on two, histological different, tumor cell lines: HEK293t and HeLa cells. Fluorescence Activated Cells Sorter (FACS) analysis showed that the FITC conjugated mPEG_2K-(PD,LLA)₂ copolymer stain tumor cells with high efficiency. Our data demonstrate that both PEG size and PLA structure control the biological interaction between the micelles and biological systems. Moreover, using confocal microscopy analysis, the staining of tumor cells obtained after incubation with mPEG_2K-(PD,LLA)₂ was shown to be localized inside the tumor cells. Indeed, the mPEG_2K-(PD,LLA)₂ paclitaxel-loaded micelles mediate a potent antitumor cytotoxicity effect