La Responsabilità sociale dell’azienda pubblica: evidenze alla luce di un’analisi empirica nel sistema universitario italiano

The work project aims to help Institutions understand the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. The research contain a review of literature focused on CSR. Also include an analysis of the official documents on CSR published by the Italian Universities. The central question is what is CSR, how and for whom is created. The project’s objectives are to: 1. Provide a clear definition of CSR. 2. Use Social Report to illustrate how organizations might provide public managers a set of guiding principles that orient Institutions to take ethical attitude and finally to improve Public Value. 3. Clarify the components and processes of CSR in order to facilitate its future capture and measurement. 4. Understand where gaps occur in achieving CSR. The correct implementation of CSR with a bottom-up collaboration both shareholder and stakeholder, it allows Institutions to create a new concept of Public Value. The Public Value created in Academic Institutions can play a dual role in the society: • First, explaining their student and families that the academic process allows them to acquire skills and knowledge to face the world of work. • Second to improve the dissemination of knowledge in the society. The University has always been the only Institution able to pass these virtues. Therefore it is necessary that Universities are guaranteed greater autonomy to better understand the changes in society and develop policies to enable the recovery of social legitimization in the Public Sector

Trigeminal Electrophysiology: a 2 × 2 matrix model for differential diagnosis between temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain

Background Pain due to temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) often has the same clinical symptoms and signs as other types of orofacial pain (OP). The possible presence of serious neurological and/or systemic organic pathologies makes differential diagnosis difficult, especially in early disease stages. In the present study, we performed a qualitative and quantitative electrophysiological evaluation of the neuromuscular responses of the trigeminal nervous system. Using the jaw jerk reflex (JJ) and the motor evoked potentials of the trigeminal roots (bR-MEPs) tests, we investigated the functional and organic responses of healthy subjects (control group) and patients with TMD symptoms (TMD group). Method Thirty-three patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) symptoms and 36 control subjects underwent two electromyographic (EMG) tests: the jaw jerk reflex test and the motor evoked potentials of the trigeminal roots test using bilateral electrical transcranial stimulation. The mean, standard deviation, median, minimum, and maximum values were computed for the EMG absolute values. The ratio between the EMG values obtained on each side was always computed with the reference side as the numerator. For the TMD group, this side was identified as the painful side (pain side), while for the control group this was taken as the non-preferred masticatory side (non-preferred side). The 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles were also calculated. Results Analysis of the ratios (expressed as percentages) between the values obtained on both sides revealed a high degree of symmetry in the bR-MEPs % in the control (0.93 ± 0.12%) and TMD (0.91 ± 0.22%) groups. This symmetry indicated organic integrity of the trigeminal root motor fibers and correct electrode arrangement. A degree of asymmetry of the jaw jerk's amplitude between sides (ipJJ%), when the mandible was kept in the intercuspal position, was found in the TMD group (0.24% ± 0.14%) with a statistically significant difference in relation to the control group (0.61% ± 0.2%). This asymmetry seemed to be primarily due to a failure to facilitate the reflex on the painful side in intercuspal position. Conclusions In this 2 × 2 matrix diagnostic model, three different types of headache may be identified: 1) those due to organic pathologies directly and indirectly involving the trigeminal nervous system denoted as "Organic Damage"; 2) those in TMD patients; 3) other types of orofacial pain in subjects who could erroneously be considered healthy, denoted as Orofacial Pain "OP". This category of patient should be considered at risk, as organic neurological pathologies could be present and yet not directly affect the trigeminal system, at least in the early stages of the disease.</p

seasonal variation of essential oil in rosmarinus officinalis leaves in sardinia

Rosmarinus officinalis L. is an aromatic plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family widely distributed in the Mediterranean area. The interest on this species is related to the multiple uses of the plant as a food ingredient, in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The chemical composition of essential oil (EO) from 5 accessions of R. officinalis L., collected monthly through a full year in Sardinia, has been studied by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry technique. The EO ranged from 0.29% to 0.89%. The qualitative determinations revealed the presence of 27 compounds belonging to 6 chemical groups (hydrocarbon monoterpene, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, hydrocarbon sesquiterpene). Overall the GC-flame ionization detector analysis showed the presence of 7 major compounds: α-pinene (26%-28%), camphene (5%-8%), 1,8-cineole (15%-25%), borneol (5%-11%), camphor (3%-12%), verbenone (6%-15%), and bornyl acetate (4%-7%). Chromatographic data were also subjected to a chemometric approach that evidenced discrimination of the samples according to the site of collection

Geographical variation of the chemical composition in essential oils extracted from Sardinian Salvia verbenaca

: Salvia verbenaca is a perennial herbaceous plant well appreciated as medicinal herb which can be found in Mediterranean area, Europe, Africa and Asia. In this study, S. verbenaca flowers and leaves were collected in six different geographical areas of Sardinia (Italy). Information about the variation of the chemical composition of plants grown in different locations were obtained from gas chromatography analysis of the extracted essential oils. Gas chromatography analysis detected 33 compounds, which have been grouped in oxygenated monoterpenes, monoterpene hydrocarbons, sesquiterpenes and other compounds. The chemical composition of each group resulted significantly affected by sampling site in terms of geography and altitude. Concerning the geographical distribution of the detected chemicals, sesquiterpenes were found in considerable amount in three localities, monoterpenes hydrocarbons in two and other compounds were predominant only in one site. Regarding the altitude level, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and other compounds were predominant, respectively, at medium and medium-high altitude

Profiling of the Bioactive Compounds in Flowers, Leaves and Roots of Vinca sardoa

Vinca sardoa (Stern) Pignatti (Apocynaceae) is largely distributed in Sardinia where it is considered a typical endemism. Since the plant is used in traditional folk medicine, the aim of the present work was to identify and quantify the polyphenolic metabolites, due to the well-known importance of polyphenolic compounds, as well as to evaluate antioxidant activity in different parts of the plant. The compounds were identified and determined in the methanol extracts of leaves, flowers, and roots by developing different LC-MS/MS methods. The obtained data show that leaves possess the highest amount of polyphenols, in particular quinic acid (3401 mg/100 g), chlorogenic acid (1082 mg/100 g), caffeoylquinic acid isomer 1 (190 mg/100 g), and robinin (633 mg/100 g). Likewise, antioxidant tests showed that leaves possess the main radical scavenging activities in both ABTS (49.19 ± 3.41 μg/mL, 30.88 ± 3.04 μg/mL at time zero and after 50 min, respectively) and DPPH assays (223.97 ± 30.81 μg/mL, 109.52 ± 12.89 μg/mL at time zero and after 30 min, respectively). Taking into account that leaves differed most from flowers and roots in the content of caffeoylquinic acid and chlorogenic acid, of which antioxidant properties are widely recognized, it is reasonable to assume that these two compounds are involved in the differences described. The relationship between the high polyphenolic content and interesting antioxidant activities, justifies its use in ethnobotany and may be suggest a use of this specie, after removal of the alkaloid fraction, in the pharmaceutical, phytotherapy, and cosmetic industries

A Relationship between bruxism and orofacial-dystonia? A trigeminal electrophysiological approach in a case report of pineal cavernoma

Background: In some clinical cases, bruxism may be correlated to central nervous system hyperexcitability, suggesting that bruxism may represent a subclinical form of dystonia. To examine this hypothesis, we performed an electrophysiological evaluation of the excitability of the trigeminal nervous system in a patient affected by pineal cavernoma with pain symptoms in the orofacial region and pronounced bruxism. Methods: Electrophysiological studies included bilateral electrical transcranial stimulation of the trigeminal roots, analysis of the jaw jerk reflex, recovery cycle of masseter inhibitory reflex, and a magnetic resonance imaging study of the brain. Results: The neuromuscular responses of the left- and right-side bilateral trigeminal motor potentials showed a high degree of symmetry in latency (1.92 ms and 1.96 ms, respectively) and amplitude (11 mV and 11.4 mV, respectively), whereas the jaw jerk reflex amplitude of the right and left masseters was 5.1 mV and 8.9 mV, respectively. The test stimulus for the recovery cycle of masseter inhibitory reflex evoked both silent periods at an interstimulus interval of 150 ms. The duration of the second silent period evoked by the test stimulus was 61 ms and 54 ms on the right and left masseters, respectively, which was greater than that evoked by the conditioning stimulus (39 ms and 35 ms, respectively). Conclusions: We found evidence of activation and peripheral sensitization of the nociceptive fibers, the primary and secondary nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system, and the endogenous pain control systems (including both the inhibitory and facilitatory processes), in the tested subject. These data suggest that bruxism and central orofacial pain can coexist, but are two independent symptoms, which may explain why numerous experimental and clinical studies fail to reach unequivocal conclusions.</br

Genetic and metabolite diversity of Sardinian populations of <i>Helichrysum italicum</i>

Background: Helichrysum italicum (Asteraceae) is a small shrub endemic to the Mediterranean Basin, growing in fragmented and diverse habitats. The species has attracted attention due to its secondary metabolite content, but little effort has as yet been dedicated to assessing the genetic and metabolite diversity present in these populations. Here, we describe the diversity of 50 H. italicum populations collected from a range of habitats in Sardinia. Methods: H. italicum plants were AFLP fingerprinted and the composition of their leaf essential oil characterized by GC-MS. The relationships between the genetic structure of the populations, soil, habitat and climatic variables and the essential oil chemotypes present were evaluated using Bayesian clustering, contingency analyses and AMOVA. Key results: The Sardinian germplasm could be partitioned into two AFLP-based clades. Populations collected from the southwestern region constituted a homogeneous group which remained virtually intact even at high levels of K. The second, much larger clade was more diverse. A positive correlation between genetic diversity and elevation suggested the action of natural purifying selection. Four main classes of compounds were identified among the essential oils, namely monoterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Oxygenated monoterpene levels were significantly correlated with the AFLP-based clade structure, suggesting a correspondence between gene pool and chemical diversity. Conclusions: The results suggest an association between chemotype, genetic diversity and collection location which is relevant for the planning of future collections aimed at identifying valuable sources of essential oil.</br

Antimicrobial activities of essential oils against common hospital Fungi species

Introduction: In hospitals and other healthcare settings the presence of airborne and sedimented fungi is an extrinsic risk factor for opportunistic infections involving both immunocompromised and non-immunocompromised persons. In hospitalized patients, it is estimated that 9% of hospital-acquired infections are caused by fungi. Lethality rate varies from 40% to 100% depending on the immunosuppression degree of stakeholders. To prevent healthcare-associated infections, the control of environmental fungal contamination through use of sanitizing/disinfecting practices is basic. However, the widespread use of common disinfectants could promote the growth of antibiotic-resistant superbugs and cause environmental harm. These aspects stimulated the search of new antimicrobial agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of essential oils of Mentha insularis Req., Mentha pulegium L., Mentha requienii Bentham, Artemisia caerulescens L. ssp. densiflora (Viv), Rosmarinus officinalis L. var. albiflorus, Rosmarinus officinalis L. var. lavandulescens, and Ocotea puchury major Mart. against fungi species frequently found in hospitals and potentially responsible for opportunistic mycoses. Methods: The essential oils’ antifungal activity was carried out by agar disc diffusion technique. Results: All tested essential oils are effective, though to a different degree, against both molds that yeasts assessed. The major antifungal activity was showed by Mentha oils. Particularly, Mentha requienii and Mentha insularis oils were active until 1:8 dilution against Rhodotorula spp. and 1:16 dilution against mixed molds, while M. pulegium was strongly active until 1:2 against both fungi. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, few or no data are available in literature on the activity of essential oils against hospital environmental isolates of fungi. Results suggest their potential application in sanitation procedures of the hospital, and in general, of the “care settings”

Identification and quantification of glucosinolates in different tissues of Raphanus raphanistrum by liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry

This study aims to identify and quantify the glucosinolates from different parts of wild radish R. raphanistrum (leaves, flowers, fruits, roots) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Glucoraphenin is the predominant compound, accounting for about 87% (w/w) of total glucosinolate content, followed by glucobrassicin, glucoraphasatin and glucoraphanin (153 mg 100 g−1, 149 mg 100 g−1 and 141 mg 100 g−1 FW, respectively) in fruits; followed by glucoraphasatin (3 mg 100 g−1 FW) in flowers and by glucobrassicin, 4-hydroxyglucobrassicin and glucoraphasatin (145 mg 100 g−1, 27 mg 100 g−1 and 24 mg 100 g−1 FW, respectively) in leaves. In roots the major glucosinolate is glucoraphasatin (56 mg 100 g−1 FW) followed by the glucoraphenin and methoxyglucobrassicin (16 mg 100 g−1 and 7 mg 100 g−1 FW, respectively). Principal component analysis allowed the discrimination of fruit samples from other parts of the plant for the majority of glucosinolates and the fruits are highlighted as sources of glucosinolates. The results are interesting given that wild radish is one of the most important weeds of crops in the Mediterranean region and is popular for home vegetable production and for its employment in human nutrition both as a food as well as for medicinal purposes

Combined Salivary Proteome Profiling and Machine Learning Analysis Provides Insight into Molecular Signature for Autoimmune Liver Diseases Classification

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) are autoimmune liver diseases that target the liver and have a wide spectrum of presentation. A global overview of quantitative variations on the salivary proteome in presence of these two pathologies is investigated in this study. The acid-insoluble salivary fraction of AIH and PBC patients, and healthy controls (HCs), was analyzed using a gel-based bottom-up proteomic approach combined with a robust machine learning statistical analysis of the dataset. The abundance of Arginase, Junction plakoglobin, Desmoplakin, Hexokinase-3 and Desmocollin-1 decreased, while that of BPI fold-containing family A member 2 increased in AIHp compared to HCs; the abundance of Gelsolin, CD14, Tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2, Clusterin, Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins A2/B1, Cofilin-1 and BPI fold-containing family B member 2 increased in PBCp compared to HCs. The abundance of Hornerin decreased in both AIHp and PBCp with respect to HCs and provided an area under the ROC curve of 0.939. Machine learning analysis confirmed the feasibility of the salivary proteome to discriminate groups of subjects based on AIH or PBC occurrence as previously suggested by our group. The topology-based functional enrichment analysis performed on these potential salivary biomarkers highlights an enrichment of terms mostly related to the immune system, but also with a strong involvement in liver fibrosis process and with antimicrobial activity