Nature and Climate Change Effects on Economic Growth: An LSTM Experiment on Renewable Energy Resources

Global energy demand increases overtime, especially in emerging market economies, producing potential negative environmental impacts, particularly on the long term, on nature and climate changes. Promoting renewables is a robust policy action in world energy-based economies. This study examines if an increase in renewables production has a positive effect on the Brazilian economy, partially offsetting the SARS-CoV2 outbreak recession. Using data on Brazilian economy, we test the contribution of renewables on the economy via a ML architecture (through a LSTM model). Empirical findings show that an ever-greater use of renewables may sustain the economic growth recovery, generating a better performing GDP acceleration vs. other energy variables

L’impatto economico e fiscale di un evento culturale: misure e scala territoriale

Working Paper Ircres-CNR 03/2020. In this working paper we study the role of culture as an activator of the local economy, by analyzing the case of the 30th Salone Internazionale del Libro, held in Turin in 5 days in May 2017. The aim is to examine the positive economic effects that this cultural event generates on the territory, highlighting the differences in the results obtained by referring to the Piedmont region and to the Turin metropolitan area. Overall, the analysis indicates an impact of approximately € 41.6 million on the Piedmont region, 29 million of which on the Turin metropolitan area, generated by direct expenses incurred by visitors and event organizers. Furthermore, the results show a "leverage effect" of the public intervention equal to 15.85, i.e. for each public euro invested in this cultural event, € 15.85 is produced in the regional economy, and a multiplier of return on investment equal to 0.56, i.e. for each euro invested by the public sector, € 0.56 comes back into their funds in terms of fiscal revenues

The Economics of Smart Metering Across the European Countries. A First Assessment

Research on sustainability transitions and regional diversification remains one of the main green issues in the Digital Era, with a large variety in terms of topics, geographical applications, related theories and methods. Thus, ad hoc policy measures need in order to enhance the regional abilities in supporting the acceleration of ongoing green transition. This paper provides evidence that, in a specific region, green activities could be positively attracted and correlated with each other only if green culture and capabilities exist, since previous studies showed a U-shaped relationship among entry regions for sustainable technologies and ‘relatedness’ to green knowledge. Moreover, the diversification of sustainable activities depends on the introduction and applications of green environmental technologies. In this perspective, smart meters well represent the potential of digital infrastructure capturing the environmental capacity of a region to apply green technologies for a better future. We investigate the policy effects for smart meter rollout in European countries starting from the idea that this green policy tool helps to satisfy different economic literature strands. A theoretical model is introduced showing that a sustainable and efficient policy instrument will reinforce and develop local green culture. The spatial unit of investigation is the EU-28, and it offers the opportunity to verify the effectiveness of smart meters as a valid tool of analysis for sustainable policies

A Regulator Role for the ATP-Binding Cassette Subfamily C Member 6 Transporter in HepG2 Cells: Effect on the Dynamics of Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Interactions

There is growing evidence that various ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters contribute to the growth and development of tumors, but relatively little is known about how the ABC transporter family behaves in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common cancers worldwide. Cellular model studies have shown that ABCC6, which belongs to the ABC subfamily C (ABCC), plays a role in the cytoskeleton rearrangement and migration of HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells, thus highlighting its role in cancer biology. Deep knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying the observed results could provide therapeutic insights into the tumors in which ABCC6 is modulated. In this study, differential expression levels of mRNA transcripts between ABCC6-silenced HepG2 and control groups were measured, and subsequently, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed. Real-Time PCR and Western blot analyses confirmed bioinformatics; functional studies support the molecular mechanisms underlying the observed effects. The results provide valuable information on the dysregulation of fundamental cellular processes, such as the focal adhesion pathway, which allowed us to obtain detailed information on the active role that the down-regulation of ABCC6 could play in the biology of liver tumors, as it is involved not only in cell migration but also in cell adhesion and invasion

Physiological recovery among workers in long-distance sleddog race: a case study on female veterinarians in Finnmarksløpet.

During Finnmarksløpet (FL, one of the longest distance sleddog races in the world), veterinarians are exposed to extreme environmental conditions and tight working schedules, with little and fragmented sleep. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this case study was to examine cardiovascular parameters and sleep-wake patterns among veterinarians working within FL, during and after (for a month) the end of the race. METHODS: Six female veterinarians volunteered for the study. The participants wore a wrist device for a total of eight weeks in order to passively and semi-continuously record physiological responses throughout the day (i.e., heart rate, heart rate variability, number of steps, and sleep quality). Moreover, perceived sleep quality was assessed by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). RESULTS: During and for one month after completion of the FL, most veterinarians presented an alteration of cardiovascular parameters and sleep quality. The heart rate circadian rhythm returned to pre-race values within about two weeks. CONCLUSIONS: The long-lasting alteration of the veterinarians’ cardiovascular parameters and sleep-wake patterns might have negative consequences for their health in the long-term, especially if similar experiences are repeated more times though the course of a year or season. More research is needed in order to understand the health risks, as well as how to prevent them, among veterinarians in long-distance sleddog races or other similar events.acceptedVersio

Nota sulla valutazione degli Istituti del Dipartimento Identità Culturale

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COVID-19 Pandemic: Huge Stress Test for Health System Could Be a Great Opportunity to Update the Workflow in a Modern Surgical Pathology

Simple Summary The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Northern Italy's regions hard in terms of deaths since February 2020. Containment measures have been applied to avoid contagion and reduce the patient infection rate. In this manuscript, we report the experience of the Pathology Department of the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori in Milan, during the period of the first lockdown that occurred in Lombardy from March to May 2020, focusing on the variation in terms of exams between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods and describing the measures applied to guarantee the safeguarding of workers. Moreover, we calculated if changes introduced within the workflow affected the average diagnosis time using Turn-Around-Time (TAT) metrics released by the Lombardy Region. We showed a sharp slowdown in exams during the first wave of COVID-19 and that the measures applied for the safeguarding of the personnel turned out to be feasible and did not affect the overall performance of the Pathology Department. Background: On December 2019, an outbreak of atypical pneumonia, known as COVID-19, was identified in Wuhan, China. This disease, characterized by the rapid human-to-human transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread rapidly in more than 200 countries. Northern Italy's regions have been hit hard in terms of deaths. Here, we report the experience of the Pathology Department of the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori (INT) in Milan, the first Italian public cancer center, in the period of the lockdown that took place in Lombardy from March to May 2020. Method: The variation in terms of exams was calculated in two different timeframes: December 2019-February 2020 (pre-COVID-19) and March-May 2020 (COVID-19). During these periods, Turn-Around-Time (TAT) metrics released by the Lombardy Region were calculated to assess if changes applied to guarantee the safeguarding of workers affected the average diagnosis time. Results: In the COVID-19 period, there was a decrease for all the performed exams. The most considerable decrease was observed for PAP tests (-81.6%), followed by biopsies (-48.8%), second opinions (-41.7%), and surgical (-31.5%), molecular (-29.4%) and cytological (-18.1%) tests. Measures applied within the Pathology Department, such as digital pathology, remote working, rotations and changes in operating procedures, improved the diagnostic performance as required by the guidelines of the Lombardy Region in terms of TAT. At the same time, the measures applied for the safeguarding of the personnel turned out to be feasible and did not affect the overall performance of the Pathology Department. Conclusions: The sharp slowdown in cancer screening during the first wave of COVID-19 could seriously endanger cancer prevention in the near future