Political Instability, Economic Inequality and Social Conflict: The Case in Italy

Rising economic inequality may produce a contraction of political stability and a spread of social conflict, as suggested by the theory of relative power. Following this approach, participation in the political arena depends on the distribution of incomes, because the relative rich use their power to ensure that the status quo do not change, while the relative poor are likely to abandon the public arena when they realize that their demands will not be discussed. Through the implementation of an index of political stability on the Italian general elections of 2008 and 2013, this study empirically tests whether political instability is linked with economic inequality. The results of the analysis, which examines the sub-regional level, show that the strengthening of economic inequality is a decisive factor affecting the weight of the elites in the determination of economic and political choices, and that it influences the distribution of votes between political blocks. This comes at the disadvantage of the poorest who, aware of their lesser chances to have influence, choose to change the character of their participation. Key words: Political participation, Social conflict, Relative power theory. JEL: D31, D72. Politicka nestabilnost, ekonomska nejednakost i socijalni sukob: slucaj u Italiji Rastuca ekonomska nejednakost može proizvesti kontrakciju politicke stabilnosti i sirenje drustvenih sukoba, kao sto to sugerise teorija relativne moci. Prateci ovaj pristup, ucesce u politickoj sceni zavisi od raspodele prihoda, jer relativno bogati koriste svoju moc da osiguraju da se status quo ne promeni, dok ce relativno siromasni verovatno napustiti javnu scenu kada shvate da se o njihovim zahtevima nece raspravljati. Kroz implementaciju indeksa politicke stabilnosti na opstim izborima u Italiji 2008. i 2013. godine, ovaj rad empirijski testira da li je politicka nestabilnost povezana sa ekonomskom nejednakoscu. Rezultati analize, koja razmatra subregionalni nivo, pokazuju da je jacanje ekonomske nejednakosti odlucujuci faktor koji utice na ulogu elite u određivanju ekonomskih i politickih izbora, i da utice na distribuciju glasova između politickih blokova. To je nepovoljno za najsiromasnije koji, svesni da imaju manju sansu da imaju uticaj, odlucuju da promene karakter svog ucesca. Kljucne reci: Politicka participacija, drustveni konflikt, teorija relativne moci

Menadione-induced oxidative stress re-shapes the oxylipin profile of Aspergillus flavus and its lifestyle

Aspergillus flavus is an efficient producer of mycotoxins, particularly aflatoxin B1, probably the most hepatocarcinogenic naturally-occurring compound. Although the inducing agents of toxin synthesis are not unanimously identified, there is evidence that oxidative stress is one of the main actors in play. In our study, we use menadione, a quinone extensively implemented in studies on ROS response in animal cells, for causing stress to A. flavus. For uncovering the molecular determinants that drive A. flavus in challenging oxidative stress conditions, we have evaluated a wide spectrum of several different parameters, ranging from metabolic (ROS and oxylipin profile) to transcriptional analysis (RNA-seq). There emerges a scenario in which A. flavus activates several metabolic processes under oxidative stress conditions for limiting the ROS-associated detrimental effects, as well as for triggering adaptive and escape strategies

West Nile virus: the Italian national transplant network reaction to an alert in the north-eastern region, Italy 2011.

We report four cases of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission following a single multiorgan donation in north-eastern Italy. The transmissions were promptly detected by local transplant centres. The donor had been tested for WNV by nucleic acid amplification test (NAT) prior to transplantation and was negative. There were no detected errors in the nationally implemented WNV safety protocols

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

A Methodology for Exploiting Smart Prosumers’ Flexibility in a Bottom-Up Aggregation Process

The electrical power system is evolving in a way that requires new measures for ensuring its secure and reliable operation. Demand-side aggregation represents one of the more interesting ways to provide ancillary services by the coordinated management of a multitude of different distributed resources. In this framework, aggregators play the main role in ensuring the effectiveness of the coordinated action of the distributed resources, usually becoming mediators in the relation between distribution system operators and smart prosumers. The research project DEMAND recently introduced a new concept in demand-side aggregation by proposing a scheme without a central aggregator where prosumers can share and combine their flexibility with a collaboration–competition mechanism in a platform called Virtual Aggregation Environment (VAE). This paper, after a brief introduction to the DEMAND project, presents the algorithm for the day-ahead estimation of prosumers’ flexibility and the cooperative–competitive algorithm for the bottom-up aggregation. The first algorithm evaluates various couples of power variation and desired remuneration to be sent to the VAE for further elaborations and, for showing its potentiality, is applied to two different case studies: a passive user with only controllable loads and prosumers with controllable loads, photovoltaics and a storage system. The aggregation algorithm is instead discussed in detail, and its performance is evaluated for different population sizes

DEMAND Project: Bottom-Up Aggregation of Prosumers in Distribution Networks

The paper explains the concept of the DEMAND project, whose aim is to develop a technical framework for allowing a Bottom-Up aggregation of prosumers connected to the distribution grid. Load and generation aggregation is a very current issue given the great potential that the coordinated management of distributed resources has on power systems operation and design. The novelty in DEMAND is the absence of a physical aggregator and the recourse to a virtual aggregation environment (VAE) for allowing the exchange of information among the prosumers in order to provide a service to the DSO. After a general description of the research project, the paper presents the services that the aggregated community can offer to the grid, the components to be installed at the prosumer's facility for the participation to the DEMAND community and the steps of the flexibility bidding and provision phases