84 research outputs found
The Economics of Extortion: Theory and Evidence on the Sicilian Mafia
This paper studies extortion of firms operating in legal sectors by a profit-maximizing criminal organization. We develop a simple principal-agent model under asymmetric information to find the Mafia-optimal extortion as a function of firms' observable characteristics, namely size and sector. We test the predictions of the model on a unique dataset on extortion in Sicily, the Italian region where the most powerful criminal organization, the Mafia, operates. In line with our theoretical model, our empirical findings show that extortion is strongly concave in firm's size and highly regressive. The percentage of profits appropriated by Mafia ranges from 40% for small firms to 2% for large firms. We derive some implications of these findings on market structure and economic developmen
Unexplained stillbirth versus SIDS: common congenital diseases of the autonomic nervous system--pathology and nosology
Objective: To contribute to a more balanced assessment of the morphological substrates underlying
unexplained perinatal death and SIDS.
Methods: In-depth histological, immunohistochemical and genetic examinations were performed on the
autonomic nervous and cardiac conduction systems in 95 unexpected perinatal deaths, 140 SIDS and 78
controls (44 infants and 34 perinatal death victims).
Results: The study revealed the localization and the nature of a variety of specific congenital abnormalities of
the autonomic nervous system, central and peripheral, and of the cardiac conduction system that represent
the morphological substrates of the pathophysiological mechanism of sudden fetal death and SIDS.
Conclusions: The observation of similar anomalies of the autonomic nervous and the cardiac conduction
systems in both unexplained perinatal deaths and SIDS indicates their common congenital nature. Therefore,
the definitions of these deaths, currently nosographically distinct, should be unified.
\ua9 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
Severe intra- and periventricular hemorrhage: role of arteriolosclerosis related to maternal smoke
The authors aimed to describe the atherosclerotic lesions of the cerebral arterioles, as a substrate of their rupture and bleeding for ests.
The study was performed on brain of 9 caucasian fetal victims of intra- and periventricular hemorrhage, all grade IV, and 9 control cases.
In the 9 victims of hemorrhage the arteriolar wall structure was altered, focally transformed into a deposit of amorphous eosinophilic material. Such changes often affected the full-thickness of the wall, causing rupture and hemorrhage. In 8 of these cases and in 2 victims of the control group the mothers were heavy cigarette smokers (15-20 cigarettes/day) before and during pregnancy.
The authors conclude that intra- and periventricular haemorrhage can be ascribed to the toxic effects of prenatal absorption of nicotine
Study of the human hypoglossal nucleus: normal development and morpho-functional alterations in sudden unexplained late fetal and infant death
This study evaluated the development and the involvement in sudden perinatal and infant death of the medullary hypoglossal nucleus, a nucleus that, besides to coordinate swallowing, chewing and vocalization, takes part in inspiration. Through histological, morphometrical and immunohistochemical methods in 65 cases of perinatal and infant victims (29 stillbirths, 7 newborns and 29 infants), who died of both unknown and known cause, the authors observed developmental anomalies of the hypoglossal nucleus (HGN) in high percentage of sudden unexplained fetal and infant deaths. In particular, HGN hypoplasia, hyperplasia, positive expression of somatostatin and absence of interneurons were frequently found particularly in infant deaths, with a significant correlation with maternal smoking
Feto-Placental Atherosclerotic Lesions in Intrauterine Fetal Demise: Role of Parental Cigarette Smoking
The atherogenic effect of cigarette smoking is already recognizable in coronary arteries of fetuses in the last gestational weeks. In this study we analyzed the atherogenic effect of mother’s and father’s smoking habit on coronary arteries and even on adnexa of 30 human fresh fetuses died from 32 to 41 gestational weeks. In 12 cases only the mothers of the victims were cigarette smokers, in 7 cases only the fathers were smokers, whereas in 11 cases nobody smoked
Italian national data bank of stillbirth vs. SIDS.
Sudden perinatal death, which includes antepartum
death (from 22 completed weeks of gestation), intrapartum
death and early neonatal death (occurring
within seven completed days of life), and sudden infant
death syndrome (SIDS), represents one of the major
sociomedical and scientific problems still lacking a
solution in today\u2019s medicine.1 However, little effort is
being made to find a cause of these deaths, as there is
no standard method of performing an autopsy in these
victims, and no database exists from which researchers
can draw autopsy results. Therefore, the need to submit
the young victims to necropsy procedures through a
standardized protocol is unanimously recognized, and
the chance of preventing perinatal unexpected death
and SIDS relies mainly on a better knowledge of the
underlying alterations of organs and etiopathogenetic
mechanisms. Similarly, for diagnostic purposes, an
accurate and careful examination of the circumstantial,
environmental, and familial situation within which the
death occurred is extremely important.
All the information related to victims of sudden
and unexplained fetal death and SIDS will soon be
made available in Italy through a specific data bank
established under the Law 31/2006 \u201cRegulations for
Diagnostic Post Mortem Investigation in Victims of
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Unexpected
Fetal Death.\u201d2 This law mandates that infants
who die suddenly within one year of life, and fetuses
that die after 22 weeks of gestation without any
apparent cause, must be rapidly submitted\u2014with the
consent of both parents\u2014to diagnostic postmortem
investigation.3 Information about the pregnancy, fetal
development and delivery, and, in the case of SIDS,
the environmental and familial situation in which the
death occurred\u2014in addition to information related
to risk factors\u2014must be collected by the obstetriciangynecologist,
neonatologist, pediatrician, and pathologist
involved in the case and recorded in the registry of
the data bank. In addition, to facilitate the collection
and analysis of the data, this data bank will allow the
Lino Rossi Research Center in collaboration with the
Epidemiology Center of the Italian National Health
Institute to update the population through public
education
and prevention programs aimed at decreasing
the incidence of stillbirth and SIDS
Brain iron accumulation in unexplained fetal and infant death victims with smoker mothers-The possible involvement of maternal methemoglobinemia
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Iron is involved in important vital functions as an essential component of the oxygen-transporting heme mechanism. In this study we aimed to evaluate whether oxidative metabolites from maternal cigarette smoke could affect iron homeostasis in the brain of victims of sudden unexplained fetal and infant death, maybe through the induction of maternal hemoglobin damage, such as in case of methemoglobinemia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Histochemical investigations by Prussian blue reaction were made on brain nonheme ferric iron deposits, gaining detailed data on their localization in the brainstem and cerebellum of victims of sudden death and controls. The Gless and Marsland's modification of Bielschowsky's was used to identify neuronal cell bodies and neurofilaments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our approach highlighted accumulations of blue granulations, indicative of iron positive reactions, in the brainstem and cerebellum of 33% of victims of sudden death and in none of the control group. The modified Bielschowsky's method confirmed that the cells with iron accumulations were neuronal cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We propose that the free iron deposition in the brain of sudden fetal and infant death victims could be a catabolic product of maternal methemoglobinemia, a biomarker of oxidative stress likely due to nicotine absorption.</p
MCM2 - a promising marker for premalignant lesions of the lung: a cohort study
BACKGROUND: Because cells progressing to cancer must proliferate, marker proteins specific to proliferating cells may permit detection of premalignant lesions. Here we compared the sensitivities of a classic proliferation marker, Ki-67, with a new proliferation marker, MCM2, in 41 bronchial biopsy specimens representing normal mucosa, metaplasia, dysplasia, and carcinoma in situ. METHODS: Parallel sections were stained with antibodies against MCM2 and Ki-67, and the frequencies of staining were independently measured by two investigators. Differences were evaluated statistically using the two-sided correlated samples t-test and Wilcoxon rank sum test. RESULTS: For each of the 41 specimens, the average frequency of staining by anti-MCM2 (39%) was significantly (p < 0.001) greater than by anti-Ki-67 (16%). In metaplastic lesions anti-MCM2 frequently detected cells near the epithelial surface, while anti-Ki-67 did not. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that MCM2 is detectable in 2-3 times more proliferating premalignant lung cells than is Ki-67. The promise of MCM2 as a sensitive marker for premalignant lung cells is enhanced by the fact that it is present in cells at the surface of metaplastic lung lesions, which are more likely to be exfoliated into sputum. Future studies will determine if use of anti-MCM2 makes possible sufficiently early detection to significantly enhance lung cancer survival rates
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