Strategic management of natural disasters : Italy, Japan and the United States in comparison

Italy, Japan and the United States are exposed to numerous natural hazards. In particular, geophysical, hydro-meteorological and climatological extreme events have produced loss of human life, injuries and extensive damage to homes, businesses and other infrastructure. In this dissertation, the Italian, Japanese and American disaster planning and management abilities of the last twenty years are analyzed and evaluated according to two common frameworks in disaster Literature: Hyogo (2005) requirements for good preparedness planning and Quarantelli’s (1997) ten criteria for good disaster management. Moreover, while authors prevalently confine the application of stakeholder theories to private sector contexts, this thesis approaches disaster management issues by applying Freeman’s (1984) definition and Savage et al.’s (1991) model of stakeholder management. As a result of the combination of disaster management principles and stakeholder theories, the conclusions reached through this research may inspire Italian, Japanese and American policymakers and emergency managers on how to ideally plan for and manage natural disasters, while taking into consideration and appropriately approaching the involved emergency management stakeholders

President Obama’s Humble Face: An Authentic or a Socially Desirable Posturing? A Study on Reactions to Obama’s Autobiographical Self-Disclosures

Referring to the mainstream studies based on the personalization’s hypothesis, which positively evaluates signals of dominance shown by leaders, the analysis of Obama’s rhetoric stays a relevant exception. His risky recall, during his political talks, of his social difficulties as a child of a mixed couple was in fact one of the more surprising aspects of his success. Nevertheless, reactions to his autobiographical sharing were scarcely explored. Based on the idea that these self-disclosures signal his responsivity toward the audience of low social condition and can, therefore, be defined as a sign of humility, this research aims to test if coherence between Obama’s words and his facial expressions of contempt, due to the seriousness of social injustices endured in his childhood, may influence the receivers’ perception of such unexpected communication. Before reading a brief autobiographical sharing taken from a “Back-to-school” speech, a highly ritualized monolog the US President addresses each year to students, 175 Italian participants were presented with a photo of Obama displaying either an expression of contempt (taken from the video of the speech) or a neutral expression. Comparisons between self-assessments of perceptions and reactions of participants assigned to the two experimental conditions show that a facial expression of contempt, coherent with words describing his school difficulties, has been crucial for perceiving this humble political discourse as authentic and not as a simple socially desirable posturing. More studies seem to be needed, however, to understand how humble speech could enhance the positive face of leaders or backfire against them

Properties and limits of some essential oils: chemical characterisation, antimicrobial activity, interaction with antibiotics and cytotoxicity

Because of the emergence of multi-drug resistance bacteria and fungi, alternatives to conventional antimicrobial therapy are needed. This study aims to evaluate in vitro the antimicrobial activity of: Mirtus communis, Coriandrum sativum, Pelargonium capitatum, Cuminum cyminum, Ocimum basilicum, Citrus aurantium amara, Cymbopogon. winterianus, Cymbopogon martini, Salvia sclarea, Melaleuca alternifolia and Mentha suaveolens essential oils on bacteria and fungi, in relation to their chemical composition. The potential interaction of M. alternifolia (TTO), C. sativum (CDO) and M. suaveolens (EOMS) essential oils when used in combination with gentamicin and fluconazole has been evaluated. The results obtained showed a synergic effect on some bacteria and fungi, with FICI values ≤5. The cytotoxicity of TTO, CDO and EOMS was investigated towards HeLa cells. Only EOMS did not result cytotoxic at the active concentrations on micro-organisms. Further studies are necessary to obtain optimal ratios and dosing regimens for higher therapeutic efficacy and to decrease toxicological profiles

Accessibilità post-pandemia: riflessioni sullo spazio pubblico

The correlation between the psycho-physical well-being of citizens and the provision of green areas has been one of the cornerstones of urban planning since its inception, as its constant commitment to adapt cities and territories to emerging challenges. The spread of SARS-Cov-2 has changed the relationship between citizens and urban space. The public space, has been limited and banned, confining citizens within their private space and the psycho-physical well-being of citizens depended only on the quality of the domestic space.The pandemic represents a moment of reflection and research for the disciplines that deal with the quality of life of citizens. The pandemic crisis may be an opportunity to rethink the role and importance of the provision of public space, in particular urban green areas, their distribution and effective accessibility. The contribution aims to rethink urban models capable of responding to the challenges of the post-pandemic cit

CAESAR II Tool: Complementary Analyses for Emergency Planning Based on Seismic Risks Impact Evaluations

Italy is a country with high seismic hazard, however since the delay in the seismic classification of the national territory, most of the existing building heritage does not comply with the current technical standards for buildings. The seismic events that have hit different Italian regions in recent years have highlighted the complexity of the challenge for the public bodies both in the emergency management and post‐event reconstruction and in the planning of effective risk prevention and mitigation measures to be implemented in ‘peacetime’. These difficulties concern, in particular, the capacity to properly manage the financial and technical resources available and to identify the intervention priorities throughout the entire emergency cycle. For correct management, the priority is to quantify and localize, through simulations, the quantification of probable damages and to evaluate in terms of cost‐benefits the possible alternative strategies for mitigation, also taking into account the potential, in terms of cost‐effectiveness, of integrated measures for seismic and energy retrofitting. In this framework, the project CAESAR II (Complementary Analyses for Emergency planning based on Seismic Risks impact evaluations) has been developed as a Decision Support System for Public Authorities in charge of developing Disaster Risk Reduction plans, with the possibility of programming mid to long‐term investments for public and private properties, as well as defining custom financial support mechanisms and tax incentives

The intergenerational memory of a cultural heritage as a means of promoting citizens’ sense of community

Community psychology increasingly emphasizes the importance of cultural heritage, especially in local communities. This study suggests that the reconstruction of autobiographical memory associated with cultural heritage can become a resource for consolidating a sense of community. Therefore, we have highlighted the link between memory recall and a sense of community through which it is possible to observe how memory recall can be a means of giving positive meaning to one’s membership. The study focuses on San Cesario in Lecce in southeastern Italy, an Apulian local community known for its archaeological industrial heritage, i.e., its distilleries. The participants of the study were 29 citizens of San Cesario of different gender and age, who were interviewed. The transcription of the interviews was followed by a content analysis in which the evoked dimensions of the sense of community and the types of memory, such as place or autobiographical ones, were noted. The results showed that intergenerational memory of cultural heritage can be a way of renewing the meanings associated with feelings of belonging to a local community, but also a way of recovering conflicted and ambivalent memories in order to promote psychosocial empowerment

Psychological Lockdown Experiences: Downtime or an Unexpected Time For Being?

The spread of COVID-19 in Italy resulted in the implementation of a lockdown that obligated the first time the general populace to remain at home for approximately two months. This lockdown interrupted citizens’ professional and educational activities, in addition to closing shops, offices and educational institutions. The resulting changes in people’s daily routines and activities induced unexpected changes in their thoughts, feelings and attitudes, in addition to altering their life perceptions. Consequently, the present study explores how young adults perceived their lives under lockdown during the final week of March 2020, when the reported number of daily coronavirus infections reached its peak in Italy. The research was carried out among 293 university students (234 women and 59 men) with an average age of 20.85 years old (SD = 3.23). The researchers asked participants to describe the emotions, thoughts and experiences that characterized their time under lockdown. The study analyzed specific narratives related to time and space using grounded theory methodology, which was applied using Atlas 8 software, leading to the creation of 68 codes. The study organized these codes into three specific categories: confined in the present, confined in the past, and striving toward one’s goals. Finally, the researchers also created a core-category labeled “continuity of being.” The results showed that the closure of open spaces caused a division in participants’ perceptions of time continuity, with many viewing themselves as feeling fragmented and as living the present in a static and fixed way. Additionally, participants also saw the present as being discontinuous from the past, while, simultaneously, projecting toward the future and the changes it might bring. Finally, this study examined further implications surrounding individual projecting among young people in greater depth

Modulation of thymidilate synthase and p53 expression by HDAC inhibitor vorinostat resulted in synergistic antitumor effect in combination with 5FU or raltitrexed.

Despite the introduction of several novel anticancer agents almost 50% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients die for cancer suggesting the necessity of new therapeutical approaches. In this study we demonstrated that the HDAC inhibitor vorinostat exerted potent antiproliferative effect in a panel of mut- and wt-p53 human CRC cell lines. Moreover, in combination with 5-fluorouracil modulated by folinic acid (5FU-FA) or with Raltitrexed (RTX), both commonly used in the treatment of this disease, it showed a clear schedule-dependent synergistic antiproliferative interaction as demonstrated by calculating combination indexes. Only simultaneous, or 24 h pretreatment with vorinostat followed by either agent, produced synergistic effect paralleled by evident cell cycle perturbations with major S-phase arrest. Moreover, we provided for the first time evidences that vorinostat can overcome resistance to both 5FU and RTX. Downmodulation of Thymidilate synthase (TS) protein induced by vorinostat within 24 h, represented a key factor in enhancing the effects of both drugs in sensitive as well as resistant tumor cells. Furthermore, p53, whose wild-type expression is critical for sensitivity to 5FU and RTX, was upregulated by vorinostat in wt- and downregulated in mut-p53 cells, suggesting an additional mechanism of the antiproliferative synergistic interactions observed. Overall these data add new insights in the mechanism of vorinostat antitumor effect and suggested that the association of vorinostat plus 5FU-FA and/or RTX should be clinically explored

Immunotherapy for patients with advanced urothelial cancer: Current evidence and future perspectives

In recent years, immunotherapy has produced encouraging results in a rapidly increasing number of solid tumors. The responsiveness of bladder cancer to immunotherapy was first established in nonmuscle invasive disease in 1976 with intravesical instillations of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Very recently immune checkpoint inhibitors demonstrated good activity and significant efficacy in metastatic disease. In particular the best results were obtained with programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1) and programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors, but many other immune checkpoint inhibitors, including anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) antibodies, are currently under investigation in several trials. Simultaneously other therapeutic strategies which recruit an adaptive immune response against tumoral antigens or employ externally manipulated tumor infiltrating lymphocytes might change the natural history of bladder cancer in the near future. This review describes the rationale for the use of immunotherapy in bladder cancer and discusses recent and ongoing clinical trials with checkpoint inhibitors and other novel immunotherapy agents