Territorial Capital and the Great Recession: a Nuts-3 Analysis for Central and Southern Italy

The analyses on the effects of the actual crisis have been mainly concentrated on a national and international dimension, leaving aside the differential effects of the crisis on regions and sub-regional areas. Notwithstanding the international character of the Great Recession, it has to be stressed that the different structural features of regions and urban areas might influence the economic and social impact of the crisis. They also might have an important effect on the resilience and recover chance. In the present paper, we focus on territorial capital, a concept that takes into account of the different features of goods and services in terms of their degree of appropriability and rivalry and, also, of their material-immaterial content. The aim is to identify the strategic territorial elements which help in the evaluation of the absorption capacity of the recession at regional and sub-regional levels. For that purpose, we use a wide dataset for Central and Southern Italian provinces in order to measure the empirical relations between the territorial capital and the change in the provincial performance. The intent is to measure how the territorial capital endowment might have determined different reactions on a sub-regional scale and, conversely, how the crisis might influence the territorial capital in different areas. If, on one hand, we expect that the “soft” dimensions of the territorial capital (relations among firms, cooperation networks, public-private partnership, territorial governance, innovation linkages, and so on) have some relevance in shaping the growth process of less developed and peripheral areas, the role of these dimensions in the reaction to crisis is still to be debated. The paper examines the relation between territorial capital and performance at NUTS-3 (provincial) level. during the period 1999-2011 and on the basis of exports and employment dynamics

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in swine slaughtered in Sicily

Several studies showed that the consumption of raw or undercooked meat contaming Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts from infected animals is one of the most important sources of human toxoplasmosis. Foods of animal origin most frequently contaminated are pork and small ruminants\u27 meat. In order to investigate the seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis in Sicilian pig farms, 1063 swine sera were collected dunng the slaughtering from locally born and bred ammals and 1312 from imported ones (from France and Spain). The local animals came from 154 farms distributed along Sicily, representing pigs of all ages: the others came from lairages

Perceived need for an International Elective Experience among Italian Medical Residents.

In the contemporary society an International Health Elective (IHE) represents a strategic tool in order to implement future medical doctor\u2019s education. In Italy, in the last decade, an increasing interest of trainees and residents to IHE and opportunities was documented and supported by the reorganization of the Italian residency programs, provided by the Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR). Aim of the present study was to collect data on perceived need of medical residents for an IHE. A structured questionnaire was developed and administered to medical residents of Palermo\u2019s University who underwent their annual visit to the Occupational Health Physician Ambulatory (OHPA) of Palermo\u2019s University Hospital, in the period between March and October 2011. Medical residents more prone to undergo an IHE were, younger than 29 years old (p <0.01), attending the new educational system (p 0.02) and surgical residents (p= 0.0001). A negative opinion about the formative quality performances of the residency program was significantly associated with surgical residencies (p= 0.002). Future Italian surgeons are more prone to undergo an IHE and this statement is probably related to the not satisfying residency program. Residents attending the old educational system consider the IHE as a way to implement their professional perspectives possibly for their more realistic professional perspective facing an approaching future full of work uncertainties. Considering the future competition between medical professionals working in different EU contexts, the Italian Government should implement future medical education policy in order to provide for a Healthcare \u201cwithout Border\u201d in the EU

Changes in eggshell ultrastructure of Falco naumanni and Tyto alba exposed to pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Changes in the quality of eggs of birds exposed to environmental contaminants have been described, but few reports concern eggshell ultrastructure. In this study, infertile or addled Lesser Kestrels (Falco naumanni) and Barn owls (Tyto alba) eggs were collected from the polluted area of Gela plain (Sicily) during 2007, and compared in terms of organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides, and PCBs levels, and eggshell ultrastructure as determined by scanning electron microscopy. Pesticide and PCB residues in eggs were determined by Gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) [GC Agilent 7890A/MS Agilent 5975C (Agilent technologies) using a DB-5 capillary column in the selected ion monitoring mode]. The GC/MS analysis revealed that eggs contained measurable amounts of some pesticides and PCBs. There was a low detection of organophosphate pesticides while the most abundant organochlorine residues detected were p,p’ DDT, p,p’ DDE, and Hexachlorobenzene. While, the most abundant PCBs detected congeners were PCB 138, 153, 170, 180, and 187. Although the general structure of the eggshell layers was maintained, the results showed ultrastructural differences in mammillary and palisade eggshell layers between high level and low level contaminated eggs in Tyto alba. Furthermore, mammillary cores of the eggshell had an increased distance between themselves with respect to well organized structures present in uncontaminated egg. In this paper we verify the presence of environmental contaminants in the eggs and document structural changes in bird of prey eggshells. The data could suggest that some contaminants can contribute to reduced reproductive performance (infertile or addled egg) by structural changes in the eggshell. The alteration in morphological disposition of mammillary cores could also suggest an impairment of gas exchange

Brechas socioeconómicas al interior de CABA. Una propuesta desde la medición multidimensional de la pobreza

El trabajo forma parte del Proyecto de Desarrollo Estratégico de la Universidad de Buenos Aires “Tendencias demográficas, carencias sociales y desarrollo urbano en las comunas de ciudad autónoma de Buenos Aires” que indaga sobre brechas en el bienestar de sus habitantes.En este artículo se exponen los avances correspondientes a las condiciones de vida en las cuatro zonas geográficas: sur, oeste, norte y centro/este de la Ciudad, en función de lograr captarcontrastes entre las diferentes zonas y distinguir aquellas en donde las carencias se presentan con mayor intensidad.En cuanto a la metodología se propone entrelazar las mediciones de pobreza por método directo e indirecto, de modo de reflejar las multidimensionales para captar la pobreza incorporando innovaciones al cálculo tradicional de pobreza por NBI, por un lado, el aumento de dimensiones e indicadores a considerar para describir mejor las situaciones de pobreza al interior de la jurisdicción de manera de generar políticas públicas. Se amplía la cobertura en la dimensión educación y capacidad de subsistencia, al tiempo que se agregan indicadores de salud. Por otro lado, se realiza una propuesta en la clasificación de los hogares a fines de lograr superar lasdeficiencias de los métodos en relación a la agregación y gradientes de pobreza, se propone la categoría de franjas de vulnerabilidad que considera la intensidad de carencias junto la pobreza monetaria . De esta manera, se confecciona un panel en donde se presenten las zonas/comunas ordenadas según franjas de vulnerabilidad.Por último, la fuente de información elegida es la Encuesta Anual de Hogares que produce la Dirección General de Estadística y Censos del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

Curcumin affects HSP60 folding activity and levels in neuroblastoma cells

The fundamental challenge in fighting cancer is the development of protective agents able to interfere with the classical pathways of malignant transformation, such as extracellular matrix remodeling, epithelial\u2013mesenchymal transition and, alteration of protein homeostasis. In the tumors of the brain, proteotoxic stress represents one of the main triggering agents for cell transformation. Curcumin is a natural compound with anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties with promising potential for the development of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of cancer as well as neurodegenerative diseases. Among the mediators of cancer development, HSP60 is a key factor for the maintenance of protein homeostasis and cell survival. High HSP60 levels were correlated, in particular, with cancer development and progression, and for this reason, we investigated the ability of curcumin to affect HSP60 expression, localization, and post-translational modifications using a neuroblastoma cell line. We have also looked at the ability of curcumin to interfere with the HSP60/HSP10 folding machinery. The cells were treated with 6, 12.5, and 25 \ub5M of curcumin for 24 h, and the flow cytometry analysis showed that the compound induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner with a higher percentage of apoptotic cells at 25 \ub5M. This dose of curcumin-induced a decrease in HSP60 protein levels and an upregulation of HSP60 mRNA expression. Moreover, 25 \ub5M of curcumin reduced HSP60 ubiquitination and nitration, and the chaperonin levels were higher in the culture media compared with the untreated cells. Furthermore, curcumin at the same dose was able to favor HSP60 folding activity. The reduction of HSP60 levels, together with the increase in its folding activity and the secretion in the media led to the supposition that curcumin might interfere with cancer progression with a protective mechanism involving the chaperonin

Trace elements in stomach oil of Scopoli's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) from Linosa's colony

Calonectris diomedea is a colonial Procellariiform breeding on Mediterranean islands. The stomach oil produced during chick rearing is a peculiar trait of this species. The composition of the stomach oil is likely to reflect the composition of the prey ingested and might reveal the contaminants uptake with prey becoming a possible tool for the marine pollution monitoring. We examined the concentration of 15 trace elements by ICP-MS and direct mercury analyser. The principal component analysis revealed a heterogeneous pattern of metal concentration, showing a significant separation between samples collected 20 and 70 days after hatching. The data obtained in this work give preliminary information on the feeding habits and breeding ecology of Linosa's colony of Scopoli's shearwater. The trace metals variability found suggest that the stomach oil may have a role as trophic markers to understand predator-prey relationships and to have evidence on the accumulation of pollutants in the latter

Potential association of specific Candida parapsilosis genotypes, bloodstream infections and colonization of health workers' hands

Fungal nosocomial infections continue to be a serious problem among hospitalized patients, decreasing quality of life and adding millions of euros to healthcare costs. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of fungi associated with the hands of healthcare workers and to genotype Candida parapsilosis isolates in order to understand whether their high clinical prevalence stems from endemic nosocomial genotypes or from the real emergence of epidemiologically-unrelated strains. Approximately 39% (50/129) of healthcare workers were positive for yeasts and among 77 different fungal isolates recovered, C. parapsilosis was the most frequent (44/77; 57%). Twenty-seven diverse genotypes were obtained by microsatellite analysis of 42 selected blood and hand isolates. Most of the isolates from hands showed a new, unrelated, genotype, whereas a particular group of closely related genotypes prevailed in blood samples. Some of the latter genotypes were also found on the hands of healthcare workers, indicating a persistence of these clones within our hospital. C. parapsilosis genotypes from the hands were much more heterogeneous than clinical ones, thus reflecting a high genetic diversity among isolates, which is notably unusual and unexpected for this species

Effects of monensin on Na+/K+-ATPase and Ca++-ATPase activities in chick skeletal muscle and myocardium after subacute treatment

Chicks were treated at 2 weeks of age with 4, l5, 40, 100 and 150 mg/kg of monensin, an ionophore used for its anticoccidial and growth-promoting properties. In the present immunohistochemical study, the expressions and distribution of Na+/K+- ATPase and Ca++-ATPase were studied in myocardium and skeletal muscles (pectoral and quadriceps femoris). We detected an increase of Na+/K+-ATPase immunostaining with prominent staining of the sarcolemma and a slight increase of Ca++-ATPase with prominent staining of the sarcoplasma

Predictors of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Titers two decades after vaccination in a cohort of students and post-graduates of the Medical School at the University of Palermo, Italy

Introduction and objective. The introduction of a vaccine against hepatitis B virus (HBV) for newborn babies in Italy in 1991, extended to 12-year-old children for the first 12 years of application, has been a major achievement in terms of the prevention of HBV infection. The objective of this study was to analyse the long-term immunogenicity and effectiveness of HBV vaccination among healthcare students with different working seniorities. Materials and method. A cross-sectional observational study of undergraduate and postgraduate students attending the Medical School of the University of Palermo was conducted from January 2014 \u2013 July 2016. HBV serum markers were performed with commercial chemiluminescence assays. Categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square test (Mantel\u2013Haenszel), whereas means were compared by using the Student\u2019s t test. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were also calculated by a multivariable logistic regression, using a model constructed to examine predictors of anti-HBs titer above 10 mIU/mL, assumed as protective. Results. Of the 2,114 subjects evaluated \u2013 all vaccinated at infancy or at the age of 12 years and were HBsAg/anti-HBc negative \u2013 806 (38.1%) had an anti-HBs titre &lt;10 IU/L. The latter were younger, more likely to be attending a healthcare profession school (i.e., nursing and midwifery), than a medical postgraduate level school, and more likely to have been vaccinated in infancy (p &lt;0.001, 95% CI 2.63\u20135.26, adjusted OR 3.70). Conclusion. The results of the study suggest that assessment of HBV serum markers in workers potentially exposed to hospital infections is useful for identifying small numbers of unvaccinated subjects, or vaccinated subjects with low antibody titre, all of whom should be referred to a booster series of vaccinations