The Interaction of Focus, Givenness, and Prosody: A Study of Italian Clause Structure

This book provides an in-depth investigation of contrastive focalization in Italian, showing that its syntactic expression is systematically affected by the syntactic expression of discourse-givenness. The proposed analysis disentangles the properties genuinely associated with contrastive focalization from those determined by the most productive operations affecting discourse given phrases at the right periphery, namely right dislocation and marginalization. On this basis, it shows that in the default case contrastive focalization occurs in situ and that instances of left-peripheral focalization only arise when focus obligatorily evacuates a larger right-dislocating phrase, giving rise to a distribution of leftward-moved foci that generalizes well beyond the cases examined in Rizzi (1997) and most literature since. In its final chapter, the book examines the syntax–prosody interface, showing how focalization in situ and other key properties follow from the prosodic constraints governing stress placement, thus reinterpreting and extending Zubizarreta’s (1998) analysis of p-movement and the role of prosody in shaping syntax. Overall, this book offers an evidence-backed radical departure from current views of focalization based on a fixed focus projection at the left periphery of the clause. It also provides the most comprehensive study of Italian marginalization and right dislocation available to date

Focus, Neg-concord, and Negative Postverbal Subjects

This paper concerns negative subjects occurring in the non-canonical postverbal position, where their distribution diverges from that of non-negative postverbal subjects (in contrast, both negative and non-negative subjects may occur in the canonical pre-auxiliary position frequently identified as SpecTP). The paper examines negative postverbal subjects with respect to contrastive focalization, right-dislocation, and neg-concord, showing how the constraints on these three operations fully determine their postverbal distribution. This achievement is dependent on an in situ analysis of postverbal contrastive foci. For this reason, the paper also examines the position of postverbal foci, providing several arguments in support of in situ focalization

Gender mainstreaming active inclusion policies

The aim of this report therefore is to inform and help develop gender mainstreaming in active inclusion policies. In order to do this, the report at first reviews gender differences and inequalities in the risks of poverty and social exclusion and it provides a close look at the connections between active inclusion policies and gender equality strategies (Chapters 2 and 3). It then analyses examples of concrete gender mainstreaming in each of the three pillars of active inclusion, i.e. income support (Chapter 4), labour inclusion (Chapter 5) and access to services (Chapter 6). Under each heading, the report summarises available information on the actual policy developments and looks at the results of the policies in terms of gender equality. Finally, Chapter 7 draws some conclusions. The information in this report is mainly provided by the national experts of the EGGSI network of experts in gender equality, social inclusion, healthcare and long-term care and covers 30 European countries (the EU-27 Member States) and the three EEA–EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway)

Oxidative Stress and Air Pollution Exposure

Air pollution is associated with increased cardiovascular and pulmonary morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms of air pollution-induced health effects involve oxidative stress and inflammation. As a matter of fact, particulate matter (PM), especially fine (PM2.5, PM < 2.5 μm) and ultrafine (PM0.1, PM < 0.1 μm) particles, ozone, nitrogen oxides, and transition metals, are potent oxidants or able to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative stress can trigger redox-sensitive pathways that lead to different biological processes such as inflammation and cell death. However, it does appear that the susceptibility of target organ to oxidative injury also depends upon its ability to upregulate protective scavenging systems. As vehicular traffic is known to importantly contribute to PM exposure, its intensity and quality must be strongly relevant determinants of the qualitative characteristics of PM spread in the atmosphere. Change in the composition of this PM is likely to modify its health impact

Biomarkers of Induced Active and Passive Smoking Damage

In addition to the well-known link between smoking and lung cancer, large epidemiological studies have shown a relationship between smoking and cancers of the nose, oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, bladder, kidney, stomach, liver, colon and cervix, as well as myeloid leukemia. Epidemiological evidence has reported a direct link between exposure of non-smokers to environmental tobacco smoke and disease, most notably, lung cancer. Much evidence demonstrates that carcinogenic-DNA adducts are useful markers of tobacco smoke exposure, providing an integrated measurement of carcinogen intake, metabolic activation, and delivery to the DNA in target tissues. Monitoring accessible surrogate tissues, such as white blood cells or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells, also provides a means of investigating passive and active tobacco exposure in healthy individuals and cancer patients. Levels of DNA adducts measured in many tissues of smokers are significantly higher than in non-smokers. While some studies have demonstrated an association between carcinogenic DNA adducts and cancer in current smokers, no association has been observed in ex or never smokers. The role of genetic susceptibility in the development of smoking related-cancer is essential. In order to establish whether smoking-related DNA adducts are biomarkers of tobacco smoke exposure and/or its carcinogenic activity we summarized all data that associated tobacco smoke exposure and smoking-related DNA adducts both in controls and/or in cancer cases and studies where the effect of genetic polymorphisms involved in the activation and deactivation of carcinogens were also evaluated. In the future we hope we will be able to screen for lung cancer susceptibility by using specific biomarkers and that subjects of compared groups can be stratified for multiple potential modulators of biomarkers, taking into account various confounding factors

Working time regulation in european countries.

Trends in working time show an increasing diversification and flexibilisation in the nineties, linked to changes in the needs of firms and workers. The paper considers recent trends in working time in European countries characterised by different regulative models, focussing on the changing role of legislative versus bargaining regulation.

Towards the Total Synthesis of Anthracimycin

In 2013 W. Fenical et al. reported the isolation of a natural product from a marine microorganism of streptomyces species, which possessed significant activity against Gram-positive pathogens Bacillus anthracis, methicillin-resistant and vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).15 The compound responsible for the antibiotic activity was found to be the 14-membered macrolide named anthracimycin. The research detailed in this thesis describes the efforts towards the total synthesis of this natural product and specifically the formation of the core of anthracimycin in 12-steps. Direct palladium catalysed oxidation formed the enone used as a dienophile in a stereo- and regio-selective Diels‒Alder/epimerisation sequence, which afforded the trans-decalin. A facial and stereoselective Hosomi‒Sakurai 1,4-addition reaction, followed by a selective borylation/dihydroxylation sequence on the exocyclic alkene, allowed the formation of the core of anthracimycin