New technologies and role of direct surveys in the production of Official Statistics

[EN] The technological development applied to statistical data collection processes, that has taken place in recent years, and the increasing availability of alternative statistical sources, notably administrative and so-called “sensor”, is leading to a profound revision of the role of direct surveys, also in the context of Official Statistics. The objective of this article, based on the experiences in progress in ISTAT (Italian National Statistical Institute) is to evaluate the status of the transition towards a more modern, efficient and sustainable way of conducting direct surveys, in a set of specific areas, providing examples and targeted analysis. This analysis will help to build a general framework towards which the collection of Official Statistics data will converge in the next years. In the above mentioned framework the analysis will mainly involve three converging macro areas: a) individuation of efficient management set-up of data collection processes; b) application of innovative techniques in the data collection of traditional direct surveys; c) aspects related to the availability of new alternative sources to those currently used in the production of official statistics.De Gaetano, L.; Papa, P. (2020). New technologies and role of direct surveys in the production of Official Statistics. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 247-251. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2020.2020.11642OCS24725

Cold Compression Molding of Pyrolytic Carbon from Tires for Oil Absorbers

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The Judicial Control of the Administrative Acts Legality in Community Law. Exempted Acts of the Community Judicial Control

The present paper has as its main objective to present the role played by the legality principle for the rule of law as well as to analyse the signification of legality control of administrative acts in the context of European Union law, and to present those acts that are excerpted from the jurisdictional control of legality. In order to achieve this result the doctrine was analysed and compared to the jurisprudence of the European courts. In our opinion the legality principle has to beinterpreted in a permissive manner of the obligation to respect and comply to the «legality block» composed of the defining rules of the three distinct juridical systems, the national norms, the European Union norms and those established by ECHR as well as the conformity to the jurisprudence of the European Union Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, taking into consideration the fact that their decisions have law value and are extensions of the legality principle

Emergence of Toscana Virus in Europe

In southern Europe, Toscana virus is one of the three leading causes of aseptic meningitis

Activation of cardiac renin-angiotensin system in unstable angina

AbstractOBJECTIVESThe aim of this study was to investigate the activity of the cardiac renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in unstable angina (UA).BACKGROUNDAngiotensin (Ang) II locally produced by continuously operating cardiac RAS may affect the pathophysiology of UA.METHODSIn 35 patients with UA, 32 with stable effort angina (SA) and 21 with atypical chest pain (controls), cardiac RAS was investigated during coronary angiography after five days of Holter monitoring by combining the measurement of aorta-coronary sinus gradient for Ang I and Ang II with the kinetics study of 125I-Ang I. Messenger RNAs (mRNA) for all the components of RAS were also quantified with the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and localized by in situ hybridization in myocardial biopsy specimens from patients who underwent aorta-coronary bypass surgery.RESULTSCardiac Ang II generation was higher in patients with UA than it was in patients with SA or in controls (p < 0.001) due to increased de novo cardiac Ang I formation and its enhanced fractional conversion rate to Ang II. Messenger RNA levels for angiotensinogen (AGTN), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and Ang II type 1 (AT1) subtype receptors were higher in patients with UA (p < 0.01) than they were in patients with SA or in control hearts. Messenger RNAs for AGTN and ACE were almost exclusively expressed on endothelial and interstitial cells. Angiotensin II formation was correlated with ischemia burden (p < 0.001). However, the amount of Ang II formed and the expression levels of mRNAs for AGTN, ACE and AT1 were not related to the time that had elapsed since the last anginal attack.CONCLUSIONSIn patients with UA, cardiac RAS is activated, resulting in increased Ang II formation. Myocardial ischemia is essential for RAS activation, but it is unlikely to be a direct and immediate cause of RAS activation

Where Is More Important Than How in Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Restoration

Restoration is considered an effective strategy to accelerate the recovery of biological communities at local scale. However, the effects of restoration actions in the marine ecosystems are still unpredictable.We performed a global analysis of published literature to identify the factors increasing the probability of restoration success in coastal and marine systems. Our results confirm that the majority of active restoration initiatives are still concentrated in the northern hemisphere and that most of information gathered from restoration efforts derives from a relatively small subset of species. The analysis also indicates that many studies are still experimental in nature, covering small spatial and temporal scales. Despite the limits of assessing restoration effectiveness in absence of a standardized definition of success, the context (degree of human impact, ecosystem type, habitat) of where the restoration activity is undertaken is of greater relevance to a successful outcome than how (method) the restoration is carried out. Contrary to expectations, we found that restoration is not necessarily more successful closer to protected areas (PA) and in areas of moderate human impact. This result can be motivated by the limits in assessing the success of interventions and by the tendency of selecting areas in more obvious need of restoration, where the potential of actively restoring a degraded site is more evident. Restoration sites prioritization considering human uses and conservation status present in the region is of vital importance to obtain the intended outcomes and galvanize further actions

Effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide on Fucus virsoides (Fucales, Ochrophyta) photosynthetic efficiency

Herbicides are increasingly recognised as sources of water pollution. Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) are widely used because of their low cost and high effectiveness. By measuring the photosynthetic efficiency of Fucus virsoides fronds exposed to a GBH (Roundup\uae Power 2.0), we investigated the effect of a continuous exposure (6 days) and the potential of recovery after a short exposure (24 h). Both experiments were carried out combining GBH with and without nutrient enrichment, simulating a runoff event. A factorial experimental design allowed us to assess the potential of interactions between GBH and nutrients, which are likely to co-occur in coastal areas. Our results show deleterious effects of GBH at low concentration on F. virsoides, independently from the duration of exposure and the presence of nutrients

Archeobotanical study of traditional agroecosystems based on SEM-EDX analysis of buried phytoliths

The FP7 Project "MEditerranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural heritage based on traditional agrosystems (MEMOLA)" (http://www.memolaproject.eu/it) is studying past landscapes using ancient soil horizons as archaeological records. The project aims at evaluating the biodiversity of no longer existing environments, in order to reconstruct the past agroecosystems. One of the approach used in the study consisted in the selective sampling of buried paleo-soil horizons for the search of “testimonials” or useful pedo-archaeological "indicators" that can tell something about past environments and peculiar ecosystems no longer present. To this purpose it was decided to start extracting from soil samples and studying the phytoliths. Phytoliths are produced in and between the cells of living plants. They consist of biogenic silica, also referred to as opal, namely a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2.nH2O) formed by complex inorganic polymerization processes. Once the plant dies, phytoliths are released in the environment due to the decomposition of the organic matter. In general, phytoliths are not transported over long distances because they are relatively “heavy” particles (as opposed to pollen, for instance). Phytoliths can thus have taxonomical significance and be good indicators of past vegetation cover and environmental conditions, they can give evidence of paleoenvironment or vegetation change and represent a first step to explore the biodiversity of recent and past- environments. Phytoliths were documented by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) also embedded in the buried and carbonized plant micro-particles that were recovered during the soil sieving procedures