ISCHIA TRA SOGNI E BISOGNI. L’isola verde nel cinema e nell’immaginario

In questo libro su Ischia e sul suo sviluppo turistico, si indaga proprio il modo attraverso il quale il mondo della cinematografia ha messo in moto e lungamente sorretto la trasformazione dell'isola verde, rurale e povera, in un moderno distretto turistico. Si tratta di una vicenda storica e sociologica che forse non è mai stata investigata con tanta attenzione e dovizia di particolari, al cui centro vi è, appunto, l'industria cinematografica: non solo nel senso di avere attirato sull'isola notevoli capitali, ma anche in quanto portatrice di una cultura imprenditoriale fino a quel momento sconosciuta a Ischia, come d'altronde nella gran parte del Mezzogiorno. Il libro, quindi, non è una delle tipiche "biografie" territoriali di cui è ricca la letteratura localistica del nostro Paese. E' qualcosa di diverso e di più. E' un'indagine sul cambiamento sociale e, in particolare, sui fattori sociali, economici e culturali che possono avviare il processo di sviluppo e di modernizzazione di una comunità. E' quello che si chiama generalmente "lo studio di un caso", un'indagine rivolta a comprendere la "dinamica" di trasformazione di uno specifico ambito societario, cioè le cause che sono alla base della stagnazione o del progresso di una comunità, dell'immobilismo o della vitalità di un territorio sociale

Ischia: The Island Of Cinematography: A Sociological Study of its development

In this book on Ischia and its tourism development, the authors investigate the way in which the world of cinema has set in motion and long supported the transformation of the green, rural and poor island into a modern tourist district. It is a historical and sociological event that has perhaps never been investigated with so much attention and abundance of details, at the center of which is, precisely, the film industry: not only in the sense of having attracted important capitals, but also in as the bearer of an entrepreneurial culture hitherto unknown in Ischia, as indeed in most of the South. The book is an investigation on social change and, in particular, on the social, economic and cultural factors that can initiate the process of development and modernization of a community. This is what is generally called "the study of a case", an investigation aimed at understanding the "dynamics" of transformation of a specific company environment, that is, the causes that underlie the stagnation or progress of a community, immobility or the vitality of a social territory

Strengthened Formulations and Valid Inequalities for Single Delay Management in Public Transportation

International audienceThe Delay Management Problem arises in Public Transportation networks, often characterized by the necessity of connections between different vehicles. The attractiveness of Public Transportation networks is strongly related to the reliability of connections, which can be missed when delays or other unpredictable events occur. Given a single initial delay at one node of the network, the Delay Management Problem is to determine which vehicles have to wait for the delayed ones, with the aim of minimizing the dissatisfaction of the passengers. In this paper, we present strengthened mixed integer linear programming formulations and new families of valid inequalities. The implementation of branch-and-cut methods and tests on a benchmark of instances taken from real networks show the potential of the proposed formulations and cuts

Role of Tight Glycemic Control during Acute Coronary Syndrome on CV Outcome in Type 2 Diabetes

Both incidence and mortality of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) among diabetic patients are much higher than those among nondiabetics. Actually, there are many studies that addressed glycemic control and CV risk, whilst the literature on the role of tight glycemic control during ACS is currently poor. Therefore, in this review, we critically discussed the studies that investigated this specific topic. Hyperglycemia is implicated in vascular damage and cardiac myocyte death through different molecular mechanisms as advanced glycation end products, protein kinase C, polyol pathway flux, and the hexosamine pathway. Moreover, high FFA concentrations may be toxic in acute ischemic myocardium due to several mechanisms, thus leading to endothelial dysfunction. A reduction in free fatty acid plasma levels and an increased availability of glucose can be achieved by using a glucose-insulin-potassium infusion (GIKi) during AMI. The GIKi is associated with an improvement of either long-term prognosis or left ventricular mechanical performance. DIGAMI studies suggested blood glucose level as a significant and independent mortality predictor among diabetic patients with recent ACS, enhancing the important role of glucose control in their management. Several mechanisms supporting the protective role of tight glycemic control during ACS, as well as position statements of Scientific Societies, were highlighted

A compact microelectrode array chip with multiple measuring sites for electrochemical applications

In this paper we demonstrate the fabrication and electrochemical characterization of a microchip with 12 identical but individually addressable electrochemical measuring sites, each consisting of a set of interdigitated electrodes acting as a working electrode as well as two circular electrodes functioning as a counter and reference electrode in close proximity. The electrodes are made of gold on a silicon oxide substrate and are passivated by a silicon nitride membrane. A method for avoiding the creation of high edges at the electrodes (known as lift-off ears) is presented. The microchip design is highly symmetric to accommodate easy electronic integration and provides space for microfluidic inlets and outlets for integrated custom-made microfluidic systems on top

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: From Pathogenesis to Clinical Impact

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is caused by the accumulation of fat in over 5% of hepatocytes in the absence of alcohol consumption. NAFLD is considered the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome (MS). Recently, an expert consensus suggested as more appropriate the term MAFLD (metabolic-associated fatty liver disease). Insulin resistance (IR) plays a key role in the development of NAFLD, as it causes an increase in hepatic lipogenesis and an inhibition of adipose tissue lipolysis. Beyond the imbalance of adipokine levels, the increase in the mass of visceral adipose tissue also determines an increase in free fatty acid (FFA) levels. In turn, an excess of FFA is able to determine IR through the inhibition of the post-receptor insulin signal. Adipocytes secrete chemokines, which are able to enroll macrophages inside the adipose tissue, responsible, in turn, for the increased levels of TNF-. The latter, as well as resistin and other pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, enhances insulin resistance and correlates with endothelial dysfunction and an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk. In this review, the role of diet, intestinal microbiota, genetic and epigenetic factors, low-degree chronic systemic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and endoplasmic reticulum stress on NAFLD have been addressed. Finally, the clinical impact of NAFLD on cardiovascular and renal outcomes, and its direct link with type 2 diabetes have been discussed