The Role of Strategic Fundraising in Marketing Plan of Non-profit Companies: The Case of Susan G. Komen Italy

The case is mainly focused on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on Susan G. Komen Italia, on all the initiatives put through by the association and on the role of Strategic Fundraising in NPOs’ marketing plans. The Italian charity sector is populated by small and medium entities competing to “win” donors supporting their cause, and in turn organisations of smaller scale have to confront with larger NPOs, both cancer and non-cancer focused, well-known throughout the National territory , which are favoured by their brand equity and their past reputation, leading to an intense competition in terms of potential “donors wallet”. This framework has undergone several challenges related to the worldwide spread of Covid-19: the pandemic caused dramatic changes in terms of events and initiatives to be rescheduled or rearranged, favouring the shift to online instruments. The “next normality” driven by the lockdown has become a trigger for the creativity of marketers in several different fields, including NPOs’ sector. With this in mind, this paper highlights Komen’s effort in Italy to rethink its marketing and fundraising approach reorganizing activities along the Donor Decision Journey. The case focuses on analysing strategic fundraising as the key element of NPOs’ marketing plans

Groundwater vulnerability assessment: from overlay methods to statistical methods in the Lombardy Plain area

Groundwater is among the most important freshwater resources. Worldwide, aquifers are experiencing an increasing threat of pollution from urbanization, industrial development, agricultural activities and mining enterprise. Thus, practical actions, strategies and solutions to protect groundwater from these anthropogenic sources are widely required. The most efficient tool, which helps supporting land use planning, while protecting groundwater from contamination, is represented by groundwater vulnerability assessment. Over the years, several methods assessing groundwater vulnerability have been developed: overlay and index methods, statistical and process-based methods. All methods are means to synthesize complex hydrogeological information into a unique document, which is a groundwater vulnerability map, useable by planners, decision and policy makers, geoscientists and the public. Although it is not possible to identify an approach which could be the best one for all situations, the final product should always be scientific defensible, meaningful and reliable. Nevertheless, various methods may produce very different results at any given site. Thus, reasons for similarities and differences need to be deeply investigated. This study demonstrates the reliability and flexibility of a spatial statistical method to assess groundwater vulnerability to contamination at a regional scale. The Lombardy Plain case study is particularly interesting for its long history of groundwater monitoring (quality and quantity), availability of hydrogeological data, and combined presence of various anthropogenic sources of contamination. Recent updates of the regional water protection plan have raised the necessity of realizing more flexible, reliable and accurate groundwater vulnerability maps. A comparison of groundwater vulnerability maps obtained through different approaches and developed in a time span of several years has demonstrated the relevance of the continuous scientific progress, recognizing strengths and weaknesses of each research

WEAP-MODFLOW dynamic modeling approach to evaluate surface water and groundwater supply sources of Addis Ababa city

The integration between WEAP and MODFLOW models coupled via LinkKitchen helps to create a dynamic link between surface water and groundwater supply sources of Addis Ababa city. Possible impacts of natural and anthropogenic stresses on surface water reservoirs volume and groundwater storage have been assessed through water supply scenario analysis. Besides, contrary to other surface water hydrological models, the unique nature of WEAP adds water demand assessment by simulating Addis Ababa city near future water demand coverage under three population projection scenarios. The water demand projections of Addis Ababa city indicates 100% water demand coverage will not be achieved for high (4.6%), medium (3.8%) and low (2.8%) population growth rate projections, even with all the emerging and planned water supply projects start production up until 2025. Supply scenario projections indicate, as surface water reservoirs are highly sensitive to climate change and variability, the city groundwater supply sources will be noticeably affected by the emerging and planned groundwater supply expansion schemes. If groundwater abstraction continues to reach to zero unmet demand, more than 30-meter groundwater level decline can be registered in 2025. To foresee the combined effect of both natural and anthropogenic stresses on Addis Ababa city water supply sources, best case (considering conditions which improve Addis Ababa city water supply) and worst case (considering conditions stressing Addis Ababa city water supply) scenarios were tested. The best case scenario results zero unmet water demand in Addis Ababa city in most wet months of future projection years up to 2025, with likely decline of about 6 meter on the groundwater level. The worst case scenario to the contrary shows, Addis Ababa city water demand coverage will potentially be reduced to a maximum of 35% in 2025, with seasonal and annual variability. The dynamic link between surface water reservoirs and groundwater supply sources helps to gain insight into the potential consequences of continuously changing natural and anthropogenic conditions on Addis Ababa city water supply sources. Consequently, the significant predicted near future pressure on Addis Ababa city surface water and groundwater supply clearly indicate planning and developing alternative water supply sources outside of the boundary (Upper Awash basin) where the city is located should be immediately started in order to endure the pressure from the ever increasing demand. Otherwise, not only Addis will continue suffering unmet water demand for the years to come, but also the water supply sources will be severely impacted. Nonetheless, wherever the water supply sources, minimizing water loss, recycling and improving water use efficiency should be given at most priority

Gestione medica dopo la chirurgia dello scompenso cardiaco avanzato

The aim of the Research of this Ph D Project is to improve the medical management after surgery for advanced heart failure, both after left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) implantation, and after heart transplantation in the long-term. Regarding heart transplantation (HTx), the Research Project is focused on diagnostics, classification, prevention and treatment of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), and on treatment of post-HTx cancers; the results are presented in the first part of this Thesis. In particular, the main aspect investigated are the prognostic role of information derived from coronary angiography, coronary tomography and intravascular ultrasound, and the different sensitivity of these techniques in predicting outcomes and in diagnosing CAV. Moreover, the role of mTOR inhibitors on CAV prevention or treatment is investigated, both alone and in combination with different anti-CMV prevention strategies, as well as the impact of mTOR inhibitors on clinical outcomes in the long term. Regarding LVAD, the main focus is on the role of transthoracic echocardiography in the management of patients with a continuous-flow, centrifugal, intrapericardial pump (HVAD, Heartware); this section is reported in the second part of this Thesis. The main aspects investigated are the use of echocardiography in patients with HVAD device and its interaction with the information derived from pump curves' analysis in predicting aortic valve opening status, a surrogate of the condition of support provided by the LVAD

change of hydraulic conductivity of cohesive soils due to consolidation treatments with expanding resins

Settlements of ground subjected to foundation load are often due to both natural and/or anthropogenic causes, such as differential consolidation, seepage, periods of drought alternating with heavy rainfalls, growth of tree roots, sewer leaks, vibrations induced by vehicle traffic, excavations, or construction defects. Techniques of soil consolidation and stabilization by means of injection of polyurethane expanding resins have been efficiently used to mitigate or even solve this issue. The efficiency of the resin injection treatment has been well documented also thanks to the develop of a procedure of planning and monitoring which combines traditional geotechnical tests with the application of electrical resistivity tomography, which is strongly sensitive to the presence of water or voids. The combination of these survey methodologies allows to recognize the effect of injection in terms of soil compaction and water migration, a key factor for understanding the phenomenon and planning of resolutive interventions. The present study follows a previous work aimed at evaluating the increase in the geotechnical performance of cohesive soils treated by injection of expanding resins (same soil, resin, at the same site) and integrates it by focusing on the quantification of the effects of consolidation treatments, by means of expanding resins injection, on hydrologic properties of cohesive soils, focusing on saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements. Laboratory permeability test, performed in triaxial cell at different stress conditions and hydraulic gradients, were performed on undisturbed samples collected on "natural (non-treated)" and "treated soils", before and after the injection of resin (MAXIMA ® by GEOSEC ® ) in a full-scale test site characterized by the presence of continuous and homogeneous cohesive soils, (clay and silts). The investigated soil is classified as CH or CL soil, very firm and apparently overconsolidated. The study shows how the treatment is able to modify the characteristics of hydraulic conductivity of the soil. The injected resins partly follow pre-existing weaknesses and partly impregnate homogeneous and continuous masses of soil in a capillary way, giving it, in addition to the already documented greater mechanical strength, a lower hydraulic conductivity. The electrical resistivity investigations allow to appreciate the volumes affected by the treatment to which the variations of the measured properties can be attributed

Use of Sugar Dispensers to Disrupt Ant Attendance and Improve Biological Control of Mealybugs in Vineyard

Planococcus ficus (Signoret) and Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are economically important pests occurring in vineyards, causing severe economic losses for growers and compromising bunch production. The partial effectiveness of insecticides used in controlling mealybug infestations as well as their high impact on the environment and on human health have led to the research of alternative and sustainable control methods, including biological control. Several natural enemies are reported to be effective against mealybugs, but their activity may be hindered by tending ants. These social insects are known to exhibit a mutualistic relationship with mealybugs, resulting in extremely aggressive behavior against beneficial insects. Consequently, this study explored a method to mitigate ant attendance by means of sugar dispensers in order to improve ecosystem services, as well as decrease mealybug infestation in vineyards. Field trials were carried out in four commercial vineyards of Northern Italy infested by mealybugs, in which Anagyrus vladimiri Triapitsyn (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were released as biological control agents. Our results showed that sugar dispensers reduced ant activity and mealybug infestation, leading to a significant enhancement of ecosystem services. The technique showed a great potential in boosting biological control against mealybugs in field conditions, though the field application seemed to be labour intensive and needs to be replicated for a multi-year evaluation

Two new catalogs of blazar candidates in the WISE infrared sky

We present two catalogs of radio-loud candidate blazars whose WISE mid-infrared colors are selected to be consistent with the colors of confirmed gamma-ray emitting blazars. The first catalog is the improved and expanded release of the WIBRaLS catalog presented by D'Abrusco et al. (2014): it includes sources detected in all four WISE filters, spatially cross-matched with radio source in one of three radio surveys and radio-loud based on their q22 spectral parameter. WIBRaLS2 includes 9541 sources classified as BL Lacs, FSRQs or mixed candidates based on their WISE colors. The second catalog, called KDEBLLACS, based on a new selection technique, contains 5579 candidate BL Lacs extracted from the population of WISE sources detected in the first three WISE passbands ([3.4], [4.6] and [12]) only, whose mid-infrared colors are similar to those of confirmed, gamma-ray BL Lacs. KDBLLACS members area also required to have a radio counterpart and be radio-loud based on the parameter q12, defined similarly to q22 used for the WIBRaLS2. We describe the properties of these catalogs and compare them with the largest samples of confirmed and candidate blazars in the literature. We crossmatch the two new catalogs with the most recent catalogs of gamma-ray sources detected by Fermi LAT instrument. Since spectroscopic observations of candidate blazars from the first WIBRaLS catalog within the uncertainty regions of gamma-ray unassociated sources confirmed that ~90% of these candidates are blazars, we anticipate that these new catalogs will play again an important role in the identification of the gamma-ray sky.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Serie

Unbalance of intestinal microbiota in atopic children

BACKGROUND: Playing a strategic role in the host immune function, the intestinal microbiota has been recently hypothesized to be involved in the etiology of atopy. In order to investigate the gastrointestinal microbial ecology of atopic disease, here we performed a pilot comparative molecular analysis of the faecal microbiota in atopic children and healthy controls. RESULTS: Nineteen atopic children and 12 healthy controls aged 4–14 years were enrolled. Stools were collected and the faecal microbiota was characterized by means of the already developed phylogenetic microarray platform, HTF-Microbi.Array, and quantitative PCR. The intestinal microbiota of atopic children showed a significant depletion in members of the Clostridium cluster IV, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Akkermansia muciniphila and a corresponding increase of the relative abundance of Enterobacteriaceae. CONCLUSION: Depleted in key immunomodulatory symbionts, the atopy-associated microbiota can represent an inflammogenic microbial consortium which can contribute to the severity of the disease. Our data open the way to the therapeutic manipulation of the intestinal microbiota in the treatment of atopy by means of pharmaceutical probiotics

Postoperative outcomes following rehabilitation in patients with left ventricular assist devices

Postoperative rehabilitation is a cornerstone of the recovery pathway following left ventricular assist device implantation (LVAD), and patients are expected to conduct an autonomous life thanks to improved technology and increased knowledge of mechanical circulatory support. The primary purpose of the present study was to quantify clinical changes related to rehabilitation, in patients with LVAD: functional capacity, disability, and quality of life were identified as reliable outcomes to detect such changes. The current study was a scoping review conducted searching three primary databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library, from their inception until January 2020. After the selection process was completed, 12 citations were included in the present study. Three hundred eight three patients were included in the current analysis. Functional capacity, disability, and quality of life were investigated in 157, 215, 18 patients, respectively. Significant differences were found before and after rehabilitation. The mean walked distance at 6-Minute Walk Test improved from 319±96 to 412.8±86.2 metres (p<0.001), the mean score of the Functional Independence Measure from 68.4±11.8 to 92.5±10.8 points (p<0.001), the mean score of the Short Form-36 physical component from 32.7±29.9 to 55.5±24.7 points (p=0.009) and the mental component from 55.8±19.8 to 75.4±21.4 points (p=0.002). Postoperative rehabilitation is effective at improving functional capacity, disability, and quality of life in patients with left ventricular assist device; all these three domains are particularly expressive of the entity of patients' functional recovery

Design of a VLSI very high speed reconfigurable digital fuzzy processor

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