Indicators and Tests of Sustainability: The Italian Case

The issue of sustainability of Italian fiscal policy in the period 1970-2006 is studied with two instruments: indicators and tests. The indicators Primary Gap, Tax Gap developed by Chouraqui et al. (1990) and S2 by the European Commission show a nonsustainable fiscal policy. Tests of sustainability following Trehan and Walsh (1988), Hakkio and Rush (1991) and Bohn (2008) show an opposite result accepting the sustainability path of fiscal variables. According to the strategy proposed by De Luzenberger and Marini (1993) a Chow-type test, that confirms a systematic change of fiscal policy in 1992-1993, permits to discern the two conflicting results in favour of the indicators’ response.fiscal sustainability; fiscal indicators and tests of sustainability, Chow test

Influence of the reproductive success of the wolf (Canis lupus) on its presence in the San Rossore estate (PI)

openNegli ultimi dieci anni, si è osservato un aumento numerico della popolazione di lupi (Canis lupus) e un conseguente ampliamento del suo territorio, che ha portato questa specie a occupare ambienti fortemente influenzati dall'attività umana. Questo fenomeno potrebbe essere legato all'espansione delle popolazioni di ungulati, in particolare cinghiali (Sus scrofa) e caprioli (Capreolus capreolus), che rappresentano le principali prede di questi grandi carnivori e che popolano sempre più spesso aree periurbane, specialmente in aree protette con una buona presenza di zone boscate. La Tenuta Presidenziale di San Rossore, situata a ovest della città di Pisa, fa parte del Parco Regionale Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli ed è caratterizzata da un clima sub-mediterraneo e da una varietà di habitat, tra cui boschi di querce e aree aperte con specie erbacee dominanti come Dactylis glomerata, Trifolium campestre, Medicago lupolina, Festuca pratensis e Festuca eliator. All'interno della Tenuta di San Rossore, oltre a una ricca avifauna, sono presenti diverse specie di mammiferi, tra cui il daino (Dama dama) e il cinghiale. A partire dal 2016, è stato avvistato un esemplare di lupo nella Tenuta, generando un rapporto predatore-preda particolare che è stato studiato sin dall'apparizione del lupo. Nel corso degli anni, altri individui di lupo si sono insediati nell'area protetta, il che potrebbe influenzare sia le interazioni tra i lupi che il rapporto con le specie di prede. La presente ricerca si propone di approfondire le relazioni intra- ed interspecifiche che si svilupperanno in questo scenario dinamico, con i seguenti obiettivi: analizzare la distribuzione spaziale dei lupi presenti nella Tenuta; studiare le modalità di consumo delle prede da parte dei lupi; valutare l'età e lo stato fisico delle prede uccise dai lupi; esaminare l'influenza delle modalità di consumo delle prede sulla dieta delle specie non target. Per raggiungere tali obiettivi, verrà effettuata una raccolta dati combinata utilizzando diverse tecniche. Saranno percorsi transetti standardizzati per la raccolta di escrementi di lupo e cinghiale, che saranno conservati e analizzati per la genotipizzazione degli individui di lupo e per valutare la dieta dei predatori. Sarà inoltre utilizzata la tecnica del "camera-trapping" per monitorare l'uso dell'area protetta da parte dei lupi. Verranno posizionate fototrappole in punti strategici per documentare le modalità di consumo delle prede e per studiare eventuali interazioni tra lupi e cinghiali. Inoltre, saranno raccolte e analizzate le ossa delle zampe delle prede uccise per valutare lo stato fisico e fisiologico delle stesse. Gli obiettivi primari potrebbero subire delle variazioni nel caso in cui emergano cambiamenti significativi nella popolazione di lupi, come la formazione di un branco chiaramente identificato a seguito di un evento riproduttivo

Comparing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases networks using graph communities structure

Background: Recent advances in large datasets analysis offer new insights to modern biology allowing system-level investigation of pathologies. Here we describe a novel computational method that exploits the ever-growing amount of "omics" data to shed light on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Neurological disorders exhibit a huge number of molecular alterations due to a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Classical reductionist approaches are focused on a few elements, providing a narrow overview of the etiopathogenic complexity of multifactorial diseases. On the other hand, high-throughput technologies allow the evaluation of many components of biological systems and their behaviors. Analysis of Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) from a network perspective can highlight proteins or pathways common but differently represented that can be discriminating between the two pathological conditions, thus highlight similarities and differences. Results: In this work we propose a strategy that exploits network community structure identified with a state-of-the-art network community discovery algorithm called InfoMap, which takes advantage of information theory principles. We used two similarity measurements to quantify functional and topological similarities between the two pathologies. We built a Similarity Matrix to highlight similar communities and we analyzed statistically significant GO terms found in clustered areas of the matrix and in network communities. Our strategy allowed us to identify common known and unknown processes including DNA repair, RNA metabolism and glucose metabolism not detected with simple GO enrichment analysis. In particular, we were able to capture the connection between mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolism (glucose and glutamate/glutamine). Conclusions: This approach allows the identification of communities present in both pathologies which highlight common biological processes. Conversely, the identification of communities without any counterpart can be used to investigate processes that are characteristic of only one of the two pathologies. In general, the same strategy can be applied to compare any pair of biological networks

Parametric investigation of laser interaction with uniform and nanostructured near-critical plasmas

Abstract: Laser interaction with uniform and nanostructured near-critical plasmas has been investigated by means of 2D particle-in-cell simulations. The effect of a nanostructure (modeled as a collection of solid-density nanospheres) on energy absorption and radiative losses has been assessed in a wide range of laser intensities (normalized amplitude a0 = 1 - 135) and average densities of the target (electron density ne = 1 - 9nc, where nc is the critical electron density). The nanostructure was found to affect mainly the conversion efficiency of laser energy into ion kinetic energy and radiative losses for the highest simulated intensities

Enhanced tumor response to adoptive T cell therapy with PHD2/3-deficient CD8 T cells

While adoptive cell therapy has shown success in hematological malignancies, its potential against solid tumors is hindered by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). In recent years, members of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) family have gained recognition as important regulators of T-cell metabolism and function. The role of HIF signalling in activated CD8 T cell function in the context of adoptive cell transfer, however, has not been explored in full depth. Here we utilize CRISPR-Cas9 technology to delete prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing enzymes (PHD) 2 and 3, thereby stabilizing HIF-1 signalling, in CD8 T cells that have already undergone differentiation and activation, modelling the T cell phenotype utilized in clinical settings. We observe a significant boost in T-cell activation and effector functions following PHD2/3 deletion, which is dependent on HIF-1α, and is accompanied by an increased glycolytic flux. This improvement in CD8 T cell performance translates into an enhancement in tumor response to adoptive T cell therapy in mice, across various tumor models, even including those reported to be extremely resistant to immunotherapeutic interventions. These findings hold promise for advancing CD8 T-cell based therapies and overcoming the immune suppression barriers within challenging tumor microenvironments

The use of antimicrobials in Italian heavy pig fattening farms

Data on antimicrobial use (AMU) in heavy pig production (>150 kg) are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the AMU in this production. Data from 2015 were collected for 143 fattening farms. The AMU was estimated through a treatment index per 100 days (TI100) using the defined daily dose animal for Italy (DDDAit). When possible, a comparison with the European Medicines Agency's defined daily doses for animals (DDDvet) was performed. The median TI100 was 10.7 (range, 0.2-49.5). Group treatments represented 94.6% of overall consumption. The AMU calculated using DDDAit and DDDvet were strongly correlated (rho = 0.976; p < 0.001). The AMU was negatively correlated with injectables use (rho = -0.46, p < 0.001) and positively correlated with oral products (rho = 0.21, p = 0.014), premixes (rho = 0.26, p = 0.002), and mortality (rho = 0.18; p = 0.027). Farm size was negatively correlated with AMU (rho = -0.29, p < 0.001). Smaller farms were more frequently above the median TI100 (odds ratio = 2.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.2-4.7), suggesting that they may have lower biosecurity and management standards. The results of this study should provide useful insights for the development of an Italian monitoring system

Indici per la valutazione della qualit? ecologica dei laghi

Collection of methods to evaluate lake quality using biological element