Assessing Emerging ICT-enabled Governance Models in European Cities: Results from a Mapping Survey

The paper presents the preliminary results of an exploratory survey conducted by the Information Society Unit of the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the European Commission. The main goal of the research is to deepen the understanding of the interplay between ICTs and governance processes at city level in the EU by looking at what new ICTenabled governance models are emerging in European cities and what are their key socio-economic implications. In this preliminary phase efforts have been directed towards addressing the following research question: what key city governance policy areas ICTs impact most and what governance changes are driven by ICTs? This questions have been investigated through a questionnaire based online survey. The evidence collected provided a comprehensive mapping of the use of ICTs in European cities as well as the views of policy makers, city government officials, practitioners and researchers, on the way ICTs are influencing governance processes. The evidence collected shows that new ICT-enabled governance models are emerging, and it allowed to identify the main dimensions of change, drivers, barriers, enablers and characteristics, as well as opportunities, risks and challenges associated with them.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

Measuring the Public value of e-Government: The eGEP2.0 model

After having briefly introduced the issue of measuring e-Government vis-\ue0-vis its impact evaluation, the paper provides an overview of the state of the art with regard to measurement of e-Government, addressing the debate on the relationship between 'public value' creation and e-Government, outlining some of the approaches advanced to measure the public value of ICT interventions in the public sector. In light of this discussion, the paper then proposes the eGEP-2.0 model which, building on its predecessor eGEP, overcome many of the limitations of existing frameworks, and more importantly pave the way for an effective impact assessment of e-Government initiatives, in relation to the policy-making process and related governance needed for their design and implementation. The results of the application of the eGEP-2.0 model on the Telematics and Informatics Plan (PiTER) of the Emilia Romagna Region in Italy are then presented and discussed. The paper concludes providing some reflections on the experience and outlining future research challenges

Infectious transfer of a fertility factor in Streptomyces coelicolor

SUMMARYInitial Fertility (IF) strains ofStreptomyces coelicolorare able to convert recipient strains (UF) to the IF condition by contact, without concomitant transfer of chromosomal markers. The conversion is prevented by the presence of acridine orange in the medium of the mixed culture. Acridine orange is also moderately effective in inducing the formation of UF variants from IF-treated strains. No effect of the drug is observed on UF variant formation from Normal Fertility (NF) strains nor on the behaviour of the fertility factor in NF × UF mixed cultures. The hypothesis is put forward that the fertility factor works as an episome inS. coelicolor, fixed to the chromosome in the NF strains, free in the IF strains and missing in the UF strains

Pigments mélaniques du pelage de quelques races bovines: le schéma possible de certaines actions géniques

International audienc

Late complications of robot-assisted radical cystectomy with totally intracorporeal urinary diversion

Introduction and objectives: To evaluate late complications in a large cohort of patients undergoing robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) with totally intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD). Materials and methods: We prospectively enrolled patients who underwent RARC and ICUD between August 2012 and June 2019. We excluded patients with Ejection fraction < 36%, retinal vasculopathy, ventriculoperitoneal shunts, and those treated without curative intent. All complications and their onset date have been recorded, defined, and graded according to Clavien classification adapted for radical cystectomy. Results: 210 patients were included, 76% of whom were men, with a mean age of 62 years. Urinary diversions used were Padua Ileal Bladder (PIB) in 80% of cases, and ileal conduit (IC) in 20% of patients (generally older and with more comorbidity). The mean follow-up was 30 ± 22 months. The stenosis rate of uretero-ileal anastomosis was 14%, while a reduction in eGFR (≥ 20%) was observed in about half of the cases. UTIs occurred in 37% of the patients, especially in the first 12 months. Only 2% of patients had bowel occlusion, whereas incisional hernia, lymphocele, and systemic events (metabolic acidosis and major cardiovascular events) occurred respectively in 20%, 10%, and 1% of cases. Conclusions: Our study evaluates first late complications in a cohort of patients who underwent RARC with ICUD. These data are encouraging and in line with findings from a historical series of open radical cystectomy (ORC). This study is a further step in supporting RARC as a safe and effective surgical option for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) in tertiary referral centers

Prevalence of aneurysm of the interatrial septum in the general population and in patients with a recent episode of cryptogenetic ischemic stroke: a tissue harmonic imaging transthoracic ecocardiography study in 5.631 patients

Cerebral ischemia is among the principal causes of mortality and morbidity in industrialized countries being responsible of 10-12% of all deaths and of an elevated number of permanent disability. The cardioembolic forms may be responsible of the 30-35% of cerebrovascular acute syndrome, nevertheless in a significant percentage of cases, especially among young people, cerebral ischemic episodes are not induced by these cardiembolic forms: these cases are defined as cryptogenetic stroke/TIA. In these patients cardiac abnormalities represented by an aneurysm of the interatrial septum (ASA) and by a patent foramen ovale (PFO) have been frequently observed. The purpose of our prospective study was to evaluate, through transthoracic ecocardiography and tissue harmonic imaging (ETT-THI), the prevalence of ASA in the general population (group A) and the prevalence of ASA-FOP in a subgroup of patients with recent episode of cryptogenetic ischemic stroke/TIA (group B). We studied in a prospective manner from January 1 2003 to October 31t 2004 n. 5.631 patients. The presence of ASA was found in 3,2% of patients of group A, while in patients of group B we identifyed an ASA in 32% and a POF in 42% of the cases. Using a ETT-THI, our study shows in a wide range of a non selected population a prevalence of ASA greater than in previous studies. Such high prevalence in the general population of patients submitted to echocardiography and the higher frequency in subjects with recent cryptogenetic stroke, suggests to search carefully these abnormalities at the level of the interatrial septum using the harmonic imaging method

A Chromosome-Length Reference Genome for the Endangered Pacific Pocket Mouse Reveals Recent Inbreeding in a Historically Large Population

High-quality reference genomes are fundamental tools for understanding population history, and can provide estimates of genetic and demographic parameters relevant to the conservation of biodiversity. The federally endangered Pacific pocket mouse (PPM), which persists in three small, isolated populations in southern California, is a promising model for studying how demographic history shapes genetic diversity, and how diversity in turn may influence extinction risk. To facilitate these studies in PPM, we combined PacBio HiFi long reads with Omni-C and Hi-C data to generate a de novo genome assembly, and annotated the genome using RNAseq. The assembly comprised 28 chromosome-length scaffolds (N50 = 72.6 MB) and the complete mitochondrial genome, and included a long heterochromatic region on chromosome 18 not represented in the previously available short-read assembly. Heterozygosity was highly variable across the genome of the reference individual, with 18% of windows falling in runs of homozygosity (ROH) >1 MB, and nearly 9% in tracts spanning >5 MB. Yet outside of ROH, heterozygosity was relatively high (0.0027), and historical Ne estimates were large. These patterns of genetic variation suggest recent inbreeding in a formerly large population. Currently the most contiguous assembly for a heteromyid rodent, this reference genome provides insight into the past and recent demographic history of the population, and will be a critical tool for management and future studies of outbreeding depression, inbreeding depression, and genetic load