Italian tax incentives for film industry: the impact on the domestic sector and on the State

The national approach to public funding of the film industry has been subject to a shift in recent years, at an international level, moving from a grant and subsidy scheme towards more automatic form of supports, including tax incentives. The paper aims at analysing the impact of the new tax credit measures for the Italian film industry, introduced in 2008, within the framework of the 2007 financial law, and in force since the third quarter of 2009. The impact is evaluated on both the domestic film production companies and on the State accounts level. The measure of tax credit for film with cultural requirements provides the film production company with the possibility of offsetting its tax debt (national and regional income tax, VAT, social contribution and costs) during the production, within a cap of 15% of total eligible costs. Starting from the data collected and processed by the Ministry of Culture since the beginning of the implementation phase, the paper aims at demonstrating the positive balance for the State determined by the increase of private investments on film with cultural requirements and, consequently, of the induced direct and indirect tax return. A brief description of the measure will be followed by a comparison of the incremental value produced by the film sector throughout the year following the enforcement of the tax credit measures.The national approach to public funding of the film industry has been subject to a shift in recent years, at an international level, moving from a grant and subsidy scheme towards more automatic form of supports, including tax incentives. The paper aims at analysing the impact of the new tax credit measures for the Italian film industry, introduced in 2008, within the framework of the 2007 financial law, and in force since the third quarter of 2009. The impact is evaluated on both the domestic film production companies and on the State accounts level. The measure of tax credit for film with cultural requirements provides the film production company with the possibility of offsetting its tax debt (national and regional income tax, VAT, social contribution and costs) during the production, within a cap of 15% of total eligible costs. Starting from the data collected and processed by the Ministry of Culture since the beginning of the implementation phase, the paper aims at demonstrating the positive balance for the State determined by the increase of private investments on film with cultural requirements and, consequently, of the induced direct and indirect tax return. A brief description of the measure will be followed by a comparison of the incremental value produced by the film sector throughout the year following the enforcement of the tax credit measures.Invited Submission

Epidemiology and Microbiology of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections: Preliminary Results of a National Registry

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) represent a wide range of clinical conditions characterized by a considerable variety of clinical presentations and severity. Their aetiology can also vary, with numerous possible causative pathogens. While other authors previously published analyses on several types of SSTI and on restricted types of patients, we conducted a large nationwide surveillance programme on behalf of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases to assess the clinical and microbiological characteristics of the whole SSTI spectrum, from mild to severe life-threatening infections, in both inpatients and outpatients. Twenty-five Infectious Diseases (ID) Centres throughout Italy collected prospectively data concerning both the clinical and microbiological diagnosis of patients affected by SSTIs via an electronic case report form. All the cases included in our database, independently from their severity, have been managed by ID specialists joining the study while SSTIs from other wards/clinics have been excluded from this analysis. Here, we report the preliminary results of our study, referring to a 12-month period (October 2016–September 2017). During this period, the study population included 254 adult patients and a total of 291 SSTI diagnoses were posed, with 36 patients presenting more than one SSTIs. The type of infection diagnosed, the aetiological micro-organisms involved and some notes on their antimicrobial susceptibilities were collected and are reported herein. The enrichment of our registry is ongoing, but these preliminary results suggest that further analysis could soon provide useful information to better understand the national epidemiologic data and the current clinical management of SSTIs in Italy

Prenatal environment and developmental trajectories: the intrauterine growth restriction

The prenatal environment is of fundamental importance for the fetus, as the fetus is particularly susceptible to environmental influences while in utero, and several prenatal adversities may constitute a risk factor for fetal growth and child development. Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) refers to a pregnancy complication involving the inadequate growth of the fetus in utero, with potential programming consequences on the children's brain-behaviour development. In this narrative review we will discuss the most recent literature about IUGR children, including their development and their relationship with the prenatal and postnatal environment. In particular, as an attempt to an adaptive response to intrauterine changes, the brain development of IUGR fetuses follows abnormal developmental pathways, which likely has cascade effects on the future neurodevelopmental outcomes of the children. Cognitive and motor functions are in fact impaired, as well as IUGR children present, across studies, poor socio-emotional abilities and a greater risk for internalising and externalising behaviour problems. The current work also highlights how the postnatal environment, and in particular parental care, has an important role in IUGR development, acting as a protective factor, or otherwise increasing their constitutional vulnerabilities. Overall, this narrative review has important implications for clinical practice, suggesting the need for long-term follow-up care with IUGR children and strategies supporting parent-child interactions as well

Epidemiology, aetiology and treatment of skin and soft tissue infections: final report of a prospective multicentre national registry

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) represent a heterogenous group of pathological conditions involving the skin or the underlying subcutaneous tissues, fascia and muscle, characterised by a considerable variety of clinical presentations, severity and possible aetiological pathogens. Although previous analyses on restricted types of SSTIs and population have already been published, we conducted a large nationwide surveillance program on behalf of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases to assess the clinical and microbiological characteristics of the whole SSTI spectrum, from mild to severe life-threatening infections, in both inpatients and outpatients and their management. Twenty-nine Infectious Diseases (ID) Centres throughout Italy collected prospectively data concerning both the clinical and microbiological diagnosis of patients affected by SSTIs via an electronic case report form. We included in our database all cases managed by ID specialists participating to the study, independently from their severity or the setting of consultation. Here, we integrated previous preliminary results analysing and reporting data referring to a 3-year period (October 2016-October 2019). During this period, the study population included 478 adult patients with diagnosis of SSTI. The type of infection diagnosed, the aetiological agent involved and some notes on antimicrobial susceptibilities were collected and reported herein. We also analysed the most common co-morbidities, the type and duration of therapy executed, before and after ID intervention and the length of stay. The results of our study provide information to better understand the national epidemiologic data and the current clinical management of SSTIs in Italy