Die italienische Szene illegaler Drogen: Konsumformen und Politik

'Der Konsum illegaler Drogen ist in Italien erst seit einigen Jahrzehnten zu einem öffentlichen Problem geworden. Erst in den 1990er Jahren sind drei Typen von Konsumenten auf der Drogenszene erschienen: Heroinkonsumenten (überwiegend männliche Erwachsene), Konsumenten und Konsumentinnen von Ecstasy (überwiegend Jüngere beiderlei Geschlechts) und Kokainkonsumenten (überwiegend sozial gut integrierte junge Erwachsene). Cannabis ist allerdings auch bei diesen Gruppen die am häufigsten konsumierte Droge. Auf der Ebene der Gesetzgebung beobachtet man eine Bewegung des Ausbalancierens zwischen einer sozial- bzw. gesundheitspolitischen und einer prohitionistischen Position, wobei letztere im letzten Jahrzehnt die Oberhand gewinnt. Die Mitte-Links-Regierung hatte über die Initiative einiger ihrer Mitglieder versucht, eine weniger punitive Politik zu formulieren, die allerdings über eine Koalition aus verschiedenen politischen Lagern nur schwer in bedeutende Veränderungen der aktuellen Drogenpolitik umzusetzen war.' (Autorenreferat)'In Italy illegal drugs' consumption has become an issue on the public arena since the end of 1960. After a long period of time dominated by debates and discussions on heroin addicts, it is from the nineties on that four major consumer types appear on the drug scene. They consume, respectively, heroin (mainly adult males), ecstasy (young boys and girls), cocaine (socially integrated young adults), and marijuana (without a specific reference population). As to legislation and policies, in these four decades, one notices a 'to and fro' switch between a socio-health orientation and a quasi-prohibitionist standpoint, the latter becoming more dominant in the last decade. Many debates took place between, on one side, scientists, and experts, and, on the other side, politicians. Despite of the arguments adopted by the experts, the laws of 1990 and 2005 clearly show that the use of the topic of drug is the winning path to gain political consensus in favour of the prohibitionist point of view. It is not surprising that the centre-left government (2006-2008) has not realised the declared intention to implement policies willing to consider the complexity of this difficult issue.' (author's abstract

The barley chloroplast mutator (cpm) mutant: all roads lead to the Msh1 gene

The barley chloroplast mutator (cpm) is a nuclear gene mutant that induces a wide spectrum of cytoplasmically inherited chlorophyll deficiencies. Plastome instability of cpm seedlings was determined by identification of a particular landscape of polymorphisms that suggests failures in a plastome mismatch repair (MMR) protein. In Arabidopsis, MSH genes encode proteins that are in charge of mismatch repair and have anti-recombination activity. In this work, barley homologs of these genes were identified, and their sequences were analyzed in control and cpm mutant seedlings. A substitution, leading to a premature stop codon and a truncated MSH1 protein, was identified in the Msh1 gene of cpm plants. The relationship between this mutation and the presence of chlorophyll deficiencies was established in progenies from crosses and backcrosses. These results strongly suggest that the mutation identified in the Msh1 gene of the cpm mutant is responsible for the observed plastome instabilities. Interestingly, comparison of mutant phenotypes and molecular changes induced by the barley cpm mutant with those of Arabidopsis MSH1 mutants revealed marked differences.Instituto de GenéticaFil: Lencina, Franco Daniel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Landau, Alejandra Mabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Prina, Alberto Raul. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentin

una riflessione sull efficacia delle politiche preventive per il controllo dei consumi di bevande alcoliche

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The Current Status and Work of Three Rs Centres and Platforms in Europe*

The adoption of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes has given a major push to the formation of Three Rs initiatives in the form of centres and platforms. These centres and platforms are dedicated to the so-called Three Rs, which are the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal use in experiments. ATLA's 50th Anniversary year has seen the publication of two articles on European Three Rs centres and platforms. The first of these was about the progressive rise in their numbers and about their founding history; this second part focuses on their current status and activities. This article takes a closer look at their financial and organisational structures, describes their Three Rs focus and core activities (dissemination, education, implementation, scientific quality/translatability, ethics), and presents their areas of responsibility and projects in detail. This overview of the work and diverse structures of the Three Rs centres and platforms is not only intended to bring them closer to the reader, but also to provide role models and show examples of how such Three Rs centres and platforms could be made sustainable. The Three Rs centres and platforms are very important focal points and play an immense role as facilitators of Directive 2010/63/EU 'on the ground' in their respective countries. They are also invaluable for the wide dissemination of information and for promoting the implementation of the Three Rs in general

The Rise of Three Rs Centres and Platforms in Europe*

Public awareness and discussion about animal experiments and replacement methods has greatly increased in recent years. The term 'the Three Rs', which stands for the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal experiments, is inseparably linked in this context. A common goal within the Three Rs scientific community is to develop predictive non-animal models and to better integrate all available data from in vitro, in silico and omics technologies into regulatory decision-making processes regarding, for example, the toxicity of chemicals, drugs or food ingredients. In addition, it is a general concern to implement (human) non-animal methods in basic research. Toward these efforts, there has been an ever-increasing number of Three Rs centres and platforms established over recent years - not only to develop novel methods, but also to disseminate knowledge and help to implement the Three Rs principles in policies and education. The adoption of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes gave a strong impetus to the creation of Three Rs initiatives, in the form of centres and platforms. As the first of a series of papers, this article gives an overview of the European Three Rs centres and platforms, and their historical development. The subsequent articles, to be published over the course of ATLA's 50th Anniversary year, will summarise the current focus and tasks as well as the future and the plans of the Three Rs centres and platforms. The Three Rs centres and platforms are very important points of contact and play an immense role in their respective countries as 'on the ground' facilitators of Directive 2010/63/EU. They are also invaluable for the widespread dissemination of information and for promoting implementation of the Three Rs in general

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access