Technological activity in the european regions

This paper investigates technological activity in the European regions. The analysis is based on a statistical databank set up by CRENoS on regional patenting at the European Patent Office spanning from 1978 to 2001 and classified by ISIC sectors at the 2 digit level. We consider 175 regions of 17 countries in Europe, the 15 members of the European Union plus Switzerland and Norway. An analysis of the spatial distribution of innovation activities in Europe is performed. Some global and local indicators for spatial association are presented, signaling the presence of a general dependence process in the distribution of the phenomena under examination. The analysis is implemented for different manufacturing sectors to assess for the presence of significant differences in the their spatial features. Moreover, the extent and strength of spatial externalities are evaluated for some subperiods spanning from the early eighties to the late nineties

The Uovo Di Colombo Lab: Designing Against Food Waste

Food waste is an increasingly central issue in our daily lives. It is estimated that, every year, a third of food produced for human consumption is wasted. Considering this, the paper illustrates the experience of the “Uovo di Colombo Lab”, a project offering training activities that address the issue of food waste along the entire food chain, with a particular focus on the phases of recovery, redistribution, processing, and consumption. A workshop organised into mobile kits and providing an assortment of low-tech professional equipment allows young students and members of the public to experience the food transformation processes. This is achieved by applying the circular economy principles in design, creative processes, and co-design methodologies

Opening the black box: How staff training and development may affect the innovation of enterprises

We describe a research on the interplay that appears to exist in companies between Human Resource Management and innovation. This complex, multicomponent, non-linear and dynamic interplay is often viewed as a "black box". To help open the black box, we outline both a theoretical framework and preliminary empirical data. We view innovation as an organization-level property, favored by the organization's self-perception as a knowledge engine. Therefore, we devised a protocol to study the companies' strategies for training and development and their innovation profile. The protocol consisted in a questionnaire with 100 closed questions, suitable for companies which rely mostly on an inner training and development service. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of Italian firms from the Food & beverages and Fashion markets. The results show that certain facets of training and development are indeed correlated to innovation. Finally, we discuss the results

Update of the Italian Seismic Catalog (2003-2007) Catalogo della Sismicità Italiana CSI v2.0

Earthquake catalogues are the basic tools that furnish parametric data for seismic hazard evaluation, studies on evolution of seismic sequences and earthquake occurrence. The INGV seismic network covers a large part of the italian region and it is complemented by several regional permanent network handled by other institutions. CSI results from the combination of INGV seismic bulletin with bulletins produced by other institutions. To update CSI from previous release to version 2.0 we collected seismic bulletins sent to INGV from, at present, 12 institutions managing permanent seismic networks during 2003-2007. Procedures to convert different file formats to PHS format as input files of Hypoellipse program have been setup that also perform preliminary checks on possible errors. To correctly merge different seismic bulletins it is mandatory to have a strict control on phase associations. To do this, additional procedures to identify earthquakes external to the interest area and wrong associations of different earthquakes based on geographic control network associations and stations' residuals after event location have been produced. About 35,000 eartquakes, a mean value of ~6600 earthquakes per year, with more than 600.000 P-phase arrivals and more then 250,000 S-phase arrivals have been collected and located with Hypoellipse. To enhance final locations quality we applied a multiple location approach and then selected the best among several calculated hypocentres for each event. Location criteria are based on the use of two different weighting schemes for stations' distance combined with several reference regional 1D velocity models. Native Ml Magnitudes from 2003 to 2007 are retrieved and then associated to the corresponding event from INGV bulletin. When native Ml is not available, Ml based on regression law by Castello et al. 2007, is attributed. The update of CSI catalog, also due to the strong improvement of the INGV seismic network between 2005 and present, offers a more complete image of the Italian seismicity and a new important reference for further studies on the evolution of this region and earthquake occurrence

Organic farming and measures for European agricultural policy

This book analyses the impact of the Agenda 2000 reform on the Common Agricultural Policy on organic farming - as one of the most established examples of environmentally freindly farming systems. The authors provide comparative assessments of the impact of first and second pillar measures on conventional and organic farms, analysing the impacts of direct payments, price support measures (agri-environmental measures, investment support, processing and marketing measures, training measures and Less Favoured Area support) for a range of countries and farm types. Finally, an outlook of possible effects of the CAP Reform 2003 on organic farming systems and recommendations on how to maximise the positive effects of agricultural policy on organic farming are given. This book provides policy makers, the private sector, researchers and students in the field of general and organic agricultural policy with the most comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of support for organic farms in the EU within the Agenda 2000 framework

Multiple pyogenic granuloma of the penis in a four-year-old child: a case report

Pyogenic granulomas are common, acquired, benign vascular lesions of the skin and mucous membranes that can develop both spontaneously and traumatically. We present a unique case of a four-year healthy, uncircumcised boy with multiple pyogenic granuloma on the mucous face of the penis foreskin. Although penile multiple pyogenic granulomas have previously been described in adults, there are no reports of similar problems in children. In this patient, the pathogenesis of the lesions is probably trauma related as reported in the anamnesis. Therapeutic options are discussed

The development and the impact of Organic Farming Policy in the European Regions (1998-2003)

This paper summarises the findings of WP 1.3 and WP 2 of the EU-CEEOFP project. Specifically, it presents the results of the analysis of the development and impact of Organic Farming Policy at the regional level in the EU-15

Effect of In Vitro Exposure of Corticosteroid Drugs, Conventionally Used in AMD Treatment, on Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of legal blindness in individuals over 60 years of age, characterized by the dysfunction of retinal pigmented epithelium cells, specifically in the macular area. Despite several treatment options, AMD therapy remains difficult, especially for exudative AMD. Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), with great plasticity and immunomodulant properties, are a promising cell source for cellular therapy and tissue engineering. We evaluated the effects of steroid drugs, often used to treat AMD, in association with MSCs, in view of a possible application together to treat AMD. Morphology, viability, growth kinetics, and immunophenotype were evaluated on healthy donors' MSCs, treated with triamcinolone acetonide, alcohol-free triamcinolone acetonide, micronized intravitreal triamcinolone and dexamethasone at different concentrations, and in a human retinal pigment epithelial cell line supernatant (ARPE-19). The morphological analysis of MSCs in their standard medium showed a negative correlation with drug concentrations, due to the numerous crystals. Dexamethasone was the least toxic corticosteroid used in this study. ARPE-19 seemed to help cells preserve the typical MSC morphology. In conclusion, this in vitro study demonstrated that high doses of corticosteroid drugs have a negative effect on MSCs, reduced in the presence of a conditioned media