Entry and Exit of Nonprofit Organizations

The latest census of Italian nonprofit organizations \u2013 compared with the previous one \u2013 showed a significant development of the nonprofit sector between 2001 and 2011. The number of organizations increased more than 28 % while the growth of employees (about 61 %) was even more impressive. These results notwithstanding, the mere comparison of aggregate census data does not give a true understanding of the dynamic of the sector. The entry and exit of organizations, as well as their migration between different sectors of activity, or geographical areas, can be analyzed properly only using firm-level panel data, but these data are rarely available so that only a few authors had a chance to use them. In this paper, we try to fill this gap using firm-level panel data for the first time in Italy. Our analysis tempers the optimism arising from aggregate data. We show that: a) part of the growth is determined by the emergence of already active organizations that were not detected a decade ago; b) because of low barriers, the entry of new nonprofit organizations is very relevant, but their net contribution to the growth of employment is quite small; c) opposite to what happened in other countries, the exit of nonprofit organizations is very significant, and d) organizations that were already active a decade ago gave the most important contribution to the growth of employment. We also investigate geographical trends, showing that the slower growth of the nonprofit sector in Southern Italy depends on the very high exit rate of the area, while the entry rate is more or less in line with the rest of the countr

Entry and Exit of Nonprofit Organizations. An investigation with Italian census data

The latest census of Italian nonprofit organizations \u2013 compared with the previous one - showed a significant development of the nonprofit sector between 2001 and 2011. The number of organizations increased more than 28% while the growth of employees (about 61%) was even more impressive. These results notwithstanding, the mere comparison of aggregate census data does not give a true understanding of the dynamic of the sector. In particular, the entry and exit of organizations, as well as their migration between different sectors of activity, or geographical areas, cannot be detected with aggregate data. In this paper, we try to fill this gap using \u2013 for the first time \u2013 census micro-data. Our analysis tempers the optimism arising from the reading of aggregate data. We show that organizations that were already active a decade ago gave the most important contribution to the growth of employment, while newly created organizations were not as relevant

National, Sectorial, and Geographic Trends with Italian Census Data

AbstractThe latest census of Italian nonprofit organizations – compared with the previous one – showed a significant development of the nonprofit sector between 2001 and 2011. The number of organizations increased more than 28 % while the growth of employees (about 61 %) was even more impressive.These results notwithstanding, the mere comparison of aggregate census data does not give a true understanding of the dynamic of the sector. The entry and exit of organizations, as well as their migration between different sectors of activity, or geographical areas, can be analyzed properly only using firm-level panel data, but these data are rarely available so that only a few authors had a chance to use them. In this paper, we try to fill this gap using firm-level panel data for the first time in Italy. Our analysis tempers the optimism arising from aggregate data. We show that: a) part of the growth is determined by the emergence of already active organizations that were not detected a decade ago; b) because of low barriers, the entry of new nonprofit organizations is very relevant, but their net contribution to the growth of employment is quite small; c) opposite to what happened in other countries, the exit of nonprofit organizations is very significant, and d) organizations that were already active a decade ago gave the most important contribution to the growth of employment. We also investigate geographical trends, showing that the slower growth of the nonprofit sector in Southern Italy depends on the very high exit rate of the area, while the entry rate is more or less in line with the rest of the country

Human neural stem cell transplantation in ALS: initial results from a phase I trial

We report the initial results from a phase I clinical trial for ALS. We transplanted GMP-grade, fetal human neural stem cells from natural in utero death (hNSCs) into the anterior horns of the spinal cord to test for the safety of both cells and neurosurgical procedures in these patients. The trial was approved by the Istituto Superiore di Sanit\ue0 and the competent Ethics Committees and was monitored by an external Safety Board

Validation of 34betaE12 immunoexpression in clear cell papillary renal cell carcinoma as a sensitive biomarker

Clear cell papillary renal cell carcinoma (CCPRCC) is a recently recognised neoplasm with a broad spectrum of morphological characteristics, thus representing a challenging differential diagnosis, especially with the low malignant potential multicystic renal cell neoplasms and clear cell renal cell carcinoma. We selected 14 cases of CCPRCC with a wide spectrum of morphological features diagnosed on morphology and CK7 immunoreactivity and analysed them using a panel of immunohistochemical markers, focusing on 34 beta E12 and related CKs 1,5,10 and 14 and several molecular analyses such as fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH), VHL methylation, VHL and TCEB1 sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). Twelve of 13 (92%) CCPRCC tumours were positive for 34 beta E12. One tumour without 3p alteration by FISH revealed VHL mutation and 3p deletion at aCGH; thus, it was re-classified as clear cell RCC. We concluded that: (1) immunohistochemical expression of CK7 is necessary for diagnostic purposes, but may not be sufficient to identify CCPRCC, while 34 beta E12, in part due to the presence of CK14 antigen expression, can be extremely useful for the recognition of this tumour; and (2) further molecular analysis of chromosome 3p should be considered to support of CCPRCC diagnosis, when FISH analysis does not evidence the common loss of chromosome 3p.Peer reviewe

Beni comuni. Quarto rapporto sulla cooperazione sociale in Italia

A dieci anni dalla prima edizione, il quarto rapporto sulla cooperazione sociale aggiorna e amplia il quadro conoscitivo su uno dei più innovativi fenomeni imprenditoriali, che ha contribuito ad arricchire il panorama delle istituzioni sociali del paese.- Indice #5- Premessa di Marco Demarie #13- Presentazione di Corrado Passera #15- Prefazione di Vilma Mazzocco e Johnny Dotti #21- Cap.I La cooperazione sociale in Italia: tendenze evolutive e scenari di sviluppo, Flaviano Zandonai #33- Cap.II Un quadro teorico sull’impresa sociale, Carlo Borzaga #55- Cap.III Le traiettorie di sviluppo della cooperazione sociale, Gianfranco Marocchi #75- Cap.IV Imprenditorialità sociale tra innovazione e controllo dei mercati, Nereo Zamaro #107- Cap.V Cooperazione sociale e Mezzogiorno, Marco Musella #139- Cap.VI Le culture organizzative della cooperazione sociale: identità in movimento, Luca Fazzi e Sandro Stanzani #151- Cap.VII La cooperazione sociale nella rete del welfare locale, Sergio Pasquinelli #187- Cap.VIII I benefici individuali dei lavoratori svantaggiati nelle imprese sociali, Carlo Borzaga, Monica Loss e Domenico Zalla #207- Cap.IX Cooperazione sociale e qualità dei servizi, Giuseppe Scaratti #237- Cap.X La cooperazione sociale in una prospettiva di genere, Barbara Moreschi #265- Cap.XI Cooperativa sociale come impresa sociale? Le condizioni di imprenditorialità nel terzo settore, Michele Andreaus #285- Cap.XII Oltre il contracting out: nuove forme di relazione con le amministrazioni pubbliche, Franco Dalla Mura #319- Cap.XIII Finalità e organizzazione delle cooperative sociali: alcune indicazioni dal nuovo diritto societario, Antonio Fici #349- Cap.XIV L’impresa sociale in Italia: una quantificazione del fenomeno, Stefano Cima #377- Cap.XV Le condizioni di sviluppo delle imprese sociali nelle regioni del Centro-Nord, Carlo Borzaga e Mariangela Mongera #405- Cap.XVI Dal volontariato all’impresa sociale, Gabriella Bartolomeo e Flaviano Zandonai #439- Cap.XVII L’impresa sociale in Europa: alcuni spunti di comparazione, Paola Iamiceli #457- Cap.XVIII La nuova legge sull’impresa sociale, Felice Scalvini #485- Bibliografia #49

TBT and calmodulin: love at first sight or occasional flirt?

TBT, widely used as antifouling biocide, is the most abundant pesticide in coastal environment. One of its main toxic effect is immunosuppression in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the presence of sublethal doses of TBT, phagocytes loose their ability to move towards and ingest foreign particles and to trigger a respiratory burst. In cultured haemocytes of marine invertebrates, such as molluscs and ascidians, we reported a dose- and time-dependent disorganisation of cytoskeleton morphology by TBT. Since TBT can antagonise the effect of chlorpromazine, a specific calmodulin (CaM) inhibitor, and the co-presence of exogenous CaM and TBT in the incubation medium resulted in the absence of effects, we hypothesised an interaction of TBT with CaM: TBT could subtract endogenous CaM to cell proteins thus inactivating them and altering Ca2+ homeostasis. According to this view, we observed the inactivation of Ca2+-ATPase and a sustained increase in cytosolic calcium in the presence of the pesticide. In order to further support our hypothesis of a direct TBT-CaM interaction, we studied conformational changes of pure CaM in the presence of various concentrations of TBT and its degradation products, DBT and MBT, by circular dichroism (CD). Results obtained suggest a dose- and time-dependent non-specific interaction of TBT with the hydrophobic core of CaM. Conversely, DBT and MBT resulted less active in inducing CaM conformational changes, without any significant difference between the two compounds

Il settore nonprofit italiano in prospettiva comparata

The paper compares the Italian nonprofit sector with the same sector in other developed countrie

Le dimensioni economiche

The paper illustrates the economic impact of the Italian nonprofit secto

The impact of energy audits on energy efficiency investment of public owners. Evidence from Italy

Buildings are a promising area of energy savings, but a difference exists between actual and optimal investment in this field. The so called \u2018information gap\u2019 about the costs and benefits of energy-saving activities could explain the difference. Audit programs have been undertaken to overcome the \u2018information gap\u2019 but, surprisingly, most papers analyzing the impact of audits on the adoption of energysaving measures use faulty methods that could provide biased results. In this paper we fill this gap of the energy literature. First, we introduce robust counterfactual methods to analyze the impact of energy-saving policies; second, we apply these methods to investigate the impact of the free-funding of audits on the energy-saving investments of local public administrations, a neglected area of investigation. As opposite to most of the literature, we cannot identify any statistically significant effect of the audits either on the number of energy-saving interventions or on the resources devoted to these activities by local public administrations. We believe that, in the field of public non-residential buildings, information is not sufficient to fostering public investments aimed at increasing energy efficiency. As a policy consequence, public resources should consider different tools, including those aimed at reducing the cost of investments