Le Componenti della Soddisfazione delle Pubbliche Amministrazioni negli acquisti di beni e servizi: Un'Applicazione del Modello ECSI alla Realtà Consip

Obiettivo di questo lavoro è illustrare i risultati dell’indagine sulla customer satisfaction svolta dalla Consip S.p.a.. Per misurare la customer satisfaction è stato adottato il modello ECSI, dove la soddisfazione è intesa come un costrutto di natura multidimensionale non direttamente osservabile o misurabile e legato da relazioni di causalità con altri costrutti (immagine, attese, qualità percepita, valore percepito, fedeltà e reclami) anch’essi non direttamente osservabili, ma riconducibili a variabili osservate (manifeste). Lo studio delle relazioni complesse tra costrutti o variabili latenti viene effettuato per mezzo di un modello di causalità per il quale, definendo l’insieme di variabili manifeste (domande del questionario) e specificando le relazioni tra le variabili latenti (modello strutturale) e tra queste e le variabili manifeste (modello di misurazione), è possibile stimare e trattate le variabili latenti come se fossero manifeste

Sexually dimorphic gene expression in bovine conceptuses at the initiation of implantation

In cattle, maternal recognition of pregnancy occurs on Day 16 via secretion of interferon tau (IFNT) by the conceptus. The endometrium can distinguish between embryos with different developmental competencies. In eutherian mammals, X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) is required to ensure an equal transcriptional level of most X-linked genes for both male and female embryos in adult tissues, but this process is markedly different in cattle than mice. We examined how sexual dimorphism affected conceptus transcript abundance and amino acid composition as well as the endometrial transcriptome during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy. Of the 5132 genes that were differentially expressed on Day 19 in male compared to female conceptuses, 2.7% were located on the X-chromosome. Concentrations of specific amino acids were higher in the uterine luminal fluid of male compared to female conceptuses, while female conceptuses had higher transcript abundance of specific amino acid transporters (SLC6A19 and SLC1A35). Of note, the endometrial transcriptome was not different in cattle gestating a male or a female conceptus. These data support the hypothesis that, far from being a blastocyst specific phenomenon, XCI is incomplete before and during implantation in cattle. Despite differences in transcript abundance and amino acid utilization in male versus female conceptuses, the sex of the conceptus itself does not elicit a different transcriptomic response in the endometrium

Non-Equilibrium Statistical Physics of Currents in Queuing Networks

We consider a stable open queuing network as a steady non-equilibrium system of interacting particles. The network is completely specified by its underlying graphical structure, type of interaction at each node, and the Markovian transition rates between nodes. For such systems, we ask the question ``What is the most likely way for large currents to accumulate over time in a network ?'', where time is large compared to the system correlation time scale. We identify two interesting regimes. In the first regime, in which the accumulation of currents over time exceeds the expected value by a small to moderate amount (moderate large deviation), we find that the large-deviation distribution of currents is universal (independent of the interaction details), and there is no long-time and averaged over time accumulation of particles (condensation) at any nodes. In the second regime, in which the accumulation of currents over time exceeds the expected value by a large amount (severe large deviation), we find that the large-deviation current distribution is sensitive to interaction details, and there is a long-time accumulation of particles (condensation) at some nodes. The transition between the two regimes can be described as a dynamical second order phase transition. We illustrate these ideas using the simple, yet non-trivial, example of a single node with feedback.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure

Microbial-driven preterm labour involves crosstalk between the innate and adaptive immune response

There has been a surge in studies implicating a role of vaginal microbiota in spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), but most are associative without mechanistic insight. Here we show a comprehensive approach to understand the causative factors of preterm birth, based on the integration of longitudinal vaginal microbiota and cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) immunophenotype data collected from 133 women at high-risk of sPTB. We show that vaginal depletion of Lactobacillus species and high bacterial diversity leads to increased mannose binding lectin (MBL), IgM, IgG, C3b, C5, IL-8, IL-6 and IL-1β and to increased risk of sPTB. Cervical shortening, which often precedes preterm birth, is associated with Lactobacillus iners and elevated levels of IgM, C3b, C5, C5a and IL-6. These data demonstrate a role for the complement system in microbial-driven sPTB and provide a scientific rationale for the development of live biotherapeutics and complement therapeutics to prevent sPTB

Growth Patterns of Residual Tumor in Preoperatively Growing Vestibular Schwannomas

Objectives To analyze growth of residual vestibular schwannoma (VS) following incomplete tumor resection and determine the influence of residual location and size. Design Retrospective case note and scan review. Setting Tertiary skull base unit. Participants Patients with residual tumor following primary surgery for medium and large unilateral growing vestibular schwanomas between 2006 and 2009. Main Outcome Measures Location of residual VS and post-operative growth, comparing those with more (&gt;5%) or less than 5% of tumor residual (&lt;5%). Results Fifty-two patients had visible residual tumor left behind at surgery. Twenty had &lt; 5% and 32 had &gt; 5% residual. The residual growth rates were 38% overall, 20% in &lt; 5%, and 50% in &gt; 5% residuals. There was no significant difference in growth rates at different residual locations. Median follow-up was 6.4 years. Conclusions There is a greater risk of regrowth of residuals &gt; 5%. All positions of residual tumor can regrow, and the preoperative tumor size plays a role in this. Further data is needed to confirm if residual tumor in the fundus is less likely to grow.</jats:p