An Overview of Italian Gaming The State of the Industry

In recent years, the field of gambling in Italy has registered significant growth and Italians have demonstrated high propensity to play. The purpose of this article is to analyze the dynamics of such growth, in particular of the sectors that have developed more than others, and the effect of State policies and regulations on decisions taken by economic operators. From our research, it emerges that the gambling sector has been affected by a complex and contradictory State normative policy. Despite the fact that the Italian legal system allows only four casinos to operate, contradictory State polices throughout the years have determined a significant expansion of the offer of games but also resulted in a disparity of treatment of different sectors of the gaming industry

FGM, mandatory reporting and the complexity of culture

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(Un)anticipated monetary policy in a DSGE model with a shadow banking system : [Version 21 Juni 2012]

Motivated by the U.S. events of the 2000s, we address whether a too low for too long interest rate policy may generate a boom-bust cycle. We simulate anticipated and unanticipated monetary policies in state-of-the-art DSGE models and in a model with bond financing via a shadow banking system, in which the bond spread is calibrated for normal and optimistic times. Our results suggest that the U.S. boom-bust was caused by the combination of (i) too low for too long interest rates, (ii) excessive optimism and (iii) a failure of agents to anticipate the extent of the abnormally favorable conditions

Ultrasound in spinal anaesthesia - is there a place?

L'anestesia subaracnoidea è una tecnica ampiamente diffusa e praticata. La tecnica generalmente viene eseguita alla “cieca”; tramite la palpazione cutanea della regione dorso lombare si identificano i reperi anatomici, i processi spinosi, e si procede all’introduzione dell’ago atraumatico alla ricerca dello spazio subaracnoideo. La non sempre facile identificazione dei reperi anatomici di riferimento, come ad esempio nel paziente obeso, la presenza di patologia del rachide (scoliosi, artrosi, etc) ed esiti di interventi chirurgici (laminectomia, stabilizzazione vertebrale) possono talvolta rendere difficile l’esecuzione di tale tecnica; gli eventuali ripetuti tentativi costituiscono da un lato un aumento del disagio per il paziente e dall’altro un aumento del rischio di complicanze quali parestesie, cefalea postpuntura durale, ematomi spinali. La tecnica con ultrasuoni è ecoassistita, ovvero l’anestesia subaraconoidea viene eseguita dopo aver effettuato uno scanning della regione dorso-lombare al fine di identificare gli elementi anatomici. La possibilità di identificare ecograficamente la posizione della dura madre tra le due vertebre e la sua profondità può rendere l'esecuzione della tecnica più sicura e più semplice da eseguire, anche in condizioni particolari con ovvi vantaggi conseguenti. La letteratura inerente all’argomento è crescente e non ancora dirimente sul fatto che gli ultrasuoni possano effettivamente giovare all’esecuzione della anestesia subaracnoidea nella pratica quotidiana. Mentre gli ultrasuoni sono ormai ampiamente utilizzati in tutti gli ospedali per eseguire i blocchi nervosi periferici ed esiste abbondante letteratura che ne suggerisce l’impiego routinario, non esiste ad oggi una letteratura conclusiva sul loro utilizzo nell’anestesia neuro assiale

Genetic background of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and how it is linked to development of lung cancer

Kronična opstruktivna plućna bolest (KOPB) sistemski je poremećaj obilježen opstrukcijom gornjih dišnih puteva koja se pogoršava tijekom napredovanja bolesti. Novija istraživanja pokazuju da je KOPB među glavnim uzrocima smrtnosti u svijetu, odmah iza kardiovaskularnih i malignih bolesti. Smatra se da je pušenje glavni faktor rizika za razvoj bolesti, slično kao i kod raka pluća, ali samo određeni postotak pušača razvija bolest. Ta činjenica ukazuje na moguće postojanje dodatnih čimbenika rizika, npr. genetička podloga pojedinca. Akutna pogoršanja bolesti kod pacijenata koji pate od KOPB-a često su povezana s virusnim i bakterijskim infekcijama. Najčešći komorbiditet kod pacijenata s KOPB-om je rak pluća koji se već od prije povezuje s nekontroliranom lokalnom i sistemskom upalom. Cilj ovog istraživanja je ispitati postoji li genetička povezanost polimorfnih biljega rs352139 gen TLR9 i rs4251545 gen IRAK4 s nastankom i razvojem raka pluća kod osoba koje boluju od KOPB-a. Zanimalo nas je koje su to genetičke promjene u skupini ispitanika sa KOPB-om odgovorne za nastanak raka pluća, najčešćeg komorbiditeta (30%) KOPB-a i postoji li genetička povezanost ovih bolesti s genima koji sudjeluju u aktivaciji i regulaciji imunosnog odgovora. U tu svrhu, ispitali smo raspodjelu genotipova unutar gena TLR9 i IRAK4 u navedenim skupinama i pratili učinak spola i dobi ispitanika. Naši rezultati pokazuju postojanje značajne razlike u raspodjeli genotipa A/G i alela A, polimorfnog biljega rs352139 gena TLR9, između skupina s KOPB-om i onih koji imaju KOPB i rak pluća, koja je neovisna o dobi i spolu.Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a systemic obstructive lung disease which worsens over time. Recent studies indicate that COPD is one of the most common causes of death worldwide and that it follows closely cardiovascular and malignant diseases. It is believed that the primary risk factor for COPD is tobacco smoking, which is similar to lung cancer, but only a certain percentage of those who are smokers develop the disease. This shows that there could be other additional risk factors such as an individual genetic background. Acute exacerbations, hallmark of patients who suffer from COPD, are often related to viral and bacterial infections. On the other hand, lung cancer, which has already been related to uncontrolled local and systemic inflammation, is the most common comorbidity reported in patients with COPD. The goal of this research was to explore if there is a genetic linkage of the polymorphisms rs352139 TLR9 gene and rs425154 IRAK4 gene with occurrence and development of lung cancer in COPD patients. We wanted to know which genetic changes, within the COPD subject group, could be responsible for the occurrence of lung cancer, which is the most common comorbidity in patients with COPD (30%), and if these genetic changes could be found among genes which participate in the activation and regulation of the immune response. For this purpose we analyzed the distribution of genotypes of TLR9 and IRAK4 genes within the indicated subject groups. Gender and age possible effect were also included. Our results show that there is a significant difference in distribution of the A/G genotype and allele A of polymorphism rs352139 TLR9 gene among patients with COPD and those with COPD together with lung cancer

Information for human resource management

This chapter emphasises the need for a routine information system for Human Resources Management (HRM). It provides an assessment of the current information system for HRM using a case study approach. It also outlines a suggested approach for the development of a Routine Information System with an Essential Data Set for HRM. Finally, it provides an overview of proposed indicators to produce information for the management and monitoring of Human Resources for the health sector

Note on the Culture of Lychnis Embryos

The additional literature cited in two recent reviews by White (2, 3) indicates the growing interest in tissue culture since his original review (1) of the subject in 1931. Although embryo culture is not tissue culture in the true sense of the word, the approach to the problems and the technics employed, are so similar that White has summarized the literature on embryo culture, and all other studies approaching a true tissue culture, in these articles. The present study was begun in an attempt to obtain normal plants from immature Lychnis embryos dissected from developing seeds. Although immature embryos of other genera have been cultured, primarily those of the Gramineae and Cruciferae, apparently no effort has been made to culture embryos of any genera of the Caryophyllaceae