Divestitures as Retrenchment Strategies: a Corporate Governance Perspective

How Is Divestiture Mode Choice Related To Value Creation? A Review and Research Agenda. Overlapping Directors and Underpricing of Divested Firms. Value Creation Through Equity Carve Outs: Board Composition Insights.How Is Divestiture Mode Choice Related To Value Creation? A Review and Research Agenda. Overlapping Directors and Underpricing of Divested Firms. Value Creation Through Equity Carve Outs: Board Composition Insights.LUISS PhD Thesi

Fibrinogen concentrate in surgery

Fibrinogen is a plasma glycoprotein synthesised by the liver which plays a critical role in haemostasis by acting as an endogenous substrate for fibrin formation and by inducing clot formation and platelet aggregation

The Italian Regulatory Guidelines for the implementation of Patient Blood Management

Comment in Towards the implementation of patient blood management across Europe. [Blood Transfus. 2017

A protocol for a multicentre, parallel-group, pragmatic randomised controlled trial to evaluate the NEVERMIND system in preventing and treating depression in patients with severe somatic conditions

Background Depressive symptoms are common in individuals suffering from severe somatic conditions. There is a lack of interventions and evidence-based interventions aiming to reduce depressive symptoms in patients with severe somatic conditions. The aim of the NEVERMIND project is to address these issues and provide evidence by testing the NEVERMIND system, designed to reduce and prevent depressive symptoms in comparison to treatment as usual. Methods The NEVERMIND study is a parallel-groups, pragmatic randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of the NEVERMIND system in reducing depressive symptoms among individuals with severe somatic conditions. The NEVERMIND system comprises a smart shirt and a user interface, in the form of a mobile application. The system is a real-time decision support system, aiming to predict the severity and onset of depressive symptoms by modelling the well-being condition of patients based on physiological data, body movement, and the recurrence of social interactions. The study includes 330 patients who have a diagnosis of myocardial infarction, breast cancer, prostate cancer, kidney failure, or lower limb amputation. Participants are randomised in blocks of ten to either the NEVERMIND intervention or treatment as usual as the control group. Clinical interviews and structured questionnaires are administered at baseline, at 12 weeks, and 24 weeks to assess whether the NEVERMIND system is superior to treatment as usual. The endpoint of primary interest is Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) at 12 weeks defined as (i) the severity of depressive symptoms as measured by the BDI-II. Secondary outcomes include prevention of the onset of depressive symptoms, changes in quality of life, perceived stigma, and self-efficacy. Discussion There is a lack of evidence-based interventions aiming to reduce and prevent depressive symptoms in patients with severe somatic conditions. If the NEVERMIND system is effective, it will provide healthcare systems with a novel and innovative method to attend to depressive symptoms in patients with severe somatic conditions. Trial registration DRKS00013391. Registered 23 November 2017

Introduzione alle misure con smartphone: esperienza di misura dell'accelerazione gravitazionale g con l'uso di un pendolo semplice

Viene descritta l’attività svolta, di supporto al progetto "LAB2GO”: aiuto alla diffusione della pratica laboratoriale nella scuola" che ha permesso di realizzare un’esperienza di Fisica per la misura dell'accelerazione gravitazionale "g" con l’uso di uno smartphone. Nella relazione vengono spiegate le tecniche sperimentali utilizzate ed indicati i risultati ottenuti effettuando misure di oscillazioni di pendoli, semplici realizzati per l'occasione, sfruttando diverse app sviluppate per smartphone. Viene infine indicata un'analisi critica dei risultati ottenuti con suggerimenti per chiunque volesse ripetere e migliorare l'esperienza

The NEVERMIND e-health system in the treatment of depressive symptoms among patients with severe somatic conditions: A multicentre, pragmatic randomised controlled trial

Background This study assessed the effectiveness of the NEVERMIND e-health system, consisting of a smart shirt and a mobile application with lifestyle behavioural advice, mindfulness-based therapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy, in reducing depressive symptoms among patients diagnosed with severe somatic conditions. Our hypothesis was that the system would significantly decrease the level of depressive symptoms in the intervention group compared to the control group. Methods This pragmatic, randomised controlled trial included 425 patients diagnosed with myocardial infarction, breast cancer, prostate cancer, kidney failure, or lower limb amputation. Participants were recruited from hospitals in Turin and Pisa (Italy), and Lisbon (Portugal), and were randomly assigned to either the NEVERMIND intervention or to the control group. Clinical interviews and structured questionnaires were administered at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks. The primary outcome was depressive symptoms at 12 weeks measured by the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). Intention-to-treat analyses included 425 participants, while the per-protocol analyses included 333 participants. This trial is registered in the German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00013391. Findings Patients were recruited between Dec 4, 2017, and Dec 31, 2019, with 213 assigned to the intervention and 212 to the control group. The sample had a mean age of 59·41 years (SD=10·70), with 44·24% women. Those who used the NEVERMIND system had statistically significant lower depressive symptoms at the 12-week follow-up (mean difference=-3·03, p<0·001; 95% CI -4·45 to -1·62) compared with controls, with a clinically relevant effect size (Cohen's d=0·39). Interpretation The results of this study show that the NEVERMIND system is superior to standard care in reducing and preventing depressive symptoms among patients with the studied somatic conditions. Funding The NEVERMIND project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 689691

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5-11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12-18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19-25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased from one in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons. In conclusion, we designed an RT-qPCR assay capable to detect the Omicron variant, which can be successfully used for the purpose of wastewater-based epidemiology. We also described the history of the introduction and diffusion of the Omicron variant in the Italian population and territory, confirming the effectiveness of sewage monitoring as a powerful surveillance tool

Politics and Christianity in Aquileia in the Fourth Century A.D

Gentili Sara. Politics and Christianity in Aquileia in the Fourth Century A.D. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 61, 1992. pp. 192-208