Fascismo: organizzazione dello Stato e sistema economico

Il paper analizza il rapporto tra organizzazione dello Stato e sistema economico, verificando se al processo di costruzione dello Stato totalitario ne corrisponda uno analogo nel campo delle politiche e delle istituzioni economiche. La tesi argomentata suggerisce che la politica economica del regime è la fusione di strategie gia' presenti in eta' liberale e dell’adesione al mainstream affermatosi dopo il 1929 in tutta l’area del capitalismo, che assegna alla presenza dello Stato in economia un peso crescente. Il paper conclude che, eccettuato il corporativismo, non e' esistito un progetto originale di trasformazione ne' delle politiche ne' delle istituzioni economiche.

For the sake of development? Municipal government and local development in Emilia-Romagna and Turin (1945-1975)

This paper (1) examines two areas of Italy, with very different political subcultures and production systems,with the aim of making a comparative analysis of the role of local government policies in stimulating growth processesover the thirty-year post war period.Historians now agree that the policies of Italian local governments were a major factor in the processes ofeconomic growth and the spread of social services. They acted through a highly varied mix of policies, includingregulatory processes (town planning, coordinated local programming, etc.), operations enabling institutions to providethe local environment with specific public goods (industrial estates, business services etc.) as well as redistributionpolicies (i.e. the setting up and spread of local welfare systems and local tax systems).This influential steering role of local administrations, marked in some cases by the gradual inception ofspecific institutional authoritativeness, was not distributed uniformly over the whole of Italy and there were significantasymmetries between areas.A comparative analysis is made of the "Emilia-Romagna model" of local government, controlled by an ItalianCommunist hegemony in a context of small and medium sized firms, and the model of the city of Turin, which was basedon an industrial Ford model because of the presence of the Fiat factory. The two models are compared from theperspective of actors and their different interests. Our aim is to gauge the nature and intensity of the local institutionalactions that accompanied and promoted the processes of development

L'esperienza di decentramento istituzionale in Italia e lo sviluppo locale

Il paper rappresenta un primo passo verso una riflessione organica sul tema del decentramento istituzionale in relazione al problema dello sviluppo locale in un’ottica temporale di lungo periodo (partendo cioè dall’unificazione del Regno d’Italia) e intreccia tra loro più piani di analisi: dalle vicende che riguardano gli assetti istituzionali della nazione (sospesi costantemente all’interno del dibattito tra accentramento e decentramento) a quelle che riguardano invece la concreta attività degli enti politici periferici. L’analisi mostra come all’interno di un quadro istituzionale storicamente caratterizzato da un forte accentramento statale, emergano tuttavia i fili di una costante ricerca di protagonismo da parte delle istituzioni politiche locali, le quali, in modo particolare sebbene non esclusivo negli anni repubblicani, “forzano” i limiti normativi dei propri spazi di intervento, facendosi carico direttamente – seppure con intensità e modalità differenti nelle diverse aree territoriali del paese – dei problemi dello sviluppo economico locale.

Istituzioni, sviluppo e sistema sociale: il caso padano

Il paper prende in esame il rapporto tra l’attivita' delle istituzioni locali e i processi dello sviluppo economico, soffermandosi su tre indicatori specifici: 1) la produzione di beni pubblici; 2) la realizzazione di politiche economiche “locali”; 3) la strutturazione di sistemi di welfare locali. L’ambito territoriale analizzato abbraccia il segmento centrale dell’Emilia (Parma, Reggio Emilia e Modena) in una prospettiva di “lunga durata” (il primo settantennio del ‘900). Il paper si sofferma su numerosi elementi empirici che accreditano la rilevanza di tali interventi pubblici per sostenere lo sviluppo economico e per amplificarne gli effetti.

A new PCR based molecular method for early and precise quantification of parasitization in the emerging olive pest Dasineura oleae

BACKGROUND: Dasineura oleae (Angelini 1831) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) was considered a minor pest in olive orchards, but in recent years severe outbreaks have been registered in several Mediterranean countries. Damage is caused by the feeding activity of larvae that induce gall formations and alters the physiological activity of the leaves. In Italy, this pest may be controlled by four Hymenoptera parasitoid species belonging to Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera such as Platygaster demades Walker 1835, Platygaster oleae Szelenyi 1940 (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), Mesopolobus aspilus (Walker 1835) and Mesopolobus mediterraneus (Mayr 1903) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), but parasitization becomes evident only after gall dissection. RESULTS: In this study, we aim to: (i) design a primer for the detection of specimens belonging to Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera; (ii) develop a multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) protocol combined to a fast samples DNA extraction method; (iii) apply the developed protocol to field-collected specimens and compare this method with traditional techniques based on visual estimation of parasitism rate on larvae. Primers were designed to anneal with cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences of Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera while protocols were developed to be fast and capable to process several samples at the same time. Molecular analyses demonstrated to provide almost double of the parasitism rate assessed by visual inspection. Furthermore, on second instar larvae the PCR-based method was able to detect ten-fold times the parasitization rate estimated by visual inspection. CONCLUSION: The application on a greater scale of this newly developed method could be fundamental in the determination of the biological control potential in olive orchards

The Association Between Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors and Colorectal Cancer in a National Cohort of Patients

INTRODUCTION: To examine the association between phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor use and incidence of colorectal cancer among patients with erectile dysfunction treated in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study using the Veterans Affairs Informatics and Computing Infrastructure was conducted, with data spanning January 2001-December 2016. Patients were followed up from index until (i) the first diagnosis of colorectal cancer, (ii) death, or (iii) the end of study period. Statistical analyses evaluated demographics and baseline characteristics between cohorts (PDE-5 exposed or not) and the effect of additional dosages of each specific PDE-5 inhibitor using adjusted multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: A total of 221,538 patients met the study inclusion criteria, 192,691 patients in the PDE-5 cohort and 29,227 patients in the never use PDE-5 cohort. The multivariate Cox proportional hazards model results revealed that the those who had any exposure to a PDE-5 inhibitor have an 18% lower hazard of colorectal cancer (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.816, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.754-0.882). For each additional 100-mg dosage of sildenafil and 10-mg dosage of tadalafil, the hazard of colorectal cancer is reduced by 2.4% (adjusted HR = 0.976, 95% CI = 0.973-0.979) and 1.7% (adjusted HR = 0.983, 95% CI = 0.972-0.996), respectively. DISCUSSION: PDE-5 inhibitor usage in patients with erectile dysfunction is associated with a lower hazard of colorectal cancer compared with patients not exposed to PDE-5 inhibitors

Influence of cover crop termination on ground dwelling arthropods in organic vegetable systems

open7noA key aspect in cover crop management is termination before the cash crop is planted. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of termination methods on ground-dwelling arthropods. The conventional mechanical termination method—i.e., green manuring by means of a disc harrow—was compared to flattening using a roller crimper. Two different crop systems were investigated for two growing seasons; cauliflower was grown in autumn after the termination of a mixture of cowpea, pearl millet, and radish, and tomato was cropped in spring and summer after the termination of a mixture of barley and vetch. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), and spiders (Araneae) were sampled by means of standard pitfall traps throughout the growing season of both cash crops. The roller crimper increased the overall abundance of ground beetles in the first growing season of both cash crops, whereas in the second year, no significant effect could be detected. Rove beetles were more abundant in plots where the cover crops were terminated by the roller crimper. Finally, green manuring increased the abundance of spiders, especially on the first sampling date after cover crop termination. Albeit different taxa showed different responses, the termination of cover crops by a roller crimper generally increased the abundance of ground dwelling arthropods. Given that most of the sampled species were generalist predators, their increased abundance could possibly improve biological control.openDepalo L.; Burgio G.; Magagnoli S.; Sommaggio D.; Montemurro F.; Canali S.; Masetti A.Depalo L.; Burgio G.; Magagnoli S.; Sommaggio D.; Montemurro F.; Canali S.; Masetti A

Designing acceptance single sampling plans:An optimization-based approach under generalized beta distribution

The availability of information that suppliers possess about the production process, as well as about the technical and economic consequences for customers, encourages the development and application of acceptance sampling plans that follow economic criteria, such as the Bayesian ones proposed in the literature. The combination of prior knowledge described by the prior distribution and empirical knowledge based on the sample leads to the decision to accept or reject the lot under inspection. The main purpose of this study was to derive acceptance sampling plans for attributes based on a prior generalized beta distribution following the economic criterion to minimize the expected total cost of quality. Specifically, a procedure is proposed to define the optimal sampling plan based on the technical characteristics of the production process and the costs inherent in the quality of the product. After the methodological aspects are described in detail, an extensive simulation study is reported that demonstrates how the optimal plan changes according to the main parameters, providing guidance for practitioners

Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy

Reliable monitoring of arthropod diversity in a given agroecosystem is essential for the conservation of the related ecosystem services, such as biological control. The often daunting complexity of arthropod collection and identification, however, highlights the need for surrogate taxa that can be easily sampled and be representative of a number of other taxa in term of diversity, general community features and specific composition. In this study, we used pitfall traps to sample three ground-dwelling arthropod taxa important as biocontrol agents (ground beetles, rove beetles and spiders) in 9 conventionally managed maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy over the course of two years, with the goal of characterizing their assemblages and evaluating their reciprocal potential as indicators of activity density, species richness, community turnover and species co-occurrence. Although dominated by few generalist species, sampled arthropod communities were relatively species-rich, and included the first Italian record of the spider Zelotes metellus (Roewer) (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Ground beetles as a group were confirmed as promising indicators for the species richness and community composition turnover of rove beetles and spiders. Additionally, several abundant arthropod species acted as indicators of the species richness of their respective groups, and the ground beetle Pterostichus macer (Marsham) also worked as an indicator of overall rove beetle activity density. While the co-occurrence of individual arthropod species was limited for the studied taxa, a few species such as the ground beetle Parophonus maculicornis (Duftschmid) did show promise as species-specific bioindicators. Our results could be useful in improving the monitoring and management of these important natural enemies in maize-growing regions

SMARCB1/INI1 loss in skull base conventional chordomas: a clinicopathological and molecular analysis

Introduction: The loss of SMARCB1/INI1 protein has been recently described in poorly differentiated chordoma, an aggressive and rare disease variant typically arising from the skull base. Methods: Retrospective study aimed at 1) examining the differential immunohistochemical expression of SMARCB1/INI1 in conventional skull base chordomas, including the chondroid subtype; 2) evaluating SMARCB1 gene deletions/copy number gain; and 3) analyzing the association of SMARCB1/INI1 expression with clinicopathological parameters and patient survival. Results: 65 patients (35 men and 30 women) affected by conventional skull base chordoma, 15 with chondroid subtype, followed for >48 months after surgery were collected. Median age at surgery was 50 years old (range 9-79). Mean tumor size was 3.6 cm (range 2-9.5). At immunohistochemical evaluation, a partial loss of SMARCB1/INI1 (>10% of neoplastic examined cells) was observed in 21 (32.3%) cases; the remaining 43 showed a strong nuclear expression. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis was performed in 15/21 (71.4%) cases of the chordomas with partial SMARCB1/INI1 loss of expression. Heterozygous deletion of SMARCB1 was identified in 9/15 (60%) cases and was associated to copy number gain in one case; no deletion was found in the other 6 (40%) cases, 3 of which presenting with a copy number gain. No correlations were found between partial loss of SMARCB1/INI1 and the clinicopathological parameters evaluated (i.e., age, tumor size, gender, tumor size and histotype). Overall 5-year survival and 5-year disease-free rates were 82% and 59%, respectively. According to log-rank test analysis the various clinico-pathological parameters and SMARCB1/INI1 expression did not impact on overall and disease free-survival. Discussion: Partial loss of SMARCB1/INI1, secondary to heterozygous deletion and/or copy number gain of SMARCB1, is not peculiar of aggressive forms, but can be identified by immunohistochemistry in a significant portion of conventional skull base chordomas, including the chondroid subtype. The variable protein expression does not appear to correlate with clinicopathological parameters, nor survival outcomes, but still, it could have therapeutic implications