“Disguised in scarlet”. Hume and Turin in 17481

Archive Research concerning the following subjects: Hume in Turin (8 May - 29 November 1748) as secretary and aide-de-camp to General St Clair. St Clair's mission and correspondence (his letters written by Hume). Hume's account of plains and fortifications (the principle of sympathy). Hume's maladay and religion. 'Of National Characters' and Hume's reading of Montesquieu's Esprit. Hume and Lord Charlemont

Exposing the Children: Montesquieu, Hume and something "pretty unusual"

To expose or to kill the children is an ancient Greek and a modern Chinese practice, which is caused by poverty and the terror of too numerous a family. Is it more barbarous than the modern French custom of closing children into convents? Is it more unfavourable to the population? In the name of an «odd connexion of causes» and the «force of natural affection», Hume argues that the practice of the ancient Greeks is «almost as innocent and more effectual » than that of the French, and «might rather render those times more populous». A short account of the interpretations of the practice in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, and a survey of Hume’s sources in "A Dialogue" and "Of the Populousness of Antient Nations", show the singularity of Hume’s view, which was, as he politely puts it, «not altogether in opposition» to Montesquieu

Federalism, Party Competition and Budget Outcome: Empirical Findings on Regional Health Expenditure in Italy

In the last decade, Italy has experienced a considerable decentralization of functions to the regions. This transformation has been especially relevant for the National Health System that has de facto assumed a federal system design. The federal reform aimed at disciplining public health expenditure, which drains a substantial share of the budget of Italian regions and is among the main causes of the regional deficits. Political economic analysis, however, suggests that impact of federalism on public expenditure depends on central and local government strategies to win in the electoral competition. Results derived in this preliminary study indicate that political competition actually works as a tool of fiscal discipline; it shows a restraining effect on public health expenditure.Fiscal federalism; local budget; multi-level policy-making; public expenditure; political competition; health economics

Chapter Aria di casa. Du Bos e il carattere delle piante-nazione

Plants-Nations have very different characters in different countries or in different ages in the same country; like wines, in every terroir they have a particular taste and always preserve it, though some years are better than others. Everything depends upon the air and its qualities. It is a home air, but it is not always the same. National characters are the product of a (changeable) balance between identity and diversity, permanent general elements and variations in time. Jean-Baptiste Du Bos’ Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture, first published in 1719, attempt to keep this balance and present themselves as an indispensable reading for those who want to discuss national characters and their causes even in 1748, when Montesquieu published the Esprit des lois and Hume Of National Characters

Mille choses de sa part. Hume, Ramsay and Beccaria

At the end of 1765 Morellet wrote to Hume: «I send you 3 copies of my translation of the book de’ delitti». A few days afterwards he informed Beccaria that Hume «desires me to tell you one thousand things for him». To justify his translation Morellet appeals to Hume’s authority: he «read the original and the translation with great care» and «approved of my freedom in translating it». In his works and letters Hume never mentions Beccaria: what about the «one thousand things» that he is supposed to have told Morellet about Dei delitti? Were they close to those that Ramsay mentioned to Diderot? What did Hume think about the theory of original contract and the abolishment of capital punishment

Geochemical tracers in complex hydrogeological settings: the Roccamonfina volcanic vs. mt. massico sedimentary aquifers (southern Italy)

Volcanic aquifers, sedimentary basins, hydrogeochemistry, hydrogeology, isotopic composition

Federalism, Party Competition and Budget Outcome: Empirical Findings on Regional Health Expenditure in Italy

In the last decade, Italy has experienced a considerable decentralization of functions to the regions. This transformation has been especially relevant for the National Health System that has de facto assumed a federal system design. The federal reform aimed at disciplining public health expenditure, which drains a substantial share of the budget of Italian regions and is among the main causes of the regional deficits. Political economic analysis, however, suggests that impact of federalism on public expenditure depends on central and local government strategies to win in the electoral competition. Results derived in this preliminary study indicate that political competition actually works as a tool of fiscal discipline; it shows a restraining effect on public health expenditure

Polytherapy in bone regeneration: clinical applications and preliminary considerations.

Polytherapy, namely the simultaneous application of three fundamental elements necessary for bone regeneration (growth factors, osteogenic cells and osteocnductive scaffolds) seems to lead to a very high success rate in the treatment of complex non-union (NU) cases and critical bone defects. NU are reported in 5–10% of long bone fractures. The use of autologous bone grafts has been long-considered the gold standard for the treatment of these cases. However the harvesting procedure from the iliac crest increases surgery time and presents some donor site complications which may be elevated. In recent years, surgeons have some alternatives to autologous grafting such as: application of organic or synthetic bone substitute, application of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) or growth factors (GF). In the literature there are many studies available about their application in monotherapy, but unfortunately the healing rate doesn't exceed 90%. Polytherapy seems to be a logical option to improve the healing rate, nevertheless, there are not still extensive studies that validate this strategy and moreover, some questions are not resolved

Treatment of Non-Union and Bone Loss of Tibial Pilon

Non-union is a fracture with no healing potential without a further surgical procedure. Diagnosis of non-union can be done in case of healing failure from 6 to 9 months after the first fracture. We consider appropriate to keep the attention of the reader on the relevance that more frequent traumatic mechanisms have in relationship with evolution and eventual failure of healing processes. In literature, non-union mean rate for tibial pilon fractures is around 5% independently from the synthesis technique used; as main causes we can recognize a significant fracture’s comminution ad eventual bone loss, vascular damage, and local infection. Risk factors can be divided into two big groups: factors proper of the patient at the moment of injury (age, diseases, drugs, smoke, etc.) and characteristics of the trauma itself (comminution and dislocation of fragments, involvement of soft tissues, topography, distance between fragments). Tibial pilon fractures are mainly caused by high-energy trauma. This kind of dynamic determines not only more serious damage to the bone, but often cause damage of the surrounding tissues. Following important lesions of the periosteum and of the vascular network and after a suboptimal synthesis caused by comminution and dislocation of fragments is frequent with the evolution toward a bad bone healing process. Bone healing was, in the last 50 years, argument of intense research activity. The incidence of non-union is growing steadily, although principles and materials of synthesys are well standardized. Recently it has been codified the “diamond concept,” which clarified different appliances mechanical and biological, these distinguished between cells, scaffolds, and growth factors. Under the mechanical profile, it must be restored the spectrum of stability that consider the set of bone and synthesis implanted. The spectrum of stability interprets Wolf’s law providing indications on the need to modulate the rigidity of the synthesis in reason of the level of instability of the pseudoarthrosis itself. During the years several kinds of non-union classifications have been proposed. The most widespread until now is the one proposed by Weber–Cech in 1976, which distinguishes vital forms (hypertrophic and oligotrophic) from non-vital forms (atrophic). In 2007 a new score classification system has been processed, which is the “Non-Union Scoring System (NUSS),” which divides patients in four big groups by score awarded based on the real non-healing risk. The NUSS represents an innovative approach to the problem because it understand the multifactorial reasons of failure, explains why in a variable percentage of cases (depending from de district affected), the healing is not obtained, even with a correct treatment and above all make possible the drafting of a therapeutic choice algorithm. Biotechnologies at our disposal are synthetic growth factors, the autologous growth factors and platelet-rich plasma, mesenchymal stem cells, and scaffolds or bone substitute. The biologic chamber represent the ideal site for bone regeneration; it is a bio-reactor in which are present all those elements at the base of the concept of diamond. The chamber needs to be aseptic, vital, mechanically stable, and sealed but selectively permeable. Thanks to the use of megaprosthesis not only in oncologic orthopaedics, but also it is now possible to avoid the amputation or long and often inconclusive treatment of lengthening or ankle arthrodesis. The new frontier in treatment of non-unions will be genetic therapy, that is, the possibility to transport to the patient those genes that con drive to the formation of good bone callus and his maturation toward strong bone