Wind farms, farmland occupation and compensation: Evidences from landowners’ preferences through a stated choice survey in Italy

The willingness to accept the construction of wind farms on private properties is investigated using a latent class model approach. This type of research is required in view of the frequent conflicts between landowners and system operators, who often pay little in easement compensation. This study highlights the fact that the acceptance of wind farms is a multifaceted issue comprising aspects relating to socioeconomics, farm type, territory, and past experience. In particular, the compensation claimed by landowners depends on the property's size, the number of turbines, the crop, the presence of surrounding wind farms, natural impacts, the landscape configuration, land fragmentation, land agreements, the presence of other wind towers on the property, and past experience with system operators concerning transparency and participation in the siting and planning phases. Stakeholders should take these factors into account to develop energy policies based on clear, and well-structured processes concerning the siting, planning, construction, and management of wind farms, in order to prevent conflict and to benefit the community and environment

Gold( i )-catalyzed addition of aldehydes to cyclopropylidene bearing 6-aryl-1,5-enynes

A diastereoselective, gold-catalyzed cascading cycloisomerization of alkylidene cyclopropane bearing 1,5-enynes that terminates in a cyclo-addition of aldehydes has been developed

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in cancer prevention and therapy

Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be regarded as an effective approach for cancer chemoprevention, as demonstrated by a bulk of clinical and experimental evidence. However, the clinical use of these drugs as chemopreventive agents is limited by many open questions about the optimal drug, dose, duration of therapy and knowledge about the mechanism(s) by which these drugs act. In particular, the recent data on cardiovascular toxicity of coxibs has posed some limitations on the use of NSAIDs for cancer chemoprevention in the general population. The situation is different in certain genetically susceptible subgroups, such as in individuals with genetic mutations associated with hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) or familiar adenomatous polyps (FAP) in whom lifetime risk increases up to 70-90% and in whom the benefit of a chemopreventive drug might justify its use even in the presence of adverse effects

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in cancer prevention and therapy

Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be regarded as an effective approach for cancer chemoprevention, as demonstrated by a bulk of clinical and experimental evidence. However, the clinical use of these drugs as chemopreventive agents is limited by many open questions about the optimal drug, dose, duration of therapy and knowledge about the mechanism(s) by which these drugs act. In particular, the recent data on cardiovascular toxicity of coxibs has posed some limitations on the use of NSAIDs for cancer chemoprevention in the general population. The situation is different in certain genetically susceptible subgroups, such as in individuals with genetic mutations associated with hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) or familiar adenomatous polyps (FAP) in whom lifetime risk increases up to 70-90% and in whom the benefit of a chemopreventive drug might justify its use even in the presence of adverse effects

Il Monitoraggio sismici della Valtiberina: l'attivita' svolta dall'INGV nell'ambito della convenzione con la Regione Toscana

Nel corso degli ultimi tre anni la Valtiberina Toscana è stata oggetto di una convenzione fra Regione Toscana e INGV riguardante il monitoraggio sismico e la valutazione di pericolosità dei centri urbani maggiormente significativi dell’area. L’attività, svolta principalmente dall’Osservatorio sismologico di Arezzo, si è sviluppata su diverse tematiche: • Ricerca dei siti per l’installazione di tre stazioni sismiche permanenti facenti parte della Rete Sismica Nazionale; • Individuazione del sito e installazione di una stazione sismica in pozzo nell’area urbana di Sansepolcro; • Installazione di una rete sismica urbana per lo studio delle amplificazioni locali nella città di Sansepolcro • Esperimento di caratterizzazione della risposta sismica locale della Valle Verranno presentate le attività svolte e i risultati ottenuti dagli esperimenti realizzati. Le attività descritte sono state realizzate nell’ambito della Convenzione fra Regione Toscana e INGV denominata: “Monitoraggio sismico e valutazione della pericolosità sismica in centri urbani significativi dei comuni della Valtiberina

Caregiver distress in the early phases of cancer

Principal caregivers (PCs) of cancer patients experience high levels of stress that may significantly impact their quality of life (QoL). PCs' QoL during early phases of the disease (when patients were still on chemotherapy) were assessed

Caregiver distress in the early phases of cancer

Principal caregivers (PCs) of cancer patients experience high levels of stress that may significantly impact their quality of life (QoL). PCs' QoL during early phases of the disease (when patients were still on chemotherapy) were assessed

Botulinum toxin A treatment for primary hemifacial spasm - A 10-year multicenter study

BACKGROUND: Botulinum toxin A (BTX) is the currently preferred symptomatic treatment for primary hemifacial spasm (HFS), but its long-term efficacy and safety are not known. OBJECTIVE: To assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of BTX in the treatment of primary HFS. DESIGN: Retrospective review of medical records of the 1st and 10th years of treatment. SETTING: Outpatient clinics of 4 Italian university centers in the Italian Movement Disorders Study Group. PARTICIPANTS: A series of 65 patients with primary HFS who had received BTX injections regularly for at least 10 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean duration of improvement and quality of the effect induced by the preceding treatment (measured using a patient self-evaluation scale) and occurrence and duration of adverse effects in the 1st and 10th years of treatment. RESULTS: Using a mean BTX dose per treatment session similar to that used by others, we obtained a 95% response rate and an overall mean duration of improvement of 12.6 weeks during year 1. The effectiveness of BTX in relieving the symptoms of primary HFS, as measured by the response rate and average duration of improvement, remained unchanged in the 1st and 10th years. Patients needed statistically similar BTX doses in the 1st and 10th years. The rate of local adverse effects (including upper lid ptosis, facial weakness, and diplopia) diminished significantly in the 10th year of treatment. CONCLUSION: Treatment with BTX effectively induces sustained relief from symptoms of HFS in the long term, with only minimal and transient adverse reactions

Serum sE-selectin levels and carcinoembryonic antigen mRNA-expressing cells in peripheral blood as prognostic factors in colorectal cancer patients

This study analyzed the possible prognostic value of presurgical serum soluble (s)E-selectin levels and/or carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) mRNA positivity in predicting the disease-free survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients