Justice Claims in UK Media Narratives: Normative Orientations and EU Migration Governance.

It is generally agreed that a massive influx of foreigners into a country is not only a social issue to be understood and managed, but also something that prompts strong sentiments and moral qualms. By associating the narratives that emerged recently in UK mainstream media, through which the British public \u2018made sense of\u2019 (im)migration, with specific conceptions of justice, it is possible to discern the normative premises of the country\u2019s response to (exceptional) movements of people within the EU migration system of governance. Remarkably, while migration narratives hinge to a large extent on the need to \u2018take back control\u2019 and \u2018defend\u2019 a threatened nation, the EU proves to be a problematic, yet very salient component of Britain\u2019s debate on immigration, which could continue even after the latter\u2019s progressive detachment from the Union

Changes in financial structure and industry product markets: An econometric analysis

This paper presents a micro-econometric model testing for changes in firms' product and pricing decisions in two American industries where leading companies have sharply increased their financial leverage. According to the latest econometric theory, the empirical analysis is carried out through an error-correction model (ECM) which allows to separate the long-term from the short-term relationship between variables. The results from estimating show that the average industry debt ratio is a significant variable in determining product price level. In the first industry there is a positive correlation between debt and output; in the second industry output is negatively associated with the average industry debt ratio. Findings from the empirical analysis not only show the significance of debt's proportion in firms' financial structure, but also point out the importance of linking different effects of debt to specific scenarios (rivals' low financial leverage, low entry barriers, etc.)

The relations between the EEAS and the European Commission in the EU\u2019s foreign policy system

The aim of this policy brief is to draw attention to some relevant features of the relations between the European Commission and the European External Action Service, based on their respective roles and competences within the framework of the post-Lisbon foreign policy system. In particular, this inter-institutional relation is observed through the lens of the intergovernmental - supranational dichotomy, in order to combine observations on the structural aspects of this interaction with the analysis of the politics determining the new top figures of the European institutions

Severe and moderate seasonal influenza epidemics among Italian healthcare workers: A comparison of the excess of absenteeism

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Flexibility and extracellular opening determine the interaction between ligands and insect sulfakinin receptors

Despite their fundamental importance for growth, the mechanisms that regulate food intake are poorly understood. Our previous work demonstrated that insect sulfakinin (SK) signaling is involved in inhibiting feeding in an important model and pest insect, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Because the interaction of SK peptide and SK receptors (SKR) initiates the SK signaling, we have special interest on the structural factors that influence the SK-SKR interaction. First, the three-dimensional structures of the two T. castaneum SKRs (TcSKR1 and TcSKR2) were generated from molecular modeling and they displayed significance in terms of the outer opening of the cavity and protein flexibility. TcSKR1 contained a larger outer opening of the cavity than that in TcSKR2, which allows ligands a deep access into the cavity through cell membrane. Second, normal mode analysis revealed that TcSKR1 was more flexible than TcSKR2 during receptor-ligand interaction. Third, the sulfated SK (sSK) and sSK-related peptides were more potent than the nonsulfated SK, suggesting the importance of the sulfate moiety

Climatic and anthropogenic factors explain the variability of Fagus sylvatica treeline elevation in fifteen mountain groups across the Apennines

Abstract Background Fagus sylvatica forms the treeline across the Apennines mountain range, with an average elevation of 1589 m a.s.l. Previous studies evidenced that the current position of the treeline in the Apennines is heavily depressed as a result of a complex interaction between climatic factors and the past human pressure. In this study we correlated treeline elevation in the fifteen major mountain groups in the Apennines with selected climatic, geomorphological, and human disturbance variables in order to investigate in detail the site-specific features affecting the current treeline distribution. Results Treeline elevation was lowest in the North Italy (Apuan Alps), while the highest treeline was found in Central Italy (Simbruini). An absolute maximum treeline elevation of F. sylvatica exceeding 2000 m a.s.l. was found on 13 mountain peaks in Central and Southern Italy. Noteworthy, treeline elevation was largely lower on warmer south-facing slopes compared to northern slopes, with values several hundred meters lower in the Gran Sasso and Velino-Sirente. Although the causes of this pattern are still unknown, we argue that treeline elevation on south-facing slopes may be limited by the combination of climatic constraints (i.e. summer drought) and human disturbance. Evidence of a pervasive anthropogenic effect depressing treeline elevation was found in the North (Apuan Alps) Central (Gran Sasso, Velino-Sirente, Sibillini) and Southern part of Apennines (Pollino). By contrast, treeline elevation of the Laga, Simbruini, and Orsomarso mountain groups appears less affected by past anthropogenic disturbance. Finally, we recorded in the several mountain groups (i.e. Majella, Marsicani and Pollino) the coexistence of very depressed treelines just a few kilometers away from much higher treelines, among the highest ever recorded for F. sylvatica. Conclusions Finally, we argue that F. sylvatica treeline across the Apennines is locally shaped both by the interaction of low temperatures experienced by the species in its earliest life stages in snow-free open spaces with summer soil water depletion and human disturbance

Estimation of sickness absenteeism among Italian healthcare workers during seasonal influenza epidemics

Analysis of absenteeism among healthcare workers (HCWs) at a large Italian hospital, and estimation of the increase in absenteeism that occurred during seasonal flu periods

Plasma fatty acid profile in Italian Holstein-Friesian dairy cows supplemented with natural polyphenols from the olive plant Olea Europaea L

This study evaluated the effects of supplementing with natural functional feed on the plasma fatty acid profile of lactating Italian Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. Thirty cows in mid-lactation received the natural olive extract PHENOFEED DRY (500 mg/cow/day) which mainly comprises hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and verbascoside. The total content of polyphenols and the antioxidant power of standard feed, enriched feed and pure extract was evaluated respectively by Folin-Ciocalteu and DPPH assay, and a characterization in HPLC-UV (High-Perfor mance Liquid Chromatography-Ultraviolet) of bioactive molecules present in the extract PHENOFEED DRY was performed. PHENOFEED DRY was provided for 60 days, and the plasma profile of fatty acids was determined by Gas Chromatography. The administration of enriched feed resulted in an increase in the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from 3:1 to 4:1 (p<0.001). This was not influenced by the calving order. The addition of polyphenols helped to keep monounsaturated (MUFA) and saturated (SFA) levels constant and results in a significant increase in polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acid after 15 days of administration. The Omega 6/Omega-3 ratio was in the optimal range. The findings show that inclusion of natural functional food such as plant polyphenols helps to maintain a healthy blood fatty acid profile in lactating dairy cow

A comprehensive view of a strongly lensed planck-associated submillimeter galaxy

Fu, Hai et al.We present high-resolution maps of stars, dust, and molecular gas in a strongly lensed submillimeter galaxy (SMG) at z = 3.259. HATLAS J114637.9–001132 is selected from the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) as a strong lens candidate mainly based on its unusually high 500 μm flux density (~300 mJy). It is the only high-redshift Planck detection in the 130 deg2 H-ATLAS Phase-I area. Keck Adaptive Optics images reveal a quadruply imaged galaxy in the K band while the Submillimeter Array and the Jansky Very Large Array show doubly imaged 880 μm and CO(1→0) sources, indicating differentiated distributions of the various components in the galaxy. In the source plane, the stars reside in three major kpc-scale clumps extended over ~1.6 kpc, the dust in a compact (~1 kpc) region ~3 kpc north of the stars, and the cold molecular gas in an extended (~7 kpc) disk ~5 kpc northeast of the stars. The emissions from the stars, dust, and gas are magnified by ~17, ~8, and ~7 times, respectively, by four lensing galaxies at z ~ 1. Intrinsically, the lensed galaxy is a warm (T dust ~ 40-65 K), hyper-luminous (L IR ~ 1.7 × 1013 L ☉; star formation rate (SFR) ~2000 M ☉ yr–1), gas-rich (M gas/M baryon ~ 70%), young (M stellar/SFR ~ 20 Myr), and short-lived (M gas/SFR ~ 40 Myr) starburst. With physical properties similar to unlensed z > 2 SMGs, HATLAS J114637.9–001132 offers a detailed view of a typical SMG through a powerful cosmic microscope.H.F., A.C., J.L.W., and S.K. acknowledge support from NSF CAREER AST-0645427. I.P.F. is supported by the Spanish grants ESP2007-65812-C02-02 and AYA2010-21697-C05-04. S.G.D. acknowledges partial support from the NSF grant AST-0909182. G.D.Z. and M.N. acknowledge support from ASI/INAF agreement I/072/09/0 (“Planck LFI Activity of Phase E2”) and from MIUR through the PRIN 2009.Peer Reviewe