Gender and time allocation of cohabiting and married women and men in France, Italy, and the United States.

PubMed

Bianchi, Suzanne; Lesnard, Laurent; Nazio, Tiziana; Raley, Sara

2014-07-11

Women, who generally do more unpaid and less paid work than men, have greater incentives to stay in marriages than cohabiting unions, which generally carry fewer legal protections for individuals that wish to dissolve their relationship. The extent to which cohabitation is institutionalized, however, is a matter of policy and varies substantially by country. The gender gap in paid and unpaid work between married and cohabiting individuals should be larger in countries where cohabitation is less institutionalized and where those in cohabiting relationships have relatively fewer legal protections should the relationship dissolve, yet few studies have explored this variation. Using time diary data from France, Italy, and the United States, we assess the time men and women devote to paid and unpaid work in cohabiting and married couples. These three countries provide a useful diversity in marital regimes for examining these expectations: France, where cohabitation is most "marriage like" and where partnerships can be registered and carry legal rights; the United States, where cohabitation is common but is short-lived and unstable and where legal protections vary across states; and Italy, where cohabitation is not common and where such unions are not legally acknowledged and less socially approved than in either France or the United States. Cohabitating men's and women's time allocated to market and nonmarket work is generally more similar than married men and women. Our expectations about country differences are only partially borne out by the findings. Greater gender differences in the time allocated to market and nonmarket work are found in Italy relative to either France or the U.S.

Gender and time allocation of cohabiting and married women and men in France, Italy, and the United States

PubMed Central

Bianchi, Suzanne; Lesnard, Laurent; Nazio, Tiziana; Raley, Sara

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Women, who generally do more unpaid and less paid work than men, have greater incentives to stay in marriages than cohabiting unions, which generally carry fewer legal protections for individuals that wish to dissolve their relationship. The extent to which cohabitation is institutionalized, however, is a matter of policy and varies substantially by country. The gender gap in paid and unpaid work between married and cohabiting individuals should be larger in countries where cohabitation is less institutionalized and where those in cohabiting relationships have relatively fewer legal protections should the relationship dissolve, yet few studies have explored this variation. OBJECTIVE Using time diary data from France, Italy, and the United States, we assess the time men and women devote to paid and unpaid work in cohabiting and married couples. These three countries provide a useful diversity in marital regimes for examining these expectations: France, where cohabitation is most “marriage like” and where partnerships can be registered and carry legal rights; the United States, where cohabitation is common but is short-lived and unstable and where legal protections vary across states; and Italy, where cohabitation is not common and where such unions are not legally acknowledged and less socially approved than in either France or the United States. RESULTS Cohabitating men’s and women’s time allocated to market and nonmarket work is generally more similar than married men and women. Our expectations about country differences are only partially borne out by the findings. Greater gender differences in the time allocated to market and nonmarket work are found in Italy relative to either France or the U.S. PMID:25404866

77 FR 18266 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines; Revised...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-27

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731-TA-865-867 (Second Review)] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines; Revised Schedule for the Subject Reviews AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice. DATES: Effective Date: March...

Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-8 Countries: 2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherman, Joel D.; Honegger, Steven D.; McGivern, Jennifer L.

This report presents a set of education indicators that describes how the United States education system compares with those of the other G-8 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom. The data were collected from three main sources: the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's…

RCPE (Research Committee on Political Education Bulletin). No. 14-16, 1986.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Claussen, Bernhard, Ed.

1988-01-01

This bulletin, produced by Research Committee on Political Education (RCPE), contains three articles, two conference reports, book reviews, and membership information. "Fantasy and Vengeance: Observations on the Origins of Right-Wing Violence in Italy and in the United States" (L. Weinberg) examines the rise of neo-fascism in Italy and…

48 CFR 252.229-7003 - Tax Exemptions (Italy).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... contract number. (ii) The IVA tax exemption claimed pursuant to Article 72 of Decree Law 633, dated October... 91000190933 for Air Force]. (2)(i) Upon receipt of the invoice, the paying office will include the following... expenditures made in Italy for the Common Defense by the United States Government pursuant to international...

48 CFR 252.229-7003 - Tax Exemptions (Italy).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... contract number. (ii) The IVA tax exemption claimed pursuant to Article 72 of Decree Law 633, dated October... 91000190933 for Air Force]. (2)(i) Upon receipt of the invoice, the paying office will include the following... expenditures made in Italy for the Common Defense by the United States Government pursuant to international...

48 CFR 252.229-7003 - Tax Exemptions (Italy).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... contract number. (ii) The IVA tax exemption claimed pursuant to Article 72 of Decree Law 633, dated October... 91000190933 for Air Force]. (2)(i) Upon receipt of the invoice, the paying office will include the following... expenditures made in Italy for the Common Defense by the United States Government pursuant to international...

48 CFR 252.229-7003 - Tax Exemptions (Italy).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... contract number. (ii) The IVA tax exemption claimed pursuant to Article 72 of Decree Law 633, dated October... 91000190933 for Air Force]. (2)(i) Upon receipt of the invoice, the paying office will include the following... expenditures made in Italy for the Common Defense by the United States Government pursuant to international...

76 FR 56797 - Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate From India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and Korea; Revised...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-14

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 701-TA-388-391 and 731-TA-817-821 ;Second Review] Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate From India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and Korea; Revised schedule for the subject reviews. AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice...

Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-8 Countries: 2006. NCES 2007-006

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, David C.; Sen, Anindita; Malley, Lydia B.

2007-01-01

This report describes how the education system in the United States compares with education systems in the other Group of Eight (G-8) countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The report draws on the most current information about education from three primary sources: the Indicators of…

G-7 countries : transportation highlights

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-11-01

This report provides summary statistics on the physical characteristics, use, and performance of transportation networks in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan--the Group of Seven (G-7) countries. Data on ...

An international comparison of the association among literacy, education, and health across the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, and Bermuda: implications for health disparities.

PubMed

Yamashita, Takashi; Kunkel, Suzanne R

2015-04-01

The relationship between education and health is well-established, but theoretical pathways are not fully understood. Economic resources, stress, and health behaviors partially explain how education influences health, but further study is needed. Previous studies show that health literacy mediates the education-health relationship, as do general literacy skills. However, little is known whether such mediation effects are consistent across different societies. This study analyzed data from the International Assessment of Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey conducted in Canada, the United States, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and Bermuda to investigate the mediation effects of literacy on the education-health relationship and the degree of such mediation in different cultural contexts. Results showed that literacy skills mediated the effect of education on health in all study locations, but the degree of mediation varied. This mediation effect was particularly strong in Bermuda. This study also found that different types of literacy skills are more or less important in each study location. For example, numeracy skills in the United States and prose (reading) literacy skills in Italy were stronger predictors of health than were other literacy skills. These findings suggest a new direction for addressing health disparities: focusing on relevant types of literacy skills.

Defense Acquisition Reform, 19602009: An Elusive Goal

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-31

the seven largest economies of the world (United States, China, Japan, Germany , France, United Kingdom, and Italy).11 Major weapon systems...and to a lesser extent, Germany ) compared with that of the United States was an im- portant reason for Japan’s higher rate of productivity growth...professions and areas of expertise. DoD vetted prospects from non-defense businesses such as insurance and cruise lines, from organized labor, and

Infants in Italy: An Evaluation of Other Than Mother Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Helen Warren

As more and more women return to the work force while their children are but infants, care other than by the mothers and outside the families' own homes has become an issue of major importance in the United States. In Europe, however, most governments subsidize infant care for mothers working outside the home. One country, Italy, has provided…

Agreement in Mother and Father Acceptance-Rejection, Warmth, and Hostility/Rejection/Neglect of Children across Nine Countries

PubMed Central

Putnick, Diane L.; Bornstein, Marc H.; Lansford, Jennifer E.; Chang, Lei; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Di Giunta, Laura; Gurdal, Sevtap; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Malone, Patrick S.; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta; Skinner, Ann T.; Sorbring, Emma; Tapanya, Sombat; Uribe Tirado, Liliana Maria; Zelli, Arnaldo; Alampay, Liane Peña; Al-Hassan, Suha M.; Bacchini, Dario; Bombi, Anna Silvia

2011-01-01

We assessed whether mothers’ and fathers’ self-reports of acceptance-rejection, warmth, and hostility/rejection/neglect (HRN) of their pre-adolescent children differ cross-nationally and relative to the gender of the parent and child in 10 communities in 9 countries, including China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States (N = 998 families). Mothers and fathers in all countries reported a high degree of acceptance and warmth, and a low degree of HRN, but countries also varied. Mothers reported greater acceptance of children than fathers in China, Italy, Sweden, and the United States, and these effects were accounted for by greater self-reported warmth in mothers than fathers in China, Italy, the Philippines, Sweden, and Thailand and less HRN in mothers than fathers in Sweden. Fathers reported greater warmth than mothers in Kenya. Mother and father acceptance-rejection were moderately correlated. Relative levels of mother and father acceptance and rejection appear to be country specific. PMID:23024576

Pharmaceutical Price Controls and Minimum Efficacy Regulation: Evidence from the United States and Italy

PubMed Central

Atella, Vincenzo; Bhattacharya, Jay; Carbonari, Lorenzo

2012-01-01

Objective This article examines the relationship between drug price and drug quality and how it varies across two of the most common regulatory regimes in the pharmaceutical market: minimum efficacy standards (MES) and a mix of MES and price control mechanisms (MES + PC). Data Sources Our primary data source is the Tufts-New England Medical Center-Cost Effectiveness Analysis Registry which have been merged with price data taken from MEPS (for the United States) and AIFA (for Italy). Study Design Through a simple model of adverse selection we model the interaction between firms, heterogeneous buyers, and the regulator. Principal Findings The theoretical analysis provides two results. First, an MES regime provides greater incentives to produce high-quality drugs. Second, an MES + PC mix reduces the difference in price between the highest and lowest quality drugs on the market. Conclusion The empirical analysis based on United States and Italian data corroborates these results. PMID:22091623

High-Performance Computing: High-Speed Computer Networks in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Report to Congressional Requesters.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Information Management and Technology Div.

This report was prepared in response to a request from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for information on efforts to develop high-speed computer networks in the United States, Europe (limited to France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United…

International Survey in Eight Countries about Teachers and Teaching Profession: Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Libya, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, United States of America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chistolini, Sandra

2010-01-01

An international team of experts from Belgium, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and the USA employed a questionnaire to identify the deontology of teachers from infant to secondary school in eight countries. The survey was implemented between 2004 and 2007. The socio-cultural concept of "Verstehen" (understanding) as described in the work…

A snapshot of the emerging tomato genome sequence

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The genome of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is being sequenced by an international consortium of 10 countries (Korea, China, the United Kingdom, India, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Spain, Italy and the United States) as part of a larger initiative called the ‘International Solanaceae Genome Proje...

Mineral resource of the month: lead

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guberman, David

2004-01-01

The United States is a major producer and consumer of refined lead, representing almost one quarter of total world production and consumption. Two mines in Alaska and six in Missouri accounted for 97 percent of domestic lead production in 2002. The United States also imports enough refined lead to satisfy almost 20 percent of domestic consumption. Other major producers or consumers of refined lead in the world are Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Advances in the identification of adulterated cereals and cereal products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This book chapter addresses the most common occurrences of adulteration in the cereal grains, the regulations in place by countries (such as the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, India, and the European Union), and the methodologies by which detection and quantification of the contaminant are ma...

International High Level Nuclear Waste Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dreschhoff, Gisela; And Others

1974-01-01

Discusses the radioactive waste management in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the USSR. Indicates that scientists and statesmen should look beyond their own lifetimes into future centuries and millennia to conduct long-range plans essential to protection of future generations. (CC)

An Analysis of Unemployment and Other Labor Market Indicators in 10 Countries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moy, Joyanna

1988-01-01

Compares unemployment, employment, and related labor market statistics in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Introduces employment-to-population ratios by sex and discusses unemployment rates published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and…

The Higher Education System: Academic Organization in Cross-National Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Burton R.

Basic elements of the higher education system are considered, along with variations across nations (the United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, Italy, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Australia, Canada, the United States, Poland, Yugoslavia, Mexico, and Thailand). Three basic elements of the organization of higher education system are identified:…

Preschool and Im/migrants in Five Countries: England, France, Germany, Italy and United States of America. Early Childhood and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tobin, Joseph, Ed.

2016-01-01

A significant and growing percentage of the children enrolled in early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs in Europe and the United States are children of recent im/migrants. For most young (3-5 years old) children of parents who have come from other countries, ECEC settings are the first context in which they come face to face with…

The United Nations Human Rights Council: Issues for Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-31

members from African states; 12 from Asian states; five from Eastern European states; 11 from Latin America and Caribbean states; and 10 from Western...states; 13 from Asian states; six from Eastern Europe states; eight from Latin America and the Caribbean states; and seven from Western European and...available); Bolivia and Nicaragua in the Latin American and Caribbean group (two seats available); and Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands in the

A critique of social capital.

PubMed

Navarro, Vicente

2002-01-01

This article critiques the concepts of communitarianism and social capital as used in the United States and in Europe. For the United States, the author focuses on Robert Putnam's understanding of both concepts, showing that the apolitical analysis of the Progressive Era, of the progressive developments in Northern Italy, and of the situation of labor unions in the United States is not only insufficient but wrong. The critique also includes the difference between U.S. communitarianism and its European versions, Christian democracy and New Labour, and the limitations of both approaches. The uses and misuses of these concepts in the political debate are discussed.

Are Skills the Answer? The Political Economy of Skill Creation in Advanced Industrial Countries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crouch, Colin; Finegold, David; Sako, Mari

This book analyzes vocational education and training (VET) systems in seven advanced industrial countries (AICs) to determine institutional arrangements for skills creation most promising in attaining the learning society. The AICs are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, and Sweden. Chapter 1 discusses special problems of…

Geographic and Occupational Mobility of Rural Manpower. Documentation in Agriculture and Food, 75.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bishop, C. E.

Comparative statistics and the interaction of a group of experts provide the base for this study of occupational and geographic mobility of agricultural manpower. The countries studied were Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Emphasis was placed upon the transfer…

Inclusive Education at Work: Students with Disabilities in Mainstream Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labon, Don

This report details a study of how inclusive practices for students with disabilities are being developed and implemented in eight countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The study aimed to describe national, regional, and local policies on inclusion and school-based practices and…

Facing Future Users--The Challenge of Transforming a Traditional Online Database into a Web Service.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolonen, Eva

The Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE) agreement included 19 member countries spanning four continents: Japan and the Republic of Korea; Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; Canada, Mexico, and the United States; and Brazil. The participating…

A World of Difference: A Global Survey of University League Tables. Canadian Education Report Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Usher, Alex; Savino, Massimo

2006-01-01

In this document we discuss 19 university league tables and ranking systems from around the world. Sixteen of these are "national" league tables collected from ten countries (Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States); three are "international" or…

School Chemistry, Trends in Reform, Selected Topics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chisman, D. G.

Trends, from 1960 to 1963, in the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States of America are outlined in the first part of this report of a 1963 working session on the teaching of school…

Family Policy in the US, Japan, Germany, Italy and France: Parental Leave, Child Benefits/Family Allowances, Child Care, Marriage/Cohabitation, and Divorce. A Briefing Paper Prepared by the Council on Contemporary Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henneck, Rachel

Within the last 50 years, the work-family-household arrangements upon which social policy systems in industrial nations were formulated have disappeared. This briefing paper examines how social policies of the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, and France have responded. The paper is presented in two major sections. The first section describes…

Unemployment in Nine Industrial Nations, 1973-75

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moy, J.; Sorrentino, C.

1975-01-01

The article compares unemployment, employment, and other labor market indicators in the United States with the available indicators of the eight nations of Canada, Australia, Japan, France, West Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, and Italy. (Author)

Gay and lesbian couples in Italy: comparisons with heterosexual couples.

PubMed

Antonelli, Paolo; Dèttore, Davide; Lasagni, Irene; Snyder, Douglas K; Balderrama-Durbin, Christina

2014-12-01

Assessing couple relationships across diverse languages and cultures has important implications for both clinical intervention and prevention. This is especially true for nontraditional relationships potentially subject to various expressions of negative societal evaluation or bias. Few empirically validated measures of relationship functioning have been developed for cross-cultural applications, and none have been examined for their psychometric sufficiency for evaluating same-sex couples across different languages and cultures. The current study examined the psychometric properties of an Italian translation of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory - Revised (MSI-R), a 150-item 13-scale measure of couple relationship functioning, for its use in assessing the intimate relationships of gay and lesbian couples in Italy. Results for these couples were compared to data from heterosexual married and unmarried cohabiting couples from the same geographical region, as well as to previously published data for gay, lesbian, and unmarried heterosexual couples from the United States. Findings suggest that, despite unique societal pressures confronting Italian same-sex couples, these relationships appear resilient and fare well both overall and in specific domains of functioning compared to heterosexual couples both in Italy and the United States. © 2014 Family Process Institute.

Smart Power: The United States, Iran, and a Nuclear Deal

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-22

fighter aircraft to the Arabian Peninsula.2 1Aljazeera, “Iranian fighters ’fired on US drone in Gulf’,” http://www.aljazeera.com /news/middleeast...declared the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) nationalized on May 1, and in return promised compensation . He set up the National Iranian Oil...Italy, Japan, and the United States. 23Bill, 16. 24William O. Beeman, The “Great Satan” vs. the “ Mad Mullahs (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing

Socially Disadvantaged Students in Socially Disadvantaged Schools: Double Jeopardy in Mathematics Achievement in the G8 Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dundas, Traci Lynne

2010-01-01

Using the G8 countries' (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States) samples from the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), this study aimed to explore the phenomenon of double jeopardy in mathematics achievement for socially disadvantaged students. Double jeopardy…

Decoupling Policy and Practice: How Life Scientists Respond to Ethics Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith-Doerr, Laurel

2008-01-01

Many graduate programmes in science now require courses in ethics. However, little is known about their reception or use. Using websites and interviews, this essay examines ethics requirements in the field of biosciences in three countries (the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Italy) between 2000 and 2005. Evidence suggests that…

Guidelines for the Preparation of General Guides to National Archives: A RAMP Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hildesheimer, Francoise

Based on a comparative study of guides from the Bahamas, Barbados, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Rhodesia, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, West Germany, and Zambia, this handbook provides guidelines for the organization and content of a general guide to archives, particularly national archives. It is noted that the handbook is…

Alternation between Work and Education. A Study of Educational Leave of Absence at Enterprise Level.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France). Centre for Educational Research and Innovation.

The study reported here involves six countries (Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, United Kingdom, United States, and Sweden) and focuses on the ways in which those who are actively employed have access to opportunities to alternate education and training with their employment. The first chapter discusses the study structure and defines the field covered…

Television food advertising and the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity: a multicountry comparison.

PubMed

Goris, Janny M; Petersen, Solveig; Stamatakis, Emmanuel; Veerman, J Lennert

2010-07-01

To estimate the contribution of television (TV) food advertising to the prevalence of obesity among 6-11-year-old children in Australia, Great Britain (England and Scotland only), Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United States. Data from contemporary representative studies on the prevalence of childhood obesity and on TV food advertising exposure in the above countries were entered into a mathematical simulation model. Two different effect estimators were used to calculate the reduction in prevalence of overweight and obesity in the absence of TV food advertising in each country; one based on literature and one based on experts' estimates. Six- to eleven-year-old children in six Western countries. Estimates of the average exposure of children to TV food advertising range from 1.8 min/d in The Netherlands to 11.5 min/d in the United States. Its contribution to the prevalence of childhood obesity is estimated at 16%-40% in the United States, 10%-28% in Australia and Italy and 4%-18% in Great Britain, Sweden and The Netherlands. The contribution of TV advertising of foods and drinks to the prevalence of childhood obesity differs distinctly by country and is likely to be significant in some countries.

Hospitals in rural or remote areas: An exploratory review of policies in 8 high-income countries.

PubMed

Rechel, Bernd; Džakula, Aleksandar; Duran, Antonio; Fattore, Giovanni; Edwards, Nigel; Grignon, Michel; Haas, Marion; Habicht, Triin; Marchildon, Gregory P; Moreno, Antonio; Ricciardi, Walter; Vaughan, Louella; Smith, Tina Anderson

2016-07-01

Our study reviewed policies in 8 high-income countries (Australia, Canada, United States, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Croatia and Estonia) in Europe, Australasia and North America with regard to hospitals in rural or remote areas. We explored whether any specific policies on hospitals in rural or remote areas are in place, and, if not, how countries made sure that the population in remote or rural areas has access to acute inpatient services. We found that only one of the eight countries (Italy) had drawn up a national policy on hospitals in rural or remote areas. In the United States, although there is no singular comprehensive national plan or vision, federal levers have been used to promote access in rural or remote areas and provide context for state and local policy decisions. In Australia and Canada, intermittent policies have been developed at the sub-national level of states and provinces respectively. In those countries where access to hospital services in rural or remote areas is a concern, common challenges can be identified, including the financial sustainability of services, the importance of medical education and telemedicine and the provision of quick transport to more specialized services. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

[Mussolini's fight against occupational diseases (1922-1943): Italian leadership in the production of artificial silk].

PubMed

Carnevale, Francesco; Baldasseroni, Alberto

2003-01-01

After the end of the World War I Italy's economy was predominantly rural; industrialization had taken place only in the North-Western "Milan-Genoa-Turin triangle". Technological know-how and experience in developing the production cycles were scarce. The early experience in occupational medicine had been abruptly interrupted by the war. The attitudes of the Fascist regime with regard to work protection were ambiguous: work was claimed to be a sacred source of the national wealth worth being safeguarded by the regime, but the workers' potential to antagonize the regime was seen as a constant danger to public order. This scenery is well exemplified by a case study: Viscose-Ray-on Industry developed in synchrony with Mussolini's seizing power, in the early 20s. Thanks to the initiative of some manufacturers, Italy acquired a predominant role in this sector and became the second producer after the United States. Huge factories were created and complex equipment was imported from abroad. No attention was paid to health and safety at work. The major source of risk was carbon disulphide, used as a solvent in the production of xanthogenate starting from cellulose, the raw material; which produces progressive conditions following prolonged exposure. The slowness and the substantial inertia of the Fascist regime in the protection of workers' health contrasted with the reality in the Unit States, Italy's main competitor of Italy in the production of rayon. In order to exploit masses of workers, Fascism, unlike Nazism, needed no inferior "race": social discrimination was equally effective. Modern industrial development in Italy relied on masses of semiliterate farmers originating first from the Venetian region and later (after World War II) from Southern Italy. Shortly after 1945, during the so-called "Reconstruction-period", health protection developed slowly and circumspectly. National agencies supposed to have a proactive role in prevention, such as ENPI, confirmed their role as consultant of the employers for hygiene and prevention matters. Only the workers' fight around 1970 overcame the concept of the Corporative state introduced by the Fascism.

An American Educator Reflects on the Meaning of the Reggio Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linn, Margaret Inman

2001-01-01

Reflects on experience as participant in a Reggio Emilia study tour in Italy. Compares educational philosophy and practices in municipal preschools of Reggio Emilia with those of preschools in the United States. (Contains 10 references.) (PKP)

Alfalfa witches'-broom

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Alfalfa witches'-broom was first reported in 1969 in Australia and later in South Africa, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. More recently, specific phytoplasmas associated with alfalfa witches'-broom have been identified from symptomatic plants in the United States (Wisconsin), Italy, Lithuania, Oman, Ira...

PREFACE: International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP 2012)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ernst, Michael; Düllmann, Dirk; Rind, Ofer; Wong, Tony

2012-12-01

The International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP) was held at New York University on 21- 25 May 2012. CHEP is a major series of international conferences for physicists and computing professionals from the High Energy and Nuclear Physics community and related scientific and technical fields. The CHEP conference provides a forum to exchange information on computing progress and needs for the community, and to review recent, ongoing and future activities. CHEP conferences are held at roughly 18-month intervals, alternating between Europe, Asia, the Americas and other parts of the world. Recent CHEP conferences have been held in Taipei, Taiwan (2010); Prague, Czech Republic (2009); Victoria, Canada (2007); Mumbai, India (2006); Interlaken, Switzerland (2004); San Diego, United States (2003); Beijing, China (2001); Padova, Italy (2000). CHEP 2012 was organized by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and co-sponsored by New York University. The organizational structure for CHEP consists of an International Advisory Committee (IAC) which sets the overall themes of the conference, a Program Organizing Committee (POC) that oversees the program content, and a Local Organizing Committee (LOC) that is responsible for local arrangements (lodging, transportation and social events) and conference logistics (registration, program scheduling, conference site selection and conference proceedings). There were over 500 attendees with a program that included plenary sessions of invited speakers, a number of parallel sessions comprising around 125 oral and 425 poster presentations and industrial exhibitions. We thank all the presenters for the excellent scientific content of their contributions to the conference. Conference tracks covered topics on Online Computing, Event Processing, Distributed Processing and Analysis on Grids and Clouds, Computer Facilities, Production Grids and Networking, Software Engineering, Data Stores and Databases and Collaborative Tools. We would like to thank Brookhaven Science Associates, New York University, Blue Nest Events, the International Advisory Committee, the Program Committee and the Local Organizing Committee members for all their support and assistance. We also would like to acknowledge the support provided by the following sponsors: ACEOLE, Data Direct Networks, Dell, the European Middleware Initiative and Nexsan. Special thanks to the Program Committee members for their careful choice of conference contributions and enormous effort in reviewing and editing the conference proceedings. The next CHEP conference will be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 14-18 October 2013. Conference Chair Michael Ernst (BNL) Program Committee Daniele Bonacorsi, University of Bologna, Italy Simone Campana, CERN, Switzerland Philippe Canal, Fermilab, United States Sylvain Chapeland, CERN, Switzerland Dirk Düllmann, CERN, Switzerland Johannes Elmsheuser, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany Maria Girone, CERN, Switzerland Steven Goldfarb, University of Michigan, United States Oliver Gutsche, Fermilab, United States Benedikt Hegner, CERN, Switzerland Andreas Heiss, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany Peter Hristov, CERN, Switzerland Tony Johnson, SLAC, United States David Lange, LLNL, United States Adam Lyon, Fermilab, United States Remigius Mommsen, Fermilab, United States Axel Naumann, CERN, Switzerland Niko Neufeld, CERN, Switzerland Rolf Seuster, TRIUMF, Canada Local Organizing Committee Maureen Anderson, John De Stefano, Mariette Faulkner, Ognian Novakov, Ofer Rind, Tony Wong (BNL) Kyle Cranmer (NYU) International Advisory Committee Mohammad Al-Turany, GSI, Germany Lothar Bauerdick, Fermilab, United States Ian Bird, CERN, Switzerland Dominique Boutigny, IN2P3, France Federico Carminati, CERN, Switzerland Marco Cattaneo, CERN, Switzerland Gang Chen, Institute of High Energy Physics, China Peter Clarke, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom Sridhara Dasu, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States Günter Duckeck, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany Richard Dubois, SLAC, United States Michael Ernst, BNL, United States Ian Fisk, Fermilab, United States Gonzalo Merino, PIC, Spain John Gordon, STFC-RAL, United Kingdom Volker Gülzow, DESY, Germany Frederic Hemmer, CERN, Switzerland Viatcheslav Ilyin, Moscow State University, Russia Nobuhiko Katayama, KEK, Japan Alexei Klimentov, BNL, United States Simon C. Lin, Academia Sinica, Taiwan Milos Lokajícek, FZU Prague, Czech Republic David Malon, ANL, United States Pere Mato Vila, CERN, Switzerland Mauro Morandin, INFN CNAF, Italy Harvey Newman, Caltech, United States Farid Ould-Saada, University of Oslo, Norway Ruth Pordes, Fermilab, United States Hiroshi Sakamoto, University of Tokyo, Japan Alberto Santoro, UERJ, Brazil Jim Shank, Boston University, United States Dongchul Son, Kyungpook National University, South Korea Reda Tafirout, TRIUMF, Canada Stephen Wolbers, Fermilab, United States Frank Wuerthwein, UCSD, United States

Can an earthquake prediction and warning system be developed?

USGS Publications Warehouse

N.N, Ambraseys

1990-01-01

Over the last 20 years, natural disasters have killed nearly 3 million people and disrupted the lives of over 800 million others. In 2 years there were more than 50 serious natural disasters, including landslides in Italy, France, and Colombia; a typhoon in Korea; wildfires in China and the United States; a windstorm in England; grasshopper plagues in Africa's horn and the Sahel; tornadoes in Canada; devastating earthquakes in Soviet Armenia and Tadzhikstand; infestations in Africa; landslides in Brazil; and tornadoes in the United States 

The Global Financial Crisis: Foreign and Trade Policy Effects

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-07

Chinese financial interests Additional pressures on European unity and policy discord between the United States and Germany /France Economic and...questioning of the Western economic model of deregulated , market-based decisionmaking Risk of rising trade protectionism and intensified anti...South Korea Philippines India Italy Canada Sudan Brazil China Israel United Kingdom France Taiwan Indonesia Germany Hungary Nigeria Latv ia Mexico

Bringing China In: International Order and the Role of the Great Powers

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

France , Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the United States, and Japan.1 Following WWI, those great powers who were victors called for the...Nationalist China, and France emerged from WWII as the great powers and sought international order in part through establishing the United Nations (UN...Europe, under the authority of the United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and later, France , utilized joint governance in the period between the

International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brooks, A. J.

This trip was undertaken to participate in and represent the United States Industry at the International Energy Agency (IEA) Solar Heating and Cooling Program (SHCP) Task 14 Workshop. The meeting took place at the A1 Bani Hotel in Rome Italy.

Worldwide Assessment of the Status of Seismic Zonation, Fourth International Forum on Seismic Zonation, Proceedings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hays, W.W.

1994-01-01

Italy/Appendix D). 2. United States Geological Survey, 1992, The Worldwide Earthquake Risk Management (WWERM) Program, Reston, Virginia, 19 p (Paul Thenhaus or S.T. Algermissen - USA/ Appendix D). 3. Instituto Panamericano de Geografia Historia, 1992, Revista Geofisica, Lima, Peru, No. 37, July-December, 234 p (Alberto Giesecke- Peru/Appendix D). 4. Annali di Geofisica, 1992, Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program (GSHAP) (Special Issue), International Lithosphere Program, Publication 209, Bologna, Italy, 257 p (Domenico Giardini-Italy/Appendix F). 5. International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior and European Seismological Commission, 1993, The Practice of Hazard Assessment, Golden, Colorado, 284 p (Write Bob Engdahl, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Mail Stop 967, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA).

A large-scale initiative to disseminate an evidence-based drug abuse prevention program in Italy: Lessons learned for practitioners and researchers.

PubMed

Velasco, Veronica; Griffin, Kenneth W; Antichi, Mariella; Celata, Corrado

2015-10-01

Across developed countries, experimentation with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs often begins in the early adolescent years. Several evidence-based programs have been developed to prevent adolescent substance use. Many of the most rigorously tested and empirically supported prevention programs were initially developed and tested in the United States. Increasingly, these interventions are being adopted for use in Europe and throughout the world. This paper reports on a large-scale comprehensive initiative designed to select, adapt, implement, and sustain an evidence-based drug abuse prevention program in Italy. As part of a large-scale regionally funded collaboration in the Lombardy region of Italy, we report on processes through which a team of stakeholders selected, translated and culturally adapted, planned, implemented and evaluated the Life Skills Training (LST) school-based drug abuse prevention program, an evidence-based intervention developed in the United States. We discuss several challenges and lessons learned and implications for prevention practitioners and researchers attempting to undertake similar international dissemination projects. We review several published conceptual models designed to promote the replication and widespread dissemination of effective programs, and discuss their strengths and limitations in the context of planning and implementing a complex, large-scale real-world dissemination effort. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy Use and Carbon Emissions: Some International Comparisons

EIA Publications

1994-01-01

Presents energy use and carbon emissions patterns in a world context. The report contrasts trends in economically developed and developing areas of the world since 1970, presents a disaggregated view of the "Group of Seven" (G7) key industrialized countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and examines sectoral energy use patterns within each of the G7 countries.

Initial Treatment for Newly Diagnosed Elderly Colorectal Cancer Patients: Patterns of Care in Italy and the United States

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Cancer is a major component of health-care expenditures in most developed countries. The costs of cancer care are expected to increase due to rising incidence (as the population ages) and increasing use of targeted anticancer therapies. However, epidemiological analysis of patterns of care may be required prior to empirically well-grounded cost analyses. Additionally, comparisons of care between health-care delivery systems and countries can identify opportunities to improve practice. They can also increase understanding of patient outcomes and economic consequences of differences in policies related to cancer screening, treatment, and programs of care. In this study, we compared patterns of colorectal cancer treatment during the first year following diagnosis in two cohorts of elderly patients from some areas of Italy and the United States using cancer registry linked to administrative data. We evaluated hospital use, initial treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation), and timeliness of surgery and adjuvant therapy, taking into account patient characteristics and clinical features, such as stage at diagnosis and the cancer subsite. We observed greater use of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III and IV colon cancer patients and adjuvant therapy in all stages of rectal cancer patients in the US cohort. We found a higher rate of open surgeries in the Italian cohort, a similar rate of hospitalization, but a higher number of hospital days in the Italian cohort. However, in spite of structural differences between the United States and Italy in health-care organization and delivery as well as in data collection, patterns of care and the timing of care in the year after diagnosis are generally similar among patients within stage of disease at diagnosis. Comparative studies of the costs associated with patterns of cancer care will be important for future research. PMID:23962512

Faculty Responsibility in Contemporary Society. Proceedings of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities La Sapienza Conference (Rome, Italy, June, 1989).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wingfield, Clyde J., Ed.

The 10 U.S. papers included in this collection discuss the organization, governance, problems, values, and faculty role of higher education in institutions of higher education in the United States. Major differences are identified in the introduction (Clyde Wingfield), including tendencies for American universities to be more integrated into…

Lightcurve analysis of 1304 Arosa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fauerbach, Michael; Bennett, Thomas; Behrend, Raoul; Bernasconi, Laurent; Casulli, Silvano

2006-12-01

The main-belt asteroid 1304 Arosa was observed in late 2005 and early 2006 in a collaborative effort by observers in France, Italy and the United States. A period of 7.7478±0.0001hr with an amplitude 0.375±0.011 mag was derived.

Virtual Cities--A Regional Discovery Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanfel, Julie

1993-01-01

Describes the "Virtual Cities" project, a virtual reality satellite teleconference with students age 12 to 17 from Canada, Italy, and the United States held during the International Council for Educational Media 1992 conference. A visual database overlaid with instructional gaming strategies provided students with the opportunity to…

A Cross-Cultural Examination of Semantic Relations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raybeck, Douglas; Herrmann, Douglas

1990-01-01

Reports on a cross-cultural investigation of semantic relations, including antonyms, synonyms, and class inclusion, among bilingual adult subjects in the United States, England, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Pakistan, and Hong Kong. Found significant agreement across cultures, especially for antinomy. Results in general support theories of linguistic…

Learning Mathematics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lapointe, Archie E.; And Others

In 1990-91, 20 countries (Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Korea, Mozambique, Portugal, Scotland, Slovenia, Soviet Union, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States) surveyed the mathematics and science performance of 13-year-old students (and 14 countries also assessed 9-year-olds in the same…

The need for the International Decade of Natural Hazard Reduction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Press, F.

1990-01-01

Over the last 20 years, natural disasters have killed nearly 3 million people and disrupted the lives of over 800 million others. In 2 years there were more than 50 serious natural disasters, including landslides in Italy, France, and Colombia; a typhoon in Korea; wildfires in China and the United State; a windstorm in England; grasshopper plagues in Africa's horns and the Sahel; tornadoes in Canada; devastating earthquakes in Soviet Armenia and Tadzhikistan; infestations in Africa; landslides in Brazil; and tornadoes in the United States. 

A Doctrine Reader: The Navies of United States, Great Britain France, Italy, and Spain (Newport Paper, Number 9)

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-12-01

Indeed, professional writings in the United States have noted this parallel between doctrine and religion .29 As in other navies, doctrine was not the...Spanish Navy) , "La clctica," in Espana y el Mar en el siglo de Carlos llI, 1 989, p. 77. 13 . John D. Harnron, Tr.yalgar and the Spanish Navy (Annapolis...organization. Doctrine, therefore, can be either fmnly prescriptive, as in religion or in a political ideology, or basically descriptive. As a complex of

Russia’s Revival: Ambitions, Limitations, and Opportunities for the United States (INSS Strategic Perspectives, Number 3, January 2011)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

world after the United States, China, India , and Japan. Russia’s gross domes- tic product (GDP) would expand an average 6.5 percent per year. Its share of...together, the U.S. Census Bureau has projected a lower life expectancy in 2025 than in Bolivia, East Timor, and even Pakistan .40 11 Russia’s...from Italy, and even digital receivers for its Global Navigation Satellite Systems from India .83 According to some Russian forecasts, Rus- sia may

Turkish Development Prospects and Policies in Light of Experience Elsewhere.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

is not to say that markets and market prices have the appealing characteristics associated with neoclassical models of perfect competition. Indeed...e.g., the United Kingdom, Italy, and currently, the United States), as well as that of developing countries (e.g., Argentina , Colombia, Indonesia...ready and anxious to invest in the Turkish economy. The crisis coloration of the recent economic picture in Turkey has hardly encouraged such a queue

Cross-Cultural Consistency of the Demand/Withdraw Interaction Pattern in Couples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christensen, Andrew; Eldridge, Kathleen; Catta-Preta, Adriana Bokel; Lim, Veronica R.; Santagata, Rossella

2006-01-01

In order to examine the cross-cultural consistency of several patterns of couple communication, 363 participants from four different countries (Brazil, Italy, Taiwan, and the United States) completed self-report measures about communication and satisfaction in their romantic relationships. Across countries, constructive communication was…

From Immigrants to Ethnics: The Italian Americans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelli, Humbert S.

A sociological, political, and cultural history of Italians in America, this book's chapters discuss (1) Italian explorers, intellectuals, and artisans who participated in the settlement and establishment of the United States; (2) socioeconomic conditions in nineteenth century Italy that led to mass emigration; (3) the distribution of Italian…

50 CFR Appendix A to Chapter I - Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries (Established by the International Organization...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) Ch.... Israel IL. Italy IT. Ivory Coast CI. Jamaica JM. Japan JP. Jordan JO. Kenya KE. Kiribati KI. Kuwait KW...

50 CFR Appendix A to Chapter I - Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries (Established by the International Organization...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) Ch.... Israel IL. Italy IT. Ivory Coast CI. Jamaica JM. Japan JP. Jordan JO. Kenya KE. Kiribati KI. Kuwait KW...

75 FR 67105 - Granular Polytetrafluoroethylene Resin From Italy and Japan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-01

... conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have occurred in the United States or in the... Ethics Official, at 202-205-3088. Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under an.../worker group, or trade/business association; import/export Subject [[Page 67107

Embracing Languages and Cultures in the Magic Preschool, Moscow

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szecsi, Tunde

2005-01-01

In this article, the author presents the approaches and strategies for culturally and linguistically responsive early education in an international preschool in Moscow, Russia. This international preschool, enrolling children from Russia, the United States, Germany, Italy, Israel, Argentina, Brazil, Sweden, and Japan, provides a multilingual and…

Sounds to Share: The State of Music Education in Three Reggio Emilia-Inspired North American Preschools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bond, Vanessa L.

2015-01-01

Renowned around the world, schools within the municipality of Reggio Emilia, Italy, have inspired North American early childhood educators for over 25 years. Despite the popularity and usage of the Reggio Emilia approach in the United States, music educators may find it unfamiliar. There is a lack of research that has discussed the use of music or…

First report of Grapevine rupestris vein feathering virus infecting grapevines in Korea

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Grapevine rupestris vein feathering virus (GRVFV), a member of the genus Marafivirus in the family Tymoviridae, was first reported from a Greek grapevine causing chlorotic discolorations of leaf veins. The virus has been reported in United States, Canada, Uruguay, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic an...

Commonalities in Educational Technology Policy Initiatives among Nations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schnitz, James E.; Azbell, Janet

While education systems from nation to nation differ significantly according to national character and local requirements, developments in public policy initiatives regarding the use of technology in schools have followed similar patterns among nations as diverse as the United States, Great Britain, Denmark, Italy, Viet Nam, Germany, France,…

Apologizing in Italian and English.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipson, Maxine

1994-01-01

Compared apology exchanges in Italy and the United States by having 10 Italian university students view American situation comedy television programs and rewrite particular conflict and apology exchanges in an Italian context. The status and role of the programs' participants affected the Italian students' choice of apology strategies more so than…

International Conference On Automation, Full Employment, and a Balanced Economy (Rome, Italy, 1967).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Foundation on Automation and Employment, Inc., New York, NY.

Three nations, Great Britain, Sweden, and the United States, participated in the conference with representatives from management, trade unions, government, academic institutions, and interested observers. The International Labor Office and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also participated. Speakers from each of the three…

77 FR 53201 - Economic Impact Policy

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-31

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an application for a $21 million guarantee to support the..., Germany, and Italy. Interested parties may submit comments on this transaction by email to economic.impact...

A Theory for Living: Walking with Reggio Emilia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wexler, Alice

2004-01-01

In the past decade, the Reggio Emilia preschools and toddler centers have emerged from Italy as a significant international influence in early childhood education and a challenging presence to the notions held about young children in the United States. The Reggio Emilia approach raises questions about the inherent limitations of the…

ISS Phase One Activities and Manufacturing in Russia, France and Italy

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-10-07

S96-17447 (October 1996) --- Astronaut William M. Shepherd, Expedition One commander, works out in a gymnasium at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. The crew has been in training for the mission since late 1996 with training segments held in both the United States and Russia.

ISS Phase One Activities and Manufacturing in Russia, France and Italy

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-10-07

S96-17384 (October 1996) --- Astronaut William M. Shepherd, Expedition One commander, works out in a gymnasium at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. The crew has been in training for the mission since late 1996 with training segments held in both the United States and Russia.

International Comparisons of Educational Attainment. Indicator of the Month.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Education Statistics (ED), Washington, DC.

Information from the International Indicators Project of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Center for Educational Research and Innovation is used to compare completion rates of secondary and higher education in the United States with those of other highly industrialized countries, namely, Canada, France, Germany, Italy,…

75 FR 2108 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-14

...-804, A-412-801] Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews AGENCY... reviews of the antidumping duty orders on ball bearings and parts thereof from France, Germany, Italy...

The Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team Program as a Model for Assisting the Development of an Effective Afghan National Army

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-12

care has been taken to ensure the ANA is comprised of soldiers from all of Afghanistan’s major ethnic groups - Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek , Hazara, Turkmen...Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland , Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), and United States have contributed full OMLTs/ETTs...embedded training teams) while Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland , Portugal, Romania, Slovenia

International Energy Agency instrumented facilities survey for solar assisted low energy dwellings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

1982-02-01

Compiled are surveys outlining the instrumentation of 38 active and passive solar projects in 9 countries (Denmark, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and West Germany). After the surveys themselves are presented, the data are rearranged to compare answers from similar survey questions for each of the projects. These questions address building, solar system and instrumentation descriptions and meteorological, solar system and building system instrumentatation capabilities. (LEW)

The right to vacation: an international perspective.

PubMed

Ray, Rebecca; Schmitt, John

2008-01-01

This report reviews international vacation and holiday laws and finds that the United States is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers any paid vacation or holidays. As a result, one in four U.S. workers do not receive any paid vacation or paid holidays. The lack of paid vacation and paid holidays in the United States is particularly acute for lower-wage and part-time workers, and for employees of small businesses. This report also includes a comparative appendix with information on paid leave and holiday laws in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Robotic surgery in Italy national survey (2011).

PubMed

Santoro, Eugenio; Pansadoro, Vito

2013-03-01

Robotic surgery in Italy has become a clinical reality that is gaining increasing acceptance. As of 2011 after the United States, Italy together with Germany is the country with the largest number of active Robotic centers, 46, and da Vinci Robots installed, with at least 116 operators already trained. The number of interventions performed in Italy in 2011 exceeded 6,000 and in 2010 were 4,784, with prevalence for urology, general surgery and gynecology, however these interventions have also begun to be applied in other fields such as cervicofacial, cardiothoracic and pediatric surgery. In Italy Robotic centers are mostly located in Northern Italy, while in the South there are only a few centers, and four regions are lacking altogether. Of the 46 centers which were started in 1999, the vast majority is still operational and almost half handle over 200 cases a year. The quality of the work is also especially high with large diffusion of radical prostatectomy in urology and liver resection and colic in general surgery. The method is very well accepted among operators, over 80 %, and among patients, over 95 %. From the analysis of world literature and a survey carried out in Italy, Robotic surgery, which at the moment could be better defined as telesurgery, represents a significant advantage for operators and a consistent gain for the patient. However, it still has important limits such as high cost and non-structured training of operators.

International Comparisons of Teachers' Salaries: An Exploratory Study. Survey Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barro, Steven M.; Suter, Larry

This paper, the final product of a study, "International Comparison of Teachers' Salaries," on an exploratory effort to compare salaries of elementary and secondary school teachers in the United States with those in other economically advanced countries. Data was obtained from Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Japan,…

A Survey of Proportional Reasoning and Control of Variables in Seven Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karplus, Robert; And Others

1977-01-01

Thirteen to fifteen year-old students from Denmark, Sweden, Italy, United States, Austria, Germany, and Great Britain were the subjects on this study of formal thought processes. Socioeconomic status, sex, and school organization provided additional categorization upon which the subjects were divided. Chi square analysis revealed some differences.…

Television for Development. The African Experience. IDRC Manuscript Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLellan, Iain

Based on visits to and interviews in 14 countries (Senegal, The Gambia, Niger, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Zaire, Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, the United States, France, Italy, and Canada) this report provides a detailed accounting of the present and potential use of television to support development through non-formal educational programming in…

The Use of Computers in the Teaching of Geography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kent, W. Ashley, Ed.

Eleven essays describe state of the art developments in the use of computers and computer-assisted learning to teach geography. Descriptions of the use of computers in the teaching of geography in their respective countries are contributed by educators from the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland,…

Giving Ourselves: The Ethics of Anatomical Donation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunderman, Richard B.

2008-01-01

In some European countries, such as Italy, medical education is threatened by a dearth of anatomical specimens. Such a shortage could spread to other nations, including the United States. This article addresses two ethical questions in body donation. Why might people choose to donate their bodies to education and science? What sorts of ethical…

A High-Order Test for Optimality of Bang-Bang Controls.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-01

Systems * Istituto di Matematica Applicata, Universitl di Padova, ITALY. sponsored by the United States Army under Contract No. DAAG29-80-C-0041...the first order variation at the terminal point of the trajectory lim [x(T,u ) - x(TW)]/E (1.1) Istituto di Matematica Applicata, Universitl di Padova

Cross-Cultural Study of Adaptive Behavior in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Glen C.; And Others

The study of coping may lead to a better understanding of how children develop adaptive or maladaptive behaviors. Cross-cultural studies were conducted in 1965 and in 1968 with 10- and 14-year-old children from Brazil, England, Italy, Japan, Mexico, West Germany, Yugoslavia, and the United States. Attributes of attitudes, motivation, and coping…

International Trends in Productivity and Labor Costs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capdevielle, Patricia; And Others

1982-01-01

Productivity increased in 1981 in the United States, Japan, and European countries studied. Gains ranged from 2 to 4 percent in the US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, to 6 percent in England and Denmark, and more than 7 percent in Belgium. In Canada and Sweden, productivity remained essentially unchanged. (SSH)

Mobile Learning and Teacher Education: Researching MLEARN Pilot Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Passey, Don; Zozimo, Joana

2015-01-01

MLEARN, a European Union (EU)-funded project, is exploring and promoting teacher development of mobile learning practices in four member states--the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) (England), Greece and Italy. This paper details the ways research findings have both fed into and been elicited from this pilot, supporting development and…

Cycles of Expansion in Higher Education 1870-1985: An International Comparison.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Windolf, Paul

1992-01-01

The relationship between business cycles and expansion in higher education in 1870-1985 is analyzed and compared for Germany, Italy, France, the United States, and Japan. In most countries, expansion corresponded to economic recession. Spectral analysis, used to explore the cyclical character of the phenomenon, was found to be a powerful…

INTERNATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN FACTORS AFFECTING LABOUR MOBILITY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SELLIER, F.; ZARKA, C.

THE GEOGRAPHICAL, OCCUPATIONAL, AND INTERFIRM MOBILITY, AND THE FACTORS AFFECTING THESE MOVEMENTS FOR WORKERS IN FRANCE, ITALY, GERMANY, AND SWEDEN IN THE PERIOD SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR ARE STUDIED. DATA OBTAINED FROM INDUSTRIAL SURVEYS AND GENERAL CENSUSES WERE USED TO COMPARE THE FOUR COUNTRIES WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE UNITED STATES.…

76 FR 11509 - Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-02

... conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have occurred in the United States or in the... of business proprietary information (BPI) under an administrative protective order (APO) and APO... to This Notice of Institution: If you are a domestic producer, union/worker group, or trade/business...

Studying Cross-Cultural Differences in Temperament in the First Year of Life: United States and Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montirosso, Rosario; Cozzi, Patrizia; Putnam, Samuel P.; Gartstein, Maria A.; Borgatti, Renato

2011-01-01

An Italian translation of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) was developed and evaluated with 110 infants, demonstrating satisfactory internal consistency, discriminant validity, and construct validity in the form of gender and age differences, as well as factorial integrity. Cross-cultural differences were subsequently evaluated…

General Framework for Employment. Tableau de Bord. (Synoptic Table). Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Commission of the European Communities, Brussels (Belgium). Directorate-General for Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs.

This synoptic table provides an overview and comparison of employment trends and policy measures for each member state of the European Community. Information on the following countries is presented in eight chapters: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and United Kingdom. Chapter 0…

An Action Plan for Improving Mediocre or Stagnant Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redmond, Kimberley B.

2013-01-01

Although all of the schools in the target school system adhere to a school improvement process, achievement scores remain mediocre or stagnant within the overseas school in Italy that serves children of United States armed service members. To address this problem, this study explored the target school's improvement process to discover how…

Personality, Stress, and Coping: Implications for Education. Research on Stress and Coping in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reevy, Gretchen M., Ed.; Frydenberg, Erica, Ed.

2011-01-01

Nearly all chapters in this volume are contemporary original research on personality, stress, and coping in educational contexts. The research spans primary, secondary, and tertiary education. Research participants are students and teachers. The volume brings together contributions from the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Scotland, and…

Report of the International Commission on Earthquake Forecasting for Civil Protection (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordan, T. H.

2009-12-01

The destructive L’Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009 (Mw 6.3) illustrates the challenges of operational earthquake forecasting. The earthquake ruptured a mapped normal fault in a region identified by long-term forecasting models as one of the most seismically dangerous in Italy; it was the strongest of a rich sequence that started several months earlier and included a M3.9 foreshock less than five hours prior to the mainshock. According to widely circulated news reports, the earthquake had been predicted by a local resident using unpublished radon-based techniques, provoking a public controversy prior to the event that intensified in its wake. Several weeks after the earthquake, the Italian Department of Civil Protection appointed an international commission with the mandate to report on the current state of knowledge of prediction and forecasting and guidelines for operational utilization. The commission included geoscientists from China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States with experience in earthquake forecasting and prediction. This presentation by the chair of the commission will report on its findings and recommendations.

On the cross-cultural replicability of the resilient, undercontrolled, and overcontrolled personality types.

PubMed

Alessandri, Guido; Vecchione, Michele; Donnellan, Brent M; Eisenberg, Nancy; Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Cieciuch, Jan

2014-08-01

Personality types reflect typical configurations of personality attributes within individuals. Over the last 20 years, researchers have identified a set of three replicable personality types: resilient (R), undercontrolled (U), and overcontrolled (O) types. In this study, we examined the cross-cultural replicability of the RUO types in Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United States. Personality types were identified using cluster analyses of Big Five profiles in large samples of college students from Italy (n = 322), the United States (n = 499), Spain (n = 420), and Poland (n = 235). Prior to clustering the profiles, the measurement invariance of the Big Five measure across samples was tested. We found evidence for the RUO types in all four samples. The three-cluster solution showed a better fit over alternative solutions and had a relatively high degree of cross-cultural generalizability. The RUO types are evident in samples from four countries with distinct linguistic and cultural traditions. Results were discussed in light of the importance of considering how traits are organized within individuals for advancing contemporary personality psychology. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Genetic Variability of the Invasive Species Metcalfa pruinosa (Hemiptera: Flatidae) in the Republic of Korea.

PubMed

Park, Chang-Gyu; Min, Sujeong; Lee, Gwan-Seok; Kim, Sora; Lee, Yerim; Lee, Seunghwan; Hong, Ki-Jeong; Wilson, Stephen W; Akimoto, Shin-Ichi; Lee, Wonhoon

2016-08-01

Metcalfa pruinosa (Say, 1830) (Hemiptera: Flatidae) has caused substantial agricultural damage since its recent introduction to the Republic of Korea; however, the source of this introduction is still unclear. To examine the genetic divergence and phylogenetic relationships among several populations of M. pruinosa from Korea and foreign countries, 251 COI sequences from 251 samples collected from Korea, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, and the United States were newly analyzed, together with seven published COI sequences from Canada. In total, 19 haplotypes were detected from the 258 COI sequences, and three haplotypes, H1, H3, and H9, were detected from samples in Korea. The MJ network and Bayesian inference revealed that the three haplotypes of Korea were closely connected with samples of Italy, Spain, Slovenia, France, and the United States. Our study revealed the possibility of multiple invasions of M. pruinosa from Europe and/or North America into Korea. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Examining cross-cultural differences in autism spectrum disorder: A multinational comparison from Greece, Italy, Japan, Poland, and the United States.

PubMed

Matson, J L; Matheis, M; Burns, C O; Esposito, G; Venuti, P; Pisula, E; Misiak, A; Kalyva, E; Tsakiris, V; Kamio, Y; Ishitobi, M; Goldin, R L

2017-05-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social and communication impairments as well as restricted, repetitive behavior patterns. Despite the fact that ASD is reported worldwide, very little research exists examining ASD characteristics on a multinational scale. Cross-cultural comparisons are especially important for ASD, since cultural differences may impact the perception of symptoms. Identifying behaviors that are similarly reported as problematic across cultures as well as identifying behaviors in which there is cultural variation could aid in the development and refinement of more universally effective measures. The present study sought to examine similarities and differences in caregiver endorsement of symptom severity through scores on the Baby Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT). The BISCUIT was utilized to examine ASD core symptomology in 250 toddlers diagnosed with ASD from Greece, Italy, Japan, Poland, and the United States. Significant differences in overall ASD symptom severity and endorsement were found between multinational groups. Implications of the results are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Military Construction: Analysis of the FY2012 Appropriation and Authorization

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-13

Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy (IGPBS), later renamed the Global Defense Posture Realignment ( GDPR ). Separate from the 2005 BRAC...located in Germany, 9,600 in Italy, and 9,200 in the United Kingdom.26 As part of the GDPR mentioned earlier, Army and Air Force personnel in the...of EUCOM was scheduled to redeploy to new posts in the southwestern United States as part of the GDPR , but the Secretary of Defense agreed to

Can property values capture changes in environmental health risks? Evidence from a stated preference study in Italy and the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Guignet, Dennis; Alberini, Anna

2015-03-01

Hedonic models are a common nonmarket valuation technique, but, in practice, results can be affected by omitted variables and whether homebuyers respond to the assumed environmental measure. We undertake an alternative stated preference approach that circumvents these issues. We examine how homeowners in the United Kingdom and Italy value mortality risk reductions by asking them to choose among hypothetical variants of their home that differ in terms of mortality risks from air pollution and price. We find that Italian homeowners hold a value of a statistical life (VSL) of €6.4 million, but U.K. homeowners hold a much lower VSL (€2.1 million). This may be because respondents in the United Kingdom do not perceive air pollution where they live to be as threatening, and actually live in cities with relatively low air pollution. Italian homeowners value a reduction in the risk of dying from cancer more than from other causes, but U.K. respondents do not hold such a premium. Lastly, respondents who face higher baseline risks, due to greater air pollution where they live, hold a higher VSL, particularly in the United Kingdom. In both countries, the VSL is twice as large among individuals who perceive air pollution where they live as high. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

Renewable energy consumption and economic growth in nine OECD countries: bounds test approach and causality analysis.

PubMed

Hung-Pin, Lin

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the short-run and long-run causality between renewable energy (RE) consumption and economic growth (EG) in nine OECD countries from the period between 1982 and 2011. To examine the linkage, this paper uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach of cointegration test and vector error-correction models to test the causal relationship between variables. The co-integration and causal relationships are found in five countries-United States of America (USA), Japan, Germany, Italy, and United Kingdom (UK). The overall results indicate that (1) a short-run unidirectional causality runs from EG to RE in Italy and UK; (2) long-run unidirectional causalities run from RE to EG for Germany, Italy, and UK; (3) a long-run unidirectional causality runs from EG to RE in USA, and Japan; (4) both long-run and strong unidirectional causalities run from RE to EG for Germany and UK; and (5) Finally, both long-run and strong unidirectional causalities run from EG to RE in only USA. Further evidence reveals that policies for renewable energy conservation may have no impact on economic growth in France, Denmark, Portugal, and Spain.

Renewable Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in Nine OECD Countries: Bounds Test Approach and Causality Analysis

PubMed Central

Hung-Pin, Lin

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the short-run and long-run causality between renewable energy (RE) consumption and economic growth (EG) in nine OECD countries from the period between 1982 and 2011. To examine the linkage, this paper uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach of cointegration test and vector error-correction models to test the causal relationship between variables. The co-integration and causal relationships are found in five countries—United States of America (USA), Japan, Germany, Italy, and United Kingdom (UK). The overall results indicate that (1) a short-run unidirectional causality runs from EG to RE in Italy and UK; (2) long-run unidirectional causalities run from RE to EG for Germany, Italy, and UK; (3) a long-run unidirectional causality runs from EG to RE in USA, and Japan; (4) both long-run and strong unidirectional causalities run from RE to EG for Germany and UK; and (5) Finally, both long-run and strong unidirectional causalities run from EG to RE in only USA. Further evidence reveals that policies for renewable energy conservation may have no impact on economic growth in France, Denmark, Portugal, and Spain. PMID:24558343

Wages and Labour Mobility; A Report by a Group of Independent Experts on the Relation between Changes in Wage Differentials and the Pattern of Employment with a Foreword on the Implications of the Study for Income Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

deWolff, Pieter; And Others

To determine the relationship between wage structure and employment patterns available evidence on changes in relative earnings and in relative numbers employed were surveyed for periods up to 15 years in 10 countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some findings…

Implementing International Standards for Continuing Supervision

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

World War II include: the atomic bomb and computer by the United States; ballistic missile by Germany ; and, radar by Great Britain). 20 Supra note 3...Denmark, France, Germany , Greece, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the...obligations to insure against space damage, register spacecraft, regulate radio transmissions to and from space stations, and prevent rogue acts. Nonbinding

Projecting Long-Term Care Expenditure in Four European Union Member States: The Influence of Demographic Scenarios

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costa-Font, Joan; Wittenberg, Raphael; Patxot, Concepcio; Comas-Herrera, Adelina; Gori, Cristiano; di Maio, Alessandra; Pickard, Linda; Pozzi, Alessandro; Rothgang, Heinz

2008-01-01

This study examines the sensitivity of future long-term care demand and expenditure estimates to official demographic projections in four selected European countries: Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. It uses standardised methodology in the form of a macro-simulation exercise and finds evidence for significant differences in…

Assessing Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy in Three Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Giunta, Laura Di; Eisenberg, Nancy; Gerbino, Maria; Pastorelli, Concetta; Tramontano, Carlo

2008-01-01

The Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy (RESE) scale was developed to assess perceived self-efficacy in managing negative (NEG) and in expressing positive (POS) affect (G. V. Caprara & M. Gerbino, 2001). In this study of young adults, the factorial structure of the RESE scale was found to be similar in Italy, the United States, and Bolivia: In…

Froebel Crosses the Alps: Introducing the Kindergarten in Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albisetti, James C.

2009-01-01

The kindergarten was, in all countries but Germany, a foreign import. The most familiar aspect of its diffusion to American scholars is the spread of Froebel's teachings into England and the United States by emigrants who had left the German Confederation after the failure of the revolutions of 1848-49. Familiar as well are the propaganda efforts…

Parenthood, Gender and Work-Family Time in the United States, Australia, Italy, France, and Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craig, Lyn; Mullan, Killian

2010-01-01

Research has associated parenthood with greater daily time commitments for fathers and mothers than for childless men and women, and with deeper gendered division of labor in households. How do these outcomes vary across countries with different average employment hours, family and social policies, and cultural attitudes to family care provision?…

First report of brown rot on apple fruit caused by Monilinia fructicola in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Brown rot, caused by Monilinia fructicola (G. Wint.) Honey, is the most devastating disease of stone fruits in North America resulting in significant economic losses. The fungus has been recently reported to cause pre and postharvest brown rot on apple fruit in Germany, Italy, and Serbia. However, M...

Improved Aviation Readiness and Inventory Reductions Through Repair Cycle Time Reductions Using Modeling and Simulation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-12-01

three NADEP’s within the continental United States and fleet repair sites in Italy and Japan. These facilities are located to support specific...number order. This same morning, P&E’s have a last opportunity to edit the induction file through the Planner and Estimator Cancellation Program ( PECAN

Animal-Assisted Literacy: A Supportive Environment for Constrained and Unconstrained Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friesen, Lori; Delisle, Esther

2012-01-01

Over the last 20 years or so, the popularity of animal-assisted literacy learning programs has gained momentum in schools and libraries around the world (Intermountain Therapy Animals, 2011). To date, such programs are currently running in four Canadian provinces and 43 U.S. states, as well as in Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, and India…

Expressed Reading Interests of Young Children: An International Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, H. Alan; And Others

A study of the current expressed reading interests of children in the first two years of school conducted in ten countries--Austria, Canada, England, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Panama, Sweden, and the United States--is reported in this paper. Over 2,000 children drew pictures about what they would best like to read or have read to…

Internationalisation and Changing Skill Needs in European Small Firms: The Services Sector. CEDEFOP Reference Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassid, Joseph

A study explored questions on changing skill requirements of small firms in the services sector that are internationalizing their activities. These seven European Union (EU) member states were involved: Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The services sector accounted for a significant part of the EU…

77 FR 74787 - Notice of Availability of an Evaluation of the Swine Vesicular Disease Status of Certain Regions...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-18

... Swine Vesicular Disease Status of Certain Regions in Italy AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection... provinces of Trento and Bolzano are free of swine vesicular disease. This determination is based on our... United States in order to prevent the introduction of various communicable diseases, including swine...

78 FR 24670 - Notice of a Determination Regarding the Swine Vesicular Disease Status of Certain Regions in Italy

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-26

.... APHIS-2012-0094] Notice of a Determination Regarding the Swine Vesicular Disease Status of Certain...-Romagna, Veneto, and Piemonte and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano are free of swine... introducing swine vesicular disease into the United States. This determination is based on our review of the...

Cross-Linguistic Analysis of Vocabulary in Young Children: Spanish, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, and American English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bornstein, Marc H.; Cote, Linda R.; Maital, Sharone; Painter, Kathleen; Park, Sung-Yun; Pascual, Liliana; Pecheux,Marie-Germaine; Ruel, Josette; Venuti, Paola; Vyt, Andre

2004-01-01

The composition of young children's vocabularies in 7 contrasting linguistic communities was investigated. Mothers of 269 twenty-month-olds in Argentina, Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and the United States completed comparable vocabulary checklists for their children. In each language and vocabulary size grouping (except…

An American Wordless Picturebook in Italian Classrooms: Inspiring Global Connections of People, Places, and Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marciano, Deb L.; Rackley, Jordan M.; Vaughn, Gregory L.

2017-01-01

What happens when five teacher candidates and their professor bring a wordless picturebook into Italian classrooms? This article presents a grounded discussion of our immersive experiences from the United States and the minilessons they taught stemming from a piece of children's literature through our study abroad program in Italy. The opening of…

76 FR 67473 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and The Philippines; Institution of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-01

... conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have occurred in the United States or in the..., Deputy Agency Ethics Official, at (202) 205-3088. Limited disclosure of business proprietary information.../ worker group, or trade/business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more than one Subject...

History of the Italian San Marco equatorial mobile range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nesbitt, H. N.

1971-01-01

Events leading to the development of the San Marco Equatorial Range are presented. Included are background information leading to the cooperative space program between the United States and Italy, conceptual planning, training activities, equipment design and fabrication, and range utilization. The technical support provided the San Marco Program by Scout Project Office, and other NASA installations is described.

76 FR 63161 - Airworthiness Directives; Aviointeriors S.p.A. Passenger Seat 12M Series, Installed on But Not...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-12

... of the United States Code specifies the FAA's authority to issue rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I... proposed actions to address it. Subject (d) Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 25: Equipment...,400--04013 Tor Tre Ponti, Italy; telephone 0039-0773- 689330 or 0039-0773-689291; fax 0039-0773-631546...

A resolution commemorating the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification and the beginning of warm and abiding relations between the people of the United States and Italy.

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA

2012-03-12

Senate - 03/12/2012 Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status Agreed to in SenateHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

A Structural Equation Model for the School Reinforcement Survey Schedule: Italian and American Early Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, George R.; Galeazzi, Aldo; Franceschina, Emilio; McNulty, George F.; Forand, Angela Q.; Stader, Sandra R.; Myers, deRosset, Jr.; Wright, Harry H.

2004-01-01

The School Reinforcement Survey Schedule (SRSS) was administered to 2,828 boys and girls in middle schools in the United States and an Italian translation was administered to 342 boys and girls in middle schools in Northern Italy. An exploratory factor analysis using half the American data set was performed using maximum likelihood estimation with…

Studying cross-cultural differences in temperament in toddlerhood: United States of America (U.S.) and Italy.

PubMed

Cozzi, Patrizia; Putnam, Samuel P; Menesini, Ersilia; Gartstein, Maria A; Aureli, Tiziana; Calussi, Pamela; Montirosso, Rosario

2013-06-01

Cross-cultural differences between matched samples (N=306) of Italian and U.S. toddlers were evaluated. Italian toddlers received higher scores on cuddliness, impulsivity, low intensity pleasure, perceptual sensitivity and positive anticipation, whereas US toddlers were higher on frustration, high-intensity pleasure, inhibitory control, shyness, and soothability. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Human periorbital dirofilariasis].

PubMed

Garaffini, T; Ducasse, A; Jaussaud, R; Strady, A; Pinon, J M

1996-01-01

We present the case of a 72 year-old-woman with recurrent periocular inflamatory mass caused by an infection with Dirofilaria repens. The zoonotic infection is spreading by mosquito vectors from dogs to humans. Residence in endemic areas (ex-USSR, Italy, Sri Lanka, Southeastern United States) should always be suspected in patients with this type of symptomatology. The treatment is curative by the extraction of the pseudotumoral mass.

Ocean-Wave Coupled Modeling in COAMPS-TC: A Study of Hurricane Ivan (2004)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-08-15

America, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, United States a r t i c l e i n f oArticle history : Received 12 December 2012 Received in revised form 16 May 2013...Information for Society. Venice , Italy, 21– 25 September 2009. ESA Publication. Sullivan, P.P., McWilliams, J.C., Melville, W.K., 2007. Surface gravity

Longitudinal Associations between Parenting and Youth Adjustment in Twelve Cultural Groups: Cultural Normativeness of Parenting as a Moderator

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lansford, Jennifer E.; Godwin, Jennifer; Al-Hassan, Suha M.; Bacchini, Dario; Bornstein, Marc H.; Chang, Lei; Chen, Bin-Bin; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Di Giunta, Laura; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Malone, Patrick S.; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta; Skinner, Ann T.; Sorbring, Emma; Steinberg, Laurence; Tapanya, Sombat; Alampay, Liane Peña; Uribe Tirado, Liliana Maria; Zelli, Arnaldo

2018-01-01

To examine whether the cultural normativeness of parents' beliefs and behaviors moderates the links between those beliefs and behaviors and youths' adjustment, mothers, fathers, and children (N = 1,298 families) from 12 cultural groups in 9 countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States) were…

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) Launch and Early On-Orbit Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzik, T. Gregory; Calet Collaboration

2016-03-01

The CALET space experiment, has been developed by collaborators in Japan, Italy and the United States, will study electrons to 20 TeV, gamma rays above 10 GeV and nuclei with Z =1 to 40 up to 1,000 TeV during a five-year mission on the International Space Station. The instrument consists of a particle charge identification module, a thin imaging calorimeter (3 r.l. in total) with tungsten plates interleaving scintillating fiber planes, and a thick calorimeter (27 r.l.) composed of lead tungstate logs. CALET has the depth, imaging capabilities and energy resolution for excellent separation between hadrons, electrons and gamma rays. The instrument was launched into orbit on August 19, 2015 and on August 25, 2015 was mounted as an attached payload on the International Space Station (ISS) Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility (JEM-EF). The experiment has successfully completed on-orbit checkout and has now been transitioned to normal science operations. This presentation summarizes the instrument design, science goals and early on-orbit performance. This effort is supported by NASA in the United States, by JAXA in Japan, and ASI in Italy.

Obesity-related mortality in France, Italy, and the United States: a comparison using multiple cause-of-death analysis

PubMed Central

Barbieri, Magali; Egidi, Viviana; Demuru, Elena; Frova, Luisa; Meslé, France; Pappagallo, Marilena

2018-01-01

Objectives We investigate the reporting of obesity on death certificates in three countries (France, Italy, and the United States) with different levels of prevalence, and we examine which causes are frequently associated with obesity. Methods We use cause-of-death data for all deaths at ages 50–89 in 2010–2011. Since obesity may not be the underlying cause (UC) of death, we compute age- and sex- standardized death rates considering all mentions of obesity (multiple causes or MC). We use cluster analyses to identify patterns of cause-of-death combinations. Results Obesity is selected as UC in no more than 20% of the deaths with a mention of obesity. Mortality levels, whether measured from the UC or the MC, are weakly related to levels of prevalence. Patterns of cause-of-death combinations are similar across the countries. In addition to strong links with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, we identify several less familiar associations. Conclusions Considering all mentions on the deaths certificates reduces the underestimation of obesity-related mortality based on the UC only. It also enables us to describe the various mortality patterns involving obesity. PMID:28497238

Obesity-related mortality in France, Italy, and the United States: a comparison using multiple cause-of-death analysis.

PubMed

Barbieri, Magali; Désesquelles, Aline; Egidi, Viviana; Demuru, Elena; Frova, Luisa; Meslé, France; Pappagallo, Marilena

2017-07-01

We investigate the reporting of obesity on death certificates in three countries (France, Italy, and the United States) with different levels of prevalence, and we examine which causes are frequently associated with obesity. We use cause-of-death data for all deaths at ages 50-89 in 2010-2011. Since obesity may not be the underlying cause (UC) of death, we compute age- and sex-standardized death rates considering all mentions of obesity (multiple causes or MC). We use cluster analyses to identify patterns of cause-of-death combinations. Obesity is selected as UC in no more than 20% of the deaths with a mention of obesity. Mortality levels, whether measured from the UC or the MC, are weakly related to levels of prevalence. Patterns of cause-of-death combinations are similar across the countries. In addition to strong links with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, we identify several less familiar associations. Considering all mentions on the deaths certificates reduces the underestimation of obesity-related mortality based on the UC only. It also enables us to describe the various mortality patterns involving obesity.

The use of phenological data to calculate chilling units in Olea europaea L. in relation to the onset of reproduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlandi, F.; Fornaciari, M.; Romano, B.

2002-02-01

The aim of this study was to develop a practical method to evaluate the effective relationship between the amount of winter chilling and the response expressed as the spring reproductive re-starting dates in the olive ( Olea europaea L.). Two olive cultivars growing in a special olive orchard in Umbria (central Italy) were studied over a 3-year period (1998-2000): the cultivar Ascolana, typical of central Italy, and the cultivar Giarraffa, typical of southern Italy. The spring reproductive re-starts were assessed using data from detailed phenological observations made on 60 trees of each cultivar in an effort to establish the exact date of reproductive bud swelling. The chilling phenomenon was evaluated by using 341 functions derived from a formula developed by researchers at Utah State University to calculate chilling units. The mathematical functions are defined, and show the very close relationship between the amount of winter chilling and the spring reproductive response in the two cultivars in the orchard studied. The results can be used to define the relationship between local climate and plant development, and the mathematical approach can be used to draw maps that can show the suitability of different cultivars on the basis of local climatic conditions.

77 FR 38736 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: New Qualifying Country-Czech Republic (DFARS...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-29

... Germany Greece Israel Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United... Egypt Finland France Germany Greece Israel Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden... Belgium Canada Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Finland France Germany Greece Israel Italy Luxembourg...

Monitoring the Rights of Children. Innocenti Global Seminar (Florence, Italy, May 23-June 1, 1994). Summary Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Maggie

In spring 1994, a seminar involving children's rights activists and researchers was held to examine how the monitoring of children's rights, within the context of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, supports the monitoring of the goals agreed to at the World Summit for Children. The seminar also reviewed the state of the art…

Geophysics of Geothermal Areas: State of the Art and Future Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mabey, Don R.

In May 1980 a workshop organized by the Advanced School of Geophysics of the Ettore Majorana Center for Scientific Culture was held in Erice, Italy. The purpose was to present the state of the art and future development of geophysics as related to exploration for geothermal resources and the environmental impact of the development of geothermal systems. The workshop was addressed to “younger researchers working in scientific institutions and in public or private agencies and who are particularly interested in these aspects of the energy problem.” Fourteen formal lectures were presented to the workshop. This volume contains papers based on 10 of these lectures with a preface, forward, and introduction by the editors. The ten papers are “Heat Transfer in Geothermal Areas,” “Interpretation of Conductive Heat Flow Anomalies,” “Deep Electromagnetic Soundings in Geothermal Exploration,” “A Computation Method for dc Geoelectric Fields,” “Measurement of Ground Deformation in Geothermal Areas,” “Active Seismic Methods in Geothermal Exploration,” “The Role of Geophysical Investigations in the Discovery of the Latera Geothermal Field,” “Geothermal Resources Exploration in the European Community: The Geophysical Case,” “Activity Performed by AGIP (ENI Group) in the Field of Geothermal Energy,” and “Geothermal Exploration in the Western United States.” Six of the authors are from Italy, and one each is from Iceland, the Netherlands, West Germany, and the United States. All of the papers are in English.

Recorded motions of the 6 April 2009 Mw 6.3 L'Aquila, Italy, earthquake and implications for building structural damage: Overview

USGS Publications Warehouse

Celebi, M.; Bazzurro, P.; Chiaraluce, L.; Clemente, P.; Decanini, L.; Desortis, A.; Ellsworth, W.; Gorini, A.; Kalkan, E.; Marcucci, S.; Milana, G.; Mollaioli, F.; Olivieri, M.; Paolucci, R.; Rinaldis, D.; Rovelli, A.; Sabetta, F.; Stephens, C.

2010-01-01

The normal-faulting earthquake of 6 April 2009 in the Abruzzo Region of central Italy caused heavy losses of life and substantial damage to centuriesold buildings of significant cultural importance and to modern reinforcedconcrete- framed buildings with hollow masonry infill walls. Although structural deficiencies were significant and widespread, the study of the characteristics of strong motion data from the heavily affected area indicated that the short duration of strong shaking may have spared many more damaged buildings from collapsing. It is recognized that, with this caveat of shortduration shaking, the infill walls may have played a very important role in preventing further deterioration or collapse of many buildings. It is concluded that better new or retrofit construction practices that include reinforcedconcrete shear walls may prove helpful in reducing risks in such seismic areas of Italy, other Mediterranean countries, and even in United States, where there are large inventories of deficient structures. ?? 2010, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

[The investigative and adversarial process in Italy and the United States].

PubMed

Palermo, George B; Mastronardi, Vincenzo; Agostini, Susanna

2012-01-01

The structure of the US legal system, which relies on the presence of different courts to provide for the impartial administration of justice, both civil and criminal is discussed. Therefore, all the steps to conviction or acquittal of the American criminal trial, are taken into consideration. However, there is the presumption of innocence of the accused and the prosecution must prove his guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. Another important procedure in the US trial is the jury selection (voir dire), 12 jurors: 6 for the defense and 6 for the prosecution. In Italy it was observed that the autonomy of the police would squeeze the steering function of the prosecutor, and the practice of "under cover" investigation has granted an extension of police activity.

Logics and Models for Concurrency and Type Theory

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-06-16

monoidal) categories, al- though the basic reference still remains the original monograph of Eilenberg and Kelly . Therefore, the paper includes a fully...University of Pisa, Italy " Prof. Pierpaolo Degano, University of Parma, Italy " !,.r. Vladimiro Sassone, Unit Aity of Pisa, Italy " Ms. Maura Cerioli

World War II: A Chronology. December 1943

DTIC Science & Technology

1943-12-01

an: RAF aircraft ə t tack Sir,u harbor, probably damaging buildings on quayside. 2, Italy : Units of lOth Corps make gains on M . Ca1:.ino...by 4 B-25’:::> :,hich start fires dmong shore .buildings. 8 Italy : Units of 46th Div capture Cocuruzzo, on SVJ side of M . Cainino; 56th Div rnoves...conjunction with Itali <:ms, seizes positions on lv.i:. ;Lungo. ·Forty’:’"f~fth . Di’v moves tow~rd M . Cb.vallo; French attack M . Pc:.:ntq.no

75 FR 26920 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-13

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-427-801, A-428-801, A-475-801, A-588-804, A-412-801] Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Preliminary Results of Changed...

Parental involvement and kangaroo care in European neonatal intensive care units: a policy survey in eight countries.

PubMed

Pallás-Alonso, Carmen R; Losacco, Valentina; Maraschini, Alice; Greisen, Gorm; Pierrat, Veronique; Warren, Inga; Haumont, Dominique; Westrup, Björn; Smit, Bert J; Sizun, Jacques; Cuttini, Marina

2012-09-01

To compare, in a large representative sample of European neonatal intensive care units, the policies and practices regarding parental involvement and holding babies in the kangaroo care position as well as differences in the tasks mothers and fathers are allowed to carry out. Prospective multicenter survey. Neonatal intensive care units in eight European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Patients were not involved in this study. None. A structured questionnaire was mailed to 362 units (response rate 78%); only units with ≥50 very-low-birth-weight annual admissions were considered for this study. Facilities for parents such as reclining chairs near the babies' cots, beds, and a dedicated room were common, but less so in Italy and Spain. All units in Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Belgium reported encouraging parental participation in the care of the babies, whereas policies were more restrictive in Italy (80% of units), France (73%), and Spain (41%). Holding babies in the kangaroo care position was widespread. However, in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain, many units applied restrictions regarding its frequency (sometimes or on parents request only, rather than routinely), method (conventional rather than skin-to-skin), and clinical conditions (especially mechanical ventilation and presence of umbilical lines) that would prevent its practice. In these countries, fathers were routinely offered kangaroo care less frequently than mothers (p < .001) and less often it was skin-to-skin (p < .0001). This study showed that, although the majority of units in all countries reported a policy of encouraging both parents to take part in the care of their babies, the intensity and ways of involvement as well as the role played by mothers and fathers varied within and between countries.

International risk of yellow fever spread from the ongoing outbreak in Brazil, December 2016 to May 2017.

PubMed

Dorigatti, Ilaria; Hamlet, Arran; Aguas, Ricardo; Cattarino, Lorenzo; Cori, Anne; Donnelly, Christl A; Garske, Tini; Imai, Natsuko; Ferguson, Neil M

2017-07-13

States in south-eastern Brazil were recently affected by the largest Yellow Fever (YF) outbreak seen in a decade in Latin America. Here we provide a quantitative assessment of the risk of travel-related international spread of YF indicating that the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Italy and Germany may have received at least one travel-related YF case capable of seeding local transmission. Mitigating the risk of imported YF cases seeding local transmission requires heightened surveillance globally. This article is copyright of The Authors, 2017.

International risk of yellow fever spread from the ongoing outbreak in Brazil, December 2016 to May 2017

PubMed Central

Dorigatti, Ilaria; Hamlet, Arran; Aguas, Ricardo; Cattarino, Lorenzo; Cori, Anne; Donnelly, Christl A; Garske, Tini; Imai, Natsuko; Ferguson, Neil M

2017-01-01

States in south-eastern Brazil were recently affected by the largest Yellow Fever (YF) outbreak seen in a decade in Latin America. Here we provide a quantitative assessment of the risk of travel-related international spread of YF indicating that the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Italy and Germany may have received at least one travel-related YF case capable of seeding local transmission. Mitigating the risk of imported YF cases seeding local transmission requires heightened surveillance globally. PMID:28749337

76 FR 2647 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-14

...-804, A-412-801] Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews AGENCY... administrative reviews of the antidumping duty orders on ball bearings and parts thereof from France, Germany...

A Strategic Appraisal of Russia

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-06

and Italy. The Camp David declaration last summer establishes a friendly relationship with the United States, and as Russian Foreign Minister A. Kozyrev ...agent in the international arena. When a country has to ask for help from outsiders, it gets less consideration. A. Kozyrev says, "No foreign policy...Foreign Minister A. Kozyrev of betraying Russia’s interests, and demand that Russian foreign policy be aggressive and prepared to take the offensive. Some

Thermal mapping, geothermal source location, natural effluents and plant stress in the Mediterranean coast of Spain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delascuevas, R. N.; Desagredo, D. F. L.; Miralles, D. J. M.; Araujo, D. P. H.; Perlado, D. J. P.; Parrilla, D. G.; Picon, D. J. L.; Labrandero, D. J. L. (Principal Investigator)

1980-01-01

Although no significant results were achieved during the report period, research continues. A sample of imagery showing thermal inertia and temperature differences over the northeastern United States and Europe was received. The project coordinator attended a TELLUS Project meeting in Ispra, Italy at which general guidelines for the future were established and the quality of the data received was discussed.

Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-07-01

Finland : 3 UK: 13 Croatia: 4 Hungary: 3 Italy: 22 Lithuania: 2 Netherlands: 6 Poland: 9 Portugal: 1 Romania: 3 Slovenia: 1 Slovakia: 1...civilian casualties resulting from operations by pro -government forces compared with the same period in 2011, and more specifically, a 42 percent...Window A is administered by the World Bank; contributors are Australia ($5.9 million), Finland ($2.5 million), and the United States ($50 million

75 FR 59744 - Stainless Steel Plate From Belgium, Italy, Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-28

... (Second Review)] Stainless Steel Plate From Belgium, Italy, Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan AGENCY: United... Africa and the antidumping duty orders on stainless steel plate from Belgium, Italy, Korea, South Africa... revocation of the countervailing duty orders on stainless steel plate from Belgium and South Africa and the...

75 FR 81309 - Stainless Steel Plate from Belgium, Italy, Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-27

... (Second Review)] Stainless Steel Plate from Belgium, Italy, Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan AGENCY: United... countervailing duty orders on stainless steel plate from Belgium and South Africa and the antidumping duty orders on stainless steel plate from Belgium, Italy, Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan. SUMMARY: The...

Global capacity, potentials and trends of solid waste research and management.

PubMed

Nwachukwu, Michael A; Ronald, Mersky; Feng, Huan

2017-09-01

In this study, United States, China, India, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Egypt, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Taiwan, Australia, Canada and Mexico were selected to represent the global community. This enabled an overview of solid waste management worldwide and between developed and developing countries. These are countries that feature most in the International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management (ICSW) over the past 20 years. A total of 1452 articles directly on solid waste management and technology were reviewed and credited to their original country of research. Results show significant solid waste research potentials globally, with the United States leading by 373 articles, followed by India with 230 articles. The rest of the countries are ranked in the order of: UK > Taiwan > Brazil > Nigeria > Italy > Japan > China > Canada > Germany >Mexico > Egypt > Australia. Global capacity in solid waste management options is in the order of: Waste characterisation-management > waste biotech/composting > waste to landfill > waste recovery/reduction > waste in construction > waste recycling > waste treatment-reuse-storage > waste to energy > waste dumping > waste education/public participation/policy. It is observed that the solid waste research potential is not a measure of solid waste management capacity. The results show more significant research impacts on solid waste management in developed countries than in developing countries where economy, technology and society factors are not strong. This article is targeted to motivate similar study in each country, using solid waste research articles from other streamed databases to measure research impacts on solid waste management.

[Health services, morbidity and mortality in the regiment of the Papal Zouaves in Italy (1861-1870)].

PubMed

Guenel, J

1995-01-01

The regiment of the Zouaves pontificaux was formed by young Catholic volunteers, chiefly French, Dutch and Belgian, who enrolled for the defence of the Pontifical State from 1861 to 1870 against the scheme of the United Italy planned by King Victor-Emmanuel II and Garibaldi. For ten years fights were scarce. They only took place in 1867 principally in Mentana and in September 1870 when the papal state was invaded and Rome taken. At first the military medical service in the regiment as in the whole army was rather inadequate except for the central hospital. The ambulances system was based largely upon benevolent people. But the organization improved in 1870. On the whole amongst more than 9,000 enlisted volunteers, 476 died (5%). The causes of death were more often diseases (78%) than injuries. As in all the armies of that time, cholera, smallpox, typhoid fever made a lot of victims. Malaria which still reigned in the Latium was responsible of a large morbidity.

A macroepigenetic approach to identify factors responsible for the autism epidemic in the United States

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The number of children ages 6 to 21 in the United States receiving special education services under the autism disability category increased 91% between 2005 to 2010 while the number of children receiving special education services overall declined by 5%. The demand for special education services continues to rise in disability categories associated with pervasive developmental disorders. Neurodevelopment can be adversely impacted when gene expression is altered by dietary transcription factors, such as zinc insufficiency or deficiency, or by exposure to toxic substances found in our environment, such as mercury or organophosphate pesticides. Gene expression patterns differ geographically between populations and within populations. Gene variants of paraoxonase-1 are associated with autism in North America, but not in Italy, indicating regional specificity in gene-environment interactions. In the current review, we utilize a novel macroepigenetic approach to compare variations in diet and toxic substance exposure between these two geographical populations to determine the likely factors responsible for the autism epidemic in the United States. PMID:22490277

Italy Country Analysis Brief

EIA Publications

2016-01-01

Italy is the fourth largest energy consumer in Europe, after Germany, France, and United Kingdom. Italy's primary energy consumption is driven by oil and gas, which contributed to over three-quarters of Italy's total consumption. The remaining portion is made up of coal, hydro, and other renewable energy sources. Renewable energy sources, excluding hydroelectricity, have increased their share in Italy's energy consumption from less than 2% in 2005 to nearly 10% in 2015. As a net importer of crude oil and natural gas, Italy is heavily dependent on imports to meet about 90% of its oil and gas needs and to maintain its exports of refined petroleum products.

Comparative Analysis of Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase CTX-M-65-Producing Salmonella enterica Serovar Infantis Isolates from Humans, Food Animals, and Retail Chickens in the United States

PubMed Central

Folster, Jason P.; Hsu, Chih-Hao; Chen, Jessica; Hoffmann, Maria; Li, Cong; Morales, Cesar; Tyson, Gregory H.; Mukherjee, Sampa; Brown, Allison C.; Green, Alice; Wilson, Wanda; Dessai, Uday; Abbott, Jason; Joseph, Lavin; Haro, Jovita; Ayers, Sherry; McDermott, Patrick F.; Zhao, Shaohua

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT We sequenced the genomes of 10 Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis isolates containing blaCTX-M-65 obtained from chicken, cattle, and human sources collected between 2012 and 2015 in the United States through routine National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) surveillance and product sampling programs. We also completely assembled the plasmids from four of the isolates. All isolates had a D87Y mutation in the gyrA gene and harbored between 7 and 10 resistance genes [aph(4)-Ia, aac(3)-IVa, aph(3′)-Ic, blaCTX-M-65, fosA3, floR, dfrA14, sul1, tetA, aadA1] located in two distinct sites of a megaplasmid (∼316 to 323 kb) similar to that described in a blaCTX-M-65-positive S. Infantis isolate from a patient in Italy. High-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (hqSNP) analysis revealed that all U.S. isolates were closely related, separated by only 1 to 38 pairwise high-quality SNPs, indicating a high likelihood that strains from humans, chickens, and cattle recently evolved from a common ancestor. The U.S. isolates were genetically similar to the blaCTX-M-65-positive S. Infantis isolate from Italy, with a separation of 34 to 47 SNPs. This is the first report of the blaCTX-M-65 gene and the pESI (plasmid for emerging S. Infantis)-like megaplasmid from S. Infantis in the United States, and it illustrates the importance of applying a global One Health human and animal perspective to combat antimicrobial resistance. PMID:28483962

Comparative Analysis of Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase CTX-M-65-Producing Salmonella enterica Serovar Infantis Isolates from Humans, Food Animals, and Retail Chickens in the United States.

PubMed

Tate, Heather; Folster, Jason P; Hsu, Chih-Hao; Chen, Jessica; Hoffmann, Maria; Li, Cong; Morales, Cesar; Tyson, Gregory H; Mukherjee, Sampa; Brown, Allison C; Green, Alice; Wilson, Wanda; Dessai, Uday; Abbott, Jason; Joseph, Lavin; Haro, Jovita; Ayers, Sherry; McDermott, Patrick F; Zhao, Shaohua

2017-07-01

We sequenced the genomes of 10 Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis isolates containing bla CTX-M-65 obtained from chicken, cattle, and human sources collected between 2012 and 2015 in the United States through routine National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) surveillance and product sampling programs. We also completely assembled the plasmids from four of the isolates. All isolates had a D87Y mutation in the gyrA gene and harbored between 7 and 10 resistance genes [ aph(4)-Ia , aac(3)-IVa , aph(3 ' )-Ic , bla CTX-M-65 , fosA3 , floR , dfrA14 , sul1 , tetA , aadA1 ] located in two distinct sites of a megaplasmid (∼316 to 323 kb) similar to that described in a bla CTX-M-65 -positive S Infantis isolate from a patient in Italy. High-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (hqSNP) analysis revealed that all U.S. isolates were closely related, separated by only 1 to 38 pairwise high-quality SNPs, indicating a high likelihood that strains from humans, chickens, and cattle recently evolved from a common ancestor. The U.S. isolates were genetically similar to the bla CTX-M-65 -positive S Infantis isolate from Italy, with a separation of 34 to 47 SNPs. This is the first report of the bla CTX-M-65 gene and the pESI (plasmid for emerging S Infantis)-like megaplasmid from S Infantis in the United States, and it illustrates the importance of applying a global One Health human and animal perspective to combat antimicrobial resistance. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

From welfare states to welfare sectors: Explaining sectoral differences in occupational pensions with economic and political power of employees.

PubMed

Wiß, Tobias

2015-12-01

Studies analysing welfare have previously focused on countries as units. In the course of pension cuts and the increasing importance of occupational welfare, our traditional understanding of a homogeneous welfare state is being challenged. In this article, I distinguish between both economic individual power (employee skills) and political collective power (trade unions), and their relation with different occupational pensions. A combined analysis by both factors is not common, where employee skills and power resources are traditionally treated as separate, rival explanations of public welfare. Combining the 'method of difference' with the 'method of agreement', the article first presents the within-country variety of occupational pensions in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Denmark. Occupational pensions in the same economic sectors across countries are then used as the units of analysis in order to illustrate the plausible determinants of economic individual power and political collective power.

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barret, D.

2017-10-01

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is a high-resolution X-ray spectrometer, providing 2.5 eV spectral resolution, over a 5' (equivalent diameter) field of view, and count rate capabilities up to 1 Crab in the 0.2-12 keV range. Approaching the end of its feasibility study (scheduled around the end of 2017), I will briefly recall the scientific objectives of Athena driving the X-IFU specifications and will describe its current baseline configuration and the expected performances. I will outline the on-going technology developments that will enable the X-IFU. The X-IFU will be developed by an international consortium led by France (IRAP/CNES), the Netherlands (SRON), Italy (IAPS), with ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain and Switzerland, and international partner contributions from Japan and the United States. This talk is given on behalf of the X-IFU Consortium.

76 FR 60871 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, and Italy; Termination of Five-Year Reviews

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-30

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731-TA-391A-393A (Third Review)] Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, and Italy; Termination of Five-Year Reviews AGENCY: United... parts thereof from France, Germany, and Italy would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of...

76 FR 8772 - Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate From India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan and Korea

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-15

... Review)] Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate From India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan and Korea AGENCY: United...-year reviews concerning the countervailing duty orders on cut-to-length carbon steel plate from India, Indonesia, Italy, and Korea and the antidumping duty orders on cut-to-length carbon steel plate from India...

77 FR 2511 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, and Italy: Extension of Time Limit for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-18

... Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, and Italy: Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary Results... ball bearings and parts thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom for the... Administrative Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 76 FR 37781 (June 28, 2011).\\1\\ The preliminary...

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND JOB CHANGE. PAPER PRESENTED AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AUTOMATION, FULL EMPLOYMENT, AND A BALANCED ECONOMY (ROME, ITALY, JUNE 27, 1967).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

HABER, WILLIAM

THIS PAPER SKETCHES RECENT TRENDS AND PROBLEMS THAT HAVE EMERGED IN PUBLIC TRAINING EFFORTS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING THE 1960S. IT CITES SHIFTS IN EMPHASIS FROM TRAINING WORKERS FOR EXISTING JOBS TO REFOCUSING ON YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND TO PREPARING THE HARD-CORE UNEMPLOYED FOR WORK, AND FROM CONCERN WITH JOB TRAINING TO JOB CREATION. IT POINTS…

Curricula in Mathematics: A Comparison of Courses in the Countries Represented in the International Commission on the Teaching of Mathematics. Bulletin, 1914, No. 45. Whole Number 619

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, J. C.

1915-01-01

The International Commission on the Teaching of Mathematics created by the International Congress of Mathematics at Rome, Italy, in 1908, submitted a large body of reports to the congress at Cambridge, England, in 1912. Those for the United States have been published as bulletins for the Bureau of Education. The material in this bulletin shows…

Development of Information and Knowledge Architectures and an Associated Framework and Methodology for System Management of a Global Reserve Currency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardullo, Mario W.

2013-01-01

The global financial system appears to be heading for a major financial crisis. This crisis is being driven by a growing global debt. This crisis is not limited to nations that are heavily in debt such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy or Cyprus but to such others as the United States. While there has been a great deal of emphasis on…

The Diversification of Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations and its Effects on Spillover Violence in the United States

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-14

would require the determination of “innocent.” This definition presumes that violence against illegal immigrants , often the victims of violence on...Canada, Chile , the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg...illegal immigrants being smuggled into the U.S., Mexican or U.S. citizens working with the cartels or their innocent family members, and those that

77 FR 16537 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, and Italy: Extension of Time Limit for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-21

... Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, and Italy: Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary Results... ball bearings and parts thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom for the... Revocation in Part, 76 FR 37781 (June 28, 2011). See also Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From Japan and the...

Recent Developments in Space Debris Mitigation Policy and Practices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Nicholas L.

2006-01-01

In recent years, emphasis has shifted from national efforts to control the space debris population to international ones. Here, too, great progress has been made, most notably by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) of the United Nations. Today, a firm international consensus is rapidly building on the principal space debris mitigation measures. The IADC is an association of the space agencies of ten countries (China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and the European Space Agency, representing 17 countries of which four (France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom) are also full IADC members. At the 17th meeting of the IADC in October 1999, a new Action Item (AI 17.2) was adopted to develop a set of consensus space debris mitigation guidelines. The purpose of the activity was to identify the most valuable space debris mitigation measures and to reach an international agreement on common directives. The IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines (www.iadc-online.org/index.cgi?item=docs_pub) were formally adopted in October 2002 during the Second World Space Congress in Houston, Texas. Two years later a companion document, entitled Support to the IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines, was completed to provide background and clarification for the guidelines.

Constraining National Health Care Expenditures. Achieving Quality Care at an Affordable Cost.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-30

Medicaid (federal/state) 10.8 Other state/local government programs 5.1 Other federal programs 5.4 Philanthropy and industrial in-plant 1.2 .- Source: U.S...expenditures. Projections of future outlays and income for the Medicare Trust Fund indicate serious financing problems by the . mid to late 1990’s. The...7.1 0 France 6.4 7.9 23 West Germany 6.4 9.2 44 Italy 6 .1a 6.4 5 Netherlands 6.3 8.2 30 Sweden 7.4 9.8 32 Switzerland n/a 6.9 United Kingdom 4.3 5.2

Working group on the “adequate minimum” V=volcanic observatory

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tilling, R.I.

1982-01-01

A working group consisting of R. I. Tilling (United States, Chairman), M. Espendola (Mexico), E. Malavassi (Costa Rica), L. Villari (Italy), and J.P Viode (France) met on the island of Guadeloupe on February 20, 1981, to discuss informally the requirements for a "Minimum" volcano observatory, one which would have the essential monitoring equipment and staff to provide reliable information on the state of an active volcno. Given the premise that any monitoring of a volcano is better than none at all, the owrking group then proceeded to consider the concept of an "adequate minimum" observatory. 

Getting Skills Right: Good Practice in Adapting to Changing Skill Needs. A Perspective on France, Italy, Spain, South Africa and the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OECD Publishing, 2017

2017-01-01

This report identifies effective strategies to tackle skills imbalances, based on five country-specific policy notes for France, Italy, Spain, South Africa and the United Kingdom. It provides a comparative assessment of practices and policies in the following areas: the collection and use of information on skill needs to foster a better alignment…

Support Policies for Business Start-ups and the Role of Training. National Reports from France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, and Synthesis Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prieto, Jose Maria; And Others

This publication contains four national studies, conducted in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, that collected data on the role of training as an element of support for business start-up and as an essential factor for the survival of newly established businesses. The study of the Spanish situation examines public and private bodies…

Middle to Late Pleistocene environmental and climatic reconstruction of the human occurrence at Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino (Vicenza, Italy) through the small-mammal assemblage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López-García, Juan Manuel; Luzi, Elisa; Peresani, Marco

2017-07-01

Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino, located at an altitude of 135 m a.s.l. in the Berici Hills in northeastern Italy, is an archaeological site with a discontinuous sedimentary sequence dating from Marine Isotope Stage 7 (MIS 7) to MIS 3. In this paper we present for the first time a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the sequence based on small-mammal (insectivore, bat and rodent) assemblages. Coupled with biochronological data and absolute dating together with previous studies on large mammals, birds and other studies on small mammals and pollen from comparable time-spans in Italy, the results enable us clearly to identify distinct climatic periods: the end of MIS 7 (7c to 7a) in units VIII-VII, MIS 5d in unit V, and probably MIS 5b in unit IV and an indeterminate MIS 3 interstadial in units III-II. Finally, the study shows that the early Middle Palaeolithic human occupation in Italy occurs during mild and temperate sub-stages of MIS 7 and that human groups with the same techno-cultural background (Mousterian) were well adapted to the changing environmental and climatic conditions of the Middle to Late Pleistocene in this part of southern Europe.

International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This artist's digital concept depicts the completely assembled International Space Station (ISS) passing over Florida. As a gateway to permanent human presence in space, the Space Station Program is to expand knowledge benefiting all people and nations. The ISS is a multidisciplinary laboratory, technology test bed, and observatory that will provide unprecedented undertakings in scientific, technological, and international experimentation. Experiments to be conducted in the ISS include: microgravity research, Earth science, space science, life sciences, space product development, and engineering research and technology. The sixteen countries participating the ISS are: United States, Russian Federation, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Brazil.

International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This artist's concept depicts the completely assembled International Space Station (ISS) passing over the Straits of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. As a gateway to permanent human presence in space, the Space Station Program is to expand knowledge benefiting all people and nations. The ISS is a multidisciplinary laboratory, technology test bed, and observatory that will provide unprecedented undertakings in scientific, technological, and international experimentation. Experiments to be conducted in the ISS include: microgravity research, Earth science, space science, life sciences, space product development, and engineering research and technology. The sixteen countries participating the ISS are: United States, Russian Federation, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Brazil.

International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This artist's concept depicts the completely assembled International Space Station (ISS) passing over Florida and the Bahamas. As a gateway to permanent human presence in space, the Space Station Program is to expand knowledge benefiting all people and nations. The ISS is a multidisciplinary laboratory, technology test bed, and observatory that will provide unprecedented undertakings in scientific, technological, and international experimentation. Experiments to be conducted in the ISS include: microgravity research, Earth science, space science, life sciences, space product development, and engineering research and technology. The sixteen countries participating in the ISS are: United States, Russian Federation, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Brazil.

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-01-01

This artist's concept depicts the completely assembled International Space Station (ISS) passing over Florida and the Bahamas. As a gateway to permanent human presence in space, the Space Station Program is to expand knowledge benefiting all people and nations. The ISS is a multidisciplinary laboratory, technology test bed, and observatory that will provide unprecedented undertakings in scientific, technological, and international experimentation. Experiments to be conducted in the ISS include: microgravity research, Earth science, space science, life sciences, space product development, and engineering research and technology. The sixteen countries participating in the ISS are: United States, Russian Federation, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Brazil.

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-01-01

This artist's digital concept depicts the completely assembled International Space Station (ISS) passing over Florida. As a gateway to permanent human presence in space, the Space Station Program is to expand knowledge benefiting all people and nations. The ISS is a multidisciplinary laboratory, technology test bed, and observatory that will provide unprecedented undertakings in scientific, technological, and international experimentation. Experiments to be conducted in the ISS include: microgravity research, Earth science, space science, life sciences, space product development, and engineering research and technology. The sixteen countries participating the ISS are: United States, Russian Federation, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Brazil.

Cuba’s Involvement in Angola and Ethiopia: A Question of Autonomy in Cuba’s Relationship with the Soviet Union

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA). Consequently, the Angolan War centered around these three nationalistic movements vying for power by the...the Semiperiphery: A Comparison of Brazil and Mexico ," Latin America’s Economic Development Institutionalist and Structuralist Perspectives, eds...Venezuela, Mexico , and Colombia; it was also global. Besides the United States, countries such as Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Italy also

Unpacking Educational Environments: Visions from Reggio Emilia, Australia, Sweden, Denmark and the United States. A Selection of Papers Presented at the Conference (Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia, May 16, 1998).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleet, Alma, Ed.; Robertson, Janet, Ed.

These four early childhood education conference papers discuss ideas and themes to create healthy educational environments inspired by preschool sites in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The first paper, "Environmental Visions: Daisies and the Possible" (Alma Fleet and Janet Robertson), discusses the influences of Reggio Emilia. The paper notes how…

Cost and clinical consequence of antibiotic non-adherence in acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis.

PubMed

Sorensen, S V; Baker, T; Fleurence, R; Dixon, J; Roberts, C; Haider, S; Hughes, D

2009-08-01

To quantify the impact of non-adherence on the clinical effectiveness of antibiotics for acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB) and to estimate the economic consequences for Spain, Italy and the United States. Standard systematic reviewing procedures were followed to identify randomised controlled clinical trials of antibiotic treatment for acute respiratory tract infection for which adherence was reported. A decision-analytic model was then constructed to evaluate the impact of non-adherence to antibiotic treatment on clinical effectiveness and costs per AECB episode. The model compared the total treatment costs, cure rates and incremental costs per cure for a poor compliance group (PCG) against a good compliance group (GCG). Clinical and resource use estimates were from the published literature and physician surveys. Twenty-five articles met the criteria of the systematic review, although only one reported treatment success by adherence status. The relative risk of clinical effectiveness if non-adherent was 0.75 (95%CI 0.73-0.78). Based on this single study, the model predicted that 16-29% more patients would be cured in the GCG vs. the PCG, and payers would save up to euro122, euro179 and US$141 per AECB episode in Spain, Italy and the United States, respectively. Non-adherence to antibiotics for AECB may have an impact on clinical effectiveness, which is associated with increased costs.

Associations of acoustically measured tongue/jaw movements and portion of time speaking with negative symptom severity in patients with schizophrenia in Italy and the United States.

PubMed

Bernardini, Francesco; Lunden, Anya; Covington, Michael; Broussard, Beth; Halpern, Brooke; Alolayan, Yazeed; Crisafio, Anthony; Pauselli, Luca; Balducci, Pierfrancesco M; Capulong, Leslie; Attademo, Luigi; Lucarini, Emanuela; Salierno, Gianfranco; Natalicchi, Luca; Quartesan, Roberto; Compton, Michael T

2016-05-30

This is the first cross-language study of the effect of schizophrenia on speech as measured by analyzing phonetic parameters with sound spectrography. We hypothesized that reduced variability in pitch and formants would be correlated with negative symptom severity in two samples of patients with schizophrenia, one from Italy, and one from the United States. Audio recordings of spontaneous speech were available from 40 patients. From each speech sample, a file of F0 (pitch) and formant values (F1 and F2, resonance bands indicating the moment-by-moment shape of the oral cavity), and the portion of the recording in which there was speaking ("fraction voiced," FV), was created. Correlations between variability in the phonetic indices and negative symptom severity were tested and further examined using regression analyses. Meaningful negative correlations between Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) total score and standard deviation (SD) of F2, as well as variability in pitch (SD F0) were observed in the Italian sample. We also found meaningful associations of SANS affective flattening and SANS alogia with SD F0, and of SANS avolition/apathy and SD F2 in the Italian sample. In both samples, FV was meaningfully correlated with SANS total score, avolition/apathy, and anhedonia/asociality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Meteorological tsunamis along the East Coast of the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabinovich, A.

2012-12-01

Tsunami-like intense sea level oscillations are common along the East Coast of the United States. They are generated by various types of atmospheric disturbances, including hurricanes, frontal passages, tornados, trains of atmospheric gravity waves, pressure jumps, squalls, and gales, that each set up a local, time-limited barotropic response in the affected body of water. These meteorologically induced waves have the same temporal and spatial scales as their seismically generated counterparts and inflict comparable destructions. Observed around the globe, these devastating waves are known locally as "abiki" in Nagaski Bay (Japan), "rissaga" in Spain, "šćiga" along the Croation Coast bordering the Adriatic Sea, "milghuba" in Malta, and "marrobbio" in Italy. Collectively, they may be considered as "meteorological tsunamis" or "meteotsunamis." The updated NOAA tide gauge network with 1 min sampling enabled us to examine resonant amplifications of specific events observed in 2007-2012 and physical properties of meteotsunamis impacting the United States East Coast in general. Of particular interest and focus was the "derecho" event of June 29 - July 2, 2012.

The use and design of the BSC in the health care sector: A systematic literature review for Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Sanchez, Maria Beatriz; Broccardo, Laura; Martins Pires, Amélia Maria

2018-01-01

The aim of this paper is to gain a better understanding of how the balanced scorecard (BSC) has evolved in Spain, Italy, and Portugal. It reviews all the articles on the BSC in the health care sector written between 1992 and 2015 by Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese authors and published in Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese as well as in English. Our study first shows the state of knowledge on BSC in health care for a homogeneous group of Southern European countries. Second, it uncovers the perspectives, indicators, and generation used in the countries under observation to reveal the extent to which this management tool has evolved. Third, it analyses international variations in design and use within the health care context, especially in the United States. Moreover, it also highlights a number of important issues. The BSC is in its early stage of development in these 3 countries, which do not use it as a tool to implement strategy and align all of the elements that help integrate the organization. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Severe Weather Guide - Mediterranean Ports. 9. Villefranche

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-03-01

NSTL, MS 39529-5000 10 SOURCE QF CUNDING NUMBERS PROGRAM ELEMENT NO PROJECT NO TASK NO. WORK UNIT ACCESSION NO DN656794 11 TITLE...AUGUSTA BAY, ITALY 5 CAGLIARI, ITALY 6 LA MADDALENA, ITALY 7 MARSEILLE, FRANCE 8 TOULON, FRANCE 9 VILLEFRANCHE, FRANCE 10 MALAGA, SPAIN 11 NICE... FRANCE 12 CANNES, FRANCE 13 MONACO 14 ASHDOD, ISRAEL 15 HAIFA, ISRAEL BARCELONA, SPAIN PALMA, SPAIN IBIZA, SPAIN POLLENSA BAY, SPAIN VALENCIA

Organizing national responses for rare blood disorders: the Italian experience with sickle cell disease in childhood

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most frequent hemoglobinopathy worldwide but remains a rare blood disorder in most western countries. Recommendations for standard of care have been produced in the United States, the United Kingdom and France, where this disease is relatively frequent because of earlier immigration from Africa. These recommendations have changed the clinical course of SCD but can be difficult to apply in other contexts. The Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology (AIEOP) decided to develop a common national response to the rising number of SCD patients in Italy with the following objectives: 1) to create a national working group focused on pediatric SCD, and 2) to develop tailored guidelines for the management of SCD that could be accessed and practiced by those involved in the care of children with SCD in Italy. Methods Guidelines, adapted to the Italian social context and health system, were developed by 22 pediatric hematologists representing 54 AIEOP centers across Italy. The group met five times for a total of 128 hours in 22 months; documents and opinions were circulated via web. Results Recommendations regarding the prevention and treatment of the most relevant complications of SCD in childhood adapted to the Italian context and health system were produced. For each topic, a pathway of diagnosis and care is detailed, and a selection of health management issues crucial to Italy or different from other countries is described (i.e., use of alternatives for infection prophylaxis because of the lack of oral penicillin in Italy). Conclusions Creating a network of physicians involved in the day-to-day care of children with SCD is feasible in a country where it remains rare. Providing hematologists, primary and secondary care physicians, and caregivers across the country with web-based guidelines for the management of SCD tailored to the Italian context is the first step in building a sustainable response to a rare but emerging childhood blood disorder and in implementing the World Health Organization’s suggestion “to design (and) implement … comprehensive national integrated programs for the prevention and management of SCD". PMID:24139596

United States Chemical Policy: Response Considerations

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-06-07

nTcn aapplicable. entew induiy r~ epr dates (g.10~Saeet o ehia Jun 87.- 30 Jun 88). rot gDocuments. DOE See authorities Block 4. Title and $ubtitle...introduction of mustard gas and gas shells to the battlefield. Between World War I and the 1980’s, infrequent use of chemical warfare occurred. In 1935 and...The period just prior to World War II included at least two known cases of chemical warfare use. In 1935 -36, Italy used mustard gas against Abyssinia

Survey of Technology with Possible Applications to United States Coast Guard Buoy Tenders. Volume 1. Technology Assessment.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

6-8 6.5 Brayton Cycle Arrangements .......................... 6-15 6.6 Initial Cost vs. Shaft Horsepower ................... 6-17...work in this area by Olson (ref. 5.12), various researchers in Italy (ref. 5.13, 5.14, 5.15) and a number of efforts by workers at David Taylor Naval...the Taylor Standard Series and Series 60 results used for resistance prediction) the computational effort is much reduced, but unfortunately only a

The Turco-Russian Energy Relationship: Russian Energy Dominance and Its Ability to Influence Turkey

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

an important player in the region. Turkey, by virtue of its location, “the crossroads of empires, religions , trade routes and modern day conflict...government (secularized republic), and religion (95 % Muslim) established itself as a key ally to the United States and NATO in times of conflict. 6...Slovakia, Romania , France, Poland and Italy were reduced by between 14 and 40 percent.” 7 Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas/energy monopoly, is being used as

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carr, F. Jr.; Mahaffey, J.A.

The purpose of the DOE/OHER Chernobyl Database project is to create and maintain an information system to provide usable information for research studies related to the nuclear accident. The system is the official United States repository for information about the Chernobyl accident and its consequences, and currently includes an extensive bibliography and diverse radiological measurements with supporting information. PNL has established two resources: original (not summarized) measurement data, currently about 80,000 measurements, with ancillary information; and about 2,200 bibliographic citations, some including abstracts. Major organizations that have contributed radiological measurement data include the Washington State Department of Social and Healthmore » Services; United States Environmental Protection Agency (domestic and foreign data); United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Stone Webster; Brookhaven National Laboratory; Commissariat A L'energie Atomique in France; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food in the United Kingdom; Japan National Institute of Radiological Sciences; and the Finnish Centre For Radiation and Nuclear Safety (STUK). Scientists in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Wales, and Yugoslavia have made contributions. Bibliographic materials have been obtained from scientists in the above countries that have replied to requests. In addition, literature searches have been conducted, including a search of the DOE Energy Database. The last search was conducted in January, 1989. This document lists the bibliographic information in the DOE/OHER Chernobyl Database at the current time.« less

From welfare states to welfare sectors: Explaining sectoral differences in occupational pensions with economic and political power of employees

PubMed Central

Wiß, Tobias

2015-01-01

Studies analysing welfare have previously focused on countries as units. In the course of pension cuts and the increasing importance of occupational welfare, our traditional understanding of a homogeneous welfare state is being challenged. In this article, I distinguish between both economic individual power (employee skills) and political collective power (trade unions), and their relation with different occupational pensions. A combined analysis by both factors is not common, where employee skills and power resources are traditionally treated as separate, rival explanations of public welfare. Combining the ‘method of difference’ with the ‘method of agreement’, the article first presents the within-country variety of occupational pensions in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Denmark. Occupational pensions in the same economic sectors across countries are then used as the units of analysis in order to illustrate the plausible determinants of economic individual power and political collective power. PMID:26663983

UAIS Unruptured Aneurysms Italian Study (Dedicated to Massimo Collice).

PubMed

Maira, Giulio; Mannino, Stefano; D'Aliberti, Giuseppe; Albanese, Alessio; Sabatino, Giovanni; Delfini, Roberto; Tomasello, Francesco; Alafaci, Concetta; Marchese, Enrico

2018-02-23

Unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) are increasingly identified and are an important health-care burden; in the past they were commonly treated by surgical clipping, but nowadays endovascular coil embolization is increasingly employed as an alternative. The Unruptured Aneurysms Italian Study (UAIS) is a multicentric cooperative prospective study aimed to delineate the "State of the Art" of UIAs treatment in Italy. 51 Italian Neurosurgical and Neuroradiological Units, representatives of all 20 Italian regions are involved in the Study. UAIS started on June 2003 and ended on July 2007. 1138 patients were collected by that date, but 181 were ruled-out due to severe violation of the protocol; 957 had complete data and could be statistically evaluated. UAIS demonstrates that the treatment of UAs, as performed in Italy as a Nation, is effective in improving long-term outcome vs natural history, particularly in aneurysms larger than 7 mm.

Uncertainty in benefit cost analysis of smart grid demonstration-projects in the U.S., China, and Italy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karali, Nihan; Flego, Gianluca; Yu, Jiancheng

Given the substantial investments required, there has been keen interest in conducting benefits analysis, i.e., quantifying, and often monetizing, the performance of smart grid technologies. In this study, we compare two different approaches; (1) Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)’s benefits analysis method and its adaptation to the European contexts by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and (2) the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and fuzzy logic decision making method. These are applied to three case demonstration projects executed in three different countries; the U.S., China, and Italy, considering uncertainty in each case. This work is conducted under the U.S.more » (United States)-China Climate Change Working Group, smart grid, with an additional major contribution by the European Commission. The following is a brief description of the three demonstration projects.« less

[Management of cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis in diagnostic radiology departments in Italy: proposal of a checklist and role of radiology technicians].

PubMed

Giorgini, Giulia; Mesto, Anna; Soardo, Vincenzo

2013-01-01

Tuberculosis (TB) affects more than two billion people worldwide. In hospitals, the presence of suspect cases of infectious TB should be reported as quickly as possible. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to a sample of radiology technicians employed by several local health departments in Italy. The questionnaire contained questions regarding workplace characteristics, knowledge about precautions for preventing disease transmission, degree of collaboration between health professionals and departments regarding communicable diseases. Study results point to the presence of structural and organizational weaknesses as well as inadequate communication between healthcare workers and units. Eighty percent of surveyed technicians stated that patients with suspected TB may arrive in diagnostic radiology wards devoid of surgical mask. The authors suggest the adoption of a checklist to aid healthcare professionals and specifically X-Ray technicians in adopting a behavioral model for the management of patients with infectious TB.

Enrico Fermi - And the Revolutions of Modern Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Dan

1999-02-01

In 1938, at the age of 37, Enrico Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. That same year he emigrated from Italy to the United States and, in the course of his experiments, discovered nuclear fission--a process which forms the basis of nuclear power and atomic bombs. Soon the brilliant physicist was involved in the top secret race to produce the deadliest weapon on Earth. He created the first self-sustaining chain reaction, devised new methods for purifying plutonium, and eventually participated in the first atomic test. This compelling biography traces Fermis education in Italy, his meteoric career in the scientific world, his escape from fascism to America, and the ingenious experiments he devised and conducted at the University of Rome, Columbia University, and the Los Alamos laboratory. The book also presents a mini-course in quantum and nuclear physics in an accessible, fast-paced narrative that invokes all the dizzying passion of Fermis brilliant discoveries.

INMARSAT - The International Maritime Satellite Organization: Origins and structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doyle, S. E.

1977-01-01

The third session of the International Conference on the Establishment of an International Maritime Satellite System established the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT) in 1976. Its main functions are to improve maritime communications via satellite, thereby facilitating more efficient emergency communications, ship management, and maritime public correspondence services. INMARSAT's aims are similar to those of the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), the main United Nations organization dealing with maritime affairs. The specific functions of INMARSAT have been established by an Intersessional Working Group (IWG) which met three times between general conference meetings. Initial investment shares for the creation of INMARSAT were shared by the United States (17%), the United Kingdom (12%), the U.S.S.R. (11%), Norway (9.50%), Japan (8.45%), Italy (4.37%), and France (3.50%).

Global invasion network of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys.

PubMed

Valentin, Rafael E; Nielsen, Anne L; Wiman, Nik G; Lee, Doo-Hyung; Fonseca, Dina M

2017-08-29

Human mediated transportation into novel habitats is a prerequisite for the establishment of non-native species that become invasive, so knowledge of common sources may allow prevention. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB, Halyomorpha halys) is an East Asian species now established across North America and Europe, that in the Eastern United States of America (US) and Italy is causing significant economic losses to agriculture. After US populations were shown to originate from Northern China, others have tried to source BMSB populations now in Canada, Switzerland, Italy, France, Greece, and Hungary. Due to selection of different molecular markers, however, integrating all the datasets to obtain a broader picture of BMSB's expansion has been difficult. To address this limitation we focused on a single locus, the barcode region in the cytochrome oxidase I mitochondrial gene, and analyzed representative BMSB samples from across its current global range using an Approximate Bayesian Computation approach. We found that China is the likely source of most non-native populations, with at least four separate introductions in North America and three in Europe. Additionally, we found evidence of one bridgehead event: a likely Eastern US source for the central Italy populations that interestingly share enhanced pest status.

First report on entomological field activities for the surveillance of West Nile disease in Italy.

PubMed

Toma, Luciano; Cipriani, Micaela; Goffredo, Maria; Romi, Roberto; Lelli, Rossella

2008-01-01

West Nile virus (WNV) is neuropathogenic for birds, horses and humans and is maintained in natural cycles between birds and mosquitoes, particularly the Culex genus; horses and humans are considered to be incidental hosts. A surveillance plan was implemented in Italy in 1998, following a limited outbreak of WNV equine encephalomyelitis and a WNV outbreak in France very close to the Italian border. This plan to assess the risks of the virus being introduced again included entomological surveillance performed in 15 study areas considered 'at risk' of WNV introduction in the country. Entomological surveys conducted in Italy from 2003 to 2007 resulted in the capture of a total of 28,798 mosquitoes, of which there were 14,765 adults and 14,033 larvae belonging to 22 species. According to the literature, eight of the species identified have been found to be naturally infected with WNV or were successfully infected in the laboratory in some parts of Europe and in the United States, namely: Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1897) (= Stegomiya albopicta), Aedes vexans (Meigen, 1830), Anopheles maculipennis Meigen, 1818, Coquillettidia richiardii (Ficalbi, 1889), Culex modestus Ficalbi, 1889, Culex pipiens Linnaeus, 1758, Culex theileri Theobald, 1903 and Ochlerotatus caspius (Pallas, 1771) (= Aedes caspius).

Prices and availability of pharmaceuticals: evidence from nine countries.

PubMed

Danzon, Patricia M; Furukawa, Michael F

2003-01-01

This study compares average price levels for pharmaceuticals in eight countries--Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom--relative to the United States. Our most comprehensive indexes, adjusted for U.S. manufacturer discounts, show Japan's prices to be higher than U.S. prices, and other countries' prices ranging from 6 percent to 33 percent lower than U.S. prices. The decline of the Canadian dollar and rise of the U.K. pound contribute to the finding of lower Canadian prices and higher U.K. prices in 1999 than in 1992. Our findings suggest that U.S.-foreign price differentials are roughly in line with income and smaller for drugs than for other medical services.

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-01-01

This artist's concept depicts the completely assembled International Space Station (ISS) passing over the Straits of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. As a gateway to permanent human presence in space, the Space Station Program is to expand knowledge benefiting all people and nations. The ISS is a multidisciplinary laboratory, technology test bed, and observatory that will provide unprecedented undertakings in scientific, technological, and international experimentation. Experiments to be conducted in the ISS include: microgravity research, Earth science, space science, life sciences, space product development, and engineering research and technology. The sixteen countries participating the ISS are: United States, Russian Federation, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Brazil.

A Cross-Sectional Survey of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Use in Pediatric Cardiac ICUs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

PubMed

Hoskote, Aparna U; Tume, Lyvonne N; Trieschmann, Uwe; Menzel, Christoph; Cogo, Paola; Brown, Katherine L; Broadhead, Michael W

2016-01-01

Despite the increasing use of near-infrared spectroscopy across pediatric cardiac ICUs, there is significant variability and equipoise with no universally accepted management algorithms. We aimed to explore the use of near-infrared spectroscopy in pediatric cardiac ICUs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and Germany. A cross-sectional multicenter, multinational electronic survey of one consultant in each pediatric cardiac ICU. Pediatric cardiac ICUs in the United Kingdom and Ireland (n = 13), Italy (n = 12), and Germany (n = 33). Questionnaire targeted to establish use, targets, protocols/thresholds for intervention, and perceived usefulness of near-infrared spectroscopy monitoring. Overall, 42 of 58 pediatric cardiac ICUs (72%) responded: United Kingdom and Ireland, 11 of 13 (84.6%); Italy, 12 of 12 (100%); and Germany, 19 of 33 (57%, included all major centers). Near-infrared spectroscopy usage varied with 35% (15/42) reporting that near-infrared spectroscopy was not used at all (7/42) or occasionally (8/42); near-infrared spectroscopy use was much less common in the United Kingdom (46%) when compared with 78% in Germany and all (100%) in Italy. Only four units had a near-infrared spectroscopy protocol, and 18 specifically used near-infrared spectroscopy in high-risk patients; 37 respondents believed that near-infrared spectroscopy added value to standard monitoring and 23 believed that it gave an earlier indication of deterioration, but only 19 would respond based on near-infrared spectroscopy data alone. Targets for absolute values and critical thresholds for intervention varied widely between units. The reasons cited for not or occasionally using near-infrared spectroscopy were expense (n = 6), limited evidence and uncertainty on how it guides management (n = 4), difficulty in interpretation, and unreliability of data (n = 3). Amongst the regular or occasional near-infrared spectroscopy users (n = 35), 28 (66%) agreed that a multicenter study is warranted to ascertain its use. Although most responding units used near-infrared spectroscopy for high-risk patients, the majority (31/35 [88%]) did not have any protocols or guidelines for intervention. Target thresholds and intervention algorithms are needed to support the use of near-infrared spectroscopy in pediatric cardiac ICUs; an international multicenter study is warranted.

The Urban Explosion. Draper Fund Report No. 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camp, Sharon L., Ed.; And Others

This booklet contains reports presented by delegates from Mexico, Egypt, China, Bangladesh, Italy, the Philippines, Zaire, and Indonesia to the International Conference on Population and the Urban Future held in Rome, Italy, on September 1-4, 1980. An introductory statement by the Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for Population…

Short-term Exposure to a Mediterranean Environment Influences Attitudes and Dietary Profile in U.S. College Students: The MEDiterranean Diet in AMEricans (A-MED-AME) Pilot Study.

PubMed

Petroka, Katherine; Dinu, Monica; Hoover, Chelsea; Casini, Alessandro; Sofi, Francesco

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether short-term exposure to a Mediterranean diet during a structured abroad experience could influence dietary habits and attitudes. This study used a cross-sectional design. The study was conducted on the Florence University of the Arts (FUA) campus, Italy. Fifty-four (47 females, 7 males; mean age 21.1 ± 1.9 years) college students from 12 different states, mainly located in the central United States, were enrolled in this study. Outcome measures included adherence score to Mediterranean diet and self-reported perceptions of diet and food availability. A demographic survey was used to collect data regarding personal characteristics, anthropometrics, duration of stay, and residency status. Chi-square test, independent T-test, and Mann-Whitney test were used to perform analyses. At 3 weeks' follow-up, 94% of the population reported that availability of foods affected their food choices. Interestingly, students reported that they consumed less meat with respect to their usual dietary habits in the United States (p < 0.0001) and they reported significantly increased the consumption of olive oil, cereals, fruit, and alcohol (p < 0.05). The adherence score to a Mediterranean diet significantly increased by about 1 point, going from 9.9 ± 2.4 to 10.9 ± 2.0 (p < 0.05). After a 3-week stay in Italy, an increase in the adherence score to a Mediterranean diet was observed. Future research should explore the relationship between length of time spent in a foreign country and dietary adherence in a cultural context.

Simulation and control of the technological processes of metal forming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salikhov, Z. G.; Genkin, A. L.

2015-11-01

Theoretical and applied reports in the field of simulation, prediction, and control of the technological processes of metal forming are reviewed. These reports were presented by researchers from Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, the United States, Thailand, Ukraine, Finland, Czech Republic, and Switzerland in international scientific and technical congress on metal forming "OMD-2014. Fundamental Problems. Innovative Materials and Technologies." The advanced innovative trends in MF investigations, which were presented by well-known scientific teams and Russian and foreign companies, are discussed.

[History of cranial surgery, cerebral tumor surgery and epilepsy surgery in Mexico].

PubMed

Chico-Ponce de León, F

2009-08-01

The first report of intra-cerebral tumor surgery was provided by Bennett & Goodle, in London, 1884. Worldwide this kind of surgery was performed in France by Chipault, in Italy by Durante, in the United States by Keen and in Deutchland by Krause & Oppenheim. Lavista in Mexico City operated on intra-cerebral tumor in 1891, and the report was printed in 1892. In the same publication, Lavista exhibited the first cases of epilepsy surgery. Since now, it is the first report of this kind of surgery in the Spanish-speaking world.

Of Tanks and Toyotas: An Assessment of Japan’s Defense Industry

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

AD-A282 389 A RAND NOTE Of Tants and Toyotas An Asmamnt of Jan’s Defense Idustry Arthur Alexander DTIC S ELECTEJUL 2 6 1994 0 G 94-22886 RAND 94 7 21...RAND NOTE N3542-AF Of Tanks and Toyotas : An Assesmen of Japan’s Defense Idus"r Arthur Alexander Prepared for the United States Air Force Accesion For...Japanese dfense expenditures are modest when compared to those of NATO countries such as Italy and France, whose economies are considerably smaller than

White paper of Italian Gastroenterology: delivery of services for digestive diseases in Italy: weaknesses and strengths.

PubMed

Buscarini, Elisabetta; Conte, Dario; Cannizzaro, Renato; Bazzoli, Franco; De Boni, Michele; Delle Fave, Gianfranco; Farinati, Fabio; Ravelli, Paolo; Testoni, Pier Alberto; Lisiero, Manola; Spolaore, Paolo

2014-07-01

In 2011 the three major Italian gastroenterological scientific societies (AIGO, the Italian Society of Hospital Gastroenterologists and Endoscopists; SIED, the Italian Society of Endoscopy; SIGE, the Italian Society of Gastroenterology) prepared their official document aimed at analysing medical care for digestive diseases in Italy, on the basis of national and regional data (Health Ministry and Lombardia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna databases) and to make proposals for planning of care. Digestive diseases were the first or second cause of hospitalizations in Italy in 1999-2009, with more than 1,500,000 admissions/year; however only 5-9% of these admissions was in specialized Gastroenterology units. Reported data show a better outcome in Gastroenterology Units than in non-specialized units: shorter average length of stay, in particular for admissions with ICD-9-CM codes proxying for emergency conditions (6.7 days versus 8.4 days); better case mix (higher average diagnosis-related groups weight in Gastroenterology Units: 1 vs 0.97 in Internal Medicine units and 0.76 in Surgery units); lower inappropriateness of admissions (16-25% versus 29-87%); lower in-hospital mortality in urgent admissions (2.2% versus 5.1%); for patients with urgent admissions due to gastrointestinnal haemorrhage, in-hospital mortality was 2.3% in Gastroenterology units versus 4.0% in others. The present document summarizes the scientific societies' official report, which constitutes the "White paper of Italian Gastroenterology". Copyright © 2014 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Problem of Civic Cohesion and the Role of the State School in France and Italy: Historical, Religious and Secular Comparisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferrari, Alessandro

2006-01-01

The paper aims to investigate the role assigned to state schools in France and Italy in constructing social cohesion and a common citizenship. The theme will be treated by individuating three different stages of a process of progressive mutual rapprochement between state and civil society. From the separatist phase, passing through an intermediate…

Longitudinal Patent Analysis for Nanoscale Science and Engineering: Country, Institution and Technology Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Zan; Chen, Hsinchun; Yip, Alan; Ng, Gavin; Guo, Fei; Chen, Zhi-Kai; Roco, Mihail C.

2003-08-01

Nanoscale science and engineering (NSE) and related areas have seen rapid growth in recent years. The speed and scope of development in the field have made it essential for researchers to be informed on the progress across different laboratories, companies, industries and countries. In this project, we experimented with several analysis and visualization techniques on NSE-related United States patent documents to support various knowledge tasks. This paper presents results on the basic analysis of nanotechnology patents between 1976 and 2002, content map analysis and citation network analysis. The data have been obtained on individual countries, institutions and technology fields. The top 10 countries with the largest number of nanotechnology patents are the United States, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Korea, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and Australia. The fastest growth in the last 5 years has been in chemical and pharmaceutical fields, followed by semiconductor devices. The results demonstrate potential of information-based discovery and visualization technologies to capture knowledge regarding nanotechnology performance, transfer of knowledge and trends of development through analyzing the patent documents.

Women victims of intentional homicide in Italy: New insights comparing Italian trends to German and U.S. trends, 2008-2014.

PubMed

Terranova, Claudio; Zen, Margherita

2018-01-01

National statistics on female homicide could be a useful tool to evaluate the phenomenon and plan adequate strategies to prevent and reduce this crime. The aim of the study is to contribute to the analysis of intentional female homicides in Italy by comparing Italian trends to German and United States trends from 2008 to 2014. This is a population study based on data deriving primarily from national and European statistical institutes, from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting and from the National Center for Health Statistics. Data were analyzed in relation to trends and age by Chi-square test, Student's t-test and linear regression. Results show that female homicides, unlike male homicides, remained stable in the three countries. Regression analysis showed a higher risk for female homicide in all age groups in the U.S. Middle-aged women result at higher risk, and the majority of murdered women are killed by people they know. These results confirm previous findings and suggest the need to focus also in Italy on preventive strategies to reduce those precipitating factors linked to violence and present in the course of a relationship or within the family. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

KSC-07pd2188

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA; Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski and Stephanie D. Wilson; and Erin Schlichenmaier, of TPS Engineering with United Space Alliance. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2191

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli (kneeling), a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Allison Bolinger (kneeling), an EVA technician with NASA; Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson; and Erin Schlichenmaier, with United Space Alliance TPS Engineering. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2189

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock (standing); Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Allison Bolinger (pointing), an EVA technician with NASA; Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski and Stephanie D. Wilson; two support personnel and Erin Schlichenmaier, with United Space Alliance TPS Engineering. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2190

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli (sitting), a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski (pointing); Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Allison Bolinger (kneeling), an EVA technician with NASA; Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson; and Erin Schlichenmaier, with United Space Alliance TPS Engineering. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2193

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 is Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2208

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Douglas H. Wheelock and Paolo A. Nespoli inspect tools they will use during the mission. Nespoli is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. With them is Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2198

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Receiving a briefing on the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles on space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are Commander Pamela A. Melroy and Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2206

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Douglas H. Wheelock and Paolo A. Nespoli inspect tools they will use during the mission. Nespoli is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Behind them is Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2187

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Standing under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, from left, are Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani, Pilot George D. Zamka and Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Airborne precursor missions in support of SIR-C/X-SAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, D.; Oettl, H.; Pampaloni, P.

1991-01-01

The NASA DC-8 and DLR E-SAR airborne imaging radars have been deployed over several sites in Europe and the U.S. in support of SIR-C/X-SAR (Shuttle Imaging Radar-C/X-Synthetic Aperture Radar) science team investigations. To date, data have been acquired in support of studies of alpine glaciers, forests, geology, oceanography, and calibration. An experimental campaign with airborne sensors will take place in Europe in June to July 1991 which will allow multitemporal surveys of several Europeans sites. Current plans are for calibration and ecology experiments to be undertaken in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. Coordinated multitemporal aircraft and ground campaigns are planned in support of hydrology experiments in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Austria. Data will also be acquired in support of oceanogrqhy in the Gulf of Genova, North Atlantic, Straits of Messina and the North Sea. Geology sites will include Campi Flegrei and Vesuvio, Italy.

Imported Malaria in Children in Industrialized Countries, 1992–2002

PubMed Central

Stäger, Katrin; Legros, Fabrice; Krause, Gérard; Low, Nicola; Bradley, David; Desai, Meghna; Graf, Simone; D’Amato, Stefania; Mizuno, Yasutaka; Janzon, Ragnhild; Petersen, Eskild; Kester, John; Steffen, Robert

2009-01-01

Children account for an appreciable proportion of total imported malaria cases, yet few studies have quantified these cases, identified trends, or suggested evidence-based prevention strategies for this group of travelers. We therefore sought to identify numbers of cases and deaths, Plasmodium species, place of malaria acquisition, preventive measures used, and national origin of malaria in children. We analyzed retrospective data from Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States and data provided by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. During 1992–2002, >17,000 cases of imported malaria in children were reported in 11 countries where malaria is not endemic; most (>70%) had been acquired in Africa. Returning to country of origin to visit friends and relatives was a risk factor. Malaria prevention for children should be a responsibility of healthcare providers and should be subsidized for low-income travelers to high-risk areas. PMID:19193261

San Marco C-2 Explorer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The San Marco C-2 spacecraft will be launched no earlier than 18 February 1974 from the San Marco Range located off the coast of Kenya, Africa, by a Scout launch vehicle. The launch will be conducted by an Italian crew. The San Marco C-2 is the fourth cooperative satellite project between Italy and the United States. The purpose of the mission is to obtain measurements of the diurnal variations of the equatorial neutral atmosphere density, composition, and temperature and to use these data for correlation with AE-C (Explorer 51) data for studies of the physics and dynamics of the thermosphere. The San Marco C-2 project is a joint undertaking of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Italian Space Commission officially initiated with a Memorandum of Understanding in August of 1973. Project management responsibility for the Italian portion of the project has been assigned to the Centro Ricerche Aerospaziali (CRA) while the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has responsibility for the United States portion.

An international perspective on interest in a general surgery career among final-year medical students.

PubMed

Are, Chandrakanth; Stoddard, Hugh A; Prete, Francesco; Tianqiang, Song; Northam, Lindsay M; Chan, Sharon; Lee, Janet; Jani, Pankaj; Protic, Mladjan; Venkateshwarulu, S; Sarela, Abeezar; Thompson, Jon S

2011-09-01

The level of interest in general surgery among US seniors has been declining; however, it may be perceived as a more attractive career outside the United States. A survey was developed and distributed to students at medical schools in 8 countries. Results were analyzed to determine whether interest in general surgery was related to sex of the respondent or economic standing of the country. We noted differences in the level of interest in general surgery, ranging from 8% in Italy to 58% in India. As in the United States, there was a difference in the level of interest between sexes, with a male preponderance. Students from economically less developed countries expressed a greater interest in general surgery compared with students from countries with high development. Our study suggested the level of interest for general surgery may depend on the sex and the location of the student. Further comparison studies may suggest means to stimulate student interest in the field. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A computer science approach to managing security in health care.

PubMed

Asirelli, P; Braccini, G; Caramella, D; Coco, A; Fabbrini, F

2002-09-01

The security of electronic medical information is very important for health care organisations, which have to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information provided. This paper will briefly outline the legal measures adopted by the European Community, Italy and the United States to regulate the use and disclosure of medical records. It will then go on to highlight how information technology can help to address these issues with special reference to the management of organisation policies. To this end, we will present a modelling example for the security policy of a radiological department.

Prevalence of Paget's disease of bone in Italy.

PubMed

Gennari, Luigi; Di Stefano, Marco; Merlotti, Daniela; Giordano, Nicola; Martini, Giuseppe; Tamone, Cristina; Zatteri, Roberto; De Lucchi, Roberto; Baldi, Carlo; Vattimo, Angelo; Capoccia, Silvia; Burroni, Luca; Geraci, Simone; De Paola, Vincenzo; Calabrò, Anna; Avanzati, Annalisa; Isaia, Giancarlo; Nuti, Ranuccio

2005-10-01

We examined the prevalence of PDB in Italy from radiological, scintigraphic, and biochemical surveys in two Italian towns. Prevalence rates varied from 0.7% to 2.4%, were higher in males than in females, and slightly differed between the two towns. Unlike previous studies in populations of British descent, no secular trend for a decreasing prevalence emerged. Clinical, radiological, and necropsy data from different countries suggested pronounced geographical variations in the prevalence of Paget's disease of bone (PDB). Despite the impact of the disease on the population, there are limited data on the prevalence of PDB in Italy. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of PDB in the district of Siena (Central Italy) and Turin (Northern Italy) from radiological, biochemical, and scintigraphic surveys. We examined a sample of 1778 consecutive pelvic radiographs performed between 1999 and 2000 at the Hospital Radiology Unit in Siena and 6609 pelvic radiographs performed in 1986-1987, 1992-1993, and 1999-2002 from the Radiology Department of Molinette Hospital in Turin. In Siena, 7906 consecutive (99m)TC-MDP bone scans performed over a 4-year period (January 2000 to May 2004) were also screened for the presence of PDB, and the prevalence of elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels (>300 UI/liter) was estimated from 7449 computerized medical records over a 3-year period (January 2000 to February 2003). The finding of PDB on the pelvic radiograph and bone scan was based on standardized radiological criteria. At the end of the radiological surveys, 16/1778 pelvic PDB cases (8 males and 8 females) were observed in Siena and 41/6609 (27 males and 14 females) in Turin. The crude prevalence of the disease was 0.89% in Siena and 0.62% in Turin. Given that pelvic involvement is commonly described in 60-90% of PDB patients, the estimated overall prevalence of PDB ranged from 1.0% to 1.5% in Siena and from 0.7% to 1.0% in Turin. No decrease in the prevalence of PDB was evident after comparison of prevalence rates from different periods. Biochemical analyses showed 296/7449 subjects with elevated ALP levels and normal liver enzymes, 87 of whom had confirmed diagnosis of PDB. The estimated prevalence of biochemical PDB was 1.5%. The scintigraphic survey showed a PDB prevalence of 194/7906 (2.4%), which was significantly higher than the radiological and biochemical estimates. Our surveys suggest that PDB in Italy has an estimated prevalence of at least 1%, comparable with that observed in United States and other European countries, but lower than that described in Britain and New Zealand. No secular trend for a decreasing prevalence of PDB was observed.

Numerical Optimization.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

TASK AREA & WORK UNIT NUMBERS Dipartimento di Matematica -G.--iattelnuoz .’ Universita di Roma "La Sapienze" rlnlRr% Pnmaq (Tt-al’g) I$. CONTROLLING...guaranteed. 3. Adminisrtrative actions The following investigators are working on the contract: (i) Francesco Zirilli Dipartimento di Matematica "G...Castelnuovo" Universiti di Roma "La Sapienza" 00185 Romna (Italy) (ii) Filippo Aluffi-Pentini Dipartimento di Matematica Universiti di Barn 80125 Bari (Italy

Habitat Modeling and Preferences of Marine Mammals as Function of Oceanographic Characteristics: Development of Predictive Tools for Assessing the Risks and the Impacts Due to Sound Emissions

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-30

Arianna Azzellino Piazza Leonardo da Vinci , 32, 20133 Milano, Italy phone: (+39) 02-239-964-31 fax: (+39) 02-239-964-99 email...WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Polytechnic University of Milan,Piazza Leonardo da Vinci , 32,20133 Milano, Italy

Payer Perspectives on Patient-Reported Outcomes in Health Care Decision Making: Oncology Examples.

PubMed

Brogan, Andrew P; DeMuro, Carla; Barrett, Amy M; D'Alessio, Denise; Bal, Vasudha; Hogue, Susan L

2017-02-01

Health authorities and payers increasingly recognize the importance of patient perspectives and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in health care decision making. However, given the broad variety of PRO endpoints included in clinical programs and variations in the timing of PRO data collection and country-specific needs, the role of PRO data in reimbursement decisions requires characterization. To (a) determine the effect of PRO data on market access and reimbursement decisions for oncology products in multiple markets and (b) assess the effect of PRO data collected after clinical progression on payer decision making. A 3-part assessment (targeted literature review, qualitative one-on-one interviews, and online survey) was undertaken. Published literature was identified through searches in PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase. In addition, a targeted search was conducted of health technology assessment (HTA) agency websites in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Qualitative one-on-one interviews were conducted with 16 payers from the RTI Health Solutions global advisory panel in 14 markets (Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States [n = 3]). Of the 200 payers and payer advisors from the global advisory panel invited to participate in the online survey, 20 respondents (China, France, Germany, Spain [n = 2], Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States [n = 13]) completed the survey, and 6 respondents (Australia, South Korea, and the United States [n = 4]) partially completed the survey. Reviews of the literature and publicly available HTAs and reimbursement decisions suggested that HTA bodies and payers have varying experience with and confidence in PRO data. Payers participating in the survey indicated that PRO data may be especially influential in oncology compared with other therapeutic areas. Payers surveyed offered little differentiation by cancer type in the importance of PRO data but felt that it was most important to collect PRO data in phase 3 and postmarketing studies. Payers surveyed also anticipated an increasing significance for PRO data over the next 5-10 years. Characteristics of PRO data that maximize influence on payer decision making were reported to be (a) quality, well-controlled, and transparent PRO evidence; (b) psychometric validation of the PRO measure in targeted populations; and (c) publication in peer-reviewed journals. In markets with decentralized health care decision making, PRO data currently have more influence at the local level. Inclusion of PRO data in cancer treatment guidelines is key for centralized markets. Payers surveyed generally considered collecting PRO data postprogression to be useful. Of the 16 interviewees, 11 indicated that it is worthwhile to collect PRO data postprogression and that positive PRO data may support continued therapy at the physician's discretion upon regulatory approval, even in progressive disease. PRO data may help to differentiate treatments, particularly after clinical progression in oncology. Payers worldwide recognize high-quality PRO data as a key component of their decision-making process and anticipate the growing importance of PRO data in the future. This study and preparation of this article were funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. This research was performed under a research contract between RTI Health Solutions and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Brogan, Hogue, Demuro, and Barrett are employees of RTI Health Solutions. D'Alessio and Bal are employees of Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Study concept and design were contributed by DeMuro, Barrett, Bal, and Hogue. Brogan and Hogue took the lead in data collection, assisted by DeMuro and Bal. Data interpretation was performed by Brogan and Hogue, assisted by the other authors. The manuscript was written by D'Alessio and Brogan, along with the other authors, and revised primarily by Brogan, along with Hogue and assisted by the other authors. The abstract for this article was presented as a research poster at the following meetings: Hogue SL, Brogan A P, De Muro C, D'Alessio D, Bal V. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in post-progression oncology: implications in health technology assessments and payer decision making. Poster presented at the ISPOR 18th Annual European Meeting; November 7-11, 2015. Milan, Italy. Hogue SL, Brogan AP, De Muro C, D'Alessio D, Bal V. Influence of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) on market access decisions in markets with centralized healthcare systems. Poster presented at the ISPOR 18th Annual European Meeting; November 7-11, 2015. Milan, Italy. Hogue SL, Brogan AP, De Muro C, Barrett A, D'Alessio D, Bal V. Influence of patient-reported outcomes on market access decisions in decentralized markets (Brazil, Italy, Spain and the United States). Poster presented at the ISPOR 20th Annual Meeting; May 16-20, 2015. Philadelphia PA. Hogue SL, Brogan A P, De Muro C, Barrett A, McLeod L, D'Alessio D, et al. Payer Perspectives of Patient-Reported Outcomes Data: An Online Assessment. Poster presented at the ISOQOL 22nd Annual Meeting; October 21-24, 2015. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Consumer preference in ranking walking function utilizing the walking index for spinal cord injury II.

PubMed

Patrick, M; Ditunno, P; Ditunno, J F; Marino, R J; Scivoletto, G; Lam, T; Loffree, J; Tamburella, F; Leiby, B

2011-12-01

Blinded rank ordering. To determine consumer preference in walking function utilizing the walking Index for spinal cord injury II (WISCI II) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI)from the Canada, the Italy and the United States of America. In all, 42 consumers with incomplete SCI (25 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar) from Canada (12/42), Italy (14/42) and the United States of America (16/42) ranked the 20 levels of the WISCI II scale by their individual preference for walking. Subjects were blinded to the original ranking of the WISCI II scale by clinical scientists. Photographs of each WISCI II level used in a previous pilot study were randomly shuffled and rank ordered. Percentile, conjoint/cluster and graphic analyses were performed. All three analyses illustrated consumer ranking followed a bimodal distribution. Ranking for two levels with physical assistance and two levels with a walker were bimodal with a difference of five to six ranks between consumer subgroups (quartile analysis). The larger cluster (N=20) showed preference for walking with assistance over the smaller cluster (N=12), whose preference was walking without assistance and more devices. In all, 64% (27/42) of consumers ranked WISCI II level with no devices or braces and 1 person assistance higher than multiple levels of the WISCI II requiring no assistance. These results were unexpected, as the hypothesis was that consumers would rank independent walking higher than walking with assistance. Consumer preference for walking function should be considered in addition to objective measures in designing SCI trials that use significant improvement in walking function as an outcome measure.

Interventional oncology research in the United States: slowing growth, limited focus, and a low level of funding.

PubMed

Chow, Daniel S; Itagaki, Michael W

2010-11-01

To establish the characteristics of published interventional oncology (IO) research, including the volume, growth, geographic distribution, type of research, and funding patterns, and to determine how IO research compares with overall radiology research. This retrospective bibliometric analysis of public data was exempt from Institutional Review Board approval. IO articles published between 1996 and 2008 were identified in the National Library of Medicine MEDLINE database. Country of origin, article methodology, study topic, and source of funding were recorded. Growth was analyzed by using linear and nonlinear regression. Total journal articles numbered 3801, including 847 (22.3%) from the United States, 722 (19.0%) from Japan, and 390 (10.3%) from China. World publications grew with a sigmoid (logistic) pattern (predicted maximum of 586.8 articles per year, P < .001). The United States and China also had logistic and slowing growth (maximums of 111.0 and 48.1 articles per year, respectively; both P < .001). Growth was linear in Japan (growth of 3.0 articles per year, P < .001) and exponential and accelerating in Germany, Italy, South Korea, France, and the United Kingdom. The United States produced 187 (36.9%) review articles but only 52 (13.1%) clinical trials. Japan (75, 18.8%) and China (71, 17.8%) both produced more clinical trials than other countries. U.S. IO articles were less likely than general radiology articles to receive funding from government (12.5% vs 23.7%) and nongovernment (15.0% vs 17.0%) sources. Liver cancer articles constituted 2388 (62.8%) of all IO articles. IO research is slowing in the United States but growing elsewhere. Japan and China are leaders in clinical trial research. U.S. IO research receives less funding than does overall radiology research. IO research focuses primarily on liver cancer. © RSNA, 2010.

The X-ray view of EROs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brusa, M.; Comastri, A.; Daddi, E.; Cimatti, A.; Vignali, C.

(1) Dip. Astronomia Bologna University, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna ITALY (2) INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna ITALY (3) ESO - European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching bei Muenchen Germany (4) INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-55025 Firenze, Italy (5) Dept. of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA

Live concerts reduce cancer inpatients' anxiety.

PubMed

Toccafondi, A; Bonacchi, A; Mambrini, A; Miccinesi, G; Prosseda, R; Cantore, M

2017-11-01

In Italy a new experience of music medicine called "The Music Givers" is spreading among Oncology Units; it aims to organise weekly live concerts (length 45-60 min) followed by a buffet. Purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effect of the format of The Music Givers on cancer in-patients' anxiety. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y) was administered to 111 in-patients before and after the concerts. After the concerts we observed a 3.87 point decrease in state anxiety (p < .001) and statistically significant differences in most of the domains assessed by STAI-Y. These results invite a reflection on the importance of offering to inpatients events such as live music concerts, in order to improve their psychological condition during hospitalisation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) is an unparalleled international scientific and technological cooperative venture that will usher in a new era of human space exploration and research and provide benefits to people on Earth. On-Orbit assembly began on November 20, 1998, with the launch of the first ISS component, Zarya, on a Russian Proton rocket. The Space Shuttle followed on December 4, 1998, carrying the U.S.-built Unity cornecting Module. Sixteen nations are participating in the ISS program: the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The ISS will include six laboratories and be four times larger and more capable than any previous space station. The United States provides two laboratories (United States Laboratory and Centrifuge Accommodation Module) and a habitation module. There will be two Russian research modules, one Japanese laboratory, referred to as the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), and one European Space Agency (ESA) laboratory called the Columbus Orbital Facility (COF). The station's internal volume will be roughly equivalent to the passenger cabin volume of two 747 jets. Over five years, a total of more than 40 space flights by at least three different vehicles - the Space Shuttle, the Russian Proton Rocket, and the Russian Soyuz rocket - will bring together more than 100 different station components and the ISS crew. Astronauts will perform many spacewalks and use new robotics and other technologies to assemble ISS components in space.

International Space Station Assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) is an unparalleled international scientific and technological cooperative venture that will usher in a new era of human space exploration and research and provide benefits to people on Earth. On-Orbit assembly began on November 20, 1998, with the launch of the first ISS component, Zarya, on a Russian Proton rocket. The Space Shuttle followed on December 4, 1998, carrying the U.S.-built Unity cornecting Module. Sixteen nations are participating in the ISS program: the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The ISS will include six laboratories and be four times larger and more capable than any previous space station. The United States provides two laboratories (United States Laboratory and Centrifuge Accommodation Module) and a habitation module. There will be two Russian research modules, one Japanese laboratory, referred to as the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), and one European Space Agency (ESA) laboratory called the Columbus Orbital Facility (COF). The station's internal volume will be roughly equivalent to the passenger cabin volume of two 747 jets. Over five years, a total of more than 40 space flights by at least three different vehicles - the Space Shuttle, the Russian Proton Rocket, and the Russian Soyuz rocket - will bring together more than 100 different station components and the ISS crew. Astronauts will perform many spacewalks and use new robotics and other technologies to assemble ISS components in space.

Parent "cocoon" immunization to prevent pertussis-related hospitalization in infants: the case of Piemonte in Italy.

PubMed

Meregaglia, Michela; Ferrara, Lorenza; Melegaro, Alessia; Demicheli, Vittorio

2013-02-06

Pertussis incidence in Piemonte (Italy) is now at the lowest level ever reached (0.85 per 100,000 in 2010) but the disease is still endemic in infants (54 per 100,000 in 2005-2010). Parental "cocoon" immunization has been proposed in some countries (i.e. United States, France) as a measure to protect newborns from serious pertussis outcomes. We assessed the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent hospital admissions in infants (<12 months) and the potential cost-effectiveness of this strategy in Piemonte. The NNV for parental immunization was at least 5000 to prevent one infant hospitalization in the latest epidemic cycle (2005-2010) at the cost of >€100,000. The "cocoon" programme leads to net costs from a National Health Service (NHS) perspective (ROI<1). In contexts of low incidence and without reliable data on a high parent-attributable infant risk, the parental "cocoon" programme is poorly efficient and very resource intensive in preventing pertussis in infants. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Urinalysis in Italy in 2006].

PubMed

Gai, M; Lanfranco, G

2007-01-01

Urinalysis and proteinuria testing represent fundamental tests for the clinician, even though they too often lack standardization. Through the Italian Society of Nephrology Mailing List we sent a questionnaire to 282 centers, in order to assess the state of the art in Italy in the year 2006. 82% of the questionnaires were completed (nephrology laboratories: 64%, general laboratories: 36%). The questionnaire dealt with the main steps of preparation, analysis and report of urinalysis, and proteinuria / microalbuminuria measurement. 85% of the centers use first morning urine, and 7% second morning urine; only 57% of the centers supply with written instructions, 189 laboratories (82%) have only one bright field microscope, rate and time of centrifugation are very varied among centers, different units of measurement are used in reports. Few laboratories measure routinely the proteinuria / creatininuria ratio, there is no agreement on the urine sample type for microalbuminuria assay, total urinary proteins are measured through different methods. 92% of the centers is endowed with an internal quality control system, but only 47% participate in an external quality control program. These data confirm the lack of standardization for urine analysis methods and procedures.

KSC-07pd2213

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 crew members get a close look at hardware in Discovery's payload bay. In the bucket at left is Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, who is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. The object with the shiny gold surface is a payload bay bulkhead camera. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2214

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 crew members get a close look at hardware in Discovery's payload bay. The crew includes Commander Pamela A. Melroy, Pilot George D. Zamka and Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Douglas H. Wheelock, Stephanie D. Wilson and Paolo A. Nespoli, who is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2207

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski and Paolo A. Nespoli (foreground) inspect tools they will use during the mission. Nespoli is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Behind them are Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock and Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2195

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles on space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are Mission Specialists Douglas H. Wheelock and Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy, and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani (with camera). Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Space - It's not just for governments anymore

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, Barbara A.; Kleber, Peter

1992-01-01

Space initiatives have traditionally been in the exclusive domain of national government. Over the last decades, this has begun to change dramatically as commercial development of space has attracted increasing international attention. Businesses in at least 20 countries worldwide now engage in some form of space commerce. These businesses, which range from strictly entrepreneurial to government corporations, are seeking to do business in every commercial space sector. This paper details the current status and prospects for the future of space commerce in the United States and Europe, focusing on the programs of France, Germany, and Italy. Included are analyses of representative successes and failures of these activities.

Official portrait of the STS-46 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, crew

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-02-26

STS046-S-002 (May 1992) --- The crew members assigned to the STS-46 mission pose with seven flags that represent participation on the flight. Loren J. Shriver (right front) is mission commander; Andrew M. Allen (left front) is pilot. Others are (left to right) Marsha S. Ivins, mission specialist; Claude Nicollier, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA); Jeffrey A. Hoffman, payload commander; Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, mission specialist; and Franco Malerba, flying for the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The flags, left to right, represent the United States of America, Costa Rica (Chang's native country), Italy, Switzerland (Nicollier's homeland), NASA, ESA and ASI.

IAHS Third Scientific Assembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) convened its Third Scientific Assembly in Baltimore, Md., May 10-19, 1989. The Assembly was attended by about 450 scientists and engineers. The attendance was highest from the U.S., as could be expected; 37 were from Canada; 22 each, Netherlands and United Kingdom; 14, Italy; 12, China; 10, Federal Republic of Germany; 8 each from France, the Republic of South Africa, and Switzerland; 7, Austria; 6 each, Finland and Japan; others were scattered among the remainder of 48 countries total.one of the cosponsors and also handled business matters for the Assembly. Other cosponsors included the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (IAMAP), United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and U.K. Overseas Development Authority (ODA). U.S. federal agencies serving as cosponsors included the Environmental Protection Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, National Weather Service, Department of Agriculture, Department of State, and U.S. Geological Survey.

Consumption‐Based Conservation Targeting: Linking Biodiversity Loss to Upstream Demand through a Global Wildlife Footprint

PubMed Central

Berlow, Eric; Conlisk, Erin; Erb, Karlheinz; Iha, Katsunori; Martinez, Neo; Newman, Erica A.; Plutzar, Christoph; Smith, Adam B.; Harte, John

2016-01-01

Abstract Although most conservation efforts address the direct, local causes of biodiversity loss, effective long‐term conservation will require complementary efforts to reduce the upstream economic pressures, such as demands for food and forest products, which ultimately drive these downstream losses. Here, we present a wildlife footprint analysis that links global losses of wild birds to consumer purchases across 57 economic sectors in 129 regions. The United States, India, China, and Brazil have the largest regional wildlife footprints, while per‐person footprints are highest in Mongolia, Australia, Botswana, and the United Arab Emirates. A US$100 purchase of bovine meat or rice products occupies approximately 0.1 km2 of wild bird ranges, displacing 1–2 individual birds, for 1 year. Globally significant importer regions, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France, have large footprints that drive wildlife losses elsewhere in the world and represent important targets for consumption‐focused conservation attention. PMID:29104616

The Holy See.

PubMed

1989-04-01

Rome surrounds the State of the Vatican City which provides the territorial base of the Holy See, i.e. the central government of the Roman Catholic Church. The population consists of 1000 people mostly of Italian or Swiss nationality, while the work force includes 4000 individuals. Even though Italian is commonly used, official acts of the Holy See are written in Latin. When Italy unified in 1861, the Kingdom of Italy ruled over most of the Papal States, except Rome and its environs, until 1870 at which time Rome was forced to join the Kingdom. On February 11, 1929, the Italian Government and the Holy See signed an agreement recognizing the independence and sovereignty of the Holy See and creating the State of the Vatican City, fixing relations between the church and the government, and providing the Holy See compensation for its financial losses. Pope John Paul II, the first nonItalian Pope in almost 5 centuries and a Pole, is the present leader of the Legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Holy See and the State. The Roman Curia and its staff, the Papal Civil Service, assists the Pope in ruling the Holy See. The Curia, directed by the Secretariat of State, includes 9 Congregations, 3 Tribunals, 12 Pontifical Councils, and offices that handle church affairs at the highest level. Since the 4th century, the Holy See has had diplomatic relations with other sovereign states and continues so today. Presently, it has nearly 80 permanent diplomatic missions in other countries and carries on diplomatic relations with 119 nations. In addition, the HOly See participates in diplomatic activities with international organizations which include the UN in New York and Geneva, UNESCO, the European Economic Community, and other related organizations. The United States has had relations with the Papal States form 1797-1870. The US and the Holy See reestablished diplomatic relations on January 10, 1984.

A review of nasal cancer in furniture manufacturing and woodworking in North Carolina, the United States, and other countries.

PubMed

Imbus, H R; Dyson, W L

1987-09-01

Nasal adenocarcinoma in the High Wycombe furniture industry of England during 1956-1965 had an annual incidence of 500 to 1,000 times greater than that of the general population. Excesses of nasal cancer have also been described in France, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, and Holland. Interestingly, one limited study in Canada revealed no excess, whereas a more recent one showed a slight excess. In contrast to the strikingly large excesses of nasal adenocarcinoma in other countries, there has never been any evidence of similarly large excesses in the US woodworking and furniture industry. Modern manufacturing conditions may not present the same degree of risk of developing nasal cancer as was present in the English furniture manufacturing industry. The incidence of nasal cancer associated with furniture manufacturing in the United States is examined in considerable detail in North Carolina, the leading furniture manufacturing state. Furniture manufacturing in the state began around 1890 and has grown steadily since. Utilizing statistics available from the North Carolina Department of Vital Statistics, the absolute mortality of nasal cancer in North Carolina was calculated from 1964 to 1977. The average mortality was approximately 3.5 times greater in the furniture manufacturing industry than in the general population.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Single-cycle Pulse Synthesis by Coherent Superposition of Ultra-broadband Optical Parametric Amplifiers

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-01

Giulio Cerullo Politecnico di Milano Department of Physics Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 Milano, Italy 20133 EOARD GRANT 09-3101...UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Politecnico di Milano Department of Physics Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 Milano...Milano, Piazza L. Da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy, 4DESY-Center for Free-Electron Laser Science and Hamburg University, Notkestraße 85, D-22607 Hamburg

Directional Convexity and Finite Optimality Conditions.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-03-01

system, Necessary Conditions for optimality. Work Unit Number 5 (Optimization and Large Scale Systems) *Istituto di Matematica Applicata, Universita...that R(T) is convex would then imply x(u,T) e int R(T). Cletituto di Matematica Applicata, Universita di Padova, 35100 ITALY. Sponsored by the United

The state of art of shotcrete in Italy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pelizza, S.; Tesio, G.G.

1995-12-31

The paper reports the large experience of use of shotcrete in Italy, both in tunnels and above ground. In tunnelling, for more than 30 years, shotcrete has been used for many hundreds of kilometers of tunnel construction. Technical rules for shotcrete use in Italy do not yet exist. SIG-Italian Tunnelling Society- has formed the Working Group Use of Shotcrete. This working group, operating since 1988, has the specific task to adapt the use of shotcrete to international standards.

Why the Gulf War still matters: Foreign perspectives on the war and the future of international security. Report No. 16

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garrity, P.J.

1993-07-01

This report summarizes the main findings of a Center for National Security Studies (CNSS) project that examined how a number of nations other than the United States have reacted to the course and outcome of the Persian Gulf War of 1991. The project was built around studies of key countries on which the Gulf War might reasonably be expected to have had a significant impact: Argentina, the ASEAN states, Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Libya, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Syria, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and the statesmore » of the former Yugoslavia. These country studies were written by well-recognized independent experts following a common set of guidelines provided by CNSS. When the country studies were completed, they were reviewed and supplemented through a series of peer assessments and workshops. The report represents a synthesis of material generated through this process, and is intended to stimulate thought and further analysis on the critical topics discussed herein.« less

Antibiotic resistance of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus in various countries: A review.

PubMed

Elmahdi, Sara; DaSilva, Ligia V; Parveen, Salina

2016-08-01

Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus are the leading causes of seafood associated infections and mortality in the United States. The main syndromes caused by these pathogens are gastroenteritis, wound infections, and septicemia. This article reviewed the antibiotic resistance profile of V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in the United States and other countries including Italy, Brazil, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, China, India, Iran, South Africa and Australia. The awareness of antimicrobial resistance of these two pathogens is not as well documented as other foodborne bacterial pathogens. Vibrio spp. are usually susceptible to most antimicrobials of veterinary and human significance. However, many studies reported that V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus showed multiple-antibiotic resistance due to misuse of antibiotics to control infections in aquaculture production. In addition, both environmental and clinical isolates showed similar antibiotic resistance profiles. Most frequently observed antibiotic resistance profiles involved ampicillin, penicillin and tetracycline regardless of the countries. The presence of multiple-antibiotic resistant bacteria in seafood and aquatic environments is a major concern in fish and shellfish farming and human health. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ground-based CCD astrometry with wide field imagers. IV. An improved geometric-distortion correction for the blue prime-focus camera at the LBT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellini, A.; Bedin, L. R.

2010-07-01

High precision astrometry requires an accurate geometric-distortion solution. In this work, we present an average correction for the blue camera of the Large Binocular Telescope which enables a relative astrometric precision of ~15 mas for the BBessel and VBessel broad-band filters. The result of this effort is used in two companion papers: the first to measure the absolute proper motion of the open cluster M 67 with respect to the background galaxies; the second to decontaminate the color-magnitude of M 67 from field objects, enabling the study of the end of its white dwarf cooling sequence. Many other applications might find this distortion correction useful. Based on data acquired using the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) at Mt. Graham, Arizona, under the Commissioning of the Large Binocular Blue Camera. The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are: The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University, and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota and University of Virginia.Visiting Ph.D. Student at STScI under the “2008 graduate research assistantship” program.

Estimates of the Number of People Living with HIV in Italy

PubMed Central

Regine, Vincenza; Stanecki, Karen; Salfa, Maria Cristina; Raimondo, Mariangela; Suligoi, Barbara

2014-01-01

Objective. To estimate the HIV prevalence and the number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Italy with a projection for 2020. Methods. Two methods elaborated by Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) were used: Estimate and Projection Package and Spectrum. Results. A total of 123,000 (115,000–145,000) individuals aged 15 or more were estimated to be living with HIV in Italy at the end of 2012 and the estimated HIV prevalence was 0.28 (0.24–0.32) per 100 residents aged 15 or more. In 2012, the estimated number of new HIV infections among adults was 3,000 (2,700–4,000), and the number of adults in need for ART was 93,000 (80,000–110,000). The projection estimates that 130,000 (110,000–150,000) adults will live with HIV/AIDS in 2020 in Italy. Conclusion. Estimates of PLHIV in Italy stress the high number of PLHIV in need of care and treatment, as well as the need for more information and prevention campaigns. PMID:25136562

Ocular medicines in children: the regulatory situation related to clinical research

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Many ocular medications are prescribed for paediatric patients, but the evidence for their rational use is very scant. This study was planned to compare the availability and the licensing status of ocular medications marketed in Italy, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (USA) related to the amount of published and un-published RCTs testing these drugs in the paediatric population. Methods A quantitative analysis was performed to evaluate the number of ocular medications with a paediatric license in Italy, the UK, and the USA. A literature search was also performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on ophthalmic pharmacological therapy in children aged < 18 years, published up to December 2010. A search in the international clinical trial registries, the list of paediatric investigation plans (PIPs) approved by European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the table of medicines with new paediatric information approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was also performed. Results In all, of 197 drugs identified, 68 (35%) single drugs are licensed for paediatric use at least in one considered country, while 23 (12%) were marketed in all three countries. More specifically, in Italy 43 single drugs (48% of those marketed) had a paediatric license, while 39 (64%) did in the UK and 22 (54%) did in the USA. Only 13 drugs were marketed with a paediatric license in all countries. The percentage of drugs licensed for paediatric use and for which at least one RCT had been performed ranged between 51% in Italy and 55% in the USA. No published RCTs were found for 11 (48%) drugs licensed for paediatric use in all three countries. In all, 74 (35%) of the retrieved RCTs involved mydriatic/cycloplegic medications. A total of 62 RCTs (56% completed) on 46 drugs were found in the international clinical trial registries. Cyclosporin and bevacizumab were being studied in many ongoing trials. Twenty-six drugs had new paediatric information approved by FDA based on new paediatric clinical trials, while only 4 PIPs were approved by EMA. Conclusions There is a pressing need for further research and clinical development in the pediatric ophthalmic area, where effective up-to-date treatments, and additional research and education on use in children, remain priorities. PMID:22264311

[Census of the renal and dialysis units by Italian Society of Nephrology: structure and organization for renal patient assistance in Italy (2014-2015)].

PubMed

Quintaliani, Giuseppe; Di Luca, Marina; Di Napoli, Anteo; Viglino, Giusto; Postorino, Maurizio; Amore, Alessandro; Andrulli, Simeone; Bellasi, Antonio; Brunori, Giuliano; Buongiorno, Erasmo; Castellino, Santina; D'Amelio, Alessandro; De Nicola, Luca; Gesualdo, Loreto; Di Landro, Domenico; Feriozzi, Sandro; Strippoli, Giovanni; Teatini, Ugo; Santoro, Antonio

2016-01-01

Given the public health challenge and burden of chronic kidney disease, the Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN) promoted a census of the renal and dialysis units to analyse structural and human resources, organizational aspects, activities and workload referring to the year 2014. An online questionnaire, including 64 items exploring structural and human resources, organization aspects, activities and epidemiological data referred to 2014, was sent to chiefs of any renal or dialysis unit. 615 renal units were identified. From these 615 units, 332 were public renal centres (of which 318 centres answered to the census) and 283 were private dialysis centres (of which 113 centres answered to the census). The results show 6 public renal units pmp. Renal biopsies were 4624 (81 pmp). The nephrology beds are about 41 pmp. There are 7.304 nurses working in HD wards, 1.692 in the nephrology wards and only 613 for outpatients clinics. The benchmark data derived from this census show interesting comparisons between centres, regions and groups of regions. These data realised the clinical management of renal disease in Italy.

Trh (tdh-/trh+) gene analysis of clinical, environmental and food isolates of Vibrio parahaemolyticus as a tool for investigating pathogenicity.

PubMed

Leoni, Francesca; Talevi, Giulia; Masini, Laura; Ottaviani, Donatella; Rocchegiani, Elena

2016-05-16

Sequencing analysis of the trh gene encoding the TDH-related haemolysin of tdh-/trh+ Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated in Italy between 2002 and 2011 from clinical, environmental, and food samples revealed the presence of the trh2 variant in all isolates. The trh2 of the clinical isolate was 100% identical to other clinical tdh-/trh2 V. parahaemolyticus from Europe. Nucleotide and amino acid differences in the trh2 sequences of clinical isolates from Italy and other countries allowed a differentiation of the clinical strains from the majority of environmental or food strains isolated in Italy. Aspartic acid and isoleucine at positions 113 and 115, encoded by nucleotide triplets GAT and ATT at positions 337-339 and 343-345 of the complete trh gene sequence, were present in clinical strains from Europe (Italy, Norway and Germany), Asia and the United States. Only 35.5% of the tdh-/trh2 V. parahaemolyticus of environmental or food origin from Italy shared the same triplets/amino acid detected in clinical isolates, while 64.5% of isolates from the marine environment were different from those of clinical origins, demonstrating that differences occur amongst the trh2 sequences of strains from the environment and these polymorphisms may differentiate potentially pathogenic from less or non-pathogenic cultures found in the environment and seafood. In addition the distribution of T3SS2 genes was investigated in this group of tdh-/trh+ V. parahaemolyticus from different sources and in three clinical tdh+/trh- V. parahaemolyticus isolates. All tdh-/trh+ V. parahaemolyticus of environmental or food source, independent of year of isolation or geographical origin, amplified all the screened T3SS2β genes and tested negative to PCR assays for all five T3SS2α genes, as the tdh-/trh+ clinical V. parahaemolyticus isolate. The vopC genes, encoding for one of the effector proteins of T3SS2, were partially sequenced and compared to clinical tdh-/trh+ and tdh+/trh+ V. parahaemolyticus isolates from other countries. Analysis of T3SS2β vopC sequences revealed variation in tdh-/trh2 isolates from Italy, which were separated from a group of vopC sequences derived from trh2 V. parahaemolyticus from the USA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Feasibility and attractiveness of indication value-based pricing in key EU countries.

PubMed

Flume, Mathias; Bardou, Marc; Capri, Stefano; Sola-Morales, Oriol; Cunningham, David; Levin, Lars-Ake; Touchot, Nicolas

2016-01-01

Indication value-based pricing (IBP) has been proposed in the United States as a tool to capture the differential value of drugs across indications or patient groups and is in the early phases of implementation. In Europe, no major country has experimented with IBP or is seriously discussing its use. We assessed how the reimbursement and pricing environment allows for IBP in seven European countries, evaluating both incentives and hurdles. In price setting countries such as France and Germany, the Health Technology Assessment and pricing process already accounts for differences of value across indications. In countries where differential value drives coverage decisions such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, IBP is likely to be used, at least partially, but not in the short-term. Italy is already achieving some form of differential value through managed entry agreements, whereas in Spain the electronic prescription system provides the infrastructure necessary for IBP but other hurdles exist.

Apraxia, Autism, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Do We Have a New Spectrum?

PubMed

Schumacher, Jayna; Strand, Kristine E; Augustyn, Marilyn

Gio is a bilingual 6-year 10-month-old boy new to your practice who presents for an unscheduled visit with concerns for speech and language delay. He was born in Portugal, and his native language is Portuguese. When he was 21 months old, his family moved to Italy and then moved to the United States 3 years later. He had very little contact with other children while living in Italy, but his parents report that he has made friends quickly in the United States. His family speaks Portuguese at home, although his father is fluent in English.He started school 3 months after moving to the United States and is currently repeating kindergarten. He is in a sheltered English classroom with several other students who speak Portuguese. He is able to understand and follow directions in English. A recent school evaluation revealed solidly average nonverbal reasoning skills and relative weaknesses in verbal reasoning and working memory. His speech is described as unintelligible in conversation, both in English and Portuguese.Results of a special education evaluation qualified him for services with a bilingual therapist. His teachers are very concerned that he may have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They describe him as having limited interest in other children, poor eye contact, and hypersensitivities. He wanders at recess. He is very skilled at art and seems to prefer to draw rather than interact with others. He needs constant support and redirection throughout the school day. He has difficulty putting on his coat, using playground equipment, and following daily classroom routines. On the Vanderbilt Rating Scale, his teacher endorses 17 of 18 ADHD symptoms as present often or very often and significant impairment in his performance.Gio presents to your clinic as a relatable young boy with childhood apraxia of speech. Only his productions of single words and short routine phrases are intelligible. He attempts to engage in conversation but averts his gaze and becomes frustrated when asked to repeat things. Scores on the Parent Conners Rating Scale and Social Responsiveness Scale are not elevated. When you bring up school's concerns, his father describes feeling somewhat badgered by his teachers about possibility of ASD.School is considering placement in an inclusion classroom for children with ASD. What do you recommend? How would you advise his parents?

Apraxia, autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: do we have a new spectrum?

PubMed

Schumacher, Jayna; Strand, Kristine E; Augustyn, Marilyn

2015-01-01

Gio is a bilingual 6-year 10-month-old boy new to your practice who presents for an unscheduled visit with concerns for speech and language delay. He was born in Portugal, and his native language is Portuguese. When he was 21 months old, his family moved to Italy and then moved to the United States 3 years later. He had very little contact with other children while living in Italy, but his parents report that he has made friends quickly in the United States. His family speaks Portuguese at home, although his father is fluent in English. He started school 3 months after moving to the United States and is currently repeating kindergarten. He is in a sheltered English classroom with several other students who speak Portuguese. He is able to understand and follow directions in English. A recent school evaluation revealed solidly average nonverbal reasoning skills and relative weaknesses in verbal reasoning and working memory. His speech is described as unintelligible in conversation, both in English and Portuguese. Results of a special education evaluation qualified him for services with a bilingual therapist. His teachers are very concerned that he may have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They describe him as having limited interest in other children, poor eye contact, and hypersensitivities. He wanders at recess. He is very skilled at art and seems to prefer to draw rather than interact with others. He needs constant support and redirection throughout the school day. He has difficulty putting on his coat, using playground equipment, and following daily classroom routines. On the Vanderbilt Rating Scale, his teacher endorses 17 of 18 ADHD symptoms as present often or very often and significant impairment in his performance. Gio presents to your clinic as a relatable young boy with childhood apraxia of speech. Only his productions of single words and short routine phrases are intelligible. He attempts to engage in conversation but averts his gaze and becomes frustrated when asked to repeat things. Scores on the Parent Conners Rating Scale and Social Responsiveness Scale are not elevated. When you bring up school's concerns, his father describes feeling somewhat badgered by his teachers about possibility of ASD. School is considering placement in an inclusion classroom for children with ASD. What do you recommend? How would you advise his parents?

Worldwide research productivity in the field of endocrinology and metabolism--a bibliometric analysis.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiyan; Ye, Ru; Zhao, Linhua; Lin, Yiqun; Huang, Wenjing; He, Xinhui; Lian, Fengmei; Tong, Xiaolin

2015-01-01

Recently, significant contributions to the study of endocrinology and metabolism have been made. The national contribution, however, has not been reported. The aim of this study was to assess national efforts in the field of endocrinology and metabolism. A Web of Science search was performed using subject categories "endocrinology & metabolism" to identify articles published from 2010 to 2014. The total and per capita numbers of articles and citations were analysed for different countries. A total of 79,394 articles were published on endocrinology and metabolism from 2010 to 2014. Most were published in North America, East Asia, and Europe. The majority (82.28%) were reported by authors in high-income countries, 17.64% were published in middle-income countries, and only 0.08% were published in low-income countries. Authors in the United States published the most articles (27.38%), followed by China (7.22%), Italy (5.70%), the United Kingdom (5.6%), and Japan (5.54%). Articles published by authors in the United States had the most citations (260,934). A positive correlation was found between the number of publications and population/gross domestic product (GDP; p < 0.01). When normalised to population size, the ranking for the most publications was Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands; when normalised to GDP, the ranking was Denmark, Greece, and the Netherlands. The majority of endocrinology and metabolism articles were published by authors from high-income countries with few from low-income countries. The United States was the most productive country. However, when population size and GDP were considered, some European countries were ranked higher.

Operation STRANGLE (Italy, Spring 1944): A Case Study of Tactical Air Interdiction

DTIC Science & Technology

1972-02-01

units. General Eaker reported to the new theater coi11Tlander, General Sir Henry Maitland ("Jumbo") Wilson, who had replaced General Eisenhower as...in Italy. The idea of using airpower on a massive scale to smash the German resistance on the I tal ian front was not new. It had been urged by...Brigadier W.G.F. Jackson, then on General Alexander’s staff, re- counts: "Moreover, he [General Alexander] was just as keen as Maitland Wilson [SACMED] to

History of the Army Ground Forces. Study Number 17. History of the Third Army

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

impotence; Facist Italy rattled swords, and Germany was giving itself to Nazism. On 9 August 1932, without fanfare and almost without public awareness, the...picking up pecans under ofte tree. 5. All units should continue to remove the physically unfit as rapidly as possible. While this conference was going...with War Department orders, he visited the Fifth Army front in Italy , as an observer, in November, 1943. In his report to General McNair,322 General

76 FR 35401 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From Japan and the United Kingdom: Notice of Court Decision Not...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-17

..., Singapore, and the United Kingdom, 70 FR 31531 (June 1, 2005). See also 19 CFR 351.218. As a result of its... 5, 2005), Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From Japan and Singapore; Five-Year Sunset Reviews of... Certain Bearings From China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, 71 FR 51850...

The ethics of scholarly publishing: exploring differences in plagiarism and duplicate publication across nations.

PubMed

Amos, Kathleen A

2014-04-01

This study explored national differences in plagiarism and duplicate publication in retracted biomedical literature. The national affiliations of authors and reasons for retraction of papers accessible through PubMed that were published from 2008 to 2012 and subsequently retracted were determined in order to identify countries with the largest numbers and highest rates of retraction due to plagiarism and duplicate publication. Authors from more than fifty countries retracted papers. While the United States retracted the most papers, China retracted the most papers for plagiarism and duplicate publication. Rates of plagiarism and duplicate publication were highest in Italy and Finland, respectively. Unethical publishing practices cut across nations.

The ethics of scholarly publishing: exploring differences in plagiarism and duplicate publication across nations*

PubMed Central

Amos, Kathleen A.

2014-01-01

This study explored national differences in plagiarism and duplicate publication in retracted biomedical literature. The national affiliations of authors and reasons for retraction of papers accessible through PubMed that were published from 2008 to 2012 and subsequently retracted were determined in order to identify countries with the largest numbers and highest rates of retraction due to plagiarism and duplicate publication. Authors from more than fifty countries retracted papers. While the United States retracted the most papers, China retracted the most papers for plagiarism and duplicate publication. Rates of plagiarism and duplicate publication were highest in Italy and Finland, respectively. Unethical publishing practices cut across nations. PMID:24860263

Mineral resource of the month: natural and synthetic zeolites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Virta, Robert L.

2008-01-01

Volcanic rocks containing natural zeolites — hydrated aluminosilicate minerals that contain alkaline and alkaline-earth metals — have been mined worldwide for more than 1,000 years for use as cements and building stone. For centuries, people thought natural zeolites occurred only in small amounts inside cavities of volcanic rock. But in the 1950s and early 1960s, large zeolite deposits were discovered in volcanic tuffs in the western United States and in marine tuffs in Italy and Japan. And since then, similar deposits have been found around the world, from Hungary to Cuba to New Zealand. The discovery of these larger deposits made commercial mining of natural zeolite possible.

High-Frequency Gravitational Wave research and application to exoplanet studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, R. M. L., Jr.

2017-10-01

A discussion of the history of High-Frequency Gravitational Wave (HFGW) research is first presented. Over the years until modern times, starting with the first mention of Gravitational Waves by Poincaré in 1905 and the definition of HFGWs in 1961 by Robert L. Forward, the discussion continues concerning the international research efforts to detect HFGWs. The article highlights the accomplishments of HFGW researchers in China, Russia, Ukraine, England, Australia, Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the United States. Comparisons are made with Low-Frequency Gravitational Wave (LFGW) research, especially concerning the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observatory or LIGO. In fine, there are presented several interesting perspectives concerning cosmology, the speed of time and, especially, exoplanet applications of HFGWs.

Patriot/Medium Extended Air Defense System Combined Aggregate Program (Patriot/MEADS CAP)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

States, Germany, and Italy to replace the U.S. Patriot air defense systems, Patriot and Hawk systems in Germany, and the Nike system in Italy. The MEADS...Appropriation: RDT&E Contract Name Design & Development Contractor MEADS International Inc . Contractor Location 5600 W Sand Lake Road Orlando, FL 32819

Continuing Training in Firms and Trainer Development in Italy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villa, Paola; Marchetti, Aldo

In Italy, all responsibility for vocational training has been delegated to the regions. At the regional level, three types of training are available: training for work, on-the-job training, and training under special state legislation. No obligation is placed on employers to train the work force. Most worker training is informal and conducted…

Computationally driven drug discovery meeting-3 - Verona (Italy): 4 - 6th of March 2014.

PubMed

Costantino, Gabriele

2014-12-01

The following article reports on the results and the outcome of a meeting organised at the Aptuit Auditorium in Verona (Italy), which highlighted the current applications of state-of-the-art computational science to drug design in Italy. The meeting, which had > 100 people in attendance, consisted of over 40 presentations and included keynote lectures given by world-renowned speakers. The topics included in the meeting are areas related to ligand and structure-based ligand design and library design and screening; it also provided discussion pertaining to chemometrics. The meeting also stressed the importance of public-private collaboration and reviewed the different approaches to computationally driven drug discovery taken within academia and industry. The meeting helped define the current position of state-of-the-art computational drug discovery in Italy, pointing out criticalities and assets. This kind of focused meeting is important in the sense that it lends the opportunity of a restricted yet representative community of fellow professionals to deeply discuss the current methodological approaches and provide future perspectives for computationally driven drug discovery.

KSC-07pd2202

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, from left in blue flight suits, STS-120 Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson, Commander Pamela A. Melroy, Pilot George D. Zamka, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski (back to camera), Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock and Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli (holding camera), a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy, are given the opportunity to operate the cameras that will fly on their mission. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Health consequences of Chernobyl and other radiation accidents. Report on the European Union Cluster Contractors' workshop (San Miniato, Italy, 17-22 June 1997).

PubMed

Karaoglou, A; Chadwick, K H

1998-04-01

The Radiation Protection Research Unit of the European Commission has been supporting collaborative research projects on the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident since 1991. However, in the Fourth Framework Programme of the Commission which started in 1996, the collaboration with scientists in the former Soviet Union has been placed on a different footing, and the programme has been expanded to include other regions, especially in Russia and Kazakhstan, where previous nuclear incidents have led to the exposure of workers and the local populations and to widespread radioactive contamination. There are 15 projects on health-related studies in the newly started programme, and in order to improve the collaboration between the different scientists working in these projects a Cluster Contractors' Meeting was organised in San Miniato, Italy, in June 1997 with the participation of some 50 scientists from the European Union (EU) and the Newly Independent States (NIS). This report summarizes the different topics, including molecular biology and treatment of childhood thyroid cancer, various epidemiological studies and dose reconstruction, which were discussed at the meeting and which form the major projects in the new collaborative programme.

KSC-07pd2199

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew takes a break from activities during their crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, to pose for a portrait in front of one of space shuttle Discovery's main engines. From left are Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani, Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson, Commander Pamela A. Melroy, Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock, Pilot George D. Zamka and Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2194

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Receiving instruction from Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA, under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left in blue flight suits, Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Pilot George D. Zamka; and Mission Specialists Stephanie D. Wilson, Scott E. Parazynski and Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

'Shrouded in a dark fog': comparison of the diagnosis of pellagra in Venice and general paralysis of the insane in the United Kingdom, 1840-1900.

PubMed

Priani, Egidio

2017-06-01

The debate on the causes and the nature of pellagra in Italy during the nineteenth century resembles and evokes the similar debate on General Paralysis of the Insane (GPI) that was growing at the same time in the United Kingdom. Pellagra and GPI had a massive and virulent impact on the populations of Italy and the UK, respectively, and contributed to a great extent to the increase and overcrowding of the asylum populations in these countries. This article compares the two illnesses by examining the features of their nosographic positioning, aetiology and pathogenesis. It also documents how doctors arrived at the diagnoses of the two diseases and how this affected their treatment.

The Association Between Vulvovaginal Atrophy Symptoms and Quality of Life Among Postmenopausal Women in the United States and Western Europe.

PubMed

DiBonaventura, Marco; Luo, Xuemei; Moffatt, Margaret; Bushmakin, Andrew G; Kumar, Maya; Bobula, Joel

2015-09-01

Vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) is a condition associated with decreased estrogenization of the vaginal tissue, which can result in vaginal dryness, irritation, and dyspareunia. This study quantified the burden associated with VVA symptoms across the United States and Europe and compared this burden with other chronic conditions. Data were analyzed from the International Women's Health Study, a cross-sectional Internet survey of women aged 40-75 years in the United States and Europe. All postmenopausal women aged 40-75 years were included in the analyses (Germany n=970, Spain n=294, France n=1054, Italy n=387, United Kingdom n=1096, United States n=3267). VVA symptom severity (none, mild, moderate, severe) was assessed using the Menopause Rating Scale and included in general linear models to predict EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) quality of life scores. The prevalence of VVA symptoms varied between 40.00% (Germany) and 54.42% (Spain), with half of women reporting their symptoms as either moderate or severe. Pooling data from all countries together, each incremental level of severity (none through severe) was associated with a significant decrement in EQ-5D scores (none=0.84 vs. mild=0.81 vs. moderate=0.79 vs. severe=0.74; p<0.05). The decrements in EQ-5D scores associated with moderate to severe VVA symptoms were comparable to those observed in other serious conditions including arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and irritable bowel syndrome. VVA symptoms are associated with clinically meaningful decrements in quality of life that may be comparable to serious conditions such as arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and irritable bowel syndrome. Improved management of VVA symptoms may be required to alleviate the impact of VVA on the quality of life of affected women.

International perspectives on emergency department crowding.

PubMed

Pines, Jesse M; Hilton, Joshua A; Weber, Ellen J; Alkemade, Annechien J; Al Shabanah, Hasan; Anderson, Philip D; Bernhard, Michael; Bertini, Alessio; Gries, André; Ferrandiz, Santiago; Kumar, Vijaya Arun; Harjola, Veli-Pekka; Hogan, Barbara; Madsen, Bo; Mason, Suzanne; Ohlén, Gunnar; Rainer, Timothy; Rathlev, Niels; Revue, Eric; Richardson, Drew; Sattarian, Mehdi; Schull, Michael J

2011-12-01

The maturation of emergency medicine (EM) as a specialty has coincided with dramatic increases in emergency department (ED) visit rates, both in the United States and around the world. ED crowding has become a public health problem where periodic supply and demand mismatches in ED and hospital resources cause long waiting times and delays in critical treatments. ED crowding has been associated with several negative clinical outcomes, including higher complication rates and mortality. This article describes emergency care systems and the extent of crowding across 15 countries outside of the United States: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Italy, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Catalonia (Spain), Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The authors are local emergency care leaders with knowledge of emergency care in their particular countries. Where available, data are provided about visit patterns in each country; however, for many of these countries, no national data are available on ED visits rates or crowding. For most of the countries included, there is both objective evidence of increases in ED visit rates and ED crowding and also subjective assessments of trends toward higher crowding in the ED. ED crowding appears to be worsening in many countries despite the presence of universal health coverage. Scandinavian countries with robust systems to manage acute care outside the ED do not report crowding is a major problem. The main cause for crowding identified by many authors is the boarding of admitted patients, similar to the United States. Many hospitals in these countries have implemented operational interventions to mitigate crowding in the ED, and some countries have imposed strict limits on ED length of stay (LOS), while others have no clear plan to mitigate crowding. An understanding of the causes and potential solutions implemented in these countries can provide a lens into how to mitigate ED crowding in the United States through health policy interventions and hospital operational changes. © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Qatar chooses Snam to market LNG in Europe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This paper reports that Qatar has chosen Italy's Snam SpA as its European partner to sell liquefied natural gas to Europe from a $4.8 billion joint venture project involving supergiant North offshore gas field. State owned Qatar General petroleum Corp. (QGPC) and Snam signed an agreement in Doha to create a joint company owned 65% by QGPC and the remainder by Snam. Italy's state electricity monopoly, ENEL, which is seeking Qatari gas a fuel for its power plants, may later acquire part of Snam's interest in the project. The joint venture will transport and market North LNG to Europe. Exportsmore » to Europe by Snam via Italy, to begin in 1997, are expected to be 283 bcf/year at first and may climb to 459 bcf/year, depending upon demand.« less

Continuing medical education and professional revalidation in Europe: five case examples.

PubMed

Maisonneuve, Hervé; Matillon, Yves; Negri, Alfonso; Pallarés, Luis; Vigneri, Ricardo; Young, Howard L

2009-01-01

Since reliable information is scarce to describe continuing medical education (CME) and revalidation in Europe, we carried out a survey in 5 selected countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom). A tested questionnaire was sent to 2 experts per country (except in Germany), during August-September 2004. In the analyzed countries medical societies, medical associations, and employers are the main CME providers. Pharmaceutical industry sponsorship accounts on the average for more than 50% of the CME financing in those countries. In all 5 countries, CME accreditation systems exist; the national health authorities and medical associations are mainly responsible for them. In France, Italy, and Germany CME is mandatory; in Spain and the United Kingdom it is voluntary. CME credits/points are mainly used for professional career purposes. Revalidation systems have not been introduced in any of these countries, although in the United Kingdom it is being introduced as part of a relicensing process. Recommendations for the implementation of a European system of CME/CPD harmonization are made by the authors.

Adaptive Optics Imaging of VY Canis Majoris at 2-5 μm with LBT/LMIRCam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shenoy, Dinesh P.; Jones, Terry J.; Humphreys, Roberta M.; Marengo, Massimo; Leisenring, Jarron M.; Nelson, Matthew J.; Wilson, John C.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Hinz, Philip M.; Hoffmann, William F.; Bailey, Vanessa; Skemer, Andrew; Rodigas, Timothy; Vaitheeswaran, Vidhya

2013-10-01

We present adaptive optics images of the extreme red supergiant VY Canis Majoris in the Ks , L', and M bands (2.15-4.8 μm) made with LMIRCam on the Large Binocular Telescope. The peculiar "Southwest Clump" previously imaged from 1 to 2.2 μm appears prominently in all three filters. We find its brightness is due almost entirely to scattering, with the contribution of thermal emission limited to at most 25%. We model its brightness as optically thick scattering from silicate dust grains using typical size distributions. We find a lower limit mass for this single feature of 5 × 10-3 M ⊙ to 2.5 × 10-2 M ⊙ depending on the assumed gas-to-dust ratio. The presence of the Clump as a distinct feature with no apparent counterpart on the other side of the star is suggestive of an ejection event from a localized region of the star and is consistent with VY CMa's history of asymmetric high-mass-loss events. The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are: The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University; and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia.

Luminous and Variable Stars in M31 and M33. III. The Yellow and Red Supergiants and Post-red Supergiant Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordon, Michael S.; Humphreys, Roberta M.; Jones, Terry J.

2016-07-01

Recent supernova (SN) and transient surveys have revealed an increasing number of non-terminal stellar eruptions. Though the progenitor class of these eruptions includes the most luminous stars, little is known of the pre-SN mechanics of massive stars in their most evolved state, thus motivating a census of possible progenitors. From surveys of evolved and unstable luminous star populations in nearby galaxies, we select a sample of yellow and red supergiant (RSG) candidates in M31 and M33 for review of their spectral characteristics and spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Since the position of intermediate- and late-type supergiants on the color-magnitude diagram can be heavily contaminated by foreground dwarfs, we employ spectral classification and multi-band photometry from optical and near-infrared surveys to confirm membership. Based on spectroscopic evidence for mass loss and the presence of circumstellar (CS) dust in their SEDs, we find that 30%-40% of the yellow supergiants are likely in a post-RSG state. Comparison with evolutionary tracks shows that these mass-losing, post-RSGs have initial masses between 20 and 40 M ⊙. More than half of the observed RSGs in M31 and M33 are producing dusty CS ejecta. We also identify two new warm hypergiants in M31, J004621.05+421308.06 and J004051.59+403303.00, both of which are likely in a post-RSG state. Based on observations obtained with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are: The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University, and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia.

Delineation of site-specific management units in a saline region at the Venice Lagoon margin, Italy, using soil reflectance and apparent electrical conductivity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Site-specific crop management utilizes site-specific management units (SSMUs) to apply inputs when, where, and in the amount needed to increase food productivity, optimize resource utilization, increase profitability, and reduce detrimental environmental impacts. It is the objective of this study to...

Global toxocariasis research trends from 1932 to 2015: a bibliometric analysis.

PubMed

Zyoud, Sa'ed H

2017-02-23

Toxocariasis is a highly prevalent parasitic disease in the tropical regions of the world, with its impact on public health being typically underestimated. To better recognise the trends and characteristics of toxocariasis research, this study is a bibliometric analysis of the global toxocariasis research. Searches were completed on April 5, 2016, using the Scopus database. A search without any language restriction was performed to extract publications dealing with toxocariasis. Terms related to toxocariasis were used to perform a title keyword search. A total of 2765 publications comprising 11 document types and published between 1932 and 2015 were included in the analysis. Articles were the most popular document form, accounting for 83.62% of all publications, followed by letters (3.80%) and reviews (3.4%). The annual number of research publications increased from 30 in 1980 to 111 in 2015, indicating that the number of publications on toxocariasis has increased slowly over the past 35 years. The United States of America and Japan are the predominant countries of origin, with 303 articles and 207 articles, respectively, followed by Brazil and the United Kingdom, with 180 (6.5%) each. The h-index for all the publications was 60. The highest h-index were for publications from the United Kingdom (h-index value = 43) and the United States (h-index value = 39); these two countries were also involved with the highest number of international collaborations, with 27 and 28 countries, respectively. Developed countries, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, are the world's leaders in toxocariasis research, contributing to more than 34% of the total published literature. In addition, developing countries, such as Brazil, Poland, Argentina and India, showed a noticeable increase in published papers on toxocariasis research in recent years. A push for more collaboration is needed to achieve a superior research strategy related to toxocariasis at the global level from the viewpoint of epidemiological data, clinical aspects, medical ecology, molecular aspects and treatment practices associated with toxocariasis.

International Piping Integrity Research Group (IPIRG) Program. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilkowski, G.; Schmidt, R.; Scott, P.

1997-06-01

This is the final report of the International Piping Integrity Research Group (IPIRG) Program. The IPIRG Program was an international group program managed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and funded by a consortium of organizations from nine nations: Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The program objective was to develop data needed to verify engineering methods for assessing the integrity of circumferentially-cracked nuclear power plant piping. The primary focus was an experimental task that investigated the behavior of circumferentially flawed piping systems subjected to high-rate loadings typical of seismic events. Tomore » accomplish these objectives a pipe system fabricated as an expansion loop with over 30 meters of 16-inch diameter pipe and five long radius elbows was constructed. Five dynamic, cyclic, flawed piping experiments were conducted using this facility. This report: (1) provides background information on leak-before-break and flaw evaluation procedures for piping, (2) summarizes technical results of the program, (3) gives a relatively detailed assessment of the results from the pipe fracture experiments and complementary analyses, and (4) summarizes advances in the state-of-the-art of pipe fracture technology resulting from the IPIRG program.« less

Determinants of the number of mammography units in 31 countries with significant mammography screening

PubMed Central

Autier, P; Ouakrim, D A

2008-01-01

In the 2000s, most of the female population of industrialised countries had access to mammography breast cancer screening, but with variable modalities among the countries. We assessed the number of mammography units (MUs) in 31 European, North American and Asian countries where significant mammography activity has existed for over 10 years, collecting data on the number of such units and of radiologists by contacting institutions in each country likely to provide the relevant information. Around 2004, there were 32 324 MU in 31 countries, the number per million women ranging from less than 25 in Turkey, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway, Poland and Hungary to more than 80 in Cyprus, Italy, France, the United States and Austria. In a multivariate analysis, the number of MUs was positively associated with the number of radiologists (P=0.0081), the number of women (P=0.0023) and somewhat with the country surface area (P=0.077). There is considerable variation in the density of MU across countries and the number of MUs in service are often well above what would be necessary according to local screening recommendations. High number of MUs in some countries may have undesirable consequences, such as unnecessarily high screening frequency and decreased age at which screening is started. PMID:18781176

A Tale of Two Impostors: SN2002kg and SN1954J in NGC 2403

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humphreys, Roberta M.; Davidson, Kris; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Gordon, Michael S.

2017-10-01

We describe new results on two supernova impostors in NGC 2403, SN 1954J(V12) and SN 2002kg(V37). For the famous object SN 1954J, we combine four critical observations: its current SED, its Hα emission line profile, the Ca II triplet in absorption in its red spectrum, and the brightness compared to its pre-event state. Together, these strongly suggest that the survivor is now a hot supergiant with T ˜ 20,000 K, a dense wind, substantial circumstellar extinction, and a G-type supergiant companion. The hot star progenitor of V12's giant eruption was likely in the post-red supergiant stage and had already shed a lot of mass. V37 is a classical LBV/S Dor variable. Our photometry and spectra observed during and after its eruption show that its outburst was an apparent transit on the HR Diagram due to enhanced mass loss and the formation of a cooler, dense wind. V37 is an evolved hot supergiant at ≈106 {L}⊙ with a probable initial mass of 60-80 {M}⊙ . Based on observations with the Multiple Mirror Telescope, a joint facility of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona, and on observations obtained with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners include The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University, and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia.

Quality assessment of palliative home care in Italy.

PubMed

Scaccabarozzi, Gianlorenzo; Lovaglio, Pietro Giorgio; Limonta, Fabrizio; Floriani, Maddalena; Pellegrini, Giacomo

2017-08-01

The complexity of end-of-life care, represented by a large number of units caring for dying patients, of different types of organizations motivates the importance of measure the quality of provided care. Despite the law 38/2010 promulgated to remove the barriers and provide affordable access to palliative care, measurement, and monitoring of processes of home care providers in Italy has not been attempted. Using data drawn by an institutional voluntary observatory established in Italy in 2013, collecting home palliative care units caring for people between January and December 2013, we assess the degree to which Italian home palliative care teams endorse a set of standards required by the 38/2010 law and best practices as emerged from the literature. The evaluation strategy is based on Rasch analysis, allowing to objectively measuring both performances of facilities and quality indicators' difficulty on the same metric, using 14 quality indicators identified by the observatory's steering committee. Globally, 195 home care teams were registered in the observatory reporting globally 40 955 cured patients in 2013 representing 66% of the population of home palliative care units active in Italy in 2013. Rasch analysis identifies 5 indicators ("interview" with caregivers, continuous training provided to medical and nursing staff, provision of specialized multidisciplinary interventions, psychological support to the patient and family, and drug supply at home) easy to endorse by health care providers and 3 problematic indicators (presence of a formally established Local Network of Palliative care in the area of reference, provision of the care for most problematic patient requiring high intensity of the care, and the percentage of cancer patient dying at Home). The lack of Local Network of Palliative care, required by law 38/2010, is, at the present, the main barrier to its application. However, the adopted methodology suggests that a clear roadmap for health facilities to afford future quality and normative challenges. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Highlights from 2013 Consociazione Nazionale Associazioni Infermieri (CNAI) Conference: reflections and addresses for Italian nursing.

PubMed

Caruso, Rosario; Arrigoni, Cristina; Fiorini, Tiziana; Dellafiore, Federica; Pittella, Francesco

2013-01-01

This conference intends to boost the reflection on the state of nursing in Italy, which began with the XV National Congress of National Consociation of Nurses Associations and Other Health Social Workers (CNAIOSS) held in Naples in 1996. Today the name of the association is National Consociation of Italian Nurses (CNAI) (Desimio et al, 1998). After 17 years, it seems urgent to re-read the stretch of progress made in nursing science and identify future directions for the Italian nursing, in this period of rationalization of resources and economic crisis. The congress activities intend to deepen Italian debate within the profession on the state of the art and discipline, starting from the changing of many elements such as: healthcare setting, diffusion information technology, contents of education and especially the care needs of the population. The conference is designed to answer to some stated aims: - to set the nursing science within the wide context of the health sciences with particular reference to Italy; - to reflect on the state of the art and culture of nursing in Italy; - to acquire theoretical and methodological elements useful to strengthen and redefine their identity as nurse practitioners; - to identify the reasons why it is urgent to choose and use a common language in nursing clinical education, training and organization; - to learn from the sharing of the care planning experience and from the knowledge of different languages acquired by Italian realities. The conference follows the tradition of CNAI and intends to continue its contribution to the evolution of the theoretical and methodological aspects that found nursing practice in Italy.

Stress, burnout, and job satisfaction in 470 health professionals in 98 apheresis units in Italy: A SIdEM collaborative study.

PubMed

Tremolada, Marta; Schiavo, Simone; Tison, Tiziana; Sormano, Emilia; De Silvestro, Giustina; Marson, Piero; Pierelli, Luca

2015-10-01

In Italian and international background, there are no studies focusing on stress, burnout indicators, and job satisfaction in health professionals working in the apheresis units. This study aims to fill this void both for scientific and clinical reasons. The participants were 470 health professionals (220 physicians, 250 nurses), mostly female (73.4%), with an average age of 48.09 (with the 5° percentile under 32 years and the 95° percentile over 60), working in the Apheresis Units in the North (228), in the Center (131) and in the Southern-islands of Italy (111). The health professionals' years on the job were principally between one and 10 years (40.2%) or from 11 to 20 years (33.2%). The prevalent activity was therapeutic apheresis (48.5%). The self-report questionnaires were proposed electronically by a protected online site. Important stress levels were identified in the health professionals. Physicians principally showed medium (47.5%) and high (35.8%) stress levels. Stress levels of nurses were mostly low (57.7%) or medium (25.7%). Female gender in nurses [t(268) = -3.29; P = 0.001] and in physician professions [t(217) = -3.01; P = 0.03] was a risk factor for stress. Both job categories were placed at a high risk level for burnout syndrome comparing with normative scales, especially the health professionals working in the center of Italy for the scales "Emotional exhaustion" [F(2) = 4.39; P = 0.013] and "Professional inefficacy" [F(2) = 4.38; P = 0.013]. Health professionals working in the apheresis unit show high stress levels and burnout risk. New preventive programs and specific clinical interventions should be constructed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Inspection and maintenance techniques for the Algeria-Italy trans-Mediterranean pipeline

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bensalem, M.T.

1986-07-01

Inspection and maintenance of the three 155-km trans-Mediterranean sections of the Algeria-Italy natural-gas pipeline has been carried out by Transmediterranean Pipeline Co./TMPC (a joint venture between Sonatrach and SNAM). The inspection philosophy of TMPC has been to employ the most conservative, although more costly, approaches and state-of-the-art surveying techniques.

History of San Marco

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caporale, A. J.

1968-01-01

A brief history is reported of the first San Marco project, a joint program of the United States and Italy. The Project was a three phase effort to investigate upper air density and associated ionosphere phenomena. The initial phase included the design and development of the spacecraft, the experiments, the launch complex, and a series of suborbital flights, from Wallops Island. The second phase, consisting of designing, fabricating, and testing a spacecraft for the first orbital mission, culminated in an orbital launch also from Wallops Island. The third phase consisted of further refining the experiments and spacecraft instrumentation and of establishing a full-bore scout complex in Kenya. The launch of San Marco B, in April 1967, from this complex into an equatorial orbit, concluded the initial San Marco effort.

German Perceptions of the United States at Unification

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

No comment No comment Country +5 to -5 (percent) yes no (percent) France +2.8 A 9 87 4 Austria +3.3 3 20 76 4 Soviet Union +1.3 3 36 61 4 Italy +1.8 4 6 89 5 Poland +0.1 4 58 39 3 USA +1.6 5 1 95 4 Sweden +2.8 4 3 92 5 Cuba +0.3 4 1 94 5 England +2.0 4 2 93 5 Hungary +2.0 3 38 59 3 Question 2: I’d like you to evaluate several countries from different standpoints. There are five categories that you can use to rate each country accord- ing to a numbering system. ŕ" means a "very good" rating-, Ś"

The role played by stakeholders in the public debate that brought Italy out of the club of nuclear energy producers.

PubMed

Cantone, Marie Claire; Sturloni, Giancarlo; Brunelli, Giancarlo

2007-10-01

In 1964, Italy was the fourth largest world producer of electricity generated by nuclear reactors, second in Europe only to United Kingdom. In subsequent years, various controversial political events contributed towards drastically slowing down the development of the Italian national nuclear program. The 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, which caused a public outcry all over Europe, had particularly serious repercussions in Italy. In a controversial referendum, held in November 1987, Italian citizens voted to repeal three laws promoting the installation of nuclear power plants (NPP) on Italian soil and allowing the National Institute for Electrical Energy (ENEL) to participate in the construction of NPP's abroad. This work analyzes the reasons for that decision and the communication strategies of the stakeholders that took part in the public debate on nuclear energy during the weeks following the Chernobyl accident. Drawing from the methodologies used in media studies, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of two leading Italian newspapers was performed. The results reveal that a variety of stakeholders, upholding different values and interests, took part in the debate. There being no tradition of a public dialogue and participation in Italy, the debate was polarized to a "yes/no choice," which eventually caused Italy to abandon the production of nuclear power for civilian use.

Closeup of headstones in Section 4 of soldiers from Brazil, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Close-up of headstones in Section 4 of soldiers from Brazil, Italy, Argentina, and Britain, view to southwest - Cypress Hills National Cemetery, Jamaica Avenue Unit, 625 Jamaica Avenue, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY

The Senegal Project: A Cultural Foods Unit for Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Diane

2011-01-01

The Senegal Project is the culminating project in a unit on cultural foods in an 8th grade family and consumer sciences (FCS) course. Initially, students take a quick world tour by studying and cooking foods from Mexico, Italy, China, and India followed by a "more depth and less breadth" study of Senegal, a country with a culture vastly…

[Sanitary control of cosmetics].

PubMed

Bonini, Maira; Pellino, Pasquale; Pilla, Mariateresa

2005-01-01

In the Lombardia region (Italy), the function of sanitary control of cosmetic products has been delegated to the local health units (ASL). The Province of Milano 1 Local Health Unit therefore carried out a cosmetics surveillance programme involving 92 cosmetic firms located in its territory. Manufacturing and storage conditions of cosmetics produced by the local firms were evaluated and overall, good sanitary conditions were found.

Teaching Self- and Social Competencies in the Retail Sector: Findings from Vocational Schools in Germany, Italy and Poland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edeling, Sabrina; Pilz, Matthias

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to use teaching and learning units specially devised for development of self-competencies and social competencies in the retail sector to explore how learners assess these units in relation to acceptance, quality and self-assessment of improvement in their own performance. Design/methodology/approach: The…

Communication and cultural interaction in health promotion strategies to migrant populations in Italy: the cross-cultural phone counselling experience.

PubMed

Taglieri, Filippo Maria; Colucci, Anna; Barbina, Donatella; Fanales-Belasio, Emanuele; Luzi, Anna Maria

2013-01-01

In the last 10 years migration processes have progressively increased worldwide and in Italy about 5 millions of residing migrants are estimated. To meet health needs of these new residents, effective relational and communication tools, which allow a reciprocal intercultural interaction within health care structures, are therefore necessary. This article faces the main features of the relational-communication processes associated with health promotion and care in the migrant population in Italy to the aim of identifying the key and critical points within the interaction between different cultures, focusing on the role of specific professional figures, including cultural mediators and health educators. Within the activity of HIV phone counselling operated by Psycho-sociobehavioural, Communication and Training Operating Unit of National Institute of Health in Italy, an intercultural approach was successfully experienced in a project targeted to migrants (2007-2008). Specifically, the presence of cultural mediators answering in the languages of main migrants' groups allowed the increase of calls from migrant people and of the information provided.

Personal values and political activism: a cross-national study.

PubMed

Vecchione, Michele; Schwartz, Shalom H; Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Schoen, Harald; Cieciuch, Jan; Silvester, Jo; Bain, Paul; Bianchi, Gabriel; Kirmanoglu, Hasan; Baslevent, Cem; Mamali, Catalin; Manzi, Jorge; Pavlopoulos, Vassilis; Posnova, Tetyana; Torres, Claudio; Verkasalo, Markku; Lönnqvist, Jan-Erik; Vondráková, Eva; Welzel, Christian; Alessandri, Guido

2015-02-01

Using data from 28 countries in four continents, the present research addresses the question of how basic values may account for political activism. Study 1 (N = 35,116) analyses data from representative samples in 20 countries that responded to the 21-item version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ-21) in the European Social Survey. Study 2 (N = 7,773) analyses data from adult samples in six of the same countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, and United Kingdom) and eight other countries (Australia, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United States) that completed the full 40-item PVQ. Across both studies, political activism relates positively to self-transcendence and openness to change values, especially to universalism and autonomy of thought, a subtype of self-direction. Political activism relates negatively to conservation values, especially to conformity and personal security. National differences in the strength of the associations between individual values and political activism are linked to level of democratization. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Past, Present, and Possible Future Human Infection with Influenza Virus A Subtype H7

PubMed Central

Belser, Jessica A.; Bridges, Carolyn B.; Katz, Jacqueline M.

2009-01-01

Influenza A subtype H7 viruses have resulted in >100 cases of human infection since 2002 in the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Clinical illness from subtype H7 infection ranges from conjunctivitis to mild upper respiratory illness to pneumonia. Although subtype H7 infections have resulted in a smaller proportion of hospitalizations and deaths in humans than those caused by subtype H5N1, some subtype H7 strains appear more adapted for human infection on the basis of their virus-binding properties and illness rates among exposed persons. Moreover, increased isolation of subtype H7 influenza viruses from poultry and the ability of this subtype to cause severe human disease underscore the need for continued surveillance and characterization of these viruses. We review the history of human infection caused by subtype H7. In addition, we discuss recently identified molecular correlates of subtype H7 virus pathogenesis and assess current measures to prevent future subtype H7 virus infection. PMID:19523282

Computerised Axial Tomography (CAT)

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-01

commercial market. EMI, which had originally counted on being the only firm selling CT units , subsequently increased its production in order to overtake...to a rough estimate’"’ the number of CT scanners at present working in Italy is about 18 units installed. apart from those in the large cities such as...hGdcl scanners and 198 total body scanners): among othar things, they emphasise that a CT unit , works, on an average, for 5.4 days in the week and

Italy, the European Union, and Mediterranean Migrants: Opportunity from Crisis

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

member states to bail out banks .164 Thus, the outlook for Italy is bleak without major reforms in a variety of sectors of the economy and society...95  ix LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AIS Automatic Identification Services ARCI...security sector reform.”52 Marking the formal end of Operation Unified Protector on October 31, 2011, Rasmussen made an historic visit to Libya to

Early Childhood Education and Beyond: Can We Adapt the Practices and Philosophies from the Preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy into Our Elementary Schools in America?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Firlik, Russell

The model presented by the preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, is one of cooperation and collaborations among teachers, parents, and children; curriculum based on the "project approach," and constructivist learning philosophy, which states that children construct their knowledge and values as a result of interactions with and action on…

Is adaptation of the word accentuation test of premorbid intelligence necessary for use among older, Spanish-speaking immigrants in the United States?

PubMed

Schrauf, Robert W; Weintraub, Sandra; Navarro, Ellen

2006-05-01

Adaptations of the National Adult Reading Test (NART) for assessing premorbid intelligence in languages other than English requires (a) generating word-items that are rare and do not follow grapheme-to-phoneme mappings common in that language, and (b) subsequent validation against a cognitive battery normed on the population of interest. Such tests exist for Italy, France, Spain, and Argentina, all normed against national versions of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Given the varieties of Spanish spoken in the United States, the adaptation of the Spanish Word Accentuation Test (WAT) requires re-validating the original word list, plus possible new items, against a cognitive battery that has been normed on Spanish-speakers from many countries. This study reports the generation of 55 additional words and revalidation in a sample of 80 older, Spanish-dominant immigrants. The Batería Woodcock-Muñoz Revisada (BWM-R), normed on Spanish speakers from six countries and five U.S. states, was used to establish criterion validity. The original WAT word list accounted for 77% of the variance in the BWM-R and 58% of the variance in Ravens Colored Progressive Matrices, suggesting that the unmodified list possesses adequate predictive validity as an indicator of intelligence. Regression equations are provided for estimating BWM-R and Ravens scores from WAT scores.

Wolves: Behavior, ecology, and conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mech, L. David; Boitani, Luigi

2003-01-01

Wolves are some of the world's most charismatic and controversial animals, capturing the imaginations of their friends and foes alike. Highly intelligent and adaptable, they hunt and play together in close-knit packs, sometimes roaming over hundreds of square miles in search of food. Once teetering on the brink of extinction across much of the United States and Europe, wolves have made a tremendous comeback in recent years, thanks to legal protection, changing human attitudes, and efforts to reintroduce them to suitable habitats in North America.As wolf populations have rebounded, scientific studies of them have also flourished. But there hasn't been a systematic, comprehensive overview of wolf biology since 1970. In Wolves, many of the world's leading wolf experts provide state-of-the-art coverage of just about everything you could want to know about these fascinating creatures. Individual chapters cover wolf social ecology, behavior, communication, feeding habits and hunting techniques, population dynamics, physiology and pathology, molecular genetics, evolution and taxonomy, interactions with nonhuman animals such as bears and coyotes, reintroduction, interactions with humans, and conservation and recovery efforts. The book discusses both gray and red wolves in detail and includes information about wolves around the world, from the United States and Canada to Italy, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Israel, India, and Mongolia. Wolves is also extensively illustrated with black and white photos, line drawings, maps, and fifty color plates.

76 FR 22372 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-21

...In response to requests from interested parties, the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting administrative reviews of the antidumping duty orders on ball bearings and parts thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom for the period May 1, 2009, through April 30, 2010. We have preliminarily determined that sales have been made below normal value by certain companies subject to these reviews. We have also preliminarily determined that Schaeffler Technologies GmbH & Co. KG is the successor- in-interest to Schaeffler KG with respect to the order on ball bearings and parts thereof from Germany. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results. Parties who submit comments in these reviews are requested to submit with each argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the argument.

[Scientific publication output of Spanish emergency physicians from 2005 to 2014: a comparative study].

PubMed

Fernández-Guerrero, Inés María; Martín-Sánchez, Francisco Javier; Burillo-Putze, Guillermo; Miró, Òscar

2017-10-01

To analyze the research output of Spanish emergency physicians between 2005 and 2014 and to compare it to their output in the previous 10-year period (1995-2004) as well as to that of emergency physicians in other countries and Spanish physicians in other specialties. Original articles indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded of the Web of Science were included. Documents from Spanish emergency physicians were identified by combining the word Spain and any other search term identifying an emergency service or unit in Spain. To identify articles from 7 other Spanish specialties (hematology, endocrinology, cardiology, pneumology, digestive medicine, pediatrics, surgery and orthopedic medicine or traumatology) and emergency physicians in 8 other countries (United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium) we used similar strategies. Information about production between 1995 and 2004 was extracted from a prior publication. Spanish emergency physicians signed 1254 articles (mean [SD], 125 [44] articles/y) between 2005 and 2014. That level of productivity was greater than in the 1995-2004 period (mean, 26 [14] articles/y), although the annual growth rate fell from 12.5% in the previous 10-year period to 5.2% in the most recent one. Emergency medicine was among the least productive Spanish specialties we studied, but our discipline's annual growth rate of 5.2% was the highest. Spanish emergency medicine occupies an intermediate position (ranking fifth) among the 9 countries studied, although the population-adjusted rank was higher (fourth). When output was adjusted for gross domestic product, Spain climbed higher in rank, to second position. The annual growth rate was the fourth highest among countries, after Germany (9.9%), the Netherlands (7.3%), and Italy (6.0%). The research output of Spanish emergency physicians continues to be quantitatively lower than that of other Spanish specialties and of emergency physicians in other countries. The annual rate of growth in publications, although good, fell below the growth rate of the previous period.

International comparison of the organisation of rehabilitation services and systems of care for patients with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

New, P W; Townson, A; Scivoletto, G; Post, M W M; Eriks-Hoogland, I; Gupta, A; Smith, E; Reeves, R K; Gill, Z A

2013-01-01

Survey. Describe and compare the organisation and delivery of rehabilitation services and systems of care for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). International. Nine spinal rehabilitation units that manage traumatic SCI and non-traumatic SCI (NTSCI) patients. Survey based on clinical expertise and literature review. Completed between November 2010 and April 2011. All units reported public/government funding. Additional funding sources included compensation schemes, private insurance and self funding. Six units had formal attachment to an acute SCI unit. Five units (Italy, Ireland, India, Pakistan and Switzerland) provided a national service; two units (the Netherlands and USA) provided regional and two units (Australia and Canada) provided state/provincial services. The median number of SCI rehabilitation beds was 23 (interquartile range=16-30). All units admitted both traumatic SCI and NTSCI patients. The median proportion of patients admitted who had traumatic SCI was 45% (IQR 20-48%) and 40% (IQR 30-42%) had NTSCI. The rehabilitation team in all centres determined patient readiness for discharge. There was great variability between units in the availability of SCI speciality services, ancillary services and staff/patient ratios. There was a wide range of differences in the organisation, systems of care and services available for patients with SCI in rehabilitation units in different countries. Understanding these differences is important when comparing patient outcomes from different settings. A standardised collection of these system variables should be considered as part of future studies and could be included in the ISCoS data set project.

Effects of enhanced pacing modalities on health care resource utilization and costs in bradycardia patients: An analysis of the randomized MINERVA trial.

PubMed

Boriani, Giuseppe; Manolis, Antonis S; Tukkie, Raymond; Mont, Lluis; Pürerfellner, Helmut; Santini, Massimo; Inama, Giuseppe; Serra, Paolo; Gulizia, Michele; Samoilenko, Igor Vasilyevich; Wolff, Claudia; Holbrook, Reece; Gavazza, Federica; Padeletti, Luigi

2015-06-01

Many patients who suffer from bradycardia and need cardiac pacing also have atrial fibrillation (AF). New pacemaker algorithms, such as atrial preventive pacing and atrial antitachycardia pacing (DDDRP) and managed ventricular pacing (MVP), have been specifically designed to reduce AF occurrence and duration and to minimize the detrimental effects of right ventricular pacing. The randomized MINimizE Right Ventricular pacing to prevent Atrial fibrillation and heart failure trial established that DDDRP + MVP pacing modality reduced permanent AF in bradycardia patients as compared with standard dual-chamber pacing (DDDR). The aim of this study was to estimate the cost savings due to lower AF-related health care utilization events based on health care costs from the United States and the European Union. Dual-chamber pacemaker patients with a history of paroxysmal or persistent AF were randomly assigned to receive DDDR (n = 385) or the advanced features (DDDRP + MVP; n = 383). We used published health care costs from the United States and the European Union (Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) to estimate the costs associated with AF-related hospitalizations and emergency visits. The rate of AF-related hospitalizations was significantly lower in the DDDRP + MVP group than in the conventional pacemaker group (DDDR group; 42% reduction; incidence rate ratio 0.58). Similarly, a significant reduction of 68% was observed for AF-related emergency department visits (incidence rate ratio 0.32; P < .001). As a consequence, DDDRP + MVP could potentially reduce health care costs by 40%-44%. Over a ten-year period, the cost savings per 100 patients ranged from $35,702 in the United Kingdom to $121,831 in the United States. New pacing algorithms such as DDDRP + MVP used in the MINimizE Right Ventricular pacing to prevent Atrial fibrillation and heart failure trial successfully reduced AF-related health care utilization, resulting in significant cost savings to payers. Copyright © 2015 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modelling the costs of care of hypertension in patients with metabolic syndrome and its consequences, in Germany, Spain and Italy.

PubMed

Wille, Eberhard; Scholze, Jürgen; Alegria, Eduardo; Ferri, Claudio; Langham, Sue; Stevens, Warren; Jeffries, David; Uhl-Hochgraeber, Kerstin

2011-06-01

The presence of metabolic syndrome in patients with hypertension significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and mortality. Our aim is to estimate the economic burden to the health service of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with hypertension and its consequences, in three European countries in 2008, and to forecast future economic burden in 2020 using projected demographic estimates and assumptions around the growth of MetS. An age-, sex- and risk group-structured prevalence-based cost of illness model was developed using the United States Adult Treatment Panel III of the National Cholesterol Education Program criteria to define MetS. Data sources included published information and public use databases on disease prevalence, incidence of cardiovascular events, prevalence of type 2 diabetes, treatment patterns and cost of management in Germany, Spain and Italy. The economic burden to the health service of MetS in patients with hypertension has been estimated at 24,427 euro, 1,900 euro and 4,877 euro million in Germany, Spain and Italy, and is forecast to rise by 59, 179 and 157%, respectively, by 2020. The largest components of costs included the management of prevalent type 2 diabetes and incident cardiovascular events. Mean annual costs per hypertensive patient were around three-fold higher in subjects with MetS compared to those without and rose incrementally with the additional number of MetS components present. In conclusion, the presence of MetS in patients with hypertension significantly inflates economic burden, and costs are likely to increase in the future due to an aging population and an increase in the prevalence of components of MetS.

Space Radar Image of Florence, Italy

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-04-15

This radar image shows land use patterns in and around the city of Florence, Italy, shown here in the center of the image. Florence is situated on a plain in the Chianti Hill region of Central Italy. The Arno River flows through town and is visible as the dark line running from the upper right to the bottom center of the image. The city is home to some of the world's most famous art museums. The bridges seen crossing the Arno, shown as faint red lines in the upper right portion of the image, were all sacked during World War II with the exception of the Ponte Vecchio, which remains as Florence's only covered bridge. The large, black V-shaped feature near the center of the image is the Florence Railroad Station. This image was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on April 14, 1994. SIR-C/X-SAR, a joint mission of the German, Italian, and United States space agencies, is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. This image is centered at 43.7 degrees north latitude and 11.15 degrees east longitude with North toward the upper left of the image. The area shown measures 20 kilometers by 17 kilometers (12.4 miles by 10.6 miles). The colors in the image are assigned to different frequencies and polarizations of the radar as follows: red is L-band horizontally transmitted, horizontally received; green is L-band horizontally transmitted, vertically received; blue is C-band horizontally transmitted, vertically received. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01795

Space Radar Image of Mt. Etna, Italy

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-04-15

The summit of the Mount Etna volcano on the island of Sicily, Italy, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, is shown near the center of this radar image. Lava flows of different ages and surface roughness appear in shades of purple, green, yellow and pink surrounding the four small craters at the summit. Etna is one of the best-studied volcanoes in the world and scientists are using this radar image to identify and distinguish a variety of volcanic features. Etna has erupted hundreds of times in recorded history, with the most recent significant eruption in 1991-1993. Scientists are studying Etna as part of the international "Decade Volcanoes" project, because of its high level of activity and potential threat to local populations. This image was acquired on October 11, 1994 by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. SIR-C/X-SAR, a joint mission of the German, Italian and the United States space agencies, is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The image is centered at 37.8 degrees North latitude and 15.1 degrees East longitude and covers an area of 51.2 kilometers by 22.6 kilometers (31.7 miles by 14.0 miles). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01776

Descriptive epidemiology of chronic liver disease in northeastern Italy: an analysis of multiple causes of death.

PubMed

Fedeli, Ugo; Schievano, Elena; Lisiero, Manola; Avossa, Francesco; Mastrangelo, Giuseppe; Saugo, Mario

2013-10-10

The analysis of multiple causes of death data has been applied in the United States to examine the population burden of chronic liver disease (CLD) and to assess time trends of alcohol-related and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related CLD mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the mortality for CLD by etiology in the Veneto Region (northeastern Italy). Using the 2008-2010 regional archive of mortality, all causes registered on death certificates were extracted and different descriptive epidemiological measures were computed for HCV-related, alcohol-related, and overall CLD-related mortality. The crude mortality rate of all CLD was close to 40 per 100,000 residents. In middle ages (35 to 74 years) CLD was mentioned in about 10% and 6% of all deaths in males and females, respectively. Etiology was unspecified in about half of CLD deaths. In females and males, respectively, HCV was mentioned in 44% and 21% and alcohol in 11% and 26% of overall CLD deaths. A bimodal distribution with age was observed for HCV-related proportional mortality among females, reflecting the available seroprevalence data. Multiple causes of death analyses can provide useful insights into the burden of CLD mortality according to etiology among different population subgroups.

Report on First International Workshop on Robotic Surgery in Thoracic Oncology.

PubMed

Veronesi, Giulia; Cerfolio, Robert; Cingolani, Roberto; Rueckert, Jens C; Soler, Luc; Toker, Alper; Cariboni, Umberto; Bottoni, Edoardo; Fumagalli, Uberto; Melfi, Franca; Milli, Carlo; Novellis, Pierluigi; Voulaz, Emanuele; Alloisio, Marco

2016-01-01

A workshop of experts from France, Germany, Italy, and the United States took place at Humanitas Research Hospital Milan, Italy, on February 10 and 11, 2016, to examine techniques for and applications of robotic surgery to thoracic oncology. The main topics of presentation and discussion were robotic surgery for lung resection; robot-assisted thymectomy; minimally invasive surgery for esophageal cancer; new developments in computer-assisted surgery and medical applications of robots; the challenge of costs; and future clinical research in robotic thoracic surgery. The following article summarizes the main contributions to the workshop. The Workshop consensus was that since video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is becoming the mainstream approach to resectable lung cancer in North America and Europe, robotic surgery for thoracic oncology is likely to be embraced by an increasing numbers of thoracic surgeons, since it has technical advantages over VATS, including intuitive movements, tremor filtration, more degrees of manipulative freedom, motion scaling, and high-definition stereoscopic vision. These advantages may make robotic surgery more accessible than VATS to trainees and experienced surgeons and also lead to expanded indications. However, the high costs of robotic surgery and absence of tactile feedback remain obstacles to widespread dissemination. A prospective multicentric randomized trial (NCT02804893) to compare robotic and VATS approaches to stages I and II lung cancer will start shortly.

KSC-07pd2209

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 crew members practice handling tools they will use during the mission. Around the table, at center, dressed in blue flight suits are Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Douglas H. Wheelock, Paolo A. Nespoli and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani. Between Wheelock and Nespoli is Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA. In the foreground is Dina Contella, a thermal protection system specialist with NASA. Nespoli is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Immunisation registers in Italy: a patchwork of computerisation.

PubMed

Alfonsi, V; D'Ancona, F; Rota, M C; Giambi, C; Ranghiasci, A; Iannazzo, S

2012-04-26

In Italy, the 21 regional health authorities are in charge of organising and implementing their own vaccination strategy, based on the national vaccine plan. Immunisation coverage varies greatly among the regions for certain vaccines. Efforts to increase childhood immunisation coverage have included initiatives to develop and implement computerised immunisation registers in as many regions as possible. We undertook a cross-sectional online survey in July 2011 to provide an updated picture of the use, heterogeneity and main functions of different computerised immunisation registers used in the Italian regions and to understand the flow of information from local health units to the regional authorities and to the Ministry of Health. Comparing current data with those obtained in 2007, a substantial improvement is evident. A total of 15 regions are fully computerised (previously nine), with 83% of local health units equipped with a computerised register (previously 70%). Eight of the 15 fully computerised regions use the same software, simplifying data sharing. Only four regions are able to obtain data in real time from local health units. Despite the progress made, the capacity to monitor vaccination coverage and to exchange data appears still limited.

International Differences in the Location and Use of Arteriovenous Accesses Created for Hemodialysis: Results From the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS).

PubMed

Pisoni, Ronald L; Zepel, Lindsay; Fluck, Richard; Lok, Charmaine E; Kawanishi, Hideki; Süleymanlar, Gültekin; Wasse, Haimanot; Tentori, Francesca; Zee, Jarcy; Li, Yun; Schaubel, Douglas; Burke, Steven; Robinson, Bruce

2018-04-01

Vascular access practice is strongly associated with clinical outcomes. There is substantial international variation in the use of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) and grafts (AVGs), as well as AVF maturation time and location. Prospective cohort study. Hemodialysis patients participating in the prospective Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) from the United States, Japan, and Europe/ANZ (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand), including 3,850 patients receiving 4,247 new AVFs and 842 patients receiving 1,129 new AVGs in 2009 to 2015. AVF location trends were based on 38,868 AVFs recorded in DOPPS 1 to 5 cross-sections (1996-2015). Demographics, comorbid conditions, dialysis vintage, body mass index, facility percentage AVF use, median blood flow rate, and AVF location. AVF location; successful AVF/AVG use (≥30 days of continuous use); time-to-first successful AVF/AVG use (maturation). During DOPPS 1 to 5, the percentage of AVFs created in the lower arm was consistently ≥93% in Japan and 65% to 77% in Europe/ANZ, but in the United States, this value declined from 70% (DOPPS 1) to 32% (DOPPS 5). Patient characteristics associated with AVF location differed by region. Successful AVF use was 87% in Japan, 67% in Europe/ANZ, and 64% in the United States, whereas successful AVG use was 86%, 75%, and 78%, respectively. Successful AVF use was greater for upper- versus lower-arm AVFs in the United States, with little difference in Europe/ANZ and the opposite pattern in Japan. Median time until first successful AVF use was 10 days in Japan, 46 days in Europe/ANZ, and 82 days in United States; until first successful AVG use: 6, 24, and 29 days, respectively. Potential measurement error related to chart data abstraction in multiple hemodialysis facilities. Large international differences exist in AVF location, predictors of AVF location, successful use of AVFs, and time to first AVF/AVG use, challenging what constitutes best practice. The large US shift from lower- to upper-arm AVFs raises serious concerns about long-term health implications for some patients and how policies and practices aimed at increasing AVF use have affected AVF placement location. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Go Long, Go Deep: Finding Optical Jet Breaks for Swift-Era GRBs with the LBT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, X.; Garnavich, P. M.; Prieto, J. L.; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, C. S.; Bechtold, J.; Bouche, N.; Buschkamp, P.; Diolaiti, E.; Fan, X.; Giallongo, E.; Gredel, R.; Hill, J. M.; Jiang, L.; McClelland, C.; Milne, P.; Pedichini, F.; Pogge, R. W.; Ragazzoni, R.; Rhoads, J.; Smareglia, R.; Thompson, D.; Wagner, R. M.

2008-08-01

Using the 8.4 m Large Binocular Telescope, we observed six GRB afterglows from 2.8 hr to 30.8 days after the burst triggers to systematically probe the late-time behaviors of afterglows including jet breaks, flares, and supernova bumps. We detected five afterglows with Sloan r' magnitudes ranging from 23.0 to 26.3 mag. The depth of our observations allows us to extend the temporal baseline for measuring jet breaks by another decade in timescale. We detected two jet breaks and a third candidate, all of which are not detectable without deep, late-time optical observations. In the other three cases, we do not detect the jet breaks either because of contamination from the host galaxy light, the presence of a supernova bump, or the intrinsic faintness of the optical afterglow. This suggests that the basic picture that GRBs are collimated is still valid and that the apparent lack of Swift jet breaks is due to poorly sampled afterglow light curves, particularly at late times. Based on data acquired using the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are the University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; the Ohio State University; and the Research Corporation, on behalf of the University of Notre Dame, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Virginia.

Ionized and Molecular Gas Kinematics in a z = 1.4 Star-forming Galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Übler, H.; Genzel, R.; Tacconi, L. J.; Förster Schreiber, N. M.; Neri, R.; Contursi, A.; Belli, S.; Nelson, E. J.; Lang, P.; Shimizu, T. T.; Davies, R.; Herrera-Camus, R.; Lutz, D.; Plewa, P. M.; Price, S. H.; Schuster, K.; Sternberg, A.; Tadaki, K.; Wisnioski, E.; Wuyts, S.

2018-02-01

We present deep observations of a z = 1.4 massive, star-forming galaxy (SFG) in molecular and ionized gas at comparable spatial resolution (CO 3–2, NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA); Hα, Large Binocular Telescope (LBT)). The kinematic tracers agree well, indicating that both gas phases are subject to the same gravitational potential and physical processes affecting the gas dynamics. We combine the one-dimensional velocity and velocity dispersion profiles in CO and Hα to forward-model the galaxy in a Bayesian framework, combining a thick exponential disk, a bulge, and a dark matter halo. We determine the dynamical support due to baryons and dark matter, and find a dark matter fraction within one effective radius of {f}DM}(≤slant {R}e)={0.18}-0.04+0.06. Our result strengthens the evidence for strong baryon-dominance on galactic scales of massive z ∼ 1–3 SFGs recently found based on ionized gas kinematics alone. Based on observations carried out with the IRAM Interferometer NOEMA. IRAM is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany), and IGN (Spain). Based on observations carried out with the LBT. The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are: LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; The Ohio State University, and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota and University of Virginia.

International cooperation in the field of space life sciences: European Space Agency's (ESA) perspectives.

PubMed

Oser, H

1989-08-01

International cooperation in life sciences, as in any other of the space research fields, takes place at two distinct levels: scientist to scientist, or agency to agency. This article is more concerned with the agency to agency level, which involves the arrangements made between two partners for the flying of experiments and/or hardware on space missions. International cooperation is inherent to the European Space Agency (ESA), since it consists of 13 member states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and West Germany) and one associated member, Finland. ESA also has special cooperative arrangements with Canada. Life sciences research in ESA is carried out within the Microgravity Research Program, an optional program to which member states (in this case all but Austria and Ireland) contribute "a la carte," and receive their "share" accordingly. Therefore, many of the activities are naturally linked to international arrangements within the member states, and also to arrangements between the agencies, with life sciences being the dominant activity between NASA and ESA.

Caring for elder parents: a comparative evaluation of family leave laws.

PubMed

Yang, Y Tony; Gimm, Gilbert

2013-01-01

As the baby boomer generation ages, the need for laws to enhance quality of life for the elderly and meet the increasing demand for family caregivers will continue to grow. This paper reviews the national family leave laws of nine major OECD countries (Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and provides a state-by-state analysis within the U.S. We find that the U.S. has the least generous family leave laws among the nine OECD countries. With the exception of two states (California and New Jersey), the U.S. federal Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides no right to paid family leave for eldercare. We survey the current evidence from the literature on how paid leave can impact family caregivers' employment and health outcomes, gender equality, and economic arguments for and against such laws. We argue that a generous and flexible family leave law, financed through social insurance, would not only be equitable, but also financially sustainable. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Council Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009: State of the Art and Its Application in a Local Health Unit in Piedmont, Italy

PubMed Central

Paolucci, Ginevra; Cagnasso, Daniela; Cassani, Francesco

2015-01-01

In the last decade, the European Union has reinforced the concept of animal welfare throughout the food chain, from breeding to slaughtering. Studies and assessments of economic nature led to the adoption of Regulation EC 1099/2009 and at the end of 2014 this regulation will be applied to all the members involved in the food chain. For this reason several local health units organized different initiatives. The local health unit of Turin no. 4 (ASLTO4) has developed a project aimed to train food business operators (FBO) to fulfill all the criteria developed in this Regulation. This initiative was divided into four steps: i) communication to the companies about the criteria of the new regulation; ii) a training course for official veterinarians; iii) slaughterhouse audits in order to get information about animal welfare; iv) and a training course for the personnel involved in slaughterhouses. The purpose of this paper was to report the results of the audits in order to identify critical points of structural, instrumental and documentary facilities. Then, the results can be compared with similar studies in order to develop common strategies and intervention areas. PMID:27800389

International Environmental Evaluation for the Helical Screw Expander Generator Unit Projects in Cesano, Italy and Broadlands, New Zealand

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Webb, J.W.; Mezga, L.J.; Reed, A.W.

1981-08-01

The objectives of the Helical Screw Expander (HSE) Generator Program are (1) to accelerate the development of geothermal resources by introducing this advanced conversion technology, (2) to provide operating experience to prospective users of the equipment, and (3) to collect data on the performance and reliability of the equipment under various geothermal resource conditions. The participants hope to achieve these goals by testing a small-scale, transportable HSE generator at existing geothermal test facilities that produce fluids of different salinity, temperature and pressure conditions. This Environmental Evaluation has been prepared, using available information, to analyze the environmental consequences of testing themore » HSE generator. Its purpose is to support a decision on the need for a complete environmental review of the HSE program under the terms of Executive Order 121 14, ''Environmental Effects Abroad of Major federal Actions''. This Executive Order requires review of projects which involve the release of potentially toxic effluents that are strictly regulated in the United States, or which may have significant environmental effects on the global commons, on natural or ecological resources of international significance, or on the environment of non-participating countries. The final guidelines implementing the provisions of the Executive Order for DOE have been published. This evaluation deals with testing to be conducted at Cesano, Italy by the designated contractor of the Italian government, the Ente Narionale per l'Energia Ellectrica (ENEL), and at Broadlands, New Zealand by the Ministry of Works and Development of New Zealand. Testing at Cerro Prieto, Mexico has already been completed by the Comision Federal de Electricidad and is not evaluated in this report.« less

PREFACE: Particles and Fields: Classical and Quantum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asorey, M.; Clemente-Gallardo, J.; Marmo, G.

2007-07-01

This volume contains some of the contributions to the Conference Particles and Fields: Classical and Quantum, which was held at Jaca (Spain) in September 2006 to honour George Sudarshan on his 75th birthday. Former and current students, associates and friends came to Jaca to share a few wonderful days with George and his family and to present some contributions of their present work as influenced by George's impressive achievements. This book summarizes those scientific contributions which are presented as a modest homage to the master, collaborator and friend. At the social ceremonies various speakers were able to recall instances of his life-long activity in India, the United States and Europe, adding colourful remarks on the friendly and intense atmosphere which surrounded those collaborations, some of which continued for several decades. This meeting would not have been possible without the financial support of several institutions. We are deeply indebted to Universidad de Zaragoza, Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España (CICYT), Departamento de Ciencia, Tecnología y Universidad del Gobierno de Aragón, Universitá di Napoli 'Federico II' and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. Finally, we would like to thank the participants, and particularly George's family, for their contribution to the wonderful atmosphere achieved during the Conference. We would like also to acknowledge the authors of the papers collected in the present volume, the members of the Scientific Committee for their guidance and support and the referees for their generous work. M Asorey, J Clemente-Gallardo and G Marmo The Local Organizing Committee George Sudarshan

International Advisory Committee

Local Organizing Committee

Participants

Climate Since A.D. 1500

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleming, James R.

The editors of this impressive volume are to be congratulated for gathering a stellar collection of thirty-three authoritative papers on the most recent period of climate history. In addition to providing thirty-three pages of introduction and conclusion, the editors also coauthored two important papers for the volume. This book will become a standard reference for the interdisciplinary climatic change community.Climate Since A.D. 1500 is divided into four sections: documentary evidence, dendroclimatic evidence, ice-core evidence, and forcing factors. In all, there are twelve papers using documentary evidence, eleven using dendroclimatic evidence, five on ice-core evidence, and three on forcing factors. The documentary papers cover Canada, the northeastern United States, Ireland, central Europe, northern Italy, the former Soviet Union, China, and Japan, with temporal coverage ranging from 1500 to very near the present.

75 FR 69402 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-12

..., 2010, based on requests from interested parties, we initiated administrative reviews of the antidumping... PLC. In addition, on September 1, 2010, the Department revoked, in part, the antidumping duty order on...

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Preliminary Observations on Program Progress

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-23

partners are the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey , Canada, Australia, Denmark, and Norway. These nations contributed funds for system...Estimated delivery and production dates Initial operational capability 2010-2012 Undetermined 2015- 2018 undetermined 5-6 years Full-rate

The dynamic simulation of the Progetto Energia combined cycle power plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Giglio, R.; Cerabolini, M.; Pisacane, F.

1996-12-31

Over the next four years, the Progetto Energia project is building several cogeneration plants to satisfy the increasing demands of Italy`s industrial complex and the country`s demand for electrical power. Located at six different sites within Italy`s borders these Combined Cycle Cogeneration Plants will supply a total of 500 MW of electricity and 100 tons/hr of process steam to Italian industries and residences. To ensure project success, a dynamic model of the 50 MW base unit was developed. The goal established for the model was to predict the dynamic behavior of the complex thermodynamic system in order to assess equipmentmore » performance and control system effectiveness for normal operation and, more importantly, abrupt load changes. In addition to fulfilling its goals, the dynamic study guided modifications to controller logic that significantly improved steam drum pressure control and bypassed steam de-superheating performance. Simulations of normal and abrupt transient events allowed engineers to define optimum controller gain coefficients. The paper discusses the Combined Cycle plant configuration, its operating modes and control system, the dynamic model representation, the simulation results and project benefits.« less

[Survey on computerized immunization registries in Italy].

PubMed

Alfonsi, V; D'Ancona, F; Ciofi degli Atti, M L

2008-01-01

Computerized immunization registries are essential for conducting and monitoring vaccination programs. In fact, they enable to improve vaccine offering to target population, generating needed-immunization lists and assessing levels of vaccination coverage. In 2007, a national survey on immunization registries was conducted in Italy. In February 2007, all the 21 Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) completed and returned an ad hoc questionnaire. In June 2007, RHAs were further contacted by telephone in order to verify and update the information provided in questionnaires. In 9 Italian Regions (42.8%), vaccination registries are computerized in all Local Health Units (LHUs). In five of these Regions, all LHUs use the same software, while in the remaining four Regions, different softwares are in use. In six additional Regions (28.6%), only some LHUs use computerized immunization registries (range 61.5%-95%). In the remaining 6 Regions (28.6%), which are all in Southern Italy, there are no computerised immunization registries at all. In total, computerised immunization registries cover 126/180 Italian LHUs (70%); in 76/126 (60%) of these LUHs, immunization registries are linked with population registries. This survey shows the need to improve the implementation of computerised immunization registries in Italy, especially in Southern Regions.

MEMS sensor technologies for human centred applications in healthcare, physical activities, safety and environmental sensing: a review on research activities in Italy.

PubMed

Ciuti, Gastone; Ricotti, Leonardo; Menciassi, Arianna; Dario, Paolo

2015-03-17

Over the past few decades the increased level of public awareness concerning healthcare, physical activities, safety and environmental sensing has created an emerging need for smart sensor technologies and monitoring devices able to sense, classify, and provide feedbacks to users' health status and physical activities, as well as to evaluate environmental and safety conditions in a pervasive, accurate and reliable fashion. Monitoring and precisely quantifying users' physical activity with inertial measurement unit-based devices, for instance, has also proven to be important in health management of patients affected by chronic diseases, e.g., Parkinson's disease, many of which are becoming highly prevalent in Italy and in the Western world. This review paper will focus on MEMS sensor technologies developed in Italy in the last three years describing research achievements for healthcare and physical activity, safety and environmental sensing, in addition to smart systems integration. Innovative and smart integrated solutions for sensing devices, pursued and implemented in Italian research centres, will be highlighted, together with specific applications of such technologies. Finally, the paper will depict the future perspective of sensor technologies and corresponding exploitation opportunities, again with a specific focus on Italy.

In Celebration of the Silk Road. Sixth Grade Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desler, Gail

In this grade 6 interdisciplinary language arts and social studies unit, students are required to assume the role of a team and describe their country's participation in trade along the Silk Road. Countries represented in the unit include Egypt, Italy, Iraq, India, Israel, and China. The team is asked to create a display showing artifacts, journal…

Integrated geochronology of Acheulian sites from the southern Latium (central Italy): Insights on human-environment interaction and the technological innovations during the MIS 11-MIS 10 period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Alison; Nomade, Sébastien; Moncel, Marie-Hélène; Voinchet, Pierre; Bahain, Jean-Jacques; Biddittu, Italo; Falguères, Christophe; Giaccio, Biagio; Manzi, Giorgio; Parenti, Fabio; Scardia, Giancarlo; Scao, Vincent; Sottili, Gianluca; Vietti, Amina

2018-05-01

We have explored the multimethod approach combining 40Ar/39Ar on single crystal, ESR on bleached quartz, and ESR/U-series on teeth to improve the age of four neighbours "Acheulian" sites of the Frosinone Province (Latium, Italy): Fontana Ranuccio, Cava Pompi (Pofi), Isoletta, and Lademagne. Ages obtained by the three methods are in mutual agreement and confirm the potential of dating with confidence Middle Pleistocene sites of Italy using these methods. At Fontana Ranuccio, the 40Ar/39Ar age (408 ± 10 ka, full external error at 2σ) obtained for the archaeological level (unit FR4) and geochemical analyses of glass shards performed on the Unit FR2a layer allow us to attribute the studied volcanic material to the Pozzolane Nere volcanic series, a well-known caldera-forming event originated from the Colli Albani volcanic district. These new data ascribe the Fontana Ranuccio site, as well as the eponym faunal unit, to the climatic optimum of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11. Ages obtained for the Cava Pompi, Isoletta, and Lademagne sites cover a relatively short period of time between 408 ka and 375 ka, spanning MIS 11 climatic optimum to the MIS 11-10 transition. Analysis of small collections of lithic industries, bifacial tools, and small cores technologies from Isoletta, Lademagne, and the neighbour site of Ceprano-Campogrande shows common technical strategies for the period comprised between MIS 11 and MIS 9 (410-325 ka), such as the elaboration of flaked elephant bone industries found over the whole Latium region. However, some features found only in the Frosinone province area, like large-sized bifaces, suggest particular regional behaviours. The presence of one Levallois core in the oldest layer of Lademagne (i.e. > 405 ± 9 ka) suggests a punctual practice of this technology, also proposed as early as MIS 10/11 in the neighbour site of Guado San Nicola (Molise) in central Italy.

75 FR 18937 - Bureau of Political-Military Affairs: Directorate of Defense Trade Controls; Notifications to the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-13

... transfer of defense articles, including technical data, and defense services for the manufacture of Small Diameter Bomb Increment I (SDB I) Weapon System in Italy for end-use by the Italian Air Force. The United...

Editor's Choice - Carotid Stenosis Treatment: Variation in International Practice Patterns.

PubMed

Venermo, M; Wang, G; Sedrakyan, A; Mao, J; Eldrup, N; DeMartino, R; Mani, K; Altreuther, M; Beiles, B; Menyhei, G; Danielsson, G; Thomson, I; Heller, G; Setacci, C; Björck, M; Cronenwett, J

2017-04-01

The aim was to determine current practice for the treatment of carotid stenosis among 12 countries participating in the International Consortium of Vascular Registries (ICVR). Data from the United States Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) and the Vascunet registry collaboration (including 10 registries in Europe and Australasia) were used. Variation in treatment modality of asymptomatic versus symptomatic patients was analysed between countries and among centres within each country. Among 58,607 procedures, octogenarians represented 18% of all patients, ranging from 8% (Hungary) to 22% (New Zealand and Australia). Women represented 36%, ranging from 29% (Switzerland) to 40% (USA). The proportion of carotid artery stenting (CAS) among asymptomatic patients ranged from 0% (Finland) to 26% (Sweden) and among symptomatic patients from 0% (Denmark) to 19% (USA). Variation among centres within countries for CAS was highest in the United States and Australia (from 0% to 80%). The overall proportion of asymptomatic patients was 48%, but varied from 0% (Denmark) to 73% (Italy). There was also substantial centre level variation within each country in the proportion of asymptomatic patients, most pronounced in Australia (0-72%), Hungary (5-55%), and the United States (0-100%). Countries with fee for service reimbursement had higher rates of treatment in asymptomatic patients than countries with population based reimbursement (OR 5.8, 95% CI 4.4-7.7). Despite evidence about treatment options for carotid artery disease, the proportion of asymptomatic patients, treatment modality, and the proportion of women and octogenarians vary considerably among and within countries. There was a significant association of treating more asymptomatic patients in countries with fee for service reimbursement. The findings reflect the inconsistency of the existing guidelines and a need for cooperation among guideline committees all over the world. Copyright © 2017 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organization and regional distribution of centers for the management of children and adolescents with diabetes in Italy.

PubMed

Giorgetti, Chiara; Ferrito, Lucia; Zallocco, Federica; Iannilli, Antonio; Cherubini, Valentino

2015-10-08

The incidence of type 1 diabetes in childhood is increasing by 3 % per year, placing growing demands on healthcare professionals and medical expenditures. Aim of this study wars to assess the organization of care to children with diabetes in Italy. During 2012 a structured questionnaire was sent to all of the members of Italian Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (ISPED). Questions examined organizational structure of Centers, personnel dedicated to the care of children with diabetes, number of subjects followed, local legal legislation supporting centres. A total of 68 centers taking care to 15,563 children and adolescents with diabetes under 18 years of age were identified with a prevalence of 1.4 per 1,000 people. A wide variation in the organizational background was also reported. Fourty-four centers were organized as outpatient departments, 17 as simple units, 5 as complex units and 2 as simple departmental structures. Most centers had a multidisciplinary team. Ten out of twenty Italian regions had introduced supportive regional legislation, but it was fully applied only in six of them. Great differences between regions were found in organizational structures, staffing levels and supportive legislation. The national legislation on diabetes was broadly implemented throughout the country regions. Further efforts are needed to improve standards and consistency of pediatric diabetes care in Italy.

Do immigrants working illegally reduce the natives' legal employment? Evidence from Italy.

PubMed

Venturini, A

1999-01-01

This paper examines how immigrants working illegally in the shadow economy affect the legal employment of native and foreign workers in the official economy of Italy. The data set used was provided by the Central Statistical Office and includes information regarding the units of labor employed both in official production and in underground production; employment in the latter is subdivided into native workers and foreign workers. Estimates were then made as to how "legal employment" has reacted to changes in "illegal employment", with special reference to the effect of the foreign component of "illegal labor". The results of the cross sector-time series analysis of the demand for legal labor in the Italian economy from 1980 to 1995 showed that the increase of illegal units of labor produces a reduction in the use of legal labor, albeit a very limited one. An analysis by sectors shows that the competitive effects of illegal foreign workers is not homogeneous and is strongest in the agricultural sector while complementarity between the two categories of labor is evident in the nontradable services sector. When comparing the number of effects of illegal foreign and illegal native workers, illegal native workers are lower than the illegal foreign workers. Despite regularization in Italy and the lack of flexibility in the labor market, neither regular nor nonregular foreign workers have begun to openly displace native workers.

Evaluation and Acceptability of a Simplified Test of Visual Function at Birth in a Limited-Resource Setting.

PubMed

Carrara, Verena I; Darakomon, Mue Chae; Thin, Nant War War; Paw, Naw Ta Kaw; Wah, Naw; Wah, Hser Gay; Helen, Naw; Keereecharoen, Suporn; Paw, Naw Ta Mlar; Jittamala, Podjanee; Nosten, François H; Ricci, Daniela; McGready, Rose

2016-01-01

Neurological examination, including visual fixation and tracking of a target, is routinely performed in the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit postnatal care units on the Thailand-Myanmar border. We aimed to evaluate a simple visual newborn test developed in Italy and performed by non-specialized personnel working in neonatal care units. An intensive training of local health staff in Thailand was conducted prior to performing assessments at 24, 48 and 72 hours of life in healthy, low-risk term singletons. The 48 and 72 hours results were then compared to values obtained to those from Italy. Parents and staff administering the test reported on acceptability. One hundred and seventy nine newborns, between June 2011 and October 2012, participated in the study. The test was rapidly completed if the infant remained in an optimal behavioral stage (7 ± 2 minutes) but the test duration increased significantly (12 ± 4 minutes, p < 0.001) if its behavior changed. Infants were able to fix a target and to discriminate a colored face at 24 hours of life. Horizontal tracking of a target was achieved by 96% (152/159) of the infants at 48 hours. Circular tracking, stripe discrimination and attention to distance significantly improved between each 24-hour test period. The test was easily performed by non-specialized local staff and well accepted by the parents. Healthy term singletons in this limited-resource setting have a visual response similar to that obtained to gestational age matched newborns in Italy. It is possible to use these results as a reference set of values for the visual assessment in Karen and Burmese infants in the first 72 hours of life. The utility of the 24 hours test should be pursued.

Warnings in the International Event Flow: EFI and ROZ as Threat Indicators

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-07-15

INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE COMPLETING PORN ) RECIPIENT’S CATALOG NUMBCR S TY^E OF «C^OdT * PimoD COVCRtO 7-1-75 to 9-30-76 Technical Report PCft’ORMINC...Kingdom initiated i*.S%, France k%, Poland 5.2%, Czechoslovakia k%, Italy 2.k%, Rumania 1.2%, the Soviet Union 15.91, the United Arab Republic 5.2...being 19.2^). So, too, were the United Arab Republic (3.8| 10 year average) and North Vietnam (6.7%). A little "above par" were the United Kingdom

The Ocean Surface Topography Constellation: The Next 15 Years in Satellite Altimetry

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-02-22

global coverage in 2007 - to estimate changes in volume due to the warming of the oceans. 5.2 Ocean State Estimation Regarding ocean climate analyses...Ocean Observations and Information for Society" Conference (Vol. 2), Venice, Italy, 21-25 September 2009, Hall, J., Harrison D.E. and Stammer , D., Eds...Venice, Italy, 21-25 September 2009, Hall, J„ Harrison D.E. and Stammer , D., Eds., ESA Publication WPP-306, 2010. 8. Balmaseda, M., Alves, O

Benchmark Computation and Finite Element Performance Evaluation for a Rhombic Plate Bending Problem

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

Physical Science and Technology University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA and Dip. Matematica - Universita di Pavia - 27100 Pavia - ITALY DTIC...University of Maryland, College Park,, MD 20742, USA , and Dip. Matematica - Universita di Pavia - 27100 Pavia - ITALY SFor Oe" -- 4- I , CA& 11 --l...drawn when based on the state of the art of both theoretical and experience field. The reliability has to be understood not only with respect to a

Evaluation of Staff’s Job Satisfaction in the Spinal Cord Unit in Italy

PubMed Central

Laura, Cominetti; Lorenza, Garrino; Rita, Decorte; Nadia, Felisi; Ebe, Matta; Vittoria, Actis Maria; Roberto, Carone; Silvano, Gregorino; Valerio, Dimonte

2013-01-01

In July 2007 a Spinal Cord Unit was set up in Turin (Italy) within the newly integrated structure of the Orthopaedic Traumatologic Centre, warranting a multidisciplinary and professional approach according to International Guidelines. This approach will be possible through experimentation of a personalized care model. To analyze job satisfaction of health care professionals operating within the Spinal Cord Unit, preliminary to organizational change. Data collection was carried out by using questionnaires, interviews, shadowing. Results from quantitative analysis on the self-filled questionnaires were integrated with results from qualitative analysis. All the health care professionals operating in the field were involved. Positive aspects were the perception of carrying out a useful job, the feeling of personal fulfilment and the wish to engage new energies and resources. Problematic aspects included role conflict among staff categories and communication with managers. The positive aspects can be exploited to create professional practices facilitating role and expertise integration, information spreading and staff identification within the organization rather than team work. Data of job satisfaction and self efficacy of health care workers can be considered basic requirement before implementing an organizational change. The main challenges is multiprofessional collaboration. PMID:23750186

Coastal Ocean Circulation Experiment off Senegal (COCES)

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-30

Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale Borgo Grotta Gigante, 42/c 34010 Sgonico (Trieste), Italy Phone: +39 040 2140322 Fax: +39 040 2140266 Email...NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale,Borgo

Primary care units in Emilia-Romagna, Italy: an assessment of organizational culture.

PubMed

Pracilio, Valerie P; Keith, Scott W; McAna, John; Rossi, Giuseppina; Brianti, Ettore; Fabi, Massimo; Maio, Vittorio

2014-01-01

This study investigates the organizational culture and associated characteristics of the newly established primary care units (PCUs)-collaborative teams of general practitioners (GPs) who provide patients with integrated health care services-in the Emilia-Romagna Region (RER), Italy. A survey instrument covering 6 cultural dimensions was administered to all 301 GPs in 21 PCUs in the Local Health Authority (LHA) of Parma, RER; the response rate was 79.1%. Management style, organizational trust, and collegiality proved to be more important aspects of PCU organizational culture than information sharing, quality, and cohesiveness. Cultural dimension scores were positively associated with certain characteristics of the PCUs including larger PCU size and greater proportion of older GPs. The presence of female GPs in the PCUs had a negative impact on collegiality, organizational trust, and quality. Feedback collected through this assessment will be useful to the RER and LHAs for evaluating and guiding improvements in the PCUs. © 2013 by the American College of Medical Quality.

Expectations and reality: a case study of return migration from the United States to Southern Italy.

PubMed

Cerase, F P

1974-01-01

A summary of Italy's emigration flows shows that Southern Italy sent her people abroad in great number, and, at the same time, return migration to Italy has been characteristic of a minority, e.g., an estimated 3000 from the US alone, 1964-68. Italy's modernization proceeded unevenly, the South remaining agricultural and for the most part, economically backward. Any form of identification with Italy as a country did not affect the Southern peasant thus preparing his/her way to emigrate as soon as any opportunity presented itself. Due to all the conditions which facilitated emigration from Italy on an individualistic and nonideological basis and without an understanding of the economic forces pushing the emigrant out, and in view of the lack of understanding of how the New World economy of the US was constituted, it is no surprise that the return migration of some remained as much ad hoc and based solely on individual motivations as was the emigration. The 2 fundamental approaches to the concept of immigrant both start by considering the immigrant in his/her new situation. 1 approach views the immigrant's success in the new situation as dependent upon acquiring values and patterns of behavior which would resolve his/her problems in the new society. According to the other approach, in order to resolve the problems of his/her new situation the immigrant must become critically aware of the consequences of his/her actions. The 1st view of conceiving integration has been prevalent, particularly in the study of international migration. And, mass migration from Italy, from the emigrant's perspective, is connected to a repeatedly unsuccessful search for economic success and failure to reach prevailing cultural objectives. The act of emigration, of abandonment, may thus be seen as the resolution of the disparity between the means at the emigrant's disposal and the objectives he/she seeks. The great majority succeed but some fail, and if they have a home and family to return to, they begin to think of returning. Returned migrants interviewed experienced an abrupt passage from a rural to an urban and industrial world. Few of the immigrants whose background was in a fa rm occupation engaged in farming upon arrival in the US. The factor determining whether the immigrant surmounts the problems of the 1st phase of his/her experience is his/her work. If the work the immigrant has found makes him/her part of the production process, the money earned makes him/her part of the consumption process. And, this is the 1st turning point in the experience as an immigrant. A return of conservativism is given when the immigrant continues to consider his/her earnings and investments in terms of the traditional scheme appropriate to the home country. Return of innovation is the term given to those who were unwilling or unable to accept fully their expected position in the new society and tended to detach themselves, even to the point of return to the mother country. The consequences of returns to the native society are summarized. In sum, it appears that returned migrants cannot function as vehicles of social development.

Shared decision making in Italy: An updated revision of the current situation.

PubMed

Bottacini, Alessandro; Scalia, Peter; Goss, Claudia

2017-06-01

The aim of this paper is to update the previous review on the state of patient and public participation in healthcare in Italy. Policymakers consider patient involvement an important aspect in health care decisions and encourage patients to actively participate in the clinical interaction. Nevertheless, the term shared decision making (SDM) is still not clearly defined. Patient associations promote patient participation in health care decisions. Several experts attended the latest consensus conference about patient engagement to reach a consensus on the definition of SDM. Research regarding SDM in Italy continues to increase with 17 articles published between 2012 and 2017. Researchers have assessed the variables associated with patient involvement and explored the use of the SDM approach in different medical settings. Despite the dedicated SDM initiative, researchers in Italy recognize room for improvement. Work is needed to reach a common language regarding SDM and its mechanisms to implement this approach at the clinical level. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Efficacy of clade 2.3.2 H5 commercial vaccines in protecting chickens from clade 2.3.4.4 H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza infection.

PubMed

Yuk, Seong-Su; Erdene-Ochir, T O; Kwon, Jung-Hoon; Noh, Jin-Yong; Hong, Woo-Tack; Jeong, Jei-Hyun; Jeong, Sol; Gwon, Gyeong-Bin; Shin, Jong-Il; Sur, Jung-Hyang; Song, Chang-Seon

2017-03-01

Emerging clade 2.3.4.4 of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus strain H5N8, which had been detected sporadically in domestic poultry in China, started to affect wild birds and poultry in South Korea in 2014. The virus was spread to Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and even United States by migratory birds. Here, we tested currently used commercial clade 2.3.2 H5 vaccines to evaluate mortality, clinical signs, virus shedding, and histological damage after experimental infection of chickens with the clade 2.3.4.4 HPAI H5N8 virus. Although the vaccination protected chickens from death, it failed to prevent chickens from shedding the virus and from tissue damage according to histological examination. These results suggest that the use of appropriate vaccines that match the currently epidemic HPAI virus is recommended, and continuous HPAI surveillance and testing of currently used commercial vaccines should be performed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Equity and length of lifespan are not the same.

PubMed

Seligman, Benjamin; Greenberg, Gabi; Tuljapurkar, Shripad

2016-07-26

Efforts to understand the dramatic declines in mortality over the past century have focused on life expectancy. However, understanding changes in disparity in age of death is important to understanding mechanisms of mortality improvement and devising policy to promote health equity. We derive a novel decomposition of variance in age of death, a measure of inequality, and apply it to cause-specific contributions to the change in variance among the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) from 1950 to 2010. We find that the causes of death that contributed most to declines in the variance are different from those that contributed most to increase in life expectancy; in particular, they affect mortality at younger ages. We also find that, for two leading causes of death [cancers and cardiovascular disease (CVD)], there are no consistent relationships between changes in life expectancy and variance either within countries over time or between countries. These results show that promoting health at younger ages is critical for health equity and that policies to control cancer and CVD may have differing implications for equity.

Spacelab

NASA Image and Video Library

1983-01-01

This double exposure image shows Spacelab-1 in the cargo bay of orbiter Columbia. From top to bottom inside the cargo bay are the Spacelab Access Turnel, which is connected to the mid-deck of the orbiter; the Spacelab module, a pressurized module in which scientists conduct experiments not possible on Earth; and Spacelab pallets, which can hold instruments for the experiments requiring direct exposure to space. The first Spacelab mission, Spacelab-1, sponsored jointly and shared equally by NASA and the European Space Agency, was a multidisciplinary mission; that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The disciplines represented by these experiments were astronomy and solar physics, earth observations, space plasma physics, materials sciences, atmospheric physics, and life sciences. International in nature, Spacelab-1 conducted experiments from the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Beluga, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Spacelab-1 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on November 28, 1983 aboard the orbiter Columbia (STS-9). The Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for managing the Spacelab missions.

Tourism trends in the world׳s main destinations before and after the 2008 financial crisis using UNWTO official data.

PubMed

Claveria, Oscar; Poluzzi, Alessio

2016-06-01

The first decade of the present century has been characterized by several economic shocks such as the 2008 financial crisis. In this data article we present the annual percentage growth rates of the main tourism indicators in the world׳s top tourist destinations: the United States, China, France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Mexico and Austria. We use data from the Compendium of Tourism Statistics provided by the World Tourism Organization (http://www2.unwto.org/content/data-0). It has been demonstrated that the dynamics of growth in the tourism industry pose different challenges to each destination in the previous study "Positioning and clustering of the world׳s top tourist destinations by means of dimensionality reduction techniques for categorical data" (Claveria and Poluzzi, 2016, [1]). We provide a descriptive analysis of the variables over the period comprised between 2000 and 2010. We complement the analysis by graphing the evolution of the main variables so as to visually represent the co-movements between tourism variables and economic growth.

Earthquake Source Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The past 2 decades have seen substantial progress in our understanding of the nature of the earthquake faulting process, but increasingly, the subject has become an interdisciplinary one. Thus, although the observation of radiated seismic waves remains the primary tool for studying earthquakes (and has been increasingly focused on extracting the physical processes occurring in the “source”), geological studies have also begun to play a more important role in understanding the faulting process. Additionally, defining the physical underpinning for these phenomena has come to be an important subject in experimental and theoretical rock mechanics.In recognition of this, a Maurice Ewing Symposium was held at Arden House, Harriman, N.Y. (the former home of the great American statesman Averill Harriman), May 20-23, 1985. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together the international community of experimentalists, theoreticians, and observationalists who are engaged in the study of various aspects of earthquake source mechanics. The conference was attended by more than 60 scientists from nine countries (France, Italy, Japan, Poland, China, the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany).

The 3d International Workshop on Computational Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodnick, Stephen M.

1994-09-01

The Third International Workshop on Computational Electronics (IWCE) was held at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon, on May 18, 19, and 20, 1994. The workshop was devoted to a broad range of topics in computational electronics related to the simulation of electronic transport in semiconductors and semiconductor devices, particularly those which use large computational resources. The workshop was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Naval Research and the Army Research Office, as well as local support from the Oregon Joint Graduate Schools of Engineering and the Oregon Center for Advanced Technology Education. There were over 100 participants in the Portland workshop, of which more than one quarter represented research groups outside of the United States from Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. There were a total 81 papers presented at the workshop, 9 invited talks, 26 oral presentations and 46 poster presentations. The emphasis of the contributions reflected the interdisciplinary nature of computational electronics with researchers from the Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Physics communities participating in the workshop.

LBT Discovery of a Yellow Supergiant Eclipsing Binary in the Dwarf Galaxy Holmberg IX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prieto, J. L.; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, C. S.; Weisz, D. R.; Baruffolo, A.; Bechtold, J.; Burwitz, V.; De Santis, C.; Gallozzi, S.; Garnavich, P. M.; Giallongo, E.; Hill, J. M.; Pogge, R. W.; Ragazzoni, R.; Speziali, R.; Thompson, D. J.; Wagner, R. M.

2008-01-01

In a variability survey of M81 using the Large Binocular Telescope we have discovered a peculiar eclipsing binary (MV ~ - 7.1) in the field of the dwarf galaxy Holmberg IX. It has a period of 271 days, and the light curve is well fit by an overcontact model in which both stars are overflowing their Roche lobes. It is composed of two yellow supergiants (V - Isimeq 1 mag, Teffsimeq 4800 K), rather than the far more common red or blue supergiants. Such systems must be rare. While we failed to find any similar systems in the literature, we did, however, note a second example. The SMC F0 supergiant R47 is a bright (MV ~ - 7.5) periodic variable whose All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) light curve is well fit as a contact binary with a 181 day period. We propose that these systems are the progenitors of supernovae like SN 2004et and SN 2006ov, which appeared to have yellow progenitors. The binary interactions (mass transfer, mass loss) limit the size of the supergiant to give it a higher surface temperature than an isolated star at the same core evolutionary stage. We also discuss the possibility of this variable being a long-period Cepheid. Based on data acquired using the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University, and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia.

Breaking the circuit of social control: lessons in public psychiatry from Italy and Franco Basaglia.

PubMed

Scheper-Hughes, N; Lovell, A M

1986-01-01

Much public discourse in the United States and in Canada acknowledges the dismal failure of the policy to 'deinstitutionalize' mental patients and to return them to some semblance of community living. The American Psychiatric Association has recently called for a reassessment of institutional alternatives--a call for a return to the asylum--in response to the needs of the new population of so-called homeless mentally ill. Here we contrast the failures of North American deinstitutionalization with the relative successes achieved in those regions of Italy where deinstitutionalization was grounded in a grassroots alternative psychiatry movement and professional and political coalition, Psichiatria Democratica. Democratic psychiatry challenged both the medical and the legal justifications for the segregative control of the 'mentally ill': madness as disease, and the constant over-prediction of the dangerousness of the mental patient. In addition, the movement challenged traditional cultural stereotypes about the meanings of madness, and was successful in gaining broad-based community support from political parties, labor unions, student groups, and artist collectives that were enlisted in the task of reintegrating the ex-mental patient. The Italian experiment, although flawed and riddled with its own inconsistencies and contradictions, offers evidence that deinstitutionalization can work without recreating in the community setting the same exclusionary logic that was the foundation of the asylum system.

Mediterranean monitoring and forecasting operational system for Copernicus Marine Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppini, Giovanni; Drudi, Massimiliano; Korres, Gerasimos; Fratianni, Claudia; Salon, Stefano; Cossarini, Gianpiero; Clementi, Emanuela; Zacharioudaki, Anna; Grandi, Alessandro; Delrosso, Damiano; Pistoia, Jenny; Solidoro, Cosimo; Pinardi, Nadia; Lecci, Rita; Agostini, Paola; Cretì, Sergio; Turrisi, Giuseppe; Palermo, Francesco; Konstantinidou, Anna; Storto, Andrea; Simoncelli, Simona; Di Pietro, Pier Luigi; Masina, Simona; Ciliberti, Stefania Angela; Ravdas, Michalis; Mancini, Marco; Aloisio, Giovanni; Fiore, Sandro; Buonocore, Mauro

2016-04-01

The MEDiterranean Monitoring and Forecasting Center (Med-MFC) is part of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS, http://marine.copernicus.eu/), provided on an operational mode by Mercator Ocean in agreement with the European Commission. Specifically, Med MFC system provides regular and systematic information about the physical state of the ocean and marine ecosystems for the Mediterranean Sea. The Med-MFC service started in May 2015 from the pre-operational system developed during the MyOcean projects, consolidating the understanding of regional Mediterranean Sea dynamics, from currents to biogeochemistry to waves, interfacing with local data collection networks and guaranteeing an efficient link with other Centers in Copernicus network. The Med-MFC products include analyses, 10 days forecasts and reanalysis, describing currents, temperature, salinity, sea level and pelagic biogeochemistry. Waves products will be available in MED-MFC version in 2017. The consortium, composed of INGV (Italy), HCMR (Greece) and OGS (Italy) and coordinated by the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC, Italy), performs advanced R&D activities and manages the service delivery. The Med-MFC infrastructure consists of 3 Production Units (PU), for Physics, Biogechemistry and Waves, a unique Dissemination Unit (DU) and Archiving Unit (AU) and Backup Units (BU) for all principal components, guaranteeing a resilient configuration of the service and providing and efficient and robust solution for the maintenance of the service and delivery. The Med-MFC includes also an evolution plan, both in terms of research and operational activities, oriented to increase the spatial resolution of products, to start wave products dissemination, to increase temporal extent of the reanalysis products and improving ocean physical modeling for delivering new products. The scientific activities carried out in 2015 concerned some improvements in the physical, biogeochemical and wave components of the system. Regarding the currents, new grid-point EOFs have been implemented in the Med-MFC assimilation system; the climatological CMAP precipitation was replaced by the ECMWF daily precipitation; reanalysis time-series have been increased by one year. Regarding the biogeochemistry, the main scientific achievement is related to the implementation of the carbon system in the Med-MFC biogeochemistry model system already available. The new model is able to reproduce the principal spatial patterns of the carbonate system variables in the Mediterranean Sea. Further, a key result consists of the calibration of the new variables (DIC and alkalinity), which serves to the estimation of the accuracy of the new products to be released in the next version of the system (i.e. pH and pCO2 at surface). Regarding the waves, the system has been validated against in-situ and satellite observations. For example, a very good agreement between model output and in-situ observations has been obtained at offshore and/or well-exposed wave buoys in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mineral commodity profiles: Silver

USGS Publications Warehouse

Butterman, W.C.; Hilliard, Henry E.

2005-01-01

Overview -- Silver is one of the eight precious, or noble, metals; the others are gold and the six platinum-group metals (PGM). World mine production in 2001 was 18,700 metric tons (t) and came from mines in 60 countries; the 10 leading producing countries accounted for 86 percent of the total. The largest producer was Mexico, followed by Peru, Australia, and the United States. About 25 percent of the silver mined in the world in 2001 came from silver ores; 15 percent, from gold ores and the remaining 60 percent, from copper, lead, and zinc ores. In the United States, 14 percent of the silver mined in 2001 came from silver ores; 39 percent, from gold ores; 10 percent, from copper and copper-molybdenum ores; and 37 percent, from lead, zinc, and lead-zinc ores. The precious metal ores (gold and silver) came from 30 lode mines and 10 placer mines; the base-metal ores (copper, lead, molybdenum, and zinc) came from 24 lode mines. Placer mines yielded less than 1 percent of the national silver production. Silver was mined in 12 States, of which Nevada was by far the largest producer; it accounted for nearly one-third of the national total. The production of silver at domestic mines generated employment for about 1,100 mine and mill workers. The value of mined domestic silver was estimated to be $290 million. Of the nearly 27,000 t of world silver that was fabricated in 2001, about one-third went into jewelry and silverware, one-fourth into the light-sensitive compounds used in photography, and nearly all the remainder went for industrial uses, of which there were 7 substantial uses and many other small-volume uses. By comparison, 85 percent of the silver used in the United States went to photography and industrial uses, 8 percent to jewelry and silverware, and 7 percent to coins and medals. The United States was the largest consumer of silver followed by India, Japan, and Italy; the 13 largest consuming countries accounted for nearly 90 percent of the world total. In the United States, about 30 companies accounted for more than 90 percent of the silver fabricated. The consumption of silver for all fabrication uses is expected to grow slowly through the decade ending in 2010 at about 1.3 percent per year for the world and 2.4 percent per year for the United States. World and U.S. reserves and reserve bases are more than adequate to satisfy the demand for newly mined silver through 2010. The other components of supply will be silver recovered from scrap, silver from industrial stocks, and silver bullion that is sold into the market from commodity exchange and private stocks.

Application of minimally invasive pancreatic surgery: an Italian survey.

PubMed

Capretti, Giovanni; Boggi, Ugo; Salvia, Roberto; Belli, Giulio; Coppola, Roberto; Falconi, Massimo; Valeri, Andrea; Zerbi, Alessandro

2018-05-16

The value of minimally invasive pancreatic surgery (MIPS) is still debated. To assess the diffusion of MIPS in Italy and identify the barriers preventing wider implementation, a questionnaire was developed under the auspices of three Scientific Societies (AISP, It-IHPBA, SICE) and was sent to the largest possible number of Italian surgeons also using the mailing list of the two main Italian Surgical Societies (SIC and ACOI). The questionnaire consisted of 25 questions assessing: centre characteristics, facilities and technologies, type of MIPS performed, surgical techniques employed and opinions on the present and future value of MIPS. Only one reply per unit was considered. Fifty-five units answered the questionnaire. While 54 units (98.2%) declared to perform MIPS, the majority of responders were not dedicated to pancreatic surgery. Twenty-five units (45.5%) performed < 20 pancreatic resections/year and 39 (70.9%) < 10 MIPS per year. Forty-nine units (89.1%) performed at least one minimally invasive (MI) distal pancreatectomy (DP), and 10 (18.2%) at least one MI pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). Robotic assistance was used in 18 units (31.7%) (14 DP, 7 PD). The major constraints limiting the diffusion of MIPS were the intrinsic difficulty of the technique and the lack of specific training. The overall value of MIPS was highly rated. Our survey illustrates the current diffusion of MIPS in Italy and underlines the great interest for this approach. Further diffusion of MIPS requires the implementation of standardized protocols of training. Creation of a prospective National Registry should also be considered.

Charles Brady in Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) Onboard STS-78

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Launched on June 20, 1996, the STS-78 mission's primary payload was the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS), which was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). During the 17 day space flight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations. In a manner very similar to future International Space Station operations, LMS researchers from the United States and their European counterparts shared resources such as crew time and equipment. Five space agencies (NASA/USA, European Space Agency/Europe (ESA), French Space Agency/France, Canadian Space Agency /Canada, and Italian Space Agency/Italy) along with research scientists from 10 countries worked together on the design, development and construction of the LMS. In this onboard photograph, mission specialist Charles Brady is working in the LMS.

Around Marshall

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-06-20

Launched on June 20, 1996, the STS-78 mission’s primary payload was the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS), which was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). During the 17 day space flight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations. In a manner very similar to future International Space Station operations, LMS researchers from the United States and their European counterparts shared resources such as crew time and equipment. Five space agencies (NASA/USA, European Space Agency/Europe (ESA), French Space Agency/France, Canadian Space Agency /Canada, and Italian Space Agency/Italy) along with research scientists from 10 countries worked together on the design, development and construction of the LMS. In this photo, LMS mission scientist Patton Downey and LMS mission manager Mark Boudreaux display the flag that was flown for the mission at MSFC.

Mother and Father Socially Desirable Responding in Nine Countries: Two Kinds of Agreement and Relations to Parenting Self-Reports

PubMed Central

Bornstein, Marc H.; Putnick, Diane L.; Lansford, Jennifer E.; Pastorelli, Concetta; Skinner, Ann T.; Sorbring, Emma; Tapanya, Sombat; Maria Uribe Tirado, Liliana; Zelli, Arnaldo; Peña Alampay, Liane; Al-Hassan, Suha M.; Bacchini, Dario; Silvia Bombi, Anna; Chang, Lei; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Di Giunta, Laura; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Malone, Patrick S.; Oburu, Paul

2014-01-01

We assessed 2 forms of agreement between mothers’ and fathers’ socially desirable responding in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States (N = 1110 families). Mothers and fathers in all nine countries reported socially desirable responding in the upper half of the distribution, and countries varied minimally (but China was higher than the cross-country grand mean and Sweden lower). Mothers and fathers did not differ in reported levels of socially desirable responding, and mothers’ and fathers’ socially desirable responding were largely uncorrelated. With one exception, mothers’ and fathers’ socially desirable responding were similarly correlated with self-perceptions of parenting, and correlations varied somewhat across countries. These findings are set in a discussion of socially desirable responding, cultural psychology, and family systems. PMID:25043708

Crustal dynamics project observations: 1982 results and plans for 1983

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frey, H.

1983-01-01

The 1982 Crustal Dynamics Project observations by fixed and mobile SLR and VLBI systems are reviewed. Plate motion measurements between North America and Europe were conducted by both techniques and SLR measurements were also made between North America, the Pacific, Australia and South American plates. Regional deformation measurements by VLBI and SLR systems were restricted to the western United States in 1982, including a number of important intercomparison baseline measured by both techniques. In 1983 the observing program grows significantly, with new SLR systems in Mexico, Easter Island, the Pacific and Italy. New VLBI systems will include a dedicated VLBI site at Weltzell, in Germany. Two highly mobile SLR and two highly mobile VLBI systems will greatly increase the regional deformation measurements in California and through the Basin and Range, where more than 25 sites will be occupied in 1983.

4000 Years of Women in Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, S.

1998-12-01

Women have been active scientists and technicians for as long as humans have recorded names. There have even been times and places where scholarly women were accepted and respected - places like early Sumer in the Middle East and times like the European Dark Ages and early Middle Ages. For the past 1000 years women have been equal before the university doors in Italy. By comparison, the late twentieth century in the United States presents a difficult challenge to its technical women. These women rarely achieve the same respect and power that the technical men do, perhaps because the women are now numerous enough to threaten the economic power base of the American man of science. A look at the contributions of some technical women of the past may help the people of the present appreciate the gifts today's women have for the future.

Teacher Training and Special Education in the Eighties.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diniz, Fernando, Ed.; Kropveld, Peter, Ed.

This report presents a comprehensive overview of special education, or education of handicapped children and the preparation of special education teachers in Europe. Perspectives from eight countries are presented: United Kingdom; Netherlands; Federal Republic of Germany; Republic of Ireland; Northern Ireland; Italy; Norway; and Sweden. The first…

Spain Country Analysis Brief

EIA Publications

2016-01-01

Spain is the fifth largest energy consumer in Europe, after Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Italy, and has virtually no domestic production of liquid fuels or natural gas. Government regulation limits the percent of total oil and gas that can be imported from any single country to ensure diversity of supply.

MEMS Sensor Technologies for Human Centred Applications in Healthcare, Physical Activities, Safety and Environmental Sensing: A Review on Research Activities in Italy

PubMed Central

Ciuti, Gastone; Ricotti, Leonardo; Menciassi, Arianna; Dario, Paolo

2015-01-01

Over the past few decades the increased level of public awareness concerning healthcare, physical activities, safety and environmental sensing has created an emerging need for smart sensor technologies and monitoring devices able to sense, classify, and provide feedbacks to users’ health status and physical activities, as well as to evaluate environmental and safety conditions in a pervasive, accurate and reliable fashion. Monitoring and precisely quantifying users’ physical activity with inertial measurement unit-based devices, for instance, has also proven to be important in health management of patients affected by chronic diseases, e.g., Parkinson’s disease, many of which are becoming highly prevalent in Italy and in the Western world. This review paper will focus on MEMS sensor technologies developed in Italy in the last three years describing research achievements for healthcare and physical activity, safety and environmental sensing, in addition to smart systems integration. Innovative and smart integrated solutions for sensing devices, pursued and implemented in Italian research centres, will be highlighted, together with specific applications of such technologies. Finally, the paper will depict the future perspective of sensor technologies and corresponding exploitation opportunities, again with a specific focus on Italy. PMID:25808763

The biological standard of living and mortality in Central Italy at the beginning of the 19th century.

PubMed

Coppola, Michela

2013-12-01

The biological standard of living in Central Italy at the beginning of the 19th century is analyzed using newly collected data on the height of recruits in the army of the Papal States. The results reveal a decline in height for the cohorts born under French rule (1796-1815). Although this trend was common to many parts of Europe, the estimated magnitude of the decline suggests a worsening of the biological standard of living of the working classes in the Papal States even relative to that of other countries. Despite the differences in the economic systems within the Papal States, no significant geographical variation in height has been found: even the most dynamic and advanced regions experienced a dramatic height decline. Mortality also increased during the period under consideration. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CIRF Publications, Vol. 12, No. 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Labour Office, Geneva (Switzerland).

CIRF Publications, Vol. 12, No. 5 is a collection of 80 abstracts giving particular attention to education, training, and economic growth in developing countries, Iran, Japan, Kenya, the Solomon Islands, and Sri Lanka; vocational rehabilitation in Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the U. S. A.; agriculture in Chad, developing countries, and…

The Recognition of Occupational Skills and Educational Qualifications within the EEC.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bertrand, Olivier

1992-01-01

A survey conducted in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom analyzed employment practices and viewpoints of the social partners regarding comparability of qualifications and geographical mobility. Carried out in late 1991 with a limited sampling of respondents (firms, employers' organizations, and unions), the survey focused…

SeaBASS 2012: A Marine BioAcoustics Summer School

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-30

accepted from six different countries (USA & Puerto Rico, Italy, United Kingdom, Greece, Canada, and Austria). Advertising for SeaBASS was published...there was so much good and varied information in all the lectures, I would have to give it to Paul for his storytelling . • Paul Nachtigall’s lecture

48 CFR 22.1503 - Procedures for acquiring end products on the List of Products Requiring Contractor Certification...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... more (see subpart 25.4); or (4) Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy..., Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, or the United Kingdom...

Dormancy and germination of Chenopodium album seeds from different latitudes in Europe and the USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Twelve seed lots of Chenopodium album agg. from Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the USA were characterized for responses to chilling, light, potassium nitrate and temperature. The research is part of a multi-location experiment per...

The European System for Electing University Presidents and University Governance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Huaide

2014-01-01

The system of electing university presidents in Spain, Switzerland, Italy, and the United Kingdom has distinctive characteristics. Almost all university presidents are elected by teachers and students, either directly or indirectly through elections with government approval of the appointment a mere formality. Principles of these elections include…

Student Participation in the CCC Member Countries in 1973.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldschmidt, E.

The status of student participation in Council for Cultural Cooperation (CCC) nations is examined, based on questionnaire replies from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. After a brief review of the situation from…

Europe looks to wind

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gipe, P.

1989-09-01

The European Economic Community (EEC) sees a guaranteed market for 4,000 MW of wind energy through the year 2000, according to Komninos Diamantaras, wind program manager for the EEC in Brussels. Diamantaras says the European political climate for wind energy has changed for the better because of increased attention to air pollution's effect on global weather. He added that during the past year several common market members have announced plans to develop substantial amounts of wind energy. The United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands have each stated their intent to build 1,000 MW of wind generation by the turn ofmore » the century, and Italy recently announced plans to add from 300-600 MW. Germany has also made plans to promote wind generation. The decision to include firms from non-EEC countries is left to the utility. Whether a U.S. firm will be permitted to bid on a EEC-member tender may be determined by its relation to European manufacturers. Regardless of the EEC's policy towards U.S. firms, member states may still exclude bidding by foreign firms for state subsidized projects when they are experimental. Just what is meant by experimental is has yet to be determined.« less

Bibliometric analysis of poison center-related research published in peer-review journals.

PubMed

Forrester, M B

2016-07-01

Poison centers advance knowledge in the field of toxicology through publication in peer-review journals. This investigation describes the pattern of poison center-related publications. Cases were poison center-related research published in peer-review journals during 1995-2014. These were identified through searching the PubMed database, reviewing the tables of contents of selected toxicology journals, and reviewing abstracts of various national and international meetings. The following variables for each publication were identified: year of publication, journal, type of publication (meeting abstract vs. other, i.e. full article or letter to the editor), and the country(ies) of the poison center(s) included in the research. Of the 3147 total publications, 62.1% were meeting abstracts. There were 263 publications in 1995-1999, 536 in 2000-2004, 999 in 2005-2009, and 1349 in 2010-2014. The publications were in 234 different journals. The journals in which the highest number of research was published were Clinical Toxicology (69.7%), Journal of Medical Toxicology (2.2%), and Veterinary and Human Toxicology (2.1%). The research was reported from 62 different countries. The countries with the highest number of publications were the United States (67.9%), United Kingdom (6.5%), Germany (3.9%), France (2.5%), and Italy (2.4%). The number of publications increased greatly over the 20 years. Although the publications were in a large number of journals, a high proportion of the publications were in one journal. While the research came from a large number of countries, the preponderance came from the United States. © The Author(s) 2015.

Epidemiological and economic burden of Alzheimer's disease: a systematic literature review of data across Europe and the United States of America.

PubMed

Takizawa, Claire; Thompson, Paula L; van Walsem, Anneloes; Faure, Céline; Maier, William C

2015-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) weighs heavily on health expenditure and is strongly associated with increasing age. Due to population aging, increasing global prevalence of AD will pose huge challenges to public health and elderly care systems in all countries across the world. This study aimed to better understand the burden of AD from a healthcare perspective. A systematic literature review of journal articles published between January 2002 and December 2012 was performed for studies conducted in France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (USA), using Medline, Embase, and the NHS Economic Evaluation Database. 3,288 references were initially retrieved, and 39 epidemiological and 66 economic publications were selected for data extraction. AD incidence rates greatly varied between countries; however, prevalence was more consistent across all included countries, ranging between 3-7%. Overall, medical costs were lower in France compared to other included countries and increased with AD severity, e.g., direct medical costs per year for mild AD ranged from 5,476 int$ in France to 27,380 int$ in Spain. Limitations, such as heterogeneous methodology and missing data, prevented the comparison of results across studies between countries or the conclusion of any trend over time. This review corroborates previous understanding that AD burden is high for both society and healthcare providers. Limitations regarding study heterogeneity restricted conclusions; further research is required. Stakeholders could benefit from new healthcare strategies addressing both epidemiological and economic aspects of AD.

ALMA Partners Award Prototype Antenna Contracts in Europe and the USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2000-03-01

The European and U.S. partners in the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) project have awarded contracts to firms in Italy and the USA, respectively, for two prototype antennas. ALMA is a planned telescope array, expected to consist of 64 millimeter-wave antennas with 12-meter diameter dishes, cf. ESO Press Release 09/99 and ESO PR Video Clip 08/99. The array will be built at a high-altitude, extremely dry mountain site in Chile's Atacama desert, and is scheduled to be completed sometime in this decade. The European partners contracted with the consortium of European Industrial Engineering and Costamasnaga (Mestre, Italy), on February 21, 2000, for the production of one prototype ALMA antenna. On February 22, 2000, Associated Universities Inc. signed a contract with Vertex Antenna Systems (Santa Clara, California), for construction of another prototype antenna. The two antennas must meet identical specifications, but will inherently be of different designs. This will ensure that the best possible technologies are incorporated into the final production antennas. Several technical challenges must be met for the antennas to perform to ALMA specifications. Each antenna must have extremely high surface accuracy (25 µm, or one-third the diameter of a human hair, over the entire 12-meter diameter). This means that, when completed, the surface accuracy of the ALMA dishes will be 20 times greater than that of the Very Large Array (VLA) antennas near Socorro (New Mexico, USA), and about 50 times greater than dish antennas for communications or radar. The ALMA antennas must also have extremely high pointing accuracy (0.6 arcseconds). An additional challenge is that the antennas, when installed at the ALMA site in Chile, will be exposed to the ravages of weather at 5000 m elevation. All previous millimeter-wavelength antennas that meet such exacting specifications for surface accuracy and pointing accuracy have been housed within telescope enclosures. The U.S. and European prototype antennas will be delivered to the NRAO VLA site in October and November of 2001, respectively. Preparations for ALMA prototype testing are already underway at the VLA site. Three pads are being constructed for the antennas to rest on. An ALMA control room within the VLA control building is being established. About ten full-time ALMA staff will be involved in the testing. Additionally, ALMA project members from around the U.S. and the world will visit the VLA site to participate in the test program. The two prototype antennas will first be tested separately. Following that, the two will be linked together and tested as an interferometer. Millimeter-wave astronomy is the study of the universe in the spectral region between what is traditionally considered radio waves and infrared radiation. In this realm, ALMA will study the structure of the early universe and the evolution of galaxies; gather crucial data on the formation of stars, protoplanetary disks, and planets; and provide new insights on the familiar objects of our own solar system. ALMA is an international partnership between the United States (National Science Foundation) and Europe. European participants include the member states of the European Southern Observatory (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France, the Max-Planck Gesellschaft (Germany), the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy, the United Kingdom Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), the Oficina de Ciencia Y Tecnologia/Instituto Geografico Nacional OCYT/IGN (Spain) and the Swedish Natural Science Research Council (NFR). The project is currently in a Design and Development phase governed by a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Europe. Negotiations are currently underway to add Canada to the United States team. Note [1] This Press Release is published simultaneously by the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) , a facility of the National Science Foundation and operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. ESO Video News Reel no. 5 with sequences related to the ALMA project is available to broadcasters on request.

Epidemiological burden of postmenopausal osteoporosis in Italy from 2010 to 2020: estimations from a disease model.

PubMed

Piscitelli, P; Brandi, M; Cawston, H; Gauthier, A; Kanis, J A; Compston, J; Borgström, F; Cooper, C; McCloskey, E

2014-11-01

The article describes the adaptation of a model to estimate the burden of postmenopausal osteoporosis in women aged 50 years and over in Italy between 2010 and 2020. For this purpose, a validated postmenopausal osteoporosis disease model developed for Sweden was adapted to Italy. For each year of the study, the 'incident cohort' (women experiencing a first osteoporotic fracture) was identified and run through a Markov model using 1-year cycles until 2020. Health states were based on the number of fractures and deaths. Fracture by site (hip, clinical vertebral, non-hip non-vertebral) was tracked for each health state. Transition probabilities reflected fracture site-specific risk of death and subsequent fractures. Model inputs specific to Italy included population size and life tables from 1970 to 2020, incidence of hip fracture and BMD by age in the general population (mean and standard deviation). The model estimated that the number of postmenopausal osteoporotic women would increase from 3.3 million to 3.7 million between 2010 and 2020 (+14.3%). Assuming unchanged incidence rates by age group over time, the model predicted the overall number of osteoporotic fractures to increase from 285.0 to 335.8 thousand fractures between 2010 and 2020 (+17.8%). The estimated expected increases in hip, vertebral and non-hip non-vertebral fractures were 22.3, 17.2 and 16.3%, respectively. Due to demographic changes, the burden of fractures is expected to increase markedly by 2020.

Vatican beats Italy 1-0 in the tobacco endgame.

PubMed

Gallus, Silvano; Cattaruzza, Maria Sofia; Gorini, Giuseppe; Faggiano, Fabrizio

2018-04-25

'The Holy See cannot be cooperating with a practice that is clearly harming the health of people'. This is the reason behind Pope Francis banning the sale of tobacco products inside the Vatican in January 2018. Just outside the Holy See, in Italy, cigarette sales produce around €13 billion of fiscal revenues every year. In Italy, proposals to increase tobacco taxation are systematically rejected and new tobacco company plants have been officially inaugurated in recent years by representatives of State. The national branch of the Red Cross also shows ambivalent attitudes towards the tobacco industry, from which it has accepted significant funding in disregard of the recommendations of the International Federation of Red Cross. Against this backdrop, it is wishful thinking to imagine that tobacco sales and consumption in Italy will be substantially reduced in the near future. To counteract this situation, more than 30 Italian scientific associations/organisations launched a Manifesto, so far ignored by public authorities, indicating a set of measures whose gradual implementation at country level may lead to a tobacco endgame within the next few decades. Authors of this article would like to express their support for Pope Francis' enlightened decision and plead with politicians worldwide to follow his example, thus acting more decisively against tobacco. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

First record of the Asian bush mosquito, Aedes japonicus japonicus, in Italy: invasion from an established Austrian population.

PubMed

Seidel, Bernhard; Montarsi, Fabrizio; Huemer, Hartwig P; Indra, Alexander; Capelli, Gioia; Allerberger, Franz; Nowotny, Norbert

2016-05-16

In 2011 we identified the Asian bush mosquito, Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald, 1901) (Diptera: Culicidae) for the first time in northern Slovenia and in the bordering Austrian federal state of Styria. Between May and July 2012 the distribution area of Ae. j. japonicus was already found to be extended westwards into Carinthia and eastwards towards Burgenland and bordering Hungary. In August 2012 the species was first detected in a western province of Hungary. In subsequent years, follow-up field studies demonstrated an active spread westwards throughout Carinthia, reaching the border to northern Italy. In July 2015 several aquatic-stage specimens of the species were discovered at three different sites in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, north-eastern Italy. In September 2015, co-occurrence of Ae. j. japonicus and Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1895) was observed in the same sample in that region. Ae. j. japonicus actively extended its geographic range from an established population in Carinthia (Austria) southwards to northern Italy by crossing Alpine ranges. Since Ae. albopictus and Aedes koreicus (Edwards, 1917) are already well established in northern Italy, it will be pivotal to monitor the consequences of a third invasive mosquito species trying to populate the same geographic region.

Global occurrence of infant botulism, 1976-2006.

PubMed

Koepke, Ruth; Sobel, Jeremy; Arnon, Stephen S

2008-07-01

To summarize the worldwide occurrence of reported infant (intestinal toxemia) botulism cases since first recognition of the disease in 1976. We collected information on infant botulism cases by active and passive surveillance, by provision of therapeutic Human Botulism Immune Globulin to suspected cases, and by searching the medical literature. We defined a case as laboratory-confirmed botulism that occurred in an infant

Structure and Origin of Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni Populations Causing Bacterial Spot of Stone Fruit Trees in Western Europe.

PubMed

Boudon, Sylvain; Manceau, Charles; Nottéghem, Jean-Loup

2005-09-01

ABSTRACT Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni, the causal agent of bacterial spot on stone fruit, was found in 1995 in several orchards in southeastern France. We studied population genetics of this emerging pathogen in comparison with populations from the United States, where the disease was first described, and from Italy, where the disease has occurred since 1920. Four housekeeping genes (atpD, dnaK, efp, and glnA) and the intergenic transcribed spacer region were sequenced from a total of 3.9 kb of sequences, and fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP) analysis was performed. A collection of 64 X. arboricola pv. pruni strains, including 23 strains from France, was analyzed. The X. arboricola pv. pruni population had a low diversity because no sequence polymorphisms were observed. Population diversity revealed by FAFLP was lower for the West European population than for the American population. The same bacterial genotype was detected from five countries on three continents, a geographic distribution that can be explained by human-aided migration of bacteria. Our data support the hypothesis that the pathogen originated in the United States and subsequently has been disseminated to other stone-fruit-growing regions of the world. In France, emergence of this disease was due to a recent introduction of the most prevalent genotype of the bacterium found worldwide.

Indications and organisational methods for autologous blood transfusion procedures in Italy: results of a national survey

PubMed Central

Catalano, Liviana; Campolongo, Alessandra; Caponera, Maurizio; Berzuini, Alessandra; Bontadini, Andrea; Furlò, Giuseppe; Pasqualetti, Patrizio; Liumbruno, Giancarlo M.

2014-01-01

Introduction Pre-operative donation of autologous blood is a practice that is now being abandoned. Alternative methods of transfusing autologous blood, other than predeposited blood, do however play a role in limiting the need for transfusion of allogeneic blood. This survey of autologous blood transfusion practices, promoted by the Italian Society of Transfusion Medicine and Immunohaematology more than 2 years after the publication of national recommendations on the subject, was intended to acquire information on the indications for predeposit in Italy and on some organisational aspects of the alternative techniques of autotransfusion. Materials and methods A structured questionnaire consisting of 22 questions on the indications and organisational methods of autologous blood transfusion was made available on a web platform from 15 January to 15 March, 2013. The 232 Transfusion Services in Italy were invited by e-mail to complete the online survey. Results Of the 232 transfusion structures contacted, 160 (69%) responded to the survey, with the response rate decreasing from the North towards the South and the Islands. The use of predeposit has decreased considerably in Italy and about 50% of the units collected are discarded because of lack of use. Alternative techniques (acute isovolaemic haemodilution and peri-operative blood salvage) are used at different frequencies across the country. Discussion The data collected in this survey can be considered representative of national practice; they show that the already very limited indications for predeposit autologous blood transfusion must be adhered to even more scrupulously, also to avoid the notable waste of resources due to unused units. Users of alternative autotransfusion techniques must be involved in order to gain a full picture of the degree of use of such techniques; multidisciplinary agreement on the indications for their use is essential in order for these indications to have an effective role in “patient blood management” programmes. PMID:25350961

Indications and organisational methods for autologous blood transfusion procedures in Italy: results of a national survey.

PubMed

Catalano, Liviana; Campolongo, Alessandra; Caponera, Maurizio; Berzuini, Alessandra; Bontadini, Andrea; Furlò, Giuseppe; Pasqualetti, Patrizio; Liumbruno, Giancarlo M

2014-10-01

Pre-operative donation of autologous blood is a practice that is now being abandoned. Alternative methods of transfusing autologous blood, other than predeposited blood, do however play a role in limiting the need for transfusion of allogeneic blood. This survey of autologous blood transfusion practices, promoted by the Italian Society of Transfusion Medicine and Immunohaematology more than 2 years after the publication of national recommendations on the subject, was intended to acquire information on the indications for predeposit in Italy and on some organisational aspects of the alternative techniques of autotransfusion. A structured questionnaire consisting of 22 questions on the indications and organisational methods of autologous blood transfusion was made available on a web platform from 15 January to 15 March, 2013. The 232 Transfusion Services in Italy were invited by e-mail to complete the online survey. Of the 232 transfusion structures contacted, 160 (69%) responded to the survey, with the response rate decreasing from the North towards the South and the Islands. The use of predeposit has decreased considerably in Italy and about 50% of the units collected are discarded because of lack of use. Alternative techniques (acute isovolaemic haemodilution and peri-operative blood salvage) are used at different frequencies across the country. The data collected in this survey can be considered representative of national practice; they show that the already very limited indications for predeposit autologous blood transfusion must be adhered to even more scrupulously, also to avoid the notable waste of resources due to unused units.Users of alternative autotransfusion techniques must be involved in order to gain a full picture of the degree of use of such techniques; multidisciplinary agreement on the indications for their use is essential in order for these indications to have an effective role in "patient blood management" programmes.

The First Use of Coordinated Ionospheric Radio and Optical Observations Over Italy: Convergence of High-and Low-Latitude Storm-Induced Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cesaroni, C.; Alfonsi, L.; Pezzopane, M.; Martinis, C.; Baumgardner, J.; Wroten, J.; Mendillo, M.; Musicò, E.; Lazzarin, M.; Umbriaco, G.

2017-11-01

Ionospheric storm effects at midlatitudes were analyzed using different ground-based instruments distributed in Italy during the 13-15 November 2012 geomagnetic storm. These included an all-sky imager (ASI) in Asiago (45.8°N, 11.5°E), a network of dual-frequeny Global Navigation Satellite Systems receivers (Rete Integrata Nazionale GPS network), and ionosondes in Rome (41.8°N, 12.5°E) and San Vito (40.6°N, 17.8°E). GPS measurements showed an unusual enhancement of total electron content (TEC) in southern Italy, during the nights of 14 and 15 November. The ASI observed colocated enhancements of 630 nm airglow at the same time, as did variations in NmF2 measured by the ionosondes. Moreover, wave-like perturbations were identified propagating from the north. The Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition, applied to TEC values revealed the presence of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) propagating southward between 01:30 UT and 03:00 UT on 15 November. These TIDs were characterized by weak TEC oscillations ( ±0.5 TEC unit), period of 45 min, and velocity of 500 m/s typical of large-scale TIDs. Optical images showed enhanced airglow entering the field of view of the ASI from the N-NE at 02:00 UT and propagating to the S-SW, reaching the region covered by the GPS stations after 03:00 UT, when TEC fluctuations are very small ( ±0.2 TEC unit). The enhancement of TEC and airglow observed in southern Italy could be a consequence of a poleward expansion of the northern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly. The enhanced airglow propagating from the north and the TEC waves resulted from energy injected at auroral latitudes as confirmed by magnetometer observations in Scandinavia.

Knowledge for Intelligence: Discussing the State and the Role of Building Data in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasquinelli, A.; Guzzetti, F.

2016-09-01

The availability of integrated information on buildings is the premise for an effective assets management and the provision of innovative services to buildings users: such form of knowledge relies on the efficient exploitation of existing data, providing a complete overview on the state of buildings, and on the acquisition of real-time data flows, coming from sensor and mobile devices, reporting users behaviours. If, on the one hand, technology is progressively enabling the management of new huge streams of data, on the other hand the interconnection among traditional and well rooted datasets, the majority of which in charge of public administrations, is not always guaranteed. While, at European level, interoperability issues among public archives concerning buildings were properly addressed, and the relevance of geo-information is widely recognized, in Italy this process is still taking time to be undertaken. This paper discuss the current state of Building Information in Italy, outlining a possible path for the creation of a georeferenced Building Information System at municipal level, starting from the informative heritage available in existing databases, generated with different purposes and maintained by independent authorities: the idea is to solicit that digitalization process, started a decade ago with the "Digital Administration Code", through the proposition of real use cases that might be implemented once that public data on buildings are profitably combined together.

Sedimentology and composition of sands injected during the seismic crisis of May 2012 (Emilia, Italy): clues for source layer identification and liquefaction regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fontana, D.; Lugli, S.; Marchetti Dori, S.; Caputo, R.; Stefani, M.

2015-07-01

In May 2012 widespread sand blows formed along buried channels in the eastern sector of the Po Plain (Northern Italy) as a consequence of a series of seismic events with main shocks of Mw 6.1 and 5.9. At San Carlo (Ferrara) a trench dug a few week after the earthquakes exposed sand dikes cutting through an old Reno River channel-levee system that was diverted in the 18th century and was deposited starting from the 14th century (unit A). This sequence overlies a Holocene muddy floodplain deposits and contains scattered sandy channel deposits (unit B) and a Pleistocene channel sand unit (unit C). Sands with inverse and normal grading, concave layering and vertical lamination coexisting along the dikes suggest multiple rhythmic opening and closing of the fractures that were injected and filled by a slurry of sand during the compression pulses, and emptied during the extension phase. The pulse mechanism may have lasted for several minutes and formed well stratified sand volcanoes structures that formed at the top of the fractures. Sands from dikes and from the various units show well defined compositional fields from lithoarenitic to quartz-feldspar-rich compositions. Sands from the old Reno levee and channel fill (unit A) have abundant lithic fragments derived from the erosion of Apennine sedimentary carbonate and terrigenous successions. Composition of the sand filling the dikes show clear affinities with sand layers of the old Reno River channel (Unit A) and clearly differ from any sand from deeper Holocene and Pleistocene layers (Unit B and C), which are richer in quartz and feldspar and poorer in sedimentary lithic fragments. Sorting related to sediment flux variations did not apparently affect the sand composition across the sedimentary structures. Textural and compositional data indicate that the liquefaction processes originated from a relatively shallow source consisting of channel sands located within Unit A at 6.8.to 7.5 m depth.

Use of reflexology foot massage to reduce anxiety in hospitalized cancer patients in chemotherapy treatment: methodology and outcomes.

PubMed

Quattrin, R; Zanini, A; Buchini, S; Turello, D; Annunziata, M A; Vidotti, C; Colombatti, A; Brusaferro, S

2006-03-01

To examine the effectiveness of reflexology foot massage in hospitalized cancer patients undergoing second or third chemotherapy cycles. Since the late-1970s, studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of behavioural and relaxation approaches in controlling nausea/vomiting, anxiety and other side-effects associated with chemotherapy. The study consisted of 30 patients being admitted to the oncology unit at a Scientific Research Hospital in Italy. Only 15 of the 30 participants received therapeutic massage. The subjects' self-reports of anxiety (measured by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) were recorded before, after and 24 hours after the intervention. There was an average decrease of 7.9 points on the state-anxiety scale in the treatment group and of 0.8 points in the control group (P < 0.0001). Reflexology foot massage can be considered a support treatment used in combination with traditional medical treatments and executed by an expert, qualified person to help cancer patients receiving chemotherapy feel better and also cope better with their disease.

Globalising Synthetic Nitrogen: The Interwar Inauguration of a New Industry.

PubMed

Travis, Anthony S

2017-02-01

The most spectacular development in industrial chemistry during the early twentieth century concerned the capture of atmospheric nitrogen by the Haber-Bosch high-pressure ammonia process at the German chemical enterprise Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik (BASF), of Ludwigshafen. This firm, confident that its complex process could not be readily imitated, set out to dominate the global nitrogen fertiliser market. The response was the emergence of rival high-pressure ammonia processes in Western Europe, the United States, and Japan during the 1920s. This article is an historical appreciation of the settings in which several countries, often driven by concerns over national security, were encouraged to develop and adopt non-BASF high-pressure nitrogen capture technologies. Moreover, synthetic ammonia was at the forefront of large-scale strategic self-sufficiency and state sponsored programmes in three countries - Italy, Russia, and Japan - at the very same time when the newer technologies became available. As a result, the chemical industries of these nations, under the influences of fascism, communism, and colonial modernisation projects, began moving into the top ranks.

Tephra layers from Holocene lake sediments of the Sulmona Basin, central Italy: implications for volcanic activity in Peninsular Italy and tephrostratigraphy in the central Mediterranean area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giaccio, B.; Messina, P.; Sposato, A.; Voltaggio, M.; Zanchetta, G.; Galadini, F.; Gori, S.; Santacroce, R.

2009-12-01

We present a new tephrostratigraphic record from the Holocene lake sediments of the Sulmona basin, central Italy. The Holocene succession is represented by whitish calcareous mud that is divided into two units, SUL2 (ca 32 m thick) and SUL1 (ca 8 m thick), for a total thickness of ca 40 m. These units correspond to the youngest two out of six sedimentary cycles recognised in the Sulmona basin that are related to the lake sedimentation since the Middle Pleistocene. Height concordant U series age determinations and additional chronological data constrain the whole Holocene succession to between ca 8000 and 1000 yrs BP. This includes a sedimentary hiatus that separates the SUL2 and SUL1 units, which is roughly dated between <2800 and ca 2000 yrs BP. A total of 31 and 6 tephra layers were identified within the SUL2 and SUL1 units, respectively. However, only 28 tephra layers yielded fresh micro-pumices or glass shards suitable for chemical analyses using a microprobe wavelength dispersive spectrometer. Chronological and compositional constraints suggest that 27 ash layers probably derive from the Mt. Somma-Vesuvius Holocene volcanic activity, and one to the Ischia Island eruption of the Cannavale tephra (2920 ± 450 cal yrs BP). The 27 ash layers compatible with Mt. Somma-Vesuvius activity are clustered in three different time intervals: from ca 2000 to >1000; from 3600 to 3100; and from 7600 to 4700 yrs BP. The first, youngest cluster, comprises six layers and correlates with the intense explosive activity of Mt. Somma-Vesuvius that occurred after the prominent AD 79 Pompeii eruption, but only the near-Plinian event of AD 472 has been tentatively recognised. The intermediate cluster (3600-3100 yrs BP) starts with tephra that chemically and chronologically matches the products from the "Pomici di Avellino" eruption (ca 3800 ± 200 yrs BP). This is followed by eight further layers, where the glasses exhibit chemical features that are similar in composition to the products from the so-called "Protohistoric" or AP eruptions; however, only the distal equivalents of three AP events (AP3, AP4 and AP6) are tentatively designated. Finally, the early cluster (7600-4700 yrs BP) comprises 12 layers that contain evidence of a surprising, previously unrecognised, activity of the Mt. Somma-Vesuvius volcano during its supposed period of quiescence, between the major Plinian "Pomici di Mercato" (ca 9000 yrs BP) and "Pomici di Avellino" eruptions. Alternatively, since at present there is no evidence of a similar significant activity in the proximal area of this well-known volcano, a hitherto unknown origin of these tephras cannot be role out. The results of the present study provide new data that enrich our previous knowledge of the Holocene tephrostratigraphy and tephrochronology in central Italy, and a new model for the recent explosive activity of the Peninsular Italy volcanoes and the dispersal of the related pyroclastic deposits.

The cost-effectiveness of influenza vaccination for people aged 50 to 64 years: an international model.

PubMed

Aballéa, Samuel; Chancellor, Jeremy; Martin, Monique; Wutzler, Peter; Carrat, Fabrice; Gasparini, Roberto; Toniolo-Neto, Joao; Drummond, Michael; Weinstein, Milton

2007-01-01

Routine influenza vaccination is currently recommended in several countries for people aged more than 60 or 65 years or with high risk of complications. A lower age threshold of 50 years has been recommended in the United States since 1999. To help policymakers consider whether such a policy should be adopted more widely, we conducted an economic evaluation of lowering the age limit for routine influenza vaccination to 50 years in Brazil, France, Germany, and Italy. The probabilistic model was designed to compare in a single season the costs and clinical outcomes associated with two alternative vaccination policies for persons aged 50 to 64 years: reimbursement only for people at high risk of complications (current policy), and reimbursement for all individuals in this age group (proposed policy). Two perspectives were considered: third-party payer (TPP) and societal. Model inputs were obtained primarily from the published literature and validated through expert opinion. The historical distribution of annual influenza-like illness (ILI) incidence was used to simulate the uncertain incidence in any given season. We estimated gains in unadjusted and quality-adjusted life expectancy, and the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Comparing the proposed to the current policy, the estimated mean costs per QALY gained were R$4,100, EURO 13,200, EURO 31,400 and EURO 15,700 for Brazil, France, Germany, and Italy, respectively, from a TPP perspective. From the societal perspective, the age-based policy is predicted to yield net cost savings in Germany and Italy, whereas the cost per QALY decreased to R$2800 for Brazil and EURO 8000 for France. The results were particularly sensitive to the ILI incidence rate, vaccine uptake, influenza fatality rate, and the costs of administering vaccination. Assuming a cost-effectiveness threshold ratio of EURO 50,000 per QALY gained, the probabilities of the new policy being cost-effective were 94% and 95% for France, 72% and near 100% for Germany, and 89% and 99% for Italy, from the TPP and societal perspectives, respectively. Extending routine influenza vaccination to people more than 50 years of age is likely to be cost-effective in all four countries studied.

First external quality assurance program of the Italian HLA-B*57:01 Network assessing the performance of clinical virology laboratories in HLA-B*57:01 testing.

PubMed

Meini, Genny; Dello Russo, Cinzia; Allice, Tiziano; Barresi, Renata; D'Arrigo, Roberta; Falasca, Francesca; Lipsi, Maria Rosaria; Paolucci, Stefania; Zanussi, Stefania; Antonetti, Raffaele; Baldanti, Fausto; Basaglia, Giancarlo; Bruzzone, Bianca; Polilli, Ennio; Ghisetti, Valeria; Pucillo, Leopoldo Paolo; Turriziani, Ombretta; Pirazzoli, Antonella; Navarra, Pierluigi; Zazzi, Maurizio

2016-05-01

Since the HLA-B*57:01 allele is strongly associated with abacavir hypersensitivity reaction, testing for the presence of HLA-B*57:01 is mandatory before administration of abacavir. While HLA-B*57:01 testing is usually provided by pharmacogenetics, genetics or blood transfusion services, clinical virology laboratories can be an optimal opportunity for HLA-B*57:01 testing since they receive blood samples for routine HIV monitoring and have the expertise for convenient and less expensive PCR-based point mutation assays. The Italian HLA-B*57:01 Network gathers accredited clinical virology laboratories offering HLA-B*57:01 testing in Italy with the aim to share protocols, test new methods, develop and maintain external quality assurance (EQA) programs. A panel of 9HLA-B*57:01-positive and 16HLA-B*57:01-negative frozen blood samples were blindly distributed to 10 units including 9 clinical virology laboratories and one reference pharmacology laboratory. Each laboratory was free to use its own routine method for DNA extraction and HLA-B*57:01 testing. DNA was extracted by automated workstations in 6 units and by manual spin columns in 4. Eight units used the Duplicα Real Time HLA-B*57:01 kit by Euroclone and two units used two different PCR homemade protocols. All the 10 units correctly identified all the 25 samples. The first HLA-B*57:01 EQA program run in Italy showed that clinical virology units are equipped and proficient for providing HLA-B*57:01 testing by inexpensive assays easy to integrate into their routine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Causality Analysis of the Link between Higher Education and Economic Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Meulemeester, Jean-Luc; Rochat, Denis

1995-01-01

Summarizes a study exploring the relationship between higher education and economic development, using cointegration and Granger-causality tests. Results show a significant causality from higher education efforts in Sweden, United Kingdom, Japan, and France. However, a similar causality link has not been found for Italy or Australia. (68…

Comparative Research for the 16-19 Age Group in Western Europe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Edmund J.

1975-01-01

Between 1970 and 1973 the Comparative Research Unit at the University of London King's College investigated the social and educational implications of rapidly increasing full-time enrollments at the upper secondary level in England, Germany, France, Italy and Sweden. The methods and results of investigation are summarized in this paper. (Editor/RK)

Continuing Medical Education and Professional Revalidation in Europe: Five Case Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maisonneuve, Herve; Matillon, Yves; Negri, Alfonso; Pallares, Luis; Vigneri, Ricardo; Young, Howard L.

2009-01-01

Introduction: Since reliable information is scarce to describe continuing medical education (CME) and revalidation in Europe, we carried out a survey in 5 selected countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom). Methods: A tested questionnaire was sent to 2 experts per country (except in Germany), during August-September 2004.…

Child-Friendly Cities: A Place for Active Citizenship in Geographical and Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilks, Judith

2010-01-01

This research was designed to investigate innovative practices associated with child-friendly cities initiatives in the United Kingdom and Italy and how civics and citizenship initiatives are being applied into practical programmes of exploration and learning in geography and environmental education. The Child-Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) of…

Service Children's Education: Survey of Parental Views. Final Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Donnell, Lisa; Rudd, Peter

2007-01-01

Service Children's Education (SCE) is an agency of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that is dedicated to the education of children of service families and MOD personnel serving outside of the United Kingdom, specifically in Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Belize and Brunei. These schools follow the…

Worldwide Population Structure in Cuvier’s Beaked Whales: Identification of Units for Conservation

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

Brito Montero, Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales y Arqueología de San Antonio, Chile; A. Llavona, Coordinador para o Estudio dos Mamíferos...Storia Naturale di Milano, Italy; M. Bruni and P. Piguet, Institute Oceanographique (MOM), Monaco; N. Barros, Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, Florida, USA

The Phenomenon of Business Start-Ups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melis, Africa

1990-01-01

A study of four European countries (France, United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain) was conducted to gather data on the business start-up process and its impact on the generation of jobs, small business start-up support programs, training and counseling programs, and characteristics of successful business starters. (The original aim of the study was to…

Intercultural Education in the European Context: Key Remarks from a Comparative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catarci, Marco

2014-01-01

The article focuses on some findings of a comparative study carried out by a network of scholars and researchers who are active in the field of intercultural education in the European context in the main "old immigration countries" (United Kingdom, France and Germany), "new immigration countries" (Italy, Spain and Greece) and…

75 FR 30437 - Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip From Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and Taiwan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-01

... and demand conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have occurred in the United... Ethics Official, at 202-205-3088. Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under an... trade/business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more than one Subject Country; or...

75 FR 67108 - Cut-To-Length Carbon Steel Plate From India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and Korea

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-01

... and demand conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have occurred in the United... Official, at 202-205-3088. Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under an.../worker group, or trade/business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more than one Subject...

SCHOOL-TEACHERS AND THE EDUCATION OF ADULTS. MANUALS ON ADULT AND YOUTH EDUCATION, NUMBER 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

HELY, ARNOLD S. M.

EXPERIENCES OF JORDAN, THAILAND, VIET-NAM, ECUADOR, UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC, PHILIPPINES, MADAGASCAR, ITALY, VENEZUELA, PERU, INDIA, GHANA, AND COLOMBIA IN THEIR RECENT EXPERIMENTS IN TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OF SCHOOL TEACHERS FOR ADULT LITERACY WORK AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION ARE ANALYZED TO ILLUSTRATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THEIR PROCEDURES. GENERALLY…

Data Bases in Vocational Education and Training. The European Scene.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, Berlin (West Germany).

This study of public access databases in vocational education and training was conducted in the European Economic Community (EEC). Principal sources for the study were a survey sent to practitioners in eight countries; country studies on France, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom; and field work involving visits to Belgium, the Netherlands,…

Toward a new cosmic consciousness: Psychoeducational aspects of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De la Torre, Gabriel G.

2014-02-01

This study presents a new approach to the concept of cosmic consciousness integrated in current neuroscience knowledge and discusses implications for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. It also examines different aspects related to consciousness and how it may play a key role in the understanding of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and life in the Universe and its implications. Subjects (n=116) were college students from Spain, the United States, and Italy. Subjects responded to a questionnaire comprising five different sections: (A) religious beliefs, (B) environment and general opinion, (C) astronomy, (D) contact, and (E) attention and perception. The results showed the importance of several modular aspects that affect Space awareness in humans. Preliminary results are discussed with regard to current neuroscience, factor analysis, and possible implications for the understanding of contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. The roles of education, new search strategies, and possible contact scenarios are also discussed.

Spacelab

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-05-05

Launched on June 20, 1996, the STS-78 mission’s primary payload was the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS), which was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). During the 17 day space flight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations. In a manner very similar to future International Space Station operations, LMS researchers from the United States and their European counterparts shared resources such as crew time and equipment. Five space agencies (NASA/USA, European Space Agency/Europe (ESA), French Space Agency/France, Canadian Space Agency /Canada, and Italian Space Agency/Italy) along with research scientists from 10 countries worked together on the design, development and construction of the LMS. This photo represents Data Management Coordinators monitoring the progress of the mission at the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at MSFC. Pictured are assistant mission scientist Dr. Dalle Kornfeld, Rick McConnel, and Ann Bathew.

Materials selection guidelines for geothermal energy utilization systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ellis, P.F. II; Conover, M.F.

1981-01-01

This manual includes geothermal fluid chemistry, corrosion test data, and materials operating experience. Systems using geothermal energy in El Salvador, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United States are described. The manual provides materials selection guidelines for surface equipment of future geothermal energy systems. The key chemical species that are significant in determining corrosiveness of geothermal fluids are identified. The utilization modes of geothermal energy are defined as well as the various physical fluid parameters that affect corrosiveness. Both detailed and summarized results of materials performance tests and applicable operating experiences from forty sites throughout the world aremore » presented. The application of various non-metal materials in geothermal environments are discussed. Included in appendices are: corrosion behavior of specific alloy classes in geothermal fluids, corrosion in seawater desalination plants, worldwide geothermal power production, DOE-sponsored utilization projects, plant availability, relative costs of alloys, and composition of alloys. (MHR)« less

Thyroid Carcinoma Secondary to Radiation Cloud Exposure from the Chernobyl Incident of 1986: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Atkinson, Andrew L.; Rosenthal, Andrew

2010-01-01

The Chernobyl accident of 1986 exposed most if not all of Europe to a blanket of radiation, creating a melting pot of human exposure sequelae that is still showing up in our medical clinics today. In our particular clinic, a young woman of 29 years presented with most of her extended family in attendance. The young woman was born and raised in northern Italy until the age of seven when she left and immigrated to the United States leaving most of her family behind. Shortly after the Chernobyl accident, 5 members of her family, all woman including her own mother, were diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Twenty-two years later, this same young woman came into the clinic with papillary thyroid carcinoma, making her the sixth member of her family. This case report illustrates the patient's history with her radiation exposure while talking in depth about the source, Chernobyl. PMID:20740164

[History of psychiatric legislation in Italy].

PubMed

Stocco, Ester; Dario, Claudia; Piazzi, Gioia; Fiori Nastro, Paolo

2009-01-01

The different models of mental illness which have followed one another in Italian psychiatry have been linked to the history of psychiatric legislation and its various attempts at reform. The first law of the newly United State which unified legislations and former procedures, whose prevalent psychiatric theories were those that referred to degeneration, was the law 36/1904 that set up the asylums. Accordingly psychiatric praxis was focused on social protection and custody, given that the mentally ill was seen as incurable; Fascism added the inmate's obligation to be enrolled in the judicial register. Afterwards numerous attempts to reform the psychiatric legislation were made that eventually gave rise to law 431/1968 which paved the way to territorial psychiatry. Law 180/1978 changed the organization of Italian psychiatry abolishing asylums and the concept of dangerousness, including psychiatry in the National Health Service but adopting an idea of mental illness as simply social unease.

Evolution of the antipsychiatry movement into mental health consumerism.

PubMed

Rissmiller, David J; Rissmiller, Joshua H

2006-06-01

This essay reviews the history and evolution of the antipsychiatry movement. Radical antipsychiatry over several decades has changed from an antiestablishment campus-based movement to a patient-based consumerist movement. The antecedents of the movement are traced to a crisis in self-conception between biological and psychoanalytic psychiatry occurring during a decade characterized by other radical movements. It was promoted through the efforts of its four seminal thinkers: Michel Foucault in France, R. D. Laing in Great Britain, Thomas Szasz in the United States, and Franco Basaglia in Italy. They championed the concept that personal reality and freedom were independent of any definition of normalcy that organized psychiatry tried to impose. The original antipsychiatry movement made major contributions but also had significant weaknesses that ultimately undermined it. Today, antipsychiatry adherents have a broader base and no longer focus on dismantling organized psychiatry but look to promote radical consumerist reform.

Assessing regulatory emotional self-efficacy in three countries.

PubMed

Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Di Giunta, Laura; Eisenberg, Nancy; Gerbino, Maria; Pastorelli, Concetta; Tramontano, Carlo

2008-09-01

The Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy (RESE) scale was developed to assess perceived self-efficacy in managing negative (NEG) and in expressing positive (POS) affect (G. V. Caprara & M. Gerbino, 2001). In this study of young adults, the factorial structure of the RESE scale was found to be similar in Italy, the United States, and Bolivia. In addition to a factor for POS, NEG was represented by a second-order factor of 2 different negative affects: despondency-distress (DES) and anger-irritation (ANG). Overall, there was partial invariance at both metric and scalar levels across gender and countries. Discriminant and convergent validity of the RESE scale was further examined in the Italian sample. Stronger patterns of association of POS with prosocial behavior, of ANG with low aggressive behavior problems and irritability, and of DES with low anxiety/depressive problems and shyness and high self-esteem were found. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

World Cup Hopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

From May 31 to June 30 the biggest single-sport event in the world, the 2002 FIFA World Cup (tm), will be taking place in Asia. South Korea and Japan are acting as hosts for the event which is being held in Asia for the first time. This true-color image of the southern Korean peninsula and southern Japan was acquired on May 25, 2002, by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA's Terra satellite. Thirty-two nations are represented at this year's Finals including the 1998 champion France, European powers England and Italy, tournament favorite Argentina, and the United States. The finals are the culmination of a 2-year qualifying process which started with 132 nations competing in regional qualification tournaments. In the round-robin first round of the World Cup, the U.S. team will be competing against teams from Portugal, Poland, and South Korea. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC

Medaka Fish Embryo Developed for STS-78 Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Launched on June 20, 1996, the STS-78 mission's primary payload was the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS), which was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). During the 17 day space flight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations. In a manner very similar to future International Space Station operations, LMS researchers from the United States and their European counterparts shared resources such as crew time and equipment. Five space agencies (NASA/USA, European Space Agency/Europe (ESA), French Space Agency/France, Canadian Space Agency /Canada, and Italian Space Agency/Italy) along with research scientists from 10 countries worked together on the design, development and construction of the LMS. This photo represents the development of Medaka Fish Embryos, one of the many studies of the LMS mission.

The nonverbal expression of pride: evidence for cross-cultural recognition.

PubMed

Tracy, Jessica L; Robins, Richard W

2008-03-01

The present research tests whether recognition for the nonverbal expression of pride generalizes across cultures. Study 1 provided the first evidence for cross-cultural recognition of pride, demonstrating that the expression generalizes across Italy and the United States. Study 2 found that the pride expression generalizes beyond Western cultures; individuals from a preliterate, highly isolated tribe in Burkina Faso, West Africa, reliably recognized pride, regardless of whether it was displayed by African or American targets. These Burkinabe participants were unlikely to have learned the pride expression through cross-cultural transmission, so their recognition suggests that pride may be a human universal. Studies 3 and 4 used drawn figures to systematically manipulate the ethnicity and gender of targets showing the expression, and demonstrated that pride recognition generalizes across male and female targets of African, Asian, and Caucasian descent. Discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for the universality of the pride expression.

Steam turbine/generator NDE workshop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nottingham, L.D.; Sabourin, P.F.

1990-11-01

On September 12--15, 1989, EPRI sponsored a workshop in Charlotte, North Carolina on steam turbine/generator rotating components. The approximate 185 attendees represented a broad spectrum of utilities, equipment manufactures, forging suppliers, service organizations, universities, insurance carriers, and consultants from the United States and abroad. Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Italy, Spain, and Sweden were represented at the workshop, and 81 of the attendees represented 44 domestic utilities. Nondestructive examination equipment demonstrations by 16 vendors and 2 utilities at the EPRI NDE Center complemented the technical presentation. In addition to 23 formal, technical presentations of prepared papers of specificmore » topics, 8 tutorial presentations, plus various opening and closing remarks and addresses, were given at the workshop. Presentations were organized under the following general topics: bucket blades and/or attachment regions; retaining rings; wheels/disks; steam turbine/generator testing and evaluation; and tutorials. Each individual paper has been cataloged separately.« less

KSC-07pd2197

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Commander Pamela A. Melroy gives a close inspection to space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2196

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Giving a close inspection to space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson and Commander Pamela A. Melroy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2215

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 Commander Pamela A. Melroy sits in the orbiter Discovery to inspect the cockpit windows. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2219

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 Pilot George D. Zamka makes a close inspection of the cockpit window on the orbiter Discovery. Seated next to him is Commander Pamela A. Melroy. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2205

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 Commander Pamela A. Melroy (center left) and Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson (center right) are lowered in a bucket into Discovery's payload bay. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2218

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 Commander Pamela A. Melroy makes a close inspection of the cockpit window on the orbiter Discovery. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2216

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3,STS-120 Commander Pamela A. Melroy sits in the orbiter Discovery to inspect the cockpit windows. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd2217

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 Commander Pamela A. Melroy makes a close inspection of the cockpit window on the orbiter Discovery. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Progression of Hepatitis to Hcc: Immunological Cofactors and Genetic Biomarkers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buonaguro, Franco M.

2014-07-01

Globally, an estimated 130-170 million persons (2%-3% of the world's population) are living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. About 80% of individuals exposed to HCV develop chronic infection and 3-11% of people with chronic HCV infection will develop liver cirrhosis within 20 years with associated risks of liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. Region-specific estimates range from <1.0% in Northern Europe to >2.9% in Northern Africa. The lowest prevalence (0.01%-0.1%) has been reported from countries in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia; the highest prevalence (15%-20%) has been reported from Egypt. Germany and France show in the general population a low (<0.5%) and an intermediate (1-<2) prevalence, respectively. The worldwide highest prevalence is in the intra-venous drug users (IDU) groups, with over 60% prevalence. Incidence and prevalence of HCV infections show a peculiar geographical distribution with higher frequency in Asian, Northern Africa and Southern Italian regions, Italy (with United States, Australia, Turkey, Spain and Japan) belongs to the regions of the world with an overall intermediate prevalence of HCV infection (1.0%-1.9%), with a peculiar geographical and age-specific prevalence. In some areas of Southern Italy persons >50 years old account for most infections, with a HCV-prevalence peak >30% in subject over 65 years of age (Figure 1), suggesting a cohort effect in which the risk for HCV infection was higher in the distant past, i.e., 40-60 years previously. In the same areas, in fact, the HCV prevalence drops to <10% in the 30-35 years age group. All these data would support the role of specific events (including public-health related iatrogenic transmission) in circulation of the pathogen in each population. However a further issue is frequency and rate of chronic HCV infection as well as progression to HCC...

Tomographic models and seismotectonics of the Reggio Emilia region, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciaccio, M. G.; Chiarabba, C.

2002-02-01

The aim of this study is to define the Vp and Vp/Vs structure of the fault zone ruptured by the M L 5.1 earthquake of October 15, 1996 which occurred near Reggio Emilia (central-northern Italy). A 1-month-long seismic sequence followed the mainshock and occurred in a small region along the outer border of the northern Apenninic belt, at depth ranging between 10 and 17 km. P- and S-wave arrival times from 304 aftershocks recorded by two local dense seismic arrays installed in the epicentral region have been inverted to obtain one- and three-dimensional velocity models by using state of the art local earthquake tomographic techniques. Velocity models and aftershock relocation help us to infer the seismotectonic of the region. Earthquakes originated along a NW-dipping backthrust of a NE-trending main thrust, composing the western part of the broad Ferrara Arc. A main high Vp and high Vp/Vs region delineates a pop-up structure in the center of the area. The high Vp/Vs within the pop-up structure supports the presence of a zone with increased pore pressure. The hypocentral depth of both mainshock and aftershocks is greater than those usually found for the main seismogenic regions of the Apenninic belt. P-wave velocity values in the seismogenic area, obtained by tomography, are compatible with rocks of the Mesozoic cover and suggest that seismicity occurred within the Mesozoic units stack at present by compressional tectonics.

On a report that the 2012 M 6.0 earthquake in Italy was predicted after seeing an unusual cloud formation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomas, J.N.; Masci, F; Love, Jeffrey J.

2015-01-01

Several recently published reports have suggested that semi-stationary linear-cloud formations might be causally precursory to earthquakes. We examine the report of Guangmeng and Jie (2013), who claim to have predicted the 2012 M 6.0 earthquake in the Po Valley of northern Italy after seeing a satellite photograph (a digital image) showing a linear-cloud formation over the eastern Apennine Mountains of central Italy. From inspection of 4 years of satellite images we find numerous examples of linear-cloud formations over Italy. A simple test shows no obvious statistical relationship between the occurrence of these cloud formations and earthquakes that occurred in and around Italy. All of the linear-cloud formations we have identified in satellite images, including that which Guangmeng and Jie (2013) claim to have used to predict the 2012 earthquake, appear to be orographic – formed by the interaction of moisture-laden wind flowing over mountains. Guangmeng and Jie (2013) have not clearly stated how linear-cloud formations can be used to predict the size, location, and time of an earthquake, and they have not published an account of all of their predictions (including any unsuccessful predictions). We are skeptical of the validity of the claim by Guangmeng and Jie (2013) that they have managed to predict any earthquakes.

[Initial epidemiological data on the clinical effects in health workers employed in the manual lifting of patients in wards].

PubMed

Colombini, D; Riva, F; Luè, D; Nava, C; Petri, A; Basilico, S; Linzalata, M; Morselli, G; Cotroneo, L; Ricci, M G; Menoni, O; Battevi, N

1999-01-01

An investigation was carried out by teams from various centres coordinated by the EPM (Ergonomics of Posture and Movement) Research Unit on 54 different hospitals in various regions of northern and central Italy. The teams examined a total of 3341 health workers whose job involved manual handling of patients (553 male and 2788 females, 1568 working in hospitals and 1773 in geriatric residences). Numerous meetings were held to ensure that the methods of assessing the exposure indexes and spinal impairment were identical in the various teams. The final data were processed centrally at the EPM Research Unit. The sample analyzed may be considered as representative of the situation in hospitals in Italy, at least for northern and central Italy. The mean age was 36 years, mean length of service in the department 6 years and mean length of job duration not exceeding 10 years; staff turnover was high. Physical examination revealed that 8.4% of the workers had had at least one episode of acute low back pain in the previous 12 months: i.e., 4 times the values of the reference groups. Also in the case of clinical-functional spondyloarthropathies of the lumbosacral spine, in the females there was a significantly higher prevalence than in the reference groups. All disorders were more severe in sectors more at risk, i.e., old peoples homes, rehabilitation centres, orthopaedic and surgical departments, and in any case higher in old peoples homes and geriatric residences. The initial data concerning the ratio between presence of spinal disease and risk index were also positive.

A review of the geologic sections and the faunal assemblages of Aurelian Mammal Age of Latium (Italy) in the light of a new chronostratigraphic framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marra, F.; Nomade, S.; Pereira, A.; Petronio, C.; Salari, L.; Sottili, G.; Bahain, J.-J.; Boschian, G.; Di Stefano, G.; Falguères, C.; Florindo, F.; Gaeta, M.; Giaccio, B.; Masotta, M.

2018-02-01

The Aurelian Mammal Age for peninsular Italy was introduced on the basis of faunal assemblages mainly recovered at sites along the Via Aurelia west of Rome. These sites exposed a set of sedimentary deposits currently attributed to the Aurelia and to the Vitinia Formations correlated with MIS 9 and MIS 7, respectively. In the present paper we reconstruct the geologic-stratigraphic setting in the western sector of Rome within the wider context of glacio-eustatically controlled, geochronologically constrained aggradational successions defined for this region. We present a chronostratigraphic study based on dedicated field surveys, that, combined with five new 40Ar/39Ar ages and eighteen trace-element and EMP glass analyses of volcanic products, allow us to revise age and correlation with the Marine Isotopic Stages for 10 sites out of 12 previously attributed to the Aurelia Formation and the Torre in Pietra Faunal Unit. In particular, we demonstrate a MIS 13/MIS 11 age for several sections along the Via Aurelia between Malagrotta and Castel di Guido. Based on this new geochronological framework, the first occurrences of Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpes in Italy are antedated to MIS 11, within the Fontana Ranuccio Faunal Unit of the Galerian Mammal Age, consistent with the wider European context. This contribution is intended as the groundwork for a revision of the Middle Pleistocene Mammal Ages of the Italian peninsula, according to the improved chronostratigraphy of the geologic sections hosting the faunal assemblages.

Marine Pharmacology in 2000: Marine Compounds with Antibacterial, Anticoagulant, Antifungal, Anti-inflammatory, Antimalarial, Antiplatelet, Antituberculosis, and Antiviral Activities; Affecting the Cardiovascular, Immune, and Nervous Systems and Other Miscellaneous Mechanisms of Action

PubMed Central

Mayer, Alejandro M. S.; Hamann, Mark T.

2016-01-01

During 2000 research on the pharmacology of marine chemicals involved investigators from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Phillipines, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States. This current review, a sequel to the authors’ 1998 and 1999 reviews, classifies 68 peer-reviewed articles on the basis of the reported preclinical pharmacologic properties of marine chemicals derived from a diverse group of marine animals, algae, fungi, and bacteria. Antibacterial, anticoagulant, antifungal, antimalarial, antiplatelet, antituberculosis, or antiviral activity was reported for 35 marine chemicals. An additional 20 marine compounds were shown to have significant effects on the cardiovascular and nervous system, and to possess anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressant properties. Finally, 23 marine compounds were reported to act on a variety of molecular targets and thus could potentially contribute to several pharmacologic classes. Thus, as in 1998 and 1999, during 2000 pharmacologic research with marine chemicals continued to contribute potentially novel chemical leads to the ongoing global search for therapeutic agents in the treatment of multiple disease categories. PMID:14583811

Marine pharmacology in 2003-4: marine compounds with anthelmintic antibacterial, anticoagulant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antiplatelet, antiprotozoal, antituberculosis, and antiviral activities; affecting the cardiovascular, immune and nervous systems, and other miscellaneous mechanisms of action.

PubMed

Mayer, Alejandro M S; Rodríguez, Abimael D; Berlinck, Roberto G S; Hamann, Mark T

2007-05-01

The current marine pharmacology review that covers the peer-reviewed literature during 2003 and 2004 is a sequel to the authors' 1998-2002 reviews, and highlights the preclinical pharmacology of 166 marine chemicals derived from a diverse group of marine animals, algae, fungi and bacteria. Anthelmintic, antibacterial, anticoagulant, antifungal, antimalarial, antiplatelet, antiprotozoal, antituberculosis or antiviral activities were reported for 67 marine chemicals. Additionally 45 marine compounds were shown to have significant effects on the cardiovascular, immune and nervous system as well as possessing anti-inflammatory effects. Finally, 54 marine compounds were reported to act on a variety of molecular targets and thus may potentially contribute to several pharmacological classes. Thus, during 2003-2004, research on the pharmacology of marine natural products which involved investigators from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States, contributed numerous chemical leads for the continued global search for novel therapeutic agents with broad spectrum activity.

Marine pharmacology in 2003-4: Marine Compounds with Anthelminthic, Antibacterial, Anticoagulant, Antifungal, Anti-inflammatory, Antimalarial, Antiplatelet, Antiprotozoal, Antituberculosis, and Antiviral Activities; affecting the Cardiovascular, Immune and Nervous Systems, and other Miscellaneous Mechanisms of Action

PubMed Central

Mayer, Alejandro M.S.; Rodriguez, Abimael D.; Berlinck, Roberto G.S.; Hamann, Mark T.

2007-01-01

The current marine pharmacology review that covers the peer-reviewed literature during 2003 and 2004 is a sequel to the authors' 1998-2002 reviews, and highlights the preclinical pharmacology of 166 marine chemicals derived from a diverse group of marine animals, algae, fungi and bacteria. Anthelminthic, antibacterial, anticoagulant, antifungal, antimalarial, antiplatelet, antiprotozoal, antituberculosis or antiviral activities were reported for 67 marine chemicals. Additionally 45 marine compounds were shown to have significant effects on the cardiovascular, immune and nervous system as well as possessing anti-inflammatory effects. Finally, 54 marine compounds were reported to act on a variety of molecular targets and thus may potentially contribute to several pharmacological classes. Thus, during 2003-2004, research on the pharmacology of marine natural products which involved investigators from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States, contributed numerous chemical leads for the continued global search for novel therapeutic agents with broad spectrum activity. PMID:17392033

Spacelab

NASA Image and Video Library

1983-01-01

This photograph shows the Spacelab-1 module and Spacelab access turnel being installed in the cargo bay of orbiter Columbia for the STS-9 mission. The oribiting laboratory, built by the European Space Agency, is capable of supporting many types of scientific research that can best be performed in space. The Spacelab access tunnel, the only major piece of Spacelab hardware made in the U.S., connects the module with the mid-deck level of the orbiter cabin. The first Spacelab mission, Spacelab-1, sponsored jointly and shared equally by NASA and the European Space Agency, was a multidisciplinary mission; that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The disciplines represented by these experiments were: astronomy and solar physics, earth observations, space plasma physics, materials sciences, atmospheric physics, and life sciences. International in nature, Spacelab-1 conducted experiments from the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Beluga, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Spacelab-1, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on November 28, 1983 aboard the orbiter Columbia (STS-9). The Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for managing the Spacelab missions.

The Science of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

This 4-minute animation shows how the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment will help scientists understand how the universe works. DUNE will use a huge particle detector a mile underground to embark on a mission with three major science goals: 1.) Study an intense, 1,300-kilometer-long neutrino beam to discover what happened after the big bang: Are neutrinos the reason the universe is made of matter? 2.) Use 70,000 tons of liquid argon to look for proton decay and move closer to realizing Einstein’s dream of a unified theory of matter and energy. 3.) Catch neutrinos from a supernova to watch themore » formation of neutron stars and black holes in real time. About 1,000 scientists from 160 institutions in 30 countries are working on the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and South Dakota’s Sanford Underground Research Facility. DUNE collaborators come from institutions in Armenia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.« less

Higher Education Reform in Italy: Tightening Regulation Instead of Steering at a Distance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donina, Davide; Meoli, Michele; Paleari, Stefano

2015-01-01

In December 2010, a comprehensive reform (Law 240/2010, or "Gelmini reform") changed the institutional governance and internal organization of Italian state universities. This paper investigates the redefinition of the state role in the light of public management reform narratives, linking them to the Governance Equalizer Model to…

The Unusual Temporal and Spectral Evolution of SN2011ht. II. Peculiar Type IIn or Impostor?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humphreys, Roberta M.; Davidson, Kris; Jones, Terry J.; Pogge, R. W.; Grammer, Skyler H.; Prieto, José L.; Pritchard, T. A.

2012-11-01

SN2011ht has been described both as a true supernova (SN) and as an impostor. In this paper, we conclude that it does not match some basic expectations for a core-collapse event. We discuss SN2011ht's spectral evolution from a hot dense wind to a cool dense wind, followed by the post-plateau appearance of a faster low density wind during a rapid decline in luminosity. We identify a slow dense wind expanding at only 500-600 km s-1, present throughout the eruption. A faster wind speed V ~ 900 km s-1 occurred in a second phase of the outburst. There is no direct or significant evidence for any flow speed above 1000 km s-1 the broad asymmetric wings of Balmer emission lines in the hot wind phase were due to Thomson scattering, not bulk motion. We estimate a mass-loss rate of order 0.05 M ⊙ yr-1 during the hot dense wind phase of the event. The same calculations present difficulties for a hypothetical unseen SN blast wave. There is no evidence that the kinetic energy greatly exceeded the luminous energy, roughly 3 × 1049 erg so the radiative plus kinetic energy was small compared to a typical SN. We suggest that SN2011ht may have been a giant eruption driven by super-Eddington radiation pressure, perhaps beginning a few months before the discovery. A strongly non-spherical SN might also account for the data at the cost of more free parameters. Based on observations with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are: The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University, and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia. Based also on observations obtained at the MMT Observatory, a joint facility of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona, on data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555, and on observations from the Gemini Observatory, operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (United Kingdom), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), the Australian Research Council (Australia), Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (Brazil), and Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Argentina).

Does the U.S. exercise contagion on Italy? A theoretical model and empirical evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerqueti, Roy; Fenga, Livio; Ventura, Marco

2018-06-01

This paper deals with the theme of contagion in financial markets. At this aim, we develop a model based on Mixed Poisson Processes to describe the abnormal returns of financial markets of two considered countries. In so doing, the article defines the theoretical conditions to be satisfied in order to state that one of them - the so-called leader - exercises contagion on the others - the followers. Specifically, we employ an invariant probabilistic result stating that a suitable transformation of a Mixed Poisson Process is still a Mixed Poisson Process. The theoretical claim is validated by implementing an extensive simulation analysis grounded on empirical data. The countries considered are the U.S. (as the leader) and Italy (as the follower) and the period under scrutiny is very large, ranging from 1970 to 2014.

Beyond Frontiers: Comparing the Efficiency of Higher Education Decision-Making Units across More than One Country

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agasisti, Tommaso; Johnes, Geraint

2009-01-01

We employ Data Envelopment Analysis to compute the technical efficiency of Italian and English higher education institutions. Our results show that, in relation to the country-specific frontier, institutions in both countries are typically very efficient. However, institutions in England are more efficient than those in Italy when we compare…

Department of Defense Survey of Living Conditions Overseas, 1984. Volume 1. Management Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-01

Spouse Nationality, and Sex ............................. 1 Household Composition..............................................1I Spouse Employment and...Nationality, and Sex Army Air Force Only service members who had Germany 2770 United Kingdom 1996 dependents qualified to be sampled. Italy 710 Germany...number/ availability for teens and preteens , convenience to playgrounds - and youth centers; - Immediate physical-psychological surroundings, including

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Hosson, Jeff Th. M.; Ali, Nasar; Fierro, Giuseppe; Aliofkhazraei, Mahmood; Chipara, Mircea

2017-11-01

The ;International Conference on Surfaces, Coatings and Nano-Structured Materials; (NANOSMAT) has rapidly emerged as the premier conference in the field of materials science, engineering, technology and all aspects of ;nano;. Since 2005, it has been very successfully organised in several European countries, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Ireland, United Kingdom and also in USA, and in Asia, including Turkey and China.

Occupations in the Hotel Tourist Sector within the European Community. A Comparative Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peroni, Giovanni; Guerra, Duccio

This report contains a directory of job profiles in the tourist/hotel sector that is based on seven national monographs. It provides an instrument for comparing factors that characterize practitioners working in the sector in Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. A methodological note discusses study objectives,…

Languages and Intercultural Relations: Considerations for a Unit on Our Italian Heritage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Gaetano, Armand L.

A review of historically and sociologically significant cultural interrelations between Italy and its language and the world commences with a historical sketch from the Roman period. The author examines reasons for the rebirth of interest in Italian culture and suggests that the best approach to developing an appreciation of the culture is the…

First evaluation of endotoxins in veterinary autogenous vaccines produced in Italy by LAL assay.

PubMed

Antonella, Di Paolo; Katia, Forti; Lucia, Anzalone; Sara, Corneli; Martina, Pellegrini; Giulio, Severi; Monica, Cagiola

2018-06-21

Endotoxin contamination is a serious concern for manufacturers of biological products and vaccines in terms of not only quality but also safety parameters. We evaluated the endotoxin presence in different veterinary autogenous vaccines produced by the Pharmaceutical Unit at the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Umbria and Marche "Togo Rosati" (IZSUM). According to the 3Rs principles (Replace, Reduce, Refine), which aim to progressively reduce animal use in the quality control process, we tested the vaccines obtained from gram-negative bacteria and adjuvants by the limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. The results revealed low endotoxin concentrations compared to available data in the literature and represent the first report of the application of the 3Rs principles to veterinary autogenous vaccines production in Italy. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Vegetarian Habit in Italy: Prevalence and Characteristics of Consumers.

PubMed

Ponzio, Elisa; Mazzarini, Giorgia; Gasperi, Gaia; Bottoni, Maria Chiara; Vallorani, Sarah

2015-01-01

Many individuals around the world follow vegetarian diet. The aim of this study was to examine the variables associated to a vegetarian diet. Data were drawn from the national cross-sectional survey "Health and use of health care in Italy". Vegetarian habit was prevalent in 0.79% of sample, mainly females. Multivariate model has confirmed the association between vegetarianism and females, age, level of education, marital status separated/divorced/single, diabetes, bad state of perceived health. Little to no research has been conducted in this area until now. As for all types of diet, the vegetarian one should be controlled.

A bibliometric analysis of scientific production on atypical antipsychotic drugs from Italy

PubMed

López-Muñoz, Francisco; De Berardis, Domenico; Fornaro, Michele; Vellante, Federica; di Giannantonio, Massimo; Povedano-Montero, Francisco J; Póveda Fernández-Martín, Maria; Rubio, Gabriel; Álamo, Cecilio

2017-01-01

A bibliometric study of peer-reviewed scientific publications on atypical antipsychotic drugs (AADs) from Italy is herein presented. We selected the documents from Scopus database. We applied several bibliometric indicators of production and dispersion, including Price’s Law about the increase of scientific literature, and Bradford’s Law. We also calculated the participation index across different countries. The bibliometric data have also been correlated with some social and health data sourcing in Italy, such as total per capita expenditure on health and gross domestic expenditure. A total of 2949 original documents were published within the period 1972-2015. Our results state fulfilment of Price’s Law, with scientific production showing exponential growth (r=0.901, as against an r=0.838 after linear adjustment). The drugs most widely studied were clozapine (257 documents), risperidone (179), and olanzapine (172). Stratification into Bradford zones yielded a nucleus represented by the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Rivista di Psichiatria (58 articles, each one). A total of 1091 different journals were evaluated. The publications on AADs in Italy have undergone exponential growth over the studied period, which is in line with the progressively burgeoning on novel AAD releases. No evidence of saturation point was observed.

Landslide Hazard Map of The Upper Tiber River Basin, Central Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardinali, M.; Carrara, A.; Guzzetti, F.; Reichenbach, P.

For the Upper Tiber River basin, which extends over 4000 km2 in Central Italy, a landslide hazard map was derived from a statistical model based on a mix of morpho- logical, lithological, structural and land use data. All these data were obtained from the analysis of different sets of aerial photographs, ranging in scale from 1:33,000 to 1:13,000, systematic field surveys and bibliographical information. Rock types were grouped in 37 units on the basis of the hard vs. soft rock percentage, as as- certained from photo-geological interpretation and field surveys. During the photo- interpretation, the spatial relations between bedding plane attitude and slope aspect were also systematically determined. The landslide inventory map recognised 17,600 slope-failures that cover nearly 12.5% of the basin area. Landslides, which are mainly slide flow slide earth-flow and compound or complex movements, were classified and mapped as shallow or deep seated. A DTM, with a grid resolution of 25x25 m, was derived from digitised contour lines of base topographic maps, 1:25,000.in scale. The basin was then automatically partitioned into nearly 16,000 main slope-units through a specifically-designed software module that, starting from a high quality DTM gen- erates fully connected and complementary drainage and divide networks and a wide spectrum of morphometric parameters. Main slope-units were then subdivided accord- ing to the major rock types cropping out in the basin generating over 28,700 hydro- morphological-lithological terrain-units. Using the presence/absence of landslide in each terrain unit, as the grouping variable, a stepwise discriminant function was ap- plied to the terrain units. of the 50 variables entered into the discriminant function, 15 are lithological, 15 morphological, 11 express the structural setting or bedding plane attitude, 7 refer to land use and the last 2 reflect local climatic conditions. The model proved to be capable of correctly classifying as stable or unstable over 75% of the terrain units.

[Cancer Survivorship: the patient and medical care staff - how will society deal with cancer ?].

PubMed

Honda, Mayumi

2011-07-01

Instead of being preoccupied with treatment effectiveness, rates of survival, and asking how much longer will I live?, let us think in terms of how will I live my life the way I want to live it? In recent years, a new way of thinking called Cancer Survivorship has emerged in the United States, and has been drawing attention in Japan. Cancer Survivorship is a concept developed by a cancer patient support group in the United States in 1986, focusing on the experience of living with, through, and beyond cancer. Opposing society's narrow view of cancer patients as victims handed out a death sentence, Cancer Survivorship focuses on living life to the fullest from the time of cancer diagnosis until the moment of death,and works as a movement appealing to society to allow cancer survivors the right to live as they wish. This way of thinking has spread globally, and in Italy, a movement aimed at protecting cancer survivors' freedom to do paid work has unfolded. Even in Japan, with an increase in the number of cancer patients and an improved five-year survival rate, patient support groups have been emerging with the Cancer Survivorship mentality. However, Japanese society still has not given the movement sufficient recognition, and the question now is if cancer patients, even those in the terminal stage, can seize their lives and be someone who lives in the present.

[Evaluation of autonomy in chronic mental patients. Problems, assessment tools, results].

PubMed

Leguay, D

1995-01-01

The autonomy of adult patients suffering from chronic psychiatric disorders is a notion in which we need to take an interest due to evolutions in patient care. The tendency of deinstitutionalization in the United States, in Italy and to a lesser degree in France has generated certain perverse effects when: capacities for self sufficiency, learning abilities to be developed, and substitutes to be set up, were not correctly evaluated from the outset. Many methods conceived mainly in the United States and in Canada were elaborated with such a diversity of approaches that, even today, for self-sufficiency, an instrument for evaluation which is universally prevalent and used, still does not exist in the way that has been possible for other clinical dimensions. The ability to accomplish the daily tasks for survival, the ability to reach decisions in life, the ability to enter into and sustain relationships with others do not embrace the dimensions explored by the scales of general psychopathology, of functional repercussions or of the quality of life. Moreover, the evaluation of these abilities is highly dependent on cultural characteristics. To adapt the existing methods to the French sociological realities or to conceive and elaborate simple and reliable procedures from our practices in professional and social reinsertion is a compulsory step in developing research in this field. Public Authorities and the teams on the ground should grasp the characteristics for innovation and its abilities for raising the hopes of patients, every bit as much as the actual progress in therapeutic practice.

The rise of the regulatory state in health care: a comparative analysis of The Netherlands, England and Italy.

PubMed

Helderman, Jan-Kees; Bevan, Gwyn; France, George

2012-01-01

In a relatively short time, regulation has become a significant and distinct feature of how modern states wish to govern and steer their economy and society. Whereas the former 'dirigiste' state used to be closely related to public ownership (e.g. hospitals), planning (volume and capacity planning) and centralised administration (e.g. fixed prices and budgets), the new regulatory state relies mainly on the instrument of regulation to achieve its objectives. In this paper, we wish to relate the rise of the 'regulatory state' to the path-dependent trajectories and institutional legacies of discrete European health-care systems. For this purpose, we compared the Dutch corporatist social health insurance system, the strongly centralised National Health Service (NHS) of England and federal regionalised NHS system of Italy. Comparing these three different health-care systems suggests that it is indeed possible to identify a general trend towards the rise of the regulatory state in health care in the last two decades. However, although the three countries examined in this paper face similar problems of multilevel governance of networks of third-party payers and providers, each system also gives rise to its own distinct regulatory challenges. © Cambridge University Press 2012

Communications and relationships between patient and nurse in Intensive Care Unit: knowledge, knowledge of the work, knowledge of the emotional state.

PubMed

Foà, Chiara; Cavalli, Lisa; Maltoni, Alessia; Tosello, Nicoletta; Sangilles, Chiara; Maron, Ilaria; Borghini, Marina; Artioli, Giovanna

2016-11-22

In an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) the communication between nurse and patient, the core of the care, is often hindered by patient's cognitive alterations and critical situation, by devices employed for the mechanical ventilation, and by the clinical and care-giving setting. How to overcome these barriers? How is the relational and communicative approach between nurse and patient unable to express him or herself to be managed? The available literature reveals that studies on communication with difficult patients, such as those treated in ICU are currently scarce. The present research offers a contribution in this respect, through fact-finding about the knowledge acquired by professional studies or work experiences, the personal and institutional techniques implemented in regards to communication (knowledge of the work), the relational behaviours and the emotional experience with patients (knowledge of the emotional state) of nurses working in the Intensive Care Units. A semi-structured interview have been designed and submitted to 30 nurses working in fourteen Highly Specialized Centres (HUB) in Emilia Romagna, Italy. Two nurses with different years of experience in the field have been chosen for each Operating Unit. According to the interviewees paraverbal communication is the most common way to communicate with patients: different strategies are employed such as facial expression or lip movement. In any case, the nurse has the task to choose the most suitable technique according to his or her experiences, his or her knowledge and the patient him or herself. The results claim that lack of specific training on communicative aspects of care, should be combined with an attitude of being prone to listening to and understanding the needs of the patient and of his or her family as well. The interviewees declare they have a solid preparation in the bio-clinical aspect of care, but both new hired nurses and experts affirm that they need a specific training in relational and communicative aspects, proving its importance.

Epidemiology and costs of cervical cancer screening and cervical dysplasia in Italy

PubMed Central

Rossi, Paolo Giorgi; Ricciardi, Alessandro; Cohet, Catherine; Palazzo, Fabio; Furnari, Giacomo; Valle, Sabrina; Largeron, Nathalie; Federici, Antonio

2009-01-01

Background We estimated the number of women undergoing cervical cancer screening annually in Italy, the rates of cervical abnormalities detected, and the costs of screening and management of abnormalities. Methods The annual number of screened women was estimated from National Health Interview data. Data from the Italian Group for Cervical Cancer Screening were used to estimate the number of positive, negative and unsatisfactory Pap smears. The incidence of CIN (cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia) was estimated from the Emilia Romagna Cancer Registry. Patterns of follow-up and treatment costs were estimated using a typical disease management approach based on national guidelines and data from the Italian Group for Cervical Cancer Screening. Treatment unit costs were obtained from Italian National Health Service and Hospital Information System of the Lazio Region. Results An estimated 6.4 million women aged 25–69 years undergo screening annually in Italy (1.2 million and 5.2 million through organized and opportunistic screening programs, respectively). Approximately 2.4% of tests have positive findings. There are approximately 21,000 cases of CIN1 and 7,000–17,000 cases of CIN2/3. Estimated costs to the healthcare service amount to €158.5 million for screening and €22.9 million for the management of cervical abnormalities. Conclusion Although some cervical abnormalities might have been underestimated, the total annual cost of cervical cancer prevention in Italy is approximately €181.5 million, of which 87% is attributable to screening. PMID:19243586

Quality of blood culture testing - a survey in intensive care units and microbiological laboratories across four European countries

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Introduction Blood culture (BC) testing before initiation of antimicrobial therapy is recommended as a standard of care in international sepsis guidelines and has been shown to reduce intensive care unit (ICU) stay, antibiotic use, and costs in hospitalized patients. Whereas microbiological laboratory practice has been highly standardized, shortfalls in the preanalytic procedures in the ICU (that is indication, time-to-incubation, blood volume and numbers of BC sets) have a significant effect on the diagnostic yield. The objective of this study was to gain insights into current practices regarding BC testing in intensive care units. Methods Qualitative survey, data collection by 138 semi-structured telephone interviews in four European countries (Italy, UK, France and Germany) between September and November 2009 in 79 clinical microbiology laboratories (LABs) and 59 ICUs. Results Whereas BC testing is expected to remain the gold standard for sepsis diagnostics in all countries, there are substantial differences regarding preanalytic procedures. The decision to launch BC testing is carried out by physicians vs. ICU nurses in the UK in 92 vs. 8%, in France in 75 vs. 25%, in Italy in 88 vs. 12% and in Germany in 92 vs. 8%. Physicians vs. nurses collect BCs in the UK in 77 vs. 23%, in France in 0 vs. 100%, in Italy in 6 vs. 94% and in Germany in 54 vs. 46%. The mean time from blood collection to incubation in the UK is 2 h, in France 3 h, in Italy 4 h, but 20 h in German remote LABs (2 h in in-house LABs), due to the large number of remote nonresident microbiological laboratories in Germany. There were major differences between the perception of the quality of BC testing between ICUs and LABs. Among German ICU respondents, 62% reported that they have no problems with BC testing, 15% reported time constraints, 15% cost pressure, and only 8% too long time to incubation. However, the corresponding LABs of these German ICUs reported too many false positive results due to preanalytical contaminations (49%), insufficient numbers of incoming BC sets (47%), long transportation time (41%) or cost pressure (18%). Conclusions There are considerable differences in the quality of BC testing across European countries. In Germany, time to incubation is a considerable problem due to the increasing number of remote LABs. This is a major issue of concern to physicians aiming to implement sepsis guidelines in the ICUs. PMID:24144084

Updating on Italian stroke units: the "CCM study".

PubMed

Guidetti, D; Spallazzi, M; Toni, D; Rota, E; Morelli, N; Immovilli, P; Baldereschi, M; Polizzi, B M; Ferro, S; Inzitari, D

2013-07-01

The stroke units (SUs) have been demonstrated to be efficient and cost effective for acute stroke care. Nevertheless, the level of stroke unit implementation in Italy does not correspond to expectations yet. This study is a survey, which aims at assessing the current status of in-hospital stroke care in the Italian regions and at updating SUs. The survey was conducted by means of a semi-structured questionnaire, based on 18 stroke care "quality indicators", submitted to all the Italian centres that had taken part in the SITS-MOST study, and to other centres advised by the coordinator of SITS studies and by regional opinion leaders of stroke. SUs were defined as acute wards, with stroke-dedicated beds and dedicated teams that had been formally authorised to administer rt-PA. A statistical analysis was performed by a descriptive statistics and logistic regression model. The study was carried out from November 2009 to September 2010. A total of 168 forms were sent out and 153 replies received. Seven centres, which had not performed any thrombolytic treatment, and 16 which did not fulfil the criteria for the definition of SU were excluded from the study. Most of the centres reported more than 100 stroke patient admissions per year, i.e., 122 (84%) from 100 to 500, 18 (12%) more than 500. The 19% of the centres admitted more than 30% of patients within 3 h from the symptom onset and only 30% admitted more than 30% of patients within 4.5 h. The mean number of thrombolyses performed in the last 6 months was 10 for centres with a doctor on duty 24 h a day, 6 for those that have a doctor on duty from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a doctor on call for night, and 5 for centres with a doctor on call 24 h a day. The territorial distribution of the SUs is remarkably heterogeneous: 87 SUs (67%) are located in the North of Italy, 28 (22%) in the central part of Italy and only 15 (11%) in the South. The last few years have witnessed a rise in both the diffusion of SUs and access to thrombolytic therapy in Italy. Despite this, there are a few large areas, mostly in the south, where the requirements of healthcare legislation are not met, and access to a dedicated SU and thrombolytic treatment is still limited and poor.

Analysis of Seasonal Risk for Importation of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae), via Air Passenger Traffic Arriving in Florida and California

PubMed Central

Szyniszewska, A. M.; Leppla, N. C.; Huang, Z.; Tatem, A. J.

2016-01-01

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is one of the most economically damaging pests in the world and has repeatedly invaded two major agricultural states in the United States, Florida and California, each time requiring costly eradication. The Mediterranean fruit fly gains entry primarily in infested fruit carried by airline passengers and, since Florida and California each receive about 13 million international passengers annually, the risk of Mediterranean fruit fly entering the United States is potentially very high. The risk of passengers bringing the pest into Florida or California from Mediterranean fruit fly-infested countries was determined with two novel models, one estimated seasonal variation in airline passenger number and the other defined the seasonal and spatial variability in Mediterranean fruit fly abundance. These models elucidated relationships among the risk factors for Mediterranean fruit fly introduction, such as amount of passenger traffic, routes traveled, season of travel, abundance of Mediterranean fruit fly in countries where flights departed, and risk of the pest arriving at destination airports. The risk of Mediterranean fruit fly being introduced into Florida was greatest from Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Venezuela, Argentina, and Ecuador during January–August, whereas primarily the risk to California was from Brazil, Panama, Colombia, and Italy in May–August. About three times more Mediterranean fruit flies were intercepted in passenger baggage at airports in Florida than California, although the data were compromised by a lack of systematic sampling and other limitations. Nevertheless, this study achieved the goal of analyzing available data on seasonal passenger flow and Mediterranean fruit fly population levels to determine when surveillance should be intensified at key airports in Florida and California. PMID:27594703

Secondary school teachers and mental health competence: Italy-United Kingdom comparison.

PubMed

Monducci, Elena; Battaglia, Claudia; Forte, Alberto; Masillo, Alice; Telesforo, Ludovica; Carlotto, Alessandra; Piazzi, Gioia; Patanè, Martina; De Angelis, Giulia; Romano, Antonio; Fagioli, Francesca; Girardi, Paolo; Cocchi, Angelo; Meneghelli, Anna; Alpi, Andrea; Pafumi, Nicoletta; Moreno Granados, Noelia; Preti, Antonio; Masolo, Francesca; Benzoni, Stefano; Cavenaghi, Sonia; Molteni, Ilaria; Salvadori, Lavinia; Solbiati, Sara; Costantino, Antonella; Di Lauro, Rosalba; Piccinini, Annachiara; Collins Eade, Amanda; Holmshaw, Janet; Fiori Nastro, Paolo

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between teachers' knowledge about early psychosis among three different Italian cities and a UK sample. The sample consisted of 556 secondary school teachers from three different cities in Italy (Milan, Rome and Lamezia Terme) and London (UK). The research was based on the Knowledge and Experience of Social Emotional Difficulties Among Young People Questionnaire. The Italian version of the questionnaire was used in Italy. Overall, 67.6% of English teachers, 58.5% of Milan's teachers, 41.8% of Rome's teachers and 33.3% of Lamezia Terme's teachers were able to recognize psychotic symptoms from a case vignette. Logistic regression analysis showed that 'city' was the only independent variable significantly related to the correct/wrong answer about diagnosis. We found statistically significant differences between the three Italian samples and the UK sample regarding teachers' knowledge about first signs of psychosis. English teachers showed a better knowledge than Italian teachers in general. Teachers from Milan, where a specific early detection program was established in 2000, seemed to be more familiar with early signs of psychosis than teachers in the other two Italian towns. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Botulism in Italy, 1986 to 2015

PubMed Central

Anniballi, Fabrizio; Auricchio, Bruna; Fiore, Alfonsina; Lonati, Davide; Locatelli, Carlo Alessandro; Lista, Florigio; Fillo, Silvia; Mandarino, Giuseppina; De Medici, Dario

2017-01-01

Botulism is a rare but severe neuroparalytic disease caused by botulinum toxins. Because of its high potential impact on public health, botulism is a closely monitored communicable disease in Europe. In Italy, which has one of the highest incidence rates in Europe (0.03 cases per 100,000 population), botulism is monitored through a case-based passive surveillance system: the front-line physician who diagnoses a suspected case must notify the Local Health Units immediately, and the Ministry of Health's office within 12 hours. From 1986 to 2015, 466 confirmed cases of botulism were recorded in Italy (of 1,257 suspected cases). Of these, 421 were food-borne (the most frequently seen form of botulism due to the consumption of improperly home-canned foods), 36 were infant botulism, which accounts for ca 50% of all these types of cases registered in Europe, six were wound-related and three were due to adult intestinal colonisation. This scenario suggests that stronger efforts should be made towards raising public awareness of the risk of food-borne botulism, especially with respect to home-preserved foods, as well as improving the training of front-line medical personnel, to ensure that a quick and accurate diagnosis of botulism can be made. PMID:28661393

Waveform Modeling Reveals Important Features of the Subduction Zone Seismic Structure Beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Luccio, F.; Persaud, P.; Pino, N. A.; Clayton, R. W.; Helmberger, D. V.; Li, D.

2016-12-01

Seismic images of the slab in southern Italy indicate a complex geodynamic system, although these images are strongly affected by limitations due to instrumental coverage, in terms of depth resolution and lateral extent. To help improve our knowledge of the structure of the Calabrian subduction zone, we analyze waveforms of regional events that occurred between 2001 and 2015 beneath the Tyrrhenian sea in the western Mediterranean. The selected events are deeper than 200 km and they were recorded at the Italian seismic network managed by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia in Italy. We have also included recordings at ocean bottom seismometers and hydrophones, which were installed for a few months in 2000-2001, 2004-2005 and 2007-2008. Accurate selection of the source-to receiver raypaths can reveal significant differences at receivers, which are perpendicular to the trench with respect to other stations. P-wave complexity, converted phases and frequency content are some of the features we have observed for selected events. To investigate the slab structure, we model the waveforms using the 2D staggered grid Finite Difference method on graphics processing units developed by Li et al. (Geophys. J. Int., 2014).

The Sun was Not Born in M67

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pichardo, Bárbara; Moreno, Edmundo; Allen, Christine; Bedin, Luigi R.; Bellini, Andrea; Pasquini, Luca

2012-03-01

Using the most recent proper-motion determination of the old, solar-metallicity, Galactic open cluster M67 in orbital computations in a non-axisymmetric model of the Milky Way, including a bar and three-dimensional spiral arms, we explore the possibility that the Sun once belonged to this cluster. We have performed Monte Carlo numerical simulations to generate the present-day orbital conditions of the Sun and M67, and all the parameters in the Galactic model. We compute 3.5 × 105 pairs of orbits Sun-M67 looking for close encounters in the past with a minimum distance approach within the tidal radius of M67. In these encounters we find that the relative velocity between the Sun and M67 is larger than 20 km s-1. If the Sun had been ejected from M67 with this high velocity by means of a three-body encounter, this interaction would have either destroyed an initial circumstellar disk around the Sun or dispersed its already formed planets. We also find a very low probability, much lower than 10-7, that the Sun was ejected from M67 by an encounter of this cluster with a giant molecular cloud. This study also excludes the possibility that the Sun and M67 were born in the same molecular cloud. Our dynamical results convincingly demonstrate that M67 could not have been the birth cluster of our solar system. This work relies partly on observations of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are The Ohio State University; The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia.

Multiple Outflows in the Giant Eruption of a Massive Star

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humphreys, Roberta M.; Martin, John C.; Gordon, Michael S.; Jones, Terry J.

2016-08-01

The supernova impostor PSN J09132750+7627410 in NGC 2748 reached a maximum luminosity of ≈-14 mag. It was quickly realized that it was not a true supernova, but another example of a nonterminal giant eruption. PSN J09132750+7627410 is distinguished by multiple P Cygni absorption minima in the Balmer emission lines that correspond to outflow velocities of -400, -1100, and -1600 km s-1. Multiple outflows have been observed in only a few other objects. In this paper we describe the evolution of the spectrum and the P Cygni profiles for 3 months past maximum, the post-maximum formation of a cool, dense wind, and the identification of a possible progenitor. One of the possible progenitors is an infrared source. Its pre-eruption spectral energy distribution suggests a bolometric luminosity of -8.3 mag and a dust temperature of 780 K. If it is the progenitor, it is above the AGB limit, unlike the intermediate-luminosity red transients. The three P Cygni profiles could be due to ejecta from the current eruption, the wind of the progenitor, or previous mass-loss events. We suggest that they were all formed as part of the same high-mass-loss event and are due to material ejected at different velocities or energies. We also suggest that multiple outflows during giant eruptions may be more common than reported. Based on observations obtained with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are the University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona university system; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University and The Research Corporation, on behalf of the University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia.

Instilling Combat Effectiveness during the Italian Campaign (1943-1945): The Allied Experience with Folgore and Friuli Combat Groups

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-13

the Chief of the Italian Army, General Mario Roatta, directed the army staff to reorganize some units to take control of Southern Italy in support of...colonies. This concept, codenamed Super - Gymnast and later renamed Torch, worried the Americans due to its demands upon the 20Joint Chiefs of Staff...

The Role of the Company in Generating Skills: The Learning Effects of Work Organisation. Synthesis Report. CEDEFOP Document.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mehaut, Philippe; Delcourt, Jacques

This report synthesizes the findings of a study of continuing training policy in nine countries of the European Community: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The following are among the topics discussed: the study's objectives and methods; characteristics of new forms of work and…

75 FR 22384 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-28

... orders cover all the subject bearings and parts thereof (inner race, outer race, cage, rollers, balls... producer, i.e., sales were made at arm's-length prices. See 19 CFR 351.403(c). We excluded from our... arm's-length prices. To test whether these sales were made at arm's-length prices, we compared the...

75 FR 53661 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-01

... successor-in-interest to the pre-acquisition myonic GmbH. Finally, we are announcing our revocation of the..., 2009. We invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Results. We received case and... determined that myonic GmbH is the successor-in-interest to the pre-acquisition myonic GmbH and invited...

Occupational Profiles: The Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Architectural Heritage. CEDEFOP Panorama. Summary Report. 1st Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paulet, J. L.

This report summarizes in tabular form the results of national studies that were conducted in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom to identify the job skills and knowledge required of persons employed in the fields of rehabilitation and conservation of historic buildings. Presented in chapter 1 is a comparative analysis of the…

Participating on Equal Terms? The Gender Dimensions of Direct Participation in Organisational Change: Findings from the EPOC Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schnabel, Annette; Webster, Juliet

The gender dimensions of direct participation in organizational change were examined in a survey of general managers at 32,582 workplaces in the following European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Responses were received from 5,786 managers (response rate,…

Student and Early Career Mobility Patterns among Highly Educated People in Germany, Finland, Italy, and the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindberg, Matti E.

2009-01-01

This article addresses the question of how great are higher education students' incentives to change study programs or institutions to improve one's personal employability in the course of the higher education-to-work transition process. The posed question is addressed at a system level. Students' mobility between programs and institutions is…

"A Day in the Life": Advancing a Methodology for the Cultural Study of Development and Learning in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillen, Julia; Cameron, Catherine Ann; Tapanya, Sombat; Pinto, Giuliana; Hancock, Roger; Young, Susan; Gamannossi, Beatrice Accorti

2007-01-01

This paper explores the methodology of an ecological investigation of aspects of culture in the interactional construction of early childhood in diverse global communities: Peru, Italy, Canada, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Regarding culture as a dynamic dimension of the child's socialisation, the approach taken was to film a "day in the…

The Right to Inclusive Education under International Law: Following Italy's Lead

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kanter, Arlene S.; Damiani, Michelle L.; Ferri, Beth A.

2014-01-01

It is estimated in the world today, that more than one billion people have a disability (World Health Organization, 2011). Many people with disabilities receive no education, and, of those who do, few receive an education on an equal basis with their non-disabled peers. In 2006, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons…

Texture and composition of the Rosa Marina beach sands (Adriatic coast, southern Italy): a sedimentological/ecological approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moretti, Massimo; Tropeano, Marcello; Loon, A. J. (Tom) van; Acquafredda, Pasquale; Baldacconi, Rossella; Festa, Vincenzo; Lisco, Stefania; Mastronuzzi, Giuseppe; Moretti, Vincenzo; Scotti, Rosa

2016-06-01

Beach sands from the Rosa Marina locality (Adriatic coast, southern Italy) were analysed mainly microscopically in order to trace the source areas of their lithoclastic and bioclastic components. The main cropping out sedimentary units were also studied with the objective to identify the potential source areas of lithoclasts. This allowed to establish how the various rock units contribute to the formation of beach sands. The analysis of the bioclastic components allows to estimate the actual role of organisms regarding the supply of this material to the beach. Identification of taxa that are present in the beach sands as shell fragments or other remains was carried out at the genus or family level. Ecological investigation of the same beach and the recognition of sub-environments (mainly distinguished on the basis of the nature of the substrate and of the water depth) was the key topic that allowed to establish the actual source areas of bioclasts in the Rosa Marina beach sands. The sedimentological analysis (including a physical study of the beach and the calculation of some statistical parameters concerning the grain-size curves) shows that the Rosa Marina beach is nowadays subject to erosion.

2009 to be the International Year of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2007-12-01

Yesterday, the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy, with the aim of increasing awareness among the public of the importance of astronomical sciences and of promoting widespread access to new knowledge and experiences of astronomical observation. The year 2009 is chosen to commemorate the 400 years since renowned scientist Galileo Galilei pointed a telescope towards the sky. This led him to discover, among other things, the four major satellites of Jupiter, the mountains and craters on the Moon, as well as sunspots. More importantly perhaps, Galileo's use of the telescope substantiated Copernicus' heliocentric model of our Solar System, paving the way for modern science, and for four hundred years of amazing discoveries in astronomy. Nowadays, telescopes on the ground and in space explore the Universe, 24 hours a day, across the whole electromagnetic spectrum. And indeed, today, astronomy stands out as one of the most modern and dynamic sciences, using some of the most advanced technologies and sophisticated techniques available to scientists. The United Nations Resolution was submitted by Italy, Galileo Galilei's home country, gaining full support of the General Assembly's Second Committee. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA 2009) is an initiative by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO. "This is an important step in furthering the interest of the public in what is arguably the oldest of all sciences: astronomy," says Tim de Zeeuw, the ESO Director General. "I am very proud because ESO and its member states have been actively working together with the IAU and UNESCO to help achieve this result." In addition to a wide array of activities planned both at the local and international level, ESO is also hosting the IYA 2009 Secretariat at its Headquarters in Garching. At the IAU General Assembly held in July 2003 in Sydney (Australia), the IAU proposed to designate 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy. Based on the initiative of Italy, the 2005 General Conference of UNESCO recommended that the UN General Assembly should declare the year 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. The UN has designated "the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as the lead agency and focal point for the Year, and invites it to organize, in this capacity, activities to be realized during the Year, in collaboration with other relevant entities of the United Nations system, the International Astronomical Union, the European Southern Observatory and astronomical societies and groups throughout the world."

The impact of polypharmacy and drug interactions among the elderly population in Western Sicily, Italy.

PubMed

Scondotto, Giulia; Pojero, Fanny; Pollina Addario, Sebastiano; Ferrante, Mauro; Pastorello, Maurizio; Visconti, Michele; Scondotto, Salvatore; Casuccio, Alessandra

2018-01-01

Primary endpoint was to report polypharmacy distribution in the general population vs ≥65 years old people and to examine the frequency of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in the Health Local Unit of Palermo, Italy, in relationship with patients' age. Drug prescription data for the year 2014 were extracted from the database of the Local Health Unit of Palermo Province, Italy. Patients were divided into five age groups (0-13, 14-64, 65-69, 70-74, and ≥75 year old). The detection of potential DDIs in polypharmacy profiles was performed with NavFarma software (Infologic srl, Padova, Italia), with DDI classification provided by tool Micromedex Drug Reax (Truven Health Analitics, Michigan, USA). We analyzed data of 1,324,641 patients, and 15,801,191 medical prescription were recorded; of these, 11,337,796 regarded chronic conditions. The drug prescriptions reached the highest values in the 65-69 and 70-74 age groups (p = 0.005 and p = 0.008 vs age 14-64 respectively). An overall amount of 6,094,373 DDIs were detected, of which 47,173 were contraindicated. Median number of DDIs was higher in 65-69 and 70-74 age groups (p = 0.008 and p = 0.012 vs age 14-64, respectively). Regarding contraindicated DDIs a significant difference was detected comparing 14-64 vs ≥65 age groups (p = 0.010 vs 65-69 group, p = 0.005 vs 70-74 group and ≥75 group). Polypharmacy is a phenomenon acquiring increasing dimensions also in our province. It interests particularly the older subjects, and assumes a dramatic accent when it is put in relationship with the frequency of DDIs. A proactive vigilance about potential life threatening drug interactions is mandatory.

The healthcare system and the provision of oral healthcare in European Union member states. Part 8: Italy.

PubMed

Bindi, M; Paganelli, C; Eaton, K A; Widström, E

2017-05-26

In Italy healthcare is provided for all Italian citizens and residents and it is delivered mainly by public providers, with some private or private-public entities. Italy's public healthcare system - the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) - is organised by the Ministry of Health and administered on a devolved regional basis. It is financed by general taxation that provides universal coverage, largely free of charge at the point of service. The central government establishes the basic national health benefits package, which must be uniformly provided throughout the country, through services guaranteed under the NHS provision called LEA - (Livelli Essenziali di Assistenza [Essential Level of Assistance]) and allocates national funds to the regions. The regions, through their regional health departments, are responsible for organising, administering and delivering primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services as well as preventive and health promotion services. Regions are allowed a large degree of autonomy in how they perform this role and regarding decisions about the local structure of the system. Complementary and supplementary private health insurance is also available. However, as in most other Mediterranean European countries, in Italy oral healthcare is mainly provided under private arrangements. The public healthcare system provides only 5-8% of oral healthcare services and this percentage varies from region to region. Oral healthcare is included in the Legislation on Essential levels of care (LEAs) for specific populations such as children, vulnerable people (medically compromised and those on low income) and individuals who need oral healthcare in some urgent/emergency cases. For other people, oral healthcare is generally not covered. Apart from the national benefits package, regions may also carry out their own initiatives autonomously, but must finance these themselves. The number of dentists working in Italy has grown rapidly in the last few years. In December 2014, there were 59,324 practicing dentists with a ratio of one dentist every 1025 inhabitants, about 90,000 dental chair-side assistants, about 26,000 dental technicians and about 4000 dental hygienists. To enrol in an Italian dental school a student must pass a competitive national entrance examination after obtaining a high school leaving certificate. For entry in the 2015-2016 cycle, there were 792 places for dentistry. In comparison with dental schools in other EU member states, the number of dental students per school is low with an average of 20 students per year, per school and a range of 10 to 60. The aims of this paper are to give a brief description of the organisation of healthcare in Italy, to outline the system for the provision of oral healthcare in Italy and to explain and discuss the latest changes.

Viking voyages: the origin of multiple sclerosis? An essay in medical history.

PubMed

Poser, C M

1995-01-01

Multiple sclerosis is most frequently found in Scandinavia, Iceland, the British Isles and the countries settled by their inhabitants and their descendants, i.e. the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This suggests that the Vikings may have been instrumental in disseminating genetic susceptibility to the disease in those areas, as well as in other parts of the world. The Vikings raided most European countries and settled in Normandy and in Sicily and southern Italy. They engaged in trade with the Arabs along the river routes to the Caucasus, to the Black and Caspian Seas, and penetrated Persia, India and probably China. They also migrated to the East and established the Russian state. Under the name Varangians, they became part of the Byzantine army and were active in all the military activities of the Byzantine Empire. They participated in the Crusades. Russians, many of Scandinavian origin also constituted a regiment of the Mongol army and roamed throughout that Empire as well. The custom of capturing and keeping or selling women and children, which was widespread in the early Middle Ages, as well as the flourishing slave trade in men, were important factors in this genetic dissemination.

Integration of an innovative biological treatment with physical or chemical disinfection for wastewater reuse.

PubMed

De Sanctis, Marco; Del Moro, Guido; Levantesi, Caterina; Luprano, Maria Laura; Di Iaconi, Claudio

2016-02-01

In the present paper, the effectiveness of a Sequencing Batch Biofilter Granular Reactor (SBBGR) and its integration with different disinfection strategies (UV irradiation, peracetic acid) for producing an effluent suitable for agricultural use was evaluated. The plant treated raw domestic sewage, and its performances were evaluated in terms of the removal efficiency of a wide group of physical, chemical and microbiological parameters. The SBBGR resulted really efficient in removing suspended solids, COD and nitrogen with an average effluent concentration of 5, 32 and 10 mg/L, respectively. Lower removal efficiency was observed for phosphorus with an average concentration in the effluent of 3 mg/L. Plant effluent was also characterized by an average electrical conductivity and sodium adsorption ratio of 680 μS/cm and 2.9, respectively. Therefore, according to these gross parameters, the SBBGR effluent was conformed to the national standards required in Italy for agricultural reuse. Moreover, disinfection performances of the SBBGR was higher than that of conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants and met the quality criteria suggested by WHO (Escherichia coli<1000 CFU/100 mL) for agricultural reuse. In particular, the biological treatment by SBBGR removed 3.8±0.4 log units of Giardia lamblia, 2.8±0.8 log units of E. coli, 2.5±0.7 log units of total coliforms, 2.0±0.3 log units of Clostridium perfringens, 2.0±0.4 log units of Cryptosporidium parvum and 1.7±0.7 log units of Somatic coliphages. The investigated disinfection processes (UV and peracetic acid) resulted very effective for total coliforms, E. coli and somatic coliphages. In particular, a UV radiation and peracetic acid doses of 40 mJ/cm(2) and 1 mg/L respectively reduced E. coli content in the effluent below the limit for agricultural reuse in Italy (10 CFU/100 mL). Conversely, they were both ineffective on C.perfringens spores. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Complex Social Structure of an Endangered Population of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Aeolian Archipelago (Italy)

PubMed Central

Blasi, Monica F.; Boitani, Luigi

2014-01-01

We investigated social structure and association patterns for a small population of Mediterranean bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, inhabiting the Aeolian Archipelago (southern Italy). Specifically we evaluate the role of sex and age composition, residency patterns and interaction with trammel nets on this social organization. Association data for 23 regularly sighted individuals were obtained from summer photoidentification surveys collected from 2005–2012. Using a combined cluster and social network analysis approach, we found associations between dolphins were hierarchically structured, where two mixed-sex social units were subdivided into smaller temporarily dynamic groups. We found non-random and long-term preferred associations in the population; however, the degree of social cohesion, residence pattern and interaction with trammel nets differed considerably between the two social units. Six of eight females occurred in the more resident social unit-1; in addition, social unit-1 individuals had significantly stronger associations, higher preferred associates, lived in larger groups and occurred less frequently with trammel nets. Nine of eleven males were clustered in social unit-2 and five of these males, interacting with trammel nets, formed small groups and preferred associations. We propose that female and male groups associate in the study area during the breeding season and that some males choose to interact with reproductive females forming a distinct but interrelated social unit. Other males may be associating in a larger fission-fusion network, which consists of dolphins that appear to temporarily join the network from the coastal population. We cannot exclude that some males specialized in trammel net foraging, suggesting that this foraging technique may favor a solitary lifestyle. Large group sizes and high degree of social cohesion for females could be an indication of greater protection and more efficiency in detecting, deterring or repelling anthropogenic pressures. Most likely dolphins' social organization depends on a combination of socio-ecological, demographic and anthropogenic factors. PMID:25494331

Impact of one-to-one tutoring on fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) passing rate in a single center experience outside the United States: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Gheza, Federico; Raimondi, Paolo; Solaini, Leonardo; Coccolini, Federico; Baiocchi, Gian Luca; Portolani, Nazario; Tiberio, Guido Alberto Massimo

2018-04-11

Outside the US, FLS certification is not required and its teaching methods are not well standardized. Even if the FLS was designed as "stand alone" training system, most of Academic Institution offer support to residents during training. We present the first systematic application of FLS in Italy. Our aim was to evaluate the role of mentoring/coaching on FLS training in terms of the passing rate and global performance in the search for resource optimization. Sixty residents in general surgery, obstetrics & gynecology, and urology were selected to be enrolled in a randomized controlled trial, practicing FLS with the goal of passing a simulated final exam. The control group practiced exclusively with video material from SAGES, whereas the interventional group was supported by a mentor. Forty-six subjects met the requirements and completed the trial. For the other 14 subjects no results are available for comparison. One subject for each group failed the exam, resulting in a passing rate of 95.7%, with no obvious differences between groups. Subgroup analysis did not reveal any difference between the groups for FLS tasks. We confirm that methods other than video instruction and deliberate FLS practice are not essential to pass the final exam. Based on these results, we suggest the introduction of the FLS system even where a trained tutor is not available. This trial is the first single institution application of the FLS in Italy and one of the few experiences outside the US. Trial Number: NCT02486575 ( https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ).

Cross-cultural variation in disease-related concerns among patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

Levenstein, S; Li, Z; Almer, S; Barbosa, A; Marquis, P; Moser, G; Sperber, A; Toner, B; Drossman, D A

2001-06-01

The aim of this work was to study cross-cultural variations in the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on health-related quality of life by an international comparison of disease-related concerns. Item and factor scores on the Rating Form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patient Concerns and overall mean concern levels were compared by analysis of variance among 2002 IBD patients in eight countries. The overall level of concern varied from 51 out of 100 in Portugal to 19 in Sweden, with intermediate scores for Italy (43), Canada (40), United States (39), France (39), Austria (33), and Israel (25). Having surgery, an ostomy, the uncertain nature of the disease, and medication side effects were each rated among the first five in importance in six countries. Other items varied considerably. For example, concern regarding pain and suffering was high in Israel and low in Portugal, whereas concern over developing cancer was low in Italy. Concern over financial issues and access to high-quality health care were inversely associated with measures of national economic prosperity. 1) Cross-cultural comparisons of patient concerns related to IBD are feasible using translated scales. 2) Reporting tendencies vary greatly; within Europe, patients from southern countries report greater overall concern. 3) The complications and the variable evolution of disease elicit general concern, but the importance of specific issues varies among countries. 4) The reasons for national differences may have social, cultural, and/or economic determinants with relevance to the patient-physician relationship, patient education, and therapeutic decision making.

Funding Intensive Care - Approaches in Systems Using Diagnosis-Related Groups.

PubMed

Ettelt, Stefanie; Nolte, Ellen

2012-01-01

This article summarizes a review of approaches to funding intensive care in health systems that use activity-based payment mechanisms based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) to reimburse hospital care in Australia (Victoria), Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United States (Medicare). The study aims to inform the current debate about options for funding intensive care services for adults, children and newborns in England. Mechanisms of funding intensive care services tend to fall into three broad categories: (1) those that fund intensive care through DRGs as part of one episode of hospital care only (US Medicare, Germany, selected regions in Sweden and Italy; (2) those that use DRGs in combination with co-payments (Victoria, France); and (3) those that exclude intensive care from DRG funding and use an alternative form of payment, for example global budgets (Spain) or per diems (South Australia). The review suggests that there is no obvious example of "best practice" or dominant approach used by a majority of systems. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, particularly in relation to the financial risk involved in providing intensive care. While the risk of underfunding intensive care may be highest in systems that apply DRGs to the entire episode of hospital care, including intensive care, concerns about potential underfunding were voiced in all systems reviewed here. Arrangements for additional funding in the form of co-payments or surcharges may reduce the risk of underfunding. However, these approaches also face the difficulty of determining the appropriate level of (additional) payment and balancing the incentive effect arising from higher payment.