Regional differences in Italian students' performance: a simulation model

This work presents the first results of a research project seeking to build a simulation model able to reproduce the differences of Italian students’ performance at regional level. A preliminary qualitative cause-and-effect model defines the main variable involved in the inter-generational skill formation processes, as well as their interplay with the job market context and the triggering of motivational forces for new skill acquisition. Such model was designed according to a system dynamics perspective, considered suitable for capturing the interrelatedness of key variables and for providing useful simulation tools to conduct and communicate future scenario analyses.     Keywords: regional…

Sperm p53 concentration: a potential new biomarker for environmental pollution. Preliminary data.(EcoFoodFertility Project)

Study question:We evaluated the p53 protein concentration in spermcells to test whether environmental pollution can affect expression levels of this protein. Summary answer:We found a significant difference in p53 levels between two homogeneous groups by age and lifestyle, residents in two areas with different environmental impact. What is known already:TheWorld HealthOrganization (WHO) has placed among its priority objectives the understanding of the relationships between the sources of pollution and the effects on human health, which they represent a cause of surprisingly high mortality and morbidity. International scientific literature shows that strong environmental impact may jeopardiz…

Attraversamento trasversale Torre dell’Orsa - Aeroporto - Statale - Cinisi

Lʼarea a sud-est dellʼaeroporto di Palermo è in rapida trasformazione: le espansioni edilizie di Cinisi e Villagrazia di Carini si sono saldate in una “campagna urbanizzata” continua, nel 2001 è stato inaugurato il tratto di metropolitana di Palermo che da Piraineto giunge a Punta Raisi con fermata intermedia “Tonnara Orsa”, la Società di gestione dellʼaeroporto Falcone-Borsellino (Gesap) ha previsto la realizzazione di un nuovo ingresso a sud dellʼaeroporto in corrispondenza del fuso racchiuso fra lʼautostrada A29 e la linea ferroviaria, a sud-ovest dello svincolo autostradale di Villagrazia di Carini, in località Bosco Tagliato, sorgerà un centro commerciale. I cambiamenti in atto e le ce…

Infrastrutture, campagne e tessuti urbani a Partinico. Tra la SS 113 e viale dei Platani

Among SS 113, viale dei Platani and the northern margins of Partinico, there is a farm area (109 ha) crossed from east to west by the railway line and strongly characterized by the presence of the distillery Bertolino (about 7 ha), which emerges from olive groves, citrus orchards, vineyards, and fields with extensive crops. The SS 113 and viale dei Platani, which are the main north entrances to the town, have favored the development of activities related to trade and the wine industry in an area where the countryside, silos and warehouses, the fruit and vegetable market and the railway station, coexist with the volumes of the urban suburb. Besides, a new beltway provided for by General Town…

Serenoa repens, lycopene and selenium versus tamsulosin for the treatment of LUTS/BPH. An Italian multicenter double-blinded randomized study between single or combination therapy (PROCOMB Trial)

Nuove relazioni tra tessuto urbano e agricolo nel parco del Gugliotta a Piano Tavola, Carini

To the south-west of Palermo, along the north-east belt of Carini marked by Mount Colombrina and crossed by thestream Gugliotta, a wide area called Piano Tavola stretches between city and countryside. Its margins are given by the suburban volumes standing along corso Italia (west), the olive grove under Pizzo Castellaccio (east), villa Dominici (north-east), the industrial area and the railway (north), and the quarry in Manostalla locality (south-east). It is evident the pressure of the buildings on the olive grove and countryside, the presence of roads that close and isolate the district, and the lack of continuity between open spaces and built areas. The reorganization of the road network…

SINDROME DA MICRODELEZIONE 17q21.31: DESCRIZIONE DI UN CASO CON ELEVATA ESPRESSIVITA' CLINICA

La sr da microdelezione 17q21.31(prevalenza 1:16.000)è un disordine genomico di recente identificazione.I segni clinici comprendono: ritardo mentale e di sviluppo, ipotonia, dismorfismi faciali, voce nasale, dita affusolate, cardiopatia, anomalie cerebrali, convulsioni, anomalie renali ed urogenitali, iperlassità articolare, ipoacusia trasmissiva, anomalie dentarie, deformità del piede e della colonna, strabismo e ipermetropia.La diagnosi è confermata dal riscontro,all’analisi molecolare,della delezione della regione critica, che si estende per 424 kb in 17q21.31 ed include almeno sei geni, tra cui MAPT, altamente espresso nell’encefalo e coinvolto in numerose patologie neurodegenerative. D…

Continuità tra tessuti urbani e spazi agricoli in contrada Raccuglia, Partinico

In the northern suburbs of Partinico, the public housing district located in Raccuglia area extends into the large agricultural area to the north of the town, which is characterized by extensive crops, sowable lands, olive and citrus groves, vineyards, and orchards. From the built-up area (town) the country is seen as the main element of the urban landscape, however there are no significant connections between the countryside and the district, which are in fact divided by large paved surfaces. This feature inhibits the potential given by the special location of the districti in respect to the town center. A new opening towards the countryside should instead create new connections among the …

Intersociety policy statement on the use of whole-exome sequencing in the critically ill newborn infant.

Abstract The rapid advancement of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and the decrease in costs for whole-exome sequencing (WES) and whole-genome sequening (WGS), has prompted its clinical application in several fields of medicine. Currently, there are no specific guidelines for the use of NGS in the field of neonatal medicine and in the diagnosis of genetic diseases in critically ill newborn infants. As a consequence, NGS may be underused with reduced diagnostic success rate, or overused, with increased costs for the healthcare system. Most genetic diseases may be already expressed during the neonatal age, but their identification may be complicated by nonspecific presentation, esp…

Il margine del parco agricolo del terrente San Vincenzo su Corso Italia, Carini

To the west of Palermo, at the foot of Mount Saraceno and Mount Ceresia, surrounded by mounts Pecoraro, Montagna Longa, Tre Pizzi, Colombrina, stands Carini, on a hill 181 m above sea level. The area, cut lengthwise from south to north by some roads, among which corso Italia, extends, crossing the railway line and the SS 113, to the coast and the homonymous gulf. Along the strip to the west of the town (with an area of about 100 ha), among citrus orchards, olive groves, orchards, semicultivated or neglected fields, there is an area (about 240 ha) crossed by stream San Vincenzo. The railway line (north), corso Italia (east), Rocca del Castello with the adjacent walls (south), the cemetery (s…