The First privatization : selling SOEs and privatizing public monopolies in fascist Italy, 1922-1925

[cat] El primer govern feixista d’Itàlia va aplicar una política de privatització a gran escala entre 1922 i 1925. El govern va privatitzar el monopoli estatal de llumins, el monopoli estatal d’assegurances de vida, va vendre la major part de la xarxa i serveis de telefònica pública a empreses privades, va reprivatitzar el major productor de productes metàl·lics, i va atorgar concessions a empreses privades per construir i explotar autopistes de peatge. Tot i que algunes consideracions ideològiques van poder tenir alguna influència, la privatització va ser usada sobre tot com un instrument polític per construir confiança amb els grans industrials i per augmentar el suport al govern i al Partito Nazionale Fascista. La privatització també va contribuir a equilibrar el pressupost públic, qüestió aquesta que va ser el principal objectiu de la primera fase de la política econòmica feixista.

Linear least squares estimation of the first order moving average parameter

We propose an iterative procedure to minimize the sum of squares function which avoids the nonlinear nature of estimating the first order moving average parameter and provides a closed form of the estimator. The asymptotic properties of the method are discussed and the consistency of the linear least squares estimator is proved for the invertible case. We perform various Monte Carlo experiments in order to compare the sample properties of the linear least squares estimator with its nonlinear counterpart for the conditional and unconditional cases. Some examples are also discussed

Sewage sludge as nitrogen and phosphorus source for cane-plant and first ratoon crops

The use of sewage sludge in Brazilian agriculture was regulated by the resolution no. 375 Conama, in 2006. However, there is a lack of research to adequate the mineral N and P fertilizer doses to be applied in agricultural fields treated with this residue. In a field experiment, the effects of application rates of sewage sludge and mineral N and P fertilizers on the productivity and technical characteristics of the cane-plant and first ratoon (residual effect) crops were evaluated. Four doses of sewage sludge (0, 3.6, 7.2 and 10.8 t ha-1, dry base), of N (0, 30, 60 and 90 kg ha-1) and of P2O5 (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg ha-1) were combined in a factorial and laid out on randomized block design, a with two replications. To evaluate the residual effect of the sludge, 120 kg ha-1 N and 140 kg ha-1 of K2O were applied in all plots. Sludge application at cane planting, with or without N and/or P fertilizer increased the stalk yield from 84 up to 118 t ha-1, with no alteration in the sugarcane quality, compared with the application of NPK fertilizer alone, resulting in a stalk yield of 91 t ha-1. The study of the response surface for stalk yield on lowfertility soil was the basis for a recommendation of mineral N and P fertilizer doses for sugarcane implantation as related to sewage sludge application rates. It was also concluded that a sludge application of 10.8 t ha-1, which is the sludge dose established based on the N criterion according to the resolution Conama nº 375, could a) reduce the use of mineral N by 100 % and of P2O5 by 30 %, with increments of 22 % in stalk yield, as a direct effect of sludge application to cane plant crop, and b) increase the stalk yield in the second harvest (first ratoon) by up to 12 % and sugar yield by up to 11 %, by the residual effect of sludge application to sugar cane.

Impact of regeneration method on stand structure prior to first thinning

Summary

First-generation linkage map for the European tree frog (Hyla arborea) with utility in congeneric species.

BACKGROUND: Western Palearctic tree frogs (Hyla arborea group) represent a strong potential for evolutionary and conservation genetic research, so far underexploited due to limited molecular resources. New microsatellite markers have recently been developed for Hyla arborea, with high cross-species utility across the entire circum-Mediterranean radiation. Here we conduct sibship analyses to map available markers for use in future population genetic applications. FINDINGS: We characterized eight linkage groups, including one sex-linked, all showing drastically reduced recombination in males compared to females, as previously documented in this species. Mapping of the new 15 markers to the ~200 My diverged Xenopus tropicalis genome suggests a generally conserved synteny with only one confirmed major chromosome rearrangement. CONCLUSIONS: The new microsatellites are representative of several chromosomes of H. arborea that are likely to be conserved across closely-related species. Our linkage map provides an important resource for genetic research in European Hylids, notably for studies of speciation, genome evolution and conservation.

Diffusionless first-order phase transitions in systems with frozen configurational degrees of freedom

We consider systems that can be described in terms of two kinds of degree of freedom. The corresponding ordering modes may, under certain conditions, be coupled to each other. We may thus assume that the primary ordering mode gives rise to a diffusionless first-order phase transition. The change of its thermodynamic properties as a function of the secondary-ordering-mode state is then analyzed. Two specific examples are discussed. First, we study a three-state Potts model in a binary system. Using mean-field techniques, we obtain the phase diagram and different properties of the system as a function of the distribution of atoms on the different lattice sites. In the second case, the properties of a displacive structural phase transition of martensitic type in a binary alloy are studied as a function of atomic order. Because of the directional character of the martensitic-transition mechanism, we find only a very weak dependence of the entropy on atomic order. Experimental results are found to be in quite good agreement with theoretical predictions.

Avalanches in a fluctuationless first-order phase transition in a random-bond Ising model

We study the behavior of the random-bond Ising model at zero temperature by numerical simulations for a variable amount of disorder. The model is an example of systems exhibiting a fluctuationless first-order phase transition similar to some field-induced phase transitions in ferromagnetic systems and the martensitic phase transition appearing in a number of metallic alloys. We focus on the study of the hysteresis cycles appearing when the external field is swept from positive to negative values. By using a finite-size scaling hypothesis, we analyze the disorder-induced phase transition between the phase exhibiting a discontinuity in the hysteresis cycle and the phase with the continuous hysteresis cycle. Critical exponents characterizing the transition are obtained. We also analyze the size and duration distributions of the magnetization jumps (avalanches).

Prospective monitoring of a CD4+ CD25high CD45RO+ CD127high T-cell population after first kidney transplantation following thymoglobulin or basiliximab induction

Background: Recent data have suggested that a population of CD4+ CD25high T cells, phenotypically characterized by the expression of CD45RO and CD127, is significantly expanded in stable liver and kidney transplant recipients and represents alloreactive T cells. Induction therapies may have an impact on this alloreactive T cell population. In this study, we prospectively analyzed CD4+ CD25high CD45RO+ CD127high T cells after induction with either thymoglobulin or basiliximab. Patients and methods: A total of twenty-seven kidney transplant recipients were prospectively enrolled; 14 received thymoglobulin induction followed by a 4-day course of steroids with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil («thymo group»), and 13 received basiliximab induction followed by standard triple immunosuppression (tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and prednisone) («BSX group»). Phenotypical analysis by flow cytometry of the expression of CD25, CD45RO and CD127 on peripheral CD4+ T cells was performed at 0, 3 and 6 months after transplantation. Twenty-four healthy subjects (HS) were studied as controls. Results: There were no differences in baseline characteristics between the groups; at 6 months, patient survival (100%), graft survival (100%), serum creatinine (thymo group versus BSX group: 129 versus 125 micromol/l) and acute rejection (2/14 versus 2/13) were not significantly different. Thymo induction produced a prolonged CD4 T cell depletion. As compared to pre-transplantation values, an expansion of the alloreactive T cell population was observed at 3 months in both thymo (mean: from 6.38% to 14.72%) and BSX (mean: from 8.01% to 18.42%) groups. At 6 months, the alloreactive T cell population remained significantly expanded in the thymo group (16.92 ± 2.87%) whereas it tended to decrease in the BSX group (10.22 ± 1.38%). Conclusion: Overall, our results indicate that the expansion of alloreactive T cells occurs rapidly after transplantation in patients receiving either thymo or BSX induction. Whether differences at later timepoints or whether different IS regimens may modify this alloreactive population remains to be studied.

Event-related potentials and changes of brain rhythm oscillations during working memory activation in patients with first-episode psychosis.

Background: Earlier contributions have documented significant changes in sensory, attention-related endogenous event-related potential (ERP) components and θ band oscillatory responses during working memory activation in patients with schizophrenia. In patients with first-episode psychosis, such studies are still scarce and mostly focused on auditory sensory processing. The present study aimed to explore whether subtle deficits of cortical activation are present in these patients before the decline of working memory performance. Methods: We assessed exogenous and endogenous ERPs and frontal θ event-related synchronization (ERS) in patients with first-episode psychosis and healthy controls who successfully performed an adapted 2-back working memory task, including 2 visual n-backworking memory tasks as well as oddball detection and passive fixation tasks. Results: We included 15 patients with first-episode psychosis and 18 controls in this study. Compared with controls, patients with first-episode psychosis displayed increased latencies of early visual ERPs and phasic θ ERS culmination peak in all conditions. However, they also showed a rapid recruitment of working memory-related neural generators, even in pure attention tasks, as indicated by the decreased N200 latency and increased amplitude of sustained θ ERS in detection compared with controls. Limitations: Owing to the limited sample size, no distinction was made between patients with first-episode psychosis with positive and negative symptoms. Although we controlled for the global load of neuroleptics, medication effect cannot be totally ruled out. Conclusion: The present findings support the concept of a blunted electroencephalographic response in patients with first-episode psychosis who recruit the maximum neural generators in simple attention conditions without being able to modulate their brain activation with increased complexity of working memory tasks.

External dichotomous noise: The problem of the mean-first-passage time

A retarded backward equation for a non-Markovian process induced by dichotomous noise (the random telegraphic signal) is deduced. The mean-first-passage time of this process is exactly obtained. The Gaussian white noise and the white shot noise limits are studied. Explicit physical results in first approximation are evaluated.

Marches of the dragoons in the Mississippi Valley : an account of marches and activities of the First Regiment United States Dragoons in the Mississippi Valley between the years 1833 and 1850,1917.

Contains information of the marches and other activities of the First Regiment of the United States Dragoons between the years 1833 and 1850 with in the boundaries of the Iowa country. Written by Louis Pelzer.

First-passage time in a bistable potential with colored noise

A precise digital simulation of a bistable system under the effect of colored noise is carried out. A set of data for the mean first-passage time is obtained. The results are interpreted and compared with presently available theories, which are revisited following a new insight. Discrepancies that have been discussed in the literature are understood within our framework.