Equine and human mutual welfare: a whole subject? Critical aspects and possible strategies in equine-assisted activities and therapies

General aim of the study is equine welfare, particularly concerning different husbandry methodic and inter-specific relational factors. Specific aim is the evaluation of possible mutual (to humans and to equines) benefits and the analysis of critical factors/strength points, of human-horse relationship within Therapeutic Riding context (TR). The peculiarities of human-horse relationship (compared to the bond with “Pet”) are analyzed, concerning their socio-anthropological, psychological, psycho-dynamic distinctive characteristics. 8 European representative therapeutic riding centers (TRC) were therefore selected (on the basis of their different animals’ husbandry criteria, and of the different rehabilitative methodologies adopted). TRC were investigated through 2 different questionnaires, specifically settled to access objective/subjective animal welfare parameters; the quality of human-horse relationship; technicians’ emotional experienced. 3 Centers were further selected, and behavioral (145 hours of behavioral recording) and physiological parameters (heart rate and heart rate variability) were evaluated, aimed to access equine welfare and horses’ adaptive responses/coping (towards general environment and towards TR job). Moreover a specific “handling-task” was ideated and experimented, aimed to measure the quality of TR technicians-horses relationship. We did therefore evaluate both the individual horses’ responses and the possible differences among Centers. Data collected highlight the lack of univocal standardized methodic, concerning the general animals’ management and the specific methodologies (aimed to improve animal welfare and to empower TR efficacy). Some positive and some critical aspects were detected concerning TR personnel-horse relationship. Another experimental approach did evaluate the efficacy (concerning the mutual benefits’ empowerment) of an “ethologically-fitted” TR intervention, aimed to educate children to and through the relationship with horses. Our data evidenced that the improvement of human horse relationship, through structured educational programs for TR personnel might have important consequences both to human and equine welfare.

Cooperation and competition in the air transport market: current scenario, possible evolutions and analytical tools

dall'avvento della liberalizzazione, aeroporti e vettori hanno vissuto cambiamenti. Il maggior miglioramneto nella gestione degli aeroporti è una gestione più commerciale ed efficiente. Le forme di regolazione economica e le caratteristiche della gestione manageriale sono state indagate. Dodici paesi sono stati scelti per indagare la situazione del trasporto aereo mondiale, fra questi sia paesi con un sistema maturo sia paesi emergenti. La distribuzione del traffico è stata analizzata con l'indice HHI per evidenziare aeroporti con concentrazione maggiore di 0,25 (in accordo con la normativa statunitense); il sistema aeroportuale è stato analizzato con l'indice di Gini e con l'indice di dominanza. Infine, la teoria dei giochi si è dimostrata un valido supporto per studiare il mercato del trasporto aereo anche con l'uso di giochi di tipo DP

Analysing the possible influence of transposon TCl4.7 insertion on the function of the genome of Cydia pomonella granulovirus

CpGV-MCp5 is a natural mutant of the Cydia pomonella Granulovirus (Mexican isolate) (CpGV-M) that harbors an insect host transposon termed TCl4.7 in its genome. TCl4.7 is located between the open reading frames Cp15 and Cp16 and separates two homologous regions hr3 and hr4, which have been recently shown to be origins of replication of CpGV-M. The MCp5 has a significant replication disadvantage in the presence of the wild-type CpGV-M. In this study, the possible effects of TCl4.7 transposon insertion on the genome function of its insertion site has been analysed. The role of Cp15 and Cp16 in the context of the virus infection cycle was examined by generating a CpGV-Bacmid (CpBAC) and Cp15 knock-out (CpBACCp15KO) and Cp16 knock-out (CpBACCp16KO) mutants. The mutant CpBACCp15KO was not able to replicate in CM larvae suggesting that Cp15 was essential for virus replication. In contrast, the mutant CpBACCp16KO infected CM larvae and produced viable occlusion bodies (OBs) demonstrating that Cp16 is a non-essential gene for virus in vivo infection of C. pomonella. The temporal transcription of Cp15 and Cp16, as well as of Cp31 (F protein) as a control, was analysed using RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. It suggested a general delay or reduction of gene transcription of MCp5 compared to the parental CpGV-M. Western blot analyses using anti-Cp15 and anti-Cp16 polyclonal antibodies, however, did not show any immuno-reactive response. Thus, a direct influence of TCl4.7 on the expression of Cp15 and Cp16 could not be substantiated. To investigate whether the interruption of hr3 and hr4 palindromes affects the virus replication, two mutant bacmids with a deletion of hr3 and hr4 (CpBAChr3/hr4-KO) and another with an insertion of a Kanamycin resistance cassette between hr3 and hr4 (CpBAChr3-kan-hr4) were generated. Both mutant bacmids replicated and produced infectious virus OBs, which did not significantly differ in their median lethal concentration (LC50) and median survival time (ST50) compared to the parental CpBAC. Interestingly, the mutant CpBAChr3-kan-hr4 was very effectively out-competed by parental CpBAC, when CM larvae were co-infected with known ratios of OBs of CpBAC and the mutant CpBAChr3-kan-hr4. These observations suggested a functional co-operation between hr3 and hr4 which was interrupted by the KanR insertion in CpBAChr3-kan-hr4 and possibly by TCl4.7 transposon insertion in the mutant MCp5. This hypothesis may explain the observed replication disadvantage of the mutants MCp5 and CpBAChr3-kan-hr4 in the presence of the parental viruses CpGV-M and CpBAC, respectively.

Circulating Fibrocytes, their role in renal fibrosis and molecular pathways involved. Possible biomarkers of fibrogenesis in chronic kidney disease

Circulating Fibrocytes (CFs) are bone marrow-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells that express a similar pattern of surface markers related to leukocytes, hematopoietic progenitor cells and fibroblasts. CFs precursor display an ability to differentiate into fibroblasts and Myofibroblasts, as well as adipocytes. Fibrocytes have been shown to contribute to tissue fibrosis in the end-stage renal disease (ESRD), as well as in other fibrotic diseases, leading to fibrogenic process in other organs including lung, cardiac, gut and liver. This evidence has been confirmed by several experimental proofs in mice models of kidney injury. In the present study, we developed a protocol for the study of CFs, by using peripheral blood monocytes cells (PBMCs) samples collected from healthy human volunteers. Thanks to a flow cytometry method, in vitro culture assays and the gene expression assays, we are able to study and characterize this CFs population. Moreover, results confirmed that these approaches are reliable and reproducible for the investigation of the circulating fibrocytes population in whole blood samples. Our final aim is to confirm the presence of a correlation between the renal fibrosis progression, and the different circulating fibrocyte levels in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients. Thanks to a protocol study presented and accepted by the Ethic Committee we are continuing the study of CFs induction in a cohort of sixty patients affected by CKD, divided in three distinct groups for different glomerular filtration rate (GFR) levels, plus a control group of thirty healthy subjects. Ongoing experiments will determine whether circulating fibrocytes represent novel biomarkers for the study of CKD progression, in the early and late phases of this disease.

Editorial reorganization of an alphabetically ordered collection of short stories: analysis of problems and hypothesis of possible solutions

This paper aims to show, analyze and solve the problems related to the translation of the book with meaning-bond alphabetically ordered chapter titles La vita non è in ordine alfabetico, by the Italian writer Andrea Bajani. The procedure is inevitable for a possible translation of the book, and it is necessary to have a preliminary pattern to follow. After translating the whole book, not only is a revision fundamental, but a restructure and reorganization of the collection may be required, hence, what this thesis offers is a scheme to start from, together with an analysis of the possible problems that may arise, and a useful method to find a solution.

Patent nonnuse: are patent pools as possible solution?

Studies have depicted that the rate of unused patents comprises a high portion of patents in North America, Europe and Japan. Particularly, studies have identified a considerable share of strategic patents which are left unused due to pure strategic reasons. While such patents might generate strategic rents to their owner, they may have harmful consequences for the society if by blocking alternative solutions that other inventions provide they hamper the possibility of better solutions. Accordingly, the importance of the issue of nonuse is highlighted within the literature on strategic patenting, IPR policy and innovation economics. Moreover, the current literature has emphasized on the role of patent pools in dealing with potential issues such as excessive transaction cost caused by patent thickets and blocking patents. In fact, patent pools have emerged as policy tools facilitating technology commercialization and alleviating patent litigation among rivals holding overlapping IPRs. In this dissertation I provide a critical literature review on strategic patenting, identify present gaps and discuss some future research paths. Moreover, I investigate the drivers of strategic non-use of patents with particular focus on unused strategic play patents. Finally, I examine if participation intensity in patent pools by pool members explains their willingness to use their non-pooled patents. I also investigate which characteristics of the patent pools are associated to the willingness to use non-pooled patents through pool participation. I show that technological uncertainty and technological complexity are two technology environment factors that drive unused play patents. I also show that pool members participating more intensively in patent pools are more likely to be willing to use their non-pooled patents through pool participation. I further depict that pool licensors are more likely to be willing to use their non-pooled patents by participating in pools with higher level of technological complementarity to their own technology.

The quest for unnecessary symbolism across the media - analysis and possible solutions

Lo scopo della presente ricerca è sottolineare la tendenza alla ossessiva e spesso superflua ricerca del simbolismo nell’analisi di opere, specificatamente testi letterari e film, e proporre una possibile soluzione per porre fine o almeno diminuire gli effetti del fenomeno. A partire da una definizione esaustiva della parola simbolo, l’analisi verterà sull’evoluzione del concetto di simbolismo attraverso i media, e il cambiamento intrinseco causato da tale evoluzione. In seguito, analizzerò un semisconosciuto ma emblematico sondaggio, condotto nel 1973 da Bruce McAllister, all’epoca studente, che interrogò acutamente numerosi autori riguardo al loro rapporto con il simbolismo, ponendo l’accento su alcune delle risposte da lui ricevute, che gettano una luce rivelatrice sul symbol hunting e symbol planting. Dopodiché scenderò ancor più nel dettaglio, esemplificando con due storie brevi: Signs and Symbols (Segni e Simboli), di Vladimir Nabokov e Big Two-hearted River (Grande fiume a due cuori) di Hernest Hemingway. Dopodiché, analizzerò il falso simbolismo come luogo cinematografico, ponendo l’accento sugli aspetti di planting e hunting, e mi avvarrò dell’aiuto di due film significativi sul tema realizzati in tempi recenti, ovvero Inception (2010) e Memento (2000), di Christopher Nolan, che possono essere interpretati come una meta-critica dell’abuso di simboli, e rappresentano una pietra miliare nell’analisi di symbol planting e symbol hunting. In conclusione, proporrò la mia personale possibile soluzione, ovvero il prendere le opere d’arte in qualunque forma, specialmente di fiction, “così come sono”, separandole e scindendole dalle proprie aspettative. È necessario prendere in considerazione un ritorno alla letteralità, per poter avvicinarsi maggiormente alla vera anima di una storia, di un libro, di un film, altrimenti esiste la possibilità che tutto ciò che guardiamo o vediamo sia per sempre irrimediabilmente contaminato dalla nostra dimensione privata.

[Only a denture sore? Causes of a possible denture sore from a maxillary complete denture]

This case presentation documents the treatment sequence of a 74 years old patient who complained about a sore spot of the palatal mucosa underneath the complete denture. The intraoral examination revealed a dark spot, redness and swelling of the mucosa around this spot and halitosis. The mucosa exhibited a perforation of 3 x 10 mm in diameter. A radiographic 3-D picture showed an impacted canine tooth, which was partly covered by the palatal bone. Firstly the denture base was relieved and the swelling gradually disappeared. Then a biopsy was taken for histological analysis to exclude any malignant process. In local anesthesia the tooth was extracted, which exhibited a deep carious lesion of the entire crown. After surgery a visible collapse of the jaw crest was observed. During a period of two months the denture was relined with a soft material to improve its fit and to enhance the healing process. With a final rebasement, the existing denture could be adapted again and the patient continued to wear it.

Pi release from myosin: a simulation analysis of possible pathways

The release of phosphate (Pi) is an important element in actomyosin function and has been shown to be accelerated by the binding of myosin to actin. To provide information about the structural elements important for Pi release, possible escape pathways from various isolated myosin II structures have been determined by molecular dynamics simulations designed for studying such slow processes. The residues forming the pathways were identified and their role was evaluated by mutant simulations. Pi release is slow in the pre-powerstroke structure, an important element in preventing the powerstroke prior to actin binding, and is much more rapid for Pi modeled into the post-rigor and rigor-like structures. The previously proposed backdoor route is dominant in the pre-powerstroke and post-rigor states, whereas a different path is most important in the rigor-like state. This finding suggests a mechanism for the actin-activated acceleration of Pi release.

Distinct eosinophil cytokine expression patterns in skin diseases - the possible existence of functionally different eosinophil subpopulations

The function of eosinophils has been attributed to host defense, immunomodulation, and fibrosis. Although eosinophils are found among infiltrating cells in a broad spectrum of skin diseases, their pathogenic role remains uncertain. This study aimed to analyze the cytokine expression by eosinophils in different skin diseases.

Im/possible Lives: Gender, Class, Self-Fashioning, and Affinal Solidarity in Modern South Asia

Drawing on ethnographic research and employing a micro-historical approach that recognizes not only the transnational but also the culturally specific manifestations of modernity, this article centers on the efforts of a young woman to negotiate shifting and conflicting discourses about what a good life might consist of for a highly educated and high caste Hindu woman living at the margins of a nonetheless globalized world. Newly imaginable worlds in contemporary Mithila,South Asia, structure feeling and action in particularly gendered and classed ways, even as the capacity of individuals to actualize those worlds and the “modern” selves envisioned within them are constrained by both overt and subtle means. In the context of shifting cultural anchors, new practices of silence, literacy, and even behaviors interpreted as “mental illness” may become tactics in an individual’s negotiation of conflicting self-representations. The confluence of forces at play in contemporary Mithila, moreover, is creating new structures of feeling that may begin to reverse long-standing locally held assumptions about strong solidarities between natal families and daughters, on the one hand, and weak solidarities between affinal families and new daughters-in-law, on the other.