Italian Perspective Research Articles

Lessons learnt for air pollution mitigation policies from the COVID-19 pandemic: The Italian perspective

Policies to improve air quality need to be based on effective plans for reducing anthropogenic emissions. In 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant reductions of anthropogenic pollutant emissions, offering an unexpected opportunity to observe their consequences on ambient concentrations. Taking the national lockdown occurred in Italy between March and May 2020 as a case study, this work tries to infer if and what lessons may be learnt concerning the impact of emission reduction policies on air quality. Variations of NO2, O3, PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were calculated from numerical model simulations obtained with business as usual and lockdown specific emissions. Both simulations were performed at national level with a horizontal resolution of 4 km, and at local level on the capital city Rome at 1 km resolution. Simulated concentrations showed a good agreement with in-situ observations, confirming the modelling systems capability to reproduce the effects of emission reductions on ambient concentration variations, which differ according to the individual air pollutant. We found a general reduction of pollutant concentrations except for ozone, that experienced an increase in Rome and in the other urban areas, and a decrease elsewhere. The obtained results suggest that acting on precursor emissions, even with sharp reductions like those experienced during the lockdown, may lead to significant, albeit complex, reduction patterns for secondary pollutant concentrations. Therefore, to be more effective, reduction measures should be carefully selected, involving more sectors than those related to mobility, such as residential and agriculture, and integrated on different scales.

The Utilization of the WMO-1234 Guidance to Improve Citizen's Wellness and Health: An Italian Perspective.

In 2019, the World Meteorological Organization published its "Guidance on Integrated Urban Hydrometeorological, Climate and Environment Services (Volume I: Concept and Methodology)" to assist WMO Members in developing and implementing the urban services that address the needs of city stakeholders in their countries. The guidance has relevant implications for not only protecting infrastructures from the impacts of climate change in the urban environment, but its proper declination strongly supports health-related policies to protect the population from direct and indirect impacts. Utilizing some principles of the guidance, the urbanized area of Bologna (Italy) was analyzed in order to furnish the municipality with tools coherent with the best practices actually emerging from the international bibliography to protect the citizens' health of this city. Specifically, the analysis concentrated on the public spaces and the potential vulnerabilities of the fragile population to high-temperature regimes in the city. Utilizing the guidance as a methodological framework, the authors developed a methodology to define the microclimate vulnerabilities of the city and specific cards to assist the policymakers in city regeneration. Because the medieval structure of the city does not allow the application of a wide set of nature-based solutions, our main attention was placed on the possibility of furnishing the city with a great number of pocket parks obtainable from spaces actually dedicated to parking lots, thus introducing new green infrastructures in a highly deprived area in order to assure safety spaces for the fragile population.

The liver transplant surgeon Mondays blues: an Italian perspective

Poor data exist on the influence of holidays and weekdays on the number and the results of liver transplantation (LT) in Italy. The study’s main objective is to investigate the impact of holidays and the different days of the week on the LT number and early graft survival rates in a multi-centric Italian series. We performed a retrospective analysis on 1,026 adult patients undergoing first deceased-donor transplantation between January 2004 and December 2018 in the three university centers in Rome. During the 4,504 workdays, 881 LTs were performed (85.9%; one every 5.1 days on average). On the opposite, 145 LTs were done during the 975 holidays (14.1%; one every 7.1 days on average). Fewer LTs were performed on holidays (P = 0.004). There were no substantial differences in donor-, recipient- and transplant-related characteristics in LTs performed on weekdays or holidays. On Monday, fewer transplants were performed (vs. other weekdays: P < 0.0001; vs. Sunday: P = 0.03). At multivariable Cox regression analysis, LTs performed during the holiday or during the different days of the week were not found to be independent risk factors for the risk of 3- and 12-month graft loss. At three-month survival curves, no differences were observed among the transplants performed during the holidays versus the workdays (86.2 vs. 85.0%; P-0.70). The range of graft survival rates based on the day of the week was 81.6–86.9%, without showing any significant differences (P = 0.57). Fewer transplants are performed on holidays and Mondays. Survivals are not affected by holidays or the day the transplant is performed.

About the Methods of Studying Private Law: An Italian Perspective

AbstractTaking as a starting point the book by Grundmann, Micklitz and Renner, New Private Law Theory, the author briefly examines the methods practised today in the most important legal systems for studying private law. There is no unanimous consensus on the definition of “private law”, nor on its functions. The formalistic method prevails, using terms, concepts, dogmas stratified over time, with an apparently technical content. In reality, as the three authors demonstrate, and as has been preached in Italy for more than half a century, law is a social science and its function can only be fully understood by combining the formalistic method with economic, sociological and political analysis and considering its historical development.

Diagnosis and management of patients with α1-antitrypsin deficiency: an Italian perspective

Diagnosis and management of patients with α1-antitrypsin deficiency: an Italian perspective

Peanut allergy in Italy: Aunique Italian perspective.

Peanut allergy has not been well characterized in Italy. Our aim was to better define the clinical features of peanut allergy in Italy and to detect the peanut proteins involved in allergic reactions. A total of 22 centers participated in a prospective survey of peanut allergy over a 6-month period. Clinical histories were confirmed by invivo and/or in vitro diagnosticmeans in all cases. Potential risk factors for peanutallergy occurrence were considered. Levels of IgE to Arachis hypogea (Ara h) 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, and 9 and profilin were measured. A total of 395 patients (aged 2-80 years) were enrolled. Of the participants, 35% reported local reactions, 38.2% reported systemic reactions, and 26.6% experienced anaphylaxis. The sensitization profile was dominated by Ara h 9 (77% of patients were sensitized to it), whereas 35% were sensitized to pathogenesis-related protein 10 (PR-10) and 26% were sensitized to seed storage proteins (SSPs). Sensitization to 2S albumins (Ara h 2 and Ara h 6) or lipid transfer protein (LTP) was associated with the occurrence of more severe symptoms, whereas profilin and PR-10 sensitization were associated with milder symptoms. Cosensitization to profilin reduced the risk of severe reactions in both Ara h 2- and LTP-sensitized patients. SSP sensitization prevailed in younger patients whereas LTP prevailed in older patients (P<.01). SSP sensitization occurred mainly in northern Italy, whereas LTP sensitization prevailed in Italy's center and south. Atopic dermatitis, frequency of peanut ingestion, peanut consumption by other family members, or use of peanut butter did not seem to be risk factors for peanut allergy onset. In Italy, peanut allergy is rare and dominated by LTP in the country's center and south and by SSP in the north. These 2 sensitizations seem mutually exclusive. The picture differs from that in Anglo-Saxon countries.

The transposition of the transparency obligation pursuant to Article 19 Directive (EU) 790/2019: an Italian perspective

Article 19 Directive (EU) 790/20191 requires Member States to ensure that authors and performers receive, on a regular basis up to date, relevant and comprehensive information on the exploitation of their works and performances, including modes of exploitation, all revenues generated and the remuneration due, from the parties to whom they have licensed or transferred their rights. ... The problem underlying this provision is the lack of transparency often faced by authors and performers in their contractual relationships,2 factor affecting, ultimately, the remuneration received.3 The transparency rules already established in some Member States proved to be too generic of or limited application in order to deal effectively with this issue.4 The sharing of such information is a key element of the EU copyright reform,5 as it aims at (i) increasing the bargaining power of authors and performers for future negotiations; (ii) making the monitoring of the performance of the contracts easier and more effective and (iii) allowing to accurately quantify the continuing economic value of the transferred or licensed rights with respect to the remuneration received. In the latter direction, the transparency obligation is a precondition for the proper functioning of the contract adjustment mechanism provided for in Article 20 and the alternative dispute resolution mechanism provided for in Article 21.6

Disentangling the impact of COVID-19 infection on clinical outcomes and preventive strategies in older persons: an Italian perspective

Italy was one of the first western countries to embrace the first wave of COVID-19 and undergo detrimental outcomes in older adults in different clinical settings, especially in those with comorbidity and frailty. In addition, older nursing home (NH) residents had significantly higher mortality rates most likely due to the increased susceptibility of infection due to combined physical vulnerability and risks linked to the NH living environment itself. Different reports throughout Italy have rapidly highlighted selected outcomes related to COVID-19 in older patients being treated in acute and long-term care (LTC) settings. However, the majority of these studies are single center studies. Thus, it remains fundamental to collect large data from prospective based-population studies in order to identify preventive and therapeutic COVID-19 risk/protective factors correlated with COVID-19 health status outcomes. In this commentary paper, we will discuss different Italian reports according to clinical settings and highlight the importance of GeroCovid Observational and GeroCovid Vax, two large population based prospective studies in Italy.

Criminal Law and Neuroscience: Theory and Practice in the Italian Perspective

The debate on the impact on criminal justice of the empirical evidence offered by techniques of brain exploration and behavioral genetics shows no sign of diminishing, fed by literature now boundless and by case law in constant growth. In the Italian system, the impact of neuroscience at trial is still rather limited and substantially confined to its sedes naturalis, that is to say, the insanity defense. Even in this area, however, there is a very cautious, if not sometimes distrustful, attitude on the part of the courts, still doubtful about the epistemological reliability of neuroscientific evidence. The interdisciplinary dialogue is called upon to help overcome uncertainties and resistance, to avoid the underestimation of data endowed – albeit in a complementary and integrative function – with an increasingly objective value.&#x0D; Summary: 1. Foreword. - 2. Neuroscience: an outline. - Neuroscience and criminal law in the light of the radical-revolutionary model. - 4. Neuroscience and criminal law in the light of the moderate-compatibilist model. - 5. An overview of the use of “neuroscientific evidence” in practice - 6. Neuroscience and the evaluation of criminal capacity: a first assessment. - 7. The (still) limited impact of neuroscience in the Italian criminal trial. Diagnosis and prognosis. – 8. Conclusions.

Il Milione. The first 14 years of ERC funding to human past studies (SH6): an Italian perspective

This article addresses European Research Council (ERC) grants in the Archaeology and History panel (SH6). The study was conducted by considering the first two cycles of ERC funding (2007-2020). We introduce to eligibility criteria and evaluation process involved in ERC calls. We show the results of the analysis in terms of most awarded ‘countries’ per call (Starting Grant, Consolidator Grant, Advanced Grant), the profiles of researchers and the main research subjects of 360 granted funding. The inquire is extended to a systematic analysis regarding the profile of scientific members of the commissions (480 scholars) employed to evaluate the proposals. The outcome is that Italian institutions underperforming compared to other major European countries; the success rate of ‘Italian’ proposals is lower than the European average; young Italian researchers very rarely obtain Starting Grants. This is, we believe, partly due to some policies currently still in place – even if no longer sustainable - in Italian universities. There is some correlation between most awarded institutions (by country) and most employed panelists. In the final part, we show the main trending topics of ERC projects.

Literacy in the time of Coronavirus: an Italian perspective: Value of literacy in the context of a pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic, with its dramatic impact on society, poses a challenge to Health Pro-motion and to its principles of empowerment, social cohesion and citizens' democratic participation in health policies. In this pressing emergency, public health strategies aimed at preventing the spread of the pandemic have been primarily oriented towards restrictive measures (travel restrictions, use of PPE) in absence of an adequate educational communication, aimed at increasing citizens' knowledge and skills in regard to the emergency context. To offer a perspective on the Italian situation, in terms of health literacy and life skills in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, aimed not only at identifying deficits, but particularly at determining opportuni-ties and resources (assets) - offered by the peculiar context of crisis - useful to provide citizens with the necessary tools to comprehend the criticalities linked with the emergency and to shape their behaviour to new requirements, in absence of external obligations, as well as to promote future participation of the population - both effective and informed - in a social and political context. A non-systematic review of literature on the subject of health literacy and social cohesion in emergency contexts has been supported by a qualitative assessment, based on the model of assets and on the Italian condition in the last trimester of 2020. The scarce ability of the population to independently adequate habits and behaviour to new criti-calities required by the risk of infection - as well as the necessity to suspend their empowerment and capa-bility from government authorities to protect public health - has been firstly traced back to a widespread lack of literacy and life skills at a general population level. The current situation of crisis offers a peculiar opportunity of tools, circumstances and receptiveness to highlight such deficits, as well as an intervention on multiple fronts, in order to increase literacy and capability, both on an individual and on a community level, through inclusive and sustainable initiatives. A prevention strategy based on the critical understanding of risk and risk-related criticalities is the only one which can aspire to last over time, while offering an effective tool for the safeguarding of public health, along with an opportunity of being prepared to contrast future emergencies more effectively. The development of such strategies represents one of the most significant contributions Health Promotion can offer in the time of Coronavirus.

Mobility trends in Psychiatry trainees: an Italian perspective.

Psychiatry has been affected by the 'Brain Drain' phenomenon for decades, with professionals usually migrating from lower- to higher-income countries. Whilst Italy faces a decreasing Psychiatric workforce in the near future, little is known about the factors that influence migration of Psychiatry trainees in Italy. To explore the migration tendencies of Psychiatry trainees training in Italy. A cross-sectional survey was disseminated to Psychiatry trainees in Italy. The vast majority (84.2%) of the trainees had 'ever' considered leaving Italy, and more than half (60.4%) considered leaving the country 'now'. Only a quarter (25.3%) had taken 'practical steps' towards migration. Male trainees were more likely to have 'ever' considered leaving Italy. Trainees without children were more likely to have 'ever' considered leaving and more likely to consider leaving 'now'. More southern Italian trainees were considering leaving the country 'now' compared to those from the centre-north. 'Academic' and 'work' reasons were the two most cited factors given both as a reason for wanting to leave Italy and as conditions that should be improved in the country. The main reason cited to remain in the country was personal. Several Psychiatry trainees in Italy consider migration as a possibility, mainly driven by work and academic reasons. The main factor keeping trainees in Italy was personal reasons. Highlighting the reasons why trainees leave is crucial to facing these issues and either finding ways to encourage trainees to remain or finding other solutions for the medical shortage.

POSB74 Belantamab Mafodotin as the First-in-Class Anti-BCMA Treatment for Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma: A Budget Impact and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Belantamab is the first-in-class anti-BCMA antibody–drug conjugate approved in 2020 for the treatment of patients with heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). EMA assigned an Orphan Drug Designation to belantamab, acknowledging the treatment is of major interest from a public health perspective and represents a therapeutic innovation. This study aims to estimate the cost-effectiveness and the budget impact of introducing belantamab, which have not yet been assessed from an Italian perspective.

POSB59 Potential Savings on Medication and Hospitalization Costs for Intensive Home Haemodialysis: An Italian Perspective

Poor outcomes and high budget pressure are challenges in renal replacement therapy. Therefore, personalized treatment approaches such as intensive home haemodialysis (iHHD; > 3x4 hours a week) are evaluated for suitable patients on their cost reduction potential and outcome improvement. A large body of international evidence has been published on the benefits of iHHD. However, questions remain how these positive effects translate into benefits for specific health systems. This analysis aims to estimate the financial impact of iHHD on medication use and hospitalization for Italy.

Narrating the History of Women’s History

Narrating the History of Women’s History Monica Pacini Enrica Asquer, Anna Bellavitis, Giulia Calvi, Isabelle Chabot, Cristina La Rocca, and Manuela Martini, eds. Vingt-cinq ans après. Les femmes au rendez-vous de l’histoire [Twenty-five years after. Women at the rendezvous with history]. Rome: École française de Rome, 2019. 498 pp. ISBN 9782728313785 (pb). Teresa Bertilotti, ed. Women’s History at the Cutting Edge: An Italian Perspective. Rome: Viella, 2020. 120 pp. ISBN 9788833131412 (pb); 9788833136196 (PDF); 9788833139074 (ePub). Julie E. Gallagher and Barbara Winslow, eds. Reshaping Women’s History: Voices of Nontraditional Women Historians. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2018. 292 pp. ISBN 9780252042003 (cl); 9780252083693 (pb); 9780252050749 (e-book). Elizabeth Jacoway, ed. No Straight Path: Becoming Women Historians. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2019. 264 pp. ISBN 9780807170434 (cl); 9780807172124 (ebook). Karen Offen and Chen Yan, eds. Women’s History at the Cutting Edge. London: Routledge, 2019. 130 pp. ISBN 9780367029074 (cl); 9780367663520 (pb); 9780429001093 (ebook). Hilda L. Smith and Melinda S. Zook, eds. Generations of Women Historians Within and Beyond the Academy. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018. 336 pp. ISBN 9783319775678 (cl); 9783030084820 (pb); 9783319775685 (ebook). It has been over a year since the Covid-19 pandemic considerably transformed women’s lives and work. The closure of libraries, archives, and laboratories has distanced people from one another, reduced physical mobility, and entrusted contacts and projects to webs of words and virtual images. Remote working within domestic spaces has compelled people to seek out a new balance between family and personal needs, between production and caretaking, and it has revealed the deep fractures of society, the preexisting disparities, and the unequal impacts of the crisis in terms of gender.1 In this suspended time of mourning and emergency, as the work of women historians is changing, that work has become an even more important object of reflection. The matter of women’s historical work intertwines with debates over policy and the strategies to adopt for maintaining countries’ social and democratic fabrics, and with the challenges that feminist activism is facing.2 Representation, health, forms of [End Page 120] control, work protections, access to income and credit, taxation, life-work balance, protests, consumption, and public and social spending all appear under a different light considering the events of the past few months, the shock that struck the markets and the world, and the catastrophe of millions of human lives lost. Between 2018 and 2020, right before the pandemic unfolded, numerous collected volumes were published on the relationship between the past, present, and future of women’s and gender history; on the forms of access for women to research and write; and on the historian’s profession between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. Adopting different critical tools, these studies have contributed to the revival of the discussion of the interconnection between the personal, political, and professional dimensions of women’s history work, twenty years after the release of the collection edited by Eileen Boris and Nupur Chaudhuri.3 Since its inception, women’s and gender history has stood out for its distinct tendency to reflect on itself: from the seminal questions of the 1970s on the possibility of “making” women’s history to the debates that have followed about the state of the profession, the historiographical trajectories followed in various countries, the ability to transform mainstream historiographic practices, and how to educate new generations and how to have an impact on a wide audience (Asquer, et al., 25–34; Bertilotti, 45–53). Not infrequently, this intense work of introspection and synthesis has sprung up from a desire to measure women’s history against History, which is understood as an exclusive, professional academic prerogative of a male white elite. Even in the early 1990s, Hilda L. Smith and Bonnie G. Smith asked provocative questions and brought attention to the contemporary representations of the “noble dream” of historical research that had omitted women’s intellectual contributions and women’s history.4 Recently, Bonnie G. Smith has recalled that one of her articles on the contribution of women historians to modern French and Anglo-Saxon historiography did not resonate with members of the American Historical Association when...

Quarantine at the Eastern gate. The Italian Perspective in Alexandria, 1899-1905

At the end of the nineteenth century, Egypt was probably the main gate to European colonialism, and an important checkpoint for plague and cholera. In order to secure public health in the Mediterranean, European powers established the Conseil Sanitaire Maritime et Quarantenaire in Alexandria. This international body soon became an arena where national interests competed with public health. Archival documents from the Italian delegation show that this was also the case for the newly formed country, aspiring at playing a role in European imperialism. However, Italian geographical advantage was jeopardized by sanitary concerns: a difficult balance between public health and international diplomacy had to be maintained in front of infectious diseases travelling through Suez.

Assessment of Hydrogen and LNG buses adoption as sustainable alternatives to diesel fuel buses in public transportation: Applications to Italian perspective

This work deals with a technical and economical comparison between hydrogen and liquid natural gas (LNG) fueled buses with reference to the standard solution based on diesel fuel internal combustion engines. The level of service is evaluated considering the number of buses replaced and the average kilometers traveled each year for two levels. The economical comparison is made using the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) method considering capital and operating costs. The costs of LNG and Diesel (at the pump in Italian market) are estimated with reference to the year 2020. Furthermore, an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions will be carried out starting from energy needs, adopting a “cradle to grave” approach, thus evaluating emissions from the well to the tank and from the tank to the wheel. The results show that the operating costs (0.778 €/km) of LNG solution are lower than the Diesel ones (1.072 €/km), while the hydrogen buses can become competitive in the next few .The production of hydrogen with water electrolysis considering the current electricity costs of the Italian market is expensive and involves a cost to the hydrogen pump 7,60 €/kg which makes the operating cost of the hydrogen solution is equal to about 1.420 €/km which makes this solution uncompetitive. It is also important to underline that the cost of green hydrogen production from water electrolysis strongly depends on the cost of electricity. The Life Cicle Analisis (LCA) analysis shows strong environmental benefits of the hydrogen solution in terms of CO2eq if the hydrogen is produced by electrolysis using renewable energy sources. In the other cases, the advantage of using hydrogen is not very strong as it is associated with the use of fossil fuels that release climate-altering substances.

An Italian perspective on the development of financial mathematics from 1992 to 2008

This paper is intended to be a survey of the development of financial mathematics as seen through the events that I organised, and partly co-organised, between 1992 and 2008. These events all took place in Italy between 1992 and 2003, while in 2008 I was involved in the organisation of an entire special semester in Linz (Austria); this semester is included here because it marks quite well the state-of-the-art of the period just before the so-called big financial crisis that lasted from, roughly, 2008 to 2012. Even if the survey may be affected by my personal views, it can still be seen as reflecting the actual global development since what I am going to describe here concerns major occurrences. For completeness, I also mention, although only briefly, some events that took place in Italy during the given period, but where I was not personally involved.

Covid-19 and seaborne trade: The Italian perspective

Covid-19 pandemic impacted on all major trade flows, shuffling global value chains and pushing major industries to re-think their procurement strategies. While long term impacts are still subject to speculation, the immediate response of local industries need to be evaluated in order to target relevant policy interventions and to understand which economic players have been hit the most. Current paper tries to fill such gap, using the Italian Custom Agency database for verifying which trade sectors and ports suffered the most from the Covid-19 first wave. In order to achieve the research goal, all containerized import and export flows have been collected for the period 2012–2020, comparing historical patterns with the one observed in the first semester 2020. Results aim at contributing to the current understanding of the crisis’ impact and they will be used for driving future recovery plans.

The effects of circular format on store patronage: An Italian perspective

The circular format is a cluster of heterogeneous stores under the same brand within the city center through the store-outside-a-store strategy. The purpose is to demonstrate that the circular format has a positive impact on store image, self-congruity, retail brand experience, and store patronage. Shopping values were also considered as moderators. Three studies conducted in Italy reveal that: a. the consumers of the circular format have higher store patronage than those of the traditional format; b. such patronage is moderated by hedonic shopping value; and c. the relationship between the circular format and store patronage is mediated by self-congruity and retail brand experience through store image.