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Some fatal accidents occurred to vessels in loading conditions characterized by large metacentric height indicate that such loading conditions could lead to problems from a safety perspective. The issue has been addressed in the framework of International Maritime Organization (IMO) Second Generation Intact Stability Criteria (SGISC) by introducing “excessive accelerations” as a specific failure mode. However, safety-oriented studies in this respect are still not numerous, and further data for IMO SGISC development are also needed. Therefore, this paper addresses the behavior at sea of a container vessel from a safety perspective, using nonlinear time domain ship motion simulations. Two loading conditions are considered, where one of the two is characterized by a relatively large metacentric height. Human-related and systems&machinery-related hazards, which are linked to ship motions through appropriate failure conditions, are taken into account. Short-term and long-term safety level indicators determined for the two considered loading conditions are compared and discussed.

Remittances have increased in low-income and lower- middle-income countries in recent years, playing an important role as a stable source of finance at the macro-level, and in poverty reduction at the micro-level. Drawing on a critical review of the literature and econometric analyses based on cross-country panel data, this study examines the relationships among remittances, growth and poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific and highlights policy implications to be considered by governments and policy-makers.

Despite numerous studies carried out over the last 15 years in veterinary medicine, the pathogenesis of canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has still not been completely elucidated. In particular, unlike what has been demonstrated in human medicine, the influence of serotonin on clinical signs in canine IBD has not yet been clarified. The objective of this paper has been to seek a possible correlation between duodenal epithelial distribution of serotonin-producing cells (enterochromaffin cells) and disease-grading parameters (clinical, clinico-pathological, endoscopic and histopathological) in dogs with IBD. The medical records of dogs with a diagnosis of IBD were retrospectively reviewed and 21 client-owned dogs with a diagnosis of IBD were registered. Clinical score (by Canine Chronic Enteropathy Clinical Activity Index), laboratory examinations (albumin, total cholesterol, folate, cobalamin), endoscopic score and histopathological score, were compared by regression analysis with duodenal enterochromaffin cell percentage. The study results suggested a relationship between a decrease in folate absorption and an increase in duodenal enterochromaffin cell percentage (regression equation y=16.89-6.14x; coefficient of determination r2= 0.7; significant level: P=0.007). However no significant relationship was evidenced between duodenal enterochromaffin cell percentage and the other analyzed variables.

In this paper a specific procedure for the structural assessment of a container stack is implemented to a realistic case in order to evaluate its effectiveness in the prediction of the operational limits of a container vessel. The feasibility of an extensive calculation based on such procedure is tested, paving the way to the direct analysis of a container stack subject to the inertial loads arising from the ship motions. The procedure is based on a 3D non-linear FE analysis coupled with a direct simulation of non-linear ship motions for the determination of inertial forces acting on a container stack. A non-linear approach has been used for modelling both the ship motion response and the container stack structural response, leading to a global large amplitude analysis. A simplified model of a container stack has been defined in order to decrease the computational cost of the structural calculations, allowing for a use in the framework of an extensive analysis considering many different ship sailing conditions. As final results, diagrams showing the occurrence of failure of container structures or lashing equipment are presented.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes of some biochemical and ultrasonographic (US) parameters in a group of dogs with naturally occurring acute pancreatitis (AP) during the therapeutic follow-up.Dogs with clinical signs and abdominal US findings suggestive of AP associated with increased serum canine pancreatic lipase (cPL) activity were included into the study. In these dogs, the serum concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP), amylase and lipase were also measured. Severity indexes were established to semi-quantitatively evaluate the severity of clinical and US findings. In particular, a clinical score (0-3) for each of the following clinical parameters was given: presence and frequency of vomiting, appetite and general condition; an US score (0=normal, 1=abnormal) was assigned per each of the following parameters: pancreas (echogenicity, volume, echotexture and echogenicity of the mesentery), gastrointestinal tract, biliary ducts, lymph nodes and abdominal effusion (total score 0-14). All dogs were treated with fluid therapy, ampicillin-sulbactam, 15mg/kg IV q8h, buprenorphine, 0.01mg/kg q8h, and, if needed, maropitant 1mg/kg SC q24h. The two severity scores, serum CRP, amylase and lipase concentrations were measured at diagnosis (T0) and after 1 (T1), 3 (T3), and 5 (T5) days, and at discharge (Td) and 1 week after discharge (Td1).Nine client-owned dogs were included with a median (range) age of 10 years (8-14 years). Median (range) clinical and US scores were 8 (6-9) and 8.5 (3-13), respectively, at T0, and 0 (0-1) and 1 (0-3), respectively, at Td1. A significant, positive correlation was found between the clinical and US score (p

Transcriptional activation of the cyclin D1 gene (CCND1) plays a pivotal role in G(1)-phase progression, which is thereby controlled by multiple regulatory factors, including nuclear receptors (NRs). Appropriate CCND1 gene activity is essential for normal development and physiology of the mammary gland, where it is regulated by ovarian steroids through a mechanism(s) that is not fully elucidated. We report here that CCND1 promoter activation by estrogens in human breast cancer cells is mediated by recruitment of a c-Jun/c-Fos/estrogen receptor alpha complex to the tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate-responsive element of the gene, together with Oct-1 to a site immediately adjacent. This process coincides with the release from the same DNA region of a transcriptional repressor complex including Yin-Yang 1 (YY1) and histone deacetylase 1 and is sufficient to induce the assembly of the basal transcription machinery on the promoter and to lead to initial cyclin D1 accumulation in the cell. Later on in estrogen stimulation, the cyclin D1/Cdk4 holoenzyme associates with the CCND1 promoter, where E2F and pRb can also be found, contributing to the long-lasting gene enhancement required to drive G(1)-phase completion. Interestingly, progesterone triggers similar regulatory events through its own NRs, suggesting that the gene regulation cascade described here represents a crossroad for the transcriptional control of G(1)-phase progression by different classes of NRs.

In the Peruvian Amazon basin rivers are the only link among the small communities, scattered on a wide territory. With that in mind and according to the needs of local communities, a health care network system based on mobile clinic units onboard small crafts has been conceived, within a cooperation programme between the Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo (Perú) and the University of Trieste (Italy). This way, patients along the inland waterways can be reached. Ships to be operated in this service, must be especially designed to sail in different environmental conditions: in shallow water during dry season, against high currents during wet season and eventually in rivers showing both phenomena. Moreover, manoeuvrability and landing are subjects of major interest in ships designed for these regions. Within this frame, a study has been carried out to define main characteristics for a small clinic ship. General arrangement plans including medical equipment and clinic lay-out have been drawn. Then, according to clinic platform needs, the major engineering aspects of the ship have been studied to a concept design level: main dimensions have been defined and hull geometry has been optimized for waterway navigation; scantling of all the ship’s structures has been completed, based on the most recent rules issued by classification societies and according to EC guidelines for inland navigation; propellers and propulsion plant have been studied on the whole, considering shallow water effects on resistance; intact and damaged stability and buoyancy criteria have been met according to IMO regulations.

Estrogens are direct mitogens for hormone-responsive human breast cancercells, where they promote cell cycle progression and induce transcriptional activation of "immediate early" and cyclin genes. Nongenomic signaling by estrogens, including rapid changes of mitogen-activated protein(MAP) kinase and other signal-transduction-cascades activity, has been proposed to be essential for the mitogenic actions of these hormones and their nuclear receptors. Because regulation of gene transcription is considered a key step in cell cycle control by mitogenic protein kinase cascades, here we investigated the possibility that estrogen might induce the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) 1/2-, c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase-, p38- or protein kinase A-responsive transcription factors in the cell nucleus during stimulation of early G(1) progression, a timing coincident with the maximum effects of these hormones on such enzyme activity. No significant changes in protein kinase-mediated transcription factor activity could be detected here after estrogen stimulation of either MCF-7 or ZR-75.1 cells. Furthermore, these steroids were able to induce activation of the human CCND1 gene promoter, accumulation of cyclin D1 and pRb phosphorylation, all key events in cell cycle stimulation by mitogens, even in the presence of Erk1/2 activation blockade by a MAP kinase-activating kinase (Mek)1/2 inhibitor. Thus, estrogens do not appear to convey significant protein kinase-dependent signaling to the cell nucleus during the early phases of human breast cancer cell stimulation. Furthermore, hormonal regulation of G(1) gene transcription can occur even without additional activation of the Mek-Erk1/2 pathway by estrogen receptors.

To describe the evolution and results of health projects run in hospitals and managed by Nursing Coordinators.A convenience sample of 13 north Italian hospital, and a sample of 56 Nursing Coordinators with a permanent position from at least 1 year, was contacted. The following information was collected with a structured interview: projects run in 2009, topic, if bottom up or top down, number of staff involved and state (ended, still running, stopped).In 2009 Nursing Coordinators started 114 projects (mean 1.8±1.2 each): 94 (82.5%) were improvement projects, 17 (14.9%) accreditation, and 3 (2.6%) research. The projects involved 2.732 staff members (73.7%; average commitment 84 hours); 55 (48.2%) projects were still running, 52 (45.6%) completed, for 5 (4.4%) there was no assessment and 2 (1.8%) had been stopped.Nurses are regularly involved in several projects. A systematic monitoring of the results obtained and stabilization strategies are scarce. Due to the large number of resources invested, a correct management and the choice of areas relevant for patients' problems and needs are pivotal.