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After a long-lasting period of economic growth and catching-up efforts with the US technological leadership, in the 90th major European economies entered a trend of slow growth, and patchy technological progress. Studies by Acemoglu, Aghion, Zilibotti, 2003; Aghion and Howitt, 2005 identify the source of this trend in the failure to shift from an investment-based model of growth to an innovation-based one's, deemed mostly appropriate when economic performance takes place close to the technological frontier. This failure may occur because policies fostering catching-up investment-based strategies bring about market rigidities and relatively less competitive environment, which in turn hinder the transition to innovation-based strategies. The upshot brings to a vicious circle, called the 'trap of the follower'. Against this background, the paper investigates what caused European economies falling 'trapped', and what made them unable to cross the frontier. A major paper's argument argues that the failure occurred not so much because they were unsuccessful to get into an innovation-based growth pattern, as some of them get into. When assessing their innovation regime, the paper shows that the failure lies in the adoption of a pattern of incremental instead of radical innovations, as it shows in the technological leader. The case in point is the biotechnology sector in the US and Germany. The paper finds that the different models of economic organization in the two countries affected deeply their respective innovation regimes. In the final section, the paper analyzes some aspects of the European competitiveness deficit, and points to more risky and dynamic systems of innovation, as the way out of the European low growth potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper investigates the rapid spread of urban mega-projects on aban- doned industrial sites of European and American cities. These projects are gen- erally developed within the context of public-private partnerships, are frequendy mixed-use and cater to the needs of office-based businesses and tourism and leisure services. The introduction of new methods of financing, with the increas- ingly integration of real-estate sector into the new networks of global capitalism, is an important distinctive element, as also the incorporation of the designs of world-famous architects. This trend has been the result of changes occurred in the economy of advanced capitalist countries as well as of the imposing of the urban redevelopment as a key issue in the political agenda. The paper argues that the property-led urban regeneration and mega-projects don't necessarily contribute to make the city more affordable, efficient and inclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes two rules (Prime Time Access Rule, Financial Interest and Syndication Rules) proposed by the Federal Communications Commission and adopted in 1970 to regulate the U.S. television market. Some restrictions for the networks' production -- adopted after an investigation of the Department of Justice -- are considered as well. These measures are studied in light of their effects on the television market. The author aims to demonstrate ways in which they deeply affected the relationship between film and television industries, pointing out the influence of an attentive balance policy designed to curb the power of networks in favor of studios experiencing crisis. The following analysis invites scholars of media economics and management to rediscover the strategic importance of this historical movement's strengthening of the Hollywood industry's power, in particular taking into account events occurring in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep disorders and related diseases are becoming increasingly relevant for the health and wellbeing of the general and working populations. Sleep disorders affect all aspects of health, showing a bi-directionality with health conditions and comorbidity with several diseases. Consequently, sleep disorders may have severe negative consequences both for the individual and the enterprise, as well as for society on the whole, in terms of health, productivity and social costs. When considering the disturbances of the sleep/wake cycle, it is important to distinguish between those connected with endogenous biological factors from those related to socio-environmental conditions, including work, and those associated with mental and physical diseases, that are often associated and interact with each other. Many sleep disorders are still underestimated and under-valued in clinical practice and, to a much greater extent, in workers' health surveillance. The present paper is aimed at drawing the attention of the occupational health physician to some key issues, particularly regarding excessive daytime sleepiness, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and shift and night work, as well as their implications in terms of health and occupational consequences. Information on the main aspects of clinical diagnosis and health surveillance, as well as risk management and prevention at the workplace, are provided.

A standardized and evidence-based approach to the cardiological management of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery has been recently defined by Task Forces of the American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) that published their guidelines in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Both the recommendations moved from risk indices to a practical, stepwise approach of the patient, which integrates clinical risk factors and test results with the estimated stress of the planned surgical procedure. In the present paper the main topics of the guidelines are discussed, and moreover, emphasis is placed on four controversial issues such as the use of prophylactic coronary revascularization in patients with myocardial ischemia, the perioperative management of patients with congestive heart failure, the routine use of betablockers and statins, and, finally, the management of antiplatelet therapies in patients with coronary stents. In addition to promoting an improvement of immediate perioperative care, the preoperative cardiological evaluation should be a challenge for identifying subjects with enhanced risk of cardiovascular events, who should be treated and monitored during a long-term follow-up.

Objective: the study describes the burden of the Italian epidemiological research compared to that of the other 26 countries belonging to the European Union and to that of the United States, in the period 2007-2009. This is accomplished for both scientific published papers and grants obtained., Design and Setting: the searching in Medline database (February 2010) was done through complex search strings based on keywords corresponding to the various epidemiological research fields; grants were identified through 7th Framework Program (FP7), among those funded within February 2010., Main Outcome Measures: proportions of epidemiological papers published by researchers of the different countries and total number and amount of granted research projects for each European country., Results: in the period 2007-2009 epidemiological papers by Italian researchers account for about one-eighth of the total European production. This makes of Italy the second country in production, after the United Kingdom. Moreover, Italy is involved in 51.3%of the 374 studies granted through FP7: at least one Italian research body participates in 154 projects and Italian researches co-ordinate 38 projects., Conclusion: in Italy biomedical and epidemiological research is in a developing phase despite the difficulties due to the decrease in the amount of funds available.Moreover, Italian research is carried out mainly by public bodies and by Universities, even if a deeper involvement of local health authorities and regional agencies is desirable.

Objectives: This paper examines the history of an occupational disease which has now disappeared: acroosteolysis of manual tank cleaners in the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is a rare disease characterized by destructive alterations of the distal phalanges of the hands., Methods: All the available literature on this disease was examined. The history of acroosteolysis was studied within the general framework of the history of the discovery of adverse health effects of exposure to vinyl chloride, and this history was studied up to the end of the 1960's., Results: The disease was observed for the first time in mid-1963 in Belgium (Jemeppe) in a chemical plant operated by Solvay, and affected two workers whose job was the manual cleaning of vessels used for the polymerization of vinyl chloride; similar cases occurred in almost all PVC production plants all over the world, but not in the plants where the main activity was the production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Little more than one hundred cases are described in the scientific literature, and this number increases by a few dozen if we consider known but unpublished cases. These figures confirm the rarity of the disease, which peaked at the end of the 1960's and disappeared during the 1970's, probably due to the complete elimination of manual reactor cleaning. Observation of the disease lasted no more than fifteen years and the disease was not replicated in experimental conditions on animals., Discussion: The disease was clinically characterized, had a short latency (from several months to several years), was rare and unequivocally linked to the manual cleaning of PVC polymerization tanks. However many questions still remain open: the period when the disease first appeared (many years after the start of PVC production in the world), the etiology of the disease (the most accredited hypothesis considers three concomitant factors: a chemical factor--one of the many substances used during polymerization, and particularly vinyl chloride monomer, a physical factor--microtraumas of the fingers during manual cleaning, individual susceptibility), the pathogenetic mechanism (in particular: the role of skin, respiratory, or digestive system, as entrance door), a method (or test) to screen subjects potentially predisposed to the disease. In our view acroosteolysis of manual tank cleaners in PVC production is an occupational disease which is distinct from "vinyl chloride disease" as identified by Viola (1974).

There has been a proliferation of Orthodontic Boards across the world but there is no uniformity in standards, purposes or in the type of examination. In order to promote discussion at the International Orthodontic Congress in Paris in September 2005 a questionnaire was sent out to 80 Orthodontic Societies on the World Federation of Orthodontists list. There was a limited response to the questionnaire but the results are described in this paper. It illustrated that there were mainly two types of Board, mandatory ones that acted to license the Orthodontist in that country on the Specialist register and voluntary ones where the orthodontist demonstrates his excellence. The paper describes the answers to the various questions asked on the purpose, eligibility and type of examination of the Boards. They were also asked about the feasibility of an International Board. This was rejected as an option but an affiliation of Boards was recommended.

The diffusion of acupuncture in Europe begun in the 50ies, following 2 main trends: traditional (or energetic) acupuncture and reflexotherapeutic acupuncture. In 1973, in Turin, Italy, the Italian Society of Reflexotherapy, Acupuncture and Auricolotherapy (SIRAA) was founded. This Society over the years tried to integrate the 2 different trends, whose main characteristics are analysed in this paper. The first aim of SIRAA, since its foundation, has been to study acupuncture and auricolotherapy by means of research and by scientific trials, in order to promote the understanding of its mechanisms of action and to clearly show all its therapeutic applications. The development of acupuncture in Italy, the activities of SIRAA from the origins up to now and the future aims of this Association are described. Among the aims, particularly important is to propose scientific research models compatible with evidence based medicine, but also able to warrant the adequacy of the acupunctural method. In conclusion, it is pointed out the necessity to address the future research on acupuncture not only towards the study of the mechanisms of action and the evaluation of therapeutic results, but also towards some new branches now considered with increasing attention, such as preventive medicine, rehabilitation and palliative cares.

The security of electronic medical information is very important for health care organisations, which have to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information provided. This paper will briefly outline the legal measures adopted by the European Community, Italy and the United States to regulate the use and disclosure of medical records. It will then go on to highlight how information technology can help to address these issues with special reference to the management of organisation policies. To this end, we will present a modelling example for the security policy of a radiological department.

Outcome research measures the clinical, economic and humanistic outcomes of pharmacological therapies on patients suffering from different diseases. Outcome research can be applied either to phase II and III clinical trials to assess new drugs for registration or to already marketed drugs to assess their real value when used in clinical practice in a large population of patients. Oncology can be a major field of application because there is a large amount of new treatments put on the market, often without demonstration of significant improvement in survival or Quality of Life but with higher prices than the old molecules. Patients and disease specific outcomes have been identified for cancer by a Working Group set up by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, with the former being defined as more critical to establish the value of new treatments. Survival, drug toxicity and impact on Quality of Life are the most important patient's outcomes to consider before recommending anti-cancer therapies for use in clinical practice. The present paper will describe the outcomes in oncology and will deal with the transferability to clinical practice of the results of clinical trials.

The surveillance of occupationally related disease is a research topic in many countries. A working group on the information system within the Italian Association for Occupational Health has recently proposed to reorganize the national surveillance system. In Epidemiologia e Prevenzione a series of contributions relevant to this issue will be published. This paper reviews the on-going research in our country and abroad (United States, United Kingdom, Scandinavian Countries and Canada).