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The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of non-genetic factors on the characteristics of pre-weaning growth in sheep under tropical conditions. The sex of the lamb, the type of birth (single, multiple) and parity number on the birth weight, weaning weight and preweaning daily gain of 52 wool biotype lambs were evaluated. The lambs were weighed weekly from birth to week 12 (weaning). The sex of lambs did not have a significant effect on the variables evaluated. Lambs from mothers of third lambing had a higher preweaning daily gain than lambs from mothers of first lambing (p, El estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar el efecto de factores no genéticos sobre las características del crecimiento predestete en ovinos bajo condiciones tropicales. Se evaluó el sexo de la cría, el tipo de nacimiento y el número de partos de la madre sobre los pesos al nacimiento, pesos al destete y la ganancia diaria predestete de 52 corderos biotipo lana. Las crías fueron pesadas semanalmente desde el nacimiento hasta la semana 12 (destete). El sexo de la cría no tuvo un efecto significativo sobre las variables evaluadas. Los corderos provenientes de madres de tercer parto presentaron una mayor ganancia diaria predestete que los corderos provenientes de ovejas de primer parto (p

El estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar el efecto de factores no genéticos sobre las características del crecimiento predestete en ovinos bajo condiciones tropicales. Se evaluó el sexo de la cría, el tipo de nacimiento y el número de partos de la madre sobre los pesos al nacimiento, pesos al destete y la ganancia diaria predestete de 52 corderos biotipo lana. Las crías fueron pesadas semanalmente desde el nacimiento hasta la semana 12 (destete). El sexo de la cría no tuvo un efecto significativo sobre las variables evaluadas. Los corderos provenientes de madres de tercer parto presentaron una mayor ganancia diaria predestete que los corderos provenientes de ovejas de primer parto (p

The voyage of the English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) to Brazil in the mid-nineteenth century, and his studies on the palms of the Amazon region, served as a basis for the elaboration and application of a didactic sequence to promote teaching and the learning of biological contents related to the biological classification and phylogeny of living beings. The didactic sequence, composed of eight classes, was applied to high school students of a public school in the city of São Paulo. The aim of this research is to analyze, in one of the eight classes of components of the didactic sequence, the construction of meanings in the social plan of the classroom, through the use of an analytical tool of the discursive interactions between teacher and students. We used the reference system developed by Mortimer and Scott (2002), based on teaching focuses (teacher intentions and classroom discourse content), communicative (dialogic or authority, interactive or non-interactive) and actions (patterns of teacher interaction and intervention). The analytical tool made it possible to characterize in the construction of meanings a "teaching spiral" articulated between the communicative approaches of the teacher and the contents worked (historical, scientific and meta-scientific contents) in a biology class from the learning of an episode of the history of the Biology. A viagem do naturalista inglês Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) ao Brasil, em meados do século XIX, e seus estudos sobre as palmeiras da região amazônica serviram de base para a elaboração e aplicação de uma sequência didática com objetivo de promover o ensino e a aprendizagem de conteúdos de biologia relacionados à classificação biológica e filogenia dos seres vivos. A sequência didática, composta por oito aulas, foi aplicada a estudantes do ensino médio de uma escola pública do município de São Paulo. O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar, em uma das oito aulas componentes da sequência didática, a construção de significados no plano social da sala de aula, por meio da utilização de uma ferramenta analítica das interações discursivas entre professor e alunos. Foi utilizado o sistema de referência elaborado por Mortimer e Scott (2002), baseado em focos do ensino (intenções do professor e conteúdo do discurso em sala de aula), abordagem comunicativa (dialógico ou de autoridade; interativo ou não-interativo) e ações (padrões de interação e intervenção do professor). A ferramenta analítica possibilitou caracterizar na construção de significados uma “espiral de ensino” articulada entre as abordagens comunicativas da professora e os conteúdos trabalhados (conteúdos históricos, científicos e metacientíficos) em uma aula de biologia a partir da aprendizagem de um episódio da própria história da Biologia.

La producción ovina en Colombia ha venido presentando avance en los últimos 15 años, reflejado en la importación de genética y la aparición de productores empresariales; sin embargo, aún este sector tiene bajo nivel de desarrollo tecnológico, manejo empírico, ausencia de cultura empresarial y de información a nivel de predio, regional y nacional; lo que dificulta la investigación, extensión, academia y la generación de políticas de desarrollo del sector. Abstract: Sheep production in Colombia has been showing progress in the last 15 years, it have reflected in import of genetics and the appearance of business producers; However, even this sector has a low level of technological development, empirical management, lack of business culture and information at farm, regional and national level; this issue afects research, extension, academia and the generation of sector development policies. Maestría

Maestría en Educación desde la Diversidad, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas. La Institución Educativa es uno de los espacios sociales en los cuales se forma al ser humano de forma integral, lugar donde se practican valores y se establecen relaciones de convivencia que permiten valorar y respetar las diferencias. Mediante esta figura se vislumbran situaciones, parvedades y el interés de abordar las prácticas pedagógicas que direccionen y permitan dar respuesta a la diversidad que emerge en el contexto de aula, de tal manera que promueva su transformación; ya que aunque constituya uno de los pilares básicos del sistema educativo, continúa siendo un tema de constante preocupación en la comunidad educativa, percibiéndose como un dificultad y no como una oportunidad para enriquecer las formas de enseñar y aprender.

The issue of functional asymmetries in the lower-limbs has been the subject of numerous recent investigations concerning many different contact, limited-contact and non-contact sports. The presence of strength asymmetries in the lower-limbs of young athletes practicing various sporting disciplines is considered an intrinsic risk factor for injury; in such cases, compensation strategies should thus be implemented aimed at eliminating, or at least limiting, the degree of asymmetry in order to avoid the negative consequences asymmetries can have upon the health of young sportsmen and women on the long-term. The aim of the present study was to examine the presence of functional asymmetries in the lower-limbs of young tennis players in strength and speed drill performance and to test a specific balance-training programme in its capacity to effectively reduce such asymmetries. Twenty-three young tennis players were randomly assigned to the Experimental Group (EG) (n = 11: 4 females, 7 males; 13.2 ± 0.9 years; 50.8 ± 8.9 Kg; 1.63 ± 0.08 m) or Comparison Group (CG) (n = 12: 4 females, 8 males; 13.0 ± 0.9 years; 51.1 ± 9.2 Kg; 1.61 ± 0.09 m). To quantify percent asymmetries in lower-limb strength before (T0) and following (T1) training, performances were assessed in the one-leg hop test (OLH), side-hop test (SH) and side steps and forward 4.115-m test (4m-SSF). Performances in the 10 and 20m sprint tests and the Foran test were also assessed. The EG completed a total of 12 training sessions directed at balance training: two 30-minute sessions/week over a 6-week period. The CG followed an identical training schedule, but training sessions consisted of tennis-specific drills only. The results reveal significant differences between pre- and post-training tests in the EG only: the degree of lower-limb asymmetry was decreased in the EG following completion of the training programme, as assessed using the OLH test (p < 0.001), SH test (p < 0.001) and 4m-SSF test (p < 0.05). A significant interaction and main effect of training was also observed in the EG: balance training led to a significant reduction in the percent of asymmetry in lower-limb strength, as measured using the SH (p < 0.01), 4m-SSF (p < 0.01) and OLH (p < 0.05) tests. These results confirm that balance training exercises are able to counteract/reduce the degree of asymmetry in lower-limb strength in young tennis players.

Objective: The aim of this study was correlation proliferative activity, markers express stem cells, and lipid peroxides of undifferentiated stem cells of human adult dental follicle (DF) following culture. Methods: For this study, we used 8 samples from DF of impacted third molars to maintain culture conditions and evaluated the growth curve, cell viability, production of lipid peroxidation, cell cycle phases, and proliferative index during 25 days of culture. Results: Cells after culture showed characteristics of fibroblast-like type following 25th day of culture. The results of lipid peroxidation showed that stem cells in culture produce 13 nmoles/ml malondialdehyde at the start of culture, increasing until the 12th day and then began a decline that lasted until the 25th day. We revealed that DFSCs presented a significantly higher percentage of cells in S + G2/M phases by the 15th day of culture compared with cells at the start of culture. Cell surface markers revealed that cell lines were negative for HLA-DR and positive for CD90, CD44, and CD105. The expression of p21 protein, involved in the regulation of the cell cycle, showed a significant increase from the 15th to 25th day of culture. Results of cell division rates show a significant increase between the 6th and 15th day of culture. Conclusions: We conclude that the culture remained stable during the 25 days of culture, presenting the markers of stem cells and markers of control, progression, and cell proliferation that there was an increased production of lipid peroxides between the 6th and 12th days; this increase is related to the increased numbers of cells that also occurs during this period. Then, there is a significantly decline in the production of lipid peroxides and the number of cells, which is accompanied by an increase in cell unviability.

Implementar una guía metodológica de Ingeniería de Requerimientos, mediante la definición de un proceso y elaboración de una aplicación informática, para mejorar la gestión de requerimientos de software de la Dirección de TIC del GAD-I. El desarrollo de software abarca actividades de análisis, diseño, desarrollo, pruebas e implantación; y como parte del análisis se debe descubrir, desarrollar, validar y gestionar los requerimientos que especifican un sistema. Pero a medida que se van definiendo más requerimientos, los miembros del equipo de trabajo tienen dificultad para controlar cambios y versiones, definir relaciones entre requerimientos, conocer el estado y el avance de cada requerimiento, identificar requerimientos perdidos, duplicados e innecesarios. Este es el caso de la Unidad de Desarrollo de Software del Gobierno Autónomo Descentralizado Municipal de San Miguel de Ibarra, donde los problemas existentes en la gestión de requerimientos de software han ocasionado trabajo imprevisto, inexactitud en la estimación de esfuerzo y tiempo, requerimientos omitidos o mal identificados, documentación de requerimientos incompleta, no estandarizada o inexistente, desconocimiento del estado y avance de cada requerimiento, dificultades para control de cambios, retrasos en la entrega del producto software, entre otros. Al ser una institución regulada por disposiciones gubernamentales, la importancia de atender adecuadamente los requerimientos de software atraviesa el ámbito funcional y legal, debido a que los requerimientos deben ser cuidadosamente documentados, rastreados, revisados y probados. En ese sentido, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo implementar una guía metodológica de Ingeniería de Requerimientos mediante la definición de un proceso y elaboración de una aplicación informática, que permitan mejorar la gestión de requerimientos de la Unidad de Desarrollo de Software. Para ello se utilizó un enfoque de investigación cualitativo con la aplicación de técnicas de recolección de datos como la observación, entrevistas abiertas, revisión de documentos y talleres de trabajo que permitieron definir el proceso de gestión de requerimientos y la aplicación informática que lo soporte. Como resultado se obtuvieron los siguientes productos adaptados a las necesidades de la Unidad de Desarrollo de Software: taxonomía y atributos de requerimientos, técnicas para elicitación de requerimientos, plantillas de artefactos, proceso para la elicitación, análisis, especificación y validación de requerimientos, proceso de control de cambios y control de versiones, trazabilidad de requerimientos hacia casos de prueba, así como una aplicación informática adaptada al proceso definido. Durante el desarrollo del trabajo, se constató que los Analistas de Sistemas ya estaban acostumbrados a trabajar informalmente en el desarrollo de software y les resultó dificultoso el uso de un procedimiento documentado con artefactos. Sin embargo, se han obtenido varios beneficios en la Unidad, entre ellos: centralización de información, estandarización de formatos y actividades, mejoras para la identificación y clasificación de requerimientos, disponibilidad de información, control de avances del proyecto, acceso a versiones vigentes de artefactos, sistematización de órdenes de trabajo, entre otros.

RESUMENLa criminalización de la migración (crimigración) deviene de un proceso de securitización en el marco de una polí­tica pública basada en la defensa estatal, la seguridad nacional y la defensa de la institucionalidad gubernamental. En este artí­culo se plantea un estudio que muestra el discurso excluyente hacia los inmigrantes, especí­ficamente en caso venezolano. Ese discurso, permite legitimar la categorización entre ciudadanos y enemigos dándoles a estos últimos un tratamiento punitivo diferente en razón de su supuesta peligrosidad hacia el contrato social y el orden público. ABSTRACTCriminalization of migration, comes from a process of securitization determinate as a matter of national defense, for the protection of national security and state institutions. Hence this article propounds a study that will develop the formation of an excluding discourse toward immigrants specifically in the case of Venezuelans migrants. So in this context this discourse state allows the categorization between citizens and enemies giving these last ones a different criminal treatment because of their supposed dangerousness to the law and order. KEY WORDS: Criminalization of immigration, securitization, national security, in-migrants, enemies, law and order JEL CODE / CLASIFICACIÓN JEL: K14, J61 Criminalization of migration, comes from a process of securitization determinate as a matter of national defense, for the protection of national security and state institutions. Hence this article propounds a study that will develop the formation of an excluding discourse toward immigrants specifically in the case of Venezuelans migrants. So in this context this discourse state allows the categorization between citizens and enemies giving these last ones a different criminal treatment because of their supposed dangerousness to the law and order. KEY WORDS: Criminalization of immigration, securitization, national security, in-migrants, enemies, law and order JEL CODE: K14, J61

Esta dissertação, inserida em linha de pesquisa de \"História, Filosofia e Cultura no Ensino de Ciências\", abordou a inserção de um episódio da História da Ciência no ensino de Biologia da educação básica. A pesquisa, caracterizada por uma abordagem inclusiva da História da Ciência no ensino de Biologia, foi orientada pelos seguintes objetivos: 1) desenvolver o estudo de um episódio histórico envolvendo a viagem do naturalista inglês Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) ao Brasil, no século XIX; 2) desenvolver um estudo empírico de utilização de episódio da História da Biologia no ensino e aprendizagem de conteúdos de Biologia por meio da elaboração, validação, aplicação e avaliação de uma sequência didática; 3) investigar os efeitos da utilização de um episódio de História da Biologia sobre aspectos motivacionais e emocionais dos alunos durante o ensino e aprendizagem de conteúdos de Biologia. A viagem de Wallace à Amazônia foi analisada segundo a metodologia de pesquisa em História da Ciência, fazendo uso de fontes primárias e secundárias. Foram investigadas a formação inicial do pesquisador e as motivações para a realização da viagem segundo o contexto das expedições científicas do século XIX. Foram ainda discutidas as principais contribuições que ele desenvolveu, particularmente sobre as palmeiras amazônicas. Esse estudo gerou um material que pode servir de subsídio ao professor que deseje abordar esse episódio histórico em sala de aula. A partir desse episódio, foi elaborada uma sequência didática baseada nos estudos de Wallace sobre as palmeiras amazônicas. As palmeiras estudadas por Wallace serviram de base para os alunos realizarem atividades relacionadas à classificação biológica, ao uso de chaves dicotômicas de identificação e à elaboração de uma matriz de classificação filogenética. A sequência didática foi composta de oito aulas desenvolvidas com diferentes estratégias de ensino e aprendizagem, com uso de materiais instrucionais especialmente elaborados para cada aula. Após processo de validação, a sequência didática foi aplicada em duas turmas de 2º ano do Ensino Médio, de uma escola pública, no município de São Paulo, no primeiro semestre de 2013. Foi realizada triangulação de dados obtidos por meio de gravação e transcrição das aulas, bem como aplicação de dois questionários validados pela literatura: um destinado a avaliar motivação e outro a avaliar emoção situacional dos alunos. A análise dos dados obtidos levou à elaboração de uma representação gráfica mapeando as disposições motivacionais e emocionais dos alunos durante as interações de ensino e aprendizagem da sequência didática. Como resultados principais da pesquisa empírica que podem contribuir para a área de ensino de Ciências Naturais em que abordagens históricas estão inseridas, destacam-se evidências de que os alunos responderam positivamente à aprendizagem de conteúdos científicos atuais considerados complexos e distantes do seu dia a dia, como é o caso da classificação filogenética, após esse estudo ter sido provocado a partir dos estudos de Wallace na Amazônia. Esta pesquisa também contribui com a divulgação de uma metodologia para investigar aspectos motivacionais e emocionais dos alunos na aprendizagem de conteúdos de Biologia. Finalmente, estabeleceu alguns parâmetros sobre a contribuição da História da Ciência no ensino de Biologia. This dissertation, set in search of \"History, Philosophy and Culture in Science Education\" line, addressed the insertion of an episode of the History of Science in Biology teaching of basic education. The research, characterized by an inclusive approach of the History of Science in teaching Biology, was guided by the following objectives: 1) develop the study of a historical episode involving the journey of the English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) to Brazil in the nineteenth century; 2) develop an empirical study of using episode of the History of Biology in teaching and learning content biology through the development, validation, implementation and evaluation of an instructional sequence; 3) investigate the effects of using of an episode of the History of Biology on motivational and emotional aspects of learning content for students of Biology. A trip to the Amazon Wallace was analyzed according to the methodology of research in History of Science, using primary and secondary sources. The initial training of the researcher and the motivations for the provision of travel were investigated according to the context of the scientific expeditions of the nineteenth century. We also discuss the major contributions he has developed, particularly on Amazonian palm trees. This study generated a material that can serve as a subsidy to the teacher who wishes to address this historical episode in the classroom. From this episode, we created a teaching sequence based on the studies of Wallace on the Amazon palm trees. Palm trees studied by Wallace served as the basis for students to carry out activities related to biological classification, the use of dichotomous keys for identification and development of a phylogenetic classification matrix. The teaching learning sequence consisted of eight lessons developed with different strategies of teaching and learning, using a specially designed instructional materials for each class. After the validation process, the teaching learning sequence was applied to two groups of 2nd year of High School, a public school in São Paulo, in the first half of 2013. Triangulation of data obtained through the recording and transcription of the classes as well as application of two validated questionnaires in the literature was performed: one designed to assess motivation and to review other students\' situational emotion. The data analysis led to the development of a graphical representation mapping the motivational and emotional dispositions of students during interactions of teaching and learning instructional sequence. As the results of empirical research that can contribute to the area of teaching natural sciences in that historical approaches are inserted, are evidence that the students responded positively to learning of scientific considered complex and current content away from their daily lives, such as the phylogenetic classification, after this study have been caused from the studies of Wallace in the Amazon. This research also contributes to the dissemination of a methodology for investigating motivational and emotional aspects of learning content students in Biology. Finally, set some parameters on the contribution of the History of Science in teaching Biology.

SESAR is defining a new air traffic management system, with new technologies and high automation levels, for instance, systems that perform actions without explicit human intervention. Those will cause changes in the allocation of liability mainly on the operators. Some allocation issues, such as those concerning the relation between humans and automated systems, likely common in the future, are not contemplated in the current legal system. It is necessary to characterise to what extent new automatic tools may shift liability for accidents from operators to technology, namely from operators to manufacturers, organisations and system developers. Particular attention deserves the liability for software mistake, crucial for safety-critical systems, such as ATM. Additional layers of complexity are added by automatic and autonomous systems and hybrid man-machine units. This paper outlines the modeling framework that will be adopted in the ALIAS project (Addressing Liability Impact of Automated Systems), based on describing ATM as a socio-technical system. In such a system both technical and social aspects (humans and norms) are crucial for design and functioning, and the allocation of liabilities may be viewed as a governance-mechanism enabling the enhancement of the functioning of ATM. This will lead to the development of a methodological tool to support the introduction of any technology in complex systems, particularly in ATM, ensuring to take all the relevant legal aspects into consideration at the right stage of the design, development and deployment process.

El presente trabajo de investigación tuvo como problema general: ¿Cuál es la relación existe entre el liderazgo transformacional y el clima organizacional en docentes de la Red N 05 UGEL N°01 San Juan de Miraflores 2014?y el objetivo general fue: Establecer la relación existe entre el liderazgo transformacional y el clima organizacional en docentes de las Instituciones Educativas Red N 05 UGEL N°01 San Juan de Miraflores 2014. El tipo de investigación fue básica de naturaleza descriptiva – correlacional, el diseño fue no experimental de corte transversal-correlacional. La muestra estuvo conformada por 148 docentes del nivel secundaria. Se aplicó la técnica de la encuesta con cuestionario tipo escala de Likert para ambas variables, se empleó la opinión de expertos y se utilizó el software SPSS. En la investigación, se ha encontrado que existe una correlación de r = 0,93 lo cual indica que la correlación es alta, entre liderazgo transformacional y el clima organizacional del nivel secundaria de las Instituciones Educativas de la Red Nº 05, UGEL Nº 01 – SAN Juan de Miraflores, con una relación directa y significativa entre el Liderazgo Transformacional y Clima Organizacional. Lima Norte Escuela de Posgrado Gestión y Calidad Educativa

A survey on the concentration of some metals and metalloids in soils of Veneto conducted on 2393 samples, of which 1363 topsoil (0-40 cm) and 1030 subsoil (70-100 cm), allowed to define the background values for the metals considered.Particularly for some metals and in areas of volcanic substrata these values were above certain threshold concentrations of contamination defined by the Italian environmental legislation. Some results of persistent organic pollutants monitoring inthe soils are reported and available., Une surveillance sur la concentration de certains métaux et métalloïdes dans les sols de la Vénétie menées sur 2393 échantillons, dont la couche arable 1363 (0-40 cm) et 1030 sous-sol (70-100 cm) a permis de définir les valeurs de fond pour les métaux considérés. En particulier pour certains métaux et dans les zones de substrats volcaniques valeurs sont au-dessus des concentrations seuils de contamination définis certains par la législation italienne sur la protection de l'environnement. Certains résultats de la surveillance des polluants organiques persistants dans le sol est disponible et rapporté., Un monitoraggio della concentrazione di metalli e metalloidi in alcuni terreni del Veneto è stato condotto mediante l’analisi di 2393 campioni, 1363 superficiali (0-40 cm) e 1030 profondi (70-100 cm); i risultati sono stati utilizzati per definire i valori di fondo per i metalli considerati. In particolare per alcuni metalli e nei suoli formatisi su substrati vulcanici tali valori sono al di sopra delle concentrazioni soglia di contaminazione definite dal Testo Unico Ambientale. Analogo monitoraggio è in corso sulla concentrazione nei suoli dei microinquinanti organici., EQA - International Journal of Environmental Quality; Vol 9 (2012); 11-18

The present study concerns the environmental monitoring of a site that is close to the industrial area of Pederobba (Treviso province) which is characterized by the presence of a cement factory. Successively 43 soil samples were collected-including 26 surface samples and 17 deep ones. Each soil sample was analyzed and organic (PAHs, PCBs and PCDD/Fs) and inorganic (metals and metalloids) parameters were measured. Analytical results showed some values above contamination threshold levels in residential districts regarding PCDD/F, copper and cobalt., La présente étude concerne le monitorage de l'environnement effectué près de la zone industrielle de Pederobba dans la province de Trévise caractérisée notamment par la présence d'une cimenterie. Dans les phases successives ont été recueillis 43 échantillons de sol dont 26 en surface et 17 en profondeur sur lesquels ont été déterminés des paramètres organiques (HAP, PCB et PCDD/F) et inorganiques (métaux et métalloïdes). Les résultats d'analyse ont montré plusieurs dépassements des concentrations-seuils de contamination dans les terrains utilisés à des fins résidentielles pour les paramètres PCDD/F, cuivre et cobalt., Il presente studio riguarda un monitoraggio ambientale condotto in prossimità dell’area industriale di Pederobba in provincia di Treviso caratterizzato in particolare dalla presenza di un cementificio. In fasi successive sono stati raccolti 43 campioni di suolo di cui 26 in superficie e 17 profondi su cui sono stati determinati parametri organici (IPA, PCB e PCDD/F) ed inorganici (metalli e metalloidi). I risultati analitici hanno evidenziato alcuni superamenti delle concentrazioni soglia di contaminazione per i terreni ad uso residenziale per i parametri PCDD/F, Rame e Cobalto., EQA - International Journal of Environmental Quality; Vol 4 (2010); 45-52

Congenital deafness is defined as the hearing loss which is present at birth and, consequently, before speech development. It is the most prevalent sensor neural disorder in developed countries, and its incidence is estimated between 1-3 children per 1,000 newborns, of which more than 50% are attributable to genetics causes. Deafness can be classified as syndromic or non-syndromic. In the first case, it is associated with outer ear malformations and/or systemic findings. More than 400 syndromes accompanied of deafness have been described, which represent about 30% of cases of congenital hearing loss. The remaining percentage corresponds to non-syndromic cases: 75-85% are autosomal recessive, 15-24% are autosomal dominant, and 1-2% are X-linked. The evaluation of a child with deafness requires a multidisciplinary collaboration among specialists, who must coordinate themselves and give information to the affected family. The aims of establishing a diagnosis are to predict other manifestations that may suggest some syndrome and to anticipate their management, as well as to perform genetic counseling to parents and affected individuals.

The Florence School of Regulation Transport Area carried out, in co-operation with the Chair of Management of Network Industries (EPFL), a study on the Governance of Competition in six European countries financed by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS). This research project aimed at identifying and analysing the possible institutional answers to the European Commission's pressure to implement further competition in the Swiss railway system. On the basis of the already existing European practices, as well as in light of the Swiss specifies, the research project highlights important prerequisites that need to be met to ensure performance and to respond to the different types of challenges independent from the institutional arrangements. This report looks at the railway systems in selected European countries (France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland) with a focus on passenger services with the aim to understand whether the institutional approaches to governing those systems may be typified and whether the approaches or the types may be related to some measure of systemic performance. Overall, this research aims at drawing lessons of general use from the situations examined. This research is based on three sets of information. First, an in-depth account of the current state of railway systems in the countries examined is provided. This has been carried out with a particular focus on regulatory arrangements, Public Service Obligations (PSOs) and overall evolution of railway-related institutions over the years since 1988. The main purpose of such a portrait is to observe and characterise the types of institutional arrangements. Then publicly available performance indicators (PIs) have been collected and contrasted with the institutional evolutions, seeking a causal link. Finally, a set of interviews with stakeholders has been carried out in all countries except Switzerland to investigate the existence of a systemic approach, as well as the stakeholders’ understanding of performance.