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Aim: To investigate whether increased levels of vimentin citrullinated peptides identified by MS in articular cartilage can be measured in pathologies other than rheumatoid arthritis and be utilised for diagnostic purposes. Methods: A monoclonal antibody against the sequence RLRSSVPGV-citrulline (VICM) was developed and evaluated in a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) (n=52 + 28 controls) rat model of liver fibrosis and two clinical cohorts of adult patients with hepatitis C (HCV) (n=92) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (n=62), and compared to healthy controls. Results: In CCl4-treated rats, mean systemic VICM levels increased 31% at week 12 (176 ng/mL, P

As part of a broad study of stellar winds in different galaxies, to establish observational constraints on the influence of metallicity on the mass loss process, we investigate the winds of planetary nebula (PN) nuclei in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Theoretically, the radiation pressure mechanism implies a strong dependence of the wind acceleration on the element abundances. Observationally, model predictions have been tested using Pop. I stars in the Magellanic Clouds (Puls et al. 1996, A&A, 305, 171) and massive stars in the nearby galaxies M31, M33 and NGC 6822 (Bianchi et al. 1996, AJ, 111, 2303; Bianchi et al. 1996, in prep.). We now extend this investigation to low luminosity, evolved objects.

Social differences within countries may partly explain the lack of economic convergence and the persistence of regional disparities. The case of Italy is emblematic: economic gap between North and South remains at high levels with large differences in social capital and in trust. In this paper, we use the micro data from the ISTAT “Aspects of Daily Life” Survey to build a measure of “trust in others” and a measure of “trust in institutions” through a latent class model to attribute a trust score to the Italian households and the Italian regions and, in this way, to add elements of knowledge useful to policies. Our measures confirm a persistent territorial divide although the regional mapping appears more complex than the classical North–South partition. At last, a discussion on the household typology shows that the territorial gaps of trust persist even among households with similar socio-economic characteristics.

We use the PISA 2006 results to analyse students’ proficiency in EU countries with regard to two indexes that represent the home background, viz the educational resources available at home and the family background of students. However, many factors affect proficiency and therefore, using a DEA-bootstrap, we intend to measure the efficiency of the European educational systems as capability to ensure high students’ competencies despite adverse conditions about the educational resources available at home and the family background. Results show an unexpected differentiation among EU countries. In particular, the most developed countries often show disappointing students’ proficiency despite good levels of home background. In this case, an important role is played by the social and economic context.

In 1959, Penrose highlighted how the firm's organisation of economic activity is based on its perception about the adjustment of production to the market, more than on objective evaluation. So, she underlined not just the importance to identify the nature of the determinants about firm behaviour, but also how the assessment of these factors must consider the production context where they originate. Now, this context for Penrose has to be considered as an image in the mind of the entrepreneur of the possibilities and restrictions of the market. In line with this view, and with the recent approach to innovation policies, this work analyses the survey data collected in 2008 on the innovation needs of Sicilian firms, highlighting the stylised facts useful to explain and interpret their innovation choices.