Genoa will be a key logistic pole for the Universal Exhibition

Combined forces to develop railway infrastructures

Milano, 22 ott. (Apcom) - In view of the 2015 Universal Exhibition, Milano relies on Genoa. In fact, thanks to its strategic location and its natural beauties, the capital of Liguria is going to be a key logistic pole for all the tourists and the delegates of the countries that will arrive in Italy in occasion of the event. It was decided by Milano's mayor Letizia Moratti and her counterpart in Genoa Marta Vincenzi during a meeting aimed at outlining the features of the collaboration for the Expo between the two cities.

First of all, Letizia Moratti and Marta Vincenzi undertook to support the initiatives for the development of the infrastructures connected with the European Corridor Rotterdam-Genoa. They also promised to analyse the possibility of increasing rail services.

An other goal is the exploitation of the Italian cultural and artistic offer by taking advantage of the cruise liners that travel through Genoa, a suggestive means to spread the knowledge of the country's heritage, which is renowned all around the world. Last, in 2015 the International Boat Show held in Genoa once a year could also open for some special editions.

A new cutting-edge campus for the Mario Negri Institute

An internationally renowned breeding ground for top researchers

Milano, 21 ott. (Apcom) - Milano's 'Mario Negri' Institute for Pharmacological Research throws itself into the future with the inauguration of a new 42,000-square metre campus equipped with cutting-edge laboratories and all the facilities its 450 researchers (many of which coming from abroad) might ask for. The new scientific centre was built on the ruins of an obsolete paint factory in the Bovisa neighbourhood, facing the Politecnico University, not far from the legendary headquarters that were financed in 1961 by the Milanese philanthropist Mario Negri.

Inside the new structure, the laboratories take up a 27,000-square metre surface. Thanks to movable walls, they can become either vast open spaces or very small rooms. There are also a refectory, two meeting rooms, many offices, a library with 5,000 volumes and 200 electronic magazines, a laboratory for maternal and child health and one of medical computer-science. Besides, the building is self-sufficient, as it has inner service workshops and a technological cogeneration station for energy needs.

Throughout its 47-year history, the institute trained 4,500 researchers, whose work has led to the publication of over 11,000 articles in peer-reviewed journals. "This is a gift for young scientists, an act of trust in the future and an evidence of science's worth," said Silvio Garattini, the Institute's director.

A 'trained' brain escapes Alzheimer's disease

Education and mentally demanding occupations retard the symptoms

Milano, 22 ott. (Apcom) - 'Training' our brain helps us escape Alzheimer's disease. People with more education and more mentally demanding occupations may have protection against the memory loss that precedes the pathology, according to a research coordinated by Milano's San Raffaele University and Scientific Institute. The results were published on the latest issue on the medical journal Neurology.

The study involved over 300 patients with Alzheimer's disease and around 100 people with mind cognitive impairment, a transition stage when some memory problems are occurring beyond what is normal for a person's age, but not the serious problems of the pathology. All the participants were followed for an average of 14 months. Researchers tested their memory and cognitive skills and used brain scans to measure the amount of brain glucose metabolism, which shows how much the brain has been affected by the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer's disease.

The research found that in people with the same level of memory impairment, people with more education and more mentally demanding jobs had significantly more changes and damage in their brains from Alzheimer's disease than people with less education and less mentally demanding jobs.

"The theory is that education and demanding jobs create a buffer against the effects of dementia on the brain, or a cognitive reserve," said study author Valentina Garibotto, MD, of the San Raffaele University and Scientific Institute and the National Institute of Neuroscience in Milan, Italy. "Their brains are able to compensate for the damage and allow them to keep functioning in spite of damage."

"There are two possible explanations," she added. "The brain could be made stronger through education and occupational challenges. Or, genetic factors that enabled people to achieve higher education and occupational achievement might determine the amount of brain reserve. It isn't possible to determine which accounts for our findings."

Culture and education: the secrets of Leeds' "Renaissance"

Andrew Carter: "We aspire to be a great European city"

Milano, 16 ott. (Apcom) - From ordinary industrial town to blooming financial and cultural centre: in around twenty years Leeds has radically changed its identity, becoming the UK's fastest growing city with the second largest employment total outside London, an estimated 457,400 people out of 750,000 inhabitants. Its economic vitality, which is also testified by the presence of over 30 banks and nearly 200 law firms, mixes with an extraordinary artistic ferment, making it appealing both as business magnet and as a tourist destination. Leeds' varied offer was showcased in Milano through a five-day event, during which the two cities also laid the foundations for future collaborations. We asked Andrew Carter, the Councillor of Leeds' city council, to sum up its recent ascent.

"Leeds was an industrial city, although it always had a very diverse economic base," he said. "A number of traditional industries had been present in the area for many years. However, around two decades ago, that began changing, as those industries became less prominent and we were left with some of the old factories dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. So we focused more and more on financial-legal services as one of our core industries and we decided to regenerate the city in a comprehensive sort of way."

In fact, like in many other European cities regeneration in Leeds had actually been going on for over 40 years, but "it was not comprehensive and not particularly sustainable," as Carter underlined. "Not only were we regenerating areas dating back to the industrial revolution, but we were also clearing up a lot of the mistakes of the 1960s and early 1970s. We gradually began to develop a civic architecture, in particular with John Thorp."

The changes were so deep and important that the regeneration plan was called 'Renaissance Leeds', because "there was a Renaissance for the entire city centre, but also that rim around it, where a lot of work needed to be done to integrate that into the rest of the city and to improve the living conditions of people." According to the leader of Leeds' city council, the many positive outcomes achieved over the last 20 years were fostered by "the economic situation, which was generally good. The challenge we face now is how we continue to regenerate our city in much more difficult economic times."

One of the main concerns of the regeneration plan was education: most of Leeds' secondary schools and a lot of junior schools were refurbished and were provided with up-to-date technology. "We have a massive project of school rebuilding and school improvement." confirmed Carter. "We believe that there is no future for the city without well educated young people. If we want to continue to have the investments from major companies we have to be able to offer highly skilled, well-motivated workforce. The standard of pupils' education in Leeds is rising quite rapidly. We want to make sure that wherever children are in the city, they all get equal opportunities to succeed."

Several other projects are going to be carried out soon. "By 2020 a whole range of physical improvements will have taken place." he explained. "This year we are opening the City Museum and the City Design Workshop. This is a space in which architects and entrepreneurs can work with city planners developing the look of a particular development scheme. In 2009 we will have a newly refurbished shopping centre called 'The Core'. We are also doing a lot of work on the public realm in the city centre to improve the visitors' experience."

Leeds, the only English city outside London with its own repertory theatre, opera house and ballet companies, aims at becoming a "great European city" from a cultural point of view as well, as Carter claimed. "In the last two years we have improved our art gallery and two of our theatres. We can learn a great deal from Milan, which is already a great European centre. It is very important for us that we work much closer than we have in the past with other cities. The 2015 Expo is a massive project: there are areas in which we could cooperate and some of our experiences, like major regenerations, could be of assistance to Milan."