The EU-funded research project ALARM will develop and test methods and protocols for the assessment of large-scale environmental risks in order to minimise negative human impacts. Research focuses on the assessment and forecast of changes in biodiversity and in the structure, function, and dynamics of ecosystems. This includes the relationships between society, the economy and biodiversity.

Prevalence of psoriasis in specific regions showed more variability (0.8-4.5%) than that in the total population (1.8-3.1%). Prevalence of psoriatic arthritis in the general population was reported for only two regions, Chiavari (0.09%) and Marche (0.42%). All other studies reported prevalence of psoriatic arthritis in patients with psoriasis in single centres and Italy-wide (4.7-47.1%). Prevalence of psoriatic arthritis was highest in patients with nail and/or scalp psoriasis and/or intergluteal/perianal region involvement. Based on current available data, these conditions appear to affect a substantial number of people and will likely have an important impact on the Italian healthcare system.

Aim Climate change is having far-reaching effects on the global environment. Here, the ALARM (Assessing Large-scale Risks for Biodiversity with Tested Methods, European Union 6th Framework Programme) climate change scenarios were used to assess changes to the fate of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Scenarios detailing climate and land-cover changes, such as precipitation, temperature and vegetation cover, were used as input in a European multi-media chemical fate model to help understand their impact on the environmental fate and behaviour of POPs over the period 1990-2100 in Europe. Location Europe.Methods Chemicals chosen for study included four classical POPs (two polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and two polybrominated diphenyl ether congeners). Using 30-year time steps, the model was run in steady-state mode four times for each chemical and each ALARM scenario.Results PCB153 displayed the greatest changes, with a reduction in burden of up to 40% in some Mediterranean compartments (e.g. soil and fresh water) under the worst case climate change scenario. The overall continental persistence of PCB153 was reduced by 1.5 years (12%) due to increased volatilization and degradation in air from a drier and warmer south-western Europe. This predicted loss resulted in a transfer and redeposition to the cooler and wetter north-eastern Europe, and increased the burden of PCB153 to Arctic compartments by up to 22%. The remaining chemicals displayed less pronounced changes, particularly under more the sustainable scenarios.Main conclusions Overall, the model simulations suggest that the dominant driver behind differences seen between the present and climate-changed future scenarios is temperature, resulting in a slight shift in chemical distribution from surface compartments to the air. This subsequently leads to a reduced continental persistence for PCBs and a north-easterly migration due to prevailing meteorological conditions. As a result of these calculations, it is reasonable to conclude that chemicals with properties similar to PCBs may experience enhanced mobility due to climate change. However, the climate-induced temperature changes were not large enough to significantly alter the distribution of brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs), which are less volatile and have greater enthalpies of phase change.

This literature review examines available evidence on the current and past costs associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Italy, together with the future health-economic prospects for the disease. Studies have been conducted to date on the prevalence, or the associated costs, of RA in Italy. Although future changes in the incidence of RA are a matter of debate, the impact of RA on health care costs is expected to grow in coming decades in line with projected increases in life expectancy and in the proportion of elderly people in Italy. It has been estimated that the indirect (productivity loss and informal care) and intangible (deterioration in health-related quality of life) costs of the disease will contribute to an increase in national health service expenditure, which will correspond to 1% of the total health care costs of the nation in the near future. The introduction of biological agents for the treatment of rheumatic diseases has resulted in an increase in the direct costs of RA; however, economic analyses that exclude indirect costs will underestimate the full economic impact of RA. The effectiveness of innovative therapies in preventing disease progression and functional impairment may, over time, attenuate the cost impact of RA in terms of hospitalizations and work absenteeism. Further research is needed to develop estimates of the economic impact of different therapeutic approaches in patients with RA in Italy, in order to provide tools that can drive the choice of the most cost-effective therapeutic option while maintaining high-quality care.

The field site network (FSN) plays a central role in conducting joint research within all Assessing Large-scale Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods (ALARM) modules and provides a mechanism for integrating research on different topics in ALARM on the same site for measuring multiple impacts on biodiversity. The network covers most European climates and biogeographic regions, from Mediterranean through central European and boreal to subarctic. The project links databases with the European-wide field site network FSN, including geographic information system (GIS)-based information to characterise the test location for ALARM researchers for joint on-site research. Maps are provided in a standardised way and merged with other site-specific information. The application of GIS for these field sites and the information management promotes the use of the FSN for research and to disseminate the results. We conclude that ALARM FSN sites together with other research sites in Europe jointly could be used as a future backbone for research proposals.

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