Navigating disconnected social circles: experiences and personal networks of Latino/a adolescents in the U.S. rural South

Informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of development, this mixed-methods study’s aims are to: (1) describe rural Latino/a adolescents’ (N = 62) narratives and lived social experiences in the context of rurality, and (2) examine their personal networks to better understand their social interactions (subset of 30 adolescents). Rural Latino/a adolescents move in limited social circles and experience geographic, cultural, and social isolation due to immigration status problems, socioeconomic issues, racial discrimination, and family dynamics. This limitation is reflected by personal networks that tend to be homogenous in terms of ethnicity, age, and sociodemographic characteristics. School, although characterized by weak social ties often disconnected from community and family contacts, emerged as the dominant context of sociability where adolescents build their social identity outside the circle of dense family ties. Findings suggest a critical need for interventions to reduce isolation and enhance social connectedness between family, school, and rural community in this population

Integrative approach for precise genotyping and transcriptomics of salt tolerant introgression rice lines

Rice is the most salt sensitive cereal crop and its cultivation is particularly threatened by salt stress, which is currently worsened due to climate change. This study reports the development of salt tolerant introgression lines (ILs) derived from crosses between the salt tolerant indica rice variety FL478, which harbors the Saltol quantitative trait loci (QTL), and the salt-sensitive japonica elite cultivar OLESA. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASPar) genotyping, in combination with step-wise phenotypic selection in hydroponic culture, were used for the identification of salt-tolerant ILs. Transcriptome-based genotyping allowed the fine mapping of indica genetic introgressions in the best performing IL (IL22). A total of 1,595 genes were identified in indica regions of IL22, which mainly located in large introgressions at Chromosomes 1 and 3. In addition to OsHKT1;5, an important number of genes were identified in the introgressed indica segments of IL22 whose expression was confirmed [e.g., genes involved in ion transport, callose synthesis, transcriptional regulation of gene expression, hormone signaling and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation]. These genes might well contribute to salt stress tolerance in IL22 plants. Furthermore, comparative transcript profiling revealed that indica introgressions caused important alterations in the background gene expression of IL22 plants (japonica cultivar) compared with its salt-sensitive parent, both under non-stress and salt-stress conditions. In response to salt treatment, only 8.6% of the salt-responsive genes were found to be commonly up- or down-regulated in IL22 and OLESA plants, supporting massive transcriptional reprogramming of gene expression caused by indica introgressions into the recipient genome. Interactions among indica and japonica genes might provide novel regulatory networks contributing to salt stress tolerance in introgression rice lines. Collectively, this study illustrates the usefulness of transcriptomics in the characterization of new rice lines obtained in breeding programs in rice

Sull’interpretazione della clausola di rinnovo delle R&W al momento del Closing

La nota si confronta con le criticità interpretative poste dal rapporto fra contratto preliminare di compravendita di partecipazioni sociali e atto di trasferimento delle medesime, con particolare riferimento alle dichiarazioni e garanzie contenute nel primo e non ripetute nel secondo. Si evidenziano gli inconvenienti che derivano dall’uso di formule contrattuali di origine ‘‘aliena’’ in un contesto giuridico nel quale valgono diversi princip

Milk proteins as mastitis markers in dairy ruminants : a systematic review

Mastitis is one of the most impacting diseases in dairy farming, and its sensitive and specific detection is therefore of the greatest importance. The clinical evaluation of udder and mammary secretions is typically combined with the milk Somatic Cell Count (SCC) and often accompanied by its bacteriological culture to identify the causative microorganism. In a con- stant search for improvement, several non-enzymatic milk proteins, including milk amyloid A (M-SAA), haptoglobin (HP), cathelicidin (CATH), and lactoferrin (LF), have been investigated as alternative biomarkers of mastitis for their relationship with mammary gland inflammation, and immunoassay techniques have been developed for detection with varying degrees of success. To provide a general overview of their implementation in the different dairy species, we carried out a systematic review of the scientific literature using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. Our review question falls within the type “Diagnostic test accuracy questions” and aims at answering the diag- nostic question: “Which are the diagnostic performances of mastitis protein biomarkers investigated by immunoassays in ruminant milk?”. Based on 13 keywords combined into 42 searches, 523 manuscripts were extracted from three scientific databases. Of these, 33 passed the duplicate removal, title, abstract, and full-text screening for conformity to the review ques- tion and document type: 78.8% investigated cows, 12.1% sheep, 9.1% goats, and 6.1% buffaloes (some included more than one dairy species). The most frequently mentioned protein was M-SAA (48.5%), followed by HP (27.3%), CATH (24.2%) and LF (21.2%). However, the large amount of heterogeneity among studies in terms of animal selection criteria (45.5%), index test (87.9%), and standard reference test (27.3%) resulted in a collection of data not amenable to meta-analysis, a common finding illustrating how important it is for case definitions and other criteria to be standardized between studies. Therefore, results are presented according to the SWiM (Synthesis Without Meta-analysis) guidelines. We summarize the main findings reported in the 33 selected articles for the different markers and report their results in form of comparative tables including sample selection criteria, marker values, and diagnostic performances, where available. Finally, we report the study limitations and bias assessment findings

Vitamin D status and SARS-CoV-2 infection in a cohort of kidney transplanted patients

Background: Recently the protective role of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) against viral infections has been hypothesized. We evaluated the association between vitamin D status and SARS-CoV-2 infection susceptibility and severity in a cohort of kidney transplanted patients (KTxp). Methods: A total of 61 KTxp with SARS-CoV-2 infection (COV+) were matched with 122 healthy KTxp controls (COV−). Main biochemical parameters at 1, 6, and 12 months before SARS-CoV-2 infection were recorded. Vitamin D status was considered as the mean of two 25(OH)D measures obtained 6 ± 2 months apart during the last year. The severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection was based on the need for hospitalization (HOSP+) and death (D+). Results: 25(OH)D levels were lower in COV+ than in controls [19(12–26) vs. 23(17–31) ng/mL, p = 0.01]. No differences among the other biochemical parameters were found. The SARS-CoV-2 infection discriminative power of 25(OH)D was evaluated by ROC-curve (AUC 0.61, 95% CI 0.5–0.7, p = 0.01). 25(OH)D was not significantly different between HOSP+ and HOSP− [17(8–25) vs. 20(15–26) ng/mL, p = 0.19] and between D+ and D− [14(6–23) vs. 20(14–26) ng/mL, p = 0.22] and had no significant correlation with disease length. Conclusions: During the year preceding the infection, 25(OH)D levels were lower in COV+ KTxp in comparison with controls matched for demographic features and comorbidities. No significant association between vitamin D status and SARS-CoV-2 infection related outcomes was found

Pregnancy in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: maternal and foetal outcome, and impact on disease activity

Objective: This retrospective cohort study describes the modulation of disease activity during gestation and in the year following delivery as well as maternal and neonatal outcomes in a monocentric cohort of women with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).Methods: Disease activity was assessed using DAS28-CRP before conception and every 3 months during pregnancy and in the first year postpartum. The risk of complicated pregnancies was measured applying a generalized estimating equation model. Changes in disease activity during gestation and in the first year postpartum were assessed in a linear mixed model for repeated measures.Results: Thirty-one women (49 pregnancies) with persisting JIA and at least one conception were enrolled. Adjusted DAS28-CRP levels remained stable from preconception through the first trimester, but increased significantly in the second and decreased not significantly in the third. In the postpartum, adjusted disease activity peaked at 3 months after delivery, stabilized at 6 months to decrease at 1 year, although not significantly. Preconceptional DAS28-CRP and number of biological drugs predicted disease activity fluctuation during gestation. The number of biological drugs and the length of gestational exposure to biologics significantly predicted pregnancy morbidity. In particular, JIA women had a higher probability of preterm delivery compared with healthy and disease controls. Adjusted for breastfeeding and DAS28-CRP score in the third trimester, postconceptional exposure to biologics was inversely related with disease activity in the postpartum: the longer the patient continued treatment, the lower the probability of experiencing an adverse pregnancy outcome.Conclusion: These data offer novel insights on how treatment affects disease activity during pregnancy and postpartum as well as obstetric outcomes in women with JIA

Oil crystallization properties as an index for monitoring early stage curing of oil-based paints: DSC analysis on linseed oil systems

In this work, we propose to follow the crystallization capability of oils in oil-based paints, during curing, as an indirect index of the matrix status in the early stages of paint film formation that usually are indicative and crucial to understand the process evolution. To proof the concept, the oil crystallization properties were investigated through DSC measurements on samples of both unpigmented linseed oil and two model paints, composed by lead white + linseed oil (LWLO) and ultramarine blue + linseed oil (UBLO), at different ageing time at room and oxygen-limiting conditions. The results indicate that the curing process strongly affects the oil’s ability of forming crystals in the paint layers, and the proposed experimental approach is rather suitable and sensitive enough to discriminate differences between the action of pigments and environmental conditions. On the other hand, despite the simplicity and the potentiality, this approach is limited at the early stages of paint curing offering an index of the overall matrix status and therefore must be intended as a complementary method that has to be integrated with other approaches if the aim is to explore in detail the chemical and physical aspects of the curing process

Visible light responsive heterostructure HTDMA-BiPO4 modified clays for effective diclofenac sodium oxidation: Role of interface interactions and basal spacing

In the present study, we investigated comparatively the role of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA) in enhancing the adsorption and photocatalytic activity of BiPO4 coated montmorillonite (M-BiPO4), and BiPO4 coated smectite (S-BiPO4). Montmorillonite has large interlayer spacing compared to smectite. Firstly, it was found that the simple hybridization of BiPO4 with clays led to enhance the visible light response. The co- fixation of BiPO4 and HDTMA on clay supports reduces the BET specific surface area, but it enhances significantly the adsorption ability. XPS analysis shows a notable Bi4f high resolution peak shifting in the case of HDTMA-S- BiPO4, while such a shifting was not observed in terms of HDTMA-M-BiPO4. Regarding the adsorption and photocatalytic tests, at lower concentration of diclofenac (20 ppm), M-BiPO4 was several times more effective than S-BiPO4. However, the coating of clays by BiPO4 and HDTMA showed a different manner, wherein HDTMA- S-BiPO4 achieved an oxidation rate of around 88% under solar light within 90 min at a concentration of 140 ppm of diclofenac. On the contrary, HDTMA-M-BiPO4 shows an oxidation rate of only 22% under the same conditions. It was deduced that the strong surface interactions between HDTMA and BiPO4 coated on smectite can form a strong interfacial bridge which boosts the visible light response and the separation of photogenerated charges

RAPPORTI SOCIALI E CONFLITTI DI CLASSE NELL'INGHILTERRA DEL XVIII SECOLO: VERSO UNA NUOVA TEORIA MATERIALISTA DELLA TRANSIZIONE AL CAPITALISMO

This work has two main aims: it wants, from one side, to revive the debate on the Transition to Capitalism, whereas, on the other side, it proposes a new political approach to historical materialism. Triggered by social concerns about our times - which are characterised by growing inequality and poverty, by class polarisation, climate emergences, economic crises and new wars - the research devotes theoretical attention to the dialectics between political present and the writing of history. While the world leaves behind thirty years of neo-liberal unipolarism, and History, in its magnitude, gets back into the scene, the paper, critically focusing on the origins of Capitalism and on the praxis of change, shakes the hypostatization of the present social system and, highlighting the specific features that make it finite and superable, historicises it. The work challenges those academic studies which have dealt, in the wake of several cultural trends, with the history of economic and social development, counterposing to micro-specialisation, post-modern fragmentation and the multiplication of perspectives, a systematic contestation of the whole bulk of relations which Capitalism entails. Devoting a new importance to class paradigm - even with respect to materialist traditional approaches - the essay contributes to Marxist historiography, originally investigating theoretical nodes such as the relationship between base and superstructure, history and theory, materiality and ideology, objectivity and subjectivity. Group interests, class relations and conflicts in XVIII century England are inspected with the goal of defining a new method for historical investigation: the social praxis, as a methodological criterion, does not only permit us to reframe the dynamics relating economic (structural) and social transformations, but proves to be a valid guide to preserve the researcher’s writing from from the ideological influence of his time hegemony