Differential profiles of serum cytokines in Parkinson's disease according to disease duration

Objective: Neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are two intertwined mechanisms contributing to the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease. Whether circulating biomarkers reflecting those two processes differ according to disease duration remains to be established. The present study was conducted to characterize the biomarkers individuals with PD with short (<= 5 years) or long disease duration (>5 years).Methods: We consecutively enrolled 104 patients with Parkinson's disease and evaluated them using validated clinical scales (MDS-UPDRS, Hoehn and Yahr staging, MMSE). Serum samples were assayed for the following biomarkers: neurofilament light chain (NfL), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), interleukin (IL-) 1 beta, 4, 5, 6, 10, 17, interferon-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor alpha.Results: Mean age of participants was 66.0 +/- 9.6 years and 45 (34%) were women. The average disease duration was 8 +/- 5 years (range 1 to 19 years). Patients with short disease duration (<= 5 years) showed a pro-inflammatory profile, with significantly higher levels of pro-inflammatory IL-1 beta and lower concentrations of IL-5, IL-10 and IL-17 (p < 0.05). NfL serum levels showed a positive correlation with disease duration and age (respectively rho = 0.248, p = 0.014 and rho = 0.559, p < 0.001) while an opposite pattern was detected for BDNF (respectively rho-0,187, p = 0.034 and rho =-0.245, p = 0.014).Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a pro-inflammatory status may be observed in PD patients in the early phases of the disease, independently from age

Targeted placement for people with disabilities in Italy: a perspective from Lombardian companies

Purpose The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) recognizes the right of disabled people to access work. Against this legislative backdrop, this study explores the strengths and weaknesses of the Italian system of targeted placement for disabled people, based on Law 68/1999, which delegates to regional authorities the management of the labor market. The examination centers on the perspective of companies, the primary stakeholders in the inclusion of persons with disabilities within organizational structures. Design/methodology/approach The article discusses the results of focus groups conducted with 28 managers of large, medium and small enterprises in Lombardy (Italy). Qualitative analysis was employed, and the results were structured using a simplified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis, incorporating practical recommendations. Findings The analysis leads to practical suggestions to improve the entire targeted placement process at the regional level, from selection and accompaniment to evaluation, such as improving the networking of local stakeholders who deal with the inclusion of disabled people, homogeneity of the procedures in different regions, making all employees aware of diversity management, etc. The territorial network and the welfare environment are particularly important in achieving a successful targeted placement and to promote an inclusive corporate culture. Research limitations/implications This study is not representative of Italy as a whole, as it remains a qualitative investigation focused on a single region. Originality/value This contribution accomplishes an in-depth study of the law of labor inclusion of people with disabilities observed from the point of view of companies, which are still usually reluctant to integrate people with disabilities into their organizations or encounter difficulties in doing so

Quotients of the Highwater algebra and its cover

Primitive axial algebras of Monster type are a class of non-associative algebras with a strong link to finite (especially simple) groups. The motivating example is the Griess algebra, with the Monster as its automorphism group. A crucial step towards the understanding of such algebras is the explicit description of the 2-generated symmetric objects. Recent work of Yabe, and Franchi and Mainardis shows that any such algebra is either explicitly known, or is a quotient of the infinite-dimensional Highwater algebra, or its characteristic 5 cover. In this paper, we complete the classification of symmetric axial algebras of Monster type by determining the quotients of those two algebras. We proceed in a unified way, by defining a cover of the Highwater algebra in all characteristics. This cover has a previously unseen fusion law and provides an insight into why the Highwater algebra has a cover which is of Monster type only in characteristic 5

Host Families and Ukrainian Refugees: Experiences and Encounters

This study explores the details of cross-cultural hosting experiences, centering on the experiences and ideas of host families who welcomed Ukrainian refugees after the Russian full-scale aggression of Ukraine started in 2022. The research, carried out in different parts of Northern Italy, investigates both quantitative and qualitative aspects to discover the factors that mostly influence the hosting experience and the willingness of host families to host refugees once more

Bank market power and supervisory enforcement actions

This paper investigates the relationship between supervisory enforcement actions and bank market power. Employing a unique dataset on enforcement actions in Italy from 2006 to 2018, we first document that banks with higher market power are more likely to escape public scrutiny. Further, this effect is more substantial for local banks than commercial ones, coherent with the view that national supervisors are softer when dealing with local banks. Second, when uncovering the main characteristics of the banks with higher market power, we find that banks with higher market power do not outperform other banks in profitability but show a worse loan quality, suggesting that banks with higher market power have riskier loan portfolios than other banks and attract fewer enforcement actions. Our results are robust across several econometric techniques and alternative specifications by contributing to the long-lasting debate on the implications of the bank market power on financial stability, considering the role of enforcement actions

Institutional Quality, Trust in Institutions, and Waste Recycling Performance in the EU27

This paper addresses the role of institutional quality and trust in institutions for the performance in waste recycling of the EU27 countries. While survey-based works have highlighted the role of these factors for waste recycling attitudes and performance at the micro level, econometric analyses of recycling in Europe at country and regional levels have mostly looked into the role of waste policies, and not the role of institutional factors, in driving progresses in waste recycling. This paper tries to fill this gap through a panel econometrics analysis of recycling rates of municipal solid waste at the national level for the EU27 countries for the period 2005–2020. The proxies for institutional quality and trust in institutions, as the variables of interest, are introduced into a model that includes controls on a set of socio-economic variables, and on a set of EU waste policy variables, in particular the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) and its revision, and the first Circular Economy Action Plan of 2015 (CEAP 2015). Our results support the hypothesis that the quality of institutions can influence waste recycling performance. Moreover, our results provide evidence on the negative role of institutional trust on recycling rate at country level. Similarly, we find that the EU WFD and CEAP 2015 have been significant in driving recycling performances; the latter finding, however, is a necessary condition in appropriate institutional and socio-economic environments at the national level

Feedback interactivo y autonomía

En este capítulo se analiza el feedback como un proceso interaccional que promueve la regulación personal, se presenta una metodología para la práctica del feedback gradual en las tutorías entre docente y aprendiente y se sugieren pautas para promover la autorregulación durante la revisión de textos escritos y orales. El feedback interactivo estimula en el aprendiente la coconstrucción de significados a través de reflexiones guiadas sobre su actuación en la LE/L2. Esta actividad se realiza a través de un tipo de mediación que se configura como una actividad colaborativa en que se manifiesta la autonomía del aprendiente con respecto a su producción en la LE/L2. El feedback interactivo representa, por lo tanto, una actividad formativa que promueve el paso de la heterorregulación (other-regulation) a la autorregulación (self-regulation) en el aprendizaje de una LE/L2

Sponsor reputation and agency conflicts in SPACs

We investigate the agency conflict between sponsors and investors in Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) and the role of sponsor reputation in such conflict. We find that the effect of reputation depends on whether sponsors are repeat or occasional players in financial markets. SPACs sponsored by private equity firms, who face reputational concerns due to frequent interactions with investors, conduct a more virtuous target selection process as they are less likely to merge but post-merger returns are significantly better. On the other hand, former executives of renowned companies who occasionally launch SPACs make deals more lucrative to themselves, with no benefits to investors

Pensiero critico e capacità di inibizione

Suggerimenti su come promuovere a scuola le capacità di inibizione, viste come una componente del pensiero critico

The emerging spectrum of neurodevelopmental comorbidities in early-onset Spinal Muscular Atrophy

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