Exploring minor clerics in early medieval Tuscany

The article examines minor clerics (clerici) in Carolingian texts. Comparing episcopal capitularies from Italy and Francia suggests that clerici played a more prominent role in Italian church life. An analysis of charters from the monastery of Monte Amiata reveals a high proportion of clerici. They appear as a rurally-based group, with varying levels of education, but of some local social standing, and were often mature men with children. The prevalence of such clerici may be related to the northern Italian structure of pievi, and the opportunities these provided for mixed patterns of father-son and uncle-nephew inheritance of church office. The blurring of the lay/clerical divide by such clerici may have particularly worried eleventh-century church reformers coming to Italy from other regions of Western Europe

Galectin genes: regulation of expression.

In this review we have summarized the more recent studies on the expression of mammalian galectins. One interesting observation that can be made is that in most of microarrays and/or differential display analysis performed in recent years one or more galectins have been picked up. From a critical evaluation of the pertinent studies the main conclusion that can be drawn is that, although it is not yet clear whether the 14 galectins identified so far have functions in common, a striking common feature of all galectins is the strong modulation of their expression during development, differentiation stages and under different physiological or pathological conditions. This suggests that the expression of different galectins is finely tuned and possibly coordinated. In spite of these observations it is rather unexpected that very few studies have been performed on the molecular mechanisms governing the activity of galectin genes

Effects of empagliflozin on cardiorespiratory fitness and significant interaction of loop diuretics

The effects of empagliflozin on cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are unknown. In this pilot study we determined the effects of empagliflozin 10 mg/d for 4 weeks on peak oxygen consumption (VO2 ) in 15 patients with T2DM and HFrEF. As an exploratory analysis, we assessed whether there was an interaction of the effects of empagliflozin on peak VO2 of loop diuretics. Empagliflozin reduced body weight (-1.7 kg; P = .031), but did not change peak VO2 (from 14.5 mL kg-1 min-1 [12.6-17.8] to 15.8 [12.5-17.4] mL kg-1 min-1 ; P = .95). However, patients using loop diuretics (N = 9) demonstrated an improvement, whereas those without loop diuretics (N = 6) experienced a decrease in peak VO2 (+0.9 [0.1-1.4] vs -0.9 [-2.1 to -0.3] mL kg-1 min-1 ; P = .001), and peak VO2 changes correlated with the baseline daily dose of diuretics (R = +0.83; P < .001). Empagliflozin did not improve peak VO2 in patients with T2DM and HFrEF. However, as a result of exploratory analysis, patients concomitantly treated with loop diuretics experienced a significant improvement in peak VO2

Inter-provincial migration in Italy: a comparison between Italians and foreigners

Internal migration in Italy increased in the 2000s due to foreigners residing in the country. Foreigners have changed the characteristics of Italy’s internal migration. Extended gravity models were run to highlight the differences between the migratory behaviours of Italians and foreigners. The model was implemented to detect the different effects of the Italian and foreign populations, and the distances between the provinces of origin and destinations of the inter-provincial migration of Italians and foreigners. Estimations obtained for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 highlight the different evolutions of the phenomenon

Sibling comparisons elucidate the associations between educational attainment polygenic scores and alcohol, nicotine and cannabis.

Background and aimsThe associations between low educational attainment and substance use disorders (SUDs) may be related to a common genetic vulnerability. We aimed to elucidate the associations between polygenic scores for educational attainment and clinical criterion counts for three SUDs (alcohol, nicotine and cannabis).DesignPolygenic association and sibling comparison methods. The latter strengthens inferences in observational research by controlling for confounding factors that differ between families.SettingSix sites in the United States.ParticipantsEuropean ancestry participants aged 25 years and older from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Polygenic association analyses included 5582 (54% female) participants. Sibling comparisons included 3098 (52% female) participants from 1226 sibling groups nested within the overall sample.MeasurementsOutcomes included criterion counts for DSM-5 alcohol use disorder (AUDSX), Fagerström nicotine dependence (NDSX) and DSM-5 cannabis use disorder (CUDSX). We derived polygenic scores for educational attainment (EduYears-GPS) using summary statistics from a large (> 1 million) genome-wide association study of educational attainment.FindingsIn polygenic association analyses, higher EduYears-GPS predicted lower AUDSX, NDSX and CUDSX [P < 0.01, effect sizes (R2 ) ranging from 0.30 to 1.84%]. These effects were robust in sibling comparisons, where sibling differences in EduYears-GPS predicted all three SUDs (P < 0.05, R2 0.13-0.20%).ConclusionsIndividuals who carry more alleles associated with educational attainment tend to meet fewer clinical criteria for alcohol, nicotine and cannabis use disorders, and these effects are robust to rigorous controls for potentially confounding factors that differ between families (e.g. socio-economic status, urban-rural residency and parental education)

Dissociation and interpersonal autonomic physiology in psychotherapy research: an integrative view encompassing psychodynamic and neuroscience theoretical frameworks

Interpersonal autonomic physiology is an interdisciplinary research field, assessing the relational interdependence of two (or more) interacting individual both at the behavioral and psychophysiological levels. Despite its quite long tradition, only eight studies since 1955 have focused on the interaction of psychotherapy dyads, and none of them have focused on the shared processual level, assessing dynamic phenomena such as dissociation. We longitudinally observed two brief psychodynamic psychotherapies, entirely audio and video-recorded (16 sessions, weekly frequency, 45 min.). Autonomic nervous system measures were continuously collected during each session. Personality, empathy, dissociative features and clinical progress measures were collected prior and post therapy, and after each clinical session. Two-independent judges, trained psychotherapist, codified the interactions\u2019 micro-processes. Time-series based analyses were performed to assess interpersonal synchronization and de-synchronization in patient\u2019s and therapist\u2019s physiological activity. Psychophysiological synchrony revealed a clear association with empathic attunement, while desynchronization phases (range of length 30-150 sec.) showed a linkage with dissociative processes, usually associated to the patient\u2019s narrative core relational trauma. Our findings are discussed under the perspective of psychodynamic models of Stern (\u201cpresent moment\u201d), Sander, Beebe and Lachmann (dyad system model of interaction), Lanius (Trauma model), and the neuroscientific frameworks proposed by Thayer (neurovisceral integration model), and Porges (polyvagal theory). The collected data allows to attempt an integration of these theoretical approaches under the light of Complex Dynamic Systems. The rich theoretical work and the encouraging clinical results might represents a new fascinating frontier of research in psychotherapy

The Maltese Labour Corps during World War I

The participation by Maltese troops abroad has been limited. During the First World War Malta was not directly involved, yet during this time a significant overseas deployment did take place. It did not take the form of front line troops; rather it was some 5,600 locally enlisted men who volunteered for overseas service with the Maltese Labour Corps. At least 120 men lost their lives on active service, very often from disease. They are buried across various cemeteries mostly in Greece. It is a deployment that has received little attention and is all but forgotten. This paper seeks to tell their story and to remember the service these men provided.peer-reviewe

A note on the St. John Co-Cathedral marble tombstones : the artisans, foreign and Maltese

The aim of this brief study is to modestly review the documentation principally in the notarial archives concerning the tombstones, mainly in the period 1678 to 1819 and the marble craftsmen, local and foreign, who executed their masterpieces so expertly.peer-reviewe

Initial-seed recursions and dualities for d-vectors

We present an initial-seed-mutation formula for d-vectors of cluster variables in a cluster algebra. We also give two rephrasings of this recursion: one as a duality formula for d-vectors in the style of the g-vectors/c-vectors dualities of Nakanishi and Zelevinsky, and one as a formula expressing the highest powers in the Laurent expansion of a cluster variable in terms of the d-vectors of any cluster containing it. We prove that the initial-seed-mutation recursion holds in a varied collection of cluster algebras, but not in general. We conjecture further that the formula holds for source-sink moves on the initial seed in an arbitrary cluster algebra, and we prove this conjecture in the case of surfaces.Comment: 21 Pages, 20 Figures. Version 2: Expanded introduction, other minor expository changes. Version 3: Very minor corrections. Final version to appear in the Pacific Journal of Mathematic