Evolution of Elliptical Galaxies: The Multiphase Model

We present a multiphase model for the evolution of elliptical galaxies. Diffuse gas, molecular clouds, stars and remnants are taken into account. Cloud--cloud collisions and stimulated processes are the main causes of star formation. The occurrence of winds driven by Supernovae is considered, and the evolution of the system is computed also after the first wind, allowing for further star formation from the restored gas. The evolution of the abundances of 15 elements or isotopes is followed with detailed stellar nucleosynthesis. Stellar lifetimes are taken into account and a new IMF has been adopted. The gas removal due to the Supernovae explosions depends on the galactic mass and the presence of dark matter; the subsequent wind episodes are crucial to the intergalactic gas enrichment. Good agreement is obtained for current SNs rates, Star Formation Rate and gas masses when compared to the available data.Comment: 32 pages, Tex. 12 Figures can be sended if requeste

R&D Subsidization effect and network centralization. Evidence from an agent-based micro-policy simulation

This paper presents an agent-based micro-policy simulation model assessing public R&D policy effect when R&D and non-R&D performing companies are located within a network. We set out by illustrating the behavioural structure and the computational logic of the proposed model; then, we provide a simulation experiment where the pattern of the total level of R&D activated by a fixed amount of public support is analysed as function of companies’ network topology. More specifically, the suggested simulation experiment shows that a larger “hubness” of the network is more likely accompanied with a decreasing median of the aggregated total R&D performance of the system. Since the aggregated firm idiosyncratic R&D (i.e., the part of total R&D independent of spillovers) is slightly increasing, we conclude that positive cross-firm spillover effects - in the presence of a given amount of support - have a sizeable impact within less centralized networks, where fewer hubs emerge. This may question the common wisdom suggesting that larger R&D externality effects should be more likely to arise when few central champions receive a support

Nonparametric Bayesian multi-armed bandits for single cell experiment design

The problem of maximizing cell type discovery under budget constraints is a fundamental challenge for the collection and analysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. In this paper, we introduce a simple, computationally efficient, and scalable Bayesian nonparametric sequential approach to optimize the budget allocation when designing a large scale experiment for the collection of scRNA-seq data for the purpose of, but not limited to, creating cell atlases. Our approach relies on the following tools: i) a hierarchical Pitman-Yor prior that recapitulates biological assumptions regarding cellular differentiation, and ii) a Thompson sampling multi-armed bandit strategy that balances exploitation and exploration to prioritize experiments across a sequence of trials. Posterior inference is performed by using a sequential Monte Carlo approach, which allows us to fully exploit the sequential nature of our species sampling problem. We empirically show that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art methods and achieves near-Oracle performance on simulated and scRNA-seq data alike. HPY-TS code is available at https://github.com/fedfer/HPYsinglecell

Introduction: non-theatrical film festivals

The idea for this publication stemmed from the Reframing Film Festivals conference that the curators of this special issue were organised in Venice in February 2020, which was conceived to foster research engagement with the histories of film festivals and their relationship with film historiography and canons. During this two-day event, among the contributions dedicated to the micro-histories of a variety of festivals based in Central and Eastern Europe, South America and South-East Asia, several artists, curators, archivists and historians from France, Austria, Italy, Chile and Spain presented research focused on non-theatrical cultures and related festivals. This strand of research ranged 10 from historical analysis of international competitions for amateur filmmakers to theorisations of the festivals dedicated to analog video art and time-based art, from the study of the historical developments of national non-fiction festivals to the mapping of ethnographic film festival circuits. Hence, in this special issue dedicated to non-theatrical film festivals, readers will find a combination of voices representing film cultures that have been developing outside of movie theatres and away from the logic of theatrical distribution, as the title implies

A institucionalização da interdisciplinaridade nas universidades latino-americanas: experiências e lições do Uruguai e da Argentina

En este artículo nos ocupamos de dos iniciativas de creación de espacios institucionales para la investigación interdisciplinaria en el contexto de dos universidades latinoamericanas: la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) en Argentina y la Universidad de la República (UdelaR) en Uruguay. Se trató de iniciativas novedosas que rompían con la organización de la universidad en facultades y proponían espacios transversales en la estructura disciplinaria del campo académico. Se propone un análisis comparado de ambas experiencias, basado en un abordaje metodológico cualitativo que incluyó entrevistas y análisis documental a actores clave en ambos países. Se ofrece una comparación en función de tres ejes: (i) objetivos y contexto de creación, (ii) actividades y estrategias de integración a la estructura existente de la universidad y (iii) dificultades para legitimarse. A partir del análisis realizado, se pudieron extraer cuatro factores asociados con un mejor desarrollo de los programas interdisciplinarios: (a) buena integración con las estructuras preexistentes de la universidad, (b) organización flexible y abierta a modificaciones frecuentes, (c) apertura a actividades de docencia, extensión y transferencia y (d) la existencia de un plan de desarrollo institucional claro.In this paper we address two initiatives for the construction of an institutional space for interdisciplinary research in two Latin American universities: the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in Argentina and the University of the Republic (UdelaR) in Uruguay. They were two innovative initiatives that broke with the organization of university in faculties and proposed a cross-disciplinary unit. This article presents a comparative analysis of both experiences based on a qualitative methodology that included semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Our examination focused on three aspects: (i) objectives and context of creation, (ii) activities and strategies of integration into the pre-existing university structure and (iii) difficulties to gain legitimacy. Based on the fieldwork conducted, we identified four characteristics that can be linked to a better development of these centers: (a) good integration with pre-existing structures, (b) flexible organizational structure, (c) openness to teaching, outreach and knowledge transfer actitivies and (d) a well-defined institutional development plan.Neste trabalho abordamos duas iniciativas para criação de um espaço institucional para a pesquisa interdisciplinar no contexto de duas universidades latino-americanas: a Universidade de Buenos Aires (UBA), na Argentina, e a Universidade da República (UdelaR), no Uruguai. Elas tiveram iniciativas inovadoras que rompiam com a organização da universidade e propunham espaços tranversais na estrutura interdisciplinar do campo acadêmico, com base em uma abordagem metodológico qualitativo, que incluiu entrevistas e análise documental dos atores-chave em ambos os países. Este artigo apresenta uma perspectiva comparativa de ambas as experiências, buscando iniciar uma pesquisa de formas como foi institucionalizado as interdisciplinas nas universidades da América Latina. É feita uma comparação em função de três eixos: (a) objetivos e contexto de criação, (b) atividades e estratégias de integração na estrutura existente da universidade, (c) abertura atividades de ensino, extensão e transferência, (d) a existência de um plano claro de desenvolvimento institucional. e (iii) dificuldades de legitimidade.Fil: Vasen, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Vienni Baptista, Bianca. Universidad de la República; Urugua

First report of X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with a hemizygous c.1142G > C in the EDA gene: variant of uncertain significance or new pathogenic variant?

Background: Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (HED) is a genetic disorder which affects structures of ectodermal origin. X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED) is the most common form of disease. XLHED is characterized by hypotrichosis, hypohydrosis and hypodontia. The cardinal features of classic HED become obvious during childhood. Identification of a hemizygous EDA pathogenic variant in an affected male confirms the diagnosis. Case presentation: We report on a male newborn with the main clinical characteristics of the X-linked HED including hypotrichosis, hypodontia and hypohidrosis. Gene panel sequencing identified a new hemizygous missense variant of uncertain significance (VUS) c.1142G > C (p.Gly381Ala) in the EDA gene, located on the X chromosome and inherited from the healthy mother. Conclusion: Despite the potential functional impact of VUS remains uncharacterized, our goal is to evaluate the clinical potential consequences of missense VUS on EDA gene. Even if the proband's phenotype is characteristic for classic HED, further reports of patients with same clinical phenotype and the same genomic variant are needed to consider this novel VUS as responsible for the development of HED

Efficacy of Cannabidiol for Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-Induced Psychotic Symptoms, Schizophrenia, and Cannabis Use Disorders: A Narrative Review

Although cannabis’ major psychoactive component, ∆-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been linked to both earlier onset and poorer outcomes of psychotic disorders, Cannabidiol (CBD) seems to have different pharmacological mechanisms and potential therapeutic properties. However, no clinical study has investigated CBD for the treatment of co-occurring psychotic and cannabis use disorders so far, even though its utility seems grounded in a plausible biological basis. The aim of this work is thus to provide an overview of available clinical studies evaluating the efficacy of CBD for psychotic symptoms induced by THC, schizophrenia, and cannabis use disorders. After searching for relevant studies in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, we included 10 clinical studies. Available evidence suggests that CBD may attenuate both psychotic-like symptoms induced by THC in healthy volunteers and positive symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia. In addition, preliminary data on the efficacy of CBD for cannabis use disorders show mixed findings. Evidence from ongoing clinical studies will provide insight into the possible role of CBD for treating psychotic and cannabis use disorders

The growing but uneven role of European courts in (im)migration governance : a comparative perspective

Special Issue on 'Migrants and the law : what European Courts say?'The context in which European and domestic courts adjudicate migrants' rights has never been more complicated than it has been in recent years. A socio-political reality of sequential crises (economic, refugee, rule of law and Covid-19) has empowered the executive to make decisions with regard to migration with minimal legislature and judicial supervision and launch 'open attacks on case law'. The ever-increasing number of persons in need of access to asylum is likely to increase even further over the next decade

Marked alveolar apoptosis/proliferation imbalance in end-stage emphysema.

BACKGROUND: Apoptosis has recently been proposed to contribute to the pathogenesis of emphysema. METHODS: In order to establish if cell fate plays a role even in end-stage disease we studied 16 lungs (9 smoking-associated and 7 alpha1antitrypsin (AAT)-deficiency emphysema) from patients who had undergone lung transplantations. Six unused donor lungs served as controls. Apoptosis was evaluated by TUNEL analysis, single-stranded DNA laddering, electron microscopy and cell proliferation by an immunohistochemical method (MIB1). The role of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 pathway was also investigated and correlated with epithelial cell turnover and with the severity of inflammatory cell infiltrate. RESULTS: The apoptotic index (AI) was significantly higher in emphysematous lungs compared to the control group (p < or = 0.01), particularly if only lungs with AAT-deficiency emphysema were considered (p < or = 0.01 vs p = 0.09). The proliferation index was similar in patients and controls (1.9 +/- 2.2 vs 1.7 +/- 1.1). An increased number of T lymphocytes was observed in AAT-deficiency lungs than smoking-related cases (p < or = 0.05). TGF-beta1 expression in the alveolar wall was higher in patients with smoking-associated emphysema than in cases with AAT-deficiency emphysema (p < or = 0.05). A positive correlation between TGF-betaRII and AI was observed only in the control group (p < or = 0.005, r2 = 0.8). A negative correlation was found between the TGF-beta pathway (particularly TGF-betaRII) and T lymphocytes infiltrate in smoking-related cases (p < or = 0.05, r2 = 0.99) CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells plays an important role even in end-stage emphysema particularly in AAT-deficiency disease. The TGFbeta-1 pathway does not seem to directly influence epithelial turnover in end-stage disease. Inflammatory cytokine different from TGF-beta1 may differently orchestrate cell fate in AAT and smoking-related emphysema types

Serum-epidemiological survey in a group of illegal immigrates for the evaluation of immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases in Italy

Background During the period May 2004 – December 2005 a serum epidemiological survey for preventable diseases through compulsory vaccination in Italy (diphtheria, tetanus, poliovirus, hepatitis B) and rubella in women was performed in a group of adult and illegal immigrants living in Rome, to evaluate the relationship between vaccination coverage and socio-demographic characteristics. Methods It was carried out by Elisa test (for rubella, tetanus, diphtheria and hepatitis B) and by neutralizing antibody titration (Poliovirus). Both descriptive analyses (calculation of mean, median, standard deviation, percentage) and inferential statistics (hypothesis tests) were used. Results Six hundred and sixty-seven immigrants were invited to participate and 318 of them performed the analysis (participation rate = 47.6 %). The percentages of immunized individuals were: 39.1% for diphtheria (basic immunization 59.3%), 74.8% for tetanus, 74.1% for poliomyelitis, and 94.7% for rubella. Only 2.8% was vaccinated against hepatitis B. Conclusion Most immigrants would need a booster dose for diphtheria and tetanus. Among Eastern European subjects Poliovirus vaccination coverage was lower than 70%, implying that the maintenance of high levels of it is strongly necessary. With regard to rubella, African women had the lowest coverage (87.5%) and their young age exposes to congenital rubella. Over half of immigrants were healthy carriers for HBV