The influence of productivity gains, their distribution, and market structure on economic growth in a Sraffian Supermultiplier model. Short-, medium-, long-term trends and secular tendencies. an analysis performed through a multisectoral macroeconomic SFC-AB model

Lo scopo di questo lavoro è di indagare le proprietà del modello del supermoltiplicatore sraffiano in cui il cambiamento tecnologico e la domanda autonoma, proveniente dal settore pubblico, influenzano congiuntamente le dinamiche macroeconomiche. Il tasso di crescita dell'economia è determinato dal percorso di crescita della produttività, che libera la forza lavoro da impiegare nella produzione di beni alternativi, e dal settore pubblico, che, se non è disposto ad accettare un'elevata disoccupazione, deve aumentare le proprie spese per generare la domanda necessaria per il raggiungimento crescita macroeconomica. Premesso che il cambiamento tecnologico è influenzato dal livello di vendita (dovuto alle possibilità che si aprono in termini di divisione del lavoro) -a tutti i livelli (macro, meso e micro), in contrasto con la maggior parte dei modelli di supermoltiplicatori, il tasso di crescita a lungo termine del nostro modello risente anche della distribuzione del reddito (sia funzionale che personale) che modella il livello della domanda totale e la sua composizione tra i settori, e dalla struttura del mercato che determina la ripartizione della produzione tra le imprese. Ai fini della nostra ricerca, abbiamo sviluppato un Agente macroeconomico multisettoriale basato - Modello coerente con lo Stock Flow (AB-SFC). Il modello si basa su un quadro teorico che rappresenta un'economia monetaria di produzione (es. Graziani, Lavoie) dove il principio della domanda effettiva determina il livello di produzione, mentre l'innovazione è caratterizzata da un tipico processo schumpeteriano di creazione e distruzione. La distribuzione del reddito funzionale è determinata come nella teoria classica ed è il risultato della lotta tra capitalisti e classe operaia. In particolare, il markup fissato dalle imprese sul normale costo unitario di produzione determina il normale saggio di profitto. Il denaro è endogeno ed è immesso nel sistema dalle banche che concedono prestiti alle imprese per finanziare investimenti o salari di anticipazione, e dalla spesa pubblica finanziata con l'emissione di titoli pubblici. Nel secondo capitolo viene presa una prospettiva a breve termine e l'impatto della performance della macroeconomia annuale viene analizzato sulla traiettoria a lungo termine dell'economia. In primo luogo, dimostriamo che il processo di innovazione è una condizione necessaria ma non sufficiente per la crescita economica (e potenziale fonte di instabilità economica) e che, per raggiungere la crescita macroeconomica, è necessario un settore pubblico pratico (che aumenta il proprio debito ogni volta che si verifica un aumento di produttività e stabilizza l'economia). Quindi, indaghiamo come diverse appropriazioni dei guadagni di produttività (e, di conseguenza, diverse configurazioni distributive) influenzano l'andamento futuro della produttività (e, di conseguenza, il tasso di crescita di lungo periodo dell’economia) attraverso le variazioni del livello di volume aggregato e la loro allocazione tra i settori. Nel terzo capitolo, l'attenzione si sposta sulle dinamiche a lunghissimo termine del sistema capitalista e la connessione tra processo di innovazione, concentrazione del mercato e disparità di reddito. Iniziamo a esplorare quali possono essere le tendenze secolari che derivano dalla crescita economica e le forze di cambiamento strutturale, che sono naturalmente dietro di essa. Nello specifico, mostriamo come la riduzione dell'occupazione, a livello settoriale, arriva logicamente con l'aumento del livello di produttività del lavoro e la preferenza dei consumatori per la varietà può avere ripercussioni in termini di struttura del mercato e distribuzione personale. Poi vengono analizzate le conseguenze sulla crescita economica della potenziale combinazione della struttura del mercato e la disuguaglianza di reddito, che può verificarsi in economie in fase di crescita e di cambiamenti strutturali.The purpose of this work is to investigate the properties of the Sraffian supermultiplier model in which technological change and autonomous demand, coming from the public sector, jointly affect macroeconomic dynamics. The growth rate of the economy is determined by the path of productivity growth, which frees up the labour force to be used in the production of alternative goods, and by the public sector, which, if unwilling to accept high unemployment, must increase its expenditures in order to generate the necessary demand for achieving macroeconomic growth. Given the assumption that the technological change is affected by the sales level (due to the possibilities it opens in terms of labor division) -at all layers (macro, meso and micro), in contrast to the majority of supermultiplier models, the long-run growth rate of our model is also affected by the income distribution (both functional and personal) that shapes the level of total demand and its composition across sectors, and by the market structure that determines the production allocation among firms. For the purpose of our research, we have developed a multi-sectoral macroeconomic Agent based - Stock Flow consistent model (AB-SFC). The model is grounded on a theoretical framework representing a monetary economy of production (e.g., Graziani, Lavoie) where the principle of effective demand determines the level of output, while innovation is characterized by a typical Schumpeterian process of creation and destruction. The functional income distribution is determined as in the classical theory and it is the resultant of the struggle between capitalists and working class. In particular, the markup fixed by firms on normal unit-cost of production determines the normal rate of profit. Money is endogenous and it is injected into the system by banks which grant loans to firms to finance investments or wages anticipation, and by government expenditure financed by issuing public bonds. In the second chapter, a short-term perspective is taken and the impact of annual macroeconomic performance on the long-term trajectory of the economy is analysed. First, we demonstrate that process innovation is a necessary but insufficient condition for economic growth (and a potential source of economic instability) and that, to achieve macroeconomic growth, a hands-on public sector is required (that increase its debt every time an increase in productivity occurs and stabilises the economy). Then, we investigate how different appropriations of the productivity gains (and, consequently, different distribution configurations) affect the future trend of productivity (and, consequently, the long-run growth rate of the economy) via changes in the aggregate volume level and their allocation between sectors. In the third chapter, the focus moves to the extremely long-term dynamics of the capitalist system and the connection between process innovation, market concentration, and income inequality. We start exploring which can be the secular trends that come with economic growth and the structural changes forces, which are naturally behind it. Specifically, we show how the reduction of the employment, at the sectoral level, which logically comes with increasing level of labor productivity and consumers preference for variety can have repercussions in terms of market structure and personal distribution. Then, the economic growth consequences of the potential combination of market structure and income inequality, which may occur in economies experiencing growth and structural changes, are then analysed

Routine laboratory parameters, including complete blood count, predict COVID-19 in-hospital mortality in geriatric patients

To reduce the mortality of COVID-19 older patients, clear criteria to predict in-hospital mortality are urgently needed. Here, we aimed to evaluate the performance of selected routine laboratory biomarkers in improving the prediction of in-hospital mortality in 641 consecutive COVID-19 geriatric patients (mean age 86.6±6.8) who were hospitalized at the INRCA hospital (Ancona, Italy). Thirty-four percent of the enrolled patients were deceased during the in-hospital stay. The percentage of severely frail patients, assessed with the Clinical Frailty Scale, was significantly increased in deceased patients compared to the survived ones. The age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score was not significantly associated with increased risk of death. Among the routine parameters, neutrophilia, eosinopenia, lymphopenia, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, IL-6, and NT-proBNP showed the highest predictive values. The fully adjusted Cox regressions models confirmed that high neutrophil %, NLR, derived NLR (dNLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and low lymphocyte count, eosinophil %, and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) were the best predictors of in-hospital mortality, independently from age, gender, and other potential confounders. Overall, our results strongly support the use of routine parameters, including complete blood count, in geriatric patients to predict COVID-19 in-hospital mortality, independent from baseline comorbidities and frailty

I.S.Mu.L.T. Achilles Tendon Ruptures Guidelines

This work provides easily accessible guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of Achilles tendon ruptures. These guidelines could be considered as recommendations for good clinical practice developed through a process of systematic review of the literature and expert opinion, to improve the quality of care for the individual patient and rationalize the use of resources. This work is divided into two sessions: 1) questions about hot topics; 2) answers to the questions following Evidence Based Medicine principles. Despite the frequency of the pathology andthe high level of satisfaction achieved in treatment of Achilles tendon ruptures, a global consensus is lacking. In fact, there is not a uniform treatment and rehabilitation protocol used for Achilles tendon ruptures

Chemical composition and fatty acid content of white food sorghums grown in different environments

The chemical composition and fatty acid content of both white sorghum hybrids and pure lines grown in various areas of the world were studied. Various attributes were investigated including moisture, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, fat contents, and fatty acid composition. Slight variations in both protein and in fiber contents were observed among cultivars. Linoleic, oleic and palmitic were the most abundant fatty acids in all samples with little difference in their percentage content among the cultivars. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) dem¬onstrated, for all sorghum flours analyzed, the absence of toxic protein sequences for celiac patients. The present results demonstrate that food-grade sorghum varieties are potentially able to be grown in Mediterranean countries in addition to regions where sorghum has been traditionally produced, i.e. either in arid tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa and Asia or in dry regions of America

The early expansion of anergic NKG2Apos/CD56dim/CD16neg natural killer cells represents a therapeutic target in haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Natural Killer cells are the first lymphocyte population to reconstitute early after non myelo-ablative and T cell-replete haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with post-transplant infusion of cyclophosphamide. The present study characterizes the transient and predominant expansion starting from the 2nd week after haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation of a donor-derived unconventional subset of NKp46neg-low/CD56dim/CD16neg natural killer cells expressing remarkable high levels of CD94/NKG2A. Both transcription and phenotypic profiles indicated that unconventional NKp46neg-low/CD56dim/CD16neg natural killer cells are a distinct natural killer cell subpopulation with features of late stage differentiation, yet retaining proliferative capability and functional plasticity to generate conventional NKp46pos/CD56bright/CD16pos natural killer cells in response to interleukin-15 plus interleukin-18. While present at low frequency in healthy donors, unconventional NKp46neg-low/CD56dim/CD16neg natural killer cells are greatly expanded in the following 7 weeks after haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and express high levels of the activating receptors NKGD and NKp30 as well as of the lytic granules Granzyme-B and Perforin. Nonetheless, NKp46neg-low/CD56dim/CD16neg natural killer cells displayed a markedly defective cytotoxicity that could be reversed by blocking the inhibitory receptor CD94/NKG2A. These data open new important perspectives to better understand the ontogenesis/homeostasis of human natural killer cells and to develop a novel immune-therapeutic approach that targets the inhibitory NKG2A check point, thus unleashing natural killer cell alloreactivity early after haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Comparison of extraction methods for isolating kafirin protein from food grade sorghum flour

Isolated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) storage proteins (kafirins) have been successfully used in the production of several bio-materials including adhesives, films, micro-particles, fibers, and biological scaffold material. Comparatively little research has been conducted on the use of isolated kafirins in food products or to produce bioactive peptides via hydrolysis for nutritional uses. To support such research, the aim of this study was to compare existing methods for bulk isolation of sorghum kafirins with the goal of identifying a solvent with the least toxicity that maintained a high extraction rate from food grade sorghum flour. A secondary goal was to characterize the kafirin isolates produced from various extraction methods to provide some information on their potential use in food products to guide future research in this area. Five different extraction methods were compared including 1) aqueous ethanol containing NaOH and sodium metabisulfite, 2) glacial acetic acid, 3) aqueous ethanol with sodium metabisulfite, 4) aqueous ethanol at acidic pH, and 5) alkaline pH alone. The protein contents of the kafirin isolates obtained by the five methods ranged from 49.76% to 56.83%. Kafirin isolates were characterized using reversed phase (RP)-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which revealed substantial variability in the various kafirin patterns among the extraction methods tested. However, characterization of the kafirin isolates by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) did not show a high degree of variability among the methods tested. Likewise, analysis of the samples using sodium dodecyl sulphate - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed essentially the same band profiles but with different band intensities among kafirin extraction methods. Surface hydrophobicity of the kafirin isolates varied considerably with isolates extracted with glacial acetic acid and aqueous ethanol plus sodium metabisulfite the most hydrophobic as indicated by hydrophobic dye binding

Circulating miR-320b and miR-483-5p levels are associated with COVID-19 in-hospital mortality

none28noThe stratification of mortality risk in COVID-19 patients remains extremely challenging for physicians, especially in older patients. Innovative minimally invasive molecular biomarkers are needed to improve the prediction of mortality risk and better customize patient management. In this study, aimed at identifying circulating miRNAs associated with the risk of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality, we analyzed serum samples of 12 COVID-19 patients by small RNA-seq and validated the findings in an independent cohort of 116 COVID-19 patients by qRT-PCR. Thirty-four significantly deregulated miRNAs, 25 downregulated and 9 upregulated in deceased COVID-19 patients compared to survivors, were identified in the discovery cohort. Based on the highest fold-changes and on the highest expression levels, 5 of these 34 miRNAs were selected for the analysis in the validation cohort. MiR-320b and miR-483-5p were confirmed to be significantly hyper-expressed in deceased patients compared to survived ones. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression models, adjusted for relevant confounders, confirmed that patients with the 20% highest miR-320b and miR-483-5p serum levels had three-fold increased risk to die during in-hospital stay for COVID-19. In conclusion, high levels of circulating miR-320b and miR-483-5p can be useful as minimally invasive biomarkers to stratify older COVID-19 patients with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality.restrictedGiuliani, Angelica; Matacchione, Giulia; Ramini, Deborah; Di Rosa, Mirko; Bonfigli, Anna Rita; Sabbatinelli, Jacopo; Monsurrò, Vladia; Recchioni, Rina; Marcheselli, Fiorella; Marchegiani, Francesca; Piacenza, Francesco; Cardelli, Maurizio; Galeazzi, Roberta; Pomponio, Giovanni; Ferrarini, Alessia; Gabrielli, Armando; Baroni, Silvia Svegliati; Moretti, Marco; Sarzani, Riccardo; Giordano, Piero; Cherubini, Antonio; Corsonello, Andrea; Antonicelli, Roberto; Procopio, Antonio Domenico; Ferracin, Manuela; Bonafè, Massimiliano; Lattanzio, Fabrizia; Olivieri, FabiolaGiuliani, Angelica; Matacchione, Giulia; Ramini, Deborah; Di Rosa, Mirko; Bonfigli, Anna Rita; Sabbatinelli, Jacopo; Monsurrò, Vladia; Recchioni, Rina; Marcheselli, Fiorella; Marchegiani, Francesca; Piacenza, Francesco; Cardelli, Maurizio; Galeazzi, Roberta; Pomponio, Giovanni; Ferrarini, Alessia; Gabrielli, Armando; Baroni, Silvia Svegliati; Moretti, Marco; Sarzani, Riccardo; Giordano, Piero; Cherubini, Antonio; Corsonello, Andrea; Antonicelli, Roberto; Procopio, Antonio Domenico; Ferracin, Manuela; Bonafè, Massimiliano; Lattanzio, Fabrizia; Olivieri, Fabiol