A new international measure of social stratification

In this paper we present a new international measure of social stratification, the ICAMS (International Cambridge Scale). Our aim is to bring new evidence to the hypothesis that the construct that underlies measures of social stratification as different as prestige scales, socioeconomic indexes, social distance and social status scales is actually unidimensional. We evaluate the new scale according to both criterion-related and construct validity. Our analysis shows that the ICAMS is a valid indicator of social stratification, being almost as valid as International Socio-Economic Index (ISEI) in what we termed the generic, the homogamy and the social mobility models, and being better than ISEI in the cultural consumption model. The second key result is that all continuous measures we consider (ICAMS, ISEI and Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale) are indicators of the same latent dimension, which is unidimensional. This latter result is compatible with morethan one explanation, hence calling for further research

Networks of the Chinese Community in Milan

Les réseaux de la communauté chinoise à Milan. Cet article se propose de contribuer au débat sur l’utilisation de la problématique des réseaux dans la sociologie des migrations. La force des liens, la multiplicité, la densité, les relations de coopération et de compétition etc. sont des concepts importants pour analyser les changements dans la communauté chinoise à Milan. Alors que dans les années 1980 les migrants avaient plus d’opportunités d’améliorer leur situation économique, les nouveaux arrivants des années 1990 rencontrent plus de difficultés. À Milan, on trouve d’une part le vieux quartier Chinois Canonica Sarpi, qui est devenu le centre commercial et social et d’autre part des zones de résidence à la périphérie de la ville, comme Monza Padova peuplée de nouveaux arrivés Dans ces deux quartiers, les formes d’intégration et la nature des conflits avec les Italiens sont différentes. En outre les uns et les autres se servent de leurs réseaux de relations en vue d’une intégration sociale et économique, mais tous n’y réussissent pas de façon identique.The aim of this work is to give a theoretical and methodological contribution to the use of networks in migration studies. Strength of ties, multiplicity, density, expressive and instrumental links, cooperative and competitive relations are important concepts to analyse the transformations of the Chinese community in Milan. In the ‘80s the community was dense and cohesive and it was easy for newcomers to improve their economic status, while in the ‘90s the situation has gradually become worse. The first “Chinese area”, Canonica Sarpi, has turned into a service area, bringing as a consequence the concentration of the newcomers in more peripheral areas, such as Monza Padova. In these two areas, there are various levels of integration and different kinds of conflicts with the Italians. Moreover, everyone manipulates his/her network in dissimilar ways in order to reach economic and social integration, and some achieve these goals faster than others also thanks to their network.Las redes de la comunidad china de Milán. Este artículo se propone contribuir al debate sobre el tratamiento que la sociología de las migraciones otorga a la problemática de las redes. La fuerza de los lazos, la multiplicidad, la densidad, las relaciones de cooperación y de competición, etc. son conceptos importantes en el análisis de los cambios en la comunidad china de Milán. Si en los años 80 los emigrantes gozaban de oportunidades para mejorar su situación económica, en los años 90, los recién llegados se topan con mayores dificultades. En Milán podemos identificar, en primer lugar, el barrio chino antiguo de Canonica Sarpi, hoy centro comercial y social y, en segundo lugar, zonas residenciales situadas en la periferia de la ciudad y, como es el caso de Monzo Padova, pobladas de recién llegados. Las formas de integración y la naturaleza de los conflictos con los italianos son diferentes en cada uno de los dos barrios. Unos y otros utilizan sus redes de relaciones con vistas a la integración social y económica, pero no todos lo logran de la misma manera

Multiple sclerosis: changes in microarchitecture of white matter tracts after training with a video game balance board

Purpose: To determine if high-intensity, task-oriented, visual feedback training with a video game balance board (Nintendo Wii) induces significant changes in diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) parameters of cerebellar connections and other supratentorial associative bundles and if these changes are related to clinical improvement in patients with multiple sclerosis.Conclusion: Despite the low statistical power (35%) due to the small sample size, the results showed that training with the balance board system modified the microstructure of superior cerebellar peduncles. The clinical improvement observed after training might be mediated by enhanced myelinationrelated processes, suggesting that high-intensity, taskoriented exercises could induce favorable microstructural changes in the brains of patients with multiple sclerosis.Materials and Methods: The protocol was approved by local ethical committee; each participant provided written informed consent. In this 24-week, randomized, two-period crossover pilot study, 27 patients underwent static posturography and brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at study entry, after the first 12-week period, and at study termination. Thirteen patients started a 12-week training program followed by a 12-week period without any intervention, while 14 patients received the intervention in reverse order. Fifteen healthy subjects also underwent MR imaging once and underwent static posturography. Virtual dissection of white matter tracts was performed with streamline tractography; values of DTI parameters were then obtained for each dissected tract. Repeated measures analyses of variance were performed to evaluate whether DTI parameters significantly changed after intervention, with false discovery rate correction for multiple hypothesis testing.Results: There were relevant differences between patients and healthy control subjects in postural sway and DTI parameters (P <.05). Significant main effects of time by group interaction for fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity of the left and right superior cerebellar peduncles were found (F2,23 range, 5.555-3.450; P = .036-.088 after false discovery rate correction). These changes correlated with objective measures of balance improvement detected at static posturography (r = 20.381 to 0.401, P < .05). However, both clinical and DTI changes did not persist beyond 12 weeks after training

Critical requirement for cell cycle inhibitors in sustaining nonproliferative states

In adult vertebrates, most cells are not in the cell cycle at any one time. Physiological nonproliferation states encompass reversible quiescence and permanent postmitotic conditions such as terminal differentiation and replicative senescence. Although these states appear to be attained and maintained quite differently, they might share a core proliferation-restricting mechanism. Unexpectedly, we found that all sorts of nonproliferating cells can be mitotically reactivated by the sole suppression of histotype-specific cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitors (CKIs) in the absence of exogenous mitogens. RNA interference–mediated suppression of appropriate CKIs efficiently triggered DNA synthesis and mitosis in established and primary terminally differentiated skeletal muscle cells (myotubes), quiescent human fibroblasts, and senescent human embryo kidney cells. In serum-starved fibroblasts and myotubes alike, cell cycle reactivation was critically mediated by the derepression of cyclin D–cdk4/6 complexes. Thus, both temporary and permanent growth arrest must be actively maintained by the constant expression of CKIs, whereas the cell cycle–driving cyclins are always present or can be readily elicited. In principle, our findings could find wide application in biotechnology and tissue repair whenever cell proliferation is limiting

Probiotics-addicted low-protein diet for microbiota modulation in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (ProLowCKD): A protocol of placebo-controlled randomized trial

Abstract Microbiota is a term coined to describe the population of bacteria, viruses and fungi that inhabit in symbiosis within a living host. A connection between unbalanced microbiota and chronic kidney disease has been established. In these patients, high levels of urea reach the intestine promoting the overgrowth of bacterial species that are prone to generate uremic toxins. Due to the high morbidity and mortality of this condition, a large number of therapeutic approaches to reduce inflammation and microbial uremic toxins have been proposed, with controversial results. A low protein diet, with a protein intake of 0.6–0.8 g/kg of body weight, is a useful and historically pursued option with this regard. The aim of our study is to evaluate, among patients with advanced renal failure not on dialysis, the synergic beneficial effects of this diet and the selected probiotics Bifidobacterium longum (mix DLBL) and Lactobacillus reuteri LRE02 (DSM 23878)

FePc Adsorption on the Moir\'e Superstructure of Graphene Intercalated with a Co Layer

The moir\'e superstructure of graphene grown on metals can drive the assembly of molecular architectures, as iron-phthalocyanine (FePc) molecules, allowing for the production of artificial molecular configurations. A detailed analysis of the Gr/Co interaction upon intercalation (including a modelling of the resulting moir\'e pattern) is performed here by density functional theory, which provides an accurate description of the template as a function of the corrugation parameters. The theoretical results are a preliminary step to describe the interaction process of the FePc molecules adsorption on the Gr/Co system. Core level photoemission and absorption spectroscopies have been employed to control the preferential adsorption regions of the FePc on the graphene moir\'e superstructure and the interaction of the central Fe ion with the underlying Co. Our results show that upon molecular adsorption the distance of C atoms from the Co template mainly drives the strength of the molecules-substrate interaction, thereby allowing for locally different electronic properties within the corrugated interface.Comment: This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in J. Phys. Chem. C , copyright \c{opyright} American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b0987

MRI-based radiomic prognostic signature for locally advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: development, testing and comparison with genomic prognostic signatures

Background. At present, the prognostic prediction in advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) is based on the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system, and the most used imaging modality in these patients is magnetic resonance image (MRI). With the aim to improve the prediction, we developed an MRI-based radiomic signature as a prognostic marker for overall survival (OS) in OCSCC patients and compared it with published gene expression signatures for prognosis of OS in head and neck cancer patients, replicated herein on our OCSCC dataset.MethodsFor each patient, 1072 radiomic features were extracted from T1 and T2-weighted MRI (T1w and T2w). Features selection was performed, and an optimal set of five of them was used to fit a Cox proportional hazard regression model for OS. The radiomic signature was developed on a multi-centric locally advanced OCSCC retrospective dataset (n = 123) and validated on a prospective cohort (n = 108).ResultsThe performance of the signature was evaluated in terms of C-index (0.68 (IQR 0.66-0.70)), hazard ratio (HR 2.64 (95% CI 1.62-4.31)), and high/low risk group stratification (log-rank p &lt; 0.001, Kaplan-Meier curves). When tested on a multi-centric prospective cohort (n = 108), the signature had a C-index of 0.62 (IQR 0.58-0.64) and outperformed the clinical and pathologic TNM stage and six out of seven gene expression prognostic signatures. In addition, the significant difference of the radiomic signature between stages III and IVa/b in patients receiving surgery suggests a potential association of MRI features with the pathologic stage.ConclusionsOverall, the present study suggests that MRI signatures, containing non-invasive and cost-effective remarkable information, could be exploited as prognostic tools

Correlations between Molecular Alterations, Histopathological Characteristics, and Poor Prognosis in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a severe malignancy with increasing incidence, poorly understood pathogenesis, and low survival rates. We sequenced 164 EAC samples of naïve patients (without chemo-radiotherapy) with high coverage using next-generation sequencing technologies. A total of 337 variants were identified across the whole cohort, with TP53 as the most frequently altered gene (67.27%). Missense mutations in TP53 correlated with worse cancer-specific survival (log-rank p = 0.001). In seven cases, we found disruptive mutations in HNF1alpha associated with other gene alterations. Moreover, we detected gene fusions through massive parallel sequencing of RNA, indicating that it is not a rare event in EAC. In conclusion, we report that a specific type of TP53 mutation (missense changes) negatively affected cancer-specific survival in EAC. HNF1alpha was identified as a new EAC-mutated gen

Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 13

In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera Bryum, Cryphaea, Didymodon, and Grimmia; the fungal genera Bryostigma, Cercidospora, Conocybe, Cortinarius, Endococcus, Inocybe, Psathyrella, and Sphaerellothecium; the lichen genera Agonimia, Anisomeridium, Bilimbia, Diplotomma, Gyalecta, Huneckia, Lecidella, Lempholemma, Myriolecis, Nephroma, Pannaria, Pycnothelia, Pyrrhospora, Rinodina, Stereocaulon, Thalloidima, Trapelia, Usnea, Variospora, and Verrucaria