Access to bank financing and start‐up resilience: A survival analysis across business sectors in a time of crisis

The presence of exogenous global shocks due to the 2007/2008 economic and financial crisis and the current global pandemic crisis are deeply hampering economic operators’ overall ability to access credit. Small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups are most severely affected by credit rationing. This paper investigates whether access to bank loans in the early stage of a start-up’s lifecycle is a predictor of a firm’s default in a time of economic crisis. We ground our analysis on a firm-level longitudinal data set of Italian new capital companies born from 2004 to 2006. Implementing a discrete-time proportional hazard model we study their likelihood of default up to 2014 after controlling for a consistent number of other firms, industry and innovation related characteristics. The main findings confirm that access to bank loans significantly enhances the resilience of Italian start-ups. By taking into consideration the sectoral degree of innovation where firms operate, we also find that bank financing still exerts a positive influence on firm survival in both less and more innovative industries. However, there is evidence of a stronger positive influence on of long-term debt on the survival of firms operating in low- and medium-low innovative industries

Assessing the risks of "infodemics" in response to COVID-19 epidemics

Our society is built on a complex web of interdependencies whose effects become manifest during extraordinary events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with shocks in one system propagating to the others to an exceptional extent. We analyzed more than 100 millions Twitter messages posted worldwide in 64 languages during the epidemic emergency due to SARS-CoV-2 and classified the reliability of news diffused. We found that waves of unreliable and low-quality information anticipate the epidemic ones, exposing entire countries to irrational social behavior and serious threats for public health. When the epidemics hit the same area, reliable information is quickly inoculated, like antibodies, and the system shifts focus towards certified informational sources. Contrary to mainstream beliefs, we show that human response to falsehood exhibits early-warning signals that might be mitigated with adequate communication strategies.Comment: The dataset analyzed in this paper can be interactively visualized and accessed at https://covid19obs.fbk.eu

italian High‑Speed Railway Stations and the Attractivity Index: the Downscaling Potential to Implement Coworking as Service in Station

This article introduces a methodology to evidence the current attractiveness level of Italian high-speed railway stations in a GIS environment, involving station services and fow parameters. The model has been elevant to detect stations with lower attractive capacity, and afterward, to implement the station attractivity, the work proposed employing a coworking spaces strategy as a service in station. Coworking spaces produce enefts both for the traveler and the transport company. These places became part of the services ofered within railway stations since they are fow providers able to change appearance and idea of experience at station. In France, a coworking strategy has been created from the collaboration of Regus, leader company in coworking spaces supply, and the French railway group (SNCF). The Italian railway company (Ferrovie dello Stato) does not consider the attractiveness potential of coworking in the management of station resources; coworking spaces in Italy are placed outside stations. Accordingly, Torino Porta Susa station has been identifed as one of the stations with low attractivity capacity from the methodology implemented, and it has been chosen as the case study to implement the coworking strategy. The choice of Torino Porta Susa is accurate also for showing the value of associating coworking as urban policies support. The coworking strategy can implement attractiveness levels and, in a long-term future perspective, encourage sustainable mobility target

Bergamot essential oil nanoemulsions: antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity.

Abstract Bergamot essential oil (BEO) is well-known for its food preservation activity, as well as anticancer efficacy. However, the poor BEO water solubility and deriving low bioaccessibility have limited its wider applications. The incorporation in nanoemulsions of BEO and its refined fractions was investigated to enhance its dispersibility in water to promote its antimicrobial activity, tested against Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and its cytotoxicity already at low concentrations. Different nanoemulsion formulations were tested based on food-grade ingredients, which were characterized in terms of hydrodynamic diameter and polydispersity index, and physical stability. The antimicrobial activity against all the tested micro-organisms was observed to be higher for BEO in its initial composition, than the light fraction, richer in d-limonene, ß-pinene, and γ-terpinene, or the heavy fraction, richer in linalyl acetate and linalool. Remarkably, the use of BEO nanoemulsions notably enhanced the antimicrobial activity for all the tested oils. BEO exhibited also a measurable cytotoxic activity against Caco-2 cells, which was also enhanced by the use of the different nanoemulsions tested, in comparison with free oil, which discourages the direct use of BEO nanoemulsions as a food preservative. Conversely, BEO nanoemulsions might find use in therapeutic applications as anticarcinogenic agents

Immunophenotyping of peripheral blood cells allows to discriminate MIS-C and Kawasaki disease

Background: The pathogenesis of the novel described multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and Kawasaki disease (KD) is still debated as it is not clear if they are the same or different nosological entities. However, for both the diseases a rapid and unequivocal diagnosis is mandatory to start the therapy before the onset of severe complications. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the white cell populations in MIS-C and KD as potential markers to discriminate between the two diseases. Methods: We studied white cell populations by flow cytometry in 46 MIS-C and 28 KD patients in comparison to 70 age-matched healthy children. Results: MIS-C patients had a significant lymphopenia that involved both B and T populations while KD patients showed a significant neutrophilia and thrombocythemia. Granulocyte/lymphocyte ratio helped to diagnose both MIS-C and KD with a high diagnostic sensitivity, while a multivariate analysis of granulocyte and T lymphocyte number contributed to discriminate between the two diseases. Conclusions: The relevant lymphopenia observed in MIS-C patients suggests that the disease would be a post-infectious sequel of COVID-19 immunologically amplified by a massive cytokine release, while the significant neutrophilia and thrombocythemia observed in KD confirmed that the disorder has the genesis of a systemic vasculitis. The analysis of a panel of circulating cells may help to early diagnose and to discriminate between the two diseases. Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41231-022-00128-2

8-Hydroxy-2-Deoxyguanosine and 8-Iso-Prostaglandin F2α: Putative Biomarkers to assess Oxidative Stress Damage Following Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RARP)

Objective: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common type of cancer. Biomarkers help researchers to understand the mechanisms of disease and refine diagnostic panels. We measured urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-IsoF2α) to assess oxidative stress damage in PCa patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Methods: Forty PCa patients were enrolled in the study. Urine was collected before (T0) and 3 months after the RARP procedure (T1). 8-OHdG and 8-IsoF2α were measured through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Sex- and age-matched healthy subjects served as controls (CTRL). Results: At T0, patients exhibited significantly higher levels of 8-OHdG than CTRL (p = 0.026). At T1, 23/40 patients who completed the 3-month follow-up showed levels of 8-OHdG that were significantly lower than at T0 (p = 0.042), and comparable to those of the CTRL subjects (p = 0.683). At T0, 8-Iso-PGF2α levels were significantly higher in PCa patients than in CTRL subjects (p = 0.0002). At T1, 8-Iso-PGF2α levels were significantly lower than at T0 (p < 0.001) and were comparable to those of CTRL patients (p = 0.087). Conclusions: A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method reveals enhanced OHdG and 8-Iso-PGF2α in the urine of PCa patients. RARP normalizes such indices of oxidative stress. Large-sized sample studies and long-term follow-ups are now needed to validate these urinary biomarkers for use in the early prevention and successful treatment of PCa

INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF AN ERF TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR IN MEDIATING STRESS RESPONSE AND TOMATO FRUIT RIPENING AND QUALITY

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the world's most consumed vegetables and its consumption has been associated with decreased risk of chronic degenerative diseases. Tomato fruit is an important source of antioxidant compounds such as carotenoids, particularly lycopene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E and phenolic compounds. Fruit ripening is regulated by ethylene. Ethylene biosynthesis and signaling are modulated during fruit development and ripening and are involved in several processes such as antioxidant accumulation and softening that affect fruit quality and shelf-life. To date, several strategies have been implemented in tomato to modulate ripening and enhance tomato fruit quality and shelf-life by regulating the expression of genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis, perception or signaling. Among others, AP2/ERF genes are transcription factors which play key roles in several processes, such as plant development, ethylene response, and pathogen resistance. In tomato fruit, they can act as positive or negative regulator of ripening and of ethylene production. Our goal is to elucidate the functional role of ERF F4 gene (Solyc07g053740) in mediating modulation of the tomato fruit ripening during the plant response to abiotic stress and investigatiing its impact on fruit redox balance and antioxidant accumulation. In particular, the ERF F4 locus was targeted in Microtom by CRISPR/Cas 9 technology to generate knockout tomato plants. One month-old T3 offspring mutant and wild-type plants underwent three level of irrigation, consisting in the complete restitution of water (FWR), restitution of 50% of lost water (HWR) and 30% of water restitution (TWR), respectively. Beside no variation was observed in the lycopene and total carotenoid levels in fruit at the red-ripe stage, edited plants showed increased levels of soluble solid content than wild type plants and responded to drought treatment with a higher increase in their antioxidant capacity. These results suggested the involvement of ERF F4 in modulating ripening associated metabolic processes and fruit redox balance in response to abiotic stresses. Ongoing experiments will further investigate the role of the tomato ERF F4 in regulating the expression of genes involved in controlling the metabolism of antioxidants, particularly glutathione and ascorbate pool

Human Cardiac Progenitor Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Exhibit Promising Potential for Supporting Cardiac Repair in Vitro

Although human Cardiac Progenitor Cells (hCPCs) are not retained by host myocardium they still improve cardiac function when injected into schemic heart. Emerging evidence supports the hypothesis that hCPC beneficial effects are induced by paracrine action on resident cells. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are an intriguing mechanism of cell communication based on the transport and transfer of peptides, lipids, and nucleic acids that have the potential to modulate signaling pathways, cell growth, migration, mand proliferation of recipient cells. We hypothesize that EVs are involved in the paracrine effects elicited by hCPCs and held accountable for the response of the infarcted myocardium to hCPC-based cell therapy. To test this theory, we collected EVs released by hCPCs isolated from healthy myocardium and evaluated the effects they elicited when administered to resident hCPC and cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) isolated from patients with post-ischemic end-stage heart failure. Evidence emerging from our study indicated that hCPC-derived EVs impacted upon proliferation and survival of hCPCs residing in the ischemic heart and regulated the synthesis and deposition of extracellular-matrix by CFs. These findings suggest that beneficial effects exerted by hCPC injection are, at least to some extent, ascribable to the delivery of signals conveyed by EVs

A Fatal Case of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome After Paralytic Bowel in a Patient Taking Antiparkinson Medication

Objectives: We report a fatal case of neuroleptic malignant-like syndrome, which occurred as a consequence of paralytic bowel in a 72-year-old woman on treatment with antiparkinson medication. Case description: Contrast enhanced computerized tomography of the chest and abdomen demonstrated the presence of paralytic bowel. Results: The patient died. Conclusions: Physicians involved in the treatment of patients affected by Parkinson’s disease should take into consideration the possibility of dopaminergic drug malabsorption due to paralytic bowel as a possible cause of neuroleptic malignant-like syndrome