Culture portability from origin to destination country: The gender division of domestic work among migrants in Italy

Background: The relative importance of a cultural component in the gender division of unpaid labour is still debated. Objective: Drawing on the epidemiological approach to the study of culture, we investigate the cultural component of gender inequality by examining whether gender asymmetries in housework and childcare in families with a migrant background relate to gender equity in the country of origin. Methods: Through multilevel models based on microlevel data (Istat SCIF survey), we examine the extent to which the division of household labour between immigrant partners living in Italy relates to gender equity in their origin country, proxied by the Global Gender Gap Index. We further analyse the changing importance of gender equity in the country of origin at different lengths of stay in the destination country. Conclusions: Immigrants from more (less) gender-equal countries display greater (lower) equality in the division of routine housework and childcare activities. However, gender equity in the origin country loses its importance for couples living in the destination country for a longer time. These findings point to a significant contribution of culture of origin to gender inequality in the intra-couple division of unpaid labour. Yet nonnegligible differences exist between specific housework and childcare tasks and depending on the time spent in the hosting country. Contribution: Our study contributes to the literature on gender inequalities by providing new evidence on the relationship between culture of origin and the division of specific housework and childcare tasks in families with a migrant background

Explorin the role of FIS1 in mitochondrial (patho)physiology

Mitochondria are key players in a plethora of (patho)physiological processes and show a striking morphological and structural versatility, which is ensured by inter-organellar fusion and fission processes mediated by a group of dynamin-related ATPases and their adaptor proteins, the so-called mitochondrial shaping proteins (Friedman and Nunnari, 2014; Hoppins et al., 2007a). Mitochondrial fission requires the translocation of cytosolic dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) to the mitochondria and its interaction with FIS1, MFF and MiD49/50, its putative receptors. FIS1 is a tail-anchored protein evenly distributed on the outer mitochondrial membrane and composed by a C-terminus transmembrane (TM) domain and two cytosolic tetratricopeptide repeat (TRP) motifs (James et al., 2003; Stojanovski et al., 2004; Yoon et al., 2003). FIS1 has been proved to mediate mitochondrial-ER tethering, ER-gated apoptosis, autophagy and ischemia/hypoxia-induced fragmentation (Alirol et al., 2006; Iwasawa et al., 2011a; Kim et al., 2011; Shen et al., 2014; Yamano et al., 2014). However, the discovery of MFF and MiD49/50, along with the finding that both DRP1 recruitment and mitochondrial fragmentation take place also in two models of Fis1 in vitro ablation, led to partially discharge FIS1 involvement in such events (Loson et al., 2013; Otera et al., 2010; Palmer et al., 2013). Besides the mechanistic aspects of FIS1-mediated fragmentation, its (patho)physiological relevance is still far from been clarified, and no human pathology has been directly linked to a mutation in Fis1 gene so far. In order to place FIS1 functions into a physiological context and to further define the relevance of mitochondrial fission in vivo, we decided to generate a hypomorphic Fis1 mouse model (Fis1hyp allele) that could be turned into a conditional ablation system (Fis1fl allele). The powerful genetic tool we generated circumvents many of the potential pitfalls of the most commonly used gene targeting approaches. We showed that Fis1 hypomorphism causes a perinatal pleiotropic lethal phenotype, comprising severe progressive muscular atrophy, heart ischemia and compromised vessel integrity. The concomitant muscular atrophy and heart ischemia would suggest (cardio)myopathy and/or neuromuscular defects, whereas extensive blood clots in the thorax, the presence of blood in the lungs and in the intestine and the altered microcircular bed in the retina seem to suggest defects in the maintenance of vessel integrity and/or increased vessel permeability and consequent blood leakage. Remarkably, although reduced, also heterozygous mice display lethality at a later stage and show defects comparable to their Fis1hyp/hyp littermates, thus suggesting a dose dependent relationship between phenotype severity and extent of Fis1 gene ablation. In vitro, we observed mitochondrial elongation and upregulation of the fission machinery as a consequence of Fis1 hypomorphism. Furthermore, we showed that expression of both human and mouse Fis1 genes is controlled by multiple splicing. In particular, an exon-skipping event of conserved exon 2 dictates the preferential expression of variant 2 versus the canonical variant 1 in both species. Remarkably, a non-canonical START codon seems to be responsible for transcription of human variant 2 (hFis1.2). The resulting protein, although lacking only the first 18 amino acids, triggers mitochondrial elongation when overexpressed in mouse. Upon starvation, Fis1 variant 2 expression is up-regulated in a protein kinase A dependent manner and its specific knockdown inhibits autophagy-associated mitochondrial elongation. Thus, Fis1 is alternatively spliced to modulate mitochondrial morphology during autophagy

Changing structures in transnational research networks: An analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on China's scientific collaborations

Research networks play pivotal roles in the creation and diffusion of knowledge. It is widely acknowledged that frontier research tends to cluster around transnational research networks (TRNs), which also represent strategic tools for nurturing innovation in R&D-intensive companies. Therefore, they are crucial for promoting the rapid development of the knowledge economy in underdeveloped countries. In this context, China's experience is particularly relevant because the country has invested heavily in knowledge production, which is arguably one of the most important structural changes at the global level in recent decades, with important implications for the division of labor and trade among countries. The country has been investing in order to become the scientific world leader, and in this transition, research collaboration, in particular with other countries, can become strategic. In this work, we analyze whether COVID-19 and related research have affected the shape of the network and the intensity of collaborations involving China in the field of health studies, comparing it to the case of the U.S. as the global leader in research (Fry et al., 2020). In particular, we wish to assess whether COVID-19-related research has pushed toward larger and more intensive collaborations internationally than before the pandemic or whether a tendency to closure has prevailed has prevailed. This also means understanding whether COVID-19, as a global phenomenon, has affected China in rising as an international research leader. To do so, we built an original dataset of international, coauthored publications involving China or the U.S. in selected health research fields. Our analysis first shows that COVID-19 research has assumed specific features distinct from other topics in the same research field, shaping research networks in a peculiar way for both China and the U.S. Second, for China, COVID-19 does not appear to have represented an opportunity to further climb up the international research ladder, as it has attracted a relatively low and more volatile number of collaborators from different countries

Incentivi alla ricerca e sviluppo in Italia: una indagine sugli effetti della Legge 46/82

The current economic crisis has put government intervention and policy evaluation at the centre of the debate on industrial development policy. Government efforts to stimulate a structural change of Italian industries are needed and in this context it becomes fundamental to engage in evaluation exercises in order to understand what policies are working. The paper offers an evaluation exercise on the major instruments used to promote R&D and innovation activities of Italian firms. We concentrate in particular on Law 46/82 and we look at the effects of the incentives it provides on firms expenditures on R&D and on new employment generation. We also consider the effects of such incentives when other similar laws are at work. Results suggest that a rethinking of the system of incentives might be needed to limit an inefficient overlapping of instruments.Evaluation of industrial policies; R&D and innovation; R&D incentives

Heterogeneous effects of spinoff foundations on the means of technology transfer: the role of past academic-industry collaborations

Focusing on the Italian population of academic entrepreneurs, we analyze the effect of establishing a spinoff firm on researchers' attitudes towards carrying out other activities in collaboration with firms, namely, co-publishing and co-patenting. We investigate the heterogeneity in this effect in terms of existing collaborations with firms in the pre-spinoff period. Using a counterfactual analysis on subgroups, we verify that academic entrepreneurs with previous publications with firms diminish their co-publishing and increase their co-patenting after founding a spinoff. Conversely, academic entrepreneurs who had no previous publications with firms increase their co-publishing and decrease their co-patenting. We maintain that such results are related to academics' learning processes connected with their previous technology transfer activities. The policy implications are related to technology transfer aims and contradict the idea that promoting spinoffs is an appropriate "one-size-fits-all" initiative

Suceder ou ceder? : um estudo exploratorio das relacoes entre empresa familiar, herdeiras e processo sucessorio

O presente trabalho busca elucidar o processo sucessório em empresas de constituição familiar sob a ótica, a percepção e as expectativas de suas herdeiras, abordando não só o processo sucessório em si, mas também questões relativas à dinâmica da família, a relação entre a familia e a empresa e a herdeira na empresa familiar. Uma vez que a sucessão de herdeiras na empresa familiar é ainda um assunto pouco pesquisado, optou-se pelo estudo de caso com método de investigação, por sua maior flexibilidade e por ser o método mais indicado para pesquisas exploratórias. Foram examinados dezoito casos de herdeiras em onze empresas familiares gaúchas. Os resultados da pesquisa foram analisados sob três aspectos básicos: a empresa versus a famma, a situação da herdeira na empresa familiar, e a sucessão propriamente dita.Foi possível concluir por meio deste trabalho que a sucessão de mulheres na empresa familiar ainda sofrerá alterações significativas, uma vez que não está relacionada unicamente a questões administrativas, mas tamoom a questões psicossociais. O tema é fortemente influenciado por aspectos tais como: os tipos diferentes de herdeiras, a relação entre a empresa e a família, a falta de planejamento no processo sucessório, a cultura patriarcal, o conflito entre o trabalho domestico e o trabalho profissional, relações de poder, entre outros.The purpo:se o f this study was to explore and analyze the succession process in the family business from the viewpoint of the female heirs, looking not only into the succession process itself but also in issues such as the family dynamics, the relation between the family and the company, and the heirs in the family bussiness. As the succession of female heirs is still an emerging topic, a case study has been carried out, not only due to the fact that this method of investigation presents a higher flex:ibility but also because this research deals with an issue which is still being developed. Eigtheen cases have been examined of female heirs from eleven familiy enterprises in the estate of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The results of this research were analised under three basic aspects: the family versus the company, the situation of the female heir in the family business and the succession process itself. By means of this case study, it was possible to conclude that the succession process of female heirs is still going to cbange in some aspects, as it is related not only to organizational issues, but also to social and cultural ones. The issue is highly influenced by aspects such as: the different kinds ofheirs, the relationship between the family business and the family, the lack of planning the succession process, the patriarchal culture, the conflit between the domestic and the professional work and the power relations, among others

Targeted industrial policy and government failures: insights from the South Korean experience

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the efficiency and effectiveness of industrial policies by focusing on the peculiar experience of South Korea. It analyzes Korean structural change from a historical and empirical standpoint, highlighting industrial policy interventions involved in this process. The analysis presented offers important insights to inform the debate on the contemporary industrial policy, identifying specific elements and circumstances that can contribute to mitigate government failures and to improve the effectiveness of public action. Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a historical and empirical perspective. Concerning the empirical analysis, a composite indicator to assess the process of structural change of economies is presented. This methodology provides annual rankings based on the different economic relevance of the manufacturing sectors over the period 1963–2012. Findings: The paper shows that industrial policy has been extensively involved in South Korean structural development but public intervention interacted with several other factors, including gradual markets liberalization, education, societal and cultural characteristics and low level of income inequalities. As a result, economic development is conceived as systemic process, namely as the outcome of a balance in the roles played by government, markets and civil society. In this framework, government failures, as inability of the government to respond effectively and efficiently to the general interest of the society, are intimately inherent to the mechanisms that rule the relevant relationships within the system. Originality/value: In the post-crisis debate, very little attention has been devoted in academic and political debate to the ways to mitigate government failures. By analyzing the historical and recent Korean experience with industrial policy, the paper addresses an issue insufficiently analyzed offering an innovative contribution

R&D policy evaluation: a case study on Law 46/1982 in Italy

Even in the context of neo-classical theory, characterized by a strong trust in the virtues of the free market, the need for a policy intervention in the field of research and innovation is theorized, because of the presence of market failures. In the contemporary context of economic and public finance crisis, on one side there is a strong need to boost the industrial productivity through investment in research and technology; on the other side the public budget constraints call for prudency. In this context the need for systematic evaluations of public incentives to firms is particularly strong. In this context, the paper offers an evaluation exercise on the major instruments used to promote R&D and innovation activities of Italian firms. The analysis concentrates in particular on the incentives offered by Law 46/1982 (and revisions) and their effects on firms expenditures and employment in R&D. The Law represents the main national funding program as well as the longest lasting single instrument for technology and innovation promotion, although revisions of the Law have occurred. In addition to Law 46/1982, Italian firms have the chance to benefit from a larger span of public subsidies, particularly at the regional and local level. This makes the counterfactual question of “what would have happened without the policy” particularly interesting since it is likely, and this is confirmed by the data, that firms that do not access to the incentives of Law 46/82 benefit from other sources of public financing. Therefore it is particularly important to consider the effects of Law 46/82 not just in the hypothetical situation of complete absence of policy intervention, but also when other similar laws are at work. For this reason besides the difference-in-difference estimation, the paper analyses the effects of Law 46/1982 through a difference-in-difference-indifference model, which allows to verify whether the interaction between different kinds of incentives has a multiplicative or a substitutive effect. The paper also addresses another typical aspect of evaluation studies: the average effect of the policy normally retrieved seems to be not sufficiently informative, especially in a country characterized by a marked territorial economic dualism (Centre-North vs. South) and by a strong presence of small-medium firms, with profoundly different characteristics from large firms. In other words the effects of the policy instrument might vary substantially among firms. Therefore the paper takes explicitly into consideration the different effect of the incentives on different sectors (according to Pavitt classification), on different size of firms and in different zones of the country. The database used for the analysis is the Capitalia Survey (former Mediocredito Centrale). Data are obtained from three consecutives surveys for a total of nine years starting from 1995 to 2003

Increased susceptibility to quinolinic acid-induced seizures and long-term changes in brain oscillations in an animal model of glutaric acidemia type I

Glutaric acidemia type I (GA-I) is an inborn error of metabolism of lysine, hydroxylysine, and tryptophan, caused by glutaryl-CoA-dehydrogenase (GCDH) deficiency, characterized by the buildup of toxic organic acids predominantly in the brain. After acute catabolic states, patients usually develop striatal degeneration, but the mechanisms behind this damage are still unknown. Quinolinic acid (QA), a metabolite of the kynurenine pathway, increases especially during infections/inflammatory processes, and could act synergically with organic acids, contributing to the neurological features of GA-I. The aim of this study was to investigate whether QA increases seizure susceptibility and modifies brain oscillation patterns in an animal model of GA-I, the Gcdh−/− mice taking high-lysine diet (Gcdh−/−-Lys). Therefore, the characteristics of QA-induced seizures and changes in brain oscillatory patterns were evaluated by video-electroencephalography (EEG) analysis recorded in Gcdh−/−-Lys, Gcdh+/+-Lys, and Gcdh−/−-N (normal diet) animals. We found that the number of seizures per animal was similar for all groups receiving QA, Gcdh−/−-Lys-QA, Gcdh+/+-Lys-QA, and Gcdh−/−-N-QA. However, severe seizures were observed in the majority of Gcdh−/−-Lys-QA mice (82%), and only in 25% of Gcdh+/+-Lys-QA and 44% of Gcdh−/−-N-QA mice. All Gcdh−/−-Lys animals developed spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS), but Gcdh−/−-Lys-QA animals had increased number of SRS, higher mortality rate, and significant predominance of lower frequency oscillations on EEG. Our results suggest that QA plays an important role in the neurological features of GA-I, as Gcdh−/−-Lys mice exhibit increased susceptibility to intrastriatal QA-induced seizures and long-term changes in brain oscillations

A Convenient Approach to Luminescent Cyclometalated Platinum(II) Complexes with Organometallic π-Bonded Benzenedithiolate

International audienceA family of neutral cyclometalated platinum(II) complexes [(C^N)Pt(η-S^S)] with π-bonded benzenedithiolate {(η-S^S) = Cp*Ru(C6H4S2)} and various cyclometalated ligands, {(C^N) = 2-phenylpyridine (ppy), (2); 2,4-difluorophenylpyridine (F2ppy) (3), benzo[h]quinoline (bzq) (4); dibenzo[f,h]quinoline (dbzq) (5) } were prepared and fully characterized. For comparison purposes the related bipyridine platinum (II) complex [(bpy)Pt(η-S^S)][OTf] (6) was also prepared. The electrochemistry behavior of these complexes was investigated and shows the enhanced stability of these compounds toward oxidation due to the presence of Cp*Ru moiety which is now π-bonded to the benzenedithiolato group. Moreover several complexes were identified by single crystal X-ray molecular structures. To the best of our knowledge these are the first structures to be reported for cyclometalated platinum complexes with a π-bonded benzenedithiolate (bdt) ligand. All of the complexes are luminescent in fluid solution at room temperature and in glassy solution at 77 K; their emission properties can be tuned through ligand variation