Capturing and Treating Unobserved Heterogeneity by Response Based Segmentation in PLS Path Modeling. A Comparison of Alternative Methods by Computational Experiments

Segmentation in PLS path modeling framework results is a critical issue in social sciences. The assumption that data is collected from a single homogeneous population is often unrealistic. Sequential clustering techniques on the manifest variables level are ineffective to account for heterogeneity in path model estimates. Three PLS path model related statistical approaches have been developed as solutions for this problem. The purpose of this paper is to present a study on sets of simulated data with different characteristics that allows a primary assessment of these methodologies.Partial Least Squares; Path Modeling; Unobserved Heterogeneity

KCa3.1 channel inhibition sensitizes malignant gliomas to temozolomide treatment

Malignant gliomas are among the most frequent and aggressive cerebral tumors, characterized by high proliferative and invasive indexes. Standard therapy for patients, after surgery and radiotherapy, consists of temozolomide (TMZ), a methylating agent that blocks tumor cell proliferation. Currently, there are no therapies aimed at reducing tumor cell invasion. Ion channels are candidate molecular targets involved in glioma cell migration and infiltration into the brain parenchyma. In this paper we demonstrate that: i) blockade of the calcium-activated potassium channel KCa3.1 with TRAM-34 has co-adjuvant effects with TMZ, reducing GL261 glioma cell migration, invasion and colony forming activity, increasing apoptosis, and forcing cells to pass the G2/M cell cycle phase, likely through cdc2 de-phosphorylation; ii) KCa3.1 silencing potentiates the inhibitory effect of TMZ on glioma cell viability; iii) the combination of TMZ/TRAM-34 attenuates the toxic effects of glioma conditioned medium on neuronal cultures, through a microglia dependent mechanism since the effect is abolished by clodronate-induced microglia killing; iv) TMZ/TRAM-34 co-treatment increases the number of apoptotic tumor cells, and the mean survival time in a syngeneic mouse glioma model (C57BL6 mice implanted with GL261 cells); v) TMZ/TRAM-34 co-treatment reduces cell viability of GBM cells and cancer stem cells (CSC) freshly isolated from patients.Taken together, these data suggest a new therapeutic approach for malignant glioma, targeting both glioma cell proliferating and migration, and demonstrate that TMZ/TRAM-34 co-treatment affects both glioma cells and infiltrating microglia, resulting in an overall reduction of tumor cell progression

Voices from the inside: lived experiences of women confined in a detention center

Drawing on two years of fieldwork, this article focuses on the lived experiences of women detained inside Rome’s Identification and Expulsion Center, the main migration-related detention facility in Italy. We employed a thematic narrative analysis to examine the narratives of five women with different life trajectories in order to identify continuities and discontinuities within and across their stories. This analysis reveals that women’s experiences of oppression and agency—in their countries of origin, transit, and settlement—are deeply intertwined and strongly influenced by structural forces. Gender and sexuality, in relation to other hierarchies of power such as class, race, and nationality, profoundly shape such experiences, becoming crucial in the production of women as excludable and deportable subjects. Further, as the accounts of our participants lay bare, the immigration control system appears to play a key role in the (re)production of a dominant normative order. However, women are not passive spectators of the violence to which they are forcibly exposed. Rather, they struggle to cope with and resist the regimes of power that oppress their everyday lives. Through a feminist stance, this contribution seeks to enrich the body of scholarship on the lived experiences of women subject to practices of immigration and border control, particularly those confined in detention centers. Moreover, it highlights the need for a feminist project based on the creation of political and affective alliances across borders and axes of difference, particularly those related to legally produced statuses.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Italian approach to philosophical practices: A socio-cultural perspective

My thesis analyses how and why several different disciplines such as Philosophical Counselling, Philosophy for Children and for Community, Socratic Dialogue, Café Philo and Philosophy for Management, have spread in Italy in the 1990s, after being imported from the countries where they originated. These disciplines, which create a new controversial specialism, can be deployed in numerous and disparate fields, such as education, workplace, private life, and leisure. They are characterised by different methodological approaches and have multiple purposes which have been defined as educational, therapeutic, conciliatory, pragmatic, or simply critical. Despite their differences, they have been grouped in Italy under the general label of ‘pratiche filosofiche’ (philosophical practices). In my thesis, I consider philosophical practices as a socio-cultural phenomenon, and as a product of a specific environment. Focusing on Philosophical counselling and Philosophy for Children, I assess the extent to which the Italian cultural, political and institutional milieu has influenced the development of a specifically Italian take on philosophical practices compared to their initial tenets. My main argument is that the introduction of these practices in Italy has represented a partially unsuccessful response to the crisis of institutional philosophy and humanistic culture that is raging not only in Italy but also across the globe. I show that the Italian institutional and cultural context has favoured the emergence of these disciplines as a product to be marketed to an audience of aspiring practitioners and potential users, which jeopardizes their innovative drive. Lastly, I acknowledge the potential of philosophical practices in the country by articulating them to the currents of ‘Italian Theory’, thus highlighting the political value ofsome original applications of these disciplines in the Italian context

Improved time-resolved measurements of inorganic ions in particulate matter by PILS-IC integrated with a sample pre-concentration system

A particle-into-liquid sampler coupled with ion chromatograph (PILS-IC) for the on-line measurement of inorganic ions has been modified by the insertion of two ion-exchange pre-concentration cartridges that enrich the sample during the period of the IC analysis. The limits of detection of the modified instrument were 10-15 times lower and the time coverage 24 times higher (from 2 to 48 min per hour) than those of the original PILS-IC setup. The instrumental performance in terms of recovery and break-through volume from the cartridges was satisfactory. The modified PILS-IC was operated in comparison with a diffusion denuder line and with a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS) during a short intensive measurement period organized in the framework of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP), a co-operative program for monitoring and evaluation of the long-range transmission of the air pollutants in Europe. The instrument showed a quantitative response in agreement with the results of the diffusion lines, and an ability to trace fine concentration variations not so different from the performance of the much more complex HR-TOF-AMS. From the time patterns of the ion concentrations measured by the modified PILS-IC, it was possible to obtain useful information about the variations in the air quality and in the strength of the particulate matter sourc

Gestione dei processi partecipativi e dei processi decisionali inclusivi per l’SDG16 e l'educazione alla pace

 Strengthening participatory institutions through representative decision-making processes at all levels is one of the prerequisites for achieving peaceful societies, as implied by Agenda 2030 SDG16. The definition of participatory settings and community activation constitute education for peace and respect for the other. The paper aims to present the theoretical approaches and practical applications that the University of Florence spin-off, MoCa Future Designers, has used in four years of managing participatory processes involving different stakeholders.  Il rafforzamento delle istituzioni partecipative attraverso processi decisionali rappresentativi a tutti i livelli è uno dei prerequisiti per il raggiungimento di società pacifiche, come previsto dall'Obiettivo di Sviluppo Sostenibile (SDG) 16 dell’Agenda 2030. La definizione di contesti partecipativi e l'attivazione delle comunità costituiscono un'educazione alla pace e al rispetto dell'altro. Il documento intende presentare gli approcci teorici e le applicazioni pratiche che lo spin-off dell'Università di Firenze, MoCa Future Designers, ha utilizzato in quattro anni di gestione di processi partecipativi coinvolgendo diversi stakeholder territoriali.

The glycoside oleandrin reduces glioma growth with direct and indirect effects on tumor cells

Oleandrin is a glycoside that inhibits the ubiquitous enzyme Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase. In addition to its known effects on cardiac muscle, recent in vitro and in vivo evidence highlighted its potential for anticancer properties. Here, we evaluated for the first time the effect of oleandrin on brain tumors. To this aim, mice were transplanted with human or murine glioma and analyzed for tumor progression upon oleandrin treatment. In both systems, oleandrin impaired glioma development, reduced tumor size, and inhibited cell proliferation. We demonstrated that oleandrin does the following: (1) enhances the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level in the brain; (2) reduces both microglia/macrophage infiltration and CD68 immunoreactivity in the tumor mass; (3) decreases astrogliosis in peritumoral area; and (4) reduces glioma cell infiltration in healthy parenchyma. In BDNF-deficient mice (bdnftm1Jae/J) and in glioma cells silenced for TrkB receptor expression, oleandrin was not effective, indicating a crucial role for BDNF in oleandrin's protective and antitumor functions. In addition, we found that oleandrin increases survival of temozolomide-treated mice. These results encourage the development of oleandrin as possible coadjuvant agent in clinical trials of glioma treatment.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In this work, we paved the road for a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of brain tumors, demonstrating the potential of using the cardioactive glycoside oleandrin as a coadjuvant drug to standard chemotherapeutics such as temozolomide. In murine models of glioma, we demonstrated that oleandrin significantly increased mouse survival and reduced tumor growth both directly on tumor cells and indirectly by promoting an antitumor brain microenvironment with a key protective role played by the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor

Aqueous Humor Biomarkers of M\ufcller Cell Activation in Diabetic Eyes.

PURPOSE: To identify early biomarkers of retinal M\ufcller cell activation in diabetic eyes with or without clinically detectable signs of diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional comparative case series. The aqueous humor (AH) of 34 eyes was collected in 12 healthy controls, 11 diabetic patients without DR, and 11 diabetic patients with nonproliferative DR. Full ophthalmic examination and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography were performed in all eyes. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), aquaporin 1 (AQP1), and aquaporin 4 (AQP4) were quantified in AH samples as biomarkers of M\ufcller cell activity by ELISA. Statistical analysis was performed with ANOVA followed by Tukey-Kramer post hoc test. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the age among the three groups. Mean concentration of GFAP, AQP1, and AQP4 significantly increased in diabetic eyes versus controls (P < 0.05, for each comparison). Glial fibrillary acidic protein and AQP1 showed an approximate 2-fold increase, whereas AQP4 showed an approximate 25-fold increase in diabetics with DR versus controls. In diabetics without DR, AQP4 showed an approximate 6-fold increase versus controls. CONCLUSIONS: Glial fibrillary acidic protein, AQP1, and AQP4-biomarkers of M\ufcller cell activity-are significantly increased in human eyes with diabetes, confirming that M\ufcller cells are precociously affected by diabetes mellitus

Chronic kidney disease and urological disorders: systematic use of uroflowmetry in nephropathic patients

Background. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a highly prevalent condition. Urologic disorders are known causes of CKD, but often remain undiagnosed and underestimated also for their insidious onset and slow progression. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of urological unrecognized diseases in CKD patients by uroflowmetry. Methods. We enrolled consecutive stable CKD outpatients. The patients carried out two questionnaires, the International Prostate Symptom Score and Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, and they also underwent uroflowmetry, evaluating max flow rate (Qmax), voiding time and voided volume values. Results. A total of 83 patients (43 males, mean age of 59.8613.3 years) were enrolled. Our study showed 28 males and 10 females with a significant reduction of Qmax (P<0.001) while 21 females reported a significant increase of Qmax (P<0.001) with a prevalence of 49.5% of functional urological disease. Moreover, we showed a significant association between Qmax and creatinine (P¼0.013), estimated glomerular filtration rate (P¼0.029) and voiding volume (P¼0.05). We have not shown significant associations with age (P¼0.215), body mass index (P¼0.793), systolic blood pressure (P¼0.642) or diastolic blood pressure (P¼0.305). Moreover, Pearson’s chi-squared test showed a significant association between Qmax altered with CKD (v2 ¼1.885, P¼0.170) and recurrent infection (v2¼8.886, P¼0.012), while we have not shown an association with proteinuria (v2¼0.484, P¼0.785), diabetes (v2¼0.334, P¼0.563) or hypertension (v2¼1.885, P¼0.170).Conclusions. We showed an elevated prevalence of urological diseases in nephropathic patients; therefore, we suggest to include uroflowmetry in CKD patient assessment, considering the non-invasiveness, repeatability and low cost of examination. Uroflowmetry could be used to identify previously unrecognized urological diseases, which may prevent the onset of CKD or progression to end-stage renal disease and reduce the costs of management

“Yes, but somebody has to help them, somehow:” Looking at the italian detention field through the eyes of professional nonstate actors

Although migration-related detention has proliferated around the world, little is known about life inside these sites of confinement for illegalized non-citizens. Building on 34 months of fieldwork, this article examines the lived experiences of center staff and external civil-society actors engaged within Rome’s detention center. We discuss the emotional, ethical, and political challenges faced by these professional actors in their everyday work and their relationship with detainees. Our aim is to shed light on psychosocial life in detention and the intersections between humanitarian and security logics in this setting. In doing so, we problematize the idea that “humanizing detention” can be a solution for change.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologiainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio