Complexity in Work Identifications: the Case of the H-1B Worker in the United States

The H-1B visa program allows for United States employers to supplement their workforce with high-skilled foreign workers. Issues arise for these workers when transitioning their lives to the U.S because they have to adapt to a new culture and are exposed to a constantly changing work environment. This exploratory study addresses how these individuals identify with their employing organization and their clients. The findings show that the H-1B contract workers identify more with the client organization as opposed to the employer, who was viewed by the majority as the “payroll department.” Primary factors of such client identification include treatment and relationships with colleagues and managers. Personal factors include motivation and goals. Daily interaction with the client as well as a positive corporate culture had an impact on client identification as well. This study has important implications for both research and practice of management. Furthermore, this study is beneficial to employers seeking to ease the stress of employees joining their organization

Tecnologías apropiadas para desinfección de agua.

La desinfección de agua es una necesidad de primer orden en las emergencias. Reseñamos una investigación sobre una tecnología con este objetivo que se adapta al contexto ambiental, social y económico, además de resultar sencilla en la aplicación y manejo, a escala reducida; no tiene impacto ambiental, es de bajo costo, implica la participación de las comunidades y utiliza materiales fáciles de encontrar. Ello la hace apropiada para la zona de Colombia donde se trabaja, ya que sufre bloqueo económico.Peer Reviewe

Identificazione in carica di frammenti nucleari nell'esperimento FOOT

Uno degli obiettivi dell’esperimento FOOT (FragmentatiOn Of Target) è quello di acquisire e analizzare dati sui processi di frammentazione in modo da rendere l’adroterapia un trattamento il più sicuro ed efficace possibile. In questa tesi ho analizzato i dati acquisiti ai laboratori del GSI relativi all’interazione tra un fascio di ioni 16O a 400 MeV/u e un bersaglio di grafite, concentrandomi sull’identificazione in carica dei frammenti prodotti nell’interazione. L’analisi ha evidenziato che gran parte delle particelle rivelate (≃90%) risultano essere ioni ossigeno del fascio primario che non hanno subito processi di frammentazione. Questo importate risultato iniziale permette di stimare la probabilità cumulativa di frammentazione dell’ossigeno su carbonio. Al fine di constatare la validità dell’analisi ho stimato la risoluzione con la quale è stato possibile ricostruire la carica delle particelle e ho verificato che soddisfacesse i requisiti dell’esperimento di una risoluzione del 2-3% sulla carica. Ho ottenuto risultati compatibili per la risoluzione sulla carica delle particelle con Z ≥2, ma non del protone, per il quale ho stimato una risoluzione ≃1

Mitografia e storia dei plebisciti di unificazione nelle due Sicilie

Il saggio indaga in modo critico origini e fortune (anche recenti) del discorso di delegittimazione dei plebisciti di unificazione svoltisi il 21 e 22 ottobre 1860 nelle Due Sicilie, con particolare attenzione al caso di studio delle province continentali dell’ex Regno borbonico. L’intento è quello di considerare queste pratiche di voto come un modo storicamente peculiare di apprendistato politico e mobilitazione popolare, dal profilo tanto partecipativo e inclusivo (anche verso soggetti normativamente esclusi dal corpo elettorale come donne e minori) quanto olistico, a-deliberativo e marcato da una personalizzazione della politica che si incarna in figure monocratiche e carismatiche. Un’adeguata comprensione del plebiscito meridionale non può, infatti, prescindere, in primo luogo, da un’analisi che lo collochi nel contesto delle coeve e successive analoghe esperienze europee (e più in generale delle dinamiche elettorali democratizzate fra XVIII e XIX secolo); secondariamente, da una lettura alla luce del lungo e articolato processo di “civilizzazione elettorale”, ovvero della definizione di tecnologie e pratiche del suffragio intese a forcludere la violenza politica, incanalando e ordinando normativamente l’esercizio, altrimenti scomposto, della sovranità popolare.The paper is a critical investigation of the origins and fortunes (including recent developments) of the discourse of delegitimisation of the unification plebiscites carried out on the 21st and 22nd October 1860 in the Two Sicilies. It pays particular attention to the case study of the mainland provinces of the ex-Bourbon Reign. The intent is to consider these voting practices as an historically unique method of political apprenticeship and mobilisation of the popular classes. The profile of these practices was as much participative and inclusive (including subjects who were normally excluded from the electoral body, such as women and minors) as it was holistic, nondeliberative and marked by a personalisation of politics that was incarnated in monocratic and charismatic figures. An adequate understanding of the southern plebiscite must not ignore, firstly, an analysis that is positioned in the context of the coeval and subsequent analogue experiences in Europe (and more generally the democratised electoral dynamics between the 18th and 19th centuries). Secondly, it must be read from the perspective of the long and articulated process of “electoral civilisation”, that is, the definition of the technology and practices of suffrage intended to preclude political violence, channelling and ordering the otherwise broken exercise of popular sovereignty

News on immune checkpoint inhibitors as immunotherapy strategies in adult and pediatric solid tumors

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown unprecedented benefits in various adult cancers, and this success has prompted the exploration of ICI therapy even in childhood malignances. Although the use of ICIs as individual agents has achieved disappointing response rates, combinational therapies are likely to promise better results. However, only a subset of patients experienced prolonged clinical effects, thus suggesting the need to identify robust bio-markers that predict individual clinical response or resistance to ICI therapy as the main challenge. In this review, we focus on how the use of ICIs in adult cancers can be translated into pediatric malignances. We discuss the physiological mechanism of action of each IC, including PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 and the new emerging ones, LAG-3, TIM-3, TIGIT, B7-H3, BTLA and IDO-1, and evaluate their prognostic value in both adult and childhood tumors. Furthermore, we offer an overview of preclinical models and clinical trials currently under investigation to improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies in these patients. Finally, we outline the main predictive factors that influence the efficacy of ICIs, in order to lay the basis for the development of a pan-cancer immunogenomic model, able to direct young patients towards more specific immunotherapy

Un laboratoire pour les pratiques plébiscitaires contemporaines: les libres votes constitutionnels et les «appels au silence» dans l’Italie révolutionnaire et napoléonienne (1797-1805)

Entre la fin du XVIIIe siècle et le début du XIXe siècle, la péninsule italienne est un laboratoire des pratiques plébiscitaires modernes en parallèle avec la France. Partant de l’analyse des «libres votes» constitutionnels qui ont lieu dans les républiques sœurs italiennes et des appels au peuple qui se tiennent à Gênes et Lucques en 1805, cette contribution focalise l’attention sur trois points. D’abord, le rôle pivot de la figure de Bonaparte constituant et père des nouvelles patries par lui-même inventées dans les discourses ainsi que dans les pratiques de vote en 1797. En second lieu, la symmétrie entre l’impératif de l’elargissement, le plus grand possible, du corps électoral (qui dessine une «citoyenneté exceptionnelle de ratification») et la raréfation progressive de l’espace déliberatif qui caractérise les libres votes constitutionnels de 1797-98 tout en gardant le suffrage en assemblée. Enfin, la médiatisation et la correction des résultats électoraux en 1797-98 jusqu’à l’introduction officielle en 1805 du principe du «silence assentiment». SUMMARY Between the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century , the Italian peninsula is a laboratory of modern plebiscitary practices in parallel with France. Based on the analysis of "free votes " constitutional taking place in the Italian republi

The Role of Metformin in the Management of NAFLD

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disorder worldwide. Its prevalence ranges 10–24% in the general population, reaching 60–95% and 28–55% in obese and diabetic patients, respectively. Although the etiology of NAFLD is still unclear, several lines of evidences have indicated a pathogenetic role of insulin resistance in this disorder. This concept has stimulated several clinical studies where antidiabetic drugs, such as insulin sensitizers including metformin, have been evaluated in insulin-resistant, NAFLD patients. These studies indicate that metformin might be of benefit in the treatment of NAFLD, also in nondiabetic patients, when associated to hypocaloric diet and weight control. However, the heterogeneity of these studies still prevents us from reaching firm conclusions about treatment guidelines. Moreover, metformin could have beneficial tissue-specific effects in NAFLD patients irrespective of its effects as insulin sensitizer

Synthesis of GAP and PAMMO Homopolymers from Mesylate Polymeric Precursors

In azidic binders for solid propellants, the N3 functionality is introduced by substitution of a halogen or tosyl group, but recently the mesyl group has been suggested as an alternative. The mesylate group has two advantages, mainly related to its small dimensions and low cost. Poly(glycidyl azide) and poly 3-azidomethyl-3-methyl oxetane were prepared by using both tosylate and mesylate precursors. The azidation kinetics were studied at three different temperatures while keeping all other operating parameters the same. The results confirmed the good potential of the mesylate precursors for the production of azidic binders

Diseño participativo para la inclusión social: de la metodología DCP al producto

La presente propuesta de investigación, análisis y reflexión, trabaja sobre la metodología del Diseño centrado en las personas (Human centered Design) propuesto por la organización IDEO, como instrumento para el desarrollo de soluciones innovadoras en las comunidades locales. Tradicionalmente el diseñador industrial se ha enfocado en el desarrollo de productos funcionales y estéticos, sin embargo el rol de diseñador cambia cuando el mismo se convierte en un agente de cambio dentro de su comunidad, para el desarrollo de productos, servicios y experiencias centrados en el ser humano, sus necesidades y deseos. Adicionalmente se reflexiona acerca de cómo el DCP fomenta el pensamiento creativo a partir de: la empatía, la colaboración, la flexibilidad, la elaboración. Asimismo se visualiza la significación de desarrollar una sensibilidad social, en donde es primordial conocer al usuario para el que se diseña y a su comunidad para la generación de conocimientos genuinos y humanos

Epigenetic deregulation of micrornas in rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma and translational perspectives

Gene expression control mediated by microRNAs and epigenetic remodeling of chromatin are interconnected processes often involved in feedback regulatory loops, which strictly guide proper tissue differentiation during embryonal development. Altered expression of microRNAs is one of the mechanisms leading to pathologic conditions, such as cancer. Several lines of evidence pointed to epigenetic alterations as responsible for aberrant microRNA expression in human cancers. Rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma are pediatric cancers derived from cells presenting features of skeletal muscle and neuronal precursors, respectively, blocked at different stages of differentiation. Consistently, tumor cells express tissue markers of origin but are unable to terminally differentiate. Several microRNAs playing a key role during tissue differentiation are often epigenetically downregulated in rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma and behave as tumor suppressors when re-expressed. Recently, inhibition of epigenetic modulators in adult tumors has provided encouraging results causing re-expression of anti-tumor master gene pathways. Thus, a similar approach could be used to correct the aberrant epigenetic regulation of microRNAs in rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma. The present review highlights the current insights on epigenetically deregulated microRNAs in rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma and their role in tumorigenesis and developmental pathways. The translational clinical implications and challenges regarding modulation of epigenetic chromatin remodeling/microRNAs interconnections are also discusse