The status of sustainable social innovation in Malta

Governments are increasingly using social innovation to stimulate economic growth and address social issues sustainably. Unfortunately, due to its size, Malta faces a very different challenge to sustainably kick-start high-value-added innovative ecosystems compared to larger states. This is due to a number of issues, including diseconomies of scale, that tend to impede conventional innovation policy efforts. Based on grassroots data, this paper presents the results of a study which determined the status of social innovation in Malta and presents a few recommended measures that can be implemented in order to stimulate social innovation sustainably in Malta and possibly in similar small jurisdictions.peer-reviewe

Peer-led training on disability rights research project

This report is being produced in the context of the Peer-Led Training on Disability Rights Project, a research study commissioned by Aġenzija Sapport and supported by the Department of Disability Studies within the Faculty for Social Wellbeing at the University of Malta. This project aims to pilot a developing rights-based approach to disability, by devising disability rights training for service users and measuring its effects. The specific objectives of the project are : (a) Training (2) persons with intellectual disability in disability (PWIDs) rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (b) Producing accessible information for the training together with the same PWIDs (within working groups); (c) Passing on the above-mentioned training to other persons with ID through peer led education; (d) Reporting findings of the process and documenting them. The report is structured thus: - Chapter 1 defines disabilities and explores specific barriers and risks for people with disabilities; - Chapter 2 explores the international, European and national legal frameworks with a particular focus on the safeguards in place for people with disabilities; - Chapter 3 details the methodology employed for data gathering, training delivery and impact assessment. - Chapter 4 analyses the data gathered from the training and research study, including the outputs produced through the project. - Finally, Chapter 5 concludes the report and provides recommendations for future initiativespeer-reviewe

Why Use Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Tendinopathic Patients: A Systematic Review

The aim of the present systematic review was to provide a clear overview of the clinical current research progress in the use of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) as an effective therapeutic option for the management of tendinopathies, pathologies clinically characterized by persistent mechanical pain and structural alteration of the tendons. The review was carried out using three databases (Scopus, ISI Web of Science and PubMed) and analyzed records from 2013 to 2021. Only English-language papers describing the isolation and manipulation of adipose tissue as source of ASCs and presenting ASCs as treatment for clinical tendinopathies were included. Overall, seven clinical studies met the inclusion criteria and met the minimum quality inclusion threshold. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed by groups of three reviewers. The available evidence showed the efficacy and safety of ASCs treatment for tendinopathies, although it lacked a clear description of the biomolecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial properties of ASCs

Bdnf-Nrf-2 crosstalk and emotional behavior are disrupted in a sex-dependent fashion in adolescent mice exposed to maternal stress or maternal obesity

Maternal obesity has been recognized as a stressor affecting the developing fetal brain, leading to long-term negative outcomes comparable to those resulting from maternal psychological stress, although the mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that adverse prenatal conditions as diverse as maternal stress and maternal obesity might affect emotional regulation and stress response in the offspring through common pathways, with a main focus on oxidative stress and neuroplasticity. We contrasted and compared adolescent male and female offspring in two mouse models of maternal psychophysical stress (restraint during pregnancy - PNS) and maternal obesity (high-fat diet before and during gestation - mHFD) by combining behavioral assays, evaluation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity, immunohistochemistry and gene expression analysis of selected markers of neuronal function and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus, a key region involved in stress appraisal. Prenatal administration of the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) was used as a strategy to protect fetal neurodevelopment from the negative effects of PNS and mHFD. Our findings show that these two stressors produce overlapping effects, reducing brain anti-oxidant defenses (Nrf-2) and leading to sex-dependent impairments of hippocampal Bdnf expression and alterations of the emotional behavior and HPA axis functionality. Prenatal NAC administration, by restoring the redox balance, was able to exert long-term protective effects on brain development, suggesting that the modulation of redox pathways might be an effective strategy to target common shared mechanisms between different adverse prenatal conditions

A Social Innovation Strategic Framework for a Small Island State: A Case Study of Malta

A strategic framework to enhance social innovation is key to enhancing social wellbeing and is not only about instilling a new cross-cutting method across traditional innovative economic and business fields, but it also needs to stimulate a culture of risk-taking and trust. Small moderate innovators such as Malta and similar jurisdictions find it challenging to boost innovation mostly because of economies of scale that do not lend well to the challenges of migrating to advanced knowledge-based economies. This paper provides grass root empirical feedback to build a strategic framework that a small state like Malta can adopt in order to boost its social innovation ecosystem

Bdnf-Nrf-2 crosstalk and emotional behavior are disrupted in a sex-dependent fashion in adolescent mice exposed to maternal stress or maternal obesity

Abstract Maternal obesity has been recognized as a stressor affecting the developing fetal brain, leading to long-term negative outcomes comparable to those resulting from maternal psychological stress, although the mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that adverse prenatal conditions as diverse as maternal stress and maternal obesity might affect emotional regulation and stress response in the offspring through common pathways, with a main focus on oxidative stress and neuroplasticity. We contrasted and compared adolescent male and female offspring in two mouse models of maternal psychophysical stress (restraint during pregnancy - PNS) and maternal obesity (high-fat diet before and during gestation - mHFD) by combining behavioral assays, evaluation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity, immunohistochemistry and gene expression analysis of selected markers of neuronal function and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus, a key region involved in stress appraisal. Prenatal administration of the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) was used as a strategy to protect fetal neurodevelopment from the negative effects of PNS and mHFD. Our findings show that these two stressors produce overlapping effects, reducing brain anti-oxidant defenses (Nrf-2) and leading to sex-dependent impairments of hippocampal Bdnf expression and alterations of the emotional behavior and HPA axis functionality. Prenatal NAC administration, by restoring the redox balance, was able to exert long-term protective effects on brain development, suggesting that the modulation of redox pathways might be an effective strategy to target common shared mechanisms between different adverse prenatal conditions

Núcleos de Ensino da Unesp: artigos 2008

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq