389 research outputs found
Jesper Svenbro Il mito e la vita
L'articolo presenta l'opera di Jesper Svenbro, poeta, membro dell'Accademia di Svezia,filologo classico, indicando nei miti classici la struttura portante della sua poesia. In particolare la sua ultima raccolta, dedicata alla famiglia della poetessa greca Saffo, alla luce del ritrovamento di alcuni papiri nel 2014
The unequal consequences of job loss across countries
Summary of Banco de EspaƱa Working Paper no. 222
The unequal consequences of job loss across countries
En este artĆculo se estudian y se comparan las consecuencias de perder el empleo en distintos paĆses, utilizando un diseƱo de investigaciĆ³n armonizado y coordinado aplicado a datos administrativos de la Seguridad Social en siete paĆses europeos. Tras la pĆ©rdida del empleo, son los trabajadores de Dinamarca y Suecia los que experimentan las disminuciones de ingresos mĆ”s bajas, mientras que los trabajadores de Italia, EspaƱa y Portugal sufren pĆ©rdidas tres veces mĆ”s altas. Los trabajadores de Francia y Austria se enfrentan a pĆ©rdidas de ingresos intermedias entre ambos grupos de paĆses. La clave para estas diferencias es que los trabajadores en el Sur de Europa son menos proclives a encontrar un empleo tras una terminaciĆ³n involuntaria del empleo. La pĆ©rdida de las primas salariales especĆficas que pagan los empleadores a todos sus trabajadores explica una parte sustancial de las pĆ©rdidas salariales en todos los paĆses.We document the consequences of losing a job across countries using a harmonized research design applied to seven matched employer-employee datasets. Workers in Denmark and Sweden experience the lowest earnings declines following job displacement, while workers in Italy, Spain, and Portugal experience losses three times as high. French and Austrian workers face earnings losses somewhere in between. Key to these differences is that Southern European workers are less likely to find employment following displacement. Loss of employer-specific wage premiums explains a substantial portion of wage losses in all countries
Serum Exosomal microRNA-21, 222 and 124-3p as Noninvasive Predictive Biomarkers in Newly Diagnosed High-Grade Gliomas: A Prospective Study
Background: High-grade gliomas (HGG) are malignant brain tumors associated with frequent recurrent disease. Clinical management of HGG patients is currently devoid of blood biomarkers for early diagnosis, monitoring therapeutic effects and predicting recurrence. Different circulating miRNAs, both free and associated with exosomes, are described in patients with HGG. We previously identified miR-21, miR-222 and miR-124-3p purified from serum exosomes as molecular signature to help pre-operative clinical diagnosis and grading of gliomas. The aim of the present study was to verify this signature as a tool to assess the effect of treatment and for the early identification of progression in newly diagnosed HGG patients. Material and Methods: Major inclusion criteria were newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed HGG patients, no prior chemotherapy, ECOG PS 0-2 and patients scheduled for radiochemotherapy with temozolomide as first-line treatment after surgery. RANO criteria were used for response assessment. Serum was collected at baseline and subsequently at each neuroradiological assessment. mir-21, -222 and -124-3p expression in serum exosomes was measured in all samples. Results: A total number of 57 patients were enrolled; 41 were male, 52 with glioblastoma and 5 with anaplastic astrocytoma; 18 received radical surgery. HGG patients with higher exosomal miRNA expression displayed a statistically significant lower progression-free survival and overall survival. Increased expression of miR-21, -222 and -124-3p during post-operative follow-up was associated with HGG progression. Conclusions: These data indicate that miR-21, -222 and -124-3p in serum exosomes may be useful molecular biomarkers for complementing clinical evaluation of early tumor progression during post-surgical therapy in patients with HGG
TRPV1 channels are critical brain inflammation detectors and neuropathic pain biomarkers in mice
The capsaicin receptor TRPV1 has been widely characterized in the sensory system as a key component of pain and inflammation. A large amount of evidence shows that TRPV1 is also functional in the brain although its role is still debated. Here we report that TRPV1 is highly expressed in microglial cells rather than neurons of the anterior cingulate cortex and other brain areas. We found that stimulation of microglial TRPV1 controls cortical microglia activation per se and indirectly enhances glutamatergic transmission in neurons by promoting extracellular microglial microvesicles shedding. Conversely, in the cortex of mice suffering from neuropathic pain, TRPV1 is also present in neurons affecting their intrinsic electrical properties and synaptic strength. Altogether, these findings identify brain TRPV1 as potential detector of harmful stimuli and a key player of microglia to neuron communication
Feeling Through the Body: Alexithymia and Eating Disorders
INTRODUCTION
Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties identifying and communicating feelings, and problems
differentiating between feelings and bodily sensations; its concrete cognitive style focused on the external
environment is typical of psychosomatic patients. Patients with eating disorders (EDs) have high levels of
alexithymia, particularly difficulties identifying and describing their feelings.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of our study are (1) to assess the alexythimia, emotional empathy, facial emotion identification
skills and social inference abilities in a sample of ED patients; (2) to compare these variables between ED
patients and healthy controls (HC); and (3) to correlate levels of alexithymia with the severity of the ED as
measured by the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3) EDRC score in the ED group.
METHODS
ED (N=42) and HC (N=42) were tested with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Eating Disorder
Inventory (EDI-3), Facial Emotion Identification Test (FEIT), The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT)
and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI).
RESULTS
Data collection is being completed and the resultsā analysis is ongoing. We expect the ED sample to show
greater alexythimia and a poorer performance at FEIT and TASIT than HCs. We expect to find a linear
correlation between the TAS-20 and EDRC score.
CONCLUSION
A better understanding of the role of alexithymia in ED etiology and maintenance might allow the
development of targeted treatment approaches to help patients improve their skills in identifying and
expressing emotions
Secondary metabolites from the endophytic fungus Talaromyces pinophilus
Endophytic fungi have a great influence on plant health and growth, and are an important source of bioactive natural compounds. Organic extracts obtained from the culture filtrate of an endophytic strain of Talaromyces pinophilus isolated from strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) were studied. Metabolomic analysis revealed the presence of three bioactive metabolites, the siderophore ferrirubin, the platelet-aggregation inhibitor herquline B and the antibiotic 3-O-methylfunicone. The latter was the major metabolite produced by this strain and displayed toxic effects against the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Homoptera Aphidiidae). This toxicity represents an additional indication that the widespread endophytic occurrence of T. pinophilus may be related to a possible role in defensive mutualism. Moreover, the toxic activity on aphids could promote further study on 3-O-methylfunicone, or its derivatives, as an alternative to synthetic chemicals in agriculture
Adaptation and acclimatization to ocean acidification in marine ectotherms: an in situ transplant experiment with polychaetes at a shallow COā vent system
Metabolic rate determines the physiological and life-history performances of ectotherms. Thus, the extent to which such rates are sensitive and plastic to environmental perturbation is central to an organism's ability to function in a changing environment. Little is known of long-term metabolic plasticity and potential for metabolic adaptation in marine ectotherms exposed to elevated pCOā. Consequently, we carried out a series of in situ transplant experiments using a number of tolerant and sensitive polychaete species living around a natural COā vent system. Here, we show that a marine metazoan (i.e. Platynereis dumerilii) was able to adapt to chronic and elevated levels of pCOā. The vent population of P. dumerilii was physiologically and genetically different from nearby populations that experience low pCOā, as well as smaller in body size. By contrast, different populations of Amphiglena mediterranea showed marked physiological plasticity indicating that adaptation or acclimatization are both viable strategies for the successful colonization of elevated pCOā environments. In addition, sensitive species showed either a reduced or increased metabolism when exposed acutely to elevated pCOā. Our findings may help explain, from a metabolic perspective, the occurrence of past mass extinction, as well as shed light on alternative pathways of resilience in species facing ongoing ocean acidification
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