Queen Ástrí∂r and Sigvatr Thór∂arson: A Political Alliance. Three Skaldic Stanzas in praise of Queen Ástrí∂r in Snorri's Heimskringla

Queen Ástriðr and Sigvatr Þórðarson: a political alliance. Three skaldic stanzas in Snorri’s Heimskringla\ud \ud This paper analyzes Sigvatr Þórðarson’s stanzas in praise of queen Ástriðr - the daughter of Óláfr Skottkonung of Sweden and the wife of Óláfr the Saint of Norway - reported in Magnús saga ins góða (Heimskringla), where she plays an important role as an inciter in a new and unusual space for a woman. By actively partecipating at the þing of Hangtar (Sweden) and speaking in favour of her stepson Magnús, she crossed her gender borders.\ud I will compare the poem by Sigvatr with the prose passage by Snorri in which it is embedded, pointing out the different political strategies lying behind them

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 España Working Paper no. 222

Effects of ocean acidification and high temperatures on the bryozoanMyriapora truncataat natural CO2vents

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The unequal consequences of job loss across countries

En este artículo se estudian y se comparan las consecuencias de perder el empleo en distintos países, utilizando un diseño de investigación armonizado y coordinado aplicado a datos administrativos de la Seguridad Social en siete países europeos. Tras la pérdida del empleo, son los trabajadores de Dinamarca y Suecia los que experimentan las disminuciones de ingresos más bajas, mientras que los trabajadores de Italia, España y Portugal sufren pérdidas tres veces más altas. Los trabajadores de Francia y Austria se enfrentan a pérdidas de ingresos intermedias entre ambos grupos de países. La clave para estas diferencias es que los trabajadores en el Sur de Europa son menos proclives a encontrar un empleo tras una terminación involuntaria del empleo. La pérdida de las primas salariales específicas que pagan los empleadores a todos sus trabajadores explica una parte sustancial de las pérdidas salariales en todos los países.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 results’ 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