Written evidence submitted to Home Affairs Committee on Home Office preparedness for Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Inquiry (COR0158).

Executive summarya. A growing body of research has shown that conspiracy theories can negatively impact individuals and society in a variety of areas, including their work life, medical choices and political engagement.b. In our evidence, we articulate how conspiracy theories are likely to have a negative impact during the COVID-19 crisis in similar ways.c. Counterarguments to dispel conspiracy theories are important, but developing proactive approaches (such as improving people’s critical thinking abilities) is also crucial

The Shadow of the Italian Colonial Experience: The Impact of Collective Emotions on Intentions to Help the Victims’ Descendants

Recalling the Italian colonial experience elicits the collective emotions of guilt, shame, and ingroup-focused anger. We expected that these emotions would predict different reparation intentions in favor of the colonized populations' descendants. Students and non-students were recruited (N = 152) and asked to rate their emotions of collective guilt, shame, and anger for the violence that their ingroup had perpetrated against colonized people. Results showed that shame affected intentions to provide economic compensation to current inhabitants of the ex-colonies. This relationship was mediated by concerns of damage for the ingroup's image. Anger toward the ingroup predicted intentions to help immigrants from the ex-colonies now living in Italy. Interestingly, empathy toward the outgroup mediated the latter relation. Finally, collective guilt was not reliably associated with any reparation strategy. These findings have implications for theory and for the historical collective memory of Italian colonialism

Chapter An analysis of the transaction towards sustainable food consumption practises during the Italian lockdown for SARS-CoV-2: the experience of the Lombardy region

This paper intends to investigate the behaviours adopted during this lockdown period due to SARS-CoV-2, in which most individuals have found themselves forced to carry out their daily lives within domestic boundaries, and compare them with previously practiced food-related habits. The aim is to understand whether strategies of buying, preparing and consuming food have changed with respect to established habits of 'ordinary' periods, and how these choices are linked to the psychological and emotional wellbeing/feeling experienced by individuals, to the physiological well-being of individuals and to social, environmental and economic sustainability. The analysis is based on the survey carried out by the Department of Psychology in collaboration with the interdepartmental center BEST4Food of Milano-Bicocca university

Picturing the Other: Targets of Delegitimization across Time

Italian Fascist propaganda was compared with contemporary right-wing material to explore how political propaganda depicts specific target groups in different historical periods. Taking the theory of delegitimization as the theoretical framework, we analyzed visual images concerning despised social groups used by the Fascist regime and current images of contemporary targets of social resentment used by Lega Nord (currently part of the governing coalition). Images of Jewish and Black people published in the Fascist magazine La Difesa della Razza were classified according to eight delegitimizing strategies, as were images of immigrants used on Lega Nord propaganda posters. Although the target group has changed, six of the eight strategies of delegitimization were used in both periods. In most cases, overlap was found in the way target groups were portrayed in the past and in the present

Identificação dos temas materiais da gestão da sustentabilidade da All - América Latina Logística S.A

Orientadora : Profª Ma. Marcela Valles LangeMonografia (especialização) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Agrárias, Curso de Especialização em Projetos Sustentáveis, Mudanças Climáticas e Mercado de CarbonoInclui referência

Fundação Lemann e o Programa de Inovação Educação Conectada: em pauta as relações entre público e privado no campo das políticas educacionais

A Fundação Lemann (FL), uma das instituições privadas mais atuantes no campo da educação no Brasil, é o objeto deste artigo. Visando desvelar as relações que se estabelecem entre as esferas pública e privada, o objetivo geral é analisar como a Fundação Lemann atuou/atua no Programa de Inovação Educação Conectada (IEC). O Programa, iniciado em 2017, tem como órgãos gestores o Ministério da Educação e o Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação e Comunicações. Seus parceiros são o Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), a Fundação Lemann e a Fundação Itaú Cultural, além de contar com a participação do Centro de Inovação para a Educação Brasileira (CIEB), que fornece assessoria técnica ao Programa. As fontes documentais consultadas estão disponíveis nos sítios da Fundação Lemann, do Programa e de outros parceiros, públicos e privados. Também foi utilizada a produção bibliográfica relacionada às temáticas analisadas. Com base nesses materiais, destacam-se os dois elementos que levam à compreensão de como se articulam, no Programa analisado, os interesses da FL: por um lado, reafirmam-se as diretrizes da lógica empresarial, uma das vertentes do trabalho da Fundação. Por outro, a materialização do Programa em ampla escala, mediado pela função de comando totalizadora do Estado, cria condições para que se efetive, nesse mesmo movimento, a ampliação da acumulação de capital, em um momento histórico de crise estrutural, agravada pela emergência sanitária em curso

Cu-doped bioactive glass with enhanced in vitro bioactivity and antibacterial properties

This work aimed to optimize, produce and characterize Cu-doped bioactive glasses which are antibacterial without the addition of antibiotics obtained via ion exchange in an aqueous solution. According to morphological, compositional and structural analyses, 0.001 M was selected as the most optimal concentration of the ion exchange solution. The doped glass was then compared to the undoped one to investigate the effect of Cu-doping on the glass surface composition and bioactivity. Cu-doping was found to enhance the bioactivity kinetics and the following hydroxyapatite formation, evidenced by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and zeta potential measurements. Besides that, the zeta potential titration measurements confirmed that the Cu-doping did not alter the surface chemical stability of the glass both in the inflammatory and physiological pH range. Moreover, the leaching ability of Cu2+-ions, both in physiological and inflammatory-mimicking conditions, was measured, followed by an in-depth study of the antibacterial properties, using two protocols to distinguish between the antiadhesive, antibacterial, and antibiofilm effects. For both protocols, a reduction of metabolic activity and Colony-Forming Unit after 24 h against Staphylococcus aureus Multi-Drug resistance strain was evidenced. These results showed that Cu-doped glass could show potential as a bioactive and antibacterial surface for bone surgery applications

Consequences of Conspiracy Theories

This chapter outlines what is known to date, and reviews the psychological research on the positive and negative consequences of conspiracy theories. It argues that future research efforts should attempt to address the negative psychological and behavioural consequences of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories at first glance appear to satisfy important psychological needs. For example, conspiracy theories may allow people to gain an accurate and consistent understanding of the world; for example, people who need concrete answers and those showing a tendency to overestimate the likelihood of co-occurring events are more likely to be drawn to conspiracy theories. Although there is little empirical evidence, some research suggests that there may be positive consequences of endorsing conspiracy theories. In a similar vein, conspiracy theories may in certain contexts inspire collective action and social change attempts, especially in reaction to threatening events. Potentially, therefore, they have the capacity to satisfy existential needs

Functional and morphological adaptations of the digestive system induced by domestication in cats.

Several studies have showed the macroscopic difference in the gastrointestinal tract between the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) and the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus). Digestive system in the wildcat is shorter than in domestic species and this feature is considered distinctive in the taxonomic classification of subjects (Schauenberg et al. 1977). This study is a part of a large investigation regarding the microscopic anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract of European wildcat, associated to the study of intestinal microbiome. Its main purpose was to enhance knowledge about this species, to get a comparison with domestic cat, and to evaluate if and how domestication has influenced the functional and morphological development of this apparatus, also n n t ut\u2018s m roflor To this aim we collected, weighted and measured the gastrointestinal tract of twenty European wildcats. Afterwards, intestinal sections were sampled, treated and observed at the microscope in order to evaluate histological characteristics as the villi height and width, crypts depth and wall thickness. Moreover, we wanted to study the intestinal production of an apolipoprotein that is believed directly related to the development of hepatic steatosis, decreasing the amount of lipids deposited in the liver. For this purpose, liver specimens were collected and treated to study histologically the degree of vacuolar degeneration of hepatocytes. Data were analyzed and compared with those of the domestic cats coming from our database. In attempt to evaluate the microbiome, feces and rectal ampulla were collected and sent to the Texas A&M University for pyrosequencing analysis (data not shown). Results demonstrated significant differences in intestinal structure between F. catus and F. s. silvestris. Villi coming from domestic cats were significantly shorter (p<0.0001) and wider (p<0.0142) than in wildcats that showed crypts deeper (p<0.0009). Domestication has led to significant changes in adaptation regarding both behavior and diet. Several studies showed the correlation between diet changes (protein, carbohydrates, and fiber concentration) and morphological adaptation in the gut of different species (Altmann, 1972; Hampson, 1983; Goodlad et al., 1988; Pluske et al., 1996; Sritiawthai et al., 2013). Moreover, data from liver study showed that domestic cat has higher levels of apolipoprotein compared to the wild cat and that the percentage of lipids in the liver was lower in F. catus than in F. s. silvestris. Despite these results, the liver of domestic cat revealed a rate of steatosis higher than in wild cat. Indeed, this pathology proved to be almost absent in wild cats and can be explained by the different nature of the two species diet and microbiome composition. This study revealed that transition from a strictly-carnivorous diet (typical of the wild cat) to an omnivorous type, has modified the nutritional intake considerably and influenced the evolution of the digestive apparatus in domestic cat