Platformization hate. Patterns and algorithmic bias of verbal violence on social media

The paper presented is an analysis of the Hate Speech of tweets during the implementation of the EU's Digital Covid Certificate policy. The work starts from the assumption that Hate Speech is an often "submerged" phenomenon because it also includes some forms recognized as "incivility." Therefore, there are two research questions: the first asks what are the new categories of "hate" that emerge in the EU Digital Covid Certificate policy debate, while the second questions the methodological implications on the use of algorithms in detecting the phenomenon. The results we arrived at are, from a substantive point of view, of good interest because they show us how it is possible to witness a new kind of online hatred. However, the disagreements we encountered in constructing an unambiguous definition of HS for the supervised algorithm leave open many questions. Among them is the fact that the differences between HS, incivility, and even freedom of expression can be very small. In the context of large social platforms, where the criteria of the algorithm are not always explicit and are also the policies of the platform, this could be a proble

Role of the Digital for the Third Sector in the Campania Region (Italy): From the Side of Research to the Side of the Objects in the Aftermath of the COVID-19Pandemic

This paper aims to investigate the role of the digital in facing the social and practical impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on particularly fragile and affected realities, Third Sector Organizations (TSO), in a context pervaded by structural and socio-economic weaknesses, the Campania Region in south Italy. It analyzes the digital object as: 1. a process - digitization/digitalization and digital transformation, 2. as a scenario - in which identities, activities, and alternative spaces of use or data collection transit and are constructed, and as 3. skills and capabilities - as social capital and value. This re-framing work is intended to be a useful tool for reflecting on the role of digital in research processes, while also offering a contribution to the debate on the Third Sector in contexts of crisis, such as the one generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, that impact its existence, activity, shape, and perspectives

A Novel Quick and Easy Test for Radial Artery Occlusion With the Laser Doppler Scan

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Brain Networks and Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease

: Aim: The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between both functional connectivity and brain networks with cognitive decline, in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Introduction: PD phenotype is not limited to motor impairment but, rather, a wide range of non-motor disturbances can occur, with cognitive impairment being one of the most common. However, how the large-scale organization of brain activity differs in cognitively impaired patients, as opposed to cognitively preserved ones, remains poorly understood. Methods: Starting from source-reconstructed resting-state magnetoencephalography data, we applied the phase linearity measurement (PLM) to estimate functional connectivity, globally and between brain areas, in PD patients with and without cognitive impairment (respectively PD-CI and PD-NC), as compared with healthy subjects (HS). Further, using graph analysis, we characterized the alterations in brain network topology and related these, as well as the functional connectivity, to cognitive performance. Results: We found reduced global and nodal PLM in several temporal (fusiform gyrus, Heschl's gyrus, and inferior temporal gyrus), parietal (postcentral gyrus), and occipital (lingual gyrus) areas within the left hemisphere, in the gamma band, in PD-CI patients, as compared with PD-NC and HS. With regard to the global topological features, PD-CI patients, as compared with HS and PD-NC patients, showed differences in multi-frequencies bands (delta, alpha, gamma) in the Leaf fraction, Tree hierarchy (Th) (both higher in PD-CI), and Diameter (lower in PD-CI). Finally, we found statistically significant correlations between the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test and both the Diameter in delta band and the Th in the alpha band. Conclusion: Our work points to specific large-scale rearrangements that occur selectively in cognitively compromised PD patients and are correlated to cognitive impairment. Impact statement In this article, we want to test the hypothesis that the cognitive decline observed in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients may be related to specific changes of both functional connectivity and brain network topology. Specifically, starting from magnetoencephalography signals and by applying the phase linearity measurement (PLM), a connectivity metric that measures the synchronization between brain regions, we were able to highlight differences in the global and nodal PLM values in PD patients with cognitive impairment as compared with both cognitively unimpaired patients and healthy subjects. Further, using graph analysis, we analyzed alterations in brain network topology that were related to cognitive functioning

Divergent Effect of Cobalt and Beryllium Salts on the Fate of Peripheral Blood Monocytes and T Lymphocytes

Occupational exposure to metals such as cobalt and beryllium represents a risk factor for respiratory health and can cause immune-mediated diseases. However, the way they act may be different. We show here that the two metals have a divergent effect on peripheral T lymphocytes and monocytes: BeSO4 induces cell death in monocytes but not in T lymphocytes, which instead respond by producing Interferon gamma (IFN-γ); conversely, CoCl2 induces apoptosis in T lymphocytes but not in monocytes. Interestingly, both metals induce p53 overexpression but with a dramatic different outcome. This is because the effect of p53 in CoCl2-treated monocytes is counteracted by the antiapoptotic activity of cytoplasmic p21Cip1/WAF1, the activation of nuclear factor κB, and the inflammasome danger signaling pathway leading to the production of proinflammatory cytokines. However, CoCl2-treated monocytes do not fully differentiate into macrophage or dendritic cells, as inferred by the lack of expression of CD16 and CD83, respectively. Furthermore, the expression of HLA-class II molecules, as well as the capability of capturing and presenting the antigens, decreased with time. In conclusion, cobalt keeps monocytes in a partially activated, proinflammatory state that can contribute to some of the pathologies associated with the exposure to this meta

The impact of the 'Mis-Peptidome' on HLA Class I-Mediated Diseases: contribution of ERAP1 and ERAP2 and effects on the immune response

The strong association with the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I genes represents a shared trait for a group of autoimmune/autoinflammatory disorders having in common immunopathogenetic basis as well as clinical features. Accordingly, the main risk factors for Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), prototype of the Spondyloarthropathies (SpA), the Behçet's disease (BD), the Psoriasis (Ps) and the Birdshot Chorioretinopathy (BSCR) are HLA-B*27, HLA-B*51, HLA-C*06:02 and HLA-A*29:02, respectively. Despite the strength of the association, the HLA pathogenetic role in these diseases is far from being thoroughly understood. Furthermore, Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have highlighted other important susceptibility factors such as Endoplasmic Reticulum Aminopeptidase (ERAP) 1 and, less frequently, ERAP2 that refine the peptidome presented by HLA class I molecules to CD8+ T cells. Mass spectrometry analysis provided considerable knowledge of HLA-B*27, HLA-B*51, HLA-C*06:02 and HLA-A*29:02 immunopeptidome. However, the combined effect of several ERAP1 and ERAP2 allelic variants could generate an altered pool of peptides accounting for the "mis-immunopeptidome" that ranges from suboptimal to pathogenetic/harmful peptides able to induce non-canonical or autoreactive CD8+ T responses, activation of NK cells and/or garbling the classical functions of the HLA class I molecules. This review will focus on this class of epitopes as possible elicitors of atypical/harmful immune responses which can contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases

Dual, HLA-B27 Subtype-dependent Conformation of a Self-peptide

The products of the human leukocyte antigen subtypes HLA-B*2705 and HLA-B*2709 differ only in residue 116 (Asp vs. His) within the peptide binding groove but are differentially associated with the autoimmune disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS); HLA-B*2705 occurs in AS-patients, whereas HLA-B*2709 does not. The subtypes also generate differential T cell repertoires as exemplified by distinct T cell responses against the self-peptide pVIPR (RRKWRRWHL). The crystal structures described here show that pVIPR binds in an unprecedented dual conformation only to HLA-B*2705 molecules. In one binding mode, peptide pArg5 forms a salt bridge to Asp116, connected with drastically different interactions between peptide and heavy chain, contrasting with the second, conventional conformation, which is exclusively found in the case of B*2709. These subtype-dependent differences in pVIPR binding link the emergence of dissimilar T cell repertoires in individuals with HLA-B*2705 or HLA-B*2709 to the buried Asp116/His116 polymorphism and provide novel insights into peptide presentation by major histocompatibility antigens

Allele-Dependent Similarity between Viral and Self-Peptide Presentation by Hla-B27 Subtypes

Molecular mimicry is discussed as a possible mechanism that may contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases. It could also be involved in the differential association of the human major histocompatibility subtypes HLA-B(*)2705 and HLA-B(*)2709 with ankylosing spondylitis. These two subtypes differ only in residue 116 of the heavy chain (Asp in B(*)2705 and His in B(*)2709), but the reason for the differential disease association is not understood. Using x-ray crystallography, we show here that the viral peptide pLMP2 (RRRWRRLTV, derived from latent membrane protein 2 (residues 236-244) of Epstein-Barr virus) is presented by the B(*)2705 and B(*)2709 molecules in two drastically deviating conformations. Extensive structural similarity between pLMP2 and the self-peptide pVIPR (RRKWRRWHL, derived from vasoactive intestinal peptide type 1 receptor (residues 400-408)) is observed only when the peptides are presented by B(*)2705 because of a salt bridge between Arg(5) of both peptides and the subtype-specific heavy chain residue Asp(116). Combined with functional studies using pLMP2/pVIPR-cross-reactive cytotoxic T cell lines and clones, together with target cells presenting these peptides or a modified peptide analogue, our results reveal that a pathogen-derived peptide can exhibit major histocompatibility complex class I subtype-dependent, drastically distinct binding modes. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that molecular mimicry between pLMP2 and pVIPR in the HLA-B27 context is an allele-dependent property

Clinical and procedural outcomes of 5-French versus 6-French sheaths in transradial coronary interventions

The radial artery has been increasingly used for its favorable safety profile. However, no conclusive data are available on the optimal sheath size. In particular, it is seemingly difficult to weight both advantages and disadvantages of narrower versus larger sheaths size. Despite several studies were performed to compare the use of 6-Fr to the smaller 5-Fr sheaths, these were mostly small, single center-studies, yielding various results. We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of all available studies comparing the use of 5-Fr versus 6-Fr sheaths in coronary procedures through the TRA. Studies comparing a 5-Fr versus a 6-Fr sheaths were searched for in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and ISI Web of Knowledge databases. Studies were deemed eligible if they only included patients undergoing transradial cardiac catheterization with 5-Fr or 6-Fr system and reported at least one of these parameters: contrast dye volume, procedural success, procedural time, access complications, radial artery occlusion, and bleedings. Odds ratio (OR) and the mean difference (MD) were respectively used for dichotomous and continuous variables as summary measures. Both the random-effects model and the fixed effect models were used for computation of meta-analyses. Heterogeneity was assessed by means of the Cochrane Q test. Metaregression was calculated using the unrestricted maximal likelihood random effects model. The use of a 5-Fr system is associated with a significant lower contrast medium administration (MD=-22.20 [-36.43 to-7.96], P<0.01) and significantly reduces bleedings (OR=0.58 [0.38- 0.90], P=0.02), without compromising procedural success (OR=0.95 [0.53-1.69], P=0.86) or procedure length (OR=0.55 [-2.58 to 3.69], P=0.73), compared to the 6-Fr system. Despite no significant difference was observed between the groups (OR=0.88 [0.50-1.56], P=0.67), at metaregression RAO incidence in the 5-Fr group was increasingly lower as the percentage of women included into the study increased (P=0.02). Some potentially interesting technical details, such as sheath length, hydrophilic coating, or periprocedural anticoagulation, were not homogeneously reported in individual studies. Results of the present meta-analysis confirm the excellent safety profile of transradial procedures both with 5-Fr and 6-Fr system. A 5-Fr system could be preferred in patients with a higher bleeding propensity or kidney injury

Gender issues on occupational safety and health

The increasing proportion of women in the workforce raises a range of gender-related questions about the different effects of work-related risks on men and women. Few studies have characterized gender differences across occupations and industries, although at this time, the gender sensitive approach is starting to acquire relevance in the field of human preventive medicine. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has encouraged a policy of gender equality in all European member states. Italy has adopted European provisions with new specific legislation that integrates the previous laws and introduces the gender differences into the workplace. Despite the fact that gender equal legislation opportunities have been enacted in Italy, their application is delayed by some difficulties. This review examines some of these critical aspects