International Co-Operations and Entrepreneurship Development: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Even if the need to innovate has always existed, it has been accentuated in recent years due to the acceleration of technological change and the growing world competition: entrepreneurship - meant as the individual capacity to take risk, to produce innovation and to predict and act upon change – becomes a crucial factor of firms’ competitiveness. At the same time, international alliances have been recognised, above all in emerging countries, as the best way to improve local firms’ entrepreneurship and learning capability. However strategic alliances show a high degree of failure, thus posing the need to investigate the factors that can impact on their longevity and success. According to the above considerations, the aim of our paper is to investigate: a) the linkage between national culture and entrepreneurship, b) how culture affects firms’ propensity to international co-operation.entrepreneurship; knowledge; culture; individualism vs. collectivism.

Structure-property correlation in low-dimensional perovskites

Durante il mio dottorato, ho condotto una ricerca su nuove perovskiti bidimensionali basate su alogenuri metallici per possibili applicazioni opto-elettroniche e fotocatalitiche. La particolare natura di questi materiali, che presentano una singolare struttura data dall’alternanza di strati inorganici e spaziatori organici, ha permesso di studiare l’effetto sulle proprietà strutturali e funzionali indotto dall’incorporazione di diverse tipologie di cationi organici, con lo scopo di definire un’appropriata correlazione tra struttura e proprietà. Ogni sezione sperimentale della tesi presenta una specifica classe di spaziatori organici impiegati nel mio lavoro, distinguendo tra alifatici e aromatici, a singolo e a doppio anello benzenico, mono-amminici e di-amminici. L’ultimo capitolo riporta, invece, l’indagine sul comportamento strutturale e ottico di queste perovskiti sottoposte a studi di alta pressione, definendo anche in questo caso un rapporto tra proprietà e struttura cristallina.As discussed in my dissertation, I investigated novel two-dimensional metal halide perovskites for their possible application in opto-electronic devices and in photocatalysis. The particular nature of these compounds, having a singular structure alternating inorganic slabs and organic spacers, allowed to study the effect on structural and functional properties induced by the incorporation of different types of organic cations, in order to define an appropriate structure-property correlation. Each experimental section of the thesis unveils a specific class of organic spacers utilized for my research, consisting in aliphatic and aromatic cations, with a single benzene ring and double aromatic ring, mono-ammonium and di-ammonium cations. The structural and optical behaviour of these perovskites was finally characterized under high-pressure conditions in the last chapter of my PhD study, showing that a rigorous relationship between functional properties and crystal structure exists as well

Perceived disability from hearing and voice changes in the elderly

Aim: Dysphonia and hearing loss are underestimated conditions in the elderly, despite their significant prevalence (18% and 50%, respectively) and their sociopsychological implications. Previous studies have shown that the reason for this lack of consideration is related to the general misconception of a simple age-related issue, as well as to the reduced communication requirements of this population, which can result in infrequent requests/supply of care. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate, within an elderly population, the subjective perception of hearing and voice dysfunctions, the resulting changes in communication skills, and the perception of handicap and disability. Methods: Four anonymous questionnaires were administered to 400 participants (218 men, 182 women) aged older than 65 years, some of whom (276) were hospitalized and some of whom (124) were outpatients. The questionnaires consisted of questions regarding age-related changes in voice, multiple-choice questions on the qualitative characteristics of the voice, questions regarding verbo-acoustic communication (hearing), the Voice Handicap Index, and the Self Assessment of Communication regarding the perception of hearing loss-related handicap and disability. Statistical correlations were calculated for voice dysfunction between the perception of disability and the clinical assessment of voice quality obtained by the Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, Strain scale, and between the perception of disability and the demand for care. Results: More than half of the elderly patients reported not perceiving voice changes throughout their lives. Most of the participants were satisfied with their own voices, although 65% of them judged them to be qualitatively altered, and in 31.5% of the participants, pathology was found on phoniatric evaluation. Low scores for vocal handicap (Voice Handicap Index) were found, and the type of perceived disability was mainly physical, although the association between Voice Handicap Index scores and Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, Strain was statistically significant. A total of 62% of the patients perceived hearing changes over their lifetimes not related to previous ear infections, but significantly correlated with a family history of hearing problems and with the need for specialist consultations. However, the perception of hearing loss handicaps and disability showed lower mean values, showing that older patients recognized dysfunction, but did not consider it to be a disability. Conclusions: The present study showed that, despite the relevant incidence of hearing and voice disorders among the elderly population, the implications for communication abilities seems to be underestimated. Hence, it appears to be extremely important to undergo specialist screening consultations to detect eventual voice and hearing alterations, and to correct them with appropriate therapeutic strategies

Large extracellular vesicles: Size matters in tumor progression.

Abstract Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) represent a heterogeneous population of particles naturally released from all cells, delimited by a lipid bilayer and able to horizontally transfer their cargos to recipient cells. These features imply the growing interest on EVs in cancer biology as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In this review, we will highlight the specific process related to biogenesis and release of large EVs (L-EVs) derived from the plasma membrane (PM) compared to the small and well described exosomes, generated through the classical endosome-multivesicular body (MVB) pathway. The control of PM rigidity by cells depends on lipid/protein composition, cytoskeleton dynamics, cytoplasmic viscosity, ions balance, metabolic reprogramming and specific intracellular signaling pathways, all critical determinants of L-EVs biogenesis. We will focus in details on a specific class of L-EVs, named Large Oncosomes (LO), exclusively shed by cancer cells and with a size ranging from 1 μm up to 10 μm. We will examine LO specific cargos, either proteins or nucleic acids (i.e. mRNA, microRNAs, single/double-stranded DNA), as well as their functional role in cancer development and progression, also discussing the mechanisms of L-EVs internalization by recipient cells. Overall we will highlight the potential of LO as specific diagnostic/prognostic cancer biomarkers discussing the associated challenges

Anti-CD20 Therapy Acts via FcγRIIIA to Diminish Responsiveness of Human Natural Killer Cells

Natural killer (NK) immune cells mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) by aggregating FcγRIIIA/CD16, contributing significantly to the therapeutic effect of CD20 monoclonal antibodies (mAb). In this study, we show that CD16 ligation on primary human NK cells by the anti-CD20 mAb rituximab or ofatumumab stably impairs the spontaneous cytotoxic response attributable to cross-tolerance of several unrelated NK-activating receptors (including NKG2D, DNAM-1, NKp46, and 2B4). Similar effects were obtained from NK cells isolated from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in an autologous setting. NK cells rendered hyporesponsive in this manner were deficient in the ability of these cross-tolerized receptors to phosphorylate effector signaling molecules critical for NK cytotoxicity, including SLP-76, PLCγ2, and Vav1. These effects were associated with long-lasting recruitment of the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 to the CD16 receptor complex. Notably, pharmacologic inhibition of SHP-1 with sodium stibogluconate counteracted CD20 mAb-induced NK hyporesponsiveness, unveiling an unrecognized role for CD16 as a bifunctional receptor capable of engendering long-lasting NK cell inhibitory signals. Our work defines a novel mechanism of immune exhaustion induced by CD20 mAb in human NK cells, with potentially negative implications in CD20 mAb-treated patients where NK cells are partly responsible for clinical efficacy. Cancer Res; 75(19); 1-12. ©2015 AACR

THE WELL-BEING IN THE PERSPECTIVES OF PHOUM THMEY’S CHILDREN. THE ROLE OF AFFECTIVE CAPITAL

EnglishThis paper is the result of a research carried out in Phoum Thmey, the most populated settlement of Sihanoukville, in the South of Cambodia. The general aim of the research was to investigate the well-being dimensions of children involved in a sponsorship programme by using Amartya Sen’s capability approach, a framework which embraces an integrated view of development in which not only material dimensions but also immaterial ones ‐ such as human relations, freedom of choice and agency ‐ matter. The focus has been on the dimension of love and care (affective capital) and on its role in promoting children’s capabilities. ItalianoQuesto articolo è il risultato di una ricerca condotta a Phoum Thmey, il settlement più grande di Sihanoukville, una città della Cambogia meridionale.La ricerca si proponeva di individuare le dimensioni del benessere dei minori coinvolti in un programma di sostegno a distanza utilizzando come cornice analitica il capability approach di Amartya Sen. Il capability approach abbraccia una visione integrata dello sviluppo, dando rilevanza non solo ai suoi aspetti materiali ma anche a quelli immateriali come le relazioni umane, la libertà di scelta e l’agency. Lo studio si è concentrato sulla dimensione dell’amore e della cura (capitale affettivo) e sul suo ruolo nel promuovere le capabilities dei minori.

La ricerca antropologica fra immaginari umanitari e capacità di resilienza

This research aims at discussing the role of the researcher in dealing with the ethical dilemmas of international cooperation. From one side NGOs promote the building of a society encompassing social justice and human rights; from the other, the strategies implemented by them to get the funds indispensable for keeping their development projects alive not always respect the above-mentioned values. In other words, there is a dissonance between what NGOs advocate about human rights, social justice, equal rights, active involvement and what they endorse in terms of public propaganda. The trend to promote simplified and generalized issues for purposes linked to NGOs economic goals weakened the universal imaginary of human rights and increased the skepticism around international development projects and promotion. This scenario represents a challenge for ethically sensitive researchers – as well as journalists – who have to undertake some specific research strategies and methods to keep fair features in their analyses. In this paper – through the evidences resulting from a fieldwork in a Cambodian slum – it will be claimed that an ethically sensitive research needs a participatory framework. The adoption of participatory research methods – involving people in all the phases of the research process – not only lets the researcher focus the research on people’s real goals, needs and values but it also provides people with awareness about their own opportunities and potentialities

T Lymphocytes Transduced with a Lentiviral Vector Expressing F12-vif Are Protected from HIV-1 Infection in an APOBEC3G-Independent Manner

The viral infectivity factor (Vif) is an essential component of the HIV-1 infectious cycle. Vif counteracts the action of the cytidine deaminase APOBEC3G (AP3G), which confers nonimmune antiviral defense against HIV-1 to T lymphocytes. Disabling or interfering with the function of Vif could represent an alternative therapeutic approach to AIDS. We have expressed a natural mutant of Vif, F12-Vif, in a VSV-G-pseudotyped lentiviral vector under the Tat-inducible control of the HIV-1 LTR. Conditional expression of F12-Vif prevents replication and spreading of both CXCR4 and CCR5 strains of HIV-1 in human primary T lymphocyte and T cell lines. T cells transduced with F12-Vif release few HIV-1 virions and with reduced infectivity. Several lines of evidence indicate that HIV-1 interference requires the presence of both wild-type and F12-Vif proteins, suggesting a dominant-negative feature of the F12-Vif mutant. Surprisingly, however, the F12-Vif-mediated inhibition does not depend on the reestablishment of the AP3G function

Obinutuzumab-mediated high-affinity ligation of FcγRIIIA/CD16 primes NK cells for IFNγ production

Natural killer (NK) cell-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), based on the recognition of IgG-opsonized targets by the low-affinity receptor for IgG FcγRIIIA/CD16, represents one of the main mechanisms by which therapeutic antibodies (mAbs) mediate their antitumor effects. Besides ADCC, CD16 ligation also results in cytokine production, in particular, NK-derived IFNγ is endowed with a well-recognized role in the shaping of adaptive immune responses. Obinutuzumab is a glycoengineered anti-CD20 mAb with a modified crystallizable fragment (Fc) domain designed to increase the affinity for CD16 and consequently the killing of mAb-opsonized targets. However, the impact of CD16 ligation in optimized affinity conditions on NK functional program is not completely understood. Herein, we demonstrate that the interaction of NK cells with obinutuzumab-opsonized cells results in enhanced IFNγ production as compared with parental non-glycoengineered mAb or the reference molecule rituximab. We observed that affinity ligation conditions strictly correlate with the ability to induce CD16 down-modulation and lysosomal targeting of receptor-associated signaling elements. Indeed, a preferential degradation of FcεRIγ chain and Syk kinase was observed upon obinutuzumab stimulation independently from CD16-V158F polymorphism. Although the downregulation of FcεRIγ/Syk module leads to the impairment of cytotoxic function induced by NKp46 and NKp30 receptors, obinutuzumab-experienced cells exhibit an increased ability to produce IFNγ in response to different stimuli. These data highlight a relationship between CD16 aggregation conditions and the ability to promote a degradative pathway of CD16-coupled signaling elements associated to the shift of NK functional progra