Economic Development and Inequality: a complex system analysis

By borrowing methods from complex system analysis, in this paper we analyze the features of the complex relationship that links the development and the industrialization of a country to economic inequality. In order to do this, we identify industrialization as a combination of a monetary index, the GDP per capita, and a recently introduced measure of the complexity of an economy, the Fitness. At first we explore these relations on a global scale over the time period 1990--2008 focusing on two different dimensions of inequality: the capital share of income and a Theil measure of wage inequality. In both cases, the movement of inequality follows a pattern similar to the one theorized by Kuznets in the fifties. We then narrow down the object of study ad we concentrate on wage inequality within the United States. By employing data on wages and employment on the approximately 3100 US counties for the time interval 1990--2014, we generalize the Fitness-Complexity algorithm for counties and NAICS sectors, and we investigate wage inequality between industrial sectors within counties. At this scale, in the early nineties we recover a behavior similar to the global one. While, in more recent years, we uncover a trend reversal: wage inequality monotonically increases as industrialization levels grow. Hence at a county level, at net of the social and institutional factors that differ among countries, we not only observe an upturn in inequality but also a change in the structure of the relation between wage inequality and development

Lean Maintanence, Repair and Overhaul

The objective of this report is to consider whether lean manufacturing concepts are appropriate for the MRO environment and, if they are, how they could be adapted to address the special characteristics of the MRO operations

Synthesis, characterization and application of polyacrylate/silica hybrid films for coatings

Il degrado dovuto agli agenti atmosferici e il deterioramento degli edifici storici e di molti monumenti o sculture in pietre naturali è un problema conosciuto fin dall'antichità. L'obiettivo del progetto è quello di ottenere un prodotto innovativo basato sull'aggiunta di nanoparticelle di silice durante la sintesi del lattice, ottenendo una dispersione con elevata omogeneità nei film ibridi, che possano migliorare la stabilità meccanica del semplice rivestimento acrilico e la compatibilità tra i materiali lapidei e il rivestimento. L'idea è, da un lato, di utilizzare sistemi a base d'acqua per ridurre l'impatto ambientale e, dall'altro, di coniugare l'elevata stabilità termica e le buone proprietà meccaniche della silice con l'elasticità, la leggerezza e la capacità di formare rivestimenti di polimeri acrilici. Per migliorare la compatibilità tra fasi organiche e inorganiche, la silice è stata modificata con un metacrilossi (propil) trimetossisilano (MPS). Per la modifica della superficie della silice sono stati utilizzati due solventi, in particolare il metanolo e l'acqua e in entrambi i casi, sono stati ottenuti angoli di contatto elevati (79 ° per la silice modificata in acqua e 87 ° per la silice modificata in metanolo). Questi valori garantiscono un forte adsorbimento della silice all'interfaccia tra la fase acqua e la fase organica. Le dispersioni acquose composte da acrilico-silice sono state sintetizzate mediante polimerizzazione in miniemulsione, con la silice modificata e non modificata. Al fine di trovare la migliore formulazione con le migliori prestazioni, le dispersioni e i film sono stati caratterizzati mediante microscopia elettronica a trasmissione, microscopio a forza atomica, proprietà meccaniche, assorbimento dell'acqua, angoli di contatto, indentazione. Per comprendere il loro comportamento nel tempo, sono stati eseguiti dei test di invecchiamento accelerato sui film e sui film applicati su due pietre da costruzione naturali. Le prestazioni delle dispersioni sono state valutate come rivestimenti per marmo di Carrara e pietra leccese, due materiali spesso utilizzati nei beni culturali e con caratteristiche diverse. Essendo l'acqua una delle cause principali del deterioramento delle pietre naturali, sono stati eseguiti test di assorbimento dell'acqua capillare e il loro comportamento all’ essiccazione per misurare il comportamento idrofobico dei trattamenti. I risultati mostrano che l'aggiunta di nanosilice migliora la resistenza meccanica dei lattici e i trattamenti riducono l'assorbimento di acqua liquida per capillarità e allo stesso tempo consentono anche l’evaporazione dell’acqua, in totale accordo con le normative nel campo delle pietre protettive naturali, rendendoli adatti all'uso come rivestimenti protettivi

Glycometabolic Alterations in Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency: Does Replacement Therapy Play a Role?

Secondary adrenal insufficiency (SAI) is a potentially life-threatening endocrine disorder due to an impairment of corticotropin (ACTH) secretion from any process affecting the hypothalamus or pituitary gland. ACTH deficit can be isolated or associated with other pituitary failures (hypopituitarism). An increased mortality due to cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious diseases has been described in both primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency. However, few studies have provided compelling evidences on the underlying mechanism in SAI, because of the heterogeneity of the condition. Recently, some studies suggested that inappropriate glucocorticoid (GCs) replacement therapy, as for dose and/or timing of administration, may play a role. Hypertension, insulin resistance, weight gain, visceral obesity, increased body mass index, metabolic syndrome, impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia have all been associated with GC excess. These conditions are particularly significant when SAI coexists with other pituitary alterations, such as growth hormone deficiency, hypogonadism, and residual tumor. Novel regimen schemes and GC preparations have been introduced to improve compliance and better mimick endogenous cortisol rhythm. The controlled trials on the improved replacement therapies, albeit in the short-term, show some beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk, glucose metabolism, and quality of life. This review examines the current evidence from the available clinical trials investigating the association between different glucocorticoid replacement therapies (type, dose, frequency, and timing of treatment) and glycometabolic alterations in SAI

A macroprolactinoma becoming resistant to cabergoline and developing atypical pathology

Pituitary adenomas are a common intracranial neoplasm, usually demonstrating a benign phenotype. They can be classified according to pathological, radiological or clinical behaviour as typical, atypical or carcinomas, invasive or noninvasive, and aggressive or nonaggressive. Prolactinomas account for 40-60% of all pituitary adenomas, with dopamine agonists representing the first-line treatment and surgery/radiotherapy reserved for drug intolerance/resistance or in neuro-ophthalmological emergencies. We present the case of a 62-year-old man with an apparently indolent prolactin-secreting macroadenoma managed with partial resection and initially showing a biochemical response to cabergoline. Five years later, the tumour became resistant to cabergoline, despite a substantial increase in dosage, showing rapid growth and causing worsening of vision. The patient then underwent two further transsphenoidal operations and continued on high-dose cabergoline; despite these interventions, the tumour continued enlarging and prolactin increased to 107 269 U/L. Histology of the third surgical specimen demonstrated features of aggressive behaviour (atypical adenoma with a high cell proliferation index) not present in the tumour removed at the first operation. Subsequently, he was referred for radiotherapy aiming to control tumour growth

Dentate nucleus connectivity in adult patients with multiple sclerosis: functional changes at rest and correlation with clinical features

Background and objective: The dentate nucleus, which is the largest of the cerebellar nuclei, plays a critical role in movement and cognition. The aim of our study was to assess any changes in dentate functional connectivity (FC) in adult relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) patients and to investigate possible clinical correlates. Materials and methods: In all, 54 patients and 24 healthy subjects (HS) underwent multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), three-dimensional-T1-weighted and resting state (RS) functional images; they also underwent a cognitive evaluation, that is, attention and information processing speed, by means of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). Patients were also scored according to Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). RS-MRI data were analysed using FMRIB Software Library (FSL) tools, with the seed-based method to identify dentate FC. Results: When compared with HS, patients exhibited brain atrophy and widespread DTI abnormalities, as well as greater FC between the dentate nucleus and cortical areas, particularly in the frontal and parietal lobes. Within these areas, FC in patients correlated inversely with clinical impairment. Finally, FC correlated inversely with lesion load and microstructural brain damage. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that dentate FC at rest is altered in MS patients. Whether these functional changes are induced by the disease and play a compensatory role remains to be established

Functional connectivity changes and their relationship with clinical disability and white matter integrity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Background and objective: To define the pathological substrate underlying disability in multiple sclerosis by evaluating the relationship of resting-state functional connectivity with microstructural brain damage, as assessed by diffusion tensor maging, and clinical impairments. Methods: Thirty relapsing–remitting patients and 24 controls underwent 3T-MRI; motor abilities were evaluated by using measures of walking speed, hand dexterity and balance capability, while information processing speed was evaluated by a paced auditory serial addiction task. Independent component analysis and tract-based spatial statistics were applied to RS-fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging data using FSL software. Group differences, after dual regression, and clinical correlations were modelled with GeneralLinear-Model and corrected for multiple comparisons. Results: Patients showed decreased functional connectivity in 5 of 11 resting-state-networks (cerebellar, executive-control, medial-visual, basal ganglia and sensorimotor), changes in inter-network correlations and widespread white matter microstructural damage. In multiple sclerosis, corpus callosum microstructural damage positively correlated with functional connectivity in cerebellar and auditory networks. Moreover, functional connectivity within the medial-visual network inversely correlated with information processing speed. White matter widespread microstructural damage inversely correlated with both the paced auditory serial addiction task and hand dexterity. Conclusions: Despite the within-network functional connectivity decrease and the widespread microstructural damage, the inter-network functional connectivity changes suggest a global brain functional rearrangement in multiple sclerosis. The correlation between functional connectivity alterations and callosal damage uncovers a link between functional and structural connectivity. Finally, functional connectivity abnormalities affect information processing speed rather than motor abilities

Mains savantes

Comment ont été fabriquées les reliques de la duchesse Françoise d'Amboise, béatifiée en 1863 et considérée comme la fondatrice des carmélites en France ? Les religieuses spécialisées dans la fabrication de ces objets auxquels est reconnue une valeur extrahumaine présentent leur pratique comme érudite. Cette pratique élitaire et secrète est transmise par voie initiatique. Elle est à la fois sous-tendue et conditionnée par la représentation même de la bienheureuse Françoise d'Amboise, construite au travers de la lecture et de la connaissance parfaite des textes hagiographiques la concernant.How was produced the making of relics of Françoise d'Amboise, Duchess of Brittany, who was beatified in 1863 and is considered as the founder of the Carmelites in France? The nuns who are specialised in the making of these objects (which are recognized as having a superhuman value) present their activity as an erudite one. This elitist, secret practice, which is handed on through initiatory transmission and based on a representation of Françoise d'Amboise is constructed through the reading and the perfect knowledge of specific hagiographic texts.¿Cómo fueron fabricadas las reliquias de la duquesa Françoise de Amboise, beatificada en 1863 y considerada como la fundadora de las carmelitas en Francia? Las religiosas especializadas en la fabricación de estos objetos a los cuales se atribuye un valor extrahumano presentan su práctica como erudita. Esta práctica elitista y secreta es transmitida por vía iniciática. Esta práctica es a la vez supuesta y condicionada por la representación misma de la bienaventurada Françoise de Amboise, construida a través de la lectura y del conocimiento perfecto de los textos hagiográficos que la involucran