Rett Syndrome and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders Share Common Changes in Gut Microbial Community : a Descriptive Review

In this narrative review, we summarize recent pieces of evidence of the role of microbiota alterations in Rett syndrome (RTT). Neurological problems are prominent features of the syndrome, but the pathogenic mechanisms modulating its severity are still poorly understood. Gut microbiota was recently demonstrated to be altered both in animal models and humans with different neurodevelopmental disorders and/or epilepsy. By investigating gut microbiota in RTT cohorts, a less rich microbial community was identified which was associated with alterations of fecal microbial short-chain fatty acids. These changes were positively correlated with severe clinical outcomes. Indeed, microbial metabolites can play a crucial role both locally and systemically, having dynamic effects on host metabolism and gene expression in many organs. Similar alterations were found in patients with autism and down syndrome as well, suggesting a potential common pathway of gut microbiota involvement in neurodevelopmental disorders

Diverse Effects of Women’s Employment on Fertility: Insights From Italy and Poland

In this paper, we look into how country-specific factors shape the interrelationship between childbearing and women’s labor supply. To this end, we compare Italy and Poland, two low-fertility countries where the country-specific obstacles to work and family reconciliation are similarly strong but which differ in the history of women’s labor supply and the extent to which couples’ material aspirations are satisfied by men’s earnings. Our findings show that women’s employment clearly conflicts with childbearing in Italy, while in Poland women tend to combine the two activities, despite the similar difficulties they face. These results challenged the standard microeconomic explanations and point to the importance of other country-specific factors, apart from conditions for work and family reconciliation, in shaping women’s employment and fertility decisions, such as economic incentives or culturally rooted behavioral patterns. Overall, our study provides thus foundations for explaining the variation in the relationship between women’s employment and fertility in an enlarged Europe

Multiple-point statistical simulation for hydrogeological models: 3D training image development and conditioning strategies

Most studies about the application of geostatistical simulations based on multiple-point statistics (MPS) to hydrogeological modelling focus on relatively fine-scale models and concentrate on the estimation of facies-level, structural uncertainty. Much less attention is paid to the use of input data and optimal construction of training images. For instance, even though the training image should capture a set of spatial geological characteristics to guide the simulations, the majority of the research still relies on 2D or quasi-3D training images. In the present study, we demonstrate a novel strategy for 3D MPS modelling characterized by: (i) realistic 3D training images, and (ii) an effective workflow for incorporating a diverse group of geological and geophysical data sets. The study covers an area of 2810 km2 in the southern part of Denmark. MPS simulations are performed on a subset of the geological succession (the lower to middle Miocene sediments) which is characterized by relatively uniform structures and dominated by sand and clay. The simulated domain is large and each of the geostatistical realizations contains approximately 45 million voxels with size 100 m × 100 m × 5 m. Data used for the modelling include water well logs, high-resolution seismic data, and a previously published 3D geological model. We apply a series of different strategies for the simulations based on data quality, and develop a novel method to effectively create observed sand/clay spatial trends. The training image is constructed as a small 3D voxel model covering an area of 90 km2. We use an iterative training image development strategy and find that even slight modifications in the training image create significant changes in simulations. Thus, the study underlines that it is important to consider both the geological environment, and the type and quality of input information in order to achieve optimal results from MPS modelling. In this study we present a possible workflow to build the training image and effectively handle different types of input information to perform large-scale geostatistical modellin

Economic Uncertainty and Fertility in Europe: Narratives of the Future

Background: In the last decade fertility rates have declined in most European countries, and explanations have tended to focus on the rise of economic uncertainty after the Great Recession. The empirical demographic tradition operationalized the forces of economic uncertainty through objective indicators of individuals’ labor market situation; for example, holding a temporary contract or being unemployed. However, contemporary European fertility trends are not comprehensively captured by these traditional indicators and statistical models, because fertility decisions are not a mere “statistical shadow of the past”. Objective: We propose a novel framework on economic uncertainty and fertility. This framework proffers that the conceptualization and operationalization of economic uncertainty needs to take into account that people use works of imagination, producing their own “narrative of the future” – namely, imagined futures embedded in social elements and their interactions. Narratives of the future allow people to act according to or in spite of the uncertainty they face, irrespective of structural constraints and their subjective perceptions. Contribution: In this reflection we suggest that the focus of contemporary fertility studies should partly shift to assessing how people build their narratives of the future. To this end, we propose several methodological strategies to empirically assess the role of narratives for fertility decisions. Future studies should also take into account that personal narratives are shaped by the “shared narratives” produced by several agents of socialization, such as parents and peers, as well as by the narratives produced by the media and other powerful opinion formers

Complex Dynamics in Digital Nonlinear Oscillators: Experimental Analysis and Verification

A specific topology of Digital Nonlinear Oscillators (DNOs) has been implemented by using commercial off-the-shelf digital components to experimentally verify and demonstrate the capability of these circuits to support complex dynamics, independently from their implementation technology. In detail, a direct experimental evidence of the DNO dynamical behavior is presented at the analog level with a bifurcation diagram analysis, investigation of periodic and chaotic attractors, and dynamical stability. The autonomous circuit has been investigated as a source of entropy, adopting different figures of merit, including the Lempel–Ziv Complexity, to evaluate the dynamics measured under different operating conditions

Gas sensing properties of In2O3 nano-films obtained by low temperature pulsed electron deposition technique on alumina substrates

Nanostructured Indium(III) oxide (In2O3) films deposited by low temperature pulsed electron deposition (LPED) technique on customized alumina printed circuit boards have been manufactured and characterized as gas sensing devices. Their electrical properties have monitored directly during deposition to optimize their sensing performance. Experimental results with oxidizing (NO2) as well as reducing (CO) gases in both air and inert gas carriers are discussed and modeled