Two theoretical interpretations of the dissonance between fertility intentions and behaviour

In the paper we outline two possible theoretical interpretations for the inconsistency often observed between fertility intentions and fertility behaviour. We draw on socio-psychological models of human behaviour which emphasise the role of normative-affective factors on decision-making processes. The first interpretation is based on the observation that family and fertility choices are gradually shifting from a zone where behaviour is normative regulated to a zone of normative indifference, where mere rational decision-making based on cost-benefit considerations is at work. The dissonance between fertility choices and declared intentions depends on the fact that the former are based on rational considerations, while the latter are still constrained by a normative familistic philosophy. The second interpretation assumes the existence of an interposing mechanism in the sequence expectations-behaviour. These mechanisms, as anxiety and avoidance dispositions, filter the passage from individual value orientations in the affective sphere to their actual behaviour. We base our argument on two sets of information. First, we use a survey which allows us to construct empirical indicators of psychological dispositions connected to expectations related to family and fertility behaviours (Abacus 1996, Italy). Second, we analyse 54 non-structured interviews conducted in Northern Italy, which give a detailed picture of the hypothesised mechanisms and suggest new directions for research.

Extracting the Cyclical Component in Hours Worked: a Bayesian Approach

The series on average hours worked in the manufacturing sector is a key leading indicator of the U.S. business cycle. The paper deals with robust estimation of the cyclical component for the seasonally adjusted time series. This is achieved by an unobserved components model featuring an irregular component that is represented by a Gaussian mixture with two components. The mixture aims at capturing the kurtosis which characterizes the data. After presenting a Gibbs sampling scheme, we illustrate that the Gaussian mixture model provides a satisfactory representation of the data, allowing for the robust estimation of the cyclical component of per capita hours worked. Another important piece of evidence is that the outlying observations are not scattered randomly throughout the sample, but have a distinctive seasonal pattern. Therefore, seasonal adjustment plays a role. We ¯nally show that, if a °exible seasonal model is adopted for the unadjusted series, the level of outlier contamination is drastically reduced.Gaussian Mixtures, Robust signal extraction, State Space Models, Bayesian model selection, Seasonality

The Sustainability of Meat and Cured Meats in Italy

From the mid-1980s, meat consumption in Italy and the western world have stabilised and, in the face of a well-established food security, we have witnessed a changed sensitivity for ethical issues, such as animal welfare and environmental impacts of farms. Analysing the sustainability of meat and cured meats means studying in the most objective way possible different topics concerning both the consumer and the livestock production. This volume presents an interdisciplinary study to describe the “5 faces” of meat sustainability: nutrition, environmental impacts and the circular economy applied to farms and industry, food security and animal welfare, the economic aspects of supply chains and the fight against food waste

Update on the clinical use of the low-molecular-weight heparin, parnaparin

Parnaparin is a low-molecular-weight heparin that has widely shown its efficacy and safety in prevention of venous thromboembolism, in the treatment of chronic venous disorders, and in the treatment of venous and arterial (stable and unstable angina, acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) thrombosis. Parnaparin at the respective dosages of 3200, 4250, 6400, or 12800 IUaXa for a period ranging from 3 to 5 days to 6 months, is usually administered subcutaneously by means of once-daily regimen and is better tolerated than unfractionated heparin at the injection site. In the variety of commercially available low-molecular-weight heparins, parnaparin represents a useful therapeutic option, even though little evidence is available comparing the superiority or the equivalent efficacy and safety of parnaparin to that of the unfractionated heparin or placebo. This review summarizes the available literature on the use of parnaparin in different settings of cardiovascular diseases, including papers published during the past year and ongoing studies

The Sustainability of Meat and Cured Meats in Italy

From the mid-1980s, meat consumption in Italy and the western world have stabilised and, in the face of a well-established food security, we have witnessed a changed sensitivity for ethical issues, such as animal welfare and environmental impacts of farms. Analysing the sustainability of meat and cured meats means studying in the most objective way possible different topics concerning both the consumer and the livestock production. This volume presents an interdisciplinary study to describe the “5 faces” of meat sustainability: nutrition, environmental impacts and the circular economy applied to farms and industry, food security and animal welfare, the economic aspects of supply chains and the fight against food waste

Environmental Genomics: A Tale of Two Fishes

The influence of the environment on two congeneric fishes, Gillichthys mirabilis and Gillichthys seta, that live in the Gulf of California at temperatures of 10-25 degrees C, and up to 42-44 degrees C, respectively, was addressed by analyzing their genomes. Compared with G. mirabilis, G. seta showed some striking features. Substitution rates in the mitochondrial genes were found to be extremely fast, in fact faster than in noncoding control regions (D-loops), from which a divergence time of less than 0.66-0.75 Mya could be estimated. In the nuclear genome, 1) both AT --> GC/GC --> AT and transversion: transition ratios in coding sequences (CDSs) were relatively high; moreover, the ratios of nonsynonymous/synonymous changes (Ka/Ks) suggested that some genes were under positive selection; 2) DNA methylation showed a very significant decrease; and 3) a GC-rich minisatellite underwent a 4-fold amplification in the gene-rich regions. All these observations clearly indicate that the environment (temperature and the accompanying hypoxia) can rapidly mold the nuclear as well as the mitochondrial genome. The stabilization of gene-rich regions by the amplification of the GC-rich minisatellite and by the GC increase in nuclear CDSs is of special interest because it provides a model for the formation of the GC-rich and gene-rich isochores of the genomes of mammals and birds

Translational Selection on Codon Usage in Xenopus laevis

A correspondence analysis of codon usage in Xenopus laevis revealed that the first axis is strongly correlated with the base composition at third codon positions. The second axis discriminates between putatively highly expressed genes and the other coding sequences, with expression levels being confirmed by the analysis of Expressed sequence tag frequencies. The comparison of codon usage of the sequences displaying the extreme values on the second axis indicates that several codons are statistically more frequent among the highly expressed (mainly housekeeping) genes. Translational selection appears, therefore, to influence synonymous codon usage in Xenopus

EcR-B1 and Usp nuclear hormone receptors regulate expression of the VM32E eggshell gene during Drosophila oogenesis

AbstractEcdysone signaling plays key roles in Drosophila oogenesis, as its activity is required at multiple steps during egg chamber maturation. Recently, its involvement has been reported on eggshell production by controlling chorion gene transcription and amplification. Here, we present evidence that ecdysone signaling also controls the expression of the eggshell gene VM32E, whose product is a component of vitelline membrane and endochorion layers. Specifically blocking the function of the different Ecdysone receptor (EcR) isoforms we demonstrate that EcR-B1 is responsible for ecdysone-mediated VM32E transcriptional regulation. Moreover, we show that the EcR partner Ultraspiracle (Usp) is also necessary for VM32E expression. By analyzing the activity of specific VM32E regulatory regions in usp2 clones we identify the promoter region mediating ecdysone-dependent VM32E expression. By in vitro binding assay and site-directed mutagenesis we demonstrate that this region contains a Usp binding site necessary for VM32E regulation.Our results further support the crucial role of ecdysone signaling in controlling transcription of eggshell structural genes and suggest that the heterodimeric complex EcR-B1/Usp mediates the ecdysone-dependent VM32E transcriptional activation in the main body follicle cells

Synaptic P2X7 and oxygen/glucose deprivation in organotypic hippocampal cultures.

The P2X7 receptor for extracellular ATP is the main candidate, among P2 receptors, inducing cell death in the immune system. Here, we demonstrate the direct participation of this receptor to cell damage induced by oxygen/glucose deprivation, in the ex vivo model of organotypic hippocampal cultures. By pharmacological and immunological approaches, we show that P2X7 is rapidly and transiently up regulated in hippocampal areas eliciting metabolism impairment. Moreover, the P2 antagonists 2′,3′,-dialdehyde ATP and reactive blue 2 prevent both up regulation of this receptor and hypoxic/hypoglycemic damage. By confocal laser microscopy, we show that P2X7 is present at the synaptic level of fibers extending from the CA1–2 pyramidal cell layer throughout the strata oriens and radiatum, but absent on oligodendrocytes, astrocytes or neuronal cell bodies. Colocalization of P2X7 is obtained with neurofilament-L protein and with synaptophysin, not with myelin basic protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein or a marker for neuronal nuclei. P2X7 up regulation and diffuse cellular damage are also induced by 3′-O-(4-benzoyl) benzoyl-ATP, an agonist selective but not exclusive for P2X7. In summary, our study demonstrates that P2X7 not only directly participates to the hypoxic/hypoglycemic process, but also owns specific phenotypic localization. We do not exclude that it might serve as a sensor of dysregulated neuronal activity and ATP release, both occurring during oxygen/glucose deprivation

Histological Characterization of Sacco's Concentrated Growth Factors Membrane

Along with the emerging needs of the dental patients, numerous techniques for oral tissue stimulation and regeneration were developed to be employed in the modern implant rehabilitation therapies. The Concentrated Growth Factors (CGF) are a relatively new therapeutic presidium that can be used for this purpose, enhancing the regenerative potential property of blood cells. Although literature presents numerous studies evaluating the CGF for their clinical uses and efficacy, data regarding their biological characteristics are very few. The present study evaluates and describes the CGF structural morphology by means of classical histological methods, using haematoxilin-eosin and azan mallory stains. A three layers organization with a fibrin complex network was noted, with blood corpuscular elements entrapped, especially in the most external layer. These descriptions enrich the knowledge about this new type of membrane, showing the bio-morphological side of the regenerative techniques. These findings will be useful in clinical practice for the choice of the most suitable technique in each implant rehabilitation. Junto con las nuevas necesidades dentales de los pacientes, se han desarrollado numerosas técnicas para la estimulación y regeneración de los tejidos orales para ser empleadas en las modernas terapias de rehabilitación de implante. Los Factores de Crecimiento Concentrados (FCC) son relativamente una nueva alternativa terapéutica que pueden utilizarse para este propósito, mejorando la propiedad regenerativa potencial de las células de la sangre. A pesar de que la literatura presenta numerosos estudios que evalúan los FCC por sus usos clínicos y su eficacia, los datos relativos a sus características biológicas son muy escasos. El presente estudio evalúa y describe la morfología estructural de los FCC por medio de métodos histológicos tradicionales, utilizando hematoxilina-eosina y tinción de Azan Mallory. Se observó una organización en tres capas con una compleja red de fibrina, con elementos corpusculares de la sangre atrapados, especialmente en la capa más externa. Estas descripciones enriquecen el conocimiento acerca de este nuevo tipo de membrana, que muestra el lado biomorfológico de las técnicas regenerativas. Estos resultados serán de utilidad en la práctica clínica para la elección de la técnica más adecuada en los casos de rehabilitación con implantes