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Pervasive phenotypic effects of FBXO42 are promoted by regulation of PP4 phosphatase
No full textF-box proteins are the substrate recognition modules of the SCF (SKP1–Cullin–F-box) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. FBXO42, an understudied member of this family, has recently emerged as a modulator of key cellular processes, including cell cycle progression, the DNA damage response, and glioma stem cell survival. In this study, we define the function of FBXO42 as a major regulator of the protein phosphatase PP4. Phosphoprotein phosphatases (PPPs) have a broad array of substrates, hence necessitating tight regulation. We observe that FBXO42 ubiquitinates the PP4 complex to govern the assembly of regulatory and catalytic subunits, with the net effect of restraining the latter’s phosphatase activity. FBXO42 depletion unleashes PP4 activity, with broad cellular effects, highlighting FBXO42 as a novel regulatory node in ubiquitin-mediated signalling for future therapeutic exploitation
Sicurezza economica, settori strategici e investimenti esteri
No full textL’intervento esamina il concetto di sicurezza economica, per poi approfondire le iniziative intraprese dall’Unione Europea al fine di perseguire tale obiettivo, con particolare riferimento all’adozione della proposta di regolamento sugli investimenti esteri
Successione a titolo particolare - Il cessionario d’azienda è anche successore a titolo particolare ex art. 111 c.p.c.?
No full textIntegrated nanophotonic metasurfaces via bound states in the continuum for next-generation biomedical sensors
No full textPhotonic bound states in the continuum (BICs) are non-radiative electromagnetic modes with ultrahigh quality factors that provide extreme light confinement and exceptional refractive-index sensitivity, making them highly attractive for advanced biosensing. Here we report recent progress in the development of integrated nanophotonic biosensors based on BIC-enabled all-dielectric metasurfaces. These large-area, optically transparent platforms support high-Q resonances can be functionalized with biomolecular recognition elements, including aptamers, proteins, and molecularly imprinted polymers, enabling highly selective detection of target analytes at ultralow concentrations down to the femtomolar regime. The combination of ultrahigh sensitivity, microfluidic compatibility, and scalable fabrication underscores the strong potential of BIC metasurfaces for applications in healthcare diagnostics, personalized medicine, and high-throughput bioanalytics. We demonstrate this capability through two representative applications: ultrasensitive detection of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) using molecularly imprinted polymers and quantitative analysis of SPARC-albumin interactions in a microfluidic platform. The sensor is based on an all-dielectric photonic crystal slab that exploits BIC-induced high-Q resonances to enhance light-matter interactions, enabling highly specific and sensitive biomolecular detection. The results represent promising routes toward further performance improvements and the next generation of nanophotonic sensing technologies
A systematic review and meta-analysis of subcutaneous onlay laparoscopic (SCOLA) approach for diastasis recti with or without mesh reinforcement
No full textPurpose: SCOLA represents a minimally invasive approach to combined diastasis recti and ventral hernia repair. This systematic review investigates the clinical efficacy and safety implications of mesh placement within this technique. Methods: We followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines to search MEDLINE and EMBASE for studies reporting SCOLA outcomes in adult patients with midline hernias and/or diastasis recti. Additionally, we retrospectively identified six institutional SCOLA cases from January 2023 to March 2025. Extracted variables included patient demographics, hernia location and size, mesh use, follow-up duration, and rates of seroma, surgical-site infection (SSI), and recurrence. We calculated pooled complication rates and performed stratified meta-analyses, estimating risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mesh vs. no-mesh cohorts. Results: Six eligible studies (1 prospective, 5 retrospective) involving 247 patients were included after systematic screening. Among all patients (99.2% laparoscopic SCOLA; mean defect size 2.77 cm; mean follow-up 9.5 months; mesh used in 72.5%), seroma occurred in 19.0% overall (21.8% vs. 11.8%; RR 1.85, 95% CI 0.88–3.89; p ≈ 0.104). Infections were seen only in the mesh group (5.0% vs. 0%; RR undefined, 95% CI 0.89–∞; p ≈ 0.058), and recurrence rates were low (1.7% vs. 0%; RR undefined, 95% CI 0.14–∞; p ≈ 0.318). Studies quality was moderate, limited by non-randomized designs and small observational cohorts. Conclusions: Available data suggest that SCOLA may achieve low recurrence rates, although high-quality evidence is limited. Mesh reinforcement may offer modest reduction in recurrence at the expense of an increased SSI risk. Seroma formation appears more influenced by extent of dissection than by mesh presence
When former CEO acts as board chair: does this matter to debt policy and risk of default?
Get PDFThis paper scrutinises the interconnections among debt capital raising, firm risk of default, and the presence of a former CEO who now serves as a board chairperson, referred to as the Chair-Former-CEO (CFC). Employing a sample of the largest non-financial firms within the US S&P 500 from 2002 to 2019, our results reveal that, when compared to their non-CFC counterparts, CFCs exhibit a greater propensity for opting for lower debt finance raising strategies and are linked with a reduced firm distance-to-default. The CFC brings forth human and social capital that can enhance the board's capacity to monitor and guide incumbent CEOs, thereby fostering a more effective governance mechanism. This, in turn, will lead to a reduction in agency-related costs and an improvement in the firm's risk position. Additionally, we have uncovered an underlying mechanism through which this association takes place. The CFC prefers to pursue a low-risk financing mix strategy directly tied to a lower likelihood of default. The findings of this paper challenge established corporate governance codes, such as those in the US and the UK, which advocate for constraints on the internal promotion of CEOs to the Chair role. In contrast to these recommendations, our study suggests advantages to consolidating these roles, particularly for the intensity of monitoring, the firm's risk-taking behaviour, and its financial policies. This alignment with the research on CEO duality, which has yielded mixed results, challenges the traditional wisdom of segregating the roles of CEO and board chair
Applying corpus research indirectly to language teaching materials and assessment development
No full textThis chapter discusses corpus applications to language teaching and learning, focusing specifically on the use of corpora and corpus linguistics research for informing coursebook and assessment development. A number of studies undertaken by the authors are discussed with a view to highlighting both the affordances of corpus linguistics for supporting such indirect applications to language education, as well as the barriers of using corpus linguistics research to inform stakeholder practices. Focusing on the use of corpora by materials writers, the use of learner corpus research and spoken corpus research for assessment refinement and design, and the use of corpus research for materials design, this chapter reflects on engagement with stakeholders in this domain over the last 15 years. Drawing together the lessons learned from these studies, this chapter offers a critical reflection on the relative impact achieved in each study, while also proposing guidelines for those interested in working with stakeholders to co-design research and produce relevant and applicable research
Using Corpus-Assisted Approaches to Explore UK Police Crisis Negotiation
No full textThis chapter highlights work undertaken on behalf of the UK Police Force’s National Negotiation Group, which ultimately formed part of an impact case study submitted to the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. The project was designed to showcase how ‘linguistics in action’ can inform and improve police crisis negotiation training, and explored forty-two crisis incidents representative of different crisis incidents using a combination of (quantitative) corpus linguistic techniques and (qualitative) pragmatic analysis. In addition to introducing the author’s argument for basing crisis negotiation (training) on the what, the why, and, very importantly, the linguistic how of conducting crisis negotiation (Archer & Stott, 2020: see also Archer & Smithson, 2015; Archer et al. 2018; Archer, 2020), the chapter reflects upon on the possibility of future applications and potential barriers to such continuing impact. This inspires a discussion, in turn, as to whether/the extent to which ‘practitioners’ perceive measurements of impact differently to processes like the REF (Anderson et al., 2017) and a potential need, in consequence, to (re)assess the notion of ‘impact’ within academia