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Women's Capabilities and Challenges of Caring for Persons with Disabilities:Experiences from Rural Areas of Andhra Pradesh, India
No full textAdequate support and care are a prerequisite for the full participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities (WHO, 2011). In rural India, it is predominantly the women of the family who offer such care and support. Consequently, their lives are closely linked to the lives of persons with disabilities. It is essential to understand this relationship and consider their experiences when developing strategies to improve the support system. This empirical research undertakes interviews with women caregivers in rural India and uses the capability approach (CA) to analyze their experiences. The results suggest that the prevailing invisibility and negative perceptions of such care work, coupled with the lack of agency of the women caregivers, make the situation unsatisfactory for both the women and the family member with disabilities they are caring for
Bioenergetics and lipid metabolism in Alzheimer's disease:From cell biology to systemic health
No full textAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline. Although amyloid-β and tau pathologies remain central to our understanding of AD, growing evidence suggests that disrupted lipid metabolism and impaired bioenergetics are closely linked to these hallmark features. Genetic, lipidomic and functional studies point to alterations in cholesterol, phospholipids and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which can influence mitochondrial function, organelle communication and glial responses. These processes are further modulated by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, sex differences and systemic metabolic states such as obesity and diabetes, contributing to neuroinflammation and cognitive decline. Although findings are sometimes conflicting, an emerging theme is that lipid and energy metabolisms are central to how genetic and environmental risk factors shape AD pathogenesis. This integrated perspective highlights lipid and bioenergetic pathways as promising therapeutic targets, where metabolic modulators, lipid-directed interventions and lifestyle strategies may complement amyloid-based therapies and offer opportunities for precision approaches, particularly in women and APOE ε4 carriers.</p
How Music–Video metaphors build destination brand resonance:Dyadic affect, meaning access, and cultural cues
No full textShort-form destination videos often rely on music to carry cultural meaning. This paper links Cognitive Metaphor Theory with the circumplex dyad of pleasure and arousal to explain how music–image pairings build destination brand resonance (DBR). Three experiments show that pleasure is the stable route to DBR, arousal helps only under favorable tone, and their effects are additive. A Meaning-Access Prime (MAP) raises both emotions under identical clips and, in Bayesian structural models, also exerts a direct path to DBR, strongest when pleasant tone is low. DBR then predicts destination brand identification and destination consumption intention. We also show a useful state view: Resonant versus Emergent DBR. The framework provides design rules for co-tuning tone, activation, and cultural cues in creator-made clips that improve resonance, identification, and intention
From cells to circuits:Transdiagnostic mechanisms of dysfunction in pompe disease and niemann-pick disease type c
No full textFrom evidence to everyday care:Implementing and evaluating a lifestyle-focused approach in mental healthcare
No full textPotential and value of rescuing dying neurons
No full textUnwarranted death of neurons is a major cause of neurodegenerative diseases. Since mature neurons are postmitotic and do not replicate, their death usually constitutes an irreversible step in pathology. A logical strategy to prevent neurodegeneration would then be to save all neurons that are still alive, i.e. protecting the ones that are still healthy as well as trying to rescue the ones that are damaged and in the process of dying. Regarding the latter, recent experiments have indicated that the possibility of reversing the cell death process and rescuing dying cells is more significant than previously anticipated. In many situations, the elimination of the cell death trigger alone enables dying cells to spontaneously repair their damage, recover, and survive. In this review, we explore the factors, which determine the fate of neurons engaged in the cell death process. A deeper insight into cell death mechanisms and the intrinsic capacity of cells to recover could pave the way for novel therapeutic approaches to neurodegenerative diseases
Perinatal Exposure to the Neonicotinoid Thiacloprid Impacts Transcription of Neuroplasticity and Neuroendocrine Markers in Mice but Not in the Zebrafish Model
No full textNeonicotinoids are widely used insecticides in agriculture, aquaculture, pet care, and urban pest control. Initially developed to selectively target the insect cholinergic system, their extensive use has raised concerns about adverse effects on nontarget vertebrates. This study investigated the developmental neurotoxicity of the neonicotinoid thiacloprid using two vertebrate models: zebrafish and mice. Transgenic cyp19a1b-GFP zebrafish eleutheroembryos, which report estrogenic activity, were exposed to thiacloprid (10-6-10-8 M) for 4-5 days. No significant changes were observed in GFP expression or neuroplasticity and neuroendocrine markers, suggesting a limited impact in this aquatic model. In contrast, prenatal exposure of mice to thiacloprid (0.06, 0.6, or 6 mg/kg/day from embryonic day 6.5 to 15.5) produced dose-, sex-, and region-specific alterations in brain gene expression during adolescence (postnatal day 35). At low to mid doses, markers of neurogenesis and plasticity, such as doublecortin in the amygdala, neurogenin, nestin, and PCNA in the hippocampus and cerebellum, were upregulated. However, high-dose exposure (6 mg/kg/day) led to reduced expression of these markers, including BDNF in the hypothalamus and PCNA in the hippocampus, particularly in females. These results indicate that thiacloprid, even at low doses, can subtly but significantly affect mammalian brain development. Further research is needed to assess the neurodevelopmental risks of neonicotinoids in vertebrates, including humans
The influence of School principals’ management on school efficiency:Evidence from Italian schools
No full textThis paper investigates the relationship between school principals’ managerial practices and two key dimensions of school performance: students’ cognitive outcomes and school climate. School performance is assessed using a classical Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) framework, complemented by both unconditional robust and conditional robust models to evaluate the influence of managerial practices on school efficiency. We introduce a methodological innovation that allows for a nuanced analysis of how contextual variables – specifically, principals’ managerial practices – affect performance, both individually and through their interactions. The analysis is based on 2019 INVALSI data from a nationally representative sample of 8th grade students in Italian schools. The findings show that principals’ practices, as well as the ways in which these practices interact, play a significant role in shaping school efficiency, particularly by promoting a positive and supportive school climate
Validity of accelerometer-based analysis of step time and step time variability during treadmill walking in people with bilateral vestibulopathy
No full textBackground: Gait and balance impairments, including increased gait variability, are prevalent in people with bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP). Wearable accelerometers may provide a clinically feasible method to objectively assess gait variability but have not yet been explored in BVP. Research question: Is accelerometer-based assessment of step time variability during treadmill walking valid in people with BVP? Methods: Adults with BVP and age-sex-matched healthy controls walked at 0.6 m/s, 0.8 m/s, and 1.0 m/s on the treadmill of the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment. We examined differences in step time means and coefficients of variation (CoV) between accelerometery (single lower back sensor; MOX1) and 3D motion capture and force plates (Vicon). Validity was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC3,1), Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients, and Bland-Altman analyses to determine agreement, association and consistency between the methods. Validity was additionally assessed by comparing statistical significant differences and the effect sizes between the groups using each method. Results: Mean step time showed moderate to excellent agreement between methods, while step time CoV showed poor agreement and proportional bias. Accelerometery showed consistent between-group significance and effect size values, particularly at 0.6 m/s, although effect sizes were larger in motion capture data than in accelerometer data. Significance: An accelerometer-based assessment is valid for assessing mean step time in people with BVP. For assessing step time variability, it can distinguish between known groups (particularly at slower speeds) but does not demonstrate criterion validity. Before clinical application, test-retest reliability and sensitivity to change should be assessed in BVP.</p
Minimal conditions for the emergence of a vicarious sense of agency toward artificial agents
No full textA Sense of Agency (SoA) is the feeling of being in control over own actions and their outcomes. However, people can also experience a “vicarious” SoA over the actions performed by other agents, including artificial agents. The present study aimed to understand the minimal conditions for vicarious SoA toward artificial agents. Specifically, we addressed whether vicarious SoA emerges when people have access only to the action effect (proximal and distal), i.e., when no motor action is executed. In addition, we manipulated the expectancy of the content of the distal effect of the action to check whether the proximal action effect is sufficient for the emergence of the vicarious SoA, or if this effect is due to the learned association between proximal and distal effects. In two experiments, participants performed an Intentional Binding (IB) task, where the IB effect was the behavioural measure of SoA. In the first experiment (Solo), participants judged the onset of self-generated tones, whereas in the second experiment, a new sample of participants judged the onset of tones produced by a computer via an automatically pressed button, i.e., a customized device designed to generate a keypress (proximal action effect) in the absence of an effector executing a keypress (no motor action). In both experiments, participants' neural activity was recorded via electroencephalography (EEG), to examine the N1 and P2 components as neural measures of SoA. Behavioural results across experiments showed that the IB effect always emerged, suggesting that the vicarious IB effect toward an artificial agent emerges when access to the proximal action effect is provided, even in the absence of the action itself. The neural results suggested that while individual (self) SoA seemed to partially rely on motor predictions indexed by the N1, vicarious SoA relies on later, more cognitive (although still predictive) processes indexed by the P2. Overall, these results suggest that individual and vicarious SoA, although behaviourally manifested through a similar IB effect, might – to some extent – rely on different neural mechanisms