478 research outputs found
Economic factors affecting obesity: an application in Italy
No full textThe World Health Organization has stated that obesity is spreading around the world like a “global epidemic”. In 2004 the percentage of obese people in the Italian population was 9%, but the trend s increasing in recent years. Focusing on this country, the purpose of the paper is to analyze the socio-economic variables affecting obesity by means of a survey conducted in a consumer sample. Our analysis is based on a survey conducted in Italy, and the sample was composed of 999 consumers. We used a binary logit model and the dependent variable is body mass index (BMI), expressed in a dichotomic way (seriously overweight and obese, value 1, and normal weight, value 0). The results show that the condition of the seriously overweight and obese increases with age, especially in people over 65 of age. Also gender is correlated with the pathology: being seriously overweight and obese is far more likely for men than for women. An inverse relation was shown between obesity and education, and between obesity and the level of food knowledge. The results highlight that disadvantaged social categories are more susceptible to the problem of overweight and obesity. A policy implication of the analysis, to limit the spread of obesity, could lie in programs aimed at improving health and food awareness and focused on these minority groups.economics of obesity, BMI and consumer, logit model, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,
Folate gene variants and modulation of cancer risk in haematological malignancies
No full textFolate metabolism is critical for DNA synthesis and methylation processes. Epidemiological and in vitro evidences suggest that folate is involved in the modulation of cancer risk. The activity of folate pathway enzymes has a pivotal role to assure correct processes related to folate metabolism. Therefore, folate polymorphisms affecting enzyme activity might play a role in cancer risk. Common variants in the genes of MTHFR, MS, MTRR, TS, SHMT, RFC have been investigated in haematological malignancies. Some case-control studies evaluated the association between MTHFR polymorphisms and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) risk, showing a protective role of 677T and 1298C variants. Protective role has been also ascribed to polymorphisms in MS, MTRR, MTHFD, SHMT and TS genes, although in a small number of studies. In acute and chronic myeloid and in chronic lymphoid leukemia only MTHFR variants have been investigated and no significant modifications in risk evaluation were observed.
With regard to lymphoma, studies on non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) reported a protective role of 677T and 1298C variants, whilst other studies showed no association, and an increased risk was found. Controversial results were achieved also for variants in other genes such as MS, TS, RFC, and SHMT and a risk reduction in MTRR 66GG low-grade NHL patients was reported. Altogether, these data indicate an involvment of folate gene variants in haematological malignancies, particularly for ALL cases. The mechanisms by which folate gene variants modulate cancer risk are discussed below
Author response
No full textDetecting pathogens and mounting immune responses upon infection is crucial for animal health. However, these responses come at a high metabolic price (McKean and Lazzaro, 2011, Kominsky et al., 2010), and avoiding pathogens before infection may be advantageous. The bacterial endotoxins lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are important immune system infection cues (Abbas et al., 2014), but it remains unknown whether animals possess sensory mechanisms to detect them prior to infection. Here we show that Drosophila melanogaster display strong aversive responses to LPS and that gustatory neurons expressing Gr66a bitter receptors mediate avoidance of LPS in feeding and egg laying assays. We found the expression of the chemosensory cation channel dTRPA1 in these cells to be necessary and sufficient for LPS avoidance. Furthermore, LPS stimulates Drosophila neurons in a TRPA1-dependent manner and activates exogenous dTRPA1 channels in human cells. Our findings demonstrate that flies detect bacterial endotoxins via a gustatory pathway through TRPA1 activation as conserved molecular mechanism.sponsorship: Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie Alessia Soldano Luis Franco Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Bassem A Hassanr Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0702.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0077.15 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0680.10 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0681.10 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0503.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0654.15 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0761.10N Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0596.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0565.07 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar KU Leuven GOA/14/011 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar European Commission IUAP P7/13 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekensr KU Leuven OT/12/091 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar KU Leuven PF-TRPLe Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talavera (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0702.12, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0077.15, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0680.10, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0681.10, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0503.12, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0654.15, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0761.10N, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0596.12, KU Leuven|GOA/14/011, KU Leuven|OT/12/091, European Commission|IUAP P7/13, KU Leuven PF-TRPLe)status: Publishe
Prospettive di governance e rendicontazione nelle organizzazioni giovanili non profit: il caso del Coeliac Youth of Europe
No full textA partire dagli anni ‘90, e in particolare dopo la crisi economica internazionale degli anni 2000, si afferma progressivamente la necessità di ripensare il sistema di erogazione dei servizi pubblici e assistenziali. Si inizia a parlare di Welfare Society, ovvero un modello di società in cui i soggetti non profit partecipano alla creazione del benessere collettivo, quale contraltare della crisi del Welfare State . Si aggiunga a ciò l’attuale situazione di emergenza legata alla pandemia COVID-19, che produrrà ripercussioni anche nei modelli di organizzazione e di erogazione dei servizi pubblici.
Rispetto alle varie tipologie di aziende non profit, diverse nelle forme ma accomunate dall’unicità del fine di soddisfare i bisogni della collettività, il volontariato si afferma come un campo di studi recente, in particolare nel caso delle organizzazioni giovanili, caratterizzate da spinte valoriali in parte diverse da quelle degli adulti. Mancando l’elemento economico e un sistema formale di indirizzo dell’azione individuale, il volontariato si caratterizza per una forte dimensione motivazionale e valoriale, che rappresenta sia una spinta, sia un freno all’allineamento tra obiettivi personali e organizzativi.
La governance dovrebbe pertanto impiegare strumenti in parte differenti da quelli delle aziende private nell’indirizzare le azioni dei volontari, non avendo a disposizione la leva monetaria. A mutare sono anche le logiche del processo di rendicontazione: l’accountability delle aziende non profit si caratterizza sia per l’assenza di un modello univoco, sia per le funzioni e finalità stesse, che seguono anche motivazioni relazionali e identitarie.
Oggi, la trasformazione digitale permette una maggiore integrazione tra sistemi fisici e digitali e conseguentemente ridefinisce i processi e i modelli di business delle aziende private. Nonostante le organizzazioni non profit risultino poco sensibili alla sfida del digitale, le nuove tecnologie hanno il potenziale per accompagnare la trasformazione anche nel terzo settore, contribuendo a favorire il processo di allineamento.
Il contributo tratta le modalità e gli strumenti di governo, gestione e rendicontazione delle organizzazioni non profit di volontariato giovanili, analizzando il caso Coeliac Youth of Europe (CYE), un’associazione europea aperta ai giovani dai 18 a 30 anni, indagata mediante il metodo del caso studio
Electromagnetic fields counteract IL-1beta activity during chondrogenesis of bovine mesenchymal stem cells
No full textIntroduction
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease associated with articular cartilage degeneration. Cartilage damage is an irreversible process, because of the limited capacity of the adult articular chondrocytes to repair and regenerate the normal cartilage matrix architecture. To improve the therapeutic options of OA, tissue engineering based on the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has emerged. However, the presence of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) during chondrogenesis reduces the efficacy of cartilage engineering repair procedures, by preventing chondrogenic differentiation. Previous studies have shown that pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) stimulate anabolic processes in OA cartilage and limit IL-1β catabolic effects. We investigated the role of PEMFs during chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs, isolated from bovine synovial fluid, in the absence and in the presence of IL-1β.
Materials and Methods
Pellets of MSCs were differentiated for 3 and 5 weeks with transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3), in the absence and in the presence of IL-1β and exposed or unexposed to PEMFs. Proteoglycans (PGs) synthesis and PG content were measured by radioactive 35S-sulphate incorporation and dimethylmethylene blue assay, respectively. Real-time RT-PCR was performed to analyze type II collagen and aggrecan expression. Histological analysis for haematoxylin and eosin and for alcian blue and immunohistochemistry for type II collagen and aggrecan were carried out on pellet sections. For statistical analysis, comparisons between groups were performed using Student’s T test and p<0.05 level was considered significant.
Results
Biochemical, quantitative real-time RT-PCR and histological results showed that PEMFs alone or in the presence of TGF-β3, play a limited role in promoting chondrogenic differentiation.
Notably, in the presence of IL-1β and TGF-β3 a recovery on PG synthesis, PG content, aggrecan and type II collagen mRNA expression in the PEMF-exposed compared to unexposed pellets was observed. Also, in the same experimental conditions, histological and immunoistochemical results showed an increase in staining for alcian blue, type II collagen and aggrecan in PEMF exposed pellets.
Discussion
The presence of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β in human joints, due to arthritis or trauma, may explain why existing cartilage engineering repair strategies that rely on the in situ differentiation of MSCs, fail to provide a reliably successful. Our results support the hypothesis that PEMF treatment may favor chondrogenic differentiation in inflammatory conditions.
Conclusions
This study shows a significant role of PEMFs in counteracting the IL-1β induced inhibition on chondrogenesis, suggesting a possible therapy for improving the clinical outcome of cartilage repair procedures
Pulsed electromagnetic fields stimulate osteogenic differentiation in human bone marrow and adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells
No full textPulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) play a regulatory role on osteoblast activity and are clinically beneficial during fracture healing. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from different sources have been extensively used in bone tissue engineering. Compared with MSCs isolated from bone marrow (BMSCs), those derived from adipose tissue (ASCs) are easier to obtain and available in larger amounts, although they show a less osteogenic differentiation potential than BMSCs. The hypothesis tested in this study was to evaluate whether PEMFs favor osteogenic differentiation both in BMSCs and in ASCs and to compare the role of PEMFs alone and in combination with the biochemical osteogenic stimulus bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2. Early and later osteogenic markers, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, osteocalcin levels, and matrix mineralization, were analyzed at different times during osteogenic differentiation. Results showed that PEMFs induced osteogenic differentiation by increasing ALP activity, osteocalcin, and matrix mineralization in both BMSCs and ASCs, suggesting that PEMF activity is maintained during the whole differentiation period. The addition of BMP-2 in PEMF exposed cultures further increased all the osteogenic markers in BMSCs, while in ASCs, the stimulatory role of PEMFs was independent of BMP-2. Our results indicate that PEMFs may stimulate an early osteogenic induction in both BMSCs and ASCs and they suggest PEMFs as a bioactive factor to enhance the osteogenesis of ASCs, which are an attractive cell source for clinical applications. In conclusion, PEMFs may be considered a possible tool to improve autologous cell-based regeneration of bone defects in orthopedics
MOVING: A Multi-Modal Dataset of EEG Signals and Virtual Glove Hand Tracking
No full textBrain–computer interfaces (BCIs) are pivotal in translating neural activities into control commands for external assistive devices. Non-invasive techniques like electroencephalography (EEG) offer a balance of sensitivity and spatial-temporal resolution for capturing brain signals associated with motor activities. This work introduces MOVING, a Multi-Modal dataset of EEG signals and Virtual Glove Hand Tracking. This dataset comprises neural EEG signals and kinematic data associated with three hand movements—open/close, finger tapping, and wrist rotation—along with a rest period. The dataset, obtained from 11 subjects using a 32-channel dry wireless EEG system, also includes synchronized kinematic data captured by a Virtual Glove (VG) system equipped with two orthogonal Leap Motion Controllers. The use of these two devices allows for fast assembly (∼1 min), although introducing more noise than the gold standard devices for data acquisition. The study investigates which frequency bands in EEG signals are the most informative for motor task classification and the impact of baseline reduction on gesture recognition. Deep learning techniques, particularly EEGnetV4, are applied to analyze and classify movements based on the EEG data. This dataset aims to facilitate advances in BCI research and in the development of assistive devices for people with impaired hand mobility. This study contributes to the repository of EEG datasets, which is continuously increasing with data from other subjects, which is hoped to serve as benchmarks for new BCI approaches and applications
Social Network to analyse the relationship between ‘victim-author’ and ‘motivation’ of violence against women in Italy.
No full textThe paper aims to analyse the phenomenon of Violence against women in the Italian context during 2020. It proposes to study the relationship between ‘victim-author’ and ‘motivation’ in femicides committed in domestic environment. By means of the properties of the Social Network Analysis on bimodal data, the study detected main actors and motivations that generated the homicides with female victims. At the same time, the structural relationships allowed to investigate the existence of motivations that better characterized the action of the various actors. The bipartite graph visualization and centrality scores calculated have demonstrated the effectiveness of the methodology for the pursued objectives
Folate polymorphisms influence therapy-related toxicity in adult acute lymphoblastic leucemia patients
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