1,721,123 research outputs found
Emerging Role of microRNAs in Stroke Protection Elicited by Remote Postconditioning
Full text linkRemote ischemic conditioning (RIC) represents an innovative and attractive neuroprotective approach in brain ischemia. The purpose of this intervention is to activate endogenous tolerance mechanisms by inflicting a subliminal ischemia injury to the limbs, or to another “remote” region, leading to a protective systemic response against ischemic brain injury. Among the multiple candidates that have been proposed as putative mediators of the protective effect generated by the subthreshold peripheral ischemic insult, it has been hypothesized that microRNAs may play a vital role in the infarct-sparing effect of RIC. The effect of miRNAs can be exploited at different levels: (1) as transducers of protective messages to the brain or (2) as effectors of brain protection. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the most recent evidence supporting the involvement of microRNAs in brain protection elicited by remote conditioning, highlighting potential and pitfalls in their exploitation as diagnostic and therapeutic tools. The understanding of these processes could help provide light on the molecular pathways involved in brain protection for the future development of miRNA-based theranostic agents in stroke
On the social (sub)optimality of divisionalization under product differentiation
Full text linkWe revisit the interplay between differentiation and divisionalization in a duopoly version of Ziss (Econ Lett 59:133–138, 1998). We model divisionalization as a discrete problem to prove that (i) firms may choose not to become multidivisional; and (ii) there may arise asymmetric outcomes in mixed strategies, due to the existence of multiple symmetric equilibria. If industry-wide divisionalization is the unique equilibrium, it can be socially efficient provided goods are almost perfect substitutes. Even small degrees of differentiation may suffice to make industry-wide divisionalization socially desirable because of the prevalence of consumers’ taste for variety over the replication of fixed costs
Endogenous property rights and the nature of the firm
Full text linkWhile focusing on residual control rights, the propertyrights theory of the firm overlooks that the legal protec-tion of each party’s input shapes itsex postbargainingpower. To evaluate this issue, we assume that the propertyrights on the inputs are selected by a legislator to maxi-mize full investment and, conditional on this goal beingreached, minimize inefficient deviations to intermediateinvestment profiles. Our model delivers three key novelimplications. First, the strength of a party’s propertyrights is related negatively to the strength of its residualcontrol rights and determines entirely itsex anteincen-tives to invest. Second, the legislator tends to protecta firm less when its default payoff under its preferredownership structure is larger and when its contributionto the relationship is the greatest. Finally, the extent ofintegration falls weakly with the default payoffs and dis-plays an inverted U-shaped link with the intensity of thedownstream firm’s investment activity. Crucially, thesepredictions are consistent with the relationships betweenproxies for the strength of the downstream firms’ propertyrights and firms’ presence in the value chain, and measuresof asset specificity and R&D intensity for 119 countriesobserved over the 2006–18 period
Equality of Opportunity: Welfare and Public Policies
No full textThis chapter is devoted to discussing the relationship that exists between welfare and public policy through the measurement of inequality. Our narrative outlines how setting the right policy to increase welfare must necessarily come through a multidimensional assessment of inequality. In recent years, a thoughtful frontier of inequality measurement has proposed an analysis of inequality of opportunity to understand and study the differences that exist between and within countries. We aim at discussing how the study of inequality measurement is essential for understanding the channels that contribute to making the income distribution much more unfair over time. For this, we argue on the main methodologies proposed in the literature − discussed in a straightforward manner – both from a theoretical and empirical view. In particular, the empirical illustration through EU-SILC data can help to understand how important such a pathway can be to capture as much as possible the effects on welfare
Measuring equity in health: a normative decomposition
Full text linkThis paper proposes a new approach to the measurement of equality of opportunity in health, based on the path independent Atkinson index of equality. The proposed decomposition is applied both to the ex-ante and
the ex-post methodologies recently adopted by the literature. The approach is applied to the measurement of equality of opportunity in health using ten waves of the British Household Panel Survey. Results confirm that socioeconomic background is an important factor determining individual health in adulthood while the incidence of equality of opportunity is around one third of the overall equality according to a substantial stable pattern over years. Our findings also depict that differences in education, in social conditions and in the life style are crucial determinants of the shape of the observed health equalities in adulthood, explaining how potential differences can be derived by the combination of different circumstance
BEHIND THE ATKINSON INDEX: MEASURING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY IN HEALTH
No full textThis paper proposes a new approach to the measurement of equality of opportunity in health, based on the path independent Atkinson index of equality. The proposed decomposition is applied both to the ex-ante and the ex-post methodologies recently adopted by the literature. The approach is applied to the measurement of equality of opportunity in health using ten waves of the British Household Panel Survey. Results confirm that socioeconomic background is an important factor determining individual health in adulthood while the incidence of equality of opportunity is around one third of the overall equality according to a substantial stable pattern over years. Our findings also depict that differences in education, in social conditions and in the life style are crucial determinants of the shape of the observed health equalities in adulthood, explaining how potential differences can be derived by the combination of different circumstances
Neurobiology of coronaviruses: Potential relevance for COVID-19
Full text linkIn the first two decades of the 21st century, there have been three outbreaks of severe respiratory infections caused by highly pathogenic coronaviruses (CoVs) around the world: the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) by the SARS-CoV in 2002–2003, the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) by the MERS-CoV in June 2012, and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the SARS-CoV-2 presently affecting most countries In all of these, fatalities are a consequence of a multiorgan dysregulation caused by pulmonary, renal, cardiac, and circulatory damage; however, COVID patients may show significant neurological signs and symptoms such as headache, nausea, vomiting, and sensory disturbances, the most prominent being anosmia and ageusia. The neuroinvasive potential of CoVs might be responsible for at least part of these symptoms and may contribute to the respiratory failure observed in affected patients. Therefore, in the present manuscript, we have reviewed the available preclinical evidence on the mechanisms and consequences of CoVs-induced CNS damage, and highlighted the potential role of CoVs in determining or aggravating acute and long-term neurological diseases in infected individuals. We consider that a widespread awareness of the significant neurotropism of CoVs might contribute to an earlier recognition of the signs and symptoms of viral-induced CNS damage. Moreover, a better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which CoVs affect CNS function and cause CNS damage could help in planning new strategies for prognostic evaluation and targeted therapeutic intervention
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