bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plugging IT/OT vulnerabilities – part 2
Authors: Caldwell Tracey
Published: September 2018

The integration of systems that have traditionally run machinery as standalone, closed-in operations with the Internet has created both an opportunity and a challenge. In this second instalment of a two-part article on the impact of the increasing convergence of IT and operating technology on network security, industry experts offer their insights as to how organisations can mitigate the risks.

The integration of systems that have traditionally run machinery as standalone, closed-in operations with the Internet has created both an opportunity and a challenge.

In this second instalment of a two-part article on the impact of the increasing convergence of IT and operating technology on network security, Tracey Caldwell talks to industry experts about how organisations can mitigate the risks and how we need to establish new levels of collaboration and openness to drive true change.
Editorial
Authors: Mansfield-Devine Steve
Published: September 2018

The number of prosecutions under the Computer Misuse Act in the UK have fallen for the second year in a row, according to London law firm RPC. This may come as a surprise to anyone who is paying attention to the headlines.
The Way to Understand the Nature and Extent of Judicial Independence in China
Authors: ZHAO Yanrong
Published: September 2018

In order to portray the true extent of judicial independence in China’s judicial practices, this article first clarifies the contested meanings of “judicial independence” within Chinese judicial circles and provides a detailed literature review of the main school of thoughts on the extent of judicial independence in China. In contrast to the existing literature—most of which sees judicial independence in China as stagnant—this thesis suggests employing the strategic interaction approach to study the development of impartial adjudication in China and argues that the extent of adjudicative independence is evolving with the amount of judicial discretion afforded by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to judges.
Texture Analysis to Detect Cerebral Degeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Ishaque Abdullah , Maani Rouzbeh , Satkunam Jerome , Seres Peter , Mah Dennell , Wilman Alan H. , Naik Sandeep , Yang Yee-Hong , Kalra Sanjay
Published: September 2018

Background

Evidence of cerebral degeneration is not apparent on routine brain MRI in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Texture analysis can detect change in images based on the statistical properties of voxel intensities. Our objective was to test the utility of texture analysis in detecting cerebral degeneration in ALS. A secondary objective was to determine whether the performance of texture analysis is dependent on image resolution.

Methods

High-resolution (0.5×0.5 mm2 in-plane) coronal T2-weighted MRI of the brain were acquired from 12 patients with ALS and 19 healthy controls on a 4.7 Tesla MRI system. Image data sets at lower resolutions were created by down-sampling to 1×1, 2×2, 3×3, and 4×4 mm2. Texture features were extracted from a slice encompassing the corticospinal tract at the different resolutions and tested for their discriminatory power and correlations with clinical measures. Subjects were also classified by visual assessment by expert reviewers.

Results

Texture features were different between ALS patients and healthy controls at 1×1, 2×2, and 3×3 mm2 resolutions. Texture features correlated with measures of upper motor neuron function and disability. Optimal classification performance was achieved when best-performing texture features were combined with visual assessment at 2×2 mm2 resolution (0.851 area under the curve, 83% sensitivity, 79% specificity).

Conclusions

Texture analysis can detect subtle abnormalities in MRI of ALS patients. The clinical yield of the method is dependent on image resolution. Texture analysis holds promise as a potential source of neuroimaging biomarkers in ALS.
Cost-effectiveness of pre-operative Staphylococcus aureus screening and decolonization
Authors: Kline Susan E. , Sanstead Erinn C. , Johnson James R. , Kulasingam Shalini L.
Published: September 2018

Objective

We developed a decision analytic model to evaluate the impact of a preoperative Staphylococcus aureus decolonization bundle on surgical site infections (SSIs), health-care–associated costs (HCACs), and deaths due to SSI.

Methods

Our model population comprised US adults undergoing elective surgery. We evaluated 3 self-administered preoperative strategies: (1) the standard of care (SOC) consisting of 2 disinfectant soap showers; (2) the “test-and-treat” strategy consisting of the decolonization bundle including chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) soap, CHG mouth rinse, and mupirocin nasal ointment for 5 days) if S. aureus was found at any of 4 screened sites (nasal, throat, axillary, perianal area), otherwise the SOC; and (3) the “treat-all” strategy consisting of the decolonization bundle for all patients, without S. aureus screening. Model parameters were derived primarily from a randomized controlled trial that measured the efficacy of the decolonization bundle for eradicating S. aureus.

Results

Under base-case assumptions, the treat-all strategy yielded the fewest SSIs and the lowest HCACs, followed by the test-and-treat strategy. In contrast, the SOC yielded the most SSIs and the highest HCACs. Consequently, relative to the SOC, the average savings per operation was $217 for the treat-all strategy and $123 for the test-and-treat strategy, and the average savings per per SSI prevented was $21,929 for the treat-all strategy and $15,166 for the test-and-treat strategy. All strategies were sensitive to the probability of acquiring an SSI and the increased risk if SSI if the patient was colonized with SA.

Conclusion

We predict that the treat-all strategy would be the most effective and cost-saving strategy for preventing SSIs. However, because this strategy might select more extensively for mupirocin-resistant S. aureus and cause more medication adverse effects than the test-and-treat approach or the SOC, additional studies are needed to define its comparative benefits and harms.
Generalized Social Exchange and Its Relevance to New Era Workplace Relationships
Authors: Yoshikawa Katsuhiko , Wu Chia-Huei , Lee Hyun-Jung
Published: September 2018

To critically evaluate the relevance of social exchange theory (SET) to the contemporary workplace, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu (2018) point out a number of factors that reshape work relationships and suggest how to apply and extend social exchange theory to understand the new era work relationships. However, in their discussion, they focus mainly on reciprocal exchange (RE) in dyadic relationships. The discussion completely overlooks another important form of social exchange, namely, generalized exchange (GE), which is increasingly relevant to contemporary organizations exactly because of the changes indicated by Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu. In this commentary, we briefly review prior investigations into GE across various social science disciplines and then point out its increasing relevance to organizations. Finally, we will discuss implications for future research in the industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology literature.
Understanding New Era Workplace Relationships: Insights From Employee Engagement Research
Authors: Hyland Patrick , Caputo Anthony W. , Reeves David
Published: September 2018

In their focal article, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu (2018) argue that the foundational assumptions of social exchange theory (SET) should be revisited and revised because of recent changes in the workplace and the workforce. Using employee engagement data from recent research projects conducted in applied settings, we investigated a series of questions based on Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu's working hypotheses.
Three Dilemmas for Academics: Gender Disparities in Scholarship, Teaching, and Service
Authors: Schneider Kimberly T. , Radhakrishnan Phanikiran
Published: September 2018

Research on gender differences in the allocation and evaluation of three main components of academic work (i.e., research, teaching, and service) is very informative, and we argue that it may point to potential sources of the disparity in academic industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists’ experiences. We also propose the addition of a few issues to the research agenda set forth by Gardner, Ryan, and Snoeyink (2018) with the belief that attention to these issues will help address the gender disparity.
Where Are the Women of Color in I-O Psychology?
Authors: Leung Desmond W. , Rainone Nicolette
Published: September 2018

We applaud the efforts of Gardner, Ryan, and Snoeyink (2018) in launching much-needed dialogue on gender representation within the field of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology. We agree that it is imperative to address inequity in our profession, beginning with an informed assessment of accurate information. However, the focal article did not offer any information on the representation of a group that too often goes unnoticed: women of color.
Joshua B. Freeman, Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World
Authors: Eisenstadt Peter
Published: September 2018

Sir Christopher Wren was the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, in which he is buried in a simple tomb with a famous Latin epitaph, which can be paraphrased for our purposes as “if you are searching for a monument, look about you.” Joshua Freeman, in his sparkling history of the factory, says much the same about his book's subject: if you want a monument to the factory, look about you, to your house, your study, your clothes, or your desk. What is there that hasn't been manufactured in a factory? And yet Freeman's book is also something of an epitaph to a business model. We live, we are often told, in a postindustrial age. The factory has lost its ability to awe or to amaze (though not, perhaps, the ability to produce indignation and anger). The factory as technology's avatar has been replaced by the high-tech campus, where things are not made manually but digitally, keystroke by keystroke. Still, we are very much products of the age of the factory.
Clearing, “Wasting,” and Regreening: An Environmental History of Bare Hills in Central Vietnam
Authors: Biggs David
Published: September 2018

A recent trend of regreening formerly bare hills in central Vietnam is often described in the media as a form of recovery from 1960s wartime destruction. However, this modern framework of wartime “wasting” and regreening obscures a longer history of bare hills. Colonial explorers noted eroded slopes in 1877, and imperial land surveyors described stretches of “idle, fallow land” decades earlier. This article describes a longer history of a “wasteland” not only to challenge a presentist framing of environmental decline but also to recognize the historic roles people played in producing these spaces, often in response or resistance to state policies. Colonial engagements with land clearing and customary uses of “open” lands gave shape to colonial visions of “wasteland” and later spurred colonial environmentalist critiques, even calls for a new form of green colonialism via exotic tree plantations. Writing the history of such a “wasteland” is one way to decenter imperial, colonial, and nationalist teleologies that tend to emphasize the environmental “footprints” of state actions but not the reverse. This history of “bare hills” draws from a mix of historical sources to show how people produced this “wasteland” and why, at times, they maintained it despite state efforts at reclamation.
The importance of integrative approaches in nematode taxonomy: the validity of Parapharyngodon and Thelandros as distinct genera
Authors: De Sousa A. , Jorge F. , Carretero M.A. , Harris D.J. , Roca V. , Perera A.
Published: September 2018

Despite the advances of molecular tools, new nematode species are still described mainly based on morphological characters. Parapharyngodon and Thelandros are two genera of oxyurids with unclear related taxonomic histories. Here we use morphological characters (linear measurements and categorical variables) and genetic information (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA and COI partial gene sequences) to confirm the relationships between representatives of these two genera and to determine whether they can be discriminated morphologically. Genetic results confirm the existence of two main clades, mostly congruent with Parapharyngodon and Thelandros genera but with several discordances. Thelandros is polyphyletic, with two of the species analysed (T. filiformis and T. tinerfensis) being part of the Thelandros clade, but with a third one (T. galloti) falling within the Parapharyngodon clade. Regarding the Parapharyngodon clade, P. cubensis, P. scleratus and Parapharyngodon sp. from Mexico form congruent lineages, while most P. echinatus samples cluster in another group, with one exception. Interestingly, P. micipsae samples are scattered across the Parapharyngodon clade, suggesting that they were misidentified or rather represent alternative morphotypes of other species. Morphological analysis identified the length of the tail, number of caudal papillae, position of the nerve ring, presence of caudal alae and length of the lateral alae as reliable characters to distinguish between Parapharyngodon and Thelandros genetic clades. Our study highlights the current taxonomic inconsistency in these groups, mainly derived from the exclusive use of morphological data. As such, we advocate for the routine implementation of molecular data in nematode taxonomic studies.
NUOVI CONFLITTI E NUOVI SISTEMI PARTITICI ALL'EST. VERSO UN MODELLO ESPLICATIVO
Authors: Grilli Pietro
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

I processi di transizione alla democrazia assumono la forma di «ondate» (Huntington 1991) che investono più paesi o aree in differenti momenti di questo secolo. Pur nella varietà delle traiettorie, un aspetto accomuna queste trasformazioni: la costruzione della democrazia significa in primo luogo nascita (o rinascita) dei partiti politici, come principali agenzie di mobilitazione che prendono parte in prima persona ai nuovi processi elettorali, che puntano a gestire direttamente il potere politico e che avranno poi un ruolo determinante nella fase di consolidamento democratico.
IL VOTO DI APPROVAZIONE: IL DOPPIO TURNO IN UN TURNO SOLO
Authors: D'Alimonte Roberto
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

Esiste un sistema elettorale ottimale? La risposta convenzionale è negativa. Ogni sistema elettorale ha pregi e difetti. La scelta del sistema dipende da numerosi fattori, e in primo luogo dagli obiettivi che si vogliono conseguire. Non esiste quindi un sistema intrinsecamente superiore agli altri. Questa risposta vale se la scelta è tra sistemi proporzionali e sistemi maggioritari/uninominali. Non vale però se dobbiamo scegliere all'interno della categoria dei sistemi maggioritari/uninominali.
GIANCARLO MORCALDO, La finanza pubblica in Italia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1993, pp. 264.
Authors: Verzichelli Luca
Published: September 2018

Questi due volumi, pubblicati sulla collana «Studi e ricerche» del Mulino, sono legati per diverse ragioni. In primo luogo presentano un'analisi per molti versi simile, pur approfondendo aspetti distinti dell'economia pubblica italiana negli ultimi decenni. In secondo luogo propongono il lavoro di due economisti del Servizio Studi della Banca d'Italia impegnati da tempo in un gruppo di ricerca su questo settore che ha già dato alcuni frutti (fra cui il recente lavoro a cura dell'Ente Einaudi e pubblicato dal Mulino sul Disavanzo Pubblico in Italia). Infine prendono spunto da una riflessione comune relativa al carattere peculiare della finanza pubblica in questo paese, caratterizzata da una lunga fase di espansione ma anche da una grande incontrollabilità che ha causato a più riprese problemi ben noti come lo sperpero di risorse e l'eccezionale disavanzo pubblico.
LA COMPETIZIONE MAGGIORITARIA: LE ORIGINI ELETTORALI DEL PARLAMENTO DIVISO
Authors: Bartolini Stefano , D'Alimonte Roberto
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

Maggioritario, ma non troppo. Così si può riassumere sinteticamente il risultato delle elezioni politiche del 27 marzo 1994. Non c'è dubbio infatti che la componente maggioritaria del sistema elettorale abbia funzionato, ma è altrettanto vero che da sola non è bastata ad impedire uno degli effetti più significativi e sorprendenti di queste elezioni: un Parlamento diviso. Camera e Senato hanno due maggioranze diverse, o meglio, la Camera ha una maggioranza e il Senato no. Senza la componente proporzionale, il sistema maggioritario avrebbe prodotto,coeteris paribus, maggioranze nette sia alla Camera che al Senato (Tab. 1).
GLI ELETTI
Authors: Verzichelli Luca
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

Il ricambio e la trasformazione della classe parlamentare erano i risultati più attesi dalle elezioni del 27 e 28 marzo 1994: il doppio effetto, prodotto dalla bufera di Tangentopoli e dall'adozione di un sistema elettorale maggioritario, rendeva facilmente prevedibile il mutamento, tuttavia la vittoria di uno schieramento o dell'altro avrebbe prodotto esiti diversi sia nelquantumdi novità espressa in termini di neo-parlamentari che nelle qualità socio-politiche di questo nuovo personale.
DEMOCRAZIA E REFERENDUM
Authors: Papadopoulos Yannis
Published: September 2018

Precisazioni concettuali

Gli strumenti referendari rappresentano un tentativo di conciliare i limiti posti dalle grandi dimensioni del corpo elettorale – che rendono impossibili vere e proprie assemblee popolari del tipoLandsgemeinde– e l'esigenza di una partecipazione diretta dei cittadini ai processi decisionali. Di questi strumenti analizzerò in questa sede i più «democratici», quelli cioè che sono il prodotto di spinte «dal basso», frutto di richieste promosse da un certo numero di elettori al di fuori di qualsiasi controllo da parte del potere politico. Non terrò conto, pertanto, né dei referendum obbligatori, imposti dalla costituzione (in generale nei casi in cui si tratta di modificarla o di consentire un parziale abbandono di sovranità), né di quelli organizzati a scopi tattici o di legittimazione, né,a fortiori, dei plebisciti a carattere personale.
MODELLI TEORICI DI FEDERALISMO
Authors: Giannetti Daniela
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

Tutti gli studiosi concordano nel considerare l'unione degli stati americani creata con la Costituzione del 1787 il primo esempio di federalismo in senso moderno. Qual è la novità storica del federalismo americano? In sintesi, si può affermare che essa consiste in un rafforzamento del potere centrale che si accompagna a un insieme di garanzie costituzionali circa le sfere di autorità o la ripartizione di funzioni tra differenti livelli di governo. La Costituzione di Filadelfia viene inoltre generalmente considerata un esempio di deliberata progettazione istituzionale e i vari saggi che compongono ilFederalist –scritti da Hamilton, Jay e Madison allo scopo di illustrare i vantaggi che sarebbero derivati da un'organizzazione federale degli stati indipendenti allora uniti nella confederazione nordamericana –sono considerati la prima articolazione compiuta della teoria federalista. Dall'«invenzione» del sistema americano, che introduce un'innovazione sostanziale nella storia delle istituzioni occidentali, poi ampiamente imitata in numerosi paesi, il federalismo è diventato una delle realtà politiche più importanti e uno dei temi più dibattuti nella letteratura.
LA PRESIDENZA DELLA COMMISSIONE EUROPEA. VINCOLI E RISORSE
Authors: Endo Ken
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

La carica di Presidente della Commissione Europea è malleabile. I suoi poteri e le sue possibilità di incidenza politica mutano con l'avvicendarsi dei presidenti, e anche nel corso di una stessa presidenza, come mostra il caso di Jacques Delors, il cui ufficio è passato in un decennio (1985–1995) attraverso fasi espansive e restrittive.
L'ELETTORE CHE RAGIONA. IL CASO DEI SISTEMI MULTIPARTITICI
Authors: Pappi Franz Urban
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

Lo studio del comportamento elettorale si è considerevolmente modificato dai tempi della supremazia delMichigan modelnegli anni Sessanta (Campbellet al.1960 e 1966) e della congiunzione di quest'approccio socio-psicologico con quello della scelta razionale di Downs (1957).
COSA È «COMPETIZIONE» IN POLITICA E COME VA STUDIATA
Authors: Bartolini Stefano
Published: September 2018

I termini «competizione politica», «elettorale» o «partitica» figurano nei titoli e nei testi di ricerca politica con crescente frequenza, ma con significati molto diversi. Per lo più, il termine è generico e si riferisce all'intero processo elettorale e parlamentare. Nei modelli formali esso indica le strategic dei partiti nei quadro ristretto di assunti sulle motivazioni, preferenze e informazioni. Nella letteratura sulla teoria democratica la competizione politica figura sovente come caratteristica essenziale, quando non definitoria, della democrazia stessa. In questo articolo voglio chiarire il senso dell'applicazione alla politica della categoria «competizione» partendo da cinque considerazioni critiche.
L'ESPANSIONE DEL POTERE GIUDIZIARIO NELLE DEMOCRAZIE CONTEMPORANEE
Authors: Guarnieri Carlo , Pederzoli Patrizia
Published: September 2018

In una recente rassegna dei rapporti fra magistratura e politica – dal significativo titolo «L'espansione globale del potere giudiziario» (Tate e Vallinder 1995) – si è giunti parlare di un processo di «giudiziarizzazione della politica» che interessa ormai tutti i regimi democratici, e cioè di un'«espansione del raggio d'azione dei tribunali o dei giudici a spese dei politici e/o degli amministratori: in altre parole lo spostamento dei diritti di decisione dal legislativo, il governo o l'amministrazione verso i tribunali» (Vallinder 1995, 13). Le ragioni di questo fenomeno sono numerose e vanno collegate a tendenze di lungo periodo che si manifestano, ma con maggior o minor forza, in tutti i regimi democratici (Pederzoli 1990). In realtà, non si tratta di un fenomeno del tutto nuovo in paesi come gli Stati Uniti, ma di recente si è manifestato anche nelle democrazie dell'Europa latina: Spagna, Francia e soprattutto Italia. Per comprendere le ragioni alla base di questa nuova rilevanza dell'azione giudiziaria analizzeremo questi tre casi insieme a Stati Uniti – un sistema politico da sempre contraddistinto da un notevole attivismo giudiziario – Inghilterra e Germania, due paesi che, pur appartenendo a due diverse tradizioni giuridiche – rispettivamente dicommonecivil law– sono stati caratterizzati, almeno fino ad oggi, da una minore propensione della magistratura a intervenire nel processo politico1.
PREMESSA
Authors: M. C.
Published: September 2018

Due anni fa con il numero speciale dedicato alle elezioni del 1994 la Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica si era assunta l'impegno di «prendere le misure» del sistema politico italiano nel momento del primo test istituzionale democratico dopo il terremoto dei primi anni '90. Si trattava di andare a vedere che cosa era successo in un contesto politico riassumibile nella formula «attori (parzialmente) nuovi e regole nuove». In concreto bisognava analizzare come si era ridefinita e articolata l'offerta politica degli attori partitici e coalizionali, come ad essa aveva risposto un elettorato scosso nelle sue vecchie consuetudini e animato da forti aspettative di novità e come i nuovi meccanismi elettorali avevano tradotto questo incontro tra offerta e risposta in seggi parlamentari.
PROGRAMMI, MEDIA E OPINIONE PUBBLICA
Authors: Sani Giacomo , Segatti Paolo
Published: September 2018

Dall'inaugurazione del governo Berlusconi (maggio 1994) al giuramento della compagine guidata da Prodi intercorrono solo ventiquattro mesi. Ma sono due anni caratterizzati da una densa e convulsa vicenda politica nel corso della quale si verificano tutta una serie di episodi di rilievo. Tra i più salienti spiccano: la rottura dell'alleanza di centro-destra nata alla vigilia del 27 marzo 1994 (il cosiddetto «ribaltone»); il ricorso ad un governo «tecnico» che doveva costituire una soluzione provvisoria ma finisce col durare più del previsto; la nuova spaccatura che si produce nella maggior formazione di centro (il Ppi) nella primavera del 1995 e che porta alla nascita del Cdu e fa quindi salire a tre gli eredi della vecchia Dc; una ulteriore modifica delle regole del gioco con l'adozione di un nuovo sistema per le elezioni dei consigli regionali; e, infine, lo svolgimento di ben tre consultazioni elettorali a carattere nazionale (le elezioni per il Parlamento europeo 1994, le elezioni regionali ed amministrative dell'aprile 1995, la tornata referendaria del giugno dello stesso anno).

Gli avvenimenti del biennio segnalano le evidenti difficoltà di un processo di transizione per il quale non si riesce a trovare una via di uscita. Dopo la fase di destrutturazione del periodo 1992-1993, con le elezioni del 1994 il sistema dei partiti pareva avviato ad assumere una configurazione di tipo (quasi) bipolare, accompagnata da una significativa riduzione del grado di frammentazione. Ma la dinamica della vita politica nei mesi successivi alla formazione del governo Berlusconi smentiva entrambe le ipotesi. Essa dimostrava, in primo luogo, che la doppia e anomala alleanza risultata vincente il 27 marzo era solo un precario cartello elettorale destinato a dissolversi nel breve periodo. In secondo luogo, risultava evidente che nonostante la prevalenza della quota maggioritaria e la clausola di sbarramento, il nuovo meccanismo elettorale non era riuscito ad incidere in maniera significativa sul numero delle formazioni politiche presenti nell'arena parlamentare e nel paese. Infine, che si trattasse di un bi-polarismo assai imperfetto risultava chiaro dal fatto che, caduto il governo di centro-destra per la defezione della Lega, risultava impraticabile la formazione di una maggioranza alternativa. In sostanza, le nuove regole e gli assetti usciti dalla consultazione e dai successivi rimescolamenti degli schieramenti e dell'offerta elettorale non avevano prodotto né un governo destinato a durare, né una opposizione pienamente in grado di sostituirlo.
I CANDIDATI. VISIONI POLITICHE E CARRIERE
Authors: Mattina Liborio , Tonarelli Alessandro
Published: September 2018

L'analisi delle candidature è suscettibile di diverse letture. In questo saggio ne privilegeremo due. La prima, prevalente, individuerà le caratteristiche dell'offerta di rappresentanza, la seconda le modalità di selezione del ceto politico parlamentare. L'una ci spiega la «proposta» che partiti e schieramenti elaborano per catturare il voto dell'elettore suggerendogli di essere rappresentato all'interno delle loro fila meglio che in quelle dei concorrenti. L'altra esamina il processo, più interno ai partiti, attraverso il quale avviene la riproduzione del ceto dirigente partitico e parlamentare.

Nel nostro saggio manterremo distinta l'analisi delle due questioni esaminando l'offerta di rappresentanza con riferimento alle attività professionali dei candidati, e i percorsi di formazione del nuovo ceto con una ricognizione sulle esperienze politiche dei candidati precedenti la loro designazione. I risultati della ricerca verranno presentati dedicando particolare attenzione all'analisi su base sovraregionale in considerazione della rilevanza che la segmentazione territoriale del mercato elettorale italiano ha assunto nella elaborazione delle strategie elettorali dei partiti.
DEMOCRAZIA E FEDERALISMO. UN'ANALISI COMPARATA
Authors: Stepan Alfred
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

In questo articolo proporrò alcune riflessioni sul rapporto fra democratizzazione, federalismo e nazionalismo, prendendo spunto da lavori già avviati su questa tematica insieme a Juan Linz (Linz 1997).
TRANSIZIONE DI REGIME E INTERESSI IMPRENDITORIALI IN ITALIA
Authors: Ferrante Massimo
Published: September 2018

Introduzione

Questo lavoro ha come obiettivo una prima analisi delle trasformazioni del sistema dell'associazionismo imprenditoriale a seguito dei numerosi e rilevanti effetti indotti dalla cosiddetta «transizione di regime» sui modelli di rappresentanza di interessi specifici e di regolazione sociale in Italia.
Spanish and Portuguese Gilding Threads: Characterization Using Microscopic Techniques
Authors: Perez-Rodriguez Jose Luis , Albardonedo Antonio , Robador Maria Dolores , Duran Adrian
Published: September 2018

Gilding threads collected from Spanish and Portuguese palaces and from the embroideries and adornments of sculptures of the Virgin and Christ that form part of Sevillian Holy Week were analyzed and compared (20 artifacts were evaluated). The study covered a broad time period with examples from the 13th to 14th centuries, 18th to 20th centuries, and also including modern embroideries. A combination of scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used. The knowledge of the layered structures of the threads has provided very valuable information regarding the manufacturing techniques. The different metal threads found in the embroidery studied consisted of gold, silver, copper, and alloys of these metals and aluminium. The fabrication procedures often differed in the different workshops and changed with time. In the modern embroideries, a decrease of precious metal concentration was detected. The threads were wound around a core of silk threads.
Introduction to the symposium on the empirics of judicial institutions
Authors: MARCIANO ALAIN , RAMELLO GIOVANNI B.
Published: September 2018

The article provides an overview on the emergence of dispute resolution institutions in society and market, their pivotal role and their impact on the human activities. It introduces then recent researches conducted by a pool of scholars in order to advance the understanding of modern judicial institutions which represent the aims of this journal issue.
What Is Transferred in Causal Generalization Across	Contexts?
Authors: Wang Moyun , Yin Pengfei
Published: September 2018

Abstract. The covariation and causal power account for causal induction make different predictions for what is transferred in causal generalization across contexts. Two experiments tested these predictions using hypothetical scenarios in which the effect of an intervention was evaluated between (Experiment 1) or within (Experiment 2) groups. Each experiment contained a manipulation of ΔP, power and their combination. Both experiments found that causal transfer was determined by ΔP rather than causal power. The overall transfer pattern supports ΔP transfer account rather than the other transfer accounts. Causal transfers based on ΔP are irrational, violating the coherence criterion of the causal power framework. The ΔP transfer is consistent with previous findings that ΔP is a main mental non-normative measure of causal strength in causal induction.
The Observed Impacts of the Two Types of El Niño on the North Equatorial Countercurrent in the Pacific Ocean
Authors: Tan Shuwen , Zhou Hui
Published: September 2018

This study investigates the interannual variations in the North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) associated with the eastern Pacific and the central Pacific types of El Niño. Using observational analysis and ocean simulations, we show that the wind stress anomalies during the two El Niño types are of comparable amplitude but have different spatial structures, which results in significant and distinct variations in the NECC. The NECC shifts southward and intensifies during the developing phase of El Niño, but the variations are confined in the central eastern Pacific for the eastern Pacific type and the western central Pacific for the central Pacific type. These differences can be attributed to modulations in equatorial Kelvin wave and tropical Rossby wave propagation as well as Ekman pumping.
BRAF inhibition causes resilience of melanoma cell lines by inducing the secretion of FGF1
Authors: Grimm Johannes , Hufnagel Anita , Wobser Marion , Borst Andreas , Haferkamp Sebastian , Houben Roland , Meierjohann Svenja
Published: September 2018

Approximately half of all melanoma patients harbour activating mutations in the serine/threonine kinase BRAF. This is the basis for one of the main treatment strategies for this tumor type, the targeted therapy with BRAF and MEK inhibitors. While the initial responsiveness to these drugs is high, resistance develops after several months, frequently at sites of the previously responding tumor. This indicates that tumor response is incomplete and that a certain tumor fraction survives even in drug-sensitive patients, e.g., in a therapy-induced senescence-like state. Here, we show in several melanoma cell lines that BRAF inhibition induces a secretome with stimulating effect on fibroblasts and naive melanoma cells. Several senescence-associated factors were found to be transcribed and secreted in response to BRAF or MEK inhibition, among them members of the fibroblast growth factor family. We identified the growth factor FGF1 as mediator of resilience towards BRAF inhibition, which limits the pro-apoptotic effects of the drug and activates fibroblasts to secrete HGF. FGF1 regulation was mediated by the PI3K pathway and by FRA1, a direct target gene of the MAPK pathway. When FGFR inhibitors were applied in parallel to BRAF inhibitors, resilience was broken, thus providing a rationale for combined therapeutical application.
Arsenic circumvents the gefitinib resistance by binding to P62 and mediating autophagic degradation of EGFR in non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Mao Jianhua , Ma Lie , Shen Yan , Zhu Kongkai , Zhang Ru , Xi Wenda , Ruan Zheng , Luo Cheng , Chen Zhu , Xi Xiaodong , Chen Saijuan
Published: September 2018

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is characterized by hyperexpression and/or gain-of-function mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), resulting in an elevated overall kinase activity. Gefitinib is remarkably effective in patients with the L858R or ΔE746-A750-mutated of EGFR. However, drug resistance tends to develop because of the emergence of T790M mutation on EGFR. New strategies other than repressing kinase activity are thus required to treat NSCLC, thereby circumventing the resistance. In this study, arsenic trioxide (ATO) at 2 μM significantly inhibited the proliferation of the gefitinib-resistant NCI-H1975 cells of the EGFR L858R/T790M mutant compared with a modest inhibition in the gefitinib-sensitive HCC827 cells of ΔE746-A750 mutant and A549 cells of wild-type EGFR. Moreover, ATO significantly inhibited the overall kinase activity of EGFR primarily through quantitatively diminishing the EGFR in NCI-H1975 cells to an extent comparable with that reached by gefitinib in HCC827 cells. Furthermore, ATO promoted autophagic degradation of EGFR in NSCLC cells by directly binding to P62, which interacted with EGFR, preferentially the L858R/T790M mutant providing a plausible explanation for a more favorable effect of ATO on NCI-H1975 cells. Accordingly, the effect of ATO was further confirmed in the NSCLC xenograft mouse models. Our results reveal a new target for ATO with a unique molecular mechanism, i.e., ATO suppresses the overall catalytic potential of EGFR, significantly those with the L858R/T790M mutant in NCI-H1975 cells, through an autophagic degradation by interacting with P62. This study potentially offers an innovative therapeutic avenue for the NSCLC with L858R/T790M-mutated EGFR.
Overcoming immunogenicity issues of HIV p24 antigen by the use of innovative nanostructured lipid carriers as delivery systems: evidences in mice and non-human primates
Authors: Bayon Emilie , Morlieras Jessica , Dereuddre-Bosquet Nathalie , Gonon Alexis , Gosse Leslie , Courant Thomas , Le Grand Roger , Marche Patrice N. , Navarro Fabrice P.
Published: September 2018

HIV is one of the deadliest pandemics of modern times, having already caused 35 million deaths around the world. Despite the huge efforts spent to develop treatments, the virus cannot yet be eradicated and continues to infect new people. Spread of the virus remains uncontrolled, thus exposing the worldwide population to HIV danger, due to the lack of efficient vaccines. The latest clinical trials describe the challenges associated with developing an effective prophylactic HIV vaccine. These immunological obstacles will only be overcome by smart and innovative solutions applied to the design of vaccine formulations. Here, we describe the use of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) for the delivery of p24 protein as a model HIV antigen, with the aim of increasing its immunogenicity. We have designed vaccine formulations comprising NLC grafted with p24 antigen, together with cationic NLC optimized for the delivery of immunostimulant CpG. This tailored system significantly enhanced immune responses against p24, in terms of specific antibody production and T-cell activation in mice. More importantly, the capacity of NLC to induce specific immune responses against this troublesome HIV antigen was further supported by a 7-month study on non-human primates (NHP). This work paves the way toward the development of a future HIV vaccine, which will also require the use of envelope antigens.
Demonstrating a new technology for space debris removal using a bi-directional plasma thruster
Authors: Takahashi Kazunori , Charles Christine , Boswell Rod W. , Ando Akira
Published: September 2018

Space debris removal from Earth orbit by using a satellite is an emergent technological challenge for sustainable human activities in space. In order to de-orbit debris it is necessary to impart a force to decelerate it, resulting in its atmospheric re-entry. A satellite using an energetic plasma beam directed at the debris will need to eject plasma in the opposite direction in a controlled manner in order to maintain a constant distance between it and the debris during the deorbiting mission. By employing a magnetic nozzle plasma thruster having two open source exits, bi-directional plasma ejection can be achieved using a single electric propulsion device. Both the forces exerted on the thruster and the target plate simulating the debris are simultaneously measured in a laboratory space simulation chamber showing that a force decelerating the debris and a zero net force on the thruster can be successfully obtained. These two forces can be individually controlled by external electrical parameters, resulting in the ability to switch the acceleration and deceleration modes of the satellite and the debris removal mode using a single electric propulsion device.
TFPI-2 suppresses breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion through regulation of ERK signaling and interaction with actinin-4 and myosin-9
Authors: Wang Guangli , Huang Wenhe , Li Wei , Chen Shaoying , Chen Weibin , Zhou Yanchun , Peng Pei , Gu Wei
Published: September 2018

TFPI-2 has been recognized as a potent tumor suppressor gene. Low expression of TFPI-2 results in enhanced growth and metastasis of a variety of human tumors. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism responsible for the tumor suppressive effect of TFPI-2. Overexpression of TFPI-2 decreased phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and the translocation of p-ERK1/2 from cytoplasm into the nucleus, and eventually resulted in a reduced cell proliferation. Immunoprecipitation assays identified myosin-9 and actinin-4 as TFPI-2-interacting proteins. Full-length TFPI-2 was required for binding to actinin-4, whereas the N + KD1 regions of TFPI-2 were sufficient to interact with myosin-9. Although overexpression of TFPI-2 or TFPI-2/N + KD1 does not affect the expression of actinin-4 and myosin-9, it inhibits the migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells. Our results suggest that TFPI-2 suppresses cancer cell proliferation and invasion partly through the regulation of the ERK1/2 signaling and through interactions with myosin-9 and actinin-4.
Neprilysin inhibition promotes corneal wound healing
Authors: Genova Rachel M. , Meyer Kacie J. , Anderson Michael G. , Harper Matthew M. , Pieper Andrew A.
Published: September 2018

Neprilysin (NEP), an ectoenzyme that modulates inflammation by degrading neuropeptides, was recently identified in the human corneal epithelium. The cornea expresses many NEP substrates, but the function of NEP in homeostatic maintenance and wound healing of the cornea is unknown. We therefore investigated the role of this enzyme under naive and injured conditions using NEP-deficient (NEP−/−) and wild type (WT) control mice. In vivo ocular surface imaging and histological analysis of corneal tissue showed no differences in limbal vasculature or corneal anatomy between naive NEP−/− and WT mice. Histological examination revealed increased corneal innervation in NEP−/− mice. In an alkali burn model of corneal injury, corneal wound healing was significantly accelerated in NEP−/− mice compared to WT controls 3 days after injury. Daily intraperitoneal administration of the NEP inhibitor thiorphan also accelerated corneal wound healing after alkali injury in WT mice. Collectively, our data identify a previously unknown role of NEP in the cornea, in which pharmacologic inhibition of its activity may provide a novel therapeutic option for patients with corneal injury.
Vibrational spectroscopic monitoring and biochemical analysis of pericellular matrix formation and maturation in a 3-dimensional chondrocyte culture model
Authors: Owida H. A. , Rutter A. V. , Cinque G. , Kuiper N. J. , Sulé-Suso J. , Yang Y.
Published: September 2018

PCA score of FTIR spectra in fingerprint region for cultured chondrocytes at day 7, 14 and 21 in HA hydrogel showing that the 3D culture drove chondrocytes (CY) to chondron-like (CN) structure dynamically.
Brookite TiO2 mesocrystals with enhanced lithium-ion intercalation properties
Authors: Zhang Weifeng , Shen Deli , Liu Zhenwei , Wu Nae-Lih , Wei Mingdeng
Published: September 2018

Brookite TiO2 mesocrystals were synthesized for the first time using amorphous titanate as a precursor, exhibiting a high rate capability.
Reinventing the De Mayo reaction: synthesis of 1,5-diketones or 1,5-ketoesters via visible light [2+2] cycloaddition of β-diketones or β-ketoesters with styrenes
Authors: Martinez-Haya Rebeca , Marzo Leyre , König Burkhard
Published: September 2018

Taking a different route yields the same product of the De Mayo reaction, but allows the use of visible light instead of UV irradiation.
Multidrug salt forms of norfloxacin with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: solubility and membrane permeability studies
Authors: Bhattacharya Biswajit , Mondal Amit , Soni Saundray Raj , Das Susobhan , Bhunia Surojit , Bal Raju K. , Ghosh Animesh , Malla Reddy C.
Published: September 2018

Dissolution properties and membrane permeability studies were conducted for four newly prepared multidrug salts of norfloxacin with four NSAIDs, diclofenac, diflunisal, mefenamic acid and indomethacin.
Separation of p-xylene from aromatic compounds through specific inclusion by acyclic host molecule
Authors: Kawahata Masatoshi , Hyodo Tadashi , Tominaga Masahide , Yamaguchi Kentaro
Published: September 2018

The separation of p-xylene from a mixture of four C8 alkylaromatics has been realized through highly selective inclusion by an adamantane-based molecule via crystallization. Further, the host molecule specifically discriminated p-xylene from eight C8 and C9 aromatic compounds.
Inter-diffusion of Cu2+ ions into CuS nanocrystals confines the microwave absorption properties
Authors: Gu Jiani , Xie Yi , Chen Wenhui , Hu Chao , Qiao Fen , Xu Zhiyuan , Liu Xiaoqing , Zhao Xiujian , Zhang Gaoke
Published: September 2018

The inter-diffusion of Cu2+ cations into CuS nanocrystals generates CuS@Cu2−xS core–shell and Cu2S NCs in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) at varying precursor Cu2+ : Cu+ molar ratios. The inter-diffusion process has a confining effect on the microwave absorption properties.
An Ab initio study on the photophysics of tris(salicylideneaniline)
Authors: Barboza Cristina A. , Sobolewski Andrzej L.
Published: September 2018

Sequential excited-state proton transfers result in multiple band fluorescence spectrum.
Controllable synthesized heterostructure photocatalyst Mo2C@C/2D g-C3N4: enhanced catalytic performance for hydrogen production
Authors: Song Yanhua , Xia Kaixiang , Gong Yimin , Chen Hanxiang , Li Li , Yi Jianjian , She Xiaojie , Chen Zhigang , Wu Jingjie , Li Huaming , Xu Hui
Published: September 2018

Electrons can be trapped and exported to participate in HER reaction by Mo2C@C co-catalyst effectively.
Phosphatidylcholine in the groove of endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) regulates EPCR conformation and protein C recognition
Authors: Prasad Ramesh , Sen Prosenjit
Published: September 2018

Lipid-dependent protein C–EPCR complex formation explains the regulatory role of antigenic lipid within the EPCR groove.
Arsenic trioxide preferentially binds to the ring finger protein PML: understanding target selection of the drug
Authors: Kaiming Cao , Sheng Yaping , Zheng Shihui , Yuan Siming , Huang Guangming , Liu Yangzhong
Published: September 2018

Arsenite preferentially binds to the ring-finger protein of PML and arsenic can transfer from As-bound zinc-fingers to PML.
Synthesis and properties of ionic liquids based on mecoprop
Authors: Pernak Juliusz , Luboiński Adrian , Łacka Agnieszka , Praczyk Tadeusz
Published: September 2018

Ionic liquids as novel herbicidal forms of mecoprop.
Iron-catalysed carbene-transfer reactions of diazo acetonitrile
Authors: Empel Claire , Hock Katharina J. , Koenigs Rene M.
Published: September 2018

Herein we report the flow synthesis of hazardous diazo acetonitrile to enable X–H insertion reactions with a readily available iron catalyst.
Lightweight foams of amine-rich organosilica and cellulose nanofibrils by foaming and controlled condensation of aminosilane
Authors: Gordeyeva Korneliya , Voisin Hugo , Hedin Niklas , Bergström Lennart , Lavoine Nathalie
Published: September 2018

Preparation of stable and lightweight hybrid foams from cellulose nanofibrils (TCNFs) and amine-rich organosilane (AS) by controlled sol–gel chemistry of the AS.
Modeling the relative dynamics of DNA-coated colloids
Authors: Lee-Thorp James P. , Holmes-Cerfon Miranda
Published: September 2018

We construct a theoretical model for the dynamics of a microscale colloidal particle, modeled as an interval, moving horizontally on a DNA-coated surface, modelled as a line coated with springs that can stick to the interval.
Interaction of mammalian and plant H+/sucrose transporters with 14-3-3 proteins
Authors: Vitavska Olga , Bartölke Rabea , Tabke Katharina , Heinisch Jürgen J. , Wieczorek Helmut
Published: September 2018

The solute carrier 45 family (SLC45) was defined in the course of the Human Genome Project and consists of four members, A1–A4, which show only 20–30% identity of amino acid sequences among each other. All these members exhibit an identity of ∼20% to plant H+/sucrose cotransporters. Recently, we expressed members of the murine SLC45 family in yeast cells and demonstrated that they are, like their plant counterparts, H+/sucrose cotransporters. In contrast with the plant proteins, SLC45 transporters recognise also the monosaccharides glucose and fructose as physiological substrates and seem to be involved in alternative sugar supply as well as in osmoregulation of several mammalian tissues. In the present study, we provide novel insights into the regulation of SLC45 transporters. By screening for interaction partners, we found a 14-3-3 protein as a promising candidate for control of transport activity. Indeed, co-expression of the gamma isoform of murine 14-3-3 protein in yeast and Xenopus oocytes led to a significant decrease in transport rates of the murine SLC45 transporters as well as of the plant H+/sucrose transporter Sut1.