Integration and development in schizotypy research : an introduction to the special supplement

In its fifth decade of existence, the construct of schizotypy is recapturing the early scientific interest it attracted when Paul E. Meehl (1920-2003), who coined the term, pioneered the field of schizotypy research. The International Lemanic Workshop on Schizotypy, hosted at the University of Geneva in December 2013, recently offered an opportunity to address some of the fundamental questions in contemporary schizotypy research and situate the construct in the greater scheme of future scientific projects on schizophrenia and psychological health research. What kind of knowledge has schizotypy research provided in furthering our understanding of schizophrenia? What types of questions can schizotypy research tackle, and which are the conceptual and methodological frameworks to address them? How will schizotypy research contribute to future scientific endeavors? The International Lemanic Workshop brought together leading experts in the field around the tasks of articulating the essential findings in schizotypy research, as well as providing some key insights and guidance to face scientific challenges of the future. The current supplement contains 8 position articles, 4 research articles, and 1 invited commentary that outline the state of the art in schizotypy research today

E-Governance and Citizen Information : The Generalitat of Catalonia in the International Context. Research report (synthesis document)

Aquest estudi té com a objectiu principal analitzar les transformacions que s'esdevenen al voltant de la incorporació d'innovacions tecnològiques de l'entorn de les TIC en els processos d'atenció al ciutadà per part de les administracions públiques. Les transformacions que hem analitzat tenen a veure amb tres dimensions que hem considerat bàsiques. D'una banda, ens hem centrat en els canvis que es produeixen en la forma en què els ciutadans (com a principals, tot i que no únics, usuaris) i l'administració es relacionen entre sí. De l'altra hem analitzat les transformacions que s'esdevenen en el funcionament intern i en la pròpia organització de l'administració arran de les transformacions dels canals de comunicació amb els usuaris. Per últim, hem considerat els canvis en la forma de gestionar (dissenyar, planificar, organitzar i dur a terme) el canvi i la innovació, tenint en compte especialment els rols dels diferents actors (no només públics) que hi participen. La recerca es recolza en un ampli estudi empíric sobre la Generalitat de Catalunya i en un estudi compartiu internacional sobre el Quebec, Emillia-Romagna i Escòcia.

Low transformation growth factor-β1 production and collagen synthesis correlate with the lack of hepatic periportal fibrosis development in undernourished mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni

Undernourished mice infected (UI) submitted to low and long-lasting infections by Schistosoma mansoni are unable to develop the hepatic periportal fibrosis that is equivalent to Symmers’ fibrosis in humans. In this report, the effects of the host’s nutritional status on parasite (worm load, egg viability and maturation) and host (growth curves, biology, collagen synthesis and characteristics of the immunological response) were studied and these are considered as interdependent factors influencing the amount and distribution of fibrous tissue in hepatic periovular granulomas and portal spaces. The nutritional status of the host influenced the low body weight and low parasite burden detected in UI mice as well as the number, viability and maturation of released eggs. The reduced oviposition and increased number of degenerated or dead eggs were associated with low protein synthesis detected in deficient hosts, which likely induced the observed decrease in transformation growth factor (TGF)-β1 and liver collagen. Despite the reduced number of mature eggs in UI mice, the activation of TGF-β1 and hepatic stellate cells occurred regardless of the unviability of most miracidia, due to stimulation by fibrogenic proteins and eggshell glycoproteins. However, changes in the repair mechanisms influenced by the nutritional status in deficient animals may account for the decreased liver collagen detected in the present study.

Swiss Democracy on the Web 2010 : Society and Politics in a Connected Age

The rapid adoption of online media like Facebook, Twitter or Wikileaks leaves us with little time to think. Where is information technology taking us, our society and our democratic institutions ? Is the Web replicating social divides that already exist offline or does collaborative technology pave the way for a more equal society ? How do we find the right balance between openness and privacy ? Can social media improve civic participation or do they breed superficial exchange and the promotion of false information ? These and lots of other questions arise when one starts to look at the Internet, society and politics. The first part of this paper gives an overview of the social changes that occur with the rise of the Web. The second part serves as an overview on how the Web is being used for political participation in Switzerland and abroad. Le développement rapide de nouveaux médias comme Facebook, Twitter ou Wikileaks ne laisse que peu de temps à la réflexion. Quels sont les changements que ces technologies de l'information impliquent pour nous, notre société et nos institutions démocratiques ? Internet ne fait-il que reproduire des divisions sociales qui lui préexistent ou constitue-t-il un moyen de lisser et d'égaliser ces mêmes divisions ? Comment trouver le bon équilibre entre transparence et respect de la vie privée ? Les médias sociaux permettent-ils de stimuler la participation politique ou ne sont-ils que le vecteur d'échanges superficiels et de fausses informations ? Ces questions, parmi d'autres, émergent rapidement lorsque l'on s'intéresse à la question des liens entre Internet, la société et la politique. La première partie de ce cahier est consacrée aux changements sociaux générés par l'émergence et le développement d'Internet. La seconde fait l'état des lieux de la manière dont Internet est utilisé pour stimuler la participation politique en Suisse et à l'étranger.

The role of biotic interactions in shaping distributions and realised assemblages of species: implications for species distribution modelling.

Predicting which species will occur together in the future, and where, remains one of the greatest challenges in ecology, and requires a sound understanding of how the abiotic and biotic environments interact with dispersal processes and history across scales. Biotic interactions and their dynamics influence species' relationships to climate, and this also has important implications for predicting future distributions of species. It is already well accepted that biotic interactions shape species' spatial distributions at local spatial extents, but the role of these interactions beyond local extents (e.g. 10 km(2) to global extents) are usually dismissed as unimportant. In this review we consolidate evidence for how biotic interactions shape species distributions beyond local extents and review methods for integrating biotic interactions into species distribution modelling tools. Drawing upon evidence from contemporary and palaeoecological studies of individual species ranges, functional groups, and species richness patterns, we show that biotic interactions have clearly left their mark on species distributions and realised assemblages of species across all spatial extents. We demonstrate this with examples from within and across trophic groups. A range of species distribution modelling tools is available to quantify species environmental relationships and predict species occurrence, such as: (i) integrating pairwise dependencies, (ii) using integrative predictors, and (iii) hybridising species distribution models (SDMs) with dynamic models. These methods have typically only been applied to interacting pairs of species at a single time, require a priori ecological knowledge about which species interact, and due to data paucity must assume that biotic interactions are constant in space and time. To better inform the future development of these models across spatial scales, we call for accelerated collection of spatially and temporally explicit species data. Ideally, these data should be sampled to reflect variation in the underlying environment across large spatial extents, and at fine spatial resolution. Simplified ecosystems where there are relatively few interacting species and sometimes a wealth of existing ecosystem monitoring data (e.g. arctic, alpine or island habitats) offer settings where the development of modelling tools that account for biotic interactions may be less difficult than elsewhere.

Development of the first disease activity index for eosinophilic esophagitis: update on the EEsAI in 2012

Background and Aims: The international E EsAI s tudy g roup is currently d eveloping the first activity index ( EEsAI) specific for E osinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). G oal: T o develop, e valuate and validate the EEsAI. Methods: T he development c omprises three p hases: 1. Selection of c andidate items ( completed); 2. Evaluation of t he activity index i n a first patient cohort (in progress, p atient recruitment completed); and 3. Validation in a s econd EoE patient cohort. F ocus group interviews with patients were used in p hase 1 to g enerate patient r eported outcomes (PRO) according to g uidelines o f regulatory authorities (FDA a nd EMA), whereas the section of biologic items was developed by Delphi rounds o f international E oE experts from E urope and North America. Results: T he EEsAI has a modular c omposition to a ssess the following components o f EoE activity: p atient r eported outcomes, e ndoscopic activity, histologic activity, laboratory activity, a nd quality of l ife (QoL). Definitions for a ll aspects o f endoscopic and histologic appearance were e stablished by consensus r ounds a mong E oE experts. S ymptom a ssessment tools were c reated that t ake into account d ifferent food consistencies as w ell as f ood avoidance and specific processing strategies. The EEsAI i s currently e valuated in a cohort of a dult EoE patients since M arch 2 011 (patient recruitment completed). Conclusions: The EEsAI standardizes outcome assessment in EoE t rials. T he collaboration with i nternational E oE e xperts a s well as f ollowing o f the guidelines f rom regulatory authorities will lead to its wide applicability.

Annual Report of Highway Division Highway Research and Development in Iowa for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2005

The Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation engages in research and development for two reasons: first, to find workable solutions to the many problems that require more than ordinary, routine investigation; second, to identify and implement improved engineering and management practices. This report, entitled Highway Division Highway Research and Development in Iowa, is submitted in compliance with Sections 310.36 and 312.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects, which were in progress on June 30, 2005; it is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, and ending June 30, 2005. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available in the Research and Technology Bureau in the Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Banks and development: Jewish communities in the Italian Renaissance and current economic performance

Are differences in local banking development long-lasting? Do they affect long-term economic performance?I answer these questions by relying on an historical development that occurred in Italian cities during the 15thcentury. A sudden change in the Catholic doctrine had driven the Jews toward money lending. Cities thatwere hosting Jewish communities developed complex banking institutions for two reasons: first, the Jews werethe only people in Italy who were allowed to lend for a profit and, second, the Franciscan reaction to Jewishusury led to the creation of charity lending institutions, the Monti di Pietà, that have survived until today andhave become the basis of the Italian banking system. Using Jewish demography in 1500 as an instrument, Iprovide evidence of (1) an extraordinary persistence in the level of banking development across Italian cities (2)large effects of current local banking development on per-capita income. Additional firm-level analyses suggestthat well-functioning local banks exert large effects on aggregate productivity by reallocating resources towardmore efficient firms. I exploit the expulsion of the Jews from the Spanish territories in Italy in 1541 to arguethat my results are not driven by omitted institutional, cultural and geographical characteristics. In particular,I show that, in Central Italy, the difference in current income between cities that hosted Jewish communitiesand cities that did not exists only in those regions that were not Spanish territories in the 16th century.

Horizontal innovation in the theory of growth and development

We analyze recent contributions to growth theory based on the model of expanding variety of Romer (1990). In the first part, we present different versions of the benchmark linear model with imperfect competition. These include the labequipment model, labor-for-intermediates and directed technical change . We review applications of the expanding variety framework to the analysis of international technology diffusion, trade, cross-country productivity differences, financial development and fluctuations. In many such applications, a key role is played by complementarities in the process of innovation.