Vascular and metabolic risk factors of late-life depression

in Vessel Plus (2022)

Mitochondria preserve an autarkic one-carbon cycle to confer growth-independent cancer cell migration and metastasis

in Nature Communications (2022)

Metastasis is the most common cause of death in cancer patients. Canonical drugs target mainly the proliferative capacity of cancer cells, which leaves slow-proliferating, persistent cancer cells ... [more ▼]

Metastasis is the most common cause of death in cancer patients. Canonical drugs target mainly the proliferative capacity of cancer cells, which leaves slow-proliferating, persistent cancer cells unaffected. Metabolic determinants that contribute to growth-independent functions are still poorly understood. Here we show that antifolate treatment results in an uncoupled and autarkic mitochondrial one-carbon (1C) metabolism during cytosolic 1C metabolism impairment. Interestingly, antifolate dependent growth-arrest does not correlate with decreased migration capacity. Therefore, using methotrexate as a tool compound allows us to disentangle proliferation and migration to profile the metabolic phenotype of migrating cells. We observe that increased serine de novo synthesis (SSP) supports mitochondrial serine catabolism and inhibition of SSP using the competitive PHGDH-inhibitor BI-4916 reduces cancer cell migration. Furthermore, we show that sole inhibition of mitochondrial serine catabolism does not affect primary breast tumor growth but strongly inhibits pulmonary metastasis. We conclude that mitochondrial 1C metabolism, despite being dispensable for proliferative capacities, confers an advantage to cancer cells by supporting their motility potential. [less ▲]

Subjective age, worry and risk-related perceptions in older adults in times of a pandemic

in PLoS ONE (2022), 17(9), 0274293

During the Covid-19 pandemic, older people have been in the spotlight of the public debate. Given their higher risk of severe outcomes of the disease, they have been described as especially vulnerable and ... [more ▼]

During the Covid-19 pandemic, older people have been in the spotlight of the public debate. Given their higher risk of severe outcomes of the disease, they have been described as especially vulnerable and as a burden to others and society. We thus wanted to investigate how older people’s perception of their own age, that is their subjective age, as well as their Covid-19 related risks and worries were related during the pandemic and whether these relationships varied according to participants’ subjective health. We used data from the longitudinal CRISIS study which was conducted in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg in June and October 2020. Participants were aged 60–98 and responded on questionnaires regarding their subjective age, worry of falling ill with Covid-19, perceived risk of contracting the virus, perceived risk of falling seriously ill if they contracted Covid-19, as well as their subjective health and covariates. Three cross-lagged panel models were constructed to explore the longitudinal, bidirectional relationships between the variables. Cross-sectionally, a higher subjective age was related to more perceived risk of a serious course of disease. Longitudinally, subjective age and worry did not show any significant association over time, and neither did subjective age and perceived risk of contracting the virus. However, subjective health significantly moderated the relationship of worry and subjective age, showing different trajectories in the relationship depending on whether subjective health was good or bad. Higher perceived risk of falling seriously ill increased subjective age over time. Again, subjective health moderated this relationship: the perceived risk of falling seriously ill affected subjective age only for those with better subjective health. Our findings show the interactive relationship between subjective age and Covid-19 related cognitions and emotions and provide guidance for identifying older people that are most susceptible for negative age-related communication during the pandemic. [less ▲]

Adverse ‘native speaker’ effects on Anglophones in the multilingual workplace

in Hůlková, Irena; Povolná, Renata; Vogel, Radek (Eds.) Patterns and Variation in English Language Discourse. 9th Brno Conference on Linguistics Studies in English (2022)

Exploring social effects of differentiation between “native and non-native” varieties of English, the presented study followed six Anglophone trainees in a transnational unit of an EU institution situated ... [more ▼]

Exploring social effects of differentiation between “native and non-native” varieties of English, the presented study followed six Anglophone trainees in a transnational unit of an EU institution situated in Luxembourg. Data were gathered qualitatively in 2018-19, combining on-site observations, longitudinal-, and one-off interviews. The interviewing incited participants’ reflections on language practices and mapped their discursive positioning of the “native English speakers”. Conclusions drawn from a sociolinguistic analysis of stances show that despite the vagueness and no clearly definable linguistic characteristics of the “native English” notion, its employment brought distinct negative effects to the participants’ experience. The contribution highlights the social constructivist character of the native/non-native dichotomy and draws attention to its adverse effects in the multilingual workplace. [less ▲]

Derived Parabolic induction

in Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society (2022), 54(1), 264-274

Essays on the Economics of Migration, Inequalities, and Culture

Doctoral thesis (2022)

The present doctoral thesis consists of three chapters of self-contained works about the economics of migration, inequalities, and culture. In the first chapter, I introduce the thesis outline and discuss ... [more ▼]

The present doctoral thesis consists of three chapters of self-contained works about the economics of migration, inequalities, and culture. In the first chapter, I introduce the thesis outline and discuss each chapter's research questions. The second chapter explores the effects of mass migration on individual attitudes towards migrants. Using several data sources for the mass migration of Ukrainians in Poland between 2014-2016, this chapter is focused on how a massive exogenous increase in the stock of migrant residents and migrant co-workers affects the perception of migrants. Using both an IV methodology and a difference-in-difference analysis, I test two hypotheses: the labor market competition and contact theory, and find some evidence favoring the second. First, difference-in-difference analysis shows that Poles become more welcoming to migrants in regions with more job opportunities for migrants. Second, I find that an increase in the size of the migrant group affects attitudes towards migrants positively, inside a group of natives with similar demographic and job skills characteristics. The third chapter explores how poverty can be explained by marital status and gender, using the RLMS-HSE household survey. This research shows that divorced women exhibit lower poverty levels than divorced men by employing longitudinal data from the Russian National Survey (RLMS-HSE) from 2004 to 2019. The result remains qualitatively invariant when considering a theoretical probability to divorce for married couples that take into account the age of the partners, labor force participation, and education. A higher probability to divorce impacts positively only men's poverty level. Investigating an inter-related dynamic model of poverty and labor market participation, we find that divorced women work more than divorced men, which is why divorce hits harder on husbands than on wives. In the fourth chapter of the thesis, we study the effect of past exposure to communist indoctrination during early age (9-14 years) on a set of crucial attitudes in the communist ideology aiming to create the \emph{new communist man/woman}. We focus on the indoctrination received by children during their pioneering years. School pupils automatically became pioneers when they reached 3rd or 4th grade. The purpose of the pioneer years was to educate soviet children to be loyal to the ideals of communism and the Party. We use a regression discontinuity design exploiting the discontinuity in the exposure to pioneering years due to the fall of the USSR in 1991, implying a strong association that hints to causality. We find robust evidence that has been a pioneer has long-lasting effects on interpersonal trust, life satisfaction, fertility, income, and perception of own economic rank. Overall, these results suggest that past pioneers show a higher level of optimism than non-pioneers. Finally, we look for gender differences because various forms of emulation campaigns were used to promote the desired virtues of the new communist woman. However, we find no evidence of the effect of exposure to communism on women. The indoctrination seems to have left more substantial effects on men. [less ▲]

Rezension Marvin Bartels: Ethik und Patentrecht. Verhältnisse und Wechselwirkungen zwischen Ethik und Patentrecht vor dem Hintergrund innovativer Biotechnologien. 2020.

in Intellectual Property Journal (2022)

Emerging ecologies and changing relations: a brief manifesto for histories of education after COVID-19

in Paedagogica Historica (2022)

he paper draws upon photography as an active intervention into compromised environments and uses it to discover and develop new perspectives on past and future histories of education after COVID-19. These ... [more ▼]

he paper draws upon photography as an active intervention into compromised environments and uses it to discover and develop new perspectives on past and future histories of education after COVID-19. These perspectives become particularly clear when seen against the backdrop of recent discussions on planetary responsibility and shared ecologies. The paper suggests that we shift our research agendas away from anthropocentric world views that have placed great emphasis on human sovereignty, modernisation, progress and/or decline, nation states and global governance, and the stratifying effects of education systems, without reflecting their ecological consequences. It argues that anthropocentric approaches to history of education have neglected the openness and vulnerability of the human body and its ethical, cultural and social proximity to other living creatures and the material world. The paper therefore focuses on what it means for historians of education to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, what it means to change research perspectives, and what it means to look at photographs that were produced in a state of exception. The paper sets out to propose a manifesto for a post-anthropocentric research agenda that anchors history of education and the history of pandemics in intertwined ecologies of the living and material worlds. The paper suggests that future histories of education cannot be written without considering the COVID-19 crisis as both a challenge and an encouragement to further develop our understanding of education. [less ▲]

The rise of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs): a first empirical glimpse

in Venture Capital (2022)

Blockchain technology and smart contracts are catalysts for decentralization and disintermediation. These new technologies reduce transaction costs, agency costs, and offer a basis for trustless social ... [more ▼]

Blockchain technology and smart contracts are catalysts for decentralization and disintermediation. These new technologies reduce transaction costs, agency costs, and offer a basis for trustless social and economic interactions. They are fueling new business models for decentralized platforms and have revolutionized crowdfunding. A recent trend, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), stands to fundamentally transform organizing and governance. DAOs are blockchain-native, decentralized organizations that are collectively owned and managed by their members via smart contracts. In this note, we assess the promises and challenges of DAOs, with a focus on decentralized governance and disintermediation, and offer a first empirical glimpse at the rise and functioning of DAOs. Overall, DAOs may introduce a new era in organizational economics, transforming the global corporate landscape from hierarchical organizations to democratic and distributed organizations powered by organizational entrepreneurship and innovations. [less ▲]

Rapid artificial intelligence solutions in a pandemic—The COVID-19-20 Lung CT Lesion Segmentation Challenge

in Medical Image Analysis (2022)

Artificial intelligence (AI) methods for the automatic detection and quantification of COVID-19 lesions in chest computed tomography (CT) might play an important role in the monitoring and management of ... [more ▼]

Artificial intelligence (AI) methods for the automatic detection and quantification of COVID-19 lesions in chest computed tomography (CT) might play an important role in the monitoring and management of the disease. We organized an international challenge and competition for the development and comparison of AI algorithms for this task, which we supported with public data and state-of-the-art benchmark methods. Board Certified Radiologists annotated 295 public images from two sources (A and B) for algorithms training (n=199, source A), validation (n=50, source A) and testing (n=23, source A; n=23, source B). There were 1,096 registered teams of which 225 and 98 completed the validation and testing phases, respectively. The challenge showed that AI models could be rapidly designed by diverse teams with the potential to measure disease or facilitate timely and patient-specific interventions. This paper provides an overview and the major outcomes of the COVID-19 Lung CT Lesion Segmentation Challenge - 2020. [less ▲]