From a cycle to a period: the potential role of BDNF as plasticity and phase-specific biomarker in cocaine use disorder

Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD) is one of the diseases with the greatest social and health impact, due to the high cost of rehabilitation management and the high risk of dangerous behavior and relapse. This pathology frequently leads to unsuccessful attempts to interrupt the consumption, resulting in relapses and a vicious circle binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation (craving). The alternation of these phases in addictions was well illustrated by Koob and colleagues in the so-called “addictive cycle”, which nowadays represents a landmark in the addiction field. Recently, there has been an increased interest in the international literature for biomarkers able to explain the several phases of addiction, and one of the most studied biomarkers is undoubtedly Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). In this perspective article, we discuss the potential role of BDNF as biomarker of the CUD phases described in the “Addictive Cycle”, speculating about the close relationship between BDNF fluctuations and the clinical course of CUD. Furthermore, we discuss BDNF potential role as “staging” biomarker, able to predict disease worsening. Finding valuable biomarkers of CUD severity and disease stage could shift clinicians' attention from the perspective of behavioral symptomatic treatment to a novel brain-based approach, allowing more effective and targeted therapeutic strategies to be developed, thus determining major benefits for CUD patients.

The Businesses and the Innovations of Adolf Engel in the Second Half of the 19th Century

The purpose of the study. The study is about the businesses of Adolf Engel, a local entrepreneur of Pécs in the 19th century. The study is focused on finding answers to three main questions. Firstly, in what ways did Adolf Engel’s career differ from other great entrepreneurs of Pécs, such as Zsolnay, Angster or Hamerli? Secondly, how big was Engel’s impact on the local economy and how did he tackle the charcoal crisis by establishing industrial coal mining in Komló? Finally, what kind of innovations did he use and what were their effects? Applied methods. The research is based upon a wide range of sources. A great volume of domestic and international literature and the memoirs of Adolf Engel provided the background of the study. I used statistics of the era and I read numerous articles found in the Arcanum Digitheca and Hungarian Cultural Heritage Portal databases. Furthermore, I revealed and analysed archival sources of the Regional Archives of Baranya County of the National Archives of Hungary. I composed the study in chronological order and have summed up Engel’s work. Outcomes. By the end of the study, I was able to reflect on the differences of Adolf Engel’s entrepreneurial career. He managed multiple businesses in different sectors at the same time. He successfully participated in the development of the local economy and took part in solving the energy crisis. He applied several unusual innovations, but their outcome was undoubtedly positive and successful. Engels’s efforts are clearly telling of the career of a self-made businessman.

Obstacles for Students With Disabilities in the Supervision Process at Postgraduate Level in South Africa

The chapter presents the obstacles in supervision for students with disabilities at post-graduate level in South African higher education. Data were collected through scanning South African and international literature available on Google scholar, ProQuest, in books, journal articles, and online resources. Decolonial theory informed understanding of why the obstacles are confronted by the particular students. The findings revealed limited supervision is the main obstacle. The argument for the chapter is that students with disabilities' obstacles in supervision are far deeper than those seen at surface level.

The Use of New Technologies to Improve Attention in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

The aim of the work is to present the potential use of various technologies in special needs teaching, demonstrating how their use may enhance some basic learning processes in individuals with disabilities. A detailed analysis of national and international literature revealed that most studies have demonstrated that ICT use plays an important role in supporting students with intellectual disability. This article presents two studies. The main objective was to study the role of eye-gaze digital games to improve attentional and motivation abilities in two groups: girls with Rett Syndrome (RTT) and children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Introduction: An Overview of the Research

The ambition for this book is to demonstrate how higher education institutions (HEIs) can respond to societal challenges, support positive social change and influence the international public discourse on social innovation. It attempts to answer the question, ‘how does the present higher education system, in different countries, promote social innovation and create social change and impact’. In answering this question, the book identifies factors driving success as well as obstacles. The book offers suggestions about how the present system can be improved both based on existing data and international literature on social innovation in higher education. The book presents a selected set of peer reviewed chapters presenting different perspectives against which relevant actors can identify and analyse social innovation in HEIs.

THE INTERNATIONAL POPULARISATION OF LESSON STUDY: EARLY STUDIES AND THEIR RELEVANCE IN LATER LITERATURE

Lesson study (LS) is a teachers’ professional development practice with a Japanese origin that, at present, is practiced in more than 30 countries. Literature on LS acknowledges the works of Stigler and Hiebert and of Yoshida in 1999 as the origin of its internationalization. However, earlier studies described its practice and have mostly remained under the radar of LS previous researcher. This historical and documentary literature review sheds light on these previous studies describing LS, analyses their bibliometric relevance, and uncovers the first use of ‘lesson study’ as the terminology adopted in the international literature. Results reveal eight studies clearly describing LS before 1999 and more oblique references in the 1980s. ‘Lesson study’ appeared first in 1997, but we make the case for the previous use of other terminology. Findings also show that only those studies written by authors who later became key in the field of LS have received a high number of citations. These results bring attention to LS-related literature that has infrequently been cited, granting it recognition in the international history of LS, and expanding our current view in relation to its practice.

The Evolution of Rural Tourism in South Africa: An Historical Lens

This paper utilises archival research to provide a glimpse into the historical development of rural tourism in South Africa. It points to the minimal focus on historical studies in international scholarship on rural tourism. The analysis demonstrates rural tourism in South Africa is not a new phenomenon with a recorded history going back as far as the late 19th century. Different rural spaces are shown to be associated with different niche products of rural South Africa. The earliest forms of rural tourism were promoted to both groups of domestic and international visitors. Arguably, the evolutionary pathway of rural tourism in South Africa is different to that which has been documented in the Global North. Overall, the paper represents a contribution to the limited international literature on rural tourism in its historical aspects as well as to evolving rural tourism scholarship in South Africa. In addition, it offers an historical window on issues of tourism and change in the Global South.

The role of an anesthesiologist in the pandemic of uncontrolled use of psychotropic drugs

In the modern world, the number of people using various psychotropic drugs increases every day. The situation that has been described in recent decades associated with the use of narcotic and not criminalized substances in international literature as the OPIOID + (plus) crisis. According to statistics, over the past few years, officially registered deaths from drug overdose have exceeded 70,000 in the United States. Leading causes were synthetic opioids, psychostimulants, and cocaine. This includes prescription opioids, opiates, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants. All aforementioned drugs are used in combination with each other, with alcohol or psychotropic marijuana. For humans, biological, social, and psychological factors are cause the initiation of psychoactive drugs. Due to the lack of a well-functioning medical care system for patients with chronic pain, doctors of all specialties treat pain. In this article, we consider the current situation with mind-altering drugs and apply the role of the anesthesiologist in reducing the growth rate of the opioid pandemic.

Prospettive teoriche per prevenire i processi di micro-radicalizzazione. Il ruolo della famiglia e dei contesti parentali

The first part of the article is focused on the analysis of the theoretical framework on radicalization phenomena, describing how the scientific debate has only recently considered research that have focused on the phenomena of micro-radicalization and radicalization in everyday life. The second and last part of this contribution describes how the family and parental system can become, at various levels, a promising context for preventing the phenomena of radicalization and violent radicalization (P/CVE). In the conclusion, the paper uses national and international literature for defining possible levels of educational intervention in collaboration with families.

All-inclusive LSP dictionaries and the Slovene–English Dictionary of Tourism

The chapter analyses some of the features of TURS, the Slovene LSP Dictionary of Tourism (Mikolič et al., 2011) against the terminographic guidelines from Slovene and international literature, and proposes improvements for its future updates. Arguments are based on the concept of the so-called all-inclusive dictionary (Fuertes-Olivera, 2011), which caters for a wide range of user groups and needs; the chapter argues it is necessary nowadays for all publicly-funded terminographic projects to be implemented applying the all-inclusive principle. This is because online terminological sources are widely available, and, thus, used by all user categories (hence dictionaries should cater to all of them). The chief focus of this chapter is the treatment of homonyms in TURS, particularly in relation to the implications that has for its bilingual aspect (the latter often being neglected in Slovene terminography).