Identification of possible differences in coding and non coding fragments of DNA sequences by using the method of the Recurrence Quantification Analysis

Starting with the results of Li et al. in 1992 there is valuable interest in finding long range correlations in DNA sequences since it raises questions about the role of introns and intron-containing genes. In the present paper we studied two sequences that are the human T-cell receptor alpha/delta locus, Gen-Bank name HUMTCRADCV, a noncoding chromosomal fragment of M = 97630 bases (composed of less than 10% of coding regions), and the Escherichia Coli K12, Gen-Bank name ECO110K, a genomic fragment with M = 111401 bases consisting of mostly coding regions and containing more that 80% of coding regions. We attributed the value (+1) to the purines and the value (-1) to the pirimidines and to such reconstructed random walk we applied the method of the Recurrence Quantification Analysis(RQA) that was introduced by Zbilut and Webber in 1994. By using dimension D=1 and Embedded Dimensions D=3 and D=5, we obtain some indicative results. Also by a simple eye examination of the reconstructed maps, the differences between coding and non coding regions are evident and impressive and consist in the presence in noncoding regions of long patches of the same colour that are absent in the coding sequence. At first sight this suggests a simple explanation to the concept of „long-range‟ correlation. On the quantitative plane, we used the %Rec., the %Det., the Ratio, the Entropy, the %Lam., and the Lmax that, as explained in detail in the text, represent the basic variables of RQA. The significant result that we have here is that both Lmax and Laminarity exhibit very large values in HUMTCRADCV and actually different in values respect to ECO110K where such variables assume more modest values. Therefore we suggest that there is the observed difference between HUMTCRADCV and ECO110K. The claimed higher long-range correlations of introns respect to exons from many authors may be explained here in reasonof such found higher values of Lmax and of Laminarity in HUMTCRADCV respect to ECO110K

Insulin signaling in insulin resistance states and cancer: A modeling analysis

Insulin resistance is the common denominator of several diseases including type 2 diabetes and cancer, and investigating the mechanisms responsible for insulin signaling impairment is of primary importance. A mathematical model of the insulin signaling network (ISN) is proposed and used to investigate the dose-response curves of components of this network. Experimental data of C2C12 myoblasts with phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) suppressed and data of L6 myotubes with induced insulin resistance have been analyzed by the model. We focused particularly on single and double Akt phosphorylation and pointed out insulin signaling changes related to insulin resistance. Moreover, a new characterization of the upstream signaling of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2) is presented. As it is widely recognized that ISN proteins have a crucial role also in cell proliferation and death, the ISN model was linked to a cell population model and applied to data of a cell line of acute myeloid leukemia treated with a mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor with antitumor activity. The analysis revealed simple relationships among the concentrations of ISN proteins and the parameters of the cell population model that characterize cell cycle progression and cell death

Cooperative Localization and SLAM Based on the Extended Information Filter

Virtual realit

«Una sorta di intelligenza iconica». Immagine e conoscenza intuitiva

After outlining some theoretical key points in the correspondence between Gottfried Boehm and Thomas Mitchell, this essay aims at examining how the act of seeing can lead to an intuitive form of knowledge. Particular attention will be paid to the concept of «iconic» developed by Max Imdahl and to Robert Rosenblum’s attempt to apply Panofskian iconology to non-objectual art

Per un’estetica dell’illusionismo

Hyperrealism has played a key role in contemporary art since the early Sixties. After analysing the theoretical reasons lying at the core of the centuries-old blame of illusionistic artworks which stake everything on the annihilation of any difference between the image and its referent, this essay shall also show why and how what was traditionally regarded as both an intrisic and insourmontable weakness could become a highly praised, albeit problematic plus point. To achieve this goal, I will focus on a paradigmatic case study such as Duane Hanson’s Lunch Break, as well as on its reinterpretation and remediation by Sharon Lockhart.La questione dell’iperrealismo ha assunto un’importanza crescente nell’arte contemporanea a partire dai primi anni Sessanta del Novecento. Il saggio intende offrire una ricostruzione delle ragioni teoriche alla base della millenaria condanna di opere che puntano tutto sull’indistinguibilità tra immagine e realtà, mostrando come quella che è stata a lungo considerata come una loro intrinseca debolezza abbia potuto trasformarsi nel loro principale punto di forza. Per far ciò ci si concentrerà su un caso emblematico come quello di Lunch Break di Duane Hanson, nonché sulla sua rilettura (e rimediazione) da parte di Sharon Lockhart