Resultados del Primer Programa de Movilidad Académica Regional Estudiantil (MARCA) en el Instituto Universitario CEMIC

El MARCA, primer programa de movilidad de estudiantes de grado, se desarrolla entre países del MERCOSUR durante los períodos lectivos académicos semestrales. Participan carreras acreditadas por el Mecanismo Experimental de Acreditación de Carreras de Grado del MERCOSUR (MEXA), promovido desde el Sector Educativo del MERCOSUR, que definió a la acreditación, la movilidad y la cooperación interinstitucional como las líneas prioritarias para Educación Superior. En Argentina, las Carreras de Medicina del IUC y de las Universidades Nacionales de Tucumán y Cuyo acreditaron por el MEXA. Desde 2008 el IUC participa en el MARCA, habiendo enviando 8 alumnos argentinos (Bolivia 4 y Uruguay 4) y recibido 14 extranjeros (Bolivia 8, Paraguay 2, Brasil 2 y Uruguay 2). Al regreso, 15 respondieron un formulario de evaluación, de cuyo análisis surgió que la experiencia fue altamente positiva, no habiendo problemas importantes de integración individual o curricular, ni administrativos. El 70% de los alumnos manifestó que se cumplieron sus expectativas. Las dificultades fueron: el idioma, en el caso de los argentinos (portugués), y la calidad del alojamiento, por motivos económicos. Conclusiones: el Programa no sólo mostró que la movilidad estudiantil es posible, sino que resulta altamente positiva en términos de integración curricular y cultural

Investigation on Opisthorchis felineus occurrence and life cycle in Italy

Opisthorchiasis is a fish borne parasitic infection caused by helminths of the genus Opisthorchis (Digenea, Opisthorchiidae), affecting humans and other fish-eating mammals. Despite Opisthorchis felineus was first described in Italy in 1884, no cases of human opisthorchiasis were reported in this country until 2004; from then on, 4 outbreaks due to this species have been recorded in Central Italy. Following the more relevant of these outbreaks, involving 34 people in August 2007, snails, fishes and fecal samples collected from the Bolsena and Bracciano lakes (Central Italy) were analyzed in order to define the cycle of O. felineus in the area and investigate its prevalence in the different hosts. Pools of 20–40 snails each (4983 specimens altogether) of the genus Bithynia were analyzed by PCR for parasite DNA detection. Eight hundred and ninety-four fish belonging to 12 species were collected from the two lakes and tested for metacercariae both by muscle compression and digestion techniques. Eighty-seven fecal samples of 5 putative definitive host species were collected very close to the two lakes and tested for parasite eggs detection by formalin–ethyl acetate concentration technique. Identification at the species level of metacercariae and eggs, respectively, from fish and stool was confirmed by PCR analysis and sequencing. O. felineus DNA was detected in 0.08% (overall minimum infection rate) of snails of the genus Bithynia from the two lakes. The tench, Tinca tinca, was the only fish found infested in both lakes (prevalence 88.5%). O. felineus eggs were found only in cat feces (prevalence 46.4%). The tench represents the only threat for the human consumption in the study area while Coregonus sp., the most economically important species for the local fishery and frequently consumed raw marinated, resulted to be not infected. The high prevalence recorded both in fish and in definitive host suggests a widespread and massive presence of the parasite in the area. Further studies are needed to better investigate the possible role of some cyprinids species as intermediate hosts, in order to check their safety for human consumption

On proxy variables and categorical data fusion

The problem of inference about the joint distribution of two categorical variables based on knowledge or observations of their marginal distributions, to be referred to as categorical data fusion in this paper, is relevant in statistical matching, ecological inference, market research, and several other related fields. This article organizes the use of proxy variables, to be distinguished from other auxiliary variables, both in terms of their effects on the uncertainty of fusion and the techniques of fusion. A measure of the gains of efficiency is provided, which incorporates both the identification uncertainty associated with data fusion and the sampling uncertainty that arises when the theoretical bounds of the uncertainty space are unknown and need to be estimated. Several existing techniques for generating fusion distributions (or datasets) are described and some new ones proposed. Analysis of real-life data demonstrates empirically that proxy variables can make data fusion more precise and the constructed fusion distribution more plausible

Exploring the role of Hamiltonian expressibility in ansatz selection for variational quantum algorithms

LAUREA MAGISTRALEGli algoritmi quantistici variazionali (VQA) offrono un promettente approccio ibrido classico-quantistico che sfrutta le capacità limitate dei moderni dispositivi quantistici Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ). Questi algoritmi utilizzano un circuito quantistico parametrico, o ansatz, i cui parametri sono ottimizzati da algoritmi classici con l'obiettivo di minimizzare una funzione di costo. Un esempio chiave è il Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE), che cerca il ground state di un operatore Hamiltoniano minimizzando il suo valore atteso sullo stato prodotto dal circuito. La selezione di un ansatz appropriato è cruciale per risolvere un determinato problema in modo efficiente e richiede un bilanciamento tra fattori contrastanti come risorse computazionali, tempo e accuratezza della soluzione. In questo contesto, è stato proposto il concetto di expressibility come metrica per quantificare la capacità di un circuito di esplorare o lo spazio degli stati quantistici (state expressibility) o lo spazio di energie del problema (Hamiltonian expressibility), in modo simile alla distribuzione di Haar. Tale proprietà dovrebbe idealmente garantire una maggiore probabilità di trovare una buona soluzione. Nel nostro lavoro, conduciamo un'analisi dettagliata della Hamiltonian expressibility applicando un metodo Monte Carlo per stimarla su un insieme di circuiti noti per problemi con 4 e 8 qubit. Esploriamo la relazione tra la profondità dell'ansatz e expressibility, identifichiamo i circuiti più e meno Hamiltonian-espressivi per diverse classi di problemi e, cosa più importante, applichiamo il protocollo VQE per addestrare ogni ansatz su tutti i problemi al fine di rilevare eventuali correlazioni tra l'accuratezza della soluzione finale e la Hamiltonian expressibility o altre metriche ad essa correlate. I nostri risultati suggeriscono che, per problemi di piccole dimensioni, queste metriche possono aiutare a selezionare l'ansatz più adatto. In particolare, notiamo che gli ansatz con alta Hamiltonian expressibility performano meglio per problemi con Hamiltoniani non diagonali o soluzioni in stato di sovrapposizione, mentre i circuiti meno espressivi sono più efficaci per problemi con Hamiltoniani diagonali o soluzioni in stati della base computazionale. Tuttavia, per sistemi di dimensioni maggiori, queste correlazioni si indeboliscono, probabilmente a causa dei barren plateaus, che sono stati collegati ad alti valori di expressibility e limitano la capacità di addestramento dei VQA.Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) offer a promising hybrid classical-quantum approach that leverages the limited capabilities of modern Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices. They use a parametric quantum circuit, or ansatz, whose parameters are optimized by classical algorithms aiming to minimize a cost function. A key example is the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE), which seeks the ground state of a Hamiltonian operator by minimizing its expectation value on the output state of the circuit. Selecting an appropriate ansatz is critical to solve a given problem efficiently, and requires balancing conflicting factors such as computational resources, time, and solution accuracy. In this regard, the concept of expressibility has been proposed as a a metric to quantify a circuit ability to explore either the quantum state space (state expressibility) or the problem energy landscape (Hamiltonian expressibility) similarly to the Haar distribution. Such property should ideally grant a better probability of finding a high-quality solution. In our work, we conduct a detailed analysis of Hamiltonian expressibility by applying a Monte Carlo method to estimate such metric for a set of known circuits on 4 and 8-qubit problems. We explore the relationship between ansatz depth and expressibility, identify the most and least Hamiltonian-expressive circuits for different problem classes, and, most importantly, apply the VQE protocol to train each ansatz across all problems to detect any correlation between final solution accuracy and Hamiltonian expressibility or other related metrics. Our results suggest that, for small problems, these metrics can help to select the most suitable ansatz. Specifically, we find that Hamiltonian-expressive ansatzes perform better for problems with non-diagonal Hamiltonians or superposition state solutions, while less expressive circuits are more effective for problems with diagonal Hamiltonians or basis state solutions. However, for larger systems, these correlations weaken, likely due to barren plateaus, which have been linked to high expressibility, and limit trainability of VQAs

Ubiquitin D regulates IRE1 α/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) protein-dependent apoptosis in pancreatic beta cells

Pro-inflammatory cytokines contribute to pancreatic beta cell apoptosis in type 1 diabetes at least in part by inducing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the consequent unfolded protein response (UPR). It remains to be determined what causes the transition from "physiological" to "apoptotic" UPR, but accumulating evidence indicates that signaling by the ER transmembrane protein IRE1 alpha is critical for this transition. IRE1 alpha activation is regulated by both intra-ER and cytosolic cues. We evaluated the role for the presently discovered cytokine-induced and IRE1 alpha-interacting protein ubiquitin D (UBD) on the regulation of IRE1 alpha and its downstream targets. UBD was identified by use of a MAPPIT (mammalian protein-protein interaction trap)-based IRE1 alpha interactome screen followed by comparison against functional genomic analysis of human and rodent beta cells exposed to pro-inflammatory cytokines. Knockdown ofUBDin human and rodent beta cells and detailed signal transduction studies indicated that UBD modulates cytokine-induced UPR/IRE1 alpha activation and apoptosis. UBD expression is induced by the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1 beta and interferon (IFN)-gamma in rat and human pancreatic beta cells, and it is also up-regulated in beta cells of inflamed islets from non-obese diabetic mice. UBD interacts with IRE1 alpha in human and rodent beta cells, modulating IRE1 alpha-dependent activation of JNK and cytokine-induced apoptosis. Our data suggest that UBD provides a negative feedback on cytokine-induced activation of the IRE1 alpha/JNK pro-apoptotic pathway in cytokine-exposed beta cells

Interaction between MyRIP and the actin cytoskeleton regulates Weibel-Palade body trafficking and exocytosis.

Weibel-Palade body (WPB)-actin interactions are essential for the trafficking and secretion of von Willebrand factor, yet, the molecular basis for this interaction remains poorly defined. Myosin Va (MyoVa) is recruited to WPBs by a Rab27A-MyRIP complex and is thought to be the prime mediator of actin binding, however, direct MyRIP-actin interactions can also occur. To evaluate the specific contribution of MyRIP-actin and MyRIP-MyoVa binding in WPB trafficking and Ca(2+)-driven exocytosis we used EGFP-MyRIP point mutants with disrupted MyoVa and/or actin binding and high-speed live-cell fluorescence microscopy. We now show that the ability of MyRIP to restrict WPB movement depends upon its actin rather than MyoVa binding properties. We also show that although the role of MyRIP in Ca(2+)-driven exocytosis requires both MyoVa and actin binding potential, it is the latter that plays a dominant role. In view of these results and together with the analysis of actin disruption or stabilisation experiments we propose that the role of MyRIP in regulating WPB trafficking and exocytosis is mediated largely through its interaction with actin rather than with MyoVa

Rab3D is critical for secretory granule maturation in PC12 cells.

Neuropeptide- and hormone-containing secretory granules (SGs) are synthesized at the trans-Golgi network (TGN) as immature secretory granules (ISGs) and complete their maturation in the F-actin-rich cell cortex. This maturation process is characterized by acidification-dependent processing of cargo proteins, condensation of the SG matrix and removal of membrane and proteins not destined to mature secretory granules (MSGs). Here we addressed a potential role of Rab3 isoforms in these maturation steps by expressing their nucleotide-binding deficient mutants in PC12 cells. Our data show that the presence of Rab3D(N135I) decreases the restriction of maturing SGs to the F-actin-rich cell cortex, blocks the removal of the endoprotease furin from SGs and impedes the processing of the luminal SG protein secretogranin II. This strongly suggests that Rab3D is implicated in the subcellular localization and maturation of ISGs

Towards more resilient economies in Alpine regions

The economic crisis the world has faced since 2007 has had devastating effects on many regions to various degrees. How regions respond to economic shock depends on regional economic structure and performance, administrative capacity, resources, human capital, social capital, and other factors, and is perceived as resilience: the ability of a regional economy to withstand, absorb, or overcome an external economic stress. Because one of the future strategic goals for the Alpine Space Programme area is fostering its resilience, we studied the performance of Alpine regions in the pre- and post-crisis period in order to assess the effects of the economic crisis and to provide basic directions on how to make the Alps more resilient in the future. The results have revealed differences among three selected groups of regions as well as some country-specific characteristics of the regional response that can generally be seen in the weaker performance of some Italian and Slovenian regions