Le flotte degli Austrias e gli scali italiani: una messa a punto

open2noLa minaccia delle armate ottomane e dei corsari barbareschi costrinse fin dal Cinquecento la Spagna a dotarsi e a potenziare progressivamente una flotta di galere organizzata insquadre, che nello spazio geopolitico “italiano” faceva capo ai domini che avevano una proiezione marittima (Regni di Napoli, Sicilia, Sardegna) e al porto “collegato” di Genova. Inoltre, per favorire la navigazione entro i confini del Mediterraneo occidentale vennero acquisiti nuovi territori (lo Stato dei presidi, l’enclave feudale del Finale) e si concertò con il governo della Repubblica di Genova l’uso degli scali liguri. La guerra marittima nelle sue svariate forme fu pertanto alla base di una elaborata organizzazione logistica e strategica, che si conferma uno dei tratti salienti della potenza asburgica nella prima età moderna.Since the sixteenth century, the threat of Ottoman armies and Barbary corsairs forced Spain to gradually equip and upgrade a fleet of galleys - organized in teams - which in the "Italian" geopolitical space was headed by the domains that had a maritime projection (Kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, Sardinia) and the "connected" port of Genoa. Furthermore, new territories (the State of the Presidi, the feudal enclave of Finale) were acquired to facilitate navigation within the western Mediterranean borders and the use of Ligurian ports was negotiated with the Republic of Genoa. The maritime war in its various forms was therefore at the base of an elaborate logistic and strategic organization, which is confirmed as one of the salient features of the Habsburg power in the early Modern AgeopenCalcagno, Paolo; Favarò, ValentinaCalcagno, Paolo; Favarò, Valentin

Plasma membrane calcium ATPase (PMCA4): A housekeeper for RT-PCR relative quantification of polytopic membrane proteins

BACKGROUND: Although relative quantification of real-time RT-PCR data can provide valuable information, one limitation remains the selection of an appropriate reference gene. No one gene has emerged as a universal reference gene and much debate surrounds some of the more commonly used reference genes, such as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). At this time, no gene encoding for a plasma membrane protein serves as a reference gene, and relative quantification of plasma membrane proteins is performed with genes encoding soluble proteins, which differ greatly in quantity and in targeting and trafficking from plasma membrane proteins. In this work, our aim was to identify a housekeeping gene, ideally one that codes for a plasma membrane protein, whose expression remains the same regardless of drug treatment and across a wide range of tissues to be used for relative quantification of real-time RT-PCR data for ATP binding cassette (ABC) plasma membrane transporters. RESULTS: In studies evaluating the expression levels of two commonly used reference genes coding for soluble proteins and two genes coding for membrane proteins, one plasma membrane protein, plasma membrane calcium-ATPase 4 (PMCA4), was comparable to the two reference genes already in use. In addition, PMCA4 expression shows little variation across eight drug-treated cell lines and was found to be superior to GAPDH and HPRT1, commonly used reference genes. Finally, we show PMCA4 used as a reference gene for normalizing ABC transporter expression in a drug-resistant lung carcinoma cell line. CONCLUSION: We have found that PMCA4 is a good housekeeping gene for normalization of gene expression for polytopic membrane proteins including transporters and receptors

Static Code Verification Through Process Models

In this extended abstract, we combine two techniques for program verification: one is Hoare-style static verification, and the other is model checking of state transition systems. We relate the two techniques semantically through the use of a ghost variable. Actions that are performed by the program can be logged into this variable, building an event structure as its value. We require the event structure to grow incrementally by construction, giving it behavior suitable for model checking. Invariants specify a correspondence between the event structure and the program state. The combined power of model checking and static code verification with separation logic based reasoning, gives a new and intuitive way to do program verification. We describe our idea in a tool-agnostic way: we do not give implementation details, nor do we assume that the static verification tool to which our idea might apply is implemented in a particular way

Differences in the Prevalence of Non-Communicable Disease between Slum Dwellers and the General Population in a Large Urban Area in Brazil.

Residents of urban slums are at greater risk for disease than their non-slum dwelling urban counterparts. We sought to contrast the prevalences of selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs) between Brazilian adults living in a slum and the general population of the same city, by comparing the age and sex-standardized prevalences of selected NCDs from a 2010 survey in Pau da Lima, Salvador Brazil, with a 2010 national population-based telephone survey. NCD prevalences in both populations were similar for hypertension (23.6% (95% CI 20.9⁻26.4) and 22.9% (21.2⁻24.6), respectively) and for dyslipidemia (22.7% (19.8⁻25.5) and 21.5% (19.7⁻23.4)). Slum residents had higher prevalences of diabetes mellitus (10.1% (7.9⁻12.3)) and of overweight/obesity (46.5% (43.1⁻49.9)), compared to 5.2% (4.2⁻6.1) and 40.6% (38.5⁻42.8) of the general population in Salvador. Fourteen percent (14.5% (12.1⁻17.0)) of slum residents smoked cigarettes compared to 8.3% (7.1⁻9.5) of the general population in Salvador. The national telephone survey underestimated the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, overweight/obesity, and smoking in the slum population, likely in part due to differential sampling inside and outside of slums. Further research and targeted policies are needed to mitigate these inequalities, which could have significant economic and social impacts on slum residents and their communities

A possible explanation for the discrepancy between ELISA and neutralising antibodies to tetanus toxin

The structure and protective activity of tetanus antibodies elicited in rabbits after whole-cell pertussis diphtheria-tetanus vaccine (DTPw) vaccination was studied. ELISA antibody levels and toxin neutralisation activity (TNT) were measured in individual serum samples. The ratio of symmetric and asymmetric (functionally monovalent) IgG molecules was determined by concanavalin A (Con A) chromatography. This test is based on the fact that the carbohydrate group responsible for the molecular asymmetry has high affinity for the lectin Con A. Asymmetric molecule ratio was observed to increase with immunisation time, as well as differences between TNT and ELISA levels. All serum samples were overestimated by ELISA as compared to TNT assay, in line with the markedly higher proportion of asymmetric molecules which have lower toxin neutralising activity. Protective levels could not be predicted reasonably from ELISA results below 0.222 IU/ml, because this methodology fails to discriminate between both types of antibodies and only an in vivo serum neutralisation procedure (TNT) reflects the true neutralising serum activity. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.Fil: Dokmetjian, Jose Christian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Della Valle, C.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Lavigne, V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: De Luján, Calcagno M.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Físico Matemática; ArgentinaFil: Manghi, Marcela Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; Argentin

Effects of ivabradine on residual myocardial ischemia after PCI evaluated by stress echocardiography

Background. Residual angina after PCI is a frequently occurring disease. Ivabradine improves symptoms but its role in patients without left ventricular systolic dysfunction is still unclear. The aim was to quantify the effects of ivabradine in terms of MVO 2 indicators and diastolic function. Methods. Twenty-eight consecutive patients with residual angina after PCI were randomized to ivabradine 5 mg twice/day (IG) or standard therapy (CG). All patients performed a stress echocardiography at the enrollment and after 30 days. MVO 2 was estimated from double product (DP) and triple product (TP) integrating DP with ejection time (ET). Diastolic function was evaluated determining E and A waves, E′ measurements, and E/E′ ratio both at rest and at the peak of exercise. Results. The exercise time was longer in IG 9′49″ ± 48″ vs 8′09″ ± 59″ in CG (p=0.0001), reaching a greater workload (IG 139.3 ± 13.4 vs CG 118.7 ± 19.6 Watts; p=0.003). MVO 2 expressed with DP and TP was significantly higher in IG (DP: IG 24194 ± 2697 vs CG 20358 ± 4671.8, p=0.01; TP: IG 17239 ± 4710 vs CG 12206 ± 4413, p=0.007). At peak exercise, the ET was diminished in IG than CG. The analysis of diastolic function after the exercise revealed an increase of E and A waves, without difference in the E/A ratio. The E′ wave was higher in IG than CG, and in the same group, the differences between baseline and peak exercise were greater (ΔE′3.14 ± 0.7 vs 2.4 ± 1.13, p=0.047). The E/E′ ratio was reduced in patients treated with ivabradine (IG 10.2 ± 2.0 vs CG 7.9 ± 1.6, p=0.002). Conclusions. Ivabradine seems to produce a significant improvement of ischemic threshold, chronotropic reserve, and diastolic function