Cloud Chamber: A Performance with Real Time Two-Way Interaction between Subatomic Particles and Violinist

‘Cloud Chamber’ - a composition by Alexis Kirke, Antonino Chiaramonte, and Anna Troisi - is a live performance in which the invisible quantum world becomes visible as a violinist and subatomic particle tracks interact together. An electronic instrument was developed which can be “played” live by radioactive atomic particles. Electronic circuitry was developed enabling a violin to create a physical force field that directly affects the ions generated by cosmic radiation particles. This enabled the violinist and the ions to influence each other musically in real time. A glass cloud chamber was used onstage to make radioactivity visible in bright white tracks moving within, with the tracks projected onto a large screen

A digital art web installation as augmentation of a theatrical play

This paper aim is to explore an online interactive multimedia installation that functions as a trans-medial extension of a play’s themes on human augmentation and post-humanism. Nowadays we often refer to body, life, nature and emotions through code, text or information. On the other side stereotypes of dichotomies such as body/mind, subject/object, man/machine are progressively dissolving. The aim of this installation is to spark discussion and raise public awareness of the issues involved in digital media use, particularly the ways people configure their sense of selves and in particular their social relations through using digital media

“Talk to me”, a digital art web installation

Talk to me is a digital art web installation that serves to augment the story world of Override, a theatrical production by Stacey Gregg, commissioned by Watford Palace Theatre (London) for the “Ideal World season”. Talk to me intends to spark discussion and raise public awareness of the issues involved in digital media use - particularly the ways people configure their sense of selves and their social relations through digital media. The goal of the project is to establish a network of creative exchange between new digital research and its potential for drama in the interface between research and the creative arts, particularly theatre, and in addressing the issue of science and society. Subsequently, we have developed an online interactive multimedia installation which will function as a trans-medial extension of the play's themes on human augmentation and post-humanism

A digital art web installation as augmentation of a theatrical play.

This paper aim is to explore an online interactive multimedia installation that functions as a trans-medial extension of a play’s themes on human augmentation and post-humanism. Nowadays we often refer to body, life, nature and emotions through code, text or information. On the other side stereotypes of dichotomies such as body/mind, subject/object, man/machine are progressively dissolving. The aim of this installation is to spark discussion and raise public awareness of the issues involved in digital media use, particularly the ways people configure their sense of selves and in particular their social relations through using digital media

The novel RASSF6 and RASSF10 candidate tumour suppressor genes are frequently epigenetically inactivated in childhood leukaemias.

BACKGROUND: The Ras-association family (RASSF) of tumour suppressor genes (TSGs) contains 10 members that encode proteins containing Ras-association (RA) domains. Several members of the RASSF family are frequently epigenetically inactivated in cancer, however, their role in leukaemia has remained largely uninvestigated. Also, RASSF10 is a predicted gene yet to be experimentally verified. Here we cloned, characterised and demonstrated expression of RASSF10 in normal human bone marrow. We also determined the methylation status of CpG islands associated with RASSF1-10 in a series of childhood acute lymphocytic leukaemias (ALL) and normal blood and bone marrow samples. RESULTS: COBRA and bisulphite sequencing revealed RASSF6 and RASSF10 were the only RASSF members with a high frequency of leukaemia-specific methylation. RASSF6 was methylated in 94% (48/51) B-ALL and 41% (12/29) T-ALL, whilst RASSF10 was methylated in 16% (8/51) B-ALL and 88% (23/26) T-ALL. RASSF6 and RASSF10 expression inversely correlated with methylation which was restored by treatment with 5-aza-2'deoxycytidine (5azaDC). CONCLUSION: This study shows the hypermethylation profile of RASSF genes in leukaemias is distinct from that of solid tumours and represents the first report of inactivation of RASSF6 or RASSF10 in cancer. These data show epigenetic inactivation of the candidate TSGs RASSF6 and RASSF10 is an extremely frequent event in the pathogenesis of childhood leukaemia. This study also warrants further investigation of the newly identified RASSF member RASSF10 and its potential role in leukaemia.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Years of life that could be saved from prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes premature death and loss of life expectancy worldwide. Its primary and secondary prevention can result in a significant number of years of life saved. AIM: To assess how many years of life are lost after HCC diagnosis. METHODS: Data from 5346 patients with first HCC diagnosis were used to estimate lifespan and number of years of life lost after tumour onset, using a semi-parametric extrapolation having as reference an age-, sex- and year-of-onset-matched population derived from national life tables. RESULTS: Between 1986 and 2014, HCC lead to an average of 11.5 years-of-life lost for each patient. The youngest age-quartile group (18-61 years) had the highest number of years-of-life lost, representing approximately 41% of the overall benefit obtainable from prevention. Advancements in HCC management have progressively reduced the number of years-of-life lost from 12.6 years in 1986-1999, to 10.7 in 2000-2006 and 7.4 years in 2007-2014. Currently, an HCC diagnosis when a single tumour <2 cm results in 3.7 years-of-life lost while the diagnosis when a single tumour 65 2 cm or 2/3 nodules still within the Milan criteria, results in 5.0 years-of-life lost, representing the loss of only approximately 5.5% and 7.2%, respectively, of the entire lifespan from birth. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence results in the loss of a considerable number of years-of-life, especially for younger patients. In recent years, the increased possibility of effectively treating this tumour has improved life expectancy, thus reducing years-of-life lost

No una sino muchas repúblicas: una aproximación a las bases teóricas del republicanismo peruano, 1821-1834

The article seeks to explore three strands of Peruvian republicanism between 1821 and 1834. One of these was the «patria científica» [scientific homeland] which flourished within the heart of the Sociedad Patriótica de Lima. This was represented by a group of scientific men, headed by Hipólito Unanue and among whom José Gregorio Paredes played a leading role. The second strand was of a legal-philosophical character due to its emphasis on concepts like freedom and sovereignty, and was forged in discussions over the possibility of either a constitutional monarchy or a strictly republican regime whose main spokesman was the Trujillo lawyer José Faustino Sánchez Carrión. Militarized republicanism, the third category of thought discussed in this article, arose as a response to the problem of the war against the Spanish empire and was the brainchild of soldiers of the Republic like Domingo Nieto.El artículo se propone explorar tres de las vertientes del republicanismo peruano entre 1821 y 1834. La primera, la «patria científica» que floreció en el seno de la Sociedad Patriótica de Lima y está representada por un grupo de hombres de ciencia liderados por Hipólito Unanue, entre los que destacó José Gregorio Paredes. La segunda vertiente, de corte jurídico- filosófico por su énfasis en conceptos como los de libertad y soberanía, se irá gestando en la discusión entre la opción de una monarquía constitucional y otra de carácter estrictamente republicano, siendo su vocero el abogado trujillano José Faustino Sánchez Carrión. El republicanismo militarizado, que es la última categoría que se discute en este trabajo, surge como una respuesta al problema de la guerra contra el imperio español y es construida por «soldados de la República» como Domingo Nieto

Clinical patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A multicenter prospective study

107noNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome and may evolve into hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Only scanty clinical information is available on HCC in NAFLD. The aim of this multicenter observational prospective study was to assess the clinical features of patients with NAFLD-related HCC (NAFLD-HCC) and to compare them to those of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related HCC. A total of 756 patients with either NAFLD (145) or HCV-related chronic liver disease (611) were enrolled in secondary care Italian centers. Survival was modeled according to clinical parameters, lead-time bias, and propensity analysis. Compared to HCV, HCC in NAFLD patients had a larger volume, showed more often an infiltrative pattern, and was detected outside specific surveillance. Cirrhosis was present in only about 50% of NAFLD-HCC patients, in contrast to the near totality of HCV-HCC. Regardless of tumor stage, survival was significantly shorter (P = 0.017) in patients with NAFLD-HCC, 25.5 months (95% confidence interval 21.9-29.1), than in those with HCV-HCC, 33.7 months (95% confidence interval 31.9-35.4). To eliminate possible confounders, a propensity score analysis was performed, which showed no more significant difference between the two groups. Additionally, analysis of patients within Milan criteria submitted to curative treatments did not show any difference in survival between NAFLD-HCC and HCV-HCC (respectively, 38.6 versus 41.0 months, P = nonsignificant) Conclusions: NAFLD-HCC is more often detected at a later tumor stage and could arise also in the absence of cirrhosis, but after patient matching, it has a similar survival rate compared to HCV infection; a future challenge will be to identify patients with NAFLD who require more stringent surveillance in order to offer the most timely and effective treatment. (Hepatology 2016;63:827-838)openopenPiscaglia F.; Svegliati-Baroni G.; Barchetti A.; Pecorelli A.; Marinelli S.; Tiribelli C.; Bellentani S.; Bernardi M.; Biselli M.; Caraceni P.; Domenicali M.; Garuti F.; Gramenzi A.; Lenzi B.; Magalotti D.; Cescon M.; Ravaioli M.; Del Poggio P.; Olmi S.; Rapaccini G.L.; Balsamo C.; Di Nolfo M.A.; Vavassori E.; Alberti A.; Benvegnau L.; Gatta A.; Giacomin A.; Vanin V.; Pozzan C.; Maddalo G.; Giampalma E.; Cappelli A.; Golfieri R.; Mosconi C.; Renzulli M.; Roselli P.; Dell'isola S.; Ialungo A.M.; Risso D.; Marenco S.; Sammito G.; Bruzzone L.; Bosco G.; Grieco A.; Pompili M.; Rinninella E.; Siciliano M.; Chiaramonte M.; Guarino M.; Camma C.; Maida M.; Costantino A.; Barcellona M.R.; Schiada L.; Gemini S.; Lanzi A.; Stefanini G.F.; Dall'aglio A.C.; Cappa F.M.; Suzzi A.; Mussetto A.; Treossi O.; Missale G.; Porro E.; Mismas V.; Vivaldi C.; Bolondi L.; Zoli M.; Granito A.; Malagotti D.; Tovoli F.; Trevisani F.; Venerandi L.; Brandi G.; Cucchetti A.; Bugianesi E.; Vanni E.; Mezzabotta L.; Cabibbo G.; Petta S.; Fracanzani A.; Fargion S.; Marra F.; Fani B.; Biasini E.; Sacco R.; Morisco F.; Caporaso N.; Colombo M.; D'ambrosio R.; Croce L.S.; Patti R.; Giannini E.G.; Loria P.; Lonardo A.; Baldelli E.; Miele L.; Farinati F.; Borzio M.; Dionigi E.; Soardo G.; Caturelli E.; Ciccarese F.; Virdone R.; Affronti A.; Foschi F.G.; Borzio F.Piscaglia, F.; Svegliati-Baroni, G.; Barchetti, A.; Pecorelli, A.; Marinelli, S.; Tiribelli, C.; Bellentani, S.; Bernardi, M.; Biselli, M.; Caraceni, P.; Domenicali, M.; Garuti, F.; Gramenzi, A.; Lenzi, B.; Magalotti, D.; Cescon, M.; Ravaioli, M.; Del Poggio, P.; Olmi, S.; Rapaccini, G. L.; Balsamo, C.; Di Nolfo, M. A.; Vavassori, E.; Alberti, A.; Benvegnau, L.; Gatta, A.; Giacomin, A.; Vanin, V.; Pozzan, C.; Maddalo, G.; Giampalma, E.; Cappelli, A.; Golfieri, R.; Mosconi, C.; Renzulli, M.; Roselli, P.; Dell'Isola, S.; Ialungo, A. M.; Risso, D.; Marenco, S.; Sammito, G.; Bruzzone, L.; Bosco, G.; Grieco, A.; Pompili, M.; Rinninella, E.; Siciliano, M.; Chiaramonte, M.; Guarino, M.; Camma, C.; Maida, M.; Costantino, A.; Barcellona, M. R.; Schiada, L.; Gemini, S.; Lanzi, A.; Stefanini, G. F.; Dall'Aglio, A. C.; Cappa, F. M.; Suzzi, A.; Mussetto, A.; Treossi, O.; Missale, G.; Porro, E.; Mismas, V.; Vivaldi, C.; Bolondi, L.; Zoli, M.; Granito, A.; Malagotti, D.; Tovoli, F.; Trevisani, F.; Venerandi, L.; Brandi, G.; Cucchetti, A.; Bugianesi, E.; Vanni, E.; Mezzabotta, L.; Cabibbo, G.; Petta, S.; Fracanzani, A.; Fargion, S.; Marra, F.; Fani, B.; Biasini, E.; Sacco, R.; Morisco, F.; Caporaso, N.; Colombo, M.; D'Ambrosio, R.; Croce, L. S.; Patti, R.; Giannini, E. G.; Loria, P.; Lonardo, A.; Baldelli, E.; Miele, L.; Farinati, F.; Borzio, M.; Dionigi, E.; Soardo, G.; Caturelli, E.; Ciccarese, F.; Virdone, R.; Affronti, A.; Foschi, F. G.; Borzio, F

Advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE) Science Overview

The Advanced Colloids Experiment is being conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) using the Light Microscopy Module (LMM) in the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR). Work to date will be discussed and future plans and opportunities will be highlighted. The LMM is a microscope facility designed to allow scientists to process, manipulate, and characterize colloidal samples in micro-gravity where the absence of gravitational settling and particle jamming enables scientists to study such things as:a.The role that disordered and ordered-packing of spheres play in the phase diagram and equation of state of hard sphere systems,b.crystal nucleation and growth, growth instabilities, and the glass transition, c.gelation and phase separation of colloid polymer mixtures,d.crystallization of colloidal binary alloys,e.competition between crystallization and phase separation,f.effects of anisotropy and specific interactions on packing, aggregation, frustration and crystallization,g.effects of specific reversible and irreversible interactions mediated in the first case by hybridization of complementary DNA strands attached to separate colloidal particles,h.Lock and key interactions between colloids with dimples and spheres which match the size and shape of the dimples,i.finding the phase diagrams of isotropic and interacting particles,j.new techniques for complex self-assembly including scenarios for self-replication, k.critical Casimir forces,l.biology (real and model systems) in microgravity,m.etc. By adding additional microscopy capabilities to the existing LMM, NASA will increase the tools available for scientists that fly experiments on the ISS enabling scientists to observe directly what is happening at the particle level. Presently, theories are needed to bridge the gap between what is being observed (at a macroscopic level when photographing samples) with what is happening at a particle (or microscopic) level. What is happening at a microscopic level will be directly accessible with the availability of the Light Microscopy Module (LMM) on ISS. To meet these goals, the ACE experiment is being built-up in stages, with the availability of confocal microscopy being the ultimate objective. Supported by NASAs Physical Sciences Research Program, ESAESTEC, and the authors respective governments

Caratterizzazione di marcatori di danno, genomico e cellulare, in linfociti T di pazienti adulti grandi obesi sottoposti ad intervento di bypass gastrico

L'obesità è una patologia cronica caratterizzata da un eccessivo accumulo di grasso corporeo che può portare effetti negativi gravi sulla salute con conseguenza estrema di riduzione delle aspettative di vita. L' Organizzazione mondiale della sanità definisce l'obesità attraverso l' indice di massa corporea (BMI), un dato biometrico che mette a confronto peso e altezza: sono considerati obesi i soggetti con BMI maggiore di 30 kg/m². Come stabilito delle linee guida internazionali elaborate nel 1991, qualora il BMI sia superiore a 40 kg/m² oppure sia compreso fra 35 e 40 kg/m² con contemporanea presenza di fattori di rischio, si ricorre alla chirurgia bariatrica, per esempio sottoponendo il paziente all'intervento di bypass gastrico. Il bilancio energetico del nostro organismo si basa sulla trasformazione del cibo ingerito in energia, e sull’utilizzo di questa energia per far fronte alla funzioni fisiologiche basali del nostro organismo e per le funzioni attive, come il lavoro fisico. L’aumento dell’introito di cibo e contemporaneamente la diminuzione del consumo energetico “attivo” portano al sovrappeso e all’obesità. L'obesità può essere considerata una patologia ad eziopatogenesi complessa, è definita primaria, quando è generata dalle cattive abitudini alimentari e scarsa attività fisica, secondaria quando è causata da una disfunzione endocrino-metabolica o genetica. Il tessuto adiposo in espansione, l'attivazione del processo infiammatorio e il continuo apporto eccessivo di nutrienti compromettono le funzioni cellulari creando un ambiente ossidativo che può portare alla modificazione delle macromolecole cellulari e compromettere l'integrità cellulare e genomica. Con il presente lavoro è stata valutata la relazione tra la condizione di obesità e l'induzione di danno genomico e cellulare a livello di linfociti di sangue periferico di pazienti grandi obesi sottoposti ad intervento di bypass gastrico tramite un prelievo di sangue venoso. La ricerca è stata condotta in parallelo su quattro gruppi di pazienti, e rispettivi controlli normopeso, in fase di pre-ospedalizzazione e follow-up post operatorio di 1, 6 e 12 mesi. Il danno al DNA è stato caratterizzato utilizzando come marcatore molecolare di danno genomico l'istone H2AX fosforilato sulla serina 139, osservandone gli effetti; La presenza di foci gH2AX nel nucleo ha un ruolo importante nella segnalazione delle rotture a doppia elica del DNA rappresentando uno degli eventi più importanti e immediati della risposta al danno al DNA (DDR). La fosforilazione spontanea dell’istone H2AX è stata evidenziata attraverso esperimenti d’immunofluorescenza eseguita sui linfociti T non stimolati. Il danno cellulare è stato osservato tramite l’utilizzo di una sonda fluorescente, C11- BODIPY®581/591 – analogo strutturale dei fosfolipidi – che grazie alle sue caratteristiche chimico-fisiche riesce ad intercalarsi rapidamente nelle membrane cellulari, permettendo di rilevare lo stato ossidativo della cellula stessa. Lo scopo principale è quello di accertare se, e in che misura, al recupero di peso atteso dopo l’intervento di chirurgia bariatrica si associ una corrispondente variazione nei livelli dei marcatori utilizzati