Temporal Trajectories of HR/VHR Pixels and Detection of Land Take Processes

An increasing share of people and economic activities are attracted by the cities. This fact shows positive aspects and at the same time causes challenges, mainly in reference to the soil whose ecosystem services can be disrupted when the land cover is modified. Therefore, urbanization is a critical issue for the land management. Contrasting the urban sprawl (i.e. the spontaneous, unplanned process transforming vegetated land covers into artificial ones) is relevant for soil protection in terms of minimizing the land take. Remote sensing technologies have provided support (with an ex-post approach) to understand urban sprawl as a process and to assess its impacts on the sustainability of land management. The current availability of high-resolution/ very-high-resolution (HR/VHR) satellite data suggests to explore a different approach, aiming to deploy timely adequate countermeasures. The analysis of the urban sprawl processes pinpoints how the induced land cover changes show some specific patterns; moreover, distinctive trajectories in the space of multitemporal / multispectral imagery data can be elicited, relying also upon vegetation indices as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Accordingly, suitable precursors of urban sprawl processes can be detected. Such precursors can support a novel ex-ante approach in preventing the consolidation of the outcomes of the urban sprawl processes

Li-Fi for a Digital Urban Infrastructure: A Novel Technology for the Smart City

The process of “building a smart city” implies that the way a urban area provides its traditional functions be properly re-designed, in order to meet the often conflicting requirements of furthering the economical development and of improving the quality of the life. ICT can make available methodologies and tools able to support such process, as far as the new solutions are carried out within a global vision of the task to be carried out i.e. within a system approach. In such context, even traditional infrastructures as the streetlamp system of a city can reveal interesting opportunities, when coupled with updated technologies. Here, the potential benefits of moving to the LED technologies are presented. The relevance of Li-Fi technology is pinpointed. in relation to the ability of efficiently install wireless links for data transfer without increasing (or also reducing) the microwave background in a urban area.  Also the data collection can be improved leveraging upon the already installed streetlamps: the ever increasing amount of sensors (required for many functions, from street security to environment protection) can be deployed without further waste of urban 3D space

Ubiquitylation of BBSome is required for ciliary assembly and signaling

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a ciliopathy characterized by retinal degeneration, obesity, renal abnormalities, postaxial polydactyly, and developmental defects. Genes mutated in BBS encode for components and regulators of the BBSome, an octameric complex that controls the trafficking of cargos and receptors within the primary cilium. Although both structure and function of the BBSome have been extensively studied, the impact of ubiquitin signaling on BBSome is largely unknown. We identify the E3 ubiquitin ligase PJA2 as a novel resident of the ciliary compartment and regulator of the BBSome. Upon GPCR-cAMP stimulation, PJA2 ubiquitylates BBSome subunits. We demonstrate that ubiquitylation of BBS1 at lysine 143 increases the stability of the BBSome and promotes its binding to BBS3, an Arf-like GTPase protein controlling the targeting of the BBSome to the ciliary membrane. Downregulation of PJA2 or expression of a ubiquitylation-defective BBS1 mutant (BBS1 K143R) affects the trafficking of G-proteincoupled receptors (GPCRs) and Shh-dependent gene transcription. Expression of BBS1 K143R in vivo impairs cilium formation, embryonic development, and photoreceptors' morphogenesis, thus recapitulating the BBS phenotype in the medaka fish model

Targeted inhibition of ubiquitin signaling reverses metabolic reprogramming and suppresses glioblastoma growth

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent and aggressive form of primary brain tumor in the adult population; its high recurrence rate and resistance to current therapeutics urgently demand a better therapy. Regulation of protein stability by the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) represents an important control mechanism of cell growth. UPS deregulation is mechanistically linked to the development and progression of a variety of human cancers, including GBM. Thus, the UPS represents a potentially valuable target for GBM treatment. Using an integrated approach that includes proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolic profiling, we identify praja2, a RING E3 ubiquitin ligase, as the key component of a signaling network that regulates GBM cell growth and metabolism. Praja2 is preferentially expressed in primary GBM lesions expressing the wild-type isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 gene (IDH1). Mechanistically, we found that praja2 ubiquitylates and degrades the kinase suppressor of Ras 2 (KSR2). As a consequence, praja2 restrains the activity of downstream AMP-dependent protein kinase in GBM cells and attenuates the oxidative metabolism. Delivery in the brain of siRNA targeting praja2 by transferrin-targeted self-assembling nanoparticles (SANPs) prevented KSR2 degradation and inhibited GBM growth, reducing the size of the tumor and prolonging the survival rate of treated mice. These data identify praja2 as an essential regulator of cancer cell metabolism, and as a potential therapeutic target to suppress GBM growth

Downregulation of praja2 restrains endocytosis and boosts tyrosine kinase receptors in kidney cancer

Abstract Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common kidney cancer in the adult population. Late diagnosis, resistance to therapeutics and recurrence of metastatic lesions account for the highest mortality rate among kidney cancer patients. Identifying novel biomarkers for early cancer detection and elucidating the mechanisms underlying ccRCC will provide clues to treat this aggressive malignant tumor. Here, we report that the ubiquitin ligase praja2 forms a complex with-and ubiquitylates the AP2 adapter complex, contributing to receptor endocytosis and clearance. In human RCC tissues and cells, downregulation of praja2 by oncogenic miRNAs (oncomiRs) and the proteasome markedly impairs endocytosis and clearance of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and amplifies downstream mitogenic and proliferative signaling. Restoring praja2 levels in RCC cells downregulates EGFR, rewires cancer cell metabolism and ultimately inhibits tumor cell growth and metastasis. Accordingly, genetic ablation of praja2 in mice upregulates RTKs (i.e. EGFR and VEGFR) and induces epithelial and vascular alterations in the kidney tissue. In summary, our findings identify a regulatory loop between oncomiRs and the ubiquitin proteasome system that finely controls RTKs endocytosis and clearance, positively impacting mitogenic signaling and kidney cancer growth