Beyond Stress Testing: Modelling Liquidity and Interest Rate Risks for (real) Corporate Measures

The financial crisis exploited the poorness of real liquidity risk perception in the banking system. The paper suggests a wiser uses of econometrics tools can be more effective in detecting banking risk in order to reduce bias in the decision processes. A methodology to better focus the real bank exposition to interest rate risk is proposed fixing several bugs related to the assessment of its connections with: (i) the credit risk embedded in loans; (ii) the concentration risk of assets and liabilities relating to specific customers; (iii) the volume risk, particularly for unexpected changes. The Veneto Banca experience and performance are used as gymnasium for a possible method development aiming to propose a standard for a more comprehensive corporate risk approach in banking, even for Regulators

Astrocytes’ Role in Alzheimer’s Disease Neurodegeneration

Central nervous system (CNS) astrocytes are glial cells performing crucial tasks encompassing energy metabolism, neurotransmission, ion and water stable levels, and immune defense and control local blood flow/oxygen levels. Arising from neural stem cells, astrocytes differentiate into subtypes that vary according to animal species. Human cerebral cortex astrocytes are sturdier and cytologically and functionally more complex, control wider domains, and spread calcium signals more quickly than their rodents’ counterparts. They actively partake in CNS homeostasis maintenance and functioning by teaming up with their client neurons, other glial cell types, and cerebrovascular cells. Alterations of astrocytes’ activities deeply impact on age-related chronic ailments like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the commonest senile dementia; AD involves the growing accumulation of amyloid-β peptides (Aβs) and hyperphosphorylated Tau proteins the astrocytes, and neurons supply following the interaction of their calcium-sensing receptors (CaSRs) with exogenous Aβs. The activated Aβ∙CaSR signaling triggers a self-propagating mechanism that spreads the neuropathology among adjacent and far away astrocytes and their neuronal clients causing neurons’ death. CaSR antagonists or calcilytics suppress these noxious effects in vitro. Hence, calcilytics are potential therapeutics that could halt the spread of AD neuropathology and safeguard the patients’ neuronal viability, cognition, memory, and ultimately life

Human Keratinocytes and Fibroblasts Co-Cultured on Silk Fibroin Scaffolds Exosomally Overrelease Angiogenic and Growth Factors

Objectives: The optimal healing of skin wounds, deep burns, and chronic ulcers is an important clinical problem. Attempts to solve it have been driving the search for skin equivalents based on synthetic or natural polymers. Methods: Consistent with this endeavor, we used regen- erated silk fibroin (SF) from Bombyx mori to produce a novel compound scaffold by welding a 3D carded/hydroentangled SF-microfiber-based nonwoven layer (C/H-3D-SFnw; to support dermis engineering) to an electrospun 2D SF nanofiber layer (ESFN; a basal lamina surrogate). Next, we assessed—via scanning electron microscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, mono- and co-cultures of HaCaT keratinocytes and adult human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs), dsDNA assays, exosome isolation, double-antibody arrays, and angiogenesis assays—whether the C/H-3D-SFnws/ESFNs would allow the reconstitution of a functional human skin analog in vitro. Results: Physical analyses proved that the C/H-3D- SFnws/ESFNs met the requirements for human soft-tissue-like implants. dsDNA assays revealed that co-cultures of HaCaTs (on the 2D ESFN surface) and HDFs (inside the 3D C/H-3D-SFnws) grew more intensely than did the respective monocultures. Double-antibody arrays showed that the CD9+/CD81+ exosomes isolated from the 14-day pooled growth media of HDF and/or HaCaT mono- or co-cultures conveyed 35 distinct angiogenic/growth factors (AGFs). However, versus monocultures’ exosomes, HaCaT/HDF co-cultures’ exosomes (i) transported larger amounts of 15 AGFs, i.e., PIGF, ANGPT-1, bFGF, Tie-2, Angiogenin, VEGF-A, VEGF-D, TIMP-1/-2, GRO-alpha/beta/gamma, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, MMP-9, and MCP-1, and (ii) significantly more strongly stimulated human dermal microvascular endothelial cells to migrate and assemble tubes/nodes in vitro. Conclusions: Our results showed that both cell–cell and cell–SF interactions boosted the exosomal release of AGFs from HaCaTs/HDFs co-cultured on C/H-3D-SFnws/ESFNs. Hence, such exosomes are an asset for prospective clinical applications as they advance cell growth and neoangiogenesis and consequently graft take and skin healing. Moreover, this new integument analog could be instrumental in preclinical and translational studies on human skin pathophysiology and regeneration

MILK PAYMENT SYSTEM AS A TOOL FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE EU RULES ON HYGIENE FOODSTUFFS: DIFFERENCES RELATED TO PRODUCTION LEVEL, PROVINCE AND SEASON OF PRODUCTION

The aim of the study was to evaluate a sheep milk payment of the milk produced in Tuscany in 2006 based on fat and protein levels. Data were collected twice a month in each of the 371 farms considered. Following the Tuscany Region recommendations three different levels of payment has been created. A neutral zone where the price of the milk remained invariant and other two levels, one positive (base milk price plus bonus) and one negative (base milk price minus bonus), both calculated by statistical procedures. The results showed that the period of the year markedly influenced the price paid and thus the payment grid has to be produced accordingly to these variations. Nonetheless the application of a payment system as the one proposed here needs a strong adjustment of the farms to the new quality requirements

546 Meat quality of Suffolk and Bergamasca lambs slaughtered at 90 days of age

Twenty lambs, 10 Suffolk (S) e 10 Bergamasca (B) born from single (SI) and twin type of birth (TW), were employed. Lambs fed the same diet. Chemical-physical analysis were performed on raw Longissimus lumborum (LL). B showed the lowest cooked loss on cooked LL, the highest value of a* and b* on raw meat. As regard fatty acid composition, LL of B showed the highest saturated fatty acids and the lowest value of polyunsaturated acids. Twin subjects showed raw meat with the lowest value of ether extract and with a healthy fatty acid composition

DAIRY FARM PLANNING FOR THE RECEIPE OF EU RULES ON THE HYGIENE OF FODDSTUFFS

A shift promoted by Regione Toscana have arranged productive dairy farm guidelines for the application of Reg. CE 852/2004. The document defines risk assessment management and obligation. For guidelines drafting we used: dairy production system flowchart, chemical, physical, microbiological risk, and check list. Milk dairy production was divided into four stages: animal health and welfare, nutrition and watering regime, environment, milking hygiene and milk storage

In vita performance and slaughter characteristics of Suffolk and Bergamasca lambs at 90 days of age

The objective of the present study was to compare in vita performance and carcass characteristics of Bergamasca and Suffolk lambs of 90 days of age. Bergamasca (15) and Suffolk (15) male lambs, originated from single and twin births equally represented, were weighed twice a month. Lambs were slaughtered to evaluate post-mortem characteristics and EUROP conformation score. Suffolk and Bergamasca lambs of 90 days of age produced carcasses with good quality; Suffolk had more compact carcasses than Bergamasca lambs whereas they showed higher percentage of intermuscular fat deposit. The results suggested that the two breeds raised with the forage-based feeding system could produce carcasses of good quality

Adult Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells on 3D Silk Fibroin Nonwovens Release Exosomes Enriched in Angiogenic and Growth-Promoting Factors

Background. Our earlier works showed the quick vascularization of mouse skin grafted Bombyx mori 3D silk fibroin nonwoven scaffolds (3D-SFnws) and the release of exosomes enriched in angiogenic/growth factors (AGFs) from in vitro 3D-SFnws-stuck human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). Here, we explored whether coronary artery adult human smooth muscle cells (AHSMCs) also release AGFs-enriched exosomes when cultured on 3D-SFnws in vitro. Methods. Media with exosome-depleted FBS served for AHSMCs and human endothelial cells (HECs) cultures on 3D-SFnws or polystyrene. Biochemical methods and double-antibody arrays assessed cell growth, metabolism, and intracellular TGF-β and NF-κB signalling pathways activation. AGFs conveyed by CD9+/CD81+ exosomes released from AHSMCs were double-antibody array analysed and their angiogenic power evaluated on HECs in vitro. Results. AHSMCs grew and consumed D-glucose more intensely and showed a stronger phosphorylation/activation of TAK-1, SMAD-1/-2/-4/-5, ATF-2, c-JUN, ATM, CREB, and an IκBα phosphorylation/inactivation on SFnws vs. polystyrene, consistent overall with a proliferative/secretory phenotype. SFnws-stuck AHSMCs also released exosomes richer in IL-1α/-2/-4/-6/-8; bFGF; GM-CSF; and GRO-α/-β/-γ, which strongly stimulated HECs’ growth, migration, and tubes/nodes assembly in vitro. Conclusions. Altogether, the intensified AGFs exosomal release from 3D-SFnws-attached AHSMCs and HDFs could advance grafts’ colonization, vascularization, and take in vivo—noteworthy assets for prospective clinical applications

Silk Fibroin Vascular Graft: From Design to In Vitro and In Vivo Test

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Role-shifting PKCζ fosters its own proapoptotic destruction by complexing with Bcl10 protein at the nuclear envelope of human cervical carcinoma cells

Many features of deadly human cervical cancers (HCCs) still require elucidation. Among HCC-derived cell lines, here we used the C4-I one since its quantitative gene expression pattern most closely mimics invasive HCCs, including protein kinase-Cζ (PKCζ) overexpression. Via proteomic, bioinformatic, and biochemical approaches (see for technical details [1,2]) we identified 31 and 33 proteins coimmunoprecipitating with PKCζ from nuclear membranes (NMs) of, respectively, untreated or VP- 16-exposed C4-I cells. Such proteins belonged to eight functional groups, whose compositions and relative sizes changed with either context. Of the 56 proteins identified, only eight were shared between the two subproteomes, including Bcl10. Surprisingly, proteins known to associate with Bcl10, like Carma1/3 and Malt1 in so called CBM signalosomes were absent. Notably, in VP-16-treated C4-I cells, PKCζ•Bcl10 complexes increasingly accrued at NMs, where PKCζ phosphorylated Bcl10—as PKCζ also did in vitro and in cell-free systems—both processes being thwarted by interfering RNA (iRNA) PKCζ depletion. Caspase-3 was associated with PKCζ•Bcl10 complexes and proteolyzed PKCζ leading to its inactiv-ation/destruction—both events were prevented by Bcl10 iRNA suppression. Thus, PKCζ’s molecular interactions and functional roles changed strikingly according to the untreated or apoptogen-treated cells context, and by complexing with Bcl10, PKCζ surprisingly favored its own demise, which suggests both proteins as HCCs therapeutic targets