Centro Culturale Lou Pourtoun

Presentazione del Centro Culturale Lou Pourtoun di Ostana nel numero monografico della rivista Turris Babel, rivista della Fondazione Architettura Alto Adige, dedicato ai 22 progetti finalisti del premio Architetti Arco Alpino 2016. Il Centro Centro Culturale Lou Pourtoun è l'edificio consacrato ad ospitare le molte iniziative culturali (mostre, incontri, attività didattiche, ecc) del piccolo borgo occitano in alta Valle Po ed è divenuto immediatamente il luogo simbolo delle rinascita della Borgata Miribrart

The role of cognitive reappraisal and expectations in dealing with social feedback

Whereas emotion regulation (ER) in response to distressing events is widely studied, the mechanisms underlying adaptive ER while anticipating these events are still unknown. In this study, we investigated how ER strategies and expectation influence (a) individuals’ anticipatory and online processing of self-relevant events, and (b) their affective response to them. Sixty-one healthy female participants were exposed to bogus positive and negative social feedback under reappraisal (regulation) and watch (no regulation) instructions. During the anticipatory period, participants were either expecting negative feedback or they had no expectation regarding the valence of the upcoming self-relevant feedback. Hence, negative feedback was, respectively, expected or unexpected. Participants’ affective responses were collected via self-report and electromyographic (EMG) activity over the corrugator muscle. Results showed that participants’ negative affect (based on both self-reports and EMG) was reduced by the instructions to reappraise as compared to the watch condition. Yet, such beneficial effect of reappraisal was: (a) not observed during the anticipation phase, and (b) less effective when social feedback was expected (as compared to not expected) prior to its presentation. Possibly, cognitive reappraisal might be less able to overcome the influence of negative forecasting of self-relevant negative emotional stimuli. Research findings are discussed in light of potential mechanisms underlying impaired adaptive ER in patients vulnerable for mood disorders

Promoción de la conciencia de los estudiantes de pregrado sobre la importancia de pensar críticamente acerca de la información científica falsa o inexacta presentada en artículos de prensa

Being aware of the importance of thinking critically about wrong scientific information presented in news articles is an important form of scientific media literacy. However, little is known about how undergraduates evaluate wrong scientific information presented in news articles. This article discusses the effect of a teaching–learning sequence (TLS) in promoting students’ awareness of the importance of thinking critically about false or inaccurate scientific information presented in news articles. It examines the written and oral arguments produced by 141 university students (73 females and 68 males, 16–22 years old) in Colombia during a complete TLS supervised by the same instructor. The data used in this analysis was collected from students’ written responses, and audio and video recordings. The first aim of this investigation was to provide evidence of how undergraduates evaluate wrong scientific information presented in news articles when purposely no definition of misleading information is given. The second was to assess the effectiveness of the TLS in promoting students’ awareness of the importance of thinking critically about wrong scientific information presented in news articles. The findings show that not all participants perceived misleading information in the same way, and students usually over-estimate the truth or certainty that can be attributed to scientific information communicated in news articles.Un aspecto de la alfabetización mediática en ciencias tiene que ver con ser consciente de la importancia de pensar críticamente acerca de la información científica errónea presentada en artículos de prensa. Empero, poco se conoce sobre cómo los estudiantes de pregrado evalúan este tipo de información. En este artículo se discute el efecto de una secuencia de enseñanza-aprendizaje (TLS, por sus siglas en inglés) a la hora de concientizar a los estudiantes sobre la importancia de pensar críticamente acerca de información científica falsa o inexacta presentada en artículos de prensa. El artículo examina los argumentos escritos y orales de 141 estudiantes universitarios (73 mujeres y 68 hombres, entre 16 y 22 años de edad) en Colombia, durante una TLS supervisada por el mismo profesor. Los datos empleados para este análisis fueron tomados de las respuestas escritas de los estudiantes y registros de audio y video. El primer objetivo de esta investigación fue proveer evidencia de cómo estudiantes de pregrado evalúan información científica errónea presentada en artículos de prensa cuando no se les brinda deliberadamente una definición de información engañosa. El segundo objetivo fue evaluar la efectividad de la TLS al momento de concientizar a los estudiantes sobre la importancia de pensar críticamente acerca de información científica errónea presentada en artículos de prensa. Los resultados muestran que no todos los participantes percibieron la información engañosa del mismo modo. También se encontró que los estudiantes usualmente sobrestiman la verdad o la certeza que se puede atribuir a la información científica comunicada en artículos de prensa

Thymic stroma is required for the development of human T cell lineages in vitro

Development of the T cell lineage is characterized by the homing of hematopoietic precursors to thymus, followed by their acquisition of receptors for antigen. T cell receptors are αβ or γδ heterodimers associated with CD3 (TCR-CD3). Very early T cell precursors in humans have been characterized as CD7+45+ cells which lack the T cell differentiation antigens CD1, CD2, CD3, CD4, and CD8. A phenotypically equivalent early thymocyte population also occurs in postnatal life, and we have previously shown that interleukin 2 (IL2) promotes the development in vitro of both the αβ and the γδ T cells from these early thymocytes. Here we have analyzed the requirements of the induction of the IL2 pathway in early thymocytes, and their developmental potential. We show that: (I) thymic stromal cells, which are present in thymocyte suspensions, are necessary to induce the IL2 pathway and the development of αβ or γδ T cell lineages from early thymocytes in vitro; and (II) when removed from the in vivo environment, early thymocytes can develop in vitro into TCR-CD3− cells of the natural killer (NK) lineage. We conclude that CD7+45+, CD1-2-3-4-8- early thymocytes are multipotential progenitors that, at least, have the capacity to develop into αβ or γδ T cell and NK lineages. The analysis of the mechanisms of generation and selection of human T and NK cell diversity, not feasible in bone marrow cultures, is now possibl

A mixed finite element method for nonlinear diffusion equations

We propose a mixed finite element method for a class of nonlinear diffusion equations, which is based on their interpretation as gradient flows in optimal transportation metrics. We introduce an appropriate linearization of the optimal transport problem, which leads to a mixed symmetric formulation. This formulation preserves the maximum principle in case of the semi-discrete scheme as well as the fully discrete scheme for a certain class of problems. In addition solutions of the mixed formulation maintain exponential convergence in the relative entropy towards the steady state in case of a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation with uniformly convex potential. We demonstrate the behavior of the proposed scheme with 2D simulations of the porous medium equations and blow-up questions in the Patlak-Keller-Segel model

New insights about phenotypic heterogeneity within Propionibacterium freudenreichii argue against its division into subspecies

Propionibacterium freudenreichii is widely used in Swiss-type cheese manufacture, where it contributes to flavour and eye development. It is currently divided into two subspecies, according to the phenotype for lactose fermentation and nitrate reduction (lac+/nit- and lac-/nit+ for P. freudenreichii subsp. shermanii and subsp. freudenreichii, respectively). However, the existence of unclassifiable strains (lac+/nit+ and lac-/nit-) has also been reported. The aim of this study was to revisit the relevance of the subdivision of P. freudenreichii into subspecies, by confirming the existence of unclassifiable strains. Relevant conditions to test the ability of P. freudenreichii for lactose fermentation and nitrate reduction were first determined, by using 10 sequenced strains, in which the presence or absence of the lactose and nitrate genomic islands were known. We also determined whether the subdivision based on lac/nit phenotype was related to other phenotypic properties of interest in cheese manufacture, in this case, the production of aroma compounds, analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, for a total of 28 strains. The results showed that a too short incubation time can lead to false negative for lactose fermentation and nitrate reduction. They confirmed the existence of four lac/nit phenotypes instead of the two expected, thus leading to 13 unclassifiable strains out of the 28 characterized (7 lac+/nit+ and 6 lac-/nit-). The production of the 15 aroma compounds detected in all cultures varied more within a lac/nit phenotype (up to 20 times) than between them. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the division of P. freudenreichii into two subspecies does not appear to be relevant.Fil: de Freitas, Rosangela. Universidade Federal de Viçosa. Departamento de Tecnologia de Alimentos; Brasil. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Francia. Science et Technologie du Lait et de l; FranciaFil: Madec, Marie Noelle. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Francia. Science et Technologie du Lait et de l; FranciaFil: Chuat, Victoria. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Francia. Science et Technologie du Lait et de l; FranciaFil: Maillard, Marie Bernadette. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Francia. Science et Technologie du Lait et de l; FranciaFil: Abeijon Mukdsi, Maria Claudia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (i); Argentina. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Francia. Science et Technologie du Lait et de l; FranciaFil: Falentin, Hélène. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Francia. Science et Technologie du Lait et de l; FranciaFil: Carvalho, Antonio Fernandes de. Universidade Federal de Viçosa. Departamento de Tecnologia de Alimentos; BrasilFil: Valence, Florence. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Francia. Science et Technologie du Lait et de l; FranciaFil: Thierry, Anne. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Francia. Science et Technologie du Lait et de l; Franci

Early Progressive Circumpapillary Lesion as Atypical Presentation of Multiple Evanescent White Dot Syndrome : A Case Report

Classical clinical findings of multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) include multiple, small white dots scattered throughout the posterior pole, foveal granularity, posterior vitreous cells, and mild optic disc swelling. We describe the case of a 35-year-old man who was admitted to our department with an unusual presentation of MEWDS at the early onset of the disease. A unilateral circumpapillary retinal white spot was observed. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography demonstrated irregularities of the retinal pigment epithelium and disruptions of the outer retinal layers around the optic nerve without other abnormalities. A few days later, the lesion spread centrifugally from the peripapillary region and along the vascular arcades. This distinctive appearance in an early stage of the disease may suggest a disorder other than MEWDS, which can lead to a misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment

Centro culturale Lou Portoun - Centre culturel Lou Pourtoun - Ostana, Cuneo

Il contributo illustra il progetto del Centro culturale Lou Pourtoun, opera insignita della Menzione speciale per il Progetto ALCOTRA “HABIT.A. Abitare le Alpi Meridionali” (selezione “Architetture responsabili”), che rappresenta il più iconico degli interventi realizzati dagli autori per la rinascita culturale, architettonica, sociale e demografica del piccolo centro alpino

Una nuova ala in legno a Ostana

La presentazione di una nuova architettura in legno per il comune di Ostana (Valle Po), realizzato nell'ambito della consulenza progettuale del DAD Politecnico, è occasione per una riflessione sul tema del progetto contemporaneo nel contesto alpino

Ostana, alta valle Po. Laboratorio di architettura alpina

Il caso di Ostana in valle Po come esempio/laboratorio dei processi di rivitalizzazione dei borghi alpini attraverso la valorizzazione del patrimonio costruito e dell'architettura