DJ-1 as a deglycating enzyme: A unique function to explain a multifaceted protein?

The recently reported deglycating activity of DJ-1 reconciles several features previously described for the protein. The deglycating activity reported for DJ-1 may explain its different subcellular localizations, indeed the protein has been found in the cytoplasm, nucleus, and mitochondria. Moreover, this proposed activity could help to understand the involvement of the protein in Parkinson's disease (PD), tumor growth and diabetes

The impact of covid-19 in the csr policies of Gucci: lessons for the luxury fashion industry

This work project, titled “The impact of Covid-19 in the CSR policies of Gucci: Lessons for the luxury fashion industry”, aims to extract general lessons for the entire luxury fashion industry from the specific case of one company: Gucci. It has been chosen for a reason of personal attachment and for its constantly claimed commitment on CSR. The report will thus analyze whether such claim, enhanced during the Covid-19, is part of Gucci’s strategic choice or it is instead just tactical CSR to respond to the crisis, in order to be able to extend the findings to the wider industry

Family-specific scaling laws in bacterial genomes

Among several quantitative invariants found in evolutionary genomics, one of the most striking is the scaling of the overall abundance of proteins, or protein domains, sharing a specific functional annotation across genomes of given size. The size of these functional categories change, on average, as power-laws in the total number of protein-coding genes. Here, we show that such regularities are not restricted to the overall behavior of high-level functional categories, but also exist systematically at the level of single evolutionary families of protein domains. Specifically, the number of proteins within each family follows family-specific scaling laws with genome size. Functionally similar sets of families tend to follow similar scaling laws, but this is not always the case. To understand this systematically, we provide a comprehensive classification of families based on their scaling properties. Additionally, we develop a quantitative score for the heterogeneity of the scaling of families belonging to a given category or predefined group. Under the common reasonable assumption that selection is driven solely or mainly by biological function, these findings point to fine-tuned and interdependent functional roles of specific protein domains, beyond our current functional annotations. This analysis provides a deeper view on the links between evolutionary expansion of protein families and the functional constraints shaping the gene repertoire of bacterial genomes.Comment: 41 pages, 16 figure

Circadian Rhythm Abnormalities in Parkinson's Disease from Humans to Flies and Back

Clinical and research studies have suggested a link between Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD) and alterations in the circadian clock. Drosophila melanogaster may represent a useful model to study the relationship between the circadian clock and PD. Apart from the conservation of many genes, cellular mechanisms, signaling pathways, and neuronal processes, Drosophila shows an organized central nervous system and well-characterized complex behavioral phenotypes. In fact, Drosophila has been successfully used in the dissection of the circadian system and as a model for neurodegenerative disorders, including PD. Here, we describe the fly circadian and dopaminergic systems and report recent studies which indicate the presence of circadian abnormalities in some fly PD genetic models. We discuss the use of Drosophila to investigate whether, in adults, the disruption of the circadian system might be causative of brain neurodegeneration. We also consider approaches using Drosophila, which might provide new information on the link between PD and the circadian clock. As a corollary, since PD develops its symptomatology over a large part of the organism\u2019s lifespan and given the relatively short lifespan of fruit flies, we suggest that genetic models of PD could be used to perform lifelong screens for drug-modulators of general and/or circadian-related PD traits

Stabilization of magnetic islands in tokamaks by localized heating and current drive : a numerical approach

This thesis deals with the theory of active stabilization of the so-called Neoclassical Tearing modes (NTMs) in fusion reactors. Hot fuel, in the form of a fully ionized gas (referred to as "plasma"), is confined by a magnetic field with the topology of toroidally nested magnetic surfaces. The NTM is a spontaneous break of this magnetic configuration, leading to a non-symmetric topology characterised by a chain of magnetic islands. Within a magnetic island temperature and pressure are flattened. The NTM onset occurs when the plasma pressure exceeds a certain limit. Since the fusion power is proportional to the pressure squared, NTMs limit the performance of the reactor. Active stabilization of such instabilities can yield an enhanced performance of the fusion reactor of up to 50%. For this reason, it is important to study the mechanisms responsible for their growth and achieve a reliable control strategy. Control and suppression of NTMs is achieved experimentally by depositing highly localized radio-frequency power, in the range of electron cyclotron frequency (EC), at the island location. Qualitatively, the effect of the localized EC power on magnetic islands is twofold: it makes the island formation more difficult, and it compensates for the effect of the temperature flattening inside the island region by a local increase of the temperature and by inducing a current inside the island. These effects are referred to as Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) and Electron Cyclotron Current Drive (ECCD), respectively. The thesis addresses the stabilizing contribution of ECRH and ECCD, on the temporal evolution of a magnetic island. This model relies on the equation for the evolution of the magnetic island width, the generalized "Rutherford" equation (GRE), which depends on the different driving and stabilizing mechanisms. There are three main open questions that this work tries to answer: the relative merits of ECRH and ECCD, the role of asymmetries in the magnetic island topology and finally the determination of a criterion for full NTM suppression. The research focused at first on the relative merits of each method. The conditions determining the relative importance of ECRH and ECCD are found to depend on the product of two factors, the efficiency with which ECRH or ECCD generates a current inside the magnetic island and a geometrical factor showing essentially different scalings for either ECRH or ECCD. For a fusion reactor like ITER the main stabilizing mechanism for a magnetic island is found to be the ECCD, while ECRH becomes relevant in smaller devices. In the following step an extension of the model allowed to treat asymmetries in the island shape and to discuss their effect on the ECCD and ECRH contribution to the island evolution. This study demonstrates that these deformations have a small or negligible impact on the tearing mode evolution. Opposing claims in the existing literature could be shown to be based on inappropriate approximations or comparisons. The last part of the thesis is devoted to the determination of the requirements for the suppression of a magnetic island. This is usually described by the parameter ¿NTM, defined as the ratio between the local driven current density, responsible for the stabilization of the mode and the local bootstrap current density, the drive of the NTM instability. An extensive analysis allowed to formulate a general criterion for the full NTM suppression in the form of a combined criterion for the maximum allowed width of the EC power density profile and a minimum required EC driven current. The results of this analysis have been used to suggest an improvement of the design of ITER-ECRH system. A moderate increase of the angle with which EC waves are injected into the plasma of up to 5¿ from its present design value is shown to reduce the power requirement by up to 25%. In conclusion, the theoretical work presented in this thesis has provided a comprehensive analysis of the stabilization of a magnetic island by means of the localized heating and driven current. The proposed model verifies and improves criteria for the design of ITER-ECRH system. Finally, it provides a sound theoretical basis for the design of NTM feedback control loops

The Forest

I am the Forest wild, ancient and sacred. I am the origin of the world in every seed, plant and leaf. Thousands of shades of green dominate my infinite inside, which contaminates every wrinkle in a time that here no longer exists. Only space, in its infinite dimensions, resonates in every color. It is the energy of the Earth That dominates the labyrinth of shapes that live within me, and here, as nowhere else, words, by magic, meet and there are strangers no more

A stochastic hybrid control law for a localization task based on active sensing

openA localization task by a mobile agent is considered, where the sensing and the motion actions are performed exclusively with respect to each other, meaning that sensing the target is not available during the agent movement. To formalize this scenario the system is modeled on the 1D line and a control law with a timer and a logic variable, to allow switching between the operating modes of sensing the target and moving towards it, is designed. A Stochastic Hybrid System in standard form is obtained, satisfying the Stochastic Hybrid Basic conditions, and the overall closed-loop system behavior is then studied. An extension to the 2D plane is also proposed and its behavior is analyzed. Finally, the 2D control law is tested for a simulated Search & Rescue task in an unknown indoor environment under some simplifying hypotheses

The construction of knowledge-based economies versus knowledge societies: The cases of Germany and Singapore

In the past decades, terms such as knowledge-based economy (KBE)\u27, and \u27information/knowledge society\u27 have been adopted by governments worldwide in order to underline their interest in developing their economies and societies further and assure future growth. Many governments used these catchwords as labels for government programs and action plans aiming at economic and social prosperity. This aim of national governments to construct knowledge-based economies, information/knowledge societies, the actions taken and especially the ability or disability to do so, is the topic of this paper. As two cases of comparison act Singapore and Germany. (DIPF/Orig.

IABP versus Impella Support in Cardiogenic Shock: “In Silico” Study

Cardiogenic shock (CS) is part of a clinical syndrome consisting of acute left ventricular failure causing severe hypotension leading to inadequate organ and tissue perfusion. The most commonly used devices to support patients affected by CS are Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP), Impella 2.5 pump and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. The aim of this study is the comparison between Impella and IABP using CARDIOSIM© software simulator of the cardiovascular system. The results of the simulations included baseline conditions from a virtual patient in CS followed by IABP assistance in synchronised mode with different driving and vacuum pressures. Subsequently, the same baseline conditions were supported by the Impella 2.5 with different rotational speeds. The percentage variation with respect to baseline conditions was calculated for haemodynamic and energetic variables during IABP and Impella assistance. The Impella pump driven with a rotational speed of 50,000 rpm increased the total flow by 4.36% with a reduction in left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) by ≅15% to ≅30%. A reduction in left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV) by ≅10% to ≅18% (≅12% to ≅33%) was observed with IABP (Impella) assistance. The simulation outcome suggests that assistance with the Impella device leads to higher reduction in LVESV, LVEDV, left ventricular external work and left atrial pressure-volume loop area compared to IABP support

Development of a laboratory of excellence in the cardiovascular field.

Located in the Italian city of Latina, near Rome, the LABoEx certainly represents a one-of-its kind concentrate of know-how and advanced research in the field of Cardiovascular disease. Conceived during a meeting between cardiologists and bioengineers, LAboEx was created in reply to the shared needs for an in-depth understanding of the many variables and parameters of the cardiovascular system and of their interaction with mechanical assist devices (such as the oxygenator, the intra-aortic balloon pump, centrifugal pump, the ventricular assist device, the ventilatory assistance etc). The initial idea, brought forth by the bioengineers, was to develop a tool of diverse numerical models that could simulate the behaviour of the cardiovascular system in presence of different mechanical cardiac or ventilatory assist devices. The concept was then extended by the cardiologists who suggested to extend its application in predicting, starting from few cardiovascular variables (measured non invasively), the trend, or better, the behaviour of those variables that cannot be directly measured on the patient. The successive step was use numerical models ad hoc for patents affected by specific pathologies, hence providing the physician a tool for deciding the most appropriate strategies for the patient. From there, the group developed the idea of orienting the cardiovascular numerical models also towards other applications, such as a commercial device that monitors the correct functioning of a 24-hr blood pressure Holter. Indeed, the laboratory of the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the Italian National Research Council (C.N.R.) has already started working towards the realization of a software tool (CARDIOSIM?) aimed at simulating the behaviour of the cardiovascular system. This modular software was developed by Italian researchers together with colleagues from the Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, IBIBPAN Warsaw, Poland, of the Iwate Prefectural University in Japan, the Biomedical Engineering and Cardiothoracic Surgery of the University Medical Center Groningen in Holland, and the N.I.H in the USA. The software implements on a PC platform a family of lumped parameter circulatory models designed to be used in clinical, research, and educational applications. The family of the circulatory models represents the circulation at the level of large vessels and allows to evaluate the global effects of external disturbances (pathologies, therapies, mechanical assistance, special environments or surgery) on the circulatory system. The software tool simulates different mechanical heart assist devices, like left and right Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) and Intraaortic Balloon Pumping (IABP): both pulsatile and continuous flow VAD can be used inside the tool. Also the mechanical ventilatory assistance is implemented