A small satellite mission devoted to mid-low latitude earth observation

This paper aims at assessing the feasibility of a small mission devoted to observe the mid-low latitude regions. The satellite will be equipped with three optical sensors: a medium-high spatial resolution VIS-NIR multi-spectral sensor, allowing the surface monitoring and land-use and land-cover studies; a medium spatial-resolution 3-bands thermal (MIR-TIR) sensor allowing the surface temperature (LST, SST) estimate and hot-spots (fires, volcanic eruption, etc.) detection; a panchromatic VIS-NIR camera for night-time observation able to reveal artificial and natural lights. The selected orbit, called multi-sun-synchronous (MSS), represents an innovation with respect to the classical sun-synchronous orbit much suitable for observing tropical regions, allowing an enhanced revisit frequency. Further, such an orbit allows the observation of the same region of the Earth at different local-time. In this way, the diurnal cycle of surface temperatures can be reconstructed with a 2-hours local-time step. An analysis of the capability of the selected ground stations to acquire the data gathered by the remote sensing sensors has been carried out. Orbital perturbations have been taken into account and an estimate of the propellant required for ground track control has been performed in order to verify its compatibility with a small mission requirements

Horm Metab Res

A growing need exists to deliver effective and affordable prevention programs and to take urgent action to address the major public health challenge that diabetes represents. Achieving prevention of type 2 diabetes requires moving through a series of steps from basic science discovery to widespread distribution of effective interventions. Understanding the cellular level influences on diabetes prevention will help target particular interventions to those who may be most responsive. Several randomized controlled trials conducted throughout the world have demonstrated that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed. Subsequent real-world translation studies have provided important information necessary to reduce cost and increase access. Ultimately achieving a population impact in diabetes prevention requires widespread distribution of effective interventions, which is supported by policies that help achieve sustainability and reach. The use of a global stakeholder network can help to share experiences and build on partner knowledge gained.ARU3/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2015-09-01T00:00:00Z22161250PMC455623

A component-level methodology to evaluate the seismic repair costs of infills and services for Italian RC buildings

AbstractThe reliable estimation of seismic losses due to damage to buildings is paramount for the post-emergency management and the planning of recovery activities. For residential reinforced concrete (RC) infilled buildings, a significant role in the computation of seismic loss is played by non-structural components, above all infills, partitions and services, as shown in past earthquakes. In this work, a component-based methodology is proposed to assess seismic losses for residential RC buildings in Mediterranean region. The attention is focused on the repairing activities for masonry infills (typical enclosure or partitions elements in Italian and Mediterranean RC buildings), and for services (plumbing systems, electric equipment, floor/wall tiles…), commonly enclosed within the infill panels for the considered building typology. The described methodology can be used starting from the expected damage level to infills and partitions. It adopts given repair unit costs at different damage states of infills. The loss estimation methodology has been, first, validated by comparing predicted and actual repair costs for specific case-study buildings damaged by L'Aquila (Italy) 2009 earthquake. Then, the methodology has been applied to a wide dataset of RC buildings (about 2500 residential buildings) damaged by L'Aquila earthquake available from the literature, to show its possible application at a large-scale level. A good agreement between observed and predicted costs is obtained both for specific case-study buildings and for the wider building stock, especially when damage to structural components is very limited

Evolution of the seismic vulnerability of masonry buildings based on the damage data from L'Aquila 2009 event

AbstractThe purpose of this study is the analysis of vulnerability trends, with particular emphasis to the evolution of the seismic behaviour of masonry buildings over the years due to the improvements in construction practices and to the enhancement of building materials over the years, also related to the subsequent enactment of seismic prescriptions. To this aim, residential masonry buildings damaged after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake are considered, coming from the online platform Da.D.O. (Database di Danno Osservato, Database of Observed Damage) recently released from the Italian Department of Civil Protection. General features of all the parameters available from the original database are thoroughly analysed, a selection of which is used for vulnerability analysis, namely the period of construction and the design type, the presence of structural interventions, the type of horizontal structure. Vulnerability curves are obtained through an optimization technique, minimizing the deviation between observed and predicted damage. PGA from ShakeMap is used for ground motion characterization. Damage levels defined according to the European Macroseismic Scale are considered, obtained from the observed damage for vertical structures collected during the inspections. Vulnerability curves are firstly obtained as a function of period of construction and horizontal structural types, limited to the irregular layout and bad quality vertical type only, highlighting their clear influence on seismic behaviour. Lastly, the effectiveness of retrofit intervention is evaluated comparing the vulnerability curves for strengthened masonry buildings compared to those not subjected to any retrofit interventions

Estratégias de design em ecossistemas criativos de inovação social

[EN] Social innovation depends on a process of systemic change. In order to achieve it, unsustainable ways of life have to be challenged, and social learning processes promoted. The latter must be able to catalyze creative ecosystems’ immanent capacity of developing innovative solutions able to transform society towards collective wellbeing. Creative ecosystems are interactive social organizations that produce multiple, complex and dynamic connections which allow their own existence and sustainable development. Design contributes to this framework by applying it processes for development of socio-technical devices for world transformation: products, services, product-service systems, but also social technologies that support government dynamics, as well as the organizing and transforming ones that take place in, to or by society. This paper aims at identifying which design strategies can be applied in creative ecosystems of social innovation. Thus, firstly the authors present the concept of social innovation and some strategies for fostering it, i.e. strategies based on toolkits, strategies for the diffusion of business models based on standardized formats or franchising, strategies of organic growth, or even institutional support innovation programs. Therefore, through an ecosystem perspective, the paper evolves the design-driven innovation process proposed by Roberto Verganti, redirecting it towards social innovation. Finally, it highlights two processes that are interwoven with the one of design-driven social innovation, i.e. the processes of infrastructuring and seeding. Infrastructuring is about the development and practice of relations among the actors of an ecosystem aiming at fostering a social scenario that enables the design activity of the ecosystem as a whole. On the other hand, seeding aims at the creating seeds of the social innovations developed within the ecosystem, thus fostering their diffusion and autonomous growth there or in other ecosystems.[PT] A inovação social depende de um processo de mudança sistêmica. Para obtê-la, é necessário desafiar nossos modos insustentáveis de vida e, sobretudo, elaborar processos de aprendizagem social que ativem a capacidade imanente nos ecossistemas criativos de desenvolver soluções inovadoras que transformem a sociedade em prol do bem-estar coletivo. Ecossistemas criativos podem ser definidos como organizações sociais em interação, produtoras de múltiplas conexões, complexas e dinâmicas, que permitem sua existência e evolução sustentável. O design se insere nos ecossistemas criativos propondo seus processos para o desenvolvimento de dispositivos sócio-técnicos de transformação do mundo: produtos, serviços, sistemas produto-serviço, mas também tecnologias sociais que auxiliam as dinâmicas de governo, organização e transformação que ocorrem na, para e/ou pela sociedade. O artigo tem como objetivo identificar estratégias de design a serem praticadas em ecossistemas criativos de inovação social. Para tanto, o artigo inicia apresentando o conceito de inovação social e algumas estratégias praticadas para procura-la como, por exemplo, as estratégias de criação por meio de toolkits, de difusão de modelos de negócios por meio de formats padronizados ou de franchising, de crescimento orgânico ou, ainda, de programas institucionais de apoio à inovação. Logo, usando a perspectiva ecossistema, o artigo evolui o processo de inovação dirigida pelo design proposto por Roberto Verganti, direcionando-o à inovação social. Por fim, evidencia mais dois processos que se entrelaçam ao de inovação social dirigida pelo design, ou seja, o processo de infrastructuring e o de seeding. O processo de infrastructuring visa ao desenvolvimento e à prática de relações entre os atores de um ecossistema, de forma a constituir um enredo social que habilite a atividade projetual dos designers e do ecossistema como um todo. O processo de seeding visa à elaboração de sementes de inovações sociais desenvolvidas em um ecossistema, de forma a permitir sua disseminação e crescimento autônomo no mesmo ecossistema ou em outros ecossistemas.Freire, K.; Del Gaudio, C.; Franzato, C. (2016). Strategies by design towards creative ecosystems of social innovation. En Systems&design:beyond processes and thinking. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 639-950. https://doi.org/10.4995/IFDP.2015.3289OCS63995

NOTCH3 inactivation increases triple negative breast cancer sensitivity to gefitinib by promoting EGFR tyrosine dephosphorylation and its intracellular arrest.

Notch dysregulation has been implicated in numerous tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which is the breast cancer subtype with the worst clinical outcome. However, the importance of individual receptors in TNBC and their specific mechanism of action remain to be elucidated, even if recent findings suggested a specific role of activated-Notch3 in a subset of TNBCs. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in TNBCs but the use of anti-EGFR agents (including tyrosine kinase inhibitors, TKIs) has not been approved for the treatment of these patients, as clinical trials have shown disappointing results. Resistance to EGFR blockers is commonly reported. Here we show that Notch3-specific inhibition increases TNBC sensitivity to the TKI-gefitinib in TNBC-resistant cells. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that Notch3 is able to regulate the activated EGFR membrane localization into lipid rafts microdomains, as Notch3 inhibition, such as rafts depletion, induces the EGFR internalization and its intracellular arrest, without involving receptor degradation. Interestingly, these events are associated with the EGFR tyrosine dephosphorylation at Y1173 residue (but not at Y1068) by the protein tyrosine phosphatase H1 (PTPH1), thus suggesting its possible involvement in the observed Notch3-dependent TNBC sensitivity response to gefitinib. Consistent with this notion, a nuclear localization defect of phospho-EGFR is observed after combined blockade of EGFR and Notch3, which results in a decreased TNBC cell survival. Notably, we observed a significant correlation between EGFR and NOTCH3 expression levels by in silico gene expression and immunohistochemical analysis of human TNBC primary samples. Our findings strongly suggest that combined therapies of TKI-gefitinib with Notch3-specific suppression may be exploited as a drug combination advantage in TNBC treatment

Retrieving the Stress Field Within the Campi Flegrei Caldera (Southern Italy) Through an Integrated Geodetical and Seismological Approach

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Design estratégico e seeding para promover processos ecossistêmicos de inovação social. O caso do laboratório de inovação social da Mercur

The paper contributes to the debate on design for social innovation and to the work of researchers that focus on understanding how to structure a design process for social innovation able of promoting systemic changes. The text, starting from an analysis of the concept of social innovation and the contextualization and reinterpretation of the design practice in this perspective, some key concepts are explored, discussed and articulated: learning, design strategy, seeeding –among others. The reflection on these concepts supports the proposition of a strategic design approach capable of promoting creative ecosystems of social innovation through the activation of collaborative processes, design discourse and seeding. Within the scope of this article, this approach is exemplified and discussed through the case study of Mercur’s social innovation laboratory, a company located in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The case exemplifies the relevance of seeding as dissemination processes, and how it can be designed and led by the strategic design. The strategic design approach presented allow the sustainability of processes and proposals of social innovation in the creative contexts in which they are developed and inserted. Finally, discussion it is highlighted how the design approach shifts from the design of sociotechnical devices to designing a design process that involves, supports and articulates processes that contribute to learning and social innovationEl artículo se introduce en el debate sobre el diseño para la innovación social y dialoga con el trabajo de investigadores que se centran en la estructuración de procesos capaces de alcanzar transformaciones sistémicas. A lo largo del texto, a partir de una relectura del concepto de innovación social y de la contextualización y reinterpretación de la práctica de diseño en esa perspectiva, algunos conceptos clave son explorados, discutidos y articulados: aprendizaje, estrategia y práctica del diseño, discurso proyectual, dispositivos y seeding. Con el término “seeding”, denominamos a los procesos de diseminación de la innovación de un contexto social a otro, por medio de apropiaciones autónomas de las comunidades. La reflexión sobre estos conceptos sustenta la proposición de un enfoque de diseño estratégico capaz de promover ecosistemas creativos de innovación social activando la colaboración, el discurso proyectual y de los procesos de seeding. En el marco de este artículo, este enfoque es ejemplificado y discutido a través del estudio de caso del laboratorio de innovación social de Mercur, empresa ubicada en la ciudad de Santa Cruz del Sur, en el estado brasileño de Rio Grande do Sul. El caso ejemplifica la relevancia de los procesos de diseminación, proyectados y orientados por el diseño estratégico, así como la importancia de la sostenibilidad de las propuestas de innovación social en los contextos creativos en los cuales se desarrollan e incluyen. En el ámbito del debate se destaca cómo el enfoque del diseño migra del proyecto de dispositivos sociotécnicos hacia la trama del proceso proyectual que aborda, sustenta y articula los procesos que competen al aprendizaje y a la innovación social, especialmente aquellos vinculados a redes de individuos y organizaciones.O artigo insere-se no debate sobre o design para inovação social e dialoga com o trabalho de pesquisadores que focam na estruturação de um processo de design para inovação social capaz de alcançar mudanças sistêmicas. O presente artigo propõe uma releitura da pratica de design para inovação social por uma perspectiva ecossistemica que encontra suas origens e se inspira nas teorias da complexidade. Ao longo do texto, a partir de uma releitura do conceito de inovação social e da contextualização e reinterpretação da prática de design nesta perspectiva, alguns conceitos chave são explorados, discutidos e articulados: aprendizagem, estratégia e prática de design, discurso projetual, dispositivos e seeeding –entre outros. A reflexão acerca destes conceitos sustenta a proposição de uma abordagem de design estratégico capaz de promover ecossistemas criativos de inovação social por ativação de processos colaborativos, discurso projetual e seeding. No ambito deste artigo, esta abordagem é exemplificada e discutida por meio do estudo de caso do laboratório de inovação social da Mercur, empresa localizada na cidade de Santa Cruz do Sul, no estado brasileiro do Rio Grande do Sul. O caso exemplifica a relevância de processos de disseminação de seeding projetados e orientados pelo design estratégico para a sustentabilidade de processos e propostas de inovação social nos contextos criativos nos quais se desenvolvem e se inserem. No âmbito da discussão destaca-se como o enfoque do design se desloca do projeto de dispositivos sociotécnicos para englobar o enredo do processo projetual que envolve, suporta e articula os processos que concorrem à aprendizagem e à inovação social, especialmente os ligados à organização em rede dos indivíduos e das organizações

The real-time multiparametric network of Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius

Volcanic processes operate over a wide range of time scale that requires different instruments and techniques to be monitored. The best approach to survey a volcanic unrest is to jointly monitor all the geophysical quantities that could vary before an eruption. The monitoring techniques are sometimes peculiar for each volcano, which has its own behavior. The simultaneous investigation of all the geophysical and geochemical parameters improves the sensibility and the understanding of any variation in the volcanic system. The Osservatorio Vesuviano is the INGV division charged of the Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius monitoring, two of the highest risk volcanic complexes in the world due to the large number of people living on or close to them. Each of them have peculiarities that increase the monitoring challenge: Campi Flegrei has high anthropic noise due to people living within its numerous craters; Vesuvius has a sharp topography that complicates the data transmission and analysis. The real time monitoring of the two areas involves several geophysical fields and the data are transmitted by a wide data-communication wired or radio infrastructure to the Monitoring Centre of Osservatorio Vesuviano: - The seismic network counts of 20 station sites in Campi Flegrei and 23 in Vesuvius equipped with velocimetric, accelerometric and infrasonic sensors. Some of them are borehole stations. - The GPS network counts of 25 stations operating at Campi Flegrei caldera and 9 stations at Vesuvius volcano. All the procedures for remote stations managing (raw data downloading, data quality control and data processing) take place automatically and the computed data are shown in the Monitoring Centre. - The mareographic network counts of 4 stations in the Campi Flegrei caldera coast and 3 close to the Vesuvius that transmit to the Monitoring Centre where the data are elaborated. - The tiltmetric network consist of 10 stations distributed around Pozzuoli harbor, the area of maximum ground uplift of Campi Flegrei, evidenced since 2005, and 7 stations distributed around the Vesuvius crater. Each tiltmetric station is also equipped with a temperature and magnetic sensor. The signals recorded are sent to the Monitoring Centre. - The 4 marine multiparametric stations installed in the Pozzuoli gulf send accelerometric, broad band, hydrophonic and GPS data to the Monitoring Centre. - The geochemical network counts of 4 multiparametric stations in the fumarolic areas of Campi Flegrei and 2 stations in the Vesuvius crater (rim and bottom) with data transmission to the Monitoring Centre. They collect soil CO2 flux, temperature gradient and environmental and meteorological parameters and transmit them directly to the Monitoring Centre. - The permanent thermal infrared surveillance network (TIRNet) is composed of 6 stations distributed among Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius. The stations acquire IR scenes at night-time of highly diffuse degassing areas. IR data are processed by an automated system of IR analysis and the temperatures values are sent to the Monitoring CentrePublishedVienna, Austria1IT. Reti di monitoraggio e sorveglianz