Quid Tum? Riflessioni sulla didattica della progettazione architettonica

Il saggio costituisce una riflessione sulle personali esperienze didattiche, svolte nell\u2019ambito dei laboratori di progettazione architettonica del terzo anno, ma anche del laboratorio di laurea, del Corso di Studi in Architettura magistrale a ciclo unico quinquennale, dell\u2019Universit\ue0 degli Studi di Palermo, partendo da una premessa che con frequenza ha costituito il prologo agli stessi corsi e si riassume nel motto ciceroniano Quid Tum? Corsi dedicati in prevalenza al tema delle architetture e degli spazi esequiali ma anche al recupero di aree oggi al margine di insediamenti urbani, segnate da stratificazioni e da ancestrali processi di antropizzazione: dal sistema dei borghi rurali dell\u2019entroterra palermitano alle architetture rupestri del quartiere Rabato e del parco dell\u2019Addolorata ad Agrigento, dalle Latomie di Marsala, alle cave di Cusa e dei monti Sicani a quelle di Mazzara e di Favignana. Luoghi individuati, essenzialmente come campo di sperimentazione progettuale dei laboratori finalizzati a utilizzare la particolare dimensione fisica di specifiche aree come materia formativa e strutturante della stessa idea di progetto

Ospedale psichiatrico di Sassari

Il testo \ue8 relativo all'Ospedale psichiatrico di Sassari, sorto alla fine dell'Ottocento e rimasto in funzione sino al 1998, \ue8 stata redatta nell'ambito della ricerca (PRIN 2008), "I complessi manicomiali in Italia tra Otto e Novecento. Atlante del patrimonio storico-architettonico ai fini della conoscenza e della valorizzazione", sviluppata da ricercatori della Seconda Universit\ue0 di Napoli (coordinamento nazionale), dei Politecnici di Milano e Torino, delle Universit\ue0 di Camerino, Palermo, Pisa e Reggio Calabria. La scheda illustra, attraverso i diversi testi e un vasto repertorio iconografico, costituito da disegni, immagini d\u2019epoca e fotografie \u2013 sia l\u2019origine sia le trasformazioni dei complesso manicomiale fino alla sua dismissione, con rinvii alle fonti bibliografiche e archivistiche, al suo attuale stato di conservazione e agli usi pi\uf9 recenti. link: http://www.spazidellafollia.eu/it/complesso-manicomiale/ospedale-psichiatrico-di-sassar

Advanced technologies to target cardiac cell fate plasticity for heart regeneration

The adult human heart can only adapt to heart diseases by starting a myocardial remodeling process to compensate for the loss of functional cardiomyocytes, which ultimately develop into heart failure. In recent decades, the evolution of new strategies to regenerate the injured myocardium based on cellular reprogramming represents a revolutionary new paradigm for cardiac repair by targeting some key signaling molecules governing cardiac cell fate plasticity. While the indirect reprogramming routes require an in vitro engineered 3D tissue to be transplanted in vivo, the direct cardiac reprogramming would allow the administration of reprogramming factors directly in situ, thus holding great potential as in vivo treatment for clinical applications. In this framework, cellular reprogramming in partnership with nanotechnologies and bioengineering will offer new perspectives in the field of cardiovascular research for disease modeling, drug screening, and tissue engineering applications. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress in developing innovative therapeutic strategies based on manipulating cardiac cell fate plasticity in combination with bioengineering and nanotechnology-based approaches for targeting the failing heart

Dispersal of larval and juvenile seabream: Implications for Mediterranean marine protected areas

In the marine context, information about dispersal is essential for the design of networks of marine protected areas (MPAs). Generally, most of the dispersal of demersal fishes is thought to be driven by the transport of eggs and larvae in currents, with the potential contribution of dispersal in later life stages relatively minimal.Using otolith chemistry analyses, we estimate dispersal patterns across a spatial scale of approximately 180. km at both propagule (i.e. eggs and larvae) and juvenile (i.e. between settlement and recruitment) stages of a Mediterranean coastal fishery species, the two-banded seabream Diplodus vulgaris. We detected three major natal sources of propagules replenishing local populations in the entire study area, suggesting that propagule dispersal distance extends to at least 90. km. For the juvenile stage, we detected dispersal of up to 165. km. Our work highlights the surprising and significant role of dispersal during the juvenile life stages as an important mechanism connecting populations. Such new insights are crucial for creating effective management strategies (e.g. MPAs and MPA networks) and to gain support from policymakers and stakeholders, highlighting that MPA benefits can extend well beyond MPA borders, and not only via dispersal of eggs and larvae, but also through movement by juveniles

The basics of mitochondrial cAMP signalling: Where, when, why

Cytosolic cAMP signalling in live cells has been extensively investigated in the past, while only in the last decade the existence of an intramitochondrial autonomous cAMP homeostatic system began to emerge. Thanks to the development of novel tools to investigate cAMP dynamics and cAMP/PKA-dependent phosphorylation within the matrix and in other mitochondrial compartments, it is now possible to address directly and in intact living cells a series of questions that until now could be addressed only by indirect approaches, in isolated organelles or through subcellular fractionation studies. In this contribution we discuss the mechanisms that regulate cAMP dynamics at the surface and inside mitochondria, and its crosstalk with organelle Ca2+ handling. We then address a series of still unsolved questions, such as the intramitochondrial localization of key elements of the cAMP signaling toolkit, e.g., adenylate cyclases, phosphodiesterases, protein kinase A (PKA) and Epac. Finally, we discuss the evidence for and against the existence of an intramitochondrial PKA pool and the functional role of cAMP increases within the organelle matrix

Promotion of proliferation and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by LncRNA00673 based on the targeted-regulation of notch signaling pathway

we read with great interest the paper by Dr. Chen et al1, recently published in European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences and titled ‘‘Promotion of proliferation and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by LncRNA00673 based on the targeted-regulation of notch signaling pathway’’. Authors concluded that lncRNA00673 is highly expressed and may be a potential target for the treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, according to authors, it can promote the proliferation and metastasis of HCC by the regulation of Notch signaling pathway. We congratulate the authors for their interesting work

Rapamycin and HIV Replication in Liver Transplant Recipients

not availabl

Introduzione

L\u2019opera di Vincenza Garofalo, \u201cUnbuilt. Quattro progetti di Alberto Sartoris", assume la forma di una ricerca fondata su un dispositivo metodologico e culturale ampio che penetra in profondit\ue0 nei territori dell\u2019analisi filologica, dell\u2019estetica, della critica architettonica e, naturalmente, della \u201cScienza della Rappresentazione\u201d. Il campo di indagine \ue8 quello degli esiti di una sperimentazione progettuale che non si traduce in concreta forma fisica, per mezzo dell\u2019atto del costruire, e che per questo necessita di pratiche esperenziali estese che implicano maggiori livelli di approfondimento critico-relazionali e specificit\ue0 disciplinari in grado di fare avanzare la \u201cpercezione\u201d in direzione di una vera \u201cconoscenza\u201d. E se l\u2019interpretazione implica l\u2019assunzione di un punto di vista personale, esso appare rigorosamente fondato nei principi e nello statuto della disciplina del disegno, senza concessioni a distrazioni e a virtuosismi grafici fine a se stessi. Utilizzando la formula che August Boeckh adopera come titolo per una raccolta di studi ermeneutici, si potrebbe dire che l'opera propone, senza ambiguit\ue0, una \u201cconoscenza del conosciuto\u201d . Ma non si tratta di un mero actum agere e nessuna delle descrizioni dei progetti di Sartoris, anche quelle necessariamente assiomatico-intuitive, si risolvono in una tautologia; piuttosto, alla luce delle nuove rappresentazioni, soprattutto quelle di ricostruzione digitale tridimensionale, che scandagliano le forme spaziali, i significati delle quattro opere si ordinano in una comprensione completa che mette in luce situazioni e valori inaspettati. Il lavoro compiuto appare, quindi, come una explicata nell\u2019ambito della riscrittura grafica tutta interna alla dimensione del logos, poich\ue9 la rappresentazione ancor prima di essere espressione del visibile \ue8 riflessione concettuale

Blocking CD248 molecules in perivascular stromal cells of patients with systemic sclerosis strongly inhibits their differentiation toward myofibroblasts and proliferation: A new potential target for antifibrotic therapy

Background: Fibrosis may be considered the hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc), the end stage triggered by different pathological events. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) are profibrotic molecules modulating myofibroblast differentiation and proliferation, respectively. There is evidence linking CD248 with these two molecules, both highly expressed in patients with SSc, and suggesting that CD248 may be a therapeutic target for several diseases. The aim of this work was to evaluate the expression of CD248 in SSc skin and its ability to modulate SSc fibrotic process. Methods: After ethical approval was obtained, skin biopsies were collected from 20 patients with SSc and 10 healthy control subjects (HC). CD248 expression was investigated in the skin, as well as in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treated with TGF-β or PDGF-BB, by immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting. Finally, in SSc-MSCs, the CD248 gene was silenced by siRNA. Results: Increased expression of CD248 was found in endothelial cells and perivascular stromal cells of SSc skin. In SSc-MSCs, the levels of CD248 and α-smooth muscle actin expression were significantly higher than in HC-MSCs. In both SSc- and HC-MSCs, PDGF-BB induced increased expression of Ki-67 when compared with untreated cells but was unable to modulate CD248 levels. After CD248 silencing, both TGF-β and PDGF-BB signaling were inhibited in SSc-MSCs. Conclusions: CD248 overexpression may play an important role in the fibrotic process by modulating the molecular target, leading to perivascular cells differentiation toward myofibroblasts and interfering with its expression, and thus might open a new therapeutic strategy to inhibit myofibroblast generation during SSc