Treponema denticola in Disseminating Endodontic Infections

Treponema denticola is a consensus periodontal pathogen that has recently been associated with endodontic pathology. In this study, the effect of mono-infection of the dental pulp with T. denticola and with polymicrobial “red-complex” organisms (RC) (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and T. denticola) in inducing disseminating infections in wild-type (WT) and severe-combined-immunodeficiency (SCID) mice was analyzed. After 21 days, a high incidence (5/10) of orofacial abscesses was observed in SCID mice mono-infected with T. denticola, whereas abscesses were rare in SCID mice infected with the red-complex organisms or in wildtype mice. Splenomegaly was present in all groups, but only mono-infected SCID mice had weight loss. T. denticola DNA was detected in the spleen, heart, and brain of mono-infected SCID mice and in the spleen from mono-infected wild-type mice, which also had more periapical bone resorption. The results indicate that T. denticola has high pathogenicity, including dissemination to distant organs, further substantiating its potential importance in oral and linked systemic conditions

Multi-Feature Uncertainty Analysis for Urban-Scale Hypothetical 3D Reconstructions: Piazza delle Erbe Case Study

This research proposes an improved source-based multifeature approach aimed at analysing and visualising (through false-colour shading) the uncertainty of hypothetical 3D digital models of urban areas. The assessment of uncertainty is also quantified qualitatively by using newly defined formulas which calculate the average uncertainty weighted on the volume of the 3D model. This methodology aims to improve the objectiveness, unambiguity, transparency, reusability, and readability of hypothetical reconstructive 3D models, and its use is exemplified in the case study of the hypothetical reconstruction of Piazza delle Erbe in Verona, a project presented in the form of a docufilm at EXPO 2015 in Milan

The Critical Digital Model and Two Case Studies: the Churches of Santa Margherita and Santo Spirito in Bologna

Two case studies of hypothetical reconstruction are presented according to the principles of the Critical Digital Model [Apollonio et al. 2019]. One of the case studies is an architecture that was designed but never realized, and the other is the reconstruction of a historical art exhibition hosted into an architecture still existing today. This study is part of a wider research which is being currently carried out in the international Erasmus+project CoVHer. The main objective of the CoVHer project is to identify shared standards for the construction, evaluation and sharing of 3D hypothetical reconstructions. This research exploits the diversities of the two case studies to classify and re-defne the methods of digital representation, which deal with the geometrical/mathematical nature of the models themselves and tries to defne good practices to produce scientifcally valid, sharable, and reusable 3D reconstructions

Evolution of the Dependence of Residual Lifetimes

We investigate the dependence properties of a vector of residual lifetimes by means of the copula associated with the conditional distribution function. In particular, the evolution of positive dependence properties (like quadrant dependence and total positivity) are analyzed and expressions for the evolution of measures of association are given

A Mechanistic Approach to Crystallite Length as Related to Cell-Wall Structure

A tentative mechanistic model is proposed that relates variation in crystallite length in wood to some physical conditions under which the crystallite may have been formed, namely the curvature and ultrastructure of the microfibril. Over most of the experimental data range, representing both hardwood and softwood samples, the model allows reasonably good prediction of the effect of crystallite orientation angle and radial distance from the cell center. As the angle increases and radial distance decreases, the average crystallite length becomes smaller

Cyclooxygenase 2 promotes cell survival by stimulation of dynein light chain expression and inhibition of neuronal nitric oxide synthase activity

Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibits nerve growth factor (NGF) withdrawal apoptosis in differentiated PC12 cells. The inhibition of apoptosis by COX-2 was concomitant with prevention of caspase 3 activation. To understand how COX-2 prevents apoptosis, we used cDNA expression arrays to determine whether COX-2 regulates differential expression of apoptosis-related genes. The expression of dynein light chain (DLC) (also known as protein inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase [PIN]) was significantly stimulated in PC12 cells overexpressing COX-2. The COX-2-dependent stimulation of DLC expression was, at least in part, mediated by prostaglandin E(2). Overexpression of DLC also inhibited NGF withdrawal apoptosis in differentiated PC12 cells. Stimulation of DLC expression resulted in an increased association of DLC/PIN with neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), thereby reducing nNOS activity. Furthermore, nNOS expression and activity were significantly increased in differentiated PC12 cells after NGF withdrawal. This increased nNOS activity as well as increased nNOS dimer after NGF withdrawal were inhibited by COX-2 or DLC/PIN overexpression. An nNOS inhibitor or a membrane-permeable superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic protected differentiated PC12 cells from NGF withdrawal apoptosis. In contrast, NO donors induced apoptosis in differentiated PC12 cells and potentiated apoptosis induced by NGF withdrawal. The protective effects of COX-2 on apoptosis induced by NGF withdrawal were also overcome by NO donors. These findings suggest that COX-2 promotes cell survival by a mechanism linking increased expression of prosurvival genes coupled to inhibition of NO- and superoxide-mediated apoptosis

FROM DOCUMENTATION IMAGES TO RESTAURATION SUPPORT TOOLS: A PATHFOLLOWING THE NEPTUNE FOUNTAIN IN BOLOGNA DESIGN PROCESS

The sixteenth-century Fountain of Neptune is one of Bologna's most renowned landmarks. During the recent restoration activities of the monumental sculpture group, consisting in precious marbles and highly refined bronzes with water jets, a photographic campaign has been carried out exclusively for documentation purposes of the current state of preservation of the complex. Nevertheless, the highquality imagery was used for a different use, namely to create a 3D digital model accurate in shape and color by means of automated photogrammetric techniques and a robust customized pipeline. This 3D model was used as basic tool to support many and different activities of the restoration site. The paper describes the 3D model construction technique used and the most important applications in which it was used as support tool for restoration: (i) reliable documentation of the actual state; (ii) surface cleaning analysis; (iii) new water system and jets; (iv) new lighting design simulation; (v) support for preliminary analysis and projectual studies related to hardly accessible areas; (vi) structural analysis; (vii) base for filling gaps or missing elements through 3D printing; (viii) high-quality visualization and rendering and (ix) support for data modelling and semantic-based diagrams

Stereoselective Synthesis of α,α’-Dihydroxy-β,β’-diaryl-β-amino Acids by Mannich-like Condensation of Hydroarylamides

Dual \u3b1,\u3b1\u2019-Dihydroxy-\u3b2-amino acids are very interesting tools for several industrial applications. Nevertheless, few derivatives are reported in the literature concerning the substitution pattern as well as their enantioselective syntheses are lacking. Here, we report on the preparation of enantiopure \u3b1,\u3b1\u2019-dihydroxy-\u3b2,\u3b2\u2019-diaryl-\u3b2-amino acid (dual) derivatives by an efficient Mannich-like condensation of hydroarylamides with 5,6-diethoxy-5,6-dimethyl-1,4-dioxan-2-one (triethylsilyl)ketene acetal. The synthetic protocol has been optimized affording the dual compounds in very good yields and with different aryl substitution patterns. Taking advantage of the \u201cdouble stereodifferentiation\u201d concept, a highly stereoselective reaction was performed: of the 16 possible isomers, only two diastereoisomers (d.r. up to 93:7) formed. Insights on the high stereocontrol of this condensation were given

Distorted Copulas: Constructions and Tail Dependence

Given a copula C, we examine under which conditions on an order isomorphism ψ of [0, 1] the distortion C ψ: [0, 1]2 → [0, 1], C ψ(x, y) = ψ{C[ψ−1(x), ψ−1(y)]} is again a copula. In particular, when the copula C is totally positive of order 2, we give a sufficient condition on ψ that ensures that any distortion of C by means of ψ is again a copula. The presented results allow us to introduce in a more flexible way families of copulas exhibiting different behavior in the tails