Disprassia verbale evolutiva: il gesto in un compito di denominazione

Il presente lavoro propone un approccio allo studio sperimentale della gestualità nel bambino affetto da disprassia verbale, condotto attraverso l'analisi di un corpus elicitato in un compito di denominazione. La ricerca intende indagare primariamente l'uso del gesto in sostituzione o in accompagnamento alla parola

Experimental and numerical characterization of fireproofing materials based on ASTM E162 standard

Fires may affect process and storage equipment causing severe damages and potential accident escalation. Passive protections, based on the application of fireproofing coatings, are usually implemented in order to prevent or mitigate such events. The design and testing of this type of barriers is a critical task due to the extreme heat exposure conditions. For this purpose, several standard tests, based on the use of large scale furnaces and experimental facilities, are adopted. In the present study, a methodology for the assessment of fireproofing materials performance was presented. The methodology was aimed at reducing the costs of fire tests by the combined use of small scale experiments and modeling activities. A novel inorganic formulation based on basalt fibers and silica aerogel was tested and compared with commercial fireproofing materials. A specific Key Performance Indicator (KPI) was evaluated in order to support the effective design of passive fire protections

Fever-Induced and Early Morning Paroxysmal Dyskinesia in a Man With GNB1 Encephalopathy

non richiest

Type I Collagen Suspension Induces Neocollagenesis and Myodifferentiation in Fibroblasts In Vitro

The ability of a collagen-based matrix to support cell proliferation, migration, and infiltration has been reported; however, the direct effect of an aqueous collagen suspension on cell cultures has not been studied yet. In this work, the effects of a high-concentration aqueous suspension of a micronized type I equine collagen (EC-I) have been evaluated on a normal mouse fibroblast cell line. Immunofluorescence analysis showed the ability of EC-I to induce a significant increase of type I and III collagen levels, parallel with overexpression of crucial proteins in collagen biosynthesis, maturation, and secretion, prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H) and heat shock protein 47 (HSP47), as demonstrated by western blot experiments. The treatment led, also, to an increase of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression, evaluated through western blot analysis, and cytoskeletal reorganization, as assessed by phalloidin staining. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy analysis highlighted the appearance of plasma membrane extensions and blebbing of extracellular vesicles. Altogether, these results strongly suggest that an aqueous collagen type I suspension is able to induce fibroblast myodifferentiation. Moreover, our findings also support in vitro models as a useful tool to evaluate the effects of a collagen suspension and understand the molecular signaling pathways possibly involved in the effects observed following collagen treatment in vivo

PRDI-BF1 and PRDI-BF1P isoform expressions correlate with disease status in multiple myeloma patients

Human positive regulatory domain I binding factor 1 (PRDI-BF1 or BLIMP-1) is a transcription factor that acts as a master regulator and has crucial roles in the control of differentiation and in maintaining survival of plasma cells (PC). The PRDM1 gene, which codifies for PRDI-BF1, contains an alternative promoter capable of generating a PRDI-BF1 deleted protein (called PRDI-BF1β), which lacks 101 amino acids comprising most of the regulatory domain. PRDI-BF1β has been detected in relevant quantities especially in multiple myeloma cell lines (U266 and NCI- H929). The first aim of the study was to compare, using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the levels of PRDI-BF1 and PRDI-BF1β in myeloma patients and in normal human bone marrow. The second step was the examination of the expression of PRDI-BF1 and PRDI-BF1β isoform depending on disease status and treatment response. We demonstrate the correlation of PRDI-BF1 and the shorter PRDI-BF1β isoform protein levels with the clinical evolution and the management of myeloma patients

A retrospective molecular study of select intestinal protozoa in healthy pet cats from Italy

The feline gut can harbour a number of protozoan parasites. Recent genetic studies have highlighted new epidemiological findings about species of Cryptosporidium, assemblages of Giardia duodenalis and Toxoplasma gondii. Furthermore, epidemiological studies suggest the occurrence of Tritrichomonas foetus in cats is on the increase worldwide. The prevalence of selected intestinal protozoa was determined by PCR using DNA previously extracted from the faeces of 146 privately owned healthy cats from Italy. Molecular genotyping on T gondii, G duodenalis and Cryptosporidium DNA was achieved. PCR assays were positive in 32 (22.9%) samples. Three animals (2.0%) were positive for T foetus and Cryptosporidium DNA, 15 specimens (10.3%) were positive for T gondii and 11 (7.5%) for G duodenalis. Co-infections were never observed. Results of the typing analysis allowed the identification of Cryptosporidium felis in all cases. The specimens positive for T gondii hinted at clonal genotype I (n = 7), genotype II (n = 1) and genotype III (n = 7). The G duodenalis isolates were referable to assemblages F (n = 9) and C (n = 2). In conclusion, the results obtained in this study add to the literature regarding the epidemiology of these parasites by confirming their presence in the faeces of healthy pet cats

Seismic performance of bridges during the 2016 Central Italy earthquakes

This paper focuses on the structural performance of existing masonry and reinforced concrete bridges which were surveyed in the aftermath of the 2016 Central Italy earthquakes. Typical bridge vulnerabilities are first reviewed, as they provide a reference for the response of the bridges that were damaged by the 2016 earthquake swarm. Case studies are then discussed and preliminary numerical analyses are carried out to interpret the observed failure modes. In general, all surveyed masonry bridges experienced some extent of damage, particularly when built with poor-quality materials and subjected to geotechnical-induced effects. However, they offered a robust response in terms of collapse prevention. The majority of existing reinforced concrete bridges, although designed primarily for gravity loads, exhibited acceptable performance; however, local damage due to the poor maintenance of the structural systems was observed, which affected primarily the non-structural components of the bridges

Analisi della risposta strutturale di alcuni ponti durante il terremoto del Centro Italia

La presente memoria analizza la risposta strutturale dei ponti in muratura ed in c.a. durante la sequenza sismica registrata nel Centro Italia. Dopo una breve discussione delle caratteristiche principali della sequenza sismica registrata nel 2016-2017, vengono esaminati in particolare i diversi meccanismi di collasso osservati e la prestazione sismica di alcune delle più significative infrastrutture viarie presenti nell’area del cratere ed essenziali per le operazioni di soccorso. Dai sopralluoghi effettuati e dall’esame della risposta strutturale si può asserire che gran parte dei danni rilevati sono attribuibili principalmente a fenomeni di degrado dovuti alla scarsa manutenzione, nonché a stati pregressi di danneggiamento