The Messale Rosselli : Scientific investigation on an outstanding 14th century illuminated manuscript from Avignon

The manuscript D.I.21 kept at Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria in Torino, better known as Messale Rosselli, is one of the richest fully illustrated missals surviving from the mid-14th century. It was produced in Avignon for the Aragonese Cardinal Nicolas Rossell (1314–1362) but after the patron's death, it passed from hand to hand until it reached its final destination in Torino. The Messale Rosselli has recently been the object of a thorough interdisciplinary study, involving full characterisation of the colourants with non-invasive techniques (FORS, fluorimetry, XRF spectrometry, optical microscopy, IR photography). The full set of colourants was identified, highlighting the systematic use of precious pigments such as lapis lazuli, cinnabar and gold, a feature reinforcing the symbolic value of the manuscript; in addition, less valuable but interesting dyes such as brazilwood and folium were also identified, used either pure or in a mixture with pigments in order to obtain a wide range of hues. The palettes used by the various artists have been evaluated according to the availability of raw materials in the geographic area around Avignon, finding that most of the colourants could be at easy disposal of the artists. Information has also been obtained concerning the preparation of the parchment. The systematic measurement of the width of folios allowed hypothesising the number of the animals slaughtered to produce parchment, and the way of using skins. XRF analysis on the folios suggested that different preparations were used. Finally, eZooMS, a non-invasive technique able to provide information on the animal species from which parchment was produced, evidenced that calf and goat, but not sheep, were used to produce the parchment of the Messale Rosselli

Electrical stimulation counteracts muscle atrophy associated with aging in humans

Functional and structural muscle decline is a major problem during aging. Our goal was to improve in old subjects quadriceps m. force and mobility functional performances (stair test, chair rise test, timed up and go test) with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (9 weeks, 2-3times/week, 20-30 minutes per session). Furthermore we performed histological and biological molecular analyses of vastus lateralis m. biopsies. Our findings demonstrate that electrical stimulation significantly improved mobility functional performancies and muscle histological characteristics and molecular markers

Gaming for Social Inclusion and Civic Participation: the INGAME project

[EN] Throughout the European Union, there is a particular need for practices that would provide educators with the devices necessary to create civic engagement locally and supra-nationally responsive. The INGAME project focuses on enhancing the acquisition of social and civic competences, fostering knowledge, understanding and ownership of values and fundamental rights with a strong focus on online games and digital skills for the development of civic literacy and skills of young adults. It is placed under the Erasmus + KA3 Social inclusion and common values: the contribution in education and training

Deviation of eyes and head in acute cerebral stroke

BACKGROUND: It is a well-known phenomenon that some patients with acute left or right hemisphere stroke show a deviation of the eyes (Prévost's sign) and head to one side. Here we investigated whether both right- and left-sided brain lesions may cause this deviation. Moreover, we studied the relationship between this phenomenon and spatial neglect. In contrast to previous studies, we determined not only the discrete presence or absence of eye deviation with the naked eye through clinical inspection, but actually measured the extent of horizontal eye-in-head and head-on-trunk deviation. In further contrast, measurements were performed early after stroke onset (1.5 days on average). METHODS: Eye-in-head and head-on-trunk positions were measured at the bedside in 33 patients with acute unilateral left or right cerebral stroke consecutively admitted to our stroke unit. RESULTS: Each single patient with spatial neglect and right hemisphere lesion showed a marked deviation of the eyes and the head to the ipsilesional, right side. The average spontaneous gaze position in this group was 46° right, while it was close to the saggital body midline (0°) in the groups with acute left- or right-sided stroke but no spatial neglect as well as in healthy subjects. CONCLUSION: A marked horizontal eye and head deviation observed ~1.5 days post-stroke is not a symptom associated with acute cerebral lesions per se, nor is a general symptom of right hemisphere lesions, but rather is specific for stroke patients with spatial neglect. The evaluation of the patient's horizontal eye and head position thus could serve as a brief and easy way helping to diagnose spatial neglect, in addition to the traditional paper-and-pencil tests

The impact of ESCRT on Aβ1-42 induced membrane lesions in a yeast model for Alzheimer’s disease

Aβ metabolism plays a pivotal role in Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we used a yeast model to monitor Aβ42 toxicity when entering the secretory pathway and demonstrate that processing in, and exit from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is required to unleash the full Aβ42 toxic potential. Consistent with previously reported data, our data suggests that Aβ42 interacts with mitochondria, thereby enhancing formation of reactive oxygen species and eventually leading to cell demise. We used our model to search for genes that modulate this deleterious effect, either by reducing or enhancing Aβ42 toxicity, based on screening of the yeast knockout collection. This revealed a reduced Aβ42 toxicity not only in strains hampered in ER-Golgi traffic and mitochondrial functioning but also in strains lacking genes connected to the cell cycle and the DNA replication stress response. On the other hand, increased Aβ42 toxicity was observed in strains affected in the actin cytoskeleton organization, endocytosis and the formation of multivesicular bodies, including key factors of the ESCRT machinery. Since the latter was shown to be required for the repair of membrane lesions in mammalian systems, we studied this aspect in more detail in our yeast model. Our data demonstrated that Aβ42 heavily disturbed the plasma membrane integrity in a strain lacking the ESCRT-III accessory factor Bro1, a phenotype that came along with a severe growth defect and enhanced loading of lipid droplets. Thus, it appears that also in yeast ESCRT is required for membrane repair, thereby counteracting one of the deleterious effects induced by the expression of Aβ42. Combined, our studies once more validated the use of yeast as a model to investigate fundamental mechanisms underlying the etiology of neurodegenerative disorders