Process Calculi Abstractions for Biology

Several approaches have been proposed to model biological systems by means of the formal techniques and tools available in computer science. To mention just a few of them, some representations are inspired by Petri Nets theory, and some other by stochastic processes. A most recent approach consists in interpreting the living entities as terms of process calculi where the behavior of the represented systems can be inferred by applying syntax-driven rules. A comprehensive picture of the state of the art of the process calculi approach to biological modeling is still missing. This paper goes in the direction of providing such a picture by presenting a comparative survey of the process calculi that have been used and proposed to describe the behavior of living entities. This is the preliminary version of a paper that was published in Algorithmic Bioprocesses. The original publication is available at http://www.springer.com/computer/foundations/book/978-3-540-88868-

Brief Communication: A low-cost Arduino®-based wire extensometer for earth flow monitoring

Abstract. Continuous monitoring of earth flow displacement is essential for the understanding of the dynamic of the process, its ongoing evolution and designing mitigation measures. Despite its importance, it is not always applied due to its expense and the need for integration with additional sensors to monitor factors controlling movement. To overcome these problems, we developed and tested a low-cost Arduino-based wire-rail extensometer integrating a data logger, a power system and multiple digital and analog inputs. The system is equipped with a high-precision position transducer that in the test configuration offers a measuring range of 1023 mm and an associated accuracy of ±1 mm, and integrates an operating temperature sensor that should allow potential thermal drift that typically affects this kind of systems to be identified and corrected. A field test, conducted at the Pietrafitta earth flow where additional monitoring systems had been installed, indicates a high reliability of the measurement and a high monitoring stability without visible thermal drift

SiSeRHMap v1.0: A simulator for mapped seismic response using a hybrid model

SiSeRHMap is a computerized methodology capable of drawing up prediction maps of seismic response. It was realized on the basis of a hybrid model which combines different approaches and models in a new and non-conventional way. These approaches 5 and models are organized in a code-architecture composed of five interdependent modules. A GIS (Geographic Information System) Cubic Model (GCM), which is a layered computational structure based on the concept of lithodynamic units and zones, aims at reproducing a parameterized layered subsoil model. A metamodeling process confers a hybrid nature to the methodology. In this process, the one-dimensional linear 10 equivalent analysis produces acceleration response spectra of shear wave velocitythickness profiles, defined as trainers, which are randomly selected in each zone. Subsequently, a numerical adaptive simulation model (Spectra) is optimized on the above trainer acceleration response spectra by means of a dedicated Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) and the Levenberg–Marquardt Algorithm (LMA) as the final optimizer. In the fi15 nal step, the GCM Maps Executor module produces a serial map-set of a stratigraphic seismic response at different periods, grid-solving the calibrated Spectra model. In addition, the spectra topographic amplification is also computed by means of a numerical prediction model. This latter is built to match the results of the numerical simulations related to isolate reliefs using GIS topographic attributes. In this way, different sets 20 of seismic response maps are developed, on which, also maps of seismic design response spectra are defined by means of an enveloping technique

Sensitization and Clinically Relevant Allergy to Hair Dyes and Clothes from Black Henna Tattoos: Do People Know the Risk? An Uncommon Serious Case and a Review of the Literature

Henna (Lawsonia inermis L.) tattooing has been used in Egypt and India since ancient times. Today this temporary body art is becoming increasingly popular among young people. Various chemicals are added to henna to darken and enhance the definition of tattoos, especially para-phenylenediamine (PPD), which is a strong sensitizer known to cause cross sensitive reactions to azoic dyes and other para-amino compounds. We present the case of an 18-year-old girl who became clinically sensitive to textile dyes after having showed a serious reaction both to her first hair dying when she was 16 years old and following the application of a temporary henna tattoo when she was a kid. The evidence from our literature review showed 33 cases of manifest sensitization to hair dye and only one of observable contact allergy to both hair and textile dyes from henna tattoos. The sensitization of children may have long-life lasting consequences, because of cross-reaction to dyes and other chemicals contained in hair colourants, clothes and drugs. Since tattoos are very popular and globalization has increased the circulation of unauthorized products we point out the need for informative campaigns about the risk of sensitization caused by temporary tattoos

Flood hazard of major river segments, Benevento Province, Southern Italy

On 15 October 2015, a storm-induced flood hit the central sector of Benevento Province (southern Italy) causing two deaths and severe damage to infrastructure, buildings and local agriculture. This area has a long history of similar events and since 1924 its major river segments have been monitored with several hydrometric stations. We used data from two of these stations and a LiDAR derived high-resolution topography to develop a flood hazard map. For map computation, we first derived a flood inundation map from topography. Subsequently we estimated the probability of exceedance of each specific fluvial stage from the combination of a Generalized Extreme Value and a Gamma fits of available hydrometric data. As boundary condition, we considered a reference scenario corresponding to an estimated 500 year flood. The hazard maps provide an overview of the flood hazard in the central sector of Benevento Province and floodplains zonation in flood perspective

PS-driven inventory of town-damaging landslides in the Benevento, Avellino and Salerno Provinces, southern Italy

The Apennine provinces of Campania Region (southern Italy), Benevento, Avellino and Salerno, are known for their 'unstable towns' suffering periodic damage from landslides. Their identification and mapping are very challenging tasks, since boundary mapping under urban settlements is not always possible without time-consuming field analysis of building damage and/or expensive mid-term diffuse ground-surface deformation monitoring. To overcome this problem, an inventory of town-damaging landslides, guided by available Permanent Scatterers (PS) ground-deformation data, was prepared. It provides an updated tool suitable to guide future land planning and historical site restoration in the Apennine provinces of Campania Region. Our fourteen Map Sheets show active and local reactivation of suspended/dormant landslides. Overall, 356 landslides were identified, amongst which 162 were identified as flows, 101 as slides, 1 as a spreads and 92 as complex landslides. To supplement our maps, a simplified distribution analysis based on major landslide morphometric characteristics was completed

Inventory of Vietri-Maiori landslides induced by the storm of October 1954 (southern Italy)

On 25 October 1954, a storm hit the area surrounding the villages of Vietri sul Mare and Maiori of the Amalfi Coast (southern Italy) causing more than 300 deaths and severe damage to infrastructures and agriculture. This event has been among the most catastrophic historically documented in Campania Region. On this basis, and considering the lack of an existing complete characterization of the event in terms of triggered slope processes, we used multiple sets of stereoscopic aerial photos and a LiDAR-derived high-resolution topography to produce an event landslide inventory map. Our map provides an overview of the landslide distribution and extent in the area that mainly suffered the effect of the storm and is the basis for a morphometric characterization of landslide source areas that we present in this paper as simplified statistical analysis. In addition, we compared the rainfall distribution with the spatial density of source areas

Cost analysis of GER-induced asthma: A controlled study vs. atopic asthma of comparable severity

SummaryBronchial asthma is a costly disease: while the role of pharmaceutical strategies was greatly emphasised in order to alleviate its economic burden, the aetiological approach to asthma has received much less attention from this point of view. The impact of gastro-oesophageal reflux (GER)-related asthma was assessed in comparison to atopic asthma in 262 matched patients, and the corresponding direct and indirect annual costs calculated. All subjects were screened by means of a 95-item self-questionnaire. The overall resource utilisation was calculated for the last 12 months. Drug-induced annual costs were €290.4 (interquartile range—iqr 32.8) in atopic and €438.4 (iqr 27.8) in GER-related asthma (p<0.001); expenditure for medical consultations and diagnostics were €166.1 (iqr 14.8) vs. €71.6 (iqr 11.0) (p<0.001), and €338.4 (20.0) vs. 186.9 (iqr 26.5) (p<0.001), respectively. Direct costs due to hospital admissions and indirect costs due to absenteeism were also higher in GER-related asthmatics: 2.201.7±90.0 vs. €567.1±11.0 (p<0.001), and €748.7±94.7 vs. €103.6±33.9 (p<0.001), respectively. The total annual cost per patient was €1246.7 (iqr 1979.6) in atopic and €3967.1 (iqr 3751.5) in GER-related asthma, p<0.001. In conclusion, GER-induced asthma has a more relevant economic impact on healthcare resources than atopic asthma. Although further studies are needed, present data tend to demonstrate that when facing difficult asthma (GER-related asthma in this case), the aetiological assessment of the disease plays a critical role in optimising the approach to patients’ needs

Stromal cell–derived factor 1α increases polyploidization of megakaryocytes generated by human hematopoietic progenitor cells

AbstractThe alpha chemokine receptor CXCR4 has been shown to be expressed on human hematopoietic progenitor cells and during the megakaryocytic differentiation pathway. Stromal cell–derived factor 1 (SDF-1) is the ligand for CXCR4. In this study, the role of SDF-1α in megakaryocytopoiesis was investigated. CD34+ progenitors purified from peripheral blood were grown in serum-free liquid suspension culture supplemented with thrombopoietin to obtain a virtually pure megakaryocytic progeny. In this condition, the addition of SDF-1α gives rise to megakaryocytes (MKs) showing an increased DNA content and a rise of lobated nuclei, as compared with untreated cells: at day 5, approximately 20% of the cells already showed the presence of more than one nuclear lobe versus fewer than 5% in the control cells; at day 12, approximately 85% of the cells were of large size and markedly polyploid, whereas approximately 60% of the control cells were polyploid, showed fewer lobes, and were a smaller size. This effect was dose-dependent and did not affect the megakaryocytic proliferation. Experiments with the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor PD98059 suggested a role for MAPK pathway on SDF-1α–induced endomitosis. Furthermore, SDF-1α induced a significant increase in the number of proplatelet-bearing MKs and promoted the migration of megakaryocytic cells. Treatment with SDF-1α caused reduction in CXCR4 abundance on the plasma membrane, seemingly owing to receptor internalization. Furthermore, the presence of SDF-1α did not affect the expression of megakaryocytic markers, indicating that differentiation and polyploidization are independently regulated events

miR-199a-3p increases the anti-tumor activity of palbociclib in liver cancer models

Palbociclib is in early-stage clinical testing in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we investigated whether the anti-tumor activity of palbociclib, which prevents the CDK4/6-mediated phosphorylation of RB1 but simultaneously activates AKT signaling, could be improved by its combination with a PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitor in liver cancer models. The selective pan-AKT inhibitor, MK-2206, or the microRNA-199a-3p were tested in combination with palbociclib in HCC cell lines and in the TG221 HCC transgenic mouse model. The combination palbociclib/MK-2206 was highly effective, but too toxic to be tolerated by mice. Conversely, the combination miR-199a-3p mimics/palbociclib not only induced a complete or partial regression of tumor lesions, but was also well tolerated. After 3&nbsp;weeks of treatment, the combination produced a significant reduction in number and size of tumor nodules in comparison with palbociclib or miR-199a-3p mimics used as single agents. Moreover, we also reported the efficacy of this combination against sorafenib-resistant cells in&nbsp;vitro and in&nbsp;vivo. At the molecular level, the combination caused the simultaneous decrease of the phosphorylation of both RB1 and of AKT. Our findings provide pre-clinical evidence for the efficacy of the combination miR-199a-3p/palbociclib as anti-HCC treatment or as a new approach to overcome sorafenib resistance