Le Community Enterprises in Gran Bretagna: imprese sociali come modello di rigenerazione

Nel dibattito italiano, sia accademico che giornalistico, le questioni che riguardano la riduzione della spesa pubblica, la dismissione del patrimonio pubblico, la rigenerazione urbana delle periferie, la partecipazione ed il coinvolgimento delle comunità nei processi di pianificazione, rappresentano temi di crescente rilevanza. In risposta a queste problematiche, la Gran Bretagna - paese in cui da sempre la pianificazione del territorio ha una dimensione multidisciplinare - ha riconosciuto il ruolo di alcune imprese sociali definite community enterprises. Queste organizzazioni sono nate da processi spontanei e distinti, in uno stretto dualismo tra l’azione locale e gli indirizzi delle politiche nazionali, affermandosi come strumento di rigenerazione urbana sostenibile. L’efficacia d’azione delle community enterprises consiste nella promozione di processi di capacity bulding, che pongono al centro della rigenerazione le comunità con le proprie risorse, favorendone l’attitudine ad operare per il proprio welfare e proponendo formule redistributive di sviluppo urbano. La recente trasformazione culturale e politica nota come “from the Big State to Big Society” ha riconosciuto la capacità d’azione di queste imprese, ma ne ha allo stesso tempo messo in discussione il ruolo, individuando come maggior limite delle stesse la dipendenza dal sostegno pubblico quale elemento necessario a garantirne lo sviluppo e la loro azione sui territori. In questo contributo1 si propone una lettura dell’evoluzione delle politiche urbane del Regno Unito e un inquadramento generale delle diverse tipologie di community enterprises, con particolare riferimento ai Community Development Trust. Nello specifico è stato approfondito il caso del Westway Development Trust di Londra, il suo potenziale di sviluppo e i risultati raggiunti in termini di attività e capacità economiche

Second-harmonic generation from coupled plasmon modes in a single dimer of gold nanospheres

We show that a dimer made of two gold nanospheres exhibits a remarkable efficiency for second-harmonic generation under femtosecond optical excitation. The detectable nonlinear emission for the given particle size and excitation wavelength arises when the two nanoparticles are as close as possible to contact, as in situ controlled and measured using the tip of an atomic force microscope. The excitation wavelength dependence of the second-harmonic signal supports a coupled plasmon resonance origin with radiation from the dimer gap. This nanometer-size light source might be used for high-resolution near-field optical microscopy.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Rapid decrease of malaria morbidity following the introduction of community-based monitoring in a rural area of central Vietnam

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite a successful control programme, malaria has not completely disappeared in Vietnam; it remains endemic in remote areas of central Vietnam, where standard control activities seem to be less effective. The evolution of malaria prevalence and incidence over two and half years in a rural area of central Vietnam, after the introduction of community-based monitoring of malaria cases, is presented.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>After a complete census, six cross-sectional surveys and passive detection of malaria cases (by village and commune health workers using rapid diagnostic tests) were carried out between March 2004 and December 2006 in Ninh-Thuan province, in a population of about 10,000 individuals. The prevalence of malaria infection and the incidence of clinical cases were estimated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Malaria prevalence significantly decreased from 13.6% (281/2,068) in December 2004 to 4.0% (80/2,019) in December 2006. <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>and <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>were the most common infections with few <it>Plasmodium malariae </it>mono-infections and some mixed infections. During the study period, malaria incidence decreased by more than 50%, from 25.7/1,000 population at risk in the second half of 2004 to 12.3/1,000 in the second half of 2006. The incidence showed seasonal variations, with a yearly peak between June and December, except in 2006 when the peak observed in the previous years did not occur.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Over a 2.5-year follow-up period, malaria prevalence and incidence decreased by more than 70% and 50%, respectively. Possibly, this could be attributed to the setting up of a passive case detection system based on village health workers, indicating that a major impact on the malaria burden can be obtained whenever prompt diagnosis and adequate treatment are available.</p

Injectable hydrogel induces regeneration of naturally degenerate human intervertebral discs in a loaded organ culture model.

Low back pain resulting from disc degeneration is a leading cause of disability worldwide. However, to date few therapies target the cause and fail to repair the intervertebral disc (IVD). This study investigates the ability of an injectable hydrogel (NPgel), to inhibit catabolic protein expression and promote matrix expression in human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells within a tissue explant culture model isolated from degenerate discs. Furthermore, the injection capacity of NPgel into naturally degenerate whole human discs, effects on mechanical function, and resistance to extrusion during loading were investigated. Finally, the induction of potential regenerative effects in a physiologically loaded human organ culture system was investigated following injection of NPgel with or without bone marrow progenitor cells. Injection of NPgel into naturally degenerate human IVDs increased disc height and Young's modulus, and was retained during extrusion testing. Injection into cadaveric discs followed by culture under physiological loading increased MRI signal intensity, restored natural biomechanical properties and showed evidence of increased anabolism and decreased catabolism with tissue integration observed. These results provide essential proof of concept data supporting the use of NPgel as an injectable therapy for disc regeneration. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Low back pain resulting from disc degeneration is a leading cause of disability worldwide. However, to date few therapies target the cause and fail to repair the intervertebral disc. This study investigated the potential regenerative properties of an injectable hydrogel system (NPgel) within human tissue samples. To mimic the human in vivo conditions and the unique IVD niche, a dynamically loaded intact human disc culture system was utilised. NPgel improved the biomechanical properties, increased MRI intensity and decreased degree of degeneration. Furthermore, NPgel induced matrix production and decreased catabolic factors by the native cells of the disc. This manuscript provides evidence for the potential use of NPgel as a regenerative biomaterial for intervertebral disc degeneration

Multiple Wolbachia strains provide comparative levels of protection against dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti.

The insect bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is being introgressed into Aedes aegypti populations as an intervention against the transmission of medically important arboviruses. Here we compare Ae. aegypti mosquitoes infected with wMelCS or wAlbB to the widely used wMel Wolbachia strain on an Australian nuclear genetic background for their susceptibility to infection by dengue virus (DENV) genotypes spanning all four serotypes. All Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes were more resistant to intrathoracic DENV challenge than their wildtype counterparts. Blocking of DENV replication was greatest by wMelCS. Conversely, wAlbB-infected mosquitoes were more susceptible to whole body infection than wMel and wMelCS. We extended these findings via mosquito oral feeding experiments, using viremic blood from 36 acute, hospitalised dengue cases in Vietnam, additionally including wMel and wildtype mosquitoes on a Vietnamese nuclear genetic background. As above, wAlbB was less effective at blocking DENV replication in the abdomen compared to wMel and wMelCS. The transmission potential of all Wolbachia-infected mosquito lines (measured by the presence/absence of infectious DENV in mosquito saliva) after 14 days, was significantly reduced compared to their wildtype counterparts, and lowest for wMelCS and wAlbB. These data support the use of wAlbB and wMelCS strains for introgression field trials and the biocontrol of DENV transmission. Furthermore, despite observing significant differences in transmission potential between wildtype mosquitoes from Australia and Vietnam, no difference was observed between wMel-infected mosquitoes from each background suggesting that Wolbachia may override any underlying variation in DENV transmission potential

Role of nitric oxide synthases in elastase-induced emphysema

Nitric oxide (NO) in combination with superoxide produces peroxynitrites and induces protein nitration, which participates in a number of chronic degenerative diseases. NO is produced at high levels in the human emphysematous lung, but its role in this disease is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether the NO synthases contribute to the development of elastase-induced emphysema in mice. nNOS, iNOS, and eNOS were quantified and immunolocalized in the lung after a tracheal instillation of elastase in mice. To determine whether eNOS or iNOS had a role in the development of emphysema, mice bearing a germline deletion of the eNOS and iNOS genes and mice treated with a pharmacological iNOS inhibitor were exposed to elastase. Protein nitration was determined by immunofluorescence, protein oxidation was determined by ELISA. Inflammation and MMP activity were quantified by cell counts, RT-PCR and zymography in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Cell proliferation was determined by Ki67 immunostaining. Emphysema was quantified morphometrically. iNOS and eNOS were diffusely upregulated in the lung of elastase-treated mice and a 12-fold increase in the number of 3-nitrotyrosine-expressing cells was observed. Over 80% of these cells were alveolar type 2 cells. In elastase-instilled mice, iNOS inactivation reduced protein nitration and increased protein oxidation but had no effect on inflammation, MMP activity, cell proliferation or the subsequent development of emphysema. eNOS inactivation had no effect. In conclusion, in the elastase-injured lung, iNOS mediates protein nitration in alveolar type 2 cells and alleviates oxidative injury. Neither eNOS nor iNOS are required for the development of elastase-induced emphysema

High CD8+ T Cell Activation Marks a Less Differentiated HIV-1 Specific CD8+ T Cell Response that Is Not Altered by Suppression of Viral Replication

The relationship of elevated T cell activation to altered T cell differentiation profiles, each defining features of HIV-1 infection, has not been extensively explored. We hypothesized that anti-retroviral suppression of T cell activation levels would lead to alterations in the T cell differentiation of total and HIV-1 specific CD8+ T cell responses among recently HIV-1 infected adults.We performed a longitudinal study simultaneously measuring T cell activation and maturation markers on both total and antigen-specific T cells in recently infected adults: prior to treatment; after the initiation of HAART; and after treatment was halted. Prior to treatment, HIV-1 Gag-specific CD8+ T cells were predominantly of a highly activated, intermediate memory (CD27+CD28-) phenotype, while CMV pp65-specific CD8+ T cells showed a late memory (CD27-CD28-), low activation phenotype. Participants with the highest fraction of late memory (CD27-CD28-) HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cells had higher CD4+ T cell counts (rho = +0.74, p = 0.004). In turn, those with the highest fraction of intermediate memory (CD27+ CD28-) HIV-1 specific CD8+ T cells had high total CD8+ T cell activation (rho = +0.68, p = 0.01), indicating poorer long-term clinical outcomes. The HIV-1 specific T cell differentiation profile was not readily altered by suppression of T cell activation following HAART treatment.A more differentiated, less activated HIV-1 specific CD8+ T cell response may be clinically protective. Anti-retroviral treatment initiated two to four months after infection lowered T cell activation but had no effect on the differentiation profile of the HIV-1-specific response. Intervention during the first month of acute infection may be required to shift the differentiation phenotype of HIV-1 specific responses to a more clinically favorable profile

Real time inverse kinematics of a general 5-axis CNC machine

In most of the previous investigations, the kinematics model of five-axis computer-numerical control (CNC) centers was formulated just at the position level, and the differential kinematic relationships (velocity, acceleration and jerk of the five joints of a five-axis center) that are necessary for several purposes, especially for investigating the relationship between the limits of a machine’s drives and the feed rate maximization (the productivity maximization), have been overlooked. Therefore, this paper addresses the differential kinematic modelling and analysis for the five-axis CNC centers. In particular, the differential kinematic equations are formulated in a parametric domain so that they are useful for investigating the kinematic behaviors of the five-axis centers in real time