157 research outputs found
Il diritto allâistruzione dellâalunno disabile: principio di uguaglianza sostanziale e âtailorizzazioneâ del servizio
After briefly framing the discipline of the disabled childâs right to education in its social dimension, the author focuses on three specific and significant profiles: the differentiated educational paths; the school-home transport service; the case law in the management of the educational service. In implementino the principles of substantial equality and good performance, the author concludes by emphasizing the need that the educational service for the disabled pupil is offered with a view to maximum personalization, essential prerequisite for achieving the goal of effective inclusio
Pharmacogenetics of Antidepressant Drugs: An Update
SUMMARY Pharmacological treatment of depressive disorders is characterized by poor predictability of individual response. In recent years, the increasing evidence has demonstrated that genetic factors play a critical role in determining the differences in treatment outcome to antidepressant drugs. A number of pharmacogenetic studies on antidepressant drugs has been conducted, and genetic variations at level of drug metabolizing enzymes, drug transporters and drug targets, possibly influencing the clinical response, have been identified. Pharmacogenetics may hopefully provide the basis for individualized pharmacotherapy of depressive disorders in order to maximize the probability of a favorable response and minimize the risk of adverse drug reactions. In this article, the major findings related to the pharmacogenetics of genes involved in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antidepressant drugs are critically reviewed
Cytotoxicity and Antiviral Properties of Alkaloids Isolated from Pancratium maritimum
Ten Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AAs) were isolated for the first time from Pancratium maritimum collected in Calabria region, Italy. They belong to different subgroups of this family and were identi-fied as lycorine, which is the main alkaloid, 9-O-demethyllycorine, haemanthidine, haemanthamine, 11-hydroxyvittatine, homolycorine, pancracine, obliquine, tazettine and vittatine. Haemanthidine was isolated as a scalar mixture of two 6-epimers, as already known also for other 6-hydroxycrinine alkaloids, but for the first time they were separated as 6,11-O,OâČ-di-p-bromobenzoyl esters. The evaluation of the cytotoxic and antiviral potentials of all isolated compounds was undertaken. Ly-corine and haemanthidine showed cytotoxic activity on Hacat cells and A431 and AGS cancer cells while, pancracine exhibited selective cytotoxicity against A431 cells. We uncovered that in addition to lycorine and haemanthidine, haemanthamine and pancracine also possess antiretroviral abilities, inhibiting pseudotyped human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)â1 with EC50 of 25.3 ”M and 18.5 ”M respectively. Strikingly, all the AAs isolated from P. maritimum were able to impede dengue virus (DENV) replication (EC50 ranged from 0.34â73.59 ”M) at low to non-cytotoxic concentrations (CC50 ranged from 6.25 ”M to >100 ”M). Haemanthamine (EC50 = 337 nM), pancracine (EC50 = 357 nM) and haemanthidine (EC50 = 476 nM) were the most potent anti-DENV inhibitors. Thus, this study uncovered new antiviral properties of P. maritimum isolated alkaloids, a significant finding that could lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies to fight viral infectious diseases
A systematic review on the existing screening pathways for Lynch syndrome identification
Background: Lynch syndrome (LS) is the most common hereditary colon cancer syndrome, accounting for 3-5% of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases, and it is associated with the development of other cancers. Early detection of individuals with LS is relevant, since they can take advantage of life-saving intensive care surveillance. The debate regarding the best screening policy, however, is far from being concluded. This prompted us to conduct a systematic review of the existing screening pathways for LS. Methods: We performed a systematic search of MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, and SCOPUS online databases for the existing screening pathways for LS. The eligibility criteria for inclusion in this review required that the studies evaluated a structured and permanent screening pathway for the identification of LS carriers. The effectiveness of the pathways was analyzed in terms of LS detection rate. Results: We identified five eligible studies. All the LS screening pathways started from CRC cases, of which three followed a universal screening approach. Concerning the laboratory procedures, the pathways used immunohistochemistry and/or microsatellite instability testing. If the responses of the tests indicated a risk for LS, the genetic counseling, performed by a geneticist or a genetic counselor, was mandatory to undergo DNA genetic testing. The overall LS detection rate ranged from 0 to 5.2%. Conclusion: This systematic review reported different existing pathways for the identification of LS patients. Although current clinical guidelines suggest to test all the CRC cases to identify LS cases, the actual implementation of pathways for LS identification has not been realized. Large-scale screening programs for LS have the potential to reduce morbidity and mortality for CRC, but coordinated efforts in educating all key stakeholders and addressing public needs are still required
Early results from GLASS-JWST XVI: Discovering a bluer z~4-7 Universe through UV slopes
We use the GLASS-JWST Early Release Science NIRCam parallel observations to
provide a first view of the UV continuum properties of NIRCam/F444W selected
galaxies at 4<z<7. By combining multiwavelength NIRCam observations, we
constrain the UV continuum slope for a sample of 401 galaxies with stringent
quality controls. We find that >99% of the galaxies are blue star-forming
galaxies with very low levels of dust (Avbeta~0.01+/-0.33). We find no
statistically significant correlation for UV slope with redshift or UV
magnitude. However, we find that in general galaxies at higher redshifts and
fainter UV magnitudes have steeper UV slopes. We find a statistically
significant correlation for UV slope with stellar mass, with galaxies with
higher stellar mass showing shallower UV slopes. Individual fits to some of our
galaxies reach the bluest UV slopes of beta~-3.1 allowed by stellar population
models used in this analysis. Therefore, it is likely that stellar population
models with higher amount of Lyman continuum leakage, AGN effects, and/or
Population III contributions are required to accurately reproduce the rest-UV
and optical properties of some of our bluest galaxies. This dust-free early
view confirms that our current cosmological understanding of gradual mass +
dust buildup of galaxies with cosmic time is largely accurate to describe the
~0.7-1.5 Gyr age window of the Universe. The abundance of a large population of
UV faint dust-poor systems may point to a dominance of low-mass galaxies at z>6
playing a vital role in cosmic reionization.Comment: Accepted in ApJ
The stellar metallicities of massive quiescent galaxies at 1.0 < z < 1.3 from KMOS+VANDELS
We present a rest-frame UV-optical stacked spectrum representative of massive
quiescent galaxies at . The stack
is constructed using VANDELS survey data, combined with new KMOS observations.
We apply two independent full-spectral-fitting approaches, measuring a total
metallicity, [Z/H]= with Bagpipes, and [Z/H]= with
Alf, a fall of dex compared with the local Universe. We also
measure an iron abundance, [Fe/H] =, a fall of dex
compared with the the local Universe. We measure the alpha enhancement via the
magnesium abundance, obtaining [Mg/Fe]=0.12, consistent with
similar-mass galaxies in the local Universe, indicating no evolution in the
average alpha enhancement of log quiescent galaxies over
the last Gyr. This suggests the very high alpha enhancements recently
reported for several bright quiescent galaxies are due to their
extreme masses, log, rather than being typical
of the population. The metallicity evolution we observe with
redshift (falling [Z/H], [Fe/H], constant [Mg/Fe]) is consistent with recent
studies. We recover a mean stellar age of Gyr,
corresponding to a formation redshift, z_\rm{form}=2.4^{+0.6}_{-0.3}. Recent
studies have obtained varying average formation redshifts for
massive quiescent galaxies, and, as these studies report consistent
metallicities, we identify different star-formation-history models as the most
likely cause. Larger spectroscopic samples from upcoming ground-based
instruments will provide precise constraints on ages and metallicities at
. Combining these with precise JWST quiescent-galaxy
stellar-mass functions will provide an independent test of formation redshifts
derived from spectral fitting.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Core-Shell Crystals of Porous Organic Cages
The first examples of coreâshell porous molecular crystals are described. The physical properties of the coreâshell crystals, such as surface hydrophobicity, CO2 /CH4 selectivity, are controlled by the chemical composition of the shell. This shows that porous coreâshell molecular crystals can exhibit synergistic properties that out-perform materials built from the individual, constituent molecules
Early results from GLASS-JWST. III: Galaxy candidates at z9-15
We present the results of a first search for galaxy candidates at
z9--15 on deep seven-bands NIRCam imaging acquired as part of the
GLASS-JWST Early Release Science Program on a flanking field of the Frontier
Fields cluster A2744. Candidates are selected via two different renditions of
the Lyman-break technique, isolating objects at z9-11, and z9-15,
respectively, supplemented by photometric redshifts obtained with two
independent codes. We find six color-selected candidates at z9, plus one
additional candidate with photometric redshift z9. In particular,
we identify two bright candidates at that are
unambiguously placed at and , respectively. The
total number of galaxies discovered at is in line with the predictions of
a non-evolving LF. The two bright ones at are unexpected given the
survey volume, although cosmic variance and small number statistics limits
general conclusions. This first search demonstrates the unique power of JWST to
discover galaxies at the high redshift frontier. The candidates are ideal
targets for spectroscopic follow-up in cycle.Comment: Submitted to ApJL, 9 pages, 4 figure
Early results from GLASS-JWST. XX: Unveiling a population of "red-excess'' galaxies in Abell2744 and in the coeval field
We combine JWST/NIRCam imaging and MUSE data to characterize the properties
of galaxies in different environmental conditions in the cluster Abell2744
() and in its immediate surroundings. We investigate how galaxy
colors, morphology and star forming fractions depend on wavelength and on
different parameterizations of environment. Our most striking result is the
discovery of a ``red-excess'' population in F200WF444W colors both in the
cluster regions and the field. These galaxies have normal F115WF150W colors,
but are up to 0.8 mag redder than red sequence galaxies in F200WF444W. They
also have rather blue rest frame BV colors. {Galaxies in the field and at
the cluster virial radius are overall characterized by redder colors, but
galaxies with the largest color deviations are found in the field and in the
cluster core. Several results} suggest that mechanisms taking place in these
regions might be more effective in producing these colors. Looking at their
morphology, many cluster galaxies show signatures consistent with ram pressure
stripping, while field galaxies have features resembling interactions and
mergers. Our hypothesis is that these galaxies are characterized by dust
enshrouded star formation: a JWST/NIRSpec spectrum for one of the galaxies is
dominated by a strong PAH at 3.3, suggestive of dust obscured star
formation. Larger spectroscopic samples are needed to understand if the color
excess is due exclusively to dust-obscured star formation, and the role of
environment in triggering it.Comment: ApJL in pres
Design of Approaches for Dependability and Initial Prototypes
The aim of CONNECT is to achieve universal interoperability between heterogeneous Networked Systems. For this, the non-functional properties required at each side of the connection going to be established must be fulfilled. By the one inclusive term "CONNECTability" we comprehend properties belonging to all four non-functional concerns of interest for CONNECT, namely dependability, performance, security and trust. We model such properties in conformance with a meta-model which establishes the relevant concepts and their relations. Then, building on the conceptual models proposed in the first year in Deliverable D5.1, in this document we present the approaches developed for assuring CONNECTability both at synthesis time and at runtime. The contributions include: the Dependability&Performance analysis Enabler, for which we release a modular architecture supporting stochastic verification and state-based analysis; incremental verification and event-based monitoring for runtime analysis; a model-based approach to interoperable trust management; the Security-by-Contract-with-Trust framework, which guarantees and enforces the expected trust levels and security policies
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