Gli strumenti della filatura nel contesto funerario: i materiali dalle necropoli veronesi

The classification of spinning’s objects in Verona is a project of Studi Umanistici Department of University Ca’ Foscari in Venice. Tools came from the roman necropolis in Verona, beside the Postumia way, in two places called Spianà and Palio gate. Spindles and distaffs belong to Béal A XX 15 and Facchinetti II a types; spindle whorls belong to Béal A XXXVI 1-2 types. These objects are the same regardless of deposition ritual. Decorations are worked on a lathe, they aren’t particularly elaborate, they are typologically similar to examples that come from Italy and provinces, with a likely influence by the models produced in the Near East. There are also simple artefacts of bone that could be interpreted either as spinning tools or as pins, because the morphological data, the fragmentary conservation and the site of deposition don’t allow precise identification

Synthesis of quinoline attached-furan-2(3H)-ones having anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties with reduced gastro-intestinal toxicity and lipid peroxidation

A series of 3-[2-chloroquinolin-3-yl)methylene]-5-aryl-furan-2(3H)-ones {3(a-p)} were synthesized. The required 3-(substitutedbenzoyl) propionic acids {2(a-d)} were prepared under Friedal Craft acylation reaction conditions. The substituted 2-chloroquinoline-3-carbaldehydes {1(a-d)} were synthesized by reaction of substitutedphenylethanone-oxime with phosphorus oxychloride in presence of dimethyl formamide using the Vilsmeir Haack reaction method. These compounds were screened for their anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities along with their ulcerogenic and lipid peroxidation potentials. The compounds that showed significant anti-inflammatory activity were further screened for their analgesic activity. The compounds were less toxic in terms of ulcerogenicity as compared to a standard, which was also supported by lipid peroxidation studies. The antibacterial activities were performed against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Compounds 3f, 3n and 3o showed significant activity against both S. aureus and E. coli having an MIC value of 6.25μg mL-1

Peribiliary glands as a niche of extra-pancreatic precursors yielding insulin-producing cells in experimental and human diabetes

Peribiliary glands (PBGs) are niches in the biliary tree and containing heterogeneous endodermal stem/progenitors cells that can differentiate, in vitro and in vivo, towards pancreatic islets. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in experimental and human diabetes, proliferation of cells in PBGs and differentiation of the biliary tree stem/progenitor cells (BTSCs) towards insulin-producing cells. Diabetes was generated in mice by intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of 200 mg/kg (N=12) or 120 mg/kg (N=12) of streptozotocin. Liver, pancreas and extrahepatic biliary trees were en bloc dissected and examined. Cells in PBGs proliferated in experimental diabetes, and their proliferation was greatest in the PBGs of the hepato-pancreatic ampulla, and inversely correlated with the pancreatic islet area. In rodents, the cell proliferation in PBGs was characterized by the expansion of Sox9-positive stem/progenitor cells that gave rise to insulin-producing cells. Insulin-producing cells were located mostly in PBGs in the portion of the biliary tree closest to the duodenum, and their appearance was associated with up-regulation of MafA and Gli1 gene expression. In patients with type 2 diabetes, PBGs at the level of the hepato-pancreatic ampulla contained cells showing signs of proliferation and pancreatic fate commitment. In vitro, high glucose concentrations induced the differentiation of human BTSCs cultures towards pancreatic beta cell fates. The cells in PBGs respond to diabetes with proliferation and differentiation towards insulin-producing cells indicating that PBG niches may rescue pancreatic islet impairment in diabetes. These findings offer important implications for the patho-physiology and complications of this disease. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Middleware Technologies: Towards User-Determined News Curation in Social Media

News distribution and consumption now largely occur within, and are subject to dynamics dictated by, social media platforms. Platforms create audiences, facilitate matching, provide basic services, and set interaction standards. But these networks are structured to maximize engagement and benefit the platforms’ main businesses, leaving individuals with little to no ability to tailor news consumption according to their preferences. To re-orient platform-dictated dynamics towards user-determined exchanges, middleware technologies—software services appended to social media platforms to curate information flows—are touted as a promising solution. Still, not enough literature articulates middleware’s virtues and hurdles, especially in the context of online news. This work fills such gaps. Surveying literature and existing middleware solutions, four choice-enhancing virtues are observed, in that such technologies: equip users with more information about online news choices, enable careful deliberation in consumption, improve user agency, and can effect lasting behavioral changes among users. Overall, such merits allow for more meaningful use of and participation in social media platforms. This work also discusses the European Union’s novel Digital Services Act, particularly how this legislation will enable the development of a robust middleware industry. Finally, this work identifies challenges and further research areas. Scholars have expressed concerns about middleware’s technological feasibility, profitability, curation costs, and privacy concerns. Yet, a fundamental hurdle remains: in the first place, why should users adopt middleware? As is, platforms deliver tremendous benefits; also, not all users might be interested in a deliberative online exchange. Ideally, a critical mass of users must adopt middleware to reshape online discourse

Adult human biliary tree stem cells differentiate to β-pancreatic islet cells by treatment with a recombinant human Pdx1 peptide

Generation of β-pancreatic cells represents a major goal in research. The aim of this study was to explore a protein-based strategy to induce differentiation of human biliary tree stem cells (hBTSCs) towards β-pancreatic cells. A plasmid containing the sequence of the human pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX1) has been expressed in E. coli. Epithelial-Cell-Adhesion-Molecule positive hBTSCs or mature human hepatocyte cell line, HepG2, were grown in medium to which Pdx1 peptide was added. Differentiation toward pancreatic islet cells were evaluated by the expression of the β-cell transcription factors, Pdx1 and musculoapo-neurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog A, and of the pancreatic hormones, insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, investigated by real time polymerase chain reaction, western blot, light microscopy and immunofluorescence. C-peptide secretion in response to high glucose was also measured. Results indicated how purified Pdx1 protein corresponding to the primary structure of the human Pdx1 by mass spectroscopy was efficiently produced in bacteria, and transduced into hBTSCs. Pdx1 exposure triggered the expression of both intermediate and mature stage β-cell differentiation markers only in hBTSCs but not in HepG2 cell line. Furthermore, hBTSCs exposed to Pdx1 showed up-regulation of insulin, glucagon and somatostatin genes and formation of 3-dimensional islet-like structures intensely positive for insulin and glucagon. Finally, Pdx1-induced islet-like structures exhibited glucose-regulated C-peptide secretion. In conclusion, the human Pdx1 is highly effective in triggering hBTSC differentiation toward functional β-pancreatic cells

Field-testing of the rapid assessment of disability questionnaire

The Rapid Assessment of Disability (RAD) questionnaire measures the magnitude and impact of disability and aims to inform the design of disability inclusive development programs. This paper reports the psychometric evaluation of the RAD

Itch/β-arrestin2-dependent non-proteolytic ubiquitylation of SuFu controls Hedgehog signalling and medulloblastoma tumorigenesis

Suppressor of Fused (SuFu), a tumour suppressor mutated in medulloblastoma, is a central player of Hh signalling, a pathway crucial for development and deregulated in cancer. Although the control of Gli transcription factors by SuFu is critical in Hh signalling, our understanding of the mechanism regulating this key event remains limited. Here, we show that the Itch/β-arrestin2 complex binds SuFu and induces its Lys63-linked polyubiquitylation without affecting its stability. This process increases the association of SuFu with Gli3, promoting the conversion of Gli3 into a repressor, which keeps Hh signalling off. Activation of Hh signalling antagonises the Itch-dependent polyubiquitylation of SuFu. Notably, different SuFu mutations occurring in medulloblastoma patients are insensitive to Itch activity, thus leading to deregulated Hh signalling and enhancing medulloblastoma cell growth. Our findings uncover mechanisms controlling the tumour suppressive functions of SuFu and reveal that their alterations are implicated in medulloblastoma tumorigenesis

Amplification of asynchronous inhibition-mediated synchronization by feedback in recurrent networks

Synchronization of 30-80 Hz oscillatory activity of the principle neurons in the olfactory bulb (mitral cells) is believed to be important for odor discrimination. Previous theoretical studies of these fast rhythms in other brain areas have proposed that principle neuron synchrony can be mediated by short-latency, rapidly decaying inhibition. This phasic inhibition provides a narrow time window for the principle neurons to fire, thus promoting synchrony. However, in the olfactory bulb, the inhibitory granule cells produce long lasting, small amplitude, asynchronous and aperiodic inhibitory input and thus the narrow time window that is required to synchronize spiking does not exist. Instead, it has been suggested that correlated output of the granule cells could serve to synchronize uncoupled mitral cells through a mechanism called "stochastic synchronization", wherein the synchronization arises through correlation of inputs to two neural oscillators. Almost all work on synchrony due to correlations presumes that the correlation is imposed and fixed. Building on theory and experiments that we and others have developed, we show that increased synchrony in the mitral cells could produce an increase in granule cell activity for those granule cells that share a synchronous group of mitral cells. Common granule cell input increases the input correlation to the mitral cells and hence their synchrony by providing a positive feedback loop in correlation. Thus we demonstrate the emergence and temporal evolution of input correlation in recurrent networks with feedback. We explore several theoretical models of this idea, ranging from spiking models to an analytically tractable model. © 2010 Marella, Ermentrout

THE FOOT-GROUND REACTION IN THE SOCCER PLAYER

Soccer is a sport of movement and contact with the basic aim to gain on and to hold the ball. The development's possibility of an action, at any frequency, is strictly correlated to the balance between internal and external forces. The purpose of this study is to confront the foot-ground reaction in male (40) and female (15) elite soccer players by means of a dinarnometric plateform, both during a normal gait and a running at 10 kmh. Results: The parameters of foot-ground reaction in both the groups show a significant identity concerning the Fz, Fy and Fx components, The morphology of the vectograms in male and in female players is the same. The only difference between male and female player concerns the first value of Fz parameter: in the male group, this is bigger of 15% of the b.w

Tiedettä ja viestintää lääkäri-potilassuhteessa

Tiivistelmä. Hyvinvointi ja terveys koskettavat jokaista ihmistä, toisaalta myös sairastuminen ja hoitoon hakeutuminen ovat vääjäämättömiä jossain elämän vaiheessa. Lääkärin ja potilaan kohtaaminen on viestinnällinen tilanne, josta käytännössä jokaisella on omakohtaista kokemusta. Kiinnostusta tämän klassisen viestintätilanteen tutkimiseen on lisännyt tietoisuus onnistuneen lääkäri-potilassuhteen vaikutuksista potilaan hoitotyytyväisyyteen sekä hoitoon sitoutumiseen. Taustalla vaikuttavat myös yhteiskunnan yleinen kehittyminen ja terveydenhuollon rakenteiden uudistuminen, väestön koulutustason kasvu sekä tiedejournalismin medikalisoituminen. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan lääkäri-potilassuhdetta tiedeviestinnällisestä näkökulmasta. Tarkoitus oli selvittää viestinnän merkitystä vastaanottotilanteessa: mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat lääkäri-potilasvuorovaikutussuhteeseen ja sitä kautta potilastyytyväisyyteen sekä miten potilaat kokivat lääkärin onnistuvan lääketieteellisen tiedon yleistajuistamisessa. Tutkimus toteutettiin yhteistyössä Oulun yliopistollisen sairaalan Fysiatrian poliklinikan kanssa. 37 poliklinikan potilasta vastasi kyselytutkimukseen, lisäksi haastateltavana oli yksi poliklinikan lääkäri ja yksi tutkijan oma potilas. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että lääkäri-potilasvuorovaikutussuhteen keskiössä ovat tieteestä viestiminen, henkilökemioiden kohtaaminen ja käytettävissä oleva aika. Potilaat yhdistivät onnistuneen vuorovaikutuksen ja kuulluksi tulemisen kokemuksen lääkärin ystävälliseen ja ihmisläheiseen sekä ymmärtäväiseen asenteeseen, kykyyn kuunnella ja kuulla sekä luoda kiireettömyyden tuntu. Lääkärin tieteestä viestimisen odotetiin puolestaan olevan tarkkaa, selkeää ja ymmärrettävää, lisäksi potilaat toivoivat lääketieteellisen tiedon yleistajuistamista. Edellä mainitut tutkimustulokset ovat linjassa aiempien kotimaisten ja kansainvälisten tutkimustulosten kanssa. Aihetta olisi syytä tutkia lisää, koska tietoisuuden lisääntyminen vuorovaikutuksen merkityksestä hoitosuhteessa on ensiarvoisen tärkeää kehitettäessä entistä parempia ja tehokkaampia hoitomalleja sekä koulutettaessa uusia terveydenhuollon ammattilaisia.Science and communication in physician-patient relationship. Abstract. Health and wellbeing concern all of us. Everyone has had some experience of communication with a physician. Interest towards research in physician-patient relationship and communication has increased during the last decades with the growing evidence of the benefits of successful physician-patient relationship to the patients’ satisfaction and adherence as well as their improved health status. The general development of the society, the regeneration of the health care system, and the medicalization of the science journalism have raised the question of the patient empowerment and the patient’s role in the health care to the spotlight. The aim of this study was to investigate the physician-patient relationship through science communication perspective. The purpose was to find out which factors influence the physician-patient communication and contribute towards a successful relationship and, also, what made patients feel that the physician had succeeded when communicating about the medical science. The research was carried out in collaboration with the Physiatry Polyclinic of the University Hospital of Oulu. A group of 37 patients agreed to take part in the study by answering the questionnaire. Additionally, one patient and one physician were interviewed. Based on the present study, science communication, interpersonal relationship, and reception time are in the center of the physician-patient relationship. Patients associate successful physician-patient relationship to the friendly, humane, and compassionate attitude of the physician. Also, the feeling of a long enough reception time was important for the patients. As for the physicians’ successful communication about medical science, patients expected, exact and explicit but at the same time comprehensible communication. These findings are in line with previous literature and research results. Further studies are still needed to increase our understanding of the physician-patient relationship as it is a crucial part of developing better health care system