Advancements in Design Research

"In October 1998, on the occasion of the first conference on design education, Richard Buchanan, then Director of The School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University, envisioned doctoral education in Design as a ""neoteric enterprise"", aimed at finding novel ways of addressing the new problems, ""thereby creating a new body of learning and knowledge"". Twenty years after, these words can still be shared: the new problems affecting our globalised, bewildered and worried society are growing in numbers and in complexity, and novel ways of sorting them out are more sought-after than ever. The present book is part of a series that, since 2017, documents the production of the Politecnico di Milano Design Programme, presenting a summary of the doctoral theses defended each year. Eleven essays are here gathered into four sections: Design Education; Collaborative Processes; Cultural and Creative Companies; Technology for Social Change. In the variety of the researched topics, a common trait can be found in the continuous need of updated ways of addressing complex problems. It is such need that drives the evolving boundaries of design research forward, not just within our Doctoral Programme, but within all the national and international Doctoral Programmes in Design we are acquainted with.

Advancements in Design Research

"In October 1998, on the occasion of the first conference on design education, Richard Buchanan, then Director of The School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University, envisioned doctoral education in Design as a ""neoteric enterprise"", aimed at finding novel ways of addressing the new problems, ""thereby creating a new body of learning and knowledge"". Twenty years after, these words can still be shared: the new problems affecting our globalised, bewildered and worried society are growing in numbers and in complexity, and novel ways of sorting them out are more sought-after than ever. The present book is part of a series that, since 2017, documents the production of the Politecnico di Milano Design Programme, presenting a summary of the doctoral theses defended each year. Eleven essays are here gathered into four sections: Design Education; Collaborative Processes; Cultural and Creative Companies; Technology for Social Change. In the variety of the researched topics, a common trait can be found in the continuous need of updated ways of addressing complex problems. It is such need that drives the evolving boundaries of design research forward, not just within our Doctoral Programme, but within all the national and international Doctoral Programmes in Design we are acquainted with.

Ermione dalla tragedia greca a Rossini

Ermione, figlia di Elena e Menelao, \ue8 protagonista di splendide opere letterarie antiche e moderne. Il libro offre la prima storia di questo affascinante e problematico personaggio, partendo dalla letteratura greca per arrivare all\u2019opera lirica italiana di inizio Ottocento. Sofocle ed Euripide, Ovidio e Colluto, Racine e Rossini presentano Ermione come una donna fortemente passionale, dominata da emozioni estreme: manipolatrice e innamorata, spietata e disperata, bambina indifesa o donna gelosa fino all\u2019omicidio. L\u2019analisi delle sue emozioni permette di far emergere la continuit\ue0, nel corso dei secoli, di questo personaggio cos\uec a lungo trascurato

"Mi Fuma il Cervello" self-portrait series of Alighiero Boetti: Evaluation of a conservation and maintenance strategy based on sacrificial coatings

"Mi Fuma il Cervello" ("steaming brain") is the iconic self-portrait of Alighiero Boetti, in which the artist is represented standing up while a copper hose lets water flow on his head. A hidden electric resistance heats the sculpture's head so that the splashing water forms a dense vapour mist as it comes in contact with the hot metal surface. Such system is normally active only during museum exhibitions and determines critical conservation issues due to the inevitable formation of a thick and adherent calcareous deposit. Recently, the Fonderia Artistica Battaglia (Milan, Italy) conducted an extensive conservative intervention aimed at retrieving the original aesthetic features of the bronze surface and its artificial patina finishing. A conservation strategy was proposed based on the use of a superficial coating, to protect the surface and to ease the removal of the calcareous deposits in view of future cleaning operations. Three siliconic commercial paints were selected and preliminarily applied to specimens that simulate the actual alloy. The efficacy, compatibility and durability of the treatments were tested by accelerated ageing test based on combined thermal and wetting cycles, representative of the real working conditions. A multi-analytical diagnostic approach was followed for the evaluation of the coatings characteristics and performances before and after aging: stereomicroscopy, ESEM-EDX, VIS-Light spectrophotometry, micro-FTIR, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The research showed that from the aesthetic point of view all coatings induce only limited and rather comparable initial colour variations. The permanence of the treatments upon ageing, used as durability indicator, was assessed in all cases but the protective layers appeared damaged and no longer continuous over the metal surface. The best performing treatment was identified and further tested with respect to re-treatability. The results provide indications for the general conservation and maintenance protocol

Three-Dimensional Virtual Anatomy as a New Approach for Medical Student’s Learning

none8noMost medical and health science schools adopt innovative tools to implement the teaching of anatomy to their undergraduate students. The increase in technological resources for educational purposes allows the use of virtual systems in the field of medicine, which can be considered decisive for improving anatomical knowledge, a requisite for safe and competent medical practice. Among these virtual tools, the Anatomage Table 7.0 represents, to date, a pivotal anatomical device for student education and training medical professionals. This review focuses attention on the potential of the Anatomage Table in the anatomical learning process and clinical practice by discussing these topics based on recent publication findings and describing their trends during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The reports documented a great interest in and a positive impact of the use of this technological table by medical students for teaching gross anatomy. Anatomage allows to describe, with accuracy and at high resolution, organ structure, vascularization, and innervation, as well as enables to familiarize with radiological images of real patients by improving knowledge in the radiological and surgical fields. Furthermore, its use can be considered strategic in a pandemic period, since it ensures, through an online platform, the continuation of anatomical and surgical training on dissecting cadavers.openBartoletti-Stella, Anna; Gatta, Valentina; Mariani, Giulia Adalgisa; Gobbi, Pietro; Falconi, Mirella; Manzoli, Lucia; Faenza, Irene; Salucci, SaraBartoletti-Stella, Anna; Gatta, Valentina; Mariani, Giulia Adalgisa; Gobbi, Pietro; Falconi, Mirella; Manzoli, Lucia; Faenza, Irene; Salucci, Sar

Aryl ethynyl anthraquinones: a useful platform for targeting telomeric G-quadruplex structures

2,7-Diaryl ethynyl anthraquinones have been synthesized by Sonogashira cross-coupling and evaluated as telomeric G-quadruplex ligands, with good G-quadruplex/duplex selectivity

Taxanes enhance trastuzumab-mediated ADCC on tumor cells through NKG2D-mediated NK cell recognition

Recent clinical data indicate a synergistic therapeutic effect between trastuzumab and taxanes in neoadjuvantly treated HER2-positive breast cancer (BC) patients. In HER2+ BC experimental models and patients, we investigated whether this synergy depends on the ability of drug-induced stress to improve NK cell effectiveness and thus trastuzumab-mediated ADCC. HER2+ BC cell lines BT474 and MDAMB361 treated with docetaxel showed up-modulation of NK activator ligands both in vitro and in vivo, accompanied by a 15-40% increase in in vitro trastuzumab-mediated ADCC; antibodies blocking the NKG2D receptor significantly reduced this enhancement. NKG2D receptor expression was increased by docetaxel treatment in circulating and splenic NK cells from mice xenografted with tumor cells, an increase related to expansion of the CD11b+Ly6G+ cell population. Accordingly, NK cells derived from HER2+ BC patients after treatment with taxane-containing therapy expressed higher levels of NKG2D receptor than before treatment. Moreover, plasma obtained from these patients recapitulated the modulation of NKG2D on healthy donors' NK cells, improving their trastuzumab-mediated activity in vitro. This enhancement occurred mainly using plasma from patients with low NKG2D basal expression. Our results indicate that taxanes increase tumor susceptibility to ADCC by acting on tumor and NK cells, and suggest that taxanes concomitantly administered with trastuzumab could maximize the antibody effect, especially in patients with low basal immune effector cytotoxic activit

Nanostructured lipid dispersions for topical administration of crocin, a potent antioxidant from saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

© 2016 Elsevier B.V.Crocin, a potent antioxidant obtained from saffron, shows anticancer activity in in vivo models. Unfortunately unfavorable physicochemical features compromise its use in topical therapy.The present study describes the preparation and characterization of nanostructured lipid dispersions as drug delivery systems for topical administration of crocin and the evaluation of antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of crocin once encapsulated into nanostructured lipid dispersions.Nanostructured lipid dispersions based on monoolein in mixture with sodium cholate and sodium caseinate have been characterized by cryo-TEM and PCS. Crocin permeation was evaluated in vitro by Franz cells, while the oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay was used to evaluate the antioxidant activity. Furthermore, the antiproliferative activity was tested in vitro by the MTT test using a human melanoma cell line.The emulsification of monoolein with sodium cholate and sodium caseinate led to dispersions of cubosomes, hexasomes, sponge systems and vesicles, depending on the employed emulsifiers. Permeation and shelf life studies demonstrated that nanostructured lipid dispersions enabled to control both rate of crocin diffusion through the skin and crocin degradation. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay pointed out an interesting and prolonged antioxidant activity of crocin while the MTT test showed an increase of crocin cytotoxic effect after incorporation in nanostructured lipid dispersions.This work has highlighted that nanostructured lipid dispersions can protect the labile molecule crocin from degradation, control its skin diffusion and prolong antioxidant activity, therefore suggesting the suitability of nanostructured lipid dispersions for crocin topical administration

Diets including Animal Food Are Associated with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a clinical condition with a prevalence of up to 25% in Western countries. Typical GERD symptoms include heartburn and retrosternal regurgitation. Lifestyle modifications, including diet, are considered a first-line therapeutic approach. To evaluate the impact of life habits on GERD in this cross-sectional study, we used data collected through an online survey from 1146 participants. GERD was defined according to the Montreal Consensus. For all participants, clinical and lifestyle characteristics were recorded. Overall, 723 participants (63.1%) consumed a diet including animal food (non-vegans), and 423 participants (36.9%) were vegans. The prevalence of GERD was 11% (CI 95%, 9–14%) in non-vegans and 6% (CI 95%, 4–8%) in vegans. In the multivariate analysis, after adjusting for confounding factors, subjects on a non-vegan diet were associated with a two-fold increase in the prevalence of GERD compared to vegans (OR = 1.96, CI 95%, 1.22–3.17, p = 0.006). BMI and smoking habits were also significantly associated with GERD. This study shows that an animal food-based diet (meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and eggs) is associated with an increased risk of GERD compared to a vegan diet. These findings might inform the lifestyle management of patients with GERD-related symptoms

Blood pressure homeostasis is maintained by a P311-TGF-β axis

P311 is an 8-kDa intracellular protein that is highly conserved across species and is expressed in the nervous system as well as in vascular and visceral smooth muscle cells. P311-null (P311(–/–)) mice display learning and memory defects, but alterations in their vasculature have not been previously described. Here we report that P311(–/–) mice are markedly hypotensive with accompanying defects in vascular tone and VSMC contractility. Functional abnormalities in P311(–/–) mice resulted from decreased total and active levels of TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3 that arise as a specific consequence of decreased translation. Vascular hypofunctionality was fully rescued in vitro and in vivo by exogenous TGF-β1–TGF-β3. Conversely, P311-transgenic (P311(TG)) mice had elevated levels of TGF-β1–TGF-β3 and subsequent hypertension. Consistent with findings attained in mouse models, arteries recovered from hypertensive human patients displayed increased P311 expression. Thus, we identified P311 as the first protein known to modulate TGF-β translation and the first pan-regulator of TGF-β expression under steady-state conditions. Together, our findings point to P311 as a critical blood pressure regulator and establish a potential link between P311 expression and the development of hypertensive disease