Il Po, una rigenerazione necessaria

L'articolo orienta l'attenzione al paesaggio fluviale del Po, sullo sfondo di una dimensione socio-culturale che interferisce in modo indissolubile con gli elementi fisico-spaziali dell'ambiente geo-morfologico. Lo sguardo procede secondo tre scale relazionali di osservazione: la scala territoriale, nella quale il fiume si innesta segnando una profonda linea di demarcazione; alla scala urbana, nella quale si pone come elemento di soglia tra le sponde del paesaggio circostante; alla scala locale, dove infine lavora come strumento di 'regolazione' tra artificiale e naturale. Per ognuna di queste scale, vengono individuati differenti spostamenti, movimenti di persone, flussi di informazioni e attività sociali ed economiche che trovano proprio in questo tracciato la sintesi estrema tra patrimonio culturale e realtà fisica dei luoghi

Detection of Surface Brightness Fluctuations in Elliptical Galaxies imaged with the Advanced Camera for Surveys. B- and I-band measurements

Taking advantage of the exceptional capabilities of ACS on board of HST, we derive Surface Brightness Fluctuation (SBF) measurements in the B and I bands from images of six elliptical galaxies with $1500 \leq cz \leq 3500$. Given the low S/N ratio of the SBF signal in the blue band images, the reliability of the measurements is verified both with numerical simulations and experimental data tests. This paper presents the first published B- and I-band SBF measurements for distant ($\geq$ 20 Mpc) galaxies, essential for the comparisons of the models to observations of normal ellipticals. By comparing I-band data with our new Simple Stellar Population (SSP) models we find an excellent agreement and we confirm that I-band SBF magnitudes are mainly sensitive to the metallicity of the dominant stellar component in the galaxy, and are not strongly affected by the contribution of possible secondary stellar components. As a consequence I-band fluctuations magnitudes are ideal for distance studies. On the other hand, we show that standard SSP models do not reproduce the B-band SBF magnitudes of red ((B-I)_0 \gsim 2.1) galaxies in our sample. We explore the capability of two non--canonical models in properly reproducing the high sensitivity of B SBF to the presence of even small fractions of bright, hot stars (metal poor stars, hot evolved stars, etc.). The disagreement is solved both by taking into account hot (Post--AGB) stars in SSP models and/or by adopting Composite Stellar Population models. Finally, we suggest a limit value of the S/N for the B-band SBF signal required to carry out a detailed study of stellar population properties based on this technique.Comment: ApJ accepte

Spazi pubblici e luoghi condivisi

Il contributo vuole porre l’attenzione sul tema dello spazio pubblico in rapporto ai fenomeni di trasformazione in corso nella città contemporanea. A fronte di tali modificazioni infatti, che hanno coinvolto non solo la nostra disciplina ma differenti aree del pensiero sociale, economico e politico, sembra urgente reinterpretare la questione dello spazio pubblico in rapporto ad un a re identificazione del suo ruolo non solo in quanto luogo deputato alla rappresentazione sociale e collettiva, ma come autentico luogo di condivisione delle diverse esperienze dell’abitare. A partire da questo osservatorio vengono messe a confronto alcune città europee (Barcellona, Siviglia, Marsiglia, Lione, Amburgo, Potsdam) che negli ultimi anni hanno vissuto in modo diretto questa esperienza, poiché coinvolte, seppure a diverso grado e in diversa misura, in profondi processi di rigenerazione urbana e di rinnovamento sociale e culturale dello spazio pubblico, all’interno di una dialettica sempre più contesa tra ‘tradizione del nuovo’ e ‘innovazione del passato’

A mid level data fusion strategy for the Varietal Classification of Lambrusco PDO wines

Nowadays the necessity to reveal the hidden information from complex data sets is increasing due to the development of high-throughput instrumentation. The possibility to jointly analyze data sets arising from different sources (e.g. different analytical determinations/platforms) allows capturing the latent information that would not be extracted by the individual analysis of each block of data. Several approaches are proposed in the literature and are generally referred to as data fusion approaches. In this work a mid level data fusion is proposed for the characterization of three varieties (Salamino di Santa Croce, Grasparossa di Castelvetro, Sorbara) of Lambrusco wine, a typical PDO wine of the district of Modena (Italy). Wine samples of the three different varieties were analyzed by means of 1H-NMR spectroscopy, Emission-Excitation Fluorescence Spectroscopy and HPLC-DAD of the phenolic compounds. Since the analytical outputs are characterized by different dimensionalities (matrix and tensor), several multivariate analyses were applied (PCA, PARAFAC, MCR-ALS) in order to extract and merge, in a hierarchical way, the information present in each data set. The results showed that this approach was able to well characterize Lambrusco samples giving also the possibility to understand the correlation between the sources of information arising from the three analytical techniques

Aldo-Keto Reductase 1C1 (AKR1C1) as the first mutated gene in a family with nonsyndromic primary lipedema

Lipedema is an often underdiagnosed chronic disorder that affects subcutaneous adipose tissue almost exclusively in women, which leads to disproportionate fat accumulation in the lower and upper body extremities. Common comorbidities include anxiety, depression, and pain. The correlation between mood disorder and subcutaneous fat deposition suggests the involvement of steroids metabolism and neurohormones signaling, however no clear association has been established so far. In this study, we report on a family with three patients affected by sex-limited autosomal dominant nonsyndromic lipedema. They had been screened by whole exome sequencing (WES) which led to the discovery of a missense variant p.(Leu213Gln) in AKR1C1, the gene encoding for an aldo-keto reductase catalyzing the reduction of progesterone to its inactive form, 20-\u3b1-hydroxyprogesterone. Comparative molecular dynamics simulations of the wild-type vs. variant enzyme, corroborated by a thorough structural and functional bioinformatic analysis, suggest a partial loss-of-function of the variant. This would result in a slower and less efficient reduction of progesterone to hydroxyprogesterone and an increased subcutaneous fat deposition in variant carriers. Overall, our results suggest that AKR1C1 is the first candidate gene associated with nonsyndromic lipedema

Metabolomics application for the design of an optimal diet

Precision nutrition is an emerging branch of nutrition science that aims to use modern omics technologies (genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) to assess an individual’s response to specific foods or dietary patterns and thereby determine the most effective diet or lifestyle interventions to prevent or treat specific diseases. Metabolomics is vital to nearly every aspect of precision nutrition. It can be targeted or untargeted, and it has many applications. Indeed, it can be used to comprehensively characterize the thousands of chemicals in foods, identify food by-products in human biofluids or tissues, characterize nutrient deficiencies or excesses, monitor biochemical responses to dietary interventions, track long- or short-term dietary habits, and guide the development of nutritional therapies. Indeed, metabolomics can be coupled with genomics and proteomics to study and advance the field of precision nutrition. Integrating omics with epidemiological and clinical data will begin to define the beneficial effects of human food metabolites. In this review, we present the metabolome and its relationship to precision nutrition. Moreover, we describe the different techniques used in metabolomics and present how metabolomics has been applied to advance the field of precision nutrition by providing notable examples and cases

Star Clusters in Pseudo-Bulges of Spiral Galaxies

We present a study of the properties of the star-cluster systems around pseudo-bulges of late-type spiral galaxies using a sample of 11 galaxies with distances from 17 to 37 Mpc. Star clusters are identified from multiband HST ACS and WFPC2 imaging data by combining detections in 3 bands (F435W and F814W with ACS and F606W with WFPC2). The photometric data are then compared to population synthesis models to infer the masses and ages of the star clusters. Photometric errors and completeness are estimated by means of artificial source Monte Carlo simulations. Dust extinction is estimated by considering F160W NICMOS observations of the central regions of the galaxies, augmenting our wavelength coverage. In all galaxies we identify star clusters with a wide range of ages, from young (age < 8 Myr) blue clusters, with typical mass of 10^3 Msun to older (age > 100-250 Myr), more massive, red clusters. Some of the latter might likely evolve into objects similar to the Milky Way's globular clusters. We compute the specific frequencies for the older clusters with respect to the galaxy and bulge luminosities. Specific frequencies relative to the galaxy light appear consistent with the globular cluster specific frequencies of early-type spirals. We compare the specific frequencies relative to the bulge light with the globular cluster specific frequencies of dwarf galaxies, which have a surface-brightness profile that is similar to that of the pseudo-bulges in our sample. The specific frequencies we derive for our sample galaxies are higher than those of the dwarf galaxies, supporting an evolutionary scenario in which some of the dwarf galaxies might be the remnants of harassed late-type spiral galaxies which hosted a pseudo-bulge.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures, AJ accepte

Estudos da atividade antioxidante de novas tinturas mãe homeopáticas de plantas medicinais da região de Governador Valadares-MG: Studies of the antioxidant activity of new homeopathic mother tinctures of medicinal plants from the region of Governador Valadares-MG

As tinturas mães (TM’s) são extratos etanólicos obtidos a partir de plantas, sendo um tipo de formulação muito comum a ser utilizado na produção de medicamentos homeopáticos. Seu efeito terapêutico está parcialmente atribuído à presença de fitoquímicos e associados, muitas vezes, ao saber popular. Neste trabalho foram estudadas treze tinturas mães obtidas a partir de diferentes plantas coletadas na região de Governador Valadares-MG. As TM’s foram preparadas pelo processo de maceração de material vegetal fresco das plantas em solução hidroalcoólica. A viabilidade celular e a produção de óxido nítrico das TM’s foram obtidas pelo método MTT nas linhagens de macrófagos murinos RAW 264.7. Foram testados também teor de compostos fenólicos totais (TPC) e a atividade antioxidante (AA) usando radicais livres. De modo geral, as TM’s não apresentaram citotoxicidade à cultura de células RAW 264.7. Não houve redução significativa da viabilidade celular da linhagem de macrófagos testadas pelas TM’s, o que pode demonstrar baixa toxicidade celular. Todos os extratos das TM’s inibiram a produção de NO em determinadas concentrações testadas, porém os extratos das TMs 6, 7, 12, e 13 foram os que tiveram os melhores resultados para este teste. As TM’s que tiveram maior teor de compostos fenólicos foram: TM’s 5, 6 e 12. Já as TM’s, &nbsp;que apresentaram maior atividade antioxidante foram:7, 3; 6 12. Podemos destacar neste estudo a importância da presença de compostos fenólicos com potencial atividade antioxidante observado nas TM’s. Assim, pode-se concluir que algumas TM’s estudadas, além da atividade antioxidante também apresentaram capacidade de inibição da produção de NO, sendo, portanto, amostras promissoras para estudos posteriores

Lower production of IL-17A and increased susceptibility to Mycobacterium bovis in mice coinfected with Strongyloides venezuelensis

The presence of intestinal helminths can down-regulate the immune response required to control mycobacterial infection. BALB/c mice infected with Mycobacterium bovis following an infection with the intestinal helminth Strongyloides venezuelensis showed reduced interleukin-17A production by lung cells and increased bacterial burden. Also, small granulomas and a high accumulation of cells expressing the inhibitory molecule CTLA-4 were observed in the lung. These data suggest that intestinal helminth infection could have a detrimental effect on the control of tuberculosis (TB) and render coinfected individuals more susceptible to the development of TB

Ethical considerations regarding animal experimentation

Animal experimentation is widely used around the world for the identification of the root causes of various diseases in humans and animals and for exploring treatment options. Among the several animal species, rats, mice and purpose-bred birds comprise almost 90% of the animals that are used for research purpose. However, growing awareness of the sentience of animals and their experience of pain and suffering has led to strong opposition to animal research among many scientists and the general public. In addition, the usefulness of extrapolating animal data to humans has been questioned. This has led to Ethical Committees’ adoption of the ‘four Rs’ principles (Reduction, Refinement, Replacement and Responsibility) as a guide when making decisions regarding animal experimentation. Some of the essential considerations for humane animal experimentation are presented in this review along with the requirement for investigator training. Due to the ethical issues surrounding the use of animals in experimentation, their use is declining in those research areas where alternative in vitro or in silico methods are available. However, so far it has not been possible to dispense with experimental animals completely and further research is needed to provide a road map to robust alternatives before their use can be fully discontinued