Studio petrografico delle vulcaniti del Gruppo Vulcanico Atesino nell'area a Nord di Bolzano

Il lavoro di questa tesina consiste nello studio ottico-petrografico e geochimico di venti campioni di vulcaniti permiane appartenenti al Gruppo Vulcanico Atesino (GVA). Diciotto di queste ricadono nella porzione nord orientale del Foglio 27 Bolzano e due nell’adiacente Foglio 14 Bressanone. I campioni sono stati raccolti durante le campagne di rilevamento effettuate per il Servizio Geologico della Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano nell’ambito del progetto CARG. I campioni studiati sono profondamente affetti da processi metasomatici che hanno modificato sensibilmente la loro composizione. E stato necessario eseguire un accurato confronto fra l’esame petrografico in sezione sottile e le analisi geochimiche (in XRF) per ottenere la classificazione corretta dei campioni. Le analisi effettuate hanno consentito di attribuire i campioni alle formazioni vulcaniche affioranti nel settore settentrionale del Gruppo Vulcanico Atesino. La sequenza vulcanica è compresa tra due discordanze di primo ordine: quella inferiore sul basamento metamorfico Varisico Sudalpino, mentre quella superiore con i depositi clastici continentali permiani caratterizzati dalla base erosiva delle facies conglomeratiche che costituiscono le Arenarie della Val Gardena (AVG). Escludendo due campioni di arenaria, lo studio e la classificazione geochimica dei prodotti vulcanici hanno evidenziato che tutti i campioni presentano composizioni subalcaline di carattere dacitico, riolitico/ riodacitico. Un solo campione è risultato essere un’andesite

Service Design Research Pioneers. An overview of Service Design research developed in Italy since the ‘90s

This paper provides an overview of the research on Service Design carried out in Italy (mainly in Milan) since the ‘90s. The authors show how the initial steps in this emerging field have definitely influenced the following evolution of studies in Italy; three areas of research in particular are described: investigations into the nature of services and of Service Design as a field; investigations into Product Service Systems; and investigations into social innovation and sustainability. As final considerations, a map of Service Design research is developed to suggest connections with the existing interna- tional research into Service Design and to imagine future developments

Recombinant Envelope-Proteins with Mutations in the Conserved Fusion Loop Allow Specific Serological Diagnosis of Dengue-Infections

Dengue virus (DENV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus and a major international public health concern in many tropical and sub-tropical areas worldwide. DENV is divided into four major serotypes, and infection with one serotype leads to immunity against the same, but not the other serotypes. The specific diagnosis of DENV-infections via antibody-detection is problematic due to the high degree of cross-reactivity displayed by antibodies against related flaviviruses, such as West Nile virus (WNV), Yellow Fever virus (YFV) or Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Especially in areas where several flaviviruses co-circulate or in the context of vaccination e.g. against YFV or TBEV, this severely complicates diagnosis and surveillance. Most flavivirus cross-reactive antibodies are produced against the highly conserved fusion loop (FL) domain in the viral envelope (E) protein. We generated insect-cell derived recombinant E-proteins of the four DENV-serotypes which contain point mutations in the FL domain. By using specific mixtures of these mutant antigens, cross-reactivity against heterologous flaviviruses was strongly reduced, enabling sensitive and specific diagnosis of the DENV-infected serum samples in IgG and IgM-measurements. These results have indications for the development of serological DENV-tests with improved specificity

Modeling viral infectious diseases and development of antiviral therapies using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived systems

The recent biotechnology breakthrough of cell reprogramming and generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which has revolutionized the approaches to study the mechanisms of human diseases and to test new drugs, can be exploited to generate patient-specific models for the investigation of host-pathogen interactions and to develop new antimicrobial and antiviral therapies. Applications of iPSC technology to the study of viral infections in humans have included in vitro modeling of viral infections of neural, liver, and cardiac cells; modeling of human genetic susceptibility to severe viral infectious diseases, such as encephalitis and severe influenza; genetic engineering and genome editing of patient-specific iPSC-derived cells to confer antiviral resistance

La filosofia della volonta' di Paul Ricoeur: il problema del male e della liberta' umana

La presente tesi si configura come un tentativo di tracciare le linee guida del progetto ricoeuriano di una "Filosofia della volontà". In particolare, il lavoro intende analizzare la prospettiva del filosofo rispetto al tema del male umano, del rapporto di quest'ultimo con la divinità e della libertà che ne consegue

Resistance to temperature fluctuations and cryogenics

Već dugi niz godina ljudi se pitaju kako produžiti životni vijek organa čuvanih u ledu za transplantaciju. Odgovor je možda toliko jednostavan da ga ne primjećujemo. Mnoge životinje u prirodi uspješno prevladavaju niske temperature i oporavljaju se od zamrzavanja. Jedna od takvih je i šumska žaba, Rana sylvatica, koja svojim brojnim mehanizmima održava vijabilnost organa tijekom uzastopnih ciklusa zamrzavanja i odmrzavanja. Njene adaptacije poslužile bi kao model za zamrzavanje tkiva, organa, a možda i ljudi. U ovom radu izložen je kratki pregled prilagodbi koje šumska žaba koristi kao posljedicu izlaganja niskim temperaturama.For a long time humans are asking how to prolong lifetime of the organs stored in ice for transplantation. The answer might be so simple we might not even see it. A lot of animals in nature survive low temperatures and freezing. One of them is the wood frog, Rana sylvatica. The wood frog has many mechanisms for maintaining viability of organs during periods of freezing and thawing. It's adaptations could serve as a model for freezing human tissues, organs and maybe even whole organisms. In this work has been presented a short review of adjustments that wood frog developed as a result of influence of low temperatures on its body

West Nile virus infection in individuals with pre-existing Usutu virus immunity, northern Italy, 2018

In 2018, there was a large West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak in northern Italy. We observed five atypical cases of WNV infection that were characterised by the presence of WNV RNA and WNV IgG at the time of diagnosis, but no IgM response during follow-up. Neutralisation assays demonstrated pre-existing Usutu virus immunity in all patients. Besides challenging diagnosis, the immunological crosstalk between the two viruses warrants further investigation on possible cross-protection or infection enhancement effects

126. Evaluation of Replication Competent and Replication Incompetent Adenovirus-Mediated Toxicity in Human Adrenocortical Cells

Objectives: Experimental studies indicate that adenoviruses have a natural tropism for the adrenal gland, thus, the systemic use of adenoviral vectors might be associated with side effects due to adrenal gland infection. In this study, human ACC cells were used to assess the toxicity of replication competent adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) and replication deficient E1-/E3- adenoviral vectors. Methods: To test the susceptibility of human ACC cells (SW13 and NCI-H295R) to adenoviral infection, expression of coxsackie and adenovirus receptor(CAR) and integrins was evaluated in ACC cells as well as in normal human adrenocortical tissues and in benign and malignant adrenocortical tumor samples by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. ACC cells were infected with Ad5 and tested for virus production at different time points pi. Recombinant E1-/E3- Ad5 vector expressing green fluorescent protein (Ad5-EGFP) was used to test adenovirus infectivity by fluorescent microscopy and FACS analysis. To assess the toxicity of replication competent and replication incompetent adenoviral vectors in the adrenal gland, Ad5, Ad5-EGFP and Ad5-HSV-TK were employed. In this regard, at different time points pi, we examined the effect of adenoviral infection on gene expression profile by DNA microarray analysis and on cell growth by proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis, and apoptosis test. The influence of adenoviral infection on steroid hormone production was also analyzed. Results: CAR expression was demonstrated in ACC cells and in normal and neoplastic adrenocortical tissues. Both ACC cells demonstrated productive Ad5 replication and efficient Ad5-EGFP transduction. Time- and dose-dependent induction of cell death was found only in Ad5-infected ACC cells, whereas Ad5- EGFP and Ad5-HSV-TK had no apparent effect on cell proliferation, cell cycle, and cell death as compared to uninfected control. ACC cells did not show marked alterations of gene expression after Ad5-EGFP infection, as demonstrated by microarray analysis in time course infection experiments. In the early phase of infection, genes involved in cell proliferation, stress and innate immune response were transiently upregulated. Moreover, expression of genes encoding steroidogenic enzymes was modulated toward cortisol hypersecretion. With regard to steroidogenesis, ACC cells infected with Ad5 showed decreased basal steroid hormone production in the early phase pi, followed by increased steroid hormone release at 72 h pi. At variance, Ad5-EGFP markedly induced cortisol and estradiol production, but not aldosterone production, at all time points pi. Conclusions: These results, which provide insight into the host response following adenoviral infection of ACC cells, contribute to the understanding of the adrenal involvement during natural adenovirus infection and vector administration for gene therapy

Infection dynamics in a traveller with persistent shedding of Zika virus RNA in semen for six months after returning from Haiti to Italy, January 2016

We describe the dynamics of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in a man in his early 40s who developed fever and rash after returning from Haiti to Italy, in January 2016. Follow-up laboratory testing demonstrated detectable ZIKV RNA in plasma up to day 9 after symptom onset and in urine and saliva up to days 15 and 47, respectively. Notably, persistent shedding of ZIKV RNA was demonstrated in semen, still detectable at 181 days after onset. This article is copyright of The Authors, 2016