A multi-wavelength study of the starburst galaxy NGC 7673

HST/WFPC2 images resolved NGC 7673 into a large number of star clusters. Among these, 31 fall inside the IUE large aperture, which was used to acquire an integrated ultraviolet spectrum of the galaxy. We have fitted Starburst99 evolutionary synthesis models to the observed colours of these clusters and derived ages, reddenings, and masses of the clusters. Then a simple sum of the clusters synthetic UV spectra has been compared to the observed IUE spectrum, in order to investigate the star formation history of NGC 7673.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the Conference "Starburst-from 30 Doradus to Lyman Break Galaxies

Lending organizational structure and the use of credit scoring: evidence from a survey on Italian banks

This paper examines the results of a survey carried out in 2007 by the Bank of Italy concerning different characteristics of the organization of lending activities. Between 2003 and 2006 the physical distance between the headquarters and the branches increased, the limits to the decision-making process of loan officers were eased, their mobility raised and the use of economic incentives to reward their activity expanded. The huge heterogeneity in organizational structures persists even within relatively homogenous size classes. The diffusion of statistical models to assess credit risk (scoring), accelerated recently particularly among large banks, boosted by the new Basel Capital Accord. Scoring is either very important or determinant in decisions on credit extension while it is rarely influential in setting interest rates, the duration of the credit and the amount and type of collateral required. The survey shows that banks have been progressively adapting their organizational structure in order to incorporate the credit scoring tools into their lending processes.banking organization, distance, power delegation, credit scoring, relationship lending, technology diffusion

A Peptide Representing the Carboxyl-terminal Tail of the Met Receptor Inhibits Kinase Activity and Invasive Growth

Interaction of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) with its receptor, the Met tyrosine kinase, results in invasive growth, a genetic program essential to embryonic development and implicated in tumor metastasis. Met-mediated invasive growth requires autophosphorylation of the receptor on tyrosines located in the kinase activation loop (Tyr(1234)-Tyr(1235)) and in the carboxyl-terminal tail (Tyr(1349)-Tyr(1356)). We report that peptides derived from the Met receptor tail, but not from the activation loop, bind the receptor and inhibit the kinase activity in vitro. Cell delivery of the tail receptor peptide impairs HGF-dependent Met phosphorylation and downstream signaling. In normal and transformed epithelial cells, the tail receptor peptide inhibits HGF-mediated invasive growth, as measured by cell migration, invasiveness, and branched morphogenesis. The Met tail peptide inhibits the closely related Ron receptor but does not significantly affect the epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, or vascular endothelial growth factor receptor activities. These experiments show that carboxyl-terminal sequences impair the catalytic properties of the Met receptor, thus suggesting that in the resting state the nonphosphorylated tail acts as an intramolecular modulator. Furthermore, they provide a strategy to selectively target the MET proto-oncogene by using small, cell-permeable, peptide derivatives

La nascita nella mente della madre

L’articolo esplora la maternità interiore, cioè quella ‘atmosfera materna’ che si instaura durante la gravidanza e determina nuovi eventi mentali e trasformazioni nei processi di organizzazione del sé. Gli autori ricordano le concettualizzazioni della «preoccupazione materna primaria» (Winni- cott) come stato regressivo che costituisce il preludio alla comprensione empatica del neonato, della «trasparenza psichica» (Bydlowski) come costruzione di un grembo psichico che accoglierà il bambino della «costellazione materna» (Stern) come nuova organizzazione mentale che accompagna ogni maternità dell’«attaccamento prenatale» come costrutto psicologico capace di interferire con la relazione primaria e lo sviluppo del bambino. Il concetto di maternità interiore costituisce una sorta di mappa utile a definire il mondo della relazione madre-bambino in tutte le sue diverse articolazioni. Vengono individuate come disfunzionalità nella formazione della maternità interiore condizioni cliniche estreme, come ad esempio il diniego di gravidanza, spesso strettamente collegato con l’infanticidio. La descrizione di un caso clinico esemplifica come un funzionamento mentale fondato rigidamente sul diniego abbia determinato in una giovane donna la totale inconsapevolezza della gravidanza e la mancata costruzione della maternità interiore e di qualsiasi traccia di attaccamento prenatale verso il bambino

Organic Light-Emitting Transistors in a Smart-Integrated System for Plasmonic-Based Sensing

AbstractThe smart integration of multiple devices in a single functional unit is boosting the advent of compact optical sensors for on‐site analysis. Nevertheless, the development of miniaturized and cost‐effective plasmonic sensors is hampered by the strict angular constraints of the detection scheme, which are fulfilled through bulky optical components. Here, an ultracompact system for plasmonic‐sensing is demonstrated by the smart integration of an organic light‐emitting transistor (OLET), an organic photodiode (OPD), and a nanostructured plasmonic grating (NPG). The potential of OLETs, as planar multielectrode devices with inherent micrometer‐wide emission areas, offers the pioneer incorporation of an OPD onto the source electrode to obtain a monolithic photonic module endowed with light‐emitting and light‐detection characteristics at unprecedented lateral proximity of them. This approach enables the exploitation of the angle‐dependent sensing of the NPG in a miniaturized system based on low‐cost components, in which a reflective detection is enabled by the elegant fabrication of the NPG onto the encapsulation glass of the photonic module. The most effective layout of integration is unraveled by an advanced simulation tool, which allows obtaining an optics‐less plasmonic system able to perform a quantitative detection up to 10−2 RIU at a sensor size as low as 0.1 cm3

Luteolin Prevents Cardiometabolic Alterations and Vascular Dysfunction in Mice With HFD-Induced Obesity

Purpose: Luteolin exerts beneficial effects against obesity-associated comorbidities, although its influence on vascular dysfunction remains undetermined. We examined the effects of luteolin on endothelial dysfunction in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Methods: Standard diet (SD) or high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice were treated daily with luteolin intragastrically. After 8 weeks, body and epididymal fat weight, as well as blood cholesterol, glucose, and triglycerides were evaluated. Endothelium-dependent relaxations of resistance mesenteric vessels was assessed by a concentration-response curve to acetylcholine, repeated upon Nw-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME) or ascorbic acid infusion to investigate the influence of nitric oxide (NO) availability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) on endothelial function, respectively. Intravascular ROS production and TNF levels were measured by dihydroethidium dye and ELISA, respectively. Endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), as well as microRNA-214-3p expression were examined by Western blot and RT-PCR assays, respectively. Results: HFD animals displayed elevated body weight, epididymal fat weight and metabolic indexes. Endothelium-dependent relaxation was resistant to L-NAME and enhanced by ascorbic acid, which restored also the inhibitory effect of L-NAME, suggesting a ROS-dependent reduction of NO availability in HFD vessels. Moreover, media-lumen ratio, intravascular superoxide anion and TNF levels were increased, while vascular eNOS, SOD1, and microRNA-214-3p expression were decreased. In HFD mice, luteolin counteracted the increase in body and epididymal fat weight, and metabolic alterations. Luteolin restored vascular endothelial NO availability, normalized the media-lumen ratio, decreased ROS and TNF levels, and normalized eNOS, SOD1 and microRNA-214-3p expression. Conclusion: Luteolin prevents systemic metabolic alterations and vascular dysfunction associated with obesity, likely through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms