The RAMI On-line Model Checker (ROMC): A web-based benchmarking facility for canopy reflectance models

The exploitation of global Earth Observation data hinges increasingly on physically-based radiative transfer (RT) models. These models simulate the interactions of solar radiation within a given medium (e.g., clouds, plant canopies) and are used to generate look-up-tables that are embedded into quantitative retrieval algorithms, such as those delivering the operational surface products for MODIS, MISR and MERIS. An assessment of the quality of canopy RT models thus appears essential if accurate and reliable information is to be derived from them. Until recently such an undertaking was a time consuming and labour intensive process that was made even more challenging by the general lack of absolute reference standards. Several years of benchmarking activities in the frame of the RAdiation transfer Model Intercomparison (RAMI) exercise have now led to the development of the RAMI On-line Model Checker (ROMC). The ROMC is a web-based tool allowing model developers and users to autonomously assess the performance of canopy RT models (http://romc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/). Access to the ROMC is free and enables users to obtain both statistical and graphical indications as to the performance of their canopy RT model. In addition to providing an overall indication of the skill of a given model to correctly match the reference data, the ROMC allows also for interactive comparison/evaluations of different model versions/submissions of a given user. AllROMCgraphs can be downloaded in PostScript format and come with a reference number for easy usage in presentations and publications. It is hoped that the ROMC will prove useful for the RT modeling community as a whole, not only by providing a convenient means to evaluate models outside the triennial phases of RAMI but also to attract participation in future RAMI activities

Surviving adversity: Exploring the presence of Lunularia cruciata (L.) Dum. on metal‐polluted mining waste

The tailings dump of Barraxiutta (Sardinia, Italy) contains considerable concentrations of heavy metals and, consequently, is scarcely colonized by plants. However, wild populations of the liverwort Lunularia cruciata (L.) Dum. form dense and healthy-looking carpets on this tailing dump. L. cruciata colonizing the tailing dump was compared with a control population growing in a pristine environment in terms of: (i) pollutant content, (ii) photochemical efficiency, and (iii) volatile secondary metabolites in thalli extracts. L. cruciata maintained optimal photosynthesis despite containing considerable amounts of soil pollutants in its thalli and had higher sesquiterpene content compared to control plants. Sesquiterpenes have a role in plant stress resistance and adaptation to adverse environments. In the present study, we propose enhanced sesquiterpenes featuring Contaminated L. cruciata as a defence strategy implemented in the post-mining environment

Evidence of active inverse faulting in the north-eastern sector of the Calabrian arc (Italy)

The Calabrian arc represents an accretionary wedge located between the southern Apennines and the Maghrebian chain from which it is separated by two regional shear zones, i.e. the “Pollino Line” and “Taormina Line”, respectively. Since the Pliocene, extension affected the Calabrian chain, determining the formation of normal faults systems. Paleoseismological investigations allowed to associate some of the strongest historical earthquakes occurred in the Calabrian region (Mw up to 7.5) to some of these normal faults. We analyse the north-eastern sector of the arc which is characterised by a complex structural setting, being affected by the Pollino Line. Indeed, an ~E-W trending fault system (Rossano Fault) cut the area. This fault system displays a complex kinematic history, with the superimposition, during the Quaternary, of a normal kinematics over an older strike-slip one. About two km SE of the Mirto village, an excavation exposed marine deposits, attributed by means of paleontological analyses to an age not older than the Lower Pleistocene, overlain by alluvial-colluvial sediments. These deposits have been deformed by a compressive, NW-SE trending fault, verging landwards. The continental sediments affected by the fault have been radiocarbon dated between 10.018±43 BP and 8397±47 BP. This fault may represent the surficial expression of 1) a splay of a back-thrust, related to a main active thrust verging towards NE or 2) an active NW-SE transpressive fault or 3) a local compressive deforma-tion (i.e. a restraining bend) related to an active strike-slip fault. Works are still in progress in order to define the relationship of this compressive fault with the near Rossano fault, to which Galli et al (2006d) attributes a Late Holocene normal activity, considering that this sector has been struck in 1836 by a strong earthquake (Mw=6.2), the causative fault of which has been only tentatively related to the aforementioned Rossano fault

Site-Specific Fluorescence Polarization for Studying the Disaggregation of α-Synuclein Fibrils by Small Molecules

Fibrillar aggregates of the protein α-synuclein (αS) are one of the hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease. Here, we show that measuring the fluorescence polarization (FP) of labels at several sites on αS allows one to monitor changes in the local dynamics of the protein after binding to micelles or vesicles, and during fibril formation. Most significantly, these site-specific FP measurements provide insight into structural remodeling of αS fibrils by small molecules and have the potential for use in moderate-throughput screens to identify small molecules that could be used to treat Parkinson’s disease. © 2016 American Chemical Society

Guida alla redazione degli atti amministrativi

La "Guida alla redazione degli atti amministrativi" intende fornire indicazioni per la redazione degli atti per tutti i funzionari della pubblica amministrazione. Si articola in tre parti: (a) la lingua degli atti, (b) la struttura del provvedimento amministrativo, (c) il rinvio ad altri atti. Ne è autore un gruppo di linguisti e giuristi facenti capo all'ITTIG-CNR (Istituto per le Tecniche e Tecnologie dell'Informazione Giuridica) e dell'Accademia della Crusca

Experiencing Diversity: Complexity, Education, and Peace Construction

AbstractThe relationship with diversity is one of the basic aspects of human experience. In the present contribution, a broad definition of diversity is proposed, which includes, but is not limited to, cultural diversity. The analysis of the experience of diversity is especially focused on children's attitudes and behavior. The role of education is also highlighted. Though education is generally considered by the author in its broad sense, namely, as the sum of all the elements of reality that in one way or another affect human development, a special emphasis here is given to school. The main assumption of this chapter is that complexity, diversity, education, and peace construction are intimately interrelated. Diversity is one of the essential components of complexity, and considerations regarding the reality of complexity should be the prerequisite of any educational program and of any effort toward peace construction. These reflections partly draw on a number of studies (especially through the use of anonymous open-ended essays) we conducted in Italian secondary schools on children's (aged 9–18) attitudes toward multiculturalism. Some suggestions are also prompted by a brief analysis of a passage from the Australian novel My Place by Sally Morgan

Androgen receptor condensates as drug targets

Transcription factors are among the most attractive therapeutic targets, but are considered largely undruggable. Here we provide evidence that small molecule-mediated partitioning of the androgen receptor, an oncogenic transcription factor, into phase-separated condensates has therapeutic effect in prostate cancer models. We show that the phase separation capacity of the androgen receptor is driven by aromatic residues and short unstable helices in its intrinsically disordered activation domain. Based on this knowledge, we developed tool compounds that covalently attach aromatic moieties to cysteines in the receptors’ activation domain. The compounds enhanced partitioning of the receptor into condensates, facilitated degradation of the receptor, inhibited androgen receptor-dependent transcriptional programs, and had antitumorigenic effect in models of prostate cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo. These results establish a generalizable framework to target the phase- separation capacity of intrinsically disordered regions in oncogenic transcription factors and other disease-associated proteins with therapeutic intent

Analytic philosophy for biomedical research: the imperative of applying yesterday's timeless messages to today's impasses

The mantra that "the best way to predict the future is to invent it" (attributed to the computer scientist Alan Kay) exemplifies some of the expectations from the technical and innovative sides of biomedical research at present. However, for technical advancements to make real impacts both on patient health and genuine scientific understanding, quite a number of lingering challenges facing the entire spectrum from protein biology all the way to randomized controlled trials should start to be overcome. The proposal in this chapter is that philosophy is essential in this process. By reviewing select examples from the history of science and philosophy, disciplines which were indistinguishable until the mid-nineteenth century, I argue that progress toward the many impasses in biomedicine can be achieved by emphasizing theoretical work (in the true sense of the word 'theory') as a vital foundation for experimental biology. Furthermore, a philosophical biology program that could provide a framework for theoretical investigations is outlined

A practical guide to the simultaneous determination of protein structure and dynamics using metainference

Accurate protein structural ensembles can be determined with metainference, a Bayesian inference method that integrates experimental information with prior knowledge of the system and deals with all sources of uncertainty and errors as well as with system heterogeneity. Furthermore, metainference can be implemented using the metadynamics approach, which enables the computational study of complex biological systems requiring extensive conformational sampling. In this chapter, we provide a step-by-step guide to perform and analyse metadynamic metainference simulations using the ISDB module of the open-source PLUMED library, as well as a series of practical tips to avoid common mistakes. Specifically, we will guide the reader in the process of learning how to model the structural ensemble of a small disordered peptide by combining state-of-the-art molecular mechanics force fields with nuclear magnetic resonance data, including chemical shifts, scalar couplings and residual dipolar couplings.Comment: 49 pages, 9 figure