Le tombeau d'Amphion et de Zethos et les fruits de Dionysos

Pausanias reports that every year when the Sun was passing through the constellation Taurus, Tithoreans planned to steal earth from the tomb of Amphion and Zethos in Thebes of Boeotia. Bringing this earth in their city and pouring it over Antiope's tomb they would have fllvoured the fertility of their fields. In order to preserve the fruits of their country and following the oracle of Bakis, Thebans kept watch over the tomb of Amphion and Zethos. An analysis of Pausanias' text suggests that a quarrel divided the two cities, every part claiming the right to have in its land the tomb of Antiope's sons. The involvement of the mythical figures and the peculiar phase in the vineyards' life during that period of the year (April-May) both suggest that Thebans tried to protect the growth of the fruits of Dionysos.peer-reviewe

Oche sulla mensa e in volo sul Tauros

Sin resume

Analytical pyrolysis with in-situ silylation, Py(HMDS)-GC/MS, for the chemical characterization of archaeological and historical amber objects

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Aberrant Autophagic Response in The Muscle of A Knock-in Mouse Model of Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is characterized by loss of motoneurons and sensory neurons, accompanied by atrophy of muscle cells. SBMA is due to an androgen receptor containing a polyglutamine tract (ARpolyQ) that misfolds and aggregates, thereby perturbing the protein quality control (PQC) system. Using SBMA AR113Q mice we analyzed proteotoxic stress-induced alterations of HSPB8-mediated PQC machinery promoting clearance of misfolded proteins by autophagy. In muscle of symptomatic AR113Q male mice, we found expression upregulation of Pax-7, myogenin, E2-ubiquitin ligase UBE2Q1 and acetylcholine receptor (AchR), but not of MyoD, and of two E3-ligases (MuRF-1 and Cullin3). TGF beta 1 and PGC-1 alpha were also robustly upregulated. We also found a dramatic perturbation of the autophagic response, with upregulation of most autophagic markers (Beclin-1, ATG10, p62/SQSTM1, LC3) and of the HSPB8-mediated PQC response. Both HSPB8 and its co-chaperone BAG3 were robustly upregulated together with other specific HSPB8 interactors (HSPB2 and HSPB3). Notably, the BAG3: BAG1 ratio increased in muscle suggesting preferential misfolded proteins routing to autophagy rather than to proteasome. Thus, mutant ARpolyQ induces a potent autophagic response in muscle cells. Alteration in HSPB8-based PQC machinery may represent muscle-specific biomarkers useful to assess SBMA progression in mice and patients in response to pharmacological treatments

G6PD deficiency does not enhance susceptibility for acquiring <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> infection in Sardinian patients

Background: Subjects with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency may be more susceptible to infections due to impaired leukocyte bactericidal activity. The disorder is common in the Mediterranean area. The aim of this study was to investigate whether G6PD deficiency may be a risk factor for acquiring H. pylori infection. Methods: We performed a retrospective study. Data from clinical records of 6565 patients (2278 men and 4287 women, median age 51, range 7‒94) who underwent upper endoscopy between 2002 and 2014 were collected. H. pylori status, assessed by histology plus rapid urease test or 13C-urea breath test, and G6PD status were also reported. A multiple logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between G6PD deficiency and H. pylori infection. Results: Enzyme deficiency was detected in 12% (789/6565) of the entire cohort, and more specifically in 8.3% of men and in 14.0% of women. Overall, the proportion of patients positive for H. pylori was 50.6% and 51.5% among G6PD deficient and non-deficient patients (χ² = 0.271; p = 0.315). Moreover, among G6PD-deficient and normal patients the frequency of previous H. pylori infection was similar. After adjustment for age and gender the risk for acquiring H. pylori infection was similar in G6PD-deficient and normal patients. Only age was a strong statistically significant risk predictor. Conclusions: These results demonstrate for the first time that G6PD deficiency does not enhance patients’ susceptibility to acquire H. pylori infection in Sardinia

Spatial multicriteria analysis for sustainability assessment : a new model for decision making

Policy makers have to consider the sustainability perspective in strategic planning decisions. Identifyand measure the level of sustainability, through its three dimensions, is a priority. Therefore, the aim of this work is to present a new model, called GeoUmbriaSUIT, integrating Multicriteria Analysis and Geographic Information Systems, specifically developed for helping Decision Makers to take policy decisions about sustainability in planning. The model provides outputs which are easy to be understood by not experts; the evaluation path is traceable and transparent, thanks to back analysis. To better explain the potentiality of GeoUmbriaSUIT and its functioning, a case study about Malta is described. Our results showed that in four regions of Malta the best dimension was the environmental one, while only for two regions (Northern Harbour and Southern Harbour) respectively the economic and social dimensions obtained the best scores. The integration of MCDA-GIS resulted to be a useful tool for sustainability assessment.peer-reviewe

Multiple Criteria Assessment of Insulating Materials with a Group Decision Framework Incorporating Outranking Preference Model and Characteristic Class Profiles

We present a group decision making framework for evaluating sustainability of the insulating materials. We tested thirteen materials on a model that was applied to retrofit a traditional rural building through roof's insulation. To evaluate the materials from the socio-economic and environmental viewpoints, we combined life cycle costing and assessment with an adaptive comfort evaluation. In this way, the performances of each coating material were measured in terms of an incurred reduction of costs and consumption of resources, maintenance of the cultural and historic significance of buildings, and a guaranteed indoor thermal comfort. The comprehensive assessment of the materials involved their assignment to one of the three preference-ordered sustainability classes. For this purpose, we used a multiple criteria decision analysis approach that accounted for preferences of a few tens of rural buildings' owners. The proposed methodological framework incorporated an outranking-based preference model to compare the insulating materials with the characteristic class profiles while using the weights derived from the revised Simos procedure. The initial sorting recommendation for each material was validated against the outcomes of robustness analysis that combined the preferences of individual stakeholders either at the output or at the input level. The analysis revealed that the most favorable materials in terms of their overall sustainability were glass wool, hemp fibres, kenaf fibres, polystyrene foam, polyurethane, and rock wool

Development of a New Manufacturing Route by Direct Laser Metal Deposition With NiCrSiFeB Alloys to Replace Cobalt in Aeronautical Components

Nickel-based NiCrSiFeB alloy (Ni-Cr-Si-B self-fluxing family) are excellent candidates for replacing Cobalt-based alloys in aeronautical components such as sealing rings, valve seats, sliding bearing seats, etc. In this type of components, commonly manufactured by centrifugal casting and conventional processes, high temperature wear and stiffness under complex thermo-mechanical stresses cause lack of sealing and an increase in the wear rate. Metal additive manufacturing by direct laser metal deposition with powder (p-LMD) is presented as a potential manufacturing route for the complex processing of this type of alloys. This research work deals with the development of a new manufacturing route using p-LMD that ranges from the proper selection of the chemical composition for the starting powders, the development of the LMD process parameters to tackle the challenges associated to the wide solidification range and crack susceptibility of Ni-Cr-Si-B alloys, its monitoring and control, as well as the post-processing required to achieve the manufacture of aeronautical components. In this work, the porosity analysis, as-built microstructure, hardness at room temperature and at high temperature, and the strengthening mechanisms have been studied in cylinders manufactured with different chemical composition grades and LMD process parameter sets (slow, normal and fast deposition speed)

Evolutionary history of chromosome 11 featuring four distinct centromere repositioning events in Catarrhini.

Abstract Panels of BAC clones used in FISH experiments allow a detailed definition of chromosomal marker arrangement and orientation during evolution. This approach has disclosed the centromere repositioning phenomenon, consisting in the activation of a novel, fully functional centromere in an ectopic location, concomitant with the inactivation of the old centromere. In this study, appropriate panels of BAC clones were used to track the chromosome 11 evolutionary history in primates and nonprimate boreoeutherian mammals. Chromosome 11 synteny was found to be highly conserved in both primate and boreoeutherian mammalian ancestors. Amazingly, we detected four centromere repositioning events in primates (in Old World monkeys, in gibbons, in orangutans, and in the Homo–Pan–Gorilla (H-P-G) clade ancestor), and one in Equidae. Both H-P-G and Lar gibbon novel centromeres were flanked by large duplicons with high sequence similarity. Outgroup species analysis revealed that this duplicon was absent in phylogenetically more distant primates. The chromosome 11 ancestral centromere was probably located near the HSA11q telomere. The domain of this inactivated centromere, in humans, is almost devoid of segmental duplications. An inversion occurred in chromosome 11 in the common ancestor of H-P-G. A large duplicon, again absent in outgroup species, was found located adjacent to the inversion breakpoints. In Hominoidea, almost all the five largest duplicons of this chromosome appeared involved in significant evolutionary architectural changes