128 research outputs found
Rare K decays in a model of quark and lepton masses
An extension of a model of neutrino masses to the quark sector provides an
interesting link between these two sectors. A parameter which is important to
describe neutrino oscillations and masses is found to be a crucial one
appearing in various ``penguin'' operators, in particular the so-called Z
penguin. This parameter is severely constrained by the rare decay process
. This in turn has interesting implications on the
decay rates of other rare processes such as , etc..., as well
as on the masses of the neutrinos and the masses of the vector-like quarks and
leptons which appear in our model.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures, corrected some typos in the introductio
Wild-type p53-mediated down-modulation of interleukin 15 and interleukin 15 receptors in human rhabdomyosarcoma cells.
We recently reported that rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines express and secrete interleukin 15 (IL-15), a tightly regulated cytokine with IL-2-like activity. To test whether the p53-impaired function that is frequently found in this tumour type could play a role in the IL-15 production, wild-type p53 gene was transduced in the human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line RD (which harbours a mutated p53 gene), and its effect on proliferation and expression of IL-15 was studied. Arrest of proliferation was induced by wild-type p53; increased proportions of G1-arrested cells and of apoptotic cells were observed. A marked down-modulation of IL-15 expression, at both the mRNA and protein level, was found in p53-transduced cells. Because a direct effect of IL-15 on normal muscle cells has been reported, the presence of IL-15 membrane receptors was studied by cytofluorometric analysis. Rhabdomyosarcoma cells showed IL-15 membrane receptors, which are down-modulated by wild-type p53 transfected gene. In conclusion, wild-type p53 transduction in human rhabdomyosarcoma cells induces the down-modulation of both IL-15 production and IL-15 receptor expression
Volcanic Risk Management: the Case of Mt. Etna 2006 Eruption
Mt. Etna volcano is located in a very populated area of eastern Sicily (Italy). Its
permanent degassing activity from summit craters and frequent eruptions impact
significantly on town habitations and cultivated areas. In the latest years Etna has
produced copious ash emission causing great losses to local economy and causing
serious hazards to national and international air traffic over Mediterranean area and
the often closure of Catania airport.
In July 2006 eruptive vents opened on the East and South flanks of the summit
craters showing irregular explosive and effusive activity lasting 6 months.
This eruption represented the opportunity to perform the pre-operative test of FP6
Eurorisk-Preview (Prevention, Information and Early Warning) project aimed to
develop tools for monitoring volcanoes.
The test was performed during two temporal phases: the first one of early-warning
was aimed to measure ground deformation and the second one during the crisis to
survey volcanic ash produced during the explosions.
The ground deformations were measured through the elaboration of SAR data.
Beside the geophysical objectives, the test was also important to check data
availability and efficiency of European Space Agency procedures. The pre-operative
test has been peculiar to understand and quantify the delivering time of the final
satellite products expected from the Volcanological Observatory in operative case.
The analysis of July 2005 - July 2006 SAR data showed a pre-eruptive inflation trend
in agreement with the ground network of GPS data. The magmatic source, that
produced the September - October activity, has been located about 2.7 km below the
summit craters.
During the crisis phase characterized by paroxysmal activity, the Italian Civil
Protection (DPC) in charge of airport closure in case of volcanic hazard, requested
the satellite volcanic ash product retrieved from the NASA-MODIS data. An
agreement between the industry Telespazio as direct broadcast of satellite data at
Matera station and INGV was signed in order to elaborate the data in near-real time.
The volcanic ash product provided information about: the presence of volcanic ash in
the air; the affected area; the volcanic plume dispersal direction, dimensions and
altitude and the volcanic ash loading.
The satellite products and the observations report have been successively inserted in
a web-interface. At the same time the observations report has been linked to the
DPC dedicated Web-GIS interface that allows in a short time the availability of
volcanic ash information to DPC in support to their decisions.Published77-811.10. TTC - Telerilevamentoope
Association between red cell distribution width and response to methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis
Red cell distribution width (RDW) is an unconventional biomarker of inflammation. We aimed to explore its role as a predictor of treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Eighty-two RA patients (55 females), median age [interquartile range] 63 years [52-69], were selected by scanning the medical records of a rheumatology clinic, to analyze the associations between baseline RDW, disease activity scores and inflammatory markers, as well as the relationship between RDW changes following methotrexate (MTX) and treatment response. The lower the median baseline RDW, the greater were the chances of a positive EULAR response at three months, 13.5% [13.0-14.4] being among those with good response, vs 14.0% [13.2-14.7] and 14.2% [13.5- 16.0] (p=0.009) among those with moderate and poor response, respectively. MTX treatment was followed by a significant RDW increase (p<0.0001). The increase of RDW was greater among patients with good EULAR response, becoming progressively smaller in cases with moderate and poor response (1.0% [0.4-1.4] vs. 0.7 [0.1-2.0] vs. 0.3 [-0.1-0.8]; p=0.03). RDW is a strong predictor of early response to MTX in RA. RDW significantly increases after MTX initiation in parallel to treatment response, suggesting a role as a marker of MTX effectiveness
Volcanic Risk Management: the Case of Mt. Etna 2006 Eruption
Mt. Etna volcano is located in a very populated area of eastern Sicily (Italy). Its
permanent degassing activity from summit craters and frequent eruptions impact
significantly on town habitations and cultivated areas. In the latest years Etna has
produced copious ash emission causing great losses to local economy and causing
serious hazards to national and international air traffic over Mediterranean area and
the often closure of Catania airport.
In July 2006 eruptive vents opened on the East and South flanks of the summit
craters showing irregular explosive and effusive activity lasting 6 months.
This eruption represented the opportunity to perform the pre-operative test of FP6
Eurorisk-Preview (Prevention, Information and Early Warning) project aimed to
develop tools for monitoring volcanoes.
The test was performed during two temporal phases: the first one of early-warning
was aimed to measure ground deformation and the second one during the crisis to
survey volcanic ash produced during the explosions.
The ground deformations were measured through the elaboration of SAR data.
Beside the geophysical objectives, the test was also important to check data
availability and efficiency of European Space Agency procedures. The pre-operative
test has been peculiar to understand and quantify the delivering time of the final
satellite products expected from the Volcanological Observatory in operative case.
The analysis of July 2005 - July 2006 SAR data showed a pre-eruptive inflation trend
in agreement with the ground network of GPS data. The magmatic source, that
produced the September - October activity, has been located about 2.7 km below the
summit craters.
During the crisis phase characterized by paroxysmal activity, the Italian Civil
Protection (DPC) in charge of airport closure in case of volcanic hazard, requested
the satellite volcanic ash product retrieved from the NASA-MODIS data. An
agreement between the industry Telespazio as direct broadcast of satellite data at
Matera station and INGV was signed in order to elaborate the data in near-real time.
The volcanic ash product provided information about: the presence of volcanic ash in
the air; the affected area; the volcanic plume dispersal direction, dimensions and
altitude and the volcanic ash loading.
The satellite products and the observations report have been successively inserted in
a web-interface. At the same time the observations report has been linked to the
DPC dedicated Web-GIS interface that allows in a short time the availability of
volcanic ash information to DPC in support to their decisions
Prognostic impact of KMT2A-AFF1-positivity in 926 BCR-ABL1-negative B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients treated in GIMEMA clinical trials since 1996
The impact of KMT2A-AFF1 rearrangement in pediatric-like, minimal residual disease (MRD)-based clinical trials and the effect of transplant in KMT2A-AFF1 ALL are still debated
HIPK2 and extrachromosomal histone H2B are separately recruited by Aurora-B for cytokinesis
Cytokinesis, the final phase of cell division, is necessary to form two distinct daughter cells with correct distribution of genomic and cytoplasmic materials. Its failure provokes genetically unstable states, such as tetraploidization and polyploidization, which can contribute to tumorigenesis. Aurora-B kinase controls multiple cytokinetic events, from chromosome condensation to abscission when the midbody is severed. We have previously shown that HIPK2, a kinase involved in DNA damage response and development, localizes at the midbody and contributes to abscission by phosphorylating extrachromosomal histone H2B at Ser14. Of relevance, HIPK2-defective cells do not phosphorylate H2B and do not successfully complete cytokinesis leading to accumulation of binucleated cells, chromosomal instability, and increased tumorigenicity. However, how HIPK2 and H2B are recruited to the midbody during cytokinesis is still unknown. Here, we show that regardless of their direct (H2B) and indirect (HIPK2) binding of chromosomal DNA, both H2B and HIPK2 localize at the midbody independently of nucleic acids. Instead, by using mitotic kinase-specific inhibitors in a spatio-temporal regulated manner, we found that Aurora-B kinase activity is required to recruit both HIPK2 and H2B to the midbody. Molecular characterization showed that Aurora-B directly binds and phosphorylates H2B at Ser32 while indirectly recruits HIPK2 through the central spindle components MgcRacGAP and PRC1. Thus, among different cytokinetic functions, Aurora-B separately recruits HIPK2 and H2B to the midbody and these activities contribute to faithful cytokinesis
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