Declinazioni della bellezza nel mondo arabo-musulmano

L’idea di bellezza nell’Islàm non può prescindere dalla Rivelazione, punto di riferimento per tutto. C’è una bellezza creata da Dio, lo stesso corpo umano è creazione divina per cui il suo aspetto esteriore esige rispetto, ed una bellezza creatadall’uomo che si esprime nella creazione di opere artistiche. Il canone estetico, di conseguenza, varia a seconda che il criterio sia strettamente religioso o profano, come nel caso della poesia e delle arti destinate al godimento privato. Il piacere prodotto dalla bellezza femminile, da un oggetto artistico, dalla parola, deriva dalla sua armonia, da un sistema di proporzioni fondato sull’equilibrio delle varie parti anche se spesso l’accento è posto sul dettaglio.L’assoluta unicità di Dio lascia poco spazio alle arti figurative, attribuendo grande importanza a forme artistiche più specifiche dell’Islàm, prima fra tutte la calligrafia

Flow Equations for Non-BPS Extremal Black Holes

We exploit some common features of black hole and domain wall solutions of (super)gravity theories coupled to scalar fields and construct a class of stable extremal black holes that are non-BPS, but still can be described by first-order differential equations. These are driven by a "superpotential'', which replaces the central charge Z in the usual black hole potential. We provide a general procedure for finding this class and deriving the associated "superpotential''. We also identify some other cases which do not belong to this class, but show a similar behaviour.Comment: LaTeX, 21 pages, 2 figures. v2: reference added, JHEP versio

Learning and Using Abstract Words: Evidence from Clinical Populations

Lorusso ML, Burigo M, Tavano A, et al. Learning and Using Abstract Words: Evidence from Clinical Populations. BioMed Research International. 2017;2017:1-8

Hysterectomy and Bilateral Salpingoovariectomy in a Transsexual Subject without Visible Scaring

Objective. To report on the use of laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) for the management of total hysterectomy (TH) with bilateral salpingoovariectomy (BSO) in a subject affected by gender identity disorder. Design. Case report. Setting. University Hospital. Patient(s). A 27-year-old affected by Gender Identity Disorder underwent a hysterectomy and BSO as part of surgical sex reassignment. Intervention(s). Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery access for TH and BSO. Main Outcome Measure(s). The procedure was performed without incident. The trocar placement was easy and safe, without inadvertent port removal. No vascular or visceral injuries, loss of pneumoperitoneum, or intraoperative port site bleeding occurred. Result(s). A detailed description of the technique of a single-site surgery for management of hysterectomy and BSO. Conclusion. Our case presents the first report of single-site surgery for surgical treatment of subjects affected by GID

Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3.

Grapevine leafroll disease (GLD) is one of the most important grapevine viral diseases affecting grapevines worldwide. The impact on vine health, crop yield, and quality is difficult to assess due to a high number of variables, but significant economic losses are consistently reported over the lifespan of a vineyard if intervention strategies are not implemented. Several viruses from the family Closteroviridae are associated with GLD. However, Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3), the type species for the genus Ampelovirus, is regarded as the most important causative agent. Here we provide a general overview on various aspects of GLRaV-3, with an emphasis on the latest advances in the characterization of the genome. The full genome of several isolates have recently been sequenced and annotated, revealing the existence of several genetic variants. The classification of these variants, based on their genome sequence, will be discussed and a guideline is presented to facilitate future comparative studies. The characterization of sgRNAs produced during the infection cycle of GLRaV-3 has given some insight into the replication strategy and the putative functionality of the ORFs. The latest nucleotide sequence based molecular diagnostic techniques were shown to be more sensitive than conventional serological assays and although ELISA is not as sensitive it remains valuable for high-throughput screening and complementary to molecular diagnostics. The application of next-generation sequencing is proving to be a valuable tool to study the complexity of viral infection as well as plant pathogen interaction. Next-generation sequencing data can provide information regarding disease complexes, variants of viral species, and abundance of particular viruses. This information can be used to develop more accurate diagnostic assays. Reliable virus screening in support of robust grapevine certification programs remains the cornerstone of GLD management

Effects of extracts of two selected strains of Haematococcus pluvialis on adipocyte function

Recently, microalgae are arousing considerable interest as a source of countless molecules with potential impacts in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical fields. Haematococcus pluvialis, also named Haematococcus lacustris, is the largest producer of astaxanthin, a carotenoid exhibiting powerful health effects, including anti-lipogenic and anti-diabetic activities. This study was carried out to investigate the properties of two selected strains of H. pluvialis (FBR1 and FBR2) on lipid metabolism, lipolysis and adipogenesis using an in vitro obesity model. FBR1 and FBR2 showed no antiproliferative effect at the lowest concentration in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Treatment with FBR2 extract reduced lipid deposition, detected via Oil Red O staining and the immunocontent of the adipogenic proteins PPARγ, ACLY and AMPK was revealed using Western blot analysis. Extracts from both strains induced lipolysis in vitro and reduced the secretion of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α. Moreover, the FBR1 and FBR2 extracts improved mitochondrial function, reducing the levels of mitochondrial superoxide anion radical and increasing mitochondrial mass compared to untreated adipocytes. These findings suggest that FBR2 extract, more so than FBR1, may represent a promising strategy in overweight and obesity prevention and treatment

Liposome-Mediated Inhibition of Inflammation by Hydroxycitrate

Hydroxycitrate (HCA), a main organic acid component of the fruit rind of Garcinia cambogia, is a natural citrate analog that can inhibit the ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) enzyme with a consequent reduction of inflammatory mediators (i.e., nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)) levels. Therefore, HCA has been proposed as a novel means to prevent, treat, and ameliorate conditions involving inflammation. However, HCA presents a low membrane permeability, and a large quantity is required to have a biological effect. To overcome this problem, HCA was formulated in liposomes in this work, and the enhancement of HCA cell availability along with the reduction in the amount required to downregulate NO, ROS, and PGE2 in macrophages were assessed. The liposomes were small in size (~60 nm), monodispersed, negatively charged (−50 mV), and stable on storage. The in vitro results showed that the liposomal encapsulation increased by approximately 4 times the intracellular accumulation of HCA in macrophages, and reduced by 10 times the amount of HCA required to abolish LPS-induced NO, ROS, and PGE2 increase. This suggests that liposomal HCA can be exploited to target the citrate pathway involved in inflammatory processes

D22.1 Definition of EuWIn@CNIT/Bologna testbed interfaces and preliminary plan of activities

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