Km4City Ontology Building vs Data Harvesting and Cleaning for Smart-city Services

Presently, a very large number of public and private data sets are available from local governments. In most cases, they are not semantically interoperable and a huge human effort would be needed to create integrated ontologies and knowledge base for smart city. Smart City ontology is not yet standardized, and a lot of research work is needed to identify models that can easily support the data reconciliation, the management of the complexity, to allow the data reasoning. In this paper, a system for data ingestion and reconciliation of smart cities related aspects as road graph, services available on the roads, traffic sensors etc., is proposed. The system allows managing a big data volume of data coming from a variety of sources considering both static and dynamic data. These data are mapped to a smart-city ontology, called KM4City (Knowledge Model for City), and stored into an RDF-Store where they are available for applications via SPARQL queries to provide new services to the users via specific applications of public administration and enterprises. The paper presents the process adopted to produce the ontology and the big data architecture for the knowledge base feeding on the basis of open and private data, and the mechanisms adopted for the data verification, reconciliation and validation. Some examples about the possible usage of the coherent big data knowledge base produced are also offered and are accessible from the RDF-Store and related services. The article also presented the work performed about reconciliation algorithms and their comparative assessment and selection

MicroRNA-184 is a downstream effector of albuminuria driving renal fibrosis in rats with diabetic nephropathy

Renal fibrosis is a common complication of diabetic nephropathy and is a major cause of end-stage renal disease. Despite the suggested link between renal fibrosis and microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation in diabetic nephropathy, the identification of the specific miRNAs involved is still incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate miRNA profiles in the diabetic kidney and to identify potential downstream targets implicated in renal fibrosis. miRNA expression profiling was investigated in the kidneys of 8-month-old Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats during overt nephropathy. Localisation of the most upregulated miRNA was established by in situ hybridisation. The candidate miRNA target was identified by in silico analysis and its expression documented in the diabetic kidney associated with fibrotic markers. Cultured tubule cells served to assess which of the profibrogenic stimuli acted as a trigger for the overexpressed miRNA, and to investigate underlying epigenetic mechanisms. In ZDF rats, miR-184 showed the strongest differential upregulation compared with lean rats (18-fold). Tubular localisation of miR-184 was associated with reduced expression of lipid phosphate phosphatase 3 (LPP3) and collagen accumulation. Transfection of NRK-52E cells with miR-184 mimic reduced LPP3, promoting a profibrotic phenotype. Albumin was a major trigger of miR-184 expression. Anti-miR-184 counteracted albumin-induced LPP3 downregulation and overexpression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. In ZDF rats, ACE-inhibitor treatment limited albuminuria and reduced miR-184, with tubular LPP3 preservation and tubulointerstitial fibrosis amelioration. Albumin-induced miR-184 expression in tubule cells was epigenetically regulated through DNA demethylation and histone lysine acetylation and was accompanied by binding of NF-kappa B p65 subunit to miR-184 promoter. These results suggest that miR-184 may act as a downstream effector of albuminuria through LPP3 to promote tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and offer the rationale to investigate whether targeting miR-184 in association with albuminuria-lowering drugs may be a new strategy to achieve fully anti-fibrotic effects in diabetic nephropathy

Norma-System: A Legal Information System for Managing Time

Abstract. This paper presents Norma-System, a legal information system developed by CIRSFID (of the University of Bologna) to manage legal resources over time, enabling front-office as well as back-office functions; the system can also ensure legally valid output in agreement with the principles of legal theory. In fact, contentmanagement systems are increasingly being designed for easy management of legal resources, but they often omit to factor into the design the general legal principles on which basis a mere document repository may be made into a legal database proper, capable of presenting legal resources in proper form. 1. Norma-System Norma-System is a legal information system capable of carrying a document through its entire lifecycle in the course of the lawmaking process at different levels (local, regional, national, supranational), in different languages (multilingual interface), under different legal cultures (for systems of civil law and common law alike), and using different technical standards for representing legal texts, that is, using different Document Type Definitions (or DTDs) and XML schemas- the system is now compliant with the NormeinRete DTD 2.0 (Lupo and Batini, 2003) and with the AKOMA NTOSO 1.0 DTD (Akomantoso, 2003). Norma-System handles all the stages involved in the process of bringing out legal documents (including laws and acts of parliament), these stages consisting in drafting, markup, production, conversion into XML, archiving, updating, retrieval, and Web publication. From a technical point of view, Norma-System integrates front-office tools (an editor) with back-office tools (DMS, DBMS, a Web portal) so as to manage the entire lifecycle of a legal document. But at the same time, it can serve as a general-purpose content- and documentmanagement system

Il Sillabo della lingua russa Licei. Quadro di riferimento unitario per l\u2019insegnamento della lingua russa nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado. Grammatica per i Licei

Nel perseguimento sia dei fini istituzionali di cooperazione educativa tra Italia e Federazione Russa sia degli obiettivi formativi prioritari, la Direzione generale per gli ordinamenti scolastici e la valutazione del sistema nazionale di istruzione, in sinergia con il Dipartimento per il sistema educativo di istruzione e formazione, ha creato nel settembre 2017 un Gruppo di lavoro coordinato dalla Prof.ssa Maria Chiara Pesenti e dall\u2019Ispettrice Tecnica Gisella Lang\ue9, al quale hanno contribuito anche l\u2019addetto culturale all\u2019Ambasciata della Federazione russa in Italia e il Responsabile dei corsi di Lingua russa presso il Centro Russo di Scienza e Cultura a Roma, Rossotrudni\u10destvo. Lo scopo del S illabo : definire linee guida per la didattica della lingua russa nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado, cos\uec da rendere pi\uf9 omogenee e coerenti le prassi didattiche, promuovendo, al tempo stesso, la creazione di materiali didattici con esso coerenti. Le attivit\ue0 del Gruppo di lavoro si sono concluse nel Dicembre 2018 con la produzione di due versioni del Sillabo della lingua russa , una per i Licei e una per gli Istituti Tecnici e Professionali: \ue8 il risultato di un vero lavoro corale di docenti provenienti da varie scuole secondarie di secondo grado, Universit\ue0 e Istituti culturali. Questo Sillabo potr\ue0 sicuramente aiutare dirigenti, docenti, Universit\ue0 e Enti impegnati nell\u2019erogazione dei percorsi formativi, fornire elementi per la riflessione sulle modalit\ue0 di costruzione del curricolo e porsi come punto di partenza per progettare meglio le attivit\ue0 di insegnamento/apprendimento della lingua e cultura russa

Il Sillabo della lingua russa. Istituti Tecnici e Professionali. Grammatica per gli Istituti Tecnici e Professionali

Nel perseguimento sia dei fini istituzionali di cooperazione educativa tra Italia e Federazione Russa sia degli obiettivi formativi prioritari, la Direzione generale per gli ordinamenti scolastici e la valutazione del sistema nazionale di istruzione, in sinergia con il Dipartimento per il sistema educativo di istruzione e formazione, ha creato nel settembre 2017 un Gruppo di lavoro coordinato dalla Prof.ssa Maria Chiara Pesenti e dall\u2019Ispettrice Tecnica Gisella Lang\ue9, al quale hanno contribuito anche l\u2019addetto culturale all\u2019Ambasciata della Federazione russa in Italia e il Responsabile dei corsi di Lingua russa presso il Centro Russo di Scienza e Cultura a Roma, Rossotrudni\u10destvo. Lo scopo del S illabo : definire linee guida per la didattica della lingua russa nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado, cos\uec da rendere pi\uf9 omogenee e coerenti le prassi didattiche, promuovendo, al tempo stesso, la creazione di materiali didattici con esso coerenti. Le attivit\ue0 del Gruppo di lavoro si sono concluse nel Dicembre 2018 con la produzione di due versioni del Sillabo della lingua russa , una per i Licei e una per gli Istituti Tecnici e Professionali: \ue8 il risultato di un vero lavoro corale di docenti provenienti da varie scuole secondarie di secondo grado, Universit\ue0 e Istituti culturali. Questo Sillabo potr\ue0 sicuramente aiutare dirigenti, docenti, Universit\ue0 e Enti impegnati nell\u2019erogazione dei percorsi formativi, fornire elementi per la riflessione sulle modalit\ue0 di costruzione del curricolo e porsi come punto di partenza per progettare meglio le attivit\ue0 di insegnamento/apprendimento della lingua e cultura russa

Bench Testing of Sensors Utilized for In-Line Monitoring of Lubricants and Hydraulic Fluids Properties

This work reports the results of a study on the behaviour of five sensors recently developed for oil conditions monitoring, installed in-line in an experimental test rig for lubricants. The tests were carried out on seven oils of different origins (one synthetic ester, two bio-based synthetic esters, four vegetable oils) and use (two UTTOs and five hydraulic oils), under controlled working conditions, according to a specially designed test method. At first, the study concerned the identification of the conditions for the correct sensors’ installation. Then, the tests started applying to the fluids severe work cycles intended to accelerate oil ageing. The data of viscosity, permittivity, relative humidity, electric conductivity, particle contamination, and ferro-magnetic particles provided by the sensors were compared to the results of laboratory analyses made on oil samples taken during the tests with the aim of verifying the sensors measurements accuracy and reliability and selecting the more suitable ones to in-line oil conditions monitoring, in the perspective of introducing them also in field applications, e.g., on agricultural tractors, for preventing damages due to oil deterioration, and in managing the machine maintenance

Sirtuin 3 Deficiency Aggravates Kidney Disease in Response to High-Fat Diet through Lipotoxicity-Induced Mitochondrial Damage

Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) is the primary mitochondrial deacetylase that controls the antioxidant pathway and energy metabolism. We previously found that renal Sirt3 expression and activity were reduced in mice with type 2 diabetic nephropathy associated with oxidative stress and mitochondrial abnormalities and that a specific SIRT3 activator improved renal damage. SIRT3 is modulated by diet, and to assess whether Sirt3 deficiency aggravates mitochondrial damage and accelerates kidney disease in response to nutrient overloads, wild-type (WT) and Sirt3−/− mice were fed a high-fat-diet (HFD) or standard diet for 8 months. Sirt3−/− mice on HFD exhibited earlier and more severe albuminuria compared to WT mice, accompanied by podocyte dysfunction and glomerular capillary rarefaction. Mesangial matrix expansion, tubular vacuolization and inflammation, associated with enhanced lipid accumulation, were more evident in Sirt3−/− mice. After HFD, kidneys from Sirt3−/− mice showed more oxidative stress than WT mice, mitochondria ultrastructural damage in tubular cells, and a reduction in mitochondrial mass and energy production. Our data demonstrate that Sirt3 deficiency renders mice more prone to developing oxidative stress and mitochondrial abnormalities in response to HFD, resulting in more severe kidney diseases, and this suggests that mitochondria protection may be a method to prevent HFD-induced renal injury

Low Nephron Number Induced by Maternal Protein Restriction Is Prevented by Nicotinamide Riboside Supplementation Depending on Sirtuin 3 Activation

A reduced nephron number at birth, due to critical gestational conditions, including maternal malnutrition, is associated with the risk of developing hypertension and chronic kidney disease in adulthood. No interventions are currently available to augment nephron number. We have recently shown that sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) has an important role in dictating proper nephron endowment. The present study explored whether SIRT3 stimulation, by means of supplementation with nicotinamide riboside (NR), a precursor of the SIRT3 co-substrate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), was able to improve nephron number in a murine model of a low protein (LP) diet. Our findings show that reduced nephron number in newborn mice (day 1) born to mothers fed a LP diet was associated with impaired renal SIRT3 expression, which was restored through supplementation with NR. Glomerular podocyte density, as well as the rarefaction of renal capillaries, also improved through NR administration. In mechanistic terms, the restoration of SIRT3 expression through NR was mediated by the induction of proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) coactivator-1α (PGC-1α). Moreover, NR restored SIRT3 activity, as shown by the reduction of the acetylation of optic atrophy 1 (OPA1) and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), which resulted in improved mitochondrial morphology and protection against oxidative damage in mice born to mothers fed the LP diet. Our results provide evidence that it is feasible to prevent nephron mass shortage at birth through SIRT3 boosting during nephrogenesis, thus providing a therapeutic option to possibly limit the long-term sequelae of reduced nephron number in adulthood

Endothelial Glycocalyx of Peritubular Capillaries in Experimental Diabetic Nephropathy: A Target of ACE Inhibitor-Induced Kidney Microvascular Protection

Peritubular capillary rarefaction is a recurrent aspect of progressive nephropathies. We previously found that peritubular capillary density was reduced in BTBR ob/ob mice with type 2 diabetic nephropathy. In this model, we searched for abnormalities in the ultrastructure of peritubular capillaries, with a specific focus on the endothelial glycocalyx, and evaluated the impact of treatment with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi). Mice were intracardially perfused with lanthanum to visualise the glycocalyx. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed endothelial cell abnormalities and basement membrane thickening in the peritubular capillaries of BTBR ob/ob mice compared to wild-type mice. Remodelling and focal loss of glycocalyx was observed in lanthanum-stained diabetic kidneys, associated with a reduction in glycocalyx components, including sialic acids, as detected through specific lectins. ACEi treatment preserved the endothelial glycocalyx and attenuated the ultrastructural abnormalities of peritubular capillaries. In diabetic mice, peritubular capillary damage was associated with an enhanced tubular expression of heparanase, which degrades heparan sulfate residues of the glycocalyx. Heparanase was also detected in renal interstitial macrophages that expressed tumor necrosis factor-α. All these abnormalities were mitigated by ACEi. Our findings suggest that, in experimental diabetic nephropathy, preserving the endothelial glycocalyx is important in order to protect peritubular capillaries from damage and loss

DISTINCT CARDIAC AND RENAL EFFECTS OF ETA RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST AND ACE INHIBITOR IN EXPERIMENTAL TYPE 2 DIABETES

Diabetic nephropathy is associated with cardiovascular morbidity. ACE inhibitors provide imperfect renoprotection in advanced type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk remains elevated. Endothelin (ET)-1 has a role in renal and cardiac dysfunction in diabetes. Here we assessed whether combination therapy with ACE inhibitor and ETA receptor antagonist provided reno- and cardioprotection in rats with overt type 2 diabetes. Four groups of Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats were treated orally from 4 (when proteinuric) to 8 months with: vehicle; ramipril (1mg/kg); sitaxsentan (60mg/kg); ramipril plus sitaxsentan. Lean rats served as controls. Combined therapy ameliorated proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis mostly as a result of the action of ramipril. Simultaneous blockade of Ang II and ET-1 pathways normalized renal MCP-1 and interstitial inflammation. Cardiomyocyte loss, volume enlargement and capillary rarefaction were prominent abnormalities of ZDF myocardium. Myocyte volume was reduced by ramipril and sitaxsentan, which also ameliorated heart capillary density. Drug combination restored myocardial structure, and re-established an adequate capillary network in the presence of increased cardiac expression of VEGF/VEGFR-1, and significant reduction of oxidative stress. In conclusion, in type 2 diabetes concomitant blockade of Ang II synthesis and ET-1 biological activity through ETA receptor antagonist led to substantial albeit not complete renoprotection, almost due to the ACE inhibitor. The drug combination also showed cardioprotective properties which however were mainly dependent on the contribution of ETA receptor antagonist through the action of VEGF