Testing a procedure for measuring personal networks

Personal Network Analysis is a specific research sector of Social Network Analysis, which deserve particular research tools. This working paper copes with a technical challenge: testing a standard procedure for doing research on personal networks and detecting their core, through two standardized tools for gathering information on emotional and functional ties. The procedure is being tested on a typological-factorial panel, and gives significant results about personal networking and homophily. The main statistical and methodological tools for personal network analysis are presented, employed, and discussed

I sistemi di risoluzione stragiudiziale delle controversie in materia bancaria e finanziaria

Il presente elaborato mira ad analizzare le forme di tutela accordate in sede europea al “consumatore” si servizi finanziari, al fine di verificarne, da un lato, l’adeguatezza rispetto all’evoluzione normativa che ha interessato tale segmento del mercato (Capitolo I) e, dall’altro lato, le modalità e le tecniche di diffusione nell’ordinamento italiano (Capitolo II) e in quelli dei principali Paesi Europei (Capitolo III). L’indagine muove dal processo di integrazione comunitaria avviato nel 1999 con l’elaborazione del “Financial Service Action Plan”, mettendo in luce come tale azione stia progressivamente contribuendo, attraverso la predisposizione di nuove regole e principi, alla creazione di un “diritto privato europeo”. In tale contesto, infatti, lo spazio rappresentato dal mercato dei servizi finanziari è significativo e di eccezionale rilevanza. Si è osservato, infatti, come l’integrazione dei mercati finanziari – avviata dalle Istituzioni europee, tra l’altro, attraverso l’aggiornamento della normativa comunitaria sui servizi di investimento (direttiva MiFID) – abbia avviato, e progressivamente sostenga, la massima armonizzazione delle regole economiche e giuridiche applicabili alle relazioni con i clienti, anche attraverso l’introduzione di nuovi meccanismi di tutela dei consumatori, volti a preservare la parte “debole” del rapporto contrattuale dai fisiologici rischi connessi alla prestazione dei servizi finanziari. In tale contesto, si è evidenziato come l’omogeneizzazione delle regole dei mercati finanziari abbia comportato, da un lato, l’aumento del flusso di risparmio destinato agli investimenti cross-border, nonché il progressivo coinvolgimento dei consumatori nelle transazioni finanziarie ma, dall’altro lato, abbia contribuito ad esporre maggiormente gli stessi ai rischi connessi agli eventi di crisi che hanno interessato le economie a capitalismo avanzato (ad esempio, il default della banca d’affari Lehman Brother’s). L’esposizione della clientela a situazioni di instabilità, peraltro, è fortemente avvertita anche sul versante dei servizi bancari tradizionali, non soltanto in ragione della diffusione del modello di banca universale e multicanale, ma che per effetto dell’attesa internazionalizzazione dei player del mercato, conseguente al livellamento del relativo “campo da gioco”. Si è perciò sottolineato come la proliferazione delle controversie intermediario-cliente nei diversi segmenti del comparto bancario-finanziario abbia mostrato come il nuovo sistema di tutele introdotto dal legislatore comunitario non sia stato in grado, da solo, di garantire la massima protezione dei consumatori dai rischi connessi alla fruizione dei servizi finanziari. A tale proposito, ci si è interrogati – anche alla luce della copiosa letteratura nazionale ed europea in materia – riguardo ai rimedi esperibili per superare le criticità legate alle procedure giudiziali di risoluzione delle controversie transfrontaliere (i.e. la durata dei tempi processuali, ovvero il costo per accedere alla giustizia), giungendo ad individuare nei sistemi alternativi di risoluzione delle controversie (c.d. ADR) una valida alternativa rispetto alla tutela giudiziale ordinaria. Ancora nel corso del Capitolo I, si è dato conto di come tali meccanismi di mediazione e conciliazione – caldeggiati e, in parte, disciplinati dalle istituzioni comunitarie – potranno, da un lato, comportare la semplificazione e la deburocratizzazione degli apparati giudiziari e, dall’altro, offrire un ulteriore presidio di tutela per i cittadini europei, particolarmente esposti ai rischi connessi ad attività complesse come la prestazione dei servizi di investimento. Come evidenziato nel corso del Capitolo II, non sorprende che in un settore fisiologicamente esposto al rischio di contenzioso come il comparto dei servizi finanziari, le Istituzioni comunitarie abbiano introdotto e progressivamente sospinto la diffusione in Europa dei modelli di ADR, appunto come strumenti di risoluzione delle controversie alternativi agli ordinari rimedi di natura giudiziaria. E sulla spinta comunitaria, anche il legislatore italiano sta progressivamente introducendo nel nostro ordinamento nuove modalità e nuovi sistemi per la risoluzione stragiudiziale delle controversie insorte in sede di prestazione dei servizi finanziari: tra le prime, la disciplina della mediazione finalizzata alla conciliazione delle controversie in materia civile e commerciale (di cui al d.lgs. 4 marzo 2010, n. 28); tra i secondi, i due nuovi organismi di derivazione pubblica, rappresentati dall’Arbitro Bancario Finanziario attivo presso la Banca d’Italia e la Camera di Conciliazione e Arbitrato, costituita presso la Consob. Si è visto, quindi, che le esigenze di tutela della clientela hanno condotto negli ultimi anni all’emanazione di regole e principi, come la disciplina della trasparenza del 2003 (successivamente novellata nel 2009 e, da ultimo, nel 2011 per recepire le nuove regole in materia di contratti di credito ai consumatori) e le regole di funzionamento dei sistemi di risoluzione stragiudiziale delle controversie, che operano proprio a completamento del quadro delle iniziative di tutela della clientela bancaria e finanziaria, come strumenti di redress rapidi, economici ed efficaci. Sempre nel corso del Capitolo II, quindi, si analizzano le caratteristiche principali dell’organismo nazionale deputato alla risoluzione stragiudiziale delle controversie bancarie, costituito dall’Arbitro Bancario Finanziario, al fine di rappresentare la natura giuridica di tale meccanismo, il relativo ambito di applicazione territoriale ed oggettivo, nonché individuando i rimedi esperibili dagli intermediari avverso le decisioni pronunciate dall’ABF. L’indagine prosegue attraverso l’indicazione degli elementi essenziali della Camera di Conciliazione e Arbitrato, istituita presso la Consob al fine di redimere le controversie insorte in sede di prestazione dei servizi di investimento, anche attraverso un approfondito confronto con la natura giuridica e l’ambito di applicazione dell’ABF. Infine, nel Capitolo III dell’elaborato – dopo aver esaminato le principali ragioni poste alla base della diffusione degli strumenti ADR in Europa, le principali iniziative legislative (direttiva mediation) e di autoregolamentazione (reti EEJ-NET e FIN-NET) in materia – si offre un’analisi dei principali sistemi ADR attivi in Europa, attraverso una dettagliata indagine comparatistica che ha interessato gli ordinamenti francese, spagnolo, tedesco e inglese. La menzionata indagine, in particolare, ha messo in luce le principali differenze e le numerose analogie presenti tra i sistemi ADR attivi nell’Unione europea, principalmente con riguardo alla natura giuridica dei rispettivi organismi, alle funzioni svolte, alle condizioni di accesso ai sistemi, nonché alle caratteristiche delle relative decisioni

APP cellular biology in a mouse model of Down syndrome

Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic condition caused by trisomy of human chromosome 21 (Hsa21). Among other characteristics, DS causes an increased risk of developing an early form of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome (AD-DS), trisomy of the Hsa21 amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) is sufficient and necessary to cause AD. My study aims to clarify the link between Hsa21 trisomy and early AD pathology with a focus on APP cellular biology. I used the Dp1Tyb mouse model of DS with a segmental duplication of 148 mouse genes homologous to Hsa21. In addition, I made a mouse model with trisomy of 147 genes homologous to Hsa21 but only two copies of App (Dp1Tyb/App+/-) to study the role of App copy number. First, I quantified volume and number of early endosomes, one of the main sites of APP cleavage and known to be altered in AD and AD-DS, in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Secondly, I assessed APP processing, APP degradation rate and APP dosage sensitivity in MEFs. None of these phenotypes were altered in Dp1Tyb MEFs compared to Dp1Tyb/App+/- and WT littermates. I then investigated dosage sensitivity of APP and some of its cleavage products, amyloid β (Aβ) accumulation, and proteostasis regulation in the mouse cortex and hippocampus at 3 and 6 months of age. APP and APP derived C-terminals (CTFs) were consistently dosage sensitive across both areas and ages, while Aβ production and proteostasis regulation changed depending on the time point or tissue analysed. Overall my study highlighted the importance of APP overexpression for the development of AD-DS-related early cellular phenotypes, but also suggested that other genetic factors regulate these changes. Future studies could follow on from these findings to map the observed phenotypes to precise time points and to a smaller section of Hsa21 homologous genes

Interfaces for human-centered production and use of computer graphics assets

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Circadian rhythm and cell cycle:two synchronized processes

Circadian rhythms are biological processes found in most living organisms, displaying a roughly 24-hour period, responding primarily to light darkness cycles in an organism's environment. At the cellular level, the circa-24h rhythmicity is generated by a molecular clock based on a transcription-translation feedback network and consists of a cell-autonomous and self-sustained oscillator. In conditions where cells proliferate, the cell division cycle can be also considered as an oscillator. Since both processes run with similar periods in several mammalian cells, it is reasonable to expect that interactions between these two cycles may cause synchronization. Many studies reported evidences of interactions between the circadian and the cell cycles in different organisms. In particular, it appeared that in several systems, specific cell cycle phases occur in distinct temporal windows rather than being randomly distributed in time. These findings led to the concept of circadian gating of the cell cycle, through which the circadian clock can favor or forbid cell cycle transitions at specific circadian phases. However, it was also reported the converse, namely an effect of cell division on the circadian oscillator. Even though interactions between the circadian clock and the cell cycle have been identified in both directions, the dynamical consequences and the directionality of the coupling at the single-cell level were not extensively investigated. In order to better characterize the potential synchronization in mammalian cells, we estimated the mutual interactions between circadian clock and cell cycle in NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts by the use of time-lapse fluorescent microscopy in combination with statistical analysis and mathematical modeling. NIH3T3 cells, harboring a fluorescent reporter under the control of the circadian RevErb-a gene promoter, were imaged for several days allowing the simultaneous detection of circadian oscillations and time of divisions. The analysis of thousands of circadian cycles in dividing cells indicated that both oscillators are synchronized, with cell divisions occurring about 5 h before the peak of the circadian RevErb-a reporter. We tested several perturbations such as different serum concentrations, different temperatures, treatment with pharmacological compounds and shRNA-mediated knockdown of circadian regulators. Surprisingly, this showed that circadian rhythm and cell cycle remain synchronized over the wide range of conditions probed. Our data showed that this synchronization state reflects an unexpected predominant influence of the cell cycle on the circadian oscillator, and did not support the leading hypothesis about a circadian gating of the cell cycle. The stochastic modeling of two interacting phase oscillators allowed us to identify the parameters of the coupling functions, revealing an acceleration of circadian phase after the division. The work presented in this thesis sheds light on the interaction between two fundamentally recurrent cellular processes in mammalian cells and provides a deeper understanding of the role of the circadian clock in proliferating cells and tissues. These findings might have significant implications for chronobiology and chronotherapeutics

Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Interfaces for Character Animation

Virtual Reality (VR) has increasingly attracted the attention of the computer animation community in search of more intuitive and effective alternatives to the current sophisticated user interfaces. Previous works in the literature already demonstrated the higher affordances offered by VR interaction, as well as the enhanced spatial understanding that arises thanks to the strong sense of immersion guaranteed by virtual environments. These factors have the potential to improve the animators' job, which is tremendously skill-intensive and time-consuming. The present paper explores the opportunities provided by VR-based interfaces for the generation of 3D animations via armature deformation. To the best of the authors' knowledge, for the first time a tool is presented which allows users to manage a complete pipeline supporting the above animation method, by letting them execute key tasks such as rigging, skinning and posing within a well-known animation suite using a customizable interface. Moreover, it is the first work to validate, in both objective and subjective terms, character animation performance in the above tasks and under realistic work conditions involving different user categories. In our experiments, task completion time was reduced by 26%, on average, while maintaining almost the same levels of accuracy and precision for both novice and experienced users

Sex/Gender- and Age-Related Differences in β-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling in Cardiovascular Diseases

Sex differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) are often recognized from experimental and clinical studies examining the prevalence, manifestations, and response to therapies. Compared to age-matched men, women tend to have reduced CV risk and a better prognosis in the premenopausal period. However, with menopause, this risk increases exponentially, surpassing that of men. Although several mechanisms have been provided, including sex hormones, an emerging role in these sex differences has been suggested for β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) signaling. Importantly, β-ARs are the most important G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), expressed in almost all the cell types of the CV system, and involved in physiological and pathophysiological processes. Consistent with their role, for decades, βARs have been considered the first targets for rational drug design to fight CVDs. Of note, β-ARs are seemingly associated with different CV outcomes in females compared with males. In addition, even if there is a critical inverse correlation between β-AR responsiveness and aging, it has been reported that gender is crucially involved in this age-related effect. This review will discuss how β-ARs impact the CV risk and response to anti-CVD therapies, also concerning sex and age. Further, we will explore how estrogens impact β-AR signaling in women

AR-MoCap: Using augmented reality to support motion capture acting

Technology is disrupting the way films involving visual effects are produced. Chroma-key, LED walls, motion capture (mocap), 3D visual storyboards, and simulcams are only a few examples of the many changes introduced in the cinema industry over the last years. Although these technologies are getting commonplace, they are presenting new, unexplored challenges to the actors. In particular, when mocap is used to record the actors’ movements with the aim of animating digital character models, an increase in the workload can be easily expected for people on stage. In fact, actors have to largely rely on their imagination to understand what the digitally created characters will be actually seeing and feeling. This paper focuses on this specific domain, and aims to demonstrate how Augmented Reality (AR) can be helpful for actors when shooting mocap scenes. To this purpose, we devised a system named AR-MoCap that can be used by actors for rehearsing the scene in AR on the real set before actually shooting it. Through an Optical See-Through Head- Mounted Display (OST-HMD), an actor can see, e.g., the digital characters of other actors wearing mocap suits overlapped in real- time to their bodies. Experimental results showed that, compared to the traditional approach based on physical props and other cues, the devised system can help the actors to position themselves and direct their gaze while shooting the scene, while also improving spatial and social presence, as well as perceived effectiveness