VALORI DEI SUOLI E SCELTE DI INVESTIMENTO NELLA CITTÀ METROPOLITANA DI NAPOLI: LA LOGISTICA COME ASSET STRATEGICO PER LE AREE RETRO-PORTUALI

One of the most challenging projects that the new Metropolitan city of Naples is going to face, concerns the regeneration of the ex-industrial areas located in the eastern zone of the city, characterized by the presence of the port. Among the several reasons of the slowness in which the current program of urban regeneration proceed (NaplEst) is the generic identification of the demand for new functions in an area which plays a strategic role in the metropolitan context. The article, starting from an analysis of the land values in the space of the metropolitan city, wants to highlight their evolution. With specific reference to the peripheral areas, it is possible to catch new values, more significant with regard to the past, further confirmed by some investment choices aligned with the territorial dynamics. In this new and discontinued framework of land values, the logistic function for the regeneration of the retro-port areas seems a more realistic proposal, in accordance with the “State Plan of a first Intervention for the South industrial ports”.DOI: http://dx.medra.org/10.19254/LaborEst.13.0

ABUSIVISMO EDILIZIO E FINANZA LOCALE NELLA PROSPETTIVA DELLA CITTÀ METROPOLITANA

Assuming that metropolitan city costs and the available resources for the realization of public facilities and services are scarce, if not minimal, as in the current economic situation, and in the light of a growing problem which is that of illegal buildings, it is no longer possible to continue to ignore financial tools that assume a certain relevance for financing urban regeneration. The issue of illegal buildings is strictly connected to pecuniary sanctions to obtain a “retrospective building permission” (sanatoria) and could represent a significant item of revenue and capital expenditure (or investment) in financing the public city. In this perspective. the article, analyzing the illegal building phenomenon from a local finance perspective, wants to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of revenues deriving from “retrospective building permission” as well as the financial management and urban planning capacity of local authorities. A first exploration, deriving from a departmental research on Terra di Lavoro, concerning the municipality of Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta.DOI: http://dx.medra.org/10.19254/LaborEst.09.1

Using Genetic Algorithms for Real Estate Appraisal

The main aim of this paper is the interpretation of the existing relationship between real estate rental prices and geographical location of housing units in a central urban area of Naples (Santa Lucia and Riviera of Chiaia neighborhoods). Genetic algorithms (GA) are used for this purpose. Also, to verify the reliability of genetic algorithms for real estate appraisals and, at the same time, to show the forecasting potentialities of these techniques in the analysis of housing markets, a multiple regression analysis (MRA) was applied comparing results of GA and MRA

Cellular Mechanotransduction: From Tension to Function

Living cells are constantly exposed to mechanical stimuli arising from the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) or from neighboring cells. The intracellular molecular processes through which such physical cues are transformed into a biological response are collectively dubbed as mechanotransduction and are of fundamental importance to help the cell timely adapt to the continuous dynamic modifications of the microenvironment. Local changes in ECM composition and mechanics are driven by a feed forward interplay between the cell and the matrix itself, with the first depositing ECM proteins that in turn will impact on the surrounding cells. As such, these changes occur regularly during tissue development and are a hallmark of the pathologies of aging. Only lately, though, the importance of mechanical cues in controlling cell function (e.g., proliferation, differentiation, migration) has been acknowledged. Here we provide a critical review of the recent insights into the molecular basis of cellular mechanotransduction, by analyzing how mechanical stimuli get transformed into a given biological response through the activation of a peculiar genetic program. Specifically, by recapitulating the processes involved in the interpretation of ECM remodeling by Focal Adhesions at cell-matrix interphase, we revise the role of cytoskeleton tension as the second messenger of the mechanotransduction process and the action of mechano-responsive shuttling proteins converging on stage and cell-specific transcription factors. Finally, we give few paradigmatic examples highlighting the emerging role of malfunctions in cell mechanosensing apparatus in the onset and progression of pathologies

Analysis of promoter region of the gene CsEXP as one of the possible sites of interaction genetic in citrus canker development involved in signaling auxin pathway, and studies of CsARF protein from Citrus sinensis

Orientador: José Camillo NovelloDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de BiologiaResumo: O Brasil é o maior produtor de citros no mundo, entretanto, várias doenças ameaçam a citricultura brasileira, dentre elas o cancro cítrico, causado pela bactéria Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc). A doença é caracterizada por necrose e lesões eruptivas. Sabe-se que a bactéria transloca proteínas efetoras para o interior da célula hospedeira e modula a transcrição na planta. Dentre as proteínas translocadas está à proteína PthA que por si só é capaz de induzir hiperplasia e hipertrofia tecidual. Em relação aos genes cuja expressão foi induzida pela infecção por X. citri estão àqueles envolvidos na remodelação da parede celular, síntese, mobilização e sinalização de auxina e giberelina, os quais são os principais hormônios vegetais controladores de crescimento celular. Corroborando com isso, tanto auxina como giberelina ativam a expressão de celulases e expansinas e são necessárias para o desenvolvimento do cancro cítrico. Em 2010 demonstrou-se a interação entre PthAs e a proteína ARF ("auxin response fator") de Citrus sinensis (CsARF), um possível repressor da via de auxina. O promotor do gene da expansina de citros (CsEXP), cujo gene foi induzido por X. citri e auxina contêm uma sequência similar aos chamados AuxRe, elementos cis-regulatórios de resposta à auxina, localizado adjacentemente ao provável TATA-"box". Sendo assim, analisou-se a região 5' a montante do gene CsEXP de C. sinensis a fim de saber se este representa de fato o promotor mínimo do gene e se o "box AuxRE-like" funciona como elemento regulatório de resposta à auxina. No ensaio de transformação de CsEXP para ativação do gene repórter GUS, a região promotora foi responsiva à auxina, havendo, portanto uma regulação positiva do gene pelo hormônio. Há uma interação (sinergismo) entre a proteína PthA2 e/ou PthA4 com auxina na regulação da transcrição. Esta região que contém o "box AuxRE-like" possui uma sequência TGTCTA a qual está justaposta ao possível TATA-box no promotor do gene podendo se tratar de uma região de provável co-interação entre as duas proteínas. As proteínas CsARF e PthA2, em ensaios gel "shift", demonstraram afinidade por esta região, o que corrobora com a hipótese de co-interação nessa região. Os resultados demonstram que esta região do DNA mostra se como importante alvo de estudo, envolvendo interações correlacionadas com o desenvolvimento da doençaAbstract: Brazil is the biggest in the world in the citrus production, but many diseases threaten the Brazilian citrus cultivation, among them the citric canker, a disease characterized by hyperplastic lesions on the host surface, having Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) as the causal agent of citrus canker. It is known that the bacterium translocates effector proteins into the host cell to modulate transcription in the plant, including the PthA protein which itself is capable of inducing tissue hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Recently, it was shown that X. citri induces the expression of genes involved in cell wall remodeling, synthesis, mobilization and signaling of auxin and gibberellic acid, main plant hormones controlling cell growth and division. Furthermore, auxin and gibberellin are capable to activate the expression of cellulases and expansins and both of them are necessary for the development of citrus canker. Moreover, we verified the interaction between PthA and the protein ARF (auxin response factor) of Citrus sinensis (CsARF), and that promoter of the gene of expansins citrus (CsExp) it was induced by X. citri and auxin, which contains a sequence similar to known AuxRe, cis-regulatory elements in response to auxin, located adjacent to the probable TATA-box. Therefore, we analyzed the 5' region upstream of the gene CsExp of C. sinensis in order to know if in fact represents the minimal promoter of the gene and if AuxRE-box-like functions as regulatory element in response to auxin._ In the test transformation of CsEXP for activating GUS, the promoter region was responsive to auxin, the results were promising, because the minimal promoter of the gene was responsive to auxin in vivo assays, which have confirmed the activation of the reporter gene by auxin, with therefore an upregulation of the gene by the hormone. There is a synergy between the proteins PthA2 and PthA4 with auxin in the regulation. This region contains the AuxRE-like-box which has a sequence TGTCTA which is juxtaposed to the potential TATA-box within the promoter of the gene, possibly being a region of likely joint-interaction for the two proteins._PthA2 and CsARF Proteins in gel shift tests demonstrated affinity for this region, which could confirms the hypothesis of the region to be a region of jointinteraction. The results were significant and this region of the DNA shown to be an important target for study of interactions likely correlated with the development of the diseaseMestradoBioquimicaMestra em Biologia Funcional e Molecula

DEFORMATION RESPONSE OF POLYDIMETHYLSILOXANE SUBSTRATES SUBJECTED TO UNIAXIAL QUASI-STATIC LOADING

To investigate cellular response of cardiomyocytes to substrate mechanics, biocompatible material with stiffness in physiological range is needed. PDMS based material is used for construction of microfluidic organ on chip devices for cell culture due to ease of device preparation, bonding, and possibility of surface functionalization. However it has stiffness orders of magnitude out of physiological range. Therefore, we adapted recently available protocol aiming to prepare substrates which offer stiffness in physiological range 5−100kPa using various mixtures of Sylgard. An in-house developed loading device with single micron position tracking accuracy and sub-micron position sensitivity was adapted for this experimental campaign. All batches of the samples were subjected to uniaxial loading. During quasi-static experiment the samples were compressed to minimally 40% deformation. The results are represented in the form of stress-strain curves calculated from the acquired force and displacement data and elastic moduli are estimated

Interpreting Housing Prices with a MultidisciplinaryApproach Based on Nature-Inspired Algorithms and Quantum Computing

Current technology still does not allow the use of quantum computers for broader and individual uses; however, it is possible to simulate some of its potentialities through quantum computing. Quantum computing can be integrated with nature-inspired algorithms to innovatively analyze the dynamics of the real estate market or any other economic phenomenon. With this main aim, this study implements a multidisciplinary approach based on the integration of quantum computing and genetic algorithms to interpret housing prices. Starting from the principles of quantum programming, the work applies genetic algorithms for the marginal price determination of relevant real estate characteristics for a particular segment of Naples’ real estate market. These marginal prices constitute the quantum program inputs to provide, as results, the purchase probabilities corresponding to each real estate characteristic considered. The other main outcomes of this study consist of a comparison of the optimal quantities for each real estate characteristic as determined by the quantum program and the average amounts of the same characteristics but relative to the real estate data sampled, as well as the weights of the same characteristics obtained with the implementation of genetic algorithms. With respect to the current state of the art, this study is among the first regarding the application of quantum computing to interpretation of selling prices in local real estate markets