Analysis of the Barriers to the Uptake of R&D Results in the Power Sector

Power grid vulnerabilities are European wide problems, they cannot be solved individually but require a coordinated European effort. GRID aims at establishing a roadmap for collaborative R&D on power grid security, also based on exchange of information about national, regional and European research projects. Collaborative research programmes might benefit from a mutual exchange of approaches, experiences, and results. However, cross fertilisation may be hampered by existing barriers of an institutional, socio-economic and technical nature. This report investigates barriers to exploitation of national research results in a European context.JRC.G.6-Sensors, radar technologies and cybersecurit

Neuroinflammation in Aged Brain: Impact of the Oral Administration of Ellagic Acid Microdispersion

The immune system and the central nervous system message each other to preserving central homeostasis. Both systems undergo changes during aging that determine central age-related defects. Ellagic acid (EA) is a natural product which is beneficial in both peripheral and central diseases, including aging. We analyzed the impact of the oral administration of a new oral ellagic acid micro-dispersion (EAm), that largely increased the EA solubility, in young and old mice. Oral EAm did not modify animal weight and behavioral skills in young and old mice, but significantly recovered changes in "ex-vivo, in vitro" parameters in old animals. Cortical noradrenaline exocytosis decreased in aged mice. EAm administration did not modify noradrenaline overflow in young animals, but recovered it in old mice. Furthermore, GFAP staining was increased in the cortex of aged mice, while IBA-1 and CD45 immunopositivities were unchanged when compared to young ones. EAm treatment significantly reduced CD45 signal in both young and old cortical lysates; it diminished GFAP immunopositivity in young mice, but failed to affect IBA-1 expression in both young and old animals. Finally, EAm treatment significantly reduced IL1beta expression in old mice. These results suggest that EAm is beneficial to aging and represents a nutraceutical ingredient for elders

β-HPV infection correlates with early stages of carcinogenesis in skin tumors and patient-derived xenografts from a kidney transplant recipient cohort

Many malignancies that occur in high excess in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) are due to viruses that thrive in the setting of immunosuppression. Keratinocyte carcinoma (KC), the most frequently occurring cancer type in KTR, has been associated with skin infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) from the beta genus. In this report, we extend our previous investigation aimed at identifying the presence of active \u3b2-HPV infection in skin tumors from KTRs through the detection of viral protein expression. Using a combination of antibodies raised against the E4 and L1 proteins of the \u3b2-genotypes, we were able to visualize infection in five tumors [one keratoacanthoma (KA), three actinic keratosis (AK) and one seborrheic keratosis (SK)] that were all removed from two patients who had been both transplanted twice, had developed multiple KC, and presented with a long history of immunosuppression (>30 years). These infected tissues displayed intraepidermal hyperplasia and increased expression of the \u394Np63 protein, which extended into the upper epithelial layers. In addition, using a xenograft model system in nude mice displaying a humanized stromal bed in the site of grafting, we successfully engrafted three AKs, two of which were derived from the aforementioned KTRs and displayed \u3b2-HPV infection in the original tumor. Of note, one AK-derived xenograft, along with its ensuing lymph node metastasis, was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). In the latter, both \u3b2-HPV infection and \u394Np63 expression were no longer detectable. Although the overall success rate of engrafting was very low, the results of this study represent the first proof-of-concept that \u3b2-HPV+ and \u394Np63+ intraepidermal hyperplasia can indeed progress to an aggressive SCC able to metastasize. Consistent with a series of reports attributing a causative role of \u3b2-HPV at early stages of skin carcinogenesis through \u394Np63 induction and increased keratinocytes stemness, here we provide in vivo evidence that these events are also occurring in the affected skin of KTRs. Due to these \u3b2-HPV-driven molecular pathways, the nascent tumor cell is able to acquire a high enough number of carcinogenic insults that its proliferation and survival will eventually become independent of viral gene expression

the 3rs reduction and refinement through a multivariate statistical analysis approach in a behavioural study to unveil anxiolytic effects of natural extracts of tilia tomentosa

We propose a multivariate statistical approach based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as an useful instrument to improve the Rules of Refinement and Reduction in in vivo animal experimentation. We analysed with PCA the preliminary data from a study on the effects of the oral administration of Tilia tomentosa bud extracts (TTBEs) on the behavioural skills of adult and aged male and female mice. PCA allows to rationalize the data set information and to dissect the results, showing connections among variables under study (behavioural parameters) and different trends in the experimental groups (control and TTBEs-administered animals). Our results show that PCA can give some important information that can be useful for the refinement of the experimental protocol, in order to reduce the number of the animals used in the experiments and/or the behavioural tests to get reliable information

Baghera Assessment Project, designing an hybrid and emergent educational society

Edited by Sophie Soury-Lavergne ; Available at: http://www-leibniz.imag.fr/LesCahiers/2003/Cahier81/BAP_CahiersLaboLeibniz.PDFResearch reportThe Baghera Assessment Project (BAP) has the objective to ex plore a new avenue for the design of e-Learning environments. The key features of BAP's approach are: (i) the concept of emergence in multi-agents systems as modelling framework, (ii) the shaping of a new theoretic al framework for modelling student knowledge, namely the cK¢ model. This new model has been constructed, based on the current research in cognitive science and education, to bridge research on education and research on the design of learning environments

The Prognostic Role of Baseline Eosinophils in HPV-Related Cancers: a Multi-institutional Analysis of Anal SCC and OPC Patients Treated with Radical CT-RT

Background and Aim Anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) are rare tumors associated with HPV infection. Bioumoral predictors of response to chemoradiation (CT-RT) are lacking in these settings. With the aim to find new biomarkers, we investigated the role of eosinophils in both HPV-positive anal SCC and HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). Methods We retrieved clinical and laboratory data of patients with HPV-positive anal SCC treated with CT-RT in 5 institutions, and patients with locally advanced OPC SCC treated with CT-RT in 2 institutions. We examined the association between baseline eosinophil count (the best cutoff has been evaluated by ROC curve analysis: 100 x 109/L) and disease-free survival (DFS). Unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios by baseline characteristics were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results Three hundred four patients with HPV-positive anal SCCs and 168 patients with OPCs (122 HPV-positive, 46 HPV-negative diseases) were analyzed. In anal SCC, low eosinophil count (9/L) correlates to a better DFS (HR = 0.59; p = 0.0392); likewise, in HPV-positive OPC, low eosinophil count correlates to a better DFS (HR = 0.50; p = 0.0428). In HPV-negative OPC, low eosinophil count confers worse DFS compared to high eosinophil count (HR = 3.53; p = 0.0098). After adjustment for age and sex, eosinophils were confirmed to be independent prognostic factors for DFS (HR = 4.55; p = 0.0139). Conclusion Eosinophil count could be used as a prognostic factor in anal HPV-positive SCC. The worse prognosis showed in HPV-positive patients with high eosinophil count is likely to derive from an unfavorable interaction between the HPV-induced immunomodulation and eosinophils, which may hamper the curative effect of RT

The Proving Process within a Dynamic Geometry Environment

Doctoral thesisProof and proving have been objects of investigation from the point of view of mathematics and mathematics education for the past few years. Historical and epistemological studies show that proof is a crucial activity within mathematical practice. Didactical studies show that students encounter many difficulties when approaching proving in the classroom. Research at a cognitive level has developed frameworks interpreting students' difficulties. Studies concerned with the use of new technologies have been investigating the use of tools to support students with proving. In particular, a strand of research has studied specifically the impact of dynamic geometry software with respect to the teaching and learning of proving in geometry. The main difficulty with respect to proof and proving that emerges from current research is the gap between empirical and theoretical elements involved with these activities. This study addressed the problem of how a dynamic geometry software (Cabri) may support students in managing the relationship between the spatio-graphical (empirical) field and the theoretical field. Through a detailed analysis of students' processes when working with open geometry problems involving conjecturing and proving in Cabri, an analytical and explanatory framework has been developed. This framework also takes into account interactions between the students and the tools used and between the students themselves. The research findings suggest that proving within a dynamic geometry environment develops as a focusing process, in which the shifts between ascending and descending processes between the spatio-graphical and the theoretical field appear to be key elements for the construction of conjectures and proofs. The analysis also shows that Cabri works as a shared workspace, i.e. as a space which supports the interaction between students' internal contexts and the construction of shared knowledge