La splendeur de Venise et de l'Art moderne

A. Bourdelle nel 1914 visita per la prima volta Venezia in occasione della sua personale alla Biennale: appunta alcuni ricordi, sulla citt\ue0, sull'arte e sulla pittura di Emma Ciardi che di l\uec a poco avrebbe esposto a Parigi nella stessa galleria di Bourdelle

Cesare Laurenti (1854-1936)

\ue8 la prima monografia dedicata a Cesare Laurenti, pittore, scultore e architetto attivo principalmente a Venezia a cavallo tra Otto e Novecent

1911. Le arti in Friuli e Veneto

Il volume riassume gli avvenimenti artistici avvenuti nell'anno 1911, con particolare attenzione alle aree geografiche di Veneto e Friuli

The identification of miRNA biomarkers of chronic kidney disease and development of minimally-invasive methods of molecular detection

Kidney biopsy is the current gold standard diagnostic test for intrinsic renal disease but requires hospital admission and carries a 3% risk of major complications. Current non-invasive prognostic indicators such as urine protein quantification have limited predictive value. Better diagnostic and prognostic tests for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are therefore a major focus for industry and academia. An alternative approach is the quantification of urinary microRNAs(miRNAs): short, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression posttranscriptionally. This project investigated the utility of urinary miRNA expression analysis as a method for non-invasive diagnostic/prognostic testing for CKD. A technique was developed for quantifying miRNAs in urine samples from control subjects and diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients with a coefficient of variation below 10%. The stability of endogenous miRNAs was demonstrated in urine samples from unaffected individuals and DN patients. Two populations of urinary miRNAs were identified: those associated with exosomes and those associated with AGO2, a component protein of the RNA-induced silencing complex. Expression of over 750 urinary miRNAs in pooled urine samples from DN patients was compared with that in corresponding control samples using TaqMan Array Human microRNA Card analysis. Statistically significant differences in expression of a subset of putative disease-associated miRNAs were then replicated in individual urine samples, and these data were supported by ROC curve analyses. Expression analysis of these target miRNAs in defined nephron segments was observed using laser capture microdissection of renal biopsy tissues followed by miRNA detection by RT-qPCR. Subsequent renal cell line analysis pinpointed miRNA cellular origins, and miRNA release into conditioned tissue culture medium in response to disease stimuli was also observed. These experimental data reveal a pattern of urinary miRNA expression changes in DN and present putative mechanisms by which these differences in abundance might come about

Trends in cardiometabolic risk factors in the Americas between 1980 and 2014 : a pooled analysis of population-based surveys

Background Describing the prevalence and trends of cardiometabolic risk factors that are associated with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is crucial for monitoring progress, planning prevention, and providing evidence to support policy efforts. We aimed to analyse the transition in body-mass index (BMI), obesity, blood pressure, raised blood pressure, and diabetes in the Americas, between 1980 and 2014. Methods We did a pooled analysis of population-based studies with data on anthropometric measurements, biomarkers for diabetes, and blood pressure from adults aged 18 years or older. A Bayesian model was used to estimate trends in BMI, raised blood pressure (systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg), and diabetes (fasting plasma glucose ≥7·0 mmol/L, history of diabetes, or diabetes treatment) from 1980 to 2014, in 37 countries and six subregions of the Americas. Findings 389 population-based surveys from the Americas were available. Comparing prevalence estimates from 2014 with those of 1980, in the non-English speaking Caribbean subregion, the prevalence of obesity increased from 3·9% (95% CI 2·2–6·3) in 1980, to 18·6% (14·3–23·3) in 2014, in men; and from 12·2% (8·2–17·0) in 1980, to 30·5% (25·7–35·5) in 2014, in women. The English-speaking Caribbean subregion had the largest increase in the prevalence of diabetes, from 5·2% (2·1–10·4) in men and 6·4% (2·6–10·4) in women in 1980, to 11·1% (6·4–17·3) in men and 13·6% (8·2–21·0) in women in 2014). Conversely, the prevalence of raised blood pressure has decreased in all subregions; the largest decrease was found in North America from 27·6% (22·3–33·2) in men and 19·9% (15·8–24·4) in women in 1980, to 15·5% (11·1–20·9) in men and 10·7% (7·7–14·5) in women in 2014. Interpretation Despite the generally high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors across the Americas, estimates also showed a high level of heterogeneity in the transition between countries. The increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes observed over time requires appropriate measures to deal with these public health challenges. Our results support a diversification of health interventions across subregions and countries

Adult cardiac stem cell aging: A reversible stochastic phenomenon?

Aging is by far the dominant risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, whose prevalence dramatically increases with increasing age reaching epidemic proportions. In the elderly, pathologic cellular and molecular changes in cardiac tissue homeostasis and response to injury result in progressive deteriorations in the structure and function of the heart. Although the phenotypes of cardiac aging have been the subject of intense study, the recent discovery that cardiac homeostasis during mammalian lifespan is maintained and regulated by regenerative events associated with endogenous cardiac stem cell (CSC) activation has produced a crucial reconsideration of the biology of the adult and aged mammalian myocardium. The classical notion of the adult heart as a static organ, in terms of cell turnover and renewal, has now been replaced by a dynamic model in which cardiac cells continuously die and are then replaced by CSC progeny differentiation. However, CSCs are not immortal. They undergo cellular senescence characterized by increased ROS production and oxidative stress and loss of telomere/telomerase integrity in response to a variety of physiological and pathological demands with aging. Nevertheless, the old myocardium preserves an endogenous functionally competent CSC cohort which appears to be resistant to the senescent phenotype occurring with aging. The latter envisions the phenomenon of CSC ageing as a result of a stochastic and therefore reversible cell autonomous process. However, CSC aging could be a programmed cell cycle-dependent process, which affects all or most of the endogenous CSC population. The latter would infer that the loss of CSC regenerative capacity with aging is an inevitable phenomenon that cannot be rescued by stimulating their growth, which would only speed their progressive exhaustion. The resolution of these two biological views will be crucial to design and develop effective CSC-based interventions to counteract cardiac aging not only improving health span of the elderly but also extending lifespan by delaying cardiovascular disease-related deaths