Functional studies of <i>Ci-Gsx</i> gene in the developing central nervous system of <i>Ciona intestinalis</i>

Gsx genes encode for members of ParaHox family of transcription factor and are highly conserved throughout the animal kingdom. They are expressed mainly in the developing CNS in members of all major groups of metazoans. Gsx function, in the few organisms in which it has been investigated, is related re the specification of neural progenitors and in the regulation of the dorso-ventral patterning of the vertebrate neural rube. In the ascidian Ciona inlesrinalis, the model organism used in this work, a single Gsx ortholog has been identified, named Ci-gsx, whose zygotic expression is localized in the developing CNS, including the precursors of the ocellus photoreceptor cells. Clana ocellus, a pigmented multicellular photoreceptive organ, despite its simplicity, possesses functional and molecular similarities to vertebrate eye, thus representing a valuable tool to study the basic mechanisms of eye development. The aim of my PhD work has been the investigation of Ci-gsx function in the early specification of photoreceptor cells in Ciona intestinalis. To this end, I used targeted perturbation of Ci-gsx: activity. This study indicated that Ci-gsx is actually involved in the molecular pathway controlling photoreceptor cells differentiation, upstream of Ci-Rx, a key gene for ocellus development. In addition, a detailed analysis of the 5' Ci-gsx regulatory region allowed me to identify the minimal promoter region responsible for Ci-gsx expression. Furthermore, I demonstrated that a member of Sox. family is likely involved in Ci-gsx transcriptional activation. I also identified Ci-msxb as a possible repressor of Ci-gsx extpression in pigment cell lineage. My data insert a new piece in the genetic cascade controlling early specification of Ciona sensory organs and represent a first evidence of a potential implication of a Gsx ParaHox. gene in this process, thus opening new perspectives OD the role. still controversial. of Gsx gene in the ancestor of bilaterians

La Resilienza individuale, familiare e comunitaria

La tesi sviluppa il concetto di resilienza nei suoi aspetti fondamentali, quali quello individuale, familiare e sociale. Analizza poi le conseguenze di traumi infantili sulla vita di persone resilienti e la capacità innata nell'essere umano di superare soffferenze anche gravi. Nel capitolo della resilienza comunitaria si parla dell'importanza, da parte di chi presta aiuto, di sviluppare e rafforzare le risorse personali e della comunità in generale, per affrontare le problematiche che intervengono all'interno della stessa comunità. Nei successivi due capitoli si raccontano brevemente le storie di persone detenute, incontrate all'interno degli istituti penitenziari della Toscana o in misura alternativa alla detenzione e le storie di persone intervistate, che hanno sviluppato comportamenti resilienti, nonostante e forse proprio in conseguenza di vissuti difficili

Clinical risk and patient safety: a multicenter cross-sectional study to explore knowledge, attitudes and practice of hospital nurses

Objectives: To investigate knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of nurses working in acute care hospitals regarding clinical risk and patient safety, and to identify predisposing factors. Design: Cross-sectional multicenter study. Methods: The study was conducted in thirteen non-teaching acute public and private hospitals of a region of southern Italy from September through December 2015. A structured self-report questionnaire was administered to clinical nurses working in the hospitals involved. Three multivariate linear and logistic regression models have been constructed: knowledge of the definition of an adverse event; attitude towards risk of making an error while working and nurses who reported at least one error in the past 12 months. Results: The sample consisted of 484 respondents out of 670 (72.2%) nurses approached. The final multivariable model showed that educational courses about patient safety play a significant role in nurses gaining knowledge of adverse events. In the absence of organization-wide patient safety programs, nurses with low knowledge levels showed a significantly higher perceived risk. Nurses (n=96) who made errors over the past 12 months had discussed them with head nurses (75%) and colleagues (41.7%). Anonymous reporting to the organization was very low, with only 8.3% of nurses who had made an error submitting an anonymous report. Conclusions: Managers should implement multimodal improvement strategies aimed at enabling nurses’ to recognize the critical issues of the system and to increase their reporting, in order to make the organizations safer

Widespread Structural and Functional Connectivity Changes in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Insights from Advanced Neuroimaging Research

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a severe neurodegenerative disease principally affecting motor neurons. Besides motor symptoms, a subset of patients develop cognitive disturbances or even frontotemporal dementia (FTD), indicating that ALS may also involve extramotor brain regions. Both neuropathological and neuroimaging findings have provided further insight on the widespread effect of the neurodegeneration on brain connectivity and the underlying neurobiology of motor neurons degeneration. However, associated effects on motor and extramotor brain networks are largely unknown. Particularly, neuropathological findings suggest that ALS not only affects the frontotemporal network but rather is part of a wide clinicopathological spectrum of brain disorders known as TAR-DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43) proteinopathies. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge concerning the neuropsychological and neuropathological sequelae of TDP-43 proteinopathies, with special focus on the neuroimaging findings associated with cognitive change in ALS

Modelling the effect of SMP production and external carbon addition on S-driven autotrophic denitrification

The aim of this study was to develop a mathematical model to assess the effect of soluble microbial products production and external carbon source addition on the performance of a sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification (SdAD) process. During SdAD, the growth of autotrophic biomass (AUT) was accompanied by the proliferation of heterotrophic biomass mainly consisting of heterotrophic denitrifiers (HD) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), which are able to grow on both the SMP derived from the microbial activities and on an external carbon source. The process was supposed to occur in a sequencing batch reactor to investigate the effects of the COD injection on both heterotrophic species and to enhance the production and consumption of SMP. The mathematical model was built on mass balance considerations and consists of a system of nonlinear impulsive differential equations, which have been solved numerically. Different simulation scenarios have been investigated by varying the main operational parameters: cycle duration, day of COD injection and quantity of COD injected. For cycle durations of more than 15 days and a COD injection after the half-cycle duration, SdAD represents the prevailing process and the SRB represent the main heterotrophic family. For shorter cycle duration and COD injections earlier than the middle of the cycle, the same performance can be achieved increasing the quantity of COD added, which results in an increased activity of HD. In all the performed simulation even in the case of COD addition, AUT remain the prevailing microbial family in the reactor

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors and Shock State

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily of ligand-activated transcription factors that are related to retinoid, steroid, and thyroid hormone receptors. Three isotypes of PPARs have been identified: alpha, beta/delta, and gamma, encoded by different genes and distributed in various tissues. PPARs are implicated in the control of inflammatory responses and in energy homeostasis and, thus, can be defined as metabolic and anti-inflammatory transcription factors. They exert anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the induction of proinflammatory cytokines, adhesion molecules, and extracellular matrix proteins, or by stimulating the production of anti-inflammatory molecules. Moreover, PPARs modulate the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of immune cells. This review presents the current state of knowledge regarding the involvement of PPARs in the control of inflammatory response, and their potential therapeutic applications in several types of shock, as well as hemorrhagic, septic, and nonseptic shock

A sensitivity analysis for sulfur-driven two-step denitrification model

A local sensitivity analysis was performed for a S0-driven two-step denitrification model, accounting for NO2 - accumulation, biomass growth and S0 solubilization. The model sensitivity was aimed at verifying the model stability, understanding the identifiability of the model structure and evaluating the model parameters to be further optimized. The sensitivity analysis identified the mass specific area of the sulfur particles (a*) and hydrolysis kinetic constant (k1) as the dominant parameters. Additionally, the maximum growth rate of the denitrifying biomass on NO3 - (μmax 2,3) and NO2 - (μmax 2,4) were detected as the most sensitive kinetic parameters. Further calibration would be performed for the sensitive model parameters to optimize the quality of the model