Uniform families of minimal rational curves on Fano manifolds

It is a well-known fact that families of minimal rational curves on rational homogeneous manifolds of Picard number one are uniform, in the sense that the tangent bundle to the manifold has the same splitting type on each curve of the family. In this note we prove that certain --stronger-- uniformity conditions on a family of minimal rational curves on a Fano manifold of Picard number one allow to prove that the manifold is homogeneous

Nestings of rational homogeneous varieties

In this paper we study the existence of sections of universal bundles on rational homogeneous varieties -- called nestings -- classifying them completely in the case in which the Lie algebra of the automorphism group of the variety is simple of classical type. In particular we show that, under this hypothesis, nestings do not exist unless there exists a proper algebraic subgroup of the automorphism group acting transitively on the base variety.Comment: Major revision of the exposition. To appear in Tranformation Group

Rank two Fano bundles on G(1,4)

We classify rank two Fano bundles over the Grassmannian of lines \G(1,4). In particular we show that the only non-split rank two Fano bundle over \G(1,4) is, up to a twist, the universal quotient bundle \cQ. This completes the classification of rank two Fano bundles over Grassmannians of lines

LivHeart: A Multi Organ-on-Chip Platform to Study Off-Target Cardiotoxicity of Drugs Upon Liver Metabolism

The drug discovery and development process is still long, costly, and highly risky. The principal attrition factor is undetected toxicity, with hepatic and cardiac toxicities playing a critical role and being the main responsible of safety-related drug withdrawals from the market. Multi Organs-on-Chip (MOoC) represent a disruptive solution to study drug-related effects on several organs simultaneously and to efficiently predict drug toxicity in preclinical trials. Specifically focusing on drug safety, different technological features are applied here to develop versatile MOoC platforms encompassing two culture chambers for generating and controlling the type of communication between a metabolically competent liver model and a functional 3D heart model. The administration of the drug Terfenadine, a cardiotoxic compound liver-metabolized into the noncardiotoxic Fexofenadine, proved that liver metabolism and a fine control over drug diffusion are fundamental to elicit a physio-pathological cardiac response. From these results, an optimized LivHeart platform is developed to house a liver model and a cardiac construct that can be mechanically trained to achieve a beating microtissue, whose electrophysiology can be directly recorded in vitro. The platform is proved able to predict off-target cardiotoxicity of Terfenadine after liver metabolism both in terms of cell viability and functionality