304 research outputs found
L’orto in condotta. Quaderno di appunti di agrobiodiversità per le scuole (a cura di)
No full textQuaderno di appunti di agrobiodiversità per le scuole, volume curato dal prof. Pietro Santamaria e dal dott. Adriano Didonna, dedicato ai docenti delle scuole pugliesi di ogni ordine e grado contenente spunti e idee per raccontare l’agrobiodiversità a bambini e ragazzi
Aberrant ERK 1/2 complex activation and localization in scrapie-infected GT1-1 cells
No full textAbstract Background Fatal neurodegenerative disorders such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker diseases in humans, scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals, are characterized by the accumulation in the brain of a pathological form of the prion protein (PrP) denominated PrPSc. The latter derives from the host cellular form, PrPC, through a process whereby portions of its α-helical and coil structures are refolded into β-sheet structures. Results In this work, the widely known in vitro model of prion replication, hypothalamic GT1-1 cell line, was used to investigate cellular and molecular responses to prion infection. The MAP kinase cascade was dissected to assess the phosphorylation levels of src, MEK 1/2 and ERK 1/2 signaling molecules, both before and after prion infection. Our findings suggest that prion replication leads to a hyper-activation of this pathway. Biochemical analysis was complemented with immunofluorescence studies to map the localization of the ERK complex within the different cellular compartments. We showed how the ERK complex relocates in the cytosol upon prion infection. We correlated these findings with an impairment of cell growth in prion-infected GT1-1 cells as probed by MTT assay. Furthermore, given the persistent urgency in finding compounds able to cure prion infected cells, we tested the effects on the ERK cascade of two molecules known to block prion replication in vitro, quinacrine and Fab D18. We were able to show that while these two compounds possess similar effects in curing prion infection, they affect the MAP kinase cascade differently. Conclusions Taken together, our results help shed light on the molecular events involved in neurodegeneration and neuronal loss in prion infection and replication. In particular, the combination of chronic activation and aberrant localization of the ERK complex may lead to a lack of essential neuroprotective and survival factors. Interestingly, these data seem to define some common traits with other neurodegenerative disorders such as, for example, Alzheimer's disease.</p
Infrared microspectroscopy: A multiple-screening platform for investigating single-cell biochemical perturbations upon prion infection
No full textPrion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the accumulation of prions in the central nervous system. The pathogenic prion (PrPSc) possesses the capability to convert the host-encoded cellular isoform of the prion protein, PrPC, into nascent PrPSc. The present work aims at providing novel insight into cellular response upon prion infection evidenced by synchrotron radiation infrared microspectroscopy (SR-IRMS). This non-invasive, label-free analytical technique was employed to investigate the biochemical perturbations undergone by prion infected mouse hypothalamic GT1-1 cells at the cellular and subcellular level. A decrement in total cellular protein content upon prion infection was identified by infrared (IR) whole-cell spectra and validated by bicinchoninic acid assay and single-cell volume analysis by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) of IR data discriminated between infected and uninfected cells and allowed to deduce an increment of lysosomal bodies within the cytoplasm of infected GT1-1 cells, a hypothesis further confirmed by SR-IRMS at subcellular spatial resolution and fluorescent microscopy. The purpose of this work, therefore, consists of proposing IRMS as a powerful multiscreening platform, drawing on the synergy with conventional biological assays and microscopy techniques in order to increase the accuracy of investigations performed at the single-cell leve
Building in the built. A project for the University buildings in the historical center of Naples
No full textThe project for the complex of the “Federico II” University in Via Mezzocannone, was an occasion
to analyze a current theme about the transformation of the city: the relationship between the ancient
city and the contemporary project. The essay focuses on: "Building in the built", with two main
lines of response to the theme, one about the conservation, the other about the regeneration. The
second approach is pursued: the contemporary becomes an expression of one's own age. We work
through "fragments", that allows a re-reading of the context and the relationship with memory. The
project for University’s buildings is measured with the re-reading of the historical building and its
relationship with the old center, through a strategy that works for punctual interventions, with new
paths and functions
I Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali di Puglia.
No full textCosa è la scuola se non il luogo per eccellenza di trasmissione del “Sapere”? Una parola che si articola in molteplici
significati, riassumendo in sé conoscenze, informazioni, nozioni che ci sono stati trasmessi da generazioni di donne e
uomini che ci hanno preceduto.
Proprio per questa ragione, non potevamo non presentare in questo “Quaderno degli appunti sull’agrobiodiversità” i
Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali, denominazione che porta con sé tutto quell’insieme di conoscenze, saperi e sapori
che contribuiscono a delineare l’identità di luoghi e popolazioni: prodotti e ricette figli del passato, metodiche di lavorazioni
tramandate di generazione in generazione che aspettano solo di essere trasmesse ai giovani studenti, futuro della
nostra terra e custodi dei nostri saperi
Nonaffine correlations in random elastic media
No full textDiDonna, B.A.; Lubensky, T.C.. (2005). Nonaffine correlations in random elastic media. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/4156
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