3,816 research outputs found
Learning and practicing in service design
No full textThe paper analyses the contributions to the “learning and practicing’ track of “ServDes.2018 Proof of Concept” and categorises them by identifying convergences and defining six emerging topics. As a result, new roles and responsibilities emerge. They can be summarised in a few directions: 1) beyond learning - where more and more, service designers are explicitly or implicitly requested to play the role of educators within organisations; 2) beyond human centred design – where the need to better understand the role of and the interaction with ‘non-human agents’ emerges; 3) beyond organisational change – where the transformational role of design seems to expand from within organisations to the relationships that organisations establish with external actors
Clinical utility of the oral JAK inhibitor tofacitinib in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
No full textMaurizio Cutolo, Marianna Meroni Research Laboratories and Academic Division of Clinical Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy Abstract: Immune/inflammatory cells act in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-affected patients by synthesizing several inflammatory mediators, including cytokines that initiate intracellular signaling. Recently, small molecule inhibitors of transduction and transcription signals that influence the intracellular pathways (such as the Janus kinase [JAK] family of tyrosine kinases) have been tested for RA treatment. Four members of the JAK family are known: JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, and TyK2. JAK1/JAK3 constitutively binds to the cytoplasmic portion of the cytokine receptor – the common gamma chain – that represents a common subunit of several cytokines involved in T-cell and natural killer cell development, as well as in B-cell activation. Tofacitinib is an oral JAK inhibitor that is now available and effective in RA treatment, as shown in multiple Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. However, long-term safety data and comparisons with other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and small molecule inhibitors are necessary to better determine the role of tofacitinib in RA. Keywords: Janus kinase inhibitors, tofacitinib, rheumatoid arthritis, kinases, small molecules inhibitors, intracellular signalin
Some Remarks on the Recent SRM Related Case-Law of the CJEU with Special Regard to the Meroni Doctrine
No full textThe study elaborates on the development of the Meroni doctrine, derived from the Meroni judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Coal and Steel Community under a different Founding Treaty framework and its applicability to the Banking Union under the current Treaty framework. To fulfil this aim, the author first elaborates on the Advocate General’s opinion and the Judgment of the Court of Justice in the Meroni case and then briefly introduces the evolution and the literature on the issue. After a short introduction of the Banking Union’s institutional order, the author introduces two cases in which issues related to the Meroni doctrine were raised before the General Court, as well as the appellate procedures before the Court of Justice in one of these cases
Meroni-doctrine and the delegation of powers to EU agencies
No full textThe Banking Union led to a proliferation of EU agencies to effectively supervise and regulate financial markets. Agencies allow to pool expert knowledge in order to outsource certain task and de-politicise complex decision-making procedures. At the same time, this delegation of powers creates tension with the long standing case-law on EU agencies. In contrast to some national constitutions, the Treaties do not explicitly address the possibilities and limitations for delegating powers to agencies. The relevant rules rather result from a series of judgments that go back to the beginning of European integration. Since the eponymous Meroni judgment of 1958 the ensuing case-law is collectively called the Meroni-doctrine. It deals with the interrelated questions of what powers can be delegated to an agency, how autonomously such an agency may act and which of oversight from Union institutions is necessary
The role of environmental estrogens and autoimmunity
No full textThe prevalence of autoimmune diseases has significantly increased over the recent years. It has been proposed that this epidemiological evidence could be in part attributable to environmental estrogens, compounds that display estrogen-like activity and are ubiquitously present in the environment. Environmental estrogens can be found in a wide variety of foods: phytoestrogens occur in plants such as clover and soy, while mycoestrogens are food contaminants produced by fungi. Meat, eggs and dairy products from animals given exogenous hormones contain relatively high concentration of estrogens. Among xenoestrogens, industrial estrogens are synthetic chemicals produced for specific purposes (pesticides, plastics, surfactants and detergents) while metalloestrogens are found in heavy metals. Estrogens can be also administered through medications (contraceptive pill, hormone replacement therapy, genistein, cimetidine, creams). There is a considerable burden of evidence in vitro and in animal models that these compounds may exert immunotoxic effects. However, to date there is no convincing data that exposure to environmental estrogens can be regarded as a risk for human health. In particular, there is no consensus whether prolonged exposure to relatively low concentrations of different estrogenic chemicals can affect the human immune system and induce clinically evident diseases in real-life scenario. Moreover, the effects on human health of the synergistic interactions between natural, medical, dietary and environmental estrogens have not been fully elucidated yet. Here we provide an extensive review of the in vivo and in vitro effects of environmental estrogens on the immune system, focusing on the evidences of association between exposure and autoimmune disorders
Un inventario di creatività necessaria per il futuro. / An invetory of creativity necessary for the future
No full textL'articolo propone una definizione contemporanea di innovazione sociale, individua e descrive una serie di casi studio internazionali e infine sviluppa una serie di scenari futuri design driven, ispirati a questi casi
Progettare il futuro del cibo
No full textIl contributo affronta il tema dell'evoluzione futura dei sistemi alimentari sotto la prospettiva del design dei servizi e della transizione verso la sostenibilità
Hepatitis B associated coinfection and superinfection with delta agent: indistinguishable diseases with different outcome.
No full textAbstract
Markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and delta agent were prospectively tested in sera of 107 intravenous drug abusers with acute hepatitis positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) associated with delta infection and compared with the findings in addicts with acute classical hepatitis B. On the basis of the presence and titer of IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, 86 of the addicts with delta infection had simultaneously acquired HBV and delta agent, and 21 were chronic carriers of HBsAg experiencing acute delta superinfection. The frequencies of biphasic and severe hepatitis were significantly higher (P less than .05) in delta agent-infected patients than in controls, but the acute clinical and biochemical features of the two varieties of delta disease were not distinguishable. However, in analogy to the clinical outcome of classical hepatitis B, all patients with nonfatal acute HBV/delta coinfection had self-limited illness, whereas 20 of 21 HBsAg carriers superinfected by delta agent developed chronic active hepatiti
TRIM E3 Ubiquitin Ligases in Rare Genetic Disorders
No full textThe TRIM family comprises proteins characterized by the presence of the tripartite motif composed of a RING domain, one or two B-box domains and a coiled-coil region. The TRIM shared domain structure underscores a common biochemical function as E3 ligase within the ubiquitination cascade. The TRIM proteins represent one of the largest E3 ligase families counting in human more than 70 members. These proteins are implicated in a plethora of cellular processes such as apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, muscular physiology, and innate immune response. Consistently, their alteration results in several pathological conditions emphasizing their medical relevance. Here, the genetic and pathogenetic mechanisms of rare disorders directly caused by mutations in TRIM genes will be reviewed. These diseases fall into different pathological areas, from malformation birth defects due to developmental abnormalities, to neurological disorders and progressive teenage neuromuscular disorders. In many instances, TRIM E3 ligases act on several substrates thus exerting pleiotropic activities: the need of unraveling disease-specific TRIM pathways for a precise targeting therapy avoiding dramatic side effects will be discussed
In the Neighbourhood and Beyond
No full textThe contribute introduces some issues dealing with the research process and interventions, when dealing with local communities in the neighbourhood, in order to reinforce the process, to add quality to the results and to give continuity to the actions after the end of the research itself.
The book presents some reflections on the role of design discipline in a proactive context of reconstruction and re-occupation of urban spaces guided by residents, becoming increasingly frequent. Specific research methodologies and intervention strategies in close relation with the resident population, is the subject of the research done at the Design department in the Politecnico di Milano which aims at generating future scenarios of hybridization of functions, places, activities
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