89,016 research outputs found
Gruppi di imprese e soggettività passiva nell'imposta sul valore aggiunto
No full textLa Legge di Bilancio 2017 ha introdotto nell'ordinamento giuridico italiano il regime impositivo di matrice europea conosciuto come “gruppo i.v.a.”, che apporta interessanti innovazioni di carattere pratico e teorico nella concezione dei gruppi di imprese e nel relativo trattamento ai fini tributari. In particolare, la disciplina del gruppo i.v.a. prevede che, per effetto dell’esercizio di una specifica opzione, il gruppo di imprese – definito sulla base di peculiari legami di carattere finanziario, economico e organizzativo – assurga al ruolo di “soggetto passivo” dell’imposta sul valore aggiunto. Ciò costituisce una novità di assoluto rilievo nel nostro ordinamento, in quanto il gruppo di imprese, pur configurandosi quale entità economicamente unitaria, non era mai stato riconosciuto dotato di soggettività giuridica. La ricerca, dunque, ha perseguito l’obiettivo di esaminare compiutamente le caratteristiche, i presupposti e gli effetti del regime di gruppo, allo scopo di indagare l’attitudine del gruppo ad atteggiarsi quale “soggetto” (e – segnatamente – quale “soggetto passivo”) nel sistema dell’imposta sul valore aggiunto
Increased endothelin-1-mediated vasoconstrictor tone in human obesity: effects of gut hormones
No full textThe heavy impact of obesity on the development and progression of cardiovascular disease has sparked sustained efforts to uncover the mechanisms linking excess adiposity to vascular dysfunction. Impaired vasodilator reactivity has been recognized as an early hemodynamic abnormality in obese patients, but also increased vasoconstrictor tone importantly contributes to their vascular damage. In particular, upregulation of the endothelin (ET)-1 system, consistently reported in these patients, might accelerate atherosclerosis and its complication, given the pro-inflammatory and mitogenic properties of ET-1. In recent years, a number of gut hormones, in addition to their role as modulators of food intake, energy balance, glucose and lipid metabolism, and insulin secretion and action, have demonstrated favorable vascular actions. They increase the bioavailability of vasodilator mediators like nitric oxide, but they have also been shown to inhibit the ET-1 system. These features make gut hormones promising tools for targeting both the metabolic and cardiovascular complications of obesity, a view supported by recent large-scale clinical trials indicating that novel drugs for type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular potential may translate into clinically significant advantages. Therefore, there is real hope that better understanding of the properties of gut-derived substances might provide more effective therapies for the obesity-related cardiometabolic syndrome
A Rare Case of Primary Pulmonary Epithelioid Angiosarcoma Detected by F-18-FDG PET/CT
No full textWe describe a rare case of primary pulmonary epithelioid angiosarcoma detected by F-18-FDG PET/CT. A 54-year-old female patient with history of non-Hodgkin lymphoma underwent F-18-FDG PET/CT for follow-up. PET/CT detected an area of increased F-18-FDG uptake corresponding to a 4-cm mass located in the inferior lobe of the left lung. Based on this PET/CT finding, the patient underwent left inferior pulmonary lobectomy. Histology demonstrated the presence of a pulmonary epithelioid angiosarcoma. Other sites of disease were excluded. In our case, F-18-FDG PET/CT has been useful in detecting and staging this rare primary pulmonary tumor
Vascular hyperpolarization in human physiology and cardiovascular risk conditions and disease
No full textHyperpolarization causing smooth muscle relaxation contributes to the maintenance of vascular homeostasis, particularly in small-calibre arteries and arterioles. It may also become a compensatory vasodilator mechanism upregulated in states with impaired nitric oxide (NO) availability. Bioassay of vascular hyperpolarization in the human circulation has been hampered by the complexity of mechanisms involved and the limited availability of investigational tools. Firm evidence, however, supports the notion that hyperpolarization participates in the regulation of resting vasodilator tone and vascular reactivity in healthy subjects. In addition, an enhanced endothelium-derived hyperpolarization contributes to both resting and agonist-stimulated vasodilation in a variety of cardiovascular risk conditions and disease. Thus, hyperpolarization mediated by epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) and H2 O2 has been observed in coronary arterioles of patients with coronary artery disease. Similarly, ouabain-sensitive and EETs-mediated hyperpolarization has been observed to compensate for NO deficiency in patients with essential hypertension. Moreover, in non-hypertensive patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors and in hypercholesterolaemia, KCa channel-mediated vasodilation appears to be activated. A novel paradigm establishes that perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is an additional regulator of vascular tone/function and endothelium is not the only agent in vascular hyperpolarization. Indeed, some PVAT-derived relaxing substances, such as adiponectin and angiotensin 1-7, may exert anticontractile and vasodilator actions by the opening of KCa channels in smooth muscle cells. Conversely, PVAT-derived factors impair coronary vasodilation via differential inhibition of some K(+) channels. In view of adipose tissue abnormalities occurring in human obesity, changes in PVAT-dependent hyperpolarization may be relevant for vascular dysfunction also in this condition
Automatic Approaches for CE-MRI Examination of the Breast: A Survey
No full textBreast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed non-skin cancer in women, the second leading cause of death among women. Early detection of a breast cancer is fundamental for ensuring high survival rate. Imaging techniques are used to identify suspicious modifications of breast tissue. Among these, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) is particularly interesting for its lack of exposure to radiation and its ability to highlight differences in vascularisation, typical of cancer lesions. Automatic or semi-automatic methods are especially useful with this technique, due to the high quantity of data, in the form of 4D images (3D space + time), to be analysed in each test. This survey describes approaches to fully automatic computer-aided detection/diagnosis of breast lesions with CE-MRI, with particular emphasis on computational intelligence techniques
A phosphatidylcholine hyaluronic acid chitin–nanofibrils complex for a fast skin remodeling and a rejuvenating look
No full textPierfrancesco Morganti,1 Paolo Palombo,2 Marco Palombo,3 Giuseppe Fabrizi,4 Antonio Cardillo,5 Fabiano Svolacchia,5 Luis Guevara,6 Paolo Mezzana71Department of Applied Cosmetic Dermatology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy; 2Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Saint Eugenio Hospital, Rome, Italy; 3Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, CTO Hospital, Rome, Italy; 4Department of Dermatology, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; 5Centre of Nanoscience, Mavi Sud, Aprilia, Italy; 6Hospimedical, Pyrmont, Australia; 7IRCCS GB Bietti Eye Foundation, Rome, ItalyBackground: The reduction of mortality worldwide has led older individuals to seek intervention modalities to improve their appearance and reverse signs of aging.Objective: We formulated a medical device as innovative block-polymer nanoparticles based on phosphatidylcholine, hyaluronan, and chitin nanofibrils entrapping amino acids, vitamins, and melatonin.Methods: Viability and collagen synthesis were controlled on fibroblasts ex vivo culture while adenosine triphosphate production was evaluated on keratinocytes culture. Subjective and objective evaluations were performed in vivo on selected volunteer patients.Results: In accordance with our previous studies, both the in vitro and in vivo obtained results demonstrate the efficacy of the injected block-polymer nanoparticles in reducing skin wrinkling and ameliorating the signs of aging.Keywords: antiaging agent, scar correction, stretch marks, signaling molecules, photoaging, biostimulatio
Endothelial and perivascular adipose tissue abnormalities in obesity-related vascular dysfunction: novel targets for treatment
No full textABSTRACT: The heavy impact of obesity on the development and progression of cardiovascular disease has sparked sustained efforts to uncover the mechanisms linking excess adiposity to vascular dysfunction. In addition to its well-established role in maintaining vascular homeostasis, the endothelium has been increasingly recognized as a key player in modulating healthy adipose tissue expansion in response to excess calories by providing adipocyte precursors and driving angiogenesis. When this increased storage need is unmet, excessive deposition of fat occurs at ectopic locations, including perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). PVAT is in intimate contact with the vessel wall, hence affecting vascular function and structure. In lean individuals, PVAT exerts anti-contractile and anti-inflammatory activities to protect the vasculature. In obesity, instead, these beneficial properties are lost and PVAT releases inflammatory mediators, promotes oxidative stress and contributes to vascular dysfunction. The underlying mechanisms elicited by these outside-in signals include resistance to the vasodilator actions of insulin and activation of endothelin ET-1-mediated vasoconstriction. A number of adipokines and gut hormones, which are important modulators of food intake, energy balance, glucose and lipid metabolism, insulin sensitivity and inflammation, have also positive vascular actions. This feature makes them promising tools for targeting both the metabolic and cardiovascular complications of obesity, a view supported by recent large-scale clinical trials indicating that novel drugs for type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular potential may translate into clinically significant benefits. There is, therefore, real hope that unleashing the power of fat- and gut-derived substances might provide effective dual-action therapies for obesity and its complications
Topology optimization: hybridization of partial solution versus traditional multi-goal methods
No full textIn a recent project [1] the authors have developed an approach to assist the identification of the optimal topology of a technical system capable to overcome geometrical contradictions that arise from conflicting design requirements. The suggested method is based on the hybridization of partial solutions obtained from mono-objective topology optimization tasks. In order to investigate efficiency, robustness and potentialities of hybridization, a comparison among the proposed approach and the traditional Topology Optimization methods is here presented. The application of the proposed hybridization approach to several case studies of multi-objective optimization problems available in literature has been performed with the aim to evaluate the robustness of the method, through a direct benchmark between the hybridized topology and the traditional methods. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed method is computationally definitely less expensive than the conventional application of Genetic Algorithms to topological optimization, still keeping the same robustness in terms of searching the global optimum solution. Moreover, the comparison among the hybridized solutions and the solutions obtained through traditional topology optimization methods, shows that the proposed approach often leads to very different topologies having better performance
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