301 research outputs found
Le interviste ai protagonisti “Comunicare il design italiano”
No full textSul palcoscenico del Salone d'Onore di Palazzo Tassoni s’incontrano gli ospiti del pomeriggio: Luisa Bocchietto, Stefano Casciani, Beppe Finessi, Tonino Paris, Marco Romanelli e Alfonso Acocella, invitati ad una discussione collettiva in forma di tavola rotonda, moderata da Davide Turrini, sul tema che ha dato titolo all'intera giornata.
Il video racconto della giornata e le interviste ai protagonisti
Degeneration of the larval midgut of Bombix Mori during metamorphosis: role and regulation of autophagy and apoptosis.
No full textThe midgut of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, is extensively remodeled during metamorphosis: in fact, while cell death processes lead to the degeneration of the larval epithelium, the adult midgut is formed by the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. Our group previously described the intervention of apoptotic and autophagic events in larval midgut cells undergoing degeneration (Franzetti et al., 2012). The present study aims at investigating the molecular pathways of apoptosis and autophagy, the role of the two processes and their relationship in this tissue.
We first analyzed the expression pattern of autophagic and apoptotic genes, as well as used specific markers to assess the precise timing of autophagy and apoptosis during metamorphosis. The results obtained confirm that autophagy is activated at spinning stage, while apoptosis intervenes with a delay of 24-48 hours. The final demise of apoptotic cells occurs by secondary necrosis and their content is released in the lumen of the adult midgut.
To investigate the mechanisms that lead to the activation of autophagy and apoptosis we used 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), one of the main regulators of metamorphosis in insects. The administration of a single dose of 20E induces the transcription of both autophagic and apoptotic genes, but fully activates only autophagy. In contrast, the activation of effector caspases needs a second injection of 20E. These data suggest that, during development, autophagy is induced at the end of the last larval stage by the 20E commitment peak, while the onset of apoptosis occurs concomitantly with 20E metamorphic peak. Moreover, our results demonstrate that 20E activates autophagy by inhibiting the Tor pathway. However, inactivation of Torc1 through rapamycin administration is not sufficient to trigger and maintain a full autophagic response, thus suggesting that the activation of autophagy by 20E is mediated by multiple downstream targets.
In order to study the role of autophagy and apoptosis in this setting we used specific inhibitors. The impairment of the autophagic flux, through administration of chloroquine, determines an increased degeneration of the larval midgut epithelium and higher levels of caspase activity compared to controls, while the inhibition of caspase activation, by using z.vad.fmk, leads to a severe delay in the degradation of the epithelium. These data demonstrate that, while autophagy has a pro-survival role in this setting, apoptosis is the major process that drives the demise of the larval midgut during metamorphosis
The wolf from Grotta Romanelli (Apulia, Italy) and its implications in the evolutionary history of Canis lupus in the Late Pleistocene of Southern Italy
No full textCanis lupus dispersed into Europe in the late Middle Pleistocene. The phylogenetic origin of C. lupus from Canis mosbachensis is widely accepted in the literature although their relationships and taxonomy are debated. In this paper, canid remains coming from the so-called "terre rosse", Level G at Grotta Romanelli (Apulia, Southern Italy) are described. The Level G was dated between 69,000 and 40,000 +/- 3250 years using the 230Th/238U method. Despite the great archeological importance of the site, some of the vertebrate fossil remains have been never described in detail. Among these are cranial remains of a canid that different authors referred to Canis aureus, C. lupus, C. mosbachensis, Canis aff. mosbachensis, or Canis sp.. The skull remains from Grotta Romanelli Level G were analyzed using Computed Tomography and 3D virtual modeling to provide a detailed reconstruction of the specimens and investigate inner structures. In addition, the Grotta Romanelli material was compared with (1) fossil wolves from other Middle-Late Pleistocene sites of Apulia (Melpignano/San Sidero, Ingarano and Grotta Paglicci) and France, (2) C. mosbachensis remains from various Early-Middle Pleistocene European sites, (3) a large sample of the extant Italian subspecies C. lupus italicus. The Late Pleistocene wolves from Apulia can be included in a single group, morphologically and morphometrically homogeneous. Although the wolf from Grotta Romanelli shares some similarities with the Early-Middle Pleistocene C. mosbachensis, its overall morphology and proportions fall into the wide variability of the extant C. lupus. Moreover, this determination is much more parsimonious than the taxonomic attribution of the "Apulian wolves"(including the Romanelli specimens) to C. mosbachensis, a typical late Early-Middle Pleistocene species, whose survival in Apulia during the Late Pleistocene is not adequately supported. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved
ROS-I Interface for COMAU Robots
No full textThe following paper presents the ROS-I interface developed to control Comau manipulators. Initially, the Comau controller allowed users to command a real robot thanks to motion primitives formulated through a Comau motion planning library. Now, either a ROS or a non ROS -compliant platform can move either a real or a virtual Comau robot using any motion planning library. Comau modules have been wrapped within ROS and a virtual model of a Comau robot has been created. The manufacturer controller has been innovatively used to drive both the real and the simulated automata
Towards sustainable cities
No full textAs smart communities, cities use technology to develop smartness and sustainability for knowledge and innovation. This study is based on archival and qualitative data drawn by literature review and analysis on smart and sustainable cities and communities. Cities drive urban, social and economic development and select a path for sustainability following a smart approach. Cities should evolve as smart communities understanding the potential of information technology to support collaboration between public and private organizations in order to improve urban competitiveness, sustain innovation and ensure the quality of life. The aim of this study is to identify the dimensions leading cities to sustainability: developing a smart approach; sustaining the role of municipal institutions for building smart governance; promoting education, learning and innovation. Cities promoting a smart approach should select a path for sustainability. Identifying dimensions driving cities to develop as sustainable cities and communities helps to identify knowledge source for innovation and urban growth. As smart and sustainable communities, cities should encourage partnerships between private and public actors in order to provide services, create and ensure high quality of life. As communities, cities should support people by sustaining learning and education, developing smart institutions of governance to design policies driving sustainable urban growth and development
Collaborative spaces for urban regeneration: The case of Complesso di Santa Caterina a Formiello in Naples
No full textUrban regeneration represents a relevant challenge for modern public administrations aiming at developing policies for requalifying urban environments and promoting social and economic growth. They increasingly embrace the idea of involving citizens and civil society organizations in a collaborative effort to find innovative solutions to the complex problems of urban areas requalification, such as social marginalization, poverty, or unemployment. Building on the literatures of collaborative spaces, collaborative innovation, and hybrid partnerships, this chapter aims at investigating the perceived role of the public actor in a social innovation initiative from the bottom aimed at revitalizing the social and economic environment of a given urban area. An in-progress Italian case of urban regeneration has been chosen in the city of Naples. Our results show that collaborative spaces, promoted in a bottom-up logic through social innovation initiatives, represent an important way to further collaborative innovation aimed at urban regeneration. Key aspects concern the themes of engagement, the need for new skills and competencies, and collaborative leadership. Implications for theory and practice are discussed
Understanding Public Management between Discontinuity and Continuity
No full textDemocracy as efficient and effective system of governance for people should
providesustainableinstitutionsthatenablepublicadministrationandpublicmanagement
tomeettheneedsofcitizens,businessesandcivilsociety.Thereby,thedynamicsofpolitical
systems in terms of instability and uncertainty concern the political address of
governments and politicalmajority. Following a strategy-structure paradigm, political
systemsdrivetheeffectivefunctioningofpublicmanagementandpublicadministration.
Followingahistoricalpathandexcursus,theaimofthisstudyistoelucidatehowpolitical
discontinuityanduncertaintyaresourcesforsustainabilitydrivingpublicmanagementto
faceandsolveproblemsovertime.Despitetheincreasingattentionforpublicleadership
in complex environment, research neglected the effects of policy and organizational
changesonpublicmanagementbehaviors.Political system in Italyhasknownover the
years frequentgovernment turnovers,making thegovernmentaverage institutional life
very short. Horovitz, Hoff andMilanovic (2009) define political instability as a basic
sourceofvariationininstitutionsandpractices(whose)frequencyandcharacterdepend
onvoterpreferences,politicalinstitutions,andsalienteventsandissues(p.107).Political
instabilitydependingonfrequentgovernmentturnoversentailsbothaleadershipchange
whichisbasedonachangeintheinstitutionalpartiesthatconstituteamajoritycoalition
andanideologychangewhenthenewmajoritycoalitionexpressesasubstantiallynew
ideology.Thispaperelucidatesadiscussiononhowchangeinthepublicadministration
environment could create a perceived uncertainty among topmanagers whose
assignmentwill endwith the collapseof thegovernment.Thisuncertaintyaffects their
competencies(i.e.themotivationtolead),intermsofeffortstheyexerttoperformtheir
highleveladministrativeleadershipduties,andonplanningactivity,intermsofthegoals
difficultyrelatedtotheirprojectsorexecutiveprograms
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