1,403 research outputs found
From “sliding” to “winding” filaments theory: A narrative review of mechanisms behind skeletal muscle contraction
No full textThe physiological mechanisms behind muscle contraction are a main concept in sport medicine and rehabilitation. The sarcomere is the functional unit of skeletal muscle and several proteins definite its complex structure. The most common theory to explain muscle contraction was proposed in the last 50’s and has become widely popular and accepted: the “sliding filaments” theory. Even if this hypothesis was able to justify some form of muscle contraction, other processes are not fully described by it. Eccentric contraction and some phenomena, like the “force enhancement during stretch” concept described in the 2002, are not explicable according to the sliding filament theory. Therefore, several hypotheses have been suggested over the years, such as the “popping sarcomeres” theory and the “winding filament” theory. Some other proteins, like titin, have gained a main role in the physiology of the sarcomere and should be relevant to explain mechanisms of eccentric contraction, where the sarcomere generates highest level of tension while it is lengthening. The aim of this review is to summarize the physiological theories of muscle contraction and to define concepts applicable in sport medicine and in rehabilitation areas
New or interesting records of Palearctic Orthoptera (Insecta).
No full textThe author reports some interesting Orthoptera from Palearctic region, namely: Pezodrymadusa subinermis Karabag, 1961, Phytodrymadusa viridipennis (Shchekanovtsev, 1915), Paranocarodes sulcatus (I. Bolivar, 1912) from Armenia, Scintharista notabilis notabilis (Walker, 1870) from Azores, Brachycrotaphus tryxalicerus (Fischer, 1853) from Egypt, and Euchorthippus declivus (Brisout, 1848) from Sardinia (Italy). Additionally, he establishes the synonymies Eupholidoptera peneri Kaltenbach, 1969 = Uvarovistia rammei Katbeh Bader et Massa, 2001 from Jordan; Stenobothrus ursulae Nadig, 1986 = S. nadigi La Greca, 1986 from Piedmont and Aosta Valley (Italy); Pterolepis pedata A. Costa, 1882 = Rhacocleis berberica dubronyi Baccetti, Massa et Canestrelli, 1995 from Lampedusa Is. (Sicily). He also describes the unknown male of Ocnerosthenus verrucosus (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882) and the unknown female of Orchamus kaltenbachi Massa, 2009. Finally, he records a female of Anadrymadusa ornatipennis (Ramme, 1926) from Patmos Is. (Greece), and a female of Eupholidoptera uvarovi (Karabağ, 1952) from Kassos Is. (Greece)
Gli Ortotteri di Sicilia: check-list commentata.
No full textThe author analyses all the bibliographic references on Sicilian Orthoptera and many unpublished data, with which he carries out an annotated check-list of species so far known in the island. On the whole, 127 species of Or- thoptera are currently known in Sicily (including small islands surrounding it), belonging to 83 genera (on aver- age, 1.5 species per genus).
The biogeographic origin is very wide and includes euro-asiatic, as well as mediterranean and african genera. The following species are the sole italian representatives of related genera: Ephippigerida nigromarginata (Lucas, 1849) (the genus is ibero-maghrebian), Grylloderes brunneri (Riggio, 1888) (the genus covers Africa and tropical Asia), Ocneridia nigropunctata (Lucas, 1849) (North african genus) and Brachycrotaphus tryxalicerus (Fischer, 1854) (genus widespread in Africa and tropical Asia). Additionally, a recently discovered species, Incertana drepanensis (Massa, Fontana et Buzzetti, 2006) could be included within exclusive italian representative genera; in fact, the genus includes species covering Iberian peninsula, North Africa and Middle East (plus a hymalaian species). Also in this case, Sicily is the only italian region holding this taxon.
20 species (15.7%) represent the endemism; they, together with taxa above cited, are important evidences of very peculiar biogeographic connections, which involved Sicily. To preserve them and their habitats, they could be listed within the Annexes II and IV of Habitat Directive
Microwave medical imaging: potentialities and limitations of a stochastic optimization technique
No full textMicrowave medical imaging: Potentialities and limitations of a stochastic optimization technique
Author(s): Caorsi, S (Caorsi, S); Massa, A (Massa, A); Pastorino, M (Pastorino, M); Rosani, A (Rosani, A)
Source: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES Volume: 52 Issue: 8 Pages: 1909-1916 DOI: 10.1109/tmtt.2004.832016 Part: Part 2 Published: AUG 2004
Times Cited: 14 (from Web of Science)
Cited References: 29 [ view related records ] Citation Map
Abstract: An approach based on a stochastic optimization technique is proposed for medical microwave imaging. The approach is based on the integral equations of the electromagnetic inverse scattering. After discretization of the continuous model, the problem solution is recast as a global optimization problem. A functional is constructed on the basis of a Markov random field model and minimized by a genetic algorithm. In order to reduce the computational load, a model of the cross section of the biological body is considered. In this way, the investigation area is limited by separating the scattering contribution of a fixed region under test from those of other parts of the model. Some preliminary results concerning a two-dimensional model of a human thorax are reported. Such a biological structure is inspected by the proposed tomographic approach in order to detect and localize the presence of an "object" modeling a tumor.
Accession Number: WOS:000223051400007
Document Type: Article
Language: English
Author Keywords: genetic algorithms (GAs); inverse scattering; medical imaging; microwave imaging; optimization problems
KeyWords Plus: BREAST-CANCER DETECTION; GENETIC ALGORITHMS; ELECTROMAGNETICS; TISSUES; MODEL
Reprint Address: Rosani, A (reprint author), Univ Pavia, Dept Elect, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
Addresses:
1. Univ Pavia, Dept Elect, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
2. Univ Trent, Dept Informat & Commun Technol, I-38050 Trent, Italy
3. Univ Genoa, Dept Biophys & Elect Engn, I-16145 Genoa, Italy
E-mail Address: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Publisher: IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC, 445 HOES LANE, PISCATAWAY, NJ 08855 USA
Web of Science Category: Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Subject Category: Engineering
IDS Number: 843BW
ISSN: 0018-948
New species, records and synonymies of West Palaearctic Pamphaginae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Pamphagidae).
No full textThe author analyses the species of some West Palaearctic genera of Pamphaginae, namely Euryparyphes, Paraeuryparyphes, Glauia, Pseudoglauia, Glauvarovia, Prionosthenus, Lativertex, Ocnerosthenus, establishing the following synonymies: Euryparyphes olcesei (Bolivar 1907) = Euryparyphes bolivari (Stål 1876); Euryparyphes paraflexuosus La Greca 1993 = Euryparyphes flexuosus Uvarov 1927; Glauia durieui rubripes Morales Agacino & Descamps 1968 = Glauia durieui durieui (Bolivar 1878); Prionosthenus lebanicus Dirsh 1950 = Prionosthenus femoralis Werner 1938; Prionosthenus (Lativertex) Koçak & Kemal 2011 = Paranothrotes Mishchenko 1951. Further, the author confirms the synonymies: Euryparyphes vaucherianus (Saussure 1887) = Euryparyphes bolivari (Stål 1876); Euryparyphes kenitranus Werner 1932 = Euryparyphes bolivari (Stål 1876); Euryparyphes stali (Bormans 1879) = Euryparyphes laetus (Bolivar 1907); Euryparyphes septentrionalis Werner 1932 = Euryparyphes laetus (Bolivar 1907). Additionally, the author rises to species level Glauia tricolor Morales Agacino & Descamps 1968 stat. nov., which had described as a subspecies of G. saharae, and describes the new species Prionosthenus descampsi sp. n. and Ocnerosthenus poggii sp. n. Finally, the author proposes a new key to species of Euryparyphes, Parauryparyphes, Glauia, Prionosthenus and Ocnerosthenus.ryphes, Glauia, Pseudoglauia, Glauvarovia, Prionosthenus, Lativertex et Ocnerosthenus. Il établi les synonymies suivantes: Euryparyphes olcesei (Bolivar 1907) = Euryparyphes bolivari (Stål 1876); Euryparyphes paraflexuosus La Greca 1993 = Euryparyphes flexuosus Uvarov 1927; Glauia durieui rubripes Morales Agacino & Descamps 1968 = Glauia durieui durieui (Bolivar 1878); Prionosthenus lebanicus Dirsh 1950 = Prionosthenus femoralis Werner 1938; Prionosthenus (Lativertex) Koçak & Kemal 2011 = Paranothrotes Mishchenko 1951. Il confirme les synonymies: Euryparyphes vaucherianus (Saussure 1887) = Euryparyphes bolivari (Stål 1876) ; Euryparyphes kenitranus Werner 1932 = Euryparyphes bolivari (Stål 1876); Euryparyphes stali (Bormans 1879) = Euryparyphes laetus (Bolivar 1907); Euryparyphes septentrionalis Werner 1932 = Euryparyphes laetus (Bolivar 1907). Enfin, il éleve au niveau d’espèce Glauia tricolor Morales Agacino & Descamps 1968 stat. nov., qui a été décrite comme sous-espèce de G. saharae, et décrit les nouvelles espèces Prionosthenus descampsi sp. n. et Ocnerosthenus poggii sp. n. En conclusion, il propose une nouvelle clé au niveau spécifique pour les genres Euryparyphes, Parauryparyphes, Glauia, Prionosthenus et Ocnerosthenus
Jump and balance test in judo athletes with or without visual impairments
No full textThe study was conducted for four months with 8 judo athletes: 4 sighted people (4 M) and 4 visual impairment people (3 M and 1 F), aged between 18 and 52 (30.75 ± 12.74). According to the IBSA Visual Classification, all visual impairment subjects participating in our study were covered in the B1 category of visual deficit. This is a group represented by patients with no light perception in either eye up to light perception, and with an inability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction. From our cohort it was excluded subjects who have had low extremities musculoskeletal, neurological, or orthopaedic disorders in the previous six months. The aim of the study was to evaluate their balance with both closed and opened eyes and to set their lower limbs’ strength: these are indispensable characteristics to carry out technical actions of judo. Anthropometric measures were compared between groups and data about jump protocol and balance protocol were analysed. Results of current research showed that postural stability is different in function of assessment with closed and open eyes. The result of the jump tests differs because the data do not show significant differences between long jump and high jump. The comparison between blinded and sighted judo athletes highlighted greater difficulties with eyes closed for sighted athletes than blinded ones
Data protection e immigrazione irregolare: quali tutele (in)esistenti?
No full textLe procedure utilizzate nella gestione della migrazione, dell’asilo e del controllo delle frontiere hanno inevitabilmente effetti su persone che si trovano spesso in una posizione particolarmente vulnerabile, che subiscono la natura discriminatoria dei sistemi di IA utilizzati in tali contesti.
Il mancato equilibrio degli interessi in gioco, tra diritti individuali e sicurezza pubblica, stimola un approfondimento sulla possibilità di attuare "forme di sorveglianza di massa e di profilazione delle persone", con un evidente rischio di compressione dei diritti fondamentali, convenzionalmente e costituzionalmente garantiti della personalità. (incipit
"Prospettive" di Malaparte
No full text“Prospettive", rivista di propaganda fascista, fondata e diretta a Roma da Curzio Malaparte, fu pubblicata in due serie, solo apparentemente distinte, uscite con periodicità irregolare dal 13 luglio del 1937 al 15 marzo del ’43. La rivista è stata edita integralmente solo nel 2014. Nel saggio si dà conto minutamente degli argomenti trattati nella prima e nell’ultima annata della prima serie, e si illustrano i meccanismi di promozione del consenso, messi in atto da Malaparte che utilizza sapientemente, nella stessa impostazione grafica, gli strumenti più sofisticati della propaganda di massa. L’A. mette in evidenza il rilievo che assume nella prima serie l’ampio e complesso apparato iconografico, le didascalie, le immagini, le illustrazioni fotografiche, poste in un rapporto di costante prevaricazione sul testo scritto, dimostrando alla fine l’esistenza di un rapporto di sicura continuità con la seconda serie della rivista, presentata, solo apparentemente, come rivista esclusivamente letteraria. Il saggio intende sollecitare una lettura più attenta della rivista, utile anche ad illuminare la discussa e controversa figura del suo autor
Optimization of difference patterns for monopulse antennas by a hybrid real/integer-coded differential evolution method
No full textOptimization of the difference patterns for monopulse antennas by a hybrid real/integer-coded differential evolution method
Author(s): Caorsi, S (Caorsi, S); Massa, A (Massa, A); Pastorino, M (Pastorino, M); Randazzo, A (Randazzo, A)
Source: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Pages: 372-376 DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2004.838788 Part: Part 2 Published: JAN 2005
Times Cited: 46 (from Web of Science)
Cited References: 9 [ view related records ] Citation Map
Abstract: The optimization of difference patterns of monopulse antennas is considered. The synthesis problem is recast as an optimization problem by defining a suitable cost function. In particular, in this paper, the cost function is based on constraints on the side-lobe levels. A subarray configuration is adopted and the excitations of the difference pattern are approximately determined. The optimization problem isefficiently solved by a differential evolution algorithm, which is able to contemporarily handle real and integer unknowns. Numerical results are reported concerning classical array configurations previously considered in the literature.
Accession Number: WOS:000226261600014
Document Type: Article
Language: English
Author Keywords: array antennas; evolutionary algorithm; monopulse antennas; sum and difference patterns
KeyWords Plus: SUM; ARRAYS
Reprint Address: Caorsi, S (reprint author), Univ Pavia, Dept Elect, Via Palestro 3, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
Addresses:
1. Univ Pavia, Dept Elect, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
E-mail Address: [email protected]
Publisher: IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC, 445 HOES LANE, PISCATAWAY, NJ 08855-4141 USA
Web of Science Category: Engineering, Electrical & Electronic; Telecommunications
Subject Category: Engineering; Telecommunications
IDS Number: 886VT
ISSN: 0018-926
THE UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE USP14 CONTROLS CILIOGENESIS AND THE HEDGEHOG PATHWAY
No full textPrimary cilia are microtubule-based organelles on the apical surface of mammalian cells, and play a crucial role in vertebrate development and tissue homeostasis. Consequently, ciliary defects are associated with human disorders called ciliopathies. This organelle represents an organizing center for signaling pathways. In particular, in vertebrates, the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway controls embryonic development and adult homeostasis using the primary cilium to transduce its signal. Hh components localize to cilia and Kif7, a key player in cilia structure and length, controls the ciliary localization of Hh signaling molecules. Phenotypes associated to Hh signaling impairment are often observed in ciliopathies. Recent studies established a link between ciliary proteins and the Ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) pathway, however much remains to be understood. The main role of the UPS is to mark proteins for degradation although it also functions in a wide variety of cellular processes. The aim of my PhD project was to investigate the association between cilioproteins and proteasomal functions, with particular emphasis on the cilia- associated OFD1 protein, which is responsible for the rare OFD type I syndrome. The results obtained demonstrate that OFD1 controls proteasomal complex composition through direct binding with proteasomal components (see Liu et al. in appendix). Our results also demonstrate a role for Usp14, a deubiquitinating enzyme, in the control of ciliogenesis, cilia length and proper activation of the Hh pathway. We propose a new mechanism by which cilia maintenance and the Hh pathway are regulated by Usp14 via modulation of Kif7 proteasomal degradation (manuscript in preparation). This mechanism may be relevant not only in ciliopathies but also in other pathological conditions associated to Hedgehog signaling defects. Overall our results provide new insight into the spectrum of action of the UPS and may provide novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention in pathological conditions associated to cilia dysfunction
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