593 research outputs found
"Per tutto l'arco della vita". Impianto per un modello di sviluppo del sistema regionale di educazinoe degli Adulti (EDA)
No full textNatural risk management for industrial plants and infrastructures: the DaBo system
No full textNatural risk management on complex critical infrastructures often requires integration of data coming out from
a huge number of sensors. Solutions are sometimes derived by classical supervisory control and data acquisition
systems (SCADAs), usually employed in manufacturing and industrial plants environment. This “control room”
approach often proves to be ineffective when the system to be monitored goes beyond the limits of the single plant
and it is extended to the surrounding environment including buildings and public infrastructures in a strong interaction
with local communities. The paper presents the case study of a hydroelectric plant extended over a territory
of a few tens of square kilometers and subject to hydrogeological problems of various kinds, with interactions
with buildings and infrastructures. The huge number of sensors installed for production control proved to be far
to monitor the safety of the plant in its environmental context. We present here the risk assessment procedure and
the proposed actions, also in terms of sensor installation. DaBo platform work as a data integrator. The structural
and hydraulic “ordinary state” is continuously generated by means of numerical modeling basing upon real time
observed boundary conditions. This state, via a suitable set of state variables, is compared with sensor data allowing
a clear synthesis of the safety of the infrastructure and its natural and anthropic context. DaBo poses itself as
a systems integrator both from a conceptual and an operational point of view, able to activate direct measures to
reduce the risk in case of emergency, involving also local civil protection authorities.
The platform integrates information from a wide range of sensors (viz. temperature, water level, strain, water content),
weather alerts, weather forecast from high resolution limited area models. The main innovation of DaBo
consists in the dashboard designed to provide communication of risk to the end user and to link the warnings to
action procedures. It is technically a responsive single page web application that is based on an information storage
and management layer by a high capacity relational database, a powerful scalable business logic tier for decision
support and early warning system, and a multi profiled responsive user interface. The goal is to ensure the operation
of the entire supply chain that connects the various sources of information to the entire user range
Thermotolerance and thermal acclimation in active tardigrades.
No full textThe ability of desiccated (anhydrobiotic) tardigrades to survive and to resist high temperature stresses (up to 100°C) is well-known, while the tolerance of active (hydrated) tardigrades to heat-shocks is still very little known. In order to increase our knowledge on thermal adaptations of active tardigrades, we have carried out lab experiments on three eutardigrade species to evaluate the ability to survive to heat-shock (considering lethal temperature - LT50 - and critical thermal maximum - CTmax), and the possibility of thermotolerance induction. We considered two terrestrial species, the moss-dwelling Amphibolus volubilis and the lichen-dwelling Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri, and one limnic species, Borealibius zetlandicus. These species differ each other in anhydrobiotic and cryobiotic abilities, substrate colonized.Starting from a uniform condition of tardigrades maintained for 24 h in water at 16°C, groups of hydrated tardigrades have been exposed for 1 hour to a heat-shock (different experiments from 26°C to 42°C). The presence of active animals (body movements) was evaluated immediately after heat-shock (t0), after 1h (t1) and after 24 h (t24) from heat-shock. Survival was represented by active animals at t24. For A. volubilis and R. oberhaeuseri the presence of active animals and survival was evaluated also after acclimation of 1 h (the first species at 28°C, the latter at 30°C) and subsequent heat-shocking to temperatures higher than 33°C. All species look thermotolerant, even though their survival significantly decreases with the increase of the stress temperatures. Both CTmax and LT50 are species-specific. The first one is 39.0°C for A. volubilis and 37.0°C for R. oberhaeuseri and B. zetlandicus. The latter is 35.1°C for A. volubilis, 33.6°C for R. oberhaeuseri and 33.0° for B. zetlandicus. The percentage of active animals changes according to the shock temperature and differs among the species. The number of animals with active movements often significantly increases between t0 and t1 for some temperatures, apart R. oberhaeuseri which shows a decrease at 28°C. There are not significant differences between t1 and t24 in the number of active animals, with the exception of an increase in A. volubilis at 30°C and 33°C. Both in A. volubilis and R. oberhaeuseri the acclimation produces significant survival increases of 10-40% for heat-shock temperature between 33°C–39°C, while at 40°C and 42°C there is not survival. These results demonstrate that tardigrades, even when active, have evident ability to survive heath stresses, even though sampled in different habitats and characterized by quite different cryptobiotic performances
Security concept in "MyAngelWeb®", a website for the individual patient at risk of emergency
No full textSecurity concept in 'MyAngelWeb (R)' a website for the individual patient at risk of emergency
No full textCysts of Amphibolus volubilis (Eutardigrada, Eohypsibiidae): seasonal dynamics and laboratory induction.
No full textIt is known that specimens of Amphibolus can carry out both cryptobiosis (anhydrobiosis and cryobiosis) and encystment and that they produce two types of cysts (type 1 and type 2). In Amphibolus nebulosus from Greenland, the type 1 cyst is related to winter and the type 2 to summer. In Amphibolus volubilis, found in Apennines (Monte Rondinaio, Italy), a detailed description of the encystment processes has been done, but not of the relationships between climatic factors and dynamics of the cyst 1 and cyst 2. Therefore, a study on seasonal dynamics of the A. volubilis cysts has been carried out with monthly samplings, from March 2003 up to March 2005. For each sampling, all specimens present in five-six replicates of 0.5 g of moss have been collected and analyzed.In all samplings, non-encysted and encysted animals (type 1 or type 2 cysts) have been found. The cyst trends are similar in the two considered years. Type 1 cysts have been found from November to March-April, but they were present in a very low percentage with respect to the total animals. Type 2 cysts have been found from June to October and are often more abundant than the non-encysted tardigrades. The two types of cysts never overlap. Correlation tests have evidenced that dynamics of type 2 cyst is positively related to the air temperature (T) and negatively related to the relative humidity (RH) of the air. The trend of type 1 cyst is negatively related to T, while no relationship to RH has been evidenced. The presence of non-encysted animals is negatively related to T and positively related to RH. Experiments of encystment induction have been performed in laboratory. In the same experimental conditions (same temperature, photoperiod, food and oxygen availability), non-encysted animals collected in April form type 2 cysts, whereas animals collected in November form type 1 cysts. The number of days to enter each type of cyst is related to experimental temperature. At the same temperature, the animals spent less time to enter in type 1 cyst than in type 2 cyst. In lab, the animals come out from type 2 cyst, if do not die, soon or later encyst again and enter always type 1 cyst.The data from nature and those from laboratory lead to conclude that, differently from what happens in anhydrobiosis and cryobiosis, climatic conditions do not directly affect encystment; but seasonal changing induces still unknown endogenous factors responsible of that kind of dormant stage
Effect of L-carnitine on human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection-associated apoptosis: a pilot study.
No full textThe Fas/Fas ligand system is involved in uncontrolled apoptosis, which ultimately leads to the loss of T lymphocytes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. The signal transduced by Fas receptor involves the activation of an acidic sphingomyelinase, sphingomyelin breakdown, and ceramide production. Our recent reports have shown that L-carnitine inhibits Fas-induced apoptosis and ceramide production both in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this study was to study, in a preliminary fashion, the impact of long-term L-carnitine administration on CD4 and CD8 absolute counts, rate, and apoptosis in HIV-1–infected subjects. The generation of cell-associated ceramide and HIV-1 viremia was also investigated. Eleven, asymptomatic, HIV-1– infected subjects, who refused any antiretroviral treatment despite experiencing a progressive decline of CD4 counts, were treated with daily infusions of L-carnitine (6 g) for 4 months. Immunologic and virologic measures and safety were monitored at the start of the treatment and then on days 15, 30, 90, and 150. L-carnitine therapy resulted in an increase of absolute CD4 counts, which was statisticallysignificant on day 90 and 150 (P 5 .010 and P 5 .019, respectively). A positive, not significant trend was also observed even in the change in absolute counts of CD8 lymphocytes. L-carnitine therapy also led to a drop in the frequency of apoptotic CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes. This reduction occurred gradually, but changes in actual values between each time point and baseline were strongly significant (P 5 .001 at the end of the study compared with the baseline). A strong reduction (P 5 .001) in cell-associated ceramide levels was found at the end of the study. In general, HIV-1 viremia increased slightly. No toxicity related to L-carnitine therapy was observed and dose reductions were not necessary. In HIV-1–infected subjects, long-term infusions of L-carnitine produced substantial increases in the rate and absolute counts of CD4 and, to a lesser degree, of CD8 lymphocytes. This was paralleled by a reduced frequency of apoptotic cells of both subgroups and a decline in the levels of ceramide. No clinically relevant change of HIV-1 viremia was observed
HTLV-II among italian intravenous-drugs-users and hemophiliacs
No full textThe seroprevalence of HTLV-I/II was evaluated in 1247 Italian individuals at high risk for HIV infection. The population studied consisted of 985 intravenous drug users (IVDUs), 474 of whom on methadone maintenance and 511 in a therapeutic community, 110 HIV-infected patients in various stages of HIV-related disease and 152 hemophiliacs. Sera were screened for antibody to HTLV-I/II by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and confirmed by Western blot and radioinununoprecipitation assay. Confirmed positive samples were further differentiated by EIA using HTLV-I and HTLV-II specific peptides. The overall prevalence of anti-HTLV-I/II was 4.0% in IVDUs, with the highest prevalence (8.2%) among HIV-infected symptomatic patients. None of the hemophiliacs was antiHTLV-I/II positive, even though 63.1% tested positive for HIV antibodies. The trend of seroprevalence in drug users and the evaluation of possible risk factors demonstrated that HTLV-I/II infection has been present in Italy before the onset of HIV epidemic. The overall seroprevalence showed no significant changes during the 10 year period covered by this survey but correlated with HIV seropositivity, age and duration of drug use. Peptide testing showed that HTLV infection was mainly due to HTLV-II
Caterina Tarabotti Unveiled
No full textCaterina Tarabotti (1615–1693) never identified herself as a painter in contemporary
documents or claimed authorship of any picture with her signature. She would have
surely joined the ranks of the many anonymous women painters of her time, were
it not for the art critic and historian Marco Boschini (1602–1681). In his La Carta
del Navegar Pitoresco (1660), Boschini was the first to notice Caterina’s talents and
provide information about her life.1
Alluding to her namesake saint and surname,
Boschini infused the painter’s biography with lyric flair. A light coming out of the
Varotari workshop, Caterina was, according to Boschini, a virgin very gifted in
painting. She herself honored art with her achievements, which came effortlessly.
Comparing her to a silver lamp that never burns out, the author, with a sense of
optimism, concluded that Caterina would live forever and her name would bear
eternal light and splendor
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