48 research outputs found
Primary and acquired resistance to EGFR-targeted therapies in colorectal cancer: impact on future treatment strategies
No full textStructure and dynamics of gas phase ions: Interplay between experiments and computations in IRMPD spectroscopy
No full textChallenging Male Hegemony: A Case History of Women's Experiences in British and US Higher Education, 1970-2002
No full textThis thesis is located within the discipline of history, and centres around the
experiences of women in US and British universities. Higher education in both the US and
the UK, as throughout the world, has historically been male-led and male-controlled. This
male hegemony of higher education continues to the present, as evidenced by the low
percentage of women in the upper echelons of academia (for example, professors).
Women in the US and the UK have been challenging this male hegemony since their
admittance to higher education institutions in the nineteenth century. They faced fierce
opposition in their efforts to open higher education to women. This opposition was later
echoed in the resistance to twentieth-century feminists' efforts to found women's studies
programmes.
The male hegemony of higher education is evident in the case histories of the
experiences of women at Appalachian State University (ASU) and the University of
Gloucestershire (UG) in the latter part of the twentieth century. ASU and UG, although
located in different countries, have similarities which make a comparison interesting. The
male hegemony of the institutions, and women's challenges to it, is especially illustrated
when analysing three areas: residence hall life (living), staff issues (working), and the
women's studies programmes (teaching and learning).
Women students at both institutions experienced, and successfully challenged,
strict residence rules through the 1960s. National influences, such as the change in the age
of majority, and pressure from the students themselves brought a loosening of these rules
in the 1970s and 1980s. The conservative nature of the institutions also influenced the
experience of women academic staff. Institutional management was not proactive
regarding women's issues, and there is strong evidence of a `glass ceiling' at both
institutions. The male hegemony of the institutions was also illustrated in the struggle to
found and maintain women's studies programmes
Towards the Usage of Advanced Composite Materials in the Optimization of Wind Turbine Blades
No full textNowadays, fossil fuel consumption is the major contributor to the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases, which are the key cause of climate change. The main
solution strategy is represented by renewable-energy sources, wind power among the
others. However, existing wind turbines are made of composite material components
that result to be very expensive and not easy to dispose of at the end of their life
cycle. Therefore, substantial effort has to be put into the design phase of the new
products, where numerical simulation and optimization techniques represent precious
resources. This thesis presents advances in two main fields: (1) the mechanical analysis of natural fiber composite materials by means of experimental campaigns and
numerical/analytical models, and (2) the development of modeling techniques for the
Topology Optimization (TO) of mechanical components subjected to external loading
conditions.
The numerical and analytical models on natural fiber composites focus on the impact behavior of hemp/vinylester, flax/epoxy composite plates, together with hybrid
stacking sequences where hemp and glass layers are alternated. The impact resistance
of the laminates is investigated under low-velocity impact conditions, with loads in the
thickness direction. In particular, analytical models available from the literature for
carbon-fiber composites, are here adapted and tested on new material configurations.
The main aims of these models are the prediction of a threshold impact load for the
damage onset and extent and the approximation of the loading phase of the typical
load–displacement curve.
The TO of simple mechanical structures – ensembles of interconnected beams – exposed to static and dynamic external loads was addressed through surrogate modeling
techniques. In this context, since the objective function evaluations rely on computationally expensive finite element simulations, optimization techniques based on the
construction of cheap-to-evaluate approximation models are more convenient than
population-based approaches, like for example evolution strategies, which need many
more evaluations to reach a near-optimal solution. Novel approaches developed by the
author of this manuscript are the Kriging-Assisted Level Set Method (KG-LSM) for
TO, together with its hybrid version – the Hybrid Kriging-Assisted Level Set Method
(HKG-LSM). Both these methods are based on Bayesian Optimization (BO), which
is known to show poor performance of at relatively high dimensionalities, typically
when dealing with more than 15 variables. To scale up BO for high-dimensional optimization problems, the Principal Component Analysis assisted Bayesian Optimization
(PCA-BO) algorithm has been also developed.
Several experimental and optimization studies have been performed, highlighting
the potential of the presented techniques and the concrete possibility to benefit from
their advantages in practical applications that are very relevant for the society
Clinical and neurochemical correlates of the APOE genotype in early-stage Parkinson’s disease
No full textEmerging evidence indicates that apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype may influence Parkinson's disease (PD) course, although clinical and neurochemical correlates have not been completely established. this study aimed to determine the associations of APOE genotypes (& epsilon;4 vs. non-& epsilon;4) with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurodegeneration biomarkers and clinical parameters in early-stage PD patients. one hundred and se-venty-five PD patients and 89 non-neurodegenerative controls grouped in APOE-& epsilon;4 carriers (28 PD; 12 controls) and non-APOE-& epsilon;4 carriers (147 PD; 78 controls) were enrolled. CSF levels of amyloid-& beta;-42, amyloid-& beta;-40, total and 181-phosphorylated tau, and clinical scores were compared among groups adjusting for main covariates. APOE genotypes prevalence was similar in PD and controls. PD APOE-& epsilon;4 carriers had lower amyloid-& beta;-42 CSF levels than PD non-APOE-& epsilon;4 carriers and controls, independently from age. PD APOE-& epsilon;4 carriers also had higher total and "item 5" (attention and memory) non-motor symptoms scale scores than PD non-APOE-& epsilon;4 carriers, independently from confounding factors. APOE-& epsilon;4 genotype might thus account for a more vulnerable PD subtype characterized by prominent amyloidopathy and a greater burden of non -motor symptoms in the early disease stages.data availability: data are available upon reasonable request.& COPY; 2023 the author(s). published by Elsevier Inc. this is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract B43: HER2-amplified gastric and colorectal cancers: Mechanistic insights into HER2 targeting approaches
No full text
Corrigendum to "Premature ovarian senescence and a high miscarriage rate impair fertility in women with HCV" [J Hepatol 68 (2018) 33-41]
No full textIt has come to our attention that the PITER framework investigator, Alessandro Federico, was incorrectly listed as F. Alessandro in the original manuscript. Please note that the correct name of this author is Alessandro Federico (2nd University of Naples). The correct list of PITER investigators is in the footnote below
Relevance of cognitive deterioration in early relapsing-remitting MS: a 3-year follow-up study
No full textObjective: To assess longitudinally cognitive functioning in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients and its relationship with clinical and MRI variables. Methods: Early RRMS patients and matched healthy controls were assessed in parallel in three testing sessions over 3 years, using the Rao's Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests. Patients also underwent an MRI analysis of T2-weighted lesion volume (T2LV), number of gadolinium-enhanced lesions and whole brain atrophy. Forty-nine RRMS patients (mean age 36.9 ± 8.9 years; mean disease duration 2.9 ± 1.7 years, mean Expanded Disability Status Scale, 1.7 ± 0.7) and 56 healthy controls were recruited. Results: At baseline, cognitive impairment was detected in 15 patients (30.6%). After 3 years, cognitive functioning worsened in the 29.3% of patients, whereas Expanded Disability Status Scale progression was observed in only three patients. The most sensitive test to detect cognitive deterioration over time was the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Only the presence of moderate cognitive impairment at baseline predicted further cognitive deterioration (p = 0.03). Among MRI variables, T2LV showed a weak to moderate relationship with some cognitive tasks. Conclusions: Over a 3-year period cognitive deterioration can be expected in approximately one-third of MS patients with relatively short disease duration. The SDMT is particularly suitable for longitudinal assessment of MS-related cognitive changes. © The Author(s) 2010
Role of transmembrane water exchange in glioma invasion/migration : in vivo preclinical study by relaxometry at very low magnetic field
No full textFunding: This project received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 668119 (project IDentIFY). The Italian Ministry for Education and Research (MIUR) is gratefully acknowledged for yearly FOE funding to the EuroBioImaging Multi-Modal Molecular Imaging Italian Node (MMMI). Maria Rosaria Ruggiero was supported by an “FIRC-AIRC fellowship for Italy” and benefited from a COST Action grant (AC15209—EURELAX) to perform first IHC analysis at BrainTech Lab. Acknowledgments: The authors thank the zootechnicians of the Clinatec animal facility led by Diane Agay for their assistance in animal management, and Reda Manyani, a master student, for his contribution to confirm IHC data analysis, first performed by the author Hamza Ait Itto.Peer reviewe
