124 research outputs found
A novel chemo-optogenetic nanomachine sensitive to intracellular pH shifts
No full textEpilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by repeated seizures. Nowadays drugs and other approaches to reduce them are available but, unfortunately, around 30% of patients do not respond to medical therapies. In the last decade, optogenetics has emerged as a tool to both explore neuronal networks dynamics and to treat neurological conditions such as epilepsy. The optogenetics strategy involves the expression, in precise brain areas, of light sensitive proteins called opsins that are able to change the membrane potential upon wavelength-specific illumination. This last aspect is, usually, achieved using LED-based hardware. Despite the many advantages of this technique, it still faces practical and translational challenges because of the difficulties of illuminating multiple and deep areas of the brain. In this scenario, the search of alternative light sources is a goal to achieve. Luciferases are enzymes able to emit light upon addiction of their own substrate coelenterazine, and can be used to deliver light to opsins and modulate their action. In this work, the probe called pHIL (pH sensitive inhibitory luminopsin) was developed with the purpose to modulate the epileptic phenotype. pHIL is composed by a bioluminescent protein, RLuc8, coupled to the inhibitory opsin eNpHR3.0. Moreover, the control of seizures will occur only under the intracellular acidic conditions observed in epileptic neurons. The pH sensitivity of the probe is given by the presence of a pH sensor, a pH-sensitive variant of EGFP, called E2GFP. The functioning of the probe is based on the BRET mechanism. The UV light that comes from the luciferase is transferred to the E2GFP that under acidic conditions will emit light and activate the eNpHR3.0, promoting membrane hyperpolarization of epileptic neurons. pHIL is expressed and localizes at the plasma membrane in both HEK293T cells and primary hippocampal neurons. Moreover, pHIL hyperpolarizes HEK293T under acidic conditions and upon addiction of CTZ 400a, the specific luciferase substrate able to induce the UV light emission. On the basis of our data, therefore, we propose pHIL as a potential therapeutic tool to counteract neuronal hyperexcitability
Benign chondroblastoma on fine-needle aspiration smears: A seven-case experience and review of the literature
No full textWe report seven cases of chondroblastoma (CB) of bone, diagnosed by Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC), and confirmed by histomorphological examination. The concurrence of some cytomorphologic findings - mononucleated cells, multinucleated cells, and intercellular chondroid substance - unequivocally suggested the cytological diagnosis of CB. We also reviewed the literature on this topic in order to discuss morphological criteria and the importance of needle size. The differential diagnosis between CB, Giant Cell Tumor of Bone, and Eosinophilic Granuloma is further discussed
Engineering REST-Specific Synthetic PUF Proteins to Control Neuronal Gene Expression: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study
No full textRegulation of gene transcription is an essential mechanism for differentiation and adaptation of organisms. A key actor in this regulation process is the repressor element 1 (RE1)-silencing transcription factor (REST), a transcriptional repressor that controls more than 2000 putative target genes most of which are neuron-specific. With the purpose of modulating REST expression, we exploited synthetic, ad hoc designed, RNA Binding Proteins (RBPs) able to specifically target and dock to REST mRNA. Amongst the various families of RBPs, we focused on the Pumilio and FBF (PUF) proteins, present in all eukaryotic organisms and controlling a variety of cellular functions. Here, a combined experimental and computational approach was used to design and test 8- and 16-repeat PUF proteins specific for REST mRNA. We explored the conformational properties and atomic features of the PUF-RNA recognition code by Molecular Dynamics simulations. Biochemical assays revealed that the 8- and 16-repeat PUF-based variants specifically bind the endogenous REST mRNA without affecting its translational regulation. The data also indicate a key role of stacking residues in determining the binding specificity. The newly characterized REST-specific PUF-based constructs act as excellent RNA-binding modules and represent a versatile and functional platform to specifically target REST mRNA and modulate its endogenous expression
El diario de Augusto Monterroso: La letra E
No full textIn El diario de Augusto Monterroso: La letra E (in Assunta Polizzi, Parole discorsi testi nelle culture ispaniche, a cura di, Palermo, Flaccovio, 2007, pp.21-36) the author reflects on the genre of the journal within the framework of the ‘modern’, halfway between the existential testimony and an exercise in writing; fiction and confession.
The paper examines the journal of Augusto Monterroso, La letra E, a text focusing on the image of a writer continually searching for adequate forms of expression and his doubts on the very act of writing. La letra E thus ends up being a further testimony to the commitment of the writer to the written word and –at the same time- to his clear intention to pinpoint the modalities of the literary journal as genre, and consequently one of the forms, whether sophisticated or not, of lie, fiction and masking
‐deoxy‐coelenterazine Derivatives and Their Potential Use as Cellular pH Probes
No full textThe synthesis of new bis-deoxy-coelenterazine (1) derivatives bearing ester protective groups (acetate, propionate and butyrate esters) was accomplished. Moreover, their hydrolytic stability at room temperature was evaluated in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent, using the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of the key products at different time intervals. The results showed an increasing hydrolysis rate according to longest aliphatic chain, with a half-life of 24 days of the more stable acetate derivative (4a). Furthermore, the analysis of the experimental data revealed the greater stability of the enol tautomer in this aprotic polar solvent. This result was confirmed by theoretical calculations using the density functional theory (DFT) approach, which gave us the opportunity to propose a detailed decomposition mechanism. Additionally, the derivatives obtained were tested by bioluminescence luciferase assays to evaluate their potential use as extracellular pH-sensitive reporter substrates of luciferase. The biological data support the idea that further structural modifications of these molecules may open promising perspectives in this field of research. © 2020 American Society for Photobiolog
IL DIRITTO DEL LAVORO NELLE IMPRESE SOCIALMENTE RESPONSABILI
No full textThe author starts from CSR definition as it is set by the Green Paper of the European Commission, where great importance is given to labour issures, in order to examine how it affects labour law and if, how and how much labour relationships may change in companiers voluntarily involvede in it. The expert in labour law is conscious of the importance of the change takin place, especially when the tespect of rules is connected to social and environmental sustainability targets, but he/she is also conscious of the risk of bargaining a lowe workers' protection
"Vuoti" e "pieni": la retribuzione e la parità di trattamento nell'ordinamento dell'Unione europea
No full textThe Author envisages the topic of pay from an Eu perspective by verifying how the exclusion of competence, which is still stated by the Treaties, combines with the principle of equal pay for women and men, which was already enshrined in the Treaty of Rome. The analyseis leads to interesting considerations. Firsto of all, the issue seems to run the blind track of competence exclusion not only beacause of a choice of non interfering with its determination, except for the equality principle, but also because the issue reaches an European dimension when referring to trans-national phenomena (such as, posting of workers and right to minimum wage). Most of all, this highlights the key role of equal tratment and of the prohibitions of discriminations, which have been progressively extended to a plurality of factors protected by the legal system and to the so called atypical jobs. The analysis of the proposal for a directive on GPG raises the critical aspects that collective bargaining implies. In fact, if pay is the typical subject of collective bargaining and if the systems of classification and professional placement are ones of its closest corollaries, the GPG is its direct outcome. This perspective necessarily implies the topic of the limits to contractual autonomy stemming from fundamental principles. The general rehearsals on this matter can be found in the "contracto on inserimento", as the law itself permits an exemption from the equal treatment principle. The point of arrival, at the moment, is represented by the omnivorous exception of art. 8 of the financial act of September 2011
Galdós, el periodismo y la escritura. Reflexiones a partir del cuento "El artículo de fondo"
No full textGaldós was experiencing in his formation and in his first stage of production the narrative space of the press. The short story “El artículo de fondo” was published in 1871 in Revista de España, in 1879, in three installments in El Océano and reappears in 1889 in a collection of brief narrative texts that accompany his Torquemada en la hoguera. This study tries to focus, on the one hand, the variants introduced by the author, especially in the last edition, in order to evaluate the process of maturation of galdosian writing. On the other hand, taking into account the essentially heterotextual consistency of this short story, it try to put it in relation to the pluritextual narrative texture, which the newspaper macrotexts emblematically reflects.Galdós da a conocer por primera vez el cuento “El artículo de fondo” en 1871 en la publicación periódica Revista de España (XIX, 3, 427-440). Bastante años después, volverá a editarlo en una colección de textos de narrativa breve que acompañan su Torquemada en la hoguera (Madrid, La Guirnalda y Episodios y Episodios Nacionales, 1889), advirtiendo a su amigo Clarín en una carta que las «antiguallas» que presentaba el volumen, sacadas del olvido por voluntad ajena al autor, no merecían la pena de una lectura. Sin embargo, Galdós tuvo que empeñarse en la revisión, por lo menos del texto que aquí nos interesa, si consideramos las variantes introducidas, las elisiones y las ampliaciones que la segunda edición del cuento presenta ya sólo a través de una rápida collatio y a partir del incipit. Siguiendo esta pista, no mencionada en los escasos estudios que la crítica galdosiana ha dedicado a “El artículo de fondo” y que hemos podidos consultar, y enfocando la consistencia esencialmente heterotextual del cuento, se ha ido hilvanando una serie de reflexiones acerca del interés de Galdós por los procesos de construcción del texto, del tejido narrativo pluritextual, conjunto de piezas da variada naturaleza verbal y genérica, que el macrotexto del periódico emblemáticamente refleja. Galdós iba experimentando en su formación y en su primera etapa de producción precisamente el espacio narrativo de la prensa, instalado en lo sustancial de la narración diversificada por registros y dispositivos informativos, entre los cuales los visuales, de la actualidad. De ahí, la hipótesis de este estudio que intenta enfocar, más allá de la incontrovertible parodia del periodista costumbrista o serial que el cuento elige come sujeto, las estrategias de trasvase de la realidad en el texto, una realidad siempre multifacética que necesita la yuxtaposición de piezas verbales y de perspectivas singulares, según los rasgos del discurso periodístico y del periódico como sistema textual complejo
Hades as the ruler of the Damned in the mosaic complex on the west wall of Basilica Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello, Italy
No full textThe aim of this article is to show the figure of the ancient god Hades as an important part of Byzantine symbolic representations of the Last Judgement, using the example of the mosaic from the west wall of Basilica Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello, Italy. The article is divided into three main parts. The first part briefly introduces the mosaic complex from Torcello, providing a description of the place, the Basilica, and the mosaic. In the second part, the author focuses on the fragment of the mosaic presenting the figure of Hades in hell. In an effort to show the iconographical and cultural continuity between ancient and early medieval representations, the author compares this figure to its ancient prototype. The last part of the article portrays the development of the motif of the Last Judgment by looking at other chosen representations. In conclusion, the author proposes a possible meaning of the presence of Hades in the mosaic of Torcello
Growth performance and meat quality of buffalo young bulls: 2: effect of dietary level of maize silage
No full textGrowth performance and meat quality of buffalo
young bulls: 2. Effect of dietary level of maize silage
Felicia Masucci1, Carmela Maria Assunta Barone1, Fabio
Napolitano2, Maria Luisa Varricchio1, Antonio Zullo1, Antonio Di
Francia1
1Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta, dell’Ambiente e
delle Produzioni Animali Università di Napoli Federico II, Italy
2Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Animali, Università
della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Aim of this study was to evaluate growth performance and meat
quality of buffalo bulls fed two diets with different maize silage
contents. Compositions (kg/head/d) of low (LS) and high silage
diets (HS) were the following: maize silage 3.0 vs 10.5; alfalfa hay 0 vs 2.0; barley 0.25 vs 0.75; wheat flour middlings 1.0 vs 1.0; wheat straw 3.0 vs 0; commercial concentrate for lactating buffalo cows 0 vs 2.5; commercial concentrate for young buffalo bulls 4.5 vs 0. The diets were approximately isoenergetic [0.92 vs 0.91 Milk FU/kg dry matter (DM)] and isonitrogenous (14.7 vs 14.7 CP% DM).
Fourteen young buffalo bulls (316±70 days of age and 436±67 kglive weight) were assigned into the two dietary groups. Average
daily gain (ADG) was calculated every 2 weeks, along with DM
intake (DMI), calculated on pen basis. On a subgroup of 4 individuals per groups, carcass traits were recorded at slaughter. Meat quality (hardness, cohesion, chewiness, WB shear force) and
meat colour (L*, a*, b*) were evaluated on 7-day aged muscles
(Longissimus dorsi, Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus). DMI
and carcass traits were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. ADG and
meat quality parameters were analyzed by a linear mixed model
for repeated measures. No differences were observed for diet DMI (8.41 vs 8.64 kg DM/day for LS and HS diets, respectively; SE 0.44), as a consequence ADG did not differ between the groups (0.92 vs 0.89 kg/day; SE 0.04). All carcasses had the same carcass conformation (O) and fatness (4) scores. No differences were observed for carcass traits (carcass weight 250 vs 249 kg; SE 8.13; dressing percentages 52.1 vs 50.6%; SE 1.1) and any meat quality parameters.
Therefore, maize silage can be either used as the primary
source of roughage or in combination with other forages without
affecting growth performance and meat quality
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