2,200 research outputs found
Transglutaminases: future perspectives
No full textThis is the third special issue focused on "Transglutaminases" that is now available on this journal and dedicated to one of the pioneers of these enzymes, John Edward Folk, who died December 2010 [see in this issue Beninati et al. 2012a]. The first edition, "Polyamines and Transglutaminases" was published in Amino Acids, vol 26, no. 4, 2004, with the contribution of two prestigious Guest Editors as Alberto Abbruzzese and Mauro Piacentini. This editorial initiative was followed by the second special issue published in occasion of the 50th years of the discovery of transglutaminase. Indeed, "Transglutaminase 2: 50th Anniversary of the Discovery" Amino Acids, vol 36, no. 4, 2009, was published with the valuable collaboration of Carlo Maria Bergamini and Mauro Piacentini (Beninati et al. 2009). To continue with this editorial tradition, on this occasion, an outstanding board of Guest Editors composed by Francesco Facchiano and Mauro Piacentini has also been invited to promote this initiative and recruit a selected panel of Authors, many of who participated in the first and second edition of the Gordon Conference on Transglutaminases: "Transglutaminases in Human Diseases Processes" chaired by Rickard L Eckert and Kapil Mehta on July 18-23, 2010, and by Kapil Mehta and Mauro Piacentini on July 15-20, 2012, held at Davidson College, NC, USA. In this Amino Acids special issue, the manuscripts were selected to reflect the progress and the future perspectives of transglutaminases
Nonlinear formulation of Semidefinite Programming and Eigenvalue Optimization - Application to Integer Quadratic Problems
No full textEndoplasmic Reticulum Stress, Unfolded Protein Response, and Cancer Cell Fate
No full textPerturbation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis results in a stress condition termed "ER stress" determining the activation of a finely regulated program defined as unfolded protein response (UPR) and whose primary aim is to restore this organelle's physiological activity. Several physiological and pathological stimuli deregulate normal ER activity causing UPR activation, such as hypoxia, glucose shortage, genome instability, and cytotoxic compounds administration. Some of these stimuli are frequently observed during uncontrolled proliferation of transformed cells, resulting in tumor core formation and stage progression. Therefore, it is not surprising that ER stress is usually induced during solid tumor development and stage progression, becoming an hallmark of such malignancies. Several UPR components are in fact deregulated in different tumor types, and accumulating data indicate their active involvement in tumor development/progression. However, although the UPR program is primarily a pro-survival process, sustained and/or prolonged stress may result in cell death induction. Therefore, understanding the mechanism(s) regulating the cell survival/death decision under ER stress condition may be crucial in order to specifically target tumor cells and possibly circumvent or overcome tumor resistance to therapies. In this review, we discuss the role played by the UPR program in tumor initiation, progression and resistance to therapy, highlighting the recent advances that have improved our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate the survival/death switch. © 2017 Corazzari, Gagliardi, Fimia and Piacentini
Application of empiric models for the analysis of rock-fall runout at a regional scale in mountain areas: examples from the Dolomites and the northern Apennines (Italy)
No full textRock falls are common in mountain areas and represent a serious threat due to their high propagation velocity that, independently from the volume involved, can be extremely dangerous for buildings, roads and persons. Therefore, it is necessary to preliminarily identify the areas most prone to this type of process, in order to pursue a territorial planning with consciousness of hazards and risks. Rock-fall hazard analysis over wide territories is anyhow rather difficult, because many variables have to be taken into account (i.e., fracturing of rock masses, presence of water etc.) that are difficult to identify at that scale. Hence the necessity to identify methodologies of analysis capable of reproducing the complex processes that are involved in rock-fall occurrence and propagation and to preliminarily identify the areas most susceptible to this type of hazard.Taking into account previous works carried out on this topic, different simulation models, both empirical and kinematic, have been analysed in order to assess their suitability (in terms of quality, time and costs) when applied over wide territories. The most suitable model was found to be an empirical one that assumes the dissipation of rock-fall energy proportional to the distance reached by the falling rock mass. This model has been used, after a specific calibration, with reference to two different study areas characterised by different geological and morpho-climatic characteristics, in order to assess its applicability and validate the quality of the results. The study areas are located in the Dolomites and in the northern Apennines (Italy).The comparison of the results obtained with respect to the two study sites has shown that the empirical model selected can be an efficient analysis method to obtain reliable results over wide territories, independently from the geological and morpho-climatic characteristics of a certain study site
Conversations with Cabrera: Mauro Guillén
No full textPresented online January 26, 2021, 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.Conversations with Cabrera are unscripted and informal, unearthing leadership’s thinking behind the big ideas taking shape across the Institute and trends likely to define our future. This video series is meant to capture candid conversations between President Ángel Cabrera and thought leaders across Georgia Tech and beyond.Ángel Cabrera, President, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.Mauro Guillén, Zandman Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Penn Lauder Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).Runtime: 56:53 minutesPresident Ángel Cabrera in conversation with author and educator Mauro Guillén. They discuss the themes of Guillén's book, 2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything. Mauro Guillén’s bestselling book 2030 is both a remarkable guide to the coming changes and an exercise in the power of “lateral thinking,” thereby revolutionizing the way you think about cataclysmic change and its consequences
Optimal train dispatching by Benders-like reformulation
No full textTrain movements in railway lines are generally controlled by human dispatchers.
As disruptions often occur, dispatchers take real-time scheduling and routing decisions in the attempt to minimize deviations from the ocial timetable. This optimization problem is called Train Dispatching. We represent it as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming model, and solve it by a Benders'-like decomposition within a suitable master/slave scheme. Interestingly, the master and the slave problems correspond to a macroscopic and microscopic representation of the railway, recently exploited in heuristic approaches to the problem. The decomposition, along with some new modeling ideas, allowed us to solve real-life instances of practical interest to optimality in short computing time. Automatic dispatching systems based on our macro/micro decomposition - in which both master and
slave are solved heuristically - have been in operation in several Italian lines since year 2011. The exact approach described in this paper outperforms such systems on our test-bed of real-life instances. Furthermore, a system based on another version of the exact decomposition approach has been in operation since February 2014 on a line in Norway
On the convergence of a Jacobi-type algorithm for singly linearly-constrained problems subject to simple bounds
No full textIn this work we define a block decomposition Jacobi-type method for nonlinear optimization problems with one linear constraint and bound constraints on the variables.We prove convergence of the method to stationary points of the problem under quite general assumptions
Geomorphological map of the NW Coast of the Island of Malta (Mediterranean Sea)
No full textThis paper presents the results of geomorphological investigations carried along the north-western coast of the Island of Malta. Field surveys, accompanied by aerial photo-interpretation, have led to the production of a geomorphological map at 1:7500 scale which outlines the main processes and related landforms. The latter are the result of the complex interplay of structural, gravitational, coastal and karst processes. Particular attention was devoted to the recognition, identification and mapping of landslides which affect large coastal sectors of the study area, locally giving rise to hazardous conditions. © 2012 Stefano Devoto, Sara Biolchi, Viola M. Bruschi, Stefano Furlani, Matteo Mantovani, Daniela Piacentini, Alessandro Pasuto and Mauro Soldati
No Europe without Brussels: The Berlaymont Building and the Development of the Léopold Area
No full textEurope and Brussels had a mutual dependency from the founding of the European Communities. This article explores the historic relation between local urban and the transnational development of post-war Europe. It ultimately raises the question to what extent there exists a dialogue between various actors involved to actively design and build the image of Europe in Brussels.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care. Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.History, Form & Aesthetic
Frane di crollo nell'Appennino Romagnolo: metodi di indagine a supporto della pianificazione territoriale
No full textVengono illustrate le problematiche relative alle frane di crollo nell'Appennino romagnolo con particolare riguardo a metodi di indagine a supporto della pianificazione territoriale
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