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Assistive devices could promote independent living and support the active and healthy aging of an older population; however, several factors can badly influence the long-term use of new technologies. In this context, this paper presents a two-step methodology called “pre-validation” that aims to identify the factors that can bias the use of new services, thus minimizing the risk of an unsuccessful longer trial. The proposed pre-validation methodology is composed of two main phases that aim to assess the usability and the reliability of the technology assessed in a laboratory environment and the usability, acceptability, user experience, and reliability of the technology in real environments. The tested services include the socialization scenario, in which older adults are better connected to the community via technological solutions (i.e., socialization applications), and the monitoring scenario, which allows for the introduction of timely interventions (technologies involved include environmental monitoring sensors, a telepresence robot, wearable sensors, and a personalized dashboard). The obtained results underline an acceptable usability level (average System Usability Scale score > 65) for the tested technologies (i.e., socialization applications and a telepresence robot). Phase Two also underlines the good acceptability, user experience, and usability of the tested services. The statistical analysis underlines a correlation between the stress related to the use of technology, digital skills, and intention of use, among other factors. Qualitative feedback also remarks on a correlation between older adults with low digital skills and an anxiety about using technology. Positive correlation indexes were highlighted between the trust and usability scores. Eventually, future long-term trials with assistive technology should rely on motivated caregivers, be founded on a strong recruitment process, and should reassure older adults—especially the ones with low digital literacy—about the use of technology by proposing personalized training and mentoring, if necessary, to increase the trust.

The paper illustrates some of the results of the interdepartmental research Prosit “PROgettare in SostenibilITà: qualification and digitization in construction”, analyzing some of the key steps aimed at testing, compatibly with the regulatory and technological framework, new possible applications of recycled materials from construction and demolition (C&D) in sustainable and innovative supply chains. The Eurostat report “Recovery rate of construction and demolition waste” of 2022 shows how Italy, already in 2018, starts to recover about 98% of the waste from C&D activities considered non-hazardous, mainly for the construction of embankments and road foundations. The research, therefore, identifies in the use of file-to-factory technologies a possible way to extend the scope of application of the reuse of these resources to the realization of diversified and non-standard manufactures and components, in the perspective of a greater spread of virtuous practices of circular economy in the construction sector. In this sense, a process “algorithm” is described, designed to be scaled and replicated in different contexts for similar purposes.

As a consequence of the COVID-19 emergency, frail citizens felt isolated because of social isolation, suspended and/or strongly reduced home assistance, and limited access to hospitals. In this sense, assistive technology could play a pivotal role in empowering frail older adults reducing their isolation, as well as in reinforcing the work of formal caregivers and professionals. In this context, the goal of this paper is to present four pilot studies—conducted from March 2020 to April 2021—to promptly react to COVID-19 by providing assistive technology solutions, aiming to (1) guarantee high-quality service to older adults in-home or in residential facility contexts, (2) promote social inclusion, and (3) reduce the virus transmission. In particular, four services, namely, telepresence service, remote monitoring service, virtual visit, and environmental disinfection, were designed, implemented, and tested in real environments involving 85 end-users to assess the user experience and/or preliminary assess the technical feasibility. The results underlined that all the proposed services were generally accepted by older adults and professionals. Additionally, the results remarked that the use of telepresence robots in private homes and residential facilities increased enjoyment reducing anxiety, whereas the monitoring service supported the clinicians in monitoring the discharged COVID-19 patients. It is also worth mentioning that two new services/products were developed to disinfect the environment and to allow virtual visits within the framework of a hospital information system. The virtual visits service offered the opportunity to expand the portfolio of hospital services. The main barriers were found in education, technology interoperability, and ethical/legal/privacy compliance. It is also worth mentioning the key role played by an appropriate design and customer needs analysis since not all assistive devices were designed for older persons.

The paper illustrates some of the ongoing results of the interdepartmental research Prosit “PROgettare in SostenibilITà: qualification and digitalization in construction”, analyzing some of the key steps aimed at testing, within the actual regulatory and technological framework, new possible applications of recycled materials from construction and demolition (C&D) in sustainable and innovative supply chains. In Italy, in particular, about 98% of the non-hazardous waste from C&D activities already in 2018, as documented by the Eurostat’s “Recovery rate of construction and demolition waste” report. Nevertheless, C&D waste is mainly reused for the construction of embankments and road foundations. The research, therefore, identifies in the use of file-to-factory technologies a possible way to extend the scope of the reuse of these resources to realize diversified and non-standard manufactures and components, in the perspective of a greater spread of virtuous practices of circular economy in the construction sector. In this sense, a process “algorithm” is described, designed to be scaled and replicated in different contexts for similar purposes.

A evolução biológica por seleção natural tem sido considerada como uma das ideias científicas mais influentes da história da Ciência, por prover um mecanismo completamente natural para a evolução da biodiversidade, proposta que já tinha sido aventada anteriormente. O conceito de seleção natural talvez tenha demorado tanto a ser concebido, por ter uma natureza populacional, que parece romper com o pensamento tipológico, segundo o qual as variações seriam relegadas a um segundo plano, passando a fazer parte central das populações naturais e ser a própria matéria prima da evolução dos organismos. A partir das ideias originais de Darwin e Wallace, o mecanismo da seleção natural foi sendo elaborado com modelagens matemáticas e generalizado para situações que pareciam desafiá-lo.

Background: Emotion recognition skills are predicted to be fundamental features in social robots. Since facial detection and recognition algorithms are compute-intensive operations, it needs to identify methods that can parallelize the algorithmic operations for large-scale information exchange in real time. The study aims were to identify if traditional machine learning algorithms could be used to assess every user emotions separately, to relate emotion recognizing in two robotic modalities: static or motion robot, and to evaluate the acceptability and usability of assistive robot from an end-user point of view. Methods: Twenty-seven hospital employees (M = 12; F = 15) were recruited to perform the experiment showing 60 positive, negative, or neutral images selected in the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) database. The experiment was performed with the Pepper robot. Concerning experimental phase with Pepper in active mode, a concordant mimicry was programmed based on types of images (positive, negative, and neutral). During the experimentation, the images were shown by a tablet on robot chest and a web interface lasting 7 s for each slide. For each image, the participants were asked to perform a subjective assessment of the perceived emotional experience using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM). After participants used robotic solution, Almere model questionnaire (AMQ) and system usability scale (SUS) were administered to assess acceptability, usability, and functionality of robotic solution. Analysis wasperformed on video recordings. The evaluation of three types of attitude (positive, negative, andneutral) wasperformed through two classification algorithms of machine learning: k-nearest neighbors (KNN) and random forest (RF). Results: According to the analysis of emotions performed on the recorded videos, RF algorithm performance wasbetter in terms of accuracy (mean ± sd = 0.98 ± 0.01) and execution time (mean ± sd = 5.73 ± 0.86 s) than KNN algorithm. By RF algorithm, all neutral, positive and negative attitudes had an equal and high precision (mean = 0.98) and F-measure (mean = 0.98). Most of the participants confirmed a high level of usability and acceptability of the robotic solution. Conclusions: RF algorithm performance was better in terms of accuracy and execution time than KNN algorithm. The robot was not a disturbing factor in the arousal of emotions.

The paper investigates the cultural and technical transformations in architectural design produced by digital technologies, considering ‘data’ as a strategic asset for the definition of new connections between the physical environment, virtuality and digitalization in order to improve the decision-making processes underpinning design choices. The article explores the case of the urban regeneration of the Corradini ex-industrial area in Naples, offering an experimental application of rule-based compliance protocols within a high informative uncertainty context. The application of BIM-based procedures in the early design process stage becomes an opportunity to develop a multi-scenario approach, which employs Code and Model Checking systems as ‘heuristic’ tools to support decisions and enhancing risk management in complex projects.

Background: The Pilots for Healthy and Active Ageing (PHArA-ON) project aimsto ensure reality smart and active living for Europe’s ageing population by creating a set of integrated and highly customizable interoperable open platforms with advanced services, devices, and technologies and tools. The aim of the present study was to determine the needs and preferences of older people and their caregivers for improving healthy and active aging and guiding the technological development of thePHArA-ON system. Methods: A pre-structured interview was administered to older adults, informal caregivers and professional caregivers (including social operators) taking part in the piloting sessions. Results: Interviews were carried out in Umana Persone Social Enterprise R&D Network (UP) in Tuscany, and Ospedale Casa SollievodellaSofferenza (CSS) in Apulia. A total of 22 older adults, 22 informal caregivers, 13 professional caregivers and 4 social operators were recruited. A prioritization analysis of services, according to the stakeholder’s needs, has determined two fundamental need categories: Heath Management (i.e., stimulation and monitoring), and Socialisation (i.e., promoting social inclusion). Conclusions: The main scientific contributions to this study are the following: to design and evaluate technology in the context of healthy and active ageing, to acquire relevant knowledge on user needs to develop technologies that can handle the real life situations of older people, obtain useful insights about the attitude and availability of end-users in using technologies in clinical practice, and to provide important guidelines to improve the PHArA-ON system. Specific experimentation stages were also carried out to understand which kind of technology is more acceptable, and to obtain feedback regarding the development priority related to the impact of the proposed services. Research through fruitful and continuous interaction with the different subjects involved in the development process of the system, as well as with stakeholders, enabled the implementation of a platform which could be further and easily integrated and improved.

Introduction. Telepresence provides clinicians the ability to monitor patients as well to communicate with all the members of the healthcare staff. Covid-19 Units cope with high complexity in providing care and an integration amount the care team and the patients’ relatives should be carried out to obtained successful outcomes and preventing complication. Virtual rounding (VR) has been successfully applied to cope with this task in the last 2000 years in medical units. Covid-19 patients due to safety rules may be prone to isolation and lack of communication with their family. Purpose. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of structured virtual round protocol in a geriatric Covid-19 unit on anxiety and depression for the patients and their relatives. Methodology. All the patients admitted to the geriatric Covid-19 unit from 1 February 2021 to 30 April were studied. Inclusion criteria to the study were the followings: no severe cognitive impairment (MMSE =>24) or neuro sensorial deficits; informed consent to participate to the study. Forty-nine 49 (75% of patients) met the inclusion criteria. All the subject who were found to be eligible to the study underwent a VR standard protocol of care. VR was consisted with: 1) a video call with a tablet device conducted by a psychologist that established a cooperative communication between the health care staff (nurses and MD, their relatives) at the bed sides; 2) a video call with the patient’s relatives in which it was clearly explained the standard care and the role of each healthcare member was also included. Anxiety and depression levels were assessed for the patients at baseline after the end of the protocol by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Patients’ relatives were investigated for depression at baseline and after the end of the protocol by the Beck Depression Inventory- Primary Care (BDI-PC). The Beck Depression Inventory for primary care has seven items with each item rated on a 4-point scale (0–3). It is scored by summing ratings for each item (range 0–21). Items are symptoms of sadness, pessimism, past failure, loss of pleasure, self-dislike, self-criticalness, and suicidal thoughts and wishes. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a self- assessment scale found to be a reliable instrument for detecting states of depression and anxiety. The anxiety and depressive sub-scales are also valid measures of severity of the emotional disorder. The questionnaire comprises seven questions for anxiety and seven questions for depression, and takes 2–5min to complete. For both scales, scores less than 7 indicate non- cases, 8-10 mild, 11-14 moderate, 15-21 severe. JMP software by SAS (v.16) was used for the statistical analysis. Results. The present study included forty-nine 49 patients (67% male), mean age of 69.9 ±14.7 years with one relative for each patient. The average mean of the hospitalization for each patients was 17.6 ± 5.7 days The mean VR duration time was 60±5.5 minutes. VR showed a significant decrease in both Anxiety and depression for patients: (HADS Depression baseline 10.6 ±3.1 vs 6.9 ±2.7 end p

Background/objectives: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating and still untreatable motor neuron disease. The causes of ALS are unknown, but nutritional factors may impact the rate of disease progression. We aimed to ascertain the influence of coffee and tea consumption on ALS progression rate.Subjects/methods: In this multicenter cross-sectional study, we recruited 241 patients, 96 females, and 145 males; the mean age at onset was 59.9 ± 11.8 years. According to El Escorial criteria, 74 were definite ALS, 77 probable, 55 possible, and 35 suspected; 187 patients had spinal onset and 54 bulbar. Patients were categorized into three groups, according to their ΔFS (derived from ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised score and disease duration from onset): slow (81), intermediate (80), and fast progressors (80).Results: Current coffee consumers were 179 (74.3%), 34 (14.1%) were non-consumers, and 22 (9.1%) were former consumers, whereas six (2.5%) consumed decaffeinated coffee only. The log-ΔFS was weakly correlated with the duration of coffee consumption (p = 0.034), but not with the number of cup-years, or the intensity of coffee consumption (cups/day). Current tea consumers were 101 (41.9%), 6 (2.5%) were former consumers, and 134 (55.6%) were non-consumers. Among current and former consumers, 27 (25.2%) consumed only green tea, 51 (47.7%) only black tea, and 29 (27.1%) both. The log-ΔFS was weakly correlated only with the consumption duration of black tea (p = 0.028) but not with the number of cup-years.Conclusions: Our study does not support the hypothesis that coffee or tea consumption is associated with the ALS progression rate.

Background—Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating and untreatable motor neuron disease, smoking and alcohol drinking may impact its progression rate. Objective—To ascertain the influence of smoking and alcohol consumption on ALS progression rates. Methods—Cross-sectional multicenter study, including 241 consecutive patients (145 males), mean age at onset was 59.9 ± 11.8 years. Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption data were collected at recruitment through a validated questionnaire. Patients were categorized into three groups according to ΔFS (derived from the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised and disease duration from onset): slow (n = 81), intermediate (80), and fast progressors (80). Results—Current smokers accounted for 44 (18.3%) of the participants, former smokers accounted for 10 (4.1%), and non-smokers accounted for 187 (77.6%). The age of ALS onset was lower in current smokers than non-smokers, and the ΔFS was slightly, although not significantly, higher for smokers of &gt, 14 cigarettes/day. Current alcohol drinkers accounted for 147 (61.0%) of the participants, former drinkers accounted for 5 (2.1%), and non-drinkers accounted for 89 (36.9%). The log(ΔFS) was weakly correlated only with the duration of alcohol consumption (p = 0.028), but not with the mean number of drinks/day or the drink-years. Conclusions: This cross-sectional multicenter study suggested a possible minor role for smoking in worsening disease progression. A possible interaction with alcohol drinking was suggested.

Nello scenario della digitalizzazione il progetto di architettura si confronta con una condizione epistemologica inedita. Le tecnologie digitali, non semplici strumenti, rappresentano una inconsueta forza di elaborazione del sapere, con un ruolo di mediazione socio-tecnica tra i protagonisti del processo progettuale, nel contesto culturale nel quale si inseriscono. Partendo dall’assunto che il Digitale si sia sviluppato con continuità in una prospettiva di lunga durata, il volume intende riflettere sulle profonde modifiche che le tecnologie digitali stanno determinando nei processi di trasformazione dell’ambiente costruito, con considerazioni sulla possibilità/capacità del progettista di gestire l’innovazione tecnologica in maniera responsabile, prefigurando un futuro capace di guidare la progettualità nel presente. / In a digital scenario the architectural design has to deal with a new epistemological condition. Digital technologies, far from mere tools, represent a significant force in the elaboration of knowledge, taking on the role of elements of socio-technical mediation between the actors of the process in the cultural context in which they act. Starting from the assumption that the Digital did not appear suddenly, but that it evolved continuously in a long-lasting framework, the book wants to reflect on the deep changes that digital technologies are causing on the processes of transformation of the built environment, with considerations about the possibility/ability of the architect to manage technological innovation in a responsible way and to prefigure a future able to guide the design activity today.

The operational/management phase is the one most affected by an ineffective organization of information, which occurred in the previous phases. The activity of this applied research had the objective of verifying the possibility of reducing the problems that arise between the executive phase and the Management phase, through the improvement of the interaction between the different protagonists in the exchange, sharing and updating of informational datasets. The work focused on the case study of the Apple Developer Academy in Naples, the first school in Europe for the development of digital mobile applications, with respect to which the management strategies were simulated starting from the development of an Informational Modeling functional to the operational phase of the spaces., TECHNE - Journal of Technology for Architecture and Environment, TECHNE 18 (2019): Detailed Design

Background/Aims: Life on Earth is constantly exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and the effects induced by EMFs on biological systems have been extensively studied producing different and sometimes contradictory results. Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) have shown to play a role in regulating cell proliferation and differentiation, although how EMFs influence these processes remains unclear. Human acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells are characterized by the arrest of differentiation at the promyelocytic stage due to epigenetic perturbations induced by PML/RARα fusion protein (Promyelocytic Leukemia protein - PML/Retinoic Acid Receptor alpha - RARα). Therapeutic administration of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) re-establishes the leukemogenic mechanism re-inducing the normal differentiation processes. Methods: We studied the effects of ELF-EMFs (50 Hz, 2 mT) on the ATRA-mediated granulocytic differentiation process of APL NB4 cells (a cell line established from the bone marrow of a patient affected by the acute promyelocytic leukemia) by monitoring cellular proliferation and morphology, nitrob lue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction and the expression of differentiation surface markers. Finally, we investigated mechanisms focusing on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and related molecular pathways. Results: ELF-EMF exposure decreases cellular proliferation potential and helps ATRA-treated NB4 cells to mature. Furthermore, the analysis of ROS production and the consequent extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERK1/2) phosphorylation suggest that a changed intracellular oxidative balance may influence the biological effects of ELF-EMFs. Conclusions: These results indicate that the exposure to ELF-EMF promotes ATRA-induced granulocytic differentiation of APL cells.

This paper aims to investigate the possibilities offered by the design and production paradigms of Industry 4.0 in the Architecture, Engineering & Construction industry, through the coordination between systems for the integrated management of the design process (Building Information Modeling) and rapid prototyping tools (Computer-Aided Manufacturing). Is hereby proposed an interpretation of the meaning that an industrial transformation of the AEC industry takes over for the Architectural design, simulating a methodology in a BIM environment for the design of residential buildings in Cold-Formed Steel with drywall envelopes, exploiting the potential of digital manufacturing and computational design advanced tools.

The operational/management phase is the one most affected by an ineffective organization of information, which occurred in the previous phases. The activity of this applied research had the objective of verifying the possibility of reducing the problems that arise between the executive phase and the Management phase, through the improvement of the interaction between the different protagonists in the exchange, sharing and updating of informational datasets. The work focused on the case study of the Apple Developer Academy in Naples, the first school in Europe for the development of digital mobile applications, with respect to which the management strategies were simulated starting from the development of an Informational Modeling functional to the operational phase of the spaces.

We study HTTP video streaming over a wireless access cell, such as LTE. We derive a closed form expression for the probability of timely delivery of the streamed video packets as a function of the bandwidth allocated to the user. The probability expression uses application, transport, and physical layer parameters relating to the employed video stream rate and to the quality of the communications channel. We validate the analytical results via numerical simulations based on the execution of real video traces and with LTE channel quality index trace modeling. The attained results allow the system designer, scheduler, and manager to calculate the bandwidth level that should be allocated to maintain acceptable system performance, expressed by two quality-of-experience (QoE) metrics, namely the video rate and the probability of timely delivery of video packets. The model provides a rationale and tools for performing admission procedures, bandwidth pricing policies, and cell dimensioning designs.

Background: atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common form of alteration in cardiac rhythm and associated with more severe episodes of stroke. Treatment with oral anticoagulants vitamin K antagonists (VKA) such as warfarin, is nowadays the therapy of choice for stroke prevention in patients with AF, but dabigatran etexilate (DE) 150 mg twice daily was more clinically effective than warfarin in reducing the risk of stroke or systemic embolism, ischaemic stroke and vascular mortality whereas DE 110 mg twice daily was non-inferior to warfarin.Aim: to assess the affordability of the use of DE for the Italian NHS, in patients with non-valvular AF (NVAF) through a budget impact analysis (BIA).Methods: the BIA in a timeframe of 5 years was divided into 3 scenarios (1: current management of patients with NVAF; 2: all patients with NVAF treated with VKA; 3: all patients with NVAF treated with DE). The population considered is the one with indication for anticoagulation. Analysis is from the NHS perspective: therefore, indirect costs are excluded.Results: the underuse of oral anticoagulation, associated with the difficulty in keeping the patients treated with VKA within an acceptable therapeutic range, results in an enormous social and human cost, represented by a total of more than 63,000 strokes cumulated in the 5-year period considered. The cumulative cost for the scenario 1 over the 5-year period is over € 2.3 billion. In the scenario 2 the number of strokes avoided per year increases by -5,219 compared to no treatment (-2,368 compared to scenario 1), although the number of events remains high (about 10,000 events/year). In the 5-year observation period the scenario 2 would result in a reduction in the total number of strokes (-12,323 events vs. scenario 1), and savings for the NHS of around 95 million Euros compared to scenario 1. In the Scenario 3 there is a reduction of more than 38,600 of the total cumulative number of strokes vs. the scenario 1 and over 26,200 vs. scenario 2, and savings for the NHS at the fifth year of observation of circa 174 million Euros vs. scenario 1 and 123 million Euros vs. scenario 2.Conclusion: DE in Italy is economically sustainable, as it allows savings for the NHS in the management of patients with NVAF from the second year vs. no treatment and vs. treatment with VKA

Os estudos de associação de genoma inteiro têm encontrado alguns marcadores associados a doenças notoriamente hereditárias com herança complexa, mas, muitas vezes, estes marcadores somente explicam uma pequena parte da herdabilidade. Este relativo insucesso é atribuído, entre outras causas, à epistasia, ou seja, interação entre diferentes locos genéticos. A busca por epistasia é complexa e exige intensos recursos computacionais. Diversos métodos têm sido propostos para abordar este problema, incluindo métodos estatísticos tradicionais, busca estocástica e métodos heurísticos. Poucos destes métodos são capazes de processar as grandes massas de dados produzidas nos estudos caso-controle de genoma inteiro, e ainda menos métodos buscam conjuntos de três ou mais marcadores. A busca exaustiva de conjuntos de marcadores epistáticos é inviável hoje em dia para estes conjuntos, mas o algoritmo BOOST (WAN et al., 2010) mostrou que ela é relativamente fácil para pares de locos, em especial com o uso de placas gráficas como processadores (GPGPU). Partindo deste recente sucesso, propomos um algoritmo em fases para a busca de trios de locos que interagem, utilizando a busca de pares como passo inicial, uma abordagem ainda não utilizada. Outra ideia fundamental do algoritmo proposto é a extensão da concepção de trio de marcadores para um trio de blocos haplotípicos, onde cada bloco é formado por marcadores próximos entre si. Usando os dados do WTCCC, o Troost (de TRio+bOOST) sugeriu trios potencialmente epistáticos em todas a sete doenças. Quando submetidos à confirmação em amostra independente, os trios não puderam ser confirmados, exceto os trios para diabetes tipo 1 (T1D). Duzentos e oito trios foram confirmados para T1D, com baixos valores-P e genótipos combinados de risco com altas razões de chances. Os SNPs que compõem estes trios estão todos na região MHC, sabidamente associada à doença, exceto por um deles que está no cromossomo cinco e não havia sido previamente relacionado à T1D. Genome-wide association studies have found some markers associated with diseases with complex inheritance. However, these markers explain only a fraction of the previously estimated heritability of the trait. This relative failure has been credited, among other causes, to epistasis, i.e. the interaction among genotypes at different loci. The search for epistasis is complex and requires intense computational resources. Many methods have been proposed to approach this problem, including traditional statistics, stochastic search, and heuristic methods. Few of them are capable of extracting, from the large amount of data produced in genome-wide case-control studies, useful information about sets of markers associated with the trait in question. Exhaustive search of sets of interacting markers is unfeasible nowadays for sets of three or more markers, but the BOOST algorithm (WAN et al., 2010) showed that the search is relatively easy for pairs of SNPs, in particular with the use of graphic cards for general processing (GPGPU). Starting from this recent success, we propose an algorithm in phases for the search for trios of interacting loci, using the search for pairs as the initial step, an approach not tried yet, to our knowledge. Another important idea of our algorithm is the extension of the concept of trio of markers to a trio of haplotypic blocks, where each block is formed by neighbor markers. Using data from WTCCC, the Troost (from TRio+bOOST) algorithm suggested potentially epistatic trios in all seven diseases. When submitted to a confirmation in an independent sample, the results could not be confirmed, except for type-1 diabetes (T1D). Two hundred eight trios were confirmed for T1D, with low p-values and risk combined genotypes with high odds ratio. The SNPs that form those trios are all in the MHC region, which is known to be strongly associated to T1D, except by one SNP in chromosome five that has not been previously associated with T1D.

New technologies are needed in structures and services in order to reduce the great energy consumption of buildings. A major share of the energy demand is used for controlling the indoor climate. The requirements are only growing due to tightening regulation and increasing comfort expectations of the users. The wide use of air conditioning systems illustrates this trend. Phase Changing Materials (PCM) open an alternative potential to return a part of cooling needs based upon melting and solidifying properties of some special components within a room temperature range. Thanks to this phenomenon, some degrees of additional control can be achieved. Experimental results from laboratory tests and monitoring results in two rooms of two actual buildings presented in this paper show that gypsum plaster finishings with a thin layer of 5 mm of PCM are favourable to achieve 2 to 5°C reduction in the temperature swing in rooms.

Limb girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders characterised by progressive weakness of the pelvic and shoulder girdle muscles and a great variability in clinical course. LGMD2A, the most prevalent form of LGMD, is caused by mutations in the calpain-3 gene (CAPN-3). More than 100 pathogenic mutations have been identified to date, however few genotype : phenotype correlation studies, including both DNA and protein analysis, have been reported. In this study we screened 26 unrelated LGMD2A Brazilian families (75 patients) through Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP), Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and sequencing of abnormal fragments which allowed the identification of 47 mutated alleles (approximately 90%). We identified two recurrent mutations (R110X and 2362-2363AG>TCATCT) and seven novel pathogenic mutations. Interestingly, 41 of the identified mutations (approximately 80%) were concentrated in only 6 exons (1, 2, 4, 5, 11 and 22), which has important implications for diagnostic purposes. Protein analysis, performed in 28 patients from 25 unrelated families showed that with exception of one patient (with normal/slight borderline reduction of calpain) all others had total or partial calpain deficiency. The effects of type of mutation, amount of calpain in the muscle, gender and ethnicity of affected patients on clinical course (age of onset and ascertainment) were analysed. Interestingly, it was observed that, on average, African–Brazilian calpainopathy patients are more severely affected than Caucasians.

TECHNE - Journal of Technology for Architecture and Environment, TECHNE 8 (2014): Research and project knowledge transfer

Carga genética é definida como a fração de uma população que deixa de sobreviver ou de se reproduzir por causa das características que são determinadas geneticamente. Trata-se, portanto, de um conceito que somente tem sentido populacional. Encontramos, entretanto, esse termo frequentemente empregado erradamente como sinônimo de outros conceitos, tais como “genoma”, “genótipo” ou “patrimônio genético”, especialmente em publicações não especializadas ou em traduções descuidadas. [...]

New technologies in building construction and services are needed in order to reduce the big energy consumption in the building stock from which a major part goes for controlling of indoor climate. On the other hand, performance requirements are growing higher because of both more severe regulations and higher comfort requirements by the users – the wide use of air conditioning systems, also in houses, is just an example of this trend. Integration during the design phase among Architecture, Building Technology and Services is thus much recommended to obtain a more sophisticated “living-environment”, using relatively simple strategies and avoiding extra-costs. It is possible to tackle the problem of energy consumption with stratified lightweight skins and layers, high performance materials and integration of installations, like heat pumps for example or wind turbines, and enhancing the use of renewable energy sources by using devices like solar photovoltaic panels or solar thermal exchanger or simply by preferring natural ventilation and natural shading or re-interpreting low processing materials and using them in a clever way., COST, European Science Foundation

Innovation, according to Schumpeter, is a phenomenon of “creative destruction”. It occurs within history, evolves along with it and constantly transforms it. Innovation has neither age, nor place nor time. In the global village of technological culture, innovation is no longer a choice but a constant of life. Rejecting it can only result in the final exclusion from the modern international community.

A benign tumor of nerve sheath origin occurring in the dermis of a thumb is described. Histologically, these lesions contained nests and cords of large cells surrounded by thin bands of collagen fibers scattered in a myxoid background. The immunocytochemical reaction for S-100 protein was positive.

La ricerca del rapporto fra eco-efficienza e innovazione tecnologica rappresenta uno dei principali ambiti di applicazione di numerosi progettisti impegnati nel campo della sostenibilità. All’interno di tale ambito, l’aspirazione ad un’architettura più “responsabile” è riscontrabile in modo particolarmente evidente nel lavoro dello studio britannico Sheppard Robson, che restituisce una visione dell’architettura intesa come un ininterrotto processo di ridefinizione delle possibili relazioni tra gli aspetti ambientali, sociali ed economici del progetto sostenibile. Nel corso di numerosi decenni Sheppard Robson è riuscito ad occupare un posto centrale nel panorama architettonico, dedicando una specifica attenzione ai temi dell’ambiente, dell’innovazione, del trasferimento tecnologico, della progettazione integrata. Un impegno professionale il cui risultato è l’esito di un atteggiamento mentale tipico di progettisti, architetti e sperimentatori che interpretano la cultura del progetto come possibilità e desiderio di applicare e approfondire il concetto di “nuovo”, dimostrando di saper comprendere e adattare i processi di innovazione tecnologica in atto, per trasformarli in strumenti figurativi. Il testo, esito di una ricerca sviluppata da tempo sui temi della architettura sostenibile nel Regno Unito, presenta, in edizione bilingue, una disamina dei progetti più rappresentativi del gruppo britannico, caratterizzati da una specifica attenzione alle questioni connesse alla eco-efficienza e all’innovazione, ed è corredato da un’intervista ad Alan Shingler, uno dei principali soci di Sheppard Robson e responsabile del settore “sostenibilità”. The relationship between eco-efficiency and technological innovation represents one of the most important areas of application for numerous architects interested in sustainability. Within this area, the aspiration to a more “responsible” architecture is particularly evident in the work of Sheppard Robson, that returns a vision of architecture conceived as a non-stop process of redefinition of the possible relationships among environmental, social and economic aspects of the sustainable project. During several decades Sheppard Robson has succeeded in occupying a central place in British architectural panorama devoting, since its formation, specific attention to the issues of environment, innovation, technological transfer, integrated design. A professional commitment that is the result of a mental attitude typical of designers, architects and experimenters that interpret the design culture as possibility and desire to apply and to deepen the concept of “new”, showing to know how to understand and adapt the processes of technological innovation in action, transforming them in figurative tools. The work, result of a research developed for a long time on the issues on sustainable architecture in the United Kingdom, presents, in bilingual edition, an exam of the most representative projects of the British group, characterized by a specific attention to the issues of eco-efficiency and innovation, and contains an interview to Alan Shingler, one of the principal partners of Sheppard Robson and responsible of the sector “sustainability”.

Orientador: Vera Nisaka Solferini, Jose Roberto Trigo Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia Resumo: Uma filogenia dos membros Neotropicais da tribo Troidini (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) foi obtida a partir da seqüência de três genes codificadores de proteínas: dois mitocondriais (COI e COII) e um nuclear (EF-1?). Análises de Parcimônia e Bayesiana de 33 taxa resultaram em árvores bastante similares, independentemente do método utilizado, com os 27 Troidini sempre formando um ramo monofilético. O gênero Battus é grupo irmão dos demais Troidini, seguido pelo ramo formado pelos taxa Paleotropicais (aqui representados por três espécimes). O gênero Euryades é o próximo ramo, e grupo irmão dos Parides. O gênero Parides é monofilético, e está dividido em quatro grupos principais pela análise de Máxima Parcimônia, com o grupo mais basal composto das espécies com cauda do SE do Brasil. Otimizações de Caráter de dados ecológicos e morfológicos sobre a filogenia proposta para os troidines indicaram que o uso de várias espécies de Aristolochia é o caráter ancestral, ao invés do uso de poucas ou de uma única planta hospedeira. Para os outros três caracteres, os estados ancestrais foram ausência de uma cauda longa, floresta como habitat primário e oviposição de ovos solitários ou em grupos dispersos de vários ovos. Uma filogenia baseada no gene cloroplástico matK e na região não-codificadora entre os genes trnL-trnF, e uma relação química baseada no seu padrão de sesquiterpenos, foram propostas para as plantas do gênero Aristolochia do SE do Brasil. Aristolochia é um gênero monofilético, cujo estado ancestral é a presença de ácidos aristolóquicos (AAs) nas suas folhas. Espécies consideradas derivadas mostram apenas ácidos labdanóicos (LAs) nas folhas. A relação fenética recuperada com os sesquiterpenos não concorda com a relação filogenética para as Aristolochia, e três grupos principais podem ser reconhecidos: germacreno-D, germacreno-C e Z-cariofileno. A distribuição de AAs e LAs sobre a filogenia de Aristolochia pode ser vista como um resultado da evolução de defesas contra herbivoria de insetos fitófagos através da história evolutiva destas plantas. Por outro lado, a diferenciação das estruturas dos sesquiterpenos em espécies filogeneticamente próximas pode ser hipotetizada como resultado de adaptações relacionadas à atração de polinizadores. Análises filogenéticas foram conduzidas para se determinar relações e para investigar a evolução de caracteres na evolução da interação entre Troidini e Aristolochia, tentando responder as seguintes questões: 1) qual o padrão de utilização de Aristolochia por estas borboletas? 2) o padrão visto atualmente está relacionado à filogenia das plantas ou à sua composição química? 3) a distribuição geográfica das Aristolochia pode explicar a utilização de plantas hospedeiras observada atualmente? e 4) como a interação entre Troidini e Aristolochia evoluiu? Foi encontrada uma congruência significativa entre as filogenias de Troidini e Aristolochia e entre a filogenia dos Troidini e o quimiograma de Aristolochia quando apenas as associações com as plantas hospedeiras preferenciais de Troidini foram consideradas. No entanto, o padrão atual do uso de plantas hospedeiras não parece ser limitado pela filogenia das mesmas, nem pelos químicos secundários encontrados nestas plantas nem pela sua similaridade geográfica. O uso atual de plantas hospedeiras nestas borboletas parece ser simplesmente oportunístico, com espécies com uma ampla distribuição geográfica usando mais espécies de plantas hospedeiras do que aquelas com distribuição mais restrita Abstract: A phylogeny of the Neotropical members of the tribe Troidini (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) was obtained with sequences of three protein-coding genes: two mitochondrial (COI and COII) and one nuclear (EF-1?). Parsimony and Bayesian analyses of 33 taxa resulted in very similar trees regardless of method used, with the 27 troidines always forming a monophyletic clade. The genus Battus is sister group to the remaining troidines, followed by a clade formed by the Paleotropical taxa (here represented by three specimens). The genus Euryades is the next branch, and sister group of Parides. The genus Parides is monophyletic, and is divided into four main groups by Maximum Parsimony analysis, with the most basal group composed of tailed species restricted to SE Brazil. Character optimization of ecological and morphological traits over the phylogeny proposed for troidines indicated that the use of several species of Aristolochia is ancestral over the use of few or a single host-plant. For the other three characters, the ancestral states were the absence of long tails, forest as the primary habitat and oviposition solitary or in loose group of several eggs. A molecular phylogeny based both on the plastid gene matK and on the non-coding region between the genes trnL-trnF, and a chemical relationship based on their sesquiterpenes pattern, were proposed for plants in the genus Aristolochia from SE Brazil. Aristolochia is a monophyletic genus, whose ancestral state is the presence of aristolochic acids (AAs) in the leaves. Species considered derived show only labdanoic acids (LAs) in leaves. The phenetic relationship recovered with sesquiterpenes does not agree with the phylogenetic relationships for Aristolochia, and three main clusters can be recognized, germacrene-D, germacrene-C and Z-caryophyllene groups. The distribution of AAs and LAs over the phylogeny of Aristolochia can be viewed as a result of the evolution of defenses against herbivory of phytophagous insects through the evolutionary history of these plants. On the other hand, the differentiation of sesquiterpene structures in species phylogenetically close can be suggested to be adaptations related to attraction of pollinators. Molecular phylogenetic analyses were conducted to determine relationships and to investigate character evolution in the Troidini/Aristolochia interaction, trying to answer the following questions: 1) what is the present pattern of use of Aristolochia by these butterflies? 2) is the pattern we see today related to the phylogeny of plants or to their chemical composition? 3) can the geographical distribution of Aristolochia explain the host-plant use observed today? and 4) how did the interaction between Troidini and Aristolochia evolve? We found a significant congruence between the phylogenies of Troidini and Aristolochia and between the phylogeny of Troidini and the chemogram of Aristolochia when only the preferred host-plant associations were considered. However, the current pattern of host-plant use of these butterflies does not seem to be constrained by the phylogeny of their food plants, neither by the secondary chemicals in these plants nor by their geographical similarity. The current host-plant use in these butterflies seems to be simply opportunistic, with species with a wide geographical range using more species of host-plants than those with a more restricted distribution Doutorado Ecologia Doutor em Ecologia

Orientadores: Louis Bernard Klaczko, Ana Maria L. Azeredo-Espin Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia Resumo: O grupo tripunctata e o segundo maior grupo neotropical de Drosophila em numero de espécies e foi incluído na radiação tripunctata ¿ que inclui outros grupos próximos. O segundo cromossomo de Drosophila medipunctata (espécie que pertence ao grupo tripunctata) e altamente polimorfico para inversões. Trabalhos anteriores sugeriram a presença de interação genotipo-ambiente para tamanho da asa, mas não para forma. Experimentos de laboratório foram realizados para testar os efeitos combinados de temperatura e inversão cromossômica no tamanho e forma da asa de D. mediopuncta. A morfologia da asa foi analisada por métodos de morfometria geométrica. Os resultados mostraram que tamanho e forma da asa são influenciados por temperatura, sexo e cariótipo. Também foram encontradas evidencias que sugeriram a existência entre os efeitos de cariótipo e temperatura para forma da asa, mas nao para tamanho, indicando a presença de interação genotipo-ambiente para forma da asa em D. mediopunctata. Sugerimos que outros fatores ecológicos ¿ tais como densidade de larvas ¿ ou variação sazonal de conteúdo genético das inversões poderia explicar os resultados anteriores. Alem disso, uma nova hipótese filogenética para a radiação tripunctata e sugerida com base em dados de seqüências dos genes mitocôndrias das subunidades I e II da citocromo oxidase, e a variação de tamanho e forma da asa e descrita com bases na nova hipótese filogenética. As arvores filogenéticas foram reconstruídas por métodos de parcimônia, máxima verossimilhança e inferência Bayesiana. Os resultados rejeitaram a hipótese de monofila para o grupo tripunctata, enquanto esta hipótese não foi rejeitada para a radiação tripunctata e outros grupos específicos dentro da radiação. Ambos tamanho e forma da asa apresentaram sinal filogenético e diferentes padrões de tamanho e forma puderam ser identificados para cada um dos agrupamentos mais importantes detectados pela analise filogenética Abstract: The tripunctata group is the second largest Neotropical group of Drosophila in number of species and was included in the tripunctata radiation ¿ which comprises other closely related groups. The second chromosome of Drosophila mediopunctata (a species that belongs to the tripunctata group) is highly polymorphic for inversions. Previous work suggested the presence of genotype-environment interaction for wing size but not for shape. We performed experiments in the laboratory to test for the joint effects of temperature and chromosome inversions on size and shape of the wing in D. mediopunctata. Wing morphology was analyzed by methods of geometric morphometrics. Our findings show that wing size and shape are influenced by temperature, sex, and karyotype. We also found evidence suggestive of an interaction between the effects of karyotype and temperature on wing shape (but not for size), indicating the existence of genotype-environment interaction for wing shape in D. mediopunctata. We suggest that other ecological factors ¿ such as larval crowding ¿ or seasonal variation of genetic content within inversions may explain the previous results. Moreover, we suggest a new phylogenetic hypothesis for the tripunctata radiation based on sequences of mitochondrial genes of cytochrome oxidase subunits I and II, and describe wing size and shape variation in different species based on this new phylogenetic hypothesis. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed by parsimony, maximum likelihood and bayesian inference. Results reject the monophyly hypothesis for the tripunctata group whereas monophyly is not rejected for the tripunctata radiation and other specific groups within the radiation. Both wing size and shape displayed phylogenetic signal and different patterns of size and shape could be identified for each of the most important clusters detected by phylogenetic analysis Doutorado Genética Animal e Evolução Doutor em Genética e Biologia Molecular

Orientador: Vera Nisaka Solferini Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia Resumo: Tomoplagia reticulata (Diptera: Tephritidae) é um fitófago especialista em Eremanthus glomerulatus (Asteraceae). Os adultos ovipõem nas inflorescências da planta hospedeira, onde as larvas se desenvolvem. O histórico de coletas de T. reticulata mostra uma grande variação na quantidade de insetos infestando cada indivíduo de E. glomerulatus. A fim de verificar se a variação no número de herbívoros nas populações do hospedeiro é associada a alguma característica química e/ou genética deste, comparamos as variabilidades genética e química entre indivíduos de E. glomerulatus com diferentes níveis de infestação por T. reticulata (cap. 1). Eremanthus glomerulatus tem baixa variabilidade genética, provavelmente associada à distribuição restrita desta espécie. Apesar da distribuição fragmentada, há pouca estruturação entre as populações desta planta, explicada pelo maior fluxo gênico entre ambientes fragmentados em espécies anemocóricas. As características genéticas e químicas de E. glomerulatus não explicam a variação no nível de herbivoria das populações do hospedeiro. No capítulo 2, testamos a hipótese de que fitófagos especialistas apresentam maior diferenciação genética e menor diversidade do que generalistas, comparando o nível de variabilidade e estrutura genética de T. reticulata com o de outros fitófagos com diferentes amplitudes de hospedeiro. As populações de T. reticulata apresentaram baixa variabilidade e grande estruturação genética, o que é associado à distribuição fragmentada da planta hospedeira, que restringe a distribuição das pequenas populações do inseto. No capítulo 3, caracterizamos a composição genética das populações de Tomoplagia reticulata e de T. pallens, uma espécie irmã. Ambas as espécies parasitam E. glomerulatus; T. reticulata ocorre em MG e T. pallens em GO. Há uma zona de contato entre as espécies no Sul de MG, onde elas hibridizam. Ocasionalmente T. pallens chega ao centro de MG (Santana do Riacho), região mais fria. Esta migração provavelmente está associada a anos excepcionalmente quentes. Abstract: Tomoplagia reticulata (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a phytophagous insect which is specialist on Eremanthus glomerulatus (Asteraceae). Adults oviposit in flower heads, where larvae develop. Sampling records for T. reticulata show that there is great variation in the number of insects parasitizing each plant. To verify if this variation is associated with chemical or genetic characteristics of the host plant, we assayed E. glomerulatus' genetic and chemical variability and compared between individuals with different levels of infestation by T. reticulata (chapter 1). Eremanthus glomerulatus has low genetic variability, probably related to its narrow geographic distribution. There is low genetic structure among populations despite its fragmented distribution, due to enhance gene flow in fragmented habitats in anemocoric species. E. glomerulatus' chemical and genetic characteristics don't explain variation in herbivory. In chapter 2, we tested the hypothesis that herbivorous insect species with narrow diet breadth are expected to be more prone to genetic differentiation and lower genetic diversity than insect species with a wider diet breadth, comparing T. reticulata's genetic variability and structure with other phytophagous with different host ranges. Tomoplagia reticulata has low genetic variability and great genetic structure, which is associated with its host fragmented distribution that restricts the distribution of insect populations. In chapter 3, we described genetic composition of Tomoplagia reticulata and T. pallens, a sister species. Both of them parasitize E. glomerulatus; T. reticulata occurs in MG and T. pallens in GO. There is a contact zone between them in southern MG, where they hybridize. Occasionally, T. pallens arrives in the center of MG (Santana do Riacho), a colder region. This migration is probably associated with extremely hot years. Doutorado Genética Animal e Evolução Doutor em Genética e Biologia Molecular

Il saggio descrive alcuni aspetti originali dell'opera di Renzo Piano e del lavoro del RPBW nell'arco degli ultimi 50 anni. In particolare, il saggio mette in luce il carattere artigianale e sperimentale del lavoro dell'architetto genovese e del valore altamente umanistico del suo magistero all'interno del suo studio/laboratorio

O sexo é inerente à vida eucariótica. Distante do senso comum, sexo pode ser definido como plasmogamia (fusão celular) seguida, eventualmente, de meiose. Ambos os processos são fundamentais para qualquer ciclo de vida sexual e requerem uma maquinaria específica. Muitos componentes desta maquinaria já foram identificados e permanecem altamente conservados entre as linhagens mais distantes, realizando basicamente as mesmas funções em todos os grupos. Esta caixa de ferramentas da meiose pode ser usada como uma indicação de processos meióticos, mesmo quando tais processos não foram observados ainda. Mesmo que o ancestral de todos os eucariotos seja presumidamente sexuado, alguns grupos são tratados como assexuais por muitos autores na literatura baseados na falta de ciclos sexuais observáveis em cultura. Entre estes \'assexuais\' estão as amebas pertencentes a Amoebozoa, um super-grupo eucariótico. Muitas linhagens de Amoebozoa são consideradas assexuadas, mas alguns gêneros mais bem estudados dentro do super-grupo foram demonstrados como sendo plenamente sexuados, por exemplo, Trichosphaerium, Physarum, Dictyostelium. Alguns outros gêneros exibem evidências indiretas para processos sexuais e podem ser sexuadas também. A ocorrência de organismos sexuais dentro de Amoebozoa aponta para um ancestral sexuado para o super-grupo inteiro, de outra maneira o sexo teria que ter evoluído novamente em Amoebozoa, o que não seria uma visão parcimoniosa. Nós coletamos dados moleculares de várias linhagens de Amoebozoa com representativos da maior parte de sua diversidade conhecida e procuramos um caixa de ferramentas estendida, com adição da maquinaria da plasmogamia. Como resultado, pudemos encontrar todos os componentes desta maquinaria em basicamente todos os grupos de Amoebozoa. Estes resultados não só suportam a ocorrência de ciclos sexuais em todo o grupo Amoebozoa, mas também um provável alto nível de conservação para os principais processos sexuais. Adicionalmente, realizamos análises similares para toda a diversidade eucariótica conhecida com resultados similares, exceto para alguns grupos isolados. Reconstruções profundas também forneceram evidências para uma nova história evolutiva para o sistema de reparo de bases mal-pareadas (mismatch-repair) em eucariontes, um mecanismo de reparo de DNA que integra a maquinaria da meiose. Todos os resultados apontam para uma origem arqueal para a maquinaria meiótica e para uma ampla presença de processos sexuais em basicamente todos os eucariontes Sex is an inherent part of eukaryotic life. Far from the common sense, sex can be defined as plasmogamy (cell fusion) eventually followed by meiosis. Both processes are fundamental to any sexual life cycle and require a specific machinery. Several components of this machinery have been already identified and remain highly conserved among the most distantly related eukaryotic lineages, performing basically the same functions in all groups. This meiosis toolkit may be used as an indication of sexual processes, even when such processes have not been observed yet. Even though the ancestor of all eukaryotes is assumed to be sexual, some eukaryotic groups are normally treated as asexuals by many authors in the literature based on the lack of observable sexual cycles in culture. Among these \'asexuals\' are the amoebae belonging to Amoebozoa, a major eukaryotic supergroup. Several lineages of Amoebozoa are considered asexual, but some well studied genera inside this supergroup were demonstrated to be fully sexual, i.e., Trichosphaerium, Physarum, Dictyostelium. Some other genera exhibit indirect evidence for sexual processes and may be sexual as well. The occurrence of sexual organisms inside Amoebozoa points to a sexual ancestor for the whole supergroup, otherwise sex would have to evolve again in Amoebozoa, not exactly a parsimonious view. We collected molecular data from several amoebozoan lineages with representatives of most of its known diversity and searched for an expanded meiosis toolkit, adding the plasmogamy machinery to it. As a result, we were able to find every component of this machinery in basically all amoebozoan groups. These results support not only the occurrence of sexual processes in all Amoebozoa, but also a probable high level of conservation for mains sexual processes. Additionally, we performed similar analyses for all known eukaryotic diversity with similar results, except for a few isolated groups. Deep reconstructions also provided evidence for a new evolutionary history for the mismatch-repair system in eukaryotes, a DNA repair mechanism that is part of the meiotic machinery. All results point to an archaeal origin for the meiotic machinery and for a widespread presence of sexual processes in basically all eukaryotes

Il saggio affronta il tema del progetto di architettura introducendo la dimensione ecologica come nuovo orizzonte di senso per comprendere le opportunità offerte dalla diffusione delle tecnologie digitali per generare una nuova cultura tecnologica in sintonia che sappia intepretare le istanze provenienti dal mondo naturale.