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El tractat mencionat al subtitol es G.B. Caccialupi's Tractatus de modo studendi in utroque iure per decem documenta, cum nominibus omnium scribentium in iure, tam canonistarum quam legistarum, usque ad haec tempora Segon impresor tret del colofó Data al colofó: 1596 Signatures: A-3F8 Texto a dos col.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the primary disease model of multiple sclerosis (MS), one of the most diffused neurological diseases characterized by fatigue, muscle weakness, vision loss, anxiety and depression. EAE can be induced through injection of myelin peptides to susceptible mouse or rat strains. In particular, EAE elicited by the autoimmune reaction against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) presents the common features of human MS: inflammation, demyelination and axonal loss. Optic neuritis affects visual pathways in both MS and in several EAE models. Neurophysiological evaluation through visual evoked potential (VEP) recording is useful to check visual pathway dysfunctions and to test the efficacy of innovative treatments against optic neuritis. For this purpose, we investigate the extent of VEP abnormalities in the dark agouti (DA) rat immunized with MOG, which develops a relapsing–remitting disease course. Together with the detection of motor signs, we acquired VEPs during both early and late stages of EAE, taking advantage of a non-invasive recording procedure that allows long follow-up studies. The validation of VEP outcomes was determined by comparison with ON histopathology, aimed at revealing inflammation, demyelination and nerve fiber loss. Our results indicate that the first VEP latency delay in MOG-EAE DA rats appeared before motor deficits and were mainly related to an inflammatory state. Subsequent VEP delays, detected during relapsing EAE phases, were associated with a combination of inflammation, demyelination and axonal loss. Moreover, DA rats with atypical EAE clinical course tested at extremely late time points, manifested abnormal VEPs although motor signs were mild. Overall, our data demonstrated that non-invasive VEPs are a powerful tool to detect visual involvement at different stages of EAE, prompting their validation as biomarkers to test novel treatments against MS optic neuritis.

The valorization of residual biomass plays today a decisive role in the concept of &ldquo, circular economy&rdquo, according to which each waste material must be reused to its maximum extent. The collection and energy valorization at the local level of biomass from forest management practices and wildfire prevention cutting can be settled in protected areas to contribute to local decarbonization, by removing power generation from fossil fuels. Despite the evident advantages of bioenergy systems, several problems still hinder their diffusion, such as the need to assure their reliability by extending the operating range with materials of different origin. The Italian project &ldquo, INNOVARE&mdash, Innovative plants for distributed poly-generation by residual biomass&rdquo, funded by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE), has the main scope of improving micro-cogeneration technologies fueled by biomass. A micro-combined heat and power (mCHP) unit was chosen as a case study to discuss pros and cons of biomass-powered cogeneration within a national park, especially due to its flexibility of use. The availability of local biomasses (woodchips, olive milling residuals) was established by studying the agro-industrial production and by identifying forest areas to be properly managed through an approach using a satellite location system based on the microwave technology. A detailed synergic numerical and experimental characterization of the selected cogeneration system was performed in order to identify its main inefficiencies. Improvements of its operation were optimized by acting on the engine control strategy and by also adding a post-treatment system on the engine exhaust gas line. Overall, the electrical output was increased by up to 6% using the correct spark timing, and pollutant emissions were reduced well below the limits allowed by legislation by working with a lean mixture and by adopting an oxidizing catalyst. Finally, the global efficiency of the system increased from 45.8% to 63.2%. The right blending of different biomasses led to an important improvement of the reliability of the entire plant despite using an agrifood residual, such as olive pomace. It was demonstrated that the use of this biomass is feasible if its maximum mass percentage in a wood matrix mixture does not exceed 25%. The project was concluded with a real operation demonstration within a national park in Southern Italy by replacing a diesel genset with the analyzed and improved biomass-powered plant and by proving a decisive improvement of air quality in the real environment during exercise.

This paper investigates swelling-induced shaping in bilayer thin plates. Sphere-like and nearly developable shapes are realized and the ability to control a specific shaping, shifting from one shape to another, under anisotropic swelling is investigated. It is shown that reinforcing fibers can be crucial in controlling shaping under swelling and dramatically affect the characteristics of the final shapes.

BACKGROUND: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Generic-30 Set (previously referred to as Rehabilitation Set) is a minimal set of ICF categories for reporting and assessing functioning and disability in clinical populations with different health conditions along the continuum of care. Recently, the Italian Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (SIMFER) developed an Italian modification of the simple and intuitive descriptions (SID) of these categories. This study was the first one to implement the use of the SID in practice. AIM: The main aims of this study are: 1) to implement the use of the ICF in clinical practice and research among Italian Residents in PRM, and 2) to verify if the SID made the application of ICF Generic 30 Set more user-friendly than the original descriptions; 3) to examine the prevalence of functioning problems of patients accessing Rehabilitation Services to serve as reference for the development of an ICF-based clinical data collection tool. DESIGN: Multicenter cross-sectional study. SETTING: Italian Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PRM) outpatient rehabilitation services. POPULATION: Patients referring to Italian PRM outpatient rehabilitation services and Italian Residents in PRM. METHODS: Each School of Specialization involved, randomly, received the ICF Generic-30 Set with the original descriptions or with the SID. Residents collected over a 4-month period (April-July 2016) patients data related to the ICF Generic-30 Set categories. Moreover, the residents self-assessed their difficulty in using the ICF Generic-30 Set with the original descriptions or with the SID, through a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). RESULTS: Ninety-three residents collected functioning data of 864 patients (mean aged 57.7±19.3) with ICF Generic-30 Set: 304 with the original descriptions and 560 with SID. The difficulty in using the ICF Generic-30 Set with SID was rated as lower than using the original descriptions (NRS 2.8±2.5 vs. 3.5±3.1; P

This paper investigates swelling-induced eversion and flattening in curved bilayer gel beams. An explicit formula is produced to evaluate the change in curvature induced by large swelling deformations. The validity is tested against a fully coupled nonlinear three–dimensional stress-diffusion model. Limit situations for nearly-homogeneous and slightly curved beams are discussed.

During a research cruise carried out in April 2010, aimed at updating the knowledge on the biodiversity of the Santa Maria di Leuca (SML) cold-water coral province (Mediterranean Sea), a facies of the sea pen Kophobelemnon stelliferum (Muller, 1776) was found on mud-dominated bottoms. This finding represents a new species and a new habitat record from the SML coral province as well as a new bathyal facies in the whole Central Mediterranean Sea. The colonies were collected using an epi-benthic sledge, at depths between 400 and 470 m. A significant positive relationship between polyp number and colony length was detected. Density of the colonies ranged from 0.003 to 0.038 N m 2. Differences and affinities between Mediterranean and Atlantic occurrences of K. stelliferum are discussed.

We evaluated the dynamics of innate and adaptive immunity in patients treated with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) during primary human immunodeficiency virus infection (PHI), enrolled in a prospective randomized trial (MAIN, EUDRACT 2008-007004-29). After 48 weeks of cART, we documented a reduction in activated B cells and CD8 + T cells. Natural killer cell and dendritic cell frequencies were measured and a decrease in CD16 + CD56 dim with a reciprocal rise in CD56 high natural killer cells and an increase in myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells were recorded. In conclusion, 48 weeks of cART during PHI showed significant benefits for both innate and adaptive immunity.

In time processing, the role of different cortical areas is still under investigation. Event-related potentials (ERPs) represent valuable indices of neural timing mechanisms in the millisecond-to-second domain. We used an interference approach by repetitive TMS (rTMS) on ERPs and behavioral performance to investigate the role of different cortical areas in processing basic temporal information. Ten healthy volunteers were requested to decide whether time intervals between two tones (S1-S2, probe interval) were shorter (800 ms), equal to, or longer (1200 ms) than a previously listened 1000-ms interval (target interval) and press different buttons accordingly. This task was performed at the baseline and immediately after a 15-min-long train of 1-Hz rTMS delivered over the supplementary motor area, right posterior parietal cortex, right superior temporal gyrus, or an occipital control area. Task accuracy, reaction time, and ERPs during (contingent negative variation, CNV) and after the presentation of probe intervals were analyzed. At the baseline, CNV amplitude was modulated by the duration of the probe interval. RTMS had no significant effect on behavioral or ERP measures. These preliminary data suggest that stimulated cortical areas are less crucially involved than other brain regions (e.g. subcortical structures) in the explicit discrimination of auditory time intervals in the range of hundreds of milliseconds.

Introduction Understanding the mechanisms by which some individuals are able to naturally control HIV-1 infection is an important goal of AIDS research. We here describe the case of an HIV-1+ woman, CASE1, who has spontaneously controlled her viremia for the last 14 of her 20 years of infection. Methods CASE1 has been clinically monitored since 1993. Detailed immunological, virological and histological analyses were performed on samples obtained between 2009 and 2011. Results As for other Elite Controllers, CASE1 is characterized by low to undetectable levels of plasma HIV-1 RNA, peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) associated HIV-1 DNA and reduced in vitro susceptibility of target cells to HIV-1 infection. Furthermore, a slow rate of virus evolution was demonstrated in spite the lack of assumption of any antiretroviral agent. CASE1 failed to transmit HIV-1 to either her sexual male partner or to her child born by vaginal delivery. Normal values and ratios of T and B cells were observed, along with normal histology of the intestinal mucosa. Attempts to isolate HIV-1 from her PBMC and gut-derived cells were unsuccessful, despite expression of normal cell surface levels of CD4, CCRC5 and CXCR4. CASE1 did not produce detectable anti-HIV neutralizing antibodies in her serum or genital mucosal fluid although she displayed potent T cell responses against HIV-1 Gag and Nef. CASE1 also possessed multiple genetic polymorphisms, including HLA alleles (B*14, B*57, C*06 and C*08.02) and HLA-C single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, rs9264942 C/C and rs67384697 del/del), that have been previously individually associated with spontaneous control of plasma viremia, maintenance of high CD4+ T cell counts and delayed disease progression. Conclusions CASE1 has controlled her HIV-1 viremia below the limit of detection in the absence of antiretroviral therapy for more than 14 years and has not shown any sign of immunologic deterioration or disease progression. Co-expression of multiple protective HLA alleles, HLA-C SNPs and strong T cell responses against HIV-1 proteins are the most likely explanation of this very benign case of spontaneous control of HIV-1 disease progression. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-014-0335-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The recent classification of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) A and B, previously considered as two variants of the same virus, as two distinct herpesvirus species, emphasizes the need to develop and standardize specific methods for their detection and quantitation for clinical use. The development of two highly sensitive calibrated real-time PCR to quantify HHV-6A and -6B variants in clinical specimen is described. Both assays displayed the same wide linear dynamic range from 10(0) to 10(6) copies of viral DNA in a single reaction and sensitivity of one copy/reaction. These systems allow for HHV-6A/B DNA load quantitation in different types of clinical specimens: blood or tissue cells when combined with the CCR5 assay; cell-free samples (plasma or other biological fluids) in combination with the calibrator technology. Due to the absence of cross-amplification and cross-hybridization, these methods detect minute amounts of one viral species even in the presence of a large excess of the other, allowing a specific quantitation of both viruses in the case of mixed infections. The new qPCR methods provide sensitive and specific tool for monitoring HHV-6A/B DNA load in clinical samples, facilitating the study of these viruses in human diseases.

Non-conventional strategies with nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor-sparing regimens in antiretroviral naive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) -infected patients have been explored in clinical trials. A prospective, open-label, randomized (1:1), multicentre, proof-of-concept trial (VEMAN study, EUDRACT number 2008-006287-11) was conducted assigning HIV-infected naive patients to once-daily maraviroc plus lopinavir/ritonavir (MVC group) or to tenofovir/emtricitabine plus lopinavir/ritonavir (TDF/FTC group). Clinical and laboratory data were collected at baseline, and after 4, 12, 24, 36 and 48 weeks with the objective to evaluate the 48-week virological and immunological efficacy. HIV-1 DNA load and CD4(+) T-cell subsets were analysed on frozen peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected at baseline, 4 and 48 weeks to explore the trend in HIV reservoirs. Fifty patients were randomized and included in the analysis. During follow up, HIV-1 RNA decreased similarly in both groups and, at week 48, all patients in the MVC group and 22/24 (96%) in the TDF/FTC group had < 50 copies/ml of HIV-1 RNA. CD4(+) trend during follow up was higher in maraviroc-treated patients (MVC group: 286 (183-343) versus TDF/FTC group: 199 (125-285); Mann-Whitney U-test: p 0.033). A significant 48-week increase of CCR5(+) CD4(+) T cells and CD4(+) effector memory cells was observed among maraviroc-treated patients (Wilcoxon signed rank test: p 0.016 and p 0.007, respectively). No significant variations were found in naive and central memory CD4(+) T cells. Among naive patients with an R5 virus, treatment with maraviroc and lopinavir/ritonavir was shown to provide a virological response compared to a triple therapy and a greater immunological benefit.