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Like other components of Semantic Web-based applications, ontologies are evolving over time to reflect changes in the real world. Several of these applications require keeping a full-fledged history of ontology changes so that both ontology instance versions and their corresponding ontology schema versions are maintained. Updates to an ontology instance could be non-conservative that is leading to a new ontology instance version no longer conforming to the current ontology schema version. If, for some reasons, a non-conservative update has to be executed, in spite of its consequence, it requires the production of a new ontology schema version to which the new ontology instance version is conformant so that the new ontology version produced by the update is globally consistent. In this paper, we first propose an approach that supports ontology schema changes which are triggered by non-conservative updates to ontology instances and, thus, gives rise to an ontology schema versioning driven by instance updates. Note that in an engineering perspective, such an approach can be used as an incremental ontology construction method driven by the modification of instance data, whose exact structure may not be completely known at the initial design time. After that, we apply our proposal to the already established [Formula: see text]OWL (Temporal OWL 2) framework, which allows defining and evolving temporal OWL 2 ontologies in an environment that supports temporal versioning of both ontology instances and ontology schemas, by extending it to also support the management of non-conservative updates to ontology instance versions. Last, we show the feasibility of our approach by dealing with its implementation within a new release of the [Formula: see text] OWL-Manager tool.

PurposeAny XML schema definition can be organized according to one of the following design styles: “Russian Doll”, “Salami Slice”, “Venetian Blind” and “Garden of Eden” (with the additional “Bologna” style actually representing absence of style). Conversion from a design style to another can facilitate the reuse and exchange of schema specifications encoded using the XML schema language. Without any computer-aided engineering support, style conversions must be performed very carefully as they are difficult and error-prone operations. The purpose of this paper is to efficiently deal with such XML schema design style conversions.Design/methodology/approachA general approach, named StyleVolution, for automatic management of XML schema design style conversions, is proposed. StyleVolution is equipped with a suite of seven procedures: four for converting a valid XML schema from any other design style to the “Garden of Eden” style, which has been chosen as a normalized XML schema format, and three for converting from the “Garden of Eden” style to any of the other desired design styles.FindingsProcedures, algorithms and methods for XML schema design style conversions are presented. The feasibility of the approach has been shown through the encoding (using the XQuery language) and the testing (with the Altova XMLSpy 2019 tool) of a suite of seven ready-to-use procedures. Moreover, four test procedures are provided for checking the conformance of a given input XML schema to a schema design style.Originality/valueThe proposed approach implements a new technique for efficiently managing XML schema design style conversions, which can be used to make any given XML schema file to conform to a desired design style.

The contribution traces the origins of the differentiated regionalism referred to in art. 116.3 of the Constitution in the original project by the Honorable Gaspare Ambrosini presented to the Constituent Assembly

The multiplicity of systems affected in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains calls for multi-target therapies. Although mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are promising candidates, their clinical application is limited because of risks related to their direct implantation in the host. This could be overcome by exploiting their paracrine action. We herein demonstrate that in vivo systemic administration of secretome collected from MSC exposed in vitro to AD mouse brain homogenates (MSC-CS), fully replicates the cell-mediated neuroreparative effects in APP/PS1 AD mice. We found a complete but transient memory recovery by 7 days, which vanished by 14 days, after a single MSC-CS intravenous administration in 12-month or 22–24-month-old mice. Treatment significantly reduced plaque load, microglia activation, and expression of cytokines in astrocytes in younger, but not aged, mice at 7 days. To optimize efficacy, we established a sustained treatment protocol in aged mice through intranasal route. Once-weekly intranasal administration of MSC-CS induced persistent memory recovery, with dramatic reduction of plaques surrounded by a lower density of β-amyloid oligomers. Gliosis and the phagocytic marker CD68 were decreased. We found a higher neuronal density in cortex and hippocampus, associated with a reduction in hippocampal shrinkage and a longer lifespan indicating healthier conditions of MSC-CS-treated compared to vehicle-treated APP/PS1 mice. Our data prove that MSC-CS displays a great multi-level therapeutic potential, and lay the foundation for identifying the therapeutic secretome bioreactors leading to the development of an efficacious multi-reparative cocktail drug, towards abrogating the need for MSC implantation and risks related to their direct use.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 4B1 (CMT4B1) is a severe autosomal recessive demyelinating neuropathy with childhood onset, caused by loss-of-function mutations in the myotubularin-related 2 (MTMR2) gene. MTMR2 is a ubiquitously expressed catalytically active 3-phosphatase, which in vitro dephosphorylates the 3-phosphoinositides PtdIns3P and PtdIns(3,5)P(2), with a preference for PtdIns(3,5)P(2). A hallmark of CMT4B1 neuropathy are redundant loops of myelin in the nerve termed myelin outfoldings, which can be considered the consequence of altered growth of myelinated fibers during postnatal development. How MTMR2 loss and the resulting imbalance of 3′-phosphoinositides cause CMT4B1 is unknown. Here we show that MTMR2 by regulating PtdIns(3,5)P(2) levels coordinates mTORC1-dependent myelin synthesis and RhoA/myosin II-dependent cytoskeletal dynamics to promote myelin membrane expansion and longitudinal myelin growth. Consistent with this, pharmacological inhibition of PtdIns(3,5)P(2) synthesis or mTORC1/RhoA signaling ameliorates CMT4B1 phenotypes. Our data reveal a crucial role for MTMR2-regulated lipid turnover to titrate mTORC1 and RhoA signaling thereby controlling myelin growth.

Paeonia officinalis L., subsp. officinalis, is a herbaceous peony spontaneously growing on rocky slopes, up to 1,800 m of altitude, from Southern France to Albany, that includes Tuscan and Emilian Apennines. Its propagation occurs by rhizome or seeds under natural growing conditions; however, seeds need a couple of years to germinate. The aim of the present research was to set up a protocol for the in vitro propagation of this species, useful for its reintroduction in the natural environment, and suitable at nursery level. The combined effect of 6-benzyladenine (BA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was investigated on shoot multiplication of single shoots and small shoot clusters, in agarized culture media. A two-step rooting procedure was used, providing one-week culture of shoots in complete darkness on media enriched with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and their transfer to auxin-free media. Agarized media or perlite soaked in liquid media were used for both root induction and elongation phases.Complete culture survival was obtained with 1.0 g L-1 PVP and the use of small shoot clusters as explants. BA at 2.0 mg L-1 gave the maximum mean shoot multiplication (2.7) from a single shoot at the 3rd subculture; however, very short shoots were produced by shoot clusters after three further subcultures. BA at 1.0 gL(-1) allowed a constant multiplication (about 2:1) of well-elongated shoots regardless of the explant type. The multiplication rates reported here are quite low, but comparable to data available in the literature for in vitro grown shoots of wild herbaceous P lactiflora. The maximum rooting percentage (50%) was obtained in liquid media, for shoots from 1.0 mg BA treated with 2.5 mg L-1 IBA, although not different from other IBA treatments (1 and 5 mg L-1 ). The present results are promising with regard to the in vitro phases. However, they also suggest further research in improving rooting and achieving successful acclimatization of healthy plants. If this goal is reached, micropropagation might represent an alternative vegetative propagation method for the reintroduction in the natural environment of this species, and its release at nursery level as plant for gardens.

Although JSON documents are being used in several emerging applications (e.g., Big Data applications, IoT, mobile computing, smart cities, and online social networks), there is no consensual or standard language for updating JSON documents (i.e., creating, deleting or changing such documents, where changing means inserting, deleting, replacing, copying, moving, etc., portions of data in such documents). To fill this gap, we propose in this paper an SQL-like language, named JUpdate, for updating JSON documents. JUpdate is based on a set of six primitive update operations, which is proven complete and minimal, and it provides a set of fourteen user-friendly high-level operations with a well-founded semantics defined on the basis of the primitive update operations.

La linguistica è una disciplina sconosciuta al grande pubblico e spesso ignorata da chi si occupa di divulgazione scientifica. In questo articolo introduttivo discutiamo quali sono, a nostro avviso, alcuni dei fattori che determinano questo stato di cose, dalla diffusa percezione che la linguistica coincida di fatto con la grammatica prescrittiva all’intrinseca interdisciplinarità della linguistica, che potrebbe paradossalmente trasformarsi in uno svantaggio. Allo stesso tempo, sosteniamo che la linguistica, al di là del suo indubbio valore conoscitivo, abbia anche una forte utilità sociale e un notevole impatto sulla vita di tutti i giorni, che la rendono ancora più meritevole di essere raccontata.

Il contributo descrive i blog, i portali web e i gruppi di Facebook che si occupano di divulgazione della linguistica su internet, ne indica le caratteristiche peculiari e gli orientamenti teorico-ideologici e tenta di tipizzarli secondo tre parametri principali: le modalità di redazione, le piattaforme di origine dei contenuti e le modalità di interazione con gli altri utenti della rete. Dopo aver indicato alcuni problemi di cui soffre l’attuale pratica divulgativa linguistica, si propongono possibili novità e soluzioni per migliorarla.

Il breve articolo, pubblicato in appendice al volume, racconta la genesi di Linguisticamente.org, un sito di divulgazione scientifica che si rivolge a tutti coloro che nutrono interesse e curiosità verso l’area delle scienze del linguaggio, offrendo contenuti scientificamente ‘solidi’ e affidabili. L'obiettivo è contribuire a far conoscere al grande pubblico la linguistica e chi la pratica, ovvero i linguisti.

Oggi indichiamo con il termine “ingegneria mineraria” il complesso di pratiche, teorie, scienze e tecnologie impiegate per l’estrazione, il trasporto e il trattamento delle materie prime minerali presenti in natura, siano esse solide, fluide, gassose, energetiche o non energetiche. Caratteristica della pratica dell’ingegneria mineraria moderna è la sua interdisciplinarietà e la stretta associazione con diversi settori tecnologici, quali, ad esempio, metallurgia, preparazione dei minerali, meccanica delle macchine, elettrotecnica, idraulica e meccanica dei fluidi del sottosuolo, geologia e mineralogia, geotecnica e meccanica delle rocce, topografia, geofisica, etc. Come vedremo in seguito, storicamente e geograficamente la formazione dell’ingegnere minerario è sempre stata terreno di convergenza e intersezione di vari saperi. Nel 1941-42 si istituì presso la Facoltà di Ingegneria dell'Ateneo bolognese la “Sezione Mineraria”, essendo stato costituito nello stesso anno l’Istituto di Arte Mineraria, che si affiancava ai già esistenti Istituti di Scienze delle Costruzioni, Idraulica, Costruzioni Idrauliche, Costruzioni Stradali e Ferroviarie, Macchine, Elettrotecnica, Meccanica Applicata alle Macchine, Tecnologie Generali, Tecnologie Speciali, Chimica Applicata, Architettura Tecnica, Fisica tecnica, Topografia e Geodesia. Inoltre, quest’ultimo Istituto fu rinominato Istituto di Topografia, Geodesia e Geofisica Mineraria. Le motivazioni che portarono alla nascita della sezione mineraria a Bologna, così come in altre sedi universitarie, meritano ulteriori approfondimenti di archivio. Ciononostante, sembra utile ricordare che pochi anni prima, alle soglie della seconda guerra mondiale, nella politica italiana si era fatta sempre più pressante la questione dell’indipendenza nazionale dalle fonti energetiche e dalle materie prime di importazione

Time is a pervasive dimension of reality as everything evolves as time elapses. Therefore, Web-based information systems and knowledge representation tools at least mirror, and often have to capture, the time-varying and evolutionary nature of the phenomena they model and of the activities they support. This aspect has been acknowledged and long studied in the field of temporal databases [Jensen and Snodgrass 2009] but it truly applies also to the World Wide Web and Semantic Web in particular. Several papers addressing, in an explicit or implicit way, the representation and management of time and evolution in the Semantic Web appeared recently and, on some aspects, showed a clear upward trend in last years, witnessing a sustained and/or growing research interest. Reflecting and acknowledging such interest, we started in 2011 to collect references concerning the handling of time and evolution issues in Semantic Web research. As it was for [Grandi 2003], the purpose of this collection was to compile a bibliography which could be of help, in particular, to students and young researchers. As a result of such almost endless work, we wrote an annotated bibliography [Grandi 2012], whose latest version is available on the Web at URL

BACKGROUND Alterations of ventricular repolarization duration, as measured by the QT interval, are frequently observed in haemodialysis (HD) patients. The nature and the sign of these changes are not yet fully understood. METHODS Different dialysate K(+) and Ca(2+) levels, leading to different end-HD plasma concentrations in the patient, have been tested in the present study in terms of their impact on QTc. A model of the human cardiomyocyte action potential (AP) has been used to assess in silico whether the changes in Ca(2+) and K(+) were able to justify at the cellular level the observed alterations of QTc. RESULTS QTc was prolonged in HDs with low (1.25 mM) versus high (2 mM) Ca(2+) (424 +/- 33 versus 400 +/- 28 ms, P < 0.05) and in HDs with low (2 mM) versus high (3 mM) K(+) (420 +/- 35 versus 399 +/- 36 ms, P < 0.05). These alterations were confirmed at the cellular level by computational analysis showing prolongation of ventricular AP at low K(+) and low Ca(2+) at the same extent of the measured QTc variations. Numerical simulation predicted a critically long AP (and QT) when considering low K(+) and Ca(2+) simultaneously, suggesting the concurrent lowering of Ca(2+) and K(+) as a potential arrhythmogenic factor. CONCLUSIONS Numerical simulations of the ventricular AP may be useful to quantitatively predict the complex dependence of AP duration on simultaneous changes in Ca(2+) and K(+). Moreover, Ca(2+) content in the dialysate should be designed not to critically lower serum Ca(2+), especially in sessions at risk of end-dialysis hypokalaemia.

Objective: To assess the impact on stroke outcome of statin use in the acute phase after IV thrombolysis. Methods: Multicenter study on prospectively collected data of 2,072 stroke patients treated with IV thrombolysis. Outcome measures of efficacy were neurologic improvement (NIH Stroke Scale [NIHSS] ≤ 4 points from baseline or NIHSS = 0) and major neurologic improvement (NIHSS ≤ 8 points from baseline or NIHSS = 0) at 7 days and favorable (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] ≤ 2) and excellent functional outcome (mRS ≤ 1) at 3 months. Outcome measures of safety were 7-day neurologic deterioration (NIHSS ≥ 4 points from baseline or death), symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage type 2 with NIHSS ≥ 4 points from baseline or death within 36 hours, and 3-month death. Results: Adjusted multivariate analysis showed that statin use in the acute phase was associated with neurologic improvement (odds ratio [OR] 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-2.25; p < 0.001), major neurologic improvement (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.11-1.85; p = 0.006), favorable functional outcome (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.18-2.26; p = 0.003), and a reduced risk of neurologic deterioration (OR: 0.31, 95% CI 0.19-0.53; p < 0.001) and death (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.28-0.82; p = 0.007). Conclusion: Statin use in the acute phase of stroke after IV thrombolysis may positively influence short- and long-term outcome. © 2013 American Academy of Neurology.

Analisi delle norme e delle politiche migratorie italiane nel decennio 2000-2010

Potassium ion (K(+)) kinetics in intra- and extracellular compartments during dialysis was studied by means of a double-pool computer model, which included potassium-dependent active transport (Na-K-ATPase pump) in 38 patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. Each patient was treated for 2 weeks with a constant K(+) dialysate concentration (K(+)(CONST) therapy) and afterward for 2 weeks with a time-varying (profiled) K(+) dialysate concentration (K(+)(PROF) therapy). The two therapies induced different levels of K(+) plasma concentration (K(+)(CONST): 3.71 +/- 0.88 mmol/L vs. K(+)(PROF): 3.97 +/- 0.64 mmol/L, time-averaged values, P < 0.01). The computer model was tuned to accurately fit plasmatic K(+) measured in the course and 1 h after K(+)(CONST) and K(+)(PROF) therapies and was then used to simulate the kinetics of intra- and extracellular K(+). Model-based analysis showed that almost all the K(+) removal in the first 90 min of dialysis was derived from the extracellular compartment. The different K(+) time course in the dialysate and the consequently different Na-K pump activity resulted in a different sharing of removed potassium mass at the end of dialysis: 56% +/- 17% from the extracellular compartment in K(+)(PROF) versus 41% +/- 14% in K(+)(CONST). At the end of both therapies, the K(+) distribution was largely unbalanced, and, in the next 3 h, K(+) continued to flow in the extracellular space (about 24 mmol). After rebalancing, about 80% of the K(+) mass that was removed derived from the intracellular compartment. In conclusion, the Na-K pump plays a major role in K(+) apportionment between extracellular and intracellular compartments, and potassium dialysate concentration strongly influences pump activity.

Le possibili modalità di sviluppo della relazione tra turismo e moda sono delineate sia mettendo in evidenza emergenze teoriche, sia considerazioni sui fenomeni osservati ed in via di evoluzione in questi anni in Italia. Il tema è presentato sostanzialmente come punto di partenza per future ricerche interdisciplinari in progetto nell'Università di Bologna Polo Scientifico Didattico di Rimini, ma anche come occasione per discutere i significati del "Made in Italy" and "Fashion" in termini prospettici in una realtà in profonda trasformazione.

We wish to propose a novel mechanism by which the triggering of a biochemical signal can be controlled by the hierarchical coupling between a protein redox equilibrium and an external mechanical force. We have characterized this mechanochemical mechanism in angiostatin, and we have evidence that it can switch the access to partially unfolded structures of this protein. We have identified a metastable intermediate that is specifically accessible under thioredoxin-rich reducing conditions, like those met by angiostatin on the surface of a tumor cell. The structure of the same intermediate accounts for the unexplained antiangiogenic activity of angiostatin. These findings demonstrate a new link between redox biology and mechanically regulated processes.

Clinical medicine and health-care developments in recent years testified a tremendous increase in the number of available guidelines, i.e., “best practices” encoding and standardizing care procedures for a given disease. Clinical guidelines are subject to continuous development and revision by committees of expert physicians and health authorities and, thus, multiple versions coexist as a consequence of the clinical and healthcare activities. Moreover, several alternatives are usually included in order to make the guidelines as general as possible, making them difficult to handle both in manual and automated fashions. In this work, we will introduce techniques to model and to provide efficient personalized access to very large collections of multi-version clinical guidelines, which can be stored both in textual and in executable format in an XML repository. In this way, multiple temporal perspectives, patient profile and context information can be used by an automated personalization service to efficiently build on demand a guideline version tailored to a specific use case.

Thanks to recent developments on automatic generation of metadata and interoperability between repositories, the production, management and con- sumption of learning object metadata is vastly surpassing the human capacity to review or process these metadata. However, we need to make sure that the presence of some low quality metadata does not compromise the performance of services that rely on that information. Consequently, there is a need for automatic assessment of the quality of metadata, so that tools or users can be alerted about low quality instances. In this paper, we present several quality metrics for learning object metadata. We applied these metrics to a sample of records from a real repository and compared the results with the quality assess- ment given to the same records by a group of human reviewers. Through corre- lation and regression analysis, we found that one of the metrics, the text infor- mation content, could be used as a predictor of the human evaluation. While this metric is not a definitive measurement of the “real” quality of the metadata record, we present several ways in which it can be used. We also propose new research in other quality dimensions of the learning object metadata. ispartof: pages:372-381 ispartof: Lecture Notes in Computer Science vol:4231 pages:372-381 ispartof: ER 2006 workshops: Advances in Conceptual Modeling - Theory and Practice location:Tucson, AZ, USA date:6 Nov - 9 Nov 2006 status: published