Eating and feeding disorders in pediatric age

Eating and feeding disorders are common in pediatric age and may be important to discover and recover the early symptoms in order to optimize the treatment and management.

Pregnenolone sulfate, a naturally occurring excitotoxin involved in delayed retinal cell death.

The present study was designed to investigate the neurosteroid pregnenolone sulfate (PS), known for its ability to modulate NMDA receptors and interfere with acute excitotoxicity, in delayed retinal cell death. Three hours after exposure of the isolated and intact retina to a 30-min PS pulse, DNA fragmentation as assessed by genomic DNA gel electrophoresis and a modified in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) method appeared concurrently with an increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) levels. At 7 h, the increased amount of DNA laddering was accompanied by a higher number of TUN…

Exploring the impact of the invasive algae Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla and C. cylindracea on the performance of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus.

Chirotterofauna della Sicilia (Mammalia Chiroptera)

Antioxidant response, induced by the invasive algae Caulerpa distichophylla and C. racemosa, in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus

SAMBHALA, HEAVEN CAN WAIT How 3D printing will sustain the future

L’articolo, dedicato all’attività del gruppo WASP di cui Massimo Moretti è il fondatore, evidenzia come sia possibile conciliare l’avanzamento tecnologico con la creazione di un Paradiso in Terra: una società equa, ecocompatibile, scientificamente evoluta, totalmente open source. Questa non è utopia. È quello che sta accadendo grazie a progetti che rispondono concretamente ai bisogni fondamentali dell’uomo: Cibo, Rifugio, Salute, Energia, Lavoro, Cultura. Il caso WASP è indice di un cambiamento in atto. È un concentrato di tecnologia futuribile applicata in direzione sociale. È anche la dimostrazione lampante di come una visione etica sia praticabile all’interno di una logica aziendal…

Progetto luce. Scenari futuri per una città sostenibile.

The supermarket of future

As the last trends demonstrate, the supermarket of the near future will change face. Here, we will find only high-quality products, belonging to the category of ‘fresh’ and purchasable by smartphone. The packaged products, belonging to the category of ‘dry’, will be more conveniently purchasable on-line. Therefore, cash-registers and the areas before cash-registers will disappear at the entrance and the exit of supermarket. And most of physical space of the today supermarket will be useless. Here is the problem – nowadays the space ingeniously designed of the area before cash-register yields 30% of the whole profit of the supermarket, thank to the irrational buying. How will the supermarket…

Comparative study of T84 and T84SF human colon carcinoma cells: in vitro and in vivo ultrastructural and functional characterization of cell culture and metastasis.

John Smith. Personalized and posture care chair, on demand

Today the technological development or the continuous acceleration of inventions and innovations has established the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This has given rise to an “in- telligent” factory, which produces objects that are not necessarily serialized but personalized to satisfy individual needs at low costs. From here arises the idea of configuring a customized chair, printed in 3D, medical (postural) and truly within the reach of all. The achievement of this objective involves the orchestration of a series of activities: a product configurator, a sof- tware for the management of physical parameters, thanks to the collaboration of osteopathics physiotherapists; an e-commerce site, for…

Induction of neurosteroid synthesis by NMDA receptors in isolated rat retina: a potential early event in excitotoxicity

Here we investigated the possible regulation of neurosteroidogenesis by N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor activation and addressed the hypothesis that neurosteroid synthesis may be involved in acute excitotoxicity. In the isolated retina, exposure to NMDA modified pregnenolone and pregnenolone sulphate formation. This effect was dose and time dependent, the synthesis being increased by relatively moderate NMDA doses (1-100 microM) within 30 min exposure and reduced to its control value by 60 min or by raising drug concentrations. NMDA-stimulated neurosteroid synthesis was blocked by (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclo-hepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK-801) and 3(2-ca…

Design & Territorio | Università e aziende tra ricerca e innovazione

DESIGN & TERRITORIO mette in scena il rapporto virtuoso tra Università e aziende, basato su ricerca, sperimentazione e innovazione. Sei aziende – BNP, Caruso Handmade, Covema, IDEA, Palumbo Marmi, Vivo D’Emilio – investono sul Laboratorio di disegno industriale di Dario Russo (Dipartimento di Architettura | Università di Palermo) per la progettazione di prodotti innovativi e comunicazione integrata. A ogni azienda corrisponde un tema di pro- getto, cui si aggiunge lo studio di oggetti ispirati al percorso arabo-normanno quale simbolo della Città di Palermo (Laboratorio Palermo). Alla mostra, inoltre, è presente la sezione DESIGN4FANS, un progetto fotografico che ritrae alcuni studenti nelle…

Neurosteroids in the Retina

Steroids may have a powerful role in neuronal degeneration. Recent research has revealed that steroids may influence the onset and progression of some retinal disorders as well as neurodegenerative diseases and, as in brain, they accumulate in the retina via a local synthesis (neurosteroids) and metabolism of blood-circulating steroid hormones. Their crucial role as neurodegenerative and neuroprotective agents has been also upheld in a retinal excitotoxic paradigm. These findings are reviewed especially from the emerging perspective that after an insult local changes in steroidogenic responses and consequent neurosteroid availability might turn out to be offensive or defensive cellular adap…

Design ed eco-sostenibilità

L’Eco-design, ovvero una progettazione orientata ai principi della sostenibilità ambientale, rappresenta uno strumento di importanza strategica, in quanto consente di prevenire, invece di rimediare, le conseguenze ambientali negative della produzione, dell’uso e dello smaltimento dei prodotti, contribuendo a definirne, oltre che la configurazione formale e tecnica, il profilo ambientale complessivo (qualità e quantità dei materiali impiegati; tecnologie e processi di produzione; modalità d’uso e manutenzione; modalità e scenari di dismissione, ad esempio riuso, riciclo, recupero energetico, compostaggio, ecc.). Infatti definire gli obiettivi e i requisiti ambientali di un prodotto, fin dall…

Pediatric selective mutism and sleep disorders: A pilot restrospective case control-study

Introduction: Selective mutism (SM) is characterized by the persistent inability to speak in some specific contexts (i.e. school, home, social contexts) or within interaction with peer group and/or adults when a normal verbal linguistic competence may be expected, according to DSM5 criteria. The main sleep disorders in children with neurodevelopmental disorders are represented by difficulty in falling asleep at night (51%) and nocturnal awakenings (67%).The main goal of the present study is verify the putative relationship between sleep disorders and selective mutism in children.Materials and methods: 30 children were diagnosed with SM (13 males and 17 females) with mean age 9.47 (SD +/- 12…

Protesi | Materiali di Design

Le Tesi di Laura, si potrebbe dire, non sono più come una volta. E già, oggi c’è il cosiddetto “elaborato breve”, una cosetta agile per acchiappare al volo l’altrettanto agile “pezzo di carta”: la sempre meno aurea e sempre più aerea Laurea. Eppure, mi chiedo: che se ne fa un (neo)designer della Laurea? Non può iscriversi a un albo, come un architetto o un ingegnere. E poi in Italia quanto vale la Laurea, specialmente quando il 110 e lode è diventato dozzinale? In effetti, non soltanto il massimo dei voti è ormai più che diffuso, ma siamo sicuri che tutti questi designer titolati, e in generale laureati da 110 e lode, abbiano poi idea di come si fa ciò per cui hanno studiato? E ancora: a ch…