A Novel Morphological Parameter Predicting Fibrotic Evolution in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: New Evidence and Molecular Insights

Philadelphia-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) represent a group of hematological disorders that are traditionally considered as indistinct slow progressing conditions; still, a subset of cases shows a rapid evolution towards myelofibrotic bone marrow failure. Specific abnormalities in the megakaryocyte lineage seem to play a central role in this evolution, especially in the bone marrow fibrosis but also in the induction of myeloproliferation. In this review, we analyze the current knowledge of prognostic factors of MPNs related to their evolution to myelofibrotic bone marrow failure. Moreover, we focused the role of the megakaryocytic lineage in the various stages of MPNs, with updated examples of MPNs in vitro and in vivo models and new therapeutic implications.     

S-Adenosylmethionine Inhibits Colorectal Cancer Cell Migration through Mirna-Mediated Targeting of Notch Signaling Pathway

Metastasis is a leading cause of mortality and poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). Thus, the identification of new compounds targeting cell migration represents a major clinical challenge. Recent findings evidenced a central role for dysregulated Notch in CRC and a correlation between Notch overexpression and tumor metastasis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to cross-talk with Notch for its regulation. Therefore, restoring underexpressed miRNAs targeting Notch could represent an encouraging therapeutic approach against CRC. In this context, S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet), the universal biological methyl donor, being able to modulate the expression of oncogenic miRNAs could act as a potential antimetastatic agent. Here, we showed that AdoMet upregulated the onco-suppressor miRNAs-34a/-34c/-449a and inhibited HCT-116 and Caco-2 CRC cell migration. This effect was associated with reduced expression of migration-/EMT-related protein markers. We also found that, in colorectal and triple-negative breast cancer cells, AdoMet inhibited the expression of Notch gene, which, by luciferase assay, resulted the direct target of miRNAs-34a/-34c/-449a. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments with miRNAs mimics and inhibitors demonstrated that AdoMet exerted its inhibitory effects by upregulating miRNAs-34a/-34c/-449a. Overall, these data highlighted AdoMet as a novel Notch inhibitor and suggested that the antimetastatic effects of AdoMet involve the miRNA-mediated targeting of Notch signaling pathway.     

A highly efficient receiver for satellite‐based automatic identification system signal detection

An innovative receiver architecture for the satellite‐based automatic identification system has been recently proposed. In this paper, we describe a few modifications that can be introduced on the algorithms for synchronization and detection, which provide an impressive performance improvement. The receiver architecture has been designed for an on‐board implementation, and a prototype has been implemented by the University of Parma and CGS S.p.A. Compagnia Generale per lo Spazio under the European Space Agency project FENICE (Flexible innovative AIS receiver prototype). A few modifications are also here described that could allow a further performance improvement in case of processing moved to ground‐based stations, based on a priori information there available. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fibrosis of Peritoneal Membrane as Target of New Therapies in Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an efficient renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease. Even if it ensures an outcome equivalent to hemodialysis and a better quality of life, in the long-term, PD is associated with the development of peritoneal fibrosis and the consequents patient morbidity and PD technique failure. This unfavorable effect is mostly due to the bio-incompatibility of PD solution (mainly based on high glucose concentration). In the present review, we described the mechanisms and the signaling pathway that governs peritoneal fibrosis, epithelial to mesenchymal transition of mesothelial cells, and angiogenesis. Lastly, we summarize the present and future strategies for developing more biocompatible PD solutions.     

SmartK: Smart cards in operating systems at kernel level

A smart card is a tamper-resistant miniature computer that performs some basic computations on input a secret information. So far, smart cards have been widely used for securing many digital transactions (e.g., pay television, ATM machines).We focus on the implementation of operating system security services leveraging on smart cards. This very challenging feature allows one to personalize some functionalities of the operating system by simply changing a smart card. Current solutions for integrating smart card features in operating system services require at least a partial execution of some of the operating system functionalities at “user level”. Unfortunately, system functionalities built on top of components lying at both kernel and user levels may negatively affect the overall system security, due to the introduction of multiple points of failure.In this work, we present the design and implementation of SmartK: a framework that integrates features of smart cards uniquely in the Linux kernel. In order to validate our approach, we propose a host of enhancements to the Linux operating system built on top of SmartK: 1) in-kernel clients' authentication with Kerberos; 2) execution of trusted code; 3) key management in secure network filesystems.In particular, we present an experimental Linux OS distribution (SalSA), which addresses the security issues related to downloading packages and to updating an operating system through the Internet.     

Effect of different parameters on the in situ thermal conductance evaluation

In the last years many studies have been carried out on the possible improvements of the in situ thermal conductance measurement; as well known, this has to be derived by recorded values of temperatures and heat fluxes. A big effort has been addressed in the implementation and comparison of different analysis methods. The aim of this paper is to widen the existent literature in the study of the influence of different kinds of input data on the final result. First the problem of analysing input data with significant drift in temperature is considered, adopting both nominal clean and noise affected data. Then the effect due to the presence of the Heat Flux Meter (HFM) on the thermal field of the testing element has been analysed, as well as the possibility of recording HFM surface temperature. These studies are based on Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations; both nominal clean and noise affected data have been considered as input. Finally, a difference in emissivity between the heat flux meter and internal plaster surface has been analysed by means of FEM simulations based on nominal clean data. An overall estimation of the occurred deviations in the different cases is shown.     

An Adaptive Control System to Deliver Interactive Virtual Environment Content to Handheld Devices

Wireless communication advances have enabled emerging video streaming applications to mobile handheld devices. For example, it is possible to display and interact with complex 3D virtual environments on mobile devices that don’t have enough computational and storage capabilities (e.g. smart phones, PDAs) through remote rendering techniques, where a server renders 3D data and streams the corresponding image flow to the client. However, due to fluctuations in bandwidth characteristics and limited mobile device CPU capabilities, it is extremely challenging to design effective systems for streaming interactive multimedia over wireless networks. This paper presents a novel approach based on a controller that can automatically adjust streaming parameters basing on feedback measures from the client device. Experimental results prove the effectiveness of the proposed solution in coping with bandwidth changes, thus providing high Quality of Service (QoS) in remote visualizations.     

A two-step,fourth-order method with energy preserving properties

We introduce a family of fourth-order two-step methods that preserve the energy function of canonical polynomial Hamiltonian systems. As is the case with linear mutistep and one-leg methods, a prerogative of the new formulae is that the associated nonlinear systems to be solved at each step of the integration procedure have the very same dimension of the underlying continuous problem.The key tools in the new methods are the line integral associated with a conservative vector field (such as the one defined by a Hamiltonian dynamical system) and its discretization obtained by the aid of a quadrature formula. Energy conservation is equivalent to the requirement that the quadrature is exact, which turns out to be always the case in the event that the Hamiltonian function is a polynomial and the degree of precision of the quadrature formula is high enough. The non-polynomial case is also discussed and a number of test problems are finally presented in order to compare the behavior of the new methods to the theoretical results.