L’attività di ricerca universitaria nelle scienze sociali e la nuova disciplina sul trattamento dei dati personali

Il presente contributo si pone come scopo quello di inquadrare gli effetti della disciplina europea e interna in tema di «trattamento dei dati personali» delle persone fisiche nell’ambito dell’attività di ricerca scientifica universitaria, in particolare quella delle scienze sociali. Ciò ha comportato la necessità di esaminare gli effetti sull’attività del personale docente, ma anche sull’amministrazione, parti di una stessa organizzazione che opera in direzione di un interesse pubblico. Nel contributo si considera contestualmente la disciplina europea e quella interna, a partire dal Codice della privacy, sino a ricomprendervi le specifiche regole deontologiche nonché la regolamentazione specifica degli atenei

Effective Differential Nullstellensatz for Ordinary DAE Systems with Constant Coefficients

We give upper bounds for the differential Nullstellensatz in the case of ordinary systems of differential algebraic equations over any field of constants $K$ of characteristic $0$. Let $\vec{x}$ be a set of $n$ differential variables, $\vec{f}$ a finite family of differential polynomials in the ring $K\{\vec{x}\}$ and $f\in K\{\vec{x}\}$ another polynomial which vanishes at every solution of the differential equation system $\vec{f}=0$ in any differentially closed field containing $K$. Let $d:=\max\{\deg(\vec{f}), \deg(f)\}$ and $\epsilon:=\max\{2,{\rm{ord}}(\vec{f}), {\rm{ord}}(f)\}$. We show that $f^M$ belongs to the algebraic ideal generated by the successive derivatives of $\vec{f}$ of order at most $L = (n\epsilon d)^{2^{c(n\epsilon)^3}}$, for a suitable universal constant $c>0$, and $M=d^{n(\epsilon +L+1)}$. The previously known bounds for $L$ and $M$ are not elementary recursive

Generalized Quantifiers: Logic and Language

The Generalized Quantifiers Theory, I will argue, in the second half of last Century has led to an important rapprochement, relevant both in logic and in linguistics, between logical quantification theories and the semantic analysis of quantification in natural languages. In this paper I concisely illustrate the formal aspects and the theoretical implications of this rapprochement

Clinical and biochemical response to neridronate treatment in a patient with osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG)

Osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG) is a rare autosomal recessive syndrome characterized by juvenile-onset osteoporosis and ocular abnormalities due to a low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) gene mutation. Treatment with bisphosphonates, particularly with pamidronate and risedronate, has been reported to be of some efficacy in this condition. We report on a patient with OPPG due to an LRP5 gene mutation, who showed an encouraging response after a 36-month period of neridronate therapy. We report a case of a patient treated with bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates should be administered in OPPG patients as a first-line therapy during early childhood

Molecular Mechanism of DNA Topoisomerase I-Dependent rDNA Silencing: Sir2p Recruitment at Ribosomal Genes

Saccharomyces cerevisiae sir2Δ or top1Δ mutants exhibit similar phenotypes involving ribosomal DNA, including (i) loss of transcriptional silencing, resulting in non-coding RNA hyperproduction from cryptic RNA polymerase II promoters; (ii) alterations in recombination; and (iii) a general increase in histone acetylation. Given the distinct enzymatic activities of Sir2 and Top1 proteins, a histone deacetylase and a DNA topoisomerase, respectively, we investigated whether genetic and/or physical interactions between the two proteins could explain the shared ribosomal RNA genes (rDNA) phenotypes. We employed an approach of complementing top1Δ cells with yeast, human, truncated, and chimeric yeast/human TOP1 constructs and of assessing the extent of non-coding RNA silencing and histone H4K16 deacetylation. Our findings demonstrate that residues 115–125 within the yeast Top1p N-terminal domain are required for the complementation of the top1Δ rDNA phenotypes. In chromatin immunoprecipitation and co-immunoprecipitation experiments, we further demonstrate the physical interaction between Top1p and Sir2p. Our genetic and biochemical studies support a model whereby Top1p recruits Sir2p to the rDNA and clarifies a structural role of DNA topoisomerase I in the epigenetic regulation of rDNA, independent of its known catalytic activity

Gut microbiota related to Giardia duodenalis, Entamoeba spp. and Blastocystis hominis infections in humans from Côte d'Ivoire.

INTRODUCTION: Literature data provide little information about protozoa infections and gut microbiota compositional shifts in humans. This preliminary study aimed to describe the fecal bacterial community composition of people from Côte d'Ivoire harboring Giardia duodenalis, Entamoeba spp., and Blastocystis hominis, in trying to discover possible alterations in their fecal microbiota structure related to the presence of such parasites. METHODOLOGY: Twenty fecal samples were collected from people inhabiting three different localities of Côte d'Ivoire for copromicroscopic analysis and molecular identification of G. duodenalis, Entamoeba spp., and B. hominis. Temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE) was used to obtain a fingerprint of the overall bacterial community; quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to define the relative abundances of selected bacterial species/group, and multivariate statistical analyses were employed to correlate all data. RESULTS: Cluster analysis revealed a significant separation of TTGE profiles into four clusters (p < 0.0001), with a marked difference for G. duodenalis-positive samples in relation to the others (p = 5.4×10-6). Interestingly, qPCR data showed how G. duodenalis-positive samples were related to a dysbiotic condition that favors potentially harmful species (such as Escherichia coli), while Entamoeba spp./B. hominis-positive subjects were linked to a eubiotic condition, as shown by a significantly higher Faecalibacterium prausnitzii-Escherichia coli ratio. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary investigation demonstrates a differential fecal microbiota structure in subjects infected with G. duodenalis or Entamoeba spp./B. hominis, paving the way for using further next-generation DNA technologies to better understand host-parasite-bacteria interactions, aimed at identifying potential indicators of microbiota changes