Studio, progettazione e realizzazione del sistema di controllo wireless per capsule endoscopiche con locomozione attiva

Il lavoro di tesi sviluppato consiste nello studio, progettazione e realizzazione del sistema di controllo wireless per capsule endoscopiche con locomozione attiva. E' stata implementata l'archietettura firmware per la gestione della comunicazione wireless, è stata realizzata un'interfaccia utente per il controllo del dispositivo ed è stato condotto uno studio approfondito sulla tipologia di gait, al fine di ottimizzare l'efficienza di locomozione del dispositivo

Isolation and Genetic Characterization of Mother-of-Snow-White, a Maternal Effect Allele Affecting Laterality and Lateralized Behaviors in Zebrafish

In the present work we report evidence compatible with a maternal effect allele affecting left-right development and functional lateralization in vertebrates. Our study demonstrates that the increased frequency of reversed brain asymmetries in a zebrafish line isolated through a behavioral assay is due to selection of mother-of-snow-white (msw), a maternal effect allele involved in early stages of left-right development in zebrafish. msw homozygous females could be identified by screening of their progeny for the position of the parapineal organ because in about 50% of their offspring we found an altered, either bilateral or right-sided, expression of lefty1 and spaw. Deeper investigations at earlier stages of development revealed that msw is involved in the specification and differentiation of precursors of the Kupffer's vesicle, a structure homologous to the mammalian node. To test the hypothesis that msw, by controlling Kupffer's vesicle morphogenesis, controls lateralized behaviors related to diencephalic asymmetries, we analyzed left- and right-parapineal offspring in a “viewing test”. As a result, left- and right-parapineal individuals showed opposite and complementary eye preference when scrutinizing a model predator, and a different degree of lateralization when scrutinizing a virtual companion. As maternal effect genes are expected to evolve more rapidly when compared to zygotic ones, our results highlight the driving force of maternal effect alleles in the evolution of vertebrates behaviors

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Current and evolving therapies

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which constitutes 90% of pancreatic cancers, is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. Due to the broad heterogeneity of genetic mutations and dense stromal environment, PDAC belongs to one of the most chemoresistant cancers. Most of the available treatments are palliative, with the objective of relieving disease-related symptoms and prolonging survival. Currently, available therapeutic options are surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and use of targeted drugs. However, thus far, therapies targeting cancer-associated molecular pathways have not given satisfactory results; this is due in part to the rapid upregulation of compensatory alternative pathways as well as dense desmoplastic reaction. In this review, we summarize currently available therapies and clinical trials, directed towards a plethora of pathways and components dysregulated during PDAC carcinogenesis. Emerging trends towards targeted therapies as the most promising approach will also be discussed

ABC transporters as cancer drivers: Potential functions in cancer development

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Background: ABC transporters have attracted considerable attention for their function as drug transporters in a broad range of tumours and are therefore considered as major players in cancer chemoresistance. However, less attention has been focused on their potential role as active players in cancer development and progression. Scope of review: This review presents the evidence suggesting that ABC transporters might have a more active role in cancer other than the well known involvement in multidrug resistance and discusses the potential strategies to target each ABC transporter for a specific tumour setting. Major conclusions: Emerging evidence suggests that ABC transporters are able to transport bioactive molecules capable of playing key roles in tumour development. Characterization of the effects of these transporters in specific cancer settings opens the possibility for the development of personalized treatments. General significance: A more targeted approach of ABC transporters should be implemented that considers which specific transporter is playing a major role in a particular tumour setting in order to achieve a more successful outcome for ABC transporters inhibitors in cancer therapy

For “a positive and feasible architecture”. The contribution of Mario Chiattone to the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century

The aim of this study is to highlight the contribution made by the Ticino-native architect, Mario Chiattone (1891–1957) to the development of modern language. His architectural designs, made in his studio in Milan between 1914 and 1915, highlight his artistic sensibility and demonstrate how he was particularly receptive to the needs of a rapidly evolving society. The working method employed by the architect, his extreme attention to architectural construction and the practicality of the solutions developed for his “Modern Metropolis” emerged clearly through the analysis carried out directly on the works using 3D imaging and reconstruction techniques. At the same time, the results of the archival-bibliographic research carried out simultaneously made it possible to contextualize Chiattone’s work in the light of historical and artistic developments in early-20th century Milan, including the numerous facets of his architectural output and the multiple sources of inspiration that characterized its development. A portrait emerged with unprecedented clarity of an extremely cultured, impassioned architect, of a tireless designer, open to experimentation and at the same time, respectful of tradition, far removed from propagandistic Futurist rhetoric, an advocate for a new, “positive and feasible” architecture

Early differences in epithalamic left-right asymmetry influence lateralization and personality of adult zebrafish

The habenulae are part of an evolutionary conserved conduction system that connects the limbic forebrain areas with midbrain structures and is implicated in important functions such as feeding, mating, avoidance learning, and hormonal response to stress. Very early during zebrafish neurogenesis the parapineal organ migrates near to one habenula, commonly the left, inducing wide left-right habenular asymmetries in gene expression and connectivity. It was posited that this initial symmetry-breaking event determines the development of lateralized brain functions and early differences in epithalamic left-right asymmetry give rise to individual variation in coping styles and personality. We tested these two hypotheses by sorting zebrafish with left or right parapineal at birth using a foxD3:GFP marker and by measuring visual and motor laterality and three personality dimensions as they become adults. Significant differences between fish with opposite parapineal position were found in all laterality tests while the influence of asymmetry of the habenulae on personality was more complex. Fish with atypical right parapineal position, tended to be bolder when inspecting a predator, spent less time in the peripheral portion of an open field and covered a shorter distance when released in the dark. Activity in the open field was not associated to anatomical asymmetry but correlated with laterality of predator inspection that in turn was influenced by parapineal position. One personality dimension, sociality, appeared uncorrelated to both anatomical and functional asymmetries and was instead influenced by the sex of the fish, thus suggesting that other factors, i.e. hormonal, may be implicated in its development