EFFETTI DELLA TERAPIA CON METOPROLOLO E SFINGOSINA 1 FOSFATO IN UN MODELLO SPERIMENTALE DI SCOMPENSO CARDIACO POST-ISCHEMICO

Un evento patologico chiave nello Scompenso Cardiaco (SC) è la disregolazione dei recettori β adrenergici cardiaci (βAR) conseguenza dell’iperattivazione da parte delle catecolammine. I beta bloccanti hanno effetti terapeutici nei pazienti con SC in quanto impediscono l’ulteriore down-regulation recettoriale. Sono comunque necessari ulteriori studi per approfondire al meglio i meccanismi d’azione di questa classe di farmaci. Inoltre è stato dimostrato che in corso di SC si assiste alla disregolazione del sistema recettoriale della sfingosina1fosfato (S1P), un fosfolipide bioattivo con effetti cardioprotettivi, nonostante i livelli circolanti di tale fosfolipide siano ridotti. È noto che in corso di scompenso, l’iperattivazione dei recettori β adrenergici cardiaci, da parte delle catecolammine, porta anche ad una downregulation del recettore di tipo 1 della S1P, favorendo la progressione della patologia. Il cross-talk tra questi due sistemi recettoriali sembra essere orchestrato da GRK2, che rappresenta il principale regolatore di questa interazione. Nel presente studio abbiamo osservato che il Metoprololo, β bloccante selettivo per il recettore β1, è in grado di prevenire la disfunzione del signaling della S1P rallentando la progressione dello scompenso cardiaco. Quindi è possibile ipotizzare che parte degli effetti benefici mediati dai beta bloccanti siano dovuti al miglioramento del signaling della S1P

Exact period-four solutions of a family of n-dimensional quadratic maps via harmonic balance and Gröbner bases

Analytical solutions of the period-four orbits exhibited by a classical family of n-dimensionalquadratic maps are presented. Exact expressions are obtained by applying harmonic balance and Grobner bases to a single-input single-output representation of the system. A detailed study of a generalized scalar quadratic map and a well-known delayed logistic model is included for illustration. In the former example, conditions for the existence of bistability phenomenon are also introduced.Fil: D'amico, Edith Maria Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigación En Ingeniería Eléctrica; ArgentinaFil: Calandrini, Guillermo. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Matemática; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Eléctrica; Argentin

The contribution of the PLM to firms internationalization: A case in the footwear industry

As the globalization of markets in the footwear industry became more evident, several restrictions have been imposed by international directives, standards and regulations, and market requirements. Such external needs are progressively pushing the footwear manufacturers to introduce continuous improvements in their production processes and in general in the firm management. This working paper represents the first step of a research with the aim of evaluating the impact of PLM on a firm internazionalization in the fashion industry. The investigation is at the level of PLM as a business strategy as well as set of technical tools. The research approach mainly includes a survey on footwear industries located in the district of the \u201cRiviera del Brenta\u201d of the Veneto Region in Italy

Product Lifecycle Management as a tool to create value in the fashion system

The aim of this paper is to present the fashion system as a \u201ccluster\u201d and to evaluate the characteristics of Product Lifecycle Management considering various factors, especially the different approaches in dealing the market needs. In particular, the \u201cready-to-wear fashion\u201d and the \u201cfast fashion\u201d models will be presented and compared. The paper, takes the Italian fashion system as the unit of analysis and it also assumes that consumer behavioral factors act in a non predictable way (randomly) under the constantly changing social and cultural environment. Considering the inner complexity of a whole market system, a simplified System Dynamics modeling is proposed

Evaluation of the impact of pavement degradation on driving comfort and safety using a dynamic simulation model

The dynamic effects exerted by the vehicles on the road pavement have been thoroughly investigated over years. The main reason for this investigation is the major influence on the propagation and worsening of the pavement damages exerted by the dynamic loads rather than the static ones. To date, the modelling theories of systems have evolved, along with the computational capability of the modern calculators. To this effect, three-dimensional simulations of the tire-surface interaction are commonly used. These simulations take into account the dynamics of the load and the consequent deformation of the pavement. However, previous studies aimed at analyzing the above interaction for the optimisation strategies of the maintenance activities within the context of effective road asset management. On the contrary, this work focuses on the safety-related issues linked with the dynamic effects suffered by the vehicle, when passing on different road defects. The goal of this study is to analyse numerically the kinematic and the dynamic effects of the pavement degradations (and in particular rutting) on the driving safety. The simulation of the main characteristics and the evolution of the pavement damages over the time (e.g., the simulation of the tire-pavement contacts and the dynamic response on the vehicles) is a useful method for the development of safe and comprehensive rehabilitation programs. These are of paramount importance to limit the accident rates. The effects on the driving safety was analysed using a simulation model for the vehicles behaviour in the case of damaged pavements. Different road geometries and vehicle types were considered to evaluate the rutting effects on safety, as a function of the evolution stage of this type of pavement damage. In more detail, the performance characteristics of the vehicles, the dynamic and kinematic parameters (e.g., the vehicle trajectory and the vertical acceleration), were collected for pavement conditions with progressively high levels of rutting. The study proposes a theoretical model of qualitative relationships between differing stages and location of rutting, and the consequent effects on driving safety for different types of vehicles (passenger cars and powered two wheelers). It is worth to emphasize the relevance of this research for maintenance prioritization purposes at the road network level. Priority is based on the level of risk associated with the pavement degradations and with different types of vehicle

Good practices for the operational safety management in the early recovery phase of a seismic event using GPR

This study deals with a case report about the planning and the performance of GPR surveys carried out in the town of Amatrice, in the district of Rieti, Italy. As sadly known, the town has been hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in the nighttime of August 24th 2016. The strength of the seism, along with the age and the deterioration rate of the structural asset, have caused the razing to the ground and the critical damaging of the majority of the buildings within the “red zone area”, corresponding to the historical town center. In the early recovery phase taking place afterwards, the strong seismic swarm subsequent the main shake has sensitively slowed down the rescue and rehabilitation operations. Moreover, the main issue was related to the unsafety operational conditions of volunteers and firemen. To this effect, the geotechnical stability of the roads and the large operational areas represented critical issues, as up to 40 tons crane trucks were needed to put in safety the highest buildings, such as three-floor buildings and historical towers. In this framework, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) provided a valuable help in preliminary assessing the stability of the areas where the crane trucks were planned to operate as well as to be parked over. The main objective of the GPR tests was to verify the absence of possible cavities beneath the ground surface that could undermine the strength of the surface under heavy loadings. To that effect, a multi-frequency ground-coupled GPR system was used. This radar system can simultaneously collect data at both the frequencies of 600 MHz and 1600 MHz. Four different sites were surveyed, namely, two sections of the main road passed on by the cranes, and two machinery depot areas down by the towers. In the former case, the surveys were performed by parallel longitudinal scans, due to the significant longitudinal length of the sections, whereas in the latter, two grids with differing sizes were realized and scanned for producing horizontal tomographic maps. In both the cases, useful insights have been pointed out, and relevant critical areas of possible weaknesses in the soil strength, where to focus further and more specialist analyses, have been detected. It is important to emphasize on the details provided about the working procedures in such a complex environment

Evaluation of the impact of pavement degradation on driving comfort and safety using a dynamic simulation model

The dynamic effects induced by vehicles on road pavement have been thoroughly analysed over years [1]. The main reason of such focus is the major influence exerted on the propagation and worsening of pavement damages by the dynamic loads rather than the static ones [2]. To date, the modelling theories of systems have evolved, along with the computational capability of modern calculators. To this effect, three-dimensional simulations of the tire-surface interaction [3, 4] are commonly used. The simulations take into account both the dynamics of the load and the consequent deformation of the pavement. However, previous studies aimed at analyzing the above interaction for the optimisation strategies of the maintenance activities within the context of effective road asset management. On the contrary, this work focuses on the safety-related issues by the dynamic effects suffered by the vehicle, when passing on different road defects. The goal of this study is to numerically analyse the kinematic and dynamic impacts of the pavement degradations (and in particular rutting) on the driving safety. The simulation of the main characteristics and evolution of the pavement damages over the time, such as the simulation of the tire-pavement contacts and the dynamic response on the vehicles, is a useful tool for developing safe and comprehensive rehabilitation programs. These are of paramount importance to limit the accident rates. The impact on driving safety was analysed using a simulation model for the simulation of the vehicles behaviour in the case of damaged pavements. Specifically, different road geometries and vehicle’s typologies were considered to evaluate the rutting effects on safety, as a function of the evolution stage of this pavement damage. In more detail, the performance characteristics of the vehicles, the dynamic and cinematic parameters (e.g. the vehicle trajectory and the vertical acceleration), were collected for increasingly rutted pavement conditions. The study proposes qualitative relationships between differing stages and location of rutting, and the consequent impacts on driving safety for different types of vehicles (passenger cars and powered two wheelers). It is important to emphasize how this analysis could be helpful to the road agencies in prioritizing maintenance actions on large-scale road assets. Prioritization will be mainly focused on the level of risk associated with pavement degradations