The first part of this work reviews the algebraic matricial approach to transport data inversion. It works for the convection-diffusion transport equation used for periodic signals and provides a formally exact solution, as well as a quantitative assessment of error bars. The standard methods of reconstruction infer the diffusivity D and pinch V by matching experimental data against those simulated by transport codes. These methods do not warrant the validity of either the underlying models of transport, or of the reconstructed D(r) and V(r), even when the results look reasonable. However, the adoption of automated global search algorithms based upon genetic algorithms is bound to greatly increase the probability of finding optimal solutions.

The wind effect on river water quality was illustrated by means of thermohaline measurements carried out in the Tiber River in May 2012. The survey was carried out using a boat, in stations located in the two Tiber branches: Fiumara Grande and Traiano Canal. Thermohaline variables (salinity and temperature) were used to describe the water-type patterns and to define the salt-wedge position. Although the river flow rate was rather high, saltwater intrusion happened. Wind data suggested that the more probable cause of salt-wedge intrusion was the wind action. Especially wind speeds higher than 4 m/s are able to dominate the sea current at surface layers, determining an increase in the sea level. Therefore, westerly winds determined a seawater inflow in the river mouths.

Within the complex pathological picture associated to diabetes, high glucose (HG) has ". per se" effects on cells and tissues that involve epigenetic reprogramming of gene expression. In fetal tissues, epigenetic changes occur genome-wide and are believed to induce specific long term effects. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) obtained at delivery from gestational diabetic women were used to study the transcriptomic effects of chronic hyperglycemia in fetal vascular cells using Affymetrix microarrays. In spite of the small number of samples analyzed (n=6), genes related to insulin sensing and extracellular matrix reorganization were found significantly affected by HG. Quantitative PCR analysis of gene promoters identified a significant differential DNA methylation in TGFB2. Use of Ea.hy926 endothelial cells confirms data on HUVEC. Our study corroborates recent evidences suggesting that epigenetic reprogramming of gene expression occurs with persistent HG and provides a background for future investigations addressing genomic consequences of chronic HG. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

We develop a mathematical model for a three-phase free boundary problem in one dimension that involves interactions between gas, water and ice. The dynamics are driven by melting of the ice layer, while the pressurized gas also dissolves within the meltwater. The model incorporates the Stefan condition at the water-ice interface along with Henry's law for dissolution of gas at the gas-water interface. We employ a quasi-steady approximation for the phase temperatures and then derive a series solution for the interface positions. A non-standard feature of the model is an integral free boundary condition that arises from mass conservation owing to changes in gas density at the gas-water interface, which makes the problem non-self-adjoint. We derive a two-scale asymptotic series solution for the dissolved gas concentration, which because of the non-self-adjointness gives rise to a Fourier series expansion in eigenfunctions that do not satisfy the usual orthogonality conditions. Numerical simulations of the original governing equations are used to validate series approximations.

La realizzazione di una Smart City è un processo molto complesso e di lungo periodo: è necessaria una profonda conoscenza della realtà locale, dei bisogni della collettività e dei singoli individui, delle criticità e dei servizi che devono essere gestiti e garantiti. I servizi di e-health sono un tassello fondamentale verso la realizzazione di una smart city dal punto di vista socio-sanitario. In questo contesto, il progetto e-SHS, non solo si occupa di servizi e-ealth, in particolare per soggetti fragili, ma propone strumenti innovativi per la loro inclusione sociale e l'incremento della solidarietà sociale. L'obiettivo principale di e-SHS è la realizzazione di un primo nucleo di una piattaforma per lo sviluppo di servizi personali e personalizzati basati sull'uso di tecnologie ICT innovative e non invasive nel settore della salute e della solidarietà sociale. Il centro del sistema è rappresentato dall'utente-paziente verso il quale sono definiti e sviluppati servizi di monitoraggio e supporto costante nella gestione della propria salute e del proprio stile di vita, al fine di migliorarne la qualità della vita ed aumentarne l'autonomia e l'indipendenza nelle attività quotidiane, sia in ambiente domestico che in ambienti esterni. Gli utenti verso i quali questo progetto si indirizza sono persone anziane, con problemi di riabilitazione motoria, con parametri vitali da tenere sotto controllo e con disturbi del sonno. Per la sperimentazione saranno coinvolti soggetti volontari. In particolare, e-SHS include servizi per: 1) il monitoraggio di parametri vitali degli utenti 2) il supporto all'esecuzione di attività riabilitative in ambiente domestico; 3) un supporto per monitorare le interazioni sociali degli utenti e migliorarne l'inclusione sociale nelle attività quotidiane; 4) lo sviluppo di reti di supporto sociale che coinvolgono pazienti, familiari, assistenti (i.e., caregivers), allo scopo di promuovere la continuità di assistenza socio-sanitaria in diversi ambienti. Le competenze presenti nel settore "ICT for health, care and well-being" negli 11 istituti del CNR partecipanti al progetto vanno ben oltre quelle che saranno utilizzate in questo progetto. In questo documento si intende presentare le principali attività di ricerca svolte nei singoli istituti ed attinenti al progetto e-SHS, cercando di evidenziare il filo conduttore che porterà alla definizione di un'unica architettura di sistema.

Background: The growth arrest-specific transcript 5 gene (GAS5) encodes a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and hosts a number of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that have recently been implicated in multiple cellular processes and cancer. Here, we investigate the relationship between DNA damage, p53, and the GAS5 snoRNAs to gain further insight into the potential role of this locus in cell survival and oncogenesis both in vivo and in vitro. Methods: We used quantitative techniques to analyse the effect of DNA damage on GAS5 snoRNA expression and to assess the relationship between p53 and the GAS5 snoRNAs in cancer cell lines and in normal, pre-malignant, and malignant human colorectal tissue and used biological techniques to suggest potential roles for these snoRNAs in the DNA damage response. Results: GAS5-derived snoRNA expression was induced by DNA damage in a p53-dependent manner in colorectal cancer cell lines and their levels were not affected by DICER. Furthermore, p53 levels strongly correlated with GAS5-derived snoRNA expression in colorectal tissue. Conclusions: In aggregate, these data suggest that the GAS5-derived snoRNAs are under control of p53 and that they have an important role in mediating the p53 response to DNA damage, which may not relate to their function in the ribosome. We suggest that these snoRNAs are not processed by DICER to form smaller snoRNA-derived RNAs with microRNA (miRNA)-like functions, but their precise role requires further evaluation. Furthermore, since GAS5 host snoRNAs are often used as endogenous controls in qPCR quantifications we show that their use as housekeeping genes in DNA damage experiments can lead to inaccurate results. © 2014 Krell et al.

We analyze a peer-assisted Video-on-Demand (VoD) system in which users contribute their upload bandwidth to the redistribution of a video that they are downloading or that they have cached locally. Our target is to characterize the additional bandwidth that servers must supply to immediately satisfy all requests to watch a given video. We develop an approximate fluid model to compute the required server bandwidth in the sequential delivery case, as well as in controlled nonsequential swarms. Our approach is able to capture several stochastic effects related to peer churn, upload bandwidth heterogeneity, and nonstationary traffic conditions, which have not been documented or analyzed before. Finally, we provide important hints for the design of efficient peer-assisted VoD systems under server capacity constraints.

We study in what sense one can determine the flux functions k = k(x) and f = f(u), k piecewise constant, in the scalar hyperbolic conservation law u(t) + (k(x)f (u))(x) = 0 by observing the solution u(t, center dot) of the Cauchy problem with suitable piecewise constant initial data u vertical bar(t=0) = u(o).

We consider stochastic differential games with N players, linear-Gaussian dynamics in arbitrary state-space dimension, and long-time-average cost with quadratic running cost. Admissible controls are feedbacks for which the system is ergodic. We first study the existence of affine Nash equilibria by means of an associated system of N Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) and N Kolmogorov-Fokker-Planck (KFP) partial differential equations. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of quadratic-Gaussian solutions in terms of the solvability of suitable algebraic Riccati and Sylvester equations. Under a symmetry condition on the running costs and for nearly identical players, we study the large population limit, N tending to infinity, and find a unique quadratic-Gaussian solution of the pair of mean-field game HJB-KFP equations. Examples of explicit solutions are given, in particular for consensus problems.