Finite element shakedown analysis of two‐dimensional structures

In the present paper, the formulation proposed by Casciaro and Garcea (Comput. Meth. Appl. Mech. Eng., 2002; 191 :5761–5792) and applied to the shakedown analysis of plane frames, is extended to the analysis of two‐dimensional flat structures in both the cases of plane‐stress and plane‐strain. The discrete formulation is obtained using a mixed finite element in which both stress and displacement fields are interpolated. The material is assumed to be elasto‐plastic and a linearization of the elastic domain is performed. The result is a versatile iterative scheme well suited to implementation in general purpose FEM codes. An extensive series of numerical tests is presented showing the reliability of the proposed formulation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Introducing QoS awareness in distributed programming: QTcl

A number of distributed applications require communication services with quality of service (QoS) guarantees. Building global‐scale distributed systems with predictable properties is one of the great challenges for computer systems engineering in the new century. Work undertaken within the Internet Engineering Task Force has led to the definition of novel architectural models for the Internet with QoS support. According to these models, the network has to be appropriately configured in order to provide applications with the required performance guarantees. In next‐generation networks, enabling applications to interact with the underlying QoS services is of primary importance. Hence, several special‐purpose application programming interfaces (APIs) have been defined to let applications negotiate QoS parameters across QoS‐capable networks. However, so far, none of these APIs are available in different operating environments. We believe that such features should be embedded in programming environments for distributed applications. In this work we present how we included QoS control features in Tcl, a programming language that has been widely adopted for the development of distributed multimedia applications. Our work has led to the implementation of QTcl, an extended Tcl interpreter that provides programmers with a new set of primitives, in full compliance with the standard SCRAPI programming interface for the RSVP protocol. QTcl in highly portable, in that it enables standard QoS negotiation to be performed in a seamless fashion on the most common operating systems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electronic Commerce Customer Relationship Management: A Research Agenda

In this paper, we approach electronic commerce Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM) from the perspective of five research areas. Our purpose is to define a conceptual framework to examine the relationships among and between these five research areas within e-CRM and to propose how they might be integrated to further research this area. We begin with a discussion of each of the research areas through brief reviews of relevant literature for each and a discussion of the theoretical and strategic implications associated with some CRM technologies and research areas. Next we present our framework, which focuses on e-CRM from the five research perspectives. We then present a theoretical framework for e-CRM in terms of the five research areas and how they affect one another, as well as e-CRM processes and both performance and non-performance outcomes.     

Integration of XML Schemas at various “severity” levels

This paper presents a novel approach for the integration of a set of eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Schemas. The proposed approach is specialized for XML, almost automatic, semantic and “light”. Further, an original peculiarity is that it is parametric w.r.t. a “severity” level against which the integration task is performed. The paper describes the approach in all details, illustrates various theoretical results, presents the experiments we have performed for testing it and, finally, compares it with various related approaches already proposed in the literature.     

Hyaluronic Acid Scaffolds for Loco-Regional Therapy in Nervous System Related Disorders

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a Glycosaminoglycan made of disaccharide units containing N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and glucuronic acid. Its molecular mass can reach 10 MDa and its physiological properties depend on its polymeric property, polyelectrolyte feature and viscous nature. HA is a ubiquitous compound found in almost all biological tissues and fluids. So far, HA grades are produced by biotechnology processes, while in the human organism it is a major component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in brain tissue, synovial fluid, vitreous humor, cartilage and skin. Indeed, HA is capable of forming hydrogels, polymer crosslinked networks that are very hygroscopic. Based on these considerations, we propose an overview of HA-based scaffolds developed for brain cancer treatment, central and peripheral nervous systems, discuss their relevance and identify the most successful developed systems.     

Translational Implications for Radiosensitizing Strategies in Rhabdomyosarcoma

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma of childhood and adolescence that includes FP-RMS, harboring the fusion oncoprotein PAX3/7-FOXO1 and FN-RMS, often mutant in the RAS pathway. Risk stratifications of RMS patients determine different prognostic groups and related therapeutic treatment. Current multimodal therapeutic strategies involve surgery, chemotherapy (CHT) and radiotherapy (RT), but despite the deeper knowledge of response mechanisms underpinning CHT treatment and the technological improvements that characterize RT, local failures and recurrence frequently occur. This review sums up the RMS classification and the management of RMS patients, with special attention to RT treatment and possible radiosensitizing strategies for RMS tumors. Indeed, RMS radioresistance is a clinical problem and further studies aimed at dissecting radioresistant molecular mechanisms are needed to identify specific targets to hit, thus improving RT-induced cytotoxicity.     

Neurodegenerative Diseases: Can Caffeine Be a Powerful Ally to Weaken Neuroinflammation?

In recent years, there has been considerable research showing that coffee consumption seems to be beneficial to human health, as it contains a mixture of different bioactive compounds such as chlorogenic acids, caffeic acid, alkaloids, diterpenes and polyphenols. Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are debilitating, and non-curable diseases associated with impaired central, peripheral and muscle nervous systems. Several studies demonstrate that neuroinflammation mediated by glial cells—such as microglia and astrocytes—is a critical factor contributing to neurodegeneration that causes the dysfunction of brain homeostasis, resulting in a progressive loss of structure, function, and number of neuronal cells. This happens over time and leads to brain damage and physical impairment. The most known chronic NDs are represented by Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington’s disease (HD). According to epidemiological studies, regular coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we summarize the latest research about the potential effects of caffeine in neurodegenerative disorders prevention and discuss the role of controlled caffeine delivery systems in maintaining high plasma caffeine concentrations for an extended time.     

Microbiota Composition in Diverticular Disease: Implications for Therapy

Gut microbiota (GM) composition and its imbalance are crucial in the pathogenesis of several diseases, mainly those affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Colon diverticulosis and its clinical manifestations (diverticular disease, DD) are among the most common digestive disorders in developed countries. In recent literature, the role of GM imbalance in the onset of the different manifestations within the clinical spectrum of DD has been highlighted. This narrative review aims to summarize and critically analyze the current knowledge on GM dysbiosis in diverticulosis and DD by comparing the available data with those found in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The rationale for using probiotics to rebalance dysbiosis in DD is also discussed.     

Mechano-Transduction Boosts the Aging Effects in Human Erythrocytes Submitted to Mechanical Stimulation

Erythrocytes’ aging and mechano-transduction are fundamental cellular pathways that determine the red blood cells’ (RBCs) behavior and function. The aging pattern can be influenced, in morphological, biochemical, and metabolic terms by the environmental conditions. In this paper, we studied the effect of a moderate mechanical stimulation applied through external shaking during the RBCs aging and revealed a strong acceleration of the aging pattern induced by such stimulation. Moreover, we evaluated the behavior of the main cellular effectors and resources in the presence of drugs (diamide) or of specific inhibitors of the mechano-transduction (probenecid, carbenoxolone, and glibenclamide). This approach provided the first evidence of a direct cross-correlation between aging and mechano-transduction and permitted an evaluation of the overall metabolic regulation and of the insurgence of specific morphological features, such as micro-vesicles and roughness alterations. Overall, for the first time the present data provided a schematic to understand the integration of distinct complex patterns in a comprehensive view of the cell and of its interactions with the environment. Mechano-transduction produces structural effects that are correlated with the stimulation and the strength of the environmental stimulation is paramount to effectively activate and trigger the biological cascades initiated by the mechano-sensing.