University of Naples Federico II

About: University of Naples Federico II is a education organization based out in Naples, Campania, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 29291 authors who have published 68803 publications receiving 1920149 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II & Naples University.

A Brief Review of Systems Theories and Their Managerial Applications

Abstract: Since Aristotle’s claim that knowledge is derived from the understanding of the whole and not that of the single parts (Aristotle’s Holism), researchers have been struggling with systems and parts in terms of their contents and their relative dynamics. This historic effort evolved during the last century into so-called “systems theory” (Bogdanov, 1922, 1980; von Bertalanffy, 1968, Lazlo, 1996; Meadows, 2008). Systems theory is an interdisciplinary theory about every system in nature, in society and in many scientific domains as well as a framework with which we can investigate phenomena from a holistic approach (Capra, 1997). Systems thinking comes from the shift in attention from the part to the whole (Checkland, 1997; Weinberg, 2001; Jackson, 2003), considering the observed reality as an integrated and interacting unicuum of phenomena where the individual properties of the single parts become indistinct. In contrast, the relationships between the parts themselves and the events they produce through their interaction become much more important, with the result that “system elements are rationally connected” (Luhmann, 1990) towards a shared purpose (Golinelli, 2009).

Regulation of autophagy by the inositol trisphosphate receptor

Abstract: The reduction of intracellular 1,4,5-inositol trisphosphate (IP(3)) levels stimulates autophagy, whereas the enhancement of IP(3) levels inhibits autophagy induced by nutrient depletion. Here, we show that knockdown of the IP(3) receptor (IP(3)R) with small interfering RNAs and pharmacological IP(3)R blockade is a strong stimulus for the induction of autophagy. The IP(3)R is known to reside in the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as well as within ER-mitochondrial contact sites, and IP(3)R blockade triggered the autophagy of both ER and mitochondria, as exactly observed in starvation-induced autophagy. ER stressors such as tunicamycin and thapsigargin also induced autophagy of ER and, to less extent, of mitochondria. Autophagy triggered by starvation or IP(3)R blockade was inhibited by Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) specifically targeted to ER but not Bcl-2 or Bcl-X(L) proteins targeted to mitochondria. In contrast, ER stress-induced autophagy was not inhibited by Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L). Autophagy promoted by IP(3)R inhibition could not be attributed to a modulation of steady-state Ca(2+) levels in the ER or in the cytosol, yet involved the obligate contribution of Beclin-1, autophagy-related gene (Atg)5, Atg10, Atg12 and hVps34. Altogether, these results strongly suggest that IP(3)R exerts a major role in the physiological control of autophagy.

Search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a W or a Z boson and decaying to bottom quarks

Abstract: A search for the standard model Higgs boson (H) decaying to bb¯ when produced in association with a weak vector boson (V) is reported for the following channels: W(μν)H, W(eν)H, W(τν)H, Z(μμ)H, Z(ee)H, and Z(νν)H. The search is performed in data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 5.1 inverse femtobarns at s√=7 TeV and up to 18.9 fb−1 at s√=8 TeV, recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. An excess of events is observed above the expected background with a local significance of 2.1 standard deviations for a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, consistent with the expectation from the production of the standard model Higgs boson. The signal strength corresponding to this excess, relative to that of the standard model Higgs boson, is 1.0±0.5.

Diabetic Retinopathy: Vascular and Inflammatory Disease

Abstract: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of visual impairment in the working-age population of the Western world. The pathogenesis of DR is complex and several vascular, inflammatory, and neuronal mechanisms are involved. Inflammation mediates structural and molecular alterations associated with DR. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the inflammatory pathways associated with DR are not completely characterized. Previous studies indicate that tissue hypoxia and dysregulation of immune responses associated with diabetes mellitus can induce increased expression of numerous vitreous mediators responsible for DR development. Thus, analysis of vitreous humor obtained from diabetic patients has made it possible to identify some of the mediators (cytokines, chemokines, and other factors) responsible for DR pathogenesis. Further studies are needed to better understand the relationship between inflammation and DR. Herein the main vitreous-related factors triggering the occurrence of retinal complication in diabetes are highlighted.

Protein folding and conformational stress in microbial cells producing recombinant proteins: a host comparative overview

Abstract: Different species of microorganisms including yeasts, filamentous fungi and bacteria have been used in the past 25 years for the controlled production of foreign proteins of scientific, pharmacological or industrial interest. A major obstacle for protein production processes and a limit to overall success has been the abundance of misfolded polypeptides, which fail to reach their native conformation. The presence of misfolded or folding-reluctant protein species causes considerable stress in host cells. The characterization of such adverse conditions and the elicited cell responses have permitted to better understand the physiology and molecular biology of conformational stress. Therefore, microbial cell factories for recombinant protein production are depicted here as a source of knowledge that has considerably helped to picture the extremely rich landscape of in vivo protein folding, and the main cellular players of this complex process are described for the most important cell factories used for biotechnological purposes.