Acto conmemorativo del Día del Libro 2011 organizado por la Biblioteca Universitaria

Acto conmemorativo con motivo del Día del Libro (23 de abril), organizado por la Biblioteca Universitaria y celebrado el 29 de abril de 2011 en el Salón de Actos de la Facultad de Formación del Profesorado con el siguiente contenido: Conferencia titulada "Tomás Morales: una vida para la poesía" a cargo de Oswaldo Guerra Sánchez; Entrega de los premios del II Premio de Relato Corto sobre vida universitaria por parte de la Vicerrectora de Cultura y Deporte, doña Isabel Pascua Febles y la Directora de la Biblioteca Universitaria doña María del Carmen Martín Marichal; Interpretación a cargo de Vicent Bru i Soler de las piezas musicales "In nomine" de John Bull (ca. 1562-1628) y "Pasacalle" de Joan B. Cabanilles (1644-1712)

Correzioni asintotiche per il teorema del limite centrale generalizzato.

Vengono presentate correzioni agli sviluppi asintotici di Edgeworth per densità di somme di variabili aleatorie stabili. Queste stime sono successivamente implementate in Matlab, con particolare attenzioni agli approssimanti in forma razionale di Padè. Nell'Appendice viene poi fornita la distribuzione di zeri degli approssimanti di Padè per la funzione esponenziale.

Modellazione della famiglia di linguaggi SOS

Indagine sulla varietà sintattica presente all'interno dei formalismi di specifica della semantica operazionale strutturale (SOS) di linguaggi di programmazione e calcolo di processi. Rassegna di tool di implementazione con attenzione al grado di copertura linguistica.

Microrganismi probiotici per le piante: una strategia di riduzione degli input nella coltura del pomodoro col metodo biologico

In the recent years, consumers became more aware and sensible in respect to environment and food safety matters. They are more and more interested in organic agriculture and markets and tend to prefer ‘organic’ products more than their traditional counterparts. To increase the quality and reduce the cost of production in organic and low-input agriculture, the 6FP-European “QLIF” project investigated the use of natural products such as bio-inoculants. They are mostly composed by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and other microorganisms, so-called “plant probiotic” microorganisms (PPM), because they help keeping an high yield, even under abiotic and biotic stressful conditions. Italian laws (DLgs 217, 2006) have recently included them as “special fertilizers”. This thesis focuses on the use of special fertilizers when growing tomatoes with organic methods in open field conditions, and the effects they induce on yield, quality and microbial rhizospheric communities. The primary objective was to achieve a better understanding of how plant-probiotic micro-flora management could buffer future reduction of external inputs, while keeping tomato fruit yield, quality and system sustainability. We studied microbial rhizospheric communities with statistical, molecular and histological methods. This work have demonstrated that long-lasting introduction of inoculum positively affected micorrhizal colonization and resistance against pathogens. Instead repeated introduction of compost negatively affected tomato quality, likely because it destabilized the ripening process, leading to over-ripening and increasing the amount of not-marketable product. Instead. After two years without any significant difference, the third year extreme combinations of inoculum and compost inputs (low inoculum with high amounts of compost, or vice versa) increased mycorrhizal colonization. As a result, in order to reduce production costs, we recommend using only inoculum rather than compost. Secondly, this thesis analyses how mycorrhizal colonization varies in respect to different tomato cultivars and experimental field locations. We found statistically significant differences between locations and between arbuscular colonization patterns per variety. To confirm these histological findings, we started a set of molecular experiments. The thesis discusses preliminary results and recommends their continuation and refinement to gather the complete results.

Atomic force microscopy of biomimetic systems

This thesis was driven by the ambition to create suitable model systems that mimic complex processes in nature, like intramolecular transitions, such as unfolding and refolding of proteins, or intermolecular interactions between different cell compo-nents. Novel biophysical approaches were adopted by employing atomic force mi-croscopy (AFM) as the main measurement technique due to its broad diversity. Thus, high-resolution imaging, adhesion measurements, and single-molecule force distance experiments were performed on the verge of the instrumental capabilities. As first objective, the interaction between plasma membrane and cytoskeleton, me-diated by the linker protein ezrin, was pursued. Therefore, the adsorption process and the lateral organization of ezrin on PIP2 containing solid-supported membranes were characterized and quantified as a fundament for the establishment of a biomimetic model system. As second component of the model system, actin filaments were coated on functionalized colloidal probes attached on cantilevers, serving as sensor elements. The zealous endeavor of creating this complex biomimetic system was rewarded by successful investigation of the activation process of ezrin. As a result, it can be stated that ezrin is activated by solely binding to PIP2 without any further stimulating agents. Additional cofactors may stabilize and prolong the active conformation but are not essentially required for triggering ezrin’s transformation into an active conformation. In the second project, single-molecule force distance experiments were performed on bis-loop tetra-urea calix[4]arene-catenanes with different loading rates (increase in force per second). These macromolecules were specifically designed to investigate the rupture and rejoining mechanism of hydrogen bonds under external load. The entangled loops of capsule-like molecules locked the unbound state of intramolecular hydrogen bonds mechanically, rendering a rebinding observable on the experimental time scale. In conjunction with Molecular Dynamics simulations, a three-well potential of the bond rupture process was established and all kinetically relevant parameters of the experiments were determined by means of Monte Carlo simulations and stochastic modeling. In summary, it can be stated that atomic force microscopy is an invaluable tool to scrutinize relevant processes in nature, such as investigating activation mechanisms in proteins, as shown by analysis of the interaction between F-actin and ezrin, as well as exploring fundamental properties of single hydrogen bonds that are of paramount interest for the complete understanding of complex supramolecular structures.

Detection of dentinal cracks after root-end resection: an ex vivo study comparing microscopy and endoscopy with scanning electron microscopy

Dentinal cracks are occasionally observed at the cut root face after root-end resection in apical surgery. The objective of this ex vivo study was to evaluate and compare the efficiency of visual aids to identify root-end dentinal cracks.

Iatrogenic left main coronary artery dissection: incidence, classification, management, and long-term follow-up

Although rare, iatrogenic left main coronary artery (LM) dissection is a feared complication of coronary catheterization. Its incidence, optimal therapeutic management, and prognosis remain largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to estimate the incidence, characterize the population at risk, depict the initial management, and evaluate the long-term prognosis of iatrogenic LM dissection.

A comparison of the conformability of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds to metal platform coronary stents

The aim of this study was to assess the differences in terms of curvature and angulation of the treated vessel after the deployment of either a metallic stent or a polymeric scaffold device.

Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts and drivers

Pollinators are a key component of global biodiversity, providing vital ecosystem services to crops and wild plants. There is clear evidence of recent declines in both wild and domesticated pollinators, and parallel declines in the plants that rely upon them. Here we describe the nature and extent of reported declines, and review the potential drivers of pollinator loss, including habitat loss and fragmentation, agrochemicals, pathogens, alien species, climate change and the interactions between them. Pollinator declines can result in loss of pollination services which have important negative ecological and economic impacts that could significantly affect the maintenance of wild plant diversity, wider ecosystem stability, crop production, food security and human welfare.

Echinococcus multilocularis phosphoglucose isomerase (EmPGI): a glycolytic enzyme involved in metacestode growth and parasite-host cell interactions

In Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes, the surface-associated and highly glycosylated laminated layer, and molecules associated with this structure, is believed to be involved in modulating the host-parasite interface. We report on the molecular and functional characterisation of E. multilocularis phosphoglucose isomerase (EmPGI), which is a component of this laminated layer. The EmPGI amino acid sequence is virtually identical to that of its homologue in Echinococcus granulosus, and shares 64% identity and 86% similarity with human PGI. Mammalian PGI is a multi-functional protein which, besides its glycolytic function, can also act as a cytokine, growth factor and inducer of angiogenesis, and plays a role in tumour growth, development and metastasis formation. Recombinant EmPGI (recEmPGI) is also functionally active as a glycolytic enzyme and was found to be present, besides the laminated layer, in vesicle fluid and in germinal layer cell extracts. EmPGI is released from metacestodes and induces a humoral immune response in experimentally infected mice, and vaccination of mice with recEmPGI renders these mice more resistant towards secondary challenge infection, indicating that EmPGI plays an important role in parasite development and/or in modulating the host-parasite relationship. We show that recEmPGI stimulates the growth of isolated E. multilocularis germinal layer cells in vitro and selectively stimulates the proliferation of bovine adrenal cortex endothelial cells but not of human fibroblasts and rat hepatocytes. Thus, besides its role in glycolysis, EmPGI could also act as a factor that stimulates parasite growth and potentially induces the formation of novel blood vessels around the developing metacestode in vivo.