With the increasing influence of technology on our lives, it is becoming ever more important to offer new ambient intelligence solutions which enable humans to adapt and organize their lives around computational technologies and technologies that adapt to meet user behaviour. We apply machine learning techniques to demonstrate how user needs can be satisfied and anticipated by adding Ambient Intelligence solutions to any environment equipped with well-established commercial domotic ...

We present a novel environment that supports the design of multi-device service-based interactive applications by using several user interface abstraction levels and utilizing the composition of annotated services. Web services are increasingly used to support remote and distributed access to application functionalities, thus enabling a large gamut of interactive applications. However, when the user support (the service front end) is developed after delivering the Web services, it is often ...

The advent of new technologies and the close collaboration among ISN-CNR researchers and other Italian and foreign scientists allowed to identify the modification of a gene, common to the high percentage of ascertained cases of ALS. The study was developed through two genetic analysis tools, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of ALS cases and controls, and studies using the new generation sequencing technology in an attempt to identify the genetic lesion responsible for disease. The gene ...

Evaluation of the biocompatibility and biofunctionality of novel biomaterials for regenerative medicine after trauma or degenerative diseases (e.g. osteoarthritis, osteoporosis). The in vitro studies investigate cytotoxicity, biocompatibility, biofunctionality, bioactivity of biological and synthetic materials. A novel research topic is dedicated to magnetic materials, using innovative magnetic nanoparticles HA-based (patented by our lab) we can magnetize cells and guide them in a specific site ...

La Posta Elettronica Certificata (PEC) è una estensione della Posta Elettronica disponibile in Internet. Estendendo il classico sistema di posta elettronica e aggiungendo nuove funzioni che servono a certificare (in modo tale da avere valore legale) i vari eventi cui è soggetto un messaggio durante il suo transito in rete (invio dal mittente, trasporto, consegna al destinatario), la PEC si configura oggi come uno strumento semplice, rapido ed efficace per snellire processi, velocizzare ...

Per una migliore integrazione degli ipovedenti nelle attività lavorative è essenziale potenziare le opportunità di apprendimento che consentano loro di acquisire conoscenze e abilità indispensabili per svolgere specifici compiti. In particolare, le Tecnologie Informatiche per la Comunicazione (ICT) possono contribuire al miglioramento dell'integrazione scolastica, lavorativa e sociale delle persone portatrici di handicap fisici e psichici, fornendo validi strumenti per l'autonomia personale. ...

The therapeutic effects induced by cannabinoid drugs are well known since thousands of years. However, the recreational use of marijuana has indirectly limited a rigorous scientific evaluation of these pharmacological agents in the clinical practice. In our laboratories, we have screened and selected several cannabinoid ligands in order to evaluate the therapeutic benefits that might be attributable to these drugs. Our pre-clinical analyses confirmed that cannabinoid compounds may have ...

Share.TEC, the European project coordinated by ITD-CNR (Genova), is currently nearing conclusion. The project has yielded significant results for the adoption of innovative technologies in Teacher Education (TE ) processes. These outcomes impact both on Initial Teacher Education and on more informal processes of self-guided in-service training. Technology-driven innovation in TE is conducive to the development of transnational, multilingual and multicultural approaches capable of overcoming ...

Digital networks are an interesting context lending itself very well to implement learning processes based on socio-constructivist theories. In fact, online learning means building and sharing new knowledge based on peers interactions from a distance and this approach can be applied to all major learning contexts, i.e. school, university, adult education and informal learning. In formal education, a rather frequent setting entails that students interact through a Computer Mediated ...

La discalculia evolutiva è un disturbo di apprendimento della matematica che si manifesta nella lettura e scrittura dei numeri e nell'automatizzazione delle competenze del calcolo aritmetico, in bambini di intelligenza normale. La discalculia evolutiva colpisce una percentuale significativa di studenti stimata tra il 3% e il 5% della popolazione scolastica. Il disturbo dello sviluppo in campo aritmetico determina gravi difficoltà e ostacoli anche nei successivi apprendimenti in campo ...

"L'impronta varietale data dall'uva utilizzata per la vinificazione è uno degli elementi di maggiore impatto sull'espressione delle note organolettiche dei vini. Se poi la varietà di vite è un vecchio vitigno 'dimenticato', uno di quelli quasi scomparsi dai nostri vigneti per effetto della modernizzazione nell'assortimento, ma di locale valore storico e culturale, allora la questione si fa ancor più affascinante". A dirlo è Anna Schneider dell'Istituto di virologia vegetale (Ivv) del Cnr di ...

The cell response to endogenous DNA damage is still largely unexplored. The paper published on Nucleic Acids Research by Alessandra Montecucco laboratory demonstrates that splicing factor SRSF1 is hyper-phosphorylated in response to increased levels of replication-dependent DNA damage in DNA ligase I defective cells. This is accompanied by a change in alternative splicing events controlled by SRSF1 such as the production of Ron oncogene and caspase 9 alternative mRNAs. Both SRSF1 phosphorylation ...

Di Barukh Spinoza, il filosofo nato ad Amsterdam nel 1632 da una famiglia di ebrei fuggiti dal Portogallo in seguito agli editti di persecuzione, ci restavano soltanto le opere pubblicate a stampa, per la gran parte dopo la sua morte. Non esistevano infatti manoscritti spinoziani a eccezione di qualche lettera e di due copie della traduzione nederlandese del Breve trattato su Dio, l'uomo e la sua felicità, un testo rimasto incompiuto e che non fu inserito nell'edizione delle opere postume, ...

The study, published on the jorunal "Plant Cell", has been conducted by the DNA Enzymology team at the IGM-CNR, led by Dr. Giovanni Maga, together with the laboratory of Plant Molecular Biology of the University of Pavia, coordinated by Prof. Rino Cella. Oxidative stress, arising from either intracellular metabolism or exogenous sources (UV, radiations, pollution, smoking), can alter the chemical nature of DNA, inducing mutations. The group of Dr. Maga has previously published in the journal ...

This work represents the most extensive data collection so far made regarding the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare genetic disorder linked to the X chromosome that causes severe deficits on platelets as well as on of the immune system cells. The project has involved 12 of the most important American and European transplant centers, allowing the collection of data on transplantation and the subsequent follow-up of 194 patients ...

Cellular DNA is constantly exposed to endogenous and exogenous damaging agents, such as free oxygen radicals, UV light and carcinogenic pollutants. The resulting chemical modifications of DNA bases, alter the genetic information contained in the cellular genome, causing mutations. Cells have evolved specialized enzymes, the so called translesion DNA polymerases, capable of retrieving the correct information from damaged DNA. Failure or misregulation of these mechanisms can lead to cancer. The ...

A study conducted by IGM-CNR researchers and published in the European Journal of Human Genetics, has established the importance of a human single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human genome in the smoking behavior in the Italian population. In 2008, some studies had identified a biallelic variant present in the gene cluster CHRNA5-A3-B4 as associated to the smoker's addiction to large amounts of nicotine consumption (> 10 cigarettes per day). The same nucleotide variant has been ...

A large research project identifies 68 regions of the genome that regulate the formation and structure of the blood cells, affecting in many diseases. Millions of genetic variants were analyzed in 70,000 individuals. The study, carried out in collaboration between 100 research institutions, of which nine Italian, was published in Nature. The joint efforts of researchers from four different continents, pertaining to one hundred research institutions, nine of which Italian, identify genetic ...

Vehicular networks are large-scale communication systems envisioned to exploit wireless technologies to interconnect moving cars. The principle is to let vehicles 'talk' to each other or to some roadside infrastructure through wireless links, so as to build autonomous networks in urban areas or along highways. Vehicular networks are foreseen to provide drivers with real-time information on potential dangers, traffic conditions, and travel times. By exploiting such data, drivers (or fast-reacting ...

Grazie all'impiego di una tecnologia e di un protocollo innovativi l'Istituto di genetica e biofisica "Adriano Buzzati Traverso" (Igb) del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche (Cnr) ha ottenuto un profilo completo dei geni alterati nei pazienti con Sindrome di Down, scoprendo che è l'interazione dei geni presenti sul cromosoma 21 con altri geni a determinarne le alterazioni patologiche. Lo studio, pubblicato sulla rivista PLos ONE, è stato coordinato da Alfredo Ciccodicola e condotto da ...

Anche il Dipartimento di progettazione molecolare del Cnr contribuisce, con progetti condotti dall'Istituto di cristallografia di Roma, allo studio delle possibili alterazioni dello stato di salute degli equipaggi coinvolti nella missione spaziale simulata e nel volo verso la Stazione spaziale internazionale, previsto ad aprile 2011 Si arricchisce di un altro importante tassello il contributo che il Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche svolge a supporto della missione 'Mars 500', l'esperimento ...

I pedoni in gruppo e le folle si comportano come pecore, quando non sanno dove andare, e si possono controllare: una scoperta, a cui ha contribuito l'Iac-Cnr, che con un'opportuna guida 'nascosta' potrebbe consentire di gestire in modo ottimale situazioni quali i flussi dei pellegrini al prossimo Giubileo. L'esperimento è apparso su arXiv In situazioni di confusione, i gruppi umani si comportano esattamente come le greggi: tendono a seguire le persone davanti a loro, in particolare se sembrano ...

Looking at images usually linked to a sound activates the superior temporal auditory cortex in a tenth of a second. The study carried out by the University of Milan-Bicocca and Ibfm-CNR reveals, besides other neurophysiological mechanisms, why seeing the labial fosters language comprehension and why the off-sync distorts it so heavily. The auditory cortex is activated by vision too. Looking at pictures linked to a sound, for instance a saxophonist with his bulging cheeks blowing into his ...

DOCUMENTARY IN COMPETITION IN ROME DOCSCIENT 2011

The EMMA (European Mouse Mutant Archive) and Mouse Clinic network infrastructures coordinate the production, phenotyping, cryo-preservation and distribution of mutant strains that model human diseases, with implementation of dedicated bioinformatics resources (www.emmanet.org). EMMA was created by CNR nel 1996, with its central facility at the Monterotondo Campus, in collaboration with the most important European Institutions for biomedical research (CNRS,MRC,Karolinska Inst.,Gulbenkian ...

To investigate the existence in human beings of the "mirror neurons" originally found in monkeys by means of single cell recordings, Alice Mado Proverbio and Federica Riva at the University of Milan-Bicocca, together with Alberto Zani at the Institute of Molecular Bioimaging and Physiology (IBFM) of CNR at Milan, recorded brain electrical potentials in a group of volunteers. Now in print in Neuropsychologia, the findings of the present study point out the neuronal processes going on in our ...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe condition characterised by muscle loss and causd by the absence of the cytoskeletal protein dystrophin. The utrophin protein can in part replace distrophyn and alleviate the symptoms associated with dystrophin loss in DMD patients. In this work the IBPM team led by Claudio Passananti sought to obtain therapeutic levels of utrophin expression in dystrophic muscles. They developed artificial transcriptiopn factors based on a particular module, called ...

A study by Italian researchers of CNR-IBPM and Sapienza University of Rome published in the Nature Structural and Molecular Biology was able to depict the structural features of a misfolded intermediate. This study reports the first structure of a misfolded state and represents the first step towards our understanding of the misfolding cascade, the cause of several human pathologies. Incorrectly folded states transiently populated during the protein folding process are potentially prone to ...

Urban pollution is a many-sided issue of main complexity, either since a major fraction of population live in large or medium- sized cities, where exposure to the urban cocktail may induce serious health effects, or due to the fact that urban areas represent an important pollution source themselves. Concerning the airborne particulate matter, a hugely composite mix of many different inorganic and organic chemical species under solid or liquid phase in the atmosphere, the urban environment ...

An extensive investigation focused on the occurrence of legal and illicit psychotropic substances in the atmosphere was started in 2006, after cocaine was identified in Rome. Several investigations have been carried out in Italy and abroad in urban, suburban and rural areas, and an important data base has been set up. According to it, the illicit substances seem to be widespread in the environment and show time and space modulations independent of those of usual air pollutants. On the basis of ...