MicroRNAs play a fundamental role in retinal development and function. To characterise the miRNome of the human retina, we carried out deep sequencing analysis on sixteen individuals. We established the catalogue of retina-expressed miRNAs, determined their relative abundance and found that a small number of miRNAs accounts for almost 90% of the retina miRNome. We discovered more than 3000 miRNA variants (isomiRs), encompassing a wide range of sequence variations, which include seed modifications that are predicted to have an impact on miRNA action.

A (2+2)-dimensional kinetic equation, directly inspired by the run-and-tumble modeling of chemotaxis dynamics is studied so as to derive a both ''2D well-balanced'' and ''asymptotic-preserving'' numerical approximation. To this end, exact stationary regimes are expressed by means of Laplace transforms of Fourier-Bessel solutions of associated elliptic equations. This yields a scattering S-matrix which permits to formulate a timemarching scheme in the form of a convex combination in kinetic scaling.

The Fokker--Planck approximation for an elementary linear, two-dimensional kinetic model endowed with a mass-preserving integral collision process is numerically studied, along with its diffusive limit. In order to set up a well-balanced discretization relying on an $S$-matrix, exact steady states of the continuous equation are derived. The ability of the scheme to keep these stationary solutions invariant produces the discretization of the local differential operator which mimics the collision process.

Investigation about the mechanisms involved in the onset of type 2 diabetes in absence of familiarity is the focus of a research project which has led to the development of a computational model that recapitulates the aetiology of the disease. The model simulates the metabolic and immunological alterations related to type-2 diabetes associated to several clinical, physiological and behavioural characteristics of representative virtual patients.

Ever more organizations, both private and public, are placing a greater importance on employee engagement as a means of generating better organizational climate and higher levels of performance. Actually, employee engagement is part of the strategic management of high performance organization, which pay always more attention to human resource initiatives. Moreover, forms of involvement in the decision processes make more motivating and more satisfying the activity for employees, as they create the conditions for greater inspiration and, in turn, contribute to their well-being.

We study numerically the effect of thermal fluctuations and of variable fluid-substrate interactions on the spontaneous dewetting of thin liquid films. To this aim, we use a recently developed lattice Boltzmann method for thin liquid film flows, equipped with a properly devised stochastic term. While it is known that thermal fluctuations yield shorter rupture times, we show that this is a general feature of hydrophilic substrates, irrespective of the contact angle $\theta$. The ratio between deterministic and stochastic rupture times, though, decreases with $\theta$.

Background: Neutrophils are one of the key players in the human innate immune system (HIIS). In the event of an insult where the body is exposed to inflammation triggering moieties (ITMs), neutrophils are mobilized towards the site of insult and antagonize the inflammation. If the inflammation is cleared, neutrophils go into a programmed death called apoptosis.