The 42-aa-long β-amyloid protein—Aβ_1-42—is thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Walsh and Selkoe, 2007). Data from AD brain (Shankar et al., 2008), transgenic APP (amyloid precursor protein)-overexpressing mice (Lesné et al., 2006), and neuronal cultures treated with synthetic Aβ peptides (Lambert et al., 1998) indicate that self-association of Aβ_1-42monomers into soluble oligomers is required for neurotoxicity. The function of monomeric Aβ_1-42is unknown. The evidence that Aβ_1-42is present in the brain and CSF of normal individuals suggests that the peptide is physiologically active (Shoji, 2002). Here we show that synthetic Aβ_1-42monomers support the survival of developing neurons under conditions of trophic deprivation and protect mature neurons against excitotoxic death, a process that contributes to the overall neurodegeneration associated with AD. The neuroprotective action of Aβ_1-42monomers was mediated by the activation of the PI-3-K (phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase) pathway, and involved the stimulation of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) receptors and/or other receptors of the insulin superfamily. Interestingly, monomers of Aβ_1-42carrying the Arctic mutation (E22G) associated with familiar AD (Nilsberth et al., 2001) were not neuroprotective. We suggest that pathological aggregation of Aβ_1-42may also cause neurodegeneration by depriving neurons of the protective activity of Aβ_1-42monomers. This “loss-of-function” hypothesis of neuronal death should be taken into consideration when designing therapies aimed at reducing Aβ burden.

The use of carbon nanotubes in photovoltaics is still challenging due to different issues connected to their synthesis, purification, functionalization, processing and device integration. From this perspective at first we review on selected contributions dealing with the above issues; then we focus on the advantages and limitations of carbon nanotubes for the development of organic solar cells.

The next generation of nuclear energy systems, also known as Generation IV reactors, are being developed to meet the highest targets of safety and reliability, sustainability, economics, proliferation resistance, and physical protection, with improved performances compared with the currently licensed plants or those presently being built. Among the proposed technologies, lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs) have been identified by nuclear industries in both Western and developing countries as being among the optimal Generation IV candidates. Since 2000, ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development is supporting the core design, safety assessment, and technological development of innovative nuclear systems cooled by heavy liquid metals (HLM) and, most recently, fully oriented on LFRs. ENEA is developing world-recognized skills in fast spectrum core design and is one of the largest European fleets of experimental facilities aiming at investigating HLM thermal-hydraulics, coolant chemistry control, corrosion behavior for structural materials, and material properties in the HLM environment, as well as at developing corrosion-protective coatings, components, instrumentation, and innovative systems, supported by experiments and numerical tools. Efforts are also dedicated to develop and validate numerical tools for specific application to HLM systems, ranging from neutronics codes, system and core thermal-hydraulic codes, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and fuel pin performance codes, including their coupling. The present work aims at highlighting the capabilities and competencies developed by ENEA so far in the framework of liquid metal technologies for Generation IV LFRs. In particular, an overview on the ongoing R&D experimental program will be depicted considering the current fleet of facilities, namely: CIRCE, NACIE-UP, LIFUS5, LECOR, BID-1, HELENA, RACHEL, and Mechanical Labs. An overview on the numerical activities performed so far and those presently ongoing is also reported. Finally, an overview of the ENEA contribution to the ALFRED Project in the frame of the FALCON international consortium is reported, mainly addressing the ongoing activity in terms of core design, technology development, and auxiliary systems design.