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The defensive system of Montecatini Val di Cecina. Digital integrated relief for knowledge and enhancement
No full textOn the occasion of the Fortmed 2024 held in Tirana was presented, by the same authors, a first contribution on the ancient village of Montecatini Val di Cecina, still dominated by the imposing tower of the Belforti (from now on Tower) one of the most powerful families of the Volterra’s territory in sec. XIII. Important are the transformations that have affected the territory surrounding the village, first with the plant of a copper mine now transformed into a museum and more recently, with the exploitation of wind energy. The intent of the article already presented was to document, albeit through the initial acquisitions arising from archival, bibliographical and iconographic surveys, the results of the initial phase of research whose main objectives are knowledge and diachronic interpretation of the current urban conditions. The identification and diachronic interpretation of the residual traces of the ancient defensive system is testified, in addition to the Tower, also by the presence of circular towers, coeval or after the construction of the same Tower (1340). This paper documents, as indicated in the final part of the article Fortmed 2024, the expected developments of the research undertaken and which also include a more careful and thorough analysis of the Tower. The further steps of the research move in the first place from the indispensable acquisitions resulting from the integrated instrumental survey operations, performed with 3D laser scanning and drone photogrammetry. Beyond the operational issues related to major operations, the contribution aims to explain how the 3D restitution of the village of Montecatini Val di Cecina, although useful for the main objectives assumed on the basis of the research, is not only a necessary tool to undertake operations of protection and enhancement but also to activate innovative modes of communication all aimed at extending the dissemination of historical knowledge of the village, to be understood as a necessary and desirable cultural and tourist resource, to the wider catchment area
Deuterated lactic acid derivative revealing re-entrant smectic A phase studied by 2NMR and dielectric spectroscopy
No full textLiquid crystals as self-assembling systems may exhibit the re-entrancy phenomena occurring due to different competing interactions. Formerly, a homologue of lactic acid derivatives nZBL was described to exhibit a re-entrant smectic A phase (SmARE) below the ferroelectric smectic C* phase. Herein, we synthesised and studied a selectively deuterated compound, 9ZBL-D2, analogous to the previously studied homologue showing the re-entrance phenomenon. We confirmed that the deuterated compound 9ZBL-D2 exhibits analogous mesomorphic properties including the re-entrant SmARE phase. We concentrated on re-entrance phenomenon as the enantiotropic character of the SmARE phase enabled us to elucidate the orientational order and molecular dynamics in detail. We applied dielectric measurements and deuterium NMR (2H NMR) spectroscopy, and DSC and x-ray measurements to describe the mesomorphic properties of 9ZBL-D2. The analysis of 2H NMR spectra coupled with the study of the trend of spin-lattice relaxation times was performed to investigate the phase transitions of 9ZBL-D2 sample. The experimental data have been analysed and discussed
Enteric glial NLRP3 inflammasome contributes to gut mucosal barrier alterations in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity
No full textAim: In the present study, we investigated the involvement of NLRP3 inflammasome in the intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) changes associated with obesity, and its role in the interplay between enteric glia and intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). Methods: Wild-type C57BL/6J and NLRP3-KO (−/−) mice were fed with high-fat diet (HFD) or standard diet for 8 weeks. Colonic IEB integrity and inflammasome activation were assessed. Immunolocalization of colonic mucosal GFAP- and NLRP3-positive cells along with in vitro coculture experiments with enteric glial cells (EGCs) and IECs allowed to investigate the potential link between altered IEB, enteric gliosis, and NLRP3 activation. Results: HFD mice showed increased body weight, altered IEB integrity, increased GFAP-positive glial cells, and NLRP3 inflammasome hyperactivation. HFD-NLRP3−/− mice showed a lower increase in body weight, an improvement in IEB integrity and an absence of enteric gliosis. Coculture experiments showed that palmitate and lipopolysaccharide contribute to IEB damage and promote enteric gliosis with consequent hyperactivation of enteric glial NLRP3/caspase-1/IL-1β signaling. Enteric glial-derived IL-1β release exacerbates the IEB alterations. Such an effect was abrogated upon incubation with anakinra (IL-1β receptor antagonist) and with conditioned medium derived from silenced-NLRP3 glial cells. Conclusion: HFD intake elicits mucosal enteric gliotic processes characterized by a hyperactivation of NLRP3/caspase-1/IL-1β signaling pathway, that contributes to further exacerbate the disruption of intestinal mucosal barrier integrity. However, we cannot rule out the contribution of NLRP3 inflammasome activation from other cells, such as immune cells, in IEB alterations associated with obesity. Overall, our results suggest that enteric glial NLRP3 inflammasome might represent an interesting molecular target for the development of novel pharmacological approaches aimed at managing the enteric inflammation and intestinal mucosal dysfunctions associated with obesity
I Medici, l’altro e l’altrove. Robert Dudley nella Toscana di primo Seicento
No full textIl saggio esplora la figura di Sir Robert Dudley, figlio illegittimo di Lord Robert Dudley, Conte di Leicester, che si trasferì in Toscana nel 1605 grazie all'asilo concesso dal granduca Ferdinando I de' Medici, dopo aver abbandonato l'Inghilterra a causa di complesse vicende familiari e politiche. Conosciuto in Italia come duca di Northumbria, Dudley portò con sé una vasta esperienza di viaggi, competenze navali e importanti legami familiari con figure di rilievo della nobiltà inglese.
Il saggio analizza il prezioso ruolo di consulente svolto da Dudley per i Medici, grazie alla sua approfondita conoscenza delle usanze inglesi e ai suoi contatti personali, che contribuirono a rafforzare i rapporti tra la Toscana e l'Inghilterra. Inoltre, il saggio esplora come Dudley riuscì a mantenere la propria identità nobiliare inglese, pur adattandosi al contesto toscano, attraverso l'uso di strategie iconografiche, genealogiche e diplomatiche per affermare il proprio status e quello della sua famiglia in esilio.
Infine, il saggio discute l'eredità culturale e diplomatica lasciata da Dudley in Toscana, sottolineando il suo significativo contributo al rafforzamento delle relazioni tra la Toscana e l'Inghilterra nel Seicento
Singular boundary condition for a degenerated turbulent toy model
No full textWe consider a toy model with the Prandtl mixing lenght as eddy viscosity, that
vanishes at the boundary, and a Navier like friction law as boundary condition. We address the paradox of the degeneracy of the boundary condition, which we approach by
a problem of singular perturbations. We show a convergence theorem for well-prepared
source terms, and we illustrate our analysis with a series of analytical examples, showing blow up cases and convergence cases for well-prepared dat
On a 3D eigenvalue problem under Navier slip-with-friction boundary conditions and applications to Navier-Stokes equations
No full textIn this paper we consider, by means of a precise spectral analysis, the 3D Navier-Stokes equations endowed with Navier slip-with-friction boundary conditions. We study the problem in a very simple geometric situation as the region between two parallel planes, with periodicity along the two planes. This setting, which is often used in the theory of boundary layers, requires some special treatment for what concerns the functional setting and allows us to characterize in a rather explicit manner eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the associated Stokes problem. These, will be then used in order to identify infinite dimensional classes of data leading to global strong solutions for the corresponding evolution Navier-Stokes equations
A Practical Approach to Causal Inference over Time
No full textIn this paper, we focus on estimating the causal effect of an intervention over time on a dynamical system. To that end, we formally define causal interventions and their effects over time on discrete-time stochastic processes (DSPs). Then, we show under which conditions the equilibrium states of a DSP, both before and after a causal intervention, can be captured by a structural causal model (SCM). With such an equivalence at hand, we provide an explicit mapping from vector autoregressive models (VARs), broadly applied in econometrics, to linear, but potentially cyclic and/or affected by unmeasured confounders, SCMs. The resulting causal VAR framework allows us to perform causal inference over time from observational time series data. Our experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets show that the proposed framework achieves strong performance in terms of observational forecasting while enabling accurate estimation of the causal effect of interventions on dynamical systems. We demonstrate, through a case study, the potential practical questions that can be addressed using the proposed causal VAR framework
Effect of conization, manipulator use, and their interaction on recurrence after radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer: A multicenter retrospective analysis
No full textObjective: To evaluate the effect of conization, manipulator use, and their interaction on recurrence for patients who underwent radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer. Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of 761 patients who underwent radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer with minimally invasive surgery (MIS; n = 445; laparoscopic or robotic) or open surgery (n = 316) from 2006 to 2018. All patients had FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) 2009 stage I tumors. Data were abstracted from electronic health records. Patients with unclear conization or manipulator data were excluded. Patient follow-up data were analyzed for the first 3 years after surgery. Results: Patients with conization had a reduced risk of recurrence independent of surgical approach (MIS: hazard ratio [HR], 0.15; 95 % CI, 0.06–0.34; open: HR, 0.31; 95 % CI, 0.12–0.83). For patients in the MIS group with conization, manipulator use was not associated with an increased risk of recurrence (HR, 2.11; 95 % CI, 0.07–64.80). However, for patients in the MIS group without conization, manipulator use was associated with a significantly increased risk of recurrence (HR, 3.95; 95 % CI, 1.27–12.35). No difference in recurrence was observed for patients with conization, regardless of manipulator use or the presence of residual tumor in the hysterectomy specimen. Conclusions: Conization is an independent factor associated with a decreased risk of recurrence, regardless of manipulator use and surgical approach. Manipulator use is an independent factor associated with an increased risk of recurrence, but only for patients with no conization and tumors 2 cm or larger
Emerging Threats in Temperate Climates: A Stochastic Analysis of Autochthonous Dengue Transmission in Fano, Italy
No full textAs climate change advances, the range of mosquito-borne diseases is steadily expanding into temperate regions, creating new challenges for public health. In 2024, the town of Fano in Italy’s Marche region encountered a dengue outbreak driven predominantly by local (autochthonous) transmission. This study employs a stochastic model that integrates both human and mosquito infection dynamics to unravel the outbreak’s progression. By calibrating the model with data specific to the Marche region, the analysis provides detailed quantitative insights into the mechanisms of dengue spread in temperate environments. Moreover, it contrasts these dynamics with those in other non-endemic settings, where outbreaks are mainly sparked by imported cases