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A proposal for the multi-risk assessment of small span bridges: the six-simple method
No full textThe evaluation of bridge safety conditions is essential for a proper management of infrastructure networks. During the last year a great effort has been made by the scientific community for medium to long span bridges, whereas few studies are available for the case of small span bridges. For the latter cases, indeed, the application of the conventional methods could lead to overly burdensome procedures or even to misleading results. This study proposes a multi-risk assessment method for small bridges with span under 6 m. The method, called “six-simple” and inspired by the existing Italian 2022 Guidelines, is based on the evaluation of attention classes and consider four risk sources: structural and foundational, seismic, landslide, and hydraulic. Compared to existing methods, six-simple is designed to maintain high assessment standards while reducing the number of required parameters and the time needed for the application. Sensitivity analyses are performed to catch key parameters influencing the classification, and statistical analysis are developed to describe the overall trend of the method. The paper closes with the application of the six-simple method to 15 small bridges
The Molecular Signature of Astrocyte Response to Hypoxia Outlines the Metabolic and Cell Survival Mechanisms for Neuroprotection
No full textThe molecular reprogramming of astrocyte gene expression induced by oxygen deprivation is one of the astrocyte-mediated neuroprotective processes relevant to neurodegenerative diseases and various brain injury conditions. The primary oxygen sensor that mediates eukaryotic cells’ adaptive response to changes in oxygen concentration is hypoxia-inducible transcription factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α). Therefore, the astrocyte neuroprotective ability triggered by the activation of HIF-1α downstream effectors has sparked interest in hypoxia mimetics-based treatment approaches as a means to induce adaptive responses without direct hypoxia exposure. Compared to similar studies that evaluated the effect of both oxygen and glucose deprivation for several hours, this study uncovers the reprogramming of astrocyte gene expression patterns after exposure to hypoxia alone for short and relatively long periods of time − 30 min for short-term (ST) and three hours for long-term (LT) hypoxia − as well as following 24 h of reoxygenation induced recovery (RIR). The transcriptional activation of a number of genes, including Pdk1, Mct4, Sirt1, Bcl2, Hsp70, and Sod2, ends rather rapidly, only lasting over the ST-hypoxia. Conversely, during LT-hypoxia, Glut1 and Vegf1 show elevated expression, which is likely due to a positive feedback loop in which secreted Vegf increases both its own and Glut1’s expression. Interestingly, the ST-hypoxia establishes long-lasting variations of gene expression that may be essential for generating an effective neuroprotective response. This is demonstrated by the fact that Mct4 expression continues to be raised during the 24-hour normoxia period that follows the ST-hypoxia, thereby aiding in metabolic adaptation. Therefore, it is reasonable to draw the conclusion that the length of transcriptional activation varies depending on the gene and is associated with the function of the encoded protein
Palmitoylethanolamide for Nickel Allergy: Plausible, Untested, and Worth Considering
No full textNickel allergy remains the most prevalent cause of allergic contact dermatitis worldwide, imposing a substantial socio-epidemiological and economic burden. Beyond its classical cutaneous presentation, systemic nickel allergy syndrome highlights the systemic dimension of Nickel hypersensitivity, wherein dietary nickel intake may provoke both gastrointestinal and cutaneous symptoms through mechanisms involving gut barrier impairment and mucosal immune priming. Recent evidence highlights the contribution of angiogenesis and lymph-angiogenesis to Nickel-induced allergic contact dermatitis, through crosstalk among keratinocytes, mast cells, endothelial cells, and pro-angiogenic mediators such as vascular endothelial growth factor. Against this background, we propose to revisit palmitoylethanolamide, an endogenous ALIAmide with well-documented anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and anti-allergic properties. Already studied in pain and inflammatory disorders and employed in veterinary dermatology, palmitoylethanolamide down-modulates mast cell degranulation, suppresses VEGF expression via PPAR-α/Akt/mTOR signaling, and enhances intestinal barrier integrity, acting as a promising “gatekeeper” molecule that reduces gut hyperpermeability characterizing systemic nickel allergy as well as other gut disorders with systemic consequences. This paper is presented as a viewpoint intended to highlight the untapped therapeutic potential of palmitoylethanolamide, suitable for both oral and topical administration, as a candidate to address the multifactorial pathophysiology of Nickel allergic contact dermatitis and systemic nickel allergy. Our purpose is not to provide definitive answers, but to stimulate scientific debate on its rational use within emerging gut–skin therapeutic strategies. We thus encourage future experimental and clinical studies to explore its potential integration within emerging gut–skin therapeutic paradigms
Beam dynamics optimization and implementation of the control system at the STAR facility
No full textThis thesis presents an optimization-driven approach to beam dynamics at the STAR Inverse Compton Scattering source. Coupling a space-charge particle tracking framework (ASTRA) with a genetic-algorithm code (GIOTTO) enables the optimization of both beamline and electron beam parameters and the identification of operating settings that balance brightness, stability, and transport efficiency from the gun to the interaction point.
The workflow determines operating configurations across STAR’s Low- and High-Energy lines and links offline optimization to operation through an EPICS/Phoebus control system migration and high-level applications for diagnostics, LLRF, magnets, and timing, establishing the basis for real-time, closed-loop tuning.
These optimization studies provide baseline operational settings for commissioning, and the achieved S-band and C-band accelerating structures conditioning, beam generation, and transport, align with the model predictions. The study demonstrates faster tuning and improved stability, enabling robust beam dynamics optimization across varying operating conditions and providing a practical path toward increasingly automated operation at STAR
Introduction
No full textThe tone of political debate in Europe has recently been marked by an unprecedented politicization of European history. Indeed, history strikes back again in the language as well as ideas advocated in historical and political narratives, filling the spectrum of competing memory policies and contributing to an ever-growing societal polarization. This phenomenon seems particularly pronounced in post-totalitarian societies within which the uses and abuses of the past have become a dominant feature in political rhetoric about reckoning with authoritarian (or in the case of Italy and Germany – totalitarian) dictatorships in the interwar period as well as the period of Nazi occupation and their relevance for identity politics. Of equal importance would be the memory politics related to the legacy of communist regimes in the years 1945–1989 in the case of Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union republics, and the former Yugoslavia. Nowadays, the instrumentalization of the past has become the rhetorical modus operandi of the European far-right populist milieu. It is the key objective of this monograph to explore why and how contested legacies symbolically associated with 20th-century dictatorships have been used and often abused in political discourse by the populist far right in contemporary Europe
Prospettive di valorizzazione per i musei di Sapienza
No full textIl patrimonio museale di Sapienza rappresenta una risorsa straordinaria, ancora poco valorizzata sia sul piano della percezione interna, in particolare nel rapporto con la popolazione studentesca, sia sul piano esterno, nella relazione con la città di Roma.
La maggior parte dei musei che lo compongono presenta infatti criticità rilevanti, sia sul piano dell’organizzazione funzionale degli ambienti, sia nelle modalità di comunicazione dei contenuti scientifici e culturali delle collezioni. E’ del tutto inefficace limitarsi a interventi minimi o frammentari, finalizzati alla semplice gestione dell’esistente: occorre invece una visione organica e condivisa di rilancio, capace di orientare interventi coordinati e coerenti e di restituire identità e valore complessivo al Polo Museale.
Dovrebbe essere fondamentale valorizzare la dimensione simbolica e rappresentativa che ogni museo incarna, costruendo una narrazione rinnovata fondata non solo su una comunicazione più efficace, ma anche su interventi funzionali e organizzativi di natura architettonica.Sapienza's museum heritage represents an extraordinary resource, yet it remains undervalued both internally, particularly in its relationship with the student population, and externally, in its relationship with the city.
Most of the museums within Sapienza University present significant challenges, both in terms of the functional organization of their spaces and in the ways in which they communicate the scientific and cultural content of their collections. It is completely ineffective to limit ourselves to minimal or piecemeal interventions aimed at simply managing the existing assets. What is needed instead is a comprehensive and shared vision of revitalization, capable of guiding coordinated and coherent interventions and restoring the Polo Museale overall identity and value.
It should be crucial to enhance the symbolic and representative dimension that each museum embodies, building a renewed narrative based not only on more effective communication but also on functional and organizational architectural interventions
Le ceramiche depurate acrome e d'impasto da Pyrgi. Produzione e consumo tra abitato e complesso santuariale
No full textIl lavoro presentato in questa sede è volto a indagare i contesti di produzione e quelli
d'uso della ceramica di impasto e della ceramica fine da mensa rinvenuta presso il sito di
Pyrgi (Santa Severa, Santa Marinella - RM) con l'obiettivo di ricostruire - tra il periodo
arcaico e quello ellenistico - le dinamiche sociali, economiche, produttive e religiose e le
loro interrelazioni esistenti tra l'antico approdo di Pyrgi ed il centro urbano di Cerveteri.
A livello metodologico si è scelto di adottare un approccio multidisciplinare che
prevedesse di implementare l'analisi crono-tipologica e di contesto con l'indagine
geologica del comparto ceretano-pyrgense e quella petrografica della ceramica oggetto di
studio. La base dei dati è rappresentata quindi dallo studio morfologico del cd. impasto
"rosso-bruno", dell'impasto "chiaro-sabbioso", dell'impasto "rosso" e della ceramica
depurata acroma individuati presso il cd. quartiere “pubblico-cerimoniale”, il Santuario
Monumentale ed il Santuario Meridionale di Pyrgi tra il 1972 ed il 2022 e non ancora
oggetto di pubblicazione sistematica.
Lo studio dei modi di produzione della ceramica e della trasmissione del sapere tecnologico
è stato quindi affiancato a quello sulle consuetudini pratiche, religiose e rituali attestate
nelle aree sacre che compongono il grande santuario marittimo di Cerveteri, contesto
dal fondamentale potenziale informativo poichè caratterizzato da una frequentazione di
natura differente (cultuale, commerciale, residenziale ecc.) lungo un arco cronologico che
va dalla fine del VII alla prima metà del III secolo a.C.
Dal punto di vista operativo si è quindi proceduto in una prima fase alla schedatura e
alla documentazione grafica e fotografica del materiale oggi conservato presso i depositi
di Etruscologia del Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità della Sapienza Università di
Roma e presso i magazzini dell'Antiquarium di Pyrgi di pertinenza della Soprintendenza
Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la provincia di Viterbo e l'Etruria meridionale,
dedicandosi contemporaneamente alla costruzione del database e all'elaborazione della
tipologia. In un secondo momento ci si è quindi dedicati alla mappatura e al campionamento
delle materie prime per la produzione della ceramica, in particolare argille e degrassanti
raccolti nell'area circostante il sito di Pyrgi, per poi procedere al campionamento delle
diverse classi ceramiche; i campioni scelti sono stati successivamente analizzati da chi
scrive presso la Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (Germania) nell'ambito della
Mobilità Estera (novembre-febbraio 2024/2025 ed agosto 2025) prevista durante il
proprio Dottorato.
La fase conclusiva del lavoro sopra descritto è stata infine caratterizzata dalla rielaborazione
dei dati fin qui raccolti, che sono stati integrati con l'analisi dei contesti di rinvenimento
per tentare di fornire un quadro unitario e coerente delle dinamiche di produzione e d'uso
dei manufatti raccolti nell'arco di cinquant'anni di ricerche in uno dei più longevi Grandi
Scavi di Sapienza - Università di Roma
A novel framework for parameterization and simulation of near-fault velocity-pulses
No full textStructures subjected to velocity-pulses have to dissipate a larger amount of energy within a shorter time, thereby imposing elevated structural demands and heightening the risk of earthquake-induced collapse. Effective parameterization for identifying potential pulses and simulation for spectrum-compatible pulse-like ground motions are pivotal in structural response analysis. The present study aims to propose a novel framework for the parameterization and simulation of spectrum-compatible velocity-pulses. Initially, a novel velocity‐pulse parameterization algorithm is proposed based on a signal-only objective function, eliminating the need for any filtering techniques or preset pulse model parameters. The comprehensive comparison with two typical methods illustrates that the potential pulses extracted by the proposed method are much closer to the original seismic record, both in the velocity time-history and spectrum. Subsequently, XGBoost-based prediction model for pulse period has been presented, which can be utilized to calculate the site-specific target spectrum for the velocity-pulses. The challenge of maintaining dominant pulses while generating spectrum-compatible ground motions adds complexity to this research. To address this, an innovative approach for simulating spectrum-compatible velocity-pulses is proposed through modifying wavelet coefficients of seed record based on the Gaussian function, and the reliability of the proposed simulation approach is demonstrated through several case studies
Upcycling as a Design Paradigm? Expressive Codes of “Cradle to Cradle” Contemporary Architecture
No full textThis critical essay examines the concept of upcycling in contemporary architecture, questioning its frequent reduction to an expressive or stylistic exercise and arguing instead for its grounding in constructive rigor and durability. Moving beyond ambiguous overlaps with recycling and reuse, upcycling is framed as a process that generates added material and immaterial value through the re-signification of components, provided they assume a renewed structural and environmental role. The narrative introduces the Red Special guitar built by Brian May and his father as a paradigmatic manifesto of upcycling, illustrating how design quality, performance, and longevity can emerge from reused materials without resorting to patchwork aesthetics. Through contemporary architectural case studies, the text critiques the dominance of bricolage-based languages and advocates for firmitas as a prerequisite for venustas. Emphasis is placed on design for disassembly as a paradigm shift, in which buildings are conceived as material banks and architecture is shaped through assembly and future reuse. Ultimately, the text positions upcycling as a genuine design tool capable of generating a coherent architectural language beyond mere visual symbolism
Bcl-2 inhibition as a new therapeutic strategy to counteract melanoma progression and increase pharmacological response
No full textMetastatic cutaneous melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. Current therapies focus on the MAPK pathway and immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, treatment resistance remains a major challenge. In this scenario, the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, belonging to the Bcl-2 family, contribute to therapy resistance and tumor progression. BH3 mimetics targeting the anti-apoptotic proteins represent a promising therapeutic opportunity in cancer. Among them, the specific Bcl-2 inhibitor, venetoclax, is currently used for the management of different hematological malignancies. Here, we demonstrated that BH3 mimetics, as single agents, reduced the viability and induced apoptosis of a panel of human melanoma cell lines. In a combinatorial regimen, they potentiated the efficacy of both target therapy and immunotherapy in preclinical melanoma models. Furthermore, our findings demonstrated that Bcl-2 regulates PD-L1 expression via the YAP/c-Myc axis. Finally, by in silico analysis, we found that patients with high Bcl-2 levels have a worse prognosis than those with low levels