Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca- Università del Piemonte Orientale
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Percorsi di ricerca e valorizzazione delle collezioni cartografiche dell'ex Istituto di Geografia dell'Università di Firenze
No full textLa sezione di Geografia della Biblioteca Umanistica e il Dipartimento SAGAS dell’Università di Firenze custodiscono una vasta collezione cartografica, inclusi materiali storici delle acquisizioni della Società di Studi Geografici e del Fondo Marinelli, per un totale di circa 9.000 pezzi. Recentemente sono stati avviati progetti di censimento e catalogazione, coinvolgendo studenti universitari. Le iniziative hanno favorito la valorizzazione del patrimonio attraverso attività didattiche, public engagement e nuove tecnologie. Questo contributo analizza le strategie adottate per rendere il patrimonio fruibile a un pubblico ampio
Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Management During Disasters and Humanitarian Emergencies: A Review of the Experiences Reported by Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs)
Get PDF: Background/Objectives: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) place an excessive strain on health systems in disaster-affected settings and may lead to a parallel public health emergency lasting months or years after a disaster. Although NCDs are increasingly recognized as a major challenge in disasters and humanitarian emergencies, a dedicated and standardized response plan is missing, as well as a shortage of evidence-based guidelines for NCD management in theses contexts. Over the years, Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) have traditionally been deployed to manage acute conditions such as trauma and infectious diseases that quickly impact health systems. However, greater attention is needed to address acute exacerbation of NCDs and to ensure continuity of care for people with chronic health needs in disasters and emergencies. Methods: We conducted a scoping review exploring the EMTs' management of chronic NCDs during disasters and humanitarian emergencies, in order to identify the strategies adopted, the challenges faced, and the recommendations provided to address this health problem. The online databases PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCO were searched to identify relevant papers. Results: After screening the papers against the eligibility criteria, 17 publications were retrieved. Five different areas of intervention concerning EMTs and NCDs management were identified: (i) EMTs pre-departure preparation, operational time, and length of stay; (ii) EMTs staff composition and training; (iii) EMTs logistics; (iv) EMTs integration with local health services; (v) EMTs clinical data record. Conclusions: The findings emerging from this study showed that NCDs significantly impact disaster response in different settings, underlining the need to implement a range of EMTs activities to guarantee assistance for chronic health needs. In view of strengthening the ability of health systems to cope with the NCDs' burden, the EMTs' initiatives should be considered as a bridge between the support provided during the acute phase of an emergency and the continuation of care ensured by the system in its early recovery phase
Latitudinal patterns of microplastic contamination in remote areas
Get PDFMicroplastics (MPs) have been detected in a wide array of remote terrestrial areas. Analysing the occurrence of MPs in remote areas is paramount to understand their transport and deposition patterns. Despite the growing body of publications on this topic, studies are often spatially restricted. This limits assessments of global patterns in MPs distribution. Glaciers are landscape features without substantial MPs local inputs, which allows the evaluation of transport and deposition mechanisms. To fill this gap, we gathered 57 samples of supraglacial debris from 9 glaciers, ranging in latitude from 46°S to 78°N. MPs contamination was studied in terms of concentration, shape, size, and polymeric composition, observing significant variations with latitude for all considered parameters. The same held true when considering all anthropogenic particles (APs), including natural polymers. No single polymer was so common to be detected on all glaciers, suggesting atmospheric transport as the main driver of MPs contamination, possibly showing consistent global patterns. Presence of human modified environments in the areas surrounding the glaciers affected MPs size and composition. Detecting latitudinal trends is fundamental for constraining the atmospheric limb of the global plastic cycle and modelling MPs deposition. Since MPs can release toxic additives and pigments into the environment, studies on their distribution can help assess contamination loads and hazards at a global scale
Eine intermediale Literaturadaption: »Sandmann« von M. Mikolajczak und J. Piotrowski
No full text»Die Graphic Novel [...] ist wahrscheinlich die einzige Kunstform, die als Kind unserer Zeit betrachtet werden kann«, behauptet der italienische Essayist und Journalist Goffredo Fofi, der die Aktualität, die Vielfalt und die expressive Freiheit der sogenannten ‚neunten Kunst‘ (A. Tosti) betont. In dieser Hinsicht erweist sich Sandmann (2019) von M. Mikolajczak und J. Piotrowski als besonders geeignet, das innovative und intermediale Potenzial des Literatur-Comics zu demonstrieren.
Diese Graphic Novel zeichnet sich durch einen zugleich eng gefassten und originellen Umgang mit dem Ausgangstext aus, wie die Rückseite des Buchs ankündigt, wo die Adaption als »fiktive Fortsetzung, [...] Gruselgeschichte und Psychothriller« bezeichnet wird. Inhaltliche und sprachliche Fragmente von E. T. A. Hoffmanns Text werden mit Erfindungen auf bildlicher und textueller Ebene kreativ ‚montiert‘, ebenso wie auf der Ebene der Figuren, deren Charakterisierung und Funktionalisierung. Die Perspektivierung und die Erzählstrategien wurzeln in der Erzählung, weichen aber auch deutlich von ihr ab, um Themenbereiche wie z. B. Psychopathie und Erotik zu stärker hervorzuheben, die das Werk für zeitgenössische und nicht unbedingt spezifisch vorgebildete Rezipienten attraktiver werden lassen.
Höchst interessant sind außerdem sowohl die bildlichen Bezugnahmen auf Filme des Expressionismus wie Nosferatu und Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari ‒ die Sandmann mit früheren Literatur-Comics wie Dino Battaglias Olimpia (1970) verbinden ‒, als auch Anklänge an allgemein bekannte Gruselfiguren wie das Monster in Alien oder Gollum in Der Herr der Ringe. Bildzitate in Literatur-Comics bilden außerdem »ein Scharnier zwischen der Comic-Geschichte und der Kunst-Geschichte« (M. Schmitz-Emans), wie auch Sandmann beweist, indem Stilisierungen von Gemälden u. a. von Botticelli, Schiele und Gauguin das Bildgedächtnis des Lesers herausfordern. Das Auge herrscht auf allen Ebenen vor.
Die originelle und fesselnde Montage von Bild- und Textzitaten in dieser Graphic Novel wirkt bisweilen desorientierend, doch die Kenntnis des ‚Hypotextes‘ (G. Genette) dient als hilfreicher Kompass für diejenigen Rezipienten, die Nathanael und Coppelius in die Tiefe des Textes begleiten wollen. »Adaptation is a form of repetition without replication« (L. Hutcheon): Sandmann von M. Mikolajczak und J. Piotrowski ist ein überzeugender Beweis dafür
Navigating challenges in access to antenatal and intrapartum care: Afghan refugee women's experiences amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
Get PDFBackground: Balochistan, Pakistan's most economically and health system-deprived province, hosts a significant portion of the Afghan refugee population. The province's already fragile healthcare infrastructure faces additional strain due to the refugees. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the barriers to antenatal and intrapartum care seeking among Afghan refugee women in Balochistan during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Design: This study employed a cross-sectional survey approach to assess antenatal and intrapartum care-seeking behavior among Afghan refugee women residing in Balochistan, Pakistan. The study focused on refugee women living in Kharotabad Union Council in Quetta city to understand their barriers to accessing maternal healthcare services. Methods: The survey focused on antenatal and childbirth care-seeking behaviors among married women of reproductive age (MWRA) with at least one child aged 12-23 months born during the first four waves of COVID-19 in Pakistan. Results: Of 480 MWRAs, only 36.9% sought antenatal care (ANC); only 13.1% received at least four ANC visits. Furthermore, only 38.8% of MWRA had skilled birth attendance. Only 32.9% of MWRAs received at least one ANC and had skilled birth attendance (i.e., comprehensive care). Accessing comprehensive care was associated with maternal age less than 25 years (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 0.40; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.21, 0.78), Tajik ethnicity (adjusted OR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.70) and large family size (adjusted OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.93). Predictors of poor access were concern related to documentation of the refugee women they faced (adjusted OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.34), women with no one at household to accompany them at health facility (adjusted OR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.13, 2.70), myths and misconceptions related to available care (adjusted OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.18, 3.02), and the transport availability (adjusted OR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.12, 2.77). Concerns related to COVID-19 had no association. Conclusion: The study highlights the barriers to maternal, neonatal and child health service utilization among Afghan refugee women in Balochistan. Tailoring healthcare services to consider age, ethnicity, cultural dynamics, and system constraints is crucial for improving access
CAD/CAM and Maxillary Obturators in Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Review
No full textIntroductionObturator prostheses and removable prostheses still represent a valid option in head and neck cancer patients. The aim of the present article is to briefly review the current literature about the use of a digital workflow in the intraoral prosthetic rehabilitation of head and neck cancer patients.MethodsThe review included articles in English published from January 2010 to February 2023. Articles regarding patients who had undergone head and neck cancer treatment and intraoral prosthetic rehabilitation by a CAD-CAM techniques in at least 1 of the prosthetic treatment stages (scanning, design, and/or fabrication) were included.ResultsNineteen articles with 72 described patients met the inclusion criteria and were included. Three types of removable prosthetic treatments were reported: 52 maxillary obturators, 19 provisional maxillary obturators, and 1 maxillary complete denture. As for 3-dimensional image capture, the most common method was intraoral scanner, followed by conventional CT scan. As for prosthetic procedures, all treatments incorporated at least a digital workflow in 1 of the stages, either in design or fabrication. Concerning the CAM phase, definitive cast printing was performed in 69 patients. Only 3 patient was rehabilitated by using a completely digital workflow.ConclusionsA completely digital workflow was rarely used in the intraoral prosthetic rehabilitation of patients with head and neck cancer. The reduced laboratory working time, the avoidance of the risk of aspiration of impression materials, and the possibility of performing an adequate digital impression in spite of the trismus are important advantages associated with the digital workflow
Clinical evaluation of freeze-dried secretome (lyosecretome) for osteoarthritis: a controlled trial in dogs and preliminary safety assessment in horses
Get PDFMost in vivo studies on MSC-secretome for osteoarthritis (OA) have relied on animal models, using products
lacking pharmaceutical quality, not formulated for clinical use, and insufficiently characterized, limiting
knowledge of its effectiveness. This study reports veterinary clinical trials on dogs and horses with spontaneous
OA: in dogs (26 subjects), the trial is randomized, double-blinded, and controlled; in horses, 5 clinical cases were
treated for safety assessment. Treatment consisted of hyaluronic acid with either lyosecretome – a freeze-dried,
injectable MSC-secretome obtained through standardized GMP manufacturing – or mannitol, the lyosecretome
excipient (control), intrarticularly administered. Patients underwent clinical evaluations and orthopedic assessments
over an 80-day follow-up; dog-owner feedback was collected through questionnaires. Lyosecretome
doesn’t induce systemic adverse responses. In dogs, improvement following treatment – significant in favor of
lyosecretome – was observed, especially in reducing lameness; although it did not demonstrate significant pain
reduction, patients were significantly more likely to walk, play, and move easily after exercise. Proteomic
investigation supported these efficacy findings, revealing lyosecretome proteins involved in inhibiting protease
and hyaluronidase, as well as in regulating immune response and inflammation, and those associated with
cartilage regeneration and antioxidant activity. These results support the beneficial effect of MSC-secretome on
joint disorders and offer insights that may be relevant to human patients, given the similarities in OA pathophysiology
between humans and dogs or horses
Fragmentalism: Putting All the Pieces Together
No full textAccording to perspectival realism, reality is (at least partially) constituted by ‘purely perspectival’ facts, that is, facts that appear to describe reality only from a given ‘perspective’. Fragmentalism is a form of perspectival realism that maintains both that no perspective is privileged and that perspectival facts constitute reality absolutely. Assuming that reality is sufficiently variegated, fragmentalism entails that reality is absolutely constituted by incompatible facts. Given that incompatible facts can never obtain together, reality must be divided into a plurality of ‘fragments’ that never compose a coherent, unitary whole. The main aim of this paper is to provide the first rigorous, detailed map of fragmentalism and its rivals. First, we will argue that fragmentalism is best construed as having two ‘unitist’ (that is, non-fragmentalist) boundaries, which we will call ‘coherent’ and ‘incoherent unitism’. Second, we will present what we take to be the six main viable versions of fragmentalism and show how they can be categorized according to whether they take the logical operations of conjunction and negation to be either ‘local’ or ‘global’
Investigating rice adaptation to drought and salt stress through large-scale screening and genetic analysis
No full textRice (Oryza sativa) is one of the most important staple crops worldwide, providing food for over half of theglobal population. However, its cultivation is increasingly threatened by abiotic stresses such as drought and soilsalinity, both of which are exacerbated by climate change. Water scarcity and soil salinization are becomingmajor constraints for rice cultivation, particularly in Mediterranean and coastal regions, where salinity intrusionand unpredictable rainfall patterns are severely impacting yield stability. As rice is highly sensitive to both waterdeficit and salt stress, identifying tolerant genotypes is crucial for ensuring food security and sustainableproduction.
To address these challenges, within the Pheno.gen project we are investigating the genetic and physiologicalmechanisms underlying rice adaptation to abiotic stresses, focusing on both drought and salinity tolerance. Thisstudy integrates high-throughput phenotypic screening with molecular analyses to identify stress-resilientgenotypes and genetic loci associated with stress responses.
For drought tolerance, we are conducting a large-scale screening of the NEURICE collection, which comprises281 japonica accessions cultivated in Mediterranean regions. Here, we present preliminary data fromaccessions grown in a hydroponic system using Hoagland solution, either under standard conditions or exposedto 20% polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000), which induces osmotic stress by lowering the water potential of thegrowth medium. After seven days of treatment, phenotypic traits such as plant height, chlorophyll content, andrelative water content (RWC) were measured to evaluate their response to stress. These parameters providekey insights into plant vigor and physiological adaptation under water-limiting conditions.
Beyond the identification of specific drought-tolerant varieties, this study aims to integrate phenotypic data withgenotypic information from a large number of japonica accessions to perform a genome-wide association study(GWAS). This approach will enable the identification of genetic loci associated with water stress response,providing valuable information for future breeding programs through marker-assisted selection.
In parallel, we are investigating salinity tolerance using a population of introgression lines (ILs) derived from across between the salt-sensitive cultivar Vialone Nano and the wild rice O. rufipogon (PI 347745), which hasshown superior salt tolerance in previous studies. A BC3F4 IL population was developed using Vialone Nano asthe recurrent parent, generating a valuable genetic resource for dissecting the genetic basis of salt tolerance.Here, we present preliminary results obtained from ILs grown hydroponically under control conditions orexposed to 80 mM NaCl, a concentration known to induce salt stress in rice.
Phenotypic responses were assessed through visual scoring (SES), morphometric measurements (root andshoot fresh and dry biomass, shoot/root biomass ratio, plant height), and physiological analyses (leaf watercontent and photosynthetic efficiency) to determine variations in stress tolerance. Analysis of the phenotypicdata with respect to SNPs generated by low pass sequencing of the ILs is currently underway for theidentification of wild rice loci possibly affecting salt tolerance.
By combining phenotypic, physiological, and molecular analyses, this research aims to improve ourunderstanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying rice adaptation to water stress and salinity. Theidentification of tolerant genotypes and the associated genetic loci will provide essential tools for breedingprograms focused on enhancing rice resilience to abiotic stresses.
Ultimately, this work contributes to the broader goal of developing climate-resilient rice varieties that can sustainproduction in increasingly unpredictable environments. The findings from this study will not only benefit breedingprograms but also support policy decisions aimed at mitigating the impact of climate change on global riceproduction
Questions to Dagulf: On the Psalterium Codex 1861 at the Austrian National Library
No full textThe early Carolingian psalter (Austrian National Library Codex 1861), the so-called Dagulf psalter has fascinated people for many centuries. Dagulf and presumably a second scribe created the manuscript on the court of Charlemagne between 782 and 795. The book was originally dedicated to Pope Hadrian I. The manuscript is a testimony to the Carolingian minuscule and the reform of the liturgy. The precious materials of the psalter have changed their appearance but still strike the viewer in their splendour.
In a multi-disciplinary effort, we have tried to discover how the manuscript was created and how its initial appearance might have looked like. The investigation was initiated by Thomas Rainer and his research on medieval purple manuscripts at the University of Zurich. We investigated the parchment, the gold and silver inks, the pigments of the initials and the three decorative pages on folios 25r, 67v and 108v. The non-invasive methods included Fibre optical reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), both point analysis and elemental mappings. The results of analysis were compared with visual observations of the parchment, the writing and painting technique. Microscopic images and analytical data were put in context. In material and digital reconstructions, we try to imagine the original appearance. In our discussions the view points of art history, conservation and natural science were brought together.
The scribes used pure gold inks of similar composition. The initials show the colour scheme of orcein-based purple, ultramarine and indigo. Degradation patterns of silver ink and purple parchment were compared with the 6th century manuscript, the Vienna Genesis. In both manuscripts the silver ink contains chlorine but has led to different forms of corrosion and parchment degradation. We will present the results of our investigations, our theories on the art technology and the open questions to the scribe Dagulf