44 research outputs found
A new baroque for the environmental quality of the city
No full textIn his book about eighteenth-century Rome, Hans Gross [1] writes about the project for St. Peter’s Square and Borromini’s colonnade, saying that while the plans for Rome were intended to increase the splendour of the city and its sovereign, they were not aimed only at the glory of faith but also at the comfort and satisfaction of tourists. The author highlights a point of view that seemed very current; here it is represented as a research hypothesis that investigates what are the reasons that determine satisfaction (i.e. comfort) in people who frequent certain urban places. The question is: how do some precise, significant examples of Baroque architecture demonstrate, with data in hand, the ability of a monumental building to offer all those quality and well-being advantages for which it was designed? This article develops the idea that the shape and layout of the façade is not only an aspect of formal beauty but also a prelude to a new vision of adaptation to climate change. Some examples of Baroque architecture are investigated with regard to the indoor-outdoor mass/space ratio using a parametric methodology called TENS (Tomographic ENvironmental Section), which is applied in urban and bioclimate studies. The same methodology allows to identify small places diffused in ancient and contemporary urban fabrics as a system potentially able to modify, through targeted interventions, the urban microclimate and to contrast the effects of climate change. In conclusion, what emerges is the modern nature of a project designed to provide urban places dedicated to people (formerly pilgrims) and their full sensory well-being.
Keywords: Baroque façades, Urban comfort, Climate and architecture, Computational urban analysi
José Sánchez Labrador (1717-1798) and the geology of Paraguay Natural
No full textSánchez Labrador fue un autor prolífico de textos de doctrina católica, arte, idioma guaraní, antropología, agricultura y ciencias naturales. Un título destacado en este último sujeto es su Paraguay Natural (manuscrito inédito, Rávena, 1771). La primera parte del Paraguay Natural está dividida en tres libros. El libro primero mayormente se ocupa de minerales, aunque también incluye descripciones de rocas y fósiles. En el libro segundo, que trata principalmente sobre los ríos y las propiedades del agua, Sánchez Labrador refiere que los ríos Paraná y Uruguay eran capaces de petrificar madera y hueso, comparando además los grandes huesos de la desembocadura del Carcarañá con restos de elefantes o ballenas. El libro tercero trata sobre meteorología, terremotos y volcanes. La primera parte del Paraguay Natural constituye entonces un punto de referencia ineludible para el conocimiento geológico de la Cuenca del Plata.Sánchez Labrador was a prolific author of texts on Catholic doctrine, art, Guaraní language, anthropology, agriculture and natural sciences. A title of worth in this last subject is Sánchez Labrador’s Paraguay Natural (unpublished manuscript, Ravenna, 1771). The first part of Sánchez Labrador’s Paraguay Natural is divided in three books. Book one, mostly dealing with minerals, also includes descriptions of rocks and fossil invertebrates. In book two, dealing with rivers and the water properties, Sánchez Labrador referred that the Paraná and Uruguay rivers were capable of petrifying wood and bone, and compared the great bones of the Carcarañá river mouth with the remains of elephants or whales. The book three deals with meteorology, earth-quakes and volcanoes. The first part of Paraguay Natural constitutes thus a bench-mark to the Cuenca del Plata geological knowledge.Fil: Ottone, Eduardo Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentin
First descriptions of the franciscana dolphin
No full textLa diagnosis específica de la franciscana, un delfín relativamente común en el estuario del Plata hasta las primeras décadas del siglo XX, fue publicada por Paul Gervais y Alcide d’Orbigny en 1844. Sin embargo, la primera descripción del animal data de fines del siglo XVIII y corresponde al Jesuita José Sánchez Labrador en Paraguay Natural. Años más tarde, el presbítero Dámaso Larrañaga, redactaría en su Diario de Historia Natural de 1808, la diagnosis, en latín, y la descripción, en español, de este característico cetáceo y lo llamaría, con nomenclatura binomial linneana: “Delphinum delphis”. El trabajo permaneció inédito hasta comienzos del siglo XXI y es por eso que Larrañaga no es el autor formal de la especie.The specific diagnosis of the franciscana, a dolphin that was relatively common in the estuary of La Plata until the first decades of the 20th century, was published by Paul Gervais and Alcide d’Orbigny in 1844. However, the first description of this animal dates from the end of the 18th century, and corresponds to the Jesuit José Sánchez Labrador in Paraguay Natural. Years later, in 1808, Priest Dámaso Larrañaga, would draft in his Diario de Historia Natural, the diagnosis, in Latin, and the description, in Spanish, of this characteristic cetacean, nominating it, in Linnean binomial nomenclature: “Delphinum delphis”. Larrañaga´s work remained unpublished until the beginning of the 21th century, and that is why he is not the formal author of the species.Fil: Ottone, Eduardo Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas; Argentin
The small-molecule compound AC-73 targeting CD147 inhibits leukemic cell proliferation, induces autophagy and increases the chemotherapeutic sensitivity of acute myeloid leukemia cells
No full textCD147 is a transmembrane glycoprotein with multiple functions in human healthy tissues and diseases, in particular in cancer. Overexpression of CD147 correlates with biological functions that promote tumor progression and confers resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. In contrast to solid tumors, the role of CD147 has not been extensively studied in leukemia. Understanding whether CD147 represents a new hematological target and whether its inhibitor AC-73 may be used in leukemia therapy, may reveal an alternative treatment strategy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. We analyzed CD147 expression and function in hematopoietic progenitor cells from normal cord blood, in several leukemic cell lines and in primary leukemic blasts obtained from patients with acute myeloid leukemia. We investigated the effects of AC-73, used alone or in combination with arabinosylcytosine (Ara-C) and arsenic trioxide (ATO), on leukemic cell proliferation. In our study, we demonstrated that CD147 overexpression promotes leukemic cell proliferation. We showed that AC-73 exhibits a potent growth inhibitory activity in leukemic cells, by inhibiting the ERK/STAT3 activation pathway and activating autophagy. We demonstrated that AC-73 exerts an anti-proliferative effect additive to chemotherapy, by enhancing leukemic cells sensitivity to Ara-C-induced cytotoxicity or to ATO-induced autophagy. We also reported CD147 expression in the fraction of leukemic blasts expressing CD371, a marker of leukemic stem cells. Altogether, our study indicates CD147 as a novel potential target in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and AC-73 as an anti-proliferative drug and an inducer of autophagy in leukemic cells to use in combination with chemotherapeutic agents
Anyone up for helping the Fisherman's wife? More solidarity with accidental misery than with man-made misery
No full textWe examine the willingness to donate depending on whether “misery” is random generated or self-inflicted by too high demands in bilateral negotiations. We find that randomness has a positive influence on the total amount of donation. In case of self-inflicted “misery” we observe that the subject who may have caused the unfavourable situation receives significantly less than the perceived innocent subject.altruism, bargaining experiment
The N-terminus of PKR is responsible for the activation of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway by interacting with the IKK complex
No full textThe interferon-induced double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated protein kinase (PKR) has been shown to activate NF-κB independently of its kinase function after interaction with the IKK complex. In order to investigate the mechanism of NF-κB activation by PKR, we identified the domain of PKR responsible for stimulating the NF-κB pathway in PKR-deficient fibroblasts using an NF-κB dependent reporter assay. The N-terminal 1–265 AA of PKR activates NF-κB, whereas the 1–180 AA N-terminus restricted to the two dsRNA Binding Domains (DRBD), the third basic domain alone (AA 181–265), or the C-terminus of PKR (AA 266–550) were unable to stimulate the expression of the NF-κB dependent reporter gene. Using confocal microscopy, we confirmed that PKR full length as well as PKR N-terminus colocalized with IKKβ. By GST-pulldown analysis, using different PKR domains, we then revealed the specific ability of the PKR N-terminus 1–265 to bind to and activate IKK and showed that this activation requires the integrity of the IKK complex. This activation is not only due to DRBDs since the DRBD fragment 1–180 failed to inhibit PKR 1–265 induced NF-κB activation. Our results therefore demonstrate that the ability of PKR to mediate NF-κB activation resides in its full N-terminus, and requires both DRBDs and the third basic domain
De Iohanne papa et Ottone imperatore : crimini, deposizione e morte di un pontefice maledetto
No full textEdizione, con traduzione italiana e commento,storico e letterario, della cosiddetta "Historia Ottonis" di Liutprando di Cremona, l'opuscolo nel quale l'autore difende l'operato dell'imperatore nella deposizione dei papi Giovanni XII e Benedetto V (963-964). Nell'introduzione si sottolineano le strategie retoriche e narrative utilizzate dall'autore, che mirano a una sistematica denigrazione morale di Giovanni XII, che progressivamente si svela come posseduto dal demonio. Insieme al testo di Liutprando vengono pubblicati i principali documenti storici e letterari che parlano delle medesimo vicende: sono quasi tutti di parte ottoniana, ad eccezione degli Atti del sinodo tenuto a Roma nel febbraio 964, che dichiarò nulla la deposizione di Giovanni XII e la sua sostituzione con Leone VIII.Critical edition, with an Italian translation and a historical and literary commentary, of the so-called "Historia Ottonis" by Liutprand of Cremona. In this pamphlet the author defends the action of the emperor in the deposition of Popes John XII and Benedict V (963-964). The introduction underlines the rhetorical and narrative strategies used by the author, which aim at a systematic moral denigration of John XII, who is progressively revealed as possessed by the devil. Together with Liutprand's text, the book provides editions and translations of the main historical and literary documents connected to the events: they are almost all on the Ottonian side, with the exception of the Acts of the synod held in Rome in February 964, which declared null and void the deposition of John XII and his replacement by Leo VIII
Targeting lactate metabolism by inhibiting MCT1 or MCT4 impairs leukemic cell proliferation, induces two different related death-pathways and increases chemotherapeutic sensitivity of acute myeloid leukemia cells
No full textMetabolism in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells is dependent primarily on oxidative phosphorylation. However, in order to sustain their high proliferation rate and metabolic demand, leukemic blasts use a number of metabolic strategies, including glycolytic metabolism. Understanding whether monocarboxylate transporters MCT1 and MCT4, which remove the excess of lactate produced by cancer cells, represent new hematological targets, and whether their respective inhibitors, AR-C155858 and syrosingopine, can be useful in leukemia therapy, may reveal a novel treatment strategy for patients with AML. We analyzed MCT1 and MCT4 expression and function in hematopoietic progenitor cells from healthy cord blood, in several leukemic cell lines and in primary leukemic blasts from patients with AML, and investigated the effects of AR-C155858 and syrosingopine, used alone or in combination with arabinosylcytosine, on leukemic cell proliferation. We found an inverse correlation between MCT1 and MCT4 expression levels in leukemic cells, and showed that MCT4 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in AML patients. We also found that AR-C155858 and syrosingopine inhibit leukemic cell proliferation by activating two different cell-death related pathways, i.e., necrosis for AR-C155858 treatment and autophagy for syrosingopine, and showed that AR-C155858 and syrosingopine exert an anti-proliferative effect, additive to chemotherapy, by enhancing leukemic cells sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents. Altogether, our study shows that inhibition of MCT1 or MCT4 impairs leukemic cell proliferation, suggesting that targeting lactate metabolism may be a new therapeutic strategy for AML, and points to MCT4 as a potential therapeutic target in AML patients and to syrosingopine as a new anti-proliferative drug and inducer of autophagy to be used in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic agents in AML treatment
John of Garland’s De triumphis Ecclesiae: a new critical edition with introduction and translation. Martin Hall [book review]
No full textJane Hawkes and Meg Boulton, eds, All Roads Lead to Rome: The Creation, Context and Transmission of the Codex Amiatinus
Jessica Hodgkinson
Catherine E. Karkov, Imagining Anglo-Saxon England: Utopia, Heterotopia, Dystopia
Erik Wade
Charles C. Rozier, Writing History in the Community of St Cuthbert c. 700-1130: From Bede to Symeon of Durham
Margaret Coombe
Liutprando di Cremona, De Iohanne papa et Ottone imperatore. Crimini, deposizione e morte di un pontefice maledetto
Michele Baitieri
William Kynan-Wilson and John Munns, eds, Henry of Blois: New Interpretations
Craig M. Nakashian
Danica Summerlin, The Canons of the Third Lateran Council of 1179: Their Origins and Reception,
Atria A. Larson
Martin Hall, ed. and trans., John of Garland’s De triumphis Ecclesie: A New Critical Edition with Introduction and Translation, Studia Artistarum, 44
Andrew D. Buck
Ian Short, Crestien’s ‘Guillaume D’Angleterre’: William of England, An Edition and Annotated Translation
Judith Weiss
Dale Kedwards, The ‘Mappae Mundi’ of Medieval Iceland
Victoria E. H. Walker
Aleks Pluskowski, ed., Ecologies of Crusading, Colonization, and Religious Conversion in the Medieval Baltic: Terra Sacra II
Mark Whelan
J. Michael Jefferson, The Templar Estates in Lincolnshire 1185-1565: Agriculture and Economy
Ross S. Kennedy
Ian Wilson, The Book of Geoffroi de Charny with the Livre Charny
David Green
W. Mark Ormrod, Women and Parliament in Later Medieval England
Laura Tompkins
Lucy M. Allen-Goss, Female Desire in Chaucer’s ‘Legend of Good Women’ and Middle English Romance
Hannah Piercy
E. Amanda McVitty, Treason and Masculinity in Medieval England: Gender, Law and Political Culture
Katherine J. Lewis
Tom Johnson, Law in Common: Legal Cultures in Late-Medieval England
Euan C. Roger
Jackson W. Armstrong, England’s Norther Frontier: Conflict and Local Society in the Fifteenth-Century Scottish Marches
Matthew Heffera
Transfer of yeast artificial chromosomes into mammalian cells and comparative study of their integrity
No full textYeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) from the CEPH MegaYAC library (Paris, France) ranging in size from 350 to 1600 kb and mapping to the q22.1 and q22.2 regions of human chromosome 21 were transferred into mammalian cells by spheroplast fusion. The integrity of the YACs from two adjacent parts of the region was compared after retrofitting and stable transfer into mammalian cells. We found that large YACs could easily be manipulated to allow transfer of the YAC material into mammalian cells and that the size of the YAC did not appear to be limiting for fusion. However, we show that there was great variability in the integrity of the YACs from the two regions, which was not related to the size of the YACs. Four YACs in region I from sequence-tagged site (STS) G51E05 up to STS LL103 showed, in general, no loss of material and correct gene transfer into mammalian cells. In contrast, the three YACs in the more centromeric region II (from STS G51B09 up to G51E05) frequently showed a loss o
