137 research outputs found
The U-City Paradigm: Opportunities and Risks for E-Democracy in Collaborative Planning
No full textVolunteered Geographic Information (VGI) tools appear to enhance the possibilities offered by a collaborative approach to planning. The present paper analyzes both the results of experiences of the author and of those available in the literature, highlighting possible advantages and disadvantages. After a brief introduction to the meaning of e-democracy, the second part focuses on the role of ICT in collaborative planning, proceeding in the third part to an illustration of an initial panorama of knowledge gathered using ICT in such processes, while discussing criticisms and opportunities. The fourth part discusses the U-city paradigm as a driver of change in urban planning participation processes. Research perspectives are then outlined in the final part
Retouched pieces of la Fabbrica, Colle Rotondo and Castelcivita.
No full textRetouched pieces of la Fabbrica, Colle Rotondo and Castelcivita.</p
No changes in N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in a longitudinal cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension on therapy with bosentan
No full textAbstract
AIM:
The aim of this study was to evaluate N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc)-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and changes after therapy with bosentan.
METHOD:
Twenty-one patients with SSc-PAH on bosentan therapy were enrolled. PAH was diagnosed by right heart catheterization. NT-proBNP levels, 6-min walking test (6MWT), Doppler echocardiography to estimated systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (sPAP), New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class for dyspnea and carbon monoxide lung diffusion capacity (DLco) were recorded at baseline, and after 1 and 2 years. Fifty-two SSc patients without PAH were also evaluated as controls.
RESULTS:
NT-proBNP plasma levels were significantly higher in SSc-PAH at 385 pg/mL (SD ± 427) than in SSc without PAH and 72 pg/mL (SD ± 52, P < 0.001) at baseline, but did not significantly change following bosentan therapy at 1 year (330 pg/mL [SD ± 291] and 2 years (374 pg/mL [SD ± 291]). However, NYHA class significantly improved at 2 years (P = 0.01) as well as 6MWT (P = 0.04). NT-proBNP levels were positively correlated only with sPAP but not with DLco, NYHA class or 6MWT.
CONCLUSIONS:
NT-proBNP levels were found to be significantly higher in SSc-PAH at baseline. Serial assessment of NT-proBNP in SSc-PAH patients on bosentan therapy showed no relation to the clinical improvement. This suggests that NT-proBNP may lack 'sensitivity to change', but further studies are warranted to assess the role of NT-proBNP as a biomarker of the therapeutic response in larger cohorts of SSc patients
The Gut Microbiome–Brain Crosstalk in Neurodegenerative Diseases
No full textThe gut–brain axis (GBA) is a complex interactive network linking the gut to the brain. It involves the bidirectional communication between the gastrointestinal and the central nervous system, mediated by endocrinological, immunological, and neural signals. Perturbations of the GBA have been reported in many neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting a possible role in disease pathogenesis, making it a potential therapeutic target. The gut microbiome is a pivotal component of the GBA, and alterations in its composition have been linked to GBA dysfunction and CNS inflammation and degeneration. The gut microbiome might influence the homeostasis of the central nervous system homeostasis through the modulation of the immune system and, more directly, the production of molecules and metabolites. Small clinical and preclinical trials, in which microbial composition was manipulated using dietary changes, fecal microbiome transplantation, and probiotic supplements, have provided promising outcomes. However, results are not always consistent, and large-scale randomized control trials are lacking. Here, we give an overview of how the gut microbiome influences the GBA and could contribute to disease pathogenesis in neurodegenerative diseases
Una bottega di artisti nel Veneto del Cinquecento: Antonio Rosso, Marco e Giovanni da Mel
No full textQuesta relazione riassume le principali conoscenze emerse dagli studi diagnostici di dipinti della bottega dei da Mel, condotta dal 2011 dal Laboratorio di Archeometria del Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra dell’Università di Ferrara.
La bottega della famiglia da Mel era costituita da Antonio Rosso (ca.1455-1510), di origine cadorina, che si trasferì a Mel intorno al 1480 e dai fgli Giovanni (ca. 1480-1549) e Marco (1494-1583) e si dedicava prevalentemente alla tecnica dell’affresco. Numerosi infatti sono gli affreschi attribuiti alla bottega localizzati nelle valli della sponda orientale del Fiume Piave, come la chiesa di San Bartolomeo a Villapiana di Lentiai, dove si conserva un affresco attribuito a Marco da Mel.
Tuttavia Giovanni in particolare, grazie ai suoi numerosi viaggi e ai contatti che seppe intessere con Venezia, ebbe la possibilità di sperimentare anche altre tipologie di supporto. La grande pala d’altare, conservata nella chiesa di Trichiana, rappresenta l’unica tela a lui attribuita (1543), realizzata nell’ultima parte della sua vita.
Altri due dipinti su tavola, la pala di Bardiès e la Madonna con Bambino tra i Santi Rocco e Sebastiano della chiesa di Santa Maria Annunziata a Mel, sono esempi signifcativi dell’uso del supporto ligneo da parte dello stesso Giovanni da Mel.
Con l’uso delle diagnostiche scientifche, in maggioranza non invasive, su questi dipinti, si è inteso contribuire alla conoscenza dei materiali e delle tecniche pittoriche impiegate nell’artigianato artistico del Veneto della prima metà del Cinquecento
Reading a Travel Journal. The Melancholia of Gina Lombroso in Latin America
No full textThe paper analyzes Gina Lombroso’ observations of the development of criminal anthropology in South America. In her travel journal, published in 1908, she focuses mainly on the Argentinian penitentiary institutions and mental hospitals and deems the establishment of these institutions as tangible signs of the rise of her father's beliefs.
In particular, the premises and internal structures for the convicted (se sono stati soggetti a sentenza) and dangerous alienated people are equipped and managed according to the ideas of Italian criminal anthropology’s followers.
However, as explained by the author, the huge spread of criminology in Argentina did not ultimately result in a change of substance of the national criminal law and criminal procedure
Investigating S-wave Anisotropy in the Rotondo Granite by croshole seimic Surveys
No full textThe Bedretto Laboratory, located within the Rotondo granite, conducts stimulations of the host rock to investigate the possibility of enhanced geothermal energy and tries to better understand the risk of induced seismicity. Seismic anisotropy plays an important role when processing seismic data, making its characterization essential in such a laboratory. In a previous study, through crosshole seismic, the apparent velocity of P-waves was obtained and used to give some first values of the parameters characterising anisotropy assuming a Tilted Transversely Isotropic medium (TTI). Further investigating the obtained data, S-wave splitting could be detected. This phenomenon occurs in anisotropic media, resulting in horizontal S-waves (SH) and vertical S-waves (SV) having different seismic velocities. A sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the significance of S-wave information. The analysis revealed the benefit of incorporating the information provided by the S-waves to improve the current anisotropic model. Several crosshole surveys were carried out using different instruments, such as a S-wave sparker or a 3-component geophone. The aim was to understand the behavior of S-waves better and accurately identify the arrival time of both types of waves. The results reveal that rotating the 3-component geophones data was the best choice to isolate both types of S-waves. Time arrivals were picked, and apparent velocities were calculated knowing the ray path length. They show a change from 2747 m/s to 3216m/s for SH waves, and from 2830m/s to 3105m/s for SV-waves. An attempt was made to obtain the anisotropy parameters that successfully describe the observed velocities in the Rotondo granite.Applied Geophysics | IDEA Leagu
Partial data on debitage at La Fabbrica, Colle Rotondo and Castelcivita.
No full textPartial data on debitage at La Fabbrica, Colle Rotondo and Castelcivita.</p
E-democracy in collaborative planning: a critical review
No full textThe history of the use of informatics tools to support collaborative planning is relatively recent. Personal computer, multimedia techniques and the web provided useful technology for the purposes of collaborative processes. Following the advent of Web 2.0, the wide diffusion of electronic devices containing geo-referenced information have resulted in the production of extensive spatial data. The present study will assess how, the collaborative approach to planning can be supported by the Web, also using "Volunteered Geographic Information" (VGI) tools, analyzing the possible benefits and drawbacks using the results of experiences made by the author and available in literature. The chapter starts from an introduction to the collaborative approach and illustrates, in the second paragraph, a first panoramic on criticisms and opportunities in using ICT for collaborative planning. In the third paragraph the paper discuss possible opportunities and risks for participation in urban planning using VGI tools. Conclusions are made in the last paragraph
Abitare l'Università e vivere la città
No full textIl rapporto Università e Città (Bagnasco, 2004) (Wiewel & Perry, 2008) (Balducci, Cognetti, Fedeli, 2010) (Martinelli & Savino, 2012) (Martinelli & Savino, 2013) ha assunto una notevole centralità nel dibattito architettonico e urbanistico, oltre che sociologico, soprattutto a partire dagli anni Settanta, a seguito del passaggio dall’università d’elite all’università di massa (Martinelli, 2012). D’altronde, nella condizione contemporanea dove l’avanzare della Knowledge Economy (Banfi & Bologna, 2011) (Bologna, 2015) diviene sempre più centrale e le città si trovano a dover competere nell’economia globale, la relazione tra Università e Città appare inevitabile (Wiwel & Perry, 2008).
Se da un lato le Università per competere sul panorama nazionale ed internazionale sono chiamate ad una partecipazione diretta alla vita urbana e ai processi collettivi di formazione dello spazio, dall’altro le Città devono mostrare una maggiore attenzione per i diritti della comunità universitaria (allo studio, alla salute, alla mobilità/accessibilità, alla cultura, ecc.) strutturando nelle loro Agende Urbane un nuovo patto con gli Enti di Diritto allo Studio Universitario (DSU) (Mangialardi et al., 2022).
L’implementazione delle facilities e delle attrezzature collettive, ad esempio, che sono imprescindibili per garantire un pieno Diritto allo Studio Universitario diviene, tra i tanti, un importante strumento per favorire la costruzione di nuove relazioni, mettendo al centro del contesto urbano le strutture universitarie quali nuove polarità del sistema pubblico della città.
Tra tutte, lo Student Housing, o più comunemente, le residenze universitarie, intese quali componenti essenziali del welfare studentesco, rivestono un ruolo centrale nella crescita sociale dello studente in un sistema di rapporti attivi tra Università e Città (Bellini, 2019).
Da tempo considerate, non più semplici strutture ricettive per gli studenti fuori sede, rivolte in particolar modo ai capaci e meritevoli privi di mezzi, rispettando così un fondamentale dettato costituzionale, ma luoghi di formazione, interazione e crescita umana e personale, esse rappresentano uno fra gli indicatori internazionali che qualifica il sistema universitario e formativo di un Paese. Non è un caso che la disponibilità di tali attrezzature consenta all’università di attuare pienamente la propria attrattività, da raggiungere non solo con l’incremento del numero di posti alloggio, ma anche attraverso il miglioramento della qualità degli spazi collettivi, dei servizi comuni, della localizzazione, anche rispetto ai principali servizi urbani, l’inclusione e l’accessibilità. Alla luce di tali riflessioni, la ricerca propone di guardare alla residenzialità universitaria quale infrastruttura sociale strategica per i processi di trasformazione della città contemporanea, in grado di contribuire a rinsaldare il legame secolare tra spazi della conoscenza e spazi urbani.
In Italia, lo Student Housing ha rappresentato, e rappresenta oggi, un ambito posto colpevolmente ai margini del sistema universitario, tradizionalmente focalizzato sulla didattica, ricerca, terza missione e public engagement (Privitera, 2018) e meno sui temi del Diritto allo Studio, di competenza diretta dei preposti enti regionali.
La carenza di posti alloggio universitari nel nostro Paese, tanto in termini quantitativi, quanto qualitativi, unitamente ai continui rincari dei canoni d’affitto particolarmente aggravati dall’aumento dell’inflazione e dal complementare caro-vita, hanno portato, chi scrive, a scegliere il contesto nazionale quale ambito di approfondimento del lavoro di ricerca, dopo la ricostruzione del frame teorico all’interno del quale si colloca l’indagine.
Attraverso l’analisi critica delle politiche nazionali sul tema, prime fra tutte le cinque stagioni della Legge n. 338/2000 “Disposizioni in materia di alloggi e residenze per studenti universitari” e dell’apparato normativo legato ai fondi stanziati dal Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR), nonché all’osservazione di casi di studio di residenze universitarie, selezionati nell’ambito delle differenti applicazioni della suddetta Legge, si esplorano e comprendono a fondo quali siano le potenzialità, quali le risorse che si possono sfruttare in un processo nazionale di rinnovamento e attuazione di residenze universitarie e quali le criticità a cui rimediare per rafforzarne l’integrazione e la condivisione delle stesse con il contesto urbano e sociale di riferimento (Martinelli e Savino, 2015), contribuendo in tal modo ad ampliare il concetto di Diritto allo Studio quale Diritto alla Città (Lefebvre, 1968).
Il lavoro di ricerca ha permesso, pertanto, di fornire un contributo teorico per l’avanzamento delle politiche urbane dello Student Housing, rispetto all’attuale quadro normativo nazionale di riferimento per lo specifico settore, eccessivamente caratterizzato da una dimensione prestazionale e funzionalistica del servizio.
Alla luce delle ingenti risorse che il PNRR ha riservato per il tema e in una rinnovata visione della residenzialità universitaria contemporanea e futura, il lavoro di ricerca funge dunque da supporto tecnico, sia per i soggetti promotori (pubblici e privati) di progetti di Student Housing nonché per le amministrazioni comunali, alla realizzazione di interventi complessi, pensati non per una comunità circoscritta ma come parte strutturante della città. Ripensata secondo le linee d’indirizzo designate e immaginata secondo le soluzioni metaprogettuali (esemplificative) proposte, la residenzialità universitaria assume un grande valore collettivo e sociale, rafforzando così la complessa relazione tra Università e Città in una logica di ampliamento dei servizi comuni e delle attrezzature sociali e residenziali da offrire agli studenti, così come alla popolazione locale, facendo in modo che la stessa Università diventi il centro propulsivo per il contesto urbano di riferimento.
In quest’ottica, la residenzialità universitaria, oltre a rappresentare un’occasione di rigenerazione urbana, diviene dunque il ponte verso nuove e più intense cooperazioni che valorizzino le condizioni di prossimità spaziale. Uno spazio democratico in cui si abbia la possibilità di interagire tra soggetti plurali, incarnando i principi di porosità del territorio.The relationship between the University and the City (Bagnasco, 2004) (Wiewel & Perry, 2008) (Balducci, Cognetti, Fedeli, 2010) (Martinelli & Savino, 2012) (Martinelli & Savino, 2013) has assumed considerable centrality in the architectural and urbanistic, as well as sociological, debate, especially since the 1970s, following the transition from the elite university to the mass university (Martinelli, 2012). Moreover, in the contemporary condition where the advancing Knowledge Economy (Banfi & Bologna, 2011) (Bologna, 2015) becomes more central and cities have to compete in the global economy, the relationship between the University and the City appears inevitable (Wiwel & Perry, 2008). If on the one hand universities, in order to compete on the national and international scene, are called upon to directly participate in urban life and the collective processes of space formation, on the other hand, cities must show greater attention to the rights of the university community (to study, health, mobility/accessibility, culture, etc.) by structuring in their Urban Agendas a new pact with the University Right to Study Institutions (Mangialardi et al., 2022). For example, the implementation of collective facilities which are essential to guarantee a full Right to University Study becomes, among many others, an important tool to promote the construction of new relations, putting university facilities at the centre of the urban context as new polarities of the city's public system.
Among all, student housing, understood as an essential component of student welfare, plays a central role in the social growth of the student in a system of active relations between the University and the City (Bellini, 2019).
Today student housing not is only an accommodation facility for out-of-town students, but also a place for training, interaction and human and personal growth. It represents one of the international indicators that qualify a country's university and training system.
In fact, the attractiveness of universities is increased not only by increasing the number of accommodation places, but also by improving the quality of collective spaces, common services, location, even in relation to the main urban services, inclusion and accessibility.
In this context, the research proposes looking at student housing as a strategic social infrastructure for the transformation processes of the contemporary city, able to reinforce the centuries-old relationship between knowledge and urban spaces.
In Italy, student housing is placed at the margins of the university system, traditionally focused on didactics, research, third mission and public engagement (Privitera, 2018) and less on Right to Study issues, which are the direct responsibility of the specific regional institutions.
The shortage of university accommodation in our country, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, together with the constant increases in rents, particularly aggravated by the rise in inflation and the complementary high cost of living, have led the writer to choose the national context as the area in which to carry out the research work, after reconstructing the theoretical framework within which the investigation is located.
Through the critical analysis of national policies on the topic and the observation of Italian case studies of student housing, the author explores and understands what potentials and what resources can be used in a national process of renovation and implementation of student housing and what critical aspects need to be resolved in order to strengthen their integration with the urban and social context of reference (Martinelli and Savino, 2015). Thus contributed to expanding the concept of the Right to Study as a Right to the City (Lefebvre, 1968).
The research made it possible to provide a theoretical contribution to the advancement of urban student housing policies with respect to the current national regulatory framework for the specific sector, which is excessively characterized by a performance and functionalist dimension of the service.
In a renewed vision of contemporary and future student housing, the research acts as technical support, both for the promoters (public and private) of student housing projects as well as for municipal administrations, for the realization of complex projects, not planned for a limited community but as a structural part of the city.
Re-thought according to the designated guidelines and imagined according to the proposed (exemplary) meta-design solutions, student housing takes on a great collective and social value in a logic of expansion of common services and social and residential facilities to be offered to students, as well as to the local population, making the University itself the propulsive centre for the urban context of reference.
In this perspective, student housing, in addition to representing an opportunity for urban regeneration, thus becomes a bridge towards new and more intense cooperation that valorises the conditions of spatial proximity. A democratic space in which there is the possibility of interaction between plural subjects, embodying the principles of spatial porosity
- …
