1,721,024 research outputs found
The Urban restoration of the Rabato-Santa Croce district in Agrigento, Sicily: Conservation, resilience and architectural morphogenesis
No full textIl saggio rappresenta un contributo al rilevante tema del restauro urbano, incentrato sulla rivitalizzazione del quartiere Rabato-Santa Croce ad Agrigento, semidistrutto da movimenti franosi nel 1966 e ancora oggi in parziale stato di abbandono. La ricerca inverte i termini del problema così come usualmente posti e non procede attraverso la somma di singole competenze specialistiche, bensì riflette su problematiche sempre diverse in relazione alle complesse implicazioni critico-estetiche e alle cangianti condizioni di conservazione. Al superamento d’una concezione tecnicistica dell’intervento, solitamente espressa dai “manuali del recupero”, segue uno sviluppo metodologico che osserva “caso per caso” gli elementi di un tessuto integralmente storicizzato ma definisce una visione interventistica che spazia dalla più radicale conservazione della consistenza materiale all’innesto dei materiali moderni alle antiche costruzioni. Lo studio mira a definire concretamente un indirizzo metodologico, precisando le modalità d’intervento sulle preesistenze. La valorizzazione del capitale umano dei residenti e la permanenza delle diversificate classi sociali sono tra gli obbiettivi perseguiti.The essay is a contribution to the theme of urban restoration, focused on the revitalization of the historic district “Rabato-Santa Croce” in Agrigento, partially destroyed by a landslide in 1966 and still rather uninhabited. The research reverses the terms of the problem as usually set and reflects on issues always different in relation to the complex critical-aesthetic implications and the changing conditions of conservation. After excluding a technocratic conception of the intervention, the methodological approach analyses “case by case” the elements of a fully historicized structure and defines a vision of the intervention that ranges from the most radical preservation of material consistency to the integration of modern materials and structures to the ancient buildings
Pulmonary delivery of fenretinide: A possible adjuvant treatment in COVID-19
Full text linkAt present, there is no vaccine or effective standard treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (or coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19)), which frequently leads to lethal pulmonary inflammatory responses. COVID-19 pathology is characterized by extreme inflammation and amplified immune response with activation of a cytokine storm. A subsequent progression to acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can take place, which is often followed by death. The causes of these strong inflammatory responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection are still unknown. As uncontrolled pulmonary inflammation is likely the main cause of death in SARS-CoV-2 infection, anti-inflammatory therapeutic interventions are particularly important. Fenretinide N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide is a bioactive molecule characterized by poly-pharmacological properties and a low toxicity profile. Fenretinide is endowed with antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and immunomodulating properties other than efficacy in obesity/diabetic pathologies. Its anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities, in particular, could likely have utility in multimodal therapies for the treatment of ALI/ARDS in COVID-19 patients. Moreover, fenretinide administration by pulmonary delivery systems could further increase its therapeutic value by carrying high drug concentrations to the lungs and triggering a rapid onset of activity. This is particularly important in SARS-CoV-2 infection, where only a narrow time window exists for therapeutic intervention
Magnesium: Biochemistry, nutrition, detection, and social impact of diseases linked to its deficiency
Full text linkMagnesium plays an important role in many physiological functions. Habitually low intakes of magnesium and in general the deficiency of this micronutrient induce changes in biochemical pathways that can increase the risk of illness and, in particular, chronic degenerative diseases. The assessment of magnesium status is consequently of great importance, however, its evaluation is difficult. The measurement of serum magnesium concentration is the most commonly used and readily available method for assessing magnesium status, even if serum levels have no reliable correlation with total body magnesium levels or concentrations in specific tissues. Therefore, this review offers an overview of recent insights into magnesium from multiple perspectives. Starting from a biochemical point of view, it aims at highlighting the risk due to insufficient uptake (frequently due to the low content of magnesium in the modern western diet), at suggesting strategies to reach the recommended dietary reference values, and at focusing on the importance of detecting physiological or pathological levels of magnesium in various body districts, in order to counteract the social impact of diseases linked to magnesium deficiency
The assessment of intracellular magnesium: Different strategies to answer different questions
No full textThe role of magnesium in cell metabolism is complex and still not completely clarified. Although magnesium has been shown to modulate many phenomena in cells, its intracellular distribution and subcellular compartmentalization have not yet elucidated in detail, mainly as a consequence of the inadequacy of analytical techniques. The method usually employed to quantify total magnesium in cells or tissue are F-AAS or more sensitive techniques as graphite furnace AAS and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (MS). Thanks to the development of new specific fluorescent dyes, several progresses have been made in the comprehension of the fundamental biological process at the cellular and sub-cellular level. Moreover, the biological function of a chemical element in cells does not only require the determination of its intracellular quantity but also the spatial distribution of its concentration. Most of Mg2+-sensitive fluorescent dyes detect only the free metal ions, precluding the possibility of identifying the total pool of Mg. This review aims at giving an overview on different techniques focusing on two approaches to quantify total Mg in a small cell population or in single cells: i) Indirect Mg detection, labelbased methods that represent the best choice to quantify the elemental concentration on a large cell population; ii) direct Mg detection (label-free), Synchrotron-based x-ray microscopy techniques that offer the possibility of achieving a detailed map of the intracellular concentration of a specific chemical element on single cell
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