Paesaggio, architettura e trasformazioni urbane: scelte consapevoli per il terzo millennio

Il tema del rapporto tra architettura e natura e’ stato occasione secolare di esplorazione e ricerca. Nelle sue declinazioni piu recenti questo rapporto ha osservato una sempre maggiore integrazione tra concetti che possono apparire antinomici. Il bisogno di Natura in Architettura ottiene una consacrazione con il pensiero di Le Corbusier: il tetto-giardino prima, esplicitazione della integrazione della natura in architettura, che mette sull’edificio moderno la dimensione naturale normalmente destinata al livello del giardino. Successivamente gli studi sulla citta’ moderna e la sua integrazione con i sistemi naturali e il verde fanno di Le Corbusier un paesaggista innovatore; con la Ville Co…

Protein-membrane interaction: insights from advanced microscopy

The interaction between proteins and membranes is sub ject of renewed interest in biomedical and biotechnologi cal research for its implication in many functional and dys functional processes and for its pharmaceutical applications. It has been shown that the interaction between amyloido genic proteins and membranes results in mutually destruc tive structural perturbations. The study we present is focused on the interaction between synthetic model membranes and alpha-lactalbumin (α-La), widely studied for its biolog ical function since it can induce apoptosis in tumor cells. Upon α-La addition to giant vesicles (GVs) samples, the sys tem has been characterized by means of spectroscopy meth …

UPTAKE OF SILICA COVERED QUANTUM DOTS ON LIVING CELLS: LONG TERM VITALITY AND MORPHOLOGY STUDY ON HYALURONIC ACID BIOMATERIALS

In this work we prepared colloidal CdSe-CdS core-shell nanocrystal emitting @625 nm and, by a micro-emulsion procedure of water in oil inverse micelle, we encapsulated a single dot inside each silica sphere. In this way the nanoparticles became biocompatible, are simply to prepare and could be used also in a water based environment. Moreover, the silica shield is transparent to the wavelengths of interest.

Multiple sclerosis in twins from continental Italy and Sardinia: a nationwide study.

Knowledge about the balance between heritable and nonheritable risk in multiple sclerosis (MS) is based on twin studies in high-prevalence areas. In a study that avoided ascertainment limitations and directly compared continental Italy (medium-prevalence) and Sardinia (high-prevalence), we ascertained 216 pairs from 34,549 patients. This gives a twinning rate of 0.62% among MS patients, significantly less than that of the general population. In continental Italy, probandwise concordance was 14.5% (95% confidence interval, 5.1-23.8) for monozygotic and 4.0% (95% confidence interval, 0.8-7.1) for dizygotic twins. Results in Sardinia resemble those in northern populations but in limited number…

Nucleation mechanisms and morphologies in insulin amyloid fibril formation

Influence of metal ions on thermal aggregation processes of globular proteins

Metal ions are implicated in protein aggregation processes of several neurodegenerative pathologies, where the protein deposition occurs. The idea arises from the finding that increased metal concentrations (mainly copper, iron and zinc) are present in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients both in the amyloid plaques and in the cortical tissue. Cu2+ and Zn2+ metals ions have a different physiological role and it has been observed that, in vitro, both promote (zinc more than copper) aggregation in amyloid fibrils and/or in amorphous aggregates. In addition, studying aggregation protein process can be of interest also in the field of biotechnologies like the food technology, since most p…

Enhanced Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells by Thiol-capped Au-Nanoparticles

In this work, we present a study on the effect of thiol-capped AuNPs of various sizesin an organic solar cell.AuNPs have been obtained by laser ablation in liquid solution[2], have been functionalized both with 2-naphthalenethiol and alkanethiol having different length. In addition to bulk heterojunction structures with optimized interpenetrating network of donors and acceptor domains, we have chosen to study planar heterojunctions (PHJs), consisting of three component thin films realized by sequential deposition of P3HT, AuNPs and PCBM from orthogonal solvents.

Altissimi paesaggi

Il progetto di paesaggio per Monte Cammarata, comprazioni con esperienze internazionali. L’architettura del paesaggio indaga ed esplora il paesaggio nelle sue relazioni con il contesto circostante (urbano, territoriale) e cerca di interpretare,e anche modellare, le scelte progettuali e i relativi equilibri con l’ambiente naturale e costruito nell’integrazione di nuove soluzioni. Gli interventi in montagna, e in particolare in area di riserva naturale, come nel caso di Monte Cammarata, richiedono particolare attenzione. L’ecosistema montano è infatti un ecosistema delicato, sia dal punto di vista delle popolazioni animali che dal punto di vista dei sistemi vegetali, ma anche dal punto di vis…

Concanavalin A fibrils formation from Coagulation of Long-lived" Crinkled" Intermediates

Multiple hormonal and metabolic deficiency syndrome in chronic heart failure: rationale, design, and demographic characteristics of the T.O.S.CA. Registry.

Recent evidence supports the concept that progression of chronic heart failure (CHF) depends upon an imbalance of catabolic forces over the anabolic drive. In this regard, multiple hormonal deficiency syndrome (MHDS) significantly has impacts upon CHF progression, and is associated with a worse clinical status and increased mortality. The T.O.S.CA. (Trattamento Ormonale nello Scompenso CArdiaco; Hormone Therapy in Heart Failure) Registry (clinicaltrial.gov = NCT02335801) tests the hypothesis that anabolic deficiencies reduce survival in a large population of mild-to-moderate CHF patients. The T.O.S.CA. Registry is a prospective multicenter observational study coordinated by “Federico II” Un…

FABBRICA VERDE Progetto per lo spazio pubblico dei Cantieri Culturali della Zisa a Palermo

La gestione degli spazi pubblici e’ un tema centrale della citta’ contemporanea, questione ancora piu’ vera e pressante nelle medie e grandi citta’ delle regioni del meridione d’Italia. Lo spazio pubblico oggi e’ il territorio su cui si gioca una sfida importante per la qualita’ delle comunita’ urbane. La qualita’ e la struttura degli spazi pubblici e’ un elemento non piu’ negoziabile per le citta’ che intendono offrirsi al proprio pubblico e ai potenziali visitatori come scenari competitivi in cui il tema della rigenerazione urbana e’ centrale.

Una memoria agricola in un paesaggio low cost

L'esperienza della trasformazione del paesaggio agrario tradizionale in un parco urbano partecipato a basso costo. Nella sorprendente Palermo, una città complessa, dove un paesaggio drammatico combatte giorno dopo giorno contro una città contemporanea di pietra e di cemento, un giardino nascosto di Opuntia viene scoperto ancora una volta dopo decenni di oblio, grazie ak lavoro e alla incessante promozione fatta da un gruppo di cittadini, studenti, professori e volontari.

Outcomes of Patients Hospitalized with Community-Acquired, Health Care-Associated, and Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia

Background Traditionally, pneumonia has been classified as either community- or hospital-acquired. Although only limited data are available, health care-associated pneumonia has been recently proposed as a new category of respiratory infection. "Health care-associated pneumonia" refers to pneumonia in patients who have recently been hospitalized, had hemodialysis, or received intravenous chemotherapy or reside in a nursing home or long-term care facility. Objective To ascertain the epidemiology and outcome of community-acquired, health care-associated, and hospital-acquired pneumonia in adults hospitalized in internal medicine wards. Design Multicenter, prospective observational study. Sett…

El contexto italiano en la experiencia didáctica entre proyecto, paisaje y territorio.

La experiencia de la didáctica italiana que se describe en este libro está enfocada sobre todo en el trabajo que se hace en la Escuela Politécnica de la Universidad de Palermo, con la participación de unos compañeros que enseñan a la Universidad de Brescia de Roma, de Génova y de Florencia. Las contribuciones que se publican aquí están dirigidas a diferentes áreas de conocimiento, pero todas están dirigidas a los temas de territorio y sus transformaciones, paisaje y proyecto. Las experiencias que los docentes cuentan la experiencia de actividades desarrolladas todas en talleres teóricos/prácticos, donde el estudiante de la carrera de Urbanismo y de Arquitectura enfrentan muchas de la activi…

Dating of Brazilian shells through electron paramagnetic resonance

In the present work we report dating procedure of these shells by using the electron paramagnetic resonance. The first step of the analysis was the definition of the optimal procedure for sample preparation. At this aim the analysis of the sample composition was carried out by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements and an accurate analysis was study on the effect of the chemical etching with varying typology and concentration of acid to be used for removing the external layer of shells which are affected by alpha particles.

Comparison of European ICU patients in 2012 (ICON) versus 2002 (SOAP)

Purpose: To evaluate differences in the characteristics and outcomes of intensive care unit (ICU) patients over time. Methods: We reviewed all epidemiological data, including comorbidities, types and severity of organ failure, interventions, lengths of stay and outcome, for patients from the Sepsis Occurrence in Acutely ill Patients (SOAP) study, an observational study conducted in European intensive care units in 2002, and the Intensive Care Over Nations (ICON) audit, a survey of intensive care unit patients conducted in 2012. Results: We compared the 3147 patients from the SOAP study with the 4852 patients from the ICON audit admitted to intensive care units in the same countries as those…

Enhanced efficiency in plastic planar heterojunction solar cells by AuNPs positioned at donor-acceptor interfaces

A new class of copolymers containing oligothiophene moieties with different length and fullerene units have been designed and prepared by an easy and inexpensive one-step synthetic approach. The incorporation of small quantities of these copolymers into bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells with donor regioregular polythiophene (P3HT) and acceptor fullerene derivate (PCBM) results in a good control of the phase separation process without further affecting the BHJ optoelectronic properties. Indeed, these copolymers allow modulating under thermal annealing the growth of domains whose size depends on the length of the copolymer repetitive units. Domain size on the same length scale of the P3HT…

Paesaggio e waterfront nella città contemporanea

Uno studio ragionato su alcuni casi di città costiere in contesti diversi a scala internazionale. L'Avana, Rio de Janeiro, Porto: tre casi di insedimanti costieri e tre modelli di sviluppo del waterfront oceanico. Implicazioni paesaggistiche e urbanistiche.

Assessment of the worldwide burden of critical illness: The Intensive Care Over Nations (ICON) audit

Item does not contain fulltext BACKGROUND: Global epidemiological data regarding outcomes for patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are scarce, but are important in understanding the worldwide burden of critical illness. We, therefore, did an international audit of ICU patients worldwide and assessed variations between hospitals and countries in terms of ICU mortality. METHODS: 730 participating centres in 84 countries prospectively collected data on all adult (>16 years) patients admitted to their ICU between May 8 and May 18, 2012, except those admitted for fewer than 24 h for routine postoperative monitoring. Participation was voluntary. Data were collected daily for a maximum of 28 da…

TERRITORIO, PAISAJE Y TURISMO: metodologias docentes en las escuelas de arquitectura

La experiencia de la didác ca italiana que se describe en este libro está enfocada sobre todo en el trabajo que se hace en la Escuela Politécnica de la Universidad de Palermo, con la par cipación de unos compañeros que enseñan a la Universidad de Brescia de Roma, de Génova y de Florencia. Las contribuciones que se publican aquí están dirigidas a diferentes áreas de conocimiento, pero todas están dirigidas a los temas de territorio y sus transformaciones, paisaje y proyecto. Las experiencias que los docentes cuentan la experiencia de ac vidades desarrolladas todas en talleres teóricos/prác cos, donde el estudiante de la carrera de Urbanismo y de Arquitectura enfrentan muchas de la ac vidades…