State-of-the-art on steel exoskeletons for seismic retrofit of existing RC buildings

Since ‘80s the use of external additive structures, commonly called exoskeletons, is considered one of the possible alternatives for seismic retrofit of existing r.c. structures with low dissipative capacity. The first Japanese and American codes dealing with structural rehabilitation issues, as well as many applications on the use of steel devices at the international level, are testimony of this trend, especially in high seismic hazard areas. Nowadays, the use of this intervention strategy has become of great actuality, not only because it can be implemented in a safe way without interrupting the building use, but also because it can be effectively adopted, in cases of restructuring operations with lateral addition, for the integrated (formal, energetic and functional) retrofit of the entire construction. In the present work, after a thorough state-of-the art of the main researches and applications on steel exoskeletons, their typological classification into families and the definition of the key project parameters, indispensable to both properly conceive and design such systems, have been performed

A dendrochronological analysis of Pinus pinea L. on the Italian mid-Tyrrhenian coast

In order to assess the response of the radial growth of Pinus pinea L. to climatic variability in Central Italy, dendrochronological and dendroclimatological analyses were carried out on five different populations scattered along the Tyrrhenian coasts of the peninsula. The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the ecological demands of this species, particularly in the study area. For each site total ring, early-, and late-wood width chronologies were developed. Multidimensional analyses were performed for the three tree-ring datasets in order to analyze the relations between sites chronologies. Both Principal Component Analyses and hierarchical classifications highlighted an important difference of one site in respect to the other, probably due to site characteristics. Correlation functions were performed to infer the main climatic factors controlling the radial growth of the species. For a comparative study, we limited our attention to the common interval 1926-2003 (78 years) in which the response of the tree-ring chronologies to climate at both local and regional scale was investigated. Positive moisture balance in the late spring-summer period of the year of growth is the climatic driver of P. pinea radial growth in the study area. Moreover, this study shows how low summer temperatures strongly favor the radial growth of the species.Fil: Piraino, Sergio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Aridas; ArgentinaFil: Camiz, Sergio. Universita degli studi di Roma "Sapienza". Dipartimento di Matematica; ItaliaFil: Di Filippo, Alfredo. Universita Degli Studi Della Tuscia. DendrologyLab; ItaliaFil: Piovesan, Gianluca. Universita Degli Studi Della Tuscia. DendrologyLab; ItaliaFil: Spada, Francesco. Universita degli studi di Roma "Sapienza". Dipartimento de biología ambientale; Itali

Quality traits of saffron produced in Italy: geographical area effect and good practices

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most expensive spice in the world and is used in food, cosmetic and dyeing industries. Considering that the production of saffron is increasingly widespread in medium-small Italian farms as well as the scarceness of information and studies regarding the quality of the saffron produced in Italy, the principal aim of this study was to investigate the quality of Italian saffron. Qualitative analysis was conducted in accordance with ISO 3632 1,2:2010-2011 considering 484 samples collected over four years (2015-2018). In particular, moisture content, aroma strength (safranal), colouring strength (crocin) and flavour strength (picrocrocin) were assessed for each sample, and whether spice quality varied according to the geographical area where the spice was produced was also investigated. Qualitative analysis showed that the majority (84-93%) of the samples analysed are of the first quality category, regardless of the year of production. Moisture content and colouring strength are the factors that influence the quality of the spice most. Principal component analysis showed that quality is not influenced by the geographical area where the spice was produced. Finally, some best agricultural practices to obtain a high quality saffron spice are reported

Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloidosis: How to Differentiate Carriers and Patients Using Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography

Background: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis is a rare disease caused by transthyretin (TTR) gene mutations. The aim of our study was to identify early signs of cardiac involvement in patients with a TTR gene mutation in order to differentiate carriers from patients with neurological or cardiac disease. Methods: A case-control study was carried out on 31 subjects with the TTR mutation. Patients were divided into three groups: 23% with cardiac amyloidosis and polyneuropathy (group A), 42% with only polyneuropathy (group B) and 35% carriers (group C). Speckle-tracking echocardiography (left-ventricular global longitudinal strain-GLS, atrial stiffness) was performed in all patients. The apical/basal longitudinal strain ratio (SAB) and relative apical sparing (RAS) were assessed in all subjects. Results: Analyzing groups C and B, we only found a significant difference in the SAB (p-value 0.001) and RAS (p-value 0.039). These parameters were significantly more impaired in group A compared to group B (SAB p-value 0.008; RAS p-value 0.002). Also, atrial stiffness was significantly impaired in groups A and B compared to group C. Conclusions: Our study suggests the diagnostic role of the SAB and RAS in cardiac amyloidosis. The SAB and RAS showed a gradual increase from carriers to patients with neurological and cardiac diseases. Thus, these parameters, in addition to atrial stiffness, could be used to monitor carriers. More extensive data are needed

The longevity of broadleaf deciduous trees in Northern Hemisphere temperate forests: insights from tree-ring series

Understanding the factors controlling the expression of longevity in trees is still an outstanding challenge for tree biologists and forest ecologists. We gathered tree-ring data and literature for broadleaf deciduous (BD) temperate trees growing in closed-canopy old-growth (OG) forests in the Northern Hemisphere to explore the role of geographic patterns, climate variability, and growth rates on longevity. Our pan-continental analysis, covering 25 species from 12 genera, showed that 300–400 years can be considered a baseline threshold for maximum tree lifespan in many temperate deciduous forests. Maximum age varies greatly in relation to environmental features, even within the same species. Tree longevity is generally promoted by reduced growth rates across large genetic differences and environmental gradients. We argue that slower growth rates, and the associated smaller size, provide trees with an advantage against biotic and abiotic disturbance agents, supporting the idea that size, not age, is the main constraint to tree longevity. The oldest trees were living most of their life in subordinate canopy conditions and/or within primary forests in cool temperate environments and outside major storm tracks. Very old trees are thus characterized by slow growth and often live in forests with harsh site conditions and infrequent disturbance events that kill much of the trees. Temperature inversely controls the expression of longevity in mesophilous species (Fagus spp.), but its role in Quercus spp. is more complex and warrants further research in disturbance ecology. Biological, ecological, and historical drivers must be considered to understand the constraints imposed to longevity within different forest landscapes

Adrenocortical Carcinoma and CT Assessment of Therapy Response: The Value of Combining Multiple Criteria

We evaluated tumor response at Computed Tomography (CT) according to three radiologic criteria: RECIST 1.1, CHOI and tumor volume in 34 patients with metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) submitted to standard chemotherapy. These three criteria agreed in defining partial response, stable or progressive disease in 24 patients (70.5%). Partial response (PR) was observed in 29.4%, 29.4% and 41.2% of patients according to RECIST 1.1, CHOI and tumor volume, respectively. It was associated with a favorable prognosis, regardless of the criterion adopted. The concordance of all the 3 criteria in defining the disease response identified 8 patients (23.5%) which displayed a very good prognosis: median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) 14.9 and 37.7 months, respectively. Seven patients (20.6%) with PR assessed by one or two criteria, however, still had a better prognosis than non-responding patients, both in terms of PFS: median 12.3 versus 9.9 months and OS: 21 versus 12.2, respectively. In conclusions, the CT assessment of disease response of ACC patients to chemotherapy with 3 different criteria is feasible and allows the identification of a patient subset with a more favorable outcome. PR with at least one criterion can be useful to early identify patients that deserve continuing the therapy

miRandola 2017: a curated knowledge base of non-invasive biomarkers

miRandola (http://mirandola.iit.cnr.it/) is a database of extracellular non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that was initially published in 2012, foreseeing the relevance of ncRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers. An increasing amount of experimental evidence shows that ncRNAs are frequently dysregulated in diseases. Further, ncRNAs have been discovered in different extracellular forms, such as exosomes, which circulate in human body fluids. Thus, miRandola 2017 is an effort to update and collect the accumulating information on extracellular ncRNAs that is spread across scientific publications and different databases. Data are manually curated from 314 articles that describe miRNAs, long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs. Fourteen organisms are now included in the database, and associations of ncRNAs with 25 drugs, 47 sample types and 197 diseases. miRandola also classifies extracellular RNAs based on their extracellular form: Argonaute2 protein, exosome, microvesicle, microparticle, membrane vesicle, high density lipoprotein and circulating. We also implemented a new web interface to improve the user experience

Missing rings in Pinus halepensis

Climate predictions for the Mediterranean Basin include increased temperatures, decreased precipitation, and increased frequency of extreme climatic events (ECE). These conditions are associated with decreased tree growth and increased vulnerability to pests and diseases. The anatomy of tree rings responds to these environmental conditions. Quantitatively, the width of a tree ring is largely determined by the rate and duration of cell division by the vascular cambium. In the Mediterranean climate, this division may occur throughout almost the entire year. Alternatively, cell division may cease during relatively cool and dry winters, only to resume in the same calendar year with milder temperatures and increased availability of water. Under particularly adverse conditions, no xylem may be produced in parts of the stem, resulting in a missing ring (MR). A dendrochronological network of Pinus halepensis was used to determine the relationship of MR to ECE. The network consisted of 113 sites, 1,509 trees, 2,593 cores, and 225,428 tree rings throughout the distribution range of the species. A total of 4,150 MR were identified. Binomial logistic regression analysis determined that MR frequency increased with increased cambial age. Spatial analysis indicated that the geographic areas of south-eastern Spain and northern Algeria contained the greatest frequency of MR. Dendroclimatic regression analysis indicated a non-linear relationship of MR to total monthly precipitation and mean temperature. MR are strongly associated with the combination of monthly mean temperature from previous October till current February and total precipitation from previous September till current May. They are likely to occur with total precipitation lower than 50 mm and temperatures higher than 5°C. This conclusion is global and can be applied to every site across the distribution area. Rather than simply being a complication for dendrochronology, MR formation is a fundamental response of trees to adverse environmental conditions. The demonstrated relationship of MR formation to ECE across this dendrochronological network in the Mediterranean basin shows the potential of MR analysis to reconstruct the history of past climatic extremes and to predict future forest dynamics in a changing climate

Large-scale atmospheric circulation enhances the Mediterranean East-West tree growth contrast at rear-edge deciduous forests

Overlaid to a general reduction of European beech and sessile oak tree growth over the recent decades in the Mediterranean Basin, tree-ring records from western Mediterranean populations display a stronger growth decrease than eastern populations. We investigate here to what extent the impact of sustained atmospheric circulation patterns in summertime can explain the observed spatial patterns of tree growth. We use Canonical Correlation Analysis, a statistical method that identifies the coupled patterns that are optimally correlated between two multivariate data sets. A general change in growth trends, shifting from a general increase during the period 1950\ue2\u80\u931981 to a decrease during the last three decades (1982\ue2\u80\u932012), can be attributed to increasing summer temperatures, which exert a dominant and negative influence on growth in both tree species across sites. However, summer precipitation has gained importance for growth, coinciding with the intensification of the geographical polarity in climate conditions across the Mediterranean Basin. This intensification during the last three decades can be traced back to a strengthening of the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation (SNAO), which imparts an east-west dipole to summer climate in this region. Under predicted persistent stronger SNAO in the future, western populations would face harsher summer conditions than central and eastern rear-edge populations, due to decreasing precipitation and increasing temperatures in the western Mediterranean Basin. These results evidence the determinant role that changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns may play in the persistence of rear-edge temperate deciduous forests in the near future