(In)soliti luoghi: Progetti condivisi di riattivazione locale

Capacità di muoversi o mutare velocemente, variabilità, instabilità, incostanza, ma anche vivacità e versatilità, hanno assunto un’importanza particolare nelle pratiche artistiche attuali, e hanno dato vita a un insieme estremamente mutevole e fluttuante di eventi temporanei e reti di relazioni. Se è sempre più vero, come afferma Jacqueline Ceresoli, che “siamo nomadi camaleontici che diventano la città in cui vivono” , il bisogno di radicamento, o quantomeno il tentativo di appropriarsi anche temporaneamente di un luogo, rendendolo più accogliente e reinterpretandolo secondo un’idea personale del dimorare, sono aspetti che la contemporaneità non ha del tutto cancellato. La vita relazionale che un individuo conduce e il suo essere parte di un gruppo ne segnano profondamente l’identità e assumono particolare rilevanza in luoghi, spesso interstiziali, in cui vengono attuate forme di progettazione artistica o architettonica partecipata. L’arte, in particolare, ha la capacità di catalizzare l’attenzione, coinvolgere in modo empatico, svelare energie nascoste. Irrompe in territori pubblici suscitando impressioni, reazioni, costringendo a riflettere sull’uso e l’appropriatezza degli spazi, e invitando a riscoprire il piacere e i vantaggi di una dimensione comunitaria del vivere la città, fatta di dialoghi, incontri, esperienze fisiche e percettive autentiche. L’articolo svilupperà questi temi a partire da una serie di chiavi di lettura – “Sguardi: lo spirito in moto”, “Alto voltaggio, bassa frequenza: impatti variabili”, “Trame reattive” – illustrate con esempi che rivelano in modo evidente come arte, architettura del paesaggio e degli interni, design, si possano alleare per favorire il recupero di una socialità che si sta perdendo, attraverso azioni di progettazione partecipata. L’autorialità diviene condivisa, si perde la possibilità di discernere in modo chiaro il contributo individuale, ma è la natura stessa di questi progetti che sposta l’attenzione su mire diverse dalla visibilità personale; punta a stimolare l’emergere di un’identità collettiva fiera della propria capacità creativa e dell’esser parte di un progetto di trasformazione che si erge a voce di una tipicità culturale. Ad artisti e progettisti viene affidato il ruolo, non semplice, di provocatori e mediatori

Europe and Contentious Cultural Heritages

This second issue of TRACES Journal has been designed as a dialogue among the scientific coordinators of some of the most recent European Union’s flagship research projects focusing on museums and heritage studies, including some recently concluded programmes as well as some newer researches launched under the H2020 umbrella. We called upon them to question what roles heritage can and should play to address social division and crisis in Europe. We asked them about the focus and the scope of their projects and their relevance in view of contemporary social, political and economic issues affecting Europe and its inhabitants; the expected impact of their research as well as the influence of EU political and funding agendas on the framing of their programme, its lines of enquiry and methods

Mood disorders and suicide: pilot study on postmortem toxicologic evidence and adherence to psychiatric therapy by determining blood levels of medications

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death today, and among all mental illness, mood disorders account for one of the main risk factors. It is well known and proven that suicides are very common among people undergoing treatment and prescribed psychiatric medication. So far, however, there have only been a few studies dealing with this particular phenomenon. For this reason, autopsy patients who died by suicide, suffered from a mood disorder, and were known to be taking psychiatric medication at the time of death were selected for this study. The blood and urine samples taken during the autopsy underwent toxicological analysis and the results were compared with the prescribed therapy. A total of 22 people were included in the study: 12 presenting with depression and 10 with bipolar disorder. The toxicological analysis revealed that only 6 cases (27%) showed a qualitative match with the prescribed medication. In 5 cases (22.7%) the medication was only partially complied with and in 11 cases (50%) it was not complied with at all. Furthermore, even when medication was present, the value was often below the therapeutic range. Overall, more than 70% of the test subjects adhered to their medication only partially or not at all. Since treatment adherence is considered as a key factor in reducing the risk of suicide, this inevitably raises relevant clinical and forensic questions. Against this background, prospective monitoring of post-mortem medication levels in suicidal individuals and synergistic collaboration between clinicians and forensic pathologists could help to evaluate the effectiveness of specific medical interventions, highlight existing critical problems and develop new approaches to suicide prevention

A machine learning pipeline for efficient differentiation between bipolar and major depressive disorder based on multimodal structural neuroimaging

Due to the overlapping depressive symptomatology with major depressive disorder (MDD), 60% of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) are initially misdiagnosed, calling for the definition of reliable biomarkers that can support the diagnostic process. Here, we optimized a machine learning pipeline for the differentiation between depressed BD and MDD patients based on multimodal structural neuroimaging features. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were acquired for 282 depressed BD (n =180) and MDD (n =102) patients. Images were preprocessed to obtain axial (AD), radial (RD), mean (MD) diffusivity, fractional anisotropy (FA), and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) maps. Each feature was entered separately into a 5-fold nested cross-validated predictive pipeline differentiating between BD and MDD patients, comprising: confound regression for nuisance variables removal, feature standardization, principal component analysis for feature reduction, and an elastic-net penalized regression. The DTI-based models reached accuracies ranging from 75% to 78%, whereas the VBM model reached 61% of accuracy. All the models were significantly different from a null model distribution at a 5000-permutation test. A 5000 bootstrap procedure revealed that widespread differences drove the classification, with BD patients associated to overall higher values of AD and FA, and grey matter volumes. Our results suggest that structural neuroimaging, in particular white matter microstructure and grey matter volumes, may be able to differentiate between MDD and BD patients with good predictive accuracy, being significantly higher than chance-level

Comparison of Early and Long-Term Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients with New York Heart Association Functional Class IV to those in Class III and Less

Our aim was to investigate the impact of a baseline New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV on clinical outcomes of a large real-world population who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The primary end points were all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and re-hospitalization, evaluated at the longest available follow-up and by means of a 3-month landmark analysis. The secondary end points were: change in NYHA class, left ventricular ejection fraction, pulmonary pressure and mitral regurgitation. Out of 2,467 patients, 271 (11%) had a NYHA functional class IV at the admission. The latter had higher Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) score (9.2% vs 5.5%; p < 0.001) compared to NYHA ≤ III patients, owing to more comorbidities (prior myocardial infarction, severe long-term kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, left ventricular dysfunction, significant mitral regurgitation, pulmonary hypertension). Device success was similar between the two groups (93.7% vs 94.5%; p = 0.583). At a median follow-up of 15 months (interquartile range 4 to 36 months) a lower freedom from primary end points was observed among NYHA IV versus NYHA ≤ III group (survival from all-cause death: 52% vs 58.4%; p = 0.002; survival from cardiovascular death: 72.5% vs 76.5%; p = 0.091; freedom from re-hospitalization: 81.5% vs 85.4%; p = 0.038). However, after adjustment for baseline imbalance, NYHA IV did not influence the relative risk of long-term primary end points. A 3-month landmark analysis showed that NYHA IV independently predicted 3-month all-cause and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio: 1.77; 95% CI [1.10 to 2.83]; p = 0.018 and hazard ratio: 1.64; 95% CI [1.03 to 2.59]; p = 0.036, respectively). Instead, after 3-month follow-up NYHA IV did not affect the risk of primary end points. A significant improvement of the secondary end points was noted in both NYHA IV and NYHA ≤≤ III groups. In conclusion, the presence of NYHA class IV in TAVI candidates was associated to a significant increased risk of mortality within 3 months. Patients with baseline NYHA IV who survived at 3 months had a long-term outcome comparable to that of other subjects. Left ventricular systolic function, pulmonary pressure, and mitral insufficiency significantly improved after TAVI regardless of baseline NYHA class IV

LINE1 modulate human T cell function by regulating protein synthesis during the life span

The molecular mechanisms responsible for the heightened reactivity of quiescent T cells in human early life remain largely elusive. Our previous research identified that quiescent adult na & iuml;ve CD4(+) T cells express LINE1 (long interspersed nuclear elements 1) spliced in previously unknown isoforms, and their down-regulation marks the transition to activation. Here, we unveil that neonatal na & iuml;ve T cell quiescence is characterized by enhanced energy production and protein synthesis. This phenotype is associated with the absence of LINE1 expression attributed to tonic T cell receptor/mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling and (polypyrimidine tract-binding protein 1 (PTBP1)-mediated LINE1 splicing suppression. The absence of LINE1 expression primes these cells for rapid execution of the activation program by directly regulating protein synthesis. LINE1 expression progressively increases in childhood and adults, peaking in elderly individuals, and, by decreasing protein synthesis, contributes to immune senescence in aging. Our study proposes LINE1 as a critical player of human T cell function across the human life span

Transcathether aortic valve implantation with the new repositionable self-expandable Evolut R versus CoreValve system: A case-matched comparison

Background: Despite promising results following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), several relevant challenges still remain. To overcome these issues, new generation devices have been developed. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether TAVI with the new self-expanding repositionable Evolut R offers potential benefits compared to the preceding CoreValve, using propensity matching. Methods: Between June 2007 and November 2015, 2148 consecutive patients undergoing TAVI either CoreValve (n = 1846) or Evolut R (n = 302) were prospectively included in the Italian TAVI ClinicalService® project. For the purpose of our analysis 211 patients treated with the Evolut R were matched to 211 patients treated with the CoreValve. An independent core laboratory reviewed all angiographic procedural data and an independent clinical events committee adjudicated all events. Results: Patients treated with Evolut R experienced higher 1-year overall survival (log rank test p = 0.045) and a significantly lower incidence of major vascular access complications, bleeding events and acute kidney injury compared to patients treated with the CoreValve. Recapture manoeuvres to optimize valve deployment were performed 44 times, allowing a less implantation depth for the Evolut R. As a consequence, the rate of more than mild paravalvular leak and new permanent pacemaker was lower in patients receiving the Evolut R. Conclusion: In this matched comparison of high surgical risk patients undergoing TAVI, the use of Evolut R was associated with a significant survival benefit at 1. year compared with the CoreValve. This was driven by lower incidence of periprocedural complications and higher rates of correct anatomic positioning

Measurements of the pp → ZZ production cross section and the Z → 4ℓ branching fraction, and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings at √s = 13 TeV

Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp -> (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) -> 4l, where l = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp -> ZZ) = 17.2 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 0.7 (syst) +/- 0.4 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, measured using events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 4l) = 4.83(-0.22)(+0.23) (stat)(-0.29)(+0.32) (syst) +/- 0.08 (theo) +/- 0.12(lumi) x 10(-6) for events with a four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 4GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results agree with standard model predictions. The invariant mass distribution of the four-lepton system is used to set limits on anomalous ZZZ and ZZ. couplings at 95% confidence level: -0.0012 < f(4)(Z) < 0.0010, -0.0010 < f(5)(Z) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(4)(gamma) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(5)(gamma) < 0.0013

Reconstruction of primary vertices at the ATLAS experiment in Run 1 proton–proton collisions at the LHC

This paper presents the method and performance of primary vertex reconstruction in proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 1 of the LHC. The studies presented focus on data taken during 2012 at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=8 TeV. The performance has been measured as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing over a wide range, from one to seventy. The measurement of the position and size of the luminous region and its use as a constraint to improve the primary vertex resolution are discussed. A longitudinal vertex position resolution of about 30μm is achieved for events with high multiplicity of reconstructed tracks. The transverse position resolution is better than 20μm and is dominated by the precision on the size of the luminous region. An analytical model is proposed to describe the primary vertex reconstruction efficiency as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing and of the longitudinal size of the luminous region. Agreement between the data and the predictions of this model is better than 3% up to seventy interactions per bunch crossing