Extended Accessibility and Cultural Heritage: A New Approach to Fruition and Conservation

The theme of accessibility has assumed considerable importance for the fruition of cultural heritage, evolving into the more extensive and sensitive concept of “extended accessibility”. In this way it is possible to overcome the concept of “architectural barrier” intended in the reductive sense of physical obstacle, giving the same importance to all those barriers that are still neglected or even ignored today, such as psycho - cognitive, sensory and communicative ones. Therefore, designing the extended accessibility means putting the human being with all his/her needs and requirements at the centre of attention. From this point of view, five main declinations can be identified, physical, cognitive, alternative accessibility, sensoriality and visibility catalysts, each of which has a fundamental role for the usability and enhancement of cultural sites. For each declination, a case study was analysed in which the topic was addressed by proposing different solutions able to give a concrete answer to these various problems. Finally, a case study has been examined, the Nuragic Sanctuary of Santa Vittoria di Serri, highlighting the main problems in terms of accessibility and studying a series of solutions that could improve the usability of the archaeological area. What has been analysed clearly highlights how there is no contrast between accessibility and usability and protection of cultural heritage, but how these aspects can coexist and indeed contribute to the improvement of the cultural opportunities

Paesaggi condivisi, accessibili ed esperienze di ricerca archeologica in Sardegna

Se presentan en este trabajo las diferentes estrategias que se están usando para difundir y explotar públicamente los recursos culturales del municipio de Serri, sobre todo los de índole arqueológica. En el programa emprendido destaca por un lado la colaboración entre diversas instituciones, entre ellas las universidades de Cagliari y Granada, el municipio de Serri y la Soprintendenza, y por otro lado, el éxito medido en el incremento de visitantes de lugares como el santuario de Santa Vittoria

Chemical, molecular, and proteomic analyses of moss bag biomonitoring in a petrochemical area of Sardinia (Italy)

In this study, Hypnum cupressiforme moss bags were used to examine the atmospheric deposition of trace elements in the oil refinery region of Sardinia (Italy) compared with surrounding natural zones. The concentrations of 13 elements [arsenic (As), calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn)] were determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. A significant accumulation of pollutants was detected using active biomonitoring with moss bags compared with a control site. The most relevant contaminants for all of the tested sites were Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn. Moreover, the accumulation of Cr and Zn in the refinery industrial areas, IA1 and IA2, was more than five times greater than that detected at the control site. Levels of Cd, Mg, and Pb were also higher at all of the monitored sites compared with the control site. Both genomic and proteomic methods were used to study the response of H. cupressiforme to air pollution. No DNA damage or mutations were detected using the amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) method. At the protein level, 15 gel spots exhibited differential expression profiles between the moss samples collected at the IA1 site and the control site. Furthermore, among the 14 spots that showed a decrease in protein expression, nine were associated with ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) and proteins of the light-harvesting complexes of photosystem (PS) II, three were associated with protein synthesis, and three were stress-related proteins. Thus, some of these proteins may represent good moss biosensors which could be used as pre-alert markers of environmental pollution

Notulae to the Italian flora of Algae, bryophtes, fungi and lichens: 15

In this contribution, new data concerning Algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algal genus Nitella, for the bryophyte genera Anthoceros, Dicranodontium, Fontinalis, and Riccia, the fungal genera Inocybe and Xerophorus, and the lichen genera Bagliettoa, Biatora, Calicium, Cladonia, Coniocarpon, Lecanora, Opegrapha, Placynthium, Rhizocarpon, Scytinium, Solenopsora, Stereocaulon, and Verrucaria

A prospective non-randomized controlled, multicenter trial comparing Appendectomy and Conservative Treatment for Patients with Uncomplicated Acute Appendicitis (the ACTUAA study)

Purpose: Acute appendicitis (AA) is among the most common causes of lower abdominal pain and admissions to the emergency department. Over the past 20 years, there has been a renewed interest in the conservative management of uncomplicated AA, and several studies demonstrated that an antibiotic-first strategy is a viable treatment option for uncomplicated AA. The aim of this prospective non-randomized controlled, multicenter trial is to compare antibiotic therapy and emergency appendectomy as treatment for patients with uncomplicated AA confirmed by US and/or CT or MRI scan. Methods: All adult patients in the age range 18 to 65 years with suspected AA, consecutively admitted to the Surgical Department of the 13 participating Italian Hospitals, will be invited to take part in the study. A multicenter prospective collected registry developed by surgeons, radiologists, and pathologists with expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated acute appendicitis represents the best research method to assess the long-term role of antibiotics in the management of the disease. Comparison will be made between surgical and antibiotic-first approaches to uncomplicated AA through the analysis of the primary outcome measure of complication-free treatment success rate based on 1-year follow-up. Quality of life, length of hospital stay, pain evaluation, and time to return to normal activity will be evaluated as secondary outcome measures. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT03080103