Taranto. The Convent Complex of San Domenico Maggiore. Redesigning and Museological Project.

The research, scientifically coordinated by Professor Giorgio Rocco of the Department ICAR of the Polytechnic University of Bari, starts with the analysis of the archeological findings in the area of San Domenico Convent in Taranto (Apulia, Italy), defining the different historical development stages of the city. The study focused on the analysis of the temple foundations under the Church of San Domenico. The structures, brought to light by an archeological excavation during the late 60s and early 70s, possibly date back to the period between the late 6th and the early 5th century BC. The museological project includes the choice of archeological artifacts that describe the historical and cultural context until the 5th century, following the gradual process of consolidation of the colonial polis. The archaeological collection includes finds drawn from the catalogue of the National Archeological Museum of Taranto (MARTA) and from the catalogue of the Civic Museum of History and Art of Trieste. In the exhibition design special attention is given to emphasize the visit to the temple foundation structures. 283-2 The project's challenge is to strike a balance between the convent historical spaces and the exigencies of continuity in the exhibition of the archeological artifacts. Indeed, to define the exhibition tour we have attempted, on one side, to create an itinerary that allows a suitable display of the selected objects, and on the other, the will to allow a correct understanding of historical spaces

Prestress and experimental tests on fractional viscoelastic materials

Creep and/or Relaxation tests on viscoelastic materials show a power-law trend. Based upon Boltzmann superposition principle the constitutive law with a power-law kernel is ruled by the Caputo's fractional derivative. Fractional constitutive law posses a long memory and then the parameters obtained by best fitting procedures on experimental data are strongly influenced by the prestress on the specimen. As in fact during the relaxation test the imposed history of deformation is not instantaneously applied, since a unit step function may not be realized by the test machine. Aim of this paper, it is shown that, the experimental procedure, and in particular the initial ramp to reach the constant stress (or strain) strongly influences the best fitting procedure and the coefficients of the power-law

Pavimentazioni sostenibili per piste ciclabili

In linea con quanto dettato dal Green Deal europeo, la necessità di incrementare i trasporti a minore impatto ambientale è ormai risaputa, così come la conseguente opportunità di costruire nuove piste ciclabili per incentivare quelli a impatto zero. In realtà, progettare una rete ciclabile è solo il primo tassello. Anche se meno trattato e presentato, lo studio della relativa sovrastruttura è un elemento fondamentale. Le tecnologie costruttive attualmente presenti sul mercato consentono di realizzare pavimentazioni sostenibili attraverso la rigenerazione di vecchie pavimentazioni sino al 100%, la produzione a minori temperature (anche ambientali) e la posa in opera a basse emissioni

Empathy and perceived burden in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Background Caregivers of patients load different kinds of burdens, including emotional distress. Aims of this study were to evaluate both burden and empathy of caregivers who assist patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Methods We selected a sample of 60 caregivers (34 women and 26 men), who assisted patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated in our local Community Mental Health Center for a 1-year minimum period. We administered two scales to our sample, Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES), and collected data of caregivers and their assisted patients in a 3-month period. Data were statistically analyzed. Results We reported a mean ZBI score of 49.68 (±15.03 SD) and a mean BEES score of 14.35 (±9.05 SD), indicating the perception of moderate-severe burden and low level of empathy, respectively. The analysis of internal consistency confirmed the good reliability of both ZBI (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90) and BEES (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.77). The correlation between the two scales was not statistically significant at Spearman test. At our multiple linear regression, many variables of both caregiver and patient showed a significant correlation with the ZBI score. In particular, not living with the assisted patient and female gender of caregiver potentially decreased the burden, whereas clinical severity of assisted patient and two caregiver conditions, middle school education and spouse relationship with patient, could worsen the burden. We highlighted two positive statistically significant correlations between the total score of BEES and caregiver characteristics: being spouse and not living with assisted patient. Conclusions Our study highlights that the caregiver burden of patients with severe psychiatric disorders is high and is associated with low emotional empathy experienced by caregivers, probably due to a defensive psychological mechanism. The conditions of spouse and cohabitation can concomitantly increase both empathy and burden in caregivers

A Robotized Raspberry-Based System for Pothole 3D Reconstruction and Mapping

Repairing potholes is a task for municipalities to prevent serious road user injuries and vehicle damage. This study presents a low-cost, high-performance pothole monitoring system to maintain urban roads. The authors developed a methodology based on photogrammetry techniques to predict the pothole's shape and volume. A collection of overlapping 2D images shot by a Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 connected to a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B has been used to create a pothole 3D model. The Raspberry-based configuration has been mounted on an autonomous and remote-controlled robot (developed in the InfraROB European project) to reduce workers' exposure to live traffic in survey activities and automate the process. The outputs of photogrammetry processing software have been validated through laboratory tests set as ground truth; the trial has been conducted on a tile made of asphalt mixture, reproducing a real pothole. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) technologies allowed visualising potholes on a map with information about their centre, volume, backfill material, and an associated image. Ten on-site tests validated that the system works in an uncontrolled environment and not only in the laboratory. The results showed that the system is a valuable tool for monitoring road potholes taking into account construction workers' and road users' health and safety

More atypical than atypical Alzheimer's disease phenotypes: a Treviso Dementia (TREDEM) registry case report

Background: A 57-year-old right-handed man was admitted to the Treviso Memory Clinic due to the presence of memory forgetfulness, repetition of the same questions, episodes of confusion, initial difficulties in performing complex tasks and easy distraction over the past two years, as well as recurrent and never-happened-before car accidents.Objective: We report a peculiar case of an early onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) with an unusual symptomatology, apparently not fitting in any of the categorized atypical forms of AD nor being representative of a typical amnestic AD.Methods: The patient underwent a neuropsychological, structural, and metabolic cerebral evaluation by MRI and F-18-FDG PET, together with the search for cerebral amyloid (amyloid PET), a genetic testing for dementia related genes and the dosage of CSF protein biomarkers of neurodegenerative conditions.Results: We observed a convergence of predominant frontal (dysexecutive, verbal disinhibition) and posterior (visuospatial) features of cognitive impairment. Structural MRI sequences showed subarachnoid spaces of the vault enlarged in the frontoparietal region with anterior and posterior cortical atrophy. The hippocampus appeared preserved. The 18F-FDG PET scans showed hypometabolism in the prefrontal, lateral temporal, posterior parietal, and occipital regions bilaterally. The F-18-Flutemetamol scan showed a diffused uptake of the amyloid tracer at the cerebral cortex. CSF biomarkers were compatible with Alzheimer's disease (AD).Conclusion: This case report presented with clinical phenotypic aspects atypical of AD, both frontal and posterior, never described as concomitant in the most accredited criteria for atypical AD, and appeared therefore more atypical than each of the atypical AD phenotypes already reported

Green synthesis of privileged benzimidazole scaffolds using active deep eutectic solvent

The exploitation and use of alternative synthetic methods, in the face of classical procedures that do not conform to the ethics of green chemistry, represent an ever-present problem in the pharmaceutical industry. The procedures for the synthesis of benzimidazoles have become a focus in synthetic organic chemistry, as they are building blocks of strong interest for the development of compounds with pharmacological activity. Various benzimidazole derivatives exhibit important activities such as antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities, and some of the already synthesized compounds have found very strong applications in medicine praxis. Here we report a selective and sustainable method for the synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted or 2-substituted benzimidazoles, starting from o-phenylenediamine in the presence of different aldehydes. The use of deep eutectic solvent (DES), both as reaction medium and reagent without any external solvent, provides advantages in terms of yields as well as in the work up procedure of the reaction.Fil: Gioia, Maria Luisa Di. Università della Calabria; ItaliaFil: Cassano, Roberta. Università della Calabria; ItaliaFil: Costanzo, Paola. Magna Græcia University. Department of Health Sciences; ItaliaFil: Herrera Cano, Natividad Carolina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Maiuolo, Loredana. Università della Calabria; ItaliaFil: Nardi, Monica. Magna Græcia University. Department of Health Sciences; ItaliaFil: Nicoletta, Fiore Pasquale. Università della Calabria; ItaliaFil: Oliverio, Manuela. Magna Græcia University. Department of Health Sciences; ItaliaFil: Procopio, Antonio. Magna Græcia University. Department of Health Sciences; Itali

Asfalti tappabuche e Green Deal

This article presents the first results of a study conducted as part of the european research project InfraROB, whose aim is to increase the safety of workers and road users at road maintenance sites. In particular, as part of the project, a system for repairing small potholes by means of an autonomous device is currently being studied. A 3D printer will be installed on this device in order to extrude a mixture suitable for the pothole to be repaired, without the prior cleaning and compaction of the backfill. In particular, this article presents the laboratory and in situ study aimed at defining the optimal characteristics for the mixture to be used to power the 3D printer. Grain size, Marshall stability, void content, indirect tensile strength and material loss were studied in the laboratory using the Cantabro test. These characteristics were evaluated by varying the additive content in the range of 1.5-3.5 per cent and the water content in the range of 3.1-5%. The maximum aggregate size was limited to 8 mm, because the InfraROB project only deals with the repair of small potholes, with a maximum size of 5 cm depth and 20 cm diameter. From the point of view of sustainability, the technology involves the use of 100% rejuvenated RAP (Iterlene ACF 1000 HP Green) with blending at room temperature. A total of eight mixtures were tested. Laboratory tests gave very good results in terms of indirect tensile strength, Marshall stability and particle loss; the mixture proved to be very stable during in-situ tests. Other cold asphalt mixtures are still being studied within the InfraROB project, but at the moment, the mixture presented in this article seems to meet all the requirements of consistency, homogeneity, fluidity and internal structure necessary to be used with a 3D printer

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Emergencies in Two Different Settings: Emergency Room and Community Mental Health Service

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic caused a public health emergency with profound consequences on the physical and mental health of individuals. Emergency Rooms (ER) and Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) played a key role in the management of psychiatric emergencies during the pandemic. The purpose of the study was to evaluate urgent psychiatric consultations (UPCs) in the ERs of the General Hospitals and in the CMHS of a Northern Italian town during the pandemic period. Methods: This monocentric observational study collected UPCs carried out in ER from 01/03/2020 to 28/02/2021 (the so-called “COVID-19 period”) and the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who required UPCs in the 12-months period, comparing these data with those collected from 01/03/2019 to 29/02/2020 (the so-called “pre-COVID-19 period”). The same variables were collected for UPCs carried out in CMHS from 01/03/2020 to 31/01/2021 and compared with those collected from 01/03/2019 to 31/01/2020. The data were statistically analyzed through STATA 12-2011. Results: In ER, we reported a 24% reduction in UPCs during the COVID-19 period (n = 909) in comparison with the pre-COVID-19 period (n = 1,194). Differently, we observed an increase of 4% in UPCs carried out in CMHS during the COVID-19 period (n = 1,214) in comparison with the previous period (n = 1,162). We observed an increase of UPCs in ER required by people who lived in psychiatric facilities or with disability pension whereas more UPCs in CMHS were required by older people or those living in other institutions compared to the previous period. In the COVID-19 period, the most frequent reasons for UPCs in ER were aggressiveness, socio-environmental maladjustment and psychiatric symptoms in organic disorders whereas in CMHS we reported an increase of UPCs for control of psychopharmacology therapy and mixed state/mania. Conclusion: In light of our findings, we conclude that the most vulnerable people required more frequent attention and care in both ER and CMHS during pandemic, which disrupted individuals’ ability to adapt and induced many stressful reactive symptoms. In order to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, psychological support interventions for the general population should be implemented, having particular regard for more psychologically fragile people

A flash in the dark: UVES/VLT high resolution spectroscopy of GRB afterglows

We present the first high resolution (R=20000--45000, corresponding to 14 km/s at 4200A to 6.6 km/s at 9000A) observations of the optical afterglow of Gamma Ray Bursts. GRB020813 and GRB021004 were observed by UVES@VLT 22.19 hours and 13.52 hours after the trigger, respectively. These spectra show that the inter--stellar matter of the GRB host galaxies is complex, with many components contributing to each main absorption system, and spanning a total velocity range of up to about 3000 km/s. Several narrow components are resolved down to a width of a few tens of km/s. In the case of GRB021004 we detected both low and high ionization lines. Combined with photoionization results obtained with CLOUDY, the ionization parameters of the various systems are consistent with a remarkably narrow range with no clear trend with system velocity. This can be interpreted as due to density fluctuations on top of a regular R^-2 wind density profile.Comment: Most figure improved, a few typos corrected, added a new subsection. ApJ in pres