From Italian Monuments to the Fallen of World War I to Fascist War Memorials

This paper describes the different ways of commemorating the fallen of World War I in Italy between 1918 and 1940. From the collection of examples emerges that there was no homogeneity in the forms of remembrance during these two decades. Rather, we find both a continuous renewal and overlapping of different kinds of commemorative forms. Right after the end of World War I, a spread of spontaneous local monuments is discernible, though the many small war cemeteries rising near the former battlefield areas were already beginning to be perceived as a problem. Shortly before World War II, the construction of huge ossuaries and, later, war memorials was fostered by the Fascist Regime which availed itself of the fallen for ideological and political purposes. Between these two extremes, also other forms of commemoration such as parks or avenues of remembrance were realized. This paper tries not to force coincidences between history and the history of architecture; nevertheless, it understands monuments, parks and avenues of remembrance, ossuaries, and war memorials as a kind of seismograph sensitive to the period’s shifts and jolts, and to Fascist policies in particular

The Life of the Line. A sketch by Paulo Mendes da Rocha for the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo

En oposición a la tendencia de considerar el dibujo arquitectónico como una simple fuente de información sobre el proyecto, o limitarse a contemplar su eventual belleza, este ensayo pretende analizar un boceto en su especificidad. Para hacer este tipo de experimento, el texto utiliza uno de los muchos bocetos realizados por Paulo Mendes da Rocha durante la preparación del proyecto para el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de la Universidad de Sao Paulo (1974-1975). El objetivo no es aislar artificialmente un dibujo entre los muchos otros que le dan una autonomía que no le es propia, sino adoptar un nuevo punto de vista, a través del análisis de un diseño dentro del universo de diseño específico del arquitecto brasileño. Against the tendency to consider the drawing in architecture as a simple source of information about the project, or simply to contemplate its potential beauty, this essay aims to analyse one it in its specificity. To carry out this experiment, the text uses one of the many sketches made by Paulo Mendes da Rocha during the preparation of the project for the Museum of Contemporary Art from University of São Paulo (1974-1975). The aim is not to artificially isolate one drawing among the many, giving it an autonomy that it does not possess, but to adopt a new point of view on the universe of the Brazilian architec

Equilibrio e Mobilita' Articolare Nell'Anziano

questa tesi inzia con processi e teorie sull'invecchiamento per poi fare un quadro generale su esercizi per la mobilita' articolare ed equilibrio nell'anzian

A Novel Family with Demyelinating Charcot–Marie–Tooth Disease Caused by a Mutation in the PMP2 Gene: A Case Series of Nine Patients and a Brief Review of the Literature

Introduction: Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) is a group of inherited peripheral neuropathies characterized by wide genotypic and phenotypic variability. The onset is typically in childhood, and the most frequent clinical manifestations are predominantly distal muscle weakness, hypoesthesia, foot deformity (pes cavus) and areflexia. In the long term, complications such as muscle-tendon retractions, extremity deformities, muscle atrophy and pain may occur. Among CMT1, demyelinating and autosomal dominant forms, CMT1G is determined by mutations in the PMP2 myelin protein. Results: Starting from the index case, we performed a clinical, electrophysiological, neuroradiological and genetic evaluation of all family members for three generations; we identified p.Ile50del in PMP2 in all the nine affected members. They presented a typical clinical phenotype, with childhood-onset variable severity between generations and a chronic demyelinating sensory-motor polyneuropathy on the electrophysiologic examination; the progression was slow to very slow and predominant in the lower limbs. Our study reports a relatively large sample of patients, members of the same family, with CMT1G by PMP2, which is a rare form of demyelinating CMT, highlighting the genetic variability of the CMT family instead of the overlapping clinical phenotypes within demyelinating forms. To date, only supportive and preventive measures for the most severe complications are available; therefore, we believe that early diagnosis (clinical, electrophysiological and genetic) allows access to specialist follow-up and therapies, thereby improving the quality of life of patients

Late diagnosis of Fabry disease caused by a de novo mutation in a patient with end stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND: We present the case of a white 35-year-old male with a diagnosis of Fabry disease and negative family history. CASE PRESENTATION: At the age of 31, he underwent a renal biopsy with a diagnosis of hypertension-induced nephroangiosclerosis. At the age of 35, he was referred to our hospital and started dialysis: the unusual finding of left ventricular hypertrophy with a normal ejection fraction and of myocardial fibrosis at the cardiac magnetic resonance suggested a diagnosis of Fabry disease, although there was no apparent family history—so extensive tests were subsequently undertaken. The patient had low plasma levels of α-galactosidase A and the genetic analysis showed a single nucleotide point mutation in hemizygosis at nucleotide c.901 C>T in exon 6 of the GLA gene, confirming the diagnosis of Fabry disease. We extended the genetic analysis to all family members of the patient (mother, sister and brothers) and none of them had any alteration in the GLA gene, suggesting a de novo mutation in the patient. CONCLUSIONS: In a family, it is rare to find only one Fabry disease affected subject with a de novo mutation. These findings emphasize the importance of early diagnosis, genetic counseling and studying the genealogical tree of suspicious patients, even in absence of a typical family history

Drivers of farmers' adoption and continuation of climate-smart agricultural practices. A study from northeastern Italy

Abstract The EU rural development policy has addressed challenges related to climate change in agriculture by introducing public voluntary schemes, which financially support the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. Several factors, most of which are non-financial ones, drive adoption and continuation of these schemes by farmers. Despite the importance of these factors, only a few studies explore their role in the European context. This paper contributes to filling this gap from a twofold perspective. First, it investigates the role of the farming factors, technology accessibility, environmental features, policy design and social expertise at the territorial level on early adoption. Second, it sheds light on farmers' attitudes and motivations and on social pressure on their decision to continue or discontinue the practices, by surveying a sample of early adopters. Three schemes for the Veneto region rural development programme are considered: no tillage, fertiliser reduction, and water and fertiliser reduction. The results highlight that non-financial factors should be considered in order to design more effective schemes to prompt farmers to adopt and continue such practices over the long run. The paper also stresses the need to complement financial support with proactive information-based instruments