Studi di diritto coloniale : 1. Il conceto di ordine pubblico coloniale 2. Il contratto di "Mugarasah

Studi di diritto coloniale : 1. Il conceto di ordine pubblico coloniale 2. Il contratto di "Mugarasah" / Enrico De Leone Roma : P. Cremonese, 1935 88 p. ; 25 cm

Teaching Theoretical Physics: the cases of Enrico Fermi and Ettore Majorana

We report on theoretical courses by Fermi and Majorana, giving evidence of the first appearance and further development of Quantum Mechanics teaching in Italy. On the basis of original documents, we make a comparison between Fermi's and Majorana's approaches. A detailed analysis is carried out of Fermi's course on Theoretical Physics attended by Majorana in 1927-28. Three (previously unknown) programs on advanced Physics courses submitted by Majorana to the University of Rome between 1933 and 1936 and the course he held in Naples in 1938 complete our analysis: Fermi's phenomenological approach resounded in Majorana, who however combined it with a deeper theoretical approach, closer to the modern way of presenting Quantum Mechanics.Comment: latex, 21 pages; a contribution in the centenary of the birth of Ettore Majoran

High-resolution abundance analysis of four red giants in the globular cluster NGC 6558

Context. NGC 6558 is a bulge globular cluster with a blue horizontal branch (BHB), combined with a metallicity of [Fe/H] ≈ −1.0. It is similar to HP 1 and NGC 6522, which could be among the oldest objects in the Galaxy. Element abundances in these clusters could reveal the nature of the first supernovae. Aims. We aim to carry out detailed spectroscopic analysis for four red giants of NGC 6558, in order to derive the abundances of the light elements C, N, O, Na, Al, the α-elements Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, and the heavy elements Y, Ba, and Eu. Methods. High-resolution spectra of four stars with FLAMES-UVES at VLT UT2-Kueyen were analysed. Spectroscopic parameter-derivation was based on excitation and ionization equilibrium of Fe I and Fe II. Results. This analysis results in a metallicity of [Fe/H] = − 1.17 ± 0.10 for NGC 6558. We find the expected α-element enhancements in O and Mg with [O/Fe] = +0.40, [Mg/Fe] = +0.33, and low enhancements in Si and Ca. Ti has a moderate enhancement of [Ti/Fe] = +0.22. The r-element Eu appears very enhanced with a mean value of [Eu/Fe] = +0.63. The first peak s-elements Y and Sr are also enhanced, these results have however to be treated with caution, given the uncertainties in the continuum definition; the use of neutral species (Sr I, Y I), instead of the dominant ionized species is another source of uncertainty. Ba appears to have a solar abundance ratio relative to Fe. Conclusions. NGC 6558 shows an abundance pattern that could be typical of the oldest inner bulge globular clusters, together with the pattern in the similar clusters NGC 6522 and HP 1. They show low abundances of the odd-Z elements Na and Al, and of the explosive nucleosynthesis α-elements Si, Ca, and Ti. The hydrostatic burning α-elements O and Mg are normally enhanced as expected in old stars enriched with yields from core-collapse supernovae, and the iron-peak elements Mn, Cu, Zn show low abundances, which is expected for Mn and Cu, but not for Zn. Finally, the cluster trio NGC 6558, NGC 6522, and HP 1 have relatively high abundances of first-peak heavy elements, variable second-peak element Ba, and the r-element Eu is enhanced. The latter is particularly high in NGC 6558

Primary Tumor Resection for Metastatic Colorectal, Gastric and Pancreatic Cancer Patients: In Search of Scientific Evidence to Inform Clinical Practice

The management of the primary tumor in metastatic colorectal, gastric and pancreatic cancer patients may be challenging. Indeed, primary tumor progression could be associated with severe symptoms, compromising the quality of life and the feasibility of effective systemic therapy, and might result in life-threatening complications. While retrospective series have suggested that surgery on the primary tumor may confer a survival advantage even in asymptomatic patients, randomized trials seem not to definitively support this hypothesis. We discuss the evidence for and against primary tumor resection for patients with metastatic gastrointestinal (colorectal, gastric and pancreatic) cancers treated with systemic therapies and put in context the pros and cons of the onco-surgical approach in the time of precision oncology. We also evaluate current ongoing trials on this topic, anticipating how these will influence both research and everyday practice

Internal jugular vein fenestration: a rare but possible event. A case report and review of the literature

While fenestration and duplication are relatively common in the arteries, they are extremely rare in the venous compartment: internal jugular vein fenestration has been reported occurring in 0.4% of unilateral neck dissections. Familiarity with these morphological anomalies is important for the radiologist and for the surgeon to prevent neurovascular injury, especially in neck surgery and interventional catheterization. We present the case of a patient harboring a fenestration of the left internal jugular vein, diagnosed by magnetic resonance angiography, and a systematic review of the literature. To our knowledge, from 1985 until 2016 only 36 patients (including the present) were diagnosed as having an internal jugular vein morphological anomaly. Out of 36 patients, only 11 (30,5%) were diagnosed using radiological imaging; the high rate of intra-operative diagnoses (22/36, 62,5%) is likely related to the limited use of diagnostic imaging or to misdiagnosis/misinterpretation of a relatively unknown and rare morphological anomaly. A contrast enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance angiography should be considered in case of vascular procedures in a patient with known internal jugular vein anomaly

PTX3 Intercepts Vascular Inflammation in Systemic Immune-Mediated Diseases

PTX3 is a prototypic soluble pattern recognition receptor, expressed at sites of inflammation and involved in regulation of the tissue homeostasis. PTX3 systemic levels increase in many (but not all) immune-mediated inflammatory conditions. Research on PTX3 as a biomarker has so far focused on single diseases. Here, we performed a multi-group comparative study with the aim of identifying clinical and pathophysiological phenotypes associated with PTX3 release. PTX3 concentration was measured by ELISA in the plasma of 366 subjects, including 96 patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA), 42 with Takayasu's arteritis (TA), 10 with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), 63 with ANCA-associated systemic small vessel vasculitides (AAV), 55 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 21 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 79 healthy controls (HC). Patients with SLE, AAV, TA and GCA, but not patients with RA and PMR, had higher PTX3 levels than HC. PTX3 concentration correlated with disease activity, acute phase reactants and prednisone dose. It was higher in females, in patients with recent-onset disease and in those with previous or current active vasculitis at univariate analysis. Active small- or large- vessel vasculitis were the main independent variables influencing PTX3 levels at multivariate analysis. High levels of PTX3 in the blood can contribute to identify an increased risk of vascular involvement in patients with systemic immune-mediated diseases

Shedding light on typical species : implications for habitat monitoring

Habitat monitoring in Europe is regulated by Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, which suggests the use of typical species to assess habitat conservation status. Yet, the Directive uses the term “typical” species but does not provide a definition, either for its use in reporting or for its use in impact assessments. To address the issue, an online workshop was organized by the Italian Society for Vegetation Science (SISV) to shed light on the diversity of perspectives regarding the different concepts of typical species, and to discuss the possible implications for habitat monitoring. To this aim, we inquired 73 people with a very different degree of expertise in the field of vegetation science by means of a tailored survey composed of six questions. We analysed the data using Pearson's Chi-squared test to verify that the answers diverged from a random distribution and checked the effect of the degree of experience of the surveyees on the results. We found that most of the surveyees agreed on the use of the phytosociological method for habitat monitoring and of the diagnostic and characteristic species to evaluate the structural and functional conservation status of habitats. With this contribution, we shed light on the meaning of “typical” species in the context of habitat monitoring