Materials and techniques of Art Nouveau architecture in Italy and Portugal: a first insight for an European route to consistent restoration

The results of the investigations on building materials and techniques of Casa Major Pessoa, a typical Art Nouveau construction in Aveiro (Portugal), and two coeval Art Nouveau buildings in Bologna (Italy) are presented as a methodological contribution to the restoration of this kind of buildings. This is the first step to ascertain the existence of a common thread between local materials, technologies and architecture in European countries at the same period. A holistic approach was adopted: materials were investigated along with architectural, structural and technological features, in order to achieve a first insight into the Art Nouveau architecture in Europe in particular for its consistent restoration without loss of historical memory

Characterization of the activity of nitrous oxide reductase: biochemical, spectroscopic and mimetic approaches

Dissertação apresentada para a obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Química Sustentável pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - (SFRH/BD/30414/2006

Ascalona spoliata. The dismantling of the Roman city and the reuse in Late and post-classical eras through archaeological and literary evidence

The city of Ashqelon lies on the southern part of the Israeli coast, 50 km south of Jaffa, and 13 km north of Gaza. It was a relevant port city during Antiquity, until the Crusaders and the Arab conquest in the 13th century when it was destroyed and abandoned. The continuity of the settlement resulted in a rich archaeological deposit, spanning from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period. Still, at the same time, it also caused the dismantling of several buildings and the reuse of architectural debris in the city itself or elsewhere, mostly in other sites along the coast. This paper deals with the spolia of the Roman town, and aims to evaluate the management of the dismantling process in the post-Classical era, the purposes and dynamics of the reuse as well as its geographical spread.La città di Ascalona si colloca nella parte meridionale della costa israeliana, 50 km a sud da Giaffa e 13 km a nord di Gaza. La posizione sul mare ha da sempre favorito la sua natura di città portuale, dall’antichità fino al periodo crociato e alla conquista araba nel tredicesimo secolo. La continuità insediativa, dall’età del Bronzo fino a epoca medievale, ha certamente portato al formarsi di un sito pluristratificato, ma allo stesso tempo ha causato lo smontaggio di molti edifici e il riuso di materiali architettonici in nuove fabbriche, sia nella città stessa, sia altrove, soprattutto in siti lungo la costa. Questo contributo è incentrato sul fenomeno degli spolia della città romana e intende analizzare: la gestione del processo di spoliazione in epoca post-classica; le finalità e le dinamiche del riuso e il raggio di diffusione dei reperti reimpiegati

Materiales y tecnologías en la Arquitectura Modernista: casos de estudio de decoración de fachadas en Italia, Portugal y Polonia persiguiendo una restauración racional

The results of a diagnostic survey on the materials of representative Art Nouveau buildings in Italy, Portugal and Poland are here presented and compared, as a contribution to their understanding and, hence, to support compatible restoration. In particular, the facade decorations were investigated for the appraisal of their materials and technologies, often neglected in current maintenance/restoration works and so cancelled, leading to a severe loss in architectural image. The ongoing diagnostic campaign, in collaboration among different universities, is aimed to set up a database on materials and technologies of Art Nouveau facade decorations at a European scale, as a technical-scientific background for the highlighting of preservation guidelines

Validation Procedure for Predictive Functions of Driver Behaviour on Two-Lane Rural Roads

The study presented here aims to validate some operating speed prediction models calibrated on two-lane rural roads by using speed data collected in Northern and Southern Italy. Operating speed is defined as the speed at which drivers of passenger cars travel on a dry road in free flow conditions during daylight hours and it is calculated using a specific percentile of speed distribution, typically the 85th. Speed measurements were carried out by using laser detectors in connection with previous environmental and traffic conditions. The study is addressed to emphasize the reliability and easy application of one predictive speed model working both on tangent segments and on circular curves. The calibration phase involved roads in the Northern Italy, while the validation phase involved roads in the Southern Italy. Three models were validated applying them on eight two-lane rural roads falling within the road network of the Province of Salerno with features that reflect those adopted in the calibration phase; the selected models to be validated present the simplest analytical structure for type and number of explanatory variables and for the performance diagram shape of the operating speed values. The validation procedure was to estimate some synthetic statistical parameters as mean absolute deviation, mean squared error and coefficient of variation. The results allow in a simple way to trace continuous operating speed profiles on two-lane rural roads and to carry out safety analyses on the horizontal alignment

L’histoire et l'esprit des services de santé mentale à Trieste

Les auteurs décrivent l'évolution des services de santé mentale mis en place à Trieste en Italie au cours des 25 dernières années. Ils identifient les principes qui ont conduit à la transformation institutionnelle et au remplacement de l'hôpital psychiatrique traditionnel par une organisation complète de services répartis sur le territoire de Trieste. En cernant l'esprit qui a présidé à ces transformations, ils brossent un tableau complet de la gamme de services offerts de nos jours. Enfin, bien que l'expérience réalisée à Trieste soit liée aux conditions sociales et historiques qui ont favorisé son émergence, les auteurs dégagent des principes généraux pour orienter et transformer la pratique de la psychiatrie communautaire.The authors describe the evolution of mental health services put in place in Trieste over the last 25 years. They identify the principles that have led to institutional transformation and to the replacement of the traditional psychiatric hospital with a complete organization of services across the Trieste territory. By defining the spirit presiding over these transformations, the authors describe the variety of services offered. Finally, while the Trieste experience is linked to social and historical conditions favoring its emergence, the authors draw general principles in order to guide and transform the practice of community psychiatry.En este articulo, los autores describen la evolution de los servicios de salud mental instaurados en Trieste, Italia en el curso de los ûltimos veinte anos. Los autores identifican los principios que han Ilevado a la transformation institutional y al remplazo del hospital siquiâtrico traditional, por una organization compléta de servicios de salud mental repartidos en todo el territorio de Trieste. En Io que concierne al espiritu que ha presidido estas transformaciones, los autores desempolvan un cuadro completo de toda la gama de servicios ofrecidos en nuestros dias. En fin, aunque la experiencia realizada en Trieste se encuentre ligada a las condiciaones sociales e histôricas que han favorecido su emergencia, los autores despejan los principios para orientar y transformar la prâctica de la siquiatria comunitaria

Structural Connectivity in Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease

Down syndrome (DS) arises from the triplication of chromosome 21, which leads to an atypical neurodevelopment and the overproduction of the amyloid precursor protein, predisposing to early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Not surprisingly, trisomy 21 is widely considered a model to study predementia stages of AD. After decades, in which neural loss was the main focus, research in AD is now moving toward understanding the neurodegenerative aspects affecting white matter. Motivated by the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based diffusion techniques, this shift in focus has led to several exploratory studies on both young and older individuals with DS. In this review, we synthesise the initial efforts made by researchers in characterising in-vivo structural connectivity in DS, together with the AD footprint on top of such pre-existing connectivity related to atypical brain development. The white matter structures found to be affected in DS are the corpus callosum and all the main long-association fibres, namely the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, the inferior and superior longitudinal fasciculus, the uncinate fasciculus and the cingulum bundle. Furthermore, the cingulum bundle and the corpus callosum appear to be particularly sensitive to early AD changes in this population. Findings are discussed in terms of their functional significance, alongside methodological considerations and implications for future research

Cross-modal representations of first-hand and vicarious pain, disgust and fairness in insular and cingulate cortex

The anterior insula (AI) and mid-anterior cingulate cortex (mACC) have repeatedly been implicated in first-hand and vicarious experiences of pain, disgust and unfairness. However, it is debated whether these regions process different aversive events through a common modality-independent code, reflecting the shared unpleasantness of the experiences or through independent modality-specific representations. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we subjected 19 participants (and 19 confederates) to equally unpleasant painful and disgusting stimulations, as well as unfair monetary treatments. Multivoxel pattern analysis identified modality-independent activation maps in the left AI and mACC, pointing to common coding of affective unpleasantness, but also response patterns specific for the events’ sensory properties and the person to whom it was addressed, particularly in the right AI. Our results provide evidence of both functional specialization and integration within AI and mACC, and support a comprehensive role of this network in processing aversive experiences for self and others

Motorway Speed Management in Southern Italy

AbstractComparing operating speed (V85) with the theoretical design speeds makes many of the assessments fundamental to correct design more effective. In technical literature various models for estimatingV85 are present but they cannot be extended to motorways without risking substantial approximation. This study proposes a model for estimating V85 on motorways. In addition, it proposes a second model making it possible to estimate free flow speed (FFS) in various traffic conditions. This could be very useful for Level of Service studies on motorways

Long-term continuous monitoring of the preterm brain with diffuse optical tomography and electroencephalography: A technical note on cap manufacturing

open12noDiffuse optical tomography (DOT) has recently proved useful for detecting whole-brain oxygenation changes in preterm and term newborns' brains. The data recording phase in prior explorations was limited up to a maximum of a couple of hours, a time dictated by the need to minimize skin damage caused by the protracted contact with optode holders and interference with concomitant clinical/nursing procedures. In an attempt to extend the data recording phase, we developed a new custom-made cap for multimodal DOT and electroencephalography acquisitions for the neonatal population. The cap was tested on a preterm neonate (28 weeks gestation) for a 7-day continuous monitoring period. The cap was well tolerated by the neonate, who did not suffer any evident discomfort and/or skin damage. Montage and data acquisition using our cap was operated by an attending nurse with no difficulty. DOT data quality was remarkable, with an average of 92% of reliable channels, characterized by the clear presence of the heartbeat in most of them.openopenAlfonso Galderisi; Sabrina Brigadoi; Simone Cutini; Sara Basso Moro; Elisabetta Lolli; Federica Meconi; Silvia Benavides-Varela; Eugenio Baraldi; Piero Amodio; Claudio Cobelli; Daniele Trevisanuto; Roberto Dell'AcquaGalderisi, Alfonso; Brigadoi, Sabrina; Cutini, Simone; BASSO MORO, Sara; Lolli, Elisabetta; Meconi, Federica; Silvia, Benavides-Varela; Baraldi, Eugenio; Amodio, Piero; Cobelli, Claudio; Trevisanuto, Daniele; Dell'Acqua, Robert