Diagnosis of an Unusual Structural Instability: the Case Study of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Viterbo

The cathedral of San Lorenzo is a Romanesque church sited in Viterbo (Lazio, Italy), founded in the XII century on a site characterized by a complex archaeological stratification. The building is a fine example of religious monumental architecture, built upon well-laid masonry walls, made of squared blocks of piperine stone and very thin layers of mortar. Its basilica-shaped plant is divided into three aisles by two rows of marble columns connected by arches. The structure, that has undergone many transformations during the centuries, was severely damaged during the II world war and a restoration executed in 1947 has brought it back to its romanesque appearance. Currently, a peculiar crack pattern can be observed in the structures, which is mainly characterized by recurring sub-vertical fissures appearing on the keystones of the arches that run along the central nave. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the diagnostic path which enabled to rule out the most common damage mechanisms, as a main cause of the damages, and led to the identification of the most probable cause for the instabilities. A critical reading of the geometry of the cracks, supported by several static verifications, resulted in the exclusion of mechanisms associated with the arches thrust actions or with the compressive stresses in the walls. The hypothesis of soil settlement is rejected by the mechanical characteristics of the foundation soil, provided from a previous study. An original diagnostic hypothesis of tensile stresses induced by thermal variations is formulated and a fully coupled temperature-displacement analysis is carried out, with the FE software Abaqus, to investigate the effects of the thermal gradient on structures behavior

Diagnosis of an Unusual Structural Instability: the Case Study of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Viterbo

n/

Policy Brief: UNSCR 1325: The Challenges of Framing Women’s Rights as a Security Matter

While UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 has certainly increased awareness among international actors about women’s and gender issues in armed conflict, opened new spaces for dialogue and partnerships from global to local levels, and even created opportunities for new resources for women’s rights, successes remain limited and notably inconsistent. To understand some of these shortcomings and think creatively about how to move the women, peace and security agenda forward, it is essential to understand the conceptual assumptions underscoring UNSCR 1325

Restructuring Reward Mechanisms in Nicotine Addiction: A Pilot fMRI Study of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Cigarette Smokers

The primary goal of this pilot feasibility study was to examine the effects of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), a behavioral treatment grounded in dual-process models derived from cognitive science, on frontostriatal reward processes among cigarette smokers. Healthy adult (N=13; mean (SD) age 49 ± 12.2) smokers provided informed consent to participate in a 10-week study testing MORE versus a comparison group (CG). All participants underwent two fMRI scans: pre-tx and after 8-weeks of MORE. Emotion regulation (ER), smoking cue reactivity (CR), and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) were assessed at each fMRI visit; smoking and mood were assessed throughout. As compared to the CG, MORE significantly reduced smoking (d=2.06) and increased positive affect (d=2.02). MORE participants evidenced decreased CR-BOLD response in ventral striatum (VS; d=1.57) and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC; d=1.7) and increased positive ER-BOLD in VS (dVS=2.13) and vPFC (dvmPFC=2.66). Importantly, ER was correlated with smoking reduction (r’s = .68 to .91) and increased positive affect (r’s = .52 to .61). These findings provide preliminary evidence that MORE may facilitate the restructuring of reward processes and play a role in treating the pathophysiology of nicotine addiction

Selection of endurance capabilities and the trade-off between pressure and volume in the evolution of the human heart

Chimpanzees and gorillas, when not inactive, engage primarily in short bursts of resistance physical activity (RPA), such as climbing and fighting, that creates pressure stress on the cardiovascular system. In contrast, to initially hunt and gather and later to farm, it is thought that preindustrial human survival was dependent on lifelong moderate-intensity endurance physical activity (EPA), which creates a cardiovascular volume stress. Although derived musculoskeletal and thermoregulatory adaptations for EPA in humans have been documented, it is unknown if selection acted similarly on the heart. To test this hypothesis, we compared left ventricular (LV) structure and function across semiwild sanctuary chimpanzees, gorillas, and a sample of humans exposed to markedly different physical activity patterns. We show the human LV possesses derived features that help augment cardiac output (CO) thereby enabling EPA. However, the human LV also demonstrates phenotypic plasticity and, hence, variability, across a wide range of habitual physical activity. We show that the human LV’s propensity to remodel differentially in response to chronic pressure or volume stimuli associated with intense RPA and EPA as well as physical inactivity represents an evolutionary trade-off with potential implications for contemporary cardiovascular health. Specifically, the human LV trades off pressure adaptations for volume capabilities and converges on a chimpanzee-like phenotype in response to physical inactivity or sustained pressure loading. Consequently, the derived LV and lifelong low blood pressure (BP) appear to be partly sustained by regular moderate-intensity EPA whose decline in postindustrial societies likely contributes to the modern epidemic of hypertensive heart disease

Keeping it liminal. The Mondiali Antirazzisti (Anti-racist World Cup) as a multifocal interaction ritual

© 2013 Taylor & Francis. This paper examines how social mixing and celebration of diversity can be enabled through sports festivals marked by their carnivalesque atmosphere. Our analysis draws on a longitudinal ethnographic study of the Mondiali Antirazzisti (Anti-racist World Cup), a non-competitive football tournament and intercultural festival featuring the yearly participation of hardcore football fans (ultras), migrant groups, third-sector associations and other informal groups. We consider how the multifocal ritual form of the event helps to create a liminal space in which discrimination and stereotypes can be temporarily challenged. The sources of collective effervescence are multiplied by placing sport games within a wider range of other leisure and cultural activities, thus promoting internal diversity and the inclusion of outsiders. Additionally, social boundaries are also blurred by not emphasising the competitive dimension of the sporting activities, making sporting categorisations more fluid, and breaking down the separation between protagonists and spectators. Nonetheless, considering the transient character of liminality, we also investigate problems and limitations implied by the pursuit of these objectives. It is concluded that, despite a certain degree of self-referentiality, the festival fosters the spreading of anti-discriminatory cultures by enhancing the participants’ reflexivity and feeding their commitment in generating spin-off activities in different local contexts

Measurement of Receptor-Activated Phosphoinositide Turnover in Rat Brain: Nonequivalence of Inositol Phosphate and CDP-Diacylglycerol Formation

Two methods for the measurement of receptor-activated phosphoinositide turnover were evaluated for their degree of correspondence in slices of rat brain; they involved the Li + -dependent accumulations of either [ 3 H]-inositol-labeled inositol phosphates or [ 3 H]cytidine-labeled CDP-diacylglycerol. In contrast to the expectation that the ratio of these two responses would remain approximately constant, varying degrees of correspondence were obtained. The two extremes are exemplified by carbachol, which elicited large increases in both inositol phosphate and CDP-diacylglycerol labeling, and endothelin, which gave a robust inositol phosphate response with little or no accumulation of 3 H-CDP-diacylglycerol. No instance of the presence of the latter response in the absence of 3 H-inositol phosphate accumulation was observed. Measurement of 3 H-CDP-diacylglycerol accumulation thus may add additional insight into the regulation of phosphoinositide turnover and the complex actions of Li + .Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66135/1/j.1471-4159.1993.tb03258.x.pd

Two novel missense mutations in the myelin protein zero gene causes Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 and Déjérine-Sottas syndrome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) phenotype caused by mutation in the <it>myelin protein zero (MPZ) </it>gene varies considerably, from early onset and severe forms to late onset and milder forms. The mechanism is not well understood. The myelin protein zero (P₀) mediates adhesion in the spiral wraps of the Schwann cell's myelin sheath. The crystalline structure of the extracellular domain of the myelin protein zero (P₀ex) is known, while the transmembrane and intracellular structure is unknown.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>One novel missense mutation caused a milder late onset CMT type 2, while the second missense mutation caused a severe early onset phenotype compatible with Déjérine-Sottas syndrome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The phenotypic variation caused by different missense mutations in the <it>MPZ </it>gene is likely caused by different conformational changes of the MPZ protein which affects the functional tetramers. Severe changes of the MPZ protein cause dysfunctional tetramers and predominantly uncompacted myelin, i.e. the severe phenotypes congenital hypomyelinating neuropathy and Déjérine-Sottas syndrome, while milder changes cause the phenotypes CMT type 1 and 2.</p

Predicting Phospholipidosis Using Machine Learning

Phospholipidosis is an adverse effect caused by numerous cationic amphiphilic drugs and can affect many cell types. It is characterized by the excess accumulation of phospholipids and is most reliably identified by electron microscopy of cells revealing the presence of lamellar inclusion bodies. The development of phospholipidosis can cause a delay in the drug development process, and the importance of computational approaches to the problem has been well documented. Previous work on predictive methods for phospholipidosis showed that state of the art machine learning methods produced the best results. Here we extend this work by looking at a larger data set mined from the literature. We find that circular fingerprints lead to better models than either E-Dragon descriptors or a combination of the two. We also observe very similar performance in general between Random Forest and Support Vector Machine models.</p