La cultura del piano e il turismo relazionale integrato

L\u2019autore principale, alla data di pubblicazione del saggio, \ue8 responsabile del Laboratorio in Pianificazione Territoriale nel corso di Laurea in Pianificazione Territoriale Urbanistica e Ambientale dell\u2019Universit\ue0 di Palermo. Considerando il quadro delle modalit\ue0 di insegnamento della disciplina della pianificazione territoriale, la morfologia urbana e territoriale \ue8 la prevalente tipologia di approccio alle pratiche di trasformazione caratterizza le metodologie didattiche nelle scuole di architettura, mentre le teorie, da cui tali metodologie discendono, restano ben distinte e distanti dai saperi prossimi (e indispensabili) all\u2019urbanistica: ingegneria, scienze agrarie, geologiche, scienze della terra, scienze sociali, economiche e giuridiche. Il contributo al volume illustra i fondamenti metodologici e i risultati conseguiti dal laboratorio di pianificazione territoriale nel quadro della attualizzazione del pensiero di Giuseppe Samon\ue0 che considera centrale il principio dell'unit\ue0 Urbanistica-Architettura e che con l'altro concetto di \u2018citt\ue0 in estensione\u2019 (1980) fornisce le basi per declinare politiche e pratiche di turismo sostenibile nella chiave relazionale da integrare alle politiche di sviluppo locale

Food policy integration in small cities: The case of intermunicipal governance in Lucca, Italy

Food and food security are not areas where municipalities have roles prescribed by law; nonetheless, they are responsible for a range of overlapping services and functions related to food. Competences for policymaking are divided across many different departments, local authorities, and agencies whose functions involve multiple actors, and both scholars and policymakers have called for a more integrated approach to food policies and for cities to play a prominent role in addressing food system challenges through new, place-based, and carefully crafted governance systems. In this study, we examined a unique case study and process that led to the establishment and further development of the first intermunicipal food policy (IFP) in Italy, called Piana del Cibo (literally “Plain of Food”), a governance arrangement through which five municipalities within the province of Lucca (in the Tuscany region, central Italy) reach out beyond their administrative and functional boundaries. Despite the food policy agenda in Lucca being currently underway, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the possible pathways of policy integration and of the implications of such processes in small cities, highlighting potential enablers and obstacles to integration. The findings indicate that the governance structure currently tested is an institutional unicum in the Italian food policy landscape and is shaped as joint management of food policy functions (gestione associata) combined with an elaborate structure of participatory governance. The presented case study illustrates how a process of (food) policy integration should be understood as processes entailing different and mutually interacting dimensions. It also showcases a set of factors that can reveal potential enablers and obstacles in such processes

Atomic force microscopy of bacteria from periodontal subgingival biofilm: Preliminary study results

OBJECTIVE: Atomic force microscope (AFM) is a technology that allows analysis of the nanoscale morphology of bacteria within biofilm and provides details that may be better useful for understanding the role of bacterial interactions in the periodontal disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Five patients with periodontal ≥5 mm pockets diagnosed as generalized periodontitis and five patients with slight gingivitis were selected for the investigation. Bacteria biofilms were collected and morphologically investigated by AFM application. RESULTS: The investigation revealed how periodontitis bacteria are characterized by specific morphologic features of the cell wall. The major representative species of bacteria causing periodontal diseases have been reproduced by a three-dimensional reconstruction showing the bacteria surface details. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of complex glycocalyx structures, bacteriophage-like vesicles, spirochetes (classic and cystic morphology) and bacterial co-aggregation has been identified by the AFM analysis. The results suggest that AFM is a reliable technique for studying bacterial morphology and for examining microbial interactions in dental plaque

Intraoral extra-mucosal fixation of fractures in the atrophic edentulous mandible.

Atrophy of the mandible leads to a decrease in the bone mass, making it more vulnerable to fractures. A direct relationship has been demonstrated between the height of the bone in the area of the fracture and the incidence of postoperative complications of bone healing. Basic principles of fracture management in both edentulous and non edentulous patients are open reduction and internal fixation with osteosynthesis of the fracture to achieve restoration in terms of aesthetics and functionality. Several authors have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the transoral and extraoral approaches. Between January 2007 and June 2011, 13 patients affected by bilateral fractures of atrophic mandibles were treated by extra-mucosal intraoral stabilization with satisfactory results. This approach reduces the risks of damage of the marginalis mandibulae nerve with low operation time, while avoiding unsightly scars