Perception, Connotation, Translation of Numbers

The purpose of the note is to discuss the translation of the numbers from one language to another in order to retain their meaning (in this case it is easy) and to preserve their connotations (and this is the hard part, as in every translation). The lexical system of numbers is an excellent laboratory to study the semiotic phenomena of hypocoding and hypercoding at an intermediate level of complexity, that does not avoid the problems but still allows rigorous solutions. This problem takes a well-defined role in the two sections dedicated to perception and connotations, when some numbers assume the role of hypernyms similar to adjectives "some, many, too many". The various languages do not use the same system of hypernyms, so the translation, beyond the literal meaning, requires a particular knowledge, typical of bilingualism

STRUCTURES AND PATHS FOR THE EXPLORATION OF LANDSCAPE – CULTURAL MOSAIC

The main aim of this paper is to highlight the evolution of urban and peri-urban networks in view of their use by dwellers and visitors. It considers the knowledge as a part of a hidden permanent education form, and as a prerequisite for full enjoyment of available culture, sport and health facilities. Although, the objectives of the inhabitants and tourists are very different, their basic structural needs and the underlying methodology have common characteristics. In this prospective, the central element is the ability to build networks that connect the nodes of interest, which are functional (services at various levels), cultural (historical and artistic emerging features), and leisure (dedicated sport facilities and locations). Furthermore, the paper investigates the paths and times of networks connections, providing particular attention to multipurpose trips consistence of either dwellers or tourists

THE RECOVERY OF COMPREHENSIBLE MATHEMATICS

The main objective is to get over the gap that exists between mathematics and common people, especially grown up people. Apart mathematical details, the problem lies in a good choice of notices (curiosity) and nice problems (play). Some historical notes about great mathematicians are presented and discussed, with explicit reference to the cases when the boundary between Nobel prize and mathematics was broken. Favourable fields are probability and operations research. Since probability tends to an excess of theory, operations research seemed to be a good choice. The Fields Medal, a kind of Nobel prize for Mathematics, was also considered, since in 2018 it was achieved by the Italian mathematician Figalli, former student of Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. He started from an important field in the frame of Operations Research, namely Optimal Transport. This sector allows to summarize a very nice procedure for its solution, non at all obvious to be trasferred to the computer. Since mathematics is forgotten in the course of life, except for those few parts of current use, to bring the adult back into the interest of mathematics, topics related to everyday life should be presented. Operations research, and especially network optimization, provide significant but pleasing problems

THE RECOVERY OF COMPREHENSIBLE MATHEMATICS

The main objective is to get over the gap that exists between mathematics and common people, especially grown up people. Apart mathematical details, the problem lies in a good choice of notices (curiosity) and nice problems (play). Some historical notes about great mathematicians are presented and discussed, with explicit reference to the cases when the boundary between Nobel prize and mathematics was broken. Favourable fields are probability and operations research. Since probability tends to an excess of theory, operations research seemed to be a good choice. The Fields Medal, a kind of Nobel prize for Mathematics, was also considered, since in 2018 it was achieved by the Italian mathematician Figalli, former student of Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. He started from an important field in the frame of Operations Research, namely Optimal Transport. This sector allows to summarize a very nice procedure for its solution, non at all obvious to be trasferred to the computer. Since mathematics is forgotten in the course of life, except for those few parts of current use, to bring the adult back into the interest of mathematics, topics related to everyday life should be presented. Operations research, and especially network optimization, provide significant but pleasing problems.

Dimensione spaziale dell\u2019utopia

This paper is dedicated to the spatial dimension of utopia. We are not going to discuss urban planning and utopia since it has already been thoroughly studied by architects and planners, and investigated from the beginning by many utopians in their descriptions of perfect small worlds. We will rather explore the abstract spatial forms of utopia and their dystopias. By dystopia we do not only mean the extreme consequences of mistakes in human trends which lead to unnatural or undesirable worlds, but also the conflicts between different utopias or between utopia and the real world. Some spatial considerations will be made in the first section in order to overcome the long lasting dystopia between town and country; at present, as it was pointed out by Gottman in his celebrated Megalopolis, fusion, mixture, dissolution of boundaries are the new rule. The second and third sections deal with two opposed forms of spatial utopia, namely order as separation, seclusion, distinct overlapping layers, and totality as access, polymorphism, holism. The dream of totality often leads to the lack of roots and identity, to a large grey zone where every person becomes interchangeable, while the dream of order leads to the loss of the global view in the meanders of minutiae. Section four is dedicated to the physical and mathematical utopia of dimension change, to the jump from one to two dimensions and, most appealing, from two to three dimensions. But utopia is also the long known problem of fractional dimensions that in these last years have been made popular by Mandelbrot\u2019s fractals. Finally the last section deals with nets, both material and immaterial, where the limits of dimension can be overcome, and total knowledge seems to be reachable. But new problems arise, since no hierarchy survives and structures are in continuous, chaotic transition through a sequence of disequilibria. As Calvino taught us in his unforgettable book \u201cLe citt\ue0 invisibili\u201d, the utopia of total knowledge and total order contains in its hidden depths the chance of new forms of freedom

Prospective open-label study of add-on and monotherapy topiramate in civilians with chronic nonhallucinatory posttraumatic stress disorder

BACKGROUND: In order to confirm therapeutic effects of topiramate on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) observed in a prior study, a new prospective, open-label study was conducted to examine acute responses in chronic, nonhallucinatory PTSD. METHODS: Thirty-three consecutive newly recruited civilian adult outpatients (mean age 46 years, 85% female) with DSM-IV-diagnosed chronic PTSD, excluding those with concurrent auditory or visual hallucinations, received topiramate either as monotherapy (n = 5) or augmentation (n = 28). The primary measure was a change in the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) score from baseline to 4 weeks, with response defined as a ≥ 30% reduction of PTSD symptoms. RESULTS: For those taking the PCL-C at both baseline and week 4 (n = 30), total symptoms declined by 49% at week 4 (paired t-test, P < 0.001) with similar subscale reductions for reexperiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyperarousal symptoms. The response rate at week 4 was 77%. Age, sex, bipolar comorbidity, age at onset of PTSD, duration of symptoms, severity of baseline PCL-C score, and monotherapy versus add-on medication administration did not predict reduction in PTSD symptoms. Median time to full response was 9 days and median dosage was 50 mg/day. CONCLUSIONS: Promising open-label findings in a new sample converge with findings of a previous study. The use of topiramate for treatment of chronic PTSD, at least in civilians, warrants controlled clinical trials

Prion protein facilitates uptake of zinc into neuronal cells

Zinc is released into the synaptic cleft upon exocytotic stimuli, although the mechanism for its reuptake into neurons is unresolved. Here we show that the cellular prion protein enhances the uptake of zinc into neuronal cells. This prion-protein-mediated zinc influx requires the octapeptide repeats and amino-terminal polybasic region in the prion protein, but not its endocytosis. Selective antagonists of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptors block the prion protein-mediated zinc uptake, and the prion protein co-immunoprecipitates with both GluA1 and GluA2 AMPA receptor subunits. Zinc-sensitive intracellular tyrosine phosphatase activity is decreased in cells expressing prion protein and increased in the brains of prion-protein-null mice, providing evidence of a physiological consequence of this process. Prion protein-mediated zinc uptake is ablated in cells expressing familial associated mutants of the protein and in prion-infected cells. These data suggest that alterations in the cellular prion protein-mediated zinc uptake may contribute to neurodegeneration in prion and other neurodegenerative diseases