A mixed methods approach for the integration of urban design and economic evaluation: industrial heritage and urban regeneration in China

This paper presents the early results of a study aimed at experimenting an innovative approach to the design and the evaluation of complex urban transformation processes, based on the combined use of different design strategies and tools. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate, by means of a case study, a multi-level decision aiding process, able to support strategic urban design, with specific reference to regeneration processes for abandoned industrial sites in urban areas. The case study presented in the paper concerns different alternative proposals for the requalification of the former Shougang/Er-Tong mechanical factory in Beijing, China. The choice of a Chinese case study as a field test for an experimentation about mixed methods research approaches in the domain of urban transformation is related to the peculiar emerging conditions of that context, in which huge economic potentials are speeding up the transformation but a substantial lack of cultural and methodological instruments to manage a so fast modification exists. During the design process, three methods in particular have been combined according to a multi-phase design: (i) Stakeholders Analysis, (ii) Multicriteria Analysis, and (iii) Discounted Cash Flow Analysis. Each one of them has been applied in parallel to the evolution of the different design scenarios. The results of the performed study show that mixed methods approaches are a promising line of research in the field of environmental evaluation and urban design. Insights and guidelines for the replication of the proposed methodological approach in other territorial contexts are also proposed

Le misure alternative alla detenzione in Italia: un quadro storico, giuridico e sociologico

Il carcere da sempre ha rappresentato sia nell’immaginario del legislatore, che in quello collettivo, la modalità principale di espiazione della pena; tuttavia in tempi più recenti ci si è progressivamente avviati verso una maggior consapevolezza nell’uso di meccanismi alternativi extramurari, aventi come scopo principale quello di risocializzare il detenuto evitandogli, se possibile, la custodia cautelare negli Istituti di pena. Mentre la maggior parte dei Paesi europei si sono adattati a queste nuove esigenze mediante la realizzazione di riforme radicali dei propri modelli penali, il caso dell’Italia appare molto più complesso a causa dell’incapacità del sistema politico ed istituzionale di giungere all’attuazione di riforme strutturali in materia di giustizia e di probation. Un uso maggioritario di misure alternative alla detenzione porterebbe una serie di vantaggi, a partire dalla possibilità per il reo di redimersi per il reato commesso e di poter trovare, mediante programmi risocializzanti, una modalità concreta di reinserimento all’interno del tessuto sociale di provenienza; ciò consentirebbe inoltre di generare una comunità sociale più inclusiva e fiduciosa nel prossimo. Alla luce di una serie di riflessioni presentate nell’elaborato, si evince che la condizione di arretratezza del sistema italiano è legata a problemi connessi sia alla scarsità di adeguate risorse per i servizi sociali e penitenziari, sia ad una cultura di fondo secondo la quale la permanenza in carcere del detenuto aumenta significativamente la sicurezza sociale dei membri della collettività

Numb Isoforms Deregulation in Medulloblastoma and Role of p66 Isoform in Cancer and Neural Stem Cells

Numb is an intracellular protein with multiple functions. The two prevalent isoforms, Numb p66 and Numb p72, are regulators of differentiation and proliferation in neuronal development. Additionally, Numb functions as cell fate determinant of stem cells and cancer stem cells and its abnormal expression has been described in several types of cancer. Involvement of deregulated Numb expression has been described in the malignant childhood brain tumor medulloblastoma, while Numb isoforms in these tumors and in cancer stem-like cells derived from them, have not been studied to date. Here we show that medulloblastoma stem-like cells and cerebellar neuronal stem cells (NSCs) express Numb p66 where its expression tampers stemness features. Furthermore, medulloblastoma samples evaluated in this study express decreased levels of Numb p66 while overexpressed Numb p72 compared with normal tissues. Our results uncover different roles for the two major Numb isoforms examined in medulloblastoma and a critical role for Numb p66 in regulating stem-like cells and NSCs maintenance

Bone texture modifications during bone regeneration and osteocyte cell-signaling changes in response to treatment with Teriparatide

Bone texture modifications during bone regeneration and osteocyte cell-signaling changes in response to treatment with Teriparatid

Effects of PTH(1-34) during fracture healing after experimental bone drilling in rat femur: novel aspects

The study concerns the role of PTH(1-34) during bone lesion repair. 3-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats, in which trans-cortical holes were drilled at femur middiaphysis, were divided in groups with/without Teriparatide administration (40g/ Kg/day), and sacrificed at different times (10, 28, 45 days). In 2002 (1) we demonstrated the occurrence of two successive bone forming processes during both skeletal organogenesis and bone repair, i.e. static (SO) and dynamic (DO) osteogenesis: the former (due to stationary osteoblasts, haphazardly grouped in cords) producing preliminary bad quality trabecular bone, the latter (due to typical polarized osteoblasts organized in ordered movable laminae) producing mechanically valid bone tissue. In brief, the primary function of SO is to provide a rigid scaffold, containing osteocytes (i.e. mechano-sensors), to DO-osteoblastic laminae; therefore, in DO mechanical factors can play a crucial role in transduction of mechanical stresses into biological signals. In the present work, histomorphometric analysis showed that, already after 10 days from drilling, notwithstanding the holes are temporarily filled by the same amount of newly-formed trabecular bone (produced by SO) independently from the treatment, the number of movable osteoblast laminae (typical of DO), covering the trabecular surface, is statistically higher in animals submitted to PTH(1-34) administration than in the control ones; this suggests that the mere effect of Teriparatide is to anticipate the occurrence of dynamic osteogenesis involved in the production of good quality bone more suitable to loading. These findings are also supported by the higher values of microhardness as well as the more ordered-fibered texture (observed by polarized light) in treated animals with respect to control ones that strongly indicates the qualitative (instead of quantitative) effect of PTH (1-34) in improving bone healing. The present investigation could be of crucial importance in further translational clinical research in humans to define the best therapeutic strategies in recovering skeletal lesions, particularly in terms of time of administration of PTH(1-34)

Effect of PTH (1-34) on trabecular bone of rat vertebral body in induced-biochemical osteoporosis by calcium- deprived diet

Rats fed calcium-deprived diet were used as experimental model for studying bone modelling alterations during biochemical osteoporosis and recovery of bone loss. Such model is suitable to evaluate the possible effects exerted by PTH(1-34) in preventing as well as in recovering metabolic osteoporosis. Three-month-old Sprague Dawley male rats were divided in different groups: some fed normal diet or calcium-deprived diet with/without 40µg/Kg/day PTH(1-34), provided by Eli Lilly-USA, for 4 weeks and some with restoration of normal diet with/without PTH (1-34) for further 4 weeks. To evaluate the occurrence of osteogenesis during the first 4 weeks of the experimental period, rats received three labels of bone deposition at 1st, 20th and 27th day (and then were sacrificed); during the successive 4 weeks (in which those rats previously fed with calcium-deprived diet had restoration of normal diet), animals received three labels of bone deposition at 1st, 7th and 14th day. Histomorphometrical analyses were performed on cortical and trabecular bone taken from the central level of the 5th lumbar vertebral body, transversely sectioned. The results showed that differences among the groups were observed mainly in trabecular bone with respect to cortical one, thus underlining the different role of the two types of bone architecture in mineral and skeletal homeostasis. Concerning trabecular bone, the observations showed that administration of PTH (1-34) during calcium-deprived diet and/or during the restoration of normal diet induces higher deposition of trabecular bone with respect to that recorded in rats that never received PTH(1-34), neither during calcium-deprived diet nor during restoration of normal diet. Since increments of trabecular bone are detectable only after the period of diet restoration (but not before), the authors suggest that a chronic administration of PTH (1-34) is necessary to achieve appreciable results on bone mass recovery

Induced Biochemical osteoporosis: Effects of 1-month calcium–deprived diet on rat bone remodelling with/without contemporary administration of PTH(1-34)

It is known that rats fed calcium-deprived diet develop osteoporosis due to en-hanced bone resorption secondary to parathyroid overactivity resulting from nutritional hypocalcemia. Therefore, rats provide a good experimental animal model for studying bone remodelling alterations during biochemical osteoporosis. This preliminary study is performed in 3 month-old Sprague Dawley male rats, divided into 4 groups (5 rats each): 1) base line, 2) normal diet for 4 weeks, 3) calcium-deprived diet for 4 weeks; 4) calcium-deprived diet for 4 weeks plus contemporary administration of PTH(1-34) 40µg/kg/day. Three labels of osteogenesis were performed at 1st , 20th and 27th day of experimental period in order to evaluate bone formation during animal treatment. His-tomorphometrical analyses were performed on cortical bone of femoral diaphyses, as well as on trabecular bone of distal femoral metaphyses, both transversely sectioned. The preliminary results showed that at femur mid-diaphyseal level the diet induced a reduction of cortical bone area (even if not significant) with enlargement of the medul-lary canal due to endosteal resorption, while periosteal neo-deposition is similar in all groups and particularly abundant in those periosteal regions mainly devoted in answering the mechanical demands. PTH(1-34) treatment seems to reduce endosteal resorption only in those surfaces where periosteal mechanical loading are less consistent. Conversely, PTH(1-34) treatment doesn't seem to affect osteoblast activity. Moreover, in distal femoral metaphyses, diet induced osteoclast activity, with a decrease in the amount of trabecular bone volume, confirming that this architecture is mainly devoted in answering the metabolic demands. The novelty of the proposed model Is the contemporary administration of PTH(1-34) together with calcium deprived diet to evaluate induced-biochemical osteoporosis. This model seems a good starting point for successive studies in order to study bone alterations during unbalanced calcium metabolism frequently occurring in aging and to define time and manner of bone mass recovery

Biocompatibility Analyses of Al₂O₃-Treated Titanium Plates Tested with Osteocyte and Fibroblast Cell Lines

Osseointegration of a titanium implant is still an issue in dental/orthopedic implants durable over time. The good integration of these implants is mainly due to their surface and topography. We obtained an innovative titanium surface by shooting different-in-size particles of Al₂O₃ against the titanium scaffolds which seems to be ideal for bone integration. To corroborate that, we used two different cell lines: MLO-Y4 (murine osteocytes) and 293 (human fibroblasts) and tested the titanium scaffolds untreated and treated (i.e., Al₂O₃ shot-peened titanium surfaces). Distribution, density, and expression of adhesion molecules (fibronectin and vitronectin) were evaluated under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and confocal microscope (CM). DAPI and fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies were used to highlight nuclei, fibronectin, and vitronectin, under CM; cell distribution was analyzed after gold-palladium sputtering of samples by SEM. The engineered biomaterial surfaces showed under SEM irregular morphology displaying variously-shaped spicules. Both SEM and CM observations showed better outcome in terms of cell adhesion and distribution in treated titanium surfaces with respect to the untreated ones. The results obtained clearly showed that this kind of surface-treated titanium, used to manufacture devices for dental implantology: (i) is very suitable for cell colonization, essential prerequisite for the best osseointegration, and (ii) represents an excellent solution for the development of further engineered implants with the target to obtain recovery of stable dental function over time

Produtora júnior Café e Fita Crepe: Estudo de caso em cinema

Este artigo desenvolve um estudo de caso sobre a criação e desafios dos primeiros anos de operação da Produtora Júnior Café e Fita Crepe do curso de Cinema da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Registrada como projeto de extensão e configurada no formato1 de associação sem fins lucrativos, nos moldes das empresas juniores regulamentadas pela Lei Federal 13.267, de 6 de abril de 2016, a Café e Fita Crepe é um experimento no sentido de ofertar, pelos alunos do curso, a realização de conteúdos com impacto social positivo à comunidade de Florianópolis. À luz da literatura sobre projetos de extensão universitária e empresas juniores, o artigo se debruça sobre as principais dificuldades de implantação e continuidade de uma ação deste tipo em uma graduação na área audiovisual de uma universidade pública. Os achados do estudo confirmam boa parte dos dados trazidos pela literatura, apontando a falta de engajamento de estudantes em projetos de extensão e a baixa maturidade profissional dos ingressantes em empresas juniores como alguns dos principais entraves para a consolidação deste tipo de iniciativa. Palavras-chave: Audiovisual; Empresa júnior; Graduação, Artes Junior producer “Café e Fita Crepe” (Coffee and Crepe Tape): A case study in cinema Abstract:  This article presents a case study on the creation and challenges faced during the early operation years of Café & Fita Crepe Junior Films Enterprise, part of the Cinema undergraduate at the Federal University of Santa Catarina. Registered as an extension project and configured as a non-profit association, following the guidelines of junior enterprises regulated by Federal Law 13,267, dated April 6, 2016, Café & Fita Crepe represents an experiment aimed at offering content creation with a positive social impact to the Florianópolis community (Santa Catarina State, Brazil), carried out by the students of the program. In light of the literature on university extension projects and junior companies, the article examines the main difficulties in implementing and continuing action of this type of initiative within a public university's audiovisual undergraduate program. The findings of the study confirm many of the insights provided by the literature, highlighting the lack of student engagement in extension projects and the limited professional maturity of junior enterprise participants as some of the main obstacles to the consolidation of this type of initiative. Keywords: Audiovisual; Junior Enterprise; Undergraduate; Art