Archaeology from A to Z: Abu Zarad, an ancient town in the heartland of Palestine

A new agreement on cooperation for the archaeological exploration, cultural and tourist valorization of Tell Sheikh Abu Zarad, in central Palestine, has been signed in April 2015 by Rome Sapienza University and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine. In May-June 2015, the first season of archaeological investigation was carried out, putting on the map this ancient mound, one of the pre-classical cities in the heartland of the country. A GIS aided survey of the tell and its immediate environs, and a systematic collection of surface pottery allowed to reconstruct its ancient landscape, and to put forward a topographic analysis of the site, as well as a provisional timeline of its occupation from the Early Bronze Age until the Ottoman Period. At a preliminary examination, Tell Abu Zarad achieved the urban status in the Middle Bronze II-III, and in Iron I-II

Laparoscopic Excision of Endometriosis May Require Unilateral Parametrectomy

Nerve-sparing complete excision of endometriosis may not be possible. In these patients, unilateral parametrectomy may be a reasonable alternative management strategy

Multiscale three-dimensional scaffolds for soft tissue engineering via multimodal electrospinning

A novel (scalable) electrospinning process was developed to fabricate bio-inspired multiscale three-dimensional scaffolds endowed with a controlled multimodal distribution of fiber diameters and geared towards soft tissue engineering. The resulting materials finely mingle nano- and microscale fibers together, rather than simply juxtaposing them, as is commonly found in the literature. A detailed proof of concept study was conducted on a simpler bimodal poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffold with modes of fiber distribution at 600 nm and 3.3 μm. Three conventional unimodal scaffolds with mean diameters of 300 nm and 2.6 and 5.2 μm, respectively, were used as controls to evaluate the new materials. Characterization of the microstructure (i.e. porosity, fiber distribution and pore structure) and mechanical properties (i.e. stiffness, strength and failure mode) indicated that the multimodal scaffold had superior mechanical properties (Young's modulus ∼40 MPa and strength ∼1 MPa) in comparison with the controls, despite the large porosity (∼90% on average). A biological assessment was conducted with bone marrow stromal cell type (mesenchymal stem cells, mTERT-MSCs). While the new material compared favorably with the controls with respect to cell viability (on the outer surface), it outperformed them in terms of cell colonization within the scaffold. The latter result, which could neither be practically achieved in the controls nor expected based on current models of pore size distribution, demonstrated the greater openness of the pore structure of the bimodal material, which remarkably did not come at the expense of its mechanical properties. Furthermore, nanofibers were seen to form a nanoweb bridging across neighboring microfibers, which boosted cell motility and survival. Lastly, standard adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation tests served to demonstrate that the new scaffold did not hinder the multilineage potential of stem cells. © 2009 Acta Materialia Inc

Interfacing Sca-1pos Mesenchymal Stem Cells with Biocompatible Scaffolds with Different Chemical Composition and Geometry

An immortalized murine mesenchymal stem cell line (mTERT-MSC) enriched for Linneg/Sca-1pos fraction has been obtained through the transfection of MSC with murine TERT and single-cell isolation. Such cell line maintained the typical MSC self-renewal capacity and continuously expressed MSC phenotype. Moreover, mTERT-MSC retained the functional features of freshly isolated MSC in culture without evidence of senescence or spontaneous differentiation events. Thus, mTERT-MSC have been cultured onto PLA films, 30 and 100 μm PLA microbeads, and onto unpressed and pressed HYAFF-11 scaffolds. While the cells adhered preserving their morphology on PLA films, clusters of mTERT-MSC were detected on PLA beads and unpressed fibrous scaffolds. Finally, mTERT-MSC were not able to colonize the inner layers of pressed HYAFF-11. Nevertheless, such cell line displayed the ability to preserve Sca-1 expression and to retain multilineage potential when appropriately stimulated on all the scaffolds tested

Lipid modulation of skeletal muscle mass and function

Loss of skeletal muscle mass is a characteristic feature of various pathologies including cancer, diabetes, and obesity, as well as being a general feature of ageing. However, the processes underlying its pathogenesis are not fully understood and may involve multiple factors. Importantly, there is growing evidence which supports a role for fatty acids and their derived lipid intermediates in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass and function. In this review, we discuss evidence pertaining to those pathways which are involved in the reduction, increase and/or preservation of skeletal muscle mass by such lipids under various pathological conditions, and highlight studies investigating how these processes may be influenced by dietary supplementation as well as genetic and/or pharmacological intervention

Magic-factor 1, a partial agonist of Met, induces muscle hypertrophy by protecting myogenic progenitors from apoptosis.

Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic cytokine of mesenchymal origin that mediates a characteristic array of biological activities including cell proliferation, survival, motility and morphogenesis. Its high affinity receptor, the tyrosine kinase Met, is expressed by a wide range of tissues and can be activated by either paracrine or autocrine stimulation. Adult myogenic precursor cells, the so called satellite cells, express both HGF and Met. Following muscle injury, autocrine HGF-Met stimulation plays a key role in promoting activation and early division of satellite cells, but is shut off in a second phase to allow myogenic differentiation. In culture, HGF stimulation promotes proliferation of muscle precursors thereby inhibiting their differentiation

La céramique du Bronze ancien II-III (3100–2300 av. J.-C.) de Qarassa (Syrie du Sud) : un aperçu régional

La récente étude systématique préliminaire de la céramique de Qarassa offre des nouveaux aperçus sur la culture matérielle de la Syrie du Sud au cours du Bronze ancien II-III (entre la fin du ivᵉ et la fin du iiiᵉ millénaire av. J.-C.). La région semble parfaitement intégrée dans l’horizon culturel du Levant méridional au cours du iiiᵉ millénaire, à la fois d’un point de vue architectural, de l’organisation de l’habitat, de l’usage funéraire mais aussi en terme de répertoires céramiques, en montrant n’être pas un espace marginal mais une composante à part entière du même espace culturel

Potters' Wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: A Reconsideration of Social Contexts

Nel “Palazzo delle asce di rame” della città del Bronzo Antico IIIB (2500-2300 a.C.) di Khirbet al-Batrawy sono stati rinvenuti tre dischi superiori di tornio da vasaio, una delle maggiori innovazioni tecnologiche del IV-III millennio a.C. Questa scoperta ha portato ad una riconsiderazione dello strumento in tutti i contesti noti del Bronzo Antico palestinese al fine di indagarne i risvolti socio-economici all’interno della società sud-levantina del periodo

I rapporti di lavoro nel nuovo codice della crisi d'impresa e dell'insolvenza.

Il lavoro di tesi ha percorso l’evoluzione del testo normativo del decreto legislativo 12 gennaio 2019, n. 14, partendo dai principi espressi nella legge delega 19 ottobre 2017, n.155. Preliminarmente, la tesi si è focalizzata sul contesto normativo nel quale il nuovo codice della crisi d’impresa e dell’insolvenza si è inserito, non tralasciando di indicare le ragioni per le quali il testo di legge, pur pubblicato nel 2019 entrerà compiutamente in vigore solo nel mese di maggio 2022. La trattazione è stata, poi, dedicata all’analisi della disciplina sulla gestione dei rapporti di lavoro nelle procedure di crisi d’impresa, in costante confronto con la normativa antecedente, fondata sull’art. 72 della legge Fallimentare. Un ulteriore approfondimento è stato svolto sulle misure cosiddette di prevenzione e negoziazione della crisi, fornendo un visione delle nuove regole che impattano sui rapporti di lavoro. E’ stata affrontata la tematica delle procedure di allerta e di composizione assistita della crisi, quella degli accordi stragiudiziali in fase di pre-crisi e del concordato preventivo. Una specifica attenzione è stata, altresì, dedicata alle vicende circolatorie dell’impresa in crisi. La parte finale della tesi, soffermandosi sul valore sociale dell’impresa e sul bilanciamento dei diritti ed interessi tutelati dalla Costituzione, ha sviluppato una riflessione finalizzata al raggiungimento di una organica regolamentazione della disciplina dei rapporti di lavoro nelle situazioni di crisi d’impresa, senza tralasciare il coinvolgimento di tutti gli attori interessati (impresa, lavoratori ed organizzazioni sindacali) e che non si ponga in contrasto con la rilevanza costituzionale riconosciuta al valore dell’impresa, considerata anche quale promotrice del benessere collettivo