La ricostruzione dell'abside in alcuni esempi della seconda met\ue0 del XVI secolo a Palermo

Il contributo ha l\u2019obiettivo di studiare alcuni casi di ricostruzione dell\u2019abside eseguiti in edifici chiesastici palermitani nella seconda met\ue0 del XVI secolo. Si tratta delle chiese di San Sebastiano, San Francesco d\u2019Assisi e San Martino delle Scale (all\u2019interno dell\u2019omonima abbazia), in cui, nella seconda met\ue0 del Cinquecento, per motivi liturgici, l\u2019abside originaria viene \u201ctrasformata\u201d, in un\u2019abside \u201cpiatta\u201d, al fine di potervi inserire il Coro ligneo. Il nuovo posizionamento del Coro, in conseguenza della Riforma tridentina - problematica centrale nell\u2019Europa di et\ue0 moderna \u2013 suscita, anche in questi casi palermitani, dibattiti e controversie. Il cambiamento della forma dell\u2019abside determina infatti notevoli problemi costruttivi relativi alla sua copertura

Role of Layering Oscillations at Liquid Metal Surfaces in Bulk Recrystallization and Surface Melting

The contrasting melting behavior of different surface orientations in metals can be explained in terms of a repulsive or attractive effective interaction between the solid-liquid and the liquid-vapor interface. We show how a crucial part of this interaction originates from the layering effects near the liquid metal surface. Its sign depends on the relative tuning of layering oscillations to the crystal interplanar spacing, thus explaining the orientational dependence. Molecular dynamics recrystallization simulations of Au surfaces provide direct and quantitative evidence of this phenomenon.Comment: 10 pages (RevTeX) plus 3 figures (PostScript

Editorial for the special issue on: IES 2015

Since 2005, the Italian Statistical Society Permanent Group “Statistics for quality evaluation of services” (SVQS Group) organizes a biannual confer- ence. The 6th edition called IES 2015 was held in Bari, 8-9 July, 2015. This special issue of EJASA collects a selection of contributions related to the key words of the conference

Potential role of p53 protein as a novelbiomarker of sperm quality, able to predict thesuccess of ART techniques. EcoFoodFertility Project

Introduction: Protein p53 is well known as “The guardian of genome”; it changes its concentration in human spermatozoa DNAin relation to the damage of the latter. It has been suggested thatthe role of the p53 ancestral gene was to ensure the integrity ofthe genomic germline and the fidelity of the evelopment process.The aim of this study is to evaluate if different concentrations of p53 protein in human spermatozoa could influence embryo quality and pregnancy rate and possibly representing a potential predictive marker of sperm quality for successful fertilization .Methods: From July 2013 to June 2017 we have examinatedretrospectively 79 couples with 2-5 years of infertility history.Males had an average age of 27 ± 7,5 years, sperm concentrationof 33,8 ± 6,2 mil/ml, progressive motility of 41,4 ± 8,3 and a typical morphology of 16,5 ± 3,5 according to Kruger’s method. We have divided the couples on the basis of p53 levels: Group A:0,35–1,65 ng/mil (21 males); Group B: 1,66–3,57 ng/mil (32 males);Group C: 3,58–14,53 ng/mil (26 males). We have evaluated thenumber of embryos at stage of 6–8 cells, btained at the third dayof embryo development, in these three different group. In order toevaluate the concentration of p53 protein, we first proceeded toa DNA extraction with forensic method and then to a quantification p53 protein with ELISA-immunoenzymatic assay, expressedin ng/million of spermatozoa.Results: We have observed different percentage of embryo development at stage of 6-8 cells in the third day and different pregnancy rate (PR):Group A: 101 embryos at 6-8 cells/ 147 total number of obtained embryos in this group (68,4%) and PR = 52,38%.Group B: 128/240 (53,5%); PR = 37,50%; Group C: 79/216 (36,1%);PR = 7,69%. These results support the hypothesis that an high con-centration of p53 in human sperm DNA is associated to a low percentage of embryos able to reach the stage of 6-8 cells in the third day of development and also to a lower pregnancy rate. So p53 levels can be considered as a predictive value to embryo development and pregnancy rate.Conclusions: Protein p53 is a sequence-specific transcriptionfactor that responds to a wide variety of stress signals (environ-mental insults and bad lifestyle) as we are investigating within theecofoodfertility project. Particularly quantitative research of p53could be considered as a novel biomarker of sperm quality, able topredict the success of ART echniques, and could open a new roadfor infertility diagnosis

The Role of Ivabradine in the Management of Angina Pectoris

Stable angina pectoris affects 2–4 % of the population in Western countries and entails an annual risk of death and nonfatal myocardial infarction of 1–2 % and 3 %, respectively. Heart rate (HR) is linearly related to myocardial oxygen consumption and coronary blood flow, both at rest and during stress. HR reduction is a key target for the prevention of ischemia/angina and is an important mechanism of action of drugs which are recommended as first line therapy for the treatment of angina in clinical guidelines. However, many patients are often unable to tolerate the doses of beta blocker or non-dihydropyridine calcium antagonists required to achieve the desired symptom control. The selective pacemaker current inhibitor ivabradine was developed as a drug for the management of patients with angina pectoris, through its ability to reduce HR specifically. The available data suggest that ivabradine is a well-tolerated and effective anti-anginal agent and it is recommended as a second-line agent for relief of angina in guidelines. However, recent clinical trials of ivabradine have failed to show prognostic benefit and have raised potential concerns about safety. This article will review the available evidence base for the current role of ivabradine in the management of patients with symptomatic angina pectoris in the context of stable coronary artery disease

Ligament break-up simulation through pseudo-potential Lattice Boltzmann Method

The Plateau-Rayleigh instability causes the fragmentation of a liquid ligament into smaller droplets. In this study a numerical study of this phenomenon based on a single relaxation time (SRT) pseudo-potential lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is proposed. If systematically analysed, this test case allows to design appropriate parameters sets to deal with engineering applications involving the hydrodynamics of a jet. Grid convergence simulations are performed in the limit where the interface thickness is asymptotically smaller than the characteristic size of the ligament. These simulations show a neat asymptotic behaviour, possibly related to the convergence of LBM diffuse-interface physics to sharp interface hydrodynamics

Paper Session II-B - NASA-ESA Technical Interchange: Capability of the Automated Transfer Vehicle to Resupply Space Station

The purpose of this paper is to describe the ATV configuration and focus on the NASA-ESATI evaluation results associated with the use of ATV in the Station servicing scenario. In addition, the implications of using the ATV for resupply of the redesigned International Space Station are also briefly addressed

Considering Harm and Safety in Youth Mental Health: A Call for Attention and Action

The possibility of harm from mental health provision, and in particular harm from youth mental health provision, has been largely overlooked. We contend that if we continue to assume youth mental health services can do no harm, and all that is needed is more services, we continue to risk the possibility that the safety of children and young people is unintentionally compromised. We propose a three level framework for considering harm from youth mental health provision (1. ineffective engagement, 2. ineffective practice and 3. adverse events) and suggest how this framework could be used to support quality improvement in services