‘Stay Home Without a Home’: Report from a webinar on the right to housing in Covid-19 lockdown times

This Update reports from a webinar on the impacts of lockdown measures put in place globally amid the Covid-19 pandemic on the right to housing and linked political struggles. Three main threads emerged from the conversation: the impacts of the pandemic are deepening pre-existing housing inequalities, while governments’ responses are largely insufficient; activists and contentious actors worldwide are changing their framings and repertoires to adapt to lockdown measures and attempt to radicalize their action; possibilities, albeit limited, are opening for the construction of global networks of struggle.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Outcomes of Urban Requalification Under Neoliberalism: A Critical Appraisal of the SRU Model

The context of crisis and austerity has provided a legitimate alibi for the inscription of neoliberal narratives grounded in the virtues of the market in Portugal. In 2004 the state enacted a new model of ‘urban requalification’, enabling the creation of Urban Requalification Societies (SRU in the Portuguese acronym) that initiated entrepreneurial and discretionary models of decision and delivery beyond existing state bureaucracies. Based on both quantitative and qualitative evidence from the cases of Lisbon and Porto, this paper offers a critical appraisal of the efficacy of these organizations to secure the provision of affordable rental housing in situ and to maintain less resourceful families in the city centres. Results show that the SRU model, combined with restrictive funding schemes and neoliberal politics, which have promoted the gradual liberalization of rent controls and real estate speculation, have reinforced processes of social and spatial inequality

Solution Structure of LC4 Transmembrane Segment of CCR5

CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is a specific co-receptor allowing the entry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The LC4 region in CCR5 is required for HIV-1 entry into the cells. In this study, the solution structure of LC4 in SDS micelles was elucidated by using standard 1H two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and fluorescdence quenching. The LC4 structure adopts two helical structures, whereas the C-terminal part remains unstructured. The positions in which LC4 binds to the HIV-1 inhibitory peptide LC5 were determined by docking calculations in addition to NMR data. The poses showed the importance of the hydrophobic interface of the assembled structures. The solution structure of LC4 elucidated in the present work provides a structural basis for further studies on the HIV-1 inhibitory function of the LC4 region

Linear cutting trepanation in Italy: A unique case from Hellenistic Sicily (3rd century BC)

During archaeological excavations conducted in 2010 at the Hellenistic necropolis of Messina (Sicily, Italy) dated to the 3rd century BC, a young adult male with multiple head injuries and evidence of surgical intervention was found. One lesion is located on the frontal bone and forms a full thickness perforation produced by penetrating force trauma. A second lesion is a healed superficial depressed fracture of the frontal bone caused by blunt force trauma. Both lesions show signs of healing indicating an extended period of survival. The third injury is a linear cut located on the inferior portion of right parietal; absence of signs of bone remodelling suggests a perimortem sharp force lesion inflicted by a bladed instrument. Finally, the left parietal bone reveals a rectangular area of bone loss involving a full thickness perforation of the bone with well-delimited incised edges and absence of healing. This lesion can be interpreted as a surgical intervention involving trepanation achieved by the linear cutting technique, the purpose of which was probably therapeutic and correlated with the multiple head injuries suffered by the individual. The linear cutting technique is most often found in the New World, while in the Old World only sporadic evidence of this technique has been attested, mainly coming from the Near East. Therefore, the case study from Messina represents the first evidence of neurosurgical intervention performed through the linear cutting technique found to date in Italy and the second case in the entirety of Europe

185 * RED BLOOD CELL DISTRIBUTION WIDTH PREDICTS MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY AFTER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT

Objectives: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a numerical measure of the variability in size of circulating erythrocytes and is emerging as a strong predictor of adverse advents for several categories of patients affected by cardiovascular disease. However, no data exist until now about the role of RDW in predicting mortality of aortic valve replacement (AVR) patients. Thus, in this pilot study we evaluated the value of RDW on early outcome following AVR. Methods: We enrolled 75 patients, who underwent AVR with or without concomitant procedure. A high value of RDW was defined as >43 fL for women and 47 fL for men. Multivariable and univariable analysis were used in determining the association between preoperative high RDW and postoperative outcome. Results: The prevalence of preoperative high RDW was 41% (31 patients). Univariable analysis showed that patients with high RDW were older (P < 0.02), with low weight (P = 0.12) and high level of platelets (P = 0.005). Patients with high RDW were more likely to require renal replacement therapy (P < 0.026) and prolonged ventilation (P < 0.01). Following multivariable adjustment, higher preoperative RDW was a combined predictor of mortality with higher creatinine level (P = 0.065). Conclusion: Increased RDW seems to be a good predictor of early outcome in patients who underwent AVR, in particular in patients with preoperative renal impairment and postoperative prolonged ventilatio

Su alcuni possibili contributi utili alla dimostrazione dell'ipotesi di Riemann I (RH ed RHG)

Tale lavoro è un notevole contributo alla Teoria dei Numeri e dei Numeri Primi in particolare. Tale ricerca già "lambisce" l'ipotesi di Riemann, cioè la sua soluzione positiva

Su alcuni possibili contributi utili alla dimostrazione dell'ipotesi di Riemann II (RH ed RHG)

E' questa la seconda parte del lavoro che fornisce un importante contributo alla Teoria dei Numeri e che "lambisce" la soluzione positiva dell'ipotesi di Riemann