The last ten years of research at Tarquinia

The Centro di Ricerca Coordinata ‘ProgettoTarquinia’ of the Università degli Studi di Milano is a LERU (League of European Research Universities) exemplary interdisciplinary research project that involves groups from the Università Statale di Milano (Archaeology, Information and Communication Technologies, Geoarchaeology, Palaeoanthropology), the Politecnico di Milano (Architecture and Topography) and bridges the gap between soft and hard sciences. This project stems from the ‘Progetto Tarquinia’ conceived by Maria Bonghi Jovino in 1982. During the last ten years, our integrated system of tools and services, supported by ICTs (ArchMatrix), through which multidisciplinary domain experts can examine all the typologies of data of a given culture, has made it possible to concentrate on the links between data-sources focusing on the recurrence of association rates within different aspects of material evidence and phenomena. The fields of application of our methodology in the domain of archaeology and epigraphy are multifaceted as regards the inside and outside connections of the Tarquinian heritage, whose necropolis with the famous painted tombs is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Research includes areas of the Civita plateau: the ‘monumental complex’, the Ara della Regina sanctuary, fortifications, and archaeological sites previously explored. In the past ten years, research in the necropolis (roughly 6,000 tombs, of which 400 are painted) and in the surrounding territory has also been implemented and has produced the complete corpus of the painted tombs of Tarquinia. Our holistic approach encompasses archaeological analysis of small (mobile finds), medium (archaeological contexts) and large scale (territory and landscape) architectural analysis and applications for integrated solutions for the cultural heritage, including the first bilingual Virtual Museum dedicated to an Etruscan city

Nuclear loads and nuclear shielding performance of EU DEMO divertor: A comparative neutronics evaluation of two interim design options

In a demonstrational fusion power plant (DEMO), divertor is supposed to protect vacuum vessel and superconducting magnets against neutron flux in the bottom region of the vessel. The vessel is subject to a strict design limit in irradiation damage dose and the magnets in nuclear heating power, respectively. Thus, the DEMO divertor must have the capability to protect sufficiently the vessel and the magnets against neutron flux being substantially stronger than in ITER.In this paper, a first systematic neutronics study for the European DEMO divertor is reported. Results of the extensive assessment of key nuclear loading features (nuclear heating, irradiation damage & helium production) are presented for two optional concepts, namely, dome and shielding liner including minor geometrical variants. The shielding performance of the two competing design options is discussed together with the case of a bare cassette (no shielding), particularly in terms of damage dose compared with the design limits specified for the European DEMO.It was found that both the dome and shielding liner were able to significantly reduce the nuclear loads in the cassette body and the vessel. The maximum damage dose at the end of the lifetime remained subcritical for the cassette body for both cases whereas it exceeded the limit for the vessel under the dome, but only locally on the surface underneath the pumping duct. But, the damage could be reduced below the limit for the vessel by increasing the size of the dome or by deploying the shielding liner. The most critical feature was the excessive damage occurring in the own body of the shielding components where the maximum damage dose in the steel heat sink of the dome and the shielding liner far exceeded the design limit at the end of the lifetime

Sudden cardiac death after robbery: Homicide or natural death?

Tako-Tsubo is one of a number of rare acquired cardiomyopathies that are characterized by left ventricular dyskinesia and symptomatology typical of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The most important feature is that the clinical features are triggered by a severe physical or emotional stress. The authors describe the story of a woman, who was brutally assaulted by two men during a house robbery and died from sudden heart failure 8 hours later, after being taken to hospital. External examination revealed no macroscopic alteration of the inner organs, whereas microscopy showed contraction bands with myocardial necrosis, subendocardial and interstitial neutrophil infiltration and fibrosis. These findings were consistent with death due to stress cardiomyopathy even in the absence of previous heart disease. The robbers were convicted of homicide and sentenced to eighteen years in prison

Preliminary engineering assessment of alternative magnetic divertor configurations for EU-DEMO

One of the main challenges in the roadmap to the realization of fusion energy is to develop a heat and power exhaust system able to withstand the large loads expected in the divertor of a fusion power plant. The challenge of reducing the heat load on the divertor targets is addressed, within the mission 2 \u2018Heat-exhaust systems\u2019, through the investigation of divertor configurations alternative to the standard Single Null (SN), such as the Snowflake (SF), Double Null (DN), X and Super-X (SX) divertors. This paper focuses on a preliminary engineering assessment of the alternative configurations proposed for the EU DEMO reactor. Starting from the description of the optimized plasma shape developed for each configuration, the 3D geometrical description of the Magnet System and of the main Mechanical Structures (Vacuum Vessel and in-vessel components) is presented. Based on the 3D geometry, the compatibility of the location and dimensions of ports with Remote Maintenance needs is discussed and possible design optimizations are proposed both for the Magnets system and the mechanical structures design. Finally, the various configurations are compared with regard to the engineering and feasibility aspects

Obesity and bone loss at menopause: The role of sclerostin

Background. Peripheral fat tissue is known to positively influence bone health. However, evidence exists that the risk of non-vertebral fractures can be increased in postmenopausal women with obesity as compared to healthy controls. The role of sclerostin, the SOST gene protein product, and body composition in this condition is unknown. Methods. We studied 28 severely obese premenopausal (age, 44.7 \ub1 3.9 years; BMI, 46.0 \ub1 4.2 kg/m2 ) and 28 BMI-matched post-menopausal women (age, 55.5 \ub1 3.8 years; BMI, 46.1 \ub1 4.8 kg/m2 ) thorough analysis of bone density (BMD) and body composition by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), bone turnover markers, sclerostin serum concentration, glucose metabolism, and a panel of hormones relating to bone health. Results. Postmenopausal women harbored increased levels of the bone turnover markers CTX and NTX, while sclerostin levels were non-significantly higher as compared to premenopausal women. There were no differences in somatotroph, thyroid and adrenal hormone across menopause. Values of lumbar spine BMD were comparable between groups. By contrast, menopause was associated with lower BMD values at the hip (p < 0.001), femoral neck (p < 0.0001), and total skeleton (p < 0.005). In multivariate regression analysis, sclerostin was the strongest predictor of lumbar spine BMD (p < 0.01), while menopausal status significantly predicted BMD at total hip (p < 0.01), femoral neck (p < 0.001) and total body (p < 0.05). Finally, lean body mass emerged as the strongest predictor of total body BMD (p < 0.01). Conclusions. Our findings suggest a protective effect of obesity on lumbar spine and total body BMD at menopause possibly through mechanisms relating to lean body mass. Given the mild difference in sclerostin levels between pre-and postmenopausal women, its potential actions in obesity require further investigation

Muscle sympathetic nerve activity in patients with acromegaly

Muscle sympathetic nerve activity was measured in nine acromegalic patients (age, 35 +/- 4 yr; body mass index, 28 +/- 2 kg/m2) and eight healthy subjects (age, 32 +/- 3 yr; body mass index, 25 +/- 2 kg/m2) by combining the forearm arterial-venous difference technique with the tracer method [infusion of tritiated norepinephrine (NE)]. Muscle NE release was quantified both at rest and during physiological hyperinsulinemia while maintaining euglycemia (approximately 90 mg/dL) by means of the euglycemic clamp. Arterial plasma NE was similar in the two groups at rest (197 +/- 28 and 200 +/- 27 pg/mL (-1) and slightly increased during insulin infusion. Forearm NE release was 2.33 +/- 0.55 ng x liter(-1) x min(-1) in healthy subjects and 2.67 +/- 0.61 ng x liter(-1) x min(-1) in acromegalic subjects in the basal state and increased to a similar extent during insulin infusion in both groups (3.13 +/- 0.71 and 3.32 +/- 0.75 ng x L(-1) x min(-1), P < 0.05 vs. basal), indicating a normal stimulatory effect of insulin on muscle sympathetic activity. In contrast, insulin-stimulated forearm glucose uptake was markedly lower in acromegalic patients (2.3 +/- 0.4 mg x L(-1) x min(-1)) than in control subjects (7.9 +/- 1.3 mg x L(-1) x min(-1), P < 0.001), indicating the presence of severe insulin resistance involving glucose metabolism. Our data demonstrate that patients with long-term acromegaly have normal sympathetic activity in the skeletal muscle in the basal, postabsorptive state and normal increments in NE spillover in response to the sympatho-excitatory effect of insulin. Thus, the presence of severe insulin resistance in acromegaly is not accounted for by adrenergic mechanisms

GH therapy in adult GH deficiency: a review of treatment schedules and the evidence for low starting doses.

Recombinant human growth hormone (GH) has been licensed for use in adult patients with GH deficiency (GHD) for over 15 years. Early weight- and surface area-based dosing regimens were effective but resulted in supraphysiological levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and increased incidence of side effects. Current practice has moved towards individualized regimens, starting with low GH doses and gradually titrating the dose according to the level of serum IGF-I to achieve an optimal dose. Here we present the evidence supporting the dosing recommendations of current guidelines and consider factors affecting dose responsiveness and parameters of treatment response. The published data discussed here lend support for the use of low GH dosing regimens in adult GHD. The range of doses defined as 'low dose' in the studies discussed here (~1-4 mg/week) is in accordance with those recommended in current guidelines and encompasses the dose range recommended by product labels