Portici, palazzi, torri e fortezze. Edilizia e famiglie aristocratiche a Roma (XII-XIV secolo)

Based on a study of written sources and on the census and archaeological-architectural analysis of all medieval civil buildings, the article illustrates the property assets and forms of residence of both the top ranks of the Roman aristocracy, the so-called barons, and the rest of the city's nobility. The history of porches, domus magne, palatia, towers and fortresses shows how from the 11th and, above all, from the 12th century a structural link between wealth and investment in durable buildings established itself with a previously unknown strength. Stone, brick, and mortar became a fundamental means of displaying aristocratic identity and expressing individual and family agency.A partir del examen sistemático de las fuentes escritas y de la recopilación ya análisis arqueolçogico-arquitectónico de toda la edilicia civil medieval, el artículo ilustra los patrimonios inmobiliarios y las formas que adoptaron las residencias, tanto de los máximos exponentes de la aristocracia romana, los llamados baroni, como del resto de la nobleza urbana. El examen de los pórticos, domus magne, palatia, torres y fortalezas muestra como desde el siglo xi, pero sobre todo desde el xii, se había afirmado con una fuerza hasta entonces desconocida, un vínculo estructural entre riqueza e inversiones en construcciones duraderas. Piedra, ladrillo y mortero se impusieron como instrumentos fundamentales a la hora de manifestar la identidad aristocrática y como medio de expresión de la agencia individual y familiar.Basato sull'esame sistematico delle fonti scritte e sul censimento e l'analisi archeologico-architettonica di tutta l'edilizia civile medievale, l'articolo illustra i patrimoni immobiliari e le forme di residenza sia dei vertici della aristocrazia romana, i cosiddetti baroni, sia del resto della nobiltà cittadina. L'esame di portici, domus magne, palatia, torri e fortezze mostra bene come dall'XI e, soprattutto, dal XII secolo si sia affermato con una forza prima sconosciuta un legame strutturale fra ricchezza e investimenti in costruzioni durature. Pietra, laterizi e malta si sono imposti come uno strumento fondamentale per manifestare l'identità aristocratica e come luogo di espressione dell'agency individuale e familiare

Barrio residencial de Gratosoglio, Milán

The group of 23 buildings in the residential zone of Gratosoglio, which provide space for 1,000 dwellings, has been built by the firm «Fintech Italcamus». This Italian firms applies in Italy the «Raymond Camus» system, which is a positive aid to heavy prefabrication in housing projects. The above group of buildings constitute part of the General Building Scheme so successfully initiated by the Autonomous Building Institute of the Province of Milan, with the purpose of helping to overcome the extensive lack of housing in the Milan region.El grupo de edificios levantado en el Barrio Residencial de Gratosoglio, Milán (23, con un total de 1.000 viviendas), ha sido construido por la firma «Fintech Italcamus», Sociedad italiana que aplica en Italia el sistema «Raymond Camus» y constituye una aportación positiva de la prefabricación pesada a la edificación residencial. Este conjunto forma parte del Plan General de edificación, emprendido con tanto éxito como acierto por el Instituto Autónomo de la Vivienda de la Provincia de Milán, para solucionar los problemas que la gigantesca presión demográfica planteaba en dicha provincia

Validation of the angular measurements of a new inertial-measurement-unit based rehabilitation system: comparison with state-of-the-art gait analysis

Background: Several rehabilitation systems based on inertial measurement units (IMU) are entering the market for the control of exercises and to measure performance progression, particularly for recovery after lower limb orthopaedic treatments. IMU are easy to wear also by the patient alone, but the extent to which IMU's malpositioning in routine use can affect the accuracy of the measurements is not known. A new such system (Riablo™, CoRehab, Trento, Italy), using audio-visual biofeedback based on videogames, was assessed against state-of-the-art gait analysis as the gold standard.Methods. The sensitivity of the system to errors in the IMU's position and orientation was measured in 5 healthy subjects performing two hip joint motion exercises. Root mean square deviation was used to assess differences in the system's kinematic output between the erroneous and correct IMU position and orientation.In order to estimate the system's accuracy, thorax and knee joint motion of 17 healthy subjects were tracked during the execution of standard rehabilitation tasks and compared with the corresponding measurements obtained with an established gait protocol using stereophotogrammetry.Results: A maximum mean error of 3.1 ± 1.8 deg and 1.9 ± 0.8 deg from the angle trajectory with correct IMU position was recorded respectively in the medio-lateral malposition and frontal-plane misalignment tests. Across the standard rehabilitation tasks, the mean distance between the IMU and gait analysis systems was on average smaller than 5°.Conclusions: These findings showed that the tested IMU based system has the necessary accuracy to be safely utilized in rehabilitation programs after orthopaedic treatments of the lower limb

How Do Metal Ion Levels Change over Time in Hip Resurfacing Patients? A Cohort Study

Metal-on-metal hip resurfacing (MOM-HR) is offered as an alternative to traditional hip arthroplasty for young, active adults with advanced osteoarthritis. Nevertheless, concerns remain regarding wear and corrosion of the bearing surfaces and the resulting increase in metal ion levels. We evaluated three cohorts of patients with Birmingham hip resurfacing (BHR) at an average follow-up of 2, 5, and 9 years. We asked whether there would be differences in ion levels between the cohorts and inside the gender. Nineteen patients were prospectively analyzed. The correlation with clinical-radiographic data was also performed. Chromium, cobalt, nickel, and molybdenum concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Chromium and cobalt levels demonstrated a tendency to decrease over time. Such tendency was present only in females. An inverse correlation between chromium, implant size, and Harris hip score was present at short term; it disappeared over time together with the decreased ion levels. The prospective analysis showed that, although metal ion levels remained fairly constant within each patient, there was a relatively large variation between subjects, so mean data in this scenario must be interpreted with caution. The chronic high exposure should be carefully considered during implant selection, particularly in young subjects, and a stricter monitoring is mandatory

Factors Affecting Fasting Urinary Calcium Excretion in Stone Former Patients on Different Dietary Calcium Intake

The effects of variable calcium content on daily and fasting urinary calcium and other lithogenic solutes excretion, on the bone turnover index (fasting hydroxyproline urinary excretion) and on the calciotropic hormones were studied in 312 stone former patients with an outpatient protocol and 15 stone former patients in an inpatient study. Furthermore in 60 of these patients, 30 while on a low calcium diet (LCD) and 30 on a free calcium home diet (FCD), the effects of an oral calcium load (OCL) on bone turnover index, calciotropic hormones and calcium excretion were evaluated. The results demonstrate that an LCD is effective in reducing daily calcium excretion. Fasting calcium excretion is apparently not affected by changes in dietary calcium content. On the other hand, LCD induces a marked increase in bone resorption, without apparent signs of increased parathyroid activity. This may explain the failure to reduce fasting urinary calcium excretion by the LCD. The OCL greatly reduced bone resorption rate, without any change in calciotropic hormones, especially in patients on LCD. In conclusion, the LCD induces a reduction in the lithogenic factors in the urine of stone formers, but induces a marked increase in bone resorption. The lack of any change in fasting urinary calcium excretion in conditions of different dietary calcium intake may be due to an opposite change in the intestinal and osseous components that affect this parameter, and is therefore of little value

Effects of PEMFs on patients' recovery after reconstruction with use of double-looped semitendinosus and Gracilis tendon grafts: A multicenter, prospective, randomized and double-blind study

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Personality Traits and Coping Strategies for Contrasting the Occurrence of Traumatic Reactions in Emergency Rescuers

We investigated personality traits, coping strategies, and social factors among emergency rescuers of three different catastrophic events that occurred in 2009 and 2013. These events were natural disasters, two of which were caused by human negligence. We used the cognitive interview (CI) protocol to interview witnesses and investigate their memory of the event. A qualitative analysis using the ATLAS.ti software was performed to subdivide the type of verbal production in the number of scenes recollected, negative emotions, vivid mental images, and self-experience of the event. All participants were also assessed using the Trauma Symptom Inventory for the presence of traumatic reactions at the time of the interview and tests (from December 2015 until January 2016) and 6 months before the interview to exclude the presence of further Traumatic job-related events. Personality traits (Big Five Questionnaire), coping strategies (Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations-Adult), and other social factors (the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory) have been assessed. The aim of the study is to identify individual factors contributing to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in emergency rescuers. We found that some personality traits, social factors, and specific cognitive strategies may act as protective factors to traumatic reactions

Effect of electric current stimulation in combination with external fixator on bone healing in a sheep fracture model

Biophysical stimulations with electric and electromagnetic fields have been demonstrated to accelerate the bone-healing rate. This study has been designed to investigate the effects of electricity directly connected with the central pins of an external fixator in an experimental osteotomy model in sheep. Thirty mg/kg of tetracycline chloride were administered on the 30th and on the 45th day after surgery for histomorphometric studies. Plain radiographs were obtained in standard projections every 15 days after surgery and were analyzed with a software program (Corel Photo-Paint Pro X2, Corel Corporation, Ottawa, Canada). The specimens obtained after 60 days were examined with histological analysis. The results show that biophysical treatment with alternating electricity in combination with external fixator enhances new-bone formation. The translational value of this study, due to the similarities between ovine and human species, suggests that this treatment could be useful in speeding the bone-healing rate both in animals and humans