Tecniche e materiali da costruzione nella Milano antica e medievale

The city of Milan preserve an amazing historical and architectural heritage, consisting of a high number of ancient churches, in most cases built to the origins of Christianity and transformed into new form during the Romanesque. In the article are synthetically presented the results of the research work of the writer about construction techniques of the most important churches in the city (S. Ambrogio, S. Simpliciano, S. Giovanni alle Fonti, S. Nazaro Maggiore, ...), trying to highlight the main changes between Late Antiquity and Romanesque. A large amount of stone material were used in Roman architecture of Milan and Lombardy, thanks to the geological variety of the territory. The Alps supplied granites, diorites, gneisses and marbles; the Prealps supplied limestones, dolomites, sandstones (Mesozoic) and conglomerates (Quaternary); the Padània alluvial plain supplied pebbles, gravels, sands and clays (Quaternary). Each stone had a local use reaching the nearest towns (Como, Pavia, Milan, Bergamo, Brescia) through waterways; the towns of the plain (Piacenza, Cremona, Mantua) employed bricks made of local clay. Milano, the capital, employed also stones coming from abroad (limestones from Venetia and Friuli). White marbles of Apuanian Alps and coloured marbles of Eastern mediterranean were also diffused in Milan and other Lombard sites despite the laborious supplying. The stones quarried by the Romans were continuously used in the following centuries.La città di Milano conserva un patrimonio storico-architettonico straordinario, costituito da un elevato numero di edifici di culto antichi, nella maggior parte dei casi costruiti alle origini del cristianesimo e trasformati in forme nuove in età romanica. Nel contributo vengono presentati sinteticamente i risultati del lavoro di ricerca, condotto da chi scrive, sulle tecniche costruttive dei principali edifici di culto della città (S. Ambrogio, S. Simpliciano, S. Giovanni alle Fonti, S. Nazaro Maggiore, ...), cercando di mettere in luce le principali trasformazioni tra tardoantico e romanico. Un gran numero di materiali lapidei furono utilizzati nell’architettura romana a Milano e in Lombardia, materiali resi disponibili grazie alla varietà geologica del territorio. Le Alpi fornirono graniti, dioriti, gneiss, marmi; le Prealpi calcari, dolomie, arenarie (Mesozoico) e conglomerati (Quaternario); la pianura Padana ciottoli, ghiaie, sabbie e argille dei depositi alluvionali (Quaternario). Ciascuna pietra fu per lo più usata nelle aree limitrofe alle cave, raggiungendo le città (Comum, Ticinum, Mediolanum, Bergomum, Brixia) attraverso le vie d’acqua; nelle città della pianura (Placentia, Cremona, Mantua) furono privilegiati i laterizi fabbricati con l’argilla locale. A Milano, in quanto città capitale, furono impiegate anche pietre provenienti da maggiore distanza (calcari del Veneto e del Friuli). I marmi bianchi delle Alpi Apuane e i marmi colorati del Mediterraneo orientale, nonostante l’approvvigionamento difficoltoso, ebbero una grande diffusione a Mediolanum e in molti altri siti lombardi. I materiali cavati dai Romani furono continuativamente utilizzati anche nei secoli successivi

Harnessing NK Cells for Cancer Treatment

In the last years, natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach for solid tumors and hematological malignancies. NK cells are innate lymphocytes with an array of functional competences, including anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-graft-vs.-host disease potential. The intriguing idea of harnessing such potent innate immune system effectors for cancer treatment led to the development of clinical trials based on the adoptive therapy of NK cells or on the use of monoclonal antibodies targeting the main NK cell immune checkpoints. Indeed, checkpoint immunotherapy that targets inhibitory receptors of T cells, reversing their functional blocking, marked a breakthrough in anticancer therapy, opening new approaches for cancer immunotherapy and resulted in extensive research on immune checkpoints. However, the clinical efficacy of T cell-based immunotherapy presents a series of limitations, including the inability of T cells to recognize and kill HLA-Ineg tumor cells. For these reasons, new strategies for cancer immunotherapy are now focusing on NK cells. Blockade with NK cell checkpoint inhibitors that reverse their functional block may overcome the limitations of T cell-based immunotherapy, mainly against HLA-Ineg tumor targets. Here, we discuss recent anti-tumor approaches based on mAb-mediated blocking of immune checkpoints (either restricted to NK cells or shared with T cells), used either as a single agent or in combination with other compounds, that have demonstrated promising clinical responses in both solid tumors and hematological malignancie

Post-Transplant Nivolumab Plus Unselected Autologous Lymphocytes in Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Feasible and Promising Salvage Therapy Associated With Expansion and Maturation of NK Cells

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CI) have demonstrated clinical activity in Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) patients relapsing after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), although only 20% complete response (CR) rate was observed. The efficacy of CI is strictly related to the host immune competence, which is impaired in heavily pre-treated HL patients. Here, we aimed to enhance the activity of early post-ASCT CI (nivolumab) administration with the infusion of autologous lymphocytes (ALI). Twelve patients with relapse/refractory (R/R) HL (median age 28.5 years; range 18-65), underwent lymphocyte apheresis after first line chemotherapy and then proceeded to salvage therapy. Subsequently, 9 patients with progressive disease at ASCT received early post-transplant CI supported with four ALI, whereas 3 responding patients received ALI alone, as a control cohort. No severe adverse events were recorded. HL-treated patients achieved negative PET scan CR and 8 are alive and disease-free after a median follow-up of 28 months. Four patients underwent subsequent allogeneic SCT. Phenotypic analysis of circulating cells showed a faster expansion of highly differentiated NK cells in ALI plus nivolumab-treated patients as compared to control patients. Our data show anti-tumor activity with good tolerability of ALI + CI for R/R HL and suggest that this setting may accelerate NK cell development/maturation and favor the expansion of the "adaptive" NK cell compartment in patients with HCMV seropositivity, in the absence of HCMV reactivation

Anales del III Congreso Internacional de Vivienda y Ciudad "Debate en torno a la nueva agenda urbana"

Acta de congresoEl III Congreso Internacional de Vivienda y Ciudad “Debates en torno a la NUEVa Agenda Urbana”, ha sido una apuesta de alto compromiso por acercar los debates centrales y urgentes que tensionan el pleno ejercicio del derecho a la ciudad. Para ello las instituciones organizadoras (INVIHAB –Instituto de Investigación de Vivienda y Hábitat y MGyDH-Maestría en Gestión y Desarrollo Habitacional-1), hemos convidado un espacio que se concretó con potencia en un debate transdisciplinario. Convocó a intelectuales de prestigio internacional, investigadores, académicos y gestores estatales, y en una metodología de innovación articuló las voces académicas con las de las organizaciones sociales y/o barriales en el Foro de las Organizaciones Sociales que tuvo su espacio propio para dar voz a quienes están trabajando en los desafíos para garantizar los derechos a la vivienda y los bienes urbanos en nuestras ciudades del Siglo XXI

Saproxylic arthropod borings in Nothofagoxylon woods from the Miocene of Patagonia

Permineralized woods of Nothofagoxylon scalariforme from Miocene strata (Río Leona Formation) that crop out in the southwestern region of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina were studied. Six types of borings are described, filled with coprolites or homogeneous excrement masses (frass). Based on size, shape, orientation and content, the borings can be related to oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida), beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) and springtails (Insecta: Collembola). The host woods show fungal decay and are colonized by hyphae and spores, which suggest various forms of interaction with the arthropods and the Nothofagoxylon trees. The possible types of interactions developed between different organisms involved in the excavation, consumption and degradation of fossil woods in Miocene forests of Patagonia are discussed. Collectively, this evidence indicates that the analyzed woods were in an advanced state of decay prior to their fossilization and that several groups of organisms were active participants in the decomposition of woody substrates, or used them as nesting places, in early Neogene forest ecosystems of Patagonia.Fil: Greppi, Carlos Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: García Massini, Juan Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Pujana, Roberto Roman. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin

Early Cretaceous Brachyoxylon woods from Argentinean Patagonia and comments on the Cheirolepidiaceae distribution

We studied fossil woods from Matasiete and Castillo Formations (Aptian–Albian) for the first time. The woods, preserved in fluvial channel and floodplain deposits, have anatomy consistent with the fossil-genus Brachyoxylon Hollick and Jeffrey. Specimens from Castillo Formation have poorly distinct growth ring boundaries, exclusively uniseriate with a mixed arrangement intertracheary radial pitting, araucarioid cross-field pitting with 3–8 half-bordered pits with oblique aperture, and uniseriate rays. Specimens from Matasiete Formation are poorly preserved and only one could be assigned to Brachyoxylon with reservations. Brachyoxylon is a fossil-genus with a worldwide distribution and related to the fossil family Cheirolepidiaceae, a group of conifers that developed in various environments. However, our study suggests that this family would have prospered in locally semi-arid conditions.Fil: Greppi, Carlos Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Pujana, Roberto Roman. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Umazano, Aldo Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Bellosi, Eduardo Sergio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin

Borings and coprolites of termites in fossil woods from the Lower Cretaceous (Kachaike Formation) of Argentinean Patagonia

Borings filled with coprolites in silicified conifer woods from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) of the Kachaike Formation, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina are described for the first time. Coprolites are approximately hexagonal in cross-section, like those produced by extant Kalotermitidae, and occur inside borings in the secondary xylem. The presence of this family in the mid-Cretaceous ecosystems of Patagonia indicates arid climatic conditions consistent with previous geological, palynological and paleoxylological studies for this time interval in the Austral Basin. This also adds to other worldwide records of termites from the Lower Cretaceous, supporting their ecological importance as consumers and recyclers of lignified organic matter in dry forests from this period on to today.Fil: Greppi, Carlos Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: García Massini, Juan Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Rombola, Cosme Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Pujana, Roberto Roman. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin

Fungal wood-decay strategies in Nothofagaceae woods from Miocene deposits in southern Patagonia, Argentina

Carlos Daniel Greppi, Juan L. García Massini, Roberto R. Pujana and Sergio A. Marenssi, May 2018. Fungal wood-decay strategies in Nothofagaceae woods from Miocene deposits in southern Patagonia, Argentina. Alcheringa xxx, xxx -xxx. Decayed woods from the Miocene, Rio Leona Formation, Santa Cruz, Argentina having simultaneous decay patterns consistent with soft- and white rot characteristics are described. Samples were previously identified as Nothofagoxylon scalariforme. At low magnification, the permineralized woods appear mottled, with discoloured, degraded areas, scattered in apparently robust tissue, consistent with white-rot decay. At greater magnification, the woods reveal several micromorphological features, including differential decay of cellulose-rich cellular components that match soft-rot decay by extant ascomycetes and some basidiomycetes. In addition, decayed woods either appear differentially delignified or show simultaneous decay of all cellular components (lignin- and cellulose-rich), which are by-products of white-rot fungal decay. Additional anatomical characteristics of the decayed woods are consistent with a host response to the fungal attack. Co-occurrence of these two decay patterns suggests soft-rot decay and white-rot fungal decay. In addition, co-occurrence of all the decay features observed also suggests facultative soft rot by white-rot fungi, such as in some extant species that switch between these two types of decay strategies as a means to circumvent plant defences. These data indicate that fungi with soft-rot capacity for wood decay can be traced back to the early Miocene (ca 19 Ma). In addition, this report adds to the distribution and diversity of fungi in the geological record and underscores the ecological importance of wood as a preferred substrate for the association and interactions between fungi with different saprotrophic abilities, which have been fundamental for nutrient recycling in terrestrial ecosystems during the Cenozoic.Fil: Greppi, Carlos Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; ArgentinaFil: García Massini, Juan Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Pujana, Roberto Roman. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; ArgentinaFil: Marenssi, Sergio Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Tecniche e materiali da costruzione nella Milano antica e medievale

La città di Milano conserva un patrimonio storico-architettonico straordinario, costituito da un elevato numero di edifici di culto antichi, nella maggior parte dei casi costruiti alle origini del cristianesimo e trasformati in forme nuove in età romanica. Nel contributo vengono presentati sinteticamente i risultati del lavoro di ricerca, condotto da chi scrive, sulle tecniche costruttive dei principali edifici di culto della città (S. Ambrogio, S. Simpliciano, S. Giovanni alle Fonti, S. Nazaro Maggiore, ...), cercando di mettere in luce le principali trasformazioni tra tardoantico e romanico. Un gran numero di materiali lapidei furono utilizzati nell’architettura romana a Milano e in Lombardia, materiali resi disponibili grazie alla varietà geologica del territorio. Le Alpi fornirono graniti, dioriti, gneiss, marmi; le Prealpi calcari, dolomie, arenarie (Mesozoico) e conglomerati (Quaternario); la pianura Padana ciottoli, ghiaie, sabbie e argille dei depositi alluvionali (Quaternario). Ciascuna pietra fu per lo più usata nelle aree limitrofe alle cave, raggiungendo le città (Comum, Ticinum, Mediolanum, Bergomum, Brixia) attraverso le vie d’acqua; nelle città della pianura (Placentia, Cremona, Mantua) furono privilegiati i laterizi fabbricati con l’argilla locale. A Milano, in quanto città capitale, furono impiegate anche pietre provenienti da maggiore distanza (calcari del Veneto e del Friuli). I marmi bianchi delle Alpi Apuane e i marmi colorati del Mediterraneo orientale, nonostante l’approvvigionamento difficoltoso, ebbero una grande diffusione a Mediolanum e in molti altri siti lombardi. I materiali cavati dai Romani furono continuativamente utilizzati anche nei secoli successivi