Costruire lo spazio pubblico. Una strategia per la rigenerazione urbana. Pianificare, progettare, sperimentare

“Costruire lo spazio pubblico. Una strategia per la rigenerazione urbana” è una iniziativa del Laboratorio Progetto Roma, del Dipartimento PDTA, promossa nell’ambito della call for proposals “Fare spazi pubblici - Progetti e politiche di rigenerazione urbana sostenibile” della Biennale dello Spazio pubblico 2017, ch esi svolgerà a Roma dal 25 al 27 maggio 2017

Un lessico per la nuova urbanistica

Il lessico per la ‘nuova’ urbanistica matura dal 1925 (prima edizione di Urbanisme) al 1946 (prima edizione di Manière de Penser l’Urbanisme e Propos d’Urbanisme) e si perfeziona nel periodo drammatico della ricostruzione post-bellica, intesa come opportunità di una rifondazione dottrinale. Attraverso tre parole – dottrina, assetto, piano – il contributo di Giovanna Bianchi riflette su alcuni elementi portanti, di natura teorica e propositiva, che definiscono per Le Corbusier lo statuto disciplinare della nuova urbanistica. In particolare, Antonella Galassi propone di interpretare il lessico come un insieme di parole e disegni che corrispondono alle componenti elementari dei suoi piani - città, funzioni, strada - dalle quali è possibile formare sequenze che generano il prototipo/modello da cui egli ottiene il prodotto/progettoThe lexicon for the ‘new’ town planning mature from 1925 (first edition of Urbanisme ) to 1946 (first edition of Manière de Penser l’Urbanisme e Propos d’Urbanisme) and perfected in the dramatic period of post-war reconstruction, understood as an opportunity of a doctrinal refoundation. Through three words - doctrine, structure, plan - the Giovanna Bianchi contribution reflects on some carrying elements, theoretical and proactive , that define for Le Corbusier the disciplinary statute of town planning. In particular, Antonella Galassi proposes to interpret the lexicon as a set of words and sketches that correspond to the basic components of its plans - city , functions , road - from which it is possible to form sequences that generate the prototype/model from which he obtained the product/project

Il quartiere Flaminio visto dagli studenti di Architettura. Alcune proposte di trasformazione urbana sostenibile

La mostra, organizzata in partnership con l'Associazione AMUSE (Amici del Secondo Municipio), come dichiara il titolo, illustra alla cittadinanza e alle associazioni culturali del Municipio II, i lavori degli studenti del Corso di Progettazione Urbanistica 1 della Facoltà di Architettura di Roma La Sapienza evidenziando problemi, criticità da risolvere, ma anche potenzialità e valori su cui lavorare per trasformare il Quartiere Flaminio in modo sostenibile. La Mostra è stata preceduta da una discussione pubblica coordinata dal Presidente dell'Associazione Amuse a cui hanno partecipato gli studenti, alcuni rappresentanti del Rotary club Roma Nord, di Amuse e l'Assessore all'Urbanistica del Municipio, on.le Giovannelli

Digital Technologies for Community Engagement in Decision-Making and Planning Process

The way that we describe and understand cities is radically transforming—just like the tools we use for designing and implementing them. The change is often seen only as a technological aspect, for example, in the concept of smart cities. Smart cities are believed to provide societies with a higher quality of life thanks to modern technologies. However, there is also a human factor that is needed to make these changes go smoothly: acceptance. For many, change and innovation cause fear and disrupt everyday habits. Public participation is crucial both for understanding citizens’ needs and for adopting new programs. The ability to try, engage, or entertain with new technologies will move innovation from the abstract level to the level of understanding. A smart city can be a living laboratory that tests new technologies and services where citizens and urban communities are active actors in the process. Innovation can be used by the city to improve its services, mutual communication, and engage citizens in its activities and projects, co-creating urban space and city strategy through new participatory tools. Trends in European cities show that the use of modern digital technologies and interactive tools can be used to involve citizens in urban decision-making processes, e.g., when creating or revitalizing public spaces. Modern participatory technologies that enable citizens to explore, analyze, design, and evaluate spatial information on the basis of shared and open data that bring new challenges and new opportunities to cities, as well as for citizens. Our knowledge of the use of these new technologies, however, is still narrow and limited today. In the following research, the authors intend to explore the potential of digital technologies for community engagement in the decision-making process in smart cities by examining the specific settings upon which social innovation builds

The River Contract of the Tiber from Castel Giubileo to the Foce: An Innovative Practice for a Relationship between Tiber and Rome

The River Contract is a little-known practice and an unconventional planning procedure but an opportunity in many Italian Regions to overcome the problems of coherence between levels of Government and to promote participation. The River Contract is a voluntary agreement of strategic and negotiated planning, aiming the protection, proper management of water resources, recovery, and enhancement of the river territories, together with flood protection, contributing to the local development of such areas. In 2017, in Rome, started the procedure for the River Contract by Agenda Tevere Onlus. This paper illustrates a practice-oriented research built by multidisciplinary approach and a method able to mix cultural and participatory knowledge. Because the Tiber is the river of Rome, the research aims to raise the possibility of enhancing the strategic and fundamental role of the Tiber in relation to the City through four key issues: the urban landscape, because the Tiber is intrinsically related with the city; the public space, because the Tiber must be a good of the city; the sustainable use, because the Tiber must be for the city; the active participation, because the interventions on the Tiber must be shared in the city by those who live and work in Rome

Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloidosis: How to Differentiate Carriers and Patients Using Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography

Background: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis is a rare disease caused by transthyretin (TTR) gene mutations. The aim of our study was to identify early signs of cardiac involvement in patients with a TTR gene mutation in order to differentiate carriers from patients with neurological or cardiac disease. Methods: A case-control study was carried out on 31 subjects with the TTR mutation. Patients were divided into three groups: 23% with cardiac amyloidosis and polyneuropathy (group A), 42% with only polyneuropathy (group B) and 35% carriers (group C). Speckle-tracking echocardiography (left-ventricular global longitudinal strain-GLS, atrial stiffness) was performed in all patients. The apical/basal longitudinal strain ratio (SAB) and relative apical sparing (RAS) were assessed in all subjects. Results: Analyzing groups C and B, we only found a significant difference in the SAB (p-value 0.001) and RAS (p-value 0.039). These parameters were significantly more impaired in group A compared to group B (SAB p-value 0.008; RAS p-value 0.002). Also, atrial stiffness was significantly impaired in groups A and B compared to group C. Conclusions: Our study suggests the diagnostic role of the SAB and RAS in cardiac amyloidosis. The SAB and RAS showed a gradual increase from carriers to patients with neurological and cardiac diseases. Thus, these parameters, in addition to atrial stiffness, could be used to monitor carriers. More extensive data are needed

Argument mining as rapid screening tool of COVID-19 literature quality: Preliminary evidence

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic prompted the scientific community to share timely evidence, also in the form of pre-printed papers, not peer reviewed yet.PurposeTo develop an artificial intelligence system for the analysis of the scientific literature by leveraging on recent developments in the field of Argument Mining.MethodologyScientific quality criteria were borrowed from two selected Cochrane systematic reviews. Four independent reviewers gave a blind evaluation on a 1–5 scale to 40 papers for each review. These scores were matched with the automatic analysis performed by an AM system named MARGOT, which detected claims and supporting evidence for the cited papers. Outcomes were evaluated with inter-rater indices (Cohen's Kappa, Krippendorff's Alpha, s* statistics).ResultsMARGOT performs differently on the two selected Cochrane reviews: the inter-rater indices show a fair-to-moderate agreement of the most relevant MARGOT metrics both with Cochrane and the skilled interval scores, with larger values for one of the two reviews.Discussion and conclusionsThe noted discrepancy could rely on a limitation of the MARGOT system that can be improved; yet, the level of agreement between human reviewers also suggests a different complexity between the two reviews in debating controversial arguments. These preliminary results encourage to expand and deepen the investigation to other topics and a larger number of highly specialized reviewers, to reduce uncertainty in the evaluation process, thus supporting the retraining of AM systems

Inquinamento atmosferico e ricoveri ospedalieri urgenti in 25 citt? italiane: risultati del progetto EpiAir2 Air pollution and urgent hospital admissions in 25 Italian cities: results from the EpiAir2 project

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the relationship between air pollution and hospital admissions in 25 Italian cities that took part in the EpiAir (Epidemiological surveillance of air pollution effects among Italian cities) project. DESIGN: study of time series with case-crossover methodology, with adjustment for meteorological and time-dependent variables. The association air pollution hospitalisation was analyzed in each of the 25 cities involved in the study; the overall estimates of effect were obtained subsequently by means of a meta-analysis. The pollutants considered were PM10, PM2.5 (in 13 cities only), NO2 and ozone (O3); this last pollutant restricted to the summer season (April-September). SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: the study has analyzed 2,246,448 urgent hospital admissions for non-accidental diseases in 25 Italian cities during the period 2006- 2010; 10 out of 25 cities took part also in the first phase of the project (2001-2005). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: urgent hospital admissions for cardiac, cerebrovascular and respiratory diseases, for all age groups, were considered. The respiratory hospital admissions were analysed also for the 0-14-year subgroup. Percentage increases risk of hospitalization associated with increments of 10 μg/m3 and interquartile range (IQR) of the concentration of each pollutant were calculated. RESULTS: reported results were related to an increment of 10 μg/m3 of air pollutant. The percent increase for PM10 for cardiac causes was 0.34% at lag 0 (95%CI 0.04-0.63), for respiratory causes 0.75%at lag 0-5 (95%CI 0.25-1.25). For PM2.5, the percent increase for respiratory causes was 1.23% at lag 0- 5 (95%CI 0.58-1.88). For NO2, the percent increase for cardiac causes was 0.57%at lag 0 (95%CI 0.13-1.02); 1.29% at lag 0-5 (95%CI 0.52-2.06) for respiratory causes. Ozone (O3) did not turned out to be positively associated neither with cardiac nor with respiratory causes as noted in the previous period (2001-2005). CONCLUSION: the results of the study confirm an association between PM10, PM2.5, and NO2 on hospital admissions among 25 Italian cities. No positive associations for ozone was noted in this period.OBIETTIVO: valutare la relazione tra inquinamento atmosferico e ricoveri ospedalieri nelle citt? italiane partecipanti alla seconda fase del progetto EpiAir (Sorveglianza epidemiologica dell\u27inquinamento atmosferico: valutazione dei rischi e degli impatti nelle citt? italiane). DISEGNO: studio di serie temporali con metodologia case-crossover, con aggiustamento per i fattori temporali e meteorologici rilevanti. L\u27associazione inquinamento atmosferico- ospedalizzazioni ? stata analizzata in ciascuna delle 25 citt? in studio, le stime complessive di effetto sono state ottenute successivamente mediante una metanalisi. Gli inquinanti considerati sono stati il particolato (PM10), il biossido di azoto (NO2) e l\u27ozono (O3), quest\u27ultimo limitatamente al semestre estivo (da aprile a settembre). In 13 citt? in cui i dati erano disponibili ? stata analizzata anche la frazione fine del particolato (PM2.5). SETTING E PARTECIPANTI: lo studio ha esaminato 2.246.448 ricoveri ospedalieri urgenti per cause naturali di pazienti residenti e ricoverati, nel periodo 2006-2010, in 25 citt? italiane, di cui 10 gi? partecipanti alla prima fase del progetto EpiAir (2001-2005). PRINCIPALIMISURE DI OUTCOME: sono stati considerati i ricoveri ospedalieri urgenti per malattie cardiache, cerebrovascolari e respiratorie per tutte le fasce di et?. I ricoveri per cause respiratorie sono stati analizzati separatamente anche per la fascia di et? 0-14 anni. L\u27esposizione ? stata valutata per incremento sia di 10 μg/m3 sia pari all\u27intervallo interquartile (IQR) della concentrazione di ciascun inquinante. RISULTATI: considerando un incremento di 10 μg/m3 per inquinante, per il PM10 ? stato osservato un incremento percentuale di rischio per patologie cardiache dello 0,34%a lag 0 (IC95% 0,04-0,63), e per patologie respiratorie dello 0,75% a lag 0-5 (IC95% 0,25-1,25). Per il PM2.5 l\u27incremento percentuale di rischio per patologie respiratorie ? risultato dell\u271,23%a lag 0-5 (IC95%0,58-1,88). Per l\u27NO2 la stima di effetto per patologie cardiache ? risultata dello 0,57% a lag 0 (IC95% 0,13-1,02), e per patologie respiratorie dell\u271,29% a lag 0-5 (IC95% 0,52-2,06). L\u27ozono non ? risultato positivamente associato n? alle patologie cardiache n? a quelle respiratorie (a differenza del periodo 2001-2005). CONCLUSIONE: i risultati dello studio confermano l\u27effetto a breve termine dell\u27inquinamento atmosferico da PM10, PM2.5 e NO2 sulla morbosit?, in particolare respiratoria, nelle citt? italiane. Non sono state rilevate associazioni positive per l\u27O3

Beta-Blocker Use in Older Hospitalized Patients Affected by Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Italian Survey From the REPOSI Register

Beta (β)-blockers (BB) are useful in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the use of BBs could induce bronchoconstriction due to β2-blockade. For this reason, both the ESC and GOLD guidelines strongly suggest the use of selective β1-BB in patients with HF and COPD. However, low adherence to guidelines was observed in multiple clinical settings. The aim of the study was to investigate the BBs use in older patients affected by HF and COPD, recorded in the REPOSI register. Of 942 patients affected by HF, 47.1% were treated with BBs. The use of BBs was significantly lower in patients with HF and COPD than in patients affected by HF alone, both at admission and at discharge (admission, 36.9% vs. 51.3%; discharge, 38.0% vs. 51.7%). In addition, no further BB users were found at discharge. The probability to being treated with a BB was significantly lower in patients with HF also affected by COPD (adj. OR, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.37-0.67), while the diagnosis of COPD was not associated with the choice of selective β1-BB (adj. OR, 95% CI: 1.33, 0.76-2.34). Despite clear recommendations by clinical guidelines, a significant underuse of BBs was also observed after hospital discharge. In COPD affected patients, physicians unreasonably reject BBs use, rather than choosing a β1-BB. The expected improvement of the BB prescriptions after hospitalization was not observed. A multidisciplinary approach among hospital physicians, general practitioners, and pharmacologists should be carried out for better drug management and adherence to guideline recommendations

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population