Scambi d’arte e d’artisti tra Malta e Italia : Filippo Paladini e La Madonna di Malta, Mattia Preti, e Melchiorre Cafa

Da circa cinquecento anni esiste un flusso continuo di arte ed artisti tra Malta e l’Italia del quale si presentano alcuni tra i moltissimi esempi possibili, ad iniziare dall’influenza della pittura siciliana del finire del XV secolo e all’arrivo a Malta di Filippo Paladini da Firenze che porterà lo stile rinascimentale toscano magistralmente rappresentato nella pala della Madonna di Malta firmata e datata: ‘Ph. P.P. 1589’. A questo si accosta come contrappunto l’opera di due fratelli Giuseppe e Vincenzo Hyzler che nei primi decenni del XIX secolo aderirono a Roma al movimento dei Nazareni. Ma gli esempi dell’osmotica relazione tra i due paesi al centro del Mediterraneo, trova la più significativa prova, quasi eclatante ed unica per la storia dell’arte, in due celebri figure: il pittore calabrese fra’ Mattia Preti e lo scultore maltese Melchiorre Cafà, i quali nel breve arco di tempo di pochi mesi tra il 1659 ed il 1661, si alternarono trasferendosi il primo dall’Italia a Malta ove morì quattro decenni più tardi nel 1699, ed il secondo dall’isola a Roma, fulcro indiscusso dell’arte barocca, ove morì prematuramente il 4 settembre del 1667. Del primo nuove ricerche permettono di ascrivere al periodo maltese opere già erroneamente ritenute come eseguite a Napoli, riguardo al secondo la recente scoperta a Malta di bozzetti in cera realizzati a Roma apporta nuovi elementi al corpus dell’artista maltese attivo nella città dei Papi.peer-reviewe

Diagnostic investigation of the Cycle of the new church of Sarria (Floriana, Malta) by Mattia Preti

In the present paper, we present the main results of a diagnostic investigation on different paintings by Mattia Preti, belonging to the Cycle of the New Church of Sarria, located inside the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Sarria (Floriana) in Malta. The analysis was carried out on the occasion of the restoration process and, due to the short time available, only on some representative areas of each painting. A multi-technique approach was applied in situ, employing X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and Raman microscopy. The aim was to achieve information on the execution technique, in a completely non-invasive way, following the requirements of the restorers.peer-reviewe

Digital reconstruction and scientific analysis prior the restoration of two paintings by Mattia Preti in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Sarria (Floriana, Malta)

The paper presents the results of scientific investigations carried out in support of a professionally executed restoration on two paintings by Mattia Preti, located in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Sarria in Floriana, Malta. In particular, the attention was mainly paid on a combined approach, using 2D/3D survey in order to formulate hypothetic reconstruction, and XRF spectroscopy in order to get more information on how the master prepared the various types of materials, with particular regard to the painting preparation, the pigments palette and the formulation of shades and highlights.peer-reviewe

Scientific investigation of The Conversion of St Paul painting (Mdina, Malta)

The paper presents the results of two different approaches applied to the newly-restored painting The Conversion of St Paul, the main altarpiece in the Cathedral of Mdina in Malta. This large, dramatic painting is work of the Baroque artist Mattia Preti, il Cavaliere Calabrese. As is normal with a professionally executed restoration, several scientific methods have been used before, during and at completion, in the framework of a global analytical strategy. In particular, we focus on the results of the digital photogrammetric survey which uses image-based approaches for 2D/3D models reconstruction enormously. The model was used to quantify and measure important features on the painting as well extensions of areas restored. In addition, portable Raman spectroscopy was used to identify, in non-destructive way, the nature of the painting materials with the final goal of reconstructing the color palette of the artist.peer-reviewe

Cetuximab continuation after first progression in metastatic colorectal cancer (CAPRI-GOIM): A randomized phase II trial of FOLFOX plus cetuximab versus FOLFOX

Background: Cetuximab plus chemotherapy is a first-line treatment option in metastatic KRAS and NRAS wild-type colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. No data are currently available on continuing anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy beyond progression. Patients and methods: We did this open-label, 1:1 randomized phase II trial at 25 hospitals in Italy to evaluate the efficacy of cetuximab plus 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) as second-line treatment of KRAS exon 2 wild-type metastatic CRC patients treated in first line with 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) plus cetuximab. Patients received FOLFOX plus cetuximab (arm A) or FOLFOX (arm B). Primary end point was progressionfree survival (PFS). Tumour tissues were assessed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). This report is the final analysis. Results: Between 1 February 2010 and 28 September 2014, 153 patients were randomized (74 in arm A and 79 in arm B). Median PFS was 6.4 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.7-8.0] versus 4.5 months (95% CI 3.3-5.7); [hazard ratio (HR), 0.81; 95% CI 0.58-1.12; P = 0.19], respectively. NGS was performed in 117/153 (76.5%) cases; 66/117 patients (34 in arm A and 32 in arm B) had KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA wild-type tumours. For these patients, PFS was longer in the FOLFOX plus cetuximab arm [median 6.9 (95% CI 5.5-8.2) versus 5.3 months (95% CI 3.7-6.9); HR, 0.56 (95% CI 0.33-0.94); P = 0.025]. There was a trend in better overall survival: median 23.7 [(95% CI 19.4-28.0) versus 19.8 months (95% CI 14.9-24.7); HR, 0.57 (95% CI 0.32-1.02); P = 0.056]. Conclusions: Continuing cetuximab treatment in combination with chemotherapy is of potential therapeutic efficacy in molecularly selected patients and should be validated in randomized phase III trials

Monoamine oxidase-dependent endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria dysfunction and mast cell degranulation lead to adverse cardiac remodeling in diabetes.

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors ameliorate contractile function in diabetic animals, but the mechanisms remain unknown. Equally elusive is the interplay between the cardiomyocyte alterations induced by hyperglycemia and the accompanying inflammation. Here we show that exposure of primary cardiomyocytes to high glucose and pro-inflammatory stimuli leads to MAO-dependent increase in reactive oxygen species that causes permeability transition pore opening and mitochondrial dysfunction. These events occur upstream of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and are abolished by the MAO inhibitor pargyline, highlighting the role of these flavoenzymes in the ER/mitochondria cross-talk. In vivo, streptozotocin administration to mice induced oxidative changes and ER stress in the heart, events that were abolished by pargyline. Moreover, MAO inhibition prevented both mast cell degranulation and altered collagen deposition, thereby normalizing diastolic function. Taken together, these results elucidate the mechanisms underlying MAO-induced damage in diabetic cardiomyopathy and provide novel evidence for the role of MAOs in inflammation and inter-organelle communication. MAO inhibitors may be considered as a therapeutic option for diabetic complications as well as for other disorders in which mast cell degranulation is a dominant phenomenon

Sistemi informativi geografici per l’analisi multicriterio nell’ottimizzazione delle prestazioni di una linea di trasporto pubblico locale

Dottorato di Ricerca in "Ingegneria dei Materiali e delle Strutture" Ciclo XXVII, a.a. 20014Università della Calabriahttp://dx.doi.org/10.13126/UNICAL.IT/DOTTORATI/120

Statistical and Symbolic Neuroaesthetics Rules Extraction From EEG Signals

Neuroaesthetics, as defined by Zeki in 1999, is the scientific approach to the study of aesthetic perceptions of art, music, or any other experience that can give rise to aesthetic judgments. One way to understand the processes of neuroaesthetics is studying the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals that are recorded from subjects while they are exposed to some expression of art, and study how the differences among such signals correlate to the differences in their subjective judgments; typically, such studies are conducted on limited data with a purely statistical signal analysis. In this paper we consider a larger data set which was previously used in an experiment on beauty perception; we apply a novel machine learning-based data analysis methodology that allows us to extract symbolic like/dislike rules on the voltage at the most relevant frequencies from the most relevant electrodes. Our approach is not only novel in this particular area, but it is also reproducible and allows us to treat large quantities of data

Ferero ME. A case of multiple sclerosis improvement following removal of heavy metal intoxication: lessons learnt fromMatteo’s case. Biometals. 2012; 25: 569–576. doi: 10.1007/s10534-012-9537-7 PMID: 22438029

Abstract Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system (CNS) provoking disability and neurological symptoms. The exact causes of SM are unknown, even if it is characterized by focal inflammatory lesions in CNS accompanied by autoimmune reaction against myelin. Indeed, many drugs able to modulate the immune response of patients have been used to treat MS. More recently, toxic metals have been proposed as possible causes of neurodegenerative diseases. The objective of this study is to investigate in vivo the impact of heavy metal intoxication in MS progression. We studied the case of a patient affected by MS, who has been unsuccessfully treated for some years with current therapies. We examined his levels of toxic heavy metals in the urine, following intravenous ''challenge'' with the chelating agent calcium disodium ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA).The patient displayed elevated levels of aluminium, lead and mercury in the urine. Indeed, he was subjected to treatment with EDTA twice a month. Under treatment, the patient revealed in time improved symptoms suggestive of MS remission. The clinical data correlated with the reduction of heavy metal levels in the urine to normal range values. Our case report suggests that levels of toxic metals can be tested in patients affected by neurodegenerative diseases as MS