Seismic behaviour of steel modular buildings: numerical analysis and comparisons between different design solutions

Recently, there is an increasing interest to develop modular multi-storey structures that can be adapted to any use like hospitals, schools, housing, etc, characterized by versatility and speed of use in several conditions. Modular buildings may form complete building blocks with structural systems composed by several elements, such as steel frames, X-LAM timber floors and walls. These modular solutions are then completed with suspended ceilings and facilities including electrical and water systems. This work is focused on the structural behaviour of steel modular buildings with different configurations. To this scope, a case study is considered, characterized by steel elements with connections allowing a rapid on-site assemblage, without any need of skilled workmanship. A comparison among numerical results obtained with time history analyses is shown and discussed. The work presented is a first part of an on-going research addressed to propose reference solutions for modules, suitable in seismic prone areas and characterized by a low-seismic damage

Still a long way to go to achieve multidisciplinarity for the benefit of patients : commentary on the ESMO position paper (Annals of Oncology 25(1): 9-15, 2014)

The paper by ESMO ‘The current and future role of the medical oncologist in the professional care for cancer patients: a position paper by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)’ [1] conveys some important key messages for the whole oncology community. A working group (WG) involving 21 oncology and related societies would like to comment on the paper from a multidisciplinary perspective in the conviction that a more transparent and open definition of individual professional roles better supports the patients' care and facilitates best practices and progress in comprehensive cancer care

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Plant and insect remains from the Bronze Age site of Ra's al-Jinz (RJ-2), Sultanate of Oman.

Archaeohotanical material collected from the Bronze Age site of Ra's al-Jinz, (RJ-2), in the Sultanate of Oman, provides new information on the use and exploitation of Phoenix dactylifera L. and Zizyphus spina-christi (L) Willd. by prehistoric communities of the Arabian Peninsula. The archaeological and botanical evidence could suggest a possible combined use of date palm fruits, Zizyphus fruits, and yellowfin tuna meat (Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre ) ) as main food products for the sea journeys from the Arabian Peninsula to the NW coasts of India. Finally, abundant remains of the bark-beetle Coccotrypes dactyliperda (F.) (Insecta, Coleoptera, Scolytidae), found inside several carbonised fruit stones of date palm, allowed the authors to consider the origin and domestication Phoenix dactylifera L.L'étude du matériel archéobotanique découvert lors des fouilles de Ra's al-Jinz. (RJ-2). Sultanat d'Oman (âge du Bronze), apporte des éléments nouveaux sur l'utilisation des fruits de Phoenix dactylifera L. et de Zizyphus spina-christi (L.) Willd. chez, les populations préhistoriques de la Péninsule Arabique. Ces restes pourraient attester d'une utilisation complémentaire de ces fruits et de thon à nageoires jaunes (Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre)) comme principaux produits d'alimentation transportés par mer entre le Sud-Est de la Péninsule Arabique et le Nord-Ouest de l'Inde. Par ailleurs, les restes de Coléoptères Scolitides (Coccotrypes dactyliperda (F.)) trouvés à l'intérieur de noyaux carbonisés de dattes conduisent à émettre l'hypothèse d'une origine probablement orientale (Iranienne-Indienne) du Dattier et de sa zone primaire de domestication.Costantini Lorenzo, Audisio Paolo. Plant and insect remains from the Bronze Age site of Ra's al-Jinz (RJ-2), Sultanate of Oman.. In: Paléorient, 2000, vol. 26, n°1. pp. 143-156

Environmental heterogeneity effects on predator and parasitoid insects vary across spatial scales and seasons. A multi-taxon approach

1. As predator and parasitoid insects depend on multiple resources for adult feeding and reproduction, environmental heterogeneity (EH) is expected to be a key driver of their species diversity. In temperate regions, the benefits of EH are expected to vary across spatial scales and seasons, depending on species life-history traits and temporal fluctuations in resources. 2. We tested the importance of EH at multiple spatial scales on diversity and abundance of predator and parasitoid insects, and whether its effects changed across seasons. 3. Insect sampling was carried out in highly fragmented landscapes in a Mediterranean region (Tuscany, Central Italy). We selected 18 semi-natural patches, embedded in an intensive agricultural matrix. For each patch, EH was measured at three spatial scales (micro, patch, and landscape). Five groups of predator and parasitoid insects were sampled 16 times with pan traps between March and November, 2012. 4. EH at the landscape scale positively influenced the diversity of predator and parasitoid insects, while the effects at smaller spatial scales were less evident. The strength and the direction of EH˗diversity relationship changed between groups and across seasons, indicating that the mechanisms by which EH affects predators and parasitoids are various and complex. 5. Conservation strategies aimed at maximising the diversity of predators and parasitoids should focus more on increasing EH at the landscape scale than at the local scale

Still a long way to go to achieve multidisciplinarity for the benefit of patients: commentary on the ESMO position paper (Annals of Oncology 25(1): 9-15, 2014)

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Still a long way to go to achieve multidisciplinarity for the benefit of patients: commentary on the ESMO position paper (Annals of Oncology 25(1): 9-15, 2014)

Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) are an alliance of all medical and health care professionals related to a specific tumour disease whose approach to cancer care is guided by their willingness to agree on evidence-based clinical decisions and to co-ordinate the delivery of care at all stages of the process, encouraging patients in turn to take an active role in their care’ . It is unrealistic today, and even more so in the future, that one profession can oversee the whole complexity of oncology. The whole cancer community strives to improve cancer care. Research relies on networks of knowledge and expertise. Every discipline needs the mutual support and findings of the others in order to advance patient care. Overall, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The close collaboration, and not the preeminent position of one physician over another, is the ideal setting for optimal cancer care. The positioning of a discipline, especially in a multidisciplinary environment such as contemporary oncology, cannot be self-referential, since preserving a cancer patient’s quality of life in all phases of disease and after successful treatment also includes continuously assessing the patient’s physical and psychological symptoms and making sure that these problems are fully recognised and adequately addressed. Where appropriate, this is done in collaboration with experts of other medical and non-medical disciplines