Da questa parte del mare. Gianmaria Testa ed Erri De Luca nel secolo delle migrazioni

  Gianmaria Testa's album Da questa parte del mare (2006) expresses a fifteen-year-long meditation about the theme of the great migrations which have marked the Twentieth Century. That same theme is considered by Erri De Luca as the only possible, epic narration of the contemporary world. On the one hand, Testa's project finds its starting point from the song-writer's capacity of observing and interpreting common stories as well as from his considerations about the changing of History; on the other hand, it takes origin from the reading of Erri De Luca's novels and lyrics, especially those of Solo andata. Righe che vanno troppo spesso a capo (2005). Within Testa's Da questa parte del mare, their lyrical voices and artistic and human perspectives seem somehow to cross and melt. Through his songs, Testa tells in an original way the new human geography traced by the migrant phenomenon across the Mediterranean and Europe

Oncogenic osteomalacia: report of two cases

La osteomalacia oncogénica es una enfermedad rara. Existen descriptos alrededor de 337 casos. Es ocasionada por un tumor productor del factor de crecimiento fibroblástico 23 (FGF-23), hormona que disminuye la reabsorción tubular de fosfatos y altera la hidroxilación renal de la vitamina D, con hipofosfatemia, hiperfosfaturia y niveles bajos de calcitriol. Se presentan dos pacientes de 44 y 70 años, que consultaron por dolores óseos generalizados de aproximadamente un año de evolución en los que se hallaron alteraciones bioquímicas compatibles con osteomalacia hipofosfatémica. En el primer caso se realizó la resección de una tumoración en tejido celular subcutáneo del pie derecho, un año después del diagnóstico clínico. Luego de la exéresis, se disminuyó el aporte de fosfatos que recibía el paciente, pero reaparecieron los dolores al intentar suspenderlos. Ocho años más tarde, hubo recidiva local de la tumoración por lo que se efectuó resección completa. Después de la misma, se logró suspender el aporte de fosfatos. En el segundo caso, el paciente se estudió con tomografía por emisión de positrones con 18F-fluorodesoxiglucosa, hallando formación nodular hipermetabólica en partes blandas de antepie derecho, de 2.26 cm de diámetro. Luego de su escisión se pudo suspender el aporte de fosfatos. Ambos pacientes se encuentran asintomáticos con indicadores de metabolismo fosfocálcico normales. El diagnóstico anatomopatológico en ambos fue un tumor mesenquimático fosfatúrico, variante mixta del tejido conectivo, la entidad más frecuentemente asociada a la osteomalacia oncogénica.Oncogenic osteomalacia is a rare disease. It is caused by a tumor that produces fibroblast growth factor 23, a hormone that decreases the tubular phosphate reabsorption and impairs renal hydroxylation of vitamin D. This leads to hyperphosphaturia with hypophosphatemia and low calcitriol levels. About 337 cases have been reported and we studied two cases; 44 and 70 year-old men who sought medical attention complaining of suffering diffuse bone pain over a period of approximately one year. In both cases, a laboratory test showed biochemical alterations compatible with a hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. In the first case, a soft tissue tumor of the right foot was removed, one year after the diagnosis. The patient was allowed to diminish the phosphate intake, but symptoms reappeared at this time. Eight years later, a local recurrence of the tumor was noted. A complete excision was now performed. The patient was able to finally interrupt the phosphate intake. In the second case, an F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, with computed tomography revealed a 2.26 cm diameter hypermetabolic nodule in the soft tissue of the right forefoot. After its removal, the patient discontinued the phosphate intake. Both patients are asymptomatic and show a regular phosphocalcic laboratory evaluation. The histopathological diagnosis was, in both cases, a phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor, a mixed connective tissue variant. This is the prototypical variant of these tumors.Fil: Jercovich, Fernando. Fundación Medica de Mar del Plata. Hospital Privado de Comunidad; ArgentinaFil: Moncet, Daniel. Fundación Medica de Mar del Plata. Hospital Privado de Comunidad; ArgentinaFil: Babini, Silvia. Fundación Medica de Mar del Plata. Hospital Privado de Comunidad; ArgentinaFil: Zoppi, Jorge. Fundación Medica de Mar del Plata. Hospital Privado de Comunidad; ArgentinaFil: Graciolli, Fabiana. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Oliveri, Maria Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; Argentin

Abbazie e paesaggi medievali in Toscana

The volume collects the contributions of the 'study day’ held on June 16, 2010 at the University of Florence on Abbeys and medieval landscapes in Tuscany, that is, on the forms of the territory that have structured the ways of life in the countryside of our region for centuries. Today an infatuation is observed for that kind of landscape, which is confirmed by a lack of interest for its conservation or for transformations respectful of the rules that produced it. It is therefore appropriate to submit to the historic method a synthetic view of the medieval landscape, from the ancient premises to the economic reasons that led to the monastic and feudal forms, up to the appearance of a new structure appreciated for its useful beauty, in a persistent substratum of mysterious storytelling. Tuscany allows multiple evidence of what actually survives of the pervasive order established in the Middle Ages also for its exemplary literary and iconographic representations, both contemporary and of the medieval times

Aqueous phase reforming of lignin-rich hydrothermal liquefaction by-products: a study on catalyst deactivation

The water fraction derived from the hydrothermal liquefaction of a lignin-rich feedstock was subjected to aqueous phase reforming to produce hydrogen. Deactivation of the catalyst was observed, and it was ascribed to fouling phenomena caused by phenolic oligomers. Simple aromatics like guaiacol and phenol, as well as in-organics, were proved not to be the cause of the deactivation thanks to the use of a multi-component synthetic mixture. The influence of using activated carbon as a pretreatment was studied, leading to a strong improvement of the performance when it was carried out at high temperature. The extent of deactivation was assessed using aqueous phase reforming of glycolic acid as a model reaction test. The results were found to be correlated with the surface area of the catalyst. A thermal regeneration in inert conditions was evaluated as a mode of catalyst regeneration. While the textural properties were partially recovered, the performance of the catalyst only slightly improved. A spectroscopic analysis of the solids in the aqueous solution was carried out, highlighting the structural similarities between their nature and the lignin residue. The results obtained in this study helped to enlarge the knowledge on the aqueous phase reforming of real complex mixtures, looking at indicators of paramount importance for a possible industrial application such as the stability of the catalyst

Loeys-Dietz syndrome type I and type II: clinical findings and novel mutations in two Italian patients

Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder showing the involvement of cutaneous, cardiovascular, craniofacial, and skeletal systems. In particular, LDS patients show arterial tortuosity with widespread vascular aneurysm and dissection, and have a high risk of aortic dissection or rupture at an early age and at aortic diameters that ordinarily are not predictive of these events. Recently, LDS has been subdivided in LDS type I (LDSI) and type II (LDSII) on the basis of the presence or the absence of cranio-facial involvement, respectively. Furthermore, LDSII patients display at least two of the major signs of vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. LDS is caused by mutations in the transforming growth factor (TGF) beta-receptor I (TGFBR1) and II (TGFBR2) genes. The aim of this study was the clinical and molecular characterization of two LDS patients

Conceptual design and techno-economic assessment of coupled hydrothermal liquefaction and aqueous phase reforming of lignocellulosic residues

Hydrothermal liquefaction is a promising technology for producing renewable advanced biofuels. However, some weaknesses could undermine its large-scale application, such as the significant carbon loss in the aqueous phase (AP) and the necessity of biocrude upgrading. In order to deal with these challenges, in this work the techno-economic feasibility of coupling hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) with aqueous phase reforming (APR) was evaluated. APR is a catalytic process able to convert water-dissolved oxygenates into a hydrogen-rich gas that can be used for biocrude upgrading. Two cases were proposed, based on different lignocellulosic feedstocks: corn stover (CS) and lignin-rich stream (LRS) from cellulosic ethanol production. HTL-APR plants operating with the same mass flow (3.6 t/h) at 10 wt% solid loading were herein evaluated, resulting in an input size of 20 MW (LRS) and 16.5 MW (CS). Based on experimental and literature data, the mass and energy balances were per- formed; subsequently, the main equipment was designed; finally, the capital and operating costs were evaluated. The analysis showed that the minimum selling prices for the biofuel (0% internal rate of return) were 1.23 (LRS) and 1.27 €/kg (CS). The heat exchangers accounted for most of the fixed capital investment, while electricity and feedstock had the highest impact on the operating costs. The implementation of APR was particularly profitable with CS, as it produced 107% of the hydrogen required for biocrude upgrading. In this case, APR was able to significantly reduce the H2 production cost (1.5 €/kg) making it a competitive technology compared to con- ventional electrolysis

Light regulates alternative splicing outcomes via the TOR kinase pathway

For plants, light is the source of energy and the most relevant regulator of growth and adaptations to the environment by inducing changes in gene expression at various levels, including alternative splicing. Light-triggered chloroplast retrograde signals control alternative splicing in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we provide evidence that light regulates the expression of a core set of splicing-related factors in roots. Alternative splicing responses in roots are not directly caused by light but are instead most likely triggered by photosynthesized sugars. The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase plays a key role in this shoot-to-root signaling pathway. Knocking down TOR expression or pharmacologically inhibiting TOR activity disrupts the alternative splicing responses to light and exogenous sugars in roots. Consistently, splicing decisions are modulated by mitochondrial activity in roots. In conclusion, by activating the TOR pathway, sugars act as mobile signals to coordinate alternative splicing responses to light throughout the whole plant.Fil: Riegler, Stefan. Universitat Fur Bodenkultur Wien; AustriaFil: Servi, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Scarpin, Maria Regina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Godoy Herz, Micaela Amalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Kubaczka Zoppi, María Guillermina Jazmín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Venhuizen, Peter. Universitat Fur Bodenkultur Wien; AustriaFil: Meyer, Christian. Universite Paris-Saclay; FranciaFil: Brunkard, Jacob O.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Kalyna, Maria. Universitat Fur Bodenkultur Wien; AustriaFil: Barta, Andrea. Medizinische Universitat Wien; AustriaFil: Petrillo, Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentin