Production Technologies of Ancient Bricks from Padua, Italy: Changing Colors and Resistance over Time

Representative and very uneven texturally bricks having yellow/beige or pale or dark red colors from the Renaissance walls (16th century) of Padua, Northeast Italy, were studied by means of colorimetric, petrographic (MOP), chemical (XRF), mineralogical (PXRD) and microstructural analysis (FESEM-EDS). Starting from the color measurements of the ceramic bodies, the manufacturing technologies and their influence on the physical behavior and durability of the bricks were established. The porous system was characterized by means of hygric tests and mercury intrusion porosimetry; the compactness and structural anisotropy were defined through ultrasound velocity; the uniaxial compressive strength was determined; and durability to salt crystallization and frost action of the bricks was assessed. Mg- and Ca-rich illitic clays fired at temperatures ≥900 ◦C were used to manufacture the beige hue bodies, while the pale red bricks were made out with Ca- and Fe-rich illitic clays fired at 850–900 ◦C. A lower carbonate content on the base clays and a lower firing temperature were the main causes responsible for the changing colors from beige to red hue. The increase of the red color was associated to higher silicate inclusions content and lower development of reaction rims around grains. The low sintering degree achieved yielded highly porous bodies with diverse porous systems, leading to differential physical performance and durability of the bricks that may turn out beneficial for the conservation of the historic walls.Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 836122CLAYONRISK ProjectResearch Group of the Junta de Andalucía RNM179MSC Actio

Clayey materials for traditional bricks production in North-Eastern Italy through a combined compositional study: From firing dynamics to provenance

The compositional study of two main types of clayey materials outcropping nearby Padua (Veneto region, north-eastern Italy) and bricks used in historical constructions of the city is here addressed. Mineralogically, the clayey materials are illitic-chloritc clays, both non-carbonatic and carbonatic/highly-carbonatic clays, that chemically correspond to clays with important contents of silica and/or iron and of calcium and/or magnesium, respectively. Two main type of historic bricks were produced: i) one using mixtures of illitic/illitic-chloritic clays with abundant quartz and of carbonatic clays and firing temperatures between 950 and 1000 °C, and ii) a second one made out of illitic-chloritic clays non-carbonatic and fired around 850–900 °C. The comparative analysis between the mineralogical changes occurred in the clayey materials with increasing temperatures and the mineral assemblages detected in the studied bricks have provided evidences about the mixture of raw clays, that could be in turn compositionally similar to those analysed. The development of aluminium and magnesium-calcium silicates and/or magnesium silicates during the firing was fostered by mixing such base clays, giving rise to very durable and highly calcareous bricks. Whereas titanium and the trace elements zircon, vanadium, chromium and zinc may entail markers of provenance of illitic-chloritic clays quarried in the area, the strontium may represent a geochemical fingerprint for constraining supply areas of carbonatic clays. The compositional analysis carried out through the combined use of X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) and X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) has provided data regarding to the composition and provenance of the starting clays as well as procedures and firing dynamics adopted for the manufacturing of the traditional bricks in the city of Padua from Roman Times to Renaissance.European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (grant agreement No 836122)Research Group of the Junta de Andalucía, Spain (RNM179

Lithium Exposure During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Safety and Efficacy Outcomes

OBJECTIVE: Uncertainty surrounds the risks of lithium use during pregnancy in women with bipolar disorder. The authors sought to provide a critical appraisal of the evidence related to the efficacy and safety of lithium treatment during the peripartum period, focusing on women with bipolar disorder and their offspring. METHODS: The authors conducted a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis assessing case-control, cohort, and interventional studies reporting on the safety (primary outcome, any congenital anomaly) or efficacy (primary outcome, mood relapse prevention) of lithium treatment during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Cochrane risk of bias tools were used to assess the quality of available PubMed and Scopus records through October 2018. RESULTS: Twenty-nine studies were included in the analyses (20 studies were of good quality, and six were of poor quality; one study had an unclear risk of bias, and two had a high risk of bias). Thirteen of the 29 studies could be included in the quantitative analysis. Lithium prescribed during pregnancy was associated with higher odds of any congenital anomaly (N=23,300, k=11; prevalence=4.1%, k=11; odds ratio=1.81, 95% CI=1.35-2.41; number needed to harm (NNH)=33, 95% CI=22-77) and of cardiac anomalies (N=1,348,475, k=12; prevalence=1.2%, k=9; odds ratio=1.86, 95% CI=1.16-2.96; NNH=71, 95% CI=48-167). Lithium exposure during the first trimester was associated with higher odds of spontaneous abortion (N=1,289, k=3, prevalence=8.1%; odds ratio=3.77, 95% CI=1.15-12.39; NNH=15, 95% CI=8-111). Comparing lithium-exposed with unexposed pregnancies, significance remained for any malformation (exposure during any pregnancy period or the first trimester) and cardiac malformations (exposure during the first trimester), but not for spontaneous abortion (exposure during the first trimester) and cardiac malformations (exposure during any pregnancy period). Lithium was more effective than no lithium in preventing postpartum relapse (N=48, k=2; odds ratio=0.16, 95% CI=0.03-0.89; number needed to treat=3, 95% CI=1-12). The qualitative synthesis showed that mothers with serum lithium levels <0.64 mEq/L and dosages <600 mg/day had more reactive newborns without an increased risk of cardiac malformations. CONCLUSIONS: The risk associated with lithium exposure at any time during pregnancy is low, and the risk is higher for first-trimester or higher-dosage exposure. Ideally, pregnancy should be planned during remission from bipolar disorder and lithium prescribed within the lowest therapeutic range throughout pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester and the days immediately preceding delivery, balancing the safety and efficacy profile for the individual patient

Activity Overinvestment: The Case of R&D

The literature on corporate diversification has often argued for and established the case that companies often overdiversify in a product market sense – i.e. enter into unrelated product markets where they may not fully cover their cost of capital. Yet, even without engaging in unrelated diversification, managers need to make resource allocation decisions to a variety of activities that a company conducts to consummate its business. In this article we focus on Research and Development (R&D) activity and we discuss the effects that the uncertainty, boundary ambiguity, feedback latency, R&D lumpiness and legitimacy that characterize technological contexts can have in making overinvestment in R&D likely. Specifically, in this article we a) draw attention to the construct of activity overinvestment, and specifically R&D overinvestment, b) use the received literature to argue that there exists a prima facie case for examining this construct and its antecedents in order to evaluate the extent and implications of R&D overinvestment, and c) make the more general case that the resource allocation literature needs to study the issue of activity overinvestment systematically

The CLAYONRISK project: bricks manufacturing technologies to increase the built heritage resilience and to raise the common identities of peoples

The Built Heritage is increasingly at risk mainly due to environmental changes and natural hazards. As traditional material, building bricks represent an eco-innovative solution for restoration purposes meaningfully linked with cultural identity of peoples. Framed on current ceramic industry challenges and risk assessment of cultural heritage strategies, CLAYONRISK aims to underline the technological and heritage value of building ceramics. The project entails an interdisciplinary approach to set up the influence of the manufacturing processes on bricks -ancient and new produced- to strength the resilience of ancient structures, bringing together green-solutions and common cultural values. In CLAYONRISK, the multidisciplinary study of building bricks is launched as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) preventive measure, as bricks resistance over time is tackled from the manufacturing process. Moreover, the multisectorial cooperation is also addressed, as the interaction between academic and industrial research is explored. The multianalytical study pursuit by CLAYONRISK is mainly based on archaeometric methodologies, where color measurements by means of Fibre Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) and compositional/textural analysis trough X-ray fluorescence (XRF), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), polarized optical microscopy (POM), field emission scanning electron with EDS microanalysis microscopy (FESEM-EDS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (RMN) or Raman M\uf6ssbauer spectroscopies are performed. Likewise, bricks resistance over time is assessed by artificial ageing tests (ASTM D 5313, EN 14066:2013, EN 12371:2010) and physical (hydric and mechanical) parameters determination, such porosity and pore size distribution by means of Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP), the total (\u394M) and relative (\u394m) anisotropies (EN 1926:2007) or the pull strength (EN 12390-6:2001) and flexural strength (EN 12372:2007). The results achieved by CLAYONRISK, carried out under a MSCA European Fellowship, will open a new line of research, where the assessment of manufacturing parameters -mainly clay composition and firing temperatures- on bricks physical behavior, the environmental improvements and energy saving at current brick production and the cultural values of peoples are jointly addressed

Ancient bricks of Padova, Northern Italy: a knowledge base loaded with technological and heritage value

Interdisciplinary and multianalytical studies on historical bricks provide information about the clayey materials provenance, the production technologies used or the skills developed. The production processes of bricks are also highly related both with the structural function they should performance and the context involved on their manufacturing. By means of Spectrophotometry, XRF, XRDP, POM and FESEM-EDS, bricks shaping the built heritage of Padua (Northern Italy) were studied. The city is located in the Eastern side of the so-called Pianura Padana, characterized by the abundance of clayey materials (mainly Quaternary alluvial deposits). Five historical and very representative constructions of the city were chosen: the Basilica of Santa Justina (areas built in 5-7th, 12-13th and 15-16th centuries), the Church of Santa Sofia (areas built in the 11th century), the Elderly Tower (13th century), the Ancient Castle of the Carraresi family (wall and entrance to the tower, 12-13th and 14th centuries respectively) and the Renaissance surrounding wall of the city (16th century). Two main types of bricks were established. The type 1 shown a mineral assemblage constituted by the high temperature phases diopside, anorthite and gehlenite, and quartz, calcite and hematite. This pointed out the use of a mixes of illitic-kaolinitic and very calcareous clays, firing temperatures of 900-1000 \ub0C and oxidizing conditions inside the kilns. These bricks displayed an important chromatic variability -clay matrix with yellowish, beige/orange or reddish hue- and textural heterogeneity. Hence, abundant inclusions -mainly rock fragments, clay pellets and clay temper- as well as many flux textures were observed. The lighter the hue of the clay matrix, the higher were the contents of the high temperature phases and the lesser of quartz and hematite. Besides, the lighter hue bricks shown a more uniform texture, very low porosity and a quite perfect conservation state. This revealed the achievement of important skills in order to attain the suitable mixtures and firing times to produce highly resistant bricks. The type 2 comprised bricks with a brownish hue, textural homogeneity and a mineral assemblage formed by quartz, illite, potassium feldspar, calcite and albite. Such bricks were made out from illitic-kaolinitic clays and were fired at temperatures of 800-900 \ub0C. Bricks of type 1 were observed in the five constructions selected and those with a yellowish and a beige/orange hue were very used at Santa Justina, Santa Sofia and the entrance to the tower of the Ancient Castle. The type 2 was extensively used to build both the wall of the Ancient Castle and the Renaissance wall of the city. The similar mineralogical composition of bricks belonging to type 1 could reveal that for many centuries specific outcrops supplied the clayey materials used to produce the building bricks for the constructions of the city. Their chromatism and texture so heterogeneous would correspond to very different manufacturing processes, where the mix of clays and the firing temperatures were quite diverse. Therefore, the existence of many local workshops and/or the production of bricks with very different qualities could be suggested. On the other hand, the extensive use of the yellowish and beige/orange hue bricks in Santa Justina, Santa Sofia and the entrance of the Ancient Castle could suggest the considerable funds and/or time available for such constructions, that allowed the use of high-quality bricks. The manufacturing of bricks of type 2 pointed out another production process, mostly conditioned by the need to build up defensive structures quite urgently

La naturaleza jurídica de los planes de ordenamiento territorial y urbanismo

El presente artículo aborda un tema novedoso dentro del Derecho, siendo objeto de estudio del Derecho Urbanístico en especial, tanto para la enseñanza pregraduada como postgraduada, que analiza el alcance jurídico de los planes de ordenamiento territorial y urbanismo como auténticas normas jurídicas, su contenido, elaboración y vía de aprobación, constatando la importancia de otorgarle a dichos planes autenticidad jurídica, no como simple instrumento jurídico, sino como norma que integra el ordenamiento normativo de nuestra sociedad

Roman brick production technologies in Padua (Northern Italy) along the Late Antiquity and Medieval Times: Durable bricks on high humid environs

Production technologies of Roman to Medieval times bricks on the city of Padua were addressed by means of a multi-analytical approach, consisting in Spectrophotometry, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD), Polarized Optical Microscopy (POM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDS). The Early-Christian (5-6th centuries) and Romanesque (12-13th centuries) areas of the Basilica of Saint Justine of Padua (5/6-16th centuries), and the remains of the Roman necropolis (1-3/4th centuries) still preserved under the basilica, were selected to collect the bricks in order to define possible differences between the materials used for the various building phases. The walls are mainly shaped by yellow (with pale and dark hue) and beige colored bricks with an overall good conservation state. The ceramic bodies of this type of bricks showed the development of high-temperature phases but a low sintering degree was achieved. Moreover, secondary phases such as zeolites and calcite were formed, within almost the pale-yellow bodies and intensively precipitated through the groundmass of the beige bricks, respectively. Mg-rich calcareous clays and chloritic-illitic clays were used, firing temperatures of or over 900°C were reached and more porous ceramic bodies were produced when higher was the carbonate content on the raw clays. A lesser carbonate content of the base clays and/or the decrease in the firing temperatures were the main technological modifications progressively accomplished, leading to color changes on the ceramic bodies from yellow to beige hue. The Roman production technologies might be largely inherited by the brick makers during the Late Antiquity and Medieval times in the city and the reuse of more ancient bricks during the Medieval Times was confirmed. Such reuse operations have allowed to observe that under high humid conditions the yellow hue bricks have been rather good preserved, while when exposed to insolation and fluctuations of the environmental conditions a significant granular disaggregation -with the concomitance darkening of the color pastes- is developed. The color of bricks may entail an identifier of a specific construction period of the city and durable bricks from local clays, especially suitable for high humidity areas and that may preserve the aesthetical values of the city of Padua, may be currently produce

Production Technologies of Ancient Bricks from Padua, Italy: Changing Colors and Resistance over Time

Representative and very uneven texturally bricks having yellow/beige or pale or dark red colors from the Renaissance walls (16th century) of Padua, Northeast Italy, were studied by means of colorimetric, petrographic (MOP), chemical (XRF), mineralogical (PXRD) and microstructural analysis (FESEM-EDS). Starting from the color measurements of the ceramic bodies, the manufacturing technologies and their influence on the physical behavior and durability of the bricks were established. The porous system was characterized by means of hygric tests and mercury intrusion porosimetry; the compactness and structural anisotropy were defined through ultrasound velocity; the uniaxial compressive strength was determined; and durability to salt crystallization and frost action of the bricks was assessed. Mg- and Ca-rich illitic clays fired at temperatures 900 C were used to manufacture the beige hue bodies, while the pale red bricks were made out with Ca- and Fe-rich illitic clays fired at 850\u2013900 C. A lower carbonate content on the base clays and a lower firing temperature were the main causes responsible for the changing colors from beige to red hue. The increase of the red color was associated to higher silicate inclusions content and lower development of reaction rims around grains. The low sintering degree achieved yielded highly porous bodies with diverse porous systems, leading to differential physical performance and durability of the bricks that may turn out beneficial for the conservation of the historic wall

The role of animal hosts in shaping gut microbiome variation

International audienceMillions of years of co-evolution between animals and their associated microbial communities have shaped and diversified the nature of their relationship. Studies continue to reveal new layers of complexity in host–microbe interactions, the fate of which depends on a variety of different factors, ranging from neutral processes and environmental factors to local dynamics. Research is increasingly integrating ecosystem-based approaches, metagenomics and mathematical modelling to disentangle the individual contribution of ecological factors to microbiome evolution. Within this framework, host factors are known to be among the dominant drivers of microbiome composition in different animal species. However, the extent to which they shape microbiome assembly and evolution remains unclear. In this review, we summarize our understanding of how host factors drive microbial communities and how these dynamics are conserved and vary across taxa. We conclude by outlining key avenues for research and highlight the need for implementation of and key modifications to existing theory to fully capture the dynamics of host-associated microbiomes