Einküchenhaus/ Ledigenheim: la riflessione di Karl Scheffler e W.C. Behrendt sulla residenza collettiva negli anni Dieci

The aesthetic paradigm of uniformity that accompanies the reflections, among others, by Karl Scheffler and the earlier work by Walter Curt Behrendt, finds an immediate reference in the original types of housing developed at the end of the nineteenth century and in vogue around 1910 in Germany for a society progressively eradicated from the traditional family. Einküchenhaus, Ledigenheim, Junggesellenhaus, Boarding house, are some of the main forms of housing created for that metropolis outlined by early twentieth century sociology and the Frankfurt School, which remains an evocative study object even today, referring to the antinomies between globalization and eradication vs. identity visions / rooted in tradition. The architecture of A. Gessner, H. Muthesius, T. Fischer and other masters will be examined, also in light of the theories of Lily Braun and of Socialism of the time

La ricerca delle radici nordiche della modernità nell’architettura slovena degli anni Cinquanta. Edvard Ravnikar, France Ivanšek e la vicenda editoriale di “Arhitekt”(1951-1963)/The search for the Nordic roots of modernity in Slovenian architecture of the 1950s. Edvard Ravnikar, France Ivanšek and the history of the journal “Arhitekt” (1951-1963)

In the aftermath of the Liberation, Slovenia was experiencing a moment of great political and social transformations: the commitment to industrialization and the reconstruction of the destroyed towns were the main focus of the State, while the need for an architectural and planning culture suited to the relief of the socio-economic processes underway was strong. Changes in political and cultural horizons after the split from the Soviet Union in 1948 gave impetus. This paper summarizes the output of many research periods in Ljubljana and Maribor between 2018 and 2021 on the sidelines of a doctoral thesis for the Polytechnic of Turin, retracing the contacts between Slovenian architects and the Scandinavian culture for more than a decade, since 1951, when Edvard Ravnikar, Danilo Fürst and France Ivanšek contributed to the foundation of the journal “Arhitekt”. Scandinavian modernism was indeed a source also for some Serbian and Croatian architects: however, the Slovenian case awakes our interest, because it identified the Nordic archetypes with the work of Jože Plečnik. In his writings of the early 1950s, Ravnikar defined his master as a representative of modern classicism, where the elements of local tradition were organically reinterpreted, just like Gunnar Asplund or Sigurd Lewerentz had done in their country. Some Scandinavian formal characteristics, such as the care for architectural details, thus merged with the legacy of the Otto Wagner school, giving life to the peculiarity of the so-called “Ljubljanska Šola”, the Ljubljana school of architecture, dominant until the late 1970s. Therefore, this research intends to document the acquisition of the Scandinavian archetype as a stimulus for the cultural and economic ambitions nurtured by Slovenian architects, who invented a new traditio

Dall’Arbeiterheim alla residenza collettiva: tipologie del Moderno nella Germania prebellica tra realtà del lavoro e visione degli intellettuali

Ledigenheim, Junggesellenhaus (or generically Arbeiterheim), Einküchenhaus, Boarding house are some of the labels to designate the various forms of habitats with collective services common to Germany. The technical, specialised level of the question is overlaid by a more aesthetic layer without creating a contrast, as discussed by authors such as Karl Scheffler who constitute an often overlooked precedent of the more famous reflections on the subject by masters like Gropius, Taut and Scharoun

Meaningful cut-off pain intensity for breakthrough pain changes in advanced cancer patients

Abstract OBJECTIVES: To assess the level of pain intensity at which patients feel the impetus to ask for a breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) medication, and level of pain intensity at which patients consider they have achieved acceptable pain control after receiving a BTcP medication. METHODS: A consecutive sample of patients who were receiving oral morphine equivalents equal to or more than 60\u2009mg daily, and were prescribed rapid onset opioids for the management of episodes of BTcP, were included in the study. Focused educational activities regarding BTcP and numerical scales were established during hospital admission. At discharge patients were interviewed to find out what was the pain intensity level which gave the impetus to take the BTcP medication, what was the pain intensity for acceptable pain control after a BTcP medication had been given, and which factors prevented the patient calling for BTcP medication. A brief COPE (coping orientation to problems experienced) questionnaire was also administered. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients were recruited for this study. The meaningful pain intensity for asking for a BTcP medication was 7.1; 77% of patients had a pain intensity of 7-8 on a numerical scale of 0-10. The meaningful pain intensity for adequate analgesia after a BTcP medication was 3.5. Similarly, 77% of patients had a pain intensity of 3-4. There was no relationship with the variables examined. Concerns by patients about the use of BTcP medications were minimal. CONCLUSION: The meaningful BTcP intensity and pain intensity expected after BTcP medication can be useful in selecting patients in studies of BTcP. The principal limitation of this study was the specific setting of an acute unit with specific features and the relatively low number of patients. This observation should be followed up by further surveys with a larger number of patients and different settings

Cancer: New needs, new models. is it time for a community oncologist? another brick in the wall

Over the last few decades, thanks to early detection, effective drugs, and personalized treatments, the natural history of cancer has radically changed. Thanks to these advances, we have observed how survival of cancer patients has increased, becoming an ever more important goal in cancer care. Effective clinical governance of survivorship care is essential to ensure a successful transition between active and post-treatment life, identifying optimization of healthcare outcomes and quality of life for patients as the primary objectives. For these reasons, potential intervention models must consider these differences to rationalize the available resources, including economic aspects. In this perspective, analyzing the different models proposed in the literature to manage this type of patients, we focus on the possible role of the so-called “community oncologist”. As a trained health professional, also focused on longevity, he could represent the right management solution in all those “intermediate” clinical conditions that arise between the hospital specialist, frequently overworked, and the general practitioner, often biased by the lack of specific expertise

New Cases of Universality Theorem for Gravitational Theories

The "Universality Theorem" for gravity shows that f(R) theories (in their metric-affine formulation) in vacuum are dynamically equivalent to vacuum Einstein equations with suitable cosmological constants. This holds true for a generic (i.e. except sporadic degenerate cases) analytic function f(R) and standard gravity without cosmological constant is reproduced if f is the identity function (i.e. f(R)=R). The theorem is here extended introducing in dimension 4 a 1-parameter family of invariants R' inspired by the Barbero-Immirzi formulation of GR (which in the Euclidean sector includes also selfdual formulation). It will be proven that f(R') theories so defined are dynamically equivalent to the corresponding metric-affine f(R) theory. In particular for the function f(R)=R the standard equivalence between GR and Holst Lagrangian is obtained.Comment: 10 pages, few typos correcte

Determination of Tebuconazole and Penconazole Fungicides in Rat and Human Hair by Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry

RATIONALE: Tebuconazole (TEB) and penconazole (PEN) are widely applied fungicides and environmental contaminants; their toxicological properties include possible effects to the unborn child, therefore the evaluation of human exposure is relevant to risk assessment. Hair is a non-invasive specimen that incorporates pollutants allowing an extended exposure window to be surveyed. Aim of this work was to develop and validate an assay for the determination of TEB and PEN in human hair. METHODS: Under optimised conditions, analytes were extracted soaking hair in acetonitrile, in the presence of deuterated analogues, under heating and agitation. Chemical separation was achieved using a C18 reversed-phase chromatographic column and detection and quantification were performed, after a positive electrospray ionization, by triple quadrupole mass spectrometry operating in selected reaction monitoring mode. RESULTS: The assay validation showed a linear dynamic range up to 5 \ub5g/L or 200 pg/mg hair, inter- and intra-run precisions <6%, and accuracies within 5% of spiked concentrations. Limits of quantification were 0.001 \ub5g/L or 1 pg/mg hair for both TEB and PEN. Matrix effect experiments showed that the isotope dilution approach allowed for the control of bias sources. TEB and PEN were determined in hair of rats exposed to a low dose of TEB and in hair of agricultural workers exposed to TEB and/or PEN during the application season, indicating that both chemicals are incorporated into the hair upon exposure. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the developed assay is useful to evaluate the exposure to TEB and PEN in humans

Long-term efficacy and tolerability of intranasal fentanyl in the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to assess the long-term tolerability and efficacy of intranasal fentanyl (INFS) in opioid-tolerant patients with breakthrough cancer pain (BTP).Patients and methods: A 6 months, observational, prospective, cohort study design was employed to follow advanced cancer patients with BTP receiving INFS under routine clinical practice. Eligible adult cancer patients suffering from BTP had been prescribed INFS at effective doses. Data were collected at T0 and at month intervals for six months. The principal outcomes were the evaluation of possible serious adverse effects with prolonged use of INFS, the efficacy of BTP treatment with INFS, the quality of sleep, the rate of INFS discontinuation, and reasons for that.Results: Seventy-five patients were surveyed. Thirty-four patients (45.3 %) had a follow-up at 3 months, and twelve patients (16 %) were followed up at 6 months. The mean opioid doses, expressed as oral morphine equivalents, ranged 111\u2013180 mg/day, while the mean INFS doses were 87\u2013119 \u3bcg. Adverse effects were reported in a minority of patients and were considered to be associated with opioid therapy used for background pain. The quality of sleep significantly improved during the first 3\u20134 months. Finally, efficacy based on a general impression regarding the efficacy of INFS was good-excellent in most patients and statistically improved in time up to the third month.Conclusion: The long-term use of INFS in advanced cancer patients is effective and safe. No serious adverse effects were found up to six months of assessment. The level of quality of sleep and patients\u2019 satisfaction was relatively good, considering the advanced stage of disease

The prevalence and characteristics of breakthrough cancer pain in patients receiving low doses of opioids for background pain

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and characteristics of breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) in patients receiving low doses of opioids for background pain. A consecutive sample of advanced cancer patients receiving less than 60 mg/day of oral morphine equivalent (OME) was selected. Epidemiological data, background pain intensity, and current analgesic therapy were recorded. The presence of BTcP was diagnosed according to a standard algorithm. The number of BTcP episodes, intensity of BTcP, its predictability and triggers, onset duration, interfer-ence with daily activities, BTcP medications, satisfaction with BTcP medication, and time to meaningful pain relief were collected. A total of 126 patients were screened. The mean intensity of background pain was 2.71 (1.57), and the mean OME was 28.5 mg/day (SD15.8). BTP episodes were recorded in 88 patients (69.8 %). The mean number/day of BTP episodes was 4.1 (SD 7.1, range 1– 30). In a significant percentage of patients, BTcP was both predictable and unpredictable (23%). The BTcP onset was less than 20 min in the majority of patients. The mean duration of untreated episodes was 47.5 (SD 47.6) minutes. The mean time to meaningful pain relief after taking a BTcP medication was &gt;20 min in 44.5% of patients. The efficacy of BTcP medication was not considered good in more than 63% of patients. Gender (females) (OR = 4.16) and lower Karnofsky (OR = 0.92) were independently associated with BTcP. A higher number of BTcP episodes/day was associated with gender (females) (p = 0.036), short duration of BTcP (p = 0.005), poorer efficacy of BTcP medication (none or mild) (p = 0.001), and late meaningful pain relief (p = 0.024). The poor efficacy of BTcP medication was independently associated with a higher number of episodes/day (OR = 0.22). In patients who were receiving low doses of opioids, BTcP prevalence was 69.8%. Many patients did not achieve a sufficient level of satisfaction with BTcP medications, particularly with oral morphine. Data also suggest that better optimization of background analgesia, though apparently acceptable, may limit the number of BTcP episodes