Un'ipotesi per la cattedrale di Iglesias

This article focuses on the 3D virtual reconstruction of the first restoration project of the cathedral of San Maria in Iglesias (first half of 16th century). A complex work of renovation of the old medieval temple, which likely was meant to radically transform the presbytery of the church and to replace the previous timber roof truss of the nave with a simple ribbed vaults, as several clues seem to suggest. In the absence of archival data, the virtual reconstruction allowed to verify some hypotheses originated from the observation of material traces, ascribable to the construction phase of the building here analysed. Indirect proofs seem to suggest that a collapse, happened in an unspecified date, interrupted this intervention, giving the chance for the further renovation of the coverage (since the 1570s), with the construction of the current star-shaped rib vaulting of the nave

An ATLAS of Follies. Ah, the folly of youth!

Students contributions: Paulo Gomes, Rita Malarranha, Gislaine de Souza Alves, Beatriz Mendes, Perla Zurisadai Hernández García, José Antonio Mora Castro, Jusseline Dambiro, Débora da Silva Fernandes, Ana Catarina Peneirol, Mariana Figueira Neves, Emanuelle Cristine Nunes do Nascimento, Marcelina Terelak, Jagoda Gromek, Natalia Rusin, Agata Drwal, Maja Kozowska, Karolina Malicka, Merve Hilal Aktas, Halis Arda Özdemir, August Junge Halvorsen.The ATLAS presented in this section is the result of a call for students’ projects based on the topic FOLLIES in the public realm as objects and places of delight and pleasure and, therefore, of fun and happiness. Follies were to be thought of as urban devices that would trigger the social and cultural transformation of cities, as mechanisms for positive social change, and as attractive structures to promote encounters between people and between people and places. The UoU workshops are a place where the concepts of cultural values, public space and public place are explored through architectural interventions. Reflections on these workshops were encouraged for this section of the journal that focusses on the education of future architects, the internationalisation of teaching architecture, European universities, architectural education and finally, on architecture and sociocultural responsibilities. This topic has been explored at the University of Évora for a couple of years and it therefore informed the semester two Workshop #3b of the University of Universities (UoU) project

Preliminary study about the detection of perfluoroalkyl substances in eel samples of Lake Garda by liquid chromatography tandem mass high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS).

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a large class of fluorinated aliphatic chemical of anthropogenic origin with high chemical stability even at high temperatures and in presence of alkalis, strong acids or oxidizing agents (Lau et al. 2004). All these characteristics make them no biodegradable and very persistent in the environment, associated with adverse health risks (Eriksen et al. 2010). Food, especially fish and other seafood, is considered the main source of exposure to PFASs (EFSA 2012). In this preliminary study we developed and validated a sensitive, selective and specific method by LC-HRMS Orbitrap to monitor the presence of 16 PFASs in eel (Anguilla Anguilla) samples. The clean-up of the lyophilized samples consisted of a previous extraction step with acetonitrile to precipitate also proteins, followed by a purification step through Oasis® WAX SPE (Weak Anionic Exchange Solid Phase Extraction) cartridges. The method applied to 45 farmed eel samples from Lake Garda showed the presence of several PFASs, up to 10 in the same eel, in the order of ng/g (Fig.1). The results provided a representative situation of the  PFASs contamination level of the lake, lower than those of others European countries (Hoff et al. 2005, Kwadijk et al. 2010)

Preliminary results for the detection method of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) residues in pork

The perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) residues, which come from environmental pollution, tend to accumulate in the food chain (EFSA, 2008; Guerranti et al., 2013). 17 chemicals of PFASs family were selected for this study. Fresh pork samples were extracted by Waters® WAX SPE (solid phase extraction) cartridges. All extracted samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results of calibration curves of each PFAS were good, the R2 values ranging from 0.9901 to 0.9993. The Recoveries were in the range 80%-119%. The protocol of extraction by Waters® WAX SPE cartridge will be applied in future studies

A new approach to the construction of first-passage-time densities

A new method for constructing first-passage-time probability density functions is outlined. This rests on the possibility of constructing the transition p.d.f. of a new diffusion process in terms of a preassigned transition p.d.f. without making use of the classical space-time transformations of the Kolmogorov equation. A few examples are finally discusse

A Retroactive Interference between Art and Architecture. A Research Experience between Art and Architecture about the Vele in Scampia and its Future

Thinking about the architectural project as a broader process first requires reflecting on the role of architecture in urban transformation. In different ways the project becomes an element of interpretation of the real world, and the architect, as an author, conquers a position that goes beyond the classical boundaries of the discipline, through the contamination with other disciplines. Art has always been an interpretative tool. In particular, the research presented focuses on the retroactive interferences between Art and Architecture and on the ability of architecture to extend the limits of the imaginary, both as a discipline capable of interacting with different skills, and as an architectural artefact considered as an Open Work. The architecture of the ”Vele” in Scampia is the protagonist of this research, that supports the production of the background material as part of a visual art project of the photographer Hans Wilschut for the Center for Visual Art CBK in Rotterdam, carried out in collaboration with the curator Patricia Pulles. The architecture of the ”Vele”, the impressive visual impact and the interesting architectural structure that is still present, but heavily damaged, and the impact that this architecture has on the perception of the same inhabitants and the actual decline of the area towards a new future, are the key topics of this extended abstract

Detection of seven β2-agonists in teeth by LC-MS/MS: preliminary results.

β2-agonists are powerful tocolytic (the only use permitted in cattle) and bronchodilator agents, butmay also be administered as growth promoters to improve the production of lean meat increasing alsothe lipolytic activity. Although the European Union (EU), China and other Asian countries have bannedthe use of β2-agonists for growth promoting purposes (European Union, 2003), the United States ofAmerica (USA) authorised ractopamine as a feed additive for swine, cattle and turkey. These veterinarydrugs, generally show high clearance rates in the conventional biological matrices, as well as urine, liverand muscle, making difficult their detection (Wu, 2014). For this reason, we suggested bovine teeth asa new unconventional matrix of accumulation in a more long-time window, for the detection ofcimaterol, clenbuterol, isoxsuprine, mabuterol, ractopamine, salbutamol and terbutaline. In literature,the few studies on teeth are limited to human (Andra, 2015) and are absent for veterinary medicine.The samples extracted by a simple liquid extraction step with ethyl acetate:tert-butyl methyl ether (4:1,v/v) after washing and pulverization of teeth, through a ball mill, were analysed using a liquidchromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) confirmatory method validated according tothe Commission Decision 2002/657/EC criteria (European Union, 2002). Teeth from 8 veal calves,administered per os with 80 mg day-1 oral ractopamine for 32 days, and from seven random bovinesfrom the food chain were collected at the slaughterhouse to test the suitability of this matrix. Theresults demonstrated ractopamine presence in teeth from the treated animals (average concentration8.90 ng g-1). Isoxsuprine was found in a control sample (13.67 ng g-1), demonstrating the effectivenessof this matrix as a powerful tool to ensure illegal treatment

The human act of eating as the birth of the digital architecture

A conversation between the Editorial Committee members

Detection of boldenone, its sulfate and glucuronate forms, androstadienedione, cortisol, cortisone, prednisolone, prednisone and dexamethasone in bovine bile and urine by LC-MS/MS: preliminary results.

The European Union regulations ban or regulate the use of substances with hormonal action. There are, however, some detectable steroids in biological matrices from cattle to which no administration were made. These are the so called “grey-zone” or “pseudoendogenous” substances (endogenously produced under certain circumstances). The administration of boldenone and androstadienedione to cattle is forbidden both for therapeutic or growth promotion purposes, while therapeutic use of prednisolone is permitted. The control of the use of these substances is hampered by their pseudoendogenous nature. We made a comparison between analyses performed on the classical matrix urine with bile (a novel matrix) from the same animals, with the aim to determine the better matrix for the above mentioned steroids. We tested the synthetic corticosteroid dexamethasone, too. The preliminary results do not show any difference between the two matrices, as concern the pseudoendogenous substances. The data about dexamethasone were instead very promising about the use of bile. The detection frequency and concentration levels were, in fact, higher in bile than in urine from the same animals