La experiencia del ILAUD y la "Escuela de Barcelona"

ILAUD (International Laboratory of Urban Design) is an international research laboratory organized since 1974 by Giancarlo De Carlo at the University of Urbino with the aim to create an international network on the processes of the contemporary architectural and urban project research. The School of Architecture of Barcelona has been one of the partners that have participated in the activities since the foundation of ILAUD. Through ILAUD passed, professors and students, who, over the years, have become some of the main protagonists of the urban transformation of the city of Barcelona. This work deepens in the knowledge of these relations and the influence that the thought and the methods of project, developed in the ILAUD, could have had in the processes of urban transformation of Barcelona from half of the seventies until the beginning of the nineties. The study of documents and bibliography, and the direct testimony of some of the protagonists, allow us to reconstruct these relationships. A balance is established between what the experience of the Barcelona School has led within ILAUD and what it has left behind in the formation of the culture of the architectural and urban project in Barcelona. The thesis is centered between 1976 and 1992, period between the first edition of the ILAUD and the year of the Barcelona Olympics. The knowledge of the material contributed in the thesis allows to have a sufficient information to understand the direct and reciprocal relationships without pretending to elaborate final conclusions neither categorical on this subject.ILAUD (International Laboratory of Urban Design) es un Laboratorio internacional de investigación organizado a partir de 1974 por Gian Carlo De Carlo en la Universidad de Urbino. El objetivo era realizar una red internacional de investigación sobre los procesos del proyecto arquitectónico y urbano contemporáneo. La Escuela de Arquitectura de Barcelona ha sido uno de los partners que han participado en las actividades de investigación desde la fundación de ILAUD. Por el ILAUD han pasado profesores y estudiantes que, con el paso de los años, se han convertido en algunos de los principales protagonistas de la transformación urbana de la ciudad de Barcelona. Este trabajo profundiza en el conocimiento de estas relaciones y la influencia que el pensamiento y los métodos de proyecto, desarrollados en el ILAUD, pueden haber tenido en los procesos de transformación urbana de Barcelona a partir de la mitad de los años setenta hasta principio de los años noventa. El estudio de documentos y bibliografía, y el testimonio directo de algunos de los mismos protagonistas, permiten reconstruir estas relaciones. Se establece un balance entre lo que la experiencia de la Escuela de Barcelona ha llevado dentro de ILAUD y lo que el mismo ha dejado en la formación de la cultura del proyecto arquitectónico y urbano en Barcelona. La tesis se centra entre los años 1976 y 1992, periodo entre la primera edición del ILAUD y el año de las olimpiadas de Barceona. El conocimiento del material aportado en la tesis permite tener una información suficiente para entender las relaciones directas y recíprocas sin pretender elaborar conclusiones definitivas ni tampoco categóricas sobre este temaILAUD (Laboratorio Internazionale di Progettazione Urbana) è unlaboratorio di ricerca internazionale organizzato dal 1974 da Gian Carlo De Carlo all’Università di Urbino. L’obiettivo era quello di creare una rete internazionale di ricerca sui processi del progetto architettonico e urbano contemporaneo. La Scuola di Architettura di Barcellona è stata uno dei partner che hanno partecipato alle attività di ricerca sin dalla fondazione dell’ILAUD. Attraverso ILAUD sono passati professori e studenti, che nel corso degli anni sono diventati alcuni dei principali protagonisti della trasformazione urbana della città di Barcellona. Questo lavoro approfondisce la conoscenza di queste relazioni e l’influenza che il pensiero e i metodi di progetto, sviluppati nell’ILAUD, hanno avuto nei processi di trasformazione urbana di Barcellona dalla metà degli anni settanta fino all’inizio del novanta. Lo studio di documenti e bibliografia e la testimonianza diretta di alcuni degli stessi protagonisti ci permettono di ricostruire queste relazioni. Si stabilisce un equilibrio tra ciò che l’esperienza della Scuola di Barcellona ha condotto all’interno di ILAUD e ciò che ha lasciato nella formazione della cultura del progetto architettonico e urbano a Barcellona. La tesi è centrata tra il 1976 e il 1992, periodo compreso tra la prima edizione della ILAUD e l’anno delle Olimpiadi di Barcellona. La conoscenza del materiale fornito nella tesi mette a disposizione una informazione sufficiente per comprendere le relazioni dirette e reciproche senza pretendere di elaborare conclusioni definitive né categoriche su questo argomento.Postprint (published version

La experiencia del ILAUD y la "Escuela de Barcelona"

ILAUD (International Laboratory of Urban Design) is an international research laboratory organized since 1974 by Giancarlo De Carlo at the University of Urbino with the aim to create an international network on the processes of the contemporary architectural and urban project research. The School of Architecture of Barcelona has been one of the partners that have participated in the activities since the foundation of ILAUD. Through ILAUD passed, professors and students, who, over the years, have become some of the main protagonists of the urban transformation of the city of Barcelona. This work deepens in the knowledge of these relations and the influence that the thought and the methods of project, developed in the ILAUD, could have had in the processes of urban transformation of Barcelona from half of the seventies until the beginning of the nineties. The study of documents and bibliography, and the direct testimony of some of the protagonists, allow us to reconstruct these relationships. A balance is established between what the experience of the Barcelona School has led within ILAUD and what it has left behind in the formation of the culture of the architectural and urban project in Barcelona. The thesis is centered between 1976 and 1992, period between the first edition of the ILAUD and the year of the Barcelona Olympics. The knowledge of the material contributed in the thesis allows to have a sufficient information to understand the direct and reciprocal relationships without pretending to elaborate final conclusions neither categorical on this subject.ILAUD (International Laboratory of Urban Design) es un Laboratorio internacional de investigación organizado a partir de 1974 por Gian Carlo De Carlo en la Universidad de Urbino. El objetivo era realizar una red internacional de investigación sobre los procesos del proyecto arquitectónico y urbano contemporáneo. La Escuela de Arquitectura de Barcelona ha sido uno de los partners que han participado en las actividades de investigación desde la fundación de ILAUD. Por el ILAUD han pasado profesores y estudiantes que, con el paso de los años, se han convertido en algunos de los principales protagonistas de la transformación urbana de la ciudad de Barcelona. Este trabajo profundiza en el conocimiento de estas relaciones y la influencia que el pensamiento y los métodos de proyecto, desarrollados en el ILAUD, pueden haber tenido en los procesos de transformación urbana de Barcelona a partir de la mitad de los años setenta hasta principio de los años noventa. El estudio de documentos y bibliografía, y el testimonio directo de algunos de los mismos protagonistas, permiten reconstruir estas relaciones. Se establece un balance entre lo que la experiencia de la Escuela de Barcelona ha llevado dentro de ILAUD y lo que el mismo ha dejado en la formación de la cultura del proyecto arquitectónico y urbano en Barcelona. La tesis se centra entre los años 1976 y 1992, periodo entre la primera edición del ILAUD y el año de las olimpiadas de Barceona. El conocimiento del material aportado en la tesis permite tener una información suficiente para entender las relaciones directas y recíprocas sin pretender elaborar conclusiones definitivas ni tampoco categóricas sobre este temaILAUD (Laboratorio Internazionale di Progettazione Urbana) è unlaboratorio di ricerca internazionale organizzato dal 1974 da Gian Carlo De Carlo all’Università di Urbino. L’obiettivo era quello di creare una rete internazionale di ricerca sui processi del progetto architettonico e urbano contemporaneo. La Scuola di Architettura di Barcellona è stata uno dei partner che hanno partecipato alle attività di ricerca sin dalla fondazione dell’ILAUD. Attraverso ILAUD sono passati professori e studenti, che nel corso degli anni sono diventati alcuni dei principali protagonisti della trasformazione urbana della città di Barcellona. Questo lavoro approfondisce la conoscenza di queste relazioni e l’influenza che il pensiero e i metodi di progetto, sviluppati nell’ILAUD, hanno avuto nei processi di trasformazione urbana di Barcellona dalla metà degli anni settanta fino all’inizio del novanta. Lo studio di documenti e bibliografia e la testimonianza diretta di alcuni degli stessi protagonisti ci permettono di ricostruire queste relazioni. Si stabilisce un equilibrio tra ciò che l’esperienza della Scuola di Barcellona ha condotto all’interno di ILAUD e ciò che ha lasciato nella formazione della cultura del progetto architettonico e urbano a Barcellona. La tesi è centrata tra il 1976 e il 1992, periodo compreso tra la prima edizione della ILAUD e l’anno delle Olimpiadi di Barcellona. La conoscenza del materiale fornito nella tesi mette a disposizione una informazione sufficiente per comprendere le relazioni dirette e reciproche senza pretendere di elaborare conclusioni definitive né categoriche su questo argomento

Transforming Sovereign Debts into Perpetuities through a European Debt Agency

This paper outlines the main operating framework of a Debt Agency (DA) for the management of the Eurozone sovereign debts. The framework leverages on the potential irredeemable nature of sovereign debts in order to build a common bond. Structurally filtering liquidity risk, the DA can price the Member States' installments by referring only to their fundamental risk. The common bond issued by the DA then avoids mutualisation by design, hence it can be directly bought by the ECB. Thanks to its structural intertemporal sustainability, the DA framework sketched here can serve as a benchmark for institutional and political decisions

Water reservoirs monitoring through Google Earth Engine: application to Sentinel and Landsat imagery

Water reservoirs are subjected to increasing hydrological stresses, therefore continuous and accurate monitoring of these resources is essential to ensure their sustainable management. This work proposes a methodology to remotely monitor the surface extent of water reservoirs through the analysis of satellite multispectral and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. In particular, a segmentation strategy was implemented within Google Earth Engine (GEE) to distinguish water bodies from the surrounding land surface and measure their extension, by applying three different approaches to Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and Landsat-8 imagery. The first approach is based on the use of the Automatic Water Extraction Index (AWEI) and the self-adaptive Otsu's thresholding method, the second approach is based on the image conversion from RGB (Red-Green-Blue) to HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) and the use of a parametric threshold, the third approach is based on the use of SAR imagery and an empirically selected threshold. A "static"validation strategy was developed from scratch and standard segmentation metrics were computed to evaluate the accuracy of the three approaches. The average values of the F1 scores on the Sentinel imagery were equal to 0.95, 0.90, and 0.84 for the three approaches, respectively. The same metric on the Landsat imagery was 0.95 for the first approach and 0.93 for the second approach. The best approach, i.e. the AWEI-based method, was then applied to three water bodies in which the effects of the 2022 drought were particularly significant: Sawa lake (Iraq), Poyang lake (China), and Po river (Italy). The results visually highlighted the good performance of the approach in segmenting the water bodies from the surrounding areas

Micro-Hole Generation by High-Energy Pulsed Bessel Beams in Different Transparent Materials

Micro-drilling transparent dielectric materials by using non-diffracting beams impinging orthogonally to the sample can be performed without scanning the beam position along the sample thickness. In this work, the laser micromachining process, based on the combination of picosecond pulsed Bessel beams with the trepanning technique, is applied to different transparent materials. We show the possibility to create through-apertures with diameter on the order of tens of micrometers, on dielectric samples with different thermal and mechanical characteristics as well as different thicknesses ranging from two hundred to five hundred micrometers. Advantages and drawbacks of the application of this technique to different materials such as glass, polymer, or diamond are highlighted by analyzing the features, the morphology, and the aspect-ratio of the through-holes generated. Alternative Bessel beam drilling configurations, and the possibility of optimization of the quality of the aperture at the output sample/air interface is also discussed in the case of glass

Distal Pancreatectomy with Celiac Axis Resection: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Major vascular invasion represents one of the most frequent reasons to consider pancreatic adenocarcinomas unresectable, although in the last decades, demolitive surgeries such as distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection (DP-CAR) have become a therapeutical option. Methods: A meta-analysis of studies comparing DP-CAR and standard DP in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma was conducted. Moreover, a systematic review of studies analyzing oncological, postoperative and survival outcomes of DP-CAR was conducted. Results: Twenty-four articles were selected for the systematic review, whereas eleven were selected for the meta-analysis, for a total of 1077 patients. Survival outcomes between the two groups were similar in terms of 1 year overall survival (OS) (odds ratio (OR) 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34 to 1.31, p = 0.24). Patients who received DP-CAR were more likely to have T4 tumors (OR 28.45, 95% CI 10.46 to 77.37, p < 0.00001) and positive margins (R+) (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.24 to 4.17, p = 0.008). Overall complications (OR, 1.72, 95% CI, 1.15 to 2.58, p = 0.008) were more frequent in the DP-CAR group, whereas rates of pancreatic fistula (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.65, p = 0.41) were similar. Conclusions: DP-CAR was not associated with higher mortality compared to standard DP; however, overall morbidity was higher. Celiac axis involvement should no longer be considered a strict contraindication to surgery in patients with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Considering the different baseline tumor characteristics, DP-CAR may need to be compared with palliative therapies instead of standard DP

Expression and Functional Role of Urotensin-II and Its Receptor in the Adrenal Cortex and Medulla: Novel Insights for the Pathophysiology of Primary Aldosteronism

Abstract Context: The involvement of urotensin II, a vasoactive peptide acting via the G protein-coupled urotensin II receptor, in arterial hypertension remains contentious. Objective: We investigated the expression of urotensin II and urotensin II receptor in adrenocortical and adrenomedullary tumors and the functional effects of urotensin II receptor activation. Design: The expression of urotensin II and urotensin II receptor was measured by real time RT-PCR in aldosterone-producing adenoma (n = 22) and pheochromocytoma (n = 10), using histologically normal adrenocortical (n = 6) and normal adrenomedullary (n = 5) tissue as control. Urotensin II peptide and urotensin II receptor protein were investigated with immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. To identify urotensin II-related and urotensin II receptor-related pathways, a whole transcriptome analysis was used. The adrenocortical effects of urotensin II receptor activation were also assessed by urotensin II infusion with/without the urotensin II receptor antagonist palosuran in rats. Results: Urotensin II was more expressed in pheochromocytoma than in aldosterone-producing adenoma tissue; the opposite was seen for the urotensin II receptor expression. Urotensin II receptor activation in vivo in rats enhanced (by 182 ± 9%; P < 0.007) the adrenocortical expression of immunoreactive aldosterone synthase. Conclusions: Urotensin II is a putative mediator of the effects of the adrenal medulla and pheochromocytoma on the adrenocortical zona glomerulosa. This pathophysiological link might account for the reported causal relationship between pheochromocytoma and primary aldosteronism

Linking jet emission and X-ray properties in the peculiar neutron star X-ray binary Circinus X-1

We present the results of simultaneous X-ray and radio observations of the peculiar Z-type neutron star X-ray binary Cir X-1, observed with the Rossi X-ray timing explorer satellite and the Australia Telescope Compact Array in 2000 October and 2002 December. We identify typical Z source behaviour in the power density spectra as well as characteristic Z patterns drawn in an X-ray hardness-intensity diagram. Power spectra typical of bright atoll sources have also been identified at orbital phases after the periastron passage, while orbital phases before the periastron passage are characterized by power spectra that are typical neither of Z nor of atoll sources. We investigate the coupling between the X-ray and the radio properties, focusing on three orbital phases when an enhancement of the radio flux density has been detected, to test the link between the inflow (X-ray) and the outflow (radio jet) to/from the compact object. In two out of three cases we associate the presence of the radio jet to a spectral transition in the X-rays, although the transition does not precede the radio flare, as detected in other Z sources. An analogous behaviour has recently been found in the black hole candidate GX 339-4. In the third case, the radio light curve shows a similar shape to the X-ray light curve. We discuss our results in the context of jet models, considering also black hole candidates.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

The Importance of Reading the Skin: Cutaneous Metastases of Pancreatic Cancer, a Systematic Review

Background: Pancreatic cancer is notorious for its aggressive nature and low survival rate, with less than 10% of patients surviving beyond five years. Early detection is difficult, but skin metastases can be a rare but significant indicator. This systematic review focuses on the epidemiology, clinical features, and histology of skin metastases from pancreatic cancer to determine their importance in early diagnosis and overall management of the disease. Materials and methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted an exhaustive search of MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and SCOPUS databases up to June 2023, using specific keywords. Four independent investigators screened the studies using predefined criteria, and two investigators checked the accuracy and consistency of the data extraction. We assessed the quality of the trials using adapted criteria from the Joanna Briggs Institute. A narrative synthesis rather than a meta-analysis was chosen because of the different study designs. Results: The final analysis included 57 patients with skin metastases from pancreatic cancer. Cutaneous metastases, although rare, presented with approximately equal gender distribution and a mean age of 63.4 years. Predominantly non-umbilical (77%), these metastases showed clinical diversity, ranging from asymptomatic nodules to painful or ulcerated lesions. Notably, skin metastases often preceded the diagnosis of primary pancreatic cancer (58%). Primary tumor characteristics revealed different localizations, with adenocarcinoma being the most prevalent histological type (77%). A significant association (p = 0.008) was observed between pancreatic tumor location and the timing of presentation of skin metastases. Tumors located in the body and tail of the pancreas were more likely to manifest skin metastases as an initial clinical manifestation (62.2%) than those in the head of the pancreas (20.8%). Conclusions: In conclusion, although skin metastases are rare, they are important indicators of pancreatic cancer, highlighting the need for multidisciplinary healthcare collaboration and thorough skin examination. Recognizing them could lead to earlier diagnosis, which is crucial in a cancer with limited treatment options

Will PAXgene substitute formalin? A morphological and molecular comparative study using a new fixative system

Formalin fixation and paraffin embedding present the standard procedures for conserving clinical tissues for histological analysis. However, molecular analysis is impaired by the cross linking properties of formalin. The PAXgene tissue system (PreAnalytix, Switzerland) is a new formalin-free tissue collection device. AIMS: In this study we aimed to evaluate this new tissue preservation technique in comparison with formalin fixation and fresh frozen tissue samples. METHODS: 12 melanoma biopsy samples were divided and fixed simultaneously with formalin, PAXgene or fresh frozen in liquid nitrogen and analysed with regard to morphology, immunohistochemistry,  DNA and RNA content and quality. Markers of melanocytic differentiation and tumour cell proliferation were used. RESULTS: Morphology was well preserved in PAXPE samples. However, 5 out of 11 immunohistochemical markers showed significantly lower overall staining and staining intensity with PAXPE tissues in comparison with formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE). Increasing membrane permeability through adding a detergent did proportionally increase staining intensity in PAXPE samples. Amplification of different mRNA amplicons showed a direct relationship with the size of the amplicon with greater template integrity observed in PAXPE samples. Sequencing and mutational analysis of DNA samples were comparable for all the different fixation methods, while the level of DNA fragmentation seemed to be lower in PAXPE compared with FFPE tissues. CONCLUSIONS: The switch from formalin to PAXgene fixation would require a re-evaluation of immunohistochemical markers and staining procedures originally developed for FFPE tissues. Our data demonstrate that PAXPE fixation offers some advantages concerning molecular analysis. However, these advantages would not justify substituting formalin fixation in any routine pathology laboratory