Technological city and cultural criticism: challenges, limits, politics

Background Technology has become a ‘life companion’ in our cities. Thanks to its fascinating power and the huge economic interest behind it, technology has recently reached an ‘epic’ role in our expectations for exiting the profound crisis we are in. The city represents the perfect place for such a marvel. Even if we really cannot get along without it, nevertheless technology has a ‘dark side’ that needs to be known. Methods In this, paper we try to understand if and why we have to protect the place of the critical debate starting from our cities. Do the problems of our cities really have to do with the lack of technologies? Results Critical thinking makes us understand that we need to enforce the tools that people can use to recognize the benefits and menaces of technologies, avoiding the illusion of embracing the idea of a city that is good just because it is ‘smart’. Innovation and equity are not two spontaneously cooperating issues. Conclusions Urbanism and urban politics have new challenges ahead that are harder than we think. This paper presents five proposals to open a discussion suggesting some first steps

The impractical supremacy of the local identity on the worthless soils of Mappano

Introduction: Soil is under pressure worldwide. In Italy, in the last two decades, land consumption has reached an average rate of 8 m2, demonstrating the failure of urban planning in controlling these phenomena. Despite the renewed recognition of the central role of soil resources, which has triggered numerous initiatives and actions, soil resources are still seen as a second-tier priority. No governance body exists to coordinate initiatives to ensure that soils are appropriately represented in decision-making processes. Global Soil Partnership draws our attention to the need for coordination to avoid fragmentation of efforts and wastage of resources. Both at a global and at a local level, the area of fertile soils is limited and is increasingly under pressure by competing land uses for settlement, infrastructure, raw materials extraction, agriculture, and forestry. Discussion and Evaluation: Here, we show that an administrative event, such as the creation of a new small municipality, can take place without any consideration of land and soil risks. This is particularly problematic in the Italian context as recent studies demonstrate that increasing local power in land use decisions coupled with weak control by the central administration and the high fragmentation and small dimension of municipalities has boosted land consumption. The fragmentation of municipalities has been detrimental to land conservation. Case description: The case study of Mappano (in the northwestern Italian region of Piedmont on the periphery of the regional capital city of Turin) is emblematic to demonstrate the role played by the supremacy of local identity or local interests despite the acknowledged importance of the key role played by soil everywhere. The contradiction highlighted by this case raises discussion amid some crucial issues as to the role of local urban planning and the protection of soil, which cannot be fragmented or subject to local short-term visions/interests. Conclusions: In this perspective, urban planning has to address soil and land issues by introducing new rules and competences at the local level and beyond

Mobilit\ue0 \ue8 sviluppo: strumenti e competenze per il futuro della mobilit\ue0

Il volume Mobilit\ue0 \ue8 sviluppo \ue8 un approfondimento sulle frontiere di sviluppo della mobilit\ue0 urbana e sulle sue possibili evoluzioni. Il volume intende interrogare il rapporto tra le innovazioni tecnologiche, sociali ed infrastrutturali della mobilit\ue0 urbana e del loro impatto nel contribuire alla qualit\ue0 della vita, all\u2019evoluzione di nuove formule di cittadinanza e alle politiche per uno sviluppo territoriale sostenibile. Osservare le comunit\ue0 di pratiche che innovano il mercato dei servizi e l\u2019organizzazione delle infrastrutture per la mobilit\ue0 \ue8 una questione di particolare rilevanza. Se questi nuovi fattori mettono a disposizione opportunit\ue0 inedite, sono meno scontate le capacit\ue0 necessarie per assicurarne l\u2019accesso da parte di tutti i cittadini. Nella nostra visione, osservando queste recenti trasformazioni nel campo della mobilit\ue0, occorre fornire un quadro interpretativo sulle competenze, sugli strumenti e sulle regole necessarie a creare promuovere qualit\ue0 della vita per tutti i cittadini tenendo presente la pi\uf9 ampia cornice dello sviluppo sostenibile (UN, Agenda 2030). I contributi raccolti nel volume vogliono quindi suggerire gli strumenti del futuro della mobilit\ue0, descrivendone i percorsi di sviluppo di nuove capacit\ue0 ed impatti sociali delle pratiche e dei progetti sperimentati, migliorando la qualit\ue0 della vita dei singoli user e del funzionamento di particolari dinamiche territoriali. A questo scopo, i contributi raccontano di interpretazioni e pratiche emergenti nella mobilit\ue0 urbana del futuro, proponendo di assumere l\u2019accessibilit\ue0 (ovvero, muoversi per fare cosa) come prospettiva privilegiata per comprendere e affrontare le questioni della mobilit\ue0 urbana. In questa prospettiva di capacitazione e sostegno alle opportunit\ue0 degli individui, i contributi affrontano le sfide e le opportunit\ue0 poste da nuove infrastrutture e tecnologie (dai dispositivi per la condivisione di informazioni, i veicoli a guida automatica, le infrastrutture leggere)

Pathobiology of ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma

The authors revise the concept of ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) in the light of the recently updated WHO classification of Tumors of Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues both on biological and clinical grounds. The main histological findings are illustrated as well as the phenotypic, molecular and clinical characteristics. Finally, the biological rationale for possible innovative targeted therapies is presented

Molecular Profiling of Aggressive Lymphomas

In the last years, several studies of molecular profiling of aggressive lymphomas were performed. In particular, it was shown that DLBCL can be distinguished in two different entities according to GEP. Specifically, ABC and GCB subtypes were characterized by having different pathogenetic and clinical features. In addition, it was demonstrated that DLBCLs are distinct from BL. Indeed, the latter is a unique molecular entity. However, relevant pathological differences emerged among the clinical subtypes. More recently, microRNA profiling provided further information concerning BL-DLBCL distinction as well as for their subclassification. In this paper, the authors based on their own experience and the most updated literature review, the main concept on molecular profiling of aggressive lymphomas

Innovative Policies for Alpine Towns

Knjiga Inovativne politike za alpska mesta predstavlja rezultate projekta CAPACities, v katerem smo preučevali vlogo mest v alpskem svetu. Pri tem smo se osredotočili na definicijo malih alpskih mest, njihovo vpetost v policentrični razvojni koncept, bistveni poudarek pa je bil na njihovi konkurenčnosti in privlačnosti. Teoretske podlage smo nadgradili z analizo razpoložljivih podatkov, še pomembnejše pa so bile aktivnosti v pilotnih območjih, s katerimi smo skušali ugotovitve prenašati v prakso. Predstavljene specifike pilotnih območij in tam izvedene aktivnosti so nam bile v pomoč pri izdelavi smernic in orodij za spodbujanje razvoja malih alpskih mest

Pathobiology of Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma

The authors revise the concept of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) in the light of the recently updated WHO classification of Tumors of Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues both on biological and clinical grounds. The main histological findings are illustrated with special reference to the cytological spectrum that is indeed characteristic of the tumor. The phenotype is reported in detail: the expression of the ALK protein as well as the chromosomal abnormalities is discussed with their potential pathogenetic implications. The clinical features of ALCL are presented by underlining the difference in terms of response to therapy and survival between the ALK-positive and ALK-negative forms. Finally, the biological rationale for potential innovative targeted therapies is presented

Pathobiology of Hodgkin Lymphoma

Despite its well-known histological and clinical features, Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) has recently been the object of intense research activity, leading to a better understanding of its phenotype, molecular characteristics, histogenesis, and possible mechanisms of lymphomagenesis. There is complete consensus on the B-cell derivation of the tumor in most cases, and on the relevance of Epstein-Barr virus infection and defective cytokinesis in at least a proportion of patients. The REAL/WHO classification recognizes a basic distinction between lymphocyte predominance HL (LP-HL) and classic HL (cHL), reflecting the differences in clinical presentation and behavior, morphology, phenotype, and molecular features. cHL has been classified into four subtypes: lymphocyte rich, nodular sclerosing, with mixed cellularity, and lymphocyte depleted. The borders between cHL and anaplastic large-cell lymphoma have become sharper, whereas those between LP-HL and T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma remain ill defined. Treatments adjusted to the pathobiological characteristics of the tumor in at-risk patients have been proposed and are on the way to being applied