The relationship between education and architecture for an open school in the second post-war period in Italy

Questo saggio compie un'analisi del rapporto che si è instaurato tra gli architetti e i pedagogisti nel secondo dopoguerra in Italia, con l'obiettivo di dar vita ad una nuova edilizia scolastica in grado di realizzare una scuola aperta e comunitaria

Development of home artificial nutrition in Italy over a seven year period: 2005\u20132012

Background: In 2005, the Italian Society for Artificial Nutrition and Metabolism carried out a national survey on the prevalence of home artificial nutrition (HAN), enteral (HEN) and parenteral (HPN). A second survey was carried out in 2012 to investigate the development of HAN in Italy. Methods: The Local Health Care Units (LHCUs) were required to record the ongoing cases of HAN using a structured questionnaire. The point prevalence (n./million inhabitants) was analysed according to patient age and disease categories. Data were compared with those obtained in 2005. Results: Data were obtained from 65% of the LHCUs, representing 73% of the Italian population. The prevalence of HAN was 325.5 (90.3% adults, 84.6% HEN). As in 2005, a wide range of prevalence was observed among the administrative regions. The most frequent disease category for HPN was oncological in adults and intestinal failure in children; for HEN, it was neurological in both age groups. A positive correlation was observed between the regional prevalence of HAN and the regional population aging index (p = 0.018). The prevalence of HAN in 2012 was 66% higher than that in 2005. In the individual regions, a negative association was observed between the 2012% prevalence increase of HAN (2012:2005 ratio) and the HAN prevalence in 2005 (p = 0.020). Conclusions: A two-thirds increase in HAN prevalence was observed over seven years, probably due to improved HAN organisation and management in those regions which showed a low prevalence in 2005. Population aging seemed to be one of the main factors necessitating HAN

Scaling-up experiments of smouldering combustion as a remediation technology for contaminated soil

Self-sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation (STAR) is a novel, patent-pending process that uses smouldering combustion as a remediation technology for land contaminated with hazardous organic liquids. Compounds such as chlorinated solvents, coal tar and petroleum products, called Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLs) for their low miscibility with water, have a long history of use in the industrialised world and are among the most ubiquitous of contaminants worldwide. These contaminants are toxic and many are suspected or known carcinogens. Existing remediation technologies are expensive and ineffective at reducing NAPL source zones sufficiently to restore affected water resources to appropriate quality levels. STAR introduces a self-sustaining smouldering reaction within the NAPL pool in the subsurface and allows that reaction to provide all of the post-ignition energy required by the reaction to completely remediate the NAPL source zone in the soil. Results from laboratory and field experiments have been very promising. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated STAR across a wide range of NAPL fuels and focused on coal tar to identify key parameters for successful remediation. Modelling has suggested that STAR efficiency will improve with scale as effects such as heat losses from boundaries become less significant. Observations from field experiments support the modelling theory - significantly lower relative air flow in a smouldering field experiment (330L) led to faster smouldering front propagation than observed in laboratory experiments (1L and 3L). Preliminary emissions monitoring by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has suggested that STAR emissions might be low enough to meet regulatory requirements, but further study is necessary. As emissions are expected to vary with each contaminant, activated carbon filters are being developed and tested in case emissions filtration is necessary. Experiments at all scales have demonstrated that STAR is controllable and self-terminating. Pilot-scale (2500L) field trials are underway to demonstrate STAR on excavated contaminated soil. The materials that will be studied in these trials are manufactured coal tar in coarse sand (which is the same material as used in the laboratory and field experiments) as well as two soils obtained from coal tar contaminated sites. This poster focuses on the scale-up to these field trials, including small scale characterisation, large scale performance, emissions monitoring and post-treatment soil analysis

Hemostasis in uncontrolled esophageal variceal bleeding by self-expanding metal stents. A systematic review

Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the current reported efficacy and the mortality rate of SEMS treatment in uncontrolled bleeding patients. Background: Esophageal variceal bleeding (EVB) represents a life threatening pathology. Despite the adequate pharmacologic and endoscopic treatment, continuous or recurrent bleeding, named as uncontrolled bleeding, occurs in 10-20% of cases. A new removable, covered, and self-expanding metal stent (SEMS) was proposed to control the variceal bleeding. Materials and methods: The study was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. Studies were identified by searching MEDLINE (1989-present) and SCOPUS (1989-present) databases. The last search was run on 01 July 2015. Results: Nine studies (period range=2002-2015) met the inclusion criteria and were included in quantitative analysis. High rate of SEMS efficacy in controling acute bleeding was observed, with a reported percentage ranging from 77.7 to 100%. In 10% to 20% of patients, re-bleeding occurred with SEMS in situ. Stent deployment was successful in 77.8% to 100% of patients while 11 to 36.5% of patients experienced stent migration. Conclusion: SEMS could be effective and safe in control EVB and can be proposed as a reliable option to ballon tamponed for patient stabilization and as a bridging to other therapeutic approach. Keywords: Nonselective β-blockers, TIPSS, Endoscopic band ligation, Uncontrolled bleeding, Selfexpanding metal stent

Experimental studies of self-sustaining thermal aquifer remediation (STAR) for non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) sources

Self-sustaining Thermal Aquifer Remediation (STAR) is a novel technology that employs smouldering combustion for the remediation of subsurface contamination by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). Smouldering is a form of combustion that is slower and less energetic than flaming combustion. Familiar examples of smouldering involve solid fuels that are destroyed by the reaction (e.g., a smouldering cigarette or peat smouldering after a wildfire). In STAR, the NAPL serves as the fuel within an inert, porous soil medium. Results from experiments across a range of scales are very promising. Detailed characterisation has focused on coal tar, a common denser-than-water NAPL (DNAPL) contaminant. Complete remediation is demonstrated across this range of scales. Visual observations are supported bychemical extraction results. Further experiments suggest that STAR can be self-sustaining, meaning that once ignited the process can supply its own energy to propagate. Costly energy input is reduced significantly. Comparison of large scale to small scale laboratory experiments, a volume increase by a factor of 100, suggests that STAR process efficiency increases with scale. This increase in efficiency results from reduced heat losses at larger scales while maximum the temperature achieved by STAR is unaffected. The research also demonstrates the controllability of STAR, where the termination of airflow to the reaction terminates the STAR process. The scale-up process provides important guidance to the development of full scale STAR for ex situ remediation of NAPL-contaminated soil

Robotic double-loop reconstruction method following total gastrectomy

Minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer is a challenge. The reconstructive time is a particular issue and researchers have adopted a large variety of solutions and produced heterogeneous data. The reconstructive phase can be divided into two major categories based on the approach adopted: the execution of extracorporeal versus intracorporeal anastomosis. In turn, the surgical team can perform the latter with laparoscopic or robotic assistance. However, the question is, how should a robotic esophagojejunal anastomosis be performed after total gastrectomy? Most articles in the literature have reported the execution of mechanical anastomoses [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6], especially with circular staplers via the creation of a manual purse-string around the anvil. Other solutions have described the use of the Orvil or the overlap technique. Only three authors have reported intracorporeal sutures with a completely robotic-sewn anastomosis [7] [8] [9]. A new robotic technique (the Parisi technique) was developed and adopted at St. Mary’s Hospital, Terni, Italy. A double-loop reconstruction method with an intracorporeal robot-sewn anastomosis is performe

Small-scale forward smouldering experiments for remediation of coal tar in inert media

This paper presents a series of experiments conducted to assess the potential of smouldering combustion as a novel technology for remediation of contaminated land by water-immiscible organic compounds. The results from a detailed study of the conditions under which a smouldering reaction propagates in sand embedded with coal tar are presented. The objective of the study is to provide further understanding of the governing mechanisms of smouldering combustion of liquids in porous media. A small-scale apparatus consisting of a 100 mm in diameter quartz cylinder arranged in an upward configuration was used for the experiments. Thermocouple measurements and visible digital imaging served to track and characterize the ignition and propagation of the smouldering reaction. These two diagnostics are combined here to provide valuable information on the development of the reaction front. Post-treatment analyses of the sand were used to assess the amount of coal tar remaining in the soil. Experiments explored a range of inlet airflows and fuel concentrations. The smouldering ignition of coal tar was achieved for all the conditions presented here and self-sustained propagation was established after the igniter was turned off. It was found that the combustion is oxygen limited and peak temperatures in the range 800-1080 °C were observed. The peak temperature increased with the airflow at the lower range of flows but decreased with airflow at the higher range of flows. Higher airflows were found to produce faster propagation. Higher fuel concentrations were found to produce higher peak temperatures and slower propagation. The measured mass removal of coal tar was above 99% for sand obtained from the core and 98% for sand in the periphery of the apparatus