Effects of 2012 Earthquake on the behavior of Ghirlandina tower in Modena

Collapse events, that occurred in the past (such as the Venice Bell Tower in 1902 and the Civic Tower in Pavia in 1989) claimed for the need to assess the long-term behavior of such monuments. A significant effort has been therefore devoted to clarify the reasons for these collapses after many centuries from the construction date. In addition, recent earthquakes in Italy have once again put into evidence the seismic vulnerability of the cultural heritage. To assess this aspect, in many cases the soil-structure interaction cannot be neglected. In this context, a simple but consistent framework for soil-structure interaction analysis is here presented with reference to a case history. It is discussed how the difference in the fundamental frequency observed during seismic events can be associated to non-linearity in soil response, leading to a rotational stiffness of the soil-foundation system consistent with the shear strain level derived from the seismic ground response analysis. Thereafter, the validated soil-structure interaction model has been used to define an equivalent SDOF model of the structure that explains the differential settlements suffered by the Ghirlandina tower in Modena during the 2012 seismic events as well as its behavior since those events

Preliminary investigation on the water retention behaviour of cement bentonite mixtures

Cement bentonite mixtures are often used to build slurry walls for the containment of both aqueous and non aqueous pollutants, due to their quite low hydraulic conductivity and relatively high ductility and strength. Although their hydro-mechanical behaviour in saturated conditions has been studied in the past, a part of the slurry wall is expected to rest above the groundwater level. The hydraulic characterization in unsaturated conditions is then particularly relevant to evaluate the performance of the barrier, especially when it is aimed at containing non aqueous pollutant liquids which are lighter than water (LNAPL). These non wetting fluids rest above the water table and their penetration is possible just if the barrier is unsaturated. This paper presents some preliminary results of a laboratory characterization of the water retention behaviour of three different cement bentonite mixtures. The mixtures, prepared at cement - bentonite mass ratios ranging from 4:1 to 6:1, were immersed in water and cured for 28 days. Their water retention behaviour was then determined along drying and wetting paths through different techniques, namely axis translation, filter paper and vapour equilibrium. In the high suction range, the water content - suction relationship was found to be independent of cement-bentonite ratio. In the low suction range, the water content at a given suction was found to decrease for increasing cement bentonite ratios

Monitoring drying and wetting of a cement bentonite mixture with Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Cement bentonite slurry cutoff walls are used to encapsulate pollutants within contaminated areas, so avoiding their spreading in the environment. In both temperate and arid climates, at shallow depths, slurry walls are exposed to interaction with the atmosphere and thus to relative humidity values which might induce desaturation and significant shrinkage. This note presents the main results of a study aimed at investigating the impact of drying processes on the integrity and the hydraulic performance of cement bentonite slurry walls. Cement bentonite samples were cured under water for different times (1 months, 2 months and 4 months) and then dried naturally by exposing them to the laboratory environment (T = 21 °C, relative humidity approximately 38%). Once dried, the bottom of the samples was placed in contact with a thin layer of water to induce wetting. The distribution of the electrical conductivity within these samples was evaluated through Electrical Resistivity Tomography measurements, and electrical conductivity maps were converted then into maps of water contents on basis of a phenomenological relationship. The reconstructed water contents compared very well to the measured ones. Drying induced a limited cracking of the samples, which might affect to some extent the hydraulic performance of the barriers

High number of circulating CD34+ cells in patients with myelophthisis.

Hematopoietic Stem Cells High number of circulating CD34+ cells in patients with myelophthisis Six patients with bone marrow micrometastases from solid cancers presented with increased numbers of circulating CD34+ cells; the CD34+ cell counts were very high in some cases. By contrast, no patient with metastatic cancer without bone marrow involvement showed raised numbers of circulating hemopoietic progenitors. haematologica 2005; 90:976-977 (http:/

Stripe phases in the two-dimensional Falicov-Kimball model

The observation of charge stripe order in the doped nickelate and cuprate materials has motivated much theoretical effort to understand the underlying mechanism of the stripe phase. Numerical studies of the Hubbard model show two possibilities: (i) stripe order arises from a tendency toward phase separation and its competition with the long-range Coulomb interaction or (ii) stripe order inherently arises as a compromise between itinerancy and magnetic interactions. Here we determine the restricted phase diagrams of the two-dimensional Falicov-Kimball model and see that it displays rich behavior illustrating both possibilities in different regions of the phase diagram.Comment: (5 pages, 3 figures

Ovarian Strumal Carcinoid: Case Report, Systematic Literature Review and Pooled Analysis

Background: Ovarian strumal carcinoid is a rare tumor in which thyroid (struma) and carcinoid components coexist. The disease is generally considered to be a borderline malignancy, however, cases with metastatic disease have been described. No data in the literature are available to guide diagnosis and therapy. Methods: We performed a pooled analysis and a systematic review of histopathological-confirmed strumal carcinoid cases published in the literature using the following keywords: “strumal carcinoid of the ovary”, “strumal carcinoid case report”. A case of strumal carcinoid tumor diagnosed and followed-up at the Medical Oncology Unit of Spedali Civili (Brescia, Italy) was also described and included. Results: Sixty-six eligible publications were identified, providing data from one hundred and seventeen patients, plus a case diagnosed at our institution. At presentation, among the eighty-eight patients with symptomatic disease, 37% of patients suffered from abdominal distention and 49% from pain due to a growing abdominal tumor mass, 37% from constipation (peptide YY was analyzed in only nine of them, resulting above the physiologic range). Surgery was the primary therapy in 99% of the patients. Three patients had metastatic disease at diagnosis and five patients underwent recurrence after radical surgery. Histology at disease recurrence concerned the thyroid component in two patients, the carcinoid component in two patients, both histologies in one patient. Median disease-free survival and overall survival in this series were not attained. Conclusion: Strumal carcinoid of the ovary generally presents a benign behavior and surgery is curative in most cases. However, a small group of patients with this disease can undergo disease recurrence due to both the thyroid and the neuroendocrine (carcinoid) components. A follow-up in radically operated patients is therefore needed, particularly in those with a voluminous disease at diagnosis

Sacituzumab govitecan and radiotherapy in metastatic, triple-negative, and BRCA-mutant breast cancer patient with active brain metastases: A case report

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive cancer subtype, owing to its high metastatic potential: Patients who develop brain metastases (BMs) have a poor prognosis due to the lack of effective systemic treatments. Surgery and radiation therapy are valid options, while pharmacotherapy still relies on systemic chemotherapy, which has limited efficacy. Among the new treatment strategies available, the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) sacituzumab govitecan has shown an encouraging activity in metastatic TNBC, even in the presence of BMs. Case presentation: A 59-year-old woman was diagnosed with early TNBC and underwent surgery and subsequent adjuvant chemotherapy. A germline pathogenic variant in BReast CAncer gene 2 (BRCA2) was revealed after genetic testing. After 11 months from the completion of adjuvant treatment, she had pulmonary and hilar nodal relapse and began first-line chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel. However, after only 3 months from starting the treatment, she experienced relevant disease progression, due to the appearance of numerous and symptomatic BMs. Sacituzumab govitecan (10 mg/kg) was started as second-line treatment as part of the Expanded Access Program (EAP). She reported symptomatic relief after the first cycle and received whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) concomitantly to sacituzumab govitecan treatment. The subsequent CT scan showed an extracranial partial response and a near-to-complete intracranial response; no grade 3 adverse events were reported, even if sacituzumab govitecan was reduced to 7.5 mg/kg due to persistent G2 asthenia. After 10 months from starting sacituzumab govitecan, a systemic disease progression was documented, while intracranial response was maintained. Conclusions: This case report supports the potential efficacy and safety of sacituzumab govitecan in the treatment of early recurrent and BRCA-mutant TNBC. Despite the presence of active BMs, our patient had a progression-free survival (PFS) of 10 months in the second-line setting and sacituzumab govitecan was safe when administered together with radiation therapy. Further real-world data are warranted to confirm sacituzumab govitecan efficacy in this patient population