A history of an attempt at classification. The work of Edmund Sharpe and the periodization of English medieval architecture through the lens of terminology theory

This thesis aims at demonstrating the existence of terminology as common practice even before its official codification as a discipline. Specifically, this work is centred on the discovery of a terminological activity in the history of architecture and in the periodization of English ecclesiastical architecture of the Middle Ages. There, the aim is to evidence how the reflections of architecture historians on classification and naming of periods and building specimens prefigure future theories of terminology. Focusing on the architecture historian Edmund Sharpe (1809 – 1877), his attempt at classification of English medieval architecture in 1851 is described, according to the visual features of its windows. Beyond Sharpe’s work, the debate is reconstructed on the update of the official periodization. Indeed, this thesis intends to describe Sharpe and his colleagues as terminologists ante litteram and to highlight the contribution of classification and naming to the progress of knowledge. Chapter 1 introduces the historical context of the events, as well as the main principles of terminology, while in Chapter 2 the establishment of the official classification of English architecture in 1817 is reported. In Chapter 3, the historians note windows, which cannot be described through the official nomenclature. Consequently, Chapter 4 presents Sharpe’s innovative method for a classification of medieval buildings, based on the analysis of their windows. In Chapter 5, Sharpe’s periodization is examined in his volume, The Seven Periods of English Architecture. The discussion culminates, in Chapter 6, in a debate in the journal The Builder. There, the experts discuss Sharpe’s periodization, questioning both terms and classification criteria. Chapter 7 comments on the events. The destiny of Sharpe’s periodization is outlined, towards the acknowledgement that a continuous terminological update is necessary in every discipline, to keep up with the evolution of knowledge

Andrea Palladio. Villa Caldogno A short guide

The volume is a short guide that describes the history of Villa Caldogno, near Vicenza, by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio

La vita (e la morte) nelle strutture per anziani durante la pandemia. Una ricerca qualitativa in Emilia-Romagna

La ricerca che il libro presenta, nata dalla collaborazione tra il Centro di Ricerca Relational Social Work dell'Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore e il sindacato Federazione Nazionale Pensionati CISL Emilia-Romagna, ha preso l'avvio nel primo periodo dell'emergenza sanitaria, quando si è imposta la necessità di interrogarsi sulle conseguenze sociali di quanto stava accadendo nelle residenze per anziani. Quali effetti aveva sugli ospiti l'interruzione dei contatti con l'esterno? E come hanno fatto gli operatori a non smarrire il senso relazionale del lavoro di cura? A queste e ad altre domande le autrici rispondono esponendo il disegno e la metodologia della ricerca e i dati ricavati dalle interviste a residenti, operatori e familiari; i risultati sono poi commentati dal sindacato, che illustra il proprio ruolo di sostegno e riflette, alla luce delle drammatiche esperienze recenti, sui possibili sviluppi dei servizi assistenziali. L'attenzione all'attualità e la prospettiva empirica e progettuale fanno del volume una lettura di sicuro interesse per operatori sociali e ricercatori, ma anche per chiunque viva in prima persona le complessità dell'assistenza agli anziani

The NF-Y splicing signature controls hybrid EMT and ECM-related pathways to promote aggressiveness of colon cancer

: Aberrant splicing events are associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) and provide new opportunities for tumor diagnosis and treatment. The expression of the splice variants of NF-YA, the DNA binding subunit of the transcription factor NF-Y, is deregulated in multiple cancer types compared to healthy tissues. NF-YAs and NF-YAl isoforms differ in the transactivation domain, which may result in distinct transcriptional programs. In this study, we demonstrated that the NF-YAl transcript is higher in aggressive mesenchymal CRCs and predicts shorter patients' survival. In 2D and 3D conditions, CRC cells overexpressing NF-YAl (NF-YAlhigh) exhibit reduced cell proliferation, rapid single cell amoeboid-like migration, and form irregular spheroids with poor cell-to-cell adhesion. Compared to NF-YAshigh, NF-YAlhigh cells show changes in the transcription of genes involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition, extracellular matrix and cell adhesion. NF-YAl and NF-YAs bind similarly to the promoter of the E-cadherin gene, but oppositely regulate its transcription. The increased metastatic potential of NF-YAlhigh cells in vivo was confirmed in zebrafish xenografts. These results suggest that the NF-YAl splice variant could be a new CRC prognostic factor and that splice-switching strategies may reduce metastatic CRC progression