The Venceslao by Zeno and Caldara (1725): invention of the drama, tradition of the text, libretto and score

La dissertazione studia la genesi e l’evoluzione del Venceslao, dramma per musica di Apostolo Zeno, di cui si conservano due redazioni d’autore e un manoscritto autografo. La presenza di questo codice, conservato nella Biblioteca Marciana di Venezia, ha dato origine al mio progetto di ricerca. Attraverso l’esame dell’autografo, messo a confronto con i libretti della princeps (Venezia, 1703 con la musica di Pollarolo) e del successivo allestimento alla corte asburgica (Vienna, 1725 con la musica di Caldara), il lavoro intende da un lato identificare le varianti d’autore e confermare l’ipotesi iniziale che supponeva una relazione tra il manoscritto e l’edizione viennese e dall’altro individuare e interpretare le alterazioni significative del libretto preparato per l’allestimento alla corte dell’imperatore. L’esame dell’opera mi ha inoltre permesso di precisare le fonti sfruttate dal poeta veneziano. Affiora, nella sua opera, un inatteso legame, per un classicista e un pastore arcade, col mondo della comedia spagnola, recuperato attraverso la mediazione di adattamenti sia francesi sia, forse, italiani. Accanto allo studio del testo verbale, si esamina la partitura autografa di Antonio Caldara conservata presso la Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde di Vienna. Attraverso la trascrizione del testo musicale, ho inteso mettere a fuoco i legami tra note, versi e allestimento nella collaborazione tra Zeno e Caldara. L’esame del materiale musicale ha permesso di inquadrare la relazione che, a partire dal testo poetico consegnato nelle mani del compositore, si viene a creare tra soggetto drammatico e testo musicale in questa nuova versione. Sebbene la scrittura di Caldara sia caratterizzata da un’omogeneità stilistica di fondo, essa appare convincente nell’interpretare i versi in funzione scenica. La varietas che il poeta aveva ricercato nel testo verbale per rispettare le esigenze di «chiaroscuro», imposte dai precetti dei teorici del teatro musicale, trova corrispondenza nelle eterogenee soluzioni musicali concepite di volta in volta dal compositore.This dissertation examines the genesis and the evolution of Venceslao by Apostolo Zeno. In Venice's Library, there is an autograph of Venceslao. This manuscript gave the origin of this research project. I have examined this text together with the libretto of the princeps (Venice, 1703, music by Pollarolo) and the libretto of the successive performance held to the Hapsburg Court (Vienna, 1725, music by Caldara). My aim in this dissertation intended, from one side, to identify the author's different versions and confirm the initial hypothesis which assumed a direct relationship between the autograph and Viennese edition, and furthermore to single out and explain the meaningful changes contained into the libretto prepared for the representation to the Emperor Court. The study has given the chance to identify and pointing out the sources the Venetian poet used. In addition to those indicated directly by Zeno in the libretto 's foreword, we can assert that at the origin of Venceslao there is not only a French tragicomédie (Venceslas by Rotrou), but a Spanish comedia (No hay ser padre siendo rey by Rojas Zorrilla) and, even if not certain, a Neapolitan remake (Non è padre essendo re by Celano). In addition to the text study, I have analyzed the autograph by Antonio Caldara, kept in Vienna. The transcription has focused links among notes, lines and scenic setting in the cooperation between Zeno e Caldara. Through the analysis of the musical material, I have established the connection between the text and the score and, although Caldara's musical scores are usually uniform in style, in this case he gives a good interpretation of the poetic text. The «chiaroscuro» requirements, demanded by the musical drama's theoreticians and well used by Zeno through the varietas of his arias, resonate in the heterogeneous musical solutions conceived by the composer

Improvement of Urinary Stones Analysis Combining Morphological Analysis and Infrared Spectroscopy

Daudon et al. have developed a complex morphoconstitutional classification of renal stone in six different morphological types and several subtypes. According to this classification, a precise correspondence exists between causes of renal stones and subtypes with a great clinical relevance and can be considering a sort of shortcut for the metabolic diagnosis in renal stone patients. Now the diagnosis of causes of renal stones generally requires repeated biochemical investigations on urine and blood samples and usually remains presumptive. We analyzed 150 urinary stones both by stereoscopic microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The comparison of 150 stones did not reveal any disagreement. We have only 20 partial agreement, and clinicians agreed that the imprecise information obtained with morphological analysis alone would have missed an important clinical finding only in 3 cases. In conclusion, in our opinion, the analysis of urinary stone must combine two different analytical techniques: morphological analysis by stereomicroscope and biochemical analysis with the FT-IR

The Role of Obesity, Body Composition, and Nutrition in COVID-19 Pandemia: A Narrative Review

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread worldwide, infecting nearly 500 million people, with more than 6 million deaths recorded globally. Obesity leads people to be more vulnerable, developing worse outcomes that can require hospitalization in intensive care units (ICU). This review focused on the available findings that investigated the link between COVID-19, body composition, and nutritional status. Most studies showed that not only body fat quantity but also its distribution seems to play a crucial role in COVID-19 severity. Compared to the body mass index (BMI), visceral adipose tissue and intrathoracic fat are better predictors of COVID-19 severity and indicate the need for hospitalization in ICU and invasive mechanical ventilation. High volumes of epicardial adipose tissue and its thickness can cause an infection located in the myocardial tissue, thereby enhancing severe COVID-related myocardial damage with impairments in coronary flow reserve and thromboembolism. Other important components such as sarcopenia and intermuscular fat augment the vulnerability in contracting COVID-19 and increase mortality, inflammation, and muscle damage. Malnutrition is prevalent in this population, but a lack of knowledge remains regarding the beneficial effects aimed at optimizing nutritional status to limit catabolism and preserve muscle mass. Finally, with the increase in patients recovering from COVID-19, evaluation and treatment in those with Long COVID syndrome may become highly relevant

Arterial Stiffness, Subendocardial Impairment, and 30-Day Readmission in Heart Failure Older Patients

Arterial stiffness and subendocardial perfusion impairment may play a significant role in heart failure (HF) outcomes. The aim of the study was to examine the main predictors of 30-day readmission in geriatric patients, hospitalized with HF, explore hemodynamical parameters, arterial stiffness indexes, and subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR). In total, 41 hospitalized patients, affected by HF, were included; they underwent clinical evaluation, routine laboratory testing, and echocardiography. At the time of admission, after the achievement of clinical stability (defined as switching from intravenous to oral diuretic therapy), and at discharge, arterial tonometry was performed to evaluate carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWVcf) and SEVR (then corrected for hemoglobin concentration and oxygen saturation). Through the evaluations, a significant progressive decrease in PWVcf was described (17.79 ± 4.49, 13.54 ± 4.54, and 9.94 ± 3.73 m/s), even after adjustment for age, gender, mean arterial pressure (MAP) variation, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). A significant improvement was registered for both SEVR (83.48 ± 24.43, 97.94 ± 26.84, and 113.29 ± 38.02) and corrected SEVR (12.74 ± 4.69, 15.71 ± 5.30, and 18.55 ± 6.66) values, and it was still significant when adjusted for age, gender, MAP variation, and LVEF. After discharge, 26.8% of patients were readmitted within 30 days. In a multivariate binary logistic regression analysis, PWVcf at discharge was the only predictor of 30-day readmission (odds ratio [OR] 1.957, 95% CI 1.112-3.443). In conclusion, medical therapy seems to improve arterial stiffness and subendocardial perfusion in geriatric patients hospitalized with heart failure. Furthermore, PWVcf is a valid predictor of 30-day readmission. Its feasibility in clinical practice may provide an instrument to detect patients with HF at high risk of rehospitalization

Myocardial fibrosis and steatosis in patients with aortic stenosis: roles of myostatin and ceramides

Aortic stenosis (AS) involves progressive valve obstruction and a remodeling response of the left ventriculum (LV) with systolic and diastolic dysfunction. The roles of interstitial fibrosis and myocardial steatosis in LV dysfunction in AS have not been completely characterized. We enrolled 31 patients (19 women and 12 men) with severe AS undergoing elective aortic valve replacement. The subjects were clinically evaluated, and transthoracic echocardiography was performed pre-surgery. LV septal biopsies were obtained to assess fibrosis and apoptosis and fat deposition in myocytes (perilipin 5 (PLIN5)), or in the form of adipocytes within the heart (perilipin 1 (PLIN1)), the presence of ceramides and myostatin were assessed via immunohistochemistry. After BMI adjustment, we found a positive association between fibrosis and apoptotic cardiomyocytes, as well as fibrosis and the area covered by PLIN5. Apoptosis and PLIN5 were also significantly interrelated. LV fibrosis increased with a higher medium gradient (MG) and peak gradient (PG). Ceramides and myostatin levels were higher in patients within the higher MG and PG tertiles. In the linear regression analysis, increased fibrosis correlated with increased apoptosis and myostatin, independent from confounding factors. After adjustment for age and BMI, we found a positive relationship between PLIN5 and E/A and a negative correlation between septal S', global longitudinal strain (GLS), and fibrosis. Myostatin was inversely correlated with GLS and ejection fraction. Fibrosis and myocardial steatosis altogether contribute to ventricular dysfunction in severe AS. The association of myostatin and fibrosis with systolic dysfunction, as well as between myocardial steatosis and diastolic dysfunction, highlights potential therapeutic targets

Senescent adipocytes as potential effectors of muscle cells dysfunction: An in vitro model

Recently, there has been a growing body of evidence showing a negative effect of the white adipose tissue (WAT) dysfunction on the skeletal muscle function and quality. However, little is known about the effects of senescent adipocytes on muscle cells. Therefore, to explore potential mechanisms involved in age-related loss of muscle mass and function, we performed an in vitro experiment using conditioned medium obtained from cultures of mature and aged 3 T3-L1 adipocytes, as well as from cultures of dysfunctional adipocytes exposed to oxidative stress or high insulin doses, to treat C2C12 myocytes. The results from morphological measures indicated a significant decrease in diameter and fusion index of myotubes after treatment with medium of aged or stressed adipocytes. Aged and stressed adipocytes presented different morphological characteristics as well as a different gene expression profile of proinflammatory cytokines and ROS production. In myocytes treated with different adipocytes' conditioned media, we demonstrated a significant reduction of gene expression of myogenic differentiation markers as well as a significant increase of genes involved in atrophy. Finally, a significant reduction in protein synthesis as well as a significant increase of myostatin was found in muscle cells treated with medium of aged or stressed adipocytes compared to controls. In conclusion, these preliminary results suggest that aged adipocytes could influence negatively trophism, function and regenerative capacity of myocytes by a paracrine network of signaling

LIMPIC: a computational method for the separation of protein MALDI-TOF-MS signals from noise

BACKGROUND: Mass spectrometry protein profiling is a promising tool for biomarker discovery in clinical proteomics. However, the development of a reliable approach for the separation of protein signals from noise is required. In this paper, LIMPIC, a computational method for the detection of protein peaks from linear-mode MALDI-TOF data is proposed. LIMPIC is based on novel techniques for background noise reduction and baseline removal. Peak detection is performed considering the presence of a non-homogeneous noise level in the mass spectrum. A comparison of the peaks collected from multiple spectra is used to classify them on the basis of a detection rate parameter, and hence to separate the protein signals from other disturbances. RESULTS: LIMPIC preprocessing proves to be superior than other classical preprocessing techniques, allowing for a reliable decomposition of the background noise and the baseline drift from the MALDI-TOF mass spectra. It provides lower coefficient of variation associated with the peak intensity, improving the reliability of the information that can be extracted from single spectra. Our results show that LIMPIC peak-picking is effective even in low protein concentration regimes. The analytical comparison with commercial and freeware peak-picking algorithms demonstrates its superior performances in terms of sensitivity and specificity, both on in-vitro purified protein samples and human plasma samples. CONCLUSION: The quantitative information on the peak intensity extracted with LIMPIC could be used for the recognition of significant protein profiles by means of advanced statistic tools: LIMPIC might be valuable in the perspective of biomarker discovery

A combination of infrared spectroscopy and morphological analysis allows successfully identifying rare crystals and atypical urinary stones

Background: The combination of infrared spectroscopy and morphological analysis significantly improves the urinary stone analysis.In addition to common urinary stones, it is not unusual to encounter spurious or factitious stones that, if not appropriately identified, can lead to errors in the diagnosis. In this study we shows the importance of Infrared spectroscopy and the morphological analysis, for determining the presence of drugs crystals or atypical components in the calculi.Methods: among 1.041 urinary stones analyzed by morphocostitutional analysis the rare stones were also analyzed by chemical spot test analysis.Results: Among 1.041 calculi analyzed, 1.018 had a known composition, 23 samples were stones with rare composition or fake urinary stones.Conclusions: FT-IR, allows to identify, theoretically, any substance, including drug-containing calculi or calculi with unusual composition and identify false stones. This is mandatory to treat patients affected by urolithiasis with a personalized clinical approach

Endothelial properties of third-trimester amniotic fluid stem cells cultured in hypoxia

open12siopenSchiavo, Andrea Alex; Franzin, Chiara; Albiero, Mattia; Piccoli, Martina; Spiro, Giovanna; Bertin, Enrica; Urbani, Luca; Visentin, Silvia; Cosmi, Erich; Fadini, Gian Paolo; De Coppi, Paolo; Pozzobon, MichelaSchiavo, ANDREA ALEX; Franzin, Chiara; Albiero, Mattia; Piccoli, Martina; Spiro, Giovanna; Bertin, Enrica; Urbani, Luca; Visentin, Silvia; Cosmi, Erich; Fadini, GIAN PAOLO; DE COPPI, Paolo; Pozzobon, Michel

Prvi koraki k razumevanju notranje ranljivosti kraških vodonosnikov za onesnaženje v južnoameriških in karibskih državah

Protecting groundwater in karst aquifers is extremely impor­tant. Vulnerability maps can greatly help proper decision mak­ing based on physical environmental attributes that influence how easily a contaminant applied to the land surface can reach groundwater due to anthropogenic activities, and the proper­ties of the contaminants. Methods for determining vulnerabil­ity based on the COST Action 620 Approach, when applied in the study area, may lead to contradictory results. The main purpose of this study is to provide an overview of academic research on intrinsic karst aquifer vulnerability methodologies applied in South American and Caribbean countries. Secondly, it describes studies related to karst aquifers that, in some cases, lack specific information on intrinsic vulnerability. The objec­tive is to encourage and to help develop specific methods for determining karst vulnerability in these regions. To achieve these purposes, a systematic literature review was conducted including studies conducted at institutions such as universities, national water institutes, and by geological services. Several methods have been used in the region such as COP, DRAS­TIC, RISK, EPIK, PI, PaPRIka, and the Slovene Approach. And some attempts have been made to develop a specific methodol­ogy that best suits the specificities of the region’s karst aqui­fers. South America and the Caribbean have almost 5 % of the world´s carbonate rocks. Some countries have large extensions of their territory covered by karst rocks, such as Peru, 15.4 %; Cuba, 67 %; and Mexico 25.29 %. Estimates indicate that more than 10 million people use water from karst systems in Mexico. In Cuba, 33 % of all available water volume originates from groundwater, and 91.51 % from karst aquifers. In Mexico, 13 studies have been conducted on the importance of karst aqui­fers, which mostly address the Yucatan Peninsula, followed by Brazil (9 studies), Cuba (5), Colombia (1) and Peru (1). Infor­mation about the theme is scarce in most of the other countries in the region. Some studies have incongruent results given the regional characteristics of tropical karst.Varovanje podzemne vode na kraških vodonosnikih je izjemno pomembno. V veliko pomoč pri pravilnem odločanju na pod­lagi dejanskih okoljskih značilnosti, ki vplivajo na to, kako zlahka lahko onesnaževalo, uporabljeno na površini tal, zaradi antropo­genih dejavnosti in lastnosti onesnaževal doseže podzemno vodo, so lahko karte ranljivosti. Z metodami za opredelitev ranljivosti, ki temeljijo na pristopu COST Action 620, se lahko pri uporabi na proučevanem območju pridobijo nasprotujoči si rezultati. Glavni cilj te študije je zagotoviti pregled akademskih raziskav o metodologijah za ugotavljanje notranje ranljivosti kraških vodonosnikov, ki se uporabljajo v južnoameriških in karibskih državah. Poleg tega je podan opis študij, povezanih s kraškimi vodonosniki, pri čemer v nekaterih primerih ni specifičnih in­formacij o notranji ranljivosti. Cilj je spodbuditi in pomagati pri razvoju specifičnih metod za opredelitev kraške ranljivosti v teh regijah. Za dosego teh ciljev je bil opravljen sistematičen pregled literature, ki je vključeval študije, izvedene v institucijah, kot so univerze, nacionalni inštituti za vode in geološke službe. V regi­jah je bilo uporabljenih več metod, kot so COP, DRASTIC, RISK, EPIK, PI, PaPRIka in slovenski pristop. Poleg teh je bilo nekaj poskusov za pripravo specifične metodologije, ki bi najbolje us­trezala posebnostim kraških vodonosnikov v regijah. V Južni Ameriki in na Karibih je skoraj 5 % vseh karbonatnih kamnin na svetu. V nekaterih državah so veliki predeli prekriti s kraškimi kamninami, na primer v Peruju 15,4 %, na Kubi 67 % in v Mehiki 25,29 %. Po ocenah več kot 10 milijonov ljudi v Mehiki uporablja vodo iz kraških sistemov. Na Kubi 33 % vse razpoložljive količine vode izvira iz podzemne vode, 91,51 % pa s kraških vodonos­nikov. V Mehiki je bilo opravljenih 13 študij o pomenu kraških vodonosnikov, s katerimi so obravnavali večinoma polotok Ju­katan ter Brazilijo (9 študij), Kubo (5), Kolumbijo (1) in Peru (1). V večini drugih držav v regijah je informacij o tej temi malo. V nekaterih študijah so glede na regionalne značilnosti tropskega krasa rezultati neusklajeni