Viollet-le-Duc e la scoperta delle origini dell’architettura gotica

In 1836, the young Viollet-le-Duc travelled to Italy with the purpose of completing his studies on art and architecture, which he had interrupted in France as he did not agree with the classicistic orientation of the Académie des Beaux-arts. In Sicily, he turned a distracted eye to Doric architecture, but concentrated on analysing the archaic forms of Gothic architecture. Following the intuitions of Séroux D’Agincourt, Ignaz Hittorf and Ludwig von Zanth, he identified the archetypes of Gothic architecture, which was to be the principal interest in his career as architect, in some Medieval buildings in Palermo, such as the so-called palaces of Zisa and Cuba. In that period, some protagonists of French Romanticism, such as Viollet-le-Duc’s uncle Ètienne Jean Delécluze, Prosper Mérimée, Victor Hugo and René de Chateaubriand, turned their attention to Gothic architecture and its preservation amidst demolitions and damage due to ignorance.Through the studies of these protagonists, the essay tries to trace this important moment in the history of architecture, which precedes the long period when medieval architecture was to be restored following the “character” and supposed original style.   Il viaggio in Italia che il giovane Viollet-le-Duc intraprende nel 1836 ha lo scopo di surrogare gli studi artistici che ha interrotto a Parigi in contrasto con l’esclusivo orientamento classicista dell’Académie des Beaux-arts, e completare la sua formazione di architetto.Le ricerche sul mondo classico e principalmente sulle espressioni artistiche del Rinascimento sono soddisfatte in tante città della Penisola, dove esegue rilievi accompagnati da relazioni e originali deduzioni.La Sicilia riserva oltre all’incontro con l’architettura dorica, che comunque desta un rilevante seppur distratto interesse, la possibilità di poter studiare le forme arcaiche dello stile gotico.Seguendo le intuizioni di Séroux d’Agincourt, Hittorf e Zant, Viollet-le-Duc ritiene di aver ritrovato in alcune architetture medievali di Palermo, come i palazzi della Zisa e della Cuba, gli archetipi dell’architettura ogivale, quell’architettura che diventerà il principale interesse della sua vita professionale e intellettuale. Architettura che la corrente romantica di alcuni studiosi francesi, che tra gli altri annovera lo stesso suo zio Delécluze, Mérimée insieme ad Hugo e Chateaubriand, hanno intrapreso ad analizzare e difendere contro il dilagare delle demolizioni.Il saggio tenta di ricostruire, attraverso le testimonianze dei protagonisti, questo cruciale momento degli studi della storia dell’architettura che precedono la lunga stagione del restauro di ripristino secondo i canoni del “carattere” e dello stile dei monumenti del Medioevo.

Rigid block and finite element analysis of settlement-induced failure mechanisms in historic masonry wall panels

The paper is related to the assessment of collapse mechanisms of historic masonry structures suffering settlements induced by ground movements. Two numerical strategies are adopted in order to study the influence of the settled zone on the cracking of masonry buildings: a discrete rigid block model and a continuous homogenized model. The first approach provides an estimate of the collapse load and failure pattern of masonry based on the lower bound theorem of limit analysis. The second approach is formulated in the framework of multi-surface plasticity and implemented in a FE code for the path-following non-linear analysis of masonry wall described as continuous anisotropic plate. Several settlement configurations, of masonry walls under moving ground support are investigated and the corresponding failure patterns resulting from the analysis are obtained resulting in local or global failure modes. The results of the two modeling formulations are compared and discussed in order to highlight the features of the two different approaches in the prediction of settlement-induced damage

Cardiovascular dysfunction in patients with liver cirrhosis

Abstract Hyperdynamic syndrome is a well-known clinical condition found in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension, characterized by increased heart rate and cardiac output, and reduced systemic vascular resistance and arterial blood pressure. Th e leading cause of hyperdynamic circulation in cirrhotic patients is peripheral and splanchnic vasodilatation, due to an increased production/activity of vasodilator factors and decreased vascular reactivity to vasoconstrictors. Th e term "cirrhotic cardiomyopathy" describes impaired contractile responsiveness to stress, diastolic dysfunction and electrophysiological abnormalities in patients with cirrhosis without known cardiac disease. Underlying circulatory and cardiac dysfunctions are the main determinant in the development of hepatorenal syndrome in advanced cirrhosis. Moreover, the clinical consequences of cirrhosis-related cardiovascular dysfunction are evident during and aft er liver transplantation, and aft er transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt insertion. Cardiovascular complications following these procedures are common, with pulmonary edema being the most common complication. Other complications include overt heart failure, arrhythmia, pulmonary hypertension, pericardial eff usion, and cardiac thrombus formation. Th is review discusses the circulatory and cardiovascular dysfunctions in cirrhosis, examining the pathophysiologic and clinical implications in light of the most recent published literature

Muskox Health Ecology Symposium 2016: Gathering to Share Knowledge on Umingmak in a Time of Rapid Change

The Muskox, Ovibos moschatus, also known as Umingmak ‘the Bearded One,’ is a taxonomically unique, cold-adapted, ice-age survivor. Originally native to Canada and Greenland, it has established a circum-Arctic distribution via introduced populations. As a key resident herbivore in northern ecosystems, the muskox has importance that should not be underestimated. Muskoxen play an important role in the cultural identity of Arctic Indigenous peoples and provide a healthy source of country food. More recently, recognition of the economic potential of the species through tourism, sport hunting, and the traditional sale of handicrafts has generated renewed interest in muskoxen and their ecology. Recent documentation of diseases, including several zoonoses, regional mortality events, and population declines have highlighted knowledge gaps in both our understanding of the drivers of muskox population fluctuations and the potential sensitivity of this species to a rapidly changing climate (Kutz et al., 2013, 2015; Handeland et al., 2014; Ytrehus et al., 2015; Tomaselli et al., 2016c; Afema et al., 2017)

Translating land cover/land use classifications to habitat taxonomies for landscape monitoring: A Mediterranean assessment

Periodic monitoring of biodiversity changes at a landscape scale constitutes a key issue for conservation managers. Earth observation (EO) data offer a potential solution, through direct or indirect mapping of species or habitats. Most national and international programs rely on the use of land cover (LC) and/or land use (LU) classification systems. Yet, these are not as clearly relatable to biodiversity in comparison to habitat classifications, and provide less scope for monitoring. While a conversion from LC/LU classification to habitat classification can be of great utility, differences in definitions and criteria have so far limited the establishment of a unified approach for such translation between these two classification systems. Focusing on five Mediterranean NATURA 2000 sites, this paper considers the scope for three of the most commonly used global LC/LU taxonomies—CORINE Land Cover, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) land cover classification system (LCCS) and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme to be translated to habitat taxonomies. Through both quantitative and expert knowledge based qualitative analysis of selected taxonomies, FAO-LCCS turns out to be the best candidate to cope with the complexity of habitat description and provides a framework for EO and in situ data integration for habitat mapping, reducing uncertainties and class overlaps and bridging the gap between LC/LU and habitats domains for landscape monitoring—a major issue for conservation. This study also highlights the need to modify the FAO-LCCS hierarchical class description process to permit the addition of attributes based on class-specific expert knowledge to select multi-temporal (seasonal) EO data and improve classification. An application of LC/LU to habitat mapping is provided for a coastal Natura 2000 site with high classification accuracy as a result

New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #26 to #36

New Italian data on the distribution of the Annex I Habitats 1510*, 2130*, 2250*, 3180*, 3260, 5230*, 6410, 7140, 7220*, 9320 are reported in this contribution. Specifically, 14 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites are presented and 20 new cells are added in the EEA 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Marche, Molise, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany and Umbria

Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 11

In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera Aneura, Aulacomnium, Dumortiera, Fossombronia, Hennediella, Hygrohypnella, Pohlia, Porella, Riccardia, Tortella, and Tortula, the fungal genera Cortinarius, Mycena, Naucoria, Trichoglossum, and Tubaria and the lichen genera Agonimia, Blastenia, Chaenotheca, Cladonia, Endocarpon, Gyalecta, Lecanographa, Parmeliella, Porpidia, Stenhammarella, and Thelidium