THE 'MASSERIA ROTA' IN NAPLES (ITALY). A VERNACULAR HERITAGE TO PRESERVE

Abstract. The 'Masseria Rota' in Cercola, near Naples, is one of the best-preserved examples of the important vernacular architectural heritage of the Vesuvian area. Built in the 17th century upon more ancient pre-existences, the farm is an extraordinary example of the construction capabilities typical of the Neapolitan area and the dual vocation, productive and residential of the Vesuvian 'masserie'. The production area for slaughter and winemaking – located on the basement floor and still in good condition – coexists with the residential part with a sober decorative apparatus, enriched by the nineteenth-century transformations. Its planimetric U-shaped layout denounces a development for subsequent integrations that is also evident from the mensiochronological analysis of the walls. Unfortunately, despite the its indisputable historical, architectural and documentary value, the 'Masseria Rota' is in a serious state of abandonment, suffocated by contemporary buildings often devoid of specific values. The contribution to be presented illustrates the results of a teaching experiment that aims to propose methodological guidelines for the drafting of a restoration project aware and respectful of the identity of the aforementioned 'Masseria', and intends to provide a contribution of knowledge for the preservation and enhancement of a vernacular building heritage present on the slopes of Vesuvius, guiltily forgotten and abandoned in recent decades, which, instead, represents one of the most interesting and important of the settlement and construction modes of a territory inhabited since antiquity – despite the cyclical destructions caused by the volcanic activity of Vesuvius – for its environmental and landscape characteristics

Study of the attitudes and future intentions of nursing students towards working with older people: an observational study

Background: Older people are increasing in the world leading to the fact that many nursing students will work in geriatric care setting. It was also reported the lack of knowledge and interest in working with older people by many nursing students. Therefore, the aim of the study is to explore the attitudes, wills, and intentions for the care of older people from nursing students. Methods: A sample of 383 students (mean age between 17 and 24; females: 76.2%) was divided according to the year. A questionnaire and three scales investigating the attitude for working with older persons (Kogan, Aday-Campbell, Nolan scales) were administered. Simple correlations across the three scales and the comparisons in means by year of graduation were reported. Results: Of the 383 students, 69.7% would take care of an older person, with the previous experience with older patients being the most important determinant in positive attitude of students in working with older people. The Kogan scale revealed a relatively positive attitude towards older people of the students involved; the Aday’s scale a reasonable willingness to take care of the older people; the Nolan scale a fair intention. Aday’s scale significantly correlated with Nolan’s scale and with Kogan’s scale as well as the Nolan scale correlated with the Kogan scale. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the quality of care provided to older people is related to the attitudes of health professionals indicating that nursing educators should adopt effective strategies to increase and promote students’ positive attitudes to older people. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

New Eurocoin: tracking economic growth in real time

Removal of short-run dynamics from a stationary time series to isolate the medium to long-run component, can be obtained by a band-pass filter. However, band pass filters are infinite moving averages and can therefore deteriorate at the end of the sample. This is a well-known result in the literature isolating the business cycle in integrated series. We show that the same problem arises with our application to stationary time series. In this paper we develop a method to obtain smoothing of a stationary time series by using only contemporaneous values of a large dataset, so that no end-of-sample deterioration occurs

SPECIFITY OF HISTORICAL BUILDINGS AND BIM METHODOLOGIES. A FIRST EXPERIMENTATION FOR THE FEDERICO II HEADQUARTERS IN NAPLES

The Building Information Modeling is today one of the most advanced data cataloging and processing systems aimed to the digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of an object. These prerogatives make possible to create a model containing not only the geometric-architectural data of the building, but also the properties of the materials and technical elements that compose it, the construction phases, as well as maintenance operations, locating and programming them over time. Such an approach implies, therefore, not only a change of instruments for the representation of Architecture, but above all a change of "mentality", in which the building is seen as a "unitary" organism with a synchronous vision between architectural form, structural elements, construction techniques, materials and installations. The experimentation here presented concerns the case of the university complex of Federico II of Naples along the axis of Via Mezzocannone. The urban palimpsest housing the monumental front of the building, designed by Eng. Pierpaolo Quaglia and Guglielmo Melisurgo at the end of the Nineteenth century, and incorporating ancient religious complexes built in the Fifteenth century, as the monasteries of Donnaromita and the Old Jesus; heterogeneous elements that allowed to explore on the field limits and the possibilities of interoperability of BIM in which still have ample possibilities for experimentation

Secukinumab for Psoriasis in Obese Patients: Minireview and Clinical Experience

Psoriasis (PsO) has been associated with obesity, and its severity increases in obese subjects. The link between psoriatic condition and obesity is based on shared pathophysiological pathways where local and systemic inflammation promote each other; PsO is an inflammatory, immune-mediated disease, and the adipose tissue is the source of proinflammatory adipokines. Moreover, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an important comorbidity of PsO that reduces quality of life and makes difficult the patient's management. Treatment of obese subjects with moderate to severe PsO, even more if PsA is present, is challenging because of reduced efficacy of several systemic drugs and increased risk of adverse events. Secukinumab, a monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to and neutralizes interleukin 17A, shows efficacy on PsO in all body weight groups, even in the highest, whose response has a slight downward trend. Clinical features of two obese subjects, affected by PsO and PsA, successfully treated with secukinumab, are described

Introduction: the Theoretical Legacy of Augusto Graziani

Augusto Graziani (1933–2014) was one of the most eminent Italian economists of the twentieth century. He is internationally known as the founding father of the Theory of Monetary Circuit. His contributions to economic theory went beyond the circuit, especially in the early part of his career. They included both other theoretical areas (for example, a critical review of Walras’s general equilibrium model) and the analysis of the ‘uneven development’ of the Italian economy. Even his approach to ‘circuitism’ was quite original and cannot be reduced to a special branch of post-Keynesianism. This introduction to the special section of ROKE on Graziani highlights some key points of his heretical thinking, and gives a quick summary of the papers that follow

Test-retest analysis of a non-invasive method of quantifying [C-11]-PBR28 binding in Alzheimer's disease

Purpose: In order to maximise the utility of [11C]-PBR28 for use in longitudinal studies and clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), there is a need to develop non-invasive metrics of tracer binding that do not require arterial cannulation. Recent work has suggested that standardised uptake value (SUV)-based methods may be sensitive to changes in translocator protein (TSPO) levels associated with neurodegeneration. However, the test-retest reliability of these approaches in AD over a time period relevant for clinical trials is unknown. In this study, the test-retest reliability of three SUV-based metrics was assessed in AD patients over 12 weeks. Methods: Five patients with mild AD and the high-affinity binding TSPO genotype underwent two [11C]-PBR28 PET scans approximately 12 weeks apart. The test-retest reliability (TRR) of the unadjusted SUV, SUV relative to cerebellar grey matter (SUVRC) and SUV normalised to whole brain activity (SUVRWB) in nine cortical and limbic regions of interest was assessed using the absolute variability and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: Of the three measures, SUVRWB performed best overall, showing low absolute variability (mean −0.13 %, SD 2.47 %) and high reliability (mean ICC = 0.83). Unadjusted SUV also performed well, with high reliability (ICC = 0.94) but also high variability (mean −1.24 %, SD 7.28 %). By comparison, the SUVRC showed higher variability (mean −3.98 %, SD 7.07 %) and low reliability (ICC = 0.65). Conclusions: In this AD sample, we found that SUV-derived metrics of [11C]-PBR28 binding showed high stability over 12 weeks. These results compare favourably with studies reporting TRR of absolute quantification of [11C]-PBR28. Pending further validation of SUV-based measures of [11C]-PBR28, semi-quantitative methods of [11C]-PBR28 analysis may prove useful in longitudinal studies of AD

Oxidative Stress Markers to Investigate the Effects of Hyperoxia in Anesthesia

Oxygen (O-2) is commonly used in clinical practice to prevent or treat hypoxia, but if used in excess (hyperoxia), it may act as toxic. O-2 toxicity arises from the enhanced formation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) that exceed the antioxidant defenses and generate oxidative stress. In this study, we aimed at assessing whether an elevated fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO(2)) during and after general anesthesia may contribute to the unbalancing of the pro-oxidant/antioxidant equilibrium. We measured five oxidative stress biomarkers in blood samples from patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery, randomly assigned to FiO(2) = 0.40 vs. 0.80: hydroperoxides, antioxidants, nitrates and nitrites (NOx), malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathionyl hemoglobin (HbSSG). The MDA concentration was significantly higher 24 h after surgery, and the body antioxidant defense lower, in the FiO(2) = 0.80 group with respect to both the FiO(2) = 0.40 group and the baseline values (p <= 0.05, Student's t-test). HbSSG in red blood cells was also higher in the FiO(2) = 0.80 group at the end of the surgery. NOx was higher in the FiO(2) = 0.80 group than the FiO(2) = 0.40 group at t = 2 h after surgery. MDA, the main end product of the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids directly influenced by FiO(2), may represent the best marker to assess the pro-oxidant/antioxidant equilibrium after surgery

Análise espectral de dados SMMR para estudo de padrões de Inundação do Pantanal.

Inundation seasonal patterns are important in the understanding of tropical floodplain ecosystems dynamics. In this study, we have analyzed data derived from 37-GHz polarization differences observed by the Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR). The passive microwave observations, for 10 Pantanal subregioes, provide an robust signature of inundation dynamics in large wetlands such as the Pantanal. The time series was obtained taking into account the differences between vertically and horizontally polarized brightness temperatures providing a sensitive indicator of the surface water against a vegetation land surface background. Each time series was analyzed by applying the gradient pattern analysis on a multiresolution representation obtained from wavelet decomposition /reconstrution technique. The main result have shown similar variability patterns for the following groups of subregions: (i) Miranda and Piquiri; (ii) Negro and Nhecolandia; (iii) Corixo, Paraguay, Cuiabá and Taquari fan; and (iv) Taquari river and Nabileque. Some hydrological aspects are discussed in order to understand the clusterization found from our results

Influenza vaccination for elderly, vulnerable and high-risk subjects: a narrative review and expert opinion

Influenza is associated with a substantial health burden, especially in high-risk subjects such as older adults, frail individuals and those with underlying chronic diseases. In this review, we summarized clinical findings regarding the impact of influenza in vulnerable populations, highlighted the benefits of influenza vaccination in preventing severe illness and complications and reviewed the main evidence on the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of the vaccines that are best suited to older adults among those available in Italy. The adverse outcomes associated with influenza infection in elderly and frail subjects and those with underlying chronic diseases are well documented in the literature, as are the benefits of vaccination (mostly in older adults and in patients with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic lung disease). High-dose and adjuvanted inactivated influenza vaccines were specifically developed to provide enhanced immune responses in older adults, who generally have low responses mainly due to immunosenescence, comorbidities and frailty. These vaccines have been evaluated in clinical studies and systematic reviews by international immunization advisory boards, including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The high-dose vaccine is the only licensed influenza vaccine to have demonstrated greater efficacy versus a standard-dose vaccine in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza in a randomized controlled trial. Despite global recommendations, the vaccination coverage in high-risk populations is still suboptimal. All healthcare professionals (including specialists) have an important role in increasing vaccination rates