Framing the Family-House Stock in Contemporary Italy Construction, Situations, Evolution Patterns

Family houses are the principal material of the dispersed settlements that have marked the Italian landscape since the 1970s. The presentation provides an overview on the main generative processes that shaped the existing stock of family houses according to the social and economic contexts in which it grew; a focus on the recurring “conditions” in which we found such stock today; an assessment of the demographic and social evolutions that are affecting family houses and that could inspire some policy considerations

the use of quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction to quantify some rumen bacterial strains in an in vitro rumen system

The aim of this work was to quantify four rumen bacterial strains (Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, Ruminococcus albus, Streptococcus bovis, Megasphaera elsdenii) in an in vitro batch rumen fermentative system by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The experiment was a 2×2 factorial arrangement with two types of liquid rumen, collected from dairy cows (DC) and fattening bulls (FB) and two types of fermentation substrate (forage:concentrate ratios, 75:25 and 25:75) and was replicated in two fermentation runs. Fermentation fluids from FB compared to those from DC had lower pH, higher total VFA concentrations (averages of 0 and 24 h samplings, 6.70 vs 7.04 and 72.6 vs 42.7 mmol/l P<0.001) and contained less acetic (P=0.014) and more propionic (P<0.01) and butyric (P=0.029) acids. The two types of substrates incubated produced very small differences in the end fermentation products. B. fibrosolvens concentrations were higher (P<0.001) in the DC fermentation fluids compared to that from bulls (averages of 0 and 24 h sampling times, 3.47 vs 1.38 x109 copies /mL), while M. elsdenii was detected only in FB fermentation fluids. R. albus and S. bovis concentrations were not different between the two types of rumen liquid. With the only exception for B. fibrosolvens, bacteria strains considered in this study increased their concentrations in the fermentation fluid during the 24 h of in vitro incubation

Hypothermic oxygenated perfusion in extended criteria donor liver transplantation-A randomized clinical trial

Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE) of the liver can reduce the incidence of early allograft dysfunction (EAD) and failure in extended criteria donors (ECD) grafts, although data from prospective studies are very limited. In this monocentric, open-label study, from December 2018 to January 2021, 110 patients undergoing transplantation of an ECD liver graft were randomized to receive a liver after HOPE or after static cold storage (SCS) alone. The primary endpoint was the incidence of EAD. The secondary endpoints included graft and patient survival, the EASE risk score, and the rate of graft or other graft-related complications. Patients in the HOPE group had a significantly lower rate of EAD (13% vs. 35%, p = .007) and were more frequently allocated to the intermediate or higher risk group according to the EASE score (2% vs. 11%, p = .05). The survival analysis confirmed that patients in the HOPE group were associated with higher graft survival one year after LT (p = .03, log-rank test). In addition, patients in the SCS group had a higher re-admission and overall complication rate at six months, in particular cardio-vascular adverse events (p = .04 and p = .03, respectively). HOPE of ECD grafts compared to the traditional SCS preservation method is associated with lower dysfunction rates and better graft survival

Intestinal failure in adults: recommendations from the ESPEN Expert Groups

Background and aims: Intestinal failure (IF) is defined as “the reduction of gut function below the minimum necessary for the absorption of macronutrients and/or water and electrolytes, such that intravenous supplementation is required to maintain health and/or growth”. Functionally, it may be classified as type I acute intestinal failure (AIF), type II prolonged AIF and type III chronic intestinal failure (CIF) The ESPEN Workshop on IF was held in Bologna, Italy, on 15-16 October 2017 and the aims of this document were to highlight the current state of the art and future directions for research in IF. Methods: This paper represents the opinion of experts in the field, based on current evidence. It is not a formal review, but encompasses the current evidence, with emphasis on epidemiology, classification, diagnosis and management. Results: IF is the rarest form of organ failure and can result from a variety of conditions that affect gastrointestinal anatomy and function adversely. Assessment, diagnosis, and short and long-term management involves a multidisciplinary team with diverse expertise in the field that aims to reduce complications, increase life expectancy and improve quality of life in patients. Conclusions: Both AIF and CIF are relatively rare conditions and most of the published work presents evidence from small, single-centre studies. Much remains to be investigated to improve the diagnosis and management of IF and future studies should rely on multidisciplinary, multicentre and multinational collaborations that gather data from large cohorts of patients. Emphasis should also be placed on partnership with patients, carers and government agencies in order to improve the quality of research that focuses on patient-centred outcomes that will help to improve both outcomes and quality of life in patients with this devastating condition

The family house and its territories in contemporary Italy: present conditions and future perspectives

Family houses are the principal material of the dispersed settlements that have marked the Italian urban landscape since the 1970s. From the Po Plain to the Adriatic coast and Apennine valleys, and all the way down to the Mezzogiorno, these buildings have created a built environment in which distinct features interweave with more standard formats. Today, a large part of this housing stock is facing a crisis, unable to provide the qualities demanded by its inhabitants, whose changing needs it is unsuited to address. The old-style family houses are showing signs of under-use, while new building formats are being developed on former farmland. Given this critical scenario, we outline three reform strategies intended to redirect the urban fabric of the città diffusa towards social, environmental and economic sustainability. These strategies favour the adaptation of existing family houses, to channel the dynamics for change, which are already underway, towards these sustainability goals

A portrait of Italian ‘Family houses’: diversified heritage in a redefined territorial and demographic context

The ‘family house’ has played a major role within the urbanisation processes that have been transforming the Italian landscape since the 1960s. It is a common feature of the widespread settlements that are part of what has been labelled the ‘diffuse city’ and was the subject of numerous studies during the 1990s. More than 20 years later, this paper returns to the topic of the Italian family house using a renewed methodological approach to describe relevant changes. The hypothesis here is that in order to grasp the tensions affecting ‘family houses’ in today’s context of demographic transition and increased imbalances between dynamic and declining areas and to contemplate their future, the qualitative gaze adopted by scholars in the 1990s must be integrated with other investigative tools, focusing on demographic change, uses, and the property values of buildings. Using this perspective, the paper provides a series of ‘portraits’ rooted in four meaningful territorial contexts, portraits which may help scholars to redefine their imagery associated with family house and be useful for dedicated building policies

Quando «un nuovo ciclo di vita» non si dà. Fenomenologia dello spazio abbandonato e prospettive per il progetto urbanistico oltre il paradigma del riuso

Il nostro paese attraversa oggi una fase profondamente distante da quella, improntata alla crescita, che fino al recente passato ha ampiamente condizionato temi e orientamenti operativi del progetto urbanistico. L'ipotesi sostenuta in questo contributo è che molti degli edifici oggi sottoutilizzati e abbandonati che ritroviamo sul territorio porranno forti resistenze a un progetto di riuso. In tal senso sarà necessario ripensare il ruolo dell'azione urbanistica, che dovrà orientarsi non tanto verso una prospettiva di ricomposizione, quanto verso la definizione delle modalità di convivenza con tali emergenti forme di abbandono