Prismatic to asbestiform offretite from Northern Italy. Occurrence, morphology and crystal-chemistry of a new potentially hazardous zeolite

A multi-methodological approach, based upon field investigation, morphological characterization, chemical analysis and structure refinement was applied to different samples of fibrous offretite, a new potentially hazardous zeolite recently discovered in northern Italy. Their morphology ranges from stocky-prismatic to asbestiform. All the investigated fibers may be considered as "inhalable", and they are well within the range of the "more carcinogenic fibers" regarding diameter. As regards the length, the main mode observed in the asbestiform samples is 20-25 mu m, and similar to 93% of the measured fibers are >5 mu m and may be significantly associated with carcinogenesis also in terms of lengths. The chemical-structural features of the investigated fibers are comparable: the extra-framework cations K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ are present in all samples in similar proportions, and refined cell parameters are similar among the samples. Offretite occurs in 60% of the investigated sites, with an estimated amount up to 75 vol % of the associated minerals. The presence of this mineral could be of concern for risk to human health, especially if one considers the vast number of quarries and mining-related activities that are operating in the zeolite host rocks

Chrysotile within calcite veins from Northern Apennines

In the Northern Apennines several olistoliths made up of serpentinites, calpionelle limestones and ophiolitic breccias have been recognized within the Porcellara Complex, Monte Cassio Unit. These olistoliths are frequently crossed by a dense network of centimeter to decimeter veins generally filled by carbonate minerals (e.g. La Costa, Berceto, PR). Morphological and compositional data (SEM-EDS and XRPD) have revealed that these carbonate minerals consist mainly of well-formed, white to milky calcite crystals, strictly associated with chrysotile. This mineral is found as white thin fibers (< 1 micron), grew up in intimate association with calcite crystals. These fibers may be very rare and randomly scattered within the crystals of calcite, or can be grouped into bundles of millimeter to centimeter size. At times, the chrysotile can get to completely fill the vein. Chrysotile fibers are well-formed and euhedral at all scales from hand specimen to electron microscope images. In some cases, individual fibers of chrysotile are not visible in hand specimen or under the petrographic microscope; however, SEM images show the characteristic elongate crystal morphology. The fibers are also characteristically curved at the millimeter scale. It is important to note that the fibers of chrysotile appear, frequently, as a physical extension of calcite crystals, without any evident morphological discontinuity in the transition from a massive (calcite) to a fibrous (chrysotile) appearence. The results of detailed SEM-EDS elemental analyses carried out in various segments of the contact areas between calcite and chrysotile crystals seem to show a gradual transition in chemical composition from pure calcite to pure chrysotile phases, passing through various intermediate arrangements

Fare spazio: una strategia di rappresentazione della violenza

In Tre saggi sull\u2019immagine, Jean-Luc Nancy delinea un\u2019interpretazione della violenza che non si limita a rilevare le sue potenzialit\ue0 materialmente distruttive, ma ne considera le implicazioni a livello etico ed estetico: secondo il filosofo francese la violenza consiste in un attentato alla capacit\ue0 rappresentativa della vittima. A seguito dell\u2019atto violento, infatti, quest\u2019ultima diviene incapace di immaginarsi al di l\ue0 del suo opprimente status di vittima. Dopo aver analizzato l\u2019opera di James Nachtwey, utile a descrivere un approccio vittimario alla violenza, la tesi prosegue prendendo in considerazione artisti che cercano di riattivare un dispositivo di rappresentazione e un meccanismo di immaginazione il pi\uf9 possibile co-autoriali: l\u2019espressione \u201cfare spazio\u201d riassume questa tendenza a costruire uno spazio per le vittime di una violenza e, contemporaneamente, lasciare loro spazio per immaginare e per raggiungere una nuova soggettivit\ue0. La tesi analizza diverse manifestazioni del \u201cfare spazio\u201d: Teresa Margolles investiga l\u2019autonomia della materia estrapolata dai cadaveri, alcuni artisti contro-monumentali (Jochen e Ester Gerz, Horst Hoheisel e Peter Eisenman) sollecitano la facolt\ue0 immaginativa dei loro spettatori in opere pubbliche dedicate alla Shoah, Regina Jos\ue9 Galindo basa le proprie performance sulla parziale incorporazione di testimonianze precedentemente raccolte, Milo Rau, nei suoi spettacoli e film, sviluppa un dispositivo di soggettivazione che permetta alle vittime di costruirsi un\u2019identit\ue0 che vada al di l\ue0 della propria condizione. Nei lavori di questi artisti la violenza non \ue8 contestata sul piano dell\u2019attivismo, della denuncia o della piet\ue0, ma su un piano estetico, che mira a riattivare quella potenza che essa ha soppresso.In Tre saggi sull'immagine, Jean-Luc Nancy gives an interpretation of violence that is not limited to point out its materially destructive potentiality, but that considers its ethical and esthetical implications: according to the French philosopher, violence consists in an attempt on the victim's representative capability. As a consequence of a violent act, indeed, the victim becomes incapable of imagining themself beyond their oppressing status. After analyzing some photographs of James Nachtwey, useful to describe a victimary approach to violence, the dissertation takes into account artists who try to re-activate, in as much as possible co-authorial way, a representation's dispositive and an imagination's mechanism: the expression "make room" resumes this tendency to construct a space for the violence's victims and, at the same time, to let them imagine and reach a new subjectivity. The Ph.d thesis analyzes different ways to "make room": Teresa Margolles tests the autonomy of materials extrapolated from the corpses; some counter-monumental artists (Jochen and Esther Shalev Gerz, Horst Hoheisel, Peter Eisenman) solicit the spectators' imaginative power in public works devoted to Shoah; Regina Jos\ue9 Galindo bases her performance on partial incorporation of previously collected testimonials; Milo Rau, in his movies and theatre plays, develops a subjectification's dispositive that let the victims build an identity beyond their condition. These artists' works don't contest the violence on the level of the activism, of the complaint, or the pity, but on an esthetic one, trying to re-generate that power suppressed by the violence itself

Prismatic to asbestiform offretite from Northern Italy. Occurrence, morphology and crystal-chemistry of a new potentially hazardous zeolite

A multi-methodological approach, based upon field investigation, morphological characterization, chemical analysis and structure refinement was applied to different samples of fibrous offretite, a new potentially hazardous zeolite recently discovered in northern Italy. Their morphology ranges from stocky-prismatic to asbestiform. All the investigated fibers may be considered as "inhalable", and they are well within the range of the "more carcinogenic fibers" regarding diameter. As regards the length, the main mode observed in the asbestiform samples is 20-25 mu m, and similar to 93% of the measured fibers are >5 mu m and may be significantly associated with carcinogenesis also in terms of lengths. The chemical-structural features of the investigated fibers are comparable: the extra-framework cations K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ are present in all samples in similar proportions, and refined cell parameters are similar among the samples. Offretite occurs in 60% of the investigated sites, with an estimated amount up to 75 vol % of the associated minerals. The presence of this mineral could be of concern for risk to human health, especially if one considers the vast number of quarries and mining-related activities that are operating in the zeolite host rocks

A Data-Driven Approach to Estimate the Power Loss and Thermal Behaviour of Cylindrical Gearboxes under Transient Operating Conditions

This paper proposes an innovative methodology to estimate the thermal behaviour of the cylindrical gearbox system, considering, as a thermal source, the power loss calculated under transient operating conditions. The power loss of the system in transient conditions is computed through several approaches: a partial elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication model (EHL) is adopted to estimate the friction coefficients of the gears, while analytical and semiempirical models are used to compute other power loss sources. Furthermore, considering a limited set of operating condition points as a training set, a reduced-order model for the evaluation of the power loss based on a neural network is developed. Using this method, it is possible to simulate thermal behaviour with high accuracy through a thermal network approach in all steady-state and transient operating conditions, reducing computational time. The results obtained by means of the proposed method have been compared and validated with the experimental results available in the literature. This methodology has been tested with the FZG rig test gearbox but can be extended to any transmission layout to predict the overall efficiency and component temperatures with a low computational burden

Sport, attività fisica, disabilità in età evolutiva: una systematic review

Sport and physical activity in general, are important factors in promoting health for all subjects in developmental age; they play an even more decisive role for pupils with disabilities. The study aims to investigate issues regarding the participation of people with disabilities, in the period of pre‐adolescence and adolescence, in school and extracurricular sports activities, comparing the declared activity with the recommendations issued in 2010 by the World Health Organization (WHO); it recommends that children and youth spend a minimum of 60 min each day in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. The studies analyzed have examined both the elements that act as barriers to active involvement, and the predisposing or facilitating factors, which operate in the sense of encouraging participation in activities, living the movement in an inclusive perspective

Sport, attività fisica, disabilità in età evolutiva: una systematic review

Sport and physical activity in general, are important factors in promoting health for all subjects in developmental age; they play an even more decisive role for pupils with disabilities. The study aims to investigate issues regarding the participation of people with disabilities, in the period of pre-adolescence and adolescence, in school and extracurricular sports activities, comparing the declared activity with the recommendations issued in 2010 by the World Health Organization (WHO); it recommends that children and youth spend a minimum of 60 min each day in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. The studies analyzed have examined both the elements that act as barriers to active involvement, and the predisposing or facilitating factors, which operate in the sense of encouraging participation in activities, living the movement in an inclusive perspective.L’attività fisica è un importante fattore di promozione della salute per tutti i soggetti in età evolutiva; riveste un ruolo ancor più determinante per preadolescenti e adolescenti con disabilità. Lo studio si propone di indagare le tematiche circa la partecipazione di soggetti con disabilità, nel periodo dell’adolescenza o della preadolescenza, alle attività sportive scolastiche ed extrascolastiche, confrontando l’attività dichiarata con le raccomandazioni emanate nel 2010 dall’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità (WHO) sulla partecipazione giornaliera ad almeno 60 minuti di attività fisica, ad un’intensità compresa tra il livello moderato e intenso. Gli studi analizzati hanno preso in esame sia i fattori predisponenti o facilitatori, che operano nel senso di incentivare la partecipazione alle attività, sia gli elementi che fungono da barriere alla partecipazione alle stesse

Facing complications of direct anterior approach in total hip arthroplasty during the learning curve

This study aims to evaluate complications and early postoperative clinical outcomes of direct anterior approach (DAA) in total hip arthroplasty (THA)

Giant lung bulla as a late-onset complication of mild SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia

A 49-year-old Caucasian man was admitted to the Emergency Department for shortness of breath and cough. CT imaging showed bilateral a mild COVID-19 related pneumonia. He was hospitalized in the low-intensity COVID-19 unit where he received O2 therapy and oral corticosteroids (CS). Three weeks after discharge a high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) find a giant bulla of the inferior lobe. The bulla was resected by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and the patient recovered completely. In our patient, it is reasonable to suspect that the development of the bulla is a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection, since no bulla was observed in the first HRCT two months before. SARS-CoV-2 related pneumonia may be responsible for lung remodeling due to diffuse alveolar damage and later interstitial myofibroblastic proliferation. Corticosteroids might have played a role in increasing SARS-CoV-2 dystrophic action. COVID-19 leads to pulmonary damages, which are still partially unknown and might result in development of bullae. In fit patient surgical treatment can be carried out safely

new coastal video monitoring system achievement and development

A new coastal video monitoring system for Apulia region, southeast of Italy, is under development. It is composed of visible and thermal streams and featured to be included in a wider meteo-oceanographic monitoring network. The system is designed for use on sandy beaches. The regional Basin Authority (AdBP) through previous field campaigns has identified for long-term monitoring purposes two hotspots, prone to erosion and flooding: Torre Canne (Fasano, BR) and Torre Lapillo (Porto Cesareo, LE), facing the Adriatic and Ionian seas, respectively. This paper presents the actual architecture and some initial findings of its implementation aiming at a complete automatic analysis of morphological features and hydrodynamic studies, mainly focused in swash zone