Reinforced Concrete + Masonry: the ‘Mixed‘ Structure of the Novocomum by Giuseppe Terragni

With his design of the Novocomum building in Como (1928-29), the famous first example of Rationalist architecture in that city, Giuseppe Terragni began to experiment with a mix of different architectural languages and construction techniques. Within the space of less than a year – from January to October 1928 – Novocomum saw a shift from the traditional to the innovative. Starting out with a weight-bearing structure of brick walls, the development of the project led to the introduction of reinforced concrete, which however did not entirely substitute the former: by 1929, such ‘mixed’ structures were to be seen in many buildings then being created and might be taken as a hallmark of the various forms of so-called Italian modernisms. Within the enclosed building site, work on Novocomum preceded right up to the terraced roof, and would only be unveiled to the unsuspecting citizens of the city once completed (1930), giving rise to a fierce controversy. The paper here proposed draws upon wide-ranging research into the Novocomum project to offer material of great significance for our understanding of the characteristic features, methods and phases of construction work – all aspects that have received little attention in the many studies dedicated to Terragni’s architecture. The research made ample use of the documents now conserved in numerous public and private archives in Lombardy, continually comparing the information therein with the building as it stands nowadays. There was a focus on documents relating to work on the building site, which record each successive phase in construction. This material included: notes, technical drawings, estimates of costs, work reports, calculations, payment records and letters, as well as the documents relating to the tense dispute with the building contractor which involved the architect’s brother, the engineer Attilio Terragni. A systematic analysis of the data thus gathered made it possible to reconstruct the far from straightforward interweave between the different phases in the building’s construction and the various ideas advanced in the project designs. Furthermore, study of the structural aspects themselves could draw upon a 3D graphic model, which made it possible to assembly and dismantle the various parts of the structure and thus understand the articulation of the building more fully. At the same time, study of how the various building materials were used provided a further key to understanding the different components of the weight-bearing structure. Comprising an analytic assessment of the material collected, the study aims to be an important source of knowledge for future research into issues related to the structural behaviour and durability of the building

Plasticità e variazioni microstrutturali in rame ETP1 trafilato o laminato a freddo

Si è effettuato uno studio degli effetti della deformazione plastica del rame Cu-ETP1 per trafilaturae laminazione a freddo mediante osservazioni microstrutturali al TEM e al SEM, prove di trazione,durezza Vickers, resistività elettrica e diffrazione a raggi X. Si è osservato che la trafilatura a freddodetermina l’allungamento progressivo dei grani secondo la direzione di lavorazione, mentre ai bordidi grano si formano grovigli di dislocazioni sempre più fitti ed aumentano i precipitati di ossido di rame;la deformazione è tale da provocare l’aumento della resistenza a rottura per trazione e della durezza.Un appropriato trattamento termico dopo la trafilatura consente la ricristallizzazione completadel materiale, indipendentemente dal diametro del filo, per cui scompaiono i grovigli di dislocazionie la distribuzione di micro-ossiduli di rame ritorna ad essere omogenea. Anche durante la laminazionea freddo il materiale incrudisce ma esiste un ben definito limite alla comprimibilità del grano,normalmente alla direzione di laminazione, che dà luogo ad un valore di durezza costante a partireda una riduzione di spessore di ~80%. L’analisi per diffrazione a raggi X delle superfici laminateha dimostrato che questo comportamento dipende dalla molteplicità del sistema di scorrimento.La conoscenza più approfondita degli effetti microstrutturali dei processi metallurgici ha consentitodi perfezionare il processo di lavorazione per dotare il filo di una capacità stabile di deformabilitàplastica e di un’elasticità residua minima dopo la ricottura. Entrambe le qualità si rivelano essenzialiper la produzione di fili micro-capillari per avvolgimenti a spirale

Plasticità e variazioni microstrutturali in rame ETP1 trafilato o laminato a freddo

Si è effettuato uno studio degli effetti della deformazione plastica del rame Cu-ETP1 per trafilatura e laminazione a freddo mediante osservazioni microstrutturali al TEM e al SEM, prove di trazione, durezza Vickers, resistività elettrica e diffrazione a raggi X. Si è osservato che la trafilatura a freddo determina l’allungamento progressivo dei grani secondo la direzione di lavorazione, mentre ai bordi di grano si formano grovigli di dislocazioni sempre più fitti ed aumentano i precipitati di ossido di rame; la deformazione è tale da provocare l’aumento della resistenza a rottura per trazione e della durezza. Un appropriato trattamento termico dopo la trafilatura consente la ricristallizzazione completa del materiale, indipendentemente dal diametro del filo, per cui scompaiono i grovigli di dislocazioni e la distribuzione di micro-ossiduli di rame ritorna ad essere omogenea. Anche durante la laminazione a freddo il materiale incrudisce ma esiste un ben definito limite alla comprimibilità del grano, normalmente alla direzione di laminazione, che dà luogo ad un valore di durezza costante a partire da una riduzione di spessore di ~80%. L’analisi per diffrazione a raggi X delle superfici laminate ha dimostrato che questo comportamento dipende dalla molteplicità del sistema di scorrimento. La conoscenza più approfondita degli effetti microstrutturali dei processi metallurgici ha consentito di perfezionare il processo di lavorazione per dotare il filo di una capacità stabile di deformabilità plastica e di un’elasticità residua minima dopo la ricottura. Entrambe le qualità si rivelano essenziali per la produzione di fili micro-capillari per avvolgimenti a spirale

Alpha1-acid glycoprotein post-translational modifications: a comparative two dimensional electrophoresis based analysis

Alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is an immunomodulatory protein expressed by hepatocytes in response to the systemic reaction that follows tissue damage caused by inflammation, infection or trauma. A proteomic approach based on two dimensional electrophoresis, immunoblotting and staining of 2DE gels with dyes specific for post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as glycosylation and phosphorylation has been used to evaluate the differential interspecific protein expression of AGP purified from human, bovine and ovine sera. By means of these techniques, several isoforms have been identified in the investigated species: they have been found to change both with regard to the number of isoforms expressed under physiological condition and with regard to the quality of PTMs (i.e. different oligosaccharidic chains, presence/absence of phosphorilations). In particular, it is suggested that bovine serum AGP may have one of the most complex pattern of PTMs among serum proteins of mammals studied so far

Understanding the prebiotic potential of different dietary fibers using an <em>in vitro</em> continuous adult fermentation model (PolyFermS)

Abstract Consumption of fermentable dietary fibers (DFs), which can induce growth and/or activity of specific beneficial populations, is suggested a promising strategy to modulate the gut microbiota and restore health in microbiota-linked diseases. Until today, inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) are the best studied DFs, while little is known about the gut microbiota-modulating effects of β-glucan, α-galactooligosaccharide (α-GOS) and xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS). Here, we used three continuous in vitro fermentation PolyFermS model to study the modulating effect of these DFs on two distinct human adult proximal colon microbiota, independently from the host. Supplementation of DFs, equivalent to a 9 g daily intake, induced a consistent metabolic response depending on the donor microbiota. Irrespective to the DF supplemented, the Bacteroidaceae-Ruminococcaceae dominated microbiota produced more butyrate (up to 96%), while the Prevotellaceae-Ruminococcaceae dominated microbiota produced more propionate (up to 40%). Changes in abundance of specific bacterial taxa upon DF supplementation explained the observed changes in short-chain fatty acid profiles. Our data suggest that the metabolic profile of SCFA profile may be the most suitable and robust read-out to characterize microbiota-modulating effects of a DF and highlights importance to understand the inter-individual response to a prebiotic treatment for mechanistic understanding and human application

On the Adsorption of CO₂ by Active Carbons

The combination of adsorption and calorimetric techniques shows that the adsorption of CO2 is a two-step process in the case of active carbons with large micropores (L &gt; 1.2–1.5 nm). For smaller pores, on the other hand, one observes a uniform filling of the volume. These mechanisms are in agreement with earlier experiments carried out with CH2Cl2 at 293 K

Different features of tumor-associated NK cells in patients with low-grade or high-grade peritoneal carcinomatosis

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is a rare disease defined as diffused implantation of neoplastic cells in the peritoneal cavity. This clinical picture occurs during the evolution of peritoneal tumors, and it is the main cause of morbidity and mortality of patients affected by these pathologies, though cytoreductive surgery with heated intra-peritoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) is yielding promising results. In the present study, we evaluated whether the tumor microenvironment of low-grade and high-grade PC could affect the phenotypic and functional features and thus the anti-tumor potential of NK cells. We show that while in the peritoneal fluid (PF) of low-grade PC most CD56dim NK cells show a relatively immature phenotype (NKG2A+KIR\u2013CD57\u2013CD16dim), in the PF of high-grade PC NK cells are, in large majority, mature (CD56dimKIR+CD57+CD16bright). Furthermore, in low-grade PC, PF-NK cells are characterized by a sharp down-regulation of some activating receptors, primarily NKp30 and DNAM-1, while, in high-grade PC, PF-NK cells display a higher expression of the PD-1 inhibitory checkpoint. The compromised phenotype observed in low-grade PC patients corresponds to a functional impairment. On the other hand, in the high-grade PC patients PF-NK cells show much more important defects that only partially reflect the compromised phenotype detected. These data suggest that the PC microenvironment may contribute to tumor escape from immune surveillance by inducing different NK cell impaired features leading to altered anti-tumor activity. Notably, after CRS/HIPEC treatment, the altered NK cell phenotype of a patient with a low-grade disease and favorable prognosis was reverted to a normal one. Our present data offer a clue for the development of new immunotherapeutic strategies capable of restoring the NK-mediated anti-tumor responses in association with the CRS/HIPEC treatment to increase the effectiveness of the current therapy