L'istante che cura

The instant that heals. A snapshot can be a privileged access to self-knowledge. The fragment of time that composes it becomes the footprint, the trace of existence that contains it, promoting the possibility of a dialogue between the “I observer” and the observed “myself-image”

Looks and images: video and photo therapy.

The art therapytechniques are increasinglyrenewed by the use of new instrumentsas new media (video and photo).Working with imagesis a powerful way to increase the client’sawareness in psychotherapy, because the perceptiveactcouldbringthe therapist to construct with the client the story of his life. The familypictures or personal snapshots are precious and important to stimulate the creative process, the use of metaphors and the contact with emotions. In thisregard, wewillexamine the concepts of personal growth, helping relationship and thesis of existence in the frame of the Gestaltpsychotherapy model. The work isexplaineddeeply, after a theoricalintroduction, takinginspiration from asession of psychotherapy in which the patientworkswith personal photographs

Looks and images: video and photo therapy.

The art therapytechniques are increasinglyrenewed by the use of new instrumentsas new media (video and photo).Working with imagesis a powerful way to increase the client’sawareness in psychotherapy, because the perceptiveactcouldbringthe therapist to construct with the client the story of his life. The familypictures or personal snapshots are precious and important to stimulate the creative process, the use of metaphors and the contact with emotions. In thisregard, wewillexamine the concepts of personal growth, helping relationship and thesis of existence in the frame of the Gestaltpsychotherapy model. The work isexplaineddeeply, after a theoricalintroduction, takinginspiration from asession of psychotherapy in which the patientworkswith personal photographs

The polychrome works “Prayer of Tobias and Sarah” and “The Archangel Raphael reveals himself to Tobi and his son Tobias”, inside the Cathedral of Cosenza: diagnostic investigations and considerations on the conditions of conservation

The oil paintings and “Prayer of Tobias and Sarah” and “The Archangel Raphael reveals himself to Tobi and his son Tobias”, executed by Francesco Bruno at the end of the XVIII century on oval Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage 210 shaped canvas, were investigated by integrated physica-chemical and analytical methodologies in order to obtain scientific data capable of elucidating the state of conservation and the painting technique. Optical (OM) and electronic (SEM-EDS) microscopy, micro-FT-IR spectroscopy, were applied on some microfragments whilst the two whole paintings were analyzed by the non invasive IR reflectografy technique. The reflectography evidenced some pentimenti of author on the canvas “Prayer of Tobias and Sarah”, while invasive analysis made it possible to locate the stratigraphic sequence of each canvas and to characterise the constituent materials

Satisfaction with allergy treatments depends on symptom severity but not on allergen specificity in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Allergic rhinitis is characterized by troublesome symptoms that may be particularly severe. Most of rhinitics are dissatisfied with drug treatments. The dissatisfaction level depends on symptoms severity, but not on the type of causal allergen

Multi-lamellar vesicle formation in a long-chain nonionic surfactant: C16E4/D2O system

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Polysaccharides-Reinforced Bitumens: Specificities and Universality of Rheological Behavior

The rheological properties of bitumens can be modified by the addition of specific chemical additives. Taking into account the molecular complex aggregation pattern, we hypothesized that macromolecules characterized by long, flexible, and hydrophilic chains can establish soft bridges connecting the different polar aggregates of asphaltenes, strengthening their overall hierarchical supra-structures, and consequently increasing rheological performance at higher temperatures. Here, we propose the use of low cost and high availability polysaccharides as chemical additives to improve the rheological characteristics of a bitumen and to strengthen its thermal resistance. Fourteen different low-cost and high-availability polysaccharides, (flours, gums, and extracts from vegetable products) have been tested. While alghae euchemae have proved to be the most effective additive, corn and 00 flours are the least effective. Attempts to explain their differences have been made considering their chemical interactions with the polar molecules of asphaltenes within the complex framework of their supramolecular hierarchical structures. Through Arrhenius analysis, a correlation between activation energy and preexponential factor has been found, which can be useful for practical purposes, together with an unexpected consistency with the behavior of simple liquids, despite the striking differences in structure. Furthermore, a qualitative model has been suggested. The added value of this work is the focus on polysaccharides constituting low-cost, high availability materials which are sometimes even found as waste in industrial processes, all factors which, together with the environmental issues connected with their use, can be considered for large-scale applications

Recurrence of right lower lobe pneumonia 3 years after the first episode in an otherwise healthy 13-year-old girl

Recurrent pneumonia is one of the most frequent reasons for referral to paediatric chest physicians. The diagnostic work-up is dependent on whether infection repeatedly occurs in the same lung lobe, or affects multiple lobes and/or different areas in different episodes. A 13-year-old girl was admitted with a second episode of right lower lobe pneumonia. The chest x-ray demonstrated an inhomogeneous opacity, without a clearly recognizable segmental distribution. A contrast-enhanced CT scan, was therefore performed that showed a polycyclic consolidation with blood supply from a systemic artery, originated from the thoracic aorta. A diagnosis of superinfection of an intralobar sequestration was made. The patient was treated with systemic antibiotics and, four weeks later, a segmental resection of the lesion was performed. The histological evaluation of the surgical specimen confirmed the diagnosis.