Decommissioning and reusing churches: issues and research perspectives

The phenomena of underutilization, decommissioning and reuse of religious heritage are considered key issues by ecclesiastical institutions, research centers and others working in the realms of culture. The social, economic and technical dynamics that are caused by these phenomena are relevant not only for the ecclesial milieu but for all of society. In order to encourage the encounter between researchers and ecclesial subjects, the the Responsible Risk Resilience Centre (R3C) at the Politecnico di Torino aimed - in the frame of the coopereation with Pontifical Council of Culture, Pontifical Gregorian University and Conference of the Bishops of Italy - at surveying interdisciplinary research projects on the subject, focusing on architectural and urban issues, and based on studies of the social and theological-pastoral sciences as well. The call to report on ongoing studies or those recently concluded invited the research centers to consider three issues: 1. Wide-scale Research. Establishing the enquiry at a regional level underlines that individual choices on a decommissioned building cannot neglect a broader framework to interpret social, cultural and pastoral dynamics, major risk factors and a regional planning perspective of religious heritage, focusing on the responsible involvement of worshippers and local communities, and on the enhancement of the resilience of local systems. 2. Discernment of Method. Faced with a plurality of approaches, the question of the selection (motivated and transparent) of methods is raised concerning decision-making processes concerning reuse, regeneration and revitalization of decommissioned or redundant religious heritage, specifically assessment methods considering ecclesial, social, cultural and economic dynamics, aiding collective discernment about the maintenance of the worship function, or other appropriate utilizations or transformations. 3. Theoretical Issues. The complexity of the challenges requires further reflection on the significance of reuse of religious heritage, considered in relation to restoration theory, sociological models, architectural design theory and – in general – all disciplines concerning heritagization processes and the sustainable regeneration of cultural heritage. The appeal was received by more than 30 research groups, involving about 50 scholars from different disciplines (from architectural design to canon law, passing through historical, sociological, management studies, etc.), working in research centers in 12 countries (from Canada to Turkey). 15 experiences are published in this section of the book, introduced by the scientific committee of the call.The aim of the initiative – both in its expositive and editorial aspects – is to inform ecclesiastical subjects about the themes investigated by the academic world regarding the reuse of churches, but also to inspire institutions in their policies of regeneration and enhancement, and to allow the exchange of research methods between working groups and different countries

Impact of pretreatment dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase genotype-guided fluoropyrimidine dosing on chemotherapy associated adverse events

Consensus guidelines exist for genotype-guided fluoropyrimidine dosing based on variation in the gene dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD). However, these guidelines have not been widely implemented in North America and most studies of pretreatment DPYD screening have been conducted in Europe. Given regional differences in treatment practices and rates of adverse events (AEs), we investigated the impact of pretreatment DPYD genotyping on AEs in a Canadian context. Patients referred for DPYD genotyping prior to fluoropyrimidine treatment were enrolled from December 2013 through November 2019 and followed until completion of fluoropyrimidine treatment. Patients were genotyped for DPYD c.1905+1G\u3eA, c.2846A\u3eT, c.1679T\u3eG, and c.1236G\u3eA. Genotype-guided dosing recommendations were informed by Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium guidelines. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who experienced a severe fluoropyrimidine-related AE (grade ≥3, Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0). Secondary outcomes included early severe AEs, severe AEs by toxicity category, discontinuation of fluoropyrimidine treatment due to AEs, and fluoropyrimidine-related death. Among 1394 patients, mean (SD) age was 64 (12) years, 764 (54.8%) were men, and 47 (3.4%) were DPYD variant carriers treated with dose reduction. Eleven variant carriers (23%) and 418 (31.0%) noncarriers experienced a severe fluoropyrimidine-related AE (p = 0.265). Six carriers (15%) and 284 noncarriers (21.1%) experienced early severe fluoropyrimidine-related AEs (p = 0.167). DPYD variant carriers treated with genotype-guided dosing did not experience an increased risk for severe AEs. Our data support a role for DPYD genotyping in the use of fluoropyrimidines in North America

De gedragskundige contra-expertise in straf- en tbs-zaken:problemen en oplossingen

Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, accountability, and effectivit

Sperm Cryopreservation in Brown Bear (Ursus arctos): Preliminary Aspects

P. 9-17The development of sperm cryopreservation procedures in brown bear is the basis for establishing a specific genetic resource bank aimed at the preservation of a Cantabric brown bear population, which is seriously threatened. Several issues complicate the development of these cryopreservation procedures: lack of previous specific studies, a high incidence of urospermia and spermagglutination observed in bear ejaculates. Moreover, the availability of individuals for research from these threatened populations is problematic. In the case of the Cantabric brown bear, we have used males from other populations, but of the same species, as surrogates, to carry out a direct extrapolation of the results. Urospermia – Moreover, 70% of the ejaculates are urine contaminated and spermagglutination have a detrimental effect on post‐thawing cell quality recovery in this species. Considering the high value of these samples (autochthonous population with few individuals), a pre‐selection of the ejaculates is not a viable alternative. Preventive methods reducing the mentioned detrimental effects need to be developed. On the basis of previous data, we can suppose that bear spermatozoa resist freezing injuries well. Nevertheless, because of the scarcity of this information, it is necessary to conduct further research on bear semen freezing under field conditions. Epidydimal spermatozoa can be important for genetic resource banking of threatened populations and thus specific cryobiological protocols need to be assayed. To date, 168 brown bear ejaculates have been frozen by the ITRA‐ULE group at the University of León (Spain) in the development of methodologies for the preservation of brown bear sperm.S

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Secretory phospholipase A2 pathway in various types of lung injury in neonates and infants: a multicentre translational study

Background Secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) is a group of enzymes involved in lung tissue inflammation and surfactant catabolism. sPLA2 plays a role in adults affected by acute lung injury and seems a promising therapeutic target. Preliminary data allow foreseeing the importance of such enzyme in some critical respiratory diseases in neonates and infants, as well. Our study aim is to clarify the role of sPLA2 and its modulators in the pathogenesis and clinical severity of hyaline membrane disease, infection related respiratory failure, meconium aspiration syndrome and acute respiratory distress syndrome. sPLA2 genes will also be sequenced and possible genetic involvement will be analysed. Methods/Design Multicentre, international, translational study, including several paediatric and neonatal intensive care units and one coordinating laboratory. Babies affected by the above mentioned conditions will be enrolled: broncho-alveolar lavage fluid, serum and whole blood will be obtained at definite time-points during the disease course. Several clinical, respiratory and outcome data will be recorded. Laboratory researchers who perform the bench part of the study will be blinded to the clinical data. Discussion This study, thanks to its multicenter design, will clarify the role(s) of sPLA2 and its pathway in these diseases: sPLA2 might be the crossroad between inflammation and surfactant dysfunction. This may represent a crucial target for new anti-inflammatory therapies but also a novel approach to protect surfactant or spare it, improving alveolar stability, lung mechanics and gas exchange