Degli Studi Research Articles

A Semi-Reverberation Chamber Configuration to Emulate Second-Order Descriptors of Real-Life Indoor Wireless Propagation Channels

In this article, a new reverberation chamber (RC) loading configuration is proposed that consists of using the conventional central barrier, i.e., absorbing material arranged on the floor of the RC, together with anechoic corners. The latter are built covering the two edges of the chamber and the nearby floor with absorbing material. This configuration, termed Semi-RC, is tested against both emulated and actual indoor wireless propagation channels. The former ones are obtained using the RC of the Universita degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope.” The key metrics adopted to discuss the performance of the proposed approach are based on second-order channel descriptors, i.e., the power delay profile (PDP) and the autocorrelation function. Experimental results confirm the soundness of the proposed approach that outperforms the state-of-the-art central barrier loading configuration when dealing with channels calling for very steep-descendant PDPs. The two configurations result in comparable performance when slowly descendant PDPs are considered.

General Anesthesia Research

General Anesthesia Research

When SARS ‐CoV‐2 comes knocking on your lab door

A snapshot of how scientists are personally affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Preface

The present volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series collects the proceedings of contributions presented and discussed during the International Workshop DeSyT2019 (Detection Systems and Techniques in nuclear and particle physics) held from 11 to 13 September, 2019 in Messina (Italy). The scientific event was organized by:• Università degli Studi di Messina;• Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - Sez. di Catania;• Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti;• Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica.This event has been conceived in order to stimulate interactions and collaborations.between scientists working in different fields of science which involve particle.detection.It took place in the fascinating and suggestive library room of the Accademia Peoloritana dei Pericolanti. Library room of the Accademia Peoloritana dei Pericolanti; picture taken during a workshop talk.During the workshop more than twenty oral presentations have been discussed on the following topics:• Detectors;• Particle Identification Techniques;• Tracking Systems;• Simulation Tools and Applications;• Radiation detection and Imaging in Medical Sciences and other fields of social interest. We thank all participants for the scientific presentation, for the interesting discussions arose after each presented talk, and we hope these interactions could trigger new and interesting project in this fascinating field.We thank all participants also for their effort to prepare good papers leaving a useful trace of this scientific event.We also thank the referees of the papers for their meticulous work and constructive suggestions.Last but not least, many thanks to the staff of the Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti for their assistance during the workshop, and the students of University of Messina for their active participation to scientific discussions.During the preparation of this volume, our young friend and colleague Antonio Anastasi sadly passed away after a long illness. Antonio has been a brilliant researcher and during the last period dedicated himself to the measurement of muon magnetic anomaly with unusual passion and enterprise. But first of all Antonio has been an exceptional boy, always positive, deeply helpful end friendly in respect of everyone. We wish to dedicate this volume in lovely memory of Doctor Antonio Anastasi.The Editors of the DeSyT2019 Proceedings:Antonio Trifiró (University of Messina and INFN Sec. Catania) Giuseppe Mandaglio (University of Messina and INFN Sec. Catania) Marina Trimarchi (University of Messina and INFN Sec. Catania)Messina, 20th of April 2020List of Photos are available in this pdf.

A Phraseodidactic Approach to Native Italians Comprehension of Spanish Press Information

This article analyses the interlanguage effect in the learning process of Spanish phraseology by native Italians. The plurilingual profile that Italian inhabitants naturally have provides a fruitful field to examine the impact of their linguistic profile on their learning process of a foreign language. Phraseology is a fundamental face of the communication act as it blends into language features related to history and culture. In a globalised society like today’s, it is important to advance these viewpoints as they help to develop a richer society with a more respectful approach to diversity. Phraseodidactics, therefore, is presented as a basic feature of communication to be integrated in foreign language teaching. The context of the application of this research is the Italian University of Modena (Universita degli Studi di Modena), which offers specific studies regarding European cultures. This article intends to investigate the interactions between native languages and the learning process of a foreign language in the light of previous investigation on the area of phraseology and its didactics.

Los enemigos de la patria. La representación del otro durante la Guerra Civil Española en los textos escolares del fascismo italiano (1936-1943)

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was a battlefield that, although it developed nationally, had a scope and participation that crossed the borders of Spain. The rebel side enjoyed the help of two foreign powers in challenging the Second Republic: Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It would be precisely the latter that would invest a greater economic and logistical effort, due to how Mussolini saw in Spain a possible Mediterranean ally, one akin to his model of Italian fascism. The present investigation attempts to discover how the enemy – in this case the Republican side – was represented in the school textbooks of the last years of the Duce's dictatorship in Italy. The texts were consulted in the Centro di documentazione e ricerca sulla storia del libro scolastico e della letteratura per l’infanza - Museo Paolo e Ornella Ricca of the Università degli Studi di Macerata (Italy). The results show how the school manuals of the time, in subjects such as history, readings, geography or patriotic teachings, reflected an image of the republican side associated with tyranny, demonizing their intervention in the warlike conflict with narratives that exalt violence and anti-Catholicism and identifying them with Soviet communism and anarchy.

Cell scientist to watch – Prisca Liberali

ABSTRACT Prisca Liberali studied chemistry at Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’ in Rome, Italy. She then pursued her PhD in physical chemistry, studying membrane dynamics and trafficking with Daniela Corda and Alberto Luini at Fondazioni Mario Negri Sud. Afterwards, Prisca joined Lucas Pelkmans' research group at ETH in Zurich and at the University of Zurich, Switzerland in 2008 for her postdoctoral work on genetic interactions and regulatory networks in membrane trafficking, making use of quantitative biology approaches. In 2015, Prisca became an Assistant Professor at the University of Basel, Switzerland while also starting her own research group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) in Basel. She was awarded an ERC Starting Grant in 2016 and was selected as an EMBO Young Investigator in 2019. Her lab focuses on the collective characteristics of multicellular systems and how patterning can arise from single-cell properties and behaviour. Her research group uses experimental and theoretical analysis to address the cellular heterogeneity and other relevant questions on stem cell biology and organoid development.

Lessons after the early management of the COVID-19 outbreak in a pediatric transplant and hemato-oncology center embedded within a COVID-19 dedicated hospital in Lombardia, Italy. Estote parati.

Italy is the second exposed country worldwide, after China, and Lombardia is the most affected region in Italy, with more than half of the national cases, with 13% of whom being healthcare professionals. The Clinica Pediatrica Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca is a general pediatric and hematology oncology and transplant center embedded within the designated COVID-19 general Hospital San Gerardo in Monza, located in Lombardia, Italy. Preventive and control measures specifically undertaken to cope with the emergency within hemato-oncology, transplant, and outpatient unit in the pediatric department have been described. Preliminary COVID-19 experiences with the first Italian pediatric hemato-oncology patients are reported. The few available data regarding pediatrics and specifically hemato-oncological patients are discussed. The purpose of this report is to share pediatric hemato-oncology issues encountered in the first few weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy and to alert healthcare professionals worldwide to be prepared accordingly.

Circulating Irisin Level as an Early Biomarker of Decline of Metabolic Health

A decline in metabolic health may take place before observing an alteration in the levels of the traditional metabolic markers. New indicators of metabolic derangement are therefore compelling. Irisin is a myokine which exerts important metabolic functions: it increases energy expenditure, improves insulin resistance, reduces glucose level and advanced glycation end products (AGE)‐induced inflammation. The optimal level for irisin in human and its potential role as a metabolic biomarker have not been fully established yet.To this aim, we quantified plasma irisin level in 106 healthy subjects (age 43 ± 11.72 years, 58 males/48 females) and we performed a cluster analysis to evaluate the association between irisin and subject characteristics [age, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, tryglicerides, NEFA (non‐esterified free fatty acids), glucose, HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin), insulin, GA (glycated albumin), uric acid, creatinine, irisin, sRAGE (total soluble receptor for AGE), esRAGE (endogenously secreted receptor for AGE), cRAGE (membrane‐cleaved receptor for AGE) and cRAGE/esRAGE ratio]. ELISA tests were used for the quantification of parameters different from routine biochemical markers. Glycated albumin (GA) was meausured by the enzymatic method Lucica®GA‐L. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.Irisin median level was 7.89 ng/ml. Although the mean levels of the traditional metabolic blood markers were within the ranges of normality, subjects in cluster 1 displayed a metabolic profile shifted toward the highest reference values. In fact, we observed higher concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, NEFA, glucose, HbA1c, insulin, uric acid and creatinine. The reduced levels of the anti‐AGE molecules sRAGE and esRAGE, the increased levels of cRAGE/esRAGE (a surrogate marker of inflammation) and GA (an AGE product), and a greater percentage of subjects with visceral obesity in cluster 1 confirmed an increased metabolic stress and a pro‐inflammatory profile in this group. Irisin concentration was higher in this group too.The traditional metabolic blood tests seem to be not enough to early identify a metabolic decline. The increase of irisin level may reflect a metabolic derangement at the beginning of its development. The role of irisin as an early biomarker of decline in metabolic health seems an interest topic to be further explored.Support or Funding InformationThe study was supported by funding from Fondazione E. A. Fiera Internazionale di Milano to Università degli Studi di Milano and Ricerca Corrente funding from Italian Ministry of Health to IRCCS Policlinico San Donato.

Zoledronic Acid Activates TRPV1 Channels: Possible Role in Cell Proliferation and Pain

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are the most used bone specific anti‐resorptive drugs. Lately there is an increasing interest in BPs capability to prolong osteoblasts lifespan and mineralize; however, the mechanism of action which underpin these effects are nowadays poorly understood. In addition, an increasing concern about BPs pain‐relieving effects is now emerging. Empirical evidence showed BPs may exert anti‐nociceptive, anti‐hyperalgesia and anti‐allodynic properties against multiple stimuli; targets involved in these analgesic effects remains elusive. FDA alert showed that the chronic use of BPs is linked with an increased risk of musculoskeletal pain; mechanisms underlying this sensation are not known. TRPV1 channel is actually recognized to play a key role in bone formation process; as well, it appeared to be involved in bone pain sensation. Capsaicin, a selective agonist of TRPV1 channel, is used for treating different bone pain conditions. We have recently demonstrated that the BP Zoledronic acid (ZOL) can activate TRPV1 currents on osteoblasts. In the mineralization assay, the co‐application of ZOL with capsazepine, an antagonist of TRPV1 ion channel, reduced ZOL‐induced mineralization (Scala et al., Cancer 2019). We tested ZOL effects on TRPV1 ion channel in differentiated neuronal SH‐SY5Y cells and in HEK293 cells transfected with cDNA codifying for WT and PI(4,5)P2‐binding site mutant TRPV1 ion channels. In whole‐cell patch clamp experiments on neuronal SH‐SY5Y cells, ZOL (100μM) activated strong outward currents both at negative and positive voltages. At positive membrane voltages ZOL (100μM)‐ evoked currents were closed after the application of capsazepine (1μM). On WT TRPV1 channel expressed on HEK293 cells, ZOL (100 μM) activates currents by 37% at −60 mV, by +81% at +60 mV and +80% at +180 mV (Vm). As well, on K694A mutant, ZOL was able to activate currents by +10%, +63% and +76% at −60 mV, +60 mV and +180 mV (Vm), respectively. On the contrary, no activation of currents was observed on the R579A mutant.The ZOL‐induced activation of TRPV1 channel contributes to the mineralization of osteoblasts and to the pain‐relieving effect of ZOL in neurones. Experiments on mutant TRPV1 ion channel suggest that the arginine in the S4–S5 linker of the channel is essential for the drug interaction.Support or Funding InformationThis research was funded by Reg. Puglia (Italy) project “Cluster in Bioimaging” code QZYCUM0 D.T and A.S., and Fondecyt grants 1150273, 1190293 R.L.. R.S. was supported by GLOBAL THESIS Study (2016–2017) by Univ. degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro” at CINV “Centro Interdisciplinario De Neurociencia De Valparaíso”.

Interception of Elusive Cationic Hf-Al and Hf-Zn Heterobimetallic Adducts with Mixed Alkyl Bridges Featuring Multiple Agostic Interactions.

Invited for the cover of this issue is the group of Cristiano Zuccaccia at the Università degli Studi di Perugia. The image depicts a relation of the nuances of chemical bonding to the diverse ways that animals "bind" to their natural surroundings. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.201905699.

Some Brief Remarks on Teaching Amharic: A Personal View

This article offers a brief comparative view of the teaching of Amharic in the last decades at two major European universities: the Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale” and the Universität Hamburg. The aim of this brief history is to highlight the severe consequences on the teaching of Amharic enforced by measures set in motion by the Bologna Process since 1999. This changed framework requires adequate strategies and counter-measures in order to safeguard the quality of education and the continuity of our research traditions.

National Culture Values: reflections on formation process of future leaders in international economic cooperation

The trend towards foreign investments in Serbia has been in rapid progress in recent years. The biggest and most valuable numbers of investments are coming from Italy. The authors’ expectation is that the trend of Italian investments in future will continue; therefore it is of high importance for the representatives of both countries’ business sectors to under-stand and accept differences and similarities to the other country’s business culture. Research of cultural differences between two nations , which are considered like a frame of business culture, helps avoiding possible misunderstandings and improving business cooperation be-tween two countries. Having in mind students of economics and management, on one hand like future leaders of Italian and Serbian business and on other like representatives of the cur-rent education value system in the field of economics and management, this study consists of an application of the 7-D Hofstede Model. The application of the model takes place through the administration of two surveys done by students of Serbian Megatrend University, in Bel-grade, and Italian Università degli Studi Gabriele d’Annunzio, in Pescara

Can post-mining territories become landscapes in motion?A Spatial Strategy to Build a (Landscape) Reputation for a Neglected Area in Tuscany, Italy

Post-mining territories constitute a structural component of contemporary urbanisation processes. They are often located in post-urban areas and create new landscapes of abandonment.Sometimes they are stigmatised as landscapes characterised by unsustainable development, and are therefore seen as an obstacle in the transition to a post-carbon society.This paper contributes to the debate surrounding this question and shows a tentative approach to the reparation of post-mining territories through a (designed) strategy that rebuilds the territorial, landscape and social reputation of a site called Santa Barbara, that has been exploited by ENEL (Ente Nazionale per l’Energia Elettrica – National Agency for Electric Energy), an Italian multinational energy company, for almost 50 years. Santa Barbara is located in a neglected area of central Tuscany, Italy, in the upper Arno Valley (Valdarno Superiore). It finds itself in-between several renowned branded landscapes, such as Chianti (or Chiantishire as named by British citizens who began coming to this area for holidays in the late 20th Century), the small city of San Giovanni Valdarno and other prestigious Tuscan landscapes. This area is profoundly intertwined with the urbanisation processes of the greater metropolitan area of Florence, while simultaneously being a mono-functional territory that is not visibly urbanised. Today, this territory is characterised by a peculiar landscape that seems to be dominated by the ‘motion’ of land. Hills, paths and trajectories of use, which have been changing over the past decades and even in recent years, have inspired the reparation strategy for the landscape. Crucial to this strategy is the role played by ENEL, the company responsible for the deterritorialisation of this site and that launched the ‘Future-e Project’ in 2017. This project promoted a process aimed at creating a vision for the future of the Santa Barbara ex-mining site alongside local communities (institutions, local economic actors, etc.) and inhabitants. The project, already underway, has also involved the Politecnico di Milano and the Università degli Studi di Firenze, both called in to assist in analysing the case study. In short, the paper portrays the socio-territorial evolution of the Santa Barbara ex-mining site and describes a strategy for territorial regeneration aimed at revisiting the past, sharing the present and building the future with a propensity towards renewable energy sources. Central to this strategy is the landscape, which fuels a social, economic, spatial and narrative shift that allows for sustainable and solar energy-driven territorial regeneration. In doing this, the paper investigates the crucial cooperative interplay among a private company (ENEL) and the local community, public actors (the municipalities) and the universities involved in the design of the post-carbon future of this site.

A New Phase in Interface Science–Advanced Materials Interfaces goes Bio

A New Phase in Interface Science–<i>Advanced Materials Interfaces</i> goes Bio

Lessons After the Early Management of the COVID-19 Outbreak in a Pediatric Transplant and Hemato-Oncology Center Embedded within a COVID-19 Dedicated Hospital in Lombardia, Italy. &lt;i&gt;Estote Parati.&lt;/i&gt; (Be Ready.)

Italy is the second exposed Country worldwide, after China, and Lombardia is the most affected Region in Italy, with more than half of the National cases, with 13% of whom being healthcare professionals. The Clinica Pediatrica Universita degli Studi di Milano Bicocca is a General Pediatric and Hematology Oncology and Transplant Center embedded within the designated COVID-19 general Hospital San Gerardo in Monza, located in Lombardia, Italy. Preventive and control measures specifically undertaken to cope with the emergency within Hemato-Oncology, Transplant, and Outpatient Unit in the Pediatric Department have been described. Preliminary COVID-19 experiences with the first Italian pediatric hemato-oncology patients are reported. The few available data regarding pediatrics and specifically hemato-oncological patients are discussed. The purpose of this report is to share pediatric hemato-oncology issues encountered in the first few weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy and to alert healthcare professionals worldwide to be prepared accordingly. Funding Statement: No funding. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

CHERNE: prehistory and early days of the network

ABSTRACTWhile the founding members of CHERNE gradually retire, the memory of the early steps of the network should not be lost. CHERNE (‘Cooperation for Higher Education on Radiological and Nuclear Engineering’) is the product of a specific Erasmus activity possible in the early 2000s: the intensive programmes (IP). The first step was a collaboration of three partners (Czech Technical University CTU, Institut Supérieur Industriel de Bruxelles ISIB, Universitat Politècnica de València UPV) organising in 2002 the 3-year IP ‘PAN: Practical Approach to Nuclear techniques’, soon integrating two other partners (Aachen University of Applied Science AcUAS, XIOS Hogeschool Limburg). A second IP ‘SPERANSA: Stimulating Practical Expertise in RAdiation and Nuclear SAfety’ was first organised without Erasmus support in 2005. A workshop was held in 2005 at UPV, including colleagues from other universities. Its main goal was to put in contact professors and researchers from European Institutions in order to share experiences in education and research in Radiation Protection and Nuclear Engineering. The creation of an informal group of universities to develop activities for the benefit of students was discussed. With the addition of Università degli Studi di Bologna (UniBo) to the initial group, the CHERNE network was created. It attracted rapidly more members (6 adhesions in 2006). CHERNE was conceived as a non-formal wide-scope open network, easily integrating new members, offering affordable activities to the students and mostly relying on Erasmus subsidies. The main goal was still the organisation of Erasmus IP’s based on practical activities, benefitting of the access to big experimental facilities offered by several partners, like reactors, accelerators, or a radiochemical laboratory. SPERANSA was organised from 2006 to 2008, ‘JUNCSS: JÜlich Nuclear Chemistry Summer School’ from 2007 to 2011 and ‘RAPIX-NOCOS: Radiation protection in non-conventional sectors’ in 2007 and 2008 without Erasmus support. The annual workshops triggered exchanges between partners and attracted more institutions. The first workshops saw intense discussions about the network organisation and the types of activities that could be organised. A kind of maturity was reached from 2008.

What (Bio)deconstruction Is Not

Research Article| November 01 2019 What (Bio)deconstruction Is Not Francesco Vitale Francesco Vitale Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy Francesco Vitale is Associate Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Salerno (Italy). His academic interests have focused on Derrida’s work since his PhD dissertation in philosophy on Derrida’s relation to Hegel (University Federico II of Napoli, Italy). Francesco Vitale is author of many essays on Derrida, published in Italian, English, French, and Japanese. His main publications devoted to Jacques Derrida are Biodeconstruction: Jacques Derrida and Life Sciences (SUNY University Press, 2018) and The Last Fortress of Metaphysics: Jacques Derrida and the Deconstruction of Architecture (SUNY University Press, 2018). Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google CR: The New Centennial Review (2019) 19 (3): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.14321/crnewcentrevi.19.3.0001 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Francesco Vitale; What (Bio)deconstruction Is Not. CR: The New Centennial Review 1 November 2019; 19 (3): 1–12. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/crnewcentrevi.19.3.0001 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressCR: The New Centennial Review Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © Michigan State University Board of Trustees Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

New methodologies and technologies in Earth Sciences education: opportunities and criticisms for future teachers

During the academic year 2017-2018, the Universita degli Studi di Milano organized an educational path (For24) useful to acquire or to complete the personal training in educational disciplines and in methodologies and technologies for education, nowadays necessary for the teaching profession. The course in Earth Sciences Education has been attended by about two hundred trainees. The scheduled program complies with the indications presented in the Ministerial note (2017 August) and it focuses on: epistemological and methodological-procedural bases and on approaches in Earth Sciences education; Earth Sciences education in laboratory and in the field; methodologies and technologies to study relationship between Earth Sciences and the present Society (geo-resource sustainability, natural risk prevention, cultural and geological heritage); teaching and learning procedures based on the use of the new technologies and multimedia tools. In this paper, we analyze the population of trainees who attended the course, the results of the final exams and we discuss criticisms related to the Geosciences key concepts.

Geologia Urbana: itinerari in centro città per scoprire la geodiversità litologica

During the last years the interest towards urban areas as possible sites for educational activities concerning the Earth Sciences has been growing. The “Urban Geology” project developed by the Earth Sciences Department of the Universita degli Studi di Milano offers to high school teachers a model of a low-cost outdoor geological activity, with a particular focus on the importance of rocks as georesources and heritage stones in architecture.In a first phase, a pilot itinerary in the centre of Milan for discovering rocks in architecture was structured involving the undergraduate students of Natural Sciences and then proposed to teachers attending the TFA (Tirocinio Formativo Attivo) and in the frame of the “Piano Lauree Scientifiche”. The Milan city centre is characterized by a lithological geodiversity that allows the observation of a great number of rocks of different origin and provenance, most of which are also widespread in the neighbouring cities. For each of the identified rocks, a short guide is made available to the teachers, with lithological description, petrographic classification and additional information on the origin, provenance and use in historical buildings. The guide may be used as preparatory material before the guided excursion, or as a support for more detailed studies after the visit, also offering ideas for interdisciplinary connections (art and architecture, history, economy). The supplied material may also help the teachers in organizing their own itinerary.The itinerary was proposed as didactic activity guided by Department tutors to high school classes (around 190 students up to now), as well as to the general public during the “Settimana del Pianeta Terra 2018” (80 participants).After the first positive experiences with the guided excursion, the project was further developed in the framework of the “Progetti Alternanza Scuola – Lavoro” (School – Work Alternance Projects) and was carried out by a total of 75 students from high schools located in Milan, San Donato Milanese, Bergamo and Lecco. The data collection on the field was performed using a specific multimedial tool, the GeoODK Collect App (http://ona.io/mzucali; http://ona.io/ibollati) for Smartphone. Through such projects, groups of students were able to create itineraries of Urban Geology in their own cities, illustrate their work to the public and share the data online. A workflow to reproduce the activity also in other areas is finally proposed.