University Of Udine Research Articles

SEMoLa: A simple and easy modelling language

This paper describes SEMoLa (simple, easy, modelling language), a declarative modelling language developed at the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of Udine (Italy). SEMoLa language is flexible and particularly suited to model complex ecological and environmental systems and to manage different types of information. Based on system dynamics principles and using an integrated approach, SEMoLa simplifies the routinely tasks of implementing, debugging and evaluating computer simulation models. This modelling language is implemented in a framework which allows to easily analyse and represent simple and complex system, permitting simulation model development, even to non-mathematically and programming skilled users.This paper presents SEMoLa system ontology and its language, together with example models of different type of systems: state-based and element-based, continuous and event-driven, deterministic and stochastic.

AA_AccessibleArchaeology. Environmental accessibility as a key to enhance cultural heritage

AA_ArcheologiaAccessibile is the title of a research developed at the University of Udine and University of Trieste in the field of inclusive design and Design for All for the accessibility to cultural heritage. This survey, the results of which are reported in this article, is part of a broader program for the development of inclusion carried out at Universities, implemented with the participation of several institutions including the Regional Council of Associations of People with Disabilities and Their Families FVG and the Regional Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Landscape FVG. In particular, the paper presents the experience developed at the National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia aimed at transforming the traditional paths of knowledge of the findings in multisensory educational and pedagogical experiences, involving all visitors regardless of age, cultural background and physical and sense-perception abilities.

Notes on Sociolinguistic Terminology in Modern Hebrew: Morpho-Syntactic and Lexical Devices for the Creation of a Technolect

This survey of the Modern Hebrew sociolinguistic technolect is methodologically based on the studies on the formation of the technolects of multilingualism and contact languages in Italian, recently conducted at the University of Udine and inspired by U. Weinreich and R. Gusmani. Applying the results and methods of the research on nominal formations in Modern Hebrew daily language, carried out by H. B. Rosén, G. Goldenberg, R. Nir, L. Edzard, and O. Rodrigue-Schwarzwald, to the Modern Hebrew metalinguistic terminology, the article examines the most productive morpho-syntactic processes—linear derivation and nominal composition—and the widest spread lexical means used in Modern Hebrew to coin the sociolinguistic technolect. The lexical innovation is examined through the techniques employed by a sample of Israeli linguists to bring sociolinguistic foreignisms into their texts. The threefold purpose of the study is to investigate (1) Semitic versus non-Semitic morpho-syntactic and lexical devices used for coining Modern Hebrew sociolinguistic neologisms; (2) similarities and differences between sociolinguistic sociolects in Standard Average European and Modern Hebrew; (3) the level of elaboration attained by Modern Hebrew on the basis of the sociolinguistic technolect.

Comparison of pelvic masses score (PMS) and Risk of Malignancy Index (RMI 3) in the evaluation of pelvic masses.

Ovarian cancer is the fourth cause of death from cancer in women worldwide and the majority of its diagnoses is made in an advanced stage of the disease. Several sonographic scoring systems have been created for a better preoperative discrimination between benign and malignant pelvic masses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performances of the Risk of the Malignancy Index 3 (RMI 3) and the Pelvic Masses Score (PMS). This retrospective study was performed in 55 women admitted to the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of University of Udine for surgical exploration of pelvic masses between 2009 and 2012. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for both the scores. PMS showed a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 93.8%, a PPV of 70%, and a NPV of 100%, while RMI 3 yielded a sensitivity of 85%, a specificity of 91%, a PPV of 60%, and a NPV of 97.8%. The authors found that, in discriminating between benign and malignant pelvic disease, the PMS method was more reliable than RMI3. PMS is a simple scoring system which can be used in clinical practice.

University-owned and university-invented patents: a network analysis on two Italian universities

The paper presents results from social network analysis applied to data on patenting of academics inventors employed in two Italian universities (Trieste University and Udine university, both located in Friuli Venezia Giulia region). The aim is to compare the co-invention networks generated by the academic inventors, tenured by one of the two universities, in their patenting activity with several organisations—firms, public research organisations—and in their activity for patents owned by one of the two universities. Results show that, despite the structural similarity, non-marginal differences emerge in the interaction of the two forms of patenting across the two universities. Empirical evidence suggests new research questions related in particular to the role played by the differing university patenting strategies in shaping local networks.

Biliary pharmacodynamic exposure to linezolid in two liver transplant patients

Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Azienda OspedalieroUniversitaria Santa Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy; Department of Experimental and Clinical Medical Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine of the Medical School of the University of Udine, Udine, Italy; Department of Medical and Biological Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

BioSpotlight

BioTechniquesVol. 55, No. 4 BioSpotlightOpen AccessBioSpotlightPatrick C. H. Lo & Kristie NyboPatrick C. H. LoSearch for more papers by this author & Kristie NyboSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:3 Apr 2018https://doi.org/10.2144/000114082AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Catching more proteins from the PONDAnalyzing the dynamics of replication fork progression is critical for understanding DNA replication and repair as well as epigenetic regulation involving the deposition of histones and other chromatin proteins. Recently, isolation of protein on nascent DNA (iPOND) was developed to purify proteins found at the replication fork. Nascent DNA at the replication fork is labeled through the incorporation of a brief pulse of the thymidine analog 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU), followed by formaldehyde crosslinking of chromatin proteins to DNA and the covalent linkage of biotin azide to the alkyne group of EdU through a copper-catalyzed “click” reaction. After sonication of the chromatin, biotinylated nascent DNA and associated proteins are isolated using streptavidin-coated beads and proteins are analyzed by Western blotting after the reversal of the formaldehyde crosslinking. iPOND, however, has drawbacks, including modest protein yields and the need for formaldehyde crosslinking that can affect Western blotting and mass spectrometry protein analysis. In this issue, R. Bremner and colleagues at the University of Toronto (Ontario, Canada) describe their faster and simpler adaptation of iPOND, which they call accelerated native iPOND (aniPOND). aniPOND allows for the isolation of proteins under native conditions with a 5- to 20-fold improvement in yield. After initial EdU incorporation, a key modification in aniPOND is to combine the cell harvesting, lysis, extraction of soluble cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins, and collection of nuclei all into a single step by adding nuclei extraction buffer directly to cells in the flask. This reduction in sample manipulation likely accounts for the enhanced protein recovery observed when using aniPOND. After the click reaction, chromatin is sonicated in a 1% NP40 buffer instead of the SDS buffer used for iPOND to maintain the protein complexes in their native state. Two single sonication/centrifugation steps are then performed to remove non-chromatin proteins, followed by extensive sonication to thoroughly shear and solubilize the chromatin. Isolation of the biotin-labeled replication forks using streptavidin beads is done as in iPOND, except the crosslinking reversal step is eliminated since aniPOND does not utilize formaldehyde crosslinking. Using aniPOND, the authors demonstrate increased capture of abundant replication fork proteins as well as detection of rarer proteins.See “A rapid and efficient method to purify proteins at replication forks under native conditions”.Chasing protein turnoverWhen talking about protein interactions, how long a protein remains active in the cell is an important part of the story. Protein half-lives are often determined by pulse-chase experiments with radiolabeling or by treating cells with the chemical cycloheximide (CHX) to inhibit protein synthesis, followed by immunoblotting. While CHX treatment is less laborious and lower in cost than pulse-chase, it is also toxic to cells and lacks specificity, indiscriminately inhibiting synthesis of all transcripts. Neither method allows measurement of proteins in single cells, experiments where fluorescently labeled proteins are ideal. With fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP) or fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) approaches, fluorescently tagged proteins can be photobleached, allowing researchers to monitor fluorescence restoration in the bleached area. These techniques offer information on protein trafficking and diffusion, but tagged proteins are continuously made and degraded, so measuring protein turnover and temporal expression of GFP-labeled proteins is often impossible. Moreover, in many instances, GFP fusion proteins are expressed in addition to the endogenous native form of the protein, resulting in overexpression that further complicates protein turnover measurements. In the current issue of BioTechniques, Tell et al. from the University of Udine (Udine, Italy) detail their development of a method to overcome such drawbacks by using the photoconvertible fluorescent protein (PCFP) Dendra2, which changes from green to red fluorescence in response to ultraviolet or blue light irradiation. Using Dendra2 fused to APE1, an endonuclease important for base excision repair, in combination with RNAi-mediated knockdown of endogenous APE1, the authors were able to successfully determine the APE1 half-life at physiological levels. Red and green fluorescence signals were quantified before and after photoconversion with confocal microscopy and then used to calculate the rate of APE1 turnover. This new approach proved to be more accurate than CHX methods, avoided artifacts that readily occur with immunolabeling approaches, and should be adaptable to a wide range of proteins in the future.Dendra2 in combination with RNAi can be used to monitor protein turnover in cells following photobleaching.See “Combining RNAi and in vivo confocal microscopy analysis of the photoconvertible fluorescent protein Dendra2 to study a DNA repair protein”.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 55, No. 4 Follow us on social media for the latest updates Metrics Downloaded 191 times History Published online 3 April 2018 Published in print October 2013 Information© 2013 Author(s)PDF download

The 1963 Vajont Landslide: 50th Anniversary

This editorial is intended to bring to our minds the 50th Anniversary of the Vajont Landslide occurred on 9 October 1963 at 10.39 pm in Italy, in the Dolomites of Friuli, on the borders of the Veneto Region and about 100 km north of Venice. A mass of approximately 270–300 million m of rock and debris collapsed into the reservoir generating a wave that over-topped the 261.6 m high double curved arch dam built across a V-shaped gorge (Fig. 1). The flood wave dropped into the Piave Valley destroying the town of Longarone and other villages nearby. More than 2,000 people (the real number is not known) were killed. The Vajont landslide is considered to be one of the most catastrophic slope failures and is an outstanding and valuable reference case history for the study and back analysis of the complex instability mechanisms which generally characterize deep-seated landslides and rock slopes. This dramatic event is also of particular importance for the understanding of the influence of mountainside reservoirs on the stability of the adjacent slopes, when deep-seated landslides are present which were not disclosed or fully investigated at the design stage. At the same time, interest stems from the need to find the most appropriate investigation techniques to be adopted at the design stage, including suitable numerical modelling methods to be used for the analysis of instability modes and simulation of the interaction between the rock mass and the new infrastructures to be built. Also the re-analysis of the available database on the triggering and subsequent propagation of the landslide may shed light on monitoring methods—with conventional and advanced technologies— used as key components of hazard assessment. This is of particular relevance for those countries where the need for energy and development leads to the construction of new infrastructures, including dams, of unprecedented sizes. It is noted that this editorial is only intended to remind us what is considered to be the starting point for the development of modern Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, when in rock as well as in soil, according to Terzaghi ‘we were over-stepping the limits of our ability to predict the consequences of our actions’ (Hoek 2007). With the intent to account for the most recent and updated studies on the Vajont landslide, the Editor has asked the help of Professor Paolo Paronuzzi from the University of Udine who, together with his research group, has been and is carrying out a comprehensive research project on different aspects and debated questions still posed on the Vajont catastrophic landslide.

E-learning in teacher professional development in innovation and formative guidance on modern physics: the case of IDIFO Master’s Programs

The professional development of in-service teachers is becoming an increasingly “hot” research topic internationally. Innovations in both methodologies and content are a challenge for schools wishing to respond to the demands of the knowledge society. The second level biannual IDIFO Master’s Program, offered as project of the national plane for scientific degree (Piano Nazionale Lauree Scientifiche-PLS) by the Research Group in Physics Education of the University of Udine, in collaboration with 20 other Italian universities, provides teacher formation in modern physics and formative guidance to in-service teachers in Italian high schools and is now being run for the fourth time. Based on research into the teaching and learning of physics, it started in 2006 was activated in e-learning every second year. The course is wide-ranging (it is worth 165 CTS) and allows for customized study paths to suit the needs of individual participants, both regarding content and length of study period: single modules (worth 3 CTS) and an annual Specialization Course (15 CTS) are run alongside the Master’s. The organization of the e-learning formation, carried out using uPortal, is as follows: analysis of physics education research materials; web-forum discussions of content and methods; the compiling of teaching materials, both collaboratively and in personal project work; doing experimentations (teaching intervention modules) in high school students, analizing and discussing online with peers and with professors-tutors- experts. The program has undergone continual revisions - based on feed- back and reflection on the overall outcomes of the formation – while retaining its original structure. Analysis of project work and of the dissertations presented in the final exams has demonstrated the contribution of e-learning formation to capacity building through: access to research material and proposals; peer debate; a critical review of traditional approaches. The flexibility of the formative model is a key element for its implementation nationally in a wide variety of situations. The commitment required of the participants, particularly in the first two versions of the program, while resulting in an excellent preparation, also prompted the course designers to create more flexible study paths in order to allow participants to complete their training in a number of stages following coherent pathways. The educational research on the Master’s is not just a source of materials and training content, but also a context for what concern teacher formation. The analysis of participants’ learning processes in each module - like that on quantum mechanics – revealed both the characteristics of an effective educational innovation formative model, and the part played by peer interaction on web-forums in building participants’ integrated expertise both regarding content (CK) and its teaching/learning (PCK). An analysis of the school experiment written reports high-lighted the role of the Master formative path in the didactic design.

Sociological insights on the comparison of writing/reading on paper with writing/reading digitally

The aim of this article is to investigate the impact of digital technologies on writing and reading within an educational rather than business environment. It explores the affordances of writing and reading on paper and those of writing on a keyboard and reading on a screen. The analysis is based on an exploratory study carried out with a class of Masters Students in Multimedia Communication and Technologies of Information at the University of Udine (Italy) who were asked to write an essay on this topic. The methodology applied in this study is qualitative content analysis of the essays produced by the students. The principal results of this study show that reading and writing competencies are changing with the use of digital technologies but that paper and digital interactions are not mutually exclusive. Students are more productive textually with writing than with reading, however, they still see the virtues of writing on paper which they continue to use extensively. It appears that chirographic writing and paper is more multi-sensorial and meta-communicative than using the keyboard or screen. Further research is recommended to explore this complementarities of writing on paper and on screen/keyboard as well as the perceived changes in preferred sources of reading material.

Fourty Years of Dedication to Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Michele Baccarani speaks to Roshaine Gunawardana, Managing Commissioning Editor: Michele Baccarani MD, obtained his degree from the University of Bologna in 1966 and received his postgraduate degree in Hematology at the University of Modena in 1969. He has held various positions during his career, including Research fellow at Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Professor of Hematology at the University of Udine and Head of the Institute of Hematology “L. and A. Seràgnoli”, S.Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna. He was also the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Bologna from 2001 to 2007. Professor Baccarani has held posts as President of the Italian Society of Experimental Hematology and President of the Italian Society of Hematology, and is currently the Head of the Department of Hematology and Oncology “L and A Seràgnoli” S Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna. He has been the Chairman of the GIMEMA CML Working Party from 1989 and is a member of the Working Package 4 Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and of the European LeukemiaNet. He is the author or coauthor of more than 500 papers published in peer-reviewed journals. Professor Baccarani’s clinical interests include chronic myeloid leukemia, acute leukemia, chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, while his research interests comprise cell kinetics, stem cells, multidrug resistance and the molecular pathogenesis of leukemia.

Reply

Baccarani et al. from the University of Udine reported on their experience with transplantation for 26 hepatitis C virus (HCV)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–coinfected patients. Overall, the 3-year patient survival rate of their cohort (79%) was higher than the rate reported for our US cohort (60%).1 The only factor that they found to predict survival was a pretransplant CD4 count nadir < 100/mm3, which was present in 3 of the recipients (12%) and may have reflected more advanced HIV disease or potentially more severe liver disease. The authors did not comment on the causes of death, so it is difficult to mechanistically determine how the low CD4 nadir was associated with a higher risk of death. In our US cohort, a pretransplant CD4 count < 200/mm3 and a CD4 count nadir < 100/mm3 were not significantly associated with graft loss in coinfected patients. More remarkable from our standpoint is the extremely low rate of acute rejection (only 6.5%) reported for this Italian cohort. This is dramatically different from the findings for our US cohort, for which the 90-day cumulative incidence of rejection was 22% (95% confidence interval = 15%-33%).1 In part, this likely reflects differences between the studies with respect to when and how immunosuppressive drugs were administrated, monitored, and adjusted. As Baccarani et al. emphasized, immunosuppressive drug levels were frequently monitored, especially in the first weeks after transplantation, presumably to facilitate dose adjustments to optimize calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) levels. Similarly to the Italian cohort, patients in the US cohort were monitored frequently (daily in the hospital and biweekly for months), and this led us to conclude that other factors may account for the striking differences in the incidence of rejection. Although appropriate trough levels of CNIs are achieved, patients on protease inhibitor–based antiretroviral regimens typically require a CNI dose reduction (to once daily or as infrequently as once a week with tacrolimus-based regimens). With the use of less-than-daily dosing, we speculate that the overall exposure to adequate CNI drug levels may be suboptimal despite an appropriate trough level. Additionally, it is possible that other viral copathogens or the antiretroviral regimen itself may influence the likelihood of rejection. We wholeheartedly concur with the authors' conclusions that patients with HCV/HIV infections should continue to be offered liver transplantation. HCV ranks as the number 1 indication for liver transplantation among HIV-infected persons in North America and Europe, and as persons with HIV live longer, decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma will continue to rank high among the causes of morbidity and mortality in those coinfected with HCV. Although we hope that future HCV therapies will offer cures for infection and reduce the rates of cirrhosis in more patients in the years ahead, liver transplantation will remain an important lifesaving treatment option in the interim. Norah Terrault M.D., M.P.H.*, Burc Barin M.S. , Peter Stock M.D., Ph.D.*, * University of California San Francisco San Francisco, CA, EMMES Corporation Rockville, MD.

Single-shot NMR measurement of protein unfolding landscapes

The transient unfolding events from the native state of a protein towards higher energy states can be closely investigated by studying the process of hydrogen exchange. Here, we present BLUU-Tramp (Biophysics Laboratory University of Udine—Temperature ramp), a new method to measure the rates for the exchange process and the underlying equilibrium thermodynamic parameters, using just a single sample preparation, in a single experiment that lasts some 20 to 60h depending on the protein thermal stability, to record hundreds of points over a virtually continuous temperature window. The method is suitable also in presence of other proteins in the sample, if only the target protein is 15N-labelled. This allows the complete thermodynamic description of the unfolding landscape at an atomic level in the presence of small or macromolecular ligands or cosolutes, or in physiological environments. The method was successfully tested with human ubiquitin. Then the unfolding thermodynamic parameters were satisfactorily determined for the amyloidogenic protein β2-microglobulin, in aqueous buffer and in synovial liquid, that is the natural medium of amyloid deposition in joints.

Introduction to the Current Issue

The selected papers collected in this special issue were presented at the “Interacting agents and nonlinear dynamics in macroeconomics” workshop organized by Marji Lines , Sebastiano Manzan, and Frank Westerhoff which was held at the University of Udine, Udine (Italy), on June 9-11, 2010. The papers represent a wide range of recent approaches that assume heterogeneous agents to explain macroeconomic dynamics.

Experimental indicators of ergonomic wellness and quality of life: salivary and hair cortisol

P. L. Esposito, A. Comin, T. Peric, M. Montillo, M. Mascolo, G. Tubaro and A. Prandi SPRINT, University of Udine, via Petracco 8, 33100 Udine, Italy Department of Food Science, University of Udine, via Sondrio 2, 33100 Udine, Italy Department of Neurology, Hospital of San Giorgio, via Gemelli 10, 33170 Pordenone, Italy Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Udine, via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy

Houses and individuals in Udine during the cholera outbreak of 1836. A geo-referenced analysis with micro-level data

This study investigates the spread of cholera in 1836 in Udine, a small town in northeast Italy, through a micro-analytical approach. First, the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of Udine on the eve of these epidemics, together with its infrastructural facilities for the supply and drainage of water, are described. Secondly, these cholera epidemics are examined from a demographic, chronological and spatial point of view. The third and final part analyses the spread according to the position of houses in relation to water supply. In Udine, the water supply system relied on a network of fountains, which collected clean water from a torrent, some cisterns which collected rain-water, and canals. A positive relationship between the number of cholera deaths in a given house and its distance from drinking fountains has been found, revealing that the more distant the house was from a clean source of water, the higher the risk of dying from cholera for its inhabitants. There was a negative association for cisterns and canals, implying that the chances of dying from cholera decreased the further one lived from a potentially infected source of water. The spatial position of fountains privileged those in already advantaged situations by supplying the cleanest water to areas where living conditions were better and more economically favourable, thereby reducing an already lower risk of infection for that population. Alessio FORNASIN, Researcher, Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Udine, via Treppo, 18, I-33100 Udine, Italy. E-mail: fornasin@dss.uniud.it . Marco BRESCHI, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy. E-mail: breschi@uniss.it . Matteo MANFREDINI, Researcher, Department of Genetics Anthropology Evolution, University of Parma, Parma, Italy. E-mail: matteo.manfredini@unipr.it .

P12.04: Normal reference range of maternal ophthalmic artery Doppler during the first trimester (11–14 weeks) of pregnancy

A. Rossi1, V. Leo2, A. Citossi1, A. Spasiano3, P. Nadbath3, T. Dogareschi3, P. Gianfagna4, D. Marchesoni1 1Clinica Ostetrica Ginecologica, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; 2Department of Anesthesia, Hospital San Vito al Tagliamento, San Vito al Tagliamento (Udine), Italy; 3Department of Anesthesia, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; 4Department of Cardiology, Hospital Clinic of Udine, Udine, Italy

The balanced academic curriculum problem revisited

The Balanced Academic Curriculum Problem (BACP) consists in assigning courses to teaching terms satisfying prerequisites and balancing the credit course load within each term. The BACP is part of the CSPLib with three benchmark instances, but its formulation is simpler than the problem solved in practice by universities. In this article, we introduce a generalized version of the problem that takes different curricula and professor preferences into account, and we provide a set of real-life problem instances arisen at University of Udine. Since the existing formulation based on a min---max objective function does not balance effectively the credit load for the new instances, we also propose alternative objective functions. Whereas all the CSPLib instances are efficiently solved with Integer Linear Programming (ILP) state-of-the-art solvers, our new set of real-life instances turns out to be much more challenging and still intractable for ILP solvers. Therefore, we have designed, implemented, and analyzed heuristics based on local search. We have collected computational results on all the new instances with the proposed approaches and assessed the quality of solutions with respect to the lower bounds found by ILP on a relaxed and decomposed problem. Results show that a selected heuristic finds solutions of quality at 9%---60% distance from the lower bound. We make all data publicly available, in order to stimulate further research on this problem.

Current management of obsessive and phobic states

Obsessional states show an average point prevalence of 1%–3% and a lifetime prevalence of 2%–2.5%. Most treatment-seeking patients with obsessions continue to experience significant symptoms after 2 years of prospective follow-up. A significant burden of impairment, distress, and comorbidity characterize the course of the illness, leading to an increased need for a better understanding of the nature and management of this condition. This review aims to give a representation of the current pharmacological and psychotherapeutic strategies used in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Antidepressants (clomipramine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are generally the first-line choice used to handle obsessional states, showing good response rates and long-term positive outcomes. About 40% of patients fail to respond to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. So far, additional pharmacological treatment strategies have been shown to be effective, ie, administration of high doses of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as well as combinations of different drugs, such as dopamine antagonists, are considered efficacious and well tolerated strategies in terms of symptom remission and side effects. Psychotherapy also plays an important role in the management of obsessive-compulsive disorder, being effective for a wide range of symptoms, and many studies have assessed its long-term efficacy, especially when added to appropriate pharmacotherapy. In this paper, we also give a description of the clinical and psychological features likely to characterize patients refractory to treatment for this illness, with the aim of highlighting the need for greater attention to more patient-oriented management of the disease.

Growing Old

where ourmeasures ledus;byexperiencing the placedifferently, we becamedifferent kindsof designers. We called these objectsobjectiles: ticks, leaves, sticks, garbage, mud, muck. Wecastthem inplaster andafter, usinglargescroll saws,we cutthecastinto slices, likepiecesofbreadfrom a loafyou would onlywantto eat ifitwas poetry. We calledtheseslicesmoments. Each moment was placedbackintothepark,likea baseballbase, a smallmaterialtag flagging thetrajectory as a kindoflitmus tomarkand simultaneously recordtheplace. The dances could be practicedbetweenthesebases as theplacechanged, forcing ourmovements to changelittlebylittle, as thebases forcedus tobe consciousofthesechanges. Theplaceas processitself alsoimpacted thecastslices.Ice, rain,bike treads,animals,mud slides,erosion .All nounsare verbs.The castsbecame smallapparatuses ofcapture netting timeand process.(Near the end of the studio,these fractured moments werere-collected andused as partsinfinal models.) Thegoaloftheexperiment was tobeconsciousofthings as processesthatyouprocess intoalongtheway.Apperception, as landscape architect IanMcharg says,isthegoal- thatis, beingconsciousofbeingconscious. Seeingby looking atseeinga little differently. Acting our analysisis thegoal.Experiencing ourexperiments isthegoal.Theartandthearchitecture is theexperience, nottheobject. Experiencing thebodyas themostexactscientific instrument, as Goethesays,is thegoal. Our goals are to communicate thetendencies ofthesystems in motion witheachother, againstone another, theshifting dynamic boundaries acrosswhich energyflowsand materialcycles.Our bodies as bodies ofknowledge, thatis thegoal, ourbodies as systems ofcare.Good experiments (and poems)areboomerangs. Thenuancesofwherethestickis held,orhowhard itis thrown, all ofthesechangetherangeof flight paths.Therearewaysofthrowing experiments whichallow themto return with something, something unplanned, promiscuous , emotional,intimate, embodied.When finished, theexperiments did not look like thepoem,buttheparkdidnotlooklikeitdid whenwe first arrived. Berlin GrowingOld Vincenzo DellaMea Likeanoldprogram written inFortran toobulky toberewritten useful enough tohangonto as itis,with itsbugs,itslostdata, itsincomprehensible error messages: this istheparadise ofretirement. No graphics orartificial intelligence, butliving oninthecomputer room: thewarmth ofthea/c,justa few faithful usersviatheoldRS-232. Translation from theItalian ByAnthony Robbins Vincenzo Della Mea is Assistant Professor of medical informatics atthe University ofUdine,Italy. As a poet he published his firstbook, L'infanzia di Goedel(Gödel'schildhood ), in 1999. In 2004 he published Algoritmi (Algorithms), followed by /sognidellaguerra (Wardreams)in2008.Hispoetry has also appeared inprint and onlinemagazines, including Nuovi Argomenti, NazioneIndiana, and Daemon.Due to hisinterest inscienceandpoetry, heco-edited ananthologyon poetryand computers {Verso i bit,2005) and a specialissueofDaemonmagazineand helpedorganize publiceventson scienceand literature. Anthony RobbinswasborninEngland in1956andeducated at Oxford. After a stint ofuniversity teaching, he has workedformorethana quarter-century infinance. He isan essayist, poet,andtranslator ofFrench, German, and Italian texts, bothtechnical and literary, intoEnglish, anda member oftheeditorial boardoftheItalian literary journalSmerilliana. Hehasthreechildren andlikes walkingandcycling inthecountryside. Editorial note:From Algoritmi (LietoColle, 2004). January -February 201 1 145 ...