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The authors, starting from the examination of the historic data of Palermo landscapes on the south-east side, draw up an analysis of the landscape by illustrating the environmental characteristics and the intervention of man in its transformations. Therefore, determined by a certain point to refer to, the author, based on archival, literary, and existing graphic documentation, has therefore sought to illustrate the evolution of the landscape in the geographical area of Mare dolce while still present relations with the territory of Palermo. Examining the diaries and the end of the eighteenth century with the help of the water colored planks of the sites considering the great patrimony left by landscape painters of the period brought a great deal of information. In this sense, it is possible to evaluate the transformation of Maredolce from swampy and abandoned land of the last seventeenth century (end of sugary activity) to that of new irrigation agriculture. Transformation is common to the entire territory of Palermo with which numerous comparisons are also carried out based on archival documentation. The introduction of the industrial economy of the citrus which has wiped out any past historical stratification before being swept by the cementation of the 'Conca d'Oro' that still lasts and of which Maredolce (historic palace and its garden) is the last environmental and cultural heritage as a holistic ecosystem that should absolutely be saved by using integrated urban planning with responsible architectonic restoration approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel jacketing of reinforced concrete (RC) columns is a common retrofitting technique used to restore bearing and deformation capacity of buildings presenting structural deficiencies. For practical reasons, steel angles are in several cases arranged leaving a gap with the end beams or slabs. Despite this disconnection, the angles are still able to support a non-negligible portion of load because of the frictional forces developed along the column-angle contact interface. In these cases, the definition of computational numerical and analytical models for the assessment of reinforced cross sections becomes more complex and must be handled with care. The actual load-carrying capacity of the angles is a function of lateral confinement pressure, cohesive strength, and the friction coefficient between the materials. This paper presents first the results of an original experimental campaign on RC column specimens with and without steel jacketing subjected to compressive axial and eccentric tests. Subsequently, a new approach is proposed to define a plane fiber-section model of the reinforced cross section accounting for the frictional action occurring along the column-angle interfaces. An equivalent stress-strain constitutive model for the angles is calibrated and validated through comparison with experimental results. Finally, a simple analytical stress-block procedure to derive continuous and simplified axial force bending moment domains is illustrated as a method for the hand-verification of reinforced cross sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of masonry infills on the in-plane behaviour of RC framed structures is a central topic in the seismic evaluation and retrofitting of existing buildings. Many models in the literature use an equivalent strut member in order to represent the infill but, among the parameters influencing the equivalent strut behaviour, the effect of vertical loads acting on the frames is recognized but not quantified. Nevertheless a vertical load causes a non-negligible variation in the in-plane behaviour of infilled frames by influencing the effective volume of the infill. This results in a change in the stiffness and strength of the system. This paper presents an equivalent diagonal pin-jointed strut model taking into account the stiffening effect of vertical loads on the infill in the initial state. The in-plane stiffness of a range of infilled frames was evaluated using a finite element model of the frame-infill system and the cross-section of the strut equivalent to the infill was obtained for different levels of vertical loading by imposing the equivalence between the frame containing the infill and the frame containing the diagonal strut. In this way a law for identifying the equivalent strut width depending on the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the infilled frame was generalized to consider the influence of vertical loads for use in the practical applications. The strategy presented, limited to the initial stiffness of infilled frames, is preparatory to the definition of complete non-linear cyclic laws for the equivalent strut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prediction of the response of infilled frames through the simplified approach of substituting the infill with an equivalent pin-jointed strut is treated. In this framework the results of an experimental study for the mechanical characterization of different types of masonry infills having the aim of estimating strength, Young modulus and Poisson's ratio are presented. Four types of masonry were investigated and subjected to ordinary compressive tests orthogonally to the mortar beds and along the directions of the mortar beds. The experimental campaign confirmed the possibility of using an orthotropic plate model for prediction of the Poisson's ratio and Young modulus along the diagonal direction of infills (these parameters are requested by a model already known in the literature for the identification of struts equivalent to masonry infills). The experimental campaign made it possible to recognise a correlation between the Poisson's ratios and the strengths of masonries investigated along the orthotropic axes and to obtain the diagonal Poisson's ratio without specific experimental tests. Finally, the experimental responses of some infilled frames were used to test the reliability of the model proposed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic complications of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients include insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia and lipodystrophy syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is an aggregation of central obesity with glucose and lipid metabolism alterations that confers an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which reproduces the antiretroviral-associated metabolic and morphological abnormalities. In this study, we report the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hyperinsulinaemia and metabolic syndrome among 755 adult patients with HIV-1 infection referred to our outpatients unit. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome was 4.5% and 9.1%, respectively. A longer exposure to antiretroviral therapy and a diagnosis of lipodystrophy syndrome were significantly associated with both metabolic disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the study that identified the case of a horse affected by an osteochondroma of the nasal bone. It performed radiography on the colt and found an osseous proliferation arising from the nasal bones, which shows areas of irregular radiolucency. It is suggested that the cause of osteochondroma has not been defined due to the presence of embryonic cartilage results in intensified bone growth after puberty.