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The paper deals with the unpublished survey and geometric analysis of the circular helical staircase built around 1660 in Palazzo Spada’s wing on Via del Polverone in Rome. Its role in the development of the place and the history of its design process are addressed thanks to historical drawings and the reference model proposed both in the treatise and construction between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. A description of the 3D digital survey procedures is followed by the reconstruction of a NURBS 3D model that describes the staircase and its geometric properties. Three helical turns of the staircase undergo an in-depth analysis of the slope angle thanks to the development of the helical lines. This leads to the recognition of the main features of this staircase: its unique central structure; the implementation of geometrical proportions descending from Andrea Palladio’s treatise; the changes of the slope angle that characterize the staircase flights and the space they generate.

This paper presents the methodology adopted in an application of shape optimisation and digital fabrication conducted in the field of wooden furniture design. Experience has allowed the authors to define the models that support the creative process, identifying their respective peculiarities and their contribution to the design process as a process of experimentation, which takes place between digital and physical, not only defining the form of the idea but also correctly representing the tested model and its use, and allowing a dialogue between the stylistic requirements of the designed shape and the technical needs of the built one. The phases of the methodology are applied to the project of furnishing the lounge bar and restaurant area of the Oasis Skyview hotel in Doha (Qatar). The coordinated dialogue between the different models allows the definition of the design project, creating a workflow that significantly reduces the distance between the project and construction.

IMPORTANCE: A functional area associated with the piriform cortex, termed area tempestas, has been implicated in animal studies as having a crucial role in modulating seizures, but similar evidence is limited in humans. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether removal of the piriform cortex is associated with postoperative seizure freedom in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) as a proof-of-concept for the relevance of this area in human TLE. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study used voxel-based morphometry and volumetry to assess differences in structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in consecutive patients with TLE who underwent epilepsy surgery in a single center from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2013. Participants underwent presurgical and postsurgical structural MRI and had at least 2 years of postoperative follow-up (median, 5 years; range, 2-11 years). Patients with MRI of insufficient quality were excluded. Findings were validated in 2 independent cohorts from tertiary epilepsy surgery centers. Study follow-up was completed on September 23, 2016, and data were analyzed from September 24, 2016, through April 24, 2018. EXPOSURES: Standard anterior temporal lobe resection. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Long-term postoperative seizure freedom. RESULTS: In total, 107 patients with unilateral TLE (left-sided in 68; 63.6% women; median age, 37 years [interquartile range {IQR}, 30-45 years]) were included in the derivation cohort. Reduced postsurgical gray matter volumes were found in the ipsilateral piriform cortex in the postoperative seizure-free group (n = 46) compared with the non–seizure-free group (n = 61). A larger proportion of the piriform cortex was resected in the seizure-free compared with the non–seizure-free groups (median, 83% [IQR, 64%-91%] vs 52% [IQR, 32%-70%]; P < .001). The results were seen in left- and right-sided TLE and after adjusting for clinical variables, presurgical gray matter alterations, presurgical hippocampal volumes, and the proportion of white matter tract disconnection. Findings were externally validated in 2 independent cohorts (31 patients; left-sided TLE in 14; 54.8% women; median age, 41 years [IQR, 31-46 years]). The resected proportion of the piriform cortex was individually associated with seizure outcome after surgery (derivation cohort area under the curve, 0.80 [P < .001]; external validation cohorts area under the curve, 0.89 [P < .001]). Removal of at least half of the piriform cortex increased the odds of becoming seizure free by a factor of 16 (95% CI, 5-47; P < .001). Other mesiotemporal structures (ie, hippocampus, amygdala, and entorhinal cortex) and the overall resection volume were not associated with outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These results support the importance of resecting the piriform cortex in neurosurgical treatment of TLE and suggest that this area has a key role in seizure generation.

Information processing, particularly of salient emotional stimuli, is influenced by cardiovascular afferent signals. Carotid baroreceptors signal the state of cardiovascular arousal to the brain, controlling blood pressure and heart rate via the baroreflex. Animal studies suggest a lateralization of this effect: Experimental stimulation of the right carotid sinus has a greater impact on heart rate when compared to left-sided stimulation. We tested, in humans, whether the processing of emotional information from faces was differentially affected by right versus left carotid afferents. To achieve so, we used an automated neck suction device to stimulate the carotid mechanoreceptors in the carotid sinus (parasympathetic pathway) synchronously with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) acquisition whilst participants were engaged in an emotional rating task of fearful and neutral faces. We showed that both right and left carotid stimulation (CS) influenced brain activity within opercular regions, although a stronger activation was observed within left insula during right stimulation compared to left stimulation. As regards the processing of fearful faces, right, but not left carotid stimulation attenuated the perceived intensity of fear, and (albeit to a lesser extent) enhanced intensity ratings of neutral faces. Mirroring the behavioural effects, there was a significant expression-by-stimulation interaction for right carotid stimulation only, when bilateral amygdala responses were attenuated to fear faces and amplified to neutral faces. Individual differences in basal heart rate variability (HRV) predicted the extent to which right carotid stimulation attenuated amygdala responses during fear processing. Our study provides unique evidence for lateralized viscerosensory effects on brain systems supporting emotional processing.

Long-term seizure-free outcome failure following Antero-Mesial Temporal (AMT) resection in drug-resistant Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE) patients may arise from extra-temporal regions termed pseudotem- poral epilepsy (pTLE) or alternatively, the epileptogenic zone may extend beyond the AMT termed tem- poral-plus epilepsy (T+E). Insula (INS), Orbito-Frontal (OF) cortex, cingulum (CI), temporo-parieto-occipital junction are Candidate Brain Regions (CBRs) that can be involved.Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) can distinguish T+E and pTLE from MTLE if the electrodes are accu- rately placed to sample the CBRs. We study the structural connectivity from the amygdalohippocampal complex (AHC) to sub-segmented parcels of the CBRs to identify differential connectivity that may guide SEEG planning. Whole-brain connectomes were generated in 25 patients with hippocampal sclerosis (12 right) that underwent SEEG. Connectivity of the AHC was calculated as a normalized t-score map and the regions with the greatest connectivity are shown in Table 1.Results suggest parcels of the CBRs show preferential connectivity to the AHC which occasionally differ between the left and right HS. Further studies are required to identify if structural connectivity-based SEEG- targeting can improve the detection of pTLE and T+E.khosropanahpegah7@gmail.com31

•Monoamines contribute to the pathogenesis of MS and explain some clinical features•We used RS-fMRI to study monoaminergic functional connectivity within the brain•Monoaminergic nuclei are functionally connected with central brain networks in HC•These connections are dysfunctional in MS patients