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This paper discusses and presents an example of fire risk analysis for a case study of an existing heritage building: the Duomo of Modena Cathedral, located in Italy. The main issues related to the application of the fire risk analysis to heritage buildings are discussed in detail, and an ad-hoc procedure is proposed to manage them for the case study. In order to assess the performances of the building in probabilistic terms, the fire risk analysis is conducted by the event-tree method, the fire dynamics are analyzed by numerical thermo-fluid dynamics models, while the structural behavior is investigated by advanced nonlinear thermomechanical finite element models. Results are expressed in terms of risk curves related to a fixed return period, which quantify the occurrence probability of different damage levels induced by fire in the wooden roof of the case study building. This kind of result is fully compatible with probabilistic performance-based engineering frameworks commonly accepted for other hazards (i.e., earthquakes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper stems from the «Progetto Pilota Natalità» in the province of Modena of the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. Run between 2019 and 2021, the project introduces new evidence related to family policies in the Province of Modena. Specifically, we integrate primary qualitative firm-level evidence gathered during the Covid-19 pandemic with data on the voluntary organizations operating in the Italian third sector obtained just before the Covid-19 outbreak. We provide meaningful insights at the intersection of the public, the private and the voluntary sectors, while setting some guidelines to move forward in the design and implementation of family policies that are sensible across the territory. The study is interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and, as a result, is mainly centered around two themes: (1) the processes involved in the territorialization of public policy, particularly family policies, that entail local collective action levers and bottom-up resilience for the application of national policies; (2) the potential of these policies in terms of social innovation, understood as the joint design of a social infrastructure within a value allocation process between the actors involved, given certain time and space aspects. The paper explores the dimensionality of social innovation through the emergence and the scaling up of innovative processes as a result of devolved governance from national and EU levels to the local level, which gives precisely the framework of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The works of Elias, characterised by his unique relational and processual gaze, have recently inspired much research in the migration field. In particular, the established-outsiders figuration has opened a fruitful way to overcome the tendency of naturalising cultural and economic differences, hiding the power relations between different groups. The objective of this paper is to apply the figurational framework to the study of the Tunisian community living in Modena (Northern Italy). The originality of the study resides in the choice of a particular figuration in which three interdependent groups are present: the Italian autochthones, the elder Tunisian community and the new group of Tunisians arrived after 2011. Following the process of establishment of the elder part of the Tunisian community we observe how a structural change in the figuration (as the arrival of a new group of Tunisian people) had deep social and symbolic consequences, hindering the integration of the old Tunisians in the Modenese context. The study marks an advancement in the application of the established-outsiders figuration in migration studies and constitutes a valid example for analysing the integration of increasingly older migrant communities in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Atti della Società dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena is the property of Societa dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Light-absorbing aerosols (LAAs) are short-lived climate forcers with a significant impact on Earth's radiative balance. LAAs include dust aerosols, black carbon (BC) and organic light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosol (collectively termed brown carbon, BrC), which have also been proven to be highly toxic. In this study, aerosol absorption at five wavelengths (ranging from ultraviolet to infrared) was monitored continuously using filter-based photometers during two winter seasons in 2020 and 2021 in the city of Modena (southern central Po Valley, northern Italy), at two regulatory air quality monitoring sites, along with other pollutants (coarse particulate matter, PM 10 ; fine particulate matter, PM 2.5 ; O 3 ; NO; NO 2 ; and C 6 H 6) and the vehicular traffic rate. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) and other column aerosol optical properties were concurrently monitored at four wavelengths by an AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) sun photometer under urban background conditions within Modena. In situ absorption levels were apportioned to both sources (fossil fuel and biomass burning) and species (BC and BrC), while columnar absorption was apportioned to BC, BrC and mineral dust. The combined analysis of the atmospheric aerosol and gas measurements and of the meteorological conditions (in situ and from the ERA5 reanalysis) identified the location of potential urban sources of BC and BrC, most likely related to traffic and biomass burning. In situ data show different diurnal/weekly patterns for BrC from biomass burning and BC from traffic, with minor differences between the background and the urban traffic conditions. AERONET version 3 absorption aerosol optical depth (AAOD) retrievals at four wavelengths allowed the estimation of the absorptive direct radiative effect due to LAAs over the same period under the reasonable assumption that the AOD signal is concentrated within the mixing layer. AERONET retrievals showed a modest correlation of columnar absorption with planetary boundary layer (PBL)-scaled in situ observations, although the correlation improved significantly during a desert dust transport event that affected both in situ aerosol and columnar absorption, particularly in the blue spectrum range. A low correlation occurred between the contribution of BrC to aerosol absorption for the in situ and the columnar observations, with the BrC contribution being generally larger for in situ observations. Finally, evidence of a highly layered atmosphere during the study period, featuring significant spatial mixing and modest vertical mixing, was shown by ERA5-based atmospheric temperature profiles and by the large correlation of concurrent AERONET AOD retrievals in Modena and in Ispra (on the northwestern side of the Po Valley, ca. 225 km from Modena). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dissemination of Safedian Kabbalah in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Italy represents a critical turning point in the history of modern Kabbalah. Several scholars have discussed the place of Kabbalah in Italy from a wide range of perspectives, some more interested in broader intellectual-cultural shifts, while others were more intrigued by the internal development of Kabbalah—specifically, the relationship between Cordoverean Kabbalah and Lurianic Kabbalah. However, the place of manuscript and print cultures has been largely absent. This article suggests that focusing on this element will provide a clearer understanding of the place of Kabbalah—and its specific form—within various prominent intellectual-cultural circles of this period. Focusing on the material transmission of Safedian Kabbalah demonstrates that an important shift occurred with its importation, via Menaḥem Azariah da Fano (1548–1620). Fano popularized and regulated Safedian Kabbalah by printing its simpler Cordoverean forms, while simultaneously restricting the accessibility of its more complex aspects, found in Cordoverean and Lurianic forms, to his disciples. Being a kabbalist now meant being a specialist—editing, copying, arranging, and collecting the various Safedian manuscripts, especially those of Lurianic Kabbalah. While others—whether they be polymaths, preachers, or learned Jews—had access only to its printed forms. Aaron Berakhiah of Modena (d. 1639), Fano's ardent disciple, brought this shift to its climax in his kabbalistic polemic with Joseph Karmi, which played out in religious court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project aims to test whether geometric morphometric (GM) and trabecular analyses may be useful tools in identifying talar characteristics related to hypochondroplasia. We quantified the external and internal talar morphology of a hypochondroplasic dwarf (T17) from Modena (northern Italy) dated to the sixth century AD. External talar morphology of T17 was compared with a broad sample of modern human tali (n = 159) using GM methods. Additionally, a subsample of these tali (n = 41) was used to investigate whole talar trabecular changes in T17. Our results show that GM and trabecular analyses identify a combination of traits linked to the dwarfing disorder of hypochondroplasia. These traits include decreased scaled talar dimensions compared with normal‐sized individuals, presence of an accessory antero‐lateral talar facet, high bone volume fraction, and high anisotropy values throughout the entire talus. In our case study, hypochondroplasia does not appear to substantially modify external talar morphology probably due to the fast growth of the talus. We suggest that small talar dimensions are associated with hypochondroplasia. An antero‐lateral talar facet may result from the talus and calcaneus coalition (i.e., talocalcaneal abnormal bridging) possibly related to an everted foot posture that was limited by overgrowth of the fibula. We suggest that high talar trabecular density and strut orientation provide insights into pathological development of the trabecular plates in T17. Finally, our study suggests that high talar trabecular density and strut orientation, and small talar dimensions, may be added as possible concomitant talar hallmarks for hypochondroplasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Atti della Società dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena is the property of Societa dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Adult body fatness is a convincing risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer. With the aim to compare the different breast cancer (BC) features in Northern and Southern Italy, we investigated the relationship between BMI and BC characteristic in two groups of patients referred in the Modena and Lecce breast units. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of a continuous series of BC patients referred to the Città di Lecce Hospital and the Modena Cancer Center, from January 2019 to December 2020 was performed. We identified four groups of BMI at BC diagnosis: underweight, BMI <18.5 kg/m2; normal weight, BMI ≥ 18.5–24.9 kg/m2; overweight, BMI ≥ 25.0–29.9 kg/m2; obese, BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2. BC characteristics and clinical outcomes were analyzed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Mann-Whitney U test; categorical data were compared using Pearson's chi-square test, and dicotomic data were compared by odds ratio. Results: Nine hundred seventy-seven BC patients were included in the analysis. Overall, 470 were from Modena and 507 from Lecce. No differences were observed in the mean age of BC patients of Modena (61,42) and Lecce (62,08). No statistical differences between the two populations were shown in terms of tumor characteristics and pathological stage. Conversely, a statistical difference of BMI between the BC patients coming from Modena and Lecce (25.87 and 27.81, respectively; p = 0.000001) was found. BC patients diagnosed in Lecce at age ≥70 years had higher median BMI compared with the ones from Modena (p = 0.000002). The increased BMI in this aged population was also associated to larger tumor size (p = 0.040). Conclusion: The rate of overweight and obesity was higher in BC women living in Southern Italy, despite the presumed nutrition according to the so-called Mediterranean type dietary pattern. Unexpectedly, an increased BMI rate and a relationship with larger tumor size were found in Southern BC patients aged ≥70 years. Our findings strongly support the need for promoting a healthier lifestyle model in Italy, with the aim of reducing the rate of the obesity and, consequently, the increased risk of BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]