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The paper explores the integration of Geomatics and architectural surveying into the educational context of Geomatic for Built Heritage Conservation course within the Master on Architectural Design, in which a multidisciplinary teaching approach is applied, emphasizing the importance of holistic knowledge encompassing historical, geometric, material, and structural aspects for the conservation and restoration of architectural heritage.A central theme is the role of Geomatics and 3D modelling in historical built heritage documentation, assuming the creation of three-dimensional models as a foundation for integrating various thematic data, enabling interdisciplinary studies, and facilitating knowledge representation and communication.The paper delves into the challenges and strategies of semantic 3D modelling. It discusses the necessity for a flexible and layered informational model, integrating spatial, geometric, and semantic data. The complexity of semantic annotation is explored, considering the subjectivity and cultural context inherent in identifying and describing architectural elements. The educational approach employed in fostering critical thinking among students, particularly in interpreting cultural heritage issues related to documentation and recording, is presented.A case study involving Pitti Palace in Florence is considered. An attempt to implement the Getty Vocabulary on Art & Architecture Thesaurus for semantic annotation is described, emphasizing the need for a coherent alignment between the 3D model and controlled vocabulary hierarchy. The study concludes with insights from the student's experience, highlighting the difficulties in aligning spatial and semantic elements within existing controlled vocabularies and suggesting avenues for future developments in refining these vocabularies for enhanced spatial-semantic coherence in 3D modelling applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital and spatial techniques, such as reality-based surveying and 3D modelling, have long been used in archaeology. However, in recent years the use of these techniques has gained importance also in the history of architecture, a discipline in which these data can help to interpret traditionally used, but often incomplete, written sources (Tucci et al. 2021; Fiorini et al. 2023).This paper is about an aspect of the eighteenth-century renovations of Palazzo Vecchio. It focuses attention on a small terrace that runs alongside the exterior facade of the Sala dei Cinquecento and to which there is no entrance. The question this paper seeks to answer is: why during eighteenth-century renovations it was decided to exclude the existing entrance to the terrace from the accessible spaces? Using geomatics techniques, it has been possible to identify the location of the enclosed spaces in relation to other parts of the building (Tucci, 2017).In accordance with the criteria of Spatial Humanities, the present research is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach based on the analysis and interpretation of data obtained from archival sources (Archivio Storico Comunale di Firenze, Fototeca Comunale di Firenze, Archivio Centrale di Stato di Roma, Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Gabinetto fotografico degli Uffizi, Catalogo Generale Beni Culturali, Biblioteca Nazionale), the consultation of relevant published iconographic sources in libraries, and the interpretation of 3D data and architectural elements discovered during the onsite survey of the area between the inner and outer southern façades of the Sala dei Cinquecento.The first part of this essay focus on the southern façade of the Sala dei Cinquecento and aims to demonstrate to what extent the Carlo Falconieri's modification altered the general appearance of the façade. The second part, aims to clarify the architectural phases or aspects of the southern façade of the Sala dei Cinquecento before Falconieri's works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The early reliable detection and quantification of autoantibodies play an important role in autoimmune disease diagnosis and in disease-course monitoring. New technologies, such as the multiplexed determination of autoantibodies, have recently been introduced and are being adopted more frequently. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of a new microdot array-based multiparametric assay (ZENIT AMiDot CTD panel, A. Menarini Diagnostics, Firenze, Italy) to correctly classify patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) and compare it to a fluorescence enzyme immunoassay (FEIA) for the detection of anti-ENAs. Methods: The study included 69 consecutive samples from patients with ARDs that were analyzed using two different methods (FEIA and AMiDot) to detect anti-CENP B and six anti-ENA antibodies: anti-Scl-70, anti-SSB/La, anti-Jo-1, anti-U1-RNP, anti-Ro52, and anti-Ro60. The control group sera came from sixty-eight blood donors. Tests were run on the automated slide processor ZENIT FLOW, and then the slides were imaged and analyzed using ZENIT fast. Results: Since the samples were selected for at least one antibody positivity with an ARD diagnosis, we did not calculate clinical sensitivity but only specificity, which was 98.53%, ranging from 90% for anti-SSB/La antibodies to 100% for anti-CENP B ones. Mean agreement among the methods assessed by Cohen's kappa was 0.816 ± 0.240. Conclusions: The assay demonstrated good clinical performance and may be considered a valuable aid in detecting ARD patients, offering an alternative to methods such as FEIA which are largely in use today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pier Luigi Nervi's Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence is a masterpiece of the Rationalist movement. • This study reports the results of a thorough field survey and testing campaign carried out on it. • The results of the static and seismic performance assessment analyses are reported too. • The supplemental damping-based seismic retrofit interventions designed for the Stadium are presented. • A substantial improvement of structural performance is achieved with a minimal architectural impact. Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence is the first world-famous work by Pier Luigi Nervi, and is celebrated as a masterpiece of the Rationalist movement. In view of this, it has been declared a work of cultural and historical interest by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, with several specific preservation restrictions on its most distinguishing structural and architectural elements. With a view to the recently planned restyling and modernization works, a diagnostic field survey and testing campaign, and a static and seismic performance assessment study of the Stadium were commissioned by the Municipality of Florence. Furthermore, a retrofit design respectful of the architectural preservation requirements was requested for its reinforced concrete structure. The contents of the diagnostic and assessment study, as well as of the retrofit design, are presented in this paper. The results of the structural analyses, carried out by means of a detailed finite element model calibrated on the field survey and testing data, show slightly unsafe static conditions in less than 10% of the beams and columns constituting the bleacher sloped frames, and diffused unsafe conditions under seismic action scaled at the Basic Design Earthquake level. The proposed retrofit solution consists in incorporating dissipative braces equipped with fluid viscous spring-dampers in several spans oriented in orthogonal direction to the bleacher frames, and installing fluid viscous pure dampers across the majority of the technical separation gaps between adjacent bleacher blocks, so as to prevent their mutual pounding. The results of the analyses in retrofitted conditions highlight a transition to safe conditions for more than half of the unsafe members, and a remarkable reduction of the demand/capacity ratios in the remaining members. Safe stress states can be reached in the latter by means of simple additional local strengthening interventions. This substantial improvement of seismic performance is achieved with a minimal visual and functional impact on the existing structures, as prescribed by the imposed preservation restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My most heartfelt thanks to ACL for this tremendous honor. I'm completely thrilled. I cannot tell you how surprised I was when I got Iryna's email. It is amazing that my first ACL conference since 2019 in Florence includes this award. What a wonderful way to be back with all of my friends and family here at ACL. I'm going to tell you about my big fat 50-year journey. What have I been doing for the last 50 years? Well, finding meaning, quite literally in words. Or in other words, exploring how computational lexical semantics can support natural language understanding. This is going to be quick. Hold onto your hats, here we go. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of conservation and protection of heritage buildings, knowledge plays a fundamental role, emphasized by national and international rules and regulations. This aspect becomes fundamental when conducting the structural assessment of a historical building. This study envisaged a cognitive phase via the application of advanced survey and diagnostic methodologies to define the materials, construction techniques, and state of conservation of the structural system of a specific building forming part of Florence's heritage. The information complex produced formed the basis for the structural assessment and for the experimentation of the BIM methodology within the creation of databases for the management of cognitive processes of historical buildings. The case study is one of the gates of the last circle of walls of the 14th century and is the only one that has maintained its original height, despite modifications: the gate/tower of San Niccolò. The research conducted, in addition to achieving a structural assessment of the tower, has allowed the creation of a dynamic model for organizing and consulting the information, laying the groundwork for the creation of a conservation and maintenance plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe 1000 patients with essential thrombocythemia seen at the Center Research and Innovation of Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (CRIMM), Florence, Italy, between 1980 and 2023: median age 59 years (18–95), females 65%, JAK2/CALR/MPL-mutated 66%/19%/4%, triple-negative (TN) 11%. Extreme thrombocytosis (ExT, platelets ≥1000 × 109/L) in 16%, leukocytosis (leukocytes >11 × 109/L) in 16%, and at least one cardiovascular risk factor in 52% of cases. JAK2-mutated patients were older (median 62 years) and CALR-mutated and TN (53 years for both) younger (p < 0.001). Female gender clustered with TN (76%) and JAK2 (67%) vs CALR (46%) mutations (p < 0.001). ExT clustered with CALR (type-2 more than type-1), TN and MPL, and leukocytosis with JAK2 mutation (p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, risk factors for arterial thrombosis-free survival were age ≥60 years (HR 2.0; p < 0.001) and JAK2 mutation (HR 1.3; p = 0.02) with borderline significance for male gender (p = 0.08) and cardiovascular risk factors (p = 0.08); for venous thrombosis-free survival, JAK2 mutation (HR 1.9; p = 0.03) with borderline significance for venous thrombosis history (p = 0.07); for overall survival, older age (p < 0.001), male gender (HR 1.9; p < 0.001), absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 8 × 109/L (HR 1.8; p = 0.01), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) < 1.7 × 109/L (HR 1.2; p = 0.03); for myelofibrosis-free survival, CALR mutation (HR 2.7; p < 0.001, particularly for CALR type 1/1-like, HR 3.3) and MPL mutation (HR 3.9; p = 0.001); for leukemia-free survival, older age (p = 0.03). Cytoreductive therapy appeared to mitigate both venous (HR 0.3; p = 0.01) and arterial thrombosis (HR 4; p = 0.04); there was a trend for aspirin in preventing arterial thrombosis recurrence. The current study provides real-world observations in essential thrombocythemia, representing a valid source document for interpreting current literature and planning future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A full electrification of many local railway lines is often not feasible or sustainable in terms of construction and maintenance costs or alternatively for the presence of additional constraints and limitations deriving from environmental or infrastructural limitations. Battery Operated or other kind of hybrid solutions powertrains are currently proposed as sustainable alternatives to Internal combustion engines for the propulsion of rolling stock on not electrified lines. In this work, authors propose the adoption of a partial electrification of lines to assure higher performances and reliability of battery-operated rolling stock designed to be recharged and feed using standard technologies such as pantographs gathering power from suspended catenaries. This innovative solution is designed and sized for a vehicle inspired from an existing one and simulated for two different existing lines, also proposing an optimal distribution of electrified sections dedicated to train recharge. This Case Study is simulated considering some possible applications to some existing railway lines in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]