Prudence, flexibility and non-discrimination. Here are the keywords that guided the Academic Senate and the Board of Directors of the University of Pisa in their joint session last Friday 29 May. The session intended to resolve upon the educational activities for the next academic year, focusing on a gradual return to normality, with never completely giving up the online mode. This will allow offsite and international students to attend the classes even if unable to travel because of the pandemic emergency.

"Many uncertainties persist about the development of the epidemiological emergency, and it is necessary to be cautious - commented the Rector Paolo Mancarella. - We cannot act as if nothing has happened, the protection of our community must always be at the forefront. We want to convey a clear, unequivocal message to students and families: let us begin again cautiously, but ready to fully restore the traditional procedures as soon as the epidemiological situation allows it. It is our firm conviction, moreover, that higher education can fully bear its fruits and completely meet the needs of its students, if it doesn’t ignore the importance of those social bonds arising with the lecturers and the intellectual and human interactions both in the classroom and on its boundaries. Particularly in a people-friendly university citadel such as Pisa, where this social bond has strengthened in the recent months, although we all feel the urge to experience first-hand our lives again.”

We all feel strengthened by the excellent results obtained during the lockdown, when all the educational activities of the University of Pisa have been performed online: 21,130 exams have been taken, and 1,146 final theses have been discussed and will become more than 3,600 by the end of June (being these figures substantially in line within those of the previous year). The next academic year will then open the first semester with all the lectures performed remotely through the telematic platforms of the University.

If this is the general principle to follow until 31 December 2020, some notable exceptions will be envisaged.

As a matter of fact, from 1 September, the in-presence performance of some specific activities is scheduled, such as the Degree Programmes’ training of Healthcare Professions, Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry and Dental Prostheses and the Specialization Schools of the healthcare area; and more, the undergraduates and postgraduates traineeship, the final thesis internships, the curricular traineeships that could not effectively be completed remotely (except for those envisaged during the first year of the study programme). If needed, lecturers can arrange undergraduates, PhD students and postgraduate’s reception.

The activities that can immediately be performed in person are also those with a limited number of students and therefore more protect and safe. Namely, the School of Medicine could opt for in-presence educational activities for those Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programmes in Healthcare Professions with a quota up to 50 students. However, by the end of June each Department may propose a specific plan for the performance of hands-on and laboratory activities; second-year lectures of Master's Degree programmes and the last year lectures of Single-Cycle Degree Programmes, with a quota up to 50 enrolled students. The Master's Degree Programmes that in a.y. 2019/20 had a quota up to 25 enrolled students, can perform in- presence lectures also for the first year.

The possibility of attending the activities online will still be assured to avoid any discrimination of those students unable to travel to the University of Pisa because of the continuing spread of Covid-19.

"The measures decided on Friday are only the beginning of a path to be continued in weeks ahead - concludes the Rector - The Departments and Schools are already working to prepare their 'restart plans'. Before the enrolment opening, we will give a further indication on the courses and workshops provided in presence. At the same time, we are also considering interventions to economically support disadvantaged students. To this aim, it is essential to initiate an institutional table where students’ representatives are also involved".

Giovanni Caruso, ricercatore dell’Università di Pisa, ha vinto il prestigioso Premio Antico Fattore, istituito dall’Accademia dei Georgofili nel 1931, per la sezione “Moderne tecnologie di gestione e difesa dell’oliveto”. 

Caruso, già coordinatore nazionale del gruppo di lavoro “Olivo e Olio” della Società Italiana di Ortoflorifrutticoltura (SOI) e responsabile scientifico del Precision Fruit Growing Lab del dipartimento di Scienze agrarie alimentari e agro-ambientali dell’Ateneo pisano, è stato premiato per la pubblicazione scientifica “High resolution imagery acquired from an unmanned platform to estimate biophysical and geometrical parameters of olive trees under different irrigaton regimes”.

Nella motivazione si legge: “L’articolo, pubblicato su Plos One nel 2019, espone i risultati dell’uso di un drone equipaggiato con fotocamere RGB e multispettrali per la valutazione dei parametri biofisici e geometrici dell’olivo. Il metodo di stima per la misura della chioma dell’olivo, innovativo, messo a punto durante la ricerca, permette di monitorare vari parametri dell’olivo, dallo stato nutrizionale al vigore vegetativo e alla qualità dei frutti, permettendo così di introdurre nuove modalità di gestione degli oliveti. L’elevata qualità scientifica del lavoro trova adeguata conferma nell’elevato Impact Factor della rivista”.  La tematica della pubblicazione è oggetto delle recenti attività del gruppo di ricerca guidato da Giovanni Caruso in olivicoltura e viticoltura di precisione.

Il “Premio Antico Fattore”, nato a Firenze nel 1931, assunse il nome della trattoria (che è tutt’oggi all’angolo di via Lambertesca con via dei Georgofili), nella quale si riunivano, i mercoledì sera, alcuni tra i maggiori esponenti del mondo culturale, non solo cittadino, rappresentanti del mondo della letteratura, dell’arte, della scienza e in particolare della poesia, della pittura e della musica.

Il Premio ha vissuto diverse fasi. La prima edizione fu assegnata nel 1931. Ne seguirono annualmente altre, fino al 1934 (tra i vincitori, due futuri Premi Nobel: Eugenio Montale nel 1931 e Salvatore Quasimodo nel 1932). L’attività riprese dopo il secondo conflitto mondiale, con incontri culturali che però andarono esaurendosi, senza alcuna consegna di premi. Dal 1984, la storica azienda vinicola Ruffino si offrì di rivitalizzarlo, rendendolo anche internazionale e affiancandogli un analogo premio per la scienza vitivinicola (tra i vincitori, nel 1985 Indro Montanelli e nel 1989 Tony Morrison, alla quale fu poi conferito il Premio Nobel nel 1993). Anche questa fase si interruppe nel 1998.

L’Accademia dei Georgofili, nel 250° anniversario della sua fondazione, ha ridato vita al “Premio Antico Fattore”. In considerazione delle spiccate tradizioni viticole e olivicole, che rappresentano particolare espressione culturale ed elemento di identità della Toscana e dei paesi mediterranei, il premio è destinato a lavori letterari e a contributi scientifici di diversa natura, alternativamente nel settore viticolo e olivicolo.

A study carried out by endocrinologists from the University Hospital of Pisa have reported the first instance in the world of subacute thyroiditis caused by COVID-19.

The first author of the study, which has appeared in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, a journal published by the Endocrine Society, is Alessandro Brancatella, a physician specialized in endocrinology and a PhD student, together with the biologist Debora Ricci, post graduate students Nicola Viola and Daniele Sgrò,  Ferruccio Santini, an associate professor of Endocrinology and director of the Endocrinology 1 Unit and Francesco Latrofa, an associate professor of Endocrinology.

From left to right: Francesco Latrofa, Ferruccio Santini and Alessandro Brancatella

The case is based on the observation of a young woman who suffered an attack of subacute thyroiditis, an inflammatory thyroid disease, immediately after recovering from COVID-19. The woman had been diagnosed with normal thyroid functioning just one month previously.

“There is much proof of the viral or postviral etiology of subacute thyroiditis,” explains Francesco Latrofa. “Over the years, different viruses have been associated with the disease although there has never been a case of the disease caused by coronavirus infection.”

Subacute thyroiditis is characterized by intense neck pain, fever and malaise and symptoms linked to the excess of circulating thyroid hormones such as sweating, rapid heartbeat  and insomnia. The patient in question was treated successfully with glucocorticoids.

“We felt it was important to share this case with the scientific community,” concludes Francesco Latrofa. “Considering there are more than 5 million infected patients throughout the world, it is highly probable that other cases of subacute thyroiditis from coronavirus will come to light.”

Bando

atti finali

Bando

Italy registered a 48.4% reduction in admissions for acute myocardial infraction during the Covid-19 pandemic. The data comes from a study recently published in the European Heart Journal which analyzed the number of admissions to intensive cardiac care units of 54 associated  Italian university cardiology facilities in the ‘CCU (Coronary Care Unit) Academy Investigator Group’ from 12th to 19th March 2020 compared with the equivalent week of the previous year.

Professor Roberto Pedrinelli (on the right), Director of the ‘Scuola di Specializzazione in Malattie dell'Apparato Cardiovascolare’ and a member of the Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pisa, is one of the authors of the study coordinated by the Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC) where Professor Perdinelli is also a member of the governing board.

According to the study, the reduction in admissions was largely similar geographically in the north (-52.1%), centre (-59.3%) and south (-52.1%). The absolute number of admissions went from 618 (176 women and 442 men) to 319 (76 women and 243 men) and case fatalities almost doubled, going from 17 to 31.

“There was a significant reduction in the number of patient admissions for acute myocardial infarction in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a significant increase in case fatality and complication rates,” commented Roberto Pedrinelli.  ”This represents a serious social issue which must be addressed by scientific and healthcare communities and public regulatory agencies.”

References:

Reduction of hospitalizations for myocardial infarction in Italy in the COVID-19 era. De Rosa S, Spaccarotella C, Basso C, Calabrò MP, Curcio A, Filardi PP, Mancone M, Mercuro G, Muscoli S, Nodari S, Pedrinelli R, Sinagra G, Indolfi C; Società Italiana di Cardiologia and the CCU Academy investigator group. Eur Heart J. 2020 May 15:ehaa409. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa409.

È Lorenzo Peruzzi, docente di Botanica sistematica al dipartimento di Biologia e direttore dell’Orto e Museo Botanico dell’Università di Pisa, il protagonista della quarta puntata di “L’UniPi racconta”, la nuova trasmissione realizzata da 50Canale con la collaborazione dell’Ateneo. In onda venerdì 5 giugno alle ore 17 e in replica sabato 6 alle ore 10, con una durata di circa mezz’ora, il professore illustra la storia, le caratteristiche e le curiosità dell’Orto e Museo Botanico, situato nel centro della città a poca distanza dalla Torre, che è tra le sedi di maggior tradizione e prestigio scientifico dell’Ateneo.

La trasmissione proseguirà poi a cadenza settimanale e affronterà in questo primo ciclo le ultime due puntate, approfondendo la situazione dei musei nella fase di emergenza (Antonella Gioli, 12 e 13 giugno) e le tecnologie quantistiche, tempo e spazio (Marilù Chiofalo, 19 e 20 giugno).

È Lorenzo Peruzzi, docente di Botanica sistematica al dipartimento di Biologia e direttore dell’Orto e Museo Botanico dell’Università di Pisa, il protagonista della quarta puntata di “L’UniPi racconta”, la nuova trasmissione realizzata da 50Canale con la collaborazione dell’Ateneo. In onda venerdì 5 giugno alle ore 17 e in replica sabato 6 alle ore 10, con una durata di circa mezz’ora, il professore illustra la storia, le caratteristiche e le curiosità dell’Orto e Museo Botanico, situato nel centro della città a poca distanza dalla Torre, che è tra le sedi di maggior tradizione e prestigio scientifico dell’Ateneo.
La trasmissione proseguirà poi a cadenza settimanale e affronterà in questo primo ciclo le ultime due puntate, approfondendo la situazione dei musei nela fase di emergenza (Antonella Gioli, 12 e 13 giugno) e le tecnologie quantistiche, tempo e spazio (Marilù Chiofalo, 19 e 20 giugno).

An ocean of plastic: currently, 5-13 millions of tons of plastic debris are believed to enter the oceans every year. However, very little is known about their destiny, because less than approximately 10% of the plastic entering the ocean can currently be accounted for, and this is likely due to their fragmentation into small particles addressed to as “microplastics” (MPs). MPs are particularly difficult to locate and to quantify, and undergo specific migration and transport mechanisms. It is not known how much plastic debris actually floats at the ocean surface, what mechanisms control plastic transport and fate from land to the deep sea, and what ecological impact these may have. The HOTMIC project “Horizontal and vertical oceanic distribution, transport, and impact of microplastics”, officially starting on June 5th, addresses these knowledge gaps, focusing on the trasport and fate of microplastics between western Europe and the North Atlantic ocean gyre. HOTMIC is a three-year project funded with 2.3 million euros under the European Program "JPI Oceans-Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans".

Six European countries are involved in the project, and the Department of Cheemistry and Industrial Chemistry of University of Pisa acts as Italian partner. The partners will develop and apply analytical procedures to investigate microplastics in environmental samples collected during scientific cruises aimed to evaluate the extent, type, and distribution of microplastics, even below 10 microns, their transport routes and fate from the estuaries to the open sea and from the surface to the seabed, the degradation mechanisms, and the interaction with biological organisms. The research will build a reliable basis for a more accurate assessment of the risks brought by these contaminants for marine environments and organisms.

Hotmic Italian team of the Department of Cheemistry and Industrial Chemistry of University of Pisa

In particulars, the UniPi chemistry researchers will put in place innovative analytical methods to identify and quantify different microplastic types. Prof. Valter Castelvetro explains us: “We have developed a completely original method that allows us to identify the specific polymers that make up the different types of microplastic. Until today, the most commonly applied techniques suffered limitations due to the challenging separation of microplastics from sediments, that often required laborious and poorly accurate count through microscopy and micro-spectroscopy techniques.”

Optimised separation techniques will be adopted, based on extraction, depolymerisation, and thermal analysis, associated with characterisation by mean of non destructive spectroscopies (Raman and FTIR microscopy), chromatographic separation (HPLC), and mass spectrometric characterisation (multi-shot Py-GC-MS, EGA-MS).

“The target is to identify the main plastic pollutants. The major risks”- concludes Castelvetro – “come from the smallest plastic fragments, such as the degradation products of plastic packaging, the polystyrene microspheres that derive from some cosmetic products, or the microfibres from synthetic fabrics, because these more easily enter the food chain of aquatic organisms".

The research group at the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry of University of Pisa, coordinated by Valter Castelvetro, is composed by Francesca Modugno, Alessio Ceccarini, Andrea Corti, Mario Cifelli and Antonella Manariti. In addition to the University of Pisa, the partnership includes GEOMAR (Kiel, Germany) as leader of the consortium, the Technical University of Munich, the University of Southern Denmark, the Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, the MARE center of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa for Portugal, the University of Ghent in Belgium, and the University of Tartu in Estonia.