Society, theatre and Social Work: beauty will save us

Three different worlds, sometimes concentric and often intersecting —society, theatre and the art of performance— and social work. Diverse worlds that live, reflect and self-reflect and interact, and can also afford an opportunity for meeting, misunderstanding and confrontation, and above all offer the possibility of profound change.This article considers the experience of a theatre company that has spent more than three years moving at the limits of these three universes. To these three worlds can be added an infinite number of words that fill them with meaning and significance: territory, meeting, diversity and search. An artistic experience that has chosen to focus on creating scenarios for debate and to examine the difficulties, the human contradictions and the constant and inexhaustible confrontation with human experience. At the heart of this theatrical activity is all of this, seeking the balance between narration, meeting, investigation and the artistic dimension. This meeting between society, theatre and social work also contains the search for sustainability of this cultural business, in an Italy that has been destroyed by a crisis that is not merely economic, but also of values and, above all, of role models. The guiding theme, though not always made explicit, is always present and essential: the search for beauty.

An insight into alkali promotion: a density functional theory study of CO dissociation on K/Rh(111)

The important role of alkali additives in heterogeneous catalysis is, to a large extent, related to the high promotion effect they have on many fundamental reactions. The wide application of alkali additives in industry does not, however, reflect a thorough understanding of the mechanism of their promotional abilities. To investigate the physical origin of the alkali promotion effect, we have studied CO dissociation on clean Rh(111) and K-covered Rh(111) surfaces using density functional theory. By varying the position of potassium atoms relative to a dissociating CO, we have mapped out the importance of different K effects on the CO dissociation reactions. The K-induced changes in the reaction pathways and reaction barriers have been determined; in particular, a large reduction of the CO dissociation barrier has been identified. A thorough analysis of this promotion effect allows us to rationalize both the electronic and the geometrical factors that govern alkali promotion effect: (i) The extent of barrier reductions depends strongly on how close K is to the dissociating CO. (ii) Direct K-O bonding that is in a very short range plays a crucial role in reducing the barrier. (iii) K can have a rather long-range effect on the TS structure, which could reduce slightly the barriers.

Is screening for Factor V Leiden and Prothrombin G20210A Mutations in Renal Transplantation worthwhile? Results of a large single-center U.K. study

This single center study is the largest series of renal transplant recipients and donors screened for the commonest prothrombotic genotypes. A total of 562 transplant recipients and 457 kidney donors were genotyped for the factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A mutations. The prevalence of heterozygous factor V Leiden was 3.4% and 2.6% and prothrombin G20210A was 2.0% and 1.1% in recipients and donors, respectively, similar frequencies to that of the general U.K. population. The 30-day and 1-year graft survival rates in recipients with thrombophilic mutations were 93% and 93%, compared with 88% and 82% in patients without these mutations (log-rank P =0.34). Thrombophilia in recipients (odds ratio 0.55; confidence interval 0.06-2.29; P =0.56) or in donors (odds ratio 1.53; confidence interval 0.27-5.74; P =0.46) did not correlate with graft loss at 30 days after transplantation. In contrast to recent reports, this study did not demonstrate an association between thrombophilia and renal allograft loss, and routine screening is not recommended.