Personalised Solutions for Universal Goals. A Home Adaptation Project for Disabled People in Italy.

Home adaptation is a practice that addresses accessibility issues in the domestic environment of disabled people, introducing modifications to the spatial environment or devices which improve their autonomy and wellbeing, and that of their caregivers. Protocols developed to define the right adaptations for each home mainly rely on checklists to verify the normative compliance of the physical environment to predefined accessibility standards. However, these protocols fail to address the complexity of the social, cultural, and economic dimensions that structure the person-environment relationship, thus compromising the efficacy of the adaptations. The excessive rigidity of such approach relates to the current debate on the limits of Universal Design when applied to the domestic environment, and especially when directed to people with specific needs. As an example of a more productive approach, this essay illustrates ADA, a public funded action-research project that proposes home adaptations for severely disabled people. The paper discusses the innovative strategy of ADA, based on a high level of personalization, and its main tactics: interdisciplinarity, relational setting, and centrality of activities, both in the assessment of the users' profiles and spaces, and in the design of the adaptations. This essay also evaluates the impact of the project, showing how in specific domains, such as those of ADA, personalization is the key to achieve the inclusive and sustainable goals of Universal Design.

Acoustic wayfinding: A method to measure the acoustic contrast of different paving materials for blind people.

Acoustic wayfinding involves using a variety of auditory cues to create a mental map of the surrounding environment. For blind people, these auditory cues become the primary substitute for visual information in order to understand the features of the spatial context and orient themselves. This can include creating sound waves, such as tapping a cane. This paper reports the results of a research about the "acoustic contrast" parameter between paving materials functioning as a cue and the surrounding or adjacent surface functioning as a background. A number of different materials was selected in order to create a test path and a procedure was defined for the verification of the ability of blind people to distinguish different acoustic contrasts. A method is proposed for measuring acoustic contrast generated by the impact of a cane tip on the ground to provide blind people with environmental information on spatial orientation and wayfinding in urban places.

On the Relationship Between 'Universal' and 'Particular' in Architecture.

In 1998 Molly Follette Story, James Mueller and Roland Mace published the book The Universal Design File; that can be considered the result of a long way, started by Mace in 1985, towards a design approach based on the principles of Universal Design. In 2010 the Centre for Active Design publishes the Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Design. Between these two milestones, this article offers some ideas about the evolution of the universal approach to design. Assuming that Universal Design approach can present limits, this article aims to reflect on the relationship between universal and particular in developing a theoretical approach to architecture and design, supporting the idea that the wide gray area of the population who need specific access solutions can find answers to their needs only through successive adjustments, time by time plugged on universal solutions. This implies a process of requirement-based retrofitting of existing spaces and goods, to get qualities or perfecting performances otherwise inadequate. From this perspective the project for accessibility should be seen as a never ending process, and not a fix and final product, and Universal Design should be considered as a methodological approach ideally tending towards accessibility as a goal. Having this in mind, the article explores the issues related to how to blend universal and particular in a human centred design strategy, how to combine design actions and awareness by the users to allow an effective mutual adaptation between people and their living environment. The article aims to be further food for thought regarding research to be implemented in future works.

"The Florence Experience": A multimedia and multisensory guidebook for cultural towns inspired by Universal Design approach.

BACKGROUND: In order to plan a trip, tourists with disabilities need to gather and analyse a broad range of information concerning the features of the places and services with which they are going to interact. For these people, guidebooks may represent an important source of information for gaining prior knowledge about the various critical situations they may experience as tourists. Generally, disabled people find tourist information on dedicated communication tools; guidebooks for the disabled often provide information for wheelchair users only. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the research project was to develop a mainstream guidebook with supplementary tourist information both for people with impaired vision and for people with reduced mobility. METHODS: The communication project behind "The Florence Experience" guidebook is inspired by both the Universal Design approach and the Performance Design approach. This article describes a case study and provides suggestions for planning in similar situations. It is also part of a broader research project relating to the communication about urban spaces accessibility. RESULTS: The main outcome of the research project is a multimedia and multisensory bilingual guidebook (in Italian and English) that provides information in four separate coordinated forms: a paper-based guidebook, web pages, MP3 audio files, and portable tactile maps. CONCLUSIONS: Creating a guidebook for all is a tough challenge that requires a highly articulated vision and the cooperation of different fields of knowledge and skills. Despite the limits described in the paper, "The Florence Experience" guidebook is, in our opinion, a considerable step forward with respect to the majority of available guidebooks both because it is a unique information tool for disabled and non-disabled people and because, unlike the majority of the guidebooks for disabled people, it does not only consider the needs of wheelchair users.

Oocyte morphology and transcriptional silencing in relation to chromatin remodeling during the final phases of bovine oocyte growth.

The complexity of the events which orchestrate mammalian oocyte growth and ultimate acquisition of developmental competence is still unclear and under continuous investigation. Starting from the observation that germinal vesicle (GV) bovine oocytes exhibit different patterns of chromatin configuration (from GV0 to GV3), the present study aimed at analyzing the morphology of the nuclear and the cytoplasmic compartments and to determine the total transcriptional activity of immature oocytes sorted on the basis of their chromatin configuration. The oocyte morphology was analyzed by light microscopy (LM) on semi-thin sections and transmission electron microscopy, and the global transcriptional activity was analyzed by H(3)-Uridine incorporation and subsequent autoradiography on semi-thin sections. LM confirmed the increase in chromatin condensation from GV0 to GV3. Ultrastructurally, the nucleolus was fibrillo granular at GV0 while the other stages displayed an electron-dense fibrillar sphere with the remnant of a fibrillar center on the surface. Organelles were dispersed in the cytoplasm at GV0 while at GV1 and GV2 most of them were homogenously distributed in the oocyte cortex. At GV3 most organelles were found in clusters in the oocyte cortex. Typical features of completion of the oocyte growth phase, like undulation of the nuclear envelope and reduction of the size of Golgi complex were found at GV2 and GV3. Moreover, GV3 oocytes presented cortical granules that displayed varying degrees of degeneration. Autoradiographic labeling showed that oocytes with GV0 configuration exhibited high level of RNA synthesis, GV1 and GV2 stages showed a remarkable decrease of transcription, and the acquisition of GV3 configuration was associated with global repression of transcriptional activity. Our findings suggest a temporal relationship between the chromatin remodeling process and the main morpho-functional events that characterize the final growth phase in bovine oocyte.

Beta-catenin localization and timing of early development of bovine embryos obtained from oocytes matured in the presence of follicle stimulating hormone.

In mammalian species, embryos which grow more rapidly are believed to be more competent and viable than they are slower developing counterparts. Although the most important decrease in development occurs between the zygote and blastocyst stages, there is a growing amount of evidence to suggest that maturation conditions and oocyte quality have a profound influence on the developmental potential of early mammalian embryos. Gene transcripts and polypeptides stored in the oocytes, such as junctional proteins, sustain the initial development of embryos. In the present study we demonstrated a relationship between the timing of the development of in vitro-produced bovine embryos and the distribution and localization of the junctional protein beta-catenin. We further demonstrated that the presence of FSH during IVM supports cleavage and the blastocyst rate, and also has a positive effect on the speed of development, since embryos obtained from oocytes matured with the gonadotropin and observed on days 4, 5 and 6 post-insemination (p.i.) grew faster than those matured in a medium supplemented with BSA. Moreover, the majority of embryos which developed past the 16-cell stage showed a proper distribution of beta-catenin just beneath the membrane surfaces of all blastomeres and an appropriate morphology, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. In conclusion, our data suggest that supplementing FSH during in vitro maturation aids the development of bovine embryos and promotes the correct expression of beta-catenin, increasing the likelihood that embryos will develop to the blastocyst stage.

Developmental capability of denuded bovine oocyte in a co-culture system with intact cumulus-oocyte complexes: role of cumulus cells, cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate, and glutathione.

Cumulus oophorus cells have been implicated in the regulation of female gamete development, meiotic maturation, and oocyte-sperm interaction. Nevertheless, the specific role of cumulus cells (CCs) during the final stages of oocyte maturation and fertilization processes still remains unclear. Several studies have been conducted in order to clarify the role of follicular cells using culture systems where denuded oocytes (DOs) were co-cultured with isolated CCs, or in the presence of conditioned medium. However, those attempts were ineffective and the initial oocyte competence to become a blastocyst after fertilization was only partially restored. Aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of the interactions between somatic cells and the female gamete on denuded oocyte developmental capability using a system of culture where CCs were present as dispersed CCs or as intact cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) in co-culture with oocytes freed of CC investment immediately after isolation from the ovary. Moreover, we analyzed the specific role of cyclic adenosine 3'-5' monophosphate (cAMP) and glutathione (GSH) during FSH-stimulated maturation of denuded oocyte co-cultured with intact COCs. Our data confirm that denuded oocyte has a scarce developmental capability, and the presence of dispersed CCs during in vitro maturation (IVM) does not improve their developmental competence. On the contrary, the co-presence of intact COCs during denuded oocyte IVM partially restores their developmental capability. The absence of CCs investment causes a drop of cAMP content in DOs at the beginning of IVM and the addition of a cAMP analog in the culture medium does not restore the initial oocyte developmental competence. The relative GSH content of denuded oocyte matured in presence of intact COCs is consistent with the partial recovery of their developmental capability. However, the complete restoration of a full embryonic developmental potential is achieved only when DOs are co-cultured with intact COCs during both IVM and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Our results suggest that the direct interaction between oocyte and CCs is not essential during IVM and IVF of denuded oocyte. We hypothesize that putative diffusible factor(s), produced by CCs and/or by the crosstalk between oocyte and CCs in the intact complex, could play a key role in the acquisition of developmental competence of the denuded female gamete.

Role of intracellular cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate concentration and oocyte-cumulus cells communications on the acquisition of the developmental competence during in vitro maturation of bovine oocyte.

The present study was designed to address the physiological role played by cAMP on gap junction (GJ) mediated communications between oocyte and cumulus cells during in vitro maturation. Cyclic AMP was stimulated by different collection and maturation media known to induce different rates of nuclear maturation and developmental competence as well as different levels of cumulus expansion. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured for 0, 3, 7, 12, 18, and 24 h in the absence of stimulation or in the presence of serum and gonadotropins (fetal bovine serum+human menopausal gonadotropins [FCS+hMG]) or 0.01 microg/ml of invasive adenylate cyclase (iAC). For each time point, intracellular cAMP concentration ([cAMP]i) was determined either in the whole COC or oocyte after cumulus cell removal. GJ functional status was analyzed by microinjection of Lucifer yellow fluorescent dye in cumulus-enclosed oocytes and by immunohistochemical localization of connexin 43 (Cx43). In the absence of stimulation, [cAMP]i in COC and oocyte was lower than in other groups, and communications declined after 3 h of culture. In the FCS+hMG group, [cAMP]i increased significantly in COC, with a peak between 3 and 7 h that was temporally correlated with the beginning of the cumulus expansion process, which occurred only in this group and with the termination of the communications. COC matured in the presence of iAC showed a moderate increase of [cAMP]i during all of the maturation times as well as a prolongation of oocyte-cumulus cell communications. The immunohistochemical localization of Cx43 confirmed the delay in connexons protein turnover in iAC-treated COCs. Our results show that cumulus expansion and oocyte developmental competence are induced by different levels of cAMP and that its intracellular concentration may affect cell coupling between oocyte and cumulus cells. We hypothesize that the higher developmental competence of COCs matured in the presence of iAC could be achieved through a moderate increase of intracellular cAMP, which in turn determines a prolongation of communications between the two cell types.