Allied Air Attacks and Civilian Harm in Italy, 1940–1945

Tens of thousands of Italian civilians perished in the Allied bombing raids of World War II. More of them died after the Armistice of September 1943 than before, when the air attacks were intended to induce Italy’s surrender.　 Allied Air Attacks and Civilian Harm in Italy, 1940–1945 addresses this seeming paradox, by examining the views of Allied political and military leaders, Allied air crews, and Italians on the ground. It tells the stories of a little-known diplomat (Myron Charles Taylor), military strategist (Solly Zuckerman), resistance fighter (Aldo Quaranta), and peace activist (Vera Brittain) – architects and opponents of the bombing strategies. It describes the fate of ordinary civilians, drawing on a wealth of local and digital archival sources, memoir accounts, novels, and films, including Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 and John Huston’s The Battle of San Pietro. The book will be of interest to readers concerned about the ethical, legal, and human dimensions of bombing and its effects on civilians, to students of military strategy and Italian history, and to World War II buffs. They will benefit from a people-focused history that draws on a range of eclectic and rarely used sources in English and Italian

Allied Air Attacks and Civilian Harm in Italy, 1940–1945

Tens of thousands of Italian civilians perished in the Allied bombing raids of World War II. More of them died after the Armistice of September 1943 than before, when the air attacks were intended to induce Italy’s surrender.　 Allied Air Attacks and Civilian Harm in Italy, 1940–1945 addresses this seeming paradox, by examining the views of Allied political and military leaders, Allied air crews, and Italians on the ground. It tells the stories of a little-known diplomat (Myron Charles Taylor), military strategist (Solly Zuckerman), resistance fighter (Aldo Quaranta), and peace activist (Vera Brittain) – architects and opponents of the bombing strategies. It describes the fate of ordinary civilians, drawing on a wealth of local and digital archival sources, memoir accounts, novels, and films, including Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 and John Huston’s The Battle of San Pietro. The book will be of interest to readers concerned about the ethical, legal, and human dimensions of bombing and its effects on civilians, to students of military strategy and Italian history, and to World War II buffs. They will benefit from a people-focused history that draws on a range of eclectic and rarely used sources in English and Italian

Decadence and Translation

Decadence and Translation. Volupté 3.2 (December 2020) - full issue

Local Knowledge of Plants and Their Uses Among Women in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia

Women’s local ecological knowledge (LEK) is noted by many scholars to be unique and important for local conservation and development planning. Although LEK integration is inherent to ethnobotanical research, in Ethiopia, the knowledge-gender link has not been fully explored, and few studies focus on women’s distinct plant knowledge. We catalogued rural women’s knowledge of a wide range of plant uses in south-central Ethiopia, conducted through picture identification of 337 local plants. Fifty-seven plant species were identified, constituting 38 families, with the top five families being Lamiaceae, Solanaceae, Asteraceae, Rosaceae, and Pteridaceae. An array of uses were identified ranging from food, livestock and wildlife forage, to honey production and cosmetics. The most prevalent use noted (nearly 70%) was human medicine. This study reveals the important contribution of rural women’s plant knowledge in the Bale Mountains, and the potential benefits of including this gender-distinct understanding of local flora in community-based conservation planning

The view from Strasbourg: translational readings of decadence by the Guest Editors

No abstract available

H-Diplo/ISSF Forum 25 on the Importance of White HousePresidential Tapes in Scholarship

A forum discussion on the importance of White House presidential tapes in scholarship

Investigation of seismic response of cantilever retaining walls: limit analysis vs shaking table testing

The earthquake response of cantilever retaining walls is explored by means of theoretical analyses and shaking table testing conducted at University of Bristol (EERC - EQUALS). The theoretical investigations employ both limit analysis and wave-propagation methods, which take into account different aspects of the problem such as inertia, strength, kinematics and compatibility of deformations. The experimental programme encompasses different combinations of retaining wall geometries, soil configurations and input ground motions. The response analysis of the systems at hand aims at shedding light onto salient features of the problem, such as: (1) the magnitude of soil thrust and its point of application; (2) the relative sliding versus rocking of the wall base and the corresponding failure modes; (3) the importance of the interplay between soil stiffness, wall dimensions and excitation characteristics, as affecting the above; (4) the importance of wall dynamics and phase differences between peak stresses and displacements. The results of the experimental investigations are in good agreement with the theoretical models and provide a better understanding on the complex mechanics of the problem

Provisional practice recommendation for the management of myopathy in VCP-associated multisystem proteinopathy.

Valosin-containing protein (VCP)-associated multisystem proteinopathy (MSP) is a rare genetic disorder with abnormalities in the autophagy pathway leading to various combinations of myopathy, bone diseases, and neurodegeneration. Ninety percent of patients with VCP-associated MSP have myopathy, but there is no consensus-based guideline. The goal of this working group was to develop a best practice set of provisional recommendations for VCP myopathy which can be easily implemented across the globe. As an initiative by Cure VCP Disease Inc., a patient advocacy organization, an online survey was initially conducted to identify the practice gaps in VCP myopathy. All prior published literature on VCP myopathy was reviewed to better understand the different aspects of management of VCP myopathy, and several working group sessions were conducted involving international experts to develop this provisional recommendation. VCP myopathy has a heterogeneous clinical phenotype and should be considered in patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy phenotype, or any myopathy with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Genetic testing is the only definitive way to diagnose VCP myopathy, and single-variant testing in the case of a known familial VCP variant, or multi-gene panel sequencing in undifferentiated cases can be considered. Muscle biopsy is important in cases of diagnostic uncertainty or lack of a definitive pathogenic genetic variant since rimmed vacuoles (present in ~40% cases) are considered a hallmark of VCP myopathy. Electrodiagnostic studies and magnetic resonance imaging can also help rule out disease mimics. Standardized management of VCP myopathy will optimize patient care and help future research initiatives

Metagenomics and metatranscriptomics: Windows on CF-associated viral and microbial communities

AbstractBackgroundSamples collected from CF patient airways often contain large amounts of host-derived nucleic acids that interfere with recovery and purification of microbial and viral nucleic acids. This study describes metagenomic and metatranscriptomic methods that address these issues.MethodsMicrobial and viral metagenomes, and microbial metatranscriptomes, were successfully prepared from sputum samples from five adult CF patients.ResultsContaminating host DNA was dramatically reduced in the metagenomes. Each CF patient presented a unique microbiome; in some Pseudomonas aeruginosa was replaced by other opportunistic bacteria. Even though the taxonomic composition of the microbiomes is very different, the metabolic potentials encoded by the community are very similar. The viral communities were dominated by phages that infect major CF pathogens. The metatranscriptomes reveal differential expression of encoded metabolic potential with changing health status.ConclusionsMicrobial and viral metagenomics combined with microbial transcriptomics characterize the dynamic polymicrobial communities found in CF airways, revealing both the taxa present and their current metabolic activities. These approaches can facilitate the development of individualized treatment plans and novel therapeutic approaches