Aspetti linguistici e metrici dell'imitazione virgiliana in Maffeo Vegio

Con l'affermarsi dell'autorità poetica di Virgilio s'instaura, fin dall'età antica, un principio d'imitazione basato sulla formularità. È la natura stessa dell'esametro che, con la sua inconfondibile cadenza conclusiva, induce a memorizzare formulae o iuncturae in particolari collocazioni ritmiche, cioè soprattutto in clausola, in cesura, o nell’incipit del verso. Avviene cosi che quella tecnica compositiva formulare che, come è stato osservato, si era perduta nel passaggio dall' oralità dei più antichi poemi epici a un nuovo Kunstwollen orientato verso la trasmissione scritta del testo poetico (ed è il caso particolare di Virgilio che lavorava per successivi interventi sul testo) ritorna come inevitabile conseguenza del ricorso al modello e della volontà di emularlo proprio nelle opere che si ispirano alla poesia virgiliana. Il particolare idioletto del poeta latino, le sue specialissime scelte linguistiche, stilistiche e metriche, vengono cosi a formare una langue, un codice a disposizione di tutti i successivi imitatori. In altre parole il modello diventa, come osserva Francesco Della Corte, un “inesauribile serbatoio di formule” o, secondo la definizione del Lausberg, un Wiedergebrauchttexte

Foreign posture in comparative perspective: a quantitative and qualitative appraisal of Italian foreign and defence policy during the Renzi government

The performance of the Renzi government (2014–2016) in the realm of foreign and defence policy is a mixed bag. Struggling with significant structural constraints at home but called upon to shoulder increased responsibilities abroad, Italian foreign policy (IFP) has balanced instances of retrenchment, characterised by inward-looking tendencies and continued budget shortfalls, with its traditional emphasis on bandwagoning with stronger allies to retain a degree of influence over international events. Secondary only to Italy’s traditional focus on the European project and the broader North Atlantic Alliance, the Mediterranean pillar – including the fight against extremism and the search for new markets and economic opportunities – has dominated IFP under the Renzi government. While staying true to its traditional reluctance to ‘go it alone’, Italy has pushed hard in Europe to consolidate a common response to the migration crisis, while seeking to assume a leading role in efforts to support political reconciliation in Libya. Italy has also enhanced its participation in the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, but has to date refused repeated requests by the US and its allies to begin offensive military operations in Syria and Iraq. The article analyses Italian foreign and defence policy from a comparative perspective, employing a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Italy’s foreign posture between 2014 and 2016

Synthesis and study of polyhydroxylated phenol derivatives with potential cosmetic and phytoiatric applications

Tyrosinase (polyphenol oxidase, E.C. 1.14.18.1) and laccase (phenol oxidase, E.C. 1.10.3.2) are multifunctional copper-containing enzymes, that are keys in melanin biosynthesis, melanisation in animals and browning in plants. Our study is aimed to prepare new monomer and dimer phenol derivatives as potential inhibitors of melanin production starting from natural hydroxylated aromatic units

Terrestrial Laser Scanner and Close Range Photogrammetry point clouds accuracy assessment for the structure deformations monitoring

In this paper we show the results of several tests carried out using methods and instrumentation typical of an architectural survey, along with a set of metrological instrumentation, on a Reinforced Concrete (RC) beam subjected to increasing loads. The goal was to assess the accuracy in the displacements estimated by a medium quality terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) Focus 3d from Faro Technologies, and the low-cost digital camera Canon PowerShot S110 used in a Close Range Photogrammetry (CRP) survey. The software used for scan-data and point clouds processing was Reconstructor JRC Software v. 3.1.0, maintained by Gexcel Ltd, while the images processing was performed with the software Photoscan from Agisoft, which implements Structure from Motion (SfM) approach. Two processing strategies were used in the point clouds comparison: mesh2mesh and modelling the beam behavior fitting the contours of the beam with second order polynomials. Comparisons between the TLS and CRP techniques and the metrological equipment used in parallel highlighted the limits and potentialities of the two geomatic techniques used. It has been shown that modeling the behavior of the beam leads to significantly better results than using the mesh2mesh comparison. For the CRP the increase in accuracy was in the order of 40%, while for the TLS of 50%

Helichrysum microphyllum subsp. tyrrhenicum, Its Root-Associated Microorganisms, and Wood Chips Represent an Integrated Green Technology for the Remediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils

Phytoremediation and the use of suitable amendments are well-known technologies for the mitigation of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) contaminations in terrestrial ecosystems. Our study is aimed at combining these two approaches to maximize their favorable effects. To this purpose, Helichrysum microphyllum subsp. tyrrhenicum, a Mediterranean shrub growing on sandy and semiarid soils, was selected. The weathered PHC-polluted matrix (3.3 ± 0.8 g kg−1 dry weight) from a disused industrial site was employed as the cultivation substrate with (WCAM) or without (UNAM) the addition and mixing of wood chips. Under the greenhouse conditions, the species showed a survival rate higher than 90% in the UNAM while the amendment administration restored the totality of the plant survival. At the end of the greenhouse test (nine months), the treatment with the wood chips significantly increased the moisture, dehydrogenase activity and abundance of the microbial populations of the PHC degraders in the substrate. Cogently, the residual amount of PHCs was significantly lower in the UNAM (3–92% of the initial quantity) than in the WCAM (3–14% of the initial quantity). Moreover, the crown diameter was significantly higher in the WCAM plants. Overall, the results establish the combined technology as a novel approach for landscaping and the bioremediation of sites chronically injured by PHC-weathered contaminations

Use of Telemedicine Healthcare Systems in Pediatric Assistance at Territorial Level: Consensus Document of the Italian Society of Telemedicine (SIT), of the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Pediatrics (SIPPS), of the Italian Society of Pediatric Primary Care (SICuPP), of the Italian Federation of Pediatric Doctors (FIMP) and of the Syndicate of Family Pediatrician Doctors (SIMPeF)

Technological innovation can contribute to a reorganization of healthcare, particularly by supporting the shift in the focus of care from the hospital to the territory, through innovative citizen-centered models, and facilitating access to services in the territory. Health and social care delivery modalities, enabled by telemedicine, are crucial in this regard. The objective of this Consensus document, written by the main Italian Scientific Societies involved in the use of telemedicine in pediatrics, is to define a standard for its use at the territorial level in various declinations in the pediatric field; this paper also identifies priority areas for its application and the types of services that most require intervention and investment. The changes that are underway in digital transformation in all sectors are unstoppable, and for the digital transformation to take place in a productive sense, the contribution of not only all health professionals, but also of patients, is necessary. From this perspective, authors from different backgrounds were involved in the drafting of this Consensus and, in the future, other figures, primarily patients, are expected to be involved. In fact, this belongs to the vision of connected care, in which the citizen/patient actively participates in the treatment path so that they are assisted in a personalized, predictive and preventive way. The future scenario must be able to provide for the involvement of patients from the initial stages of planning any treatment path, even in the pediatric age, and increasing, where possible, the proximity of the health service to the families

Israel and the Palestinians after the Arab Spring : no time for peace

Andrea Dess

Algeria at the crossroads, between continuity and change

Andrea Dess

Unpredictability in US foreign policy and the regional order in the Middle East: reacting vis-à-vis a volatile external security-provider

This article explores the impact of the US foreign policy’s predictability, or lack thereof, vis-à-vis the Middle Easter regional order. It lays out two main arguments. Firstly, since 2003, the US has undertaken some concrete actions which have undermined former expectations of its behaviour among regional actors. By that, Washington distanced itself from open and predictable foreign policy that played a key role in maintaining the regional order, most concretely as an external security provider. US actions fostered a double-level uncertainty: amid a broader process of strategic disengagement from the region, the US’s level of intervention was not really predictable as in some occasions it adhered to its former responsibilities and opted either for direct intervention or offshore engagement, while in others it advanced in its disengagement by not intervening or doing less than expected by regional actors; additionally, in terms of the direction of its interventions, its policies fostered uncertainty as they fluctuated from some reinforcing the status to those disrupting it. Secondly, this uncertainty prompted regional actors to assume further security-oriented responsibilities, as shown by the renewed centrality of the Gulf Cooperation Council or the innovative Saudi foreign policy in Bahrain, Yemen or Qatar since 2011.This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme [grant number 693244 (MENARA Project)]. This publication reflects the views only of the authors and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein

The Use of Nadir and Oblique UAV Images for Building Knowledge

This paper focuses on the processing and study of 3D models obtained from images captured by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In particular, we wanted to study the accuracy gains achieved in the surveying and the measurement, such as height, area, and volume, of the dimensions of the buildings in the 3D models obtained with both nadir and oblique UAV flights. These latter types of flights are particularly suitable for the 3D modeling of cities or urban agglomerations, where it is important to achieve a complete building reconstruction, including façades and footprints of buildings. For this purpose, several UAV surveys with both nadir and oblique axes were performed. The nadir flight acquired images over an area of about 3.5 hectares containing 30 buildings, while the second flight, performed with both a nadir camera and an oblique camera, was conducted on a single building. The images from the flights were processed with Photoscan software by Agisoft and with Pix4D, studying their different potentialities and functionality. The results were compared with the data from the 1:2000 scale Geotopographic Database (DBGT), with the results of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) survey and with 3D model from the Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) survey. The obtained results have shown that oblique UAV flights increase the achievable accuracy both in terms of the number of points in a point cloud, and in the in measurements taken on the 3D models, with respect to the limited cost, and at the increase in time for surveying and image processing