PROPHETIC WORDS, GOD'S WORDS. AN ANALYSIS OF THE STORIES ANDSPEECHES OF THE PROPHETS IN THE QUR'AN

La tesi ha come oggetto la questione dei profeti e della loro lingua nel testo coranico, conducendo un esame sistematico delle narrazioni e dei discorsi profetici, durante tutto il corso della storia, a partire da Adamo, con l’intento di introdurre una lettura simmetrica delle storie tra episodi e lingua usata. L’accento è stato posto sugli aspetti filologici, concentrando l’analisi sulla versione araba del Corano, al fine di cercare di delineare profili personali e allo stesso tempo tentare di contrastare un approccio che sostiene che tutti gli inviati coranici abbiano solo una funzione strumentale alla missione di Muhammad.The object of the dissertation is the study of the prophets and their language in the Qur’anic text, by carrying out a systematic examination of the Qur’anic narratives of the prophets and their speeches, throughout the whole course of history, starting from Adam, with the intent to introduce a symmetrical reading of the stories between incidents and the specific language. Emphasis has been put on the philological aspects, by concentrating the analysis on the Arabic version of the Qur’an, in order to try to design personal profiles and, at the same time, to attempt to counter an approach that claims to see all the Qur’anic envoys only in their instrumental function in the mission of Muhammad

Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti and the Second Coming of Jesus in Islam

This article first provides an overall picture of Jesus in the Qur’anic Text, amongst the stories of the other prophets, his prophetic role during the mission God gave him on earth and at the End of Times to kill the one-eyed Antichrist (al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl). Then, it analyzes a relatively short fatwā on Jesus’ second coming on earth titled Kitāb al-I‘lām bi-ḥukm ‘Īsā ‘alayhi al-salām (The Book of Declaration of Jesus’ Judgment, Peace Be Upon Him). This fatwā is found in the well-known al-Suyūṭī’s fatāwā collection, namely, al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī, but was also circulated separately. Among al-Suyūṭī’s numerous contributions to eschatology, this eschatological-legal treaty explores matters in relation to the judgment of Jesus on his return before the Last Day. Specifically, al-Suyūṭī addresses an issue that has occupied the minds of commentators on several aḥādīth concerning the son of Mary, namely, what body of law he will follow

GNC Post Flight Analysis of the Italian Dropped Transonic Flight Tests

The Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA), in the framework of the Unmanned Space Vehicles (USV) Program, has developed several advanced Guidance, Navigation and Control technologies for the Terminal Area Energy Management (TAEM) phase of a re-entry ight. These technologies were in-flight tested during the first two dropped transonic flight tests (DTFT1 and DTFT2) of the program. These missions allowed CIRA to investigate critical technological aspects related to the autonomous execution of a typical TAEM phase of a re-entry flight, from a velocity of about Mach 2 down to the typical Approach/Landing Interface speed of Mach 0.5 and below. This paper presents flight tests results and post flight data analysis of these missions. How technological innovations in the Guidance, Navigation and Control domain can contribute to a more autonomous, more safe and less costly future generation of reusable launch vehicles is well stated in open literature. In the USV program, focus was given to adaptive guidance with on-line trajectory re-planning capabilities and to robust and fault tolerant control, as key enabling technologies for atmospheric re-entry and hypersonic flight. Obviously, the complexity of such missions also required dedicated research on advanced methodologies in the field of robustness analysis, design and verification of GNC systems for highly uncertain and non-linear systems. Methodologies for vehicle model identification from flight data have been also included in this technological road map to maximize the scientific return from the flight tests. Model identification methodologies for processing flight data are frequently used to validate and improve a pre-flight aerodynamic data-base and, specifically, to reduce the associated uncertainties. However in this field conventional techniques need to be improved because the USV flight tests have a non-stationary trajectory and specific identification manoeuvres should be avoided being hazardous for the mission. More specifically, the problem of the identification of the aerodynamic model of the Italian Unmanned Space Vehicle was solved through a multi-step approach, where the aerodynamic coefficients are identified first and, in a following phase, a set of model parameters are updated. The methodology was applied to actual flight data, acquired during the two dropped transonic flight tests

Nuove generazioni e radicalismo violento. Stereotipi e antidoti

Il presente contributo offre alcune coordinate per una analisi interdisciplinare del radicalismo violento di matrice religiosalegato alle giovani generazioni europee con background immigrato. A partire da una riflessione sui termini con cui si discutedel fenomeno della radicalizzazione violenta (tra fondamentalismo e terrorismo), il saggio si concentra sul nesso violenza/religionelegato all’Islam e alla falsa percezione dell’Islam come (unica) religione violenta. Nelle conclusioni si riflette su comeun nuovo sapere storico-sociologico è necessario antidoto all’ignoranza all’interno e relativamente alle culture religiose

Yield, quality, antioxidants and elemental composition of peanut as affected by plant density and harvest time

With the perspective of reintroducing peanut cultivation in southern Italy about six decades after its dismissal, research was carried out with the aim to identify the best performing farming management in terms of yield and quality. In this respect, the effect of the factorial combination between four plant densities (6.1, 7.8, 10.3, and 12.1 plants m-2) and two harvest times (100 and 110 days after planting) was assessed on pod and seed yield, as well as on seed quality, antioxidant activity, and elemental composition. The later harvest time determined a 26.9% dry weight increase, but a 14.3% decrease in the number of seeds per pod. Plant density significantly influenced all the yield and growth indices except for mean seed weight. Yield and growth of each plant were best affected by the lowest plant density, whereas the opposite trend was recorded for the same parameters referred to the surface area unit. The density of 12.1 plants m-2 resulted in a 32% reduction in pods per plant compared to 6.1 plants m-2, but had the greatest effect on seed production per m2 . The leaf area index was the highest with the density of 12.1 plants m-2. The total dry weight increased by 1.7-fold from 6.1 to 12.1 plants m-2. Compared to the first harvest time, in the second one the protein content decreased by 6.8%, and total polyphenols and antioxidant activity decreased by 11.2% and 7.6%, respectively. The second harvest time led to a depletion of N, P, and Mg, by 6.8%, 6.2%, and 6.8%, respectively, and a 7.1% Ca increase. The reintroduction of peanut cultivation in southern Italy is a realistic goal, though further studies regarding the crop system management are needed

Industrial processing affects product yield and quality of diced tomato

The tomato industry has been searching for new genotypes with improved fruit production, both in the field and industrially processed, together with high-quality performance under sustainable management conditions. This research was carried out in Southern Italy with the aim of assessing the effects of industrial processing on the yield and quality of four tomato hybrids grown according to organic farming methods and addressed at dicing. MAX 14111 and HMX 4228 showed the highest values of field and processing yield as well as reduced sugars and fructose. MAX 14111 had the highest values of total solids and soluble solids, titratable acidity, fiber, energetic value, polyphenols, and also rutin, though not significantly different from Impact. HMX 4228 performed best in terms of sugar ratio, color and naringenin. Concerning the diced products, the sensorial qualities of the four hybrids differed significantly. Total polyphenols, naringenin and rutin in the tomato fruits were higher in the processed than in the raw product. The appreciable fruit yield and quality resulting from both field and processing phase represent a promising perspective for identifying improved tomato genotypes addressed at dicing

Crocins-rich tomato extracts showed enhanced protective effects in vitro

Crocins are high-value water soluble pigments that have long been recognized for their medicinal properties, and whose demand has increased worldwide in recent years. In the present study transgenic tomato fruits engineered for the production of crocins and hp3/Bsh tomato mutants with alterations in the carotenoid metabolism, have been combined to increase the levels of crocins in tomato fruits. Tomato fruits from F4 plants showed high antioxidant capacity and the crocin-rich juice of the produced tomato fruit was protected neuroblastoma cells against oxidative insult, through its ability to activate factor 2 related to nuclear erythroid factor 2 (Nrf2). The bio-accessibility of crocins in the juice showed values similar to the ones observed with saffron. Overall, our results support that crocin-fortified tomatoes could result in higher crocin availability and have additional health-promoting effects and could provide better protection against oxidative stress related chronic diseases in humans.This work was supported by grants BIO2016-77000-R, PID2020-114761RB-I00 from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and SBPLY/17/180501/000234 and SBPLY/21/180501/000064 from the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (co-financed European Union FEDER funds) and HARNESSTOM, contract number 101000716 Innovation Action EC-H2020-SFS-2020-1. GD and AG are participants of the European COST action CA18210 (ROXY).Peer reviewe

Valorising faba bean residual biomass : Effect of farming system and planting time on the potential for biofuel production

Research was carried out in southern Italy with the aim to assess the quality of faba bean residual biomass and its potential for biorefinery application. Faba bean is a sustainable crop, due to its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, and a large amount of biomass remains after harvest which can be valorised for energy production. Greenhouse and early planting are known to affect pod yield and, in this respect, even the residual biomass quality needs to be assessed. For this purpose, the effects of five planting times (i.e. the dates of transplants ranging from 27 September to 22 November at two-week interval, earlier and later than the common planting date of 25 October in Naples province) on pods yield, residual biomass, and saccharification potential were evaluated in faba bean grown in open field and in greenhouse. The third planting time resulted in the highest fruit and residual biomass yield under greenhouse, whereas the fourth was the best in open field. Harvest index was best affected by the third and fourth planting times in open field. Greenhouse grown biomass showed higher values of lignin, hemicellulose and pectin, compared to open field, whereas the opposite trend was recorded with cellulose. Lignin content showed a gradual decrease from the first to the last planting time (17.7%–13.7% biomass fraction respectively), as well as pectin (from 14.1 to 11.5% biomass fraction); conversely, cellulose increased from the first to the last planting time (from 41.1 to 48.7% biomass fraction). Glucose was the most represented monosaccharide (46.7 mol%), followed by xylose (27.4 mol%) and galactose (9.9 mol%). Overall, the potential of faba bean residual biomass for energy production was best affected by open field growing, the latest planting time and alkali pre-treatment, the latter giving the highest value of saccharification (60.7 g kg−1 h−1 compared to 27.6 relevant to hot water pre-treatment)

The Challenge of Muslim Schools and Educators in American Society

The fear of violent, anti-Western jihadism has led many to wonder if Islam itself is fundamentally incompatible with democracy. The book by Charles Glenn (Boston University), one of the outputs of the project Case Studies in Character and Citizenship Education, designed and launched by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, goes beyond political rhetoric and popular concern about the presence of Muslim immigrants in the US