La Comunità forale di Navarra regione plurale d’Europa

The Chartered Community of Navarre, European Plural Region. With a population of around 660.000 inhabitants, the Chartered Community of Navarre is one of the smallest autonomous communities in Spain. Since the since the 1960s, this border region with no sea outlets has begun to show considerable dynamism in various economic sectors. The resident foreign population has gradually grown, mainly Moroccan, Ecuadorean, Colombian, Romanian. Today it represents almost 11% of the total and is strongly transforming the identity of a proudly regionalist community, linked to its traditions and, in some areas, to the Basque language. Navarre is increasingly acquiring the physiognomy of a plural and multi-ethnic region. This paper intends to investigate this transition, in which immigrant communities are protagonists

Marzamemi, an Interesting Case Study of Film-Induced Tourism

The economy of Marzamemi, a small fishing village in the territory of Pachino, has always been linked to the sea. In the past the main activities were those connected with the tonnara, with the salting of fish and with the maritime commerce of the agricultural products. Later, the village became an important beach resort on a local scale. In the second half of the 1980s, the redevelopment of the waterfront, in the south of Marzamemi, stimulated a mainly local demand from young people attracted by some newly opened outlets connected, above all, with drink and food services. Then, in 1993 the cinema industry arrived in Marzamemi. Since then the old architectural heritage of the historic centre has been restored and used for tourism. Over the last few years, from the last ten days of July until the end of August, the tiny streets and the piazzas of the village have appeared overcrowded with tourists. A dynamism that the official statistical surveys are not able to describe. L’economia di Marzamemi, piccola frazione marinara del comune di Pachino, è stata sempre legata al mare. In passato le principali attività erano quelle connesse alla tonnara, alla salagione del pesce e al commercio marittimo dei prodotti agricoli. Successivamente il borgo è diventato una località balneare di rilevanza provinciale. Nella seconda metà degli anni ‘80 dello scorso secolo, la riqualificazione del lungomare, nell’area sud di Marzamemi, ha stimolato una domanda giovanile, prettamente locale, attratta dall’apertura di alcune attività commerciali connesse, soprattutto, alla ristorazione. Poi, nel 1993 l’industria cinematografica è approdata a Marzamemi. Da allora, l’antico patrimonio edilizio del centro storico della borgata è stato recuperato e destinato a fini turistici. Negli ultimi anni, dall’ultima decade di luglio alla fine di agosto, le stradine e le piazze del borgo appaiono sovraffollate di turisti. Un dinamismo che le statistiche ufficiali non riescono a descrivere

Bayesian neural networks for bridge integrity assessment

In recent years, neural network models have been widely used in the Civil Engineering field. Interesting enhancements may be obtained by re-examining this model from the Bayesian probability logic viewpoint. Using this approach, it will be shown that the conventional regularized learning approach can be derived as a particular approximation of the Bayesian framework. Network training is only a first level where Bayesian inference can be applied to neural networks. It can also be utilized in another three levels in a hierarchical fashion: for the optimization of the regularization terms, for data-based model selection, and to evaluate the relative importance of different inputs. In this paper, after a historical overview of the probability logic approach and its application in the field of neural network models, the existing literature is revisited and reorganized according to the enunciated four levels. Then, this framework is applied to develop a two-step strategy for the assessment of the integrity of a long-suspension bridge under ambient vibrations. In the first step of the proposed strategy, the occurrence of damage is detected and the damaged portion of the bridge is identified. In the second step, the specific damaged element is recognized and the intensity of damage is evaluated. The Bayesian framework is applied in both steps and the improvements in the results are discussed

Collecting Mussolini: The Case of the Susmel–Bargellini Collection

Heritage Studies has dealt with Italian Fascism in different ways but paying little attention to the movable items linked to the regime, such as paintings, sculptures and memorabilia. Over the last decade, private collections linked to the Mussolini iconography have emerged, owing to a renewed social acceptance of it and more items of Mussoliniana being readily available. Due to the reluctance of experts to confront this issue and the expansion of private museums in Italy, spontaneous initiatives have sprung up including a permanent exhibition of Mussolini iconography as part of the MAGI'900 Museum in Pieve di Cento, which consists of approximately 250 portraits of the Duce in different media. The nucleus of the original collection once belonged to the historian Duilio Susmel and was part of a large documentary collection put together during the 1960s and 1970s. Susmel hoped it would become a museum or a centre for Fascist studies, but ultimately it remained in his private villa near Florence until the 1990s. The archive is now split between Rome and Salò, and the Mussoliniana was purchased by Bargellini, who added busts, paintings and knick-knacks. Since 2009 it has been on display in a section of Bargellini's museum entitled Arte del Ventennio. Therefore, the Italian State tolerates its existence but sadly it is ignored by most experts, despite the study opportunities it offers

Free-flap salvage of soft tissue complications following the lateral approach to the calcaneus.

Soft tissue complications including wound slough and/or infection after lateral foot incisions used to approach the calcaneus are notoriously frequent. Simpler wound management may be possible when early, aggressive treatment is deployed. If definitive coverage has been delayed, local options typically become unreliable. Free tissue transfers may then become the mainstay for limb salvage. Over the past 2 decades in our joint experience in managing such complications referred to us, 8 free flaps were necessary in 7 patients who all had had some form of traumatic injury to the calcaneus. The mean interval from wound compromise to coverage was an exceedingly long 88.1 days (range: 29-166 days). The gracilis muscle was our choice for tissue transfer in every patient as this is a versatile, thin, yet wide-enough muscle with a pedicle length satisfactory to allow reach to nearby recipient sites. There were no flap-related untoward events, with all completely surviving. The anterior tibial/dorsalis pedis axis served as the usual recipient site (87.5%) for microanastomosis. Fixation hardware was retained whenever possible. All limbs were ultimately salvaged to allow reasonable ambulation

Facial impaled trauma involving anterior cranial fossa: case report

An extraordinary case of trans-orbital penetrating injury is presented. A 42-year-old male was surprised while he was stealing into an apartment. While he was trying to escape through the window, he fell on a rod of the fence with not severe ocular and cerebral complications. We describe a unique presentation of a trans-orbital penetration injury that had a good outcome and not severe ocular and cerebral complications. After being transported at the S.M. Goretti Hospital in Latina, the rod was removed outside the operating room and the CT scan was performed. Patient underwent urgent surgery after stabilization of vital parameters

Tinnitus in temporomandibular joint disorders: is it a specific somatosensory tinnitus subtype?

ABSTRACT: The most significant otologic symptoms, consisting of ear pain, tinnitus, dizziness, hearing loss and auricolar "fullness", generally arise within the auditory system, often are associated with extra auricolar disorders, particularly disorder of the temporo-mandibular joint. In our study we examined a sample of 200 consecutive patients who had experienced severe disabling symptom. The patiens came to maxillofacial specialist assessment for temporomandibular disorder. Each patient was assessed by a detailed anamnestic and clinical temporomandibular joint examination and they are divided into five main groups according classification criteria established by Wilkes; tinnitus and subjective indicators of pain are evaluated. The results of this study provide a close correlation between the joint pathology and otologic symptoms, particularly regarding tinnitus and balance disorders, and that this relationship is greater the more advanced is the stage of joint pathology. Moreover, this study shows that TMD-related tinnitus principally affects a younger population (average fifth decade of life) and mainly women (more than 2/3 of the cases). Such evidence suggests the existence of a specific tinnitus subtype that may be defined as "TMD-related somatosensory tinnitus"

The United Nations Security Council and the enforcement of international humanitarian law

This Article discusses the competences and powers of the UN Security Council in securing compliance with international humanitarian law, in particular through the adoption of the measures provided in Chapter VII of the Charter: The competence of the Council in this field can be founded on several legal grounds: on a broad interpretation of the notion of “threat to the peace” (Article 39 of the Charter), on Article 94(2) with regard to the International Court of Justice's judgments establishing violations of the jus in bello and also on the customary duty to ensure respect for international humanitarian law as reflected in Article 1 Common to the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the Protection of the Victims of War. In particular, such customary provision empowers the Security Council to react to any violation of international humanitarian law regardless of a nexus with concerns of international stability. Although the Council has adopted a variety of measures in relation to violations of the laws of war, the most incisive ones are those provided in Articles 41 and 42 of Chapter VII, which however are not without problems. The role the Security Council has played in the enforcement of international humanitarian law has been criticized because of its selective and opportunistic approach, which is due to the political nature of the organ. Also, in several instances the Council, far from securing compliance with the jus in bello, has instead interfered with its application. However selective and imperfect the Council's approach might be, though, its power to adopt decisions binding on UN members and its competence to take or authorize coercive measures involving the use of force make it potentially a formidable instrument against serious violations of international humanitarian law, partly remedying the lack of enforcing mechanisms in the treaties on the laws of war