Posthumanism or transhumanism? Gender and science as marker of divergence

The aim of this contribution is twofold: to show how Neo-materialist Posthumanist Philosophy deal with scientific innovation adopting a gender perspective, and to attempt a critique of transhumanism as a gender-neutral perspective. The final purpose is to clarify how Posthumanism, when adopting a feminist and a gender sensitive perspective, diverges by transhumanism for its understanding of bodies and matter, its approach to science, its objectives

Functional wood traits: xylogenesis, tree rings and intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) in Mediterranean species

The occurrence of long and severe summer drought periods, forecasted for the Mediterranean basin (IPCC, 2013), is expected to affect cambial activity and wood formation, thus altering tree growth and vegetation dynamics thus affecting the productivity of forests (Sarris et al., 2007; Martinez del Castillo et al., 2016). In such a context, is important to understand the strategies in water utilisation exploited by different Mediterranean tree and shrub species in response to variation in the climate conditions. Such knowledge would allow to predict the response of Mediterranean ecosystems to climate change and help in decision-making for a focused forest management. The general aim of the thesis is to acquire knowledge on the adaptation strategies operated at the xylem level by Mediterranean species to cope with the intra-annual variation of environmental conditions, and in particular with summer drought. This main aim has been pursued through the study of wood functional traits within tree-ring series, focusing in tree rings presenting Intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs). The starting hypothesis of this Doctoral Thesis is that the Mediterranean woody species could respond to the seasonal distribution of precipitations and temperature patterns, showing a bimodal model of xylem growth identifiable by main trends in the wood functional traits, attested by the occurrence of IADFs within tree rings

The Italian case: reproductive medicine and conscientious objection

The subject of this article is the Italian law in European context, regulating abortion and the conscientious objection by medical staff. The methodology is one developed by Jasanoff in Designs of Nature. After describing the historical, cultural and national policy, the article proceeds with the analysis of art. 9 of Law May 22, 1978 \ 194, which regulates conscientious objection on the part of medical personnel to the voluntary interruption of pregnancy. The issue of conscientious objection is framed also in the European context. In this regard, the analysis focuses on the document that the Social Health and Family Issues Committee presented to the European Parliamentary Assembly, entitled "Women's access to lawful medical care: the problem of unregulated use of conscientious objection." In this document , Italy is seen as an emblematic case of the problematic legal institution of conscientious objection, as confirmed by Table 28 of the Report 2012 of the Ministry of Health on the implementation of Law 194, according to which the percentage of objection exceeds 69%. There is a big focus on the comparison between the levels of involvement and action of different political, institutional, social and cultural entities: the role of the Italian State in producing standards and knowledge in terms of human reproductive medicine, as well as the role of ethics committees and epistemic national communities. The analysis focuses on the development of European and international law, on the contributions of the categories of professionals, on the opinions of bioethicists about the issue of conscientious objection to medical techniques relevant for bioethics and moral philosophy, such as the interruption of pregnancy. For this purpose, the article analysed the different perspectives expressed by professional associations, such as the League of not-objector gynecologists called LAIGA, and the committee of bioethicists, such as the National Bioethics Committee, which, in the document of 30 July 2012, entitled "Conscientious Objection and bioethics" declared to be favour of it

Il caso Italia: medicina riproduttiva e obiezione di coscienza

The subject of this article is the Italian law in European context, regulating abortion and the conscientious objection by medical staff. The methodology is one developed by Jasanoff in Designs of Nature. After describing the historical, cultural and national policy, the article proceeds with the analysis of art. 9 of Law May 22, 1978 \ 194, which regulates conscientious objection on the part of medical personnel to the voluntary interruption of pregnancy. The issue of conscientious objection is framed also in the European context. In this regard, the analysis focuses on the document that the Social Health and Family Issues Committee presented to the European Parliamentary Assembly, entitled "Women's access to lawful medical care: the problem of unregulated use of conscientious objection." In this document , Italy is seen as an emblematic case of the problematic legal institution of conscientious objection, as confirmed by Table 28 of the Report 2012 of the Ministry of Health on the implementation of Law 194, according to which the percentage of objection exceeds 69%. There is a big focus on the comparison between the levels of involvement and action of different political, institutional, social and cultural entities: the role of the Italian State in producing standards and knowledge in terms of human reproductive medicine, as well as the role of ethics committees and epistemic national communities. The analysis focuses on the development of European and international law, on the contributions of the categories of professionals, on the opinions of bioethicists about the issue of conscientious objection to medical techniques relevant for bioethics and moral philosophy, such as the interruption of pregnancy. For this purpose, the article analysed the different perspectives expressed by professional associations, such as the League of not-objector gynecologists called LAIGA, and the committee of bioethicists, such as the National Bioethics Committee, which, in the document of 30 July 2012, entitled "Conscientious Objection and bioethics" declared to be favour of it.Oggetto di quest’articolo sono le normative italiane, nel contesto europeo, che disciplinano l’interruzione volontaria di gravidanza, nonché l’obiezione di coscienza ad essa da parte del personale medico-sanitario. La metodologia è quella elaborata dalla Jasanoff in Fabbriche della Natura. Dopo aver descritto la politica storica, culturale e nazionale, l'articolo prosegue con l'analisi dell'art. 9 della legge 22 maggio 1978 \ 194, che regola l'obiezione di coscienza da parte del personale medico per l'interruzione volontaria di gravidanza. La questione dell'obiezione di coscienza è inquadrata anche nel contesto europeo. A questo proposito, l'analisi si concentra sul documento che la Salute Sociale e la Commissione Affari Sociali, Salute e Famiglia presentate all'Assemblea parlamentare europea, dal titolo "Accesso delle donne a cure mediche legali: il problema di un uso non regolamentato dell’obiezione di coscienza". In questo documento, l'Italia è vista come un caso emblematico della problematica istituzione legale dell'obiezione di coscienza, come confermato dalla Tabella 28 del Rapporto 2012 del Ministero della Salute per l'attuazione della legge 194, secondo il quale la percentuale di opposizione supera 69%. C'è una grande attenzione per il confronto tra i livelli di coinvolgimento e di azione delle diverse entità politiche, istituzionali, sociali e culturali: il ruolo dello Stato italiano nella produzione di norme e conoscenze in termini di medicina riproduttiva umana, così come il ruolo di comitati etici e delle comunità epistemiche nazionali. L'analisi si concentra sullo sviluppo del diritto europeo e internazionale, sui contributi delle categorie di professionisti, sulle opinioni di esperti di bioetica sulla questione dell'obiezione di coscienza di tecniche mediche rilevanti per la bioetica e la filosofia morale, come ad esempio l'interruzione della gravidanza. A tal fine, l'articolo analizza i diversi punti di vista espressi dalle associazioni professionali, come la Lega dei ginecologi non-obiettori chiamati LAIGA, e comitati di bioetica, come il Comitato Nazionale per la Bioetica, che, nel documento del 30 luglio 2012, dal titolo "Obiezione di coscienza e di bioetica", ha dichiarato di essere favorevole.Oggetto di quest’articolo sono le normative italiane, nel contesto europeo, che disciplinano l’interruzione volontaria di gravidanza, nonché l’obiezione di coscienza ad essa da parte del personale medico-sanitario. La metodologia è quella elaborata dalla Jasanoff in Fabbriche della Natura. Dopo aver descritto la politica storica, culturale e nazionale, l'articolo prosegue con l'analisi dell'art. 9 della legge 22 maggio 1978 \ 194, che regola l'obiezione di coscienza da parte del personale medico per l'interruzione volontaria di gravidanza. La questione dell'obiezione di coscienza è inquadrata anche nel contesto europeo. A questo proposito, l'analisi si concentra sul documento che la Salute Sociale e la Commissione Affari Sociali, Salute e Famiglia presentate all'Assemblea parlamentare europea, dal titolo "Accesso delle donne a cure mediche legali: il problema di un uso non regolamentato dell’obiezione di coscienza". In questo documento, l'Italia è vista come un caso emblematico della problematica istituzione legale dell'obiezione di coscienza, come confermato dalla Tabella 28 del Rapporto 2012 del Ministero della Salute per l'attuazione della legge 194, secondo il quale la percentuale di opposizione supera 69%. C'è una grande attenzione per il confronto tra i livelli di coinvolgimento e di azione delle diverse entità politiche, istituzionali, sociali e culturali: il ruolo dello Stato italiano nella produzione di norme e conoscenze in termini di medicina riproduttiva umana, così come il ruolo di comitati etici e delle comunità epistemiche nazionali. L'analisi si concentra sullo sviluppo del diritto europeo e internazionale, sui contributi delle categorie di professionisti, sulle opinioni di esperti di bioetica sulla questione dell'obiezione di coscienza di tecniche mediche rilevanti per la bioetica e la filosofia morale, come ad esempio l'interruzione della gravidanza. A tal fine, l'articolo analizza i diversi punti di vista espressi dalle associazioni professionali, come la Lega dei ginecologi non-obiettori chiamati LAIGA, e comitati di bioetica, come il Comitato Nazionale per la Bioetica, che, nel documento del 30 luglio 2012, dal titolo "Obiezione di coscienza e di bioetica", ha dichiarato di essere favorevole

Ruling life. Biocontrol and new technologies

Questa ricerca, suddivisa in due parti, si concentra sulle problematiche connesse alla normazione della vita e dei corpi delle donne al tempo delle biotecnologie. La Parte I è una genealogia filosofico-politica che ripercorre le tappe analitico-concettuali del dibattito intorno a biopolitica e tecnoscienza, a partire dai contributi teorici di poststrutturalismo e femminismo neomaterialista, e risponde alle domande: Cosa sono diventati i corpi nell’attuale società bio-info-modificata? Qual'è il ruolo delle scienze nelle metamorfosi che interessano soggettività e rapporti di potere? La Parte II è una cartografia dei modi in cui le biotecnologie, riguardanti i corpi delle donne, si sono sviluppate e diffuse. Essa indaga in modo transdisciplinare come in Italia, e più in generale in Europa, sono state normate le tecniche di interruzione volontaria di gravidanza e fecondazione in vitro. Ampio spazio è dedicato ai modi in cui gli attori della bioetica, istituzionale e non, i medici, laici e cattolici, e le case farmaceutiche hanno affrontato questi temi e quello della contraccezione ormonale maschile. Medicina riproduttiva e rigenerativa sono tematizzate sempre in relazione al quadro normativo, per mostrare in che modo esso influenzi l’accesso ai diritti alla salute e all’autodeterminazione delle donne. Il quadro normativo è analizzato, a sua volta, alla luce dei fatti storici più rilevanti e delle culture più diffuse. L’obiettivo della ricerca è duplice: da un lato essa ha il fine di mostrare il modo in cui i corpi delle donne, e la relativa potenza generatrice, siano diventati uno snodo fondamentale nell’articolazione del biocontrollo e nell'apertura dei nuovi mercati legati a medicina riproduttiva e rigenerativa; dall’altro si propone di argomentare come un biodiritto flessibile, a contenuto storico variabile, condiviso e partecipato, sia un’ipotesi praticabile e virtuosa, utile all'eliminazione del gender gap ancora esistente in materia di diritti riproduttivi e sessuali.This research focuses on issues related to normalization of life and women's bodies at the time of biotechnologies. Part I is a political and philosophical genealogy that traces the analytic-conceptual debate around biopolitics and technoscience, from the theoretical contributions of neomaterialist feminism and post-structuralism, and answers the questions: what happens to the bodies in the current bio-info-modified society? What is the role of science in the metamorphosis affecting subjectivity and power relations? Part II is a cartography of the ways through which biotechnologies, regarding women's bodies, are developed and disseminated. It investigates, with a transdisciplinary approach, how in Italy, and more generally in Europe, the techniques of voluntary interruption of pregnancy and in vitro fertilisation have been standardized. Considerable space is devoted to the ways in which actors of bioethics, institutional or not, such as doctors, secular and catholics, and pharmaceutical companies have addressed these issues and the male hormonal contraception. Reproductive and regenerative medicine are analyzed always in relation to the normative framework, to show how it affects access to health rights and self-determination of women. The regulatory framework is analyzed, in turn, looking at the most relevant historical events and mainstream cultures. The goal of the research is twofold: on the one hand, it aims to show the way in which women's bodies, and their generating power, have become a focal point in the articulation of biocontrol and in the opening of new markets linked to reproductive and regenerative medicine; on the other hand, it seeks to argue that a flexible, historically grounded, shared and participated biolaw, could be a feasible and virtuous hypothesis, useful to the elimination of the gender gap still existing in the field of reproductive and sexual rights

Optimalna priprema površine drva za istraživanje anatomije invazivnih vrsta drva pretražnim elektronskim mikroskopom

Research was done to develop the optimal method of wood surface preparation for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Since 2018, environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM™) FEI Quanta 250 has been installed at the Department of Wood Science and Technology in Ljubljana. We tested several methods for the pre-preparation and cutting of wood surfaces for SEM analyses. The samples had been either dried, soaked in water and frozen, impregnated with paraffin or simply moistened before cutting. We analysed wood surfaces obtained by splitting, sawing, planing, sanding and cutting on a sliding microtome with different blades. The effect of gold coating on the SEM image quality was also evaluated. Best results were obtained by cutting a pre-moistened surface on a sliding microtome with a low profile replaceable blade and gold coated afterwards. Determined methodology is technically less demanding, not time consuming and obtains results that satisfy needs for wood anatomy research at magnifications up to 12.000x. Guidelines for the optimal preparation of samples were prepared, and theoretical and practical basis for investigations of wood anatomy using SEM were provided. The method was afterwards used in analyses of invasive alien plant species – investigating their anatomical structure in the framework of the AlienPLAntSpEcies - APPLAUSE project (Urban Innovative Actions initiative). It was demonstrated that the use of the SEM opened new scope in detailed investigations of the wood structure and properties.Istraživanje je provedeno kako bi se razvila optimalna metoda pripreme drvne površine za pretražnu elektronsku mikroskopiju (SEM). Od 2018. na Odsjeku za znanost i tehnologiju o drvu u Ljubljani instaliran je uređaj za pretražnu elektronsku mikroskopiju u uvjetima okoliša (ESEMTM) FEI Quanta 250. Proučavali smo nekoliko metoda za pripremu i rezanje površine drva za SEM analizu. Uzorci su sušeni, potapani u vodi i smrzavani te prije rezanja impregnirani parafi nom ili samo navlaženi. Analizirali smo površine drva dobivene cijepanjem, piljenjem, blanjanjem, brušenjem i rezanjem na mikrotomu različitim oštricama. Također je proučavan utjecaj zlatnog premaza na kvalitetu SEM fotografi ja. Najbolji rezultati dobiveni su rezanjem prethodno navlažene površine na mikrotomu, i to zamjenjivim noževima niskog profi la, nakon čega je površina drva pozlaćena. Primijenjena je metodologija tehnički manje zahtjevna, ne oduzima mnogo vremena, a dobiveni rezultati zadovoljavaju potrebe istraživanja anatomije drva pri povećanju i do 12 000 puta. Sastavljene su smjernice za optimalnu pripremu uzoraka te je postavljena teorijska i praktična osnova za istraživanje anatomije drva primjenom SEM-a. Metoda je potom primijenjena za istraživanje invazivnih biljnih vrsta – za ispitivanje njihove anatomske strukture u sklopu projekta AlienPLAntSpEcies – APPLAUSE (Urban Innovative Actions). Potvrđeno je da je upotreba SEM-a otvorila novo područje u detaljnim istraživanjima strukture i svojstava drva

Role of nanostructured aggregation of chitosan derivatives on [5-methionine]enkephalin affinity

Affinities of quaternary ammonium-chitosan conjugates, their thiolated derivatives and corresponding nanostructured aggregates towards the hydrophilic drug [5-methionine]enkephalin were compared by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopic methods based on proton selective relaxation rate measurements. Nanoaggregates showed enhanced drug affinity in comparison with corresponding polymers, especially in the case of thiolated systems

Timing of False Ring Formation in Pinus halepensis and Arbutus unedo in Southern Italy: Outlook from an Analysis of Xylogenesis and Tree-Ring Chronologies

Mediterranean tree rings are characterized by intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) due to partly climate-driven cambial activity. IADFs are used as structural signals to gain information on relations between environmental conditions and eco-physiological processes during xylogenesis, with intra-annual resolution. To reach an unbiased synchronization of the IADF position within tree rings and seasonal fluctuations in environmental conditions, it is necessary to know the timing of cambial activity and wood formation, which are species- and site-specific processes. We applied the microcoring technique to analyze xylogenesis in Pinus halepensis and Arbutus unedo. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to study xylogenesis in a hardwood species forming frequent IADFs. Both species co-occur at a site in southern Italy characterized by a Mediterranean climate. To facilitate tree-ring dating and identification of IADFs, we performed traditional dendroecological analysis. We analyzed xylogenesis during summer, which is considered a constraint for xylogenesis and a trigger for IADF formation. We followed the different phases of cell development in the current wood increment with the aim of evaluating whether and which type of IADFs were formed. We additionally analyzed the same phases again in September and in winter to verify the possible formation of IADFs in fall and whether cell production and differentiation was completed by the end of the calendar year. Both species formed the same type of IADFs (earlywood-like cells within latewood), due to temporary growth restoration triggered by rain events during the period of summer drought. At the end of the calendar year, no cells in the phases of enlargement and secondary cell wall deposition occurred. A. unedo was more sensitive than P. halepensis because IADFs were formed earlier in the season and were more frequent in the tree-ring series. The dendro-anatomical approach, combining analysis of tree-ring series and of xylogenesis, helped to detect the period of IADF formation in the two species. Results are discussed in functional terms, highlighting the environmental conditions triggering IADFs, and also in methodological terms, evaluating the applicability of xylogenesis analysis in Mediterranean woods, especially when the formation of IADFs is not uniform around the stem

Application of confocal laser scanning microscopy in dendrochronology

We used the Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) Olympus LEXT OLS5000 for non-destructive observation and image analysis of wood anatomy traits in growth layers of tree species from different climatic zones. In European beech (Fagus sylvatica), where tree rings can generally be recognised, we discuss the changes in tree-ring structure due to adverse effects (insect attacks). Growth layers in Mediterranean Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) from south-eastern Spain are not always annual and contain numerous intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs). Ocote pine (Pinus oocarpa) growing at high elevation in Honduras showed growth layers with clear growth ring boundaries and IADFs. In both pines, CLSM allowed us to recognise and measure tracheid parameters to define density fluctuations. In tropical true mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) from Venezuela and cedrela (Cedrela odorata) from Costa Rica, we studied the growth layers with variable dimensions of vessels demarcated by marginal axial parenchyma