IL DELITTO DI STRAGE

L’obiettivo di questo lavoro è quello di offrire un panorama più ampio possibile sul delitto di strage, reato previsto nel nostro Codice Penale nel Libro II, Titolo VI, Capo I “Dei delitti contro l’incolumità pubblica” all’art. 422. Il reato appena citato, non è l’unico ad essere preso in esame, in quanto oltre che ad una strage comune, il legislatore ha inserito nel Codice Penale anche la strage “politica”, precisamente, sotto la rubrica “Devastazione, Saccheggio e Strage” nel Libro II, Titolo I, Capo II “Dei delitti contro la personalità interna dello Stato”, all’art. 285. I reati oggetto del presente lavoro presentano delle particolarità, poiché nonostante la loro diversa collocazione all’interno del codice penale, possiedono degli elementi costitutivi in comune. L’unica differenza che intercorre tra i due reati suindicati, si sostanzia nel diverso oggetto a cui è diretta la loro tutela. Il reato di strage comune, così come previsto dall’art. 422 c.p. mira a tutelare un bene giuridico di particolare importanza, ovvero, la pubblica incolumità, mentre, il delitto di cui all’art. 285 c.p. si pone a tutela della sicurezza interna dello Stato. Come sostenuto nel presente lavoro, si tratta, in entrambi i casi, di beni di particolare importanza che meritano, agli occhi del legislatore, una tutela “rafforzata”. La tutela accordata dal legislatore ai reati di strage summenzionati, si rende potenziata grazie ad una anticipazione del momento consumativo del reato alla messa in pericolo del bene –interesse tutelato, a prescindere dalla effettiva lesione dello stesso. Questa impostazione è giustificata dalla qualificazione dei delitti in esame come reati di comune pericolo, i quali giustificano una tutela rafforzata in termini general-preventivi. La differente polarità offensiva delle due fattispecie non pone ostacoli all’affermare che vi sia una sostanziale coincidenza dei fatti punibili, che si differenziano solo per il contenuto dell’elemento soggettivo, ovvero, del dolo specifico. Il motivo per il quale il legislatore ha voluto introdurre anche l’art. 422 c.p., nonostante si prevedesse già il reato di devastazione, saccheggio e strage, va ricercato nelle scelte di politica criminale. Infatti, se la preoccupazione della tutela per l’integrità dello Stato spinse a non allontanarsi dalla tradizione e decidere di mantenere l’incriminazione di strage politica, l’apprezzamento della sostanza lesiva delle condotte contrassegnate dal fine di uccidere ed estrinsecatesi in effetti diffusivi sulla incolumità di un numero indeterminato di persone, impose al legislatore la necessità di una ulteriore incriminazione, fuori dalla logica della aggressione di natura politica. Analizzando le fattispecie di strage, sorge spontaneo chiedersi se una doppia incriminazione per fatti materiali sostanzialmente omogenei possa contribuire a rendere fondati gli interrogativi (e i dubbi) sulla razionalità della scelta normativa adoperata dal legislatore. Nonostante tali dubbi siano insorti nella mente del lettore, notiamo che comunque, a seguito del Progetto del 1992 si è pervenuti ad una semplificazione, prevedendosi unicamente come delitto di strage, la strage comune (mentre non si rinviene traccia della figura della strage politica). Al fine di mettere in evidenza le differenze che intercorrono tra il delitto di strage comune e gli altri reati previsti dal Capo I, collocati in seguito alla norma in esame, si sono riportati alcuni noti episodi criminosi avvenuti nel nostro Paese e sono stati esaminati i vari reati ascritti agli imputati. Ciò che ha suscitato interesse è il fatto che nonostante in alcuni casi il bene giuridico della pubblica incolumità sia stato comunque messo in pericolo e sia stata provocata la morte di un numero indeterminato di persone, non è stato ravvisato il delitto di strage ex art. 422 c.p. per la mancanza dell’idoneità e univocità degli atti posti in essere dai soggetti agenti a mettere in pericolo la pubblica incolumità. Ma non solo. Non è stato possibile ascrivere agli imputati il reato di cui all’art. 422 c.p. a causa della mancanza, nella condotta dell’agente, del dolo specifico . È’ prettamente su questi elementi che si è basata la disamina del delitto di strage e del filo conduttore che lega quest’ultimo agli altri delitti contro la pubblica incolumità. Valutare in che modo l’organo giudicante non ha ravvisato il delitto di strage in alcuni degli eventi criminosi susseguitisi dagli anni settanta sino ad oggi, nonostante si siano verificati eventi lesivi di portata massiva, ha suscitato un interesse particolare; interesse che si è concentrato sugli elementi costitutivi dei reati di cui agli artt. 285 e 422 c.p

Predicting the effect of interspecific competition on habitat suitability for the endangered african wild dog under future climate and land cover changes

Apex predators play an important role in regulating ecological interactions, and therefore their loss can affect biodiversity across trophic levels. Large carnivores have experienced substantial population and range declines across Africa, and future climate change is likely to amplify these threats. Hence it is important to understand how future environmental changes will affect their long-term habitat suitability and population persistence. This study aims to identify the factors limiting the distribution of the endangered African wild dog,Lycaon pictus,and determine how biotic interactions and changing climate and land cover will affect future range suitability. We use Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to predict the current and future distribution of suitable conditions forL. pictusand its dominant competitorPanthera leo. We show that range suitability forL. pictusis limited by climatic and land cover variables, as well as high niche and range overlap withP. leo. Although both species are predicted to experience range contractions under future climate change,L. pictusmay benefit from release from the effect of interspecific competition in eastern and central parts of its range. Our study highlights the importance of including land cover variables with corresponding future projections and incorporating the effects of competing species when predicting the future distribution of species whose ranges are not solely limited by climate. We conclude that SDMs can help identify priority areas for the long-term conservation of large carnivores, and therefore should be used to inform adaptive conservation management in face of future climate change

Predicting the effect of interspecific competition on habitat suitability for the endangered African wild dog under future climate and land cover changes

Apex predators play an important role in regulating ecological interactions, and therefore their loss can affect biodiversity across trophic levels. Large carnivores have experienced substantial population and range declines across Africa, and future climate change is likely to amplify these threats. Hence it is important to understand how future environmental changes will affect their long-term habitat suitability and population persistence. This study aims to identify the factors limiting the distribution of the endangered African wild dog, Lycaon pictus, and determine how biotic interactions and changing climate and land cover will affect future range suitability. We use Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to predict the current and future distribution of suitable conditions for L. pictus and its dominant competitor Panthera leo. We show that range suitability for L. pictus is limited by climatic and land cover variables, as well as high niche and range overlap with P. leo. Although both species are predicted to experience range contractions under future climate change, L. pictus may benefit from release from the effect of interspecific competition in eastern and central parts of its range. Our study highlights the importance of including land cover variables with corresponding future projections and incorporating the effects of competing species when predicting the future distribution of species whose ranges are not solely limited by climate. We conclude that SDMs can help identify priority areas for the long-term conservation of large carnivores, and therefore should be used to inform adaptive conservation management in face of future climate change

The Cuspy LINER Nucleus of the S0/a Galaxy NGC 2681

The nucleus of the bulge-dominated, multiply-barred S0/a galaxy NGC 2681 is studied in detail, using high resolution Hubble Space Telescope FOC and NICMOS imaging and FOS spectroscopy. The ionised gas central velocity dispersion is found to increase by a factor ~2 when narrowing the aperture from R~1.5" (ground) to R~0.1" (FOS). Dynamical modeling of these velocity dispersions suggests that NGC 2681 does host a supermassive black hole (BH) for which one can estimate a firm mass upper limit M_BH < 6*10^7 Solar Masses. This upper limit is consistent with the relation between the central BH mass and velocity dispersion M_BH - sigma known for other galaxies. The emission line ratios place the nucleus of NGC 2681 among LINERs. It is likely that the emission line region comes from a rather mild, but steady, feeding of gas to the central BH in this galaxy. The inner stellar population lacks any measurable color gradient (to a radius of 0.6 kpc) from the infrared to the ultraviolet, consistently with FOC, FOS and IUE data, all indicating that this system underwent a starburst ~1 Gyr ago that encompassed its whole interior, down to its very center. The most likely source of such a widely-distributed starburst is the dumping of tidally-extruded gas from a galaxy neighbor. If so, then NGC 2681 can be considered as the older brother of M82, seen face-on as opposed to the edge-on view we have for M82

The Cuspy LINER Nucleus of the S0/a Galaxy NGC 2681

The nucleus of the bulge-dominated, multiply-barred S0/a galaxy NGC 2681 is studied in detail, using high resolution Hubble Space Telescope FOC and NICMOS imaging and FOS spectroscopy. The ionised gas central velocity dispersion is found to increase by a factor ~2 when narrowing the aperture from R~1.5" (ground) to R~0.1" (FOS). Dynamical modeling of these velocity dispersions suggests that NGC 2681 does host a supermassive black hole (BH) for which one can estimate a firm mass upper limit M_BH < 6*10^7 Solar Masses. This upper limit is consistent with the relation between the central BH mass and velocity dispersion M_BH - sigma known for other galaxies. The emission line ratios place the nucleus of NGC 2681 among LINERs. It is likely that the emission line region comes from a rather mild, but steady, feeding of gas to the central BH in this galaxy. The inner stellar population lacks any measurable color gradient (to a radius of 0.6 kpc) from the infrared to the ultraviolet, consistently with FOC, FOS and IUE data, all indicating that this system underwent a starburst ~1 Gyr ago that encompassed its whole interior, down to its very center. The most likely source of such a widely-distributed starburst is the dumping of tidally-extruded gas from a galaxy neighbor. If so, then NGC 2681 can be considered as the older brother of M82, seen face-on as opposed to the edge-on view we have for M82.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX, with 10 PostScript figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journa

The Mini AGN at the Center of the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4552 with HST

The complex phenomenology shown by the UV-bright, variable spike first detected with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at the center of the otherwise normal galaxy NGC 4552 is further investigated with both HST imaging (FOC) and spectroscopy (FOS). HST/FOC images taken in 1991, 1993, and 1996 in the near UV have been analyzed in a homogeneous fashion, showing that the central spike has brightened by a factor ~4.5 between 1991 and 1993, and has decreased its luminosity by a factor ~2.0 between 1993 and 1996. FOS spectroscopy extending from the near UV to the red side of the optical spectrum reveals a strong UV continuum over the spectrum of the underlying galaxy, along with several emission lines in both the UV and the optical ranges. In spite of the low luminosity of the UV continuum of the spike (~3*10^5 Lsolar), the spike is definitely placed among AGNs by current diagnostics based on the emission line intensity ratios, being just on the borderline between Seyferts and LINERs. Line profiles are very broad, and both permitted and forbidden lines are best modelled with a combination of broad and narrow components, with FWHM of ~3000 km s^-1 and ~700 km s^-1, respectively. This evidence argues for the variable central spike being produced by a modest accretion event onto a central massive black hole (BH), with the accreted material having possibly being stripped from a a star in a close fly by with the BH. The 1996 broad Halpha luminosity of this mini-AGN is ~5.6*10^37 erg s^-1, about a factor of two less than that of the nucleus of NGC 4395, heretofore considered to be the faintest known AGN.Comment: 40 pages, LaTeX, with 12 PostScript figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Sex-related <em>in vitro/in vivo</em> and PK/PD correlations after oral single dose furosemide administration

Background: The goal of this study was to develop an in vivo-in vitro (IVIV) correlation, both in men and women, which allows constructing a model to predict bioequivalence assessments for drugs with narrow absorption windows. Besides, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic equivalences were also investigated. Furosemide was chosen as a prototype.Methods: Twelve healthy Caucasian volunteers (8 women and 4 men) participated in a relative bioavailability study. Two oral formulations [Lasix® (Reference, R) and Furosemide EFA® (Test, T)] were administered under fasting conditions. Urinary excretion of unchanged drug (PK), and of chloride, sodium and potassium (PD) wasmonitored throughout time. PK and PD parameters were calculated from each respective excretion rate versus time curve. In vitro dissolution testing of both formulations was carried out using the USP apparatus 2 and 4 with fixed and variable dissolution media.Results: T and R could be considered bioequivalent since the 90% confidence intervals for the T/R ratio of geometric means for the area under the urinary drug excretion rate versus time curve and for the maximum excretion rate were within the 0.80-1.25 bioequivalence interval. However, T had faster initial absorption and higher levels in women, while R displayed such characteristics in men. Closer IVIV correlations in women were obtained when apparatus 4 with variable biorelevant dissolution media were used [going from fasting state simulated gastric fluid to fasting state simulated intestinal fluid]. Since R had faster disintegration time than T, a shorter stay of R under gastric conditions was required in order to obtain a good IVIV correlation in men. Saluretic effect displayed a typical clockwise hysteresis loop for the PKPD correlation assessed through chloride-versus-furosemide urinary excretion rates. Even though a higher amount of furosemide was excreted with the urine in men, differences in the excretion of electrolytes between sexes were almost negligible.Conclusions: Sex-differences in the gastrointestinal transit of formulations, under fasting conditions, determined the extent and the rate of furosemide absorption. The prolongation of the absorption process by mean of slowing the gastric emptying would make the formulation more effective. The USP-4 apparatus with variable dissolution media was able to discriminate the formulations even between sexes, becoming a promissory in vitro dissolution testing to predict bioequivalence.<br/

Digitisation, 3D modelling and digital fabrication: an accessibility project for MAO in Turin

The activities presented are part of the project PNRR M1C3-3 aimed at removing physical and cognitive barriers in museums and public cultural places. In the first phase, curatorial investigation of the artefacts and documentary research flank digital survey through photogrammetry and structure-from-motion (SfM) technology. The interpretive phase includes 3D modelling and texturing of the artworks through the creation of high-poly and low-poly models, the result of digital twins that can be used in the conservation and restoration project, and the production of physical replicas for the expansion of the museum experience from a Design for All perspective. The third phase of presentation, communication, sharing, and interaction with the public involves the creation, through digital fabrication processes, of physical models in full or 1:2 scale, depending on the actual size of the object about the object's manipulability aims. The models, printed in polylactic acid (PLA) by the Departmental Labs at the Politecnico di Torino, take on a prototype meaning and are made for tactile enjoyment for the hypo- and visually-impaired and, in general, for inclusive communication for different age groups and users. Such objects may, in particular, be used with an educational function for younger age groups. At the same time, the optimised digital models may form the basis for 3D printing with materials able to restore the characteristics of the original materials, made by specialised firms

Effective methods of estimation of pathogen prevalence in pooled ticks

Since tick-borne diseases (TBDs) incidence, both in human and animal populations, is increasing worldwide, there is the need to assess the presence, distribution and prevalence of tick-borne pathogens. Reliable estimates on tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) prevalence represent the public health foundation to create risk maps and take effective prevention and control actions against TBDs. Tick surveillance consists of collecting and testing (usually in pools) thousands of specimens. Construction and analysis of tick pools represent a challenge due to the complexity of tick-borne pathogens and tick-borne diseases ecology. The aim of this study is to provide a practical guideline on appropriate pooling strategies and statistical analysis of infection prevalence through: (i) reporting the different pooling strategies and statistical methodologies commonly used to calculate pathogen prevalence in tick populations and (ii) practical comparison between statistical methods utilising a real dataset of infection prevalence in ticks collected in Northern Italy. Reporting detailed information on tick pool composition and size is as important as the correct TBPs prevalence estimation. Among the prevalence indexes, we suggest using maximum-likelihood estimates of pooled prevalence instead of minimum infection rate or pool positivity rate given the merits of the method and availability of software

Developmental expression of the alpha-skeletal actin gene

BACKGROUND: Actin is a cytoskeletal protein which exerts a broad range of functions in almost all eukaryotic cells. In higher vertebrates, six primary actin isoforms can be distinguished: alpha-skeletal, alpha-cardiac, alpha-smooth muscle, gamma-smooth muscle, beta-cytoplasmic and gamma-cytoplasmic isoactin. Expression of these actin isoforms during vertebrate development is highly regulated in a temporal and tissue-specific manner, but the mechanisms and the specific differences are currently not well understood. All members of the actin multigene family are highly conserved, suggesting that there is a high selective pressure on these proteins. RESULTS: We present here a model for the evolution of the genomic organization of alpha-skeletal actin and by molecular modeling, illustrate the structural differences of actin proteins of different phyla. We further describe and compare alpha-skeletal actin expression in two developmental stages of five vertebrate species (mouse, chicken, snake, salamander and fish). Our findings confirm that alpha-skeletal actin is expressed in skeletal muscle and in the heart of all five species. In addition, we identify many novel non-muscular expression domains including several in the central nervous system. CONCLUSION: Our results show that the high sequence homology of alpha-skeletal actins is reflected by similarities of their 3 dimensional protein structures, as well as by conserved gene expression patterns during vertebrate development. Nonetheless, we find here important differences in 3D structures, in gene architectures and identify novel expression domains for this structural and functional important gene