Misunderstanding, misperception and mistakes : the logic of the Grail in Old French Arthurian romance and Thomas Malory’s Tale of the Sankgreal

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.This article seeks to resituate critical discussions about logic in the Old French Grail romances and Thomas Malory’s Tale of the Sankgreal. Where previous scholarship has emphasised the mystical elements of the Old French Grail narratives to suggest alternate meanings for the Grail itself, this article reads the Grail miracles as structuring devices that reflect classical theories of dialectic and demonstrative argumentation. Through examining one example from Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval, the Didot-Perceval, The Vulgate Cycle Queste del Saint Graal, and Thomas Malory’s Tale of the Sankgreal, this article also highlights fundamental similarities between the logical systems underlying each Grail narrative that are not restricted by language or date of composition. Thus, the article depicts Malory not just as consciously drawing upon the Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal, but also as unconsciously inheriting elements from each of his Old French predecessors.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Synthesis of difluoroalkyl-sulfoximines via a light-promoted atom transfer radical addition (ATRA) process

openSulfoximines are imine derivatives of sulfones for which there has been an increased interest in the last 20 years, because this moiety is present in several biologically active molecules, including marketed drugs and pesticides. For this reason, the research devoted to the synthesis of new molecules bearing this functionality has been increasingly growing in the past few years. On the other hand, the development of new compounds that can act as bioisosteres is another popular research field. In particular, it has been observed that the difluoromethylene group (-CF2-) acts a bioisostere of carbonyl groups (C=O) or oxygen atoms, with significant improvements in terms of efficacy, selectivity and pharmacokinetics of the drug analogue. Building on these grounds, the present thesis work merges these two fields of research: sulfoximines and the difluoromethylene unit as bioisostere, focusing on the development of a new synthetic method for the introduction of difluoroalkyl sulfoximine moieties into relevant synthetic targets and building blocks such as unactivated olefins. The first phase of the thesis project focused on the optimization process, using as model substrates the bromodifluoromethyl phenyl sulfoximine and 1-hexene. I managed to reach an isolated yield of 50% in the model reaction under the optimized reaction conditions. The second goal of the thesis project deals with the evaluation of the genrality of the process, modifying the structure of the olefin reagent to evaluate the tolerance of the reaction towards the introduction of new functional groups.Sulfoximines are imine derivatives of sulfones for which there has been an increased interest in the last 20 years, because this moiety is present in several biologically active molecules, including marketed drugs and pesticides. For this reason, the research devoted to the synthesis of new molecules bearing this functionality has been increasingly growing in the past few years. On the other hand, the development of new compounds that can act as bioisosteres is another popular research field. In particular, it has been observed that the difluoromethylene group (-CF2-) acts a bioisostere of carbonyl groups (C=O) or oxygen atoms, with significant improvements in terms of efficacy, selectivity and pharmacokinetics of the drug analogue. Building on these grounds, the present thesis work merges these two fields of research: sulfoximines and the difluoromethylene unit as bioisostere, focusing on the development of a new synthetic method for the introduction of difluoroalkyl sulfoximine moieties into relevant synthetic targets and building blocks such as unactivated olefins. The first phase of the thesis project focused on the optimization process, using as model substrates the bromodifluoromethyl phenyl sulfoximine and 1-hexene. I managed to reach an isolated yield of 50% in the model reaction under the optimized reaction conditions. The second goal of the thesis project deals with the evaluation of the genrality of the process, modifying the structure of the olefin reagent to evaluate the tolerance of the reaction towards the introduction of new functional groups

La contabilità analitica applicata alla produzione su commessa

La tesi analizza i principali metodi di contabilità analitica con particolare riferimento alle aziende che operano su commessa, rappresentata attraverso un caso aziendale.ope

Comparison of isokinetic hip abduction and adduction peak torques and ratio between sexes

Objective: To evaluate hip abductor and adductor peak torque outputs and compare their ratios between sexes. Design: A cross-sectional laboratory-controlled study. Setting: Participants visited a laboratory and performed an isokinetic hip abductor and adductor test. All participants performed 2 sets of 5 repetitions of concentric hip abduction and adduction in a standing position at 60 degrees per second. Gravity was determined as a function of joint angle relative to the horizontal plane and was corrected by normalizing the weight of the limb on an individual basis. Participants: A total of 36 collegiate athletes. Independent Variables: Sex (20 females and 16 males). Main Outcome Measures: Bilateral peak hip abductor and adductor torques were measured. The 3 highest peak torque values were averaged for each subject. Results: Independent t tests were used to compare sex differences in hip abductor and adductor peak torques and the abductor:adductor peak torque ratios. Males demonstrated significantly greater hip abductor peak torque compared with females (males 1.29 ± 0.24 Nm/kg, females 1.13 ± 0.20 Nm/kg; P = 0.03). Neither hip adductor peak torque nor their ratios differed between sexes. Conclusions: Sex differences in hip abductor strength were observed. The role of weaker hip abductors in females deserves further attention and may be a factor for higher risk of knee pathologies

Multiple Bernoulli series and volumes of moduli spaces of flat bundles over surfaces

Using Szenes formula for multiple Bernoulli series, we explain how to compute Witten series associated to classical Lie algebras. Particular instances of these series compute volumes of moduli spaces of flat bundles over surfaces, and also multiple zeta values

A Genomic Approach to Study Anthocyanin Synthesis and Flower Pigmentation in Passionflowers

Most of the plant pigments ranging from red to purple colors belong to the anthocyanin group of flavonoids. The flowers of plants belonging to the genus Passiflora (passionflowers) show a wide range of floral adaptations to diverse pollinating agents, including variation in the pigmentation of floral parts ranging from white to red and purple colors. Exploring a database of expressed sequence tags obtained from flower buds of two divergent Passiflora species, we obtained assembled sequences potentially corresponding to 15 different genes of the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway in these species. The obtained sequences code for putative enzymes are involved in the production of flavonoid precursors, as well as those involved in the formation of particular (“decorated”) anthocyanin molecules. We also obtained sequences encoding regulatory factors that control the expression of structural genes and regulate the spatial and temporal accumulation of pigments. The identification of some of the putative Passiflora anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway genes provides novel resources for research on secondary metabolism in passionflowers, especially on the elucidation of the processes involved in floral pigmentation, which will allow future studies on the role of pigmentation in pollinator preferences in a molecular level

Multimodal approach to the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: cognitive-behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

openLa presente ricerca si propone di indagare a livello esplorativo l’efficacia di un protocollo multimodale per il trattamento del disturbo ossessivo-compulsivo che comprenda terapia cognitivo comportamentale, farmacoterapia e stimolazione magnetica transcranica ripetitiva. Il primo capitolo fornirà una panoramica della sindrome. Si tratteranno le caratteristiche cliniche, l’eziologia, la comorbidità, i trattamenti approvati e le linee guida per il loro impiego. Nel secondo capitolo si descriveranno le tecniche di stimolazione cerebrale non invasiva e si passeranno in rassegna le prospettive di applicazione clinica. Si considererà in particolare la stimolazione magnetica transcranica ripetitiva e il suo utilizzo nel trattamento del disturbo ossessivo compulsivo. Infine, nel terzo capitolo verrà illustrata la ricerca condotta: saranno descritti gli obiettivi dello studio, gli strumenti utilizzati, la procedura per la rilevazione dei dati, le analisi statistiche effettuate e i risultati ottenuti. In conclusione, verranno discussi i dati emersi, i limiti del presente studio e le prospettive future