The Royal City at War: The Military Mobilization of Guelph, Ontario during the First 18 Months of the Second World War

The story of a country at war can be told at various levels. Traditional histories speak of generals and statesmen, of decisions made in cabinet rooms, war rooms, and dimly-lit clubs. Others choose to concentrate upon particular instances or groups, such as the impact of the war upon women, a particular military unit, or even a specific family. This article seeks to combine those two traditions by examining the manner in which international events and political decisions made at the national level affected the way in which the nation’s military mobilization was carried out in one particular Canadian community

Bisogni, risorse, persona: il servizio sociale di fronte alla sfida della generatività

Generativity is a constitutive dimension of social work, that is announced in its ethical bases but neglected in professional practice, in which the monetary intervention and the professional provision prevail. The research project was inspired by the “generative welfare” proposal and it is divided in two main parts. The first part aims at deepening the understanding of the processes of activation and empowerment of the people taken in charge by the social service. The second part focuses on the possibility and feasibility of an approach to social support endowed with more sociability. The generativity approach has been dealt with from two different point of view: the socio/anthropological and the social work one. The first perspective takes into account such issues as relational goods, social capital and the dimensions of subjectivity and significance. The second makes reference to the theories which enlighten the importance of the valorisation of people's resources and the constructionist approach. The qualitative research involved Sardinia and Trentino, and was divided into two levels. The first one involved the beneficiaries of the social work intervention: their stories were collected in order to come in touch with their representations of the condition they live, and their feelings about the support they received. The second level involved the social workers of the two regions. Through the focus group methodology it was possible to observe their representations about the social demand received by their offices and the effectiveness of the interventions. The empirical data underline the necessity to overcome a performance logic and to move to forms of help and support that holds responsible those who receive them

Molecular analysis of myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients with an unusual molecular diagnosis

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults, characterised by multiple tissue involvement and caused by an expansion of a (CTG)n repeat within the 3’-UTR of the DMPK gene (19q13.3). Normal individuals contain between 5 and 35 CTG repeats, whereas the repeats in DM1 patients expand in the range of 50 to several thousands. Longer alleles are very unstable and generally always increase in size when transmitted from parent to child, explaining the phenomenon of anticipation defined by earlier age of onset and an increase in the severity of the symptoms. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a genetically heterogeneous, hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy of the peripheral nervous system. To date, 30 different loci have been mapped and mutations have been identified in more than 20 different genes. The DM1+CMT++ family is a very unusual three generation family in which all patients co-segregate both DM1 and CMT (LOD score = 7.03). It was postulated that either a single or two closely linked mutations near the APOC2 marker must be the cause of DM1 and CMT. Southern blot analysis of restriction digested genomic DNA revealed a fragment equivalent to a small CTG expansion (~200-400) at the DM1 locus, but an expanded allele could not be amplified by PCR. We postulated that the expanded repeats may have predisposed the repeat tract and the flanking regions to further DNA instability, leading to a secondary deletion, insertion and/or rearrangement. These novel mutations might modify the expression of DMPK and/or nearby genes explaining the unusual clinical presentation. To identify the lesion in the DM1+CMT++ family, a variety of molecular approaches was performed. The molecular lesion identified was an insertionof a GC rich region within the CTG repeats. The allele was comprised of a variable number of CTGs at the 5'-end followed by (GGC)3 G (CCG)20 (CCGCTG)14 (CTG)35. Analysis of single molecule separated alleles revealed 3 that the interrupted 3'-end of the array was stable, while the CTG repeats at the 5'-end were unstable. Postulated mechanisms to explain the DM1 and CMT symptoms in the family were: a novel RNA gain-of-function, and/or a novel effect on the downstream genes. Finding an imperfect CTG repeat allele in the DM1+CMT++ family led us to suggest that imperfect CTG repeat alleles may not be unique events and other DM1 patients may also contain similar alleles. To investigate this DNA samples from 14 DM1 patients with an unusual molecular diagnosis were analysed. The majority of these patients presented with an imperfect CTG repeat allele containing CCGCTG hexamers and/or CCG repeats. Five patients contained two or three higher order repeats containing between 18 and 30 bp such as ((CTG)5 (CCG)5), ((CTG)2 (CCGCTG)4) and ((CTG)5 (CCG)2 (CCGCTG)). These findings further suggest that imperfect CTG repeat alleles might not be as rare as was previously believed. The results of this project point out the importance of performing a more detailed molecular characterisation of the DM1 patients, which could lead to the provision of more accurate prognoses and the development of effective therapies

Artefatos e campos de ação

The aim of this paper is to defend a theory of artifacts based on the concept of field of action, as an alternative to functional, intentional and double-nature theories. The proposed theory is realistic about the existence of entities that are artifacts, and praxiological about the nature of such entities. The basis of the theory is the concept of action; from this concept, the concepts of field of action and participants in a field of action, namely, agents and objects, are introduced. An artifact is defined as an object that has a part and role in the achievement of an action.O objetivo desse texto é defender uma teoria dos artefatos com base no conceito de campo de ação, como uma alternativa às teorias funcionalistas, intencionalistas e também às de dupla natureza. A teoria proposta é realista quanto à existência de entidades que são artefatos, e praxiológica quanto à natureza de tais entidades. A base da teoria é o conceito de ação; a partir desse conceito introduzem-se os conceitos de campo de ação e de partícipes de um campo de ação, a saber, agentes e objetos. Um artefato é definido como um objeto que tem parte e papel na consecução de uma ação.O objetivo desse texto é defender uma teoria dos artefatos com base no conceito de campo de ação, como uma alternativa às teorias funcionalistas, intencionalistas e também às de dupla natureza. A teoria proposta é realista quanto à existência de entidades que são artefatos, e praxiológica quanto à natureza de tais entidades. A base da teoria é o conceito de ação; a partir desse conceito introduzem-se os conceitos de campo de ação e de partícipes de um campo de ação, a saber, agentes e objetos. Um artefato é definido como um objeto que tem parte e papel na consecução de uma ação

Mass transfer mechanisms in air sparging systems

The air-water mass transfer of VOCs during air sparging was investigated using a single-air channel air sparging setup and a 14 cm (51[over] 2 in) diameter soil column. Three different porous media and 10 VOCs were used in the study. Air velocities ranged from 0.2 cm/s to 2.5 cm/s. Experimental results for the single-air channel setup indicated that volatilization of VOCs during air sparging was a diffusion limited process. VOCs, in a thin layer of saturated porous media next to the air channels (identified as the mass transfer zone, MTZ), were found to deplete rapidly during air sparging resulting in a steep concentration gradient within this zone while the VOC concentrations outside the zone remained fairly constant. The rapid depletion was associated with faster initial volatilization of VOCs at the air-water interface as compared to the diffusive transport of VOCs to the air-water interface. The size of MTZ ranged from 17 to 41 mm or between 70 dp50 and 215 dp50 (dp50 = mean particle size of the porous media) depending on the VOC. A general correlation predicting the size of the MTZ was developed. The size of MTZ was found to be directly proportional to the aqueous diffusivity of the VOC, the mean particle size, and the uniformity coefficient. The size of MTZ was also found to decrease with increasing organic carbon content of the porous media. This effect was larger for VOCs with low solubilities and high partition coefficients;Air-water mass transfer coefficients (KG) for the volatilization of VOCs were estimated by fitting experimental data to a one-dimensional diffusion model. The air-water mass transfer coefficients ranged from 1.79x 10-3 cm/min to 3.85x 10-2 cm/min for the VOCs tested. Two empirical models were developed for the prediction of mass transfer coefficients by correlating the Damkohler and modified air phase Sherwood numbers with air phase Peclet number, Henry\u27s law constant, and reduced mean particle size of porous media. The estimated lumped mass transfer coefficients (KGa) were found to be directly related to the air diffusivity of the VOC, air velocity, particle size, and inversely related to the Henry\u27s law constant of the VOCs. Based on the two-resistance model, the liquid-side resistance accounted for more than 90% of the total resistance for the air-water interfacial mass transfer;Experiments with nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPLs) indicated that air sparging may control the spreading of NAPLs and were more effective for NAPLs with higher solubilities and lower densities. Removal efficiencies of NAPLs and dissolved VOCs were found to be greatly affected by the grain size of the porous media;The MTZ concept and the correlations developed for the single-air channel study were incorporated into a one-dimensional radial diffusion model and were found to successfully predict the air phase concentrations, final aqueous VOC concentrations, and total mass removed for a 51[over] 2 in diameter air sparged soil column

Beyond the Picturesque and the Sublime: Mary Shelley's Approach to Nature in the Novels Frankenstein and Lodore

It is somewhat striking that Mary Shelley’s moment of high personal cre-ativity, the summer of 1816, should have coincided with a climatic ca-tastrophe of world-wide proportions, the eruption of the Indonesian vol-cano Tambora.¹9One could be tempted to associate the ravages caused by the creature with the deaths provoked by the “year without a summer” in which Frankenstein was written. In fact, Mary Shelley’s fiction – perhaps because of the climactic changes she witnessed – reveals a complex ap-proach to the natural world that invites an ecocritical reading. This may be, however, this paper takes up Ralph Pite’s invitation to re-contextual-ize any ecocritical approach by taking into consideration the complex ap-proaches to nature, theoretical and practical, that were available to a nine-teenth-century female writer. As he claims, “In order to have an ecological literature, we need to develop an ecological idea of reading both for history and for texts. For the Romantics to be green, we will need to read them in a green way” (359). As a woman who travelled extensively throughout Eu-rope, Mary Shelley noted in her diaries and letters the changing landscape that caught her imagination. This article claims that these impressions played an important role in shaping her fiction. By focusing on two novels,Frankenstein (1818) a nd Lodore (1835), situated respectively at the begin-ning and at the end of her narrative production, this article will outline the evolution of Shelley’s discourse on nature and the landscape

Networks of digital manufacturing of face shields and the Covid-19: design, maker culture and social mobilization

This paper addresses the issue of the configuration of a network for the digital fabrication of personal protective equipment to fight the pandemic of COVID-19. The main aim is to highlight how creative and innovative design practices, based on digital fabrication, have contributed to combat the new coronavirus in Brazil, concerning the design, production and distribution of face shields. The paper is the result of both exploratory, descriptive and qualitative research. In addition to documentary data and revisiting design literature, this work sought to understand the network formation modus operandi for digital manufacture of face shields, based on examples carried out in every region of the country. In conclusion, it argued that these social mobilization networks are based on the assumptions of the maker culture and reveal the potential for an open, distributed and resilient design to face this contemporary and future crisis

Interdisciplinary Studies in Cultural and Environmental Heritage: History, Protection, Valorization, Management

An overview of the various and numerous themes relating to cultural and environ­mental heritage gathered together in one article represents, at an international level, a rare peculiarity. As a result of the research and teaching activities carried out over the decades at the Universities of Rome, Tuscia (Viterbo) and Bologna, integrated with the fundamental relationship and involvement of the Cultural and Productive Units scattered throughout the territory, I was led to synthetically describing, insofar as was possible, the different problems that involve the various scientific areas of a historical, technical, economic, managerial nature, within the context of interdisciplinarity and in respect of the holistic value of cultural heritage.Una panoramica delle varie e numerose tematiche che si riferiscono al Patrimonio Culturale e Ambientale raccolte in uno stesso articolo rappresenta, a livello interna­zionale, una particolarità più unica che rara. Quale risultato dell’attività di ricerca e di insegnamento svolta nel corso di alcuni decenni presso le Università di Roma, Tuscia (Viterbo) e Bologna, integrata dal fondamentale rapporto e coinvolgimento delle Unità Culturali e Produttive presenti nel territorio, sono state trattate sinteticamente, per quanto possibile, le differenti problematiche che coinvolgono le varie aree scientifiche di carattere storico, tecnico, economico, manageriale nell’ambito della interdisciplinar­ità e nel rispetto del valore olistico del bene culturale

System-Dynamics Modeling of Source Mass-Depletion and Risk-Exposure Evolution for Natural Attenuation Processes in the Vadose Zone

Public health is potentially at risk after a contaminant of concern (COC) is released into the ecosphere. The extent of contamination depends on numerous factors; modeling a contaminant’s dynamic behavior is challenging, given the multitude of relevant parameters and the fluid nature of processes involved. For example, weather events (e.g., wet or dry periods) may affect the mass depletion and the fate and transport of COCs, and hence, the risk assessment of current and potential future exposures. Thus, to give realistic estimates for potential risks, a contaminant’s dynamic behavior must be taken into account in decision-making processes. In this paper, a system-dynamics framework for a dynamic-risk assessment is developed taking into consideration the mass-depletion processes in a natural attenuation environment. This framework rests on the premise that natural attenuation is a complex system involving a variety of source mass-depletion phenomena which evolve over time. Through cause-and-effect loops, a system-dynamics model connects the contaminant’s physicochemical and biological mass-depletion processes with the potential risk for exposure by water ingestion and air inhalation. The model considers an idealistic approach involving a continuous average infiltration rate, and a realistic approach incorporating weather fluctuations into the system. To test the proposed model, a conceptual example of benzene contamination in the vadose zone is analyzed. Geological site specifications, contaminant characteristics, and fate-and-transport mechanisms contributing to source mass-depletion are considered, including water infiltration, volatilization, biodegradation, and groundwater recharge. Cancer risk is assessed in two exposure routes (ingestion, inhalation) for idealistic and realistic case scenarios