Continuity and discontinuity in the urban form

Methods of urban morphology offer an opportunity to develop holistic approaches to sustaining heritage cities, which address local cultures and identities, through an analysis of the evolution of the place and its interpretation in spatial and architectural practices. Particularly, the dialectical relationships of elements of urban form on different scales or instances of the same element can be investigated. For example, the structure of plots is a result of the sequence of transformations, description of the history of the part of territory: multi-level diagrams with a representation of the chronological sequence of structural development could be a key to the logic of a dynamic process, even when the urban fabric presents an orthogonal grid. In fact, in these cases, we can recognize the process of transformation of the urban fabric throughout the hierarchically produced order between the roads that have come to be determined over time (readable in the arrangement of the entrances of the buildings, in the distribution of commercial activities, the height of building and largeness of the street). However, there is a difficulty in finding the key specificities of a particular piece of urban fabric, especially for specialists who investigate their indigenous environments (which they take for granted), at the stage of familiarization with the method. The paper illustrates the evidential efficiency of the comparative method, presenting the intermediate results of the ongoing comparative morphological case study of the development of an urban form of colonial cities Krasnoyarsk (Siberia, Russia) and Quebec (Canada), which were both established in the 17th century in a similar climate, and have clear morphological similarities and evident differences. The first could speak about objective features inherent in the construction of cities, regardless of the socio-political and economic context, the second can indicate the unique specificities that are most characteristic of the place under consideration

Jugendliche und Moral

Autor u ovome članku razmišlja o odnosu današnjih mladih prema moralu i moralnome. Suvremeno društvo često se predstavlja kao etički neutralno društvo, što nerijetko uključuje i poimanje čovjeka kao bića bez kvalitativnih oznaka i bića kojemu je dopušteno etičko eksperimentiranje sa samim sobom. Pritom se za područje društvenoga života još prihvaća mogućnost postojanja određenih moralnih normi, dok se za područje privatnoga kao moralno prihvaća ono što pojedina osoba želi u određenom trenutku. Relativizam u društvu u kojemu živimo ujedno je i poziv na dijalog vjere i kulture. Mladi, koji su osobito podložni strujanjima u suvremenome društvu, nerijetko nisu sposobni razlučiti trenutno od trajno vrijednoga i važnoga. Odgoj za moralno uključuje postupni hod i odgoj pojedinačnoga, osobnoga ja. U suvremenom je svijetu moguće zamisliti i prihvatiti i polazište za etički život koje nije nužno transcendentno utemeljeno. Pravila i norme su i danas potrebni, ali sami po sebe nisu dostatni za moralan život. Za kršćanski je moral važan pojam osobe. I u današnjem moralu može se i mora govoriti o grijehu i o smislu grijeha, o mjestu i ulozi savjesti, o emocijama, željama i krepostima. Korisno je prisjetiti se i misli velikoga odgajatelja mladih, don Bosca, koji mladima poručuje: lako je i lijepo činiti dobro.Der Autor erwäge die Beziehung der heutigen Jugendlichen der Moral und dem Moralischen gegenüber. Die zeitgenössische Gesellschaft stelle sich oft als eine ethisch neutrale Gesellschaft vor, was wiederum häufig auch eine Auffassung vom Menschen als einem Wesen ohne qualitative Kennzeichen und einem Wesen einschließe, dem ein ethisches Experimentieren mit sich selbst erlaubt sei. Dabei werde für das Gebiet des gesellschaftlichen Lebens noch immer die Möglichkeit der Existenz von bestimmten moralischen Normen akzeptiert, während für den Privatbereich als moralisch angenommen werde gerade das, was sich eine einzelne Person in einem bestimmten Moment wünsche. Der in der Gesellschaft, in der wir leben präsente Relativismus, sei zugleich auch ein Ruf zum Dialog des Glaubens und der Kultur. Jugendliche, welche besonders den Strömungen in der zeitgenössischen Gesellschaft ausgesetzt seien, seien oft nicht fähig, das Momentane vom Wertvollen und Wichtig voneinander abzutrennen. Erziehung für das Moralische schließe den allmählichen Gang und die Erziehung des Einzelnen, des persönlichen "ich" ein. In der zeitgenössischen Welt sei es möglich, sich vorzustellen und zu akzeptieren auch den Ausgangspunkt für das ethische Leben, welches vielleicht im transzendentalen Sinne nicht begründet sei. Regeln und Normen seien auch heutzutage notwendig, aber von sich selbst aus, seien nicht genügend für das moralische Leben. Für die christliche Moral sei der Begriff der Persönlichkeit bedeutend. Auch in der heutigen Moral lasse sich und müsse man von der Sünde und vom Sinn der Sünde, vom Ort und der Rolle des Gewissens, von Emotionen, Wünschen und Tugenden sprechen. Es sei nützlich, sich an die Gedanken des großen Erziehers der Jugendlichen, don Bosco zu erinnern, welcher an die Jugendlichen ausrichtet: es sei schön und leicht, das Gute zu machen

Comparative study of urban form of colonial cities as a method : case study of Quebec and Krasnoyarsk

Methods of urban morphology offer an opportunity to develop holistic approaches to sustaining heritage cities, which address local cultures and identities, through analysis of the evolution of place and its interpretation in spatial and architectural practices. Particularly, the dialectical relationships of elements of urban form on different scales or instances of the same element can be investigated. For example, the structure of plots is a result of the sequence of transformations, description of the history of the part of territory: multi-level diagrams with a representation of the chronological sequence of structural development could be a key to the logic of a dynamic process, even when the urban fabric presents an orthogonal grid. In fact, in these cases, we can recognize the process of transformation of the urban fabric throughout the hierarchically produced order between the roads that have come to be determined over time (readable in the arrangement of the entrances of the buildings, in the distribution of commercial activities, the height of building and largeness of the street). However, there is a difficulty in finding the key specificities of a particular piece of urban fabric, especially for specialists who investigate their indigenous environments (which they take for granted), at the stage of familiarization with the method. The paper illustrates the evidential efficiency of the comparative method, presenting the intermediate results of the ongoing comparative morphological case study of the development of an urban form of colonial cities Krasnoyarsk (Siberia, Russia) and Quebec (Canada), which were both established in the 17th century in a similar climate, and have clear morphological similarities and evident differences. The first could speak about objective features inherent in the construction of cities, regardless of the socio-political and economic context, the second can indicate the unique specificities that are most characteristic of the place under consideration

Uncovering Structure-Property Relationships in Push-Pull Chromophores: A Promising Route to Large Hyperpolarizability and Two-Photon Absorption

In this investigation, we report the first hyperpolarizabilities and two-photon absorption cross sections of a large series of 12 push–pull cationic chromophores. All of these dyes show a dipolar acceptor+–π–donor structure, where the nature of the donor and acceptor units and π-bridge was synthetically tuned to allow insightful comparisons among the molecules. The hyperpolarizability was obtained through a solvatochromic method, by exploiting the rare negative solvatochromism exhibited by the investigated compounds. The two-photon absorption cross sections were determined through two-photon excited fluorescence measurements by means of a tunable nanosecond laser system for sample excitation. The nonlinear optical properties were discussed relatively to the photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer occurring in these donor–acceptor systems, investigated by femtosecond transient absorption experiments. We found a strong increase in hyperpolarizability upon increasing the molecular conjugation. Unexpectedly, the hyperpolarizability is almost unaffected by an increase in donor/acceptor strength and intramolecular charge transfer degree. Differently, the two-photon absorption cross sections of these dyes are enhanced by an increase in both molecular conjugation and intramolecular charge transfer efficiency. Several recent literature works have reported at the same time scattered information about the hyperpolarizability and two-photon absorption of small organic molecules. Our investigation is, to the best of our knowledge, the first attempt to uncover detailed structure–property relationships for these two nonlinear optical properties. Our results represent a promising route to achieve large hyperpolarizability and two-photon absorption in push–pull dyes and may drive the design of new efficient nonlinear optical materials

OSAS: valutazione della patologia e patente professionale

La sindrome delle apnee ostruttive del sonno è una patologia che colpisce indistintamente maschi e femmine. La OSAS (Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome) è determinata da episodi ripetuti di ostruzione parziale o completa delle vie aeree superiori.I disturbi del sonno non solo si ripercuotono negativamente sulla salute e sulla qualità della vita di chi ne soffre, ma aumentano anche i rischi sulle strade. Il 19 febbraio 2016 è stato pubblicato sulla Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 41 il decreto dirigenziale 3 febbraio 2016 del Ministero della Salute, che fornisce gli indirizzi medico-legali da osservare per l’accertamento dell’idoneità psico-fisica alla guida per coloro che sono affetti, o che si sospetta possano essere affetti, da OSAS. The syndrome of obstructive sleep apneee is a condition that affects males and females without distinction. OSAS (Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome) is advanced by Repeated episodes of partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway.Sleep disorders not only have a negative effect on the health and quality of life of those who suffer, but also increase the risks on the roads.On February 19, 2016 it was published in the Official Gazette no. 41 of the Ministry of Health Decree of 3 February 2016, which contains the medical-legal guidelines to be observed for the assessment of the psycho-physical fitness to guide those who are affected, or who are suspected of being affected, by OSA

Findings from the Hackathon on Understanding Euroscepticism Through the Lens of Textual Data

We present an overview and the results of a shared-task hackathon that took place as part of a research seminar bringing together a variety of experts and young researchers from the fields of political science, natural language processing and computational social science. The task looked at ways to develop novel methods for political text scaling to better quantify political party positions on European integration and Euroscepticism from the transcript of speeches of three legislations of the European Parliament

Hepatocytes undergo punctuated expansion dynamics from a periportal stem cell niche in normal human liver

Background & Aims: While normal human liver is thought to be generally quiescent, clonal hepatocyte expansions have been observed, though neither their cellular source nor their expansion dynamics have been determined. Knowing the hepatocyte cell of origin, and their subsequent dynamics and trajectory within the human liver will provide an important basis to understand disease-associated dysregulation. Methods: Herein, we use in vivo lineage tracing and methylation sequence analysis to demonstrate normal human hepatocyte ancestry. We exploit next-generation mitochondrial sequencing to determine hepatocyte clonal expansion dynamics across spatially distinct areas of laser-captured, microdissected, clones, in tandem with computational modelling in morphologically normal human liver. Results: Hepatocyte clones and rare SOX9+ hepatocyte progenitors commonly associate with portal tracts and we present evidence that clones can lineage-trace with cholangiocytes, indicating the presence of a bipotential common ancestor at this niche. Within clones, we demonstrate methylation CpG sequence diversity patterns indicative of periportal not pericentral ancestral origins, indicating a portal to central vein expansion trajectory. Using spatial analysis of mitochondrial DNA variants by next-generation sequencing coupled with mathematical modelling and Bayesian inference across the portal-central axis, we demonstrate that patterns of mitochondrial DNA variants reveal large numbers of spatially restricted mutations in conjunction with limited numbers of clonal mutations. Conclusions: These datasets support the existence of a periportal progenitor niche and indicate that clonal patches exhibit punctuated but slow growth, then quiesce, likely due to acute environmental stimuli. These findings crucially contribute to our understanding of hepatocyte dynamics in the normal human liver. Impact and implications: The liver is mainly composed of hepatocytes, but we know little regarding the source of these cells or how they multiply over time within the disease-free human liver. In this study, we determine a source of new hepatocytes by combining many different lab-based methods and computational predictions to show that hepatocytes share a common cell of origin with bile ducts. Both our experimental and computational data also demonstrate hepatocyte clones are likely to expand in slow waves across the liver in a specific trajectory, but often lie dormant for many years. These data show for the first time the expansion dynamics of hepatocytes in normal liver and their cell of origin enabling the accurate measurment of changes to their dynamics that may lead to liver disease. These findings are important for researchers determining cancer risk in human liver

The 2022 magneto-optics roadmap

Magneto-optical (MO) effects, viz. magnetically induced changes in light intensity or polarization upon reflection from or transmission through a magnetic sample, were discovered over a century and a half ago. Initially they played a crucially relevant role in unveiling the fundamentals of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. A more broad-based relevance and wide-spread use of MO methods, however, remained quite limited until the 1960s due to a lack of suitable, reliable and easy-to-operate light sources. The advent of Laser technology and the availability of other novel light sources led to an enormous expansion of MO measurement techniques and applications that continues to this day (see section 1). The here-assembled roadmap article is intended to provide a meaningful survey over many of the most relevant recent developments, advances, and emerging research directions in a rather condensed form, so that readers can easily access a significant overview about this very dynamic research field. While light source technology and other experimental developments were crucial in the establishment of today's magneto-optics, progress also relies on an ever-increasing theoretical understanding of MO effects from a quantum mechanical perspective (see section 2), as well as using electromagnetic theory and modelling approaches (see section 3) to enable quantitatively reliable predictions for ever more complex materials, metamaterials, and device geometries. The latest advances in established MO methodologies and especially the utilization of the MO Kerr effect (MOKE) are presented in sections 4 (MOKE spectroscopy), 5 (higher order MOKE effects), 6 (MOKE microscopy), 8 (high sensitivity MOKE), 9 (generalized MO ellipsometry), and 20 (Cotton–Mouton effect in two-dimensional materials). In addition, MO effects are now being investigated and utilized in spectral ranges, to which they originally seemed completely foreign, as those of synchrotron radiation x-rays (see section 14 on three-dimensional magnetic characterization and section 16 on light beams carrying orbital angular momentum) and, very recently, the terahertz (THz) regime (see section 18 on THz MOKE and section 19 on THz ellipsometry for electron paramagnetic resonance detection). Magneto-optics also demonstrates its strength in a unique way when combined with femtosecond laser pulses (see section 10 on ultrafast MOKE and section 15 on magneto-optics using x-ray free electron lasers), facilitating the very active field of time-resolved MO spectroscopy that enables investigations of phenomena like spin relaxation of non-equilibrium photoexcited carriers, transient modifications of ferromagnetic order, and photo-induced dynamic phase transitions, to name a few. Recent progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology, which is intimately linked to the achieved impressive ability to reliably fabricate materials and functional structures at the nanoscale, now enables the exploitation of strongly enhanced MO effects induced by light–matter interaction at the nanoscale (see section 12 on magnetoplasmonics and section 13 on MO metasurfaces). MO effects are also at the very heart of powerful magnetic characterization techniques like Brillouin light scattering and time-resolved pump-probe measurements for the study of spin waves (see section 7), their interactions with acoustic waves (see section 11), and ultra-sensitive magnetic field sensing applications based on nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond (see section 17). Despite our best attempt to represent the field of magneto-optics accurately and do justice to all its novel developments and its diversity, the research area is so extensive and active that there remains great latitude in deciding what to include in an article of this sort, which in turn means that some areas might not be adequately represented here. However, we feel that the 20 sections that form this 2022 magneto-optics roadmap article, each written by experts in the field and addressing a specific subject on only two pages, provide an accurate snapshot of where this research field stands today. Correspondingly, it should act as a valuable reference point and guideline for emerging research directions in modern magneto-optics, as well as illustrate the directions this research field might take in the foreseeable future

MAORY for ELT: preliminary design overview

MAORY is one of the approved instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope. It is an adaptive optics module, enabling high-angular resolution observations in the near infrared by real-time compensation of the wavefront distortions due to atmospheric turbulence and other disturbances such as wind action on the telescope. An overview of the instrument design is given in this paper