Omicidi mirati a mezzo drone: brevi riflessioni a margine del caso "Lo Porto" tra diritto penale e diritto internazionale

Quale diritto penale in ipotesi di "vittime collaterali" di drone strike? La sempre maggiore rilevanza che il fenomeno degli omicidi mirati a mezzo drone assume nel contesto internazionale pone la necessità di interrogarsi su come, nell'ordinamento interno, le categorie classiche del diritto penale debbano operare rispetto a fattispecie "peculiari", caratterizzate da una distanza fisica e psichica dal target e dall’esistenza di una “catena di comando” coinvolta, a più livelli, nella singola operazione di omicidio mirato. Si cercherà pertanto di capire, partendo dal caso dell'omicidio di un cittadino italiano per mezzo di droni statunitensi in Pakistan, ma fornendo un contributo di portata più generale, quali soggetti della c.d. "catena di comando" sono coinvolti nelle operazioni; successivamente si concentrerà l'attenzione su come gli sviluppi dogmatici e le elaborazioni giurisprudenziali sul tema dell'elemento soggettivo del reato debbano modellarsi rispetto ad omicidi di vittime collaterali commessi tramite drone, negli ultimi anni oggetto di un uso sempre più frequente alla luce della Global War on Terror, di cui gli Stati Uniti d'America si sono resi promotori

Efeito médio de substituição alélica para os polimorfismos CAPN4753 e UOGCAST no gene da calpaína e calpastatina.

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar possíveis interações alélicas para os polimorfismos nos genes da µ-calpaína (CAPN4753) e da calpastatina (UOGCAST1), ligados a característica de maciez da carne. Nesse trabalho, foram utilizados 590 animais da raça Nelore. Após a extração do DNA de amostras de sangue por precipitação em NaCl. A identificação e determinação dos polimorfismos para os marcadores foram realizadas pelo sistema de detecção TaqManTM utilizando-se PCR em Tempo Real. A análise de maciez da carne, aos 7, 14 e 21 dias de maturação, foi realizada com amostras de carne do Longissimus dorsi, retiradas entre a 12ª e 13ª costela e cisalhadas utilizando-se um Warner Bratzler Shear Force. Foram observados resultados significativos para o efeito médio de substituição aos 14 dias de maturação da carne, apenas para o polimorfismo no gene da calpastatina, e aos 21 dias para ambos os polimorfismos (CAPN4753 e UOGCAST1)

Reproductive cycle, number of parities and faecal Salmonella spp. excretion in sows: a longitudinal study

The aim of the study was to evaluate the fecal excretion of Salmonella spp in sows with different number of parties, in distinct periods of the reproductive cycle. Two integrated farms in central Italy have been included in the study. The target populations were primaparous and multiparous (1-5 and more than 5 parities) sows, tested in different periods of the reprouductive cycle: 14 days before parturition (pre-partum), 2-5 days (post-partum), 20 days after parturition (post-partum 2) and gestation (24-31 days post-partum)

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the bovine leptin and leptin receptor genes with growth and ultrasound carcass traits in Nellore cattle

Given the important role of leptin in metabolism, we looked for a possible association of leptin and leptin receptor polymorphisms with carcass and growth traits in Nellore cattle. We examined associations of leptin and leptin receptor SNPs with ultrasound carcass (longissimus dorsi muscle area (ribeye area), backfat thickness and rump fat thickness and growth traits (weaning weight adjusted to 210 days of age, yearling weight adjusted to 550 days of age, weight gain of weaning to yearling and scrotal circumference adjusted to 550 days of age) of 2162 Bos primigenius indicus (Nellore) animals. Allele and genotypic frequencies were calculated for each marker. Allele substitution, additive and dominance effects of the polymorphisms were also evaluated. Some alleles of the molecular markers had low frequencies, lower than 1%, in the sample analyzed, although the same polymorphisms described for B. p. taurus cattle were found. Due to very low allelic frequencies, the E2JW, A59V and UASMS2 markers were not included in the analysis, because they were almost fixed. E2FB was found to be significantly associated with weight gain, ribeye area and backfat thickness. The promoter region markers, C963T and UASMS1, were also found to be significantly associated with ribeye area. T945M was significantly associated with weight gain. We conclude that the leptin and receptor gene markers would be useful for marker-assisted selection.FUNPEC/RPFUNPEC/R

Sequential inverse dysregulation of the RNA helicases DDX3X and DDX3Y facilitates MYC-driven lymphomagenesis

Summary DDX3X is a ubiquitously expressed RNA helicase involved in multiple stages of RNA biogenesis. DDX3X is frequently mutated in Burkitt lymphoma, but the functional basis for this is unknown. Here, we show that loss-of-function DDX3X mutations are also enriched in MYC-translocated diffuse large B cell lymphoma and reveal functional cooperation between mutant DDX3X and MYC. DDX3X promotes the translation of mRNA encoding components of the core translational machinery, thereby driving global protein synthesis. Loss-of-function DDX3X mutations moderate MYC-driven global protein synthesis, thereby buffering MYC-induced proteotoxic stress during early lymphomagenesis. Established lymphoma cells restore full protein synthetic capacity by aberrant expression of DDX3Y, a Y chromosome homolog, the expression of which is normally restricted to the testis. These findings show that DDX3X loss of function can buffer MYC-driven proteotoxic stress and highlight the capacity of male B cell lymphomas to then compensate for this loss by ectopic DDX3Y expression

Structured film-viewing preferences and practices : a quantitative analysis of hierarchies in screen and content selection amongst young people in Flanders

Aleit Veenstra, Philippe Meers and Daniel Biltereyst address a specific segment of a typical small-market audience—Flemish youth film viewers. Their study “Structured Film Viewing Preferences and Practices: A Quantitative Analysis of Hierarchies in Screen and Content Selection among Young People in Flanders” deals with one of the symptomatic problems of the era of convergent audiences, the multiplication of screens used for domestic consumption of audiovisual content. Building an intriguing empirical design, Veenstra and her colleagues aim to identify patterns of screen selection and their relation to the perceived value of Hollywood, European and domestic Flemish films. Their conclusion is that there are well-articulated hierarchies applied by the audience members in the selection of both film titles and reception screens and that, to put it simply, in the case of screens, size matters

The prediction of floods in Venice: methods, models and uncertainty (review article)

This paper reviews the state of the art in storm surge forecasting and its particular application in the northern Adriatic Sea. The city of Venice already depends on operational storm surge forecasting systems to warn the population and economy of imminent flood threats, as well as help to protect the extensive cultural heritage. This will be more important in the future, with the new mobile barriers called MOSE (MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, Experimental Electromechanical Module) that will be completed by 2021. The barriers will depend on accurate storm surge forecasting to control their operation. In this paper, the physics behind the flooding of Venice is discussed, and the state of the art of storm surge forecasting in Europe is reviewed. The challenges for the surge forecasting systems are analyzed, especially in view of uncertainty. This includes consideration of selected historic extreme events that were particularly difficult to forecast. Four potential improvements are identified: (1) improve meteorological forecasts, (2) develop ensemble forecasting, (3) assimilation of water level measurements and (4) develop a multimodel approach

Clinical features and comorbidity pattern of HCV infected migrants compared to native patients in care in Italy: A real-life evaluation of the PITER cohort

Background: Direct-acting antivirals are highly effective for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, regardless race/ethnicity. We aimed to evaluate demographic, virological and clinical data of HCV-infected migrants vs. natives consecutively enrolled in the PITER cohort. Methods: Migrants were defined by country of birth and nationality that was different from Italy. Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression were used. Results: Of 10,669 enrolled patients, 301 (2.8%) were migrants: median age 47 vs. 62 years, (p < 0.001), females 56.5% vs. 45.3%, (p < 0.001), HBsAg positivity 3.8% vs. 1.4%, (p < 0.05). Genotype 1b was prevalent in both groups, whereas genotype 4 was more prevalent in migrants (p < 0.05). Liver disease severity and sustained virologic response (SVR) were similar. A higher prevalence of comorbidities was reported for natives compared to migrants (p < 0.05). Liver disease progression cofactors (HBsAg, HIV coinfection, alcohol abuse, potential metabolic syndrome) were present in 39.1% and 47.1% (p > 0.05) of migrants and natives who eradicated HCV, respectively. Conclusion: Compared to natives, HCV-infected migrants in care have different demographics, HCV genotypes, viral coinfections and comorbidities and similar disease severity, SVR and cofactors for disease progression after HCV eradication. A periodic clinical assessment after HCV eradication in Italians and migrants with cofactors for disease progression is warranted