Il boss mafioso ieri ed oggi. Caratteristiche psicologiche e dati di ricerca

L’articolo descrive le caratteristiche psicologiche dei boss di Cosa Nostra a partire dai dati di ricerca raccolti in quasi un ventennio (1994-2013). Attraverso l’utilizzo di frammenti di interviste a collaboranti di giustizia, mogli, figli, cognate, si analizza la figura del boss e il suo contesto relazionale. L’articolo riporta, inoltre, i risultati di una recente ricerca sulla relazione tra boss e colletti bianchi, realizzata attraverso l’analisi delle intercettazioni ambientali registrate a casa di un noto boss mafioso siciliano: Giuseppe Guttadauro. Da questa ricerca emerge la diversità psicologica su cui si fonda la relazione tra boss e colletto bianco. L’analisi dei trascritti delle intercettazioni ambientali ha consentito di individuare anche le modalità relazionali prevalenti utilizzate dal boss e dal colletto bianco nelle loro conversazioni.This article describes Cosa Nostra bosses’ psychological characteristics starting from re-search data collected in almost twenty years (1994-2013). Through the use of fragments of interviews to justice collaborators and their wives, children, sisters-in-law, we analyze the boss’s role and relational context. This article also reports the results of a recent research on the relationship between boss and white-collar workers, carried out through the analysis of environ-mental tapping recorded at a famous Sicilian Mafia boss’s house: Giuseppe Guttadauro. This research highlights the psychological diversity the relationship between boss and white-collar worker is based on. The analysis of environmental tapping transcriptions has also allowed finding out the main relational modalities used by boss and white-collar worker in their conversations

Particle Swarm Algorithms to solve engineering problems: a comparison of performance

In many disciplines, the use of evolutionary algorithms to perform optimizations is limited because of the extensive number of objective evaluations required. In fact, in real-world problems, each objective evaluation is frequently obtained by time-expensive numerical calculations. On the other hand, gradient-based algorithms are able to identify optima with a reduced number of objective evaluations, but they have limited exploration capabilities of the search domain and some restrictions when dealing with noncontinuous functions. In this paper, two PSO-based algorithms are compared to evaluate their pros and cons with respect to the effort required to find acceptable solutions. The algorithms implement two different methodologies to solve widely used engineering benchmark problems. Comparison is made both in terms of fixed iterations tests to judge the solution quality reached and fixed threshold to evaluate how quickly each algorithm reaches near-optimal solutions. The results indicate that one PSO algorithm achieves better solutions than the other one in fixed iterations tests, and the latter achieves acceptable results in less-function evaluations with respect to the first PSO in the case of fixed threshold tests.Fil: Tomassetti, Giordano. Centro Ricerche Frascati; ItaliaFil: Cagnina, Leticia Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas y Naturales. Departamento de Informática. Laboratorio Investigación y Desarrollo en Inteligencia Computacional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Luis; Argentin

Supported nickel nitride catalysts for the gas-phase hydrogenation of furfural

A series of catalysts with different nickel loading (2.5-30 wt%) has been prepared by UGR. The preparation of Ni3N phase was ascertained via Powder X-rays diffraction together with cubic nickel . The elemental chemical analysis and XPS data confirm the presence of the nitride phase. Their catalytic performance points out that catalysts with loading of 5-10 wt% Ni exhibit a higher stability, maintaining furfural conversion values higher than 75% after 5 h of time-on-stream at 170ºC, and the main products detected were furfuryl alcohol (hydrogenation) and furan (decarbonylation). This would indicate that two types of active sites are present on the catalyst surface. It is noteworthy the high catalytic activity of this family of catalyst, since they exhibit a better performance than Cu-ZnO catalysts, but using a lower reaction temperature and H2/furfural molar ratio, as well as a higher furfural concentration and WHSV values. The experimental conditions have been optimized in order to achieve the maximum yield in the target product, but preserving a high activity and stability. The fresh and spent catalysts have been characterized in order to elucidate structure-activity-stability relationships.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Design of teaching/learning sequences for the chemistry curriculum according to an inquiry-based approach

Outlined are guidelines (teaching/learning sequences) for chemistry teachers in the first two years of secondary school. This educational proposal is grounded on an inquiry-based approach, and follows the spiral structure of the different levels of the chemistry concepts (from macroscopic to microscopic). Our aim is both the assessment of a more significant learning process and the achievement of some students’ basic skills, as well as to provide teachers with a tool for implementation in class. The examples illustrated refer to the sequences relative to chemical transformation and the particle model. In closing, the results of a study are exhibited, which support the effectiveness of the proposed approach on the basis of the results obtained by the students. Progettazione di sequenze didattiche di insegnamento/apprendimento della chimica secondo un approccio inquiry-basedViene illustrata la progettazione di linee guida (sequenze didattiche di insegnamento/apprendimento) per gli insegnanti di chimica nel primo biennio della scuola secondaria di secondo grado. Questa proposta didattica è concepita secondo un approccio inquiry-based, e segue la struttura a spirale dei diversi livelli di concettualizzazione della chimica (dal macroscopico al microscopico). Scopo del progetto è, da un lato, il miglioramento della significatività dell’apprendimento degli allievi e il raggiungimento di alcune competenze trasversali di base, dall’altro, fornire agli insegnanti uno strumento da utilizzare nella pratica di classe per implementare la trasposizione didattica della disciplina. Gli esempi illustrati riguardano le sequenze relative alla trasformazione chimica e al modello particellare. Vengono infine mostrati i risultati di uno studio che supporta l’efficacia dell’approccio proposto sulla base dei risultati conseguiti dagli allievi

Nutritional support in cancer patients: A position paper from the Italian Society of Medical Oncology (AIOM) and the Italian Society of Artificial Nutrition and Metabolism (SINPE)

Malnutrition is a frequent problem in cancer patients, which leads to prolonged hospitalization, a higher degree of treatment-related toxicity, reduced response to cancer treatment, impaired quality of life and a worse overall prognosis. The attitude towards this issue varies considerably and many malnourished patients receive inadequate nutritional support. We reviewed available data present in the literature, together with the guidelines issued by scientific societies and health authorities, on the nutritional management of patients with cancer, in order to make suitable and concise practical recommendations for appropriate nutritional support in this patient population. Evidence from the literature suggests that nutritional screening should be performed using validated tools (the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 [NRS 2002], the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool [MUST], the Malnutrition Screening Tool [MST] and the Mini Nutritional Assessment [MNA]), both at diagnosis and at regular time points during the course of disease according to tumor type, stage and treatment. Patients at nutritional risk should be promptly referred for comprehensive nutritional assessment and support to clinical nutrition services or medical personnel with documented skills in clinical nutrition, specifically for cancer patients. Nutritional intervention should be actively managed and targeted for each patient; it should comprise personalized dietary counseling and/or artificial nutrition according to spontaneous food intake, tolerance and effectiveness. Nutritional support may be integrated into palliative care programs. "Alternative hypocaloric anti-cancer diets" (e.g. macrobiotic or vegan diets) should not be recommended as they may worsen nutritional status. Well-designed clinical trials are needed to further our knowledge of the nutritional support required in different care settings for cancer patients

A revision with gender perspective about women participation in Earth Sciences in San Luis

Statistics about gender composition in Earth Sciences in Argentina indicate parity between women and men in our country (2018). According to the Universidad de Buenos Aires census (2011), student composition at the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales is constituted by 52.9% of men and 47.1% of women. Even though parity is not reached, the gender gap is not as big as in other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines. Our goal is to present a bibliometric analysis of gender composition of the academic Earth Sciences community of San Luis province and external collaborators (researchers with affiliations in other provinces or countries), and contextualize it within the Earth Sciences situation of our country. We analyzed 259 studies covering the time lapse from 1895 to 2020, involving fossil remains of San Luis province outcrops, such as scientific papers, doctoral and bachelor dissertations, book chapters and abstracts using descriptive statistic. Gender analysis was binary since there is no record of other gender identities in co-authorships. Our results show that the community is composed of 55.6% men and 44.3% women, but first authors are mostly women (60.2%), an unexpected result that doesn’t reflect the composition of the national community. Nevertheless, analyzing work group gender composition revealed that when the leader was a woman, there was more participation of men in the collaborations, but when men where leaders less women contributed, highlighting the fact that men formed more frequently men-men working networks, excluding women. Regarding subdisciplines within Paleontology, women are a majority in fossil flora and vertebrate studies, and a minority in fossil invertebrate studies. We hypothesize that the partially atypical trends of our results are grounded in a historical and importance-tradition of study site components. The results obtained are contrasting with the general context in Argentina, in which Geology shows a tendency to parity since 2018 and Paleontology presents more women graduates. This could lead to the false illusion that equity exists. However, in both disciplines, later in their academic careers women are a minority in leadership positions. This analysis shows that we are not beyond parity; and that to empower and ensure that women thrive in academia in the Earth Sciences, is necessary to open leadership positions in this field.Fil: Benavente, Cecilia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Medina, Lorena. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Giordano, Paula. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Gómez, M.. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Arcucci, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaXII Congreso Argentino de PaleontologíaBuenos AiresArgentinaAsociación Paleontológica Argentin

The transition to online psychotherapy during the pandemic: a qualitative study on patients' perspectives

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has substantially increased online psychotherapies due to the impossibility of participating in vis-a-vis settings. In the last years, research about online therapy has been quickly growing. However, until now, few studies investigated patients' perspective about the transition to online psychotherapy and, specifically, no qualitative research in group therapy has been done on this topic. This study aimed to explore the experience of 51 patients (39 group patients and 12 from individual psychotherapies) who continued psychotherapy in the online setting during the COVID-19 outbreak. A structured online questionnaire with open answers investigated the following topics: setting online, effectiveness, psychotherapy relationship, specific dynamics of online psychotherapy. Patients' answers were analysed by means of Consensual Qualitative Research, modified version (CQRM), an inductive method that allows analysing a large sample and relatively brief written answers. The results show the impact of shift to online platforms on patients and explore how easy or difficult it is for them to adapt to therapeutic processes are in online therapy (vs in-person therapy), by highlighting potential barriers and resources to practice implementation. Participants' responses have been arranged into three main domains: setting online, content/effectiveness of online therapy and therapeutic relationship. A fourth domain, specific for online group therapy, collected responses referred to the changes perceived regarding the group dynamics. From the patient's perspective, online therapy is effective and satisfying. Patients perceived a positive quality of therapeutic relationship in online setting, whereas produced more controversial judgments concerned the changes due to the online setting. Finally, patients in group therapy gave more attention and importance in showing and seeing private personal spaces than the ones in individual therapy