La confessione di Melchiorre Allegra (1937). Alle origini del discorso (pubblico) mafioso

Melchiorre Allegra was a Sicilian doctor. Arrested during a police operation, in 1937 he released a statement in which he described the structure, the affiliation rituals and the normative codes of the Sicilian mafia. The confession became known in January 1962, when the reporter Mauro De Mauro published it in the newspaper "L'Ora". This article examines the historical meaning of the document, outlining the context in which it was produced in the light of the most recent studies. Referring to the time of its publication, the paper assigns to the testimony a central role in the genesis of the public discourse of the mafia

Sul sentiero di un comunista siciliano. A proposito di Emanuele Macaluso, in ricordo

Emanuele Macaluso died in Rome at the beginning of this year. Born in Caltanissetta, he was an eminent communist leader and a valuable intellectual. His political, analytical, and polemical contribution to the debate on the Mafia and antimafia has been very worthy. A brief note in his memory is proposed, focused on his testimony to the antimafia Parliamentary Committee in November 1970, which is reported hereafter.Emanuele Macaluso è morto a Roma all’inizio di quest’anno. Nato a Caltanissetta, è stato un autorevole leader comunista e un intellettuale di valore. Assai pregevole, fra gli altri, è stato il suo contributo politico, saggistico, polemico al dibattito su mafia e antimafia. Si propone qui una breve nota in ricordo, incentrata sulla sua audizione alla Commissione Parlamentare Antimafia del novembre 1970, il cui testo è riportato di seguito

“Che era sistema questo di volere i maffiosi incorporati nella sicurezza pubblica”. La denuncia del deputato Diego Tajani in Parlamento dell’11 giugno 1875

Questo contributo presenta brevemente il contesto storico del discorso in Parlamento di Diego Tajani, già procuratore generale del re a Palermo, nel quale denunciò l'uso della mafia nella gestione dell'ordine pubblico. In particolare, viene messa in evidenza la commistione tra forze dell'ordine e forze del disordine come fattore-chiave dell'insediamento mafioso in Sicilia nell'Ottocent

Tra esigenze di sicurezza pubblica e tutela dei diritti fondamentali. Origini ed evoluzione del “41 bis”

This note traces the evolution of the special imprisonment regime regulated by Article 41 bis, the so-called “hard detention” (namely the regime of isolation), from its introduction in 1986 to the present. The aim is to explain to the reader how at issue is not so much the usefulness of the so-called "hard prison" as a tool for combating organized crime as its specific modes of implementation, which can configure treatment detrimental to the dignity of prisoners.Questa nota ripercorre l'evoluzione del regime di carcerazione speciale regolato dall'art. 41 bis, il cosiddetto “carcere duro” (ossia il regime di isolamento), dalla sua introduzione nel 1986 a oggi. L'obiettivo è quello di spiegare al lettore come in discussione non sia tanto l'utilità del 41bis come strumento di contrasto al crimine organizzato quanto le sue specifiche modalità attuative, che possono configurare trattamenti lesivi della dignità dei detenuti

Il rapporto McClellan sul gangsterismo italo-americano (1965)

The investigations of the Senatorial Subcommittee chaired by John McClellan (1963-65) were an important junction in the United States’ fight against organized crime. Beginning with the testimony of Joseph Valachi and at the initiative of Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the Subcommittee publicly highlighted the existence in the United States of a criminal association called Cosa nostra, formed by Italian-Americans and dedicated to the most varied activities. A summary of the context in which the investigations took place is proposed, followed by the first part of the Subcommittee’s final report.Le indagini della Sottocommissione senatoriale presieduta da John McClellan (1963-65) costituirono uno snodo importante nella lotta degli Stati Uniti al crimine organizzato. A partire dalla testimonianza di Joseph Valachi e su impulso del ministro della giustizia Robert Kennedy, la Commissione mise pubblicamente in luce l'esistenza in America di un’associazione criminale chiamata Cosa nostra, formata da italo-americani e dedita alle più svariate attività. Si propone una breve sintesi del contesto in cui le indagini si svolsero, cui segue la prima parte del rapporto conclusivo della Sottocommissione

Investigation of Conditional Source-Term Estimation Approach for Turbulent Partially Premixed Combustion Modelling

Conditional Source-term Estimation (CSE) is a closure technique for modelling turbulent combustion phenomena. CSE uses the Conditional Moment Closure (CMC) hypothesis for closing chemical source terms: conditionally averaged chemical source terms are closed by conditional averaged scalars, which are obtained by inverting an integral equation, instead of solving transport equations (as in CMC). Since CSE has been successfully applied to both premixed and non-premixed configurations, it represents an attractive method for dealing with the more general and complex case of partially premixed combustion. The objectives of the present study are to (i) consolidate the premixed formulation of CSE through numerical simulations of a turbulent bluff body premixed flame; (ii) formulate, implement and test the Doubly conditional CSE (DCSE) in the context of partially premixed combustion; (iii) compare the DCSE predictions with well documented turbulent partially premixed flames. The canonical example of partially premixed flames is represented by turbulent lifted flames. A series of lifted turbulent jet flames is investigated in RANS by using DCSE. The DCSE calculations are successful in predicting the lift-off heights at three different conditions and reproducing many aspects of the flame structure in agreement with the experimental observations. The current results show that important aspects of the stabilization mechanism can be reproduced by the DCSE combustion model. The applicability of DCSE is further evaluated by applying this approach to a series of turbulent V-shaped flames for which experimental data is available. Premixed and stratified conditions are investigated. Overall, the agreement between numerical results and experimental findings is good, demonstrating the capability of DCSE to deal with partially premixed combustion. Future work includes implementation of CSE in LES and investigation of different fuels such as propane and biofuels

Before Gomorrah. The camorra in the Eighties in the view of Pasquale Galasso

Si prende qui in esame uno stralcio dell’audizione del pentito di camorra Pasquale Galasso davanti alla Commissione parlamentare antimafia del 13 luglio 1993, il cui testo è riportato di seguito. L’articolo esamina i punti salienti della testimonianza, focalizzando l’attenzione sulla Nuova camorra organizzata (Nco), gruppo camorristico fondato da Raffaele Cutolo alla fine degli anni settanta, su alcuni suoi profili di originalità e sul ruolo da essa svolto nel contesto campano. Si discute inoltre il punto di vista di Galasso sulle guerre per bande di quegli anni e particolarmente sull’uso sproporzionato della violenza.This article examines an extract of the hearing of the pentito Pasquale Galasso before the antimafia Parliamentary Committee on 13 July 1993, the text of which is reported hereafter. It examines the salient points of the testimony, focusing on the Nuova camorra organizzata (NCO), a camorristic group founded by Raffaele Cutolo at the end of the 1970s, on some of its original profiles and on the role it played in the Campania context. Galasso’s point of view on the gang wars of those years and particularly on the disproportionate use of violence is also discussed

L'audizione Dalla Chiesa del 4 novembre 1970: scorci su un "metodo" investigativo

Some considerations on the experience of Colonel Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa in Palermo between 1966 and 1973 are proposed here. During this period dalla Chiesa commanded the Carabinieri Legion in the Sicilian capital, giving new impetus to investigations into the Mafia. The article retraces some of the investigative innovations introduced by dalla Chiesa in the fight against organised crime, starting from his hearing before the antimafia Parliamentary Committee on 4 November 1970, which is reported hereafter. In particular, it underlines the Colonel’s enhancement of the in-depth analysis of mafia crime and his emphasis on the limits of the penal mechanism of the time.Si propongono qui alcune considerazioni sull’esperienza del colonnello Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa a Palermo tra il 1966 e il 1973. Dalla Chiesa guidò in questo periodo la Legione dei Carabinieri del capoluogo siciliano, dando nuovo slancio alle indagini sulla mafia. L’articolo ripercorre alcune delle innovazioni investigative introdotte da dalla Chiesa nel contrasto al crimine organizzato, a partire dalla sua audizione davanti alla Commissione parlamentare antimafia del 4 novembre 1970, il cui testo è riportato di seguito. In particolare, si sottolinea la valorizzazione da parte del colonnello dell’analisi in profondità del crimine mafioso e l’enfasi sui limiti del meccanismo penale dell’epoca

L’assassinio di Piersanti Mattarella e l’approvazione della Legge Regionale 51/80. Alle origini dell’educazione antimafia nella scuola italiana.

The paper outlines the historical context in which Sicilian Regional Law No. 51/80, which for the first time introduced in-depth programs on the Mafia into the schools, took shape. A recon-struction of the reasons that led to the murder of the president of Sicily, Piersanti Mattarella, in the aftermath of which the law saw the light of day, is followed by a bibliographical note on the history of education of lawfulness in Italian schools.Lo scritto delinea il contesto storico in cui prese forma la legge regionale siciliana n. 51/80, che per la prima volte introdusse nelle scuole programmi di studio incentrati sulla mafia. A una rico-struzione delle ragioni che portarono all’omicidio del presidente della Regione Sicilia, Piersanti Mattarella, all’indomani del quale la legge vide la luce, segue una nota bibliografica sulla storia dell’educazione alla legalità nelle scuole italiane

Circulating prostaglandins as biomarkers for colorectal cancer?

Despite increases in our understanding of intestinal tumour biology, colorectal cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Most colorectal cancers develop from benign adenomas, presenting an opportunity for early detection and intervention prior to the onset of malignancy. For patients with early-stage tumours, five year survival rates are high. However, as early-stage tumours are typically asymptomatic, strategies to identify at risk individuals are critical to enable early detection. Therefore, a key challenge is improving (the currently suboptimal) patient uptake to screening programmes, as well as the development of good prognostic and predictive biomarkers for cancer risk and response to treatment. In this context and because of the well-established role of prostaglandins in colorectal tumorigenesis there are an increasing number of studies evaluating the utility of circulating prostaglandins in association with cancer risk and disease progression. In this issue of EBioMedicine, Li et al. (2015) provide evidence suggesting that the measurement of circulating prostaglandins in the blood may have potential utility in identifying patients at risk of developing, or with, colorectal cancer. This is an attractive premise, as a convenient blood-based testmay increase uptake amongst eligible individuals that do not presently participate in current screening procedures (such as the faecal occult blood test)