208 research outputs found

    The role of women in American Red Cross and the Italian. A comparative historical and sociological analysis on women's roles during the Great War

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    La Croce Rossa è una delle organizzazioni umanitarie laiche più grandi e più longeve. Vanta la sua presenza in 190 realtà nazionali e una storia di oltre 150 anni. Il fatto che essa sia presente in quasi tutti i paesi del mondo e sia riconosciuta e apprezzata a livello nazionale e internazionale ha influito sulla volontà di analizzare, in chiave storica, sociologica e comparativa, quell’organismo. Capire maggiormente i modi attraverso i quali un ente di terzo settore, come quello della Croce Rossa, funzionasse, individuando possibili correlazioni tra contesto storico, sociale, politico e specifica società di Croce Rossa, sono stati i motivi alla base. L’adozione di un approccio sensibile al genere, nonché la comprensione dei modi attraverso i quali le società di Croce Rossa Americana e Italiana considerassero il personale maschile e femminile e gli riconoscessero le più differenziate mansioni lavorativi, sono stati gli obiettivi alla base della ricerca. Affinché quelle finalità fossero possibili, è stata adottata una specifica metodologia. Rivolgendo l’attenzione a un momento storico preciso (quello della Grande Guerra), sono stati prediletti strumenti di indagine non intrusivi e “non reattivi”. È stato pertanto considerato il materiale archivistico presente al riguardo e detenuto da specifici archivi pubblici. Ho pertanto sottoposto il materiale raccolto a un’analisi qualitativa – mediante l’aiuto del software NVivo, versione 12 – e ad una quantitativa – impiegando SPSS, versione 20. I risultati raggiunti hanno stabilito una forte disparità tra le due società di Croce Rossa considerate, ravvisando, nel diverso assetto socioculturale e nel tipo organizzazione intrinseca, le basi di ciò.Red Cross is one of the biggest and most long-lived humanitarian organizations ever. The institution has been alive for more than 150 years and it is present in 190 States. I decided to do a sociological and historical research because I wanted to analyze the women’s roles of the American Red Cross and the Italian one during the First World War. Therefore, this thesis shows some social and cultural differences between Italian and American realities. I have taken a gendered approach to both case studies (American Red Cross and Croce Rossa Italiana) and organized the thesis in three parts. The first one is about the theoretical framework. In the second part I talk about the subject of study and the historical context of the Great War. Finally, in the third section I describe the research and the results achieved. I chose a non-intrusive methodology, and I collected many archival documents in Italy and in the United States to better understand the roles of women within those two institutions. Therefore, I did a quantitative and qualitative comparative analysis by using SPSS20 and NVivo12

    Improved time-resolved measurements of inorganic ions in particulate matter by PILS-IC integrated with a sample pre-concentration system

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    A particle-into-liquid sampler coupled with ion chromatograph (PILS-IC) for the on-line measurement of inorganic ions has been modified by the insertion of two ion-exchange pre-concentration cartridges that enrich the sample during the period of the IC analysis. The limits of detection of the modified instrument were 10-15 times lower and the time coverage 24 times higher (from 2 to 48 min per hour) than those of the original PILS-IC setup. The instrumental performance in terms of recovery and break-through volume from the cartridges was satisfactory. The modified PILS-IC was operated in comparison with a diffusion denuder line and with a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS) during a short intensive measurement period organized in the framework of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP), a co-operative program for monitoring and evaluation of the long-range transmission of the air pollutants in Europe. The instrument showed a quantitative response in agreement with the results of the diffusion lines, and an ability to trace fine concentration variations not so different from the performance of the much more complex HR-TOF-AMS. From the time patterns of the ion concentrations measured by the modified PILS-IC, it was possible to obtain useful information about the variations in the air quality and in the strength of the particulate matter sourc

    The G Protein regulators EGL-10 and EAT-16, the Giα GOA-1 and the Gqα EGL-30 modulate the response of the C. elegans ASH polymodal nociceptive sensory neurons to repellents

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polymodal, nociceptive sensory neurons are key cellular elements of the way animals sense aversive and painful stimuli. In <it>Caenorhabditis elegans</it>, the polymodal nociceptive ASH sensory neurons detect aversive stimuli and release glutamate to generate avoidance responses. They are thus useful models for the nociceptive neurons of mammals. While several molecules affecting signal generation and transduction in ASH have been identified, less is known about transmission of the signal from ASH to downstream neurons and about the molecules involved in its modulation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We discovered that the regulator of G protein signalling (RGS) protein, EGL-10, is required for appropriate avoidance responses to noxious stimuli sensed by ASH. As it does for other behaviours in which it is also involved, <it>egl-10 </it>interacts genetically with the G<sub>o/i</sub>α protein GOA-1, the G<sub>q</sub>α protein EGL-30 and the RGS EAT-16. Genetic, behavioural and Ca<sup>2+ </sup>imaging analyses of ASH neurons in live animals demonstrate that, within ASH, EGL-10 and GOA-1 act downstream of stimulus-evoked signal transduction and of the main transduction channel OSM-9. EGL-30 instead appears to act upstream by regulating Ca<sup>2+ </sup>transients in response to aversive stimuli. Analysis of the delay in the avoidance response, of the frequency of spontaneous inversions and of the genetic interaction with the diacylglycerol kinase gene, <it>dgk-1</it>, indicate that EGL-10 and GOA-1 do not affect signal transduction and neuronal depolarization in response to aversive stimuli but act in ASH to modulate downstream transmission of the signal.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The ASH polymodal nociceptive sensory neurons can be modulated not only in their capacity to detect stimuli but also in the efficiency with which they respond to them. The Gα and RGS molecules studied in this work are conserved in evolution and, for each of them, mammalian orthologs can be identified. The discovery of their role in the modulation of signal transduction and signal transmission of nociceptors may help us to understand how pain is generated and how its control can go astray (such as chronic pain) and may suggest new pain control therapies.</p

    A unified solving approach for two and three dimensional coverage problems in sensor networks

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    The problem of designing a wired or a wireless sensor network to cover, monitor and/or control a region of interest has been widely treated in literature. This problem is referred to in literature as the sensor placement problem (SPP) and in the most general case it consists in determining the number and the location of one or more kind of sensors with the aim of covering all the region of interest or a significant part of it. In this paper we propose a unified and stepwise solving approach for two and three dimensional coverage problems to be used in omni-directional and directional sensor networks. The proposed approach is based on schematizing the region of interest and the sensor potential locations by a grid of points and representing the sensor coverage area by a circle or by a circular sector. On this basis, the SPP is reduced to an optimal coverage problem and can be formulated by integer linear programming (ILP) models. We will resume the main ILP models used in our approach, highlighting, for each of them, the specific target to be achieved and the design constraints taken into account. The paper concludes with an application of the proposed approach to a real test case and a discussion of the obtained results

    On the Formation and Accumulation of Solid Carbon Particles in High-Enthalpy Flows Mimicking Re-Entry in the Titan Atmosphere

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    The problem relating to the formation of solid particles enabled by hypersonic re-entry in methane-containing atmospheres (such as that of Titan) has been tackled in the framework of a combined experimental-numerical approach implemented via a three-level analysis hierarchy. First experimental tests have been conducted using a wind tunnel driven by an industrial arc-heated facility operating with nitrogen as working gas (the SPES, i.e., the Small Planetary Entry Simulator). The formation of solid phases as a result of the complex chemical reactions established in such conditions has been detected and quantitatively measured with high accuracy. In a second stage of the study, insights into the related formation process have been obtained by using multispecies models relying on the NASA CEA code and the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Through this approach the range of flow enthalpies in which carbonaceous deposits can be formed has been identified, obtaining good agreement with the experimental findings. Finally, the deposited substance has been analyzed by means of a set of complementary diagnostic techniques, i.e., SEM, spectroscopy (Raman, FTIR, UV-visible absorption and fluorescence), GC-MS and TGA. It has been found that carbon produced by the interaction of the simulated Titan atmosphere with a solid probe at very high temperatures can be separated into two chemically different fractions, which also include "tholins"

    Genesi, evoluzione e paleografia delle grotte costiere di marina di Camerota (parco nazionale del Cilento Vallo Di Diano, Italia Meridionale)

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    ItLa costa tra Marina di Camerota e P.to Infreschi (SA) presenta numerose grotte, già note per il loro valore preistorico. E’ stato condotto uno studio geomorfologico e stratigrafico, per delucidare la loro genesi ed evoluzione. Sono stati individuati 4 tipi di cavità: grotte sviluppate in depositi marini o continentali, grotte in substrato calcareo impostate su faglia o frattura, grotte associate all’emergenza di una falda in rete e relitti di cavità crollate. All’interno delle cavità sono stati riconosciuti diversi stazionamenti del livello del mare. Le grotte studiate contengono il registro delle oscillazioni eustatiche e climatiche tardo pleistoceniche, oltre che importanti tracce preistoriche. Esse possono dunque essere considerate geositi di rilevanza nazionale e come tali devono essere preservate e valorizzate in maniera adeguata.EnThe coastline between Marina di Camerota and the bay of Porto Infreschi (Province of Salerno) is characterized by several caves, known above all for their prehistoric records. We carried out a detailed study of these caves in order to better understand their genesis and evolution in function of the main middle and late Pleistocene eustatic sea level fluctuations.Along the coastal sector four different kind of cave have been identified. The first one includes caves developed into Pleistocene marine conglomerates or into slope breccias, located at altitude higher than the present see level and which are associated with ancient see level. The second one contains fault-guided or joint-guided caves developed into carbonate bedrock; some are active and some other are fossil. The third kind includes phreatic caves cut into carbonate bedrock. Generally, they are present in group and developed along front line(for example, the case of the bay of Porto Infreschi). The last one is represented by the remains of collapsed caves; which are visible for the presence of marine deposits, speleothems and remains of alluvial fan along the sea cliff (i. e. the case of the Riparo degli Infreschi cave). Into the caves the traces of at least three different high stands located at altitude of 8.5-8, 4.5, 3.5 m a.s.l. which can be referred to the Last Interglacial period have been observed (ESPOSITO et al., 2002). Moreover in the Porto Infreschi caves are clearly recorded moments of speleothems formations between the different phases of marine ingression.During the low stands of the isotopic stages 4 and 3 the most of the caves were abandoned by the sea and they became a safe refuge for the prehistoric man. The richness of their stratigraphical record, from a paleoclimatical and archaeological point of view, in addition to their prehistoric importance, allow many of these caves to be considered as important "geosites"

    Solid carbon produced during the simulation of re-entry in the Titan atmosphere by means of an arc-driven flow facility

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    Spacecraft entry into Titan’s atmosphere has been investigated using a dedicated (Small Planetary Entry Simulator) facility (SPES). While in earlier works much attention was paid to the joint numerical-experimental simulation of typical entry physical parameters (namely, heat flux and total enthalpy); in the present analysis we focus on some unexpected results recently obtained at the University of Naples, in collaboration with CNR, in the framework of a new test campaign dedicated to various planetary atmospheres (including Titan itself). Such findings concern the presence of a carbon-like substance on the surface of the measuring probes used for the experiments, which seem to align with the results yielded by other authors with other strategies (an inductive plasma torch). We have confirmed the carbonaceous nature of such particulate matter via various diagnostic techniques such as SEM, Raman, FT-IR, UV-visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, GC-MS and TGA. The present work is devoted to the presentation of such results together with a critical discussion of the novelty relating to the present experimental approach (arc plasma versus inductive torch) and an analysis of the chemical-physical differences pertaining to the carbon obtained with the two different methods
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