La stampa al femminile

La stampa al femminile analizza i modelli femminili e la lingua utilizzata in rapporto alla donna e al genere femminile. Tale analisi è basata sugli articoli pubblicati sul Corriere della Sera durante il mese di giugno 2009 e su altri contributi trattanti le medesime tematiche. I principali campi di indagine sono: il rapporto donna e politica italiana; donne e lavoro; donna e linguaggio. Altri aspetti analizzati sono l’utilizzo di stereotipi di genere (come quello della “velina” e dell’”antivelina”) e il tema/problema della “differenza femminile”

Visual arts: imagining a shanzhai city in twenty-first century China

Since 1978, China has experienced an unprecedented urban and economic growth under the central government's imperative to become a global power. Whereas the central government aimed to showcase its success through ambitious infrastructure projects, distinctive skylines, and spectacular waterfronts, local officials pursued this national goal through the construction of copycats, gated communities, and theme parks and towns. From miniature Eiffel Towers and extravagant residential units to entire themed villages, local authorities and real estate developers have integrated local and global milieus as a quick-fix to upgrade the urban experience and satisfy the taste of the Chinese middle class. Despite the extensive literature in the fields of architecture, urban and social studies, the role of visual arts in the analysis of this unique urban practice has not been explored yet. Hence, this article fulfils the gap by investigating what I refer to as shanzhai (copycats) places in Mainland China through their second-hand representations in the contemporary artworks by Xiang Liqing, Zhang Peili, Hu Jieming, and Yang Yuanyuan. Through qualitative, empirical visual analysis, fieldwork and semi-structured interviews with selected artists, I explore the overlaps between visual arts and these urban phenomena to identify the dynamics and urban actors involved in space-making and suggest that private estates, copycats, and theme parks and towns do not oppose the official narrative; rather, they are localised interpretations of the national dream. Against the dominant practice of building spectacular cities, this article explores how the city could be envisioned and reproduced in the future through the selected artistic practices

Epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries in a population of harness Standardbred racehorses in training

BACKGROUND: There is a substantial paucity of studies concerning musculoskeletal injuries in harness Standardbred racehorses. Specifically, little is known about the epidemiology of exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries. Most studies on this subject involve Thoroughbred racehorses, whose biomechanics and racing speed differ from Standardbred, making comparisons difficult. Here, a population of Standardbred racehorses trained at the same racecourse was studied over four years and a classification system for exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries was designed. The incidence rates of musculoskeletal injuries causing horses’ withdrawal from training for 15 days or longer were investigated. A mixed-effects Poisson regression model was used to estimate musculoskeletal injury rates and to describe significance of selected risk factors for exercise-related injuries in this population. RESULTS: A total of 356 trotter racehorses from 10 different stables contributed 8961 months at risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Four-hundred-and-twenty-nine injuries were reported and classified into 16 categories, based on their aetiology and anatomical localisation. The overall exercise-related injury rate was 4.79 per 100 horse months. When considering risk factors one by one in separate univariable analyses, we obtained the following results: rates did not differ significantly between genders and classes of age, whereas one driver seemed to cause fewer injuries than the others. Racing speed and racing intensity, as well as recent medical history, seemed to be significant risk factors (p < 0.001), while being shod or unshod during racing was not. On the other hand, when pooling several risk factors in a multivariable approach, only racing intensity turned out to be significant (p < 0.001), since racing speed and the racing intensity were partially confounded, being strongly correlated to one another. CONCLUSION: Characterizing epidemiology of exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries in trotter racehorses provides baseline incidence rate values. Incidence rates of stress fracture are lower in Standardbreds compared to Thoroughbreds, whereas the opposite is true for tendon and suspensory ligament injuries. In addition to identification of risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries among Standardbred racehorses, results suggest that racing intensity seems to be a protective predictor of risk and recent medical history could be used to identify horses at risk of injury

Performance of the FMF First-Trimester Preeclampsia-Screening Algorithm in a High-Risk Population in The Netherlands

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of the first-trimester Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) screening algorithm, including maternal characteristics and medical history, blood pressure, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A and placenta growth factor, crown rump length, and uterine artery pulsatility index, for the prediction of preeclampsia in a high-risk population in the Netherlands. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort including nulliparous women and women with preeclampsia or intrauterine growth restriction in previous pregnancy. We screened patients at 11-14 weeks of gestation to calculate the risk for preeclampsia. The primary outcome was preeclampsia and gestational age at delivery. Performance of the model was evaluated by area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUCs) and calibration graphs; based on the ROC curves, optimal predicted risk cutoff values for our study population were defined. RESULTS: We analyzed 362 women, of whom 22 (6%) developed preeclampsia. The algorithm showed fair discriminative performance for preeclampsia <34 weeks (AUC 0.81; 95% CI 0.65-0.96) and moderate discriminative performance for both preeclampsia <37 weeks (AUC 0.71; 95% CI 0.51-0.90) and <42 weeks (AUC 0.71; 95% CI 0.61-0.81). Optimal cutoffs based on our study population for preeclampsia <34, <37, and <42 weeks were 1:250, 1:64, and 1:22, respectively. Calibration was poor. CONCLUSIONS: Performance of the FMF preeclampsia algorithm was satisfactory to predict early and preterm preeclampsia and less satisfactory for term preeclampsia in a high-risk population. However, by addressing some of the limitations of the present study, the performance can potentially improve. This is essential before implementation is considered

"Spasimi d'ira, spasimi d'amore". Le atmosfere nell'opera lirica

Nowadays, atmospheres  are a frequent topic in the philosophy of music. However, ‘music’ is frequently understood with a generical meaning. On the contrary, this paper aims to apply the theory of atmospheres in a defined musical genre: the Italian Opera. Opera is grounded on three expressive elements – music, libretto and stage. For this reason, it is reductive to talk only about the relationship between music and atmospheres. The studies about Opera has often treated separately its three expressive levels; the theory of atmospheres, as olistic approach, seems to offer a renewed integrity to the analysis of Opera – by rediscovering its performative character. In this perspective, the hic et nunc of a particular performance is an important element to analyze as the score as the libretto, by paying attention to the eventual conflict between the ‘potential atmospheres’ of the texts (score and libretto) and the ‘derivative atmospheres’ of the contemporary staging – especially of the ‘displaced’ and ‘radical’ ones

Comparative synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanopowders via chemical and biological methods: integration into polymer matrices for surfaces.

In recent years, nanomaterial science has gained a lot of attention to produce innovative materials with several unique applications; moreover, approaches for nanomaterial production have been studied in depth to obtain new large-scale and cost-effective methods.This thesis aims to develop and characterize composite materials based on zinc oxide nanoparticles, known for their photocatalytic properties, dispersed into a polymer matrix. These nanoparticles were synthetized using both chemical and biological routes, and the obtained products were characterized and compared through various physical-chemical techniques.Furthermore, a polymer matrix was synthesized from several components, consisting of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), dopamine (Dopa), and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), with different chemical and physical properties. This one results in a copolymer with excellent adhesion capabilities.The following thesis is divided into six chapters, which illustrate the topics covered and explain the techniques used for the synthesis of nanopowders, then describe the work carried out and discuss the results.In detail, the first chapter introduces the concept of nanotechnology, with particular interest in the development of nanoparticles and the most common applications and production techniques. The second chapter focuses on zinc oxide with a general overview of this catalyst's properties and applications. The third chapter deals with polymeric materials and their characteristics and applications. The fourth chapter highlights the potential of each characterization technique, describing materials and methods used to synthesize and characterize zinc oxide nanoparticles and the polymer matrix.Results obtained from the characterization are shown in the fifth chapter. Instead, chapter six focuses on the photocatalytic tests performed on the system materials under study