Geographical scattering in Italian inner areas, politics and COVID-19

In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has been fervently considered from the perspective of various disciplines in the scientific community. Many of the proposed approaches are tied to reflections on the imminent and future effects of the pandemic. This contribution begins with a study of the recent past in Italy, analyzing the hurdles in politics that came to light due to the wave of COVID-19 infections worldwide. Particularly, the research considers the criticality of the geographical scale of reference in Italy‘s political actions. COVID-19 induced a need for the government to interact with people locally, especially through small municipalities in geographically central, inner areas, is emphasized. The main aim of this research is to attribute to this specific COVID-19 disaster the instrumental role of turning on the lights on the need to intervene in the inner areas of Italy, often very neglected. So the focus of the work is on inner areas and the probable catalysis of the political management dynamics that concern them, as an effect of the COVID's impacts. The pandemic is, therefore, only the contingent phenomenon which, in this case, can perhaps accelerate political interventions in inner areas. To explain the reason for this, we show how the vulnerability of inner areas, already generally risky, has become one of the weak links in the chain of protection from COVID-19 in terms of a geographical scattering phenomenon

Remote sensing based on time variance control in configurable area partitioning

Abstract. In this paper a sensor data fusion approach for characteristics field monitoring, based on time variance control model, is proposed. Distributed sensing and remote processing are the basic features of the employed architecture. In fact, in order to obtain meaningful information about the temporal and spatial variations, which characterize the field levels of some characteristics (electromagnetic, air pollution, seismic, etc), a distributed network of wireless and mobile smart-sensors has been designed.Starting from the partitioned configuration of a monitored geographic areas, this model allows to take into account the different levels of degradation over time in the sensors' performances associated with the different geographic partitions, progressively increasing the severity of the control. To this end, through the introduction of a reliability curve, a revised traditional control chart for variables is proposed.The proposed approach, further constituting an element of the scientific debate, aims to be a useful operational tool for professionals and managers employed in the environment control

Procedura per la valutazione della qualità dell'aria in prossimità del plesso universitario di via Terracini

Lo scopo principale di questo elaborato di tesi è stato quello di realizzare una procedura per la valutazione dell’impatto del traffico veicolare sulla qualità dell’aria esterna nei dintorni del plesso universitario di Via Terracini e di indagare su una possibile correlazione tra i due fattori. A tal proposito i dati di concentrazione di biossido d’azoto, rilevati da una centralina installata su un edificio della Facoltà di Ingegneria, sono stati posti a confronto con i valori limite di concentrazione previsti dal D.Lgs. 155/2010 e successivamente con i dati di flusso di traffico veicolare

The Iconographic Exploitation of the Urban Space for the Amplification of the Symbols of the Camorra. The Case of Spanish Quarters, Naples, Italy

This contribution is inspired by a current scenario regarding the city of Naples, Italy, where a strong popular uprising is underway against local institutions that are destroying the Camorra murals celebrating its “heroes” died in “war”. These events are very interesting to analyse the theme of the iconographic exploitation of urban space by the criminal part of society in order to amplify the identity symbols of a tribal structure such as the Camorra. While on the one hand the analysis aims to show the positive response of civil society and institutions in eradicating these celebra tory icons of evil, on the other hand the research intends to emphasise the profound and worrying systemic modification of public space according to subjective and nega tive canons that, however, are also shared by some intellectuals and even an adminis trative cour

The Iconographic Exploitation of the Urban Space for the Amplification of the Symbols of the Camorra. The Case of Spanish Quarters, Naples, Italy

This contribution is inspired by a current scenario regarding the city of Naples, Italy, where a strong popular uprising is underway against local institutions that are destroying the Camorra murals celebrating its “heroes” died in “war”. These events are very interesting to analyse the theme of the iconographic exploitation of urban space by the criminal part of society in order to amplify the identity symbols of a tribal structure such as the Camorra. While on the one hand the analysis aims to show the positive response of civil society and institutions in eradicating these celebra-tory icons of evil, on the other hand the research intends to emphasise the profound and worrying systemic modification of public space according to subjective and nega-tive canons that, however, are also shared by some intellectuals and even an adminis-trative court

Three-dimensional imaging and reconstruction of the whole ovary and testis: a new frontier for the reproductive scientist.

AbstractThe 3D functional reconstruction of a whole organ or organism down to the single cell level and to the subcellular components and molecules is a major future scientific challenge. The recent convergence of advanced imaging techniques with an impressively increased computing power allowed early attempts to translate and combine 2D images and functional data to obtain in-silico organ 3D models. This review first describes the experimental pipeline required for organ 3D reconstruction: from the collection of 2D serial images obtained with light, confocal, light-sheet microscopy or tomography, followed by their registration, segmentation and subsequent 3D rendering. Then, we summarise the results of investigations performed so far by applying these 3D image analyses to the study of the female and male mammalian gonads. These studies highlight the importance of working towards a 3D in-silico model of the ovary and testis as a tool to gain insights into their biology during the phases of differentiation or adulthood, in normal or pathological conditions. Furthermore, the use of 3D imaging approaches opens to key technical improvements, ranging from image acquisition to optimisation and development of new processing tools, and unfolds novel possibilities for multidisciplinary research

Un’analisi geografica delle dinamiche del lavoro pre- e post-pandemia negli Stati Uniti

Il presente contributo, partendo dai dati del Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), il principale database delle agenzie investigative del governo statunitense, analizza da un punto di vista geografico le dinamiche relative all’andamento dei posti di lavoro nei diversi settori produttivi pre- e post-pandemia.L’approccio metodologico proposto si basa su un test di ipotesi bivalente. Una prima ipotesi è relativa alla possibile differenziazione geografica tra gli Stati, in relazione alle variazioni nel numero dei posti di lavoro persi e recuperati. Una seconda ipotesi attiene alla possibile differenziazione tra i vari settori produttivi a cui i dati si riferiscono.I risultati hanno mostrato tre particolari evidenze, una forte omogeneità delle variazioni analizzate tra tutti gli Stati, una particolare autocorrelazione spaziale riconoscibile sia negli Stati caratterizzati da perdite maggiori, sia in quelli a minore e media intensità di perdite, e infine, un’assenza di differenziali settoriali

The effect of angiotensin receptor blockers on C-reactive protein and other circulating inflammatory indices in man

Anti-inflammatory properties may contribute to the pharmacological effects of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), a leading therapeutic class in the management of hypertension and related cardiovascular and renal diseases. That possibility, supported by consistent evidence from in-vitro and animal studies showing pro-inflammatory properties of angiotensin II, has been evaluated clinically by measuring the effect of ARBs on C-reactive protein and other circulating indices of inflammation (e-selectin, adhesion molecules, interleukin-6, tissue necrosis factor-alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) of potential clinical relevance, a body of evidence that this paper aims to review

New insights into the use of Ultra Long Period Cepheids as cosmological standard candles

Ultra Long Period Cepheids (ULPs) are pulsating variable stars with a period longer than 80d and have been hypothesized to be the extension of the Classical Cepheids (CCs) at higher masses and luminosities. If confirmed as standard candles, their intrinsic luminosities, 1 to 3 mag brighter than typical CCs, would allow to reach the Hubble flow and, in turn, to determine the Hubble constant, H_0, in one step, avoiding the uncertainties associated with the calibration of primary and secondary indicators. To investigate the accuracy of ULPs as cosmological standard candles, we first collect all the ULPs known in the literature. The resulting sample includes 63 objects with a very large metallicity spread with 12 + log([O/H]) ranging from 7.2 to 9.2 dex. The analysis of their properties in the VI period-Wesenheit plane and in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) supports the hypothesis that the ULPs are the extension of CCs at longer periods, higher masses and luminosities, even if, additional accurate and homogeneous data and a devoted theoretical scenario are needed to get firm conclusions. Finally, the three M31 ULPs, 8-0326, 8-1498 and H42, are investigated in more detail. For 8-1498 and H42, we cannot confirm their nature as ULPs, due to the inconsistency between their position in the CMD and the measured periods. For 8-0326, the light curve model fitting technique applied to the available time-series data allows us to constrain its intrinsic stellar parameters, distance and reddening.Comment: MNRAS - Accepted 2020 November 19. Received 2020 November 19; in original form 2020 July 15 - 9 pages and 8 figure