Unthinking Capital: Conceptual and Terminological Landmarks

In this article I take issues with some Eurocentric limits of the two contradictions of capital: capital/labour and capital/nature. These limits are exposed by elaborating on two theoretical insights from researches in critical race studies and indigenous political ecologies: respectively thingification and uncommon. These insights produce a tension between colonialism and capitalism, which calls for a post-Eurocentric process of concept formation. This reconceptualization of capital is pursued through the notion of muri, which the Japanese thinker Uno Kōzō deployed to designate a bold non-western pathway to reading Capital. The article elaborates and formulates three conceptual and terminological landmarks to unthinking capital for a global social theory

The unbearable lightness of method: Concept formation in global social science

Four decades of radical criticisms against eurocentrism in historical sociology manifest today through a side effect: the allergy to elaborate a more adequate method enabling global studies to cope with multiplex challenges coming from heterogeneous geohistorical as well as epistemological standpoints. To be sure, the task of placing new methodological cornerstones urges, even though it remains inexplicit. For it solicits automatic suspicion of neo-positivist “conspiracies” or “neo-colonialism” of knowledge whereas scrutinized from postcolonial, decolonial or post-western perspectives. In turn, these same critical perspectives do not acknowledge their own inability to steam an appropriate methodology out of a pressing demand: struggling against the prejudice that the instances they express are in fact exclusively confined to provincial, exotic or solipsistic particularisms; therefore never as universalistic as the dominant ones. Here contradiction arises that calls for theoretical formulation in terms of methodological problem. The problem is enunciated as follows: how should research about large-scale/long-term processes of social change be conducted once agreed upon the world as a single yet multilayered spacetime of analysis, in order to cope with the asymmetrical power relations that materialize colonial history through heterarchies of class, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, knowledge, cosmology and ecology? To answer this question, the paper herewith faces one major issue among the many this formulation raises: concept formation. The argument develops in four steps: formulating the limits of Eurocentrism in terms of methodological issues within the social sciences at large; unthinking conceptualization in historical sociology; exploring heuristic pathways in postcolonial and decolonial thinking; formalize six methodological directions toward a protocol of concept formation for global social sciences

Fractional queues with catastrophes and their transient behaviour

Starting from the definition of fractional M/M/1 queue given in the reference by Cahoy et al. in 2015 and M/M/1 queue with catastrophes given in the reference by Di Crescenzo et al. in 2003, we define and study a fractional M/M/1 queue with catastrophes. In particular, we focus our attention on the transient behaviour, in which the time-change plays a key role. We first specify the conditions for the global uniqueness of solutions of the corresponding linear fractional differential problem. Then, we provide an alternative expression for the transient distribution of the fractional M/M/1 model, the state probabilities for the fractional queue with catastrophes, the distributions of the busy period for fractional queues without and with catastrophes and, finally, the distribution of the time of the first occurrence of a catastrophe

Effect of Water Regime and Nitrogen Fertilisation on Growth Dynamics, Water Status and Yield of Burley Tobacco (Nicotianatabacum L.)

AbstractThe results of a two-year research project into burley tobacco are reported and discussed. Three irrigation levels (40, 80 and 120% restitution of evapotranspiration (ET)) were factorially combined with four levels of nitrogen fertilisation (0, 80, 160 and 240 kg ha). Leaf area, leaf and stem dry matter and root development were measured. We monitored the water status of the 0-90 cm soil layer, the plants and stomatal resistance. Relations were also studied between leaf turgor pressure and plant growth, between the irrigation regime and plant water status, and between root and shoot development. Finally, water use efficiency (WUE) and quality and quantity of cured leaves yields were evaluated. Nitrogen fertilisation did not affect plant water status, although it promoted plant growth, both in terms of leaf area and leaf and stem dry matter, and induced a yield increase in quantity and quality. Our trial showed little interaction between nitrogen fertilization level and water regime. Under such agronomic condition, the margins for increasing plant growth with nitrogen fertilization are limited, which is why application of nitrogen rates in excess of 160 kg haappear inadvisable. The difference in irrigation volumes led to a different soil water content which affected plant water status, stomatal functioning, plant growth, both in the roots and shoots, yield and quality of the cured leaves. The latter did not vary with the increase in water volume, while yield increased. Water use efficiency increased as the irrigation volume decreased and varied during the cropping cycle, increasing until early bloom, then decreasing. Relations between leaf turgor pressure and plant growth highlighted the different response of plants subjected to water stress compared with non-stressed plants

Non-volcanic CO2 and CH4 degassing in an actively extending orogen, southern Apennines, Italy

The southern Apennines fold and thrust belt has been undergoing post-orogenic extension since ca. 700 kyr. Crustal extension controls active tectonics and seismogenesis in the mountain chain [1], with seismicity being characterized by low to moderate magnitude events punctuated by strong earthquakes [2]. Effective decoupling between deep and shallow structural levels is related to the strong rheological contrast produced by a fluid-saturated, clay-rich mélange zone interposed between buried autochthonous carbonates – continuous with those exposed in the Apulian foreland – and the allochthonous units. This mélange zone also acts as a seal preventing the migration of deep-seated aqueous fluids – as well as oil in the Basilicata region, which hosts the largest Europe’s onshore oil fields – towards the surface. On the other hand, the mountain belt is characterized by substantial gas flow, recorded as both distributed soil gas emissions and vigorous gas vents, associated with active faults at the surface. We measured a CO2 flux up to 34000 g/m-2 per day at a gas vent, as well as large amounts of He (up to 52 ppm), Rn (up to 228 kBq/m3) and CH4 (up to 5000 ppm). Overpressured CO2, which has been proposed as triggering normal fault earthquakes in the Apennines, has been interpreted as mostly of mantle origin. However, our new results from isotope analyses carried out on the carbon contained in both CO2 and CH4 indicate a dominant thermogenic origin for these gases, probably associated with the emplacement of magmatic sills within the lower section of the thick carbonate platform succession occurring at the base of the sedimentary cover in the southern Apennines. Our results bear major implication concerning the postulated occurrence of crustal faults allowing fluids to migrate directly from mantle depths to the surface

Next generation sequencing for gut microbiome characterization in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed animal by-product meals as an alternative to fishmeal protein sources

Animal by-product meals from the rendering industry could provide a sustainable and commercially viable alternative to fishmeal (FM) in aquaculture, as they are rich in most essential amino acids and contain important amounts of water-soluble proteins that improve feed digestibility and palatability. Among them, poultry by-product meal (PBM) have given encouraging results in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). However, the introduction of new ingredients in the diet needs to be carefully evaluated since diet is one of the main factors affecting the gut microbiota, which is a complex community that contributes to host metabolism, nutrition, growth, and disease resistance. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of partial replacement of dietary FM with a mix of animal by-product meals and plant proteins on intestinal microbiota composition of rainbow trout in relation to growth and feeding efficiency parameters. We used 1540 trout with an initial mean body weight of 94.6 +/- 14.2 g. Fish were fed for 12 weeks with 7 different feed formulations. The growth data showed that trout fed on diets rich in animal by-product meals grew as well as fish fed on control diet, which was rich in FM (37.3%) and PBM-free. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (MiSeq platform, Illumina) was utilised to study the gut microbial community profile. After discarding Cyanobacteria (class Chloroplast) and mitochondria reads a total of 2,701,274 of reads taxonomically classified, corresponding to a mean of 96,474 +/- 68,056 reads per sample, were obtained. Five thousand three hundred ninety-nine operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified, which predominantly mapped to the phyla of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. The ratio between vegetable and animal proteins proved to play a central role in determining microbiome profiles and Firmicutes and Proteobacteria phyla were particularly discriminatory for diet type in trout. Plant ingredients favoured a higher Firmicutes: Proteobacteria ratio than animal proteins. Acceptable abundance of Firmicutes was guaranteed by including at least 25% of vegetable proteins in the diet regardless of animal protein source and percentage. In summary animal by-product meals, as replacements to FM, gave good results in terms of growth performances and did not induce significant changes in gut microbial richness, thus proving to be a suitable protein source for use in rainbow trout aqua feed

PS-inSAR data analysis: Pre-seismic ground deformation in the 2009 l’aquila earthquake region

The accuracy of the millimetre-scale measurements made so far by the SAR systems, as well as the multi-temporal analysis methodologies, have provided impressive images of surface displacements in areas affected by strong earthquakes, and contributed to constrain the geometric and kinematic features of earthquake generating faults. The multi-temporal analysis of InSAR data is also being acknowledged as promising for the search of earthquake precursors. We have applied the multi-temporal PS-InSAR technique to the detection of pre- to post-seismic ground displacements in the region struck by the normal faulting 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. We have used ERS and ENVISAT PS-data sets from both ascending and descending orbits, covering a 20-year long time span. On the yearly-scale, we have identified a pre-seismic displacement pattern, which consists of opposite vertical motions that have affected the blocks in the hanging wall and footwall of the structure that is recognised as the surface trace of the earthquake-generating fault. In particular, we have highlighted a pre-seismic uplift for 4-5 years followed by subsidence (starting 6-8 months prior to the earthquake) of the hanging wall block, coeval to opposite vertical motions of the footwall block. We suggest that such a displacement pattern may represent an earthquake precursor signal

Effects of partially defatted Hermetia illucens meal in rainbow trout diet on hepatic methionine metabolism.

This study investigated, for the first time, the effects of replacement of fishmeal (FM) with insect meal from Hermetia illucens (HI) on the transcript levels of three genes involved in methionine (Met) metabolism in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) liver. Two target genes\u2014betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase (BHMT) and S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase (SAHH)\u2014are involved in Met resynthesis and the third one\u2014cystathionine \u3b2 synthase (CBS)\u2014is involved in net Met loss (taurine synthesis). We also investigated the levels of two Met metabolites involved in the maintenance of methyl groups and homocysteine homeostasis in the hepatic tissue: S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH). Three diets were formulated, an FM-based diet (HI0) and two diets in which 25% (HI25) and 50% (HI50) of FM was replaced with HI larvae meal. A 78-day feeding trial involved 360 rainbow trout with 178.9 \ub1 9.81 g initial average weight. Dietary replacement of up to 50% of FM with HI larvae meal, without any Met supplementation, did not negatively affect rainbow trout growth parameters and hepatic Met metabolism. In particular, Met availability from the insect-based diets directly modulated the transcript levels of two out of three target genes (CBS, SAHH) to maintain an optimal level of one-carbon metabolic substrates, i.e., the SAM:SAH ratio in the hepatic tissue

Quaternary deformation in SE Sicily: Insights into the life and cycles of forebulge fault systems

Integrated geological, geomorphological, and differential interferometry synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) data are used to constrain the timing and modes of activity of Quaternary fault systems in the Hyblean Plateau. This area, which represents a unique natural laboratory for studying surface deformation in relation to deep slab dynamics, has grown since middle Miocene times as a doubly plunging forebulge associated with slab rollback during NW-directed subduction. Bimodal extension has produced two mutually orthogonal normal fault systems. The detailed stratigraphic record provided by synrift sediments and postrift marine terraces allowed us to define the timing of activity of an early Pleistocene, flexure-related fault system, thus constraining the duration of a typical foreland extensional tectonic event to ~1.5 m.y. Subsequent late Quaternary to present deformation was dominated by strike-slip faulting associated with NW-oriented horizontal compression. During this latest stage, regional uplift progressively increased toward the thrust front to the NW and was accompanied by differential uplift accommodated by dip-slip components of motion along active NNW-trending faults. The general active tectonic setting of the study area, characterized by NW-oriented horizontal compression consistent with major plate convergence, and the regional uplift pattern can both be explained within the framework of intraplate shortening and foreland rebound following complete slab detachment, a major geodynamic event interpreted to have taken place at ca. 0.7 Ma in southern Italy