Characterization of Pinus nigra var. laricio Maire bark extracts at the analytical and pilot scale

Pinus nigra var. laricio bark and its hot-water extracts (HWE) obtained at an analytical and pilot plant scale have been characterized in terms of phenolic extractives, condensed tannins (CTs), carbohydrates and inorganic compounds. Analytical extractions with aqueous acetone were also performed for comparison with HWE. The bark contains 35.5 g kg−1 CT, and two-thirds of it could be extracted. Analytical HWE at 75°C led to a total yield of 56.4 g kg−1. The extracts are mainly composed of phenolic compounds (50.7%) and pectins (19.7%). CTs amount to 17.9% of the extracts and are procyanidins with a mean degree of polymerization (DP) of about 9. Non-tannin phenolic oligomers also occurred in the extracts, which could be identified by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) as lignin fragments. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) revealed that the CT is a flavanol derivative in methylated form. Further characterization and tailoring of the HWE properties is needed in the context of their specific application

Biblioteca sociale

Questo libro rappresenta un contributo importante per cogliere lo sviluppo e seguire la evoluzione della biblioteca nel tempo fino al momento attuale. Lo spirito che anima l'opera è quello di sollecitare le nuove possibilità di valorizzare e di fare vivere e crescere il patrimonio culturale che il mondo della biblioteca rappresenta

Sport as a cultural model : italian women's soccer over the past ten years

The paper presents sport as an important cultural model in modern Italian society, fully integrated into the logic of consumption, communication and spectacularization. In this sense, sport emerges as a field in the Bourdieuan sense, or rather, “a socially defined independent sphere with strong frameworks of sense and meaning”. Sport creates social and cultural capital, often objectified in the result (record), and it also reproduces and reinforces social distinction within each particular sport. An example is provided by the case study presented herein: Italian women’s soccer over the past ten years. The research, carried out on a representative sample of one hundred female players, shows that stereotypes and social prejudices associated with gender dominate the game. At the same time, it can be observed that the dynamics of communication and consumption, closely related to one another in the sphere of sports over the last ten years, reproduce and subsequently reinforce the separation of men and women in social relationships also found in society. For a long time the history of sport was characterized by a clear male predominance, and even today, sports are marked by deep gender differences: men participate more in sports in general and at the same time male sports are more relevant economically and culturally

La prevenzione del disagio e la promozione del benessere nella scuola

E' noto che fornire un sostegno sociale a scuola è un metodo per incrementare la frequenza e consentire ai giovani provenienti da ambienti svantaggiati di beneficiare dell'insegnamento impartito. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è di mostrare come e perchè la promozione del benessere nella scuola è fondamentale nella carriera di salute degli adolescenti. Vengono illustrati i primi risultati di un intervento effettuato nella scuola secondaria di primo livello, l'indagine è condotta dal Laboratorio di comunicazione della salute e del benessere e promossa da un ente locale territoriale. L'obiettivo è quello di fornire un contributo per migliorare lo stile di vita dei giovani adolescenti

Sport Generated by New Media in the COVID-19 Crisis: An Analysis of Female Fitness Enthusiasts

The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has lead to the integration of physical activity, through the Web, into everyday life, giving rise to new concepts of identity and unprecedented forms of sociality. The aim of the present investigation was to understand and interpret the experiences of a group of Web users, namely their multi-faceted digital identity, social interactions, and the emerging relationship between their offline and online lives. We were thus able to verify the hypothesis that the online and offline worlds can become integrated generating an augmented reality both in terms of identity and relationships. Specifically, we investigated a Facebook group of female fitness enthusiasts, who were obliged to alter their approach to sport and physical activity following the adoption of government measures to contain the spread of the virus: lockdown (phase 1) and post-lockdown (phase 2). The research was conducted using both qualitative methodology, consisting of participant observation and semi-structured interviews, and the quantitative tool of the questionnaire. Our results show that the physical world and digital world brought together digital communication strategies and real physical bodies moving towards a connected integrated model of sports and physical activity

Cultura e benessere. Il capitale sociale della partecipazione culturale

Il presente contributo mira a indagare attraverso un approccio di carattere esplorativo circoscritto la relazione tra la percezione del benessere soggettivo e l’esistenza di risorse socio-culturali. Si tratta di osservare se la partecipazione culturale possa in qualche modo contribuire al benessere soggettivo. I dati confermano che gli appartenenti alle associazioni culturali posseggono elevati livelli di capitale sociale, positivamente associato alla partecipazione culturale. Rispetto alla percezione di benessere si può sostenere che, mentre il livello di soddisfazione per la propria vita si correla con le aspettative socio-culturali soddisfatte, la realizzazione personale si lega maggiormente al capitale umano. Parole chiave

Il postmoderno.La comunicazione, i luoghi, gli oggetti

Nel panorama della postmodernità, dimensione culturale che caratterizza la nostra epoca, si delineano svariati scenari che rompono con i modelli a cui la modernità ci aveva abituati. I caratteri assunti dai diversi oggetti della comunicazione esprimono appieno la complessità della cultura postmoderna. Sinergia tra arcaismo e tecnologia, pervasività del digitale, sviluppo di nuove forme di conversazione e di interazione in rete, riscrittura delle coordinate spazio-temporali, improbabili combinazioni di mondi reali e mondi fittizi, moltiplicazione delle identità, sono alcuni degli aspetti che questo libro cerca di analizzare, andando alle radici del pensiero postmoderno, per indagarne i fondamenti e mostrandone anche gli effetti e i prodotti nei diversi ambiti della società. Con la postmodernità si inaugura una nuova estetica legata al sentire, le relazioni sociali appaiono liquide, le scritture si destrutturano fortemente, i luoghi perdono consistenza e i tempi si frantumano, la realtà di smaterializza fino alla virtualità, gli ambienti urbani si ricompongono citando il passato. Questo lavoro tenta di cogliere tutte queste trasformazioni e di interpretarle in maniera critica, offrendo un quadro della società contemporanea fortemente plasmato dalla cultura postmoderna

Sport Participation and Community Capacity Building in Disadvantaged Urban Communities

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between sport and community by examining the role played by sports participation in community engagement and community capacity building in disadvantaged urban communities. From a conceptual standpoint, the study is based on the sociological theory of the community and Community Capacity Building (CCB) theory, which provide overviews of the concept of community and community capacity and its characteristics. Four disadvantaged urban communities were investigated. Two of these communities had sports programs, while the other two did not. The online questionnaire methodology was adopted to assess the socio-demographic characteristics and community engagement of the participants (knowledge of programs and participation in community activities), and subsequently, an analysis of the online social media narratives of the community members themselves was developed to measure the characteristics of their community capacity building. We found that community engagement and community capacity values were higher in the communities with sports programs. These findings are promising and suggest that approaches based on sports participation development could be fruitful, particularly in disadvantaged communities

THE PROMOTION OF WELLBEING IN ADOLESCENT MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS: HIGH INTENSITY COMMUNICATION AND SELF-ESTEEM IN SCHOOL ORGANIZED SPORTS

Aim: The project was designed to foster wellbeing in adolescent subjects, using high intensity ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). Methods: Specifically, self-esteem was measured using standardized tests administered to the subjects, ranging in age from 11 to 14 at the beginning of the investigation and again after two years. Results:In our study, we found a high level of wellbeing as regards perceived self-esteem in school and sportsamong 11/12 year olds, and this is consistent with national studies. However, in contrast with the national situation, overall, we found an increase in perceived wellbeing among 13/14 year olds as regards perceived selfesteem in both school and sports.This finding points to the effectiveness of our intervention. Conclusions:The development of skills thanks to learning methods supported by high intensity ICT, proved to be important in boosting the perceived self-esteem of the participating subjects, enhancing their ability to achieve a greater sense of wellbeing.