Handwritten culture through digital native eyes: student participation in the digital fragmentology project Textus invisibilis

The present paper addresses the issue of how interest-driven learning can enhance an attitude of student-generated inquiry in the learning process so to promote student participation in university research projects. The research question is how wonder as an epistemic emotion may sustain students’ interest-generated questioning, and how the latter may influence the design of a university research project. As a case-study, the paper describes a laboratory on palaeography which took place in Spring 2019 at an Italian State Archive within a University bachelor program in the context of a digital fragmentology project. To design the laboratory and establish qualitative analysis methods for its data, an interdisciplinary educational approach was designed that combines interest-driven learning, emotion theory, value theory, hermeneutics, and User Experience, on the background of Ernst Cassirer’s view of a human being as an animal symbolicum. In the laboratory, the students’ questions and hypotheses arising from their interaction with historical scripts and Medieval handwriting culture are helping redesign some aspects of the research project Textus invisibilis both on the level of the research design and of the team composition, as well as pointing to a novel relevance of state archives and historical libraries in higher education

Introduction: On Lying

What happens when we lie? What do we lie for? Are we always aware of it? Can we define its nature once and for all? Since the beginning of history, human beings have tried to define and interpret lying according to criteria provided to them by changing cultural environments and worldviews, so to give this phenomenon a definite place in their existence. All domains of human knowledge – from mythmaking to philosophy, from theology to neuroscience, from art to linguistics – have been involved. This special issue of Linguæ & aims to contribute to this multi- and interdisciplinary discourse by proposing a common core of insights on lying through contributions from the humanities and psychology

Introduction: On Lying

none1noWhat happens when we lie? What do we lie for? Are we always aware of it? Can we define its nature once and for all? Since the beginning of history, human beings have tried to define and interpret lying according to criteria provided to them by changing cultural environments and worldviews, so to give this phenomenon a definite place in their existence. All domains of human knowledge – from mythmaking to philosophy, from theology to neuroscience, from art to linguistics – have been involved. This special issue of Linguæ & aims to contribute to this multi- and interdisciplinary discourse by proposing a common core of insights on lying through contributions from the humanities and psychology.openAlessandra MolinariMolinari, Alessandr

Sicily in Transition Research Project : Investigations at Castronovo di Sicilia. Results and Prospects 2015

Il progetto Sicily in Transition è nato dalla collaborazione delle Università di York e di Roma Tor Vergata, con il pieno ap-poggio della Soprintendenza ai BB. CC. AA di Palermo. La finalità della nostra ricerca è quella di analizzare, attraverso il registro archeologico, in quale modo i mutamenti di regime politico hanno influenzato organizzazione, composizione e stili di vita delle popolazioni soggette. L’arco di tempo considerato va dal VI al XIII secolo, periodo nel quale la Sicilia ha visto diverse dominazioni: quella bizantina, islamica, normanna e sveva. Sicily in Transition prevede di analizzare con metodi in parte nuovi, in parte più tradizionali, sia insiemi di reperti (ecofatti e manufatti) prodotti da precedenti scavi, sia di acquisire dati attraverso nuove indagini. In particolare gli scriventi hanno scelto di indagare un’area molto promettente della Sicilia centrale: il territorio di Castronovo di Sicilia. Qui, in due campagne di ricerca durate ciascuna quattro settimane, sono state realizzate indagini magnetometriche, ricognizioni di superficie, di archeologia dell’architettura e sondaggi stratigrafici. La finalità era quella di valutare il potenziale archeologico dei principali siti storici del territorio. I primi risultati sono promettenti in relazione alla varietà tipologica e cronologica dei diversi insediamenti identificati: una fortezza dei secoli VII-IX sul Monte Kassar; un fortilizio con fasi del pieno medioevo e dell’età moderna sul Colle San Vitale; un ampio villaggio non difeso con fasi dall’età tardoantica al medioevo, incluse importanti testimonianze di età islamica, nell’area del Casale San Pietro. Le indagini preliminari hanno quindi confermato le ampie potenzialità informative dell’intero territorio di Castronovo rispetto ai temi della nostra ricerca e stanno quindi consentendo di programmare gli interventi futuri

Selective Photooxidation and Photoreduction Processes at Surface-Modified by Grafted Vanadyl

Titanium dioxide was surface-modified by grafting vanadyl species using vanadyl triisopropoxide as a precursor. The resulting material, (VOx)n/TiO2, was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and photoelectrochemical methods. Photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol and cyclohexene were used to test oxidation selectivity and 4-nitro-benzaldehyde to assess selective photoreduction. The surface-modified TiO2exhibits an enhanced selectivity to benzaldehyde in the photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol in an aqueous medium and an increase of cyclohexenol formation in the case of cyclohexene in nonaqueous solvent. The salient result is the 100% selective reduction of the nitrogroup in 4-nitro-benzaldehyde achieved under mild experimental conditions

Preparation, Characterisation, and Photocatalytic Behaviour of Co-TiO2 with Visible Light Response

The preparation of cobalt-modifiedTiO2(Co-TiO2) was carried out by the incipient impregnation method starting from commercialTiO2(Degussa, P-25) and cobalt acetate. XPS data show that cobalt is incorporated as divalent ion, and it is likely present within few subsurface layers. No appreciable change in structural-morphologic properties, such as surface area and anatase/rutile phase ratio, was observed. Conversely, Co addition brings about conspicuous changes in the point of zero charge and in surface polarity. Diffuse reflectance spectra feature a red shift in light absorption that is dependent on the amount of cobalt. The influence of cobalt addition on the performance ofTiO2as a photocatalyst in the degradation of 4-chlorophenol and Bisphenol A is investigated. The results show that the modified oxide presents a higher photoactivity both for illumination with UV-visible (λ>360 nm) and visible light (λ>420 nm;λ>450 nm), and that this enhancement depends on the amount of the added species and on the final thermal treatment in the preparation step. We also show that Co-TiO2is a more active catalyst than pureTiO2for the reduction ofO2in the dark, which is an important reaction in the overall photocatalytic processes

Epitranscriptomics as a New Layer of Regulation of Gene Expression in Skeletal Muscle: Known Functions and Future Perspectives

Epitranscriptomics refers to post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression via RNA modifications and editing that affect RNA functions. Many kinds of modifications of mRNA have been described, among which are N6-methyladenosine (m6A), N1-methyladenosine (m1A), 7-methylguanosine (m7G), pseudouridine (Ψ), and 5-methylcytidine (m5C). They alter mRNA structure and consequently stability, localization and translation efficiency. Perturbation of the epitranscriptome is associated with human diseases, thus opening the opportunity for potential manipulations as a therapeutic approach. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the functional roles of epitranscriptomic marks in the skeletal muscle system, in particular in embryonic myogenesis, muscle cell differentiation and muscle homeostasis processes. Further, we explored high-throughput epitranscriptome sequencing data to identify RNA chemical modifications in muscle-specific genes and we discuss the possible functional role and the potential therapeutic applications

Acute decompensated heart failure in the emergency department: Identification of early predictors of outcome

Identification of clinical factors that can predict mortality and hospital early readmission in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients can help emergency department (ED) physician optimize the care-path and resource utilization.We conducted a retrospective observational study of 530 ADHF patients evaluated in the ED of an Italian academic hospital in 2013.Median age was 82 years, females were 55%; 31.1% of patients were discharged directly from the ED (12.5% after short staying in the observation unit), while 68.9% were admitted to a hospital ward (58.3% directly from the ED and 10.6% after a short observation). At 30 days, readmission rate was 17.7% while crude mortality rate was 9.4%; this latter was higher in patients admitted to a hospital ward in comparison to those who were discharged directly from the ED (12.6% vs. 2.4%, P\u200a 104\u200amm Hg, POS\u200a>\u200a94%, may guide the ED physician to identify low-risk patients who can be safely discharged directly from the emergency room or after observation unit stay