Fascismo: organizzazione dello Stato e sistema economico

Il paper analizza il rapporto tra organizzazione dello Stato e sistema economico, verificando se al processo di costruzione dello Stato totalitario ne corrisponda uno analogo nel campo delle politiche e delle istituzioni economiche. La tesi argomentata suggerisce che la politica economica del regime è la fusione di strategie gia' presenti in eta' liberale e dell’adesione al mainstream affermatosi dopo il 1929 in tutta l’area del capitalismo, che assegna alla presenza dello Stato in economia un peso crescente. Il paper conclude che, eccettuato il corporativismo, non e' esistito un progetto originale di trasformazione ne' delle politiche ne' delle istituzioni economiche.

Studying the AGN-Merger Connection through Visual Classifications of CANDELS Galaxies

Mergers play a vital role in galaxy evolution, having the potential to trigger Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) activity, star formation, or changes in morphology. In this work, we investigate whether galaxy mergers have an effect on AGN activity in the galaxies involved. We used a visual classification scheme to classify the morphologies of nearly 50,000 galaxies and identify galaxy mergers in the CANDELS fields, a Multi-Cycle Treasury Program using the Hubble Space Telescope. We use IR and X-ray selection criteria to identify IR and X-ray AGN, and matched controls to both our AGN subsample and merger subsample. We investigated the fraction of mergers that host AGN, as well as the fraction of AGN that are found in merging systems, to study the AGN-merger connection from multiple angles. We also investigated the properties of mergers, such as the mass ratios of early-stage mergers, and their star forming properties. We find that galaxies involved in a merger or interaction are more likely than non-merging galaxies to host AGN. The fraction of merging systems that host AGN is 0.034±0.002,compared to an AGN fraction of 0.023±0.001 in non-merging systems. We also find that IR AGN are more likely to be found in merging systems, with a merger fraction of 0.353+0.021−0.019, compared to a merger fraction of 0.225+0.007−0.006 in control galaxies without AGN activity. This is likely because these are more dusty and obscured, and are expected to be observed earlier in the merger process, when merger signatures are more visible. The AGN detected in either the X-ray or both the IR and X-ray are even less likely to be found in merging systems, as the merger signatures are expected to fade later in the merging process. These results show that mergers play an important role in driving AGN activity

For the sake of development? Municipal government and local development in Emilia-Romagna and Turin (1945-1975)

This paper (1) examines two areas of Italy, with very different political subcultures and production systems,with the aim of making a comparative analysis of the role of local government policies in stimulating growth processesover the thirty-year post war period.Historians now agree that the policies of Italian local governments were a major factor in the processes ofeconomic growth and the spread of social services. They acted through a highly varied mix of policies, includingregulatory processes (town planning, coordinated local programming, etc.), operations enabling institutions to providethe local environment with specific public goods (industrial estates, business services etc.) as well as redistributionpolicies (i.e. the setting up and spread of local welfare systems and local tax systems).This influential steering role of local administrations, marked in some cases by the gradual inception ofspecific institutional authoritativeness, was not distributed uniformly over the whole of Italy and there were significantasymmetries between areas.A comparative analysis is made of the "Emilia-Romagna model" of local government, controlled by an ItalianCommunist hegemony in a context of small and medium sized firms, and the model of the city of Turin, which was basedon an industrial Ford model because of the presence of the Fiat factory. The two models are compared from theperspective of actors and their different interests. Our aim is to gauge the nature and intensity of the local institutionalactions that accompanied and promoted the processes of development

L'esperienza di decentramento istituzionale in Italia e lo sviluppo locale

Il paper rappresenta un primo passo verso una riflessione organica sul tema del decentramento istituzionale in relazione al problema dello sviluppo locale in un’ottica temporale di lungo periodo (partendo cioè dall’unificazione del Regno d’Italia) e intreccia tra loro più piani di analisi: dalle vicende che riguardano gli assetti istituzionali della nazione (sospesi costantemente all’interno del dibattito tra accentramento e decentramento) a quelle che riguardano invece la concreta attività degli enti politici periferici. L’analisi mostra come all’interno di un quadro istituzionale storicamente caratterizzato da un forte accentramento statale, emergano tuttavia i fili di una costante ricerca di protagonismo da parte delle istituzioni politiche locali, le quali, in modo particolare sebbene non esclusivo negli anni repubblicani, “forzano” i limiti normativi dei propri spazi di intervento, facendosi carico direttamente – seppure con intensità e modalità differenti nelle diverse aree territoriali del paese – dei problemi dello sviluppo economico locale.

Capitalism as Creative Destruction

Opening with an image of a Boeing aircraft falling to the ground, Hito Steyerl's video In Free Fall (2010) significantly differs from documentaries produced in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in that the work does not embrace a straightforward and detached didactic approach. Instead it mimics the spectacular quality of consumer culture by presenting the audience with a nerve-racking combination of theatrical performances, lively animations, clips of aeroplane explosions and snippets from television science programmes about recycling. This act of mimicry demands attention: is Steyerl's work an elegy to the possibility of critical distance under the conditions of financial capitalism and an example of accelerationist politics? Or is it an attempt to create an aesthetic of ‘cognitive mapping’? This article offers an in-depth analysis of Steyerl's appropriation strategies and discusses them in relation to the theory of capitalism and schizophrenia of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari

Istituzioni, sviluppo e sistema sociale: il caso padano

Il paper prende in esame il rapporto tra l’attivita' delle istituzioni locali e i processi dello sviluppo economico, soffermandosi su tre indicatori specifici: 1) la produzione di beni pubblici; 2) la realizzazione di politiche economiche “locali”; 3) la strutturazione di sistemi di welfare locali. L’ambito territoriale analizzato abbraccia il segmento centrale dell’Emilia (Parma, Reggio Emilia e Modena) in una prospettiva di “lunga durata” (il primo settantennio del ‘900). Il paper si sofferma su numerosi elementi empirici che accreditano la rilevanza di tali interventi pubblici per sostenere lo sviluppo economico e per amplificarne gli effetti.

Effects of a medium cut-off (Theranova®) dialyser on haemodialysis patients: a prospective, cross-over study

Background. Despite significant advances in haemodialysis (HD) in recent decades, current dialysis techniques are limited by inadequate removal of uraemic solutes such as middle molecules and protein-bound uraemic toxins. Novel medium cut-off (MCO) membrane or \u2018expanded haemodialysis\u2019 (HDx) provides diffusive removal of conventional and large middle molecular weight uraemic toxins, with marginal albumin leak. Methods. This prospective, open-label, controlled, cross-over pilot study compared HDx (novel MCO membrane TheranovaVR 400) and conventional HD in 20 prevalent HD patients. Biochemical, dialysis adequacy and safety measures (adverse events, infections and hospitalization frequency) were recorded. Ten patients underwent conventional HD high-flux dialyser and 10 patients underwent HDx for 3 months, and the patients then switched and received the other treatment for a further 3 months. Results. Treatment with HDx was associated with a significant reduction in serum albumin concentration [median (interquartile range) reduction 0.45 g/dL (0.575 to 0.05); P \ubc 0.025]. However, median albumin levels were 3.5 g/dL and no patients had clinical symptoms of hypoalbuminaemia or needed intravenous albumin administration. The number of infections was lower in patients treated with HDx (n \ubc 7/19) compared with patients treated with HD (n \ubc 14/20; P \ubc 0.03). Patients treated with HDx had reduced levels of interleukin (IL)-1b (from 0.06 6 0.02 pg/mL versus 0.28 6 0.18 pg/mL with HD) and IL-6 (6.45 6 1.57 pg/mL versus 9.48 6 2.15 pg/mL), while tumour necrosis factor-a levels remain unchanged. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that the chronic use of the novel MCO dialyser TheranovaVR appears to be safe and well-tolerated, without serious side effects or hypoalbuminaemia, as well as fewer infections. These results need to be confirmed in larger randomized clinical trials

A new PCR based molecular method for early and precise quantification of parasitization in the emerging olive pest Dasineura oleae

BACKGROUND: Dasineura oleae (Angelini 1831) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) was considered a minor pest in olive orchards, but in recent years severe outbreaks have been registered in several Mediterranean countries. Damage is caused by the feeding activity of larvae that induce gall formations and alters the physiological activity of the leaves. In Italy, this pest may be controlled by four Hymenoptera parasitoid species belonging to Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera such as Platygaster demades Walker 1835, Platygaster oleae Szelenyi 1940 (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), Mesopolobus aspilus (Walker 1835) and Mesopolobus mediterraneus (Mayr 1903) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), but parasitization becomes evident only after gall dissection. RESULTS: In this study, we aim to: (i) design a primer for the detection of specimens belonging to Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera; (ii) develop a multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) protocol combined to a fast samples DNA extraction method; (iii) apply the developed protocol to field-collected specimens and compare this method with traditional techniques based on visual estimation of parasitism rate on larvae. Primers were designed to anneal with cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences of Platygaster and Mesopolobus genera while protocols were developed to be fast and capable to process several samples at the same time. Molecular analyses demonstrated to provide almost double of the parasitism rate assessed by visual inspection. Furthermore, on second instar larvae the PCR-based method was able to detect ten-fold times the parasitization rate estimated by visual inspection. CONCLUSION: The application on a greater scale of this newly developed method could be fundamental in the determination of the biological control potential in olive orchards

Functional Biodiversity in Different Agricultural Systems: Methods and Techniques for Conservation and Enhancement of Ecosystem Services

The general aim of my PhD was focused on study the role of different agricultural systems in promoting functional biodiversity. In particular, the importance of habitat management techniques on natural enemy enhancement and conservation was considered at farm level with two-years samplings. Predation by polyphagous predators, which represents one of the most important ecosystem services in conservation biological control, was assessed using different approaches. In this context, molecular marker and artificial caterpillars (sentinel preys made by plasticine) were used to investigate the role of polyphagous predators in different cultivated systems. The hypothesis of my thesis is in agreement with the general assumption that diversified agro-ecosystems are more suitable for natural enemies than simplified ones. In vegetable system, natural enemies should be also favoured by the presence of Agro-ecological Service Crops by means of food supply, refuges and shelters. Moreover, we hypothesized that sustainable approaches such as green manure and roller crimper reduce soil disturbance and strengthen the ecosystem services, in comparison with conventional methods.Le attività di ricerca svolte durante il mio PhD sono state focalizzate allo studio dei metodi e delle tecniche per conservare e promuovere la biodiversità funzionale negli agro-ecosistemi. Campionamenti biennali, effettuati a livello di azienda, hanno permesso di valutare l’azione dei predatori polifagi nei confronti degli insetti dannosi utilizzando marker molecolari e bruchi artificiali di plastilina (dummy caterpillars). L’ipotesi della mia tesi è in accordo con il generale presupposto secondo cui i nemici naturali sono favoriti dai sistemi agricoli diversificati. A tal proposito, un punto chiave del dottorato ha riguardato l’influenza che le “Agro-ecological Service Crops (ASC)” hanno nei confronti degli insetti utili e dannosi in sistemi orticoli biologici. Difatti, è ben noto come le ASC avvantaggino i nemici naturali grazie a una maggiore disponibilità di cibo e di rifugi riducendo di conseguenza le infestazioni; sebbene tale affermazione debba essere valutata caso per caso. Inoltre, abbiamo ipotizzato che tecniche agronomiche quali il roller crimper e il sovescio riducano il disturbo del suolo rafforzando i servizi ecosistemici rispetto ai metodi convenzionali