Gabriella D\u2019AGOSTINO \u23b8Sottotraccia: Percorsi tra antropologia e contemporaneit\ue0, Acireale-Roma, Bonanno, 2016

Book review of Gabriella D’Agostino, Sottotraccia. Percorsi tra antropologia e contemporaneità, Acireale-Roma, Bonanno, 2016, pp.163.Recensione di Gabriella D’Agostino, Sottotraccia. Percorsi tra antropologia e contemporaneità, Acireale-Roma, Bonanno, 2016, pp.163

Incertezza, precariet\ue0, capacit\ue0 di immaginazione del futuro e modernit\ue0: un confronto tra Appadurai e De Martino

Though apparently distanced for their temporal and historical moment, their conceptual terminology, their interlocutors and the fields of their empirical research, it is possible to get some notable parallelisms of theoretical vision between the anthropological work of De Martino and that of Appadurai. In both cases, their starting point is in fact the uncertainty of human condition and social orders, and at the heart of their theory, there stands the issue of identifying the different kinds of ethos and cultural activity which permit people to historically and existentially confront this uncertainty through establishing their belonging to a \u201ccultural homeland\u201d (De Martino) or forms of social imagination which shape the capacities of constructively projecting themselves into the future (Appadurai). In this article, I trace a comparison among different components of both anthropologists\u2019 theoretical apparatus, trying not only to sketch the basic elements of their \u201cgeneral anthropology\u201d, but also their interplay with their interpretation of causes, phenomenology and possible ways out of the contemporary crisis, of cognitive and ethical kind, in the capacity for imagining the future in today globalised world. In their diagnosis of the present, De Martino and Appadurai, though sharing the idea that reference to universalistic values inherited by European modernity does not provide more an adequate frame for interpretation, express divergent views about modernity, its European matrix and the ethical dispositions which grow with it

Postfazione: L\u2019antropologia, il non umano e l\u2019ontological turn

This afterword has two aims: a short critical assessment of the so-called \u201contological turn\u201d in the human sciences, and a critical commentary on some of the issues raised by the articles gathered in this special issue on the anthropology of the non-human. I argue that, as underlined by all the contributors, the question of how we think about the nature of politics and power relations is crucial for any evaluation of this new \u201cturn\u201d. An examination of the treatment given by Descola, Latour, Viveiros de Castro and their followers to the issue of power must account for the differences among these theoretical approaches and the political implications that can be draw from each of them. However, on the whole \u201contological\u201d approaches seem to miss the complexity of factors that mediate between the ontological and the political. All the articles of this special issue deal with this issue, though ethnographic case studies concerning diverse fields of research have rarely explored till now an explicitly \u201conto-political\u201d perspective. Furthermore, the articles cover a range of issues broader than those of \u201contological\u201d interest, and so contribute to linking current discussions of the \u201contological turn\u201d with other areas of the contemporary anthropological debate

La parziale incidenza del nuovo sistema di diritto internazionale privato nella materia concordataria

LA PARZIALE INCIDENZA DEL NUOVO SISTEMA DI DIRITTO INTERNAZIONALE PRIVATO NELLA MATERIA CONCORDATARIA ABSTRACT La legge 31.05.1995, n. 218, ha riformato la normativa vigente per il riconoscimento delle sentenze straniere introducendo una forma automatica di riconoscimento che per vari motivi non \ue8 applicabile alle sentenze canoniche di nullit\ue0 del matrimonio, e, conseguentemente, ha abrogato gli artt. 796 e 797 c.p.c. sostituendoli con gli artt. 64 e 67 che disciplinano le ipotesi residue in cui si renda necessario procedere egualmente alla delibazione. Gli articoli contenuti nel codice di procedura civile sono comunque rimasti in vigore nel procedimento volto a dare efficacia civile alle sentenze dei tribunali ecclesiastici in quanto espressamente richiamati dal n. 4 del Protocollo addizionale dell\u2019Accordo di modificazione del Concordato lateranense stipulato tra Stato e Chiesa nel 1984, reso esecutivo con l. 25.03.1985, n.121. Il lavoro vuole, pertanto, approfondire quest\u2019ultimo aspetto, analizzando le differenze tra la vecchia e la nuova normativa in riferimento alle condizioni per la delibazione indicate dagli artt. 64 e 67 della l. 218/95 che vengono comparate a quelle degli artt. 796 e 797 c.p.c., per vedere se \ue8 possibile una parziale applicazione della nuova legge nei confronti delle sentenze canoniche senza che venga alterato in modo sostanziale il sistema pattizio di ricezione delle sentenze ecclesiastiche nell\u2019ordinamento italiano. L\u2019esame delle citate disposizioni porta a concludere a favore di questa tesi e se ne argomentano i motiv

L'intesa della Regione siciliana con l'Unione delle Comunit\ue0 ebraiche italiane

L\u2019INTESA DELLA REGIONE SICILIANA CON L\u2019UNIONE DELLE COMUNITA\u2019 EBRAICHE ITALIANE ABSTRACT Le competenze attribuite alle regioni con la legge costituzionale 18 ottobre 2001, n. 3, nella materia dei beni culturali hanno intensificato a livello locale la necessit\ue0 di relazioni tra autorit\ue0 civili e religiose per realizzare quella collaborazione che a livello centrale era stata affermata nell\u2019art. 12 dell\u2019Accordo di modificazione del Concordato lateranense e nelle intese stipulate in seguito con alcune delle confessioni acattoliche. Successivamente all\u2019attuazione dell\u2019intesa concordataria del 13 settembre 1996, varie regioni, tra cui anche la Sicilia, hanno stipulato accordi con rappresentanti della Chiesa cattolica per la salvaguardia, la valorizzazione e il godimento dei beni culturali presenti nel loro territorio, portatori di uno specifico interesse religioso, di propriet\ue0 di enti ed istituzioni ecclesiastiche. Minore interesse, invece, hanno suscitato i beni culturali appartenenti alle altre confessioni religiose, cosa che in parte si spiega tenendo conto della loro ridotta consistenza numerica. L\u2019intesa stipulata dalla Regione siciliana con l\u2019UCEI \ue8 dunque la prima ad attuarsi con una confessione diversa dalla cattolica e proprio per questo appare meritevole di approfondimento. Da essa traspare l\u2019attenzione dell\u2019amministrazione regionale per la salvaguardia e la divulgazione delle poche ma significative testimonianze di un gruppo etnico che per parecchi secoli ha fatto parte della storia della Sicilia. Pi\uf9 che per il contenuto del testo, che in fondo si limita ad annunciare un programma di futura collaborazione tra le due istituzioni, il merito dell\u2019intesa \ue8 quello di avere aperto la strada a futuri accordi tra le regioni e le confessioni di minoranza che potrebbero riguardare non solo il settore dei beni culturali ma anche tutte le altre materie diventate di competenza regionale in seguito alle modifiche apportate al Titolo V della Parte seconda della Costituzion

Virtual prototyping of a new intramedullary nail for tibial fractures

In this work a new distal interlocking system has been developed which is easy to use, allows a reduction of the operating time and consequently the exposure to radiations both for surgeon and patient. The main goal of this study has been the design of a new intramedullary nail for tibial fractures able to simplify and speed up the distal locking operation phases. After a preliminary stage during which several candidate concepts have been proposed and analysed, the best solution has been developed and deeply investigated. The new system, called "expansion nail", has been firstly modelled by setting up a full parametric CAD model and, then, tested by running non linear FEM analyses to evaluate stresses and stability of the joining during normal working conditions. The new design has shown very high mechanical stability in the axial compression and torsional load cases. Since its very simple self-locking system, the new expansion intramedullary nail would reduce the operating time and the exposure to radiations for the surgeons as well as the patients

Advanced Techniques for Design and Manufacturing in Marine Engineering

Modern engineering design processes are driven by the extensive use of numerical simulations, and naval architecture as well as ocean engineering are no exception. Structural design or fluid dynamic performance evaluation can only be carried out by means of several dedicated pieces of software. Classical naval design methodology can take advantage of the integration of these pieces of software, giving rise to more robust design in terms of shape, structural and hydrodynamic performances, and manufacturing processes. This Special Issue (SI) on “Advanced Techniques for Design and Manufacturing in Marine Engineering”, published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, aimed to invite researchers and engineers from both academia and industry to publish the latest progress in design and manufacturing techniques in marine engineering as well as to debate current issues and future perspectives in this research area. After a rigorous peer review process we accepted 11 papers [1–11], covering a wide range of topics related to the themes proposed in the Special Issue. In [1], machine-learningbased algorithms are developed in order to enhance the real-time decision process of an AUV sailing yacht. In [2], topology optimization techniques and laser powder bed fusion manufacturing have been synergically adopted to redesign the bulb of sailing yachts, leading to drag reduction and improving overall boat performance. In [3], the topic of sail design is discussed by means of numerical fluid structure interaction methods and a practical tool is proposed to support the analyst during the design process of a yacht sail plan. The sail design process is also investigated in [4] but using different tools, such as combining a velocity prediction program, RANS computations, and analytical approaches. The problem of grid generation in a CFD model has been studied in [5], where the authors propose, for the particular shape of a submarine, an automated procedure based on Cartesian adaptive grids. The applicability of a CFD numerical technique to a complex biphase fluid medium is the key point of [6], where the robustness of the method is tested to simulate the ventilation phenomenon occurring in stepped hull planing motor yachts. In [7], an analytical tool incorporating the main dimensional naval coefficients of a sailing boat is adopted during the early design stage, with the additional aim of quickly predicting the overall resistance of the hull. In [8], different pieces of sensor information have been used by the authors to train an algorithm able to control water sample collection in deep water. Computational methods have been used in [9] to determine the resistance of ship fuel tanks when subjected to an increased internal pressure. In [10], a simulation model has been used to design a platform able to compensate for the wave action on a vessel, with particular attention to the shape optimization of the structure in order to reduce the total weight. Finally, in [11], CFD tools using moving meshes have been adopted to simulate turbulent flows that originate in an oscillating water column device and move a Savonius turbine

Strain Measurement on Composites: Errors due to Rosette Misalignment

Electrical resistance strain gauges are increasingly used for the determination of the strain field in composite components. The effect of the angular misalignment of a strain gauge rosette on the determination of the strains in a composite material is investigated in this paper. The theoretical analysis shows that the strain error along the principal material directions depends on the difference of principal strains, on the angular misalignment of the rosette and on the angle between the maximum principal strain and the fibre direction. The paper also shows experimental evidence for the theoretical analysis

Representing and analysing molecular and cellular function in the computer

Determining the biological function of a myriad of genes, and understanding how they interact to yield a living cell, is the major challenge of the post genome-sequencing era. The complexity of biological systems is such that this cannot be envisaged without the help of powerful computer systems capable of representing and analysing the intricate networks of physical and functional interactions between the different cellular components. In this review we try to provide the reader with an appreciation of where we stand in this regard. We discuss some of the inherent problems in describing the different facets of biological function, give an overview of how information on function is currently represented in the major biological databases, and describe different systems for organising and categorising the functions of gene products. In a second part, we present a new general data model, currently under development, which describes information on molecular function and cellular processes in a rigorous manner. The model is capable of representing a large variety of biochemical processes, including metabolic pathways, regulation of gene expression and signal transduction. It also incorporates taxonomies for categorising molecular entities, interactions and processes, and it offers means of viewing the information at different levels of resolution, and dealing with incomplete knowledge. The data model has been implemented in the database on protein function and cellular processes 'aMAZE' (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/research/pfbp/), which presently covers metabolic pathways and their regulation. Several tools for querying, displaying, and performing analyses on such pathways are briefly described in order to illustrate the practical applications enabled by the model

Insulin-like growth factor-1 is a negative modulator of glucagon secretion

Glucagon secretion involves a combination of paracrine, autocrine, hormonal, and autonomic neural mechanisms. Type 2 diabetes often presents impaired glucagon suppression by insulin and glucose. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) has elevated homology with insulin, and regulates pancreatic β-cells insulin secretion. Insulin and IGF-1 receptors share considerable structure homology and function. We hypothesized the existence of a mechanism linking the inhibition of α-cells glucagon secretion to IGF-1. Herein, we evaluated the association between plasma IGF-1 and glucagon levels in 116 nondiabetic adults. After adjusting for age gender and BMI, fasting glucagon levels were positively correlated with 2-h post-load glycaemia, HOMA index and fasting insulin, and were negatively correlated with IGF-1 levels. In a multivariable regression, the variables independently associated to fasting glucagon were circulating IGF-1 levels, HOMA index and BMI, explaining 20.7% variation. To unravel the molecular mechanisms beneath IGF-1 and glucagon association, we investigated whether IGF-1 directly modulates glucagon expression and secretion in an in vitro model of α-cells. Our data showed that IGF-1 inhibits the ability of low glucose concentration to stimulate glucagon expression and secretion via activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Akt/FoxO1 pathway. Collectively, our results suggest a new regulatory role of IGF-1 on α-cells biological function