Matrimonio e multiculturalismo : brevi considerazioni sull’Istituto del Matrimonio poligamico nell’Europa Occidentale ed in Italia

I flussi migratori che hanno interessato l’ultima parte del XX secolo e che si sono intensificati nel corso degli ultimi anni, divenendo un fenomeno strutturale, hanno dato luogo al radicarsi in molti Paesi europei di minoranze etniche portatrici di un patrimonio identitario che si connota per un alto grado di specificità. In ambito giuridico, ed in particolar modo nel diritto di famiglia, si pone la stringente necessità di contemperare l’assetto valoriale sotteso a molti istituti giuridici stranieri, soprattutto di matrice islamica, estranei alla cultura europea occidentale e con essa in conflitto, con i valori fondanti gli ordinamenti giuridici occidentali. In tale quadro di riferimento difficoltà di integrazione e assimilazione si registrano riguardo all’istituto proprio dell’Islam del matrimonio poligamico o, più correttamente, del matrimonio ‘monoandrico poliginico simultaneo’, il quale contrasta fortemente con i principi giuridici propri degli ordinamenti europei a causa della disuguaglianza tra i sessi ad esso connaturata e a causa dell’offesa alla dignità personale della donna che lo stesso è suscettibile di perpetrare. Nel presente studio le problematiche afferenti alla poligamia saranno analizzate alla luce del rapporto intercorrente tra il fenomeno del multiculturalismo ed il fondamento dell’istituto del matrimonio nel quadro della legislazione e della cultura giuridica europea.peer-reviewe

Stainless steels: passive film composition, pitting potentials and critical chloride content in concrete

Stainless steel reinforcing bars show excellent corrosion resistance in concrete structures exposed to harsh environments. Only little information on the surface chemistry of these materials in alkaline media is available. This work reports XPS surface analytical results (thickness, composition of the passive film and of the interface beneath the film) obtained on black steel, FeCr alloys, DIN 1.4301, DIN 1.4462 and the nickel-free DIN 1.4456 after exposure to alkaline solutions simulating concrete. The pitting potentials of the steels could be related to the Cr(III)oxy-hydroxide and Mo(VI) content in the passive film. Ccrit, the critical chloride content for corrosion initiation in concrete, necessary for life-time predictions can be determined only with time consuming tests, especially for high-alloyed stainless steels. This work reports a correlation between Ccrit in concrete (made with CEM II A/LL and CEM I) and the pitting potential for carbon steel, Fe12%Cr alloy, DIN 1.4301 and DIN 1.4571 stainless steels. This could allow for the first time a quantitative estimation of Ccrit for stainless steels in concrete based on short-term solution tests

Enargite by XPS

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used for characterizing the enargite surface. Freshly cleaved samples were analyzed at liquid nitrogen temperature. Enargite is a copper arsenic sulfide of formula Cu3AsS4; it is used as a minor ore of copper. Enargite is a potential source of arsenic and may create environmental problems through the release of toxic elements upon oxidatio

XPS and ARXPS for Characterizing Multilayers of Silanes on Gold Surfaces

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and angle-resolved XPS (ARXPS) characterization of surface layers resulting from the functionalization of polymers such as polyvinylchloride (PVC) modified with 3(mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) and (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) is challenging due to the overlap in signals, deriving both from the substrate and the functionalized layers. In this work, a freshly cleaved, ideally flat gold surface was used as carbon-free model substrate functionalized with MPTMS and subsequently grafted with APTES. Avoiding the overlap of signals from carbon atoms present in the substrate, the signals in the C1s, O1s, Si2p, S2p and N1s high-resolution spectra could be assigned to the MPTMS/APTES functionalized layer only and the curve-fitting parameters could be determined. Quantitative analysis was in very good agreement with the expected stoichiometry of the functionalized layer, confirming the adopted curve-fitting procedure. In addition, it was found that one molecule of APTES grafted two MPTMS via silane groups. ARXPS allowed for determining the thickness of the functionalized layers: MPTMS thickness was found to be 0.5 (0.2) nm, whereas MPTMS + APTES thickness 1.0 (0.2) nm was in good agreement with Avogadro model calculations. This approach can be considered a powerful tool for characterizing functionalized surfaces of more complex systems by XPS

Mixed-energy shallow-marine systems with emphasis on tidal influence

This research investigates mixed-energy shallow marine depositional systems (i.e., subject to the influence of river, wave and tidal currents), with particular emphasis on the role of tidal currents in controlling the final stratigraphic product. In modern coastal areas and in the rock record, many sedimentary systems bear the signature of changing and overlapping coastal processes. Understanding the evolution of the mixed tidal systems and their stratigraphic expression is fundamental both to the science of dynamic stratigraphy and for a proper exploitation of the stored natural resources. The research was carried out using four datasets: an outcrop dataset of measured sedimentological sections from the Jurassic Lajas Formation, Argentina; a dataset of previously published literature of process variability and sedimentary structures; a dataset of numerical simulations produced with Delft3D software; and an outcrop dataset of measured sedimentological sections from the Pleistocene Siderno Strait, Italy. The data here presented highlight the great degree of process variability in the rock record, and the importance of tidal currents in controlling deltaic morphology and stratigraphic architecture. The strata of the Lajas Formation show a clear process partitioning in different reaches of the deltaic system (proximal vs. distal and regressive vs. transgressive). In particular, tidal currents strongly reworked the delta front at times, creating sand-rich and amalgamated sandbodies. This project demonstrates that disentangling the signals of river, wave and tidal currents in the stratigraphy leads to a better interpretation of ancient mixed-energy systems. The study of the literature database shows that some sedimentary structures can be considered reliable indicators of a particular process (river, waves or tides), whereas other structures cannot be tied with confidence to any particular process. A process probability value is calculated for each sedimentary structure, and thus quantifies process variability and its uncertainty. This work encourages a new, more detailed and more quantified field methodology for facies sedimentology. The numerical modeling of tide-influenced deltas using Delft3D shows how different degrees of tidal influence in river-dominated deltas affect delta morphology and stratigraphy, when tidal currents are flowing perpendicularly to the shoreline. Increasing tidal influence induces deeper and more stable distributary channels that act as efficient conduits for sediment transport basinward. The delta-front geometry is also affected by tidal current reworking, evolving into a compound clinoform geometry. The research on the Siderno Strait, in contrast, highlights tidal influence on deltaic stratigraphic evolution when tidal currents flow parallel to the coastline. River-dominated deltas entering the tide-dominated strait tend to show a deflection of the delta-front sands in a direction parallel to the dominant tidal current. The delta-front sands became reworked by tidal currents into large dune fields within the strait.Geological Science

CBCD Based on Color Features and Landmark MDS-Assisted Distance Estimation

Content-Based Copy Detection (CBCD) of digital videos is an important research field that aims at the identification of modified copies of an original clip, e.g., on the Internet. In this application, the video content is uniquely identified by the content itself, by extracting some compact features that are robust to a certain set of video transformations. Given the huge amount of data present in online video databases, the computational complexity of the feature extraction and comparison is a very important issue. In this paper, a landmark based multi-dimensional scaling technique is proposed to speed up the detection procedure which is based on exhaustive search and the MPEG-7 Dominant Color Descriptor. The method is evaluated under the MPEG Video Signature Core Experiment conditions, and simulation results show impressive time savings at the cost of a slightly reduced detection performance

Straits and seaways: end members within the continuousspectrum of the dynamic connection between basins

Straits and seaways are fundamental connectors of oceans, seas and more rarely lakes. They areubiquitous in the modern geography and should be common in ancient landscapes. We compare their charac-teristics to improve our understanding of these features, with the aim to define better their geological use.We review geomorphological, oceanographic, geological and depositional characteristics based on well-doc-umented modern and ancient examples, with a stronger focus on the rock record.‘Strait’and‘seaway’are differentiated by their spatial and temporal scale. This influences the type and per-sistence of oceanographic circulation and sediment distribution. Straits are individual depositional systems,with predictable bedform and facies changes along the sediment transport pathway, whereas seaways are largerand longer-lived physiographic domains, composed of numerous depositional systems. Therefore, their strati-graphic signature in the rock record should be significantly different. We conclude that straits and seaways areend members of a continuum, giving rise to the occurrence of intermediate cases with transitional characteris-tics. The distinctive geological usage of the terms‘strait’and‘seaway’, even without sharp boundaries betweenend members, may be helpful for predicting their occurrence, stratigraphy, palaeogeography, biota distributionand potential distribution of reservoirs and seals for fossil resources and CO2storage

Breathing New Life into Historical Instruments. How to Monitor Corrosion

‘To play or to display’ is the dilemma that museums have to face, given the increasing trend towards historically informed performance. Brass instruments can suffer corrosion both during and after playing due to the high humidity inside them. To forestall or at least reduce corrosion, drying with a fan has been chosen as a preventive measure. The state of corrosion inside the tuning slides of the instruments was determined with a specially developed electrochemical sensor. The results of the project show that drying with a fan indeed reduces ongoing corrosion, when compared to a group of instruments played without preventive measures that showed an increasing corrosion rate over time

Progression of Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Remodelling under Optimal Medical Therapy in CHF Patients: Role of Individual Genetic Background

Background. Neurohormonal systems play an important role in chronic heart failure (CHF). Due to interindividual heterogeneity in the benefits of therapy, it may be hypothesized that polymorphisms of neurohormonal systems may affect left ventricular (LV) remodelling and systolic function. We aimed to assess whether genetic background of maximally treated CHF patients predicts variations in LV systolic function and volumes. Methods and Results. We prospectively studied 131 CHF outpatients on optimal treatment for at least six months. Echocardiographic evaluations were performed at baseline and after 12 months. Genotype analysis for ACE I/D, β1adrenergic receptor (AR) Arg389Gly, β2AR Arg16Gly, and β2AR Gln27Glu polymorphisms was performed. No differences in baseline characteristics were detected among subgroups. ACE II was a significant predictor of improvement of LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volume (P = .003 and P = .002, respectively) but not of LV ejection fraction (LVEF); β1AR389 GlyGly was related to improvement of LVEF (P = .02) and LV end-systolic volume (P = .01). The predictive value of polymorphisms remained after adjustment for other clinically significant predictors (P < .05 for all). Conclusions. ACE I/D and β1AR Arg389Gly polymorphisms are independent predictors of reverse remodeling and systolic function recovery in CHF patients under optimal treatment