Mode Confinement in Photonic Quasi-Crystal Point-Defect Cavities for Particle Accelerators

In this Letter, we present a study of the confinement properties of point-defect resonators in finite-size photonic-bandgap structures composed of aperiodic arrangements of dielectric rods, with special emphasis on their use for the design of cavities for particle accelerators. Specifically, for representative geometries, we study the properties of the fundamental mode (as a function of the filling fraction, structure size, and losses) via 2-D and 3-D full-wave numerical simulations, as well as microwave measurements at room temperature. Results indicate that, for reduced-size structures, aperiodic geometries exhibit superior confinement properties by comparison with periodic ones.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letter

Homosexuality elsewhere: young migrants, sexuality and transcultural identity strategies

The article focuses on young people of foreign origin in Italy, analysing in particular the experiences of those of a homosexual orientation. Starting from a theoretical reflection that takes into account the various possible statuses expressing young migrants situation, we will analyse the complexities that arise in terms of identity for young foreigners who, when living their sexuality, relate both with the cultural standards of the country of origin (often homophobic and repressive) and with those of the host country, in which they can instead intercept new opportunities to express themselves and their desires. The core idea is to verify the means through which they manage these contrasts, aiming at empirically outlining the strategies of behaviour, thus increasing the understanding of the ongoing processes of social and cultural integration

Note: Tormenta: An open source Python-powered control software for camera based optical microscopy

Until recently, PC control and synchronization of scientific instruments was only possible through closed-source expensive frameworks like National Instruments' LabVIEW. Nowadays, efficient cost-free alternatives are available in the context of a continuously growing community of open-source software developers. Here, we report on Tormenta, a modular open-source software for the control of camera-based optical microscopes. Tormenta is built on Python, works on multiple operating systems, and includes some key features for fluorescence nanoscopy based on single molecule localization.Fil: Barabas, Federico Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias ; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Masullo, Luciano Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias ; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Stefani, Fernando Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias ; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentin

Il sottofondo culturale del De anima di Cassiodoro.

Sin resume

Migrant Sexualities: “Non-normative” Sexual Orientation between Country of Origin and Destination

The present paper is based upon a research on the experiences of foreign homosexuals in Italy, in particular males from the Maghrib, namely Morocco and Tunisia. The first part reviews the relevant literature, mainly queer migration studies theories, focusing on the plight of LGBT migrants in Western countries, in particular considering gender identities and non-normative sexual orientations as ground for migration. Avoiding any attempt at categorization and emphasizing the existence of multiple identities rooted in each individual, the theory encourages to shun “ethnocentric” points of view that see the host country as a place where foreigners can live their sexualities freely in contrast with their country of origin. Indeed, it also represents continuity with a society of origin which, in its different aspects – social, cultural and relational – continues to affect the lives of the migrants, as well as their degree of closeness/distance to a Western gaylifestyle model that, though “attractive”, is often criticized. The second part, through the life stories collected, describes the identity strategies employed by migrants to live their sexual orientation in the host country. The paper describes the prevailing social representations of homosexuality among foreigners and assesses the “symbolic” impact that the host society may produce on the immigrants' way to (re)think their sexual identity

The study of representations in sociology: between multidisciplinarity, lines of continuity, and differences

The present article aims at analysing the role that sociology has played in the process of formation of the theory of social representations. In an effort to highlight the multidisciplinary nature of the theory, but also to recognize an independent point of view on the subject, the article proceeds to a comparison between sociology and other disciplines, especially with the prolific theoretical approach of Serge Moscovici and his school.

Genetic dissection of circuits underlying the modular structure of the Superior Colliculus

In order to successfully interact with the environment, animals need to produce accurate movements towards specific positions in space. A crucial region of the brain that guides such goal-oriented movements is the superior colliculus (SC), an evolutionary conserved structure of the midbrain. While several lines of research in different model organisms have confirmed that the SC contributes to the initiation of orienting movements, how functionally distinct neuronal groups within the SC are organized to support the production of such motor outputs is poorly understood. One of the reasons why the intrinsic circuit organization of the SC remains elusive is the lack of genetic characterization of the neuronal populations of the motor SC. Here, we performed RNAseq to screen for genetic markers for neuronal subpopulations in the motor SC. We identified a transcription factor, Pitx2, which is exclusively expressed in a subpopulation of glutamatergic neurons in the motor domain of the SC. Strikingly, this population of neurons displays a non-homogenous distribution within the motor layer of the SC, being organised in clusters along the mediolateral and anteroposterior axis. We mapped the pre-synaptic network and the post-synaptic targets of Pitx2ON neurons, unveiling that this modular population receives direct inputs from motor and sensory cortical regions, as well as several midbrain nuclei involved in movement control, and sends projection along the cephalomotor pathway. We then asked whether these modules may act as functional units, each integrating multimodal sensory information and encoding a specific feature of head movement, the main ethologically relevant orienting behaviour in rodents. Optogenetic activation of this modular population in freely moving animals produced a stereotyped, robust head motion characterised by a pronounced quantal nature; furthermore, the amplitude of the elicited head movement varied based on the modular unit activated. Our results suggest that distinct clusters of genetically defined neurons produce head displacement along a characteristic vector. In conclusion, we found that a population of premotor neurons in the SC is organised in a modular conformation and we suggest that such modularity may represent a physical implementation of a discontinuous motor map for orienting movements encoded in the mouse SC. Our work complements previous observations of periodicity in SC circuitry, as well as its afferent and efferent systems. Exploiting the genetic toolkit available in the mouse, our work begins to address the functional relevance of this modularity and paves the way for future experiments to investigate principles of sensorimotor integration in SC circuits.MR