Confirmations That Were Not Meant to Be: Religion, Violence and the Female Body in Un poison violent (2010), Corpo celeste (2011), and Kreuzweg (2014)

This article considers the representation of the adolescent female body and the relevance of corporeality in Catholicism in three Western European films, which have at their centre the religious confirmation. These are: Un poison violent (Love Like Poison, 2010, Katell Quilléveré), Corpo celeste (Heavenly Body, 2011, Alice Rohrwacher), and Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross, 2014, Dietrich Brüggemann). The sacrament of confirmation as portrayed in the three films becomes the axis around which the dynamics of adolescence (i.e., changing body, blossoming sexuality, family conflicts) unfold, opening up a space for the analysis of the interplay between female subjectivities and Catholicism’s regulatory role. We look at the often-subtle violence exerted by Catholicism in an attempt to tame the female body and the ways female adolescents (re)negotiate their identity against the backdrop of religious authority. Our contention is that, in the films, the female protagonists’ subtraction from the confirmation becomes a way to distance themselves from the Catholic obedient body and reaffirm their individual, embodied subjectivity. To this end, we engage with the complex relationship between Catholicism, women, and women’s bodies, exploring the dichotomy between the Catholic ideal, unchangeable body and the continually-changing, desiring female bodies

Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning dental trauma among parents of children attending primary school

BACKGROUND: Traumatic dental injuries occur frequently in children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study is to examine the levels of knowledge and behaviors regarding dental trauma among parents of children attending primary schools in the Apulia region of Italy. METHODS: The study was carried out using an anonymous questionnaire with closed answers distributed to 2,775 parents who were enrolled based on the entire regional school population. Analyses were conducted using the PROC CORRESP (procedure to perform multiple correspondence analysis) and PROC FASTCLUS (procedure to perform cluster analysis). Statistical significance was set at p-value <0.05. RESULTS: A total 15.5% of the sample reported that their children had experienced dental trauma. Overall, 53.8% of respondents stated that they knew what to do in cases of dental injury. Regarding the time limit within which it is possible to usefully intervene for dental trauma, 56.8% of respondents indicated "within 30 minutes". Of the total sample, 56.5% knew how to preserve a displaced tooth. A total 62.9% of parents felt it was appropriate for their children to use dental guards during sports activities. The multivariate analysis showed that wrong knowledge are distributed among all kinds of subject. Parents with previous experience of dental trauma referred right behaviours, instead weak knowledge and wrong behaviours are associated with parents that easily worried for dental events. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that most parents reported no experience of dental trauma in their children, and half of them did not know what to do in case of traumatic dental injury and they would intervene within 30 minutes, suggesting that dental trauma may trigger panic. However, they did not have the information needed to best assist the affected child. Motivating parents to assume a preventive approach towards dental trauma may produce positive changes that would result an increase of long-term health benefits among both parents and children

Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Composites for Microwave Absorbing Applications

The response of materials to impinging electromagnetic waves is mainly determined by their dielectric (complex permittivity) and magnetic (complex permeability). In particular, radar absorbing materials are characterized by high complex permittivity (and eventually large values of magnetic permeability), Indeed, energy dissipation by dielectric relaxation and carrier conduction are principally responsible for diminishing microwave radiation reflection and transmission in non-magnetic materials. Therefore, the scientific and technological community has been investigating lightweight composites with high dielectric permittivity in order to improve the microwave absorption (i.e., radar cross-section reduction) in structural materials for the aerospace industry. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes films and their composites with different kind of polymeric resins are regarded as promising materials for radar absorbing applications because of their high permittivity. Nanocomposites based on commercial multi-wall carbon nano-tube (MWCNT) fillers dispersed in an epoxy resin matrix were fabricated. The morphology of the filler was analyzed by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Raman spectroscopy, while the complex permittivity and the radiation reflection coefficient of the composites was measured in the radio frequency range. The reflection coefficient of a single-layer structure backed by a metallic plate was simulated based on the measured permittivity. Simulation achievements were compared to the measured reflection coefficient. Besides, the influence of morphological MWCNT parameters (i.e., aspect ratio and specific surface area) on the reflection coefficient was evaluated. Results verify that relatively low weight percent of MWCNTs are suitable for microwave absorption applications when incorporated into polymer matrix (i.e., epoxy resin)

Individuazione del rischio di fallimento via panel analysis

Obiettivo del presente lavoro \ue8 la calibrazione di un metodo di stima della probabilit\ue0 di insolvenza per le imprese manifatturiere di dimensioni medio-grandi. Dopo aver verificato il grado di adeguatezza del modello Z-score di Altman su un particolare collettivo di riferimento, si affronteranno alcune note criticit\ue0 di tale approccio, dalla equipartizione della numerosit\ue0 dei sottocampioni fino alla selezione di nuove variabili esplicative dell\u2019insolvenza. Ai fini della definizione di un nuovo modello, un approccio di stima di tipo panel ad effetti fissi consentir\ue0 la identificazione di variabili esplicative della probabilit\ue0 di default diverse, e peraltro in numero inferiore, rispetto a quelle dei modelli \ue0 la Altman ed un considerevole abbattimento dell\u2019errore di previsione

Probing quantum field theory particle mixing and dark-matter-like effects with Rydberg atoms

Abstract We analyze the oscillations of Rydberg atoms in the framework of quantum field theory and analyze the analogy with flavor mixing and oscillations. We reveal a non trivial vacuum energy which has the equation of state analogous to that of cold dark matter. This energy is formally similar to that expected for mixed neutrinos and affects the thermal capacity of the gas. Therefore, deflection of the thermal capacity of Rydberg atoms could prove the condensate structure of vacuum for mixing fermions and open new scenarios in the study of the dark components of the universe. We also derive new Rabi oscillation formulae which are, in principle, testable experimentally

Novel Scintillating Materials Based on Phenyl-Polysiloxane for Neutron Detection and Monitoring

Neutron detectors are extensively used at many nuclear research facilities across Europe. Their application range covers many topics in basic and applied nuclear research: in nuclear structure and reaction dynamics (reaction reconstruction and decay studies); in nuclear astrophysics (neutron emission probabilities); in nuclear technology (nuclear data measurements and in-core/off-core monitors); in nuclear medicine (radiation monitors, dosimeters); in materials science (neutron imaging techniques); in homeland security applications (fissile materials investigation and cargo inspection). Liquid scintillators, widely used at present, have however some drawbacks given by toxicity, flammability, volatility and sensitivity to oxygen that limit their duration and quality. Even plastic scintillators are not satisfactory because they have low radiation hardness and low thermal stability. Moreover organic solvents may affect their optical properties due to crazing. In order to overcome these problems, phenyl-polysiloxane based scintillators have been recently developed at Legnaro National Laboratory. This new solution showed very good chemical and thermal stability and high radiation hardness. The results on the different samples performance will be presented, paying special attention to a characterization comparison between synthesized phenyl containing polysiloxane resins where a Pt catalyst has been used and a scintillating material obtained by condensation reaction, where tin based compounds are used as catalysts. Different structural arrangements as a result of different substituents on the main chain have been investigated by High Resolution X-Ray Diffraction, while the effect of improved optical transmittance on the scintillation yield has been elucidated by a combination of excitation/fluorescence measurements and scintillation yield under exposure to alpha and {\gamma}-rays.Comment: InterM 2013 - International Multidisciplinary Microscopy Congres

Effects of the timolol-dorzolamide fixed combination and latanoprost on circadian diastolic ocular perfusion pressure in glaucoma.

PURPOSE. To evaluate the effect of the timolol-dorzolamide fixed combination (TDFC) and latanoprost 0.005% on 24-hour intraocular pressure (IOP), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, and diastolic ocular perfusion pressure (DOPP) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS. This was an institutional, randomized clinical trial. After a 24-hour assessment without treatment, 27 previously untreated patients with POAG were randomized to 6 weeks’ treatment with twice-daily TDFC (8 AM and 8 PM) followed by once-daily latanoprost 0.005% (8 PM), or vice versa. One eye was analyzed per patient. The mean values of IOP, DBP, SBP, and DOPP (difference between DBP and IOP) were recorded at each time point, and the 24-hour data are the mean values of each patient’s measurements over the 24-hour period. The differences between the values of the first treatment period and the baseline and the second treatment period and washout were calculated and analyzed by means of an analysis of variance model that tested the effects of sequence and treatment. RESULTS. Both treatments significantly reduced 24-hour IOP (P <0.0001), but TDFC led to lower 24-hour pressure (mean ±SD: 15.4 ±1.9 vs. 16.7± 1.7 mm Hg; P=0.004). Latanoprost did not lead to any significant reduction in mean 24-hour SBP and DBP (SBP: P =0.952; DBP: P=0.831), but TDFC did (SBP and DBP: P < 0.0001). Both treatments significantly increased 24-hour DOPP (P < 0.0001), with no difference between the two medications (P=0.09). CONCLUSIONS. In previously untreated patients with POAG, TDFC, and latanoprost equally enhanced 24-hour DOPP: the former by counteracting the decrease in DBP with a substantial reduction in IOP and the latter by not affecting DBP and significantly reducing IO

Defining signal thresholds in DNA microarrays: exemplary application for invasive cancer

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide or application-targeted microarrays containing a subset of genes of interest have become widely used as a research tool with the prospect of diagnostic application. Intrinsic variability of microarray measurements poses a major problem in defining signal thresholds for absent/present or differentially expressed genes. Most strategies have used fold-change threshold values, but variability at low signal intensities may invalidate this approach and it does not provide information about false-positives and false negatives. RESULTS: We introduce a method to filter false-positives and false-negatives from DNA microarray experiments. This is achieved by evaluating a set of positive and negative controls by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. As an advantage of this approach, users may define thresholds on the basis of sensitivity and specificity considerations. The area under the ROC curve allows quality control of microarray hybridizations. This method has been applied to custom made microarrays developed for the analysis of invasive melanoma derived tumor cells. It demonstrated that ROC analysis yields a threshold with reduced missclassified genes in microarray experiments. CONCLUSIONS: Provided that a set of appropriate positive and negative controls is included on the microarray, ROC analysis obviates the inherent problem of arbitrarily selecting threshold levels in microarray experiments. The proposed method is applicable to both custom made and commercially available DNA microarrays and will help to improve the reliability of predictions from DNA microarray experiments

Probing the chemical environment of 3-hydroxyflavone doped ormosils by a spectroscopic study of excited state intramolecular proton transfer

Abstract The spectroscopic properties of 3-hydroxyflavone (3-HF) molecules entrapped in films and in monoliths of sol–gel derived organically modified silicates (Ormosils) xerogels are studied by excitation and fluorescence spectroscopy as a function of the sol–gel precursors used for the synthesis. Different molar ratios of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and phenyltriethoxysilane (PTES) as precursors are used for the sol preparation. Emission and excitation spectra in the ultraviolet–visible range and photo-degradation curves as a function of time are collected with a spectrofluorimeter. The 3-hydroxyflavone optical properties change in the different networks, owing to the effects of the chemical environment on the excited state intramolecular proton transfer and to the solubility of the dye molecules in the different sol–gel systems. It turns out that the spectroscopic features can be used to probe the chemical state of the dye molecules microenvironment