Performativity and the domestic space Practices of embodied dwelling through enactivism, participation, and auto-construction

This paper examines the transformative potential of performativity in reimagining the concept of dwelling and of domestic spaces. Drawing from enactivist and embodied cognition perspectives, we delve into the dynamic relationship between individuals, their bodies, and the architectural environment. Emphasising the role of bodily engagement, sensorimotor experiences, and interoceptive awareness, we explore how individuals actively participate in and shape their architectural surroundings. Moving beyond individual interactions, we also highlight the social and collective dynamics influenced by the built environment, underscoring the impact of cultural conventions and societal norms. This paper investigates some contributions that advocate for a reappropriation of institutionalised domestic spaces through imaginative interventions that challenge conventional norms and envision future-oriented dwelling practices. Within the context of institutionalised domestic spaces, we investigate the role of the fantastical and the monstrous as disordered qualities that challenge traditional boundaries and offer opportunities for transformation. Through case studies, we examine projects that blur the lines between public and private realms, enabling participatory practices and urban influences to reshape functional space utilisation. In conclusion, this paper underscores the importance of a dialogue between embodied performativity and the concept of dwelling. It proposes a re-evaluation of our relationship with space that is not just functional but enactive, and it champions the transformative potential of the arts in conceiving our future homes. With a renewed focus on sustainability, participation, and the interplay between the human body and space, we can begin to imagine a future of dwelling that is as dynamic, inclusive, and vibrant as the lives we wish to live within these spaces.This paper examines the transformative potential of performativity in reimagining the concept of dwelling and of domestic spaces. Drawing from enactivist and embodied cognition perspectives, we delve into the dynamic relationship between individuals, their bodies, and the architectural environment. Emphasising the role of bodily engagement, sensorimotor experiences, and interoceptive awareness, we explore how individuals actively participate in and shape their architectural surroundings. Moving beyond individual interactions, we also highlight the social and collective dynamics influenced by the built environment, underscoring the impact of cultural conventions and societal norms. This paper investigates some contributions that advocate for a reappropriation of institutionalised domestic spaces through imaginative interventions that challenge conventional norms and envision future-oriented dwelling practices. Within the context of institutionalised domestic spaces, we investigate the role of the fantastical and the monstrous as disordered qualities that challenge traditional boundaries and offer opportunities for transformation. Through case studies, we examine projects that blur the lines between public and private realms, enabling participatory practices and urban influences to reshape functional space utilisation. In conclusion, this paper underscores the importance of a dialogue between embodied performativity and the concept of dwelling. It proposes a re-evaluation of our relationship with space that is not just functional but enactive, and it champions the transformative potential of the arts in conceiving our future homes. With a renewed focus on sustainability, participation, and the interplay between the human body and space, we can begin to imagine a future of dwelling that is as dynamic, inclusive, and vibrant as the lives we wish to live within these spaces

SINTESI DI NUOVI ANALOGHI TIRONAMINICI: NUOVI PROBE BIOLOGICI E/O POTENZIALI AGENTI TERAPEUTICI

Il Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1), è un recettore accoppiato a proteina G (GPCR) espresso nel cervello e in molti organi periferici. E’ attivato da un ampio spettro di agonisti, tra cui le Trace amine (TAs), gli psicostimolanti amfetamino-simili e le tironamine endogene, come la tironamina (T0AM) e la 3-iodotironamina (T1AM). Alcuni studi in vivo hanno evidenziato che T1AM è in grado di produrre una rapida comparsa di alcuni importanti effetti funzionali e metabolici (ipotermia, bradicardia, alterazioni metabolismo energetico) in genere opposti a quelli prodotti dall’ormone tiroideo. I rapidi e pronunciati effetti metabolici prodotti dalla somministrazione centrale di T1AM e T0AM suggeriscono che la loro azione sia mediata da differenti recettori, e che tale effetto sia il risultato di una stimolazione sia centrale che periferica

A Review of Significant European Foodborne Outbreaks in the Last Decade.

ABSTRACT Foodborne diseases remain a global public health challenge worldwide. The European surveillance system of multistate foodborne outbreaks integrates elements from public and animal health and the food chain for early detection, assessment, and control. This review includes descriptions of the significant outbreaks that occurred in Europe in the last decade. Their significance and relevance to public health is derived from the changes, improvements, and novelties that pushed toward building a safer food system in the European Union, certainly driven by the One Health approach. In 2011, a point source monoclonal outbreak of infections caused by Escherichia coli serotype O104:H4 in sprouted seeds resulted in hundreds of cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome and several fatalities. In 2015, a prolonged outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections caused by contamination of frozen corn in Europe resulted in 47 cases and nine deaths. In 2016, a persistent polyclonal outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis was linked to the consumption of eggs and was associated with hundreds of cases. The outbreak evaluations highlight the importance of rapid sharing of data (e.g., sequencing and tracing data) and the need for harmonizing bioinformatics outputs and computational approaches to facilitate detection and investigation of foodborne illnesses. These outbreaks led to development of a legal framework for a European collaboration platform for sharing whole genome sequence data and enabled the enforcement of existing hygiene and food safety provisions and the development of new hygiene guidelines and best practices. This review also briefly touches on the new trends in information technologies that are being explored for food traceability and safety. These technologies could enhance the traceability of food throughout the supply chain and redirect the conventional tracing system toward a digitized supply chain. HIGHLIGHT

Atypical Gait Cycles in Parkinson’s Disease

It is important to find objective biomarkers for evaluating gait in Parkinson’s Disease (PD), especially related to the foot and lower leg segments. Foot-switch signals, analyzed through Statistical Gait Analysis (SGA), allow the foot-floor contact sequence to be characterized during a walking session lasting five-minutes, which includes turnings. Gait parameters were compared between 20 PD patients and 20 age-matched controls. PDs showed similar straight-line speed, cadence, and double-support compared to controls, as well as typical gait-phase durations, except for a small decrease in the flat-foot contact duration (−4% of the gait cycle, p = 0.04). However, they showed a significant increase in atypical gait cycles (+42%, p = 0.006), during both walking straight and turning. A forefoot strike, instead of a “normal” heel strike, characterized the large majority of PD’s atypical cycles, whose total percentage was 25.4% on the most-affected and 15.5% on the least-affected side. Moreover, we found a strong correlation between the atypical cycles and the motor clinical score UPDRS-III (r = 0.91, p = 0.002), in the subset of PD patients showing an abnormal number of atypical cycles, while we found a moderate correlation (r = 0.60, p = 0.005), considering the whole PD population. Atypical cycles have proved to be a valid biomarker to quantify subtle gait dysfunctions in PD patients

Muscle synergies in Parkinson's disease before and after the deep brain stimulation of the bilateral subthalamic nucleus

The aim of this study is to quantitatively assess motor control changes in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients after bilateral deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS), based on a novel muscle synergy evaluation approach. A group of 20 PD patients evaluated at baseline (before surgery, T0), at 3 months (T1), and at 12 months (T2) after STN-DBS surgery, as well as a group of 20 age-matched healthy control subjects, underwent an instrumented gait analysis, including surface electromyography recordings from 12 muscles. A smaller number of muscle synergies was found in PD patients (4 muscle synergies, at each time point) compared to control subjects (5 muscle synergies). The neuromuscular robustness of PD patients-that at T0 was smaller with respect to controls (PD T0: 69.3 ± 2.2% vs. Controls: 77.6 ± 1.8%, p = 0.004)-increased at T1 (75.8 ± 1.8%), becoming not different from that of controls at T2 (77.5 ± 1.9%). The muscle synergies analysis may offer clinicians new knowledge on the neuromuscular structure underlying PD motor types of behavior and how they can improve after electroceutical STN-DBS therapy

The Hubble flow around the CenA / M83 galaxy complex

We present HST/ACS images and color-magnitude diagrams for 24 nearby galaxies in and near the constellation of Centaurus with radial velocities V_LG < 550 km/s. Distances are determined based on the luminosities of stars at the tip of the red giant branch that range from 3.0 Mpc to 6.5 Mpc. The galaxies are concentrated in two spatially separated groups around Cen A (NGC 5128) and M 83 (NGC 5236). The Cen A group itself has a mean distance of 3.76 +/-0.05 Mpc, a velocity dispersion of 136 km/s, a mean harmonic radius of 192 kpc, and an estimated orbital/virial mass of (6.4 - 8.1) x 10^12 M_sun. This elliptical dominated group is found to have a relatively high mass-to-light ratio: M/L_B = 125 M_sun/L_sun. For the M 83 group we derived a mean distance of 4.79 +/-0.10 Mpc, a velocity dispersion of 61 km/s, a mean harmonic radius of 89 kpc, and estimated orbital/virial mass of (0.8 - 0.9) x 10^12 M_sun. This spiral dominated group is found to have a relatively low M/L_B = 34 M_sun/L_sun. The radius of the zero-velocity surface around Cen A lies at R_0 = 1.40 +/-0.11 Mpc, implying a total mass within R_0 of M_T = (6.0 +/-1.4) x 10^12 M_sun. This value is in good agreement with the Cen A virial/orbital mass estimates and provides confirmation of the relatively high M/L_B of this elliptical-dominated group. The centroids of both the groups, as well as surrounding field galaxies, have very small peculiar velocities, < 25 km/s, with respect to the local Hubble flow with H_0 = 68 km/s/Mpc.Comment: 31 pages including 9 figures and 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomical Journal, 133, N0. 2 (February), 200

Assessment of Climate Change Impacts in the North Adriatic Coastal Area. Part II: Consequences for Coastal Erosion Impacts at the Regional Scale

Coastal erosion is an issue of major concern for coastal managers and is expected to increase in magnitude and severity due to global climate change. This paper analyzes the potential consequences of climate change on coastal erosion (e.g., impacts on beaches, wetlands and protected areas) by applying a Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) methodology to the North Adriatic (NA) coast of Italy. The approach employs hazard scenarios from a multi-model chain in order to project the spatial and temporal patterns of relevant coastal erosion stressors (i.e., increases in mean sea-level, changes in wave height and variations in the sediment mobility at the sea bottom) under the A1B climate change scenario. Site-specific environmental and socio-economic indicators (e.g., vegetation cover, geomorphology, population) and hazard metrics are then aggregated by means of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) with the aim to provide an example of exposure, susceptibility, risk and damage maps for the NA region. Among seasonal exposure maps winter and autumn depict the worse situation in 2070–2100, and locally around the Po river delta. Risk maps highlight that the receptors at higher risk are beaches, wetlands and river mouths. The work presents the results of the RRA tested in the NA region, discussing how spatial risk mapping can be used to establish relative priorities for intervention, to identify hot-spot areas and to provide a basis for the definition of coastal adaptation and management strategies.publishedVersio

Concurrent and predictive validity of the infant motor profile in infants at risk of neurodevelopmental disorders

BACKGROUND: Preterm infants and infants with perinatal brain injury show a higher incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) is a clinical assessment which evaluates the complexity of early motor behaviour. More data are needed to confirm its predictive ability and concurrent validity with other common and valid assessments such as the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and Prechtl's General Movement Assessment (GMA). The present study aims to evaluate the concurrent validity of the IMP with the AIMS, to assess its association with the GMA, to evaluate how the IMP reflects the severity of the brain injury and to compare the ability of the IMP and the AIMS to predict an abnormal outcome in 5-month-old infants at risk of NDD.METHODS: 86 infants at risk of NDD were retrospectively recruited among the participants of two clinical trials. Preterm infants with or without perinatal brain injury and term infants with brain injury were assessed at 3months corrected age (CA) using the GMA and at 5months CA using the IMP and the AIMS. The neurodevelopmental outcome was established at 18months.RESULTS: Results confirm a solid concurrent validity between the IMP Total Score and the AIMS (Spearman's rho 0.76; p&lt;.001) and a significant association between IMP Total Score and the GMA. Unlike the AIMS, the IMP Total score accurately reflects the severity of neonatal brain injury (p&lt;.001) and proves to be the strongest predictor of NDD (p&lt;.001). The comparison of areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) confirms that the IMP Total score has the highest diagnostic accuracy at 5months (AUC 0.92). For an optimal IMP Total Score cut-off value of 70, the assessment shows high sensitivity (93%) and specificity (81%) (PPV 84%; NPV 90%).CONCLUSIONS: Early motor behaviour assessed with the IMP is strongly associated with middle-term neurodevelopmental outcome. The present study confirms the concurrent validity of the IMP with the AIMS, its association with the GMA and its ability to reflect brain lesion load, hence contributing to the construct validity of the assessment.TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01990183 and NCT03234959 (clinicaltrials.gov)