Istituzioni ecclesiastiche e potere regio nel mediterraneo medievale. Scritti per Salvatore Fodale

Il volume è un omaggio degli allievi al professore Salvatore Fodale. Il filo conduttore sono le Istituzioni ecclesiastiche e il potere regio tra l’età normanna e la fine del Medioevo. Uno spazio particolare è dedicato alla città di Messina, al centro dei saggi sulla religiosità tra Oriente e Occidente e su Raimondo Puyolis, arcivescovo catalano nel Trecento. Il rapporto tra Istituzioni ecclesiastiche e potere regio emerge negli articoli su Papato e propaganda di crociata nel Duecento e sul monastero di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro. Viene, inoltre, esaminata la complessa relazione tra Martino il Giovane e la comunità ebraica siciliana. Il regno di Alfonso il Magnanimo fa da sfondo ai saggi sul memoriale della Camera reginale, al tempo della moglie Maria di Castiglia, e sulla Descendencia dominorum Regni Sicilie di Pau Rossell, codice commissionato a Valencia tra il 1437 e il 1438. In un mondo a parte sembrano vivere i La Grua, baroni di Carini, non inseriti nel sistema di potere della monarchia

Expressive Policy Analysis with Enhanced System Dynamicity

Despite several research studies, the effective analysis of policy based systems remains a significant challenge. Policy analysis should at least (i) be expressive (ii) take account of obligations and authorizations, (iii) include a dynamic system model, and (iv) give useful diagnostic information. We present a logic-based policy analysis framework which satisfies these requirements, showing how many significant policy-related properties can be analysed, and we give details of a prototype implementation. Copyright 2009 ACM

Wiener integrals, Malliavin calculus and covariance measure structure

We introduce the notion of {\em covariance measure structure} for square integrable stochastic processes. We define Wiener integral, we develop a suitable formalism for stochastic calculus of variations and we make Gaussian assumptions only when necessary. Our main examples are finite quadratric variation processes with stationary increments and the bifractional Brownian motion.Comment: 50 page

Multi-agent Confidential Abductive Reasoning

In the context of multi-agent hypothetical reasoning, agents typically have partial knowledge about their environments, and the union of such knowledge is still incomplete to represent the whole world. Thus, given a global query they collaborate with each other to make correct inferences and hypothesis, whilst maintaining global constraints. Most collaborative reasoning systems operate on the assumption that agents can share or communicate any information they have. However, in application domains like multi-agent systems for healthcare or distributed software agents for security policies in coalition networks, confidentiality of knowledge is an additional primary concern. These agents are required to collaborately compute consistent answers for a query whilst preserving their own private information. This paper addresses this issue showing how this dichotomy between "open communication" in collaborative reasoning and protection of confidentiality can be accommodated. We present a general-purpose distributed abductive logic programming system for multi-agent hypothetical reasoning with confidentiality. Specifically, the system computes consistent conditional answers for a query over a set of distributed normal logic programs with possibly unbound domains and arithmetic constraints, preserving the private information within the logic programs. A case study on security policy analysis in distributed coalition networks is described, as an example of many applications of this system

EFFECTS OF NDL-PCB ON PORCINE MACROPHAGES: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) causing adverse effects on both humans and animals. Immune system is an important target organ for many environmental contaminants. Macrophages constitute an important component of the immune system of humans and animals, in fact, they are responsible for triggering innate immune responses and host defense. The aim of the current study was to assess the immunomodulatory effects of certain non dioxin like PCBs (PCB 138; PCB 153 and PCB 180) using porcine macrophage 3D4/31 cell line. We evaluated not only the effects induced by the individual congeners but also those deriving from mixtures of more contaminants, in consideration of the fact that co-contamination of the same substrate is common in natural conditions and the effects of simultaneous exposure to multiple contaminants are still little investigated. The results of the current study showed that ndl-PCBs reduced significantly cell viability only at the highest concentration (50 µM); such effect was not linked to apoptosis induction or cell cycle arrest. The contemporary presence of more than one contaminant (differently combined) did not induce any enhancement of effects on 3D4/31 cell line

On the quasi-regularity of non-sectorial Dirichlet forms by processes having the same polar sets

We obtain a criterion for the quasi-regularity of generalized (non-sectorial) Dirichlet forms, which extends the result of P.J. Fitzsimmons on the quasi-regularity of (sectorial) semi-Dirichlet forms. Given the right (Markov) process associated to a semi-Dirichlet form, we present sufficient conditions for a second right process to be a standard one, having the same state space. The above mentioned quasi-regularity criterion is then an application. The conditions are expressed in terms of the associated capacities, nests of compacts, polar sets, and quasi-continuity. A second application is on the quasi-regularity of the generalized Dirichlet forms obtained by perturbing a semi-Dirichlet form with kernels .Comment: Correction of typos and other minor change

Mitochondrion at the Crossroad Between Nutrients and Epigenome.

Epigenetic profile is the link between the regulation of nuclear gene expression and the environment. The most important factors capable of significantly affecting the cellular environment are the amount and quality of nutrients available. Mitochondria are both involved in the production of some of the molecules capable of directly affecting the epigenome and have a critical role in the conversion of nutrients into usable energy. Carbohydrate and fats are converted into ATP, acetyl-CoA, SAM, and NADH. These high-energy substrates are, in turn, capable of driving the epigenetic profile. We describe substances capable of affecting this mechanism. On the other hand, nutritional interventions capable of reducing calories or significantly impairing the normal Acetyl-CoA production or the SAM-SAH ratio also impact chromatin methylation and histone modification, suggesting a critical role of mitochondria on nutrient-dependent epigenetic profile

Sulle origini del priorato cluniacense di Santa Maria delle Giummare di Sciacca (XII secolo)

Il priorato di Santa Maria delle Giummare di Sciacca fu fondato, secondo la tradizione, da Giuditta, figlia di Ruggero I e si attestò come unico esemplare cluniacense in Sicilia tra i numerosi priorati creati tra la seconda metà dell’XI secolo e gli inizi del XII in Italia. Nonostante la particolarità, il monastero è stato poco studiato e diversi interrogativi attendono ancora una soluzione. Il saggio analizza le questioni aperte legate alle origini del monastero e, quindi, alla data e al documento di fondazione, alla fondatrice e alla scelta dell’ordine cluniacense, restringendo l’arco cronologico in cui poté realizzarsi la fondazione e ipotizzandone le ragioni.The priory of Santa Maria delle Giummare of Sciacca was founded, according to tradition, by Judith, daughter of Roger I and attested as the only Cluniac example in Sicily among the numerous priories created between the second half of the eleventh century and the beginning of the twelfth in Italy. Despite the particularity, the monastery has been little studied and several questions have to be answered. The essay analyzes the open questions related to the origins of the monastery and, therefore, to the date and document of foundation, to the founder and to the choice of the Cluniac order, restricting the chronological period in which the foundation could be realized and hypothesizing its reasons

Probabilistic assessment of equivalent fracture aperture constrained on quasi-real-time drilling mud loss data

We provide a rigorous workflow to quantify the effects of key sources of uncertainty associated with equivalent fracture aperture estimates w constrained through mud loss information acquired while drilling a well in a reservoir. A stochastic inverse modeling framework is employed to estimate the probability distribution of w. This choice is consistent with the quantity and quality of available data. The approach allows assessing the probability that values of w inferred from mud loss events exceed a given threshold. We rely on a streamlined analytical solution to model mud losses while drilling. We explicitly consider uncertainties associated with model parameters and forcing terms, including drilling fluid rheological properties and flow rates, pore fluid pressure, and dynamic drilling fluid pressure. A synthetic scenario is considered to provide a transparent reference setting against which our stochastic inverse modeling workflow can be appraised. The approach is then applied to a real-case scenario. The latter is associated with data monitored on a rig site. A direct comparison of the impact of data collected through two common techniques (respectively, relying on flow meter sensors or pump strokes) on the ensuing probability of w is provided. A detailed analysis of the uncertainty related to the level of data corruption is also performed, considering various levels of measurement errors. Results associated with the field setting suggest that the proposed workflow yields probability distribution of w that are compatible with interpretations relying on traditional analyses of image logs. Results stemming from direct and indirect flow data display similar shapes. This suggests the viability of the probabilistic inversion methodology to assist quasi-real-time identification of equivalent fracture apertures on the basis of routinely acquired information during drilling