Emplotting the Postcolonial: Epistemology and Narratology in Amitav Ghosh's The Calcutta Chromosome

The plot of Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome is so complex that there is little consensus among the scholars on what actually happens in the novel. Following in the footsteps of Tagore, Satyajit Rai, Renu, and J.P.S. Uberoi, the novelist dramatizes the encounter between Western science, with its epistemology, and Indian tradition. Ghosh’s novel challenges the relentless West-driven search for knowledge, epitomized by the supercomputer named Ava. Only different epistemological premises, based on silence, can counteract Western rationalism. The literary technique mirrors this preoccupation in that it tells a story from two different viewpoints, one of them remaining silent throughout and emphasizing the agency of narrators. In order to do so, the author must write about something of which he remains ignorant. This paradoxical condition calls for a revision of the traditional writing chart, so that it is necessary to include the figure of the archiauthor behind the traditional implied author. This may explain a reticent narrative that heavily relies on the reader’s intelligence. Furthermore, my narratological reading highlights two themes formerly neglected by scholars, namely that subalterns’ cosmopolitism in the future is rooted in our colonial past and that the interpersonal transference envisaged by the novel merges different people in one body, thus challenging the Western obsession with individualism

Jhumpa Lahiri, Dove mi trovo

Jhumpa Lahiri, Dove mi trovo (Milano, Guanda Editore, 2018, 180 pp. ISBN 978-88-235-2347-0) di Alessandro Vescov

Dal bosco all'Arsenale. Appunti di viaggio di un abete rosso del Cadore

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Large-scale geomorphological mapping as a tool to detect structural features: the case of Mt. Prinzera ophiolite rock mass (Northern Apennines, Italy)

This paper presents a geomorphologic map of the Mt. Prinzera ultramafic rock complex (Parma Province, Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy) mapped at large scale (1:2500). The map is the first contribution to the detailed geomorphologic knowledge of the area within the framework of a multidisciplinary approach used to analyse Mt. Prinzera as a hard rock aquifer case study. The geomorphologic mapping was carried out by field survey and aerial photograph analysis. All the surface processes and landforms were considered, with particular attention to structural geomorphologic features. The mapping of linear morphologic features was considered useful for revealing the presence of sets of joints otherwise difficult to detect due to surface weathering. Sets of rock discontinuities are important for water seepage and percolation and their identification is crucial for developing the hydrogeological conceptual model of the aquifer

Molecular dynamics recipes for genome research

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation allows one to predict the time evolution of a system of interacting particles. It is widely used in physics, chemistry and biology to address specific questions about the structural properties and dynamical mechanisms of model systems. MD earned a great success in genome research, as it proved to be beneficial in sorting pathogenic from neutral genomic mutations. Considering their computational requirements, simulations are commonly performed on HPC computing devices, which are generally expensive and hard to administer. However, variables like the software tool used for modeling and simulation or the size of the molecule under investigation might make one hardware type or configuration more advantageous than another or even make the commodity hardware definitely suitable for MD studies. This work aims to shed lights on this aspect

Hydrogeological mapping of heterogeneous and multi-layered ophiolitic aquifers (Mountain Prinzera, northern Apennines, Italy)

A few hydrogeological studies have been carried out worldwide in peridotite aquifer systems, despite their wide distribution. The ophiolites are one of the main groundwater reservoir within the northern Apennines (Italy). This paper suggests the graphical solution to set the hydrogeological map of heterogeneous, multi-layered ophiolitic aquifers mapped on large scale (1:1600). The site investigation area is an ophiolite outcrop of the External Ligurian of the northern Apennines: the Mountain Prinzera rock complex area (44°38′30′′N, 10°5′E; Parma Province, Emilia-Romagna Region). The hydrogeological characteristics of the tested aquifer system do not allow setting a hydrogeological map by applying usual graphical approaches. The hydrogeological map in such complex aquifer systems will show the classic hydrogeological data but must put in evidence above all (i) the main heterogeneities of the system, from the hydraulic point of view and (ii) the modifications of groundwater scenarios and pathways over time. The hydrogeological database of Mt Prinzera aquifer was managed in ESRI ArcGIS 10.0 software

Generation of induced pluripotent stem cell line, CSSi004-A (2962), from a patient diagnosed with Huntington's disease at the presymptomatic stage

Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable, autosomal dominant, hereditary neurodegenerative disorder that typically manifests itself in midlife. This pathology is linked to the deregulation of multiple, as yet unknown, cellular processes starting before HD onset. A human iPS cell line was generated from skin fibroblasts of a subject at the presymptomatic life stage, carrying a polyglutamine expansion in HTT gene codifying Huntingtin protein. The iPSC line contained the expected CAG expansion, expressed the expected pluripotency markers, displayed in vivo differentiation potential to the three germ layers and had a normal karyotype

Comparison of tensile strength and fracture toughness under mode I and II loading of co-cured and co-bonded CFRP joints

Adhesive bonding is the elective joining system between Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) parts because, with respect to fastening, it allows a large connection area, no additional parts (hence weight saving) and no need to drill holes into the composite, that is always detrimental for the strength due to the possibility of developing damage. However, the choice of bonding CFRP should be evaluated as alternative to direct curing in terms of strength and durability, compared to cost and manufacturing time and complexity. In this work, a comparison between co-cured and co-bonded CFRP is done with respect to tensile strength and mode I and mode II fracture toughness, in order to understand whether co-bonding guarantees the same performance of a co-cured composite part.Adhesive bonding is the elective joining system between Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) parts because, with respect to fastening, it allows a large connection area, no additional parts (hence weight saving) and no need to drill holes into the composite, that is always detrimental for the strength due to the possibility of developing damage. However, the choice of bonding CFRP should be evaluated as alternative to direct curing in terms of strength and durability, compared to cost and manufacturing time and complexity. In this work, a comparison between co-cured and co-bonded CFRP is done with respect to tensile strength and mode I and mode II fracture toughness, in order to understand whether co-bonding guarantees the same performance of a co-cured composite part