Scene di vita quotidiana nelle Metamorfosi di Ovidio: donne e dee al telaio

In the literature of the Augustan age, the subject of sedula matron with her attendants dedicated to the work of Minerva is a recurring formula that has its model in the chaste Lucretia. The spinners are featured in several passages of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which will be analyzed here, as they provide valuable information on women’s work in terms of both technical and political terms. Regarding technical aspects, the comparative reading of the different steps allows us to reconstruct the sequence of actions leading to the production of fabric from amorphous glomera. However, from a socio-political perspective, Ovid’s work captures an opinion on women’s activities far and away against the canons of Augustan culture. In particular, whether in the long passage dedicated to Minieidi, or in that of Minerva and Arachne, the reader sees a clash between Minerva and Bacchus to the benefit of the latter, who was not among the deities in the pantheon beloved by the founder of the Empire. Here also perhaps we may see emerging the anti-augustan opinions of Ovid about which the critics argue to this day. A final consideration is suggested by the reading of Book IV in which the daughters of Minia in turn tell the old stories: the industrious female universe which Ovid illustrates, whose members work hard within closed rooms, becomes an important means for disseminating and sharing a common heritage of myths and legends, the same tales which the dominae and maidens had heard during childhood and had seen represented in the theater, and daily admired on the walls and floors of the domus and villas and upon objects of adornment and use

Approaches to mutual funds selection: the importance of an appropriate selection process

After years of contrasting opinions, financial literature is converging to the conviction that, in funds selection, a study based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis allows to build portfolios that produce higher performances than adopting only one of these approaches. Studying some factitious portfolios, obtained from the investible universe of mutual funds of a small Italian asset management company, this research confirms this conclusion. Moreover, through the introduction of an ESG filter to the first part of the analysis, the statement that counting for values and ethics in portfolio construction enhances the performance of financial products is validate

IMPROVING THE UNDERSTANDING OF DIFFERENT DIETS ON THE CONCENTRATION AND METABOLISM OF THE MAMMALIAN LIGNAN ENTEROLACTONE IN DAIRY CATTLE

Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) is the richest source of the plant lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG), which is precursor for the synthesis of the mammalian lignans enterolactone (EL) and enterodiol (ED) by the gastrointestinal microbes in mammals. There is a great deal of interest in promoting increased intakes of lignans in humans’ diet due to their potential health benefits, especially in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolaemia, breast and prostate cancers, and osteoporosis. Consumption of milk and dairy products enriched in EL could be an excellent strategy to increase the intake of lignans by humans. The first (Chapter II) and second (Chapter III) studies presented in this dissertation aimed to evaluate strategies to improve the concentration of EL in milk of dairy cows. In Chapter II, we evaluated the effects of replacing ground corn (GRC) with incremental amounts of liquid molasses (LM) on production, milk composition (fat, true protein, lactose, EL, urea N, fatty acids), plasma concentrations of antioxidant enzymes and urea N, and apparent total-tract digestibility of nutrients in Jersey cows fed FM. Sixteen multiparous organically-certified Jersey cows averaging (means ± standard deviation) 99 ± 41 d in milk and 462 ± 38 kg of body weight were randomly assigned to treatment sequences in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 14 d for diet adaptation and 7 d for data and sample collection. Diets were fed as total mixed rations and consisted (dry matter basis) of 52% grass-legume baleage, 8% grass hay, 8.5% soyhulls, 2.5% roasted soybean, and 15% FM. Ground corn was totally replaced by increasing amounts of LM at 0, 4, 8, or 12% of the diet dry matter. Orthogonal polynomials were used to test linear, quadratic, and cubic effects in response to LM supplementation using the MIXED procedure of SAS. Milk concentration of EL tended to respond cubically when replacing GRC by incremental amounts of LM in cows fed FM. The plasma activities of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase and catalase did not differ, but superoxide dismutase activity tended to respond cubically with feeding increasing amounts of LM at expense of GRC. Dry matter intake and yields of milk and milk fat, true protein, and lactose decreased linearly with substituting GRC for LM. Whereas the concentrations of milk fat and milk true protein did not differ across treatments, milk lactose content decreased linearly. Feeding incremental levels of LM reduced linearly the milk concentration of urea N and the amount of N excreted in urine, and tended to decrease linearly the concentration of plasma urea N. Apparent total-tract digestibilities of dry matter, organic matter, and neutral and acid detergent fiber did not differ across treatments, while digestibility of crude protein decreased linearly. Milk fatty acids profile was substantially changed most notably by linear increases in cis-9, trans-11 18:2, cis-9, cis-12, cis-15 18:3, Σ odd-chain fatty acids, and the trans-11/trans-10 ratio, and linear decreases in cis-9 18:1 and cis-9, cis-12 18:2 when replacing GRC for incremental amounts of LM. In Chapter III was evaluated the effects of feeding flaxseed oil or sucrose alone or in combination on production, milk composition (fat, true protein, lactose, EL, urea N) plasma concentrations of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and urea N, and apparent total-tract digestibility of nutrients in Holstein cows fed FM. Sixteen multiparous (4 ruminally-cannulated) Holstein cows averaging 94 ± 37.6 d in milk and 680 ± 79.1 kg of BW at the beginning of the study were used. Cows were randomly assigned to treatment sequences in a 4 replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design. Each experimental period lasted 25 d with 18 d for diet adaptation and 7 d for data and sample collection. Treatments were fed (dry matter basis) as total-mixed rations consisting of a 60:40 forage-to-concentrate ratio and included: a negative control diet (-CTRL; 8% SBM plus 23% ground corn); 15% FM +10.7% ground corn + 5% sucrose (SUCR); 15% FM + 15.4% ground corn + 3% flaxseed oil (OIL); and 15% FM +10.2% ground corn + 5% sucrose + 3% FO (COMBO). It was observed that cows fed FM had lower dry matter intake (DMI) compared with that fed soybean meal. Within cows fed FM, the reduction in DMI was greatest in cows fed the OIL diet with no difference between SUCR and COMBO treatments. Milk yield did not differ between cows fed the -CTRL diet and those fed the SUCR and OIL diets. However, a negative associative effect was observed for milk production when FM was supplemented with sucrose and FO. The concentration and yield of milk fat decreased when FO was added to FM. No effects of treatments were observed regarding concentrations and yield of milk true protein, and concentration of milk lactose. However, lactose yield and MUN tended to decrease in the COMBO diet. Digestibility of DM and OM were lower in cows fed FM diets than in those offered the –CRTL treatment. Digestibility of ADF was greatest in –CRTL, intermediate in SUCR, and lowest in OIL and COMBO and no differences across treatments were observed for the apparent total-tract digestibilities of NDF and CP. As expected, the concentration and yield of milk EL were both greater in cows fed FM diets than those fed soybean meal. No difference in milk EL was observed when FM was supplemented with either sucrose or FO alone or their combination (COMBO diet), suggesting no synergistic effects of sucrose and FO in the conversion of SDG to EL in the rumen. A second aim of this dissertation (Chapter IV) was to determine the pharmacokinetics of EL in newborn dairy calves fed milk replacer (MR) or EL-enriched milk. In newborn calves, suckling stimulates the reflex closure of the esophageal groove so that milk or milk replacer bypass the reticulo-rumen down to the abomasum. Thus, calves may be used as a model to make inferences about the pharmacokinetics of EL in simple-stomach mammals including humans. The objective of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of EL from MR or EL-enriched milk consumed by newborn Holstein calves. Twenty Holsteins calves (n = 10 males and 10 females) were used from birth to d 7 of life. The 10 calves born from multiparous cows received 4 L of colostrum using nipple bottles. Whereas, the 10 calves born from primiparous cows were fed 4 L of stored colostrum from multiparous cows when available or colostrum replacer. On d 5 of life, calves were administered 2 L of milk replacer (n = 10; Low-EL treatment: 123 nmol/L EL) or 2 L of EL-enriched milk (n = 10; High-EL treatment: 481 nmol/L EL) during the morning feeding (0700 h). Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein before (0 h) and at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, and 48 h after oral administration of treatments. The area under the curve for the plasma concentration of EL was analyzed according to the trapezoidal rule between 0 and 12 h after treatment administration, and it was greater in High- (26 nmol/L × h) than Low-EL calves (4.30 nmol/L × h). Similarly, the maximum concentration of EL in plasma was greater in High- (5.06 nmol/L) vs. Low-EL calves (1.95 nmol/L). Furthermore, the time after treatment intake to reach maximum plasma concentration of EL was faster in High- (4.31 h) compared with Low-EL (4.44 h) treatment. Calves were able to absorb EL, thus indicating that EL-enriched milk can be potentially used as source of EL to pre-weaned ruminants

A novel approach for the estimation of nanoparticle evaporation through the Method of Moments

In this article the results of the application of two numerical approaches - the Method of Moments and the nodal method - for the prediction of the evaporation phenomena in the synthesis of nanoparticles are presented and compared, in order to evaluate the limits of the moment methods and to determine the usability of the method in plasma environments (i.e. high temperatures and steep gradients). Furthermore, a new closure term is introduced in the Method of Moments, in order to consider the disappearance of the particles due to the evaporation process. The Nodal Method is used as a benchmark for the Method of Moments

Numerical Analysis of the Correlation between Arc Plasma Fluctuation and Nanoparticle Growth–Transport under Atmospheric Pressure

A time-dependent two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric simulation was conducted for arc plasma with dynamically fluctuating fluid generating iron nanoparticles in a direct-current discharge condition. The nonequilibrium process of simultaneous growth and transport of nanoparticles is simulated using a simple model with a low computational cost. To ascertain fluid dynamic instability and steep gradients in plasma temperature and particle distributions, a highly accurate method is adopted for computation. The core region of the arc plasma is almost stationary, whereas the fringe fluctuates because of fluid dynamic instability between the arc plasma and the shielding gas. In the downstream region, the vapor molecules decrease by condensation. The nanoparticles decrease by coagulation. These results suggest that both of the simultaneous processes make important contributions to particle growth. The fluctuation of nanoparticle number density in a distant region exhibits stronger correlation with the temperature fluctuation at the plasma fringe. The correlation analysis results suggest that the distribution of growing nanoparticles distant from the arc plasma can be controlled via control of temperature fluctuation at the arc plasma fringe

Detection of cartel formation in government biddings using data mining agents

A Controladoria-Geral da União (CGU), como órgão central do sistema de controle interno do Poder Executivo Federal do Brasil é responsável pela realização de atividades de auditoria e fiscalização, visando à prevenção e o combate à corrupção. No entanto, algumas atividades como a detecção de cartéis em licitações é limitada, pela dificuldade de encontrar soluções efetivas em grande volume de bases de dados com milhões de registros de transações financeiras. Nesta seara, algumas áreas de Ciência da Computa-ção apresentam bons resultados no processo de descoberta de conhecimento com uso de técnicas de mineração de dados, tais como classificação, clusterização e regras de associação, as quais, associadas à área de Sistema Multiagente, ampliam o poder de processamento de forma distribuída e interativa com agentes de mineração de dados. Neste sentido, esta pesquisa utiliza agentes de mineração de dados com regras de associação e clusterização para a solução do problema de detecção de cartéis em licita-ções. Como resultado da pesquisa foram descobertas mais de cem regras de associação, das quais dez apresentam fortes indícios de cartelização, comprovando a utilidade da abordagem como suporte ao trabalho de auditoria governamental. __________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), as the central agency of Brazil's Federal Government Internal Control is responsible for the fiscalization and auditing to fight and prevent corruption. However, some activities such as government purchasing fraud detection are limited by the difficulty of finding effective solutions, considering the huge volume of data, with millions of finantial registers. In such a context, the proccess of knowledge discovery may take advantage of Data Mining techniques, including classification, clusterization and association rules; which associated to multiagent system enrich the processing power through the interation and distribuiton of data mining agents. Thus, this research work used data mining agents with association rules and clusterization techniques to identify cartels, acting in fraud detection. As a research result, more than one hundred association rules were discovered, of which ten have strong evidence of cartelization, proving the usefulness of the approach to support the work of government auditing

FLAXSEED MEAL FEEDING TO DAIRY COWS AS A STRATEGY TO IMPROVE MILK ENTEROLACTONE CONCENTRATION: A LITERATURE REVIEW

ABSTRACT: Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) is the richest source of the plant lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). In mammals, including bovine, SDG is converted to the mammalian lignans enterolactone (EL) and enterodiol (ED) by the action of gastrointestinal microbes. There is a great deal of interest in promoting increased intakes of lignans in humans’ diet due to the potential health benefits of mammalian lignans, especially in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolaemia, breast and prostate cancers, and osteoporosis. Consumption of milk and dairy products enriched in EL could be an excellent strategy to increase the intake of lignans by humans. This literature review will focus on presenting feeding strategies capable to improve milk enterolactone concentration. Research has demonstrated the potential of flaxseed meal (FM) feeding to dairy cows as a strategy to improve milk EL concentration, therefore enhancing milk nutraceutical proprieties. A considerable number of studies have demonstrated that feeding vegetable lignans-rich sources, such as FM, to dairy cows improves EL in milk. Additionally, it has been reported that changes in the carbohydrate profile of FM-based diets fed to dairy cows can alter the output of milk EL. The application of animal nutrition as a tool to increase nutraceutical properties of milk (i.e. increased EL concentration) is a valuable strategy for promoting the association of milk with humans’ health benefits and is of great interest in contemporary society. Keywords: nutraceutical proprieties, bioactive compounds, lignans, dairy cows, disease risk reductionO farelo de linhaça na dieta de vacas leiteiras como estratégia para aumentar a concentração de enterolactona no leite: revisão de literatura   RESUMO: A linhaça (Linum usitatissimum) é a principal fonte da lignana vegetal secoisolariciresinol diglucosídeo (SDG). Em mamíferos, incluindo bovinos, SDG é precursor para a síntese das lignanas de mamíferos enterolactona (EL) e enterodiol (ED) pelos microrganismos gastrointestinais. Existe um grande interesse em promover o aumento da ingestão de lignanas na dieta humana devido aos potenciais benefícios da EL a saúde, incluindo principalmente a prevenção de doenças cardiovasculares, hipercolesterolemia, câncer de mama e de próstata e osteoporose. Assim, objetivou-se fazer uma revisão de literatura sobre estratégias de alimentação capazes de melhorar a concentração de enterolactona no leite, melhorando assim a atividade biológica e os benefícios do leite para a saúde humana.fontes ricas em lignanas vegetais, como o farelo de linhaça (FM), aumenta a concentração de EL no leite. Além disso, estudos têm demonstrado que mudanças no perfil de carboidratos de dietas à base de FM fornecidas a vacas leiteiras alteram a concentração de EL do leite. A aplicação da nutrição animal como ferramenta para aumentar as propriedades nutracêuticas do leite (ex. aumentar a concentração de EL) é uma estratégia valiosa para promover a associação do leite com benefícios à saúde humana e é de grande interesse na sociedade moderna. Palavras-chave: propriedades nutracêuticas do leite; compostos bioativos; lignanas; redução do risco de doenças; bovinocultura leiteira.   ABSTRACT: Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) is the richest source of the plant lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). In mammals, including bovine, SDG is converted to the mammalian lignans enterolactone (EL) and enterodiol (ED) by the action of gastrointestinal microbes. There is a great deal of interest in promoting increased intakes of lignans in humans’ diet due to the potential health benefits of mammalian lignans, especially in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolaemia, breast and prostate cancers, and osteoporosis. Consumption of milk and dairy products enriched in EL could be an excellent strategy to increase the intake of lignans by humans. This literature review will focus on presenting feeding strategies capable to improve milk enterolactone concentration. Research has demonstrated the potential of flaxseed meal (FM) feeding to dairy cows as a strategy to improve milk EL concentration, therefore enhancing milk nutraceutical proprieties. A considerable number of studies have demonstrated that feeding vegetable lignans-rich sources, such as FM, to dairy cows improves EL in milk. Additionally, it has been reported that changes in the carbohydrate profile of FM-based diets fed to dairy cows can alter the output of milk EL. The application of animal nutrition as a tool to increase nutraceutical properties of milk (i.e. increased EL concentration) is a valuable strategy for promoting the association of milk with humans’ health benefits and is of great interest in contemporary society. Keywords: milk nutraceutical proprieties; bioactive compounds; lignans; disease risk reduction; dairy cattle production.

Beyond spatial and temporal averages: ecological responses to extreme events may be exacerbated by local disturbances

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I materiali dell’ Arte Nova portoghese in Casa Major Pessoa ad Aveiro: caratterizzazione e confronto con edifici coevi in Bologna

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