Understanding the Birth, Quality and Collapse of Democratic Regimes through Movement-Party Interactions

This article provides a discussion of Sid Tarrow's "Movements and Parties. Critical Connections in American Political Development". First, it discusses the concept of movementization of parties. Second, it focuses on the main linkage and relational mechanisms that define the interaction between parties and movements. Next, it introduces the comparative part of Tarrow's book highlighting the role that movements play in the processes of democratic anchoring and de-anchoring. Eventually, it critically reviews the concept of hybridity by attempting to uncover the constitutive mechanisms of the process of movementization and its empirical referents in recent U.S. history

Understanding the Birth, Quality and Collapse of Democratic Regimes through Movement-Party Interactions

This article provides a discussion of Sid Tarrow's "Movements and Parties. Critical Connections in American Political Development". First, it discusses the concept of movementization of parties. Second, it focuses on the main linkage and relational mechanisms that define the interaction between parties and movements. Next, it introduces the comparative part of Tarrow's book highlighting the role that movements play in the processes of democratic anchoring and de-anchoring. Eventually, it critically reviews the concept of hybridity by attempting to uncover the constitutive mechanisms of the process of movementization and its empirical referents in recent U.S. history

Modelli di aderenza nelle strutture in c.a.

Nella presente tesi viene studiata un nuova legge analitica per rappresentare il fenomeno fisico dell’aderenza, che nel cemento armato consente il trasferimento delle tensioni tra acciaio e calcestruzzo. La legge di aderenza più accreditata in letteratura, quella adottata dal CEB, è stata messa in discussione nell’ambito di recenti studi: di qui l’esigenza di uno studio in materia. Sono state effettuate delle prove di trazione su dei cilindri di calcestruzzo armati con una barra d’acciaio lungo il loro asse. Gli estensimetri collocati all’interfaccia dei due materiali misuravano la deformazione nell’acciaio. Le letture degli estensimetri sono state interpolate con una funzione esponenziale, da cui si è ricavata, mediante equazioni di equilibrio, di congruenza e di legame costitutivo, la legge di aderenza. Essa presenta una forma quasi omotetica rispetto a quella del CEB, ma con ascisse (scorrimenti) ed ordinate (tensioni tangenziali) significativamente più contenute; presenta inoltre una dipendenza dalla posizione della sezione in esame rispetto alla sezione di estremità. Il legame trovato è stato utilizzato per un confronto con alcuni dati di letteratura riferiti a prove analoghe. Esso è stato inoltre utilizzato per il calcolo dell’ampiezza delle fessure e per analizzare il comportamento di un nodo trave – pilastro

First Supramolecular Sensors for Phosphonate Anions

Fluorescent tripodal anion sensors with a 1,3,5-triethylbenzene core display a turn-on fluorescence response to phosphonate and phosphate anions and may be used as optical sensors. The properties of the receptors and sensors as well as their anion binding behavior were investigated both in solution and in solid state. The turn-on fluorescence response can be leveraged in sensing of phosphate anions and, most importantly, hydrolysis products of the nerve gas sarin, isopropyl methylphosphonate (IMP), and methylphosphonate (MP). The fluorescence signal amplification in the presence of anions allows for application of these molecules in a sensor microarray suitable for high-throughput screening.NSF CHE 0750303, EXP-LA 0731153BGSU (TIE Grant)Chemistr

Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the gut microbiome of children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: which strains act as health players?

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), considered the leading cause of chronic liver disease in children, can often progress from non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). It is clear that obesity is one of the main risk factors involved in NAFLD pathogenesis, even if specific mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. We investigated the distribution of intestinal bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the stools of four groups of children: obese, obese with NAFL, obese with NASH, and healthy, age-matched controls (CTRLs). Material and methods: Sixty-one obese, NAFL and NASH children and 54 CTRLs were enrolled in the study. Anthropometric and metabolic parameters were measured for all subjects. All children with suspected NASH underwent liver biopsy. Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli were analysed in children’s faecal samples, during a broader, 16S rRNA-based pyrosequencing analysis of the gut microbiome. Results: Three Bifidobacterium spp. (Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and Bifidobacterium adolescentis) and five Lactobacillus spp. (L. zeae, L. vaginalis, L. brevis, L. ruminis, and L. mucosae) frequently recurred in metagenomic analyses. Lactobacillus spp. increased in NAFL, NASH, or obese children compared to CTRLs. Particularly, L. mucosae was significantly higher in obese (p = 0.02426), NAFLD (p = 0.01313) and NASH (p = 0.01079) than in CTRLs. In contrast, Bifidobacterium spp. were more abundant in CTRLs, suggesting a protective and beneficial role of these microorganisms against the aforementioned diseases. Conclusions: Bifidobacteria seem to have a protective role against the development of NAFLD and obesity, highlighting their possible use in developing novel, targeted and effective probiotics

The Mott transition in the 5d1^1 compound Ba2_2NaOsO6:_6: a DFT+DMFT study with PAW non-collinear projectors

Spin-orbit coupling has been reported to be responsible for the insulating nature of the 5d$^1$ osmate double perovskite Ba$_2$NaOsO$_6$ (BNOO). However, whether spin-orbit coupling indeed drives the metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) in this compound is an open question. In this work we investigate the impact of relativistic effects on the electronic properties of BNOO via density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory calculations in the paramagnetic regime, where the insulating phase is experimentally observed. The correlated subspace is modeled with non-collinear projectors of the projector augumented wave method (PAW) employed in the Vienna Ab Initio Simulation Package (VASP), suitably interfaced with the TRIQS package. The inclusion of PAW non-collinear projectors in TRIQS enables the treatment of spin-orbit coupling effects fully ab-initio within the dynamical mean-field theory framework. In the present work, we show that spin-orbit coupling, although assisting the MIT in BNOO, is not the main driving force for its gapped spectra, placing this material in the Mott insulator regime. Relativistic effects primarily impact the correlated states' character, excitations, and magnetic ground-state properties

Hallux rigidus: current concepts review and treatment algorithm with special focus on interposition arthroplasty

Hallux rigidus represents a surgical challenge, with a multitude of possible surgical options, but with no ideal procedures.  The propose of this paper was to review the actual knowledge on the operative techniques, paying particular attention to the evolution of interposition arthroplasties, as an alternative to arthrodesis and prosthesis in the advanced stages of the disease

Host Guest Complexes Of Pentiptycene Receptors Display Edge-to-face Interaction

The pentiptycene receptors form edge-to-face complexes with a variety of aromatic guests including nitroaromatics. X-ray diffractometry revealed that compounds 1, 2, and 3 form host-guest assemblies with a thienyl fragment (from a neightboring molecule of 1), benzene and nitrobenzene, respectively. X-ray studies of the three crystal structures reported here strongly suggest the edge-to-face to be a predominant binding mode between the aromatic guests and electron-rich faces of the pentiptycene aromatic cavity

Experimental and theoretical study of the yellowing of ancient paper

Paper is the most widely used writing support due to the remarkable properties of its principal component - cellulose - one of the most abundant biomaterials present on Earth. However, due to the complexity of the material, an exhaustive picture of its degradation pathways is still missing. In this paper, we will present recent results and progresses obtained in the comprehension of the role of cellulose oxidation in the yellowing of ancient paper. Visible and ultraviolet spectra of cellulose in ancient paper samples and reference modern samples artificially aged have been interpreted with the aid of ab-initio Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory calculations. Through the comparison of measured and calculated absorption spectra, several oxidized forms of cellulose polymers, acting as chromophores, and responsible for ancient paper yellowing were identified. The relative concentration of ketones and aldehydic groups depends on the environmental conditions in which samples were stored along their life