185 research outputs found
George Steiner, Nel castello di BarbablĂč
Review of Steiner, George. In bluebeardâs castle. Some notes towards the redefinition of culture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974. Print.Nel volume qui recensito George Steiner si interroga sulla legittimitĂ della trasmissione della tradizione filosofica e letteraria occidentale. Lâindagine si concentra sul ruolo che la cultura ha svolto nellâevoluzione umana dalla Rivoluzione francese ai giorni nostri, esaminando tanto lâinsopprimibile tendenza alla barbarie dellâuomo occidentale quanto la sua costante volontĂ di ricerca e di sviluppo intellettuale. Gli interrogativi posti sul compito che la cultura dovrebbe assolvere dopo le tragedie della prima metĂ del novecento â in particolare quella dellâOlocausto â sono, in questo senso, quanto mai attuali e pressanti
La provocazione della scriminante. I limiti della giustificazione del reato in contesti illeciti
Lâarticolo affronta il tema della provocazione volontaria di situazioni di difesa legittima e di stato di necessitĂ . I casi di provocazione della scriminante riguardano tutte quelle situazioni nelle quali lâagente provoca volontariamente con la sua condotta una reazione aggressiva di un altro soggetto, con la conseguenza di poterlo poi ledere impunemente per difendersi dallâaggressione di questâultimo, beneficiando cosĂŹ dellâazione di una esimente. Il contributo, partendo da uno studio comparato sullâapplicazione del paradigma della âactio libera in causaâ alla provocazione della scriminante, analizza la disciplina dellâart. 54 c.p. e in particolare il requisito dellâinvolontaria causazione del pericolo. A fronte del silenzio dellâart. 52 c.p. sulla possibilitĂ di una causazione volontaria dellâoffesa da respingere, si sono valutati possibilitĂ e limiti della difesa da parte del soggetto provocatore, cercando di conciliare da un lato lâesigenza di tutelare lâincolumitĂ personale dell'aggredito, dallâaltra quella di impedire che il soggetto provocatore approfitti della protezione accordata dallâordinamento per finalitĂ illecite. La giurisprudenza ha affrontato sovente il problema con riferimento al rapporto tra delitto di rissa e legittima difesa. Attribuire una adeguata rilevanza agli elementi soggettivi delle scriminanti permette di definire con maggiore precisione i confini e lâessenza del contesto di operativitĂ della giustificazione del reato, in particolare nei casi di provocazione di una esimente
Mapping of major volcanic structures on Pavonis Mons in Tharsis, Mars
Pavonis Mons, with its 300 km of diameter and 14 km of height, is one of the largest volcanoes of Mars. It rests on a topographic high called Tharsis rise and it is located in the centre of a SW-NE trending row of volcanoes, including Arsia and Ascraeus Montes. In this study we mapped and analyzed the volcanic and tectonic structures of Pavonis Mons in order to understand its formation and the relationship between magmatic and tectonic activity. We use the mapping ArcGIS software and vast set of high resolution topographic and multi-spectral images including CTX (6 m/pixel) as well as HRSC (12.5 m/pixel) and HiRiSE (âŒ0.25 m/pixel) mosaic images. Furthemore, we used MOLA (âŒ463 m/pixel in the MOLA MEGDR gridded topographic data), THEMIS thermal inertia (IR-day, 100 m/pixel) and THEMIS (IR-night, 100 m/pixel) images global mosaic to map structures at the regional scale. We found a wide range of structures including ring dykes, wrinkle ridges, pit chains, lava flows, lava channels, fissures and depressions that we preliminary interpreted as coalescent lava tubes. Many sinuous rilles have eroded Pavonisâ slopes and culminate with lava aprons, similar to alluvial fans. South of Pavonis Mons we also identify a series of volcanic vents mainly aligned along a SW-NE trend. Displacements across recent crater rim and volcanic deposits (strike slip faults and wrinkle ridges) have been documented suggesting that, at least during the most recent volcanic phases, the regional tectonics has contributed in shaping the morphology of Pavonis. The kinematics of the mapped structures is consistent with a ENE-SSW direction of the maximum horizontal stress suggesting a possible interaction with nearby Valles Marineris. Our study provides new morphometric analysis of volcano-tectonic features that can be used to depict an evolutionary history for the Pavonis Volcano
A Preliminary Color Study of Different Basil-Based Semi-Finished Products during Their Storage
open6: Basil-based semi-finished products, which are mainly used as an intermediate to produce
the typical pesto sauce, are prepared and exported all over the world. Color is a fundamental
organoleptic requirement for the acceptability of these semi-finished products by the manufacturers
of the pesto sauce. Some alternative formulations, which adjust the typical industrial recipe by both
changing the preservative agent (ascorbic acid, citric acid, or a mixture of both) and introducing a
preliminary thermic treatment (blast chilling), were evaluated. In this work, a fast and non-destructive
spectrophotometric analysis, to monitor the color variations in these food products during their
shelf-life, was proposed. The raw diffuse reflectance spectra (380â900 nm) obtained by a UVâvisible
spectrophotometer, endowed with an integrating sphere, together with the CIELab parameters (L*, a*,
b*) automatically obtained from these, were considered, and elaborated using multivariate statistical
analysis (principal component analysis). From this preliminary study, blast chilling, together with
the use of ascorbic acid, proved to be the best solution to better preserve the color of these products
during their shelf-life.openTurrini, Federica; Farinini, Emanuele; Leardi, Riccardo; Grasso, Federica; Orlandi, Valentina; Boggia, Raffaella;Turrini, Federica; Farinini, Emanuele; Leardi, Riccardo; Grasso, Federica; Orlandi, Valentina; Boggia, Raffaell
Extended âorbital moleculesâ and magnetic phase separation in Bi0.68Ca0.32MnO3
The low-temperature structure of Bi0.68Ca0.32MnO3 has been solved from electron and neutron diffraction data. The quantitative simultaneous refinement indicates an ordering of the Mn cations in a âstripe/chessâ-like pattern. The ordering is accompanied by the formation of short MnâMn distances and the rearrangement of the MnâO bonds indicating the development of complex extended âorbital molecules.â The primary order parameter breaks inversion symmetry and allows the generation of a spontaneous electrical polarization as the secondary order parameter. The neutron data at low temperature indicate the coexistence of a pseudo-CE long-range-ordered structure with a strongly reduced moment and short-range ferromagnetic correlations. These results indicate an intricate competition between the charge, orbital, and magnetic degrees of freedom and the Bi3+ stereoactivity in this manganite system
Targeted and untargeted quantification of quorum sensing signalling molecules in bacterial cultures and biological samples via HPLC-TQ MS techniques
Quorum sensing (QS) is the ability of some bacteria to detect and to respond to population density through signalling molecules.
QS molecules are involved in motility and cell aggregation mechanisms in diseases such as sepsis. Few biomarkers are currently
available to diagnose sepsis, especially in high-risk conditions. The aim of this study was the development of new analytical
methods based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the detection and quantification of QS signalling molecules,
including N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHL) and hydroxyquinolones (HQ), in biofluids. Biological samples used in the study
were Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial cultures and plasma from patients with sepsis. We developed two MS analytical
methods, based on neutral loss (NL) and product ion (PI) experiments, to identify and characterize unknown AHL and HQ
molecules. We then established a multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) method to quantify specific QS compounds. We validated
the HPLC-MS-based approaches (MRM-NL-PI), and data were in accord with the validation guidelines. With the NL and
PI MS-based methods, we identified and characterized 3 and 13 unknown AHL and HQ compounds, respectively, in biological
samples. One of the newly found AHL molecules was C12-AHL, first quantified in Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial cultures.
The MRM quantitation of analytes in plasma from patients with sepsis confirmed the analytical ability of MRM for the
quantification of virulence factors during sepsis
Ascorbic acid reduces Ropivacaine-induced myotoxicity in cultured human osteoporotic skeletal muscle cells
Background: Osteoporosis is a worldwide health issue. Loss of bone mass is a potential risk factor for fragility fractures, and osteoporotic fractures place a considerable burden on society. Bone and muscle represent a functional unit in which the two tissues are intimately interconnected. Ropivacaine is a potent local anesthetic used in clinical practice for intraoperative anesthesia and postoperative pain management, in particular for hip surgery. When injected, Ropivacaine can diffuse locally through, in particular in surrounding skeletal muscle tissue, causing dose-dependent cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and myogenesis impairment. Based on those evidences, we focused our attention on Ropivacaine-induced cytotoxicity on cultured human myoblasts. Methods: Primary human myoblasts and myotubes from healthy subjects, osteoarthritic and osteoporotic patients (OP) were cultured in the presence of Ropivacaine. In some experiments, ascorbic acid (AsA) was added as a potent antioxidant agent. Cell viability and ROS levels were evaluated to investigate the myotoxic activity and Real-Time PCR and Western blot analysis carried out to investigate the expression of proliferation and myogenic markers. Results: A dose-dependent decrease of cell viability was observed after Ropivacaine exposure in both OP myoblasts and myotubes cultures, whereas those effects were not observed in the presence of Propofol, a general anesthetic. The adding of AsA reduced Ropivacaine negative effects in OP myoblast cultures. In addition, Ropivacaine exposure also increased ROS levels and upregulated Nox4 expression, an enzyme primarily implicated in skeletal muscle ROS generation. AsA treatment counteracted the oxidant activity of Ropivacaine and partially restored the basal condition in cultures. Positive myogenic markers, such as MyoD and Myf5, were downregulated by Ropivacaine exposure, whereas myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth and differentiation, was upregulated. The phenotypic deregulation of myogenic controllers in the presence of Ropivacaine was counteracted by AsA treatment. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the oxidative stress-mediated myotoxic effect of Ropivacaine on human skeletal muscle tissue cell cultures, and suggest treatment with AsA as valid strategy to mitigate its negative effects and allowing an ameliorated functional skeletal muscle recovery in patients undergoing hip replacement surgery for osteoporotic bone fracture
Non-melanoma skin cancer treated with high-dose-rate brachytherapy: a review of literature
Purpose: The incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) has been increasing over the past 30 years. There are different treatment options and surgical excision is the most frequent treatment due to its low rates of recurrence.
Radiotherapy is an effective alternative of surgery, and brachytherapy (BT) might be a better therapeutic option due to high radiation dose concentration to the tumor with rapid dose fall-off resulting in normal tissues sparing. The aim of this review was to evaluate the local control, toxicity, and cosmetic outcomes in NMSC treated with high-dose-rate BT (HDR-BT).
Material and methods: In May 2016, a systematic search of bibliographic database of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library with a combination of key words of âskin cancerâ, âhigh dose rate brachytherapyâ,âsquamous cell carcinomaâ, âbasal cell carcinomaâ, and ânon melanoma skin cancerâ was performed. In this systematic review, we included randomized trials, non-randomized trials, prospective and retrospective studies in patients affected by NMSC treated with HDR-BT.
Results: Our searches generated a total of 85 results, and through a process of screening, 10 publications were selected for the review. Brachytherapy was well tolerated with acceptable toxicity and high local control rates (median: 97%).
Cosmetic outcome was reported in seven study and consisted in an excellent and good cosmetic results in 94.8% of cases.
Conclusions: Based on the review data, we can conclude that the treatment of NMSC with HDR-BT is effective with excellent and good cosmetics results, even in elderly patients. The hypofractionated course appears effective with very good local disease control. More data with large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of brachytherapy
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