Human Rights, Culture and Identity: Between Silence and Intercultural Dialogue

Los desarrollos actuales de la teoría de género y de la crítica feminista constituyen líneas imprescindibles para el análisis y la implementación de políticas públicas con sensibilidad de género para comprender los grados y modos de exclusión y discriminación de las mujeres en general y de las diversidades sexuales en particular. En este trabajo nos interesa transversalizar la cuestión de sexo- género con la de etnia, proponiendo el diálogo como una forma democrática de hacer visibles necesidades, exclusiones y derechos.The current de velopments of gender theory and feminism are unavoidable research lines for the analysis andimplementation of public policies with gender sensitivity, for understanding the degrees and modes of exclusion and discrimination against women in general, and sexual diversities, in particular. This article aims to study sex- gender and ethnic questions transversally, proposing dialogue as a democratic form of making visible needs, exclusions and rights.Fil: Femenias, Maria Luisa. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Sciortino, María Silvana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales; Argentin

Filters for X-ray detectors on Space missions

Thin filters and gas tight windows are used in Space to protect sensitive X-ray detectors from out-of-band electromagnetic radiation, low-energy particles, and molecular contamination. Though very thin and made of light materials, filters are not fully transparent to X-rays. For this reason, they ultimately define the detector quantum efficiency at low energies. In this chapter, we initially provide a brief overview of filter materials and specific designs adopted on space experiments with main focus on detectors operating at the focal plane of grazing incidence X-ray telescopes. We then provide a series of inputs driving the design and development of filters for high-energy astrophysics space missions. We begin with the identification of the main functional goals and requirements driving the preliminary design, and identify modeling tools and experimental characterization techniques needed to prove the technology and consolidate the design. Finally, we describe the calibration activities required to derive the filter response with high accuracy.We conclude with some hints on materials and technologies presently under investigation for future X-ray missions.Comment: 45 pages, 11 figures Contribution to the Handbook of X-ray and Gamma-ray Astrophysics in the chapter "Detectors for X-ray Astrophysics", edited by Jan-Willem den Herder, Norbert Meidinger, Marco Feroc

Human Rights, Culture and Identity: Between Silence and Intercultural Dialogue

Los desarrollos actuales de la teoría de género y de la crítica feminista constituyen líneas imprescindibles para el análisis y la implementación de políticas públicas con sensibilidad de género para comprender los grados y modos de exclusión y discriminación de las mujeres en general y de las diversidades sexuales en particular. En este trabajo nos interesa transversalizar la cuestión de sexo- género con la de etnia, proponiendo el diálogo como una forma democrática de hacer visibles necesidades, exclusiones y derechos.The current de velopments of gender theory and feminism are unavoidable research lines for the analysis andimplementation of public policies with gender sensitivity, for understanding the degrees and modes of exclusion and discrimination against women in general, and sexual diversities, in particular. This article aims to study sex- gender and ethnic questions transversally, proposing dialogue as a democratic form of making visible needs, exclusions and rights.Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociale

Human Rights, Culture and Identity: Between Silence and Intercultural Dialogue

Los desarrollos actuales de la teoría de género y de la crítica feminista constituyen líneas imprescindibles para el análisis y la implementación de políticas públicas con sensibilidad de género para comprender los grados y modos de exclusión y discriminación de las mujeres en general y de las diversidades sexuales en particular. En este trabajo nos interesa transversalizar la cuestión de sexo- género con la de etnia, proponiendo el diálogo como una forma democrática de hacer visibles necesidades, exclusiones y derechos.The current de velopments of gender theory and feminism are unavoidable research lines for the analysis andimplementation of public policies with gender sensitivity, for understanding the degrees and modes of exclusion and discrimination against women in general, and sexual diversities, in particular. This article aims to study sex- gender and ethnic questions transversally, proposing dialogue as a democratic form of making visible needs, exclusions and rights.Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociale

Photoluminescence of Carbon Dots Embedded in a SiO2 Matrix

We synthetized carbon dots by a pyrolitic method, and studied their photoluminescence in aqueous environment and upon trapping in a solid matrix. To this aim, we devised a facile procedure allowing to embed the dots in amorphous SiO2, without the need of any pre-functionalization of the nanoparticles, and capable of yielding a brightly photoluminescent monolith. Experimental data reveal a remarkable similarity between the emission properties of carbon dots in water and in SiO2, suggesting that the chromophores responsible of the photoluminescence undergo only weak interactions with the environment. Time-resolved photoluminescence data reveal that the typical photoluminescence tunability of these dots mostly arises, in the present case, from the co-existence of two independent emission bands. These two signals have different emission peak positions (2.8-2.9 and 2.2-2.3 eV respectively) and decay lifetimes (7.0 and 9.0 ns respectively), while their intensity ratio is controlled by the excitation wavelength

Arcobacter spp. in environmental waters in Sicily: occurrence, antimicrobial resistance and relationship with bacteria indicators of fecal pollution

Arcobacter spp. are emerging enteropathogens and potential zoonotic agents that can be transmitted by food and water. The species A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus have been associated with bacteremia, gastroenteritis and diarrhea in humans and with abortion and diarrhea in animals: the water plays an important role in the transmission. Aims of the present study were to evaluate the presence of Arcobacter spp. from different water sources, to assessed the possible correlation with the levels of fecal indicator bacteria and to determine the antimicrobial resistance of the isolates

Structural Characterization of Surfactant-Coated Bimetallic Cobalt/Nickel Nanoclusters by XPS, EXAFS, WAXS, and SAXS

Cobalt nickel bimetallic nanoparticles were synthesized by changing the sequence of the chemical reduction of Co(II) and Ni(II) ions confined in the core of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate (2)., and Ni(DEHP)(2). The reduction was carried out by mixing, sequentially or contemporaneously, fixed amounts of n-heptane solution of Co(DEHP)2 and Ni(DEHP)2 micelles with a solution of sodium borohydride in ethanol at a fixed (reductant)/(total metal) molar ratio. This procedure involves the rapid formation of surfactant-coated nanoparticles, indicated as Co/Ni (Co after Ni), Ni/Co (Ni after Co), and Co + Ni (simultaneous), followed by their slow separation as nanostructures embedded in a sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate matrix. The resulting composites, together with those obtained by reducing the n-heptane solutions of pure Co(DEHP)(2) or Ni(DEHP)(2), were characterized by XPS, EXAFS, WAXS, and SAXS. The data analysis confirms the presence of nanometer-sized surfactant-coated cobalt, nickel, and cobalt/nickel particles. As expected, the composition and internal structure of cobalt/nickel bimetallic nanoparticles are influenced by the preparation sequence as well as by the "chemical affinity" between the surfactant and the metal. However, some atomic-scale physicochemical processes play a subtle role in determining the structural features of bimetallic nanoparticles. Further effects due to the competition between nanoparticle growing process and surfactant adsorption at the nanoparticle surface were observed

Direct sunlight facility for testing and research in HCPV

A facility for testing different components for HCPV application has been developed in the framework of “Fotovoltaico ad Alta Efficienza” (FAE) project funded by the Sicilian Regional Authority (PO FESR Sicilia 2007/2013 4.1.1.1). The testing facility is equipped with an heliostat providing a wide solar beam inside the lab, an optical bench for mounting and aligning the HCPV components, electronic equipments to characterize the I-V curves of multijunction cells operated up to 2000 suns, a system to circulate a fluid in the heat sink at controlled temperature and flow-rate, a data logging system with sensors to measure temperatures in several locations and fluid pressures at the inlet and outlet of the heat sink, and a climatic chamber with large test volume to test assembled HCPV modules

IGF-I induces upregulation of DDR1 collagen receptor in breast cancer cells by suppressing MIR-199a-5p through the PI3K/AKT pathway.

Discoidin Domain Receptor 1 (DDR1) is a collagen receptor tyrosine-kinase that contributes to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and enhances cancer progression. Our previous data indicate that, in breast cancer cells, DDR1 interacts with IGF-1R and positively modulates IGF-1R expression and biological responses, suggesting that the DDR1-IGF-IR cross-talk may play an important role in cancer.In this study, we set out to evaluate whether IGF-I stimulation may affect DDR1 expression. Indeed, in breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) IGF-I induced significant increase of DDR1 protein expression, in a time and dose dependent manner. However, we did not observe parallel changes in DDR1 mRNA. DDR1 upregulation required the activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway while the ERK1/2, the p70/mTOR and the PKC pathways were not involved. Moreover, we observed that DDR1 protein upregulation was induced by translational mechanisms involving miR-199a-5p suppression through PI3K/AKT activation. This effect was confirmed by both IGF-II produced by cancer-associated fibroblasts from human breast cancer and by stable transfection of breast cancer cells with a human IGF-II expression construct. Transfection with a constitutively active form of AKT was sufficient to decrease miR-199a-5p and upregulate DDR1. Accordingly, IGF-I-induced DDR1 upregulation was inhibited by transfection with pre-miR-199a-5p, which also impaired AKT activation and cell migration and proliferation in response to IGF-I.These results demonstrate that, in breast cancer cells, a novel pathway involving AKT/miR-199a-5p/DDR1 plays a role in modulating IGFs biological responses. Therefore, this signaling pathway may represent an important target for breast cancers with over-activation of the IGF-IR axis