Gobernar la migración y la diversidad urbana en la ciudad de México. Una reflexión crítica a partir de la ley de interculturalidad

Resumen En la última década el gobierno de la Ciudad de México ha ido construyendo una imagen de ciudad hospitalaria e intercultural con respeto a la presencia de minorías indígenas, comunidades de distinto origen nacional, migrantes y sus familias. Este proceso ha culminado en la promulgación, en 2012, de la "Ley de interculturalidad, asistencia a migrantes y movilidad humana del Distrito Federal". El artículo se enfoca en el análisis del discurso alrededor de la Ley, su programa y el proceso de implementación de las políticas locales de migración, restituyendo parte de la investigación cualitativa desarrollada en 2016 en la Ciudad de México a través del análisis de documentos oficiales, entrevistas a actores claves, la observación en procesos participativos y eventos así como la observación participante en un albergue para migrantes en la ciudad

Predicting human cardiac QT alterations and pro-arrhythmic effects of compounds with a 3D beating heart-on-chip platform

Determining the potential cardiotoxicity and pro-arrhythmic effects of drug candidates remains one of the most relevant issues in the drug development pipeline. New methods enabling to perform more representative pre-clinical in vitro studies by exploiting induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM) are under investigation to increase the translational power of the outcomes. Here we present a pharmacological campaign conducted to evaluate the drug-induced QT alterations and arrhythmic events on uHeart, a 3D miniaturized in-vitro model of human myocardium encompassing iPSC-CM and dermal fibroblasts embedded in fibrin. uHeart was mechanically trained resulting in synchronously beating cardiac microtissues in one week, characterized by a clear field potential (FP) signal that was recorded by means of an integrated electrical system. A drug screening protocol compliant with the new International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidelines was established and uHeart was employed for testing the effect of 11 compounds acting on single or multiple cardiac ion channels and well-known to elicit QT prolongation or arrhythmic events in clinics. The alterations of uHeart's electrophysiological parameters such as the beating period, the FP duration, the FP amplitude and the detection of arrhythmic events prior and after drug administration at incremental doses were effectively analyzed through a custom developed algorithm. Results demonstrated the ability of uHeart to successfully anticipate clinical outcome and to predict the QT prolongation with a sensitivity of 83.3%, a specificity of 100% and an accuracy of 91.6%. Cardiotoxic concentrations of drugs were notably detected in the range of the clinical highest blood drug concentration (Cmax), qualifying uHeart as a fit-to-purpose pre-clinical tool for cardiotoxicity studies

Architecture for children : architectural contribution towards the development of pre-school children in space utility

When consider the human development, the most important sector is the child development. Through child development, it gains the human development; because the present child is the future adult. The child development process should suit according to child's psychological, physical and cognitive development. There fore an Architect should provide more spatial opportunities to develop this field of a child. If the society does not consider this matter, it will be a problem. As a result of lack of attention of this matter, it has been a problem to day. Objectives of this study are, find out the degree of architectural contribution in space utility for child development in the selected pre - school environments and give suggestions for upgrading above architectural contribution in space utility of pre school environment. When achieve these objectives, firstly identified the development of child's conception of space. Secondly, the development of child's spatial needs is identified. And there by fulfillments of child's spatial needs is identified. At the next step analyze the architectural contribution of space utility for child development in selected pre - school environment. Finally, give some important suggestions for upgrading the architectural contribution in space utility of pre - school environment to make better relationship with children and their environmen

Mutable Collagenous Tissue Isolated from Echinoderms Leads to the Production of a Dermal Template That Is Biocompatible and Effective for Wound Healing in Rats

The mutable collagenous tissue (MCT) of echinoderms possesses biological peculiarities that facilitate native collagen extraction and employment for biomedical applications such as regenerative purposes for the treatment of skin wounds. Strategies for skin regeneration have been developed and dermal substitutes have been used to cover the lesion to facilitate cell proliferation, although very little is known about the application of novel matrix obtained from marine collagen. From food waste we isolated eco-friendly collagen, naturally enriched with glycosaminoglycans, to produce an innovative marine-derived biomaterial assembled as a novel bi-layered skin substitute (Marine Collagen Dermal Template or MCDT). The present work carried out a preliminary experimental in vivo comparative analysis between the MCDT and Integra, one of the most widely used dermal templates for wound management, in a rat model of full-thickness skin wounds. Clinical, histological, and molecular evaluations showed that the MCDT might be a valuable tool in promoting and supporting skin wound healing: it is biocompatible, as no adverse reactions were observed, along with stimulating angiogenesis and the deposition of mature collagen. Therefore, the two dermal templates used in this study displayed similar biocompatibility and outcome with focus on full-thickness skin wounds, although a peculiar cellular behavior involving the angiogenesis process was observed for the MCDT

FIRB "SQUARE" project: nano-structured sensors for the detection of the polluting in engine exhaust gases and for indoor air quality monitoring

The present work is a final dissemination of activities carried out and main results obtained in the national founded project Firb "Square". The project is leaded by Centro Ricerche Fiat and it involves the most qualified national public Research Institutes and Universities active in the fields of nanomaterials synthesis, nanotechnology and gas sensors development

Lontani Vicini. Processi di costruzione sociale dell'alterità in contesti locali: una comparazione fra Milano e Barcellona

La tesis se centra en los procesos de construcción social de identidad y alteridad en tres barrios en las ciudades de Barcelona y Milán: Stadera, Benedetto Marcello y Poble Sec. Se ha pues indagado cómo los habitantes "autóctonos" de estos tres contextos - entendidos como lugares dónde diferentes modalidades de "estar juntos" entre grupos toman forma - representan la presencia de los inmigrantes - en mayoría no comunitarios - y a través de qué discursos y prácticas los excluyen o incluyen del ámbito local.Tales contextos locales son concebidos como los lugares de las relaciones cotidianas concretas, estructuras de sentimiento y de valor [Appadurai 1996]. Los rasgos espaciales y relacionales que los caracterizan, tal como sus funciones de tipo identitario y afectivo, es decir, de "pertenencia" (su ser "lugares"), son tratados de manera extensa en el primer capítulo, que aborda al debate que liga el concepto de comunidad al de barrio. Estos conceptos son analizados en el marco de la transformaciones urbanas contemporáneas y poniendo el acento sobre el renovado "sentido" del lugar que caracteriza a la sociedad contemporánea globalizada, y sobre la dimensión "exclusiva y excluyente" que pueden asumir las relaciones locales. La investigación se ha basado en una metodología cualitativa que ha privilegiado la observación participante pero sobre todo las entrevistas a testigos privilegiados, en particular miembros de asociaciones (de vecinos y no solo), políticos locales, comerciantes, directores, profesores de las escuelas y ciudadanos particularmente implicados en la vida cotidiana de los tres contextos.Los principales ámbitos de análisis que se han considerado son relativos a las diversas modalidades de concebir, apropiarse y usar el espacio publico, a las transformaciones relativas al tejido comercial de los barrios, y a algunas situaciones peculiares de los tres contextos, es decir: 1. Las protestas de los residentes de Benedetto Marcello contra la "degradación" del barrio y la construcción del espacio publico como espacio parochial [Lofland 1998];2. la inclusión de los nouvinguts a través de la fiesta del barrio y su exclusión a través del rechazo de la construcción de un oratorio islámico en el barrio del Poble Sec;3. la construcción de identidad y alteridad y los conflictos para el derecho a la vivienda en un proceso de community building intercultural en el barrio de Stadera.Las practicas y los discursos relativos a los tres contextos son analizados en el marco del discurso urbano sobre la inmigración y sobre las diferentes modalidades de gestión de conflictos de las dos administraciones, tomando en cuenta la reciente historia social de las dos ciudades y los diferentes modelos de governance que los caracterizan y que determinan modalidades diferentes de relación entre las instituciones y los ciudadanos, como explicado en el tercer capitulo.El análisis no se limita pues a las similitudes y a las diferencias entre los tres barrios en sí, sino permite de comparar el caso milanés y aquello barcelonés, caracterizados por dos modelos distintos de gestión de la diversidad y de conflictos entre grupos en el espacio urbano. En el caso barcelonés se trata de un modelo basado, al menos en sus propósitos, sobre el dialogo, la mediación y la retórica de la convivencia; en le caso milanés se trata en cambio de un modelo que tiende a exasperar y etnificar los conflictos, que son interpretados en términos de una contraposición non negociable entre un "nosotros" y un "ellos" sin cualquiera posibilidad de una confrontación real.Oggetto della tesi sono i processi di costruzione sociale di identità e alterità in tre quartieri delle città di Milano e Barcellona: Benedetto Marcello e Stadera nella prima, e Poble Sec nella seconda. L'obiettivo è stato quello di comprendere, attraverso una metodologia qualitativa ed etnografica, i processi pratici e simbolici di inclusione ed esclusione degli immigrati in tre contesti locali differenti, e appartenenti a due città differenti, ma accomunati da profonde e recenti trasformazioni urbane e sociali. Nella pratica si è indagato come gli abitanti "autoctoni" di questi tre contesti rappresentano la presenza di immigrati - in prevalenza non comunitari - e attraverso quali discorsi e pratiche li escludono o li includono dall'ambito locale. I contesti locali sono concepiti come i luoghi delle relazioni quotidiane concrete, strutture di sentimento e di valore.Nella prima parte della tesi sono esplorati analiticamente i concetti di quartiere, comunità, confini socio-spaziali, per mettere in luce come - sebbene non si possa far coincidere il quartiere con la comunità - quest'ultima può essere invocata in maniera strumentale come dispositivo per stabilire i termini di incorporazione dei nuovi residenti nel contesto locale di appartenenza; questa analisi permette di concentrare l'attenzione sulle forme di rivalutazione della dimensione locale che caratterizzano le città contemporanee e i processi di costruzione di identità difensive. La ricerca si è basata su una metodologia di tipo qualitativo che ha privilegiato l'osservazione partecipante e soprattutto le interviste a testimoni privilegiati, quali membri di associazioni e comitati di quartiere, politici locali, commercianti, professori delle scuole di quartiere e cittadini particolarmente implicati nella vita quotidiana dei tre contesti.I principali ambiti di analisi che si sono considerati sono relativi alle diverse modalità di concepire, appropriarsi e usare lo spazio pubblico, alle trasformazioni del tessuto commerciale dei quartieri, e ad alcune situazioni peculiari dei tre contesti, ossia: 1. La protesta dei residenti di Benedetto Marcello contro il "degrado" del quartiere e la costruzione del suo spazio pubblico come spazio "parochial" (Lofland 1998); 2. l'inclusione dei nouvinguts (nuovi residenti) attraverso la festa del quartiere e la loro esclusione attraverso il rifiuto di costruire un oratorio islamico nel Poble Sec; 3. la costruzione di identità e alterità nei conflitti per il diritto alla casa in un processo di "community building" interculturale nel quartiere di Stadera. Le pratiche e i discorsi relativi ai tre contesti sono analizzati sullo sfondo del discorso urbano sull'immigrazione e sulle diverse modalità di gestione del conflitto da parte delle due amministrazioni, prendendo in considerazione la recente storia sociale delle due città e i differenti modelli di governance che le caratterizzano e che determinano modalità differenti di relazione fra le istituzioni e i cittadini. L'analisi non si limita dunque alle similitudini e alle differenze fra i tre quartieri in sé stessi, ma permette di comparare il caso milanese con quello di Barcellona, caratterizzati da due modelli distinti di gestione della diversità e dei conflitti fra gruppi nello spazio urbano. Nel caso di Barcellona si tratta di un modello basato, almeno in linea di principio, sul dialogo, la mediazione e la retorica della convivenza; nel caso milanese al contrario si tratta di un modello che tende ad esasperare ed etnicizzare i conflitti, che vengono interpretati nei termini di una contrapposizione non negoziabile fra un "noi" e un "loro" senza apparente possibilità di convivenza e integrazione.This thesis deals with identity/alterity processes of social construction in three neighbourhoods: Stadera and Benedetto Marcello, in Milan, and Poble Sec, in Barcelona. The aim was to understand the practical and symbolic processes of immigrants' inclusion and exclusion in three different contexts belonging to two different cities but which nevertheless share some recent and deep urban and social transformations. In the first part, concepts such as community, neighbourhood, socio-spatial boundaries, the renewed value of place and defensive identities are analytical explored. This mainly to show how, despite the fact that the neighbourhood does not necessarily coincide with a "community", the latter can be used as a dispositive to establish the conditions of newcomers incorporation in the local context.The second part of the thesis concentrates on the analysis of two main issues: the various ways in which public space is conceived and appropriated by different city users and the different changes which have characterised neighbourhoods commercial offers over time. In particular, it teases out the specificities of the three neighbourhoods, by focusing on the investigation of: 1. Benedetto Marcello's residents protest against urban "degradation"; 2. newcomers inclusion in the organisation of and participation in the fiesta del barrio and, at the same time, their exclusion as far as the protest against the construction of a Muslim oratory in Poble Sec is concerned; 3.the intercultural community building process that has taken place in Stadera.This highlights residents' social representations of newcomers - who are mostly of non- European origins - and the practices and narratives through which the latter are excluded from or included in the enjoyment of urban space. The analysis of the three contexts is carried out against the backdrop of local authorities' different approaches to urban conflicts management, with an attention to urban public discourses on immigration, taking into account the two cities recent social history and the different models of governance which characterises them and which determines different modalities of relation between the citizens and the local authorities. Therefore, besides the similarities and differences among the three neighbourhoods, the analysis permits to compare the case of Milan with that of Barcelona, marked by different models of diversity management and conflict mediation in the urban space. Barcelona has in fact a model based on dialogue, mediation and rhetoric of peaceful coexistence; in the Milanese case, on the contrary, we find a model which exacerbates conflicts between groups framing them as "ethnic", with no apparent solution for coexistence and integration

Conflictos en el espacio público y construcción de la alteridad: una comparación entre barrios en Milán y Barcelona

Las ciudades contemporáneas se caracterizan por la presencia de conflictos alrededor de la calidad de la vida, el control social del espacio, las relaciones entre las distintas poblaciones urbanas y la cohesión social de las comunidades locales. En ciertos casos esto puedo llevar a prácticas y discursos de exclusión hacia los que se perciben como otros, especialmente en relación a los los usos y apropiaciones de los espacios públicos. El artículo analiza, partiendo de datos etnográficos, la relación entre residentes de toda la vida e inmigrantes en la disputa sobre el uso de algunos espacios públicos en dos barrios de las ciudades de Milán y Barcelona. Poniendo de relieve como los residentes autóctonos enmarcan la presencia de los inmigrantes, el artículo reflexiona de forma comparativa sobre el papel de las autoridades locales en la gestión del espacio público y la convivencia entre grupos diferentes

(Un)planned mixed neighbourhoods in Milan: integrationist discourse and the threat of the ghetto

In the city of Milan, Italy, via Padova and Sarpi-Canonica are two neighbourhoods were cultural diversity became visible and caused concern in the local political and media debate. Via Padova, a working-class area with one of the highest share of immigrant residents, has been subject to a stigmatization process after clashes between groups put a strain on in it in 2009. Sarpi-Canonica – simplisticly defined as the Chinatown of Milan – is a middle-class neighbourhood which saw the growth of Chinese wholesale; after conflicts raised over the functions of the neighbourhood, a renovation project was started. Drawing from these two cases, in this paper we explore the discourse about diversity and mixed communities according to neighbourhood and city key informants: the representations provided by policy-makers and social partners are insightful on the Italian discourse about the “ideal” model of interaction and living together between diverse residents. A quite shared integrationist/intercultural approach shows that diversity is accepted but not encouraged, while pluralism should be tempered by an attention to social cohesion and minority specificity should blend into the majority. So, social faults are seen as due a) on the one hand, to an inadequate diversity management by public institutions; b) in a more blaming way, to the (self-)isolation of some minorities. Drawing from interviews, policy documents, and literature, we will show how the fear for ghettoisation is related to the ethnicisation of public space: a visible and “separated” diversity is somehow considered more dangerous than socio-economic inequality, and this grounds local policies and initiatives that may compress diversity