The Modifying Mirror

2023

Abstract This chapter compares music listening with the infant’s experience of care. Several scholars have argued that music can be used for scaffolding one’s self-experience. Developmental psychologists, in turn, maintain a wide consensus over the claim that, in early interaction, the attuned caregiver supports and modifies the infant’s self-experience in various ways. The chapter brings these phenomena together, illustrating how the examination of the early self/other relation can teach us something important concerning the listener/music relation. The first section elaborates on the scaffolding function of music and clarifies two ambiguities haunting the debate. The second section reloca…

Economics Terms from Scotland to Italy: the First Italian Translations of Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1790/91-1851), in F. Forman (ed.), The Adam Smit…

2023

Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations has always been recognized as the first economic treatise that systematized political economy comprehensively by replacing mercantilist and physiocratic theories at the dawning of the Industrial Revolution. The most recent studies on Smith’s translations have been carried out so far by economic historians, whose research on this field has worthily traced the influence of Smith’s thought across time, countries and continents. The spread of Smith’s original works and translations in France also reflected the cultural activity of the country and its participation in the Enlightenment debates. Presumably, the Neapolitan…

Palermo Symposium: Cross-disciplinary studies on Adam Smith’s Language and Translated Works in F. Forman (ed.), The Adam Smith Review, vol. 13 (1st e…

2023

This chapter lists five works by scholars belonging to different fields history, economics, language and translation studies. About fifty scholars from all over the world, interested in studying the international reception of Smithian thought, took part in the meeting at Palermo to share their ideas, methods, sources and knowledge. In “Economy” and “Political Economy” in the Theory of moral sentiments and the wealth of nations, Luigi Alonzi analyses the semantic evolution of the word ‘oeconomy’ and the term ‘political oeconomy’ in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by investigating their use in Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations.

Combining multi-typologies landslide susceptibility maps: a case study for the Visso area (central Italy)

2023

The research proposes a simple but geomorphologically adequate method to produce a combined landslide susceptibility map. In fact, in a logic of real use, offering type-specific landslide susceptibility maps to land use planners and administration could be not a successful solution. On the other hand, the simple grouping of more types of landslides could be misleading for model calibration considering that the relationships between slope failures and geo-environmental predictors should be conveyed by the abundance of each type of landslide resulting not specific and diagnostic for each typology. In this test, after having produced independent models for flow, slide and complex landslide by …

Was Thomas Hobbes the first biopolitical thinker?

2023

Thomas Hobbes's name often comes up as scholars debate the history of biopower, which regulates the biological life of individual bodies and entire populations. This article examines whether and to what extent Hobbes may be regarded as the first biopolitical philosopher. I investigate this question by performing a close reading of Hobbes's political texts and by comparing them to some of the most influential theories on biopolitics proposed by Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, Roberto Esposito, and others. Hobbes is indeed the first great thinker to assert the supreme political importance of safeguarding life. Furthermore, this prominence of non-contemplative life is not limited to mere su…

Twelve lectures on multilingualism

2023

Reciprocal relations between past behavior, implicit beliefs, and habits : A cross-lagged panel design

2023

The current study assessed cross-lagged relationships between binge drinking, implicit beliefs, and habit in undergraduate university students ( N = 105). Students completed self-report survey and implicit measures in lab visits 3 months apart. A structural equation model revealed cross-lagged relations between habit and behavior, and some evidence for a reciprocal relationship between implicit beliefs and habit. Implicit beliefs were related to alcohol behavior across time, but no cross-lagged relationship was observed. Findings provide preliminary support for recent advances in habit theory, suggesting that implicit beliefs and habit may develop in tandem or even share common knowledge s…

Effects of structural complexity on epifaunal assemblages associated with two intertidal Mediterranean seaweeds

2023

Brown foundation seaweeds are key elements increasing substrate heterogeneity and shaping the biodiversity in rocky coastal ecosystems. They are, however, vulnerable species that are declining due to multiple anthropogenic and climate change stressors, leading to a shift to less structural complex habitats. We investigate the role of structural attributes of two intertidal macroalgae, Ericaria amentacea and Laurencia obtusa, in shaping the abundance and diversity of their associated epifaunal assemblages. For this aim, we measured seaweeds’ biomass, thallus volume and length (used here as proxy of substrate complexity), and explored which seaweeds’ substrate attribute explained better varia…

CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF MACROALGAE EXTRACTS

2023

Marine species are a rich source of bioactive molecules and among them, it is known that marine algae produce different secondary metabolites for which different biological activities such as: immunomodulatory (Raposo et al., 2016), antioxidant (Fisch et al., 2003) and antimicrobial (Pinteus et al., 2015) were demostrated. The aim of this study was chemical charac- terize the extracts of three macroalgae species: Carpodesmia crinite (Duby, Orellana & Sansón, 2019), Carpodesmia brachy- carpa (J. Agardh, Orellana & Sansón 2019, WoRMS, 2023), Ericaria brachycarpa (J. Agardh, Molinari & Guiry, 2020), Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan 1845) to evaluate also their biological a…

Inspired by nature: Fiber networks functionalized with tannic acid and condensed tannin-rich extracts of Norway spruce bark show antimicrobial effica…

2023

This study demonstrated the antibacterial and antiviral potential of condensed tannins and tannic acid when incorporated into fiber networks tested for functional material purposes. Condensed tannins were extracted from industrial bark of Norway spruce by using pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE), followed by purification of extracts by using XADHP7 treatment to obtain sugar-free extract. The chemical composition of the extracts was analyzed by using HPLC, GC‒MS and UHPLC after thiolytic degradation. The test matrices, i.e., lignocellulosic handsheets, were produced and impregnated with tannin-rich extracts, and tannic acid was used as a commercial reference. The antibacterial and antiv…

Impact of aldehyde dehydrogenases and aldo-keto reductases on human olfactory peri-receptor events

2023

International audience

Atmospheric Deposition around the Industrial Areas of Milazzo and Priolo Gargallo (Sicily–Italy)—Part B: Trace Elements

2023

The concentrations of trace elements in atmospheric bulk depositions (wet plus dry) were investigated from two highly industrialised areas of Sicily (southern Italy) from June 2018 to July 2019, in order to recognise the main natural and anthropogenic sources. A side objective of this study was to improve the common sampling procedures and analytical methods used for monitoring trace elements in atmospheric deposition. The trace element VWM (Volume-Weighted Mean) concentrations ranged from less than 0.01 μg L−1 for trace elements such as Cs, Tl, and U, up to 24 μg L−1 for minor elements (Al, Zn, Sr), in the filtered aliquot, while they reached concentrations up to 144 μ…

Discorso turistico-enologico sull’aura in ‘Un’ottima annata’ di Ridley Scott

2023

This essay follows fits into an ongoing project dedicated to highlighting the rhetorical and ideological representations of food and wine in cinema It carries out a semiotic analysis of the film A good year (by Ridley Scott, with the aim of identifying the role that wine plays in it and in the touristic imaginary about it. The essay pursues this goal by facing the issue of authenticity in tour ism as posed by Culler and by reconstructing the implicit aesthetic and touristic theory on which the film may be positioned. Then, it proceeds by getting into a reconstruction of the ideologic role played by the settings and the spaces represented in it. A spatial dialectic among city and country get…

Characterization of friction stir consolidated recycled billet by uniaxial compression tests with miniaturized cylindrical specimen

2023

Abstract. Friction stir consolidation (FSC) is a solid-state recycling method that directly converts machining scraps into semifinished billets. This process has been proven to be a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly technique compared to remelting based conventional recycling methods. During FSC, machining chips are transformed into a solid billet by the stirring action and friction heat of the rotating tool. Due to process mechanics, especially temperature gradient and strain rate, billets have shown different hardness values and grain size distribution across their sections. Therefore, in this research, miniaturized upsetting samples are extracted from the FSC billet. The…

Changes in the flow and quality of water in the dam reservoir of the Mała Panew catchment (South Poland) characterized by multidimensional data analys…

2023

Multidimensional exploratory techniques, such as the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), have been used to analyze long-term changes in the fl ow regime and quality of water of the lowland dam reservoir Turawa (south-west Poland) in the catchment of the Mała Panew river (a tributary of the Odra). The paper proves that during the period of 1998–2016 the Turawa reservoir was equalizing the river’s water fl ow. Moreover, various physicochemical water quality indicators were analyzed at three measurement points (at the tributary’s mouth into the reservoir, in the reservoir itself and at the outfl ow from the reservoir). The water quality assessment was performed by analyzing physicochemical ind…

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF DENDROPOMA CRISTATUM (MOLLUSCA, GASTROPODA) ADULT BIOMASS ON A VERMETID REEF

2023

A spatial characterization of Dendropoma cristatum biomass was carried out on a Vermetid reef in north-western Sicily. Biomass distribution of adult specimens is not homogenous in the different areas of the reef, with an increasing trend from the inner edge to the outer edge, while the central pool supports intermediate values of vermetid biomass. Considering the entire reef area, the cuvette has the highest Dendropoma biomasses of the bioconstruction, even if the highest surface-biomass ratio is found in the outer edege.

Le scommesse sportive: tra promozione e divieti

2023

The work analyzes the evolution of sports bets in light of values of the legal system. It traces the events that have seen permissive or repressive attitudes prevail on the part of the legislator. It also analyze the problems of relations between the sports and the states systems in the regulation of sports betting.

University students’ competences in ICT: A view from the education domain

2023

Contemporary university students face the knowledge society, where mastering information and communication technologies (ICT) is an essential requirement to form part of this society. The objective of our study was to validate a basic ICT competences model made up of three ICT competence subsets (technological, pedagogical and ethical) influenced by various personal and contextual factors. For this purpose, a cross-sectional explanatory correlation design was used, with a sample of 646 university students from the University of Valencia (Spain), collecting the information through a questionnaire. A multiple indicators and multiple causes model was used to validate the students’ ICT competen…

In Vitro Cytotoxic Effect of Aqueous Extracts from Leaves and Rhizomes of the Seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile on HepG2 Liver Cancer Cells: Fo…

2023

Aqueous extracts from Posidonia oceanica’s green and brown (beached) leaves and rhizomes were prepared, submitted to phenolic compound and proteomic analysis, and examined for their potential cytotoxic effect on HepG2 liver cancer cells in culture. The chosen endpoints related to survival and death were cell viability and locomotory behavior, cell-cycle analysis, apoptosis and autophagy, mitochondrial membrane polarization, and cell redox state. Here, we show that 24 h exposure to both green-leaf- and rhizome-derived extracts decreased tumor cell number in a dose–response manner, with a mean half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) estimated at 83 and 11.5 μg of dry extract/mL, respecti…

The use of mineral materials for salinity control in roadside soils

2023

This paper presents the results of a fi eld study on using mineral materials (fi ne-grained sand and medium- -grained gravel) to reduce the concentration of readily soluble salts in a roadside environment. The investigated soils were Rendzic Sceletic Leptosols from an urban area characterized by a shallow humus horizon with a high content of skeletal parts, as well as a lack of homogeneity of the material in the soil profi le. All soil samples were taken from fi ve plots located along the main streets in the city of Opole (Southern Poland). It was revealed that the use of fi ne-grained sand and medium-grained gravel improved the structure of the surface soil layer, and thusfavoured the migr…

Videoconferencing analytic psychodrama in treating young adults’ psychological suffering: preliminary results

2023

The study aims to explore the effects that videoconferencing Analytic Psychodrama (AP) has on the psychological wellbeing and emotional competence of young adults who are suffering from mental health problems. Twenty-two undergraduate students, asking for help at the Psychological Counselling Service of the University of Bologna for anxiety-depressive problems, took part in the three online groups that met weekly from October 2020 to July 2021. The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure, the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Group Climate Questionnaire were used as test–retest qu…

Romantic myths and cyber dating violence victimization in Spanish adolescents: A moderated mediation model

2023

Adolescents’ beliefs in romantic myths of love have been related to cyber dating violence victimization. However, these relationships could be mediated by adolescents’ tolerant attitudes toward dating abuse and be different for adolescent boys and girls. A better understanding of these relationships is important for developing more effective prevention programs. Thus, the current study aimed to examine the relationships between beliefs in romantic myths and cyber dating violence victimization in adolescents, analyzing the possible mediating role of tolerant attitudes toward abuse and the possible moderator role of gender. Participants were 467 Spanish adolescents who had a romantic relation…

Heptagon-Containing Nanographene Embedded into [10]Cycloparaphenylene

2023

We report the synthesis and characterization of a novel type of nanohoop, consisting of a cycloparaphenylene derivative incorporating a curved heptagon-containing π-extended polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) unit. We demonstrate that this new macrocycle behaves as a supramolecular receptor of curved π-systems such as fullerenes C60 and C70, with remarkably large binding constants (ca. 107 M−1), as estimated by fluorescence measurements. Nanosecond and femtosecond spectroscopic analysis show that these host-guest complexes are capable of quasi-instantaneous charge separation upon photoexcitation, due to the ultrafast charge transfer from the macrocycle to the complexed fullerene. These r…

Social media as a place to see and be seen : Exploring factors affecting job attainment via social media

2023

Job seekers can utilize social media platforms to actively search for job opportunities and also receive unsolicited job offers from recruiters and employers. Using data from a representative sample of Finnish social media users, this article studies both aspects of social media job attainment by analyzing how much individuals successfully apply for jobs and get recruited to positions through social media. Results show that the prevalence of successfully applying to jobs through social media does not differ statistically between socio-economic groups, but the prevalence of getting recruited to jobs through social media is greater within higher socio-economic groups. LinkedIn users are more …

The effect of temperature on the biodegradation of different types of packaging materials under test conditions

2023

The development of civilization contributed to the exponential growth in the production of plastics. Policy of the, so-called, “European Green Deal” places particular emphasis on reducing the use of plastics through various mechanisms, including their reuse, recycling and, in particular, the development of new biodegradable and compostable plastics. In order to check if plastics are suitable for biodegradability and compostability they must undergo a series of tests in accordance with applicable standards. The biodegradation test procedures are very general and allow for the use of different temperatures of the biodegradation process in the test. The aim of the research was to evaluate the …

Feasibility study of biogas project development: technology maturity, feedstock, and utilization pathway

2023

COASTAL ACCESSIBILITY AS VULNERABILITY FACTOR FOR PATELLA ULYSSIPONENSIS GMELIN, 1791 IN A MEDITERRANEAN MPA

2023

Average density of Patella ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791 was correlated with costal accessibility and tourists’ density. The results highlighted that the accessibility could have a greater weight than the MPA regulation, in absence of patrolling, on the vulnerability of this sensitive species.

Novel Sources of Biodiversity and Biomolecules from Bacteria Isolated from a High Middle Ages Soil Sample in Palermo (Sicily, Italy)

2023

: The urban plan of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) has evolved throughout Punic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Norman ages until it stabilized within the borders that correspond to the current historic center. During the 2012 to 2013 excavation campaign, new remains of the Arab settlement, directly implanted above the structures of the Roman age, were found. The materials investigated in this study derived from the so-called Survey No 3, which consists of a rock cavity of subcylindrical shape covered with calcarenite blocks: it was probably used to dispose of garbage during the Arabic age and its content, derived from daily activities, included grape seeds, scales and bones of fish, small animal bon…

Colorectal cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles induce TGFβ1-mediated epithelial to mesenchymal transition of hepatocytes

2023

Abstract Background Metastatic disease is the major cause of cancer-related deaths. Increasing evidence shows that primary tumor cells can promote metastasis by preparing the local microenvironment of distant organs, inducing the formation of the so-called “pre-metastatic niche”. In recent years, several studies have highlighted that among the tumor-derived molecular components active in pre-metastatic niche formation, small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) play a crucial role. Regarding liver metastasis, the ability of tumor-derived sEVs to affect the activities of non-parenchymal cells such as Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells is well described, while the effects on hepatocytes, the m…

Premature conclusions about the signal‐to‐noise ratio in structural equation modeling research : A commentary on Yuan and Fang (2023)

2023

In a recent article published in this journal, Yuan and Fang (British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 2023) suggest comparing structural equation modeling (SEM), also known as covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM), estimated by normal-distribution-based maximum likelihood (NML), to regression analysis with (weighted) composites estimated by least squares (LS) in terms of their signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). They summarize their findings in the statement that “[c]ontrary to the common belief that CB-SEM is the preferred method for the analysis of observational data, this article shows that regression analysis via weighted composites yields parameter estimates with much smaller stan…

Body mass index and baseline platelet count as predictive factors in Merkel cell carcinoma patients treated with avelumab

2023

BackgroundMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive skin cancer, associated with a worse prognosis. The Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs) avelumab and pembrolizumab have been recently approved as first-line treatment in metastatic MCC (mMCC). The clinical observation of improved outcomes in obese patients following treatment with ICIs, known as the “obesity paradox”, has been studied across many types of tumors. Probably due to the rarity of this tumor, data on mMMC patients are lacking.Patients and methodsThis is an observational, hospital-based, study to investigate the role of Body Mass Index (BMI) as predictive biomarker of ICI response in mMCC patients treated with aveluma…

Diversité de l’Orge (Hordeum vulgare L.) dans le Nord-Ouest du Bassin Méditerranéen occidental depuis 8 millénaires d’après l’analyse morphométrique …

2023

International audience; Le Néolithique voit la domestication de l'Orge au Proche-Orient et sa diffusion progressive jusque dans l'ouest du Bassin Méditerranéen. Elle y représente depuis une céréale majeure des systèmes agraires. Deux sous-espèces coexistent, Orge à 2 rangs (H. v. subsp.distichum) et à 6 rangs (H. v. subsp.vulgare), subdivisées en formes nues et vêtues, en lien avec des usages et caractéristiques agronomiques variés.Les dynamiques passées de cette diversité sont peu connues car les approches paléogénétiques qui permettraient de les appréhender sont fortement limitées par la carbonisation qui, tout en assurant la conservation de la plupart des grains archéologiques, détruit l…

Predictors and outcomes associated with the growth curves of self-efficacy beliefs in regard to anger and sadness regulation during adolescence: a lo…

2023

IntroductionThis longitudinal study examined unique and joint effects of parenting and negative emotionality in predicting the growth curves of adolescents’ self-efficacy beliefs about regulating two discrete negative emotions (anger and sadness) and the association of these growth curves with later maladjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems).MethodsParticipants were 285 children (T1: Mage = 10.57, SD = 0.68; 53.3% girls) and their parents (mothers N = 286; fathers N = 276) from Colombia and Italy. Parental warmth, harsh parenting, and internalizing and externalizing problems were measured in late childhood at T1, whereas early adolescents’ anger and sadness were measured…

Longitudinal Gait Analysis of a Transfemoral Amputee Patient: Single-Case Report from Socket-Type to Osseointegrated Prosthesis

2023

The aim of the present case report was to provide a longitudinal functional assessment of a patient with transfemoral amputation from the preoperative status with socket-type prosthesis to one year after the osseointegration surgery. A 44 years-old male patient was scheduled for osseointegration surgery 17 years after transfemoral amputation. Gait analysis was performed through 15 wearable inertial sensors (MTw Awinda, Xsens) before surgery (patient wearing his standard socket-type prosthesis) and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups after osseointegration. ANOVA in Statistical Parametric Mapping was used to assess the changes in amputee and sound limb hip and pelvis kinematics. The gait symm…

Predictors of changing patterns of adherence to containment measures during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic: an international longitudinal study

2023

Abstract Background Identifying common factors that affect public adherence to COVID-19 containment measures can directly inform the development of official public health communication strategies. The present international longitudinal study aimed to examine whether prosociality, together with other theoretically derived motivating factors (self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility and severity of COVID-19, perceived social support) predict the change in adherence to COVID-19 containment strategies. Method In wave 1 of data collection, adults from eight geographical regions completed online surveys beginning in April 2020, and wave 2 began in June and ended in September 2020. Hypothesized pre…

Myomectomy in infertile women: More harm than good?

2023

Adhesion formation following gynecological surgery remains a challenge. The adoption of minimally invasive surgical approaches, such as conventional or robotic-assisted laparoscopy combined with meticulous microsurgical principles and the application of adhesion–reducing substances, is able to reduce the risk of de novo adhesion formation but do not eliminate it entirely. Myomectomy is the most adhesiogenic surgical procedure and postoperative adhesions can have a significant impact on the ability to conceive. Therefore, when surgery is performed as infertility treatment, attention should be paid to whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Among several factors, the size and the location of…