showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
ARCHITETTURA, CUSTODE DELLA NATURA : il progetto di suolo nella trasformazione delle autostrade urbane, 1962-2018
2023
Un inarrestabile cambiamento nel paradigma con cui l’uomo concepisce la propria specie rispetto ai suoi modi di costruire è alla base dell’attrattiva per l’incorporazione del vegetale nell’Architettura. Lo statuto euristico di maggiore capacità di tale nuovo corso è la sostituzione progressiva dell’Ambiente alla Natura fra i motori della Composizione. Su questo sfondo, l’articolo indaga l’ibridazione del vegetale e del costruito nella trasformazione contemporanea delle grandi autostrade urbane, attraverso un approccio diacronico e comparativo, in riferimento a una ricerca internazionale di cui estende l’ipotesi principale. A tal fine, ricostruisce il telaio ermeneutico di riferimento discut…
Female leaders and financial inclusion: Evidence from microfinance institutions
2023
This research advances the hypothesis that female leaders – chief executive officers (CEOs), chairs, and directors – of a microfinance institution (MFI) give more priority to the poorest families in loan provision than male leaders do. We differentiate between a depth and a width dimension of financial inclusion. The data set is a unique global panel of MFIs collected from MFI raters’ reports. Our sample is also unique in the sense that about one-third of all MFIs have a female CEO. The problem of endogeneity for the female leader is resolved by running Heckman’s two-step endogenous dummy variable estimation with an instrument for the female leader. We find evidence of greater depth financi…
L’innovazione tecnologica e il Faculty Development.
2023
La crisi pandemica ha accelerato la diffusione di ambienti di apprendimento caratterizzati dall'uso intensivo della tecnologia. Questa novità rappresenta un obiettivo trasversale della professionalizzazione del docente universitario, con una particolare declinazione sul versante pedagogico-didattico-valutativo quale questione strategica per lo sviluppo dell’alta formazione. Il contributo illustra i risultati di una ricerca condotta con 119 docenti universitari neoassunti e 20 Direttori di dipartimento. La finalità della ricerca è stata, da una parte, rilevare la percezione dei docenti neoassunti relativa alle proprie competenze didattiche, metacognitive e valutative, con riferimento alla di…
Prefazione a: Disaster Resilience and Human Settlements. Emerging Perspectives in the Anthropocene
2023
Preface to the volume "Disaster Resilience and Human Settlements. Emerging Perspectives in the Anthropocene"
Caratterizzazione qualitativa e nutrizionale di spaghetti integrali arricchiti con farine di lenticchie
2023
Nell’ambito del progetto ALIFUN - Sviluppo di alimenti funzionali per l’innovazione dei prodotti alimentari di tradizione italiana- al fine di sviluppare prototipi di alimenti funzionali a base di cereali innovativi impiegando matrici alimentari tipiche della tradizione italiana, sono state prodotte paste funzionalizzate attraverso l’utilizzo di semola integrale della cv Russello e di farina di lenticchie di una popolazione locale siciliana, reperita nell’areale ragusano. Sono stati prodotti 3 tipi di spaghetti: (RG) con il 40% (p/p) di farine di lenticchie, (RG+Guar) 40% (p/p) di lenticchie+2% Guar e (CTRL) semola integrale della cv. Russello. Sulle paste prodotte sono state determinate le…
First record of hypopigmentary anomaly in the Moorish gecko Tarentola mauritanica with an overview of the cases reported for wild geckos
2023
We report the first record of hypopigmentary anomaly in the Moorish gecko
Iron-mediated oxidative stress induces PD-L1 expression via activation of c-Myc in lung adenocarcinoma
2023
Introduction: The PD-1/PD-L1 axis is hijacked by lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells to escape immune surveillance. PD-L1 expression in LUAD is affected, among others, by the metabolic trafficking between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Methods: Correlation between PD-L1 expression and iron content within the TME was established on FFPE LUAD tissue samples. The effects of an iron rich microenvironment on PD-L1 mRNA and protein levels were assessed in vitro in H460 and A549 LUAD by using qPCR, western blot and flow citometry. c-Myc knockdown was performed to validate the role of this transcription factor on PD-L1 expression. The effects of iron-induced PD-L1 on T cell immune f…
Contaminant-induced oxidative stress underlies biochemical, molecular and fatty acid profile changes, in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.)
2023
: Chemical contaminants such as heavy metals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and drugs, are constantly found in the marine environment determining the interest of the scientific community for their side effects on animal welfare, food safety and security. Few studies have analyzed the effects of mix of contaminants in fish, in terms of molecular and nutritional composition response, beside it is indispensable to think more and more on effect of contaminants along the food web system. In this study, Sparus aurata specimens were exposed for 15 days, by diet, to a mixture of carbamazepine (Cbz), polybrominated diphenyl ether-47 (PBDE-47) and cadmium chloride (CdCl2), at two doses (0.37…
Postgraduate education and job mismatch in Italy: Does migration help?
2023
Doctoral graduates represent the pinnacle of education. While the importance of increasing their number has been recognised by the Italian government and there has been a huge increase in the number of publicly funded PhD scholarships, doctoral graduates still struggle in the labour market to find employment commensurate with their skills and competencies. It is against this backdrop that the role of migration becomes crucial. Exploiting Italian microdata at the census level, this study aims to investigate how human capital migration, occurring at different ‘times’ of individual's life and across different regions, could mitigate the potential education–job mismatch, which is measured here …
Francesco Crispi le riforme amministrative. Il primo intervento di riforma strutturale dello Stato unitario
2023
Questo contributo analizza il rapporto tra le riforme propugnate dai Governi guidati da Francesco Crispi (ben quattro, tra il 1887 ed il 1891 e tra il 1894 ed 1896) ed il loro artefice, con uno sguardo d’insieme sul complesso processo di modernizzazione dell’Italia che si affacciava al “secolo breve” con un’organizzazione amministrativa arcaica. Partendo dalla formazione giuridica dello statista siciliano, dagli scritti giovanili, dall’attività professionale, dalla cultura risorgimentale e costituzionale che ne forgiarono la personalità e poi dall’attività rivoluzionaria e parlamentare, lo studio perlustra il variegato contesto nel quale proruppe quell’“impeto riformatore dell’amministrazio…
La via sovversiva della «poesia onesta». La lezione di Saba nel secondo Novecento
2023
The essay highlights how Saba's poetry has been reinterpreted by poets and storytellers of the late twentieth century also from a civil perspective, and has established itself as the object of a rethinking that involves the very function of literature as a (residual) ambition for truth and as disobedience in the face of the semantic seduction of the «sign language of the strongest» (to use Nietzsche's formula).
Soil moisture variations from boreal forests to the tundra
2023
Soil moisture has a profound influence on life on Earth, and this vital water resource varies across space and time. Here, we explored soil moisture variations in boreal forest and tundra environments, where comprehensive soil moisture datasets are scarce. We installed soil moisture sensors up to 14 cm depth at 503 measurement sites within seven study areas across northern Europe. We recorded 6,138,528 measurements to capture soil moisture variations of the snowless season from April to September 2020. We described the spatio-temporal patterns of soil moisture, and test how these patterns are linked to topography and how these links vary in space and time. We found large spatial variation a…
New Challenges in Economic and Business Development – 2023: Recovery and Resilience: PROCEEDINGS; (15th International Scientific Conference, May 11-1…
2023
This year's conference is devoted to the challenges related to the recovery and resilience. Recovery and Resilience Facility is an important component of the European recovery plan (the Next Generation EU) which aims to overcome the economic and social effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure better resilience of the EU Member States in the future. The objective of the conference was to provide a platform/opportunity for scholars, researchers and professionals from different disciplinary backgrounds to meet, exchange ideas, findings, research results and discuss challenges and prospects for economic and business development.
Photoplethysmograhic sensors, potential and limitations: Is it time for regulation? A comprehensive review
2023
Healthcare is expected to increasingly shift care out of inpatient settings thanks to wearable monitoring systems. Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical technique already integrated into wrist-worn commercial products which presents significant advantages in terms of cost and dimensions. PPG-based devices, despite their ability to detect multiple cardiovascular parameters, are affected by several influencing conditions that depend both on technological or environmental variables, and on intra- and inter-subject variability that influences the whole measurement chain and reliability, hindering an objective characterization of PPG devices. Plus, the lack of standardization for data collect…
Phasor-FLIM for a direct investigation of Transportan 10 interactions with model membranes
2023
Transportan 10 (TP10), a short and positive charged peptide, belonging to the family of the cell penetrating peptides has gained increasing attention for its antimicrobial and anticancer activity but also for its applications in drug delivery as it is able to translocate therapeutic molecules in cellular environment. Due to the complexity of the phenomena involved in cellular uptake and following processes, which strongly depend on the membrane lipid composition, structural details of the peptide (e.g., charge, hydrophobicity, steric hindrance) and environmental conditions, it is not easy to understand the general rules governing them. Here, we combine spectroscopic techniques and fluoresce…
Suomalaisen ruokajärjestelmän resilienssi, kriisit ja uusiutuminen
2023
Resilientti ruokajärjestelmä kykenee turvaamaan jatkuvasti ravitsemuksen siitä riippuvaisille ihmisille. Tarkastelemme tutkimuksessamme Suomen ruokajärjestelmän kehitysdynamiikkaa resilienssin näkökulmasta aikavälillä 1334–2022. Tunnistimme analyysissä kuusi regiimiä: laajentumisregiimi, edistysregiimi, karjatalousregiimi, esimoderni regiimi, modernisaatioregiimi ja globalisaatioregiimi. Regiimit ovat olleet polkuriippuvaisia ja vaihtuneet vain kriisien myötä, mutta samalla kriisit ovat johtaneet järjestelmän resilienssin menetykseen eri mittakaavoissa. Kussakin regiimissä ovat toistuneet uudelleenorganisoitumisen, kasvun, kangistumisen ja purkautumisen vaiheet. Kukin regiimi on vuorollaan …
Cathodic reduction of CO2 to formic acid: Effect of the nature of the cathode for pressurized systems
2023
Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into formic acid (FA) in an aqueous electrolyte is considered a promising strategy to valorise waste-CO2. Some studies, mainly performed using Sn cathodes, have shown that the performance of the process can be strongly improved using pressurized systems. On the other hand, other studies, usually carried out in non-pressurized systems, have indicated that the nature of the cathode can strongly affect the process. Hence, in this work, we have investigated the coupled effect of nature of the cathode and CO2 pressure (PCO2 ) on the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to FA. Four electrodes (Sn, Sn/C-NP, Bi, Bi/C-NP) have been used as model cathodes. The results o…
Mercato delle idee e fake news. Note su un problema di esternalità negative nell’ambiente digitale
2023
The spread of fake news in the digital arena has put into question the traditional idea of the self-regulation of public debate: the well-known metaphor of “free market of ideas”. Because of the availability of digital media, the reduction of the overall cost in producing and disseminating false news has dramatically fallen. Everybody at any time can enter the public debate, even though with bad arguments. At the same time, the competition between traditional and digital media has produced an astonishing reduction of the average incomes of the professional journalists. This paper aims to bring to the fore the metaphor of the market of ideas, metaphor that has been used in the US for reducin…
Roboception and adaptation in a cognitive robot
2023
In robotics, perception is usually oriented at understanding what is happening in the external world, while few works pay attention to what is occurring in the robot’s body. In this work, we propose an artificial somatosensory system, embedded in a cognitive architecture, that enables a robot to perceive the sensations from its embodiment while executing a task. We called these perceptions roboceptions, and they let the robot act according to its own physical needs in addition to the task demands. Physical information is processed by the robot to behave in a balanced way, determining the most appropriate trade-off between the achievement of the task and its well being. The experiments show …
Architettura per i beni confiscati : figure del progetto nei territori del conflitto fra democrazia e criminalità
2023
L’articolo affronta il rapporto fra città, territorio e democrazia a partire dai risultati di una ricerca internazionale, che ha indagato le forme peculiari di crisi del pubblico nei territori del conflitto fra Stato e criminalità mafiosa. Le domande di ricerca si situano in un quadro che intende il territorio come luogo elettivo per leggere le tracce costruite dal rapporto fra comunità e poteri illegali. Esse hanno posto la necessità di indagare l’insieme dei beni confiscati reclamando la necessità dell’intervento progettuale per le trasformazioni spaziali, linguistiche e simboliche senza le quali la loro transizione a beni pubblici non può dirsi pienamente compiuta. Riferiti al terr…
On the Use of Two Emerging Laser-Based Flaw-Detection Techniques – Considerations and Practicalities
2023
The pursuit of non-contact techniques for detecting ultrasonic waves propagating on the surface of solids is stimulated by the possibility of gaining some advantages over conventional contact methods. Non-contact methods are becoming a milestone in performing non-destructive evaluation in several industrial fields, where hazardous environments, narrow spaces, high temperatures, and complex geometries are encountered. Such methods exploit photo-acoustic interactions between light and sound waves. This work compares two non-contact laser-based methods for detecting artificial flaws of different sizes in metallic specimens. It uses multi-signal homodyne interferometry and single beam deflectom…
Hospital Reform in Palermo
2023
A partire dal XV secolo, l'ospedale cessa di essere un riflesso della carità cristiana e diventa un veicolo per la gestione del bene comune. In precedenza, la diffusione della spiritualità influenzata dagli Ordini mendicanti aveva stimolato nuove forme di pietà e opere di carità più ampie, tra cui le visite ai malati, la gestione degli ospedali e la distribuzione di cibo e vestiario. Il tardo Medioevo vide un un cambiamento radicale. Gli ospedali divennero centri polifunzionali dedicati a vari tipi di cure. In linea con una tendenza osservata in tutta Europa, le principali città siciliane (Messina, Catania, Palermo, Siracusa e Trapani) adattarono i propri sistemi ospedalieri alle esigenze d…
Corrigendum to Soil microbial biomass and bacterial diversity in southern European regions vulnerable to desertification [Ecol. Indicat. 145 (2022) 1…
2023
The authors regret the incorrect publication of legend for Table 1 and Table 3 in black/white in the original article. The complete legend for Table 1 and Table 3 with colours, indicating degree of significance, are presented below.
Life on the edge: Adaptations of Posidonia oceanica to hypersaline conditions in a Mediterranean lagoon system
2023
Hypersaline stress is a major stressor in semi-enclosed coastal lagoons, affecting the distribution and survival of key foundation species. In this study, we investigated how Posidonia oceanica meadows responded physiologically and morphologically to different salinity concentrations both in-situ, across a natural saline gradient occurring inside the lagoon system, and in a mesocosm experiment. Leaf water relations, organic osmolytes, photosynthesis, respiration, Chlorophyll-a fluorescence, pigments content, and leaf growth were studied in P. oceanica from three different sites within the Stagnone of Marsala lagoon, as well as after exposing P. oceanica to a salinity level of 46 psu in a 30…
Flax–Glass Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Composites Exposed to a Salt-Fog/Dry Cycle: A Simplified Approach to Predict Their Performance Recovery
2023
Despite natural fibers gaining significant attention in recent decades, their limited performance and poor durability under humid environments cannot allow them to fully replace their synthetic counterparts as reinforcement for structural composites. In such a context, this paper aims to investigate how exposure to a humid/dry cycle affects the mechanical response of epoxy laminates reinforced with flax and glass fibers. In particular, the main goal is to assess the performance evolution of a glass–flax hybridized stacking sequence in comparison with the full glass and flax fiber reinforced composites. To this end, the investigated composites were first exposed to salt-fog for 15 or 30 days…
The influence of business groups on board composition in offshore financial multinational enterprises
2023
Based on resource dependence theory we argue for an influence of business groups (BGs) on the board composition of constituent offshore financial multinational enterprises (FMNEs). Using a unique sample of 171 Caribbean FMNEs in an inter-island BG setting, we find BGs’ control in constituent firms to be indicative of the importance of the internal financing and intermediation within the group network. This control leads to a higher proportion of lawyers hired to the boards of directors in BG-constituent firms and supports the argument that lawyers provide skills in complex offshore regulatory frameworks that facilitate BGs’ optimal tax management. Furthermore, we observe that an increased a…
Private health insurance in the universal public healthcare system: The role of healthcare provision in Finland
2023
Voluntary private health insurance (VPHI) has gained popularity in universal public healthcare systems. We studied how the local provision of healthcare services correlated with VPHI take-up in Finland. Nationwide register data from a Finnish insurance company was aggregated to the local level and augmented with high-quality data on public and private primary care providers’ geographical closeness and fees. We found that the sociodemographic characteristics explained the VPHI take-up more than public or private healthcare provision. The VPHI take-up was negatively associated with distance to the nearest private clinic, while the associations with distance to public health stations were stat…
Psychedelics promote plasticity by directly binding to BDNF receptor TrkB
2023
10 paginas, 15 fguras
Disaster Resilience and Human Settlements in the Anthropocene
2023
The chapter sets the context starting from the emerging perspectives on disaster resilience and human settlements in the larger context of the proposed new geological era of Anthropocene. It explores the impact of disasters on the human settlements, giving examples and illustrating the theoretical reference framework regarding the birth of the idea of the Anthropocene. The chapter focuses on the interdisci-plinary nature of the ‘disaster resilience and human settlements’ theme in relation to the various global development agendas, including the Expanded Brown Agenda, the Hyogo Framework of Action, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,…
The EU-funded I3LUNG Project:Integrative Science, Intelligent Data Platform for Individualized LUNG Cancer Care With Immunotherapy
2023
Although immunotherapy (IO) has changed the paradigm for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancers (aNSCLC), only around 30% to 50% of treated patients experience a long-term benefit from IO. Furthermore, the identification of the 30 to 50% of patients who respond remains a major challenge, as programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) is currently the only biomarker used to predict the outcome of IO in NSCLC patients despite its limited efficacy. Considering the dynamic complexity of the immune system-tumor microenvironment (TME) and its interaction with the host's and patient's behavior, it is unlikely that a single biomarker will accurately predict a patient's outcomes. …
"Lights and Shades" of Fertility Preservation in Transgender Men Patients: A Clinical and Pathological Review
2023
Fertility preservation (FP) is becoming a critical issue in transgender men who desire biological offspring in the future. The prevalence of transgender individuals in the United States is increasing, and as a result, the demand for gender-affirming surgeries (GAS) and associated FP techniques is rising. Despite the growing demand, there is currently no personalized approach to FP for transgender men, and the available techniques have limitations that require further investigation. In the present review we carefully examine the existing literature on this topic to highlight the shortcomings of current methods and areas where additional research is needed to advance the field. Hormonal thera…
Profiles, motives and experiences of authors publishing in predatory journals: OMICS as a case study
2023
International audience; The paper aims to understand the context and drivers of researchers' decision to submit a manuscript to a predatory journal. Using OMICS as a case study and asking authors for their views, the paper presents their profile, motivations and publishing experiences. The methodology is based on a questionnaire sent by email to all authors of articles published in OMICS (+2200). The authors were asked about 1/ the factors that influenced their decision to submit their article, 2/ their publishing predatory journal. At the same time, it reveals some of the strategies used by OMICS to persuade authors to submit their papers. The findings will help to inform institutional pol…
Pedagogical approaches to surface phenomena in liquids: Investigation-based laboratory and modelling activities to improve students’ learning
2023
Paperclips can float on water, mercury drops do not spread on solid surfaces, and fluids can flow against gravity in capillary tubes. Surface tension can be used to explain these phenomena that are macroscopic manifestations of microscopic molecular interactions. At both school and university levels, surface phenomena are introduced through traditional macroscopic or microscopic approaches. However, since explanations based on microscopic models are often in conflict with common macroscopic interpretations, the traditional teaching of the basic concepts related to surface phenomena can be unclear and can prevent students from an effective understanding of the topic. However, since surface p…
Investigating the inhibition of FTSJ1 a tryptophan tRNA-specific 2’-O-methyltransferase by NV TRIDs, as a mechanism of readthrough in nonsense mutate…
2023
Abstract: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive genetic disease caused by mutations in the CFTR gene, coding for the CFTR chloride channel. About 10% of the CFTR gene mutations are "stop" mutations, which generate a Premature Termination Codon (PTC), thus synthesizing a truncated CFTR protein. A way to bypass PTC relies on ribosome readthrough, which is the ri-bosome’s capacity to skip a PTC, thus generating a full-length protein. “TRIDs” are molecules exerting ribosome readthrough; for some, the mechanism of action is still under debate. We in-vestigate a possible mechanism of action (MOA) by which our recently synthesized TRIDs, namely NV848, NV914, and NV930, could exert their r…
Framing diversity in teen drama: Streaming series as a case study for social and discursive constructions.
2023
Concepts of inclusivity and diversity are socially and discursively constructed through a variety of contexts, including televisual/streaming series. Undoubtedly, televisual/streaming products strongly impact how individuals (especially younger generations; Trudgill 1986, Bednarek 2017) are exposed to and have experience with construed situations, since they broaden the range of different positions in contexts. In fact, certain themes are problematized in dramas and are successively negotiated in dialogues, favoring different viewpoints and attitudes. In ongoing screen interactions, therefore, the audience participates in the enactment and alignment of meanings that challenge the different …
Socio-economic status, psychosocial factors, health behaviours and incidence of dental caries in 12-year-old children living in deprived communities …
2023
Objectives This study examines the relationships between socio-economic status, psychosocial factors, health-related behaviours and the incidence of dental caries amongst 12-year-old schoolchildren living in deprived communities in Manaus, Brazil. Methods A longitudinal study involving 312 children aged 12 years was conducted in the city of Manaus, Brazil. Baseline data including socio-economic status (number of goods, household overcrowding, parents’ schooling, family income), psychosocial factors (sense of coherence [SOC-13], social support [Social Support Appraisals questionnaire]) and health-related behaviours (frequency of toothbrushing, sugar consumption, sedentary behaviour) were col…