Archivio della ricerca della Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
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Posthumanities’ New Subjectivities: What Contribution from Critical Feminist Posthumanism to the Contemporary Political Philosophical Debate?
No full textCritical Posthumanism, informed by feminist theory, is reshaping concepts like subjectivity, materiality, and agency. Privileging a post-anthropocentric stance, intersectional politics, and relational ontologies, it is challenging modern Western dualism proposing what this paper addressed as the unveiling of the disjunctive paradigm. This paper paves the way for understanding Critical Posthumanism contributions to political philosophy, especially in deconstructing the individual subject – whether be it the Ipseity, the Subject of knowledge and rights or Anthropos. The paper presents a Topology of the Ruptures as an analysis of the critique of systemic exclusion of the autarchic subject in respect of marginalized alterities. Critical Posthumanist potential to redefine political conflict and representation of alterities is examined through the case of Canada’s legal personhood recognition of the Magpie River. This case illustrates how feminist Posthumanities concepts could contribute to enlarge the plethora of subjectivities beyond the classical human subject, and highlights the possibility of expanding the socio-political collective beyond human agency
The HTT gene influences plasma neurofilament light chain and brain metabolism in prodromal Alzheimer’s disease
No full textObjective: HTT, encoding a protein involved in axonal trafficking, contains a key region of CAG repeats. When expanded beyond 39 repeats, this region leads to Huntington’s disease (HD). However, several studies have suggested that increasing the number of CAG repeats below the pathological threshold may confer functional advantages by enhancing HTT activity. In the present study, we aim to investigate the association between CAG repeat length below the pathological threshold and neurodegeneration biomarkers in prodromal Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Ninety-five patients (36 with SCD and 59 with MCI) underwent blood collection for NfL measurement and HTT genetic analysis. Cerebrospinal fluid was collected for the measurement of Aβ42, Aβ40, total tau, and phosphorylated tau, and/or amyloid PET imaging was performed. Thirty-nine patients who were positive for both Aβ and phosphorylated tau biomarkers were classified as “A+/T+”, while 56 patients who were either negative for both markers or positive for only one were classified as “isolated Aβ/non-AD.” Results: In the A+/T+ group, quadratic models described the association between CAG repeat length with NfL concentrations and 18F-FDG uptake. In particular, a concave curve was observed in the medial and middle frontal gyri, while a convex curve was found in the parahippocampal and fusiform gyri. Interpretation: Among individuals with SCD and MCI who show evidence of AD pathology, CAG repeat length in the HTT gene below the HD pathological threshold is associated with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in a region-specific and U-shaped manner. These findings suggest a modulatory role of HTT in prodromal AD
I poteri sostitutivi nel federalismo cooperativo: fisionomia e linee evolutive dell’esperienza tedesca
No full textSubstitutive Powers in a Cooperative Federal System: Defining Traits and Evolution of the German Case. The paper reconstructs the defining characters of substitutive powers in the legal system of the Federal Republic of Germany. The analysis focuses, first, on federal coercion as regulated in Article 37 of the Basic Law of 1949. In so doing, it highlights its roots in German constitutional history, the similarities and differences with its direct antecedents, and its limited practical relevance in a cooperative federal system that has benefited from remarkable political stability. After that, the paper deals with discussion about the possible resort to federal coercion to cope with the emergence of new crises, financial or political. This testifies to the vitality of this constitutional provision and to its potential role within an evolving legal order
Board network centrality and financial performance: the mediating role of sustainability performance
No full textPurpose
This study empirically investigates whether sustainability performance acts as a mediating mechanism linking board network centrality to financial outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a sample of 888 publicly listed European firms, we construct a network based on board interlocks and compute five centrality measures: degree, closeness, betweenness, eigenvector, and N-score (a composite measure capturing overall centrality). We employ structural equation modeling to investigate the mediating role of sustainability performance, measured through firm-level ESG indicators.
Findings
Our results indicate that board network centrality has a positive indirect effect on financial performance through improved sustainability performance, even in the absence of a direct link. By identifying sustainability performance as a mediating channel, this study theorizes how firms can leverage the social capital embedded in board networks to achieve tangible performance benefits.
Originality/value
In today’s interconnected global landscape, firms derive strategic advantages not only from internal capabilities but also from their embeddedness in external networks. Among these, board networks, formed through board interlocks, constitute a key source of social capital, providing networked firms with access to valuable resources and enhanced legitimacy based on their network position. However, empirical evidence on the relationship between board network centrality and firm performance remains inconclusive, underscoring the need to explore potential mediating mechanisms
European task force reclassification of dilated and non-dilated cardiomyopathies identifies a high arrhythmic-risk overlap phenotype
No full textThe Transparency and Liability Issues Associated with AI-Based Medical Systems
No full textThis chapter examines the relationship between two of the main topics discussed in relation to smart medicine: the transparency of the AI systems used and their associated liability issues. AI is increasingly being used in the healthcare sector due to its proclaimed predictive accuracy, which purportedly enhances medical performance. However, many AI systems lack transparency, leaving the recommendations and diagnoses they produce unexplained. This chapter therefore discusses the importance of the techno-normative design choices made in AI-based medical systems as a way of mitigating any risks to a patient’s health. Notwithstanding this discussion, we do highlight that both traditional and AI-powered medicine are, to some extent, characterized by intrinsic opacity. Therefore, we also discuss the consequences of implementing the AI systems to standard of care
