Firenze University Press: E-Journals
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«Poverty is an expensive luxury. We cannot afford it»: Eleanor Roosevelt e l’America della Great Depression
Get PDFThe essay would like to emphasize the role played by Eleanor Roosevelt in the effort to solve the economic crisis following the collapse of Wall Street Stock Exchange in 1929. More specifically, Eleanor Roosevelt challenged the administration in order to focus relief on women and children as well as on African-Americans, especially those living in rural counties. Starting with the organization of the White House Conference on the Emergency Needs of Women, in 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt constantly underlined the strong connections between the struggle to solve poverty and economic emergency on the one hand, and the need to promote citizenship rights and women’s rights. According to her, in fact, any reaffirmation of the value of democracy could only be based on racial and social justices.
Electric circuit theory applied to alien invasions: a connectivity model predicting the Balkan frog expansion in Northern Italy
Get PDFInvasive species are a major threat to biodiversity and alien herpetofauna already caused conservation problems in Italy and in the world. Pelophylax kurtmuelleri (Gayda, 1940) is a water frog native to Southern Balkans, that was introduced in NW Italy (Liguria) in 1941, from where it has spread to Piedmont, Lombardy and recently to Emilia Romagna. Surprisingly, during its expansion, the Balkan frog seemed not to be able to cross the Po River (with a single exception). So, we investigated the reasons for such directional limitation of range expansion, focusing on the potential role of the Po River. Combining ecological niche and connectivity models, we adopted a two-step process in order to assess: (i) if the habitat suitability differs between the two sides of the Po Plain; (ii) if the Po River could act as a barrier in terms of dispersal. Results showed that the northern side of the plain seems less suitable than the southern one, even if many suitable patches occur along the main left tributaries of the Po River and in the hilly part of the plain. The Po River behaves like a barrier for the Balkan frog, but the only known point on the north bank of the river indicates that it may be able to only slow the dispersal and not to completely stop it. So, the most probable interpretation for the absence of the Balkan frog from the Northern Po Plain, is the combination of habitat suitability and connectivity issues: the former makes less probable that new viable populations can establish in the North, the latter decreases the northwards flux of the frogs. Given these findings, the Balkan frog seems able to spread in the whole Northern Italy and the colonization of the northern Po plain could happen shortly
A protocol for the management of grapevine rootstock mother vines to reduce latent infections by grapevine trunk pathogens in cuttings
Get PDFA protocol is offered as a guideline for managers of rootstock mother grapevines, and as a potential research framework for to reduce infections by Grapevine Trunk Disease (GTD) pathogens in rootstock mother vines and cuttings. Latent infections by GTD pathogens in rootstock cuttings are a major source of the pathogens in grafted nursery vines and subsequently in new vineyards. The many pruning cuts made at the crowns of mother vines predispose them to infection which is transmitted to the new shoots via the xylem. Direct penetration by epiphytic inoculum on the bark of the shoots/canes can also occur. Mother vines with unprotected pruning wounds are typically heavily infected, particularly if they are not trellised. Availability of pruning wound treatments is limited in many countries. The spread of GTD pathogen inoculum can be reduced by avoiding sprinkler and flood irrigation, by trellising mother vines so that canopies are off the soil, and by spraying fungicides or painting wounds immediately after canes are harvested. Frequent trunk renewal aids in reducing inoculum. Cuts should be made to retain long internodes on the mother vines, cuttings should not contact the soil and pruning debris should be promptly destroyed. Cutting implements should be disinfested regularly and cuttings should be dipped in a registered fungicide or sterilant. Soaking cuttings increases fungal populations in the basal wounds and softens the bark, favouring penetration by pathogen inoculum. Dormant bench grafting in nurseries produces more GTD-symptomatic vines than field chip budding, so improved management for rootstock mother vines is more important where dormant cuttings are bench grafted. GTD epidemiology in source blocks is summarised, and best practice protocols for mother vine management and pre-grafting stages of propagation are suggested. Similar principles could be applied to scion mother vine management
Effective chemical management for prevention of aflatoxins in maize
Get PDFThe presence of aflatoxins in maize grain has been an increasing problem in the Mediterranean area, possibly due to climate change such as increased temperatures and extended drought periods. It is therefore important to prevent the growth of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species in the field. There are no fungicides registered for control A. flavus in maize, so this study investigated the efficacy of azoxystrobin, boscalid, cyprodinil, fludioxonil and cyprodinil + fludioxonil to reduce A. flavus growth, sporulation and aflatoxin production in in vitro, and in maize field studies. Based on in vitro inhibition of mycelial growth, the most effective fungicides were cyprodinil (EC50 < 0.05 μg mL-1) and fludioxonil (EC50 <0.11 μg mL-1), while the least effective was boscalid (EC50 4.35-4.50 μg mL-1). Azoxystrobin almost completely inhibited the conidium germination at > 0.5 μg mL-1. Further evaluation of the fungicides on maize seeds infected with A. flavus demonstrated that all the fungicides reduced conidium production by 76 to 94%, and reduced aflatoxin contamination. In a 2-year field study, application of cyprodinil + fludioxonil reduced A. flavus ear rot severity by 40%, and was the most effective formulation for reducing aflatoxin contamination, by 83%. The other four single ingredient fungicides also decreased aflatoxin production on maize kernels (fludioxonil by 80%, cyprodinil by 75%, boscalid by 74% and azoxystrobin by 67%). Field data from this study provide farmers with a new effective chemical approach to control A. flavus and aflatoxin production in maize within an integrated strategy for management of aflatoxins in maize
Neofusicoccum parvum causes stem canker of thornless blackberry in Italy
Get PDFImportant damage caused by the fungus Neofusicoccum parvum in thornless blackberry in southern Italy is reported for the first time. The most noticeable symptoms were stem cankers and yellowing of the foliage. Cankers on stems were initially elongated, and infected tissue was darkly pigmented. The fungus was identified based on morphological characteristics and by sequencing the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region and part of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1-a) gene. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that N. parvum caused the disease on blackberry, inducing symptoms similar to those occurring under natural conditions. This is potentially a serious disease of blackberry in southern Italy, where cultivation is expanding
A Pilgrimage Through the Memory of the World by Danilo Kiš
Get PDFDanilo Kiš carried out an inquiring maneuver for the absolute form in which the written has the ability to override and / or delete time and space. It is the result of his desire for compression or de/constructive effort to transform a novelistic tissue into an encyclopedic register. His literary work is aimed at integration of the obverse and reverse of fate in duration and disappearance. Through the exposure and semantic para-semantic levels of human understanding of the factual and fictional, through questioning face and reverse the history of the world, The Encyclopedia of the Dead suggests a smoldering in religions and philosophical systems, whose central issue is always in a vacuum between death and love. The Encyclopedia of the Dead offers the key to figuring out the ideal of the writer’s poetics, though, in his words, its ideal is never achieved.Danilo Kiš carried out an inquiring maneuver for the absolute form in which the written has the ability to override and / or delete time and space. It is the result of his desire for compression or de/constructive effort to transform a novelistic tissue into an encyclopedic register. His literary work is aimed at integration of the obverse and reverse of fate in duration and disappearance. Through the exposure and semantic para-semantic levels of human understanding of the factual and fictional, through questioning face and reverse the history of the world, The Encyclopedia of the Dead suggests a smoldering in religions and philosophical systems, whose central issue is always in a vacuum between death and love. The Encyclopedia of the Dead offers the key to figuring out the ideal of the writer’s poetics, though, in his words, its ideal is never achieved
Endotherapy of infected grapevine cuttings for the control of Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and Phaeoacremonium minimum
Get PDFThe pathogens Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and Phaeoacremonium minimum are associated with different syndromes of the esca disease complex affecting grapevine propagation material, and young and adult plants. Infections by these fungi occur in grapevine nurseries and in vineyards, with disease control strategies providing limited protection in both cases. Several chemicals are effective in vitro against these two pathogens, but treatment of infected plants, especially endotherapy, has not yet proven satisfactory. Five chemicals (elemental silver, fosetyl-Al, glutaraldehyde, hydrogen peroxide and Blad-containing oligomer) were tested in vitro, with the first four also tested in planta, by means of endotherapy, against Pa. chlamydospora and Pm. minimum. All chemicals were effective in vitro for preventing growth of both pathogens, at different concentrations. Endotherapy of rooted grapevine cuttings (cv. Touriga Nacional) was effective against Pa. chlamydospora for all the tested chemicals, with reductions in the frequency of re-isolation of this pathogen of 91–95% (glutaraldehyde), 68–96% (hydrogen peroxide), 68–77% (elemental silver) and 58–59% (fosetyl-Al) when compared with the water-treated experimental controls. The only treatment that was effective against Pm. minimum was glutaraldehyde, providing a 75–83% reduction in re-isolation frequency. These results indicate that endotherapy of young grapevines during early stages of infection may be an effective control strategy, especially against the wood pathogen Pa. chlamydospora.
Lost in feedback (2014): soluzioni personali di musica mista tra il teatro musicale e la performance visuale
Get PDFLost in feedback is a work for electric vibraphone, percussions, stage performer and live electronics. The add of some captors under the keys of the vibraphone together with a series of non conventional techniques transform the sound in order to relate acoustic sources and electronic treatments. The canvas painted live by the stage performer also contributes to the electronics along the piece by a series of captors placed under the structure that holds the surface and the artist. The title of the piece refers to the strategy adopted for the realisation of the sound files and the live capturing; real-time and pre-recorded Larsen effects sustain the instrumental playing and use actively the custom spazialization adopted. A contact loudspeaker placed on a Timpano uses the instrument like a resonator and the vibraphone is amplified through an electric guitar amplifier. The software for managing the electronics has been programmed using a Max package of mine based on a modules collection for the live electronics combined with acoustic instruments called MMixte
Reverse brain drain – a real threat or a speculative narrative? The case of the United Kingdom and the United States
Get PDFThis article constitutes an attempt to conduct a cultural studies analysis of the issue/phenomenon known as ‘reverse brain drain’ (the outflow of highly qualified and specialised workers from highly developed countries). The field of analysis has been restricted to the markets of the United Kingdom and the United States, countries standing on the threshold of major changes caused by preparations for the UK leaving the structures of the EU and the highly controversial figure of Donald Trump assuming the office of US president, respectively