InsubriaSPACE
Not a member yet
702 research outputs found
Sort by
Una filosofia del bene comune? Esercizi di descrizione fenomenologica.
No full textLa sensibilità contemporanea, declinata soprattutto nel suo versante normativo, sta affrontando il bene comune intendendo valorizzarne l’integrità quale “risorsa primaria”, quale “bene” insostituibile per la sopravvivenza della condizione umana, oppure quale “cosa funzionale all’esercizio dei diritti” e, in generale, dell’“ambiente”. L’intenzione generale di questa ricerca è stata, invece, quella di provare a descrivere ciò che del bene comune è esperito prima di sua ogni assunzione di ordine concettuale, giuridica o comunque riferita ad un ambito disciplinare specifico, prima della sua stessa distinzione in beni comuni materiali o immateriali. Si tratta così, di confrontarsi con il bene comune a partire non da una teorizzazione pregressa, ma dalla descrizione della sua esperienza, spostando l’asse investigativo dall’esercizio della “costituzione” normativo-concettuale del bene comune alla “descrizione” di un’esperienza già in atto. Le voci filosofiche, che maggiormente sembrano aderire a questa richiesta descrittiva sono la lezione fenomenologica novecentesca di Edmund Husserl e di Martin Heidegger.
A philosophy of the common good? Exercises of Phenomenological description The contemporary sensibility, declined above all in its normative side, is dealing with the common good, intending to enhance its integrity as a "primary resource", as an irreplaceable "good" for the survival of the human condition, or as "good functional for exercise of the rights” and, in general, for the “environment”. The general intention of this research was, instead, to try to describe how the common good is experienced before every conceptual, juridical assumption or in any case referring to a specific disciplinary area, before its own distinction in tangible or intangible common goods. It is thus, to confront with the common good starting not from a previous theorizing, but from the description of its experience, shifting the investigative axis from the exercise of the normative-conceptual "constitution" of the common good to the "description" of an already underway experience. The philosophical voices which most seem to adhere to this descriptive request, are the twentieth phenomenological lessons of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger
Il Medioevo nel pensiero politico di Montesquieu. Origine ed evoluzione della monarchia in Francia.
No full textThis study focuses on the XXVIII, XXX and XXXI books of the Esprit des lois, dedicated to the origins of civil and feudal laws in relation to the history of the French monarchy, and aims to clarifying understudied aspects of Montesquieu’s theory of governments. Montesquieu’s theories are investigated by linking them to the eighteenth-century historiographical debates, to the political and institutional transformations of the French monarchy of the time and to author’s life. Through historical research Montesquieu means to interpret political events of his times, in particular the institutional changes taking place in the Kingdom of France: examining the socio-political and institutional upheavals that, starting from the realms generated from the disintegration of the Roman Empire, led to the birth of modern European monarchies, Montesquieu meditates on the power and forms of government in their historical development. This doctoral dissertation wishes to shed new light on the political theories contained in the Esprit des lois and highlight some aspects that, until now, have been mostly neglected by critics, in particular the role of seigneurial jurisdictions and feudal laws within the form of monarchical government, as well as the relationship between nobility and sovereign
Manipulation experiments for the assessment and monitoring of climate change impacts on vegetation of alpine and polar ecosystems.
No full textThis thesis focused on the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems of alpine (Central Italian Alps) and Polar (Maritime Antarctica) tundra habitats, two of the three areas of the world where had been recorded the greatest air temperature warming since 1950.
The alpine site is located at the Stelvio Pass where since the 2014 in-situ manipulation experiments started to assess the possible future responses of tundra vegetation to changes of: a) air and soil warming, b) water availability and soil moisture, c) snow-depth and snowmelt time.
The PhD project confirmed and assessed the influence of these manipulation experiments, on environmental data, vegetation composition and structure and plant phenology, stressing how responses to the environmental drivers had species-specific differences, but also with influences from plant communities, species ecology and local conditions (topography).
The Antarctic site is located at Signy Island (northern maritime Antarctica) where were installed manipulation experiments, comparable to those set up in the Alps, those will allow to compare in the next years the biotic and abiotic responses of different polar and alpine tundra ecosystems. The assessment of any vegetation changes was not possible, because of the logistical constrain and of the short period of manipulation (2 years); however, were presented the experiment design and the preliminary environmental data after the first year of deployment.
Finally, through a paleo-climate investigation, that involved the analyses of organic sediment and moribund mosses collected at Rothera Point (southern maritime Antarctica), evidences were provided on how the climate system changed through time
The role of the homeobox gene family Otx in an ischemia/reperfusion damage in the enteric nervous system.
No full textThe homeobox gene family Otx encodes for transcription factors involved in the induction and morphogenesis of the neuroectoderm. Intestinal ischemia is an acute and rarely chronic clinical condition caused by the unbalance between intestinal oxygen supply and the metabolic tissue demand. After the remove of its cause, tissue re-oxygenation causes a series of biochemical and cellular mechanisms that amplify tissue damage. During intestinal I/R, nitric oxide can be both cryoprotective and cytotoxic based on the type of NOS involved in its synthesis. During this PhD project we have firstly studied the involvement of the Otx genes in a rat model of ischemia/reperfusion. Subsequently we replicated in vitro an I/R damage through the OGD procedure on a human neuroblastoma cell line previously treated with ATRA to induce its differentiation towards a neuronal-like phenotype. The data presented in this project clearly indicate the existence of an interplay between myenteric nitrergic pathways and Otx transcription factors that could sustain the development of motor alterations induced by NO after an I/R injury, with OTX1 and iNOS more related to the effects of I/R on the glial cells performing a cytotoxic effect while OTX2 and nNOS linked to the consequences on neuronal cells and developing a cytoprotective role
Fine vita e decisioni etiche nelle emergenze anestesiologiche intraospedaliere.
No full textBiomedical and biotechnological progress nowadays allowed doctors to prolong life through new and best therapies for many, once deathly, illnesses, and through new machine which can maintain vital functions in an artificial way; the therapeutic limit is always moved forward. Anesthesiologist usually manage emergency and urgencies in all hospitals’ ward where the patients, especially during night and festive shift, can’t always refer to their daily practitioner, who is not present in those context. If a CPR is necessary without the presence of the daily practitioner, bioethical problems, most of all due to the lack of medical deliveries regarding end of life decisions and clinical problems, grow exponentially.
These conditions often lead to a wrong management with a start or a prosecution of treatments even when there shouldn’t have been a proper indication; with a good communication and time to study the case, no one would have probably started CPR in many of those patients.
Our goal was the evaluation of the management of these special cases, in a bioethical field, by visualizing retrospectively one year of intrahospital emergencies with an anaesthesiologist call, looking for basal datas regarding number and typology of emergencies and what is normally reported in medical records, then following results of these patients.
Surely we can conclude that, if we want an improvement regarding ethical approach to CPR to patients with clinical history unknown by anesthesiologist, there should be a more codified decisional flowchart or medical delivery system in order to write and tell clearly ethical and clinical consideration
Peripheral immunity in Parkinson’s disease
No full textParkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder among elderly population and it is characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra, presence of α-synuclein rich intraneuronal inclusions (Lewy bodies), and microglial activation. To date, exact cause remains unknown and the mechanism of neurons death uncertain.
It is typically considered as a disease of central nervous system. Nevertheless, numerous evidences testify undoubtedly about the principal role of neuroinflammation in progression of PD. Neuroinflammation is mainly associated with presence of activated microglia in brain and elevated levels of cytokine levels in CNS. In addition, active participation of immune system has been noted, such as, elevated levels of cytokine levels in blood, the presence of auto antibodies, and the infiltration of T cell in CNS.
Emerging evidence suggests that CD4+ T lymphocytes contribute to neuroinflammation in PD. Since the mainstay of PD treatment is DA-substitution therapy and DA is an established transmitter connecting nervous and immune systems, we have examined the changes in the pool of different subtypes of CD4+ T lymphocytes in patients and in healthy subjects, with specific regard to dopaminergic receptor (DR) expression. In addition, several in vitro experiments were performed in order to establish potential changes in function of CD4+ T cells.
Obtained results regarding the complex phenotypic and functional profile of CD4+ T cell subsets in PD patients strengthen the evidence that peripheral adaptive immunity is involved in PD and represents a target for the preclinical and clinical assessment of novel immunomodulating therapeutics
Serum miRNAs as biomarkers for early diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
No full textLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Late diagnosis, attributable at least partly to the lack of non-invasive screening methods, contributes to its high mortality.
Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) attracted the attention of scientists as possible lung cancer biomarkers since they are stable, retrievable and dysregulated in many types of cancers.
We performed a critical review of the literature and selected 8 miRNAs, 4 of which with high sensitivity/AUC and 4 with high specificity. These miRNAs compose a two-step screening: in the first step the high sensitivity miRNAs are measured (miR-223, miR-20a, miR-145, miR-448), whereas in the second step the high specificity miRNAs are measured (miR-210, miR-628-3p, miR-29c, miR-1244). We aimed to identify the two best performing miRNAs.
All analyzed miRNAs were expressed at significantly higher levels in NSCLC patients compared to controls. Among the high-sensitivity miRNAs, miR-223 performed best; among high-specificity miRNAs, miR-29c performed best.
We then analysed miR-223 and miR-29c to determine the best combination and cut-offs for early lung cancer diagnosis. We measured the levels of miR-223 and miR-29c in a Training set and tested combinations and cut-off values that allowed to obtain the best separation between patients and controls. We found that the formula “miR-223>500 copies/μl OR miR-29c>50 copies/μl” had the highest sensitivity (75%) and acceptable specificity (50%). The formula was then applied to a blind Validation set and we found that it had a very high sensitivity of 92.5%, despite a poor specificity of 37.5%. Our results suggest that our test holds great potential for screening of patients at risk for stage I-II NSCLC
Insects’ superpower: waste bioconversion by Hermetia illucens larvae.
No full textOver the coming decades it will be mandatory to face the problem of feeding the constantly increasing world population, limiting the depletion of food resources, the unsustainable exploitation and exhaustion of agricultural land and water, and environmental pollution. The higher demand for human food will require an increasing production of feeds for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture. Another serious concern is represented by food waste disposal since one third of food produced globally is wasted. These critical challenges require innovative solutions to produce more food with fewer inputs, less environmental impact, and reducing the food waste.
Insects must be considered as a high potential source of animal protein for feed production, as well as a primary agent for organic waste reduction and bioconversion into usable protein products. In particular, the dipteran Hermetia illucens is a good candidate for the bioconversion of waste substrates into high quality insect proteins. Despite the great interest toward the optimization of rearing methods of H. illucens, information on the biology of this insect remains scarce, especially on the larval midgut and fat body, two organs of key importance for the bioconversion process.
The present research aimed at analyzing the morphofunctional properties of the larval midgut. Moreover, we evaluated how the diet provided to the larvae can affect the microbiota composition and the morphological and functional properties of the midgut, as well as the accumulation of storage molecules in the fat body. Finally, a study about the feeding habits of the fly, an aspect that has been neglected so far, was performed
Application of method of lines in chemical engineering problems
No full textIn this work, two problems in chemical engineering are studied and
solved. Estimation of an important parameter of dust explosions, the
deflagration index kST , and a study of unsteady state with axial diffusion Plug Flow Reactors are presented. Both problems are approached by
characterizing the physical phenomena involved with suitable transport
equations. Such equations have been developed with the synergy of both
consolidated theoretical models and ad hoc assumptions and semi-empiric
approaches, according to the specific problem analyzed. The final equation systems result in a system of non-linear Partial Differential Equations.
The numerical solution of such equations has been performed by implementing the Method of Lines, a numerical method based on the discretization of spatial derivative operators, transforming a system of PDEs into a
system of ODEs or DAEs. The resulting ODEs/DAEs systems have been
implemented and solved inside MAT LABTMenvironment. The Method
of Lines is presented for uniform and non-uniform grids, generalized with
the use of spatial derivatives discretization stencils of several orders of
accuracy.
For the estimation of kST , we validated the model with 8 organic dust:
Aspirin, Cork, Corn starch, Niacin, Polyethylene, Polystyrene, Sugar and
Wheat flour. Results showed an interesting match between experimental
and simulated data: predictions for the deflagration index were good,
while the evolution of process variables (such as the temperature of the
gas phase), still leaves room for improvements.
For the PFR study, we propose 1-D models, taking in account the
reactor start-up, thermal and material axial diffusion, and the presence
of a heating/cooling system. In order to judge the quality of the results,
we took as case study a reaction well studied in the literature over the
years: the oxidation of Naphthalene. We developed the so-called Runaway Boundaries for the reaction considered. Our results found good
matches with the available literature data and analysis. We also noticed
a shifting of the Runaway Boundaries when considering a more realistic
heating/cooling system
Il bene comune della sicurezza collettiva tra politica criminale e diritto penale.
No full textContemporary society is pervaded by a growing request of security, but such need often derives from risk situations that are not real, but only perceived by the community; an important role is played by the media that increas the sense of collective insecurity, constantly broadcasting news on crimes. In light of the above, the government is working to protect the citizen personal safety from the newly perceived causes of risk, seeking new sources of legitimacy. The most used instrument is the Criminal Law: the introduction of new incriminating cases and tightening sanctioning treatments are often the means by which the legal system proposes to resolve emergency situations, to protect the safety of citizens and, therefore, to gain the consent of the members of the community. However, the use of such instrument led some authors to question the re-educational scope of the punishment, determining problems regarding the of the equality and non-discrimination fundamental principles. The research aims to stimulate an analysis regarding the nature of the collective sense of security, in order to formulate a juxtaposition of the common concept. This study can lead to significant applicative consequences, such as the change in the perspective and in the enhancement of the collective security management, with specific focus on the means of restorative justice. The prospected solution is the active participation of the individual in the construction of its social reintegration project, which must also involve the victims and the community. This kind of intervention unequivocally contributes to strengthen the collective sense of security, both from an objective and a subjective point of view