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Absolute faith. Religious monomania, legal medicine and criminal law in post-unification Italy
Get PDFQuesto studio si concentra su tre direttrici fondamentali: la monomania religiosa, la medicina legale e il diritto penale nell'Italia postunitaria. Nell’ambito di un contesto temporale ben definito, i cui estremi cronologici coincidono con l’Unificazione italiana (1861) e con i primi anni del XX secolo, si sono approfondite le numerose implicazioni mediche e giuridiche della malattia mentale nella forma di monomania religiosa. In particolare, prendendo spunto da una serie di condotte criminali frutto di suggestione religiosa o di deliri ascetici in soggetti diagnosticati come ‛monomani’, si sono indagati i risvolti giuridico-processuali di alcune vicende fortemente rappresentative di tali percorsi. L'ampia documentazione d'archivio recuperata consente di verificare l'orientamento della magistratura all'indomani dell'entrata in vigore del Codice penale per il Regno d'Italia (1889).
Nei casi esaminati, alla diagnosi di alienazione mentale degli imputati seguiva la dichiarazione di non imputabilità e l'affidamento degli stessi all'Autorità amministrativa che ne disponeva il ricovero in manicomio.This study focuses on three fundamental guidelines: religious monomania, legal medicine and criminal law in italian post-unification.
In a well-defined temporal context, whose chronological details concide with Italian unification (1861) and with the early decades of XX century, the author focuses on medical and legal aspects of mental illness in the form of religious monomania. In particular, from a series of criminal behaviors resulting from religious suggestions or ascetic delusions, the paper investigates the juridical-procedural implications of these events. The extensive archival documentation allows to verify Couts legale orientation in the years near by the approval of the Italian penal code (1889). In the cases focused, the diagnosis of mental alienation was followed by the declaration of non-imputability and by hospitalizarion into a mental hospital
The Financial Services Regime in International Economic Law: on the Difficult Relationship between Trade Liberalization and Prudential Measures
No full textThe PhD thesis analyses the financial services regime in international economic law from the perspective of the difficult relationship between trade liberalisation and prudential measures.
Financial stability plays a fundamental role for the well-being and well-functioning of the global economy, but, it is at the same time a complex sector to regulate and supervise and, especially after the 2007-08 economic crisis, States have tightened up their regulation of financial services, introducing more severe and protectionist prudential measures. However, in an increasingly interconnected global economy, the harmonization of prudential regulation at the international level is an essential step to guarantee integrity, fairness and stability of financial markets and trade.
The research analyses the tools at disposition to achieve this aim, the related problematic issues and the perspectives and possible solutions for the future, starting from the World Trade Organization (WTO) legal framework and its General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), devoted to discipline trade in services among the WTO Members. Then, the research moves to a second legal instrument, the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), which has witnessed a remarkable spread in the last decades. Finally, the research addresses the international standards, developed by supranational entities and implemented by an increasing number of States, as they offer rules and guidelines adequate to update the international financial scenario. Nevertheless, the international standards alone cannot be the solution because, first, they are not mandatory, as governments decide voluntarily to apply them and, second, their decision-making process do not respect the requirements of transparency and representative membership.
In light of this analysis, the thesis aims at providing an answer to its research question: how to give more certainty to States and economic operators in the planning of the domestic disciplines and business activities in order to provide a sound and stable international financial system
Un approccio multidisciplinare allo studio della dinamica delle proteine e della trasmissione del segnale
Get PDFAllostery is a phenomenon of fundamental importance in biology, allowing regulation of function and dynamic adaptability of enzymes and proteins. Despite the allosteric effect was first observed more than a century ago allostery remains a biophysical enigma, defined as the “second secret of life”. The challenge is mainly associated to the rather complex nature of the allosteric mechanisms, which manifests itself as the alteration of the biological function of a protein/enzyme (e.g. ligand/substrate binding at the active site) by binding of “other object” (“allos stereos” in Greek) at a site distant (> 1 nanometer) from the active site, namely the effector site. Thus, at the heart of allostery there is signal propagation from the effector to the active site through a dense protein matrix, with a fundamental challenge being represented by the elucidation of the physico-chemical interactions between amino acid residues allowing communicatio n between the two binding sites, i.e. the “allosteric pathways”. Here, we propose a multidisciplinary approach based on a combination of computational chemistry, involving molecular dynamics simulations of protein motions, (bio)physical analysis of allosteric systems, including multiple sequence alignments of known allosteric systems, and mathematical tools based on graph theory and machine learning that can greatly help understanding the complexity of dynamical interactions involved in the different allosteric systems. The project aims at developing robust and fast tools to identify unknown allosteric pathways. The characterization and predictions of such allosteric spots could elucidate and fully exploit the power of allosteric modulation in enzymes and DNA-protein complexes, with great potential applications in enzyme engineering and drug discovery.L'allostérie est un phénomène d'importance fondamentale en biologie qui permet la régulation de la fonction et l'adaptabilité dynamique des enzymes et protéines. Malgré sa découverte il y a plus d'un siècle, l'allostérie reste une énigme biophysique, parfois appelée « second secret de la vie ». La difficulté est principalement associée à la nature complexe des mécanismes allostériques qui se manifestent comme l'altération de la fonction biologique d'une protéine/enzyme (c.-à-d. la liaison d'un substrat/ligand au site active) par la liaison d'un « autre objet » ("allos stereos" en grec) a un site distant (plus d'un nanomètre) du site actif, le site effecteur. Ainsi, au cœur de l'allostérie, il y a une propagation d'un signal du site effecteur au site actif à travers une dense matrice protéique, où l'un des enjeux principaux est représenté par l'élucidation des interactions physico-chimiques entre résidus d'acides aminés qui permettent la communication entre les deux sites : les chemins allostériques. Ici, nous proposons une approche multidisciplinaire basée sur la combination de méthodes de chimie théorique, impliquant des simulations de dynamique moléculaire de mouvements de protéines, des analyses (bio)physiques des systèmes allostériques, incluant des alignements multiples de séquences de systèmes allostériques connus, et des outils mathématiques basés sur la théorie des graphes et d'apprentissage automatique qui peuvent grandement aider à la compréhension de la complexité des interactions dynamiques impliquées dans les différents systèmes allostériques. Le projet vise à développer des outils rapides et robustes pour identifier des chemins allostériques inconnus. La caractérisation et les prédictions de points allostériques peut élucider et exploiter pleinement la modulation allostérique dans les enzymes et dans les complexes ADN-protéine, avec de potentielles grandes applications dans l'ingénierie des enzymes et dans la découverte de médicaments.L'allosteria è un fenomeno di fondamentale importanza in biologia che permette la regolazione della funzione e l'adattabilità dinamica di enzimi e proteine. Nonostante la sua scoperta più di un secolo fa, l'allosteria rimane un enigma biofisico, a volte chiamato "il secondo segreto della vita". La difficoltà è principalmente associata alla natura complessa dei meccanismi allosterici che si manifestano come l'alterazione della funzione biologica di una proteina/enzima (cioè il legame di un substrato/ligando al sito attivo) attraverso il legame di un "altro oggetto" (" allos stereos" in greco) ad un sito distante (più di un nanometro) dal sito attivo, il sito effettore. Pertanto, al centro dell'allosteria, c'è una propagazione di un segnale dal sito effettore al sito attivo attraverso una matrice proteica densa, dove una delle sfide principali è rappresentata dalla delucidazione delle interazioni fisico-chimiche tra i residui di amminoacidi che consentono la comunicazione tra i due siti: le vie allosteriche. In questo elaborato, viene proposto un approccio multidisciplinare basato sulla combinazione di metodi chimici teorici, che coinvolgono simulazioni di dinamica molecolare dei movimenti delle proteine, analisi (bio)fisiche di sistemi allosterici, inclusi allineamenti di sequenze multiple di sistemi allosterici noti e strumenti matematici basati sulla teoria dei grafi ed apprendimento automatico che può aiutare notevolmente a comprendere la complessità delle interazioni dinamiche coinvolte nei diversi sistemi allosterici. Il progetto mira a sviluppare strumenti veloci e robusti per identificare percorsi allosterici sconosciuti. Le caratterizzazioni e le previsioni dei punti allosterici possono chiarire e sfruttare appieno la modulazione allosterica negli enzimi e nei complessi DNA-proteina, con potenziali ampie applicazioni nell'ingegneria enzimatica e nella scoperta di farmaci
Systems Integration for the Documentation, Management and Valorisation of Architectural Heritage: The Archaeological Park of the Tombs of the Via Latina in Rome
No full textEn la civilización de la antigua Roma, tres de los aspectos más importantes de la vida cotidiana estaban vinculados a la arquitectura: las termas, los acueductos y las tumbas. Esta investigación propone el estudio de la integración de sistemas avanzados para la documentación, gestión y valorización del patrimonio arquitectónico funerario de la Vie Latina y la Appia Antica, en estrecha relación con el tema del Paisaje Cultural. De hecho, el Parque de las Tumbas Latinas alberga uno de los complejos funerarios más importantes, que en la actualidad conserva el aspecto tradicional del antiguo paisaje romano. A lo largo de una vía empedrada, como todas las vías consulares, la Vía Latina (al igual que la Vía Appia Antica), que, como recordaba Tito Livio, conectaba en su día las ciudades de Roma con Capua, sigue manteniendo "congelado" el antiguo trazado urbano/paisajístico. El sistema multiforme del Ager Romanus y del sitio cultural Via Latina/Appia Antica estudiado en esta investigación es, por tanto, comparable a una estructura viva y dinámica y, como tal, debe ser analizada. Por lo tanto, para diseñar una herramienta de protección y gestión tan "potente" y adecuada para un sitio histórico de enorme importancia, fue necesario utilizar las técnicas de levantamiento arquitectónico más avanzadas que se utilizan actualmente (como el escaneo láser y la fotogrametría, junto con un software de análisis específico), acompañadas de un estudio en profundidad de las técnicas de construcción antiguas. El último aspecto clave que pretende abordar la investigación es la catalogación. De hecho, los sitios y monumentos históricos no se pueden mantener sólo mediante su uso y utilización pasiva, sino activando todas las operaciones de protección y conservación mediante intervenciones directas (mantenimiento/restauración) e indirectas, como la catalogación constante de las obras históricas y la consiguiente "catalogación dinámica".In the civilisation of ancient Rome, three of the most important aspects of daily life were linked to architecture: the Baths, the Aqueducts and the Tombs. This research proposes the study of the integration of advanced systems for the documentation, management and valorisation of the funerary architectural heritage of the Vie Latina and Appia Antica, in close relation to the theme of Cultural Landscape. In fact, the Tombs of the Latin Tombs Park is home to one of the most important funerary complexes, which currently preserves the traditional appearance of the ancient Roman landscape. Along a cobbled road, like all consular roads, the Via Latina (as well as the Via Appia Antica), which, as recalled by Titus Livius once connected the cities of Rome with Capua, still maintains the ancient urban/landscape layout 'frozen'. The multiform system of the Ager Romanus and the Via Latina/Appia Antica cultural site studied in this research is therefore comparable to a living and dynamic structure and, as such, must be analysed. In order to design such a "powerful" and suitable protection and management tool for such an extremely important historical site, it was therefore necessary to use the most advanced architectural survey techniques currently in use (such as laser scanning and photogrammetry, in conjunction with specific analysis software) accompanied by an in-depth study of ancient construction techniques. The last key aspect that the research aims to address is cataloguing. In fact, historical sites and monuments cannot be maintained only by using them and using them passively, but by activating all protection and conservation operations through direct interventions (maintenance/restoration) and indirect ones such as the constant cataloguing of historical works and the consequent 'dynamic cataloguing'.Nella civiltà dell'antica Roma, tre degli aspetti più importanti della vita quotidiana sono stati legati all'architettura: le Terme, gli Acquedotti e le Tombe. In questa ricerca viene proposto lo studio dell’integrazione di sistemi avanzati per la documentazione, la gestione e la valorizzazione del patrimonio architettonico funerario delle Vie Latina e Appia Antica, in stretta relazione al tema del Paesaggio Culturale. Il Parco delle Tombe Latine ospita infatti uno dei più importanti complessi funerari, che attualmente conserva immutato l'aspetto tradizionale dell'antico paesaggio romano; lungo una strada acciottolata, come tutte le strade consolari, la Via Latina (così come la Via Appia Antica) che, come ricorda Tito Livio un tempo collegava le città di Roma con Capua, mantiene ancora “congelata” l’antica impostazione urbano/paesaggistica. Il sistema multiforme dell'Ager Romanus e del sito culturale della Via Latina/Appia Antica studiato nella presente ricerca è dunque paragonabile a una struttura viva e dinamica e, come tale, deve essere analizzato. Per progettare uno strumento di protezione e di gestione così “potente” e adatto a un sito storico di enorme rilevanza, si è reso quindi necessario l’utilizzo delle più avanzate tecniche di rilievo architettonico attualmente in uso (come il laser scanner e la fotogrammetria, in unione a specifici software di analisi) accompagnato da uno studio approfondito delle antiche tecniche costruttive. L'ultimo aspetto chiave che la ricerca vuole affrontare è la catalogazione. Infatti, i siti e i monumenti storici non possono essere mantenuti solo utilizzandoli e usandoli passivamente, ma attivando tutte le operazioni di tutela e conservazione attraverso interventi diretti (manutenzione/restauro) e indiretti come la costante catalogazione delle opere storiche e la conseguente “schedatura dinamica”
New associations in sport and health protection in the dimension of modern welfare services
Get PDFLo studio mira ad individuare i passaggi salienti dell’evoluzione dello sport inteso come strumento di salute e benessere preventivo, per rinvenire le manifestazioni di questo concetto, con l’obiettivo precipuo di fare emergere l’ossatura legislativa in evoluzione su cui impostare la transizione del sistema delle attività motorie. Partendo dallo studio del dato normativo e giurisprudenziale e con un’ampia analisi dottrinale sullo sfondo, lo studio descrive l’evoluzione legislativa sul tema poggiandosi su considerazioni e risultati di indagini sociologiche e farmacologiche. La creazione della Società Sport e Salute S.p.a. e di un Dipartimento per lo sport ha permesso un’azione diretta al sostegno delle organizzazioni sportive di base e mirata alla promozione di piani per l’implementazione dei corretti stili di vita. Il d.lgs. 38/2021 contiene una serie di norme volte alla valorizzazione dell’importanza anche territoriale degli enti sportivi, che possono favorire questi e i loro partners privati nell’affidamento degli impianti. La nuova figura professionale del chinesiologo rappresenta lo strumento centrale per il rilancio degli enti sportivi, in quanto capace di organizzare nuovi servizi paralleli allo sport e fondamentali in ottica educativa preventiva. L’accresciuta rilevanza del concetto di work-life balance spinge le imprese alla creazione di nuove politiche di welfare per i lavoratori attraverso investimenti per la riqualificazione dell’impiantistica, in modo da favorire gli enti che li gestiscono collaborando per offrire maggiori servizi anche al territorio. Il legislatore ha creato uno strato normativo volto a permettere un’azione diretta dello Stato nella promozione dello sport sociale e volto all’implementazione dei corretti stili di vita. È ora possibile teorizzare un modello di ente che offra una nuova tipologia di servizi da erogare all’interno di moderni impianti, riqualificati grazie al supporto di imprese che vedono le associazioni sportive come presidi per la salute dei lavoratori, favorendo il benessere collettivo oltre che la propria immagine.The study aims to identify the steps in the evolution of sport as an instrument of preventive health and well-being, with the main purpose of highlight the evolving legislative framework on which to set the transition of the system of motor activities. Starting from the study of the regulatory and jurisprudential data and with a deep doctrinal analysis in the background, the study describes the legislative evolution on the subject based on considerations and results of sociological and pharmacological investigations. The creation of Sport e Salute S.p.a. and a Sports Department in the government has allowed direct action to support grassroots sports organizations and aimed at promoting plans for the implementation of correct lifestyles. The Legislative Decree 38/2021 contains rules aimed at enhancing the territorial importance of sports organizations, which can facilitate these and their private partners in the assignment of facilities. The new professional figure of the kinesiologist represents the central tool for the revitalization of sports, as he is able to structure new services in parallel to sport and fundamental in a preventive educational perspective. The increased relevance of work-life balance pushes companies to create new welfare policies for workers through investments for the redevelopment of sport facilities, in order to help the bodies that manage them by collaborating with them to offer more services also to the territory. The legislator has created a regulatory layer aimed at allowing direct action by the state in the promotion of social sport and aimed at the implementation of correct lifestyles. It is now possible to theorize a model of company that offers a new type of services to be provided within modern facilities, restructured thanks to the support of companies that see sports associations as safeguards for the health of workers, promoting collective well-being as well as their own image
Photophysical properties of supramolecular arrays based on porphyrins
Get PDFIn this PhD thesis, we aimed to characterize the photophysical properties of different supramolecular arrays based on porphyrins
Modeling of Electric Hybrid Vehicles based on Innovative Energy Storage Technologies for Super Sports Cars Applications
Get PDFToday, the contribution of the transportation sector on greenhouse gases is evident. The fast consumption of fossil fuels and its impact on the environment has given a strong impetus to the development of vehicles with better fuel economy. Hybrid electric vehicles fit into this context with different targets, starting from the reduction of emissions and fuel consumption, but also for performance and comfort enhancement.
Vehicles exist with various missions; super sport cars usually aim to reach peak performance and to guarantee a great driving experience to the driver, but great attention must also be paid to fuel consumption. According to the vehicle mission, hybrid vehicles can differ in the powertrain configuration and the choice of the energy storage system.
Lamborghini has recently invested in the development of hybrid super sport cars, due to performance and comfort reasons, with the possibility to reduce fuel consumption.
This research activity has been conducted as a joint collaboration between the University of Bologna and the sportscar manufacturer, to analyze the impact of innovative energy storage solutions on the hybrid vehicle performance. Capacitors have been studied and modeled to analyze the pros and cons of such solution with respect to batteries.
To this aim, a full simulation environment has been developed and validated to provide a concept design tool capable of precise results and able to foresee the longitudinal performance on regulated emission cycles and real driving conditions, with a focus on fuel consumption.
In addition, the target of the research activity is to deepen the study of hybrid electric super sports cars in the concept development phase, focusing on defining the control strategies and the energy storage system’s technology that best suits the needs of the vehicles. This dissertation covers the key steps that have been carried out in the research project
On the implications of big data and machine learning in the interplay between humans and machines
Get PDFBig data and machine learning are profoundly shaping social, economic, and political spheres, becoming part of the collective imagination. In recent years, barriers have fallen and a wide range of products, services, and resources, that exploit Artificial Intelligence, have emerged. Hence, it becomes of fundamental importance to understand the limits and, consequently, the potentialities of predictions made by a machine that learns directly from data. Understanding the limits of machine predictions would allow dispelling false beliefs about the potentialities of machine learning algorithms, avoiding at the same time possible misuses. To tackle this problem, completely different research lines are emerging, that focus on different aspects. In this thesis, we study how the presence of big data and artificial intelligence influences the interaction between humans and computers. Such a study should produce some high-level reflections that can contribute to the framing of how the interaction between humans and computers has changed, since the presence of big data and algorithms that can make computers somehow intelligent, albeit with some limitations. In the different chapters of the thesis, various case studies that we faced during the Ph.D. are described, chosen specifically for their peculiar characteristics. Starting from the obtained results, we provide several high-level reflections on the implications of the interaction between humans and machines
The potential of wheat as a functional food: from the sprouts and microgreens production to the nutraceutical effects
Get PDFPolyphenols are one of the most important phytochemicals derived from plants like fruit, however, wheat are also good sources of polyphenol. The present study summarized all the information regarding 10 dietary polyphenols including the main polyphenols of wheat and their association with the BCS classification. Polyphenol content is affected by the genotype of plants, as well as storage and processing method. In general, the polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of whole wheat flour decreased after storage for 8 weeks. However, these parameters were not significantly influenced by the storage conditions (aerated or vacuum). Among the wheat varieties (Verna, Timilia, Sagittario and Claudio) analyzed, Verna exhibited the high levels of polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. Germination is a processing method which can maintain or improve nutritional value of cereal by avoiding milling or baking. In general, the effect of light was not obvious in wheat sprouts, but much greater and species-specific for wheat microgreens. LED light was beneficial for the increase of polyphenol and pigment contents and antioxidant activities compared to fluorescent light. Claudio microgreens grown under LED light exhibited the highest polyphenol content and antioxidant properties. Although wheat polyphenols were influenced by storage and processing method, our results showed their benefits on human health. It provides more information for developing a new food supplement of wheat polyphenol. However, the results of present study showed that ferulic and gallic acids had toxic effects on in vitro cell models with high dose. Overall, the results of present study validate the effect of the storage time on polyphenol of whole wheat flour, also indicate that LED light should be a good light source for production of wheat microgreens. In addition, it provides more evidence about safe dose avoiding toxic effects on intestinal wall of wheat polyphenol when they will be developed as supplement
Cloud technologies and data-driven algorithms for interferometric sensors.
Get PDFThe PhD project developed in these years started by studying the motivations behind Industry 4.0 and the most popular data-driven algorithms. The study was then oriented on the main success factors for the realization of a connected product continuing then for a study of the cloud in more detail.
This study led me to analyze different components offered by the main providers, and to implement different solutions. The different solutions both at architectural and provider level allowed us to verify the differences between different implementations and their associated costs. The study of the cloud was then concluded with an exhaustive cost analysis that clearly highlights what are the gains or losses associated with the choice of a provider as a function of traffic exchanged.
The study is then articulated on the more purely signal processing part, it is first presented the principle of operation of the interferometric sensor and then analyzes the main issues related to the signals produced by the instrument. It then analyzes the main strategies for solving the problems exposed, and the proposed solution also trying to explain how we arrived at that solution through the analysis of the main criticality of the signal.
It concludes by analyzing the problems of implementation of the algorithmic part within the real sensor with limited processing capacity and the strategies undertaken to mitigate the impact of these issues on the final implementation. The analysis of the implementation is accompanied by some data about the timing with which it is possible to use the algorithm and its main limitations