114 research outputs found
Towards a theory of interpretation: cartographical semiosis
No full textOver the last 10 years a new theory in the interpretation of cartography has takes shape. In her overview of the various interpretative approaches that have variously contributed to the present critical approach, the author identifies semiotics as one of the trails principally worth pursuing. A semiotic approach, namely a theory of cartographic interpretation, effectively shifts the emphasis from maps intended as mediation of territory to maps takes as agents, whereby actions to be carried out on territory are determined. This perspective may be defined as cartographic hermeneutics, since it undermines the very semiotic notion of map analysis: the study of maps relies not on autonomous semiosis but on a second level (or meta-semiotic) semiosis that is deeply rooted in and strictly related to first-level, territorial semiosis. In particular, the author focuses on two concepts: self-reference and iconization. The former, which constitutes the core of cartographic communication, is used to indicate the map’s ability to be accepted as such (by its mere existence) and to communicate independently of the intentions of the cartographer. The latter is the communicative process that results in circumstances and contingencies being communicated as truths (thanks to the self-referential nature of the map). Hence, as a model, the map does not represent territory but replaces it. Iconization means that direct knowledge of the world is sidelined, with the greater relevance being given to the knowledge generated by the map itself
Cartographic Semiosis: Reality as Representation
No full textOver the last ten years, a new theory in the interpretation of cartography
has taken shape. In her overview of the various interpretative approaches
that have contributed to the present critical approach, the author notably
identifies semiotics. A semiotic approach, and the theory of cartographic
semiosis in particular, effectively shifts the emphasis from maps as a
mediation of territory to maps as agents, whereupon the actions to be
carried out in territory are determined. This perspective may be defined as cartographic hermeneutics, given that it undermines the very semiotic notion of map analysis
notion of map analysis
Edizione e commento delle lettere di G. B. Casti
No full textThe thesis consists of a philological edition of the 291 letters written by Giovan Battista Casti (1724-1803), each of them accompanied by an adequate commentary, thus overcoming the previous edition of 1984. The introduction presents the work, pointing out the recent additions to the biography and the works of the poet
Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol prevents methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity
No full textMethamphetamine (METH) is a potent psychostimulant with neurotoxic properties. Heavy use increases the activation of
neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), production of peroxynitrites, microglia stimulation, and induces hyperthermia and
anorectic effects. Most METH recreational users also consume cannabis. Preclinical studies have shown that natural (D9-
tetrahydrocannabinol, D9-THC) and synthetic cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptor agonists exert neuroprotective effects on
different models of cerebral damage. Here, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of D9-THC on METH-induced
neurotoxicity by examining its ability to reduce astrocyte activation and nNOS overexpression in selected brain areas. Rats
exposed to a METH neurotoxic regimen (4610 mg/kg, 2 hours apart) were pre- or post-treated with D9-THC (1 or 3 mg/kg)
and sacrificed 3 days after the last METH administration. Semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry was performed using
antibodies against nNOS and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP). Results showed that, as compared to corresponding
controls (i) METH-induced nNOS overexpression in the caudate-putamen (CPu) was significantly attenuated by pre- and
post-treatment with both doses of D9-THC (219% and 228% for 1 mg/kg pre- and post-treated animals; 225% and 221%
for 3 mg/kg pre- and post-treated animals); (ii) METH-induced GFAP-immunoreactivity (IR) was significantly reduced in the
CPu by post-treatment with 1 mg/kg D9-THC1 (250%) and by pre-treatment with 3 mg/kg D9-THC (253%); (iii) METHinduced
GFAP-IR was significantly decreased in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) by pre- and post-treatment with both doses of
D9-THC (234% and 247% for 1 mg/kg pre- and post-treated animals; 237% and 229% for 3 mg/kg pre- and post-treated
animals). The cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A attenuated METH-induced nNOS overexpression in the CPu,
but failed to counteract the D9-THC-mediated reduction of METH-induced GFAP-IR both in the PFC and CPu. Our results
indicate that D9-THC reduces METH-induced brain damage via inhibition of nNOS expression and astrocyte activation
through CB1-dependent and independent mechanisms, respectively
Giovan Battista Casti, "Il poema tartaro". Edizione critica e commento.
No full textMy thesis is a critical edition of the Poema tartaro by the libertine abbot Giovan Battista Casti (1724-1803). This work is a long octave poem, which satirizes, in accordance with the rules of the mock-heroic genre, Catherine II’s Russian court, where the author lived for years (1776-1779) as a member of the Hapsburg diplomacy. Although Casti was the Austrian court’s official poet, his work never received the authorization to be printed: the emperor Joseph II, after his 1781 alliance with Russia, forbade in fact the publication of a poem whose theme was explicitly against his new ally. Still, Casti’s text circulated widely in form of both manuscript copies and unauthorised (as well as defective) printed ones. A thorough analysis of these materials led to main findings: the version of the poem that Casti realized for the emperor in 1786, including 84 new stanzas, missing in the nineteenth-century pirate printed editions of the poem.
Along with the critical edition of the text, my thesis provides a broad commentary on the poem. The commentary is essential in order to illustrate the different perspectives from which the text can be approached. Sure enough, one of the components peculiar to the Poema Tartaro is the continuous overlap of elements that draw on different historical moments: even if the main scenery of the plot is the thirteenth-century Mongolian Empire, ruled by Genghis Khan, there are in fact several references to the nineteenth-century Russia of Catherine II. This strategy aims to present Russia allegorically as a country of perennial savagery. Depicting Petersburg as if it were the lost city of Karakorum and the czarina Catherine as a despotic and “oriental” sovereign, Casti contrasts the French Illuminists’ vision (in particular Voltaire’s) of nineteenth-century Russia as a model for the European Enlightenment. The thesis is completed by an index of the different historical transvestisms used by Casti to assign to every character in Catherine’s court a counterpart in the Mongolian scenery. Furthermore, the index is conceived as a tool to analyse the correlated controversies that inform the whole poem
CageLab: an Interactive Tool for Cage-Based Deformations
No full textPosing a digital character by acting on the vertices of a coarse control cage is, after skeleton-based, probably the most widely used technique for digital animation. While skeleton-based techniques have been deeply researched and a variety of industrial and academic tools are available for it, cage-based techniques have historically received less attention. In recent years we observed an increasing interest in the field, which results in a growing number of publications both on algorithms for automatic or semi-automatic cage generation, and for smooth barycentric coordinates for general polyhedral meshes. We introduce CageLab: a novel research-oriented software tool that allows scholars and practitioners in general to get acquainted with cage-based animation in a lightweight and easy to use environment. Users can: (i) load digital characters and their associated cages, applying character deformations with a selection of the most widely used barycentric coordinates available in literature; (ii) compare alternative cages for a given digital character; (iii) compare alternative barycentric coordinates w.r.t their smoothness and locality within the cage; (iv) use CageLab for educational purposes, or to produce images and videos for scientific articles. We publicly release the tool to the community, with the hope to support this growth, and possibly foster even more research in the field
Gli Animali Parlanti di Giovan Battista Casti. Tra satira e zooepica
No full textGli animali parlanti is a zooepic poem by Giovan Battista Casti in which the author alludes to the political situation in revolutionary France. Rather than attacking individual characters, the author often criticizes the grounds on which political and ecclesiastical systems were built. By
narrating a war between animals, the author recalls the type-scenes of classical epics and satirically parodies them. Although the author hoped to avoid censorship using animal characters, Gli animali parlanti was put in the Index of Prohibited Books. Despite the censorship and the negative reviews of some important literary personalities of Casti's time, the work had a huge success. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between political satire and animalistic characters, trying to highlight the satirical attacks that were most condemned by the authorities
Electron microscopic immunogold localization of statherin in human minor salivary glands
No full textIn this study, which supplements a recent article on the localization of statherin in human major salivary glands, we investigated the intracellular distribution of this peptide in minor salivary glands by immunogold cytochemistry at the electron microscopy level. In the lingual serous glands of von Ebner, gold particles were found in serous granules of all secreting cells, indicating that statherin is released through granule exocytosis. In buccal and labial glands, mostly composed of mucous tubuli, statherin reactivity was detected in the serous element, which represents only a small population of the glandular parenchyma. In these serous cells, however, statherin labeling was absent in secretory granules and restricted to small cytoplasmic vesicles near or partially fused with granules. Vesicle labeling could be related to the occurrence of an alternative secretory pathway for statherin in buccal and labial glands
Cardiovascular remodelling in female diabetic rats
No full textDiabetic cardiomyopathy involves both cardiac and large vessels alterations in their biochemical and biomechanical properties. Part of these dysfunctions is due to ROS overproduction and advanced glycated end-products (AGEs) synthesis caused by high blood glucose concentrations (1). Epidemiological studies usually ignore sexgender outcomes of diabetes that has higher cardiovascular risk in women than in men (2). The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of diabetes on aorta, portal vein and myocardium morphology in females Wistar rats. Diabetes was induced by a single dose of streptozotocin 65 mg/kg, and, after 4 and half months, we evaluated the cardiovascular remodelling by light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Paraformaldehyde fixed samples of aorta and portal vein were stained with Masson Trichrome method (for collagen fibers), Weigert’s stain (for elastic fibers), Hematoxylin and Eosin (for nuclei), and underwent to morphometric analysis. TEM samples were prepared accordingly to common protocols. Morphometric analysis performed on diabetic aortas showed a reduction of tunica media thickness, but the internal diameter width or the lumen cross-area was unchanged compared to controls. The number of smooth muscle cells increased in tunica media of diabetic aortas. The main change observed in diabetic portal veins was a reduction of the area occupied by elastic fibers in tunica adventitia. TEM observations of papillary muscles did not reveal any changes in the sarcomere lengths across the two experimental groups. These results display slight differences on what was reported in male rats (3) and account for a different development of diabetes in female subjects
Regional distribution of 5α-reductase type 2 in the adult rat brain: An immunohistochemical analysis
No full textThe enzyme 5α-reductase (5αR) catalyzes the conversion of testosterone and other Δ4-3-ketosteroids into their 5α-reduced metabolites. Of the five members of the 5αR family, the type 2 enzyme (5αR2) plays a key role in androgen metabolism, and is abundantly distributed in the urogenital system. Although 5αR2 has been reported to be highly expressed in the brain during early developmental stages, little is currently known on its anatomical and cellular distribution in the adult brain. Thus, the present study was designed to determine the detailed localization of 5αR2 in the adult rat brain, using a highly specific polyclonal antibody against this isoform. Parasagittal and coronal sections revealed 5αR2 immunoreactivity throughout most brain regions, with strong immunolabeling in the layers III and VI of the prefrontal and somatosensory cortex, olfactory bulb, thalamic nuclei, CA3 field of hippocampus, basolateral amygdala and Purkinje cell layer of cerebellum. Lower 5αR2 levels were detected in the hypothalamus and midbrain. Moreover, double labeling fluorescence with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) revealed that 5αR2 is localized in neurons, but not in glial cells. Specifically, the enzyme was documented in the pyramidal neurons of the cortex by CLSM analysis of simultaneous Golgi-Cox and immunofluorescent staining. Finally, low levels of 5αR2 expression were identified in GABAergic cells across the cortex, hippocampus and striatum. These findings show that, in the adult brain, 5αR2 is distributed in critical regions for behavioral regulation, suggesting that the functional role of this isoform is present throughout the entire lifespan of the individual
- …
