265,930 research outputs found
Meroni Behind the Scenes: Uncovering the Actors and Context of a Landmark Judgment
Get PDF(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2021 6(1), 539-551 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Meroni and the evolution of EU law. - II.1. Overview of the case. - II.2. The long and con-tested life of Meroni in EU law. - III. Actors and institutions behind the Meroni judgment. - III.1. Meroni: shed-ding light on the context and on the economic rationale. - III.2. The High Authority: the dynamic nature of the case. - III.3. The Court: an innovative judgment of a conservative Court? - IV. Concluding remarks. | (Abstract) Meroni is one of the most controversial cases in EU jurisprudence, one bearing profound consequences for the evolution of the EU legal and institutional system. For over sixty years the 1958 judgement has set the conditions for power delegation in the EU. It also first formulated the well-known principle of institutional balance. It remains very topical still today, as shown by the recent ESMA case, which raised again the issue of power delegation to external agencies. This Article looks behind Meroni's scenes, by analysing the recently released CJEU dossier de procédure. Through a "law in context" analysis, it provides innovative insights into the economic and social background of the dispute. It investigates the parties' submissions and their arguments, showing how actors and institutions shaped the Court's reasoning. Ultimately, the Article unveils the dynamic nature of the case, arguing that far from being a necessary outcome, the Court's judgment was crafted step by step upon the arguments of the parties, in an unexpected legal build-up leading from judicial protection, to power-delegation up to the principle of institutional balance
Convivial aesthetic in social innovation: a nested framework from three projects in Milano
Get PDFSocial structures are increasingly becoming subject matters of design, because considered integral to service design, akin to interfaces, physical elements, and spaces. The paper explores the use of aesthetics to reshape social structures in social innovation. It delves into three social innovation projects in Milan, formulating the concept of 'convivial aesthetic', which refers to the design and creation of materials, interactions, social forms, and a sense of community that fosters autonomy, personal interdependence, and positive social change. The analysis of the projects is based on a framework consisting of four elements: material support, social interaction, ordinary social forms, and the sense of community.The latter is a crucial component of convivial aesthetic: by fostering a feeling of belonging and shared purpose, participants become part of a larger social community with collective goals. Designers use symbols, rituals, and events to strengthen this sense of community.The paper acknowledges the limitations of this framework, particularly its focus on smaller communities and the need for further exploration of larger societal structures. However, it highlights the value of convivial aesthetic in shifting the focus of design from physical objects to immaterial interactions and social forms, ultimately promoting positive social transformation
Rheumatoid Factors
No full textRheumatoid factors (RFs) are autoantibodies reacting against the Fc region of immunoglobulin (Ig)G. RFs are the first autoantibodies described in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although they are also present in several other autoimmune diseases, in infectious conditions, as well as in healthy subjects. They are currently detectable by standardized quantitative assays (enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay, nephelometry), which are more reliable than the original semiquantitative agglutination techniques. Whether RFs display a pathogenic role in RA is still unclear; however, in favor of such a hypothesis are: i) their ability to form immune complexes both locally – in the synovial space – and systemically; ii) their association with aggressive disease characterized by erosive arthritis and extra-articular manifestations; and iii) the decrease in RF titers after successful therapy with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologic agents. Although a strong effort has been made in the last decade to find new powerful biomarkers particularly for the early stage of RA, RFs are still one of the most reliable diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers for RA
Anti-beta-2 glycoprotein I epitope specificity : from experimental models to diagnostic tools
No full textBeta-2 glycoprotein I (β2GPI) is the main antigenic target for anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL), the serological markers of anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS). Conformational changes of the molecule seem to be essential for exposing the cryptic epitope for aPL binding and to trigger pathogenic pathways. There is increasing evidence that a conformational epitope located in the Domain I (DI) of the molecule is the main epitope targeted by human autoantibodies. The pathogenic role of the DI epitope has been recently supported by in vivo models and by immuno-histopathological findings in APS patients. Antibodies targeting β2GPI-DI are more frequently detected in patients with full-blown APS compared to asymptomatic aPL carriers or patients with infectious diseases who have antibodies directed against the whole molecule. Anti-DI antibodies are positively correlated with medium to high titres of aPL, with the presence of lupus anticoagulant and thrombotic and pregnancy manifestations, enabling identification of patients at higher risk of clinical events. However, some APS patients develop antibodies reacting against β2GPI epitopes other than DI, suggesting that other anti-β2GPI antibody subsets may be clinically relevant. Although preliminary results suggest that anti-DI antibodies can be detected by different assays in a comparable manner, further prospective studies are needed to support their use in the clinical setting and their predictive value
Antiphospholipid antibody mechanisms of thrombosis
No full textAnti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL) are diagnostic and pathogenic antibodies. There is evidence from both in vitro and in vivo models that they can mediate thrombosis through several mechanisms. aPL may interact with beatta-2 glycoprotein I or with prothrombin and may interfere with fluid- phase coagulation steps: inhibition of protein C-S activity and fibrinolysis. More importantly beta-2 glycoprotein I –dependent aPL may recognize their own target on several cell types involved in the coagulation: endothelial cells, peripheral blood monocytes, and platelets. Once bound aPL may induce a pro-inflammatory and pro-coagulant endothelial phenotype, may induce tissue factor expression on monocytes, and can increase aggregation of platelets stimulated by another agonist. All these mechanisms may play a role in supporting the thrombophilic state of the anti-phospholipid syndrome. aPL are necessary for clotting but are not sufficient and require an additional stimulus (two- hit theory) and complement activation so explaining why thrombosis can occur only sometimes in spite of the persistent presence of the antibodies
Il sistema di valutazione della sostenibilità ambientale visto attraverso l'ottica del progettista
No full textEnergia solare per il disinquinamento dell’aria e dell’acqua
No full textLe città soffrono di notevoli problematiche di inquinamento dell’aria e delle acque, dovuti alle emissioni domestiche, veicolari e industriali. In Lombardia si stima che il solo inquinamento atmosferico riduca l’aspettativa di vita di ben 14 mesi.1 Inoltre, i più recenti dati sul’inquinamento delle acque superficiali e di falda in Pianura Padana parlano di un preoccupante aumento di contaminanti tossici e bioaccumulabili, come i pesticidi.2 Per affrontare la complessa tematica dell’inquinamento atmosferico, i ricercatori stanno studiando tecniche innovative atte all’eliminazione degli inquinanti, in particolare quelli non biodegradabili e tossici. Tra le varie tecniche allo studio, la fotocatalisi si distingue per la sua versatilità, che le consente di essere applicata all’inquinamento sia dell’aria sia dell’acqua. Questa tecnica è basata sull’impiego di particolari materiali, detti fotocatalizzatori, che utilizzano la luce per attivare la degradazione di inquinanti non biodegradabili a sostanze innocue, senza l’utilizzo di altri reagenti e/o fonti di energia. Questa tecnica green è molto adatta all’applicazione in ambito urbano, dato che i fotocatalizzatori possono essere integrati nei materiali da costruzione, quali vetri e/o cementi attivi, come ad esempio nel Padiglione Italia ad EXPO 2015. Nonostante esistano già allo stato attuale diversi prodotti commerciali basati su questa tecnologia, diverse problematiche rimangono da risolvere, quali ad esempio il miglioramento dell’efficienza dei materiali sotto irraggiamento di luce solare e l’integrazione in vernici attive e stabili nel tempo.
Verranno illustrate le principali fonti di inquinamento urbano, con esempi tratti dalla realtà milanese, e verrà presentata una panoramica della ricerca nel campo delle tecniche di disinquinamento, in particolare quelle basate sulla fotocatalisi, con esempi di applicazioni pratiche in diverse aree
Il disegno Industriale per i prodotti alimentari: strumenti concettuali e casi applicativi
No full textGoing Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
New tests to detect antiphospholipid antibodies : anti-domain I beta-2-glycoprotein-I antibodies
No full textBeta-2 glycoprotein I (β2GPI) is the main antigenic target for antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL), the serological markers of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Domain I (DI) of β2GPI has lately been identified as the main epitope targeted by antibodies reacting against β2GPI. DI is a cryptic epitope, becoming available for autoantibody binding when β2GPI opens from a circular to a fish-hook configuration. Antibodies targeting β2GPI-DI are more frequently detected in patients with a full-blown syndrome than in asymptomatic aPL carriers or in patients with infectious diseases that have reactivity toward the whole molecule. Interestingly, anti-DI antibodies are strongly positively correlated with thrombotic and pregnancy manifestations, enabling identification of patients at higher risk of clinical events. However, available tests to detect anti-DI antibodies still lack standardization. Moreover, some APS patients develop antibodies reacting against β2GPI epitopes other than DI, suggesting that other anti-β2GPI antibody subsets may be clinically relevant. Available evidence on anti-DI antibodies in APS is herein critically reviewed
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