86,600 research outputs found
La mutazione antropologica tra sud e nord: i casi di Vincenzo Consolo e Gianni Celati
No full textIl concetto di mutazione antropologica coniato da Pier Paolo Pasolini descrive il cambiamento della società italiana nel passaggio dal mondo contadino a quello industriale. Tra gli scrittori che si interessarono al fenomeno, cercando di trasferirne gli effetti nelle loro narrazioni e ragionando su di esso a livello teorico, si analizzano qui i casi di Vincenzo Consolo e Gianni Celati. Il primo descrive nei suoi racconti la fine del mondo contadino siciliano, il dramma della dissoluzione di un sapere millenario e la resistenza strenua ma inutile di alcuni personaggi reali che entrano nelle narrazioni. La mutazione antropologica sfocia in Sicilia nell’emigrazione di massa, che riflette il vuoto successivo alla fine del mondo contadino. Lo stesso senso di vuoto è percepibile anche dove quella società riesce a prendere piede, la Pianura Padana descritta da Gianni Celati nei suoi resoconti di viaggio e nei suoi racconti degli anni Ottanta. In questo caso lo svuotamento si riflette sulle persone e sul paesaggio e viene riportata dallo scrittore sulla pagina attraverso una scrittura scarna frutto di un’attenta osservazione
“European Natives,” Everyday Life, and the Digital Public Sphere. The Communication Dimension of European Integration
No full textThis chapter proposes a theoretical and conceptual reframing of the commu- nication dimension of European integration. It focuses on the Z Generation, assuming that the EU and its institutions are largely taken for granted as part of their everyday practices. We identify young people as protagonists of a pragmatic Europeanism based on the fact that the European Union is constitutive of common sense and it is taken-for-granted. Young people are simultaneously European natives, post-democratic natives, and digital natives. They are socialized to a largely de-nationalized experience of everyday life, which finds a laboratory that is clearly defined and institutionally promoted in Europe. Our hypothesis is that the use of digital media can promote transna- tionalization through a virtual and imaginative dimension as well as a spatial dimension. We analyze some empirical evidence on the relationship between young Europeans and the EU and the differences observed with respect to previous generations. Finally, we reflect on the potential leading role of the new generations—digital natives and native Europeans in the development of an everyday digital European public sphere
Diving into divergence: adaptive differentiation in swimming performances, physiology and gene expression between sympatric cichlid fishes
No full textSympatric speciation occurs without geographical barriers and is thought to often be driven by ecological specialization of individuals that eventually diverge genetically and phenotypically. Distinct morphologies between sympatric populations occupying different niches have been interpreted as such differentiating adaptive phenotypes, yet differences in performance and thus likely adaptiveness between them were rarely tested. Here, we investigated if divergent body shapes of two sympatric crater lake cichlid species from Nicaragua, one being a shore-associated (benthic) species while the other prefers the open water zones (limnetic), affect cruising (Ucrit) and sprinting (Usprint) swimming abilities – performances particularly relevant to their respective lifestyles. Furthermore, we investigated species differences in oxygen consumption (MO2) across different swimming speeds and compare gene expression in gills and white muscle at rest and during exercise. We found a superior cruising ability in the limnetic Amphilophus zaliosus compared to the benthic Amphilophus astorquii, while sprinting was not different, suggesting that their distinct morphologies affect swimming performance. Increased cruising swimming ability in A. zaliosus was linked to a higher oxygen demand during activity (but not rest), indicating different metabolic rates during exercise - a hypothesis supported by coinciding gene expression patterns of gill transcriptomes. We identified differentially expressed genes linked to swimming physiology, regulation of swimming behaviour and oxygen intake. A combination of physiological and morphological differences may thus underlie adaptations to these species' distinct niches. This complex ecological specialization probably resulted in morphological and physiological trade-offs that contributed to the rapid establishment and maintenance of divergence with gene flow
Are sympatrically speciating Midas cichlid fish special? Patterns of morphological and genetic variation in the closely related species Archocentrus centrarchus
No full textEstablished empirical cases of sympatric speciation are scarce, although there is an increasing consensus that sympatric speciation might be more common than previously thought. Midas cichlid fish are one of the few substantiated cases of sympatric speciation, and they formed repeated radiations in crater lakes. In contrast, in the same environment, such radiation patterns have not been observed in other species of cichlids and other families of fish. We analyze morphological and genetic variation in a cichlid species (Archocentrus centrarchus) that co-inhabits several crater lakes with the Midas species complex. In particular, we analyze variation in body and pharyngeal jaw shape (two ecologically important traits in sympatrically divergent Midas cichlids) and relate that to genetic variation in mitochondrial control region and microsatellites. Using these four datasets, we analyze variation between and within two Nicaraguan lakes: a crater lake where multiple Midas cichlids have been described and a lake where the source population lives. We do not observe any within-lake clustering consistent across morphological traits and genetic markers, suggesting the absence of sympatric divergence in A. centrarchus. Genetic differentiation between lakes was low and morphological divergence absent. Such morphological similarity between lakes is found not only in average morphology, but also when analyzing covariation between traits and degree of morphospace occupation. A combined analysis of the mitochondrial control region in A. centrarchus and Midas cichlids suggests that a difference between lineages in the timing of crater lake colonization cannot be invoked as an explanation for the difference in their levels of diversification. In light of our results, A. centrarchus represents the ideal candidate to study the genomic differences between these two lineages that might explain why some lineages are more likely to speciate and diverge in sympatry than others
Towards understanding the genetic basis of mouth asymmetry in the scale‐eating cichlid Perissodus microlepis
No full textHow polymorphisms consisting in left–right asymmetries are produced and maintained in natural populations is a tantalizing question, which remains largely unanswered. The scale-eating cichlid fish Perissodus microlepis is a remarkable example of extreme ecological specialization achieved by morphological and behavioural laterality. Its asymmetric mouth is accompanied by a pronounced lateralized foraging behaviour, where a left-bending morph preferentially feeds on the scales of the right side of its prey, while the opposite is true for the right morph. This striking asymmetry made this fish a textbook example of the astounding degree of ecological specialization and negative frequency-dependent selection. Yet, the genetic basis underlying this spectacular laterality remains unknown. We addressed this question through analyses of wild-caught fish using high-throughput DNA sequencing data. A novel array of SNP markers was developed by ddRAD sequencing (ddRADseq) and the use of pooled DNA samples (PoolSeq). We obtained more than 155 000 SNPs using ddRADseq and 3 900 000 SNPs with PoolSeq. Among these, we identified one (ddRAD) SNP, and 38 or 378 (PoolSeq) windows that are differentiated between the left and right morphs accounting for spurious associations due to geographic structuring. This allowed us to uncover candidate genomic regions that potentially contain genes for this trait. Then, this interesting trait has a genetic basis that is likely to be influenced by multiple loci. This result contributes to a greater understanding of the genetic bases of left–right asymmetry and, ultimately, the evolutionary processes governing the maintenance of this striking case of laterality
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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