326 research outputs found
Grossi felini in cattività. Indagine sulla situazione in Italia: aspetti gestionali e di conservazione
No full textWe present the results of a survey in 11 Italian bodies hosting large felids, with the aim of highlighting their conditions in relation to management problems, particularly with regards to welfare and conservation issues.
Tigers are the most represented species (79 individuals), followed by lions (51 individuals) and leopards (25 individuals). Both an internal and an external area were present in all the visited situations; the surface area available to the animals showed a great variation among different situation, but it was almost always in agreement with the suggested values for these species. The amount of feed offered to the animals was usually higher than the recommended values, the percentage of red meat was higher than that of white meat and usually no mineral or vitamin supplement was added to the diets. In most cases, vaccinations are performed only at birth; animals are treated against external parasites at seasonal changes. Haematological and faecal analysis are scarce.
Matings are not always performed in a rational way. In some cases, this important event is neglected, as animals of both sexes are kept in one group all year round, and therefore matings between related individuals are common.
This survey points out how the situation in most Italian zoos is still far from the standards at which the new legislation is aiming. However, efforts are been made in order to improve the situation and to solve the problems. To this aim, a strict collaboration among zoos, associations and research institutes, also at an international level, is strongly required in order to safeguard animal welfare and to improve conservation strategies for endangered species
Being Different: The Life and Work of Albert Memmi
No full textThis dissertation is a study of the life and work of Albert Memmi, author of over twenty novels, essays, and other book length manuscripts as well as a constant public commentator on subjects related to colonialism, Jewish identity, the sociology of race and oppression, and the postcolonial world. His work includes the widely acclaimed novel The Pillar of Salt as well as The Colonizer and the Colonized - a canonical text in the history of colonial society and power relations. A Tunisian Jew who immigrated to France following his home country\u27s independence in 1957, both Memmi\u27s work and his complex personal identity illustrate the difficult questions and divisive issues stemming from decolonization as well as contemporary questions of identity and belonging in Europe, the Middle East, and former European colonies. This project establishes and historicizes key elements of Memmi\u27s body of work including his association of liberation from oppression with the assertion of culture, the development of secure representative institutions, and the ability to participate in the social construction of identity. This led Memmi to advocate nationalist formations as a step towards egalitarian democratic institutions wherein racial, religious, and cultural differences could give way to broader discourses on human rights and values. I confront the argument that Memmi\u27s more recent critique of Islam and postcolonial states reflects a shift toward a Eurocentric perspective by arguing that Memmi\u27s ideas and beliefs have remained consistent, exhibiting a universalism influenced by French Republican ideals which have themselves grown increasingly incompatible with contemporary discourse on postcolonial identity and the persistent legacies of colonialism
LuxS impacts on LytA-dependent autolysis and on competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae
No full textThe ubiquitous protein LuxS with S-ribosylhomocysteinase activity is involved in S-adenosyl methionine detoxification, C-1 unit recycling and the production of autoinducers that allow the cell to sense and respond to cell density. Independent reports describe the impact of LuxS deficiency on Streptococcus pneumoniae virulence in the mouse. In vitro, LuxS deficiency confers discrete phenotypes. A combined approach using genetic dissection and mixed-culture experiments allowed the involvement of LuxS in the developmental physiology of S. pneumoniae to be investigated. Functional LuxS was found to be related on the one hand to down-regulation of competence, and on the other hand to attenuation of autolysis in cultures entering stationary phase. The competence phenotype of luxS mutant bacteria was complemented by media conditioned by competence-defective ComAB0 bacteria, but not by BSA. The autolytic phenotype was complemented by BSA, but not by conditioned supernatants. It is suggested that the impact of LuxS on competence, but not on autolysis, involves cell-cell communication. The phenotype of luxS mutant strains reveals a hierarchy in the competence regulatory networks of S. pneumoniae
I multiformi ruoli nell’occhio del fattore di crescita basico dei fibroblasti (bFGF)
No full textLa comunicazione tra cellule è cruciale per lo sviluppo e la sopravvivenza degli organismi pluricellulari. Parte di questo intenso scambio d’informazioni è a carico dei fattori di crescita, un’ampia famiglia di polipeptidi che liberati nell’ambiente extracellulare, sono in grado di stimolare la proliferazione cellulare. I fattori di crescita propriamente detti sono quelli che controllano l’ingresso e la progressione delle cellule nel ciclo replicativi, ma in realtà la loro funzione può estendersi anche al controllo di processi differenziativi e di alcune funzioni metaboliche. Uno di questi fattori è il bFGF la cui azione si estrinseca sui fotorecettori retinici, sulle cellule gangliari retiniche, sulle cellule dell’epitelio pigmentato retinico, sulle cellule melanocitiche del melanoma, sulle cellule endoteliali e sui periciti, con multiformi aspetti sulla cornea, sulle cellule epiteliali del cristallino e sulle ghiandole lacrimali e sebacee palpebrali. In conclusione vengono prospettati i possibili trattamenti terapeutici con questo fattore di crescit
Albert Memmi écrivain et sociologue
No full textInternational audienceDès son premier livre, La Statue de sel, se devine l'attention d'Albert Memmi aux rapports de domination. Par la suite, alternent sous sa plume des fictions, à la forme de plus en plus raffinée, et des essais sociologiques. C'est que le romancier ne conçoit pas une littérature coupée du social et du politique, tandis que l'enseignant-chercheur, loin de tout scientisme, n'hésite pas à parler de son expérience de Juif tunisien et à sans cesse renouveler ses méthodes.Albert Memmi c'est d'abord un Juif qui affirme son identité mais refuse l'enfermement dans les limites d'une religion dont il s 'est détaché. D'où la distinction capitale qu'i l'établit entre la judéité et le judaïsme. C'est aussi un homme de dialogue. Le partisan de la solution sioniste est un avocat de la littérature maghrébine et le pionnier des études francophones est l'analyse clairvoyant du racisme, de la colonisation et de la dépendance.Les études et témoignages réunis ici s'efforcent d'embrasser dans sa totalités une oeuvre enracinée et universaliste à la fois, donc ouverte et en prise sur les débats les plus actuels
Characterization and contemporary replicae of Art Noveau coloured glass
No full textCurrently the importance of the application of non-invasive and portable techniques to the characterization of glass is well known. However, despite the large number of publications on medieval glass, few studies have been performed on early modern glass.
Since the opportunities to sample or to move the work of art out of the conservation location are very limited, the application of non invasive and portable techniques appears to be the best way to perform an in-depth characterization of the chromophores and raw materials even though the complexity of interpreting the results and the lack of references necessitate a preliminary phase of testing on standard and reference samples.
In this study a collection of colored and opalescent glasses from the first half of the 20th century and some standard samples of cobalt and cadmium glasses produced ad hoc at the Vicarte Centre (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) were analyzed using both traditional (XRF, SEM-EDS, XRD and UV-Vis-NIR) and portable and non-invasive techniques (XRF, FORS).
The standard samples consist of 21 glasses different base compositions (soda-lime, potash and mixed alkali) and different amounts of chromophores. For cobalt colored glasses different amounts of cobalt (0.5, 0.75 and 1% wt) were added to each base composition (9 samples). Also, yellow to orange and ruby red colorations were obtained by modulating the cadmium/sulfide and cadmium/selenium ratios.
The cobalt blue glass absorption spectra detected by FORS are usually characterized by three sub-peaks located around 530 nm, 590 nm and 650 nm due to the cobalt tetrahedral coordination. A change in the base composition of the glass could, however, affect the three-peak position due to a change in the ligand field strength.
The influence on the FORS spectra of a different base composition and amount of soda present in the glasses (detected by SEM-EDS and XRF) was studied. For glasses with soda content under 15% (some soda-lime samples and mixed base glasses), the resolution of the three-peak absorption band of cobalt is poor. The band appears to be broad, unsymmetrical, and centered around 550 nm even though the characteristic triplet was detected when the amount of soda increased to between 15% and 29%. A shift of about 10 nm in the position of the peaks can be observed in all glasses with a potash base.
The study of the glasses colored by CdS and Se is still in progress, and the results will be available soon
Hydraulic systems in the Bronze Age: a multidisciplinary approach
No full textAbstract
The Terramare are archaeological sites which developed in the Po plain (Northern Italy) from the Middle Bronze age up to the Late Bronze age (XVI - XII centuries B.C.). During that period the Po plain was intensively inhabited and the Terramare culture had an heavy impact on the environment, leading to the first systematic deforestation of the area. While the strict relation between Terramare and water courses was already stressed out by XIX century scientists, it is now further confirmed by recent geomorphologic studies of the Po plain. The Terramare were surrounded by ditches fed by influent water courses. Spatial distribution of the archaeological sites and their connections with extinct water courses allow to separate palaeochannels which were active during the Bronze age from the later intricate palaeohydrological net as recorded by recent geomorphologic mapping of the Po plain. The archaeological excavation in the Terramara S. Rosa of Poviglio provides a deeper knowledge of the water management during the Bronze age. A number of large water wells were discovered at the southern fringe of the village which reach the acquifer consisting of a sand layer intercalated in the bedrock: through a system of small drains the rising water was distributed through the ditch surrounding the terramara to the periphery of the site. The terramara therefore acted as centre of collection and redistribution of water resources. These wells were in use from the late Middle Bronze age up to the Recent Bronze age but they were inactivated during the last period of the site. At that time, a number of wells were excavated inside the ditch in order to reach a deeper acquifer. This circumstance may indicate a local drop of the water table related to a dry period, which could be not unrelated to the final abandonment of the site.
Key-words: Holocene, palaeohidrografy, Bronze Age, terramare
Albert Memmi écrivain et sociologue
No full textInternational audienceDès son premier livre, La Statue de sel, se devine l'attention d'Albert Memmi aux rapports de domination. Par la suite, alternent sous sa plume des fictions, à la forme de plus en plus raffinée, et des essais sociologiques. C'est que le romancier ne conçoit pas une littérature coupée du social et du politique, tandis que l'enseignant-chercheur, loin de tout scientisme, n'hésite pas à parler de son expérience de Juif tunisien et à sans cesse renouveler ses méthodes.Albert Memmi c'est d'abord un Juif qui affirme son identité mais refuse l'enfermement dans les limites d'une religion dont il s 'est détaché. D'où la distinction capitale qu'i l'établit entre la judéité et le judaïsme. C'est aussi un homme de dialogue. Le partisan de la solution sioniste est un avocat de la littérature maghrébine et le pionnier des études francophones est l'analyse clairvoyant du racisme, de la colonisation et de la dépendance.Les études et témoignages réunis ici s'efforcent d'embrasser dans sa totalités une oeuvre enracinée et universaliste à la fois, donc ouverte et en prise sur les débats les plus actuels
Entretien avec Dominique Memmi à l'occasion de la parution de "La seconde vie des bébés morts"
No full textEntretien mené par Ilan Lew, doctorant en sociologie au CADIS (EHESS), de Dominique Memmi, sociologue et politologue, directrice de recherche au CNRS, membre du CSU et responsable de l’axe de recherche « Santé et société » à la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme à Paris, au sujet de l'ouvrage "La seconde vie des bébés morts". Dominique Memmi, La seconde vie des bébés morts, Éditions de l’EHESS, coll. « Cas de figure », 2011. voir aussi la présentation résumée de l'ouvrage publiée sur ce site: htt..
Entretien avec Dominique Memmi à l'occasion de la parution de "La seconde vie des bébés morts"
No full textEntretien mené par Ilan Lew, doctorant en sociologie au CADIS (EHESS), de Dominique Memmi, sociologue et politologue, directrice de recherche au CNRS, membre du CSU et responsable de l’axe de recherche « Santé et société » à la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme à Paris, au sujet de l'ouvrage "La seconde vie des bébés morts". Dominique Memmi, La seconde vie des bébés morts, Éditions de l’EHESS, coll. « Cas de figure », 2011. voir aussi la présentation résumée de l'ouvrage publiée sur ce site: htt..
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