The difference of Being in the early modern world: a relational-material approach to life in Scotland in the period of the witch trials

This thesis investigates how ways of being in different ontologies emerge from material and embodied practice. This general concern is explored through the particular case study of Scotland in the period of the witch trials (the 16th and 17th centuries C.E.). The field of early modern Scottish witchcraft studies has been active and dynamic over the past 15 years but its prioritisation of what people said over what they did leaves a clear gap for a situated and relational approach focusing upon materiality. Such an approach requires a move away from the Cartesian dichotomies of modern ontology to recognise past beliefs as real to those who experienced them, coconstitutive of embodiment and of the material worlds people inhabited. In theory, method and practice, this demands a different way of exploring past worlds to avoid flattening strange data. To this end, the study incorporates narratives and ‘disruptions’ – unique engagements with Contemporary Art which facilitate understanding by enabling the temporary suspension of disbelief. The methodology is iterative, tacking between material and written sources in order to better understand the heterogeneous assemblages of early modern (counter-) witchcraft. Previously separate areas of discourse are (re-)constituted into alternative ontic categories of newly-parallel materials. New interpretations of things, places, bodies and personhoods emerge, raising questions about early modern experiences of the world. Three thematic chapters explore different sets of collaborative agencies as they entwine into new things, co-fabricating a very different world. Moving between witch trial accounts, healing wells, infant burial grounds, animals, discipline artefacts and charms, the boundaries of all prove highly permeable. People, cloth and place bleed into one another through contact; trees and water emerge as powerful agents of magical-place-making; and people and animals meet to become single, hybrid-persons spread over two bodies. Life and death consistently emerge as protracted processes with the capacity to overlap and occur simultaneously in problematic ways. The research presented in this thesis establishes a new way of looking at the nature of Being as experienced by early modern Scots. This provides a foundation for further studies, which can draw in other materials not explored here such as communion wares and metal charms. Comparison with other early modern Western societies may also prove fruitful. Furthermore, the methodology may be suitable for application to other interdisciplinary projects incorporating historical and material evidence.

Upgrading Bio-Platform Molecules in the Gas-Phase: From Levulinic Acid to Bio-Chemicals

Levulinic acid (LA) is a polyfunctional molecule obtained from biomass. Because of its structure, the United States Department of energy classified LA as one of the top 12 building block chemicals. Typically, it is valorized through chemical reduction to γ-valerolactone (GVL). It is usually done with H2 in batch systems with high H2 pressures and noble metal catalysts, making it expensive and less applicable. Therefore, alternative approaches such as catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) through the Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley (MPV) reaction over heterogeneous catalysts have been studied. This uses organic molecules (alcohols) which act as a hydride transfer agent (H-donor), to reduce molecules containing carbonyl groups. Given the stability of the intermediate, reports have shown the batch liquid-phase CTH of levulinate esters with secondary alcohols, and remarkable results (GVL yield) have been obtained over ZrO2, given the need of a Lewis acid (LASites) and base pair for CTH. However, there were no reports of the continuous gas-phase CTH of levulinate esters. Therefore, high surface area ZrO2 was tested for gas-phase CTH of methyl levulinate (ML) using ethanol, methanol and isopropanol as H-donors. Under optimized conditions with ethanol (250 ℃), the reaction is selective towards GVL (yield 70%). However, heavy carbonaceous materials over the catalyst surface progressively blocked LASites changing the chemoselectivity. The in situ regeneration of the catalyst permitted a partial recovery of the LASites and an almost total recovery of the initial catalytic behavior, proving the deactivation reversible. Tests with methanol were not promising (ML conversion 35%, GVL yield 4%). As expected, using isopropanol provided complete conversion and a GVL yield of 80%. The reaction was also tested using bioethanol derived from agricultural waste. In addition, a preliminary study was performed for the hydrogenolysis of polyols to produce bioethanol, were Pd-Fe catalyst promoted the ethanol selective (37%) hydrogenolysis of glycerol.

Leonardo Ricci in the United States (1952-1972). A twenty-year American transfer as a turning experience in teaching and design.

The research solved the historiographic lacuna about Leonardo Ricci’s work in the United States focusing on the span 1952-1972 as a fundamental period for the architect's research, which moved from the project for the community space to macrostructures. The considered period is comprised between Ricci’s first travel to the United States and the date of his resignation from the University of Florida, one year before his resignation from the deanship of the faculty of architecture of Florence (1973). The research retraced philologically the stages of Ricci’s activity in the U.S.A. unveiling the premises and results of his American transfer, and to what extent it marked a turning period for his work as educator and designer and for the wider historiographic contest of the Sixties. The American transfer helped him grounding his belief in avoiding a priori morphological results in favor of what he called the “form-act” design method. Ricci’s research in the U.S.A. is described in his books Anonymous (XX century) and City of the Earth (unpublished). In them and in Ricci’s projects one common thread is traceable: the application of the “form-act” as the best tool to conceive urban design, a discipline established in the United States during Ricci’s first stay at M.I.T., in which he encountered the balance point between architecture and urban planning, between the architect’s sign and his being anonymous, between the collective and the individual dimension. With the notions of “anonymous architecture” and “form-act”, Urban Design and “open work” are the key words to understand Ricci’s work in the United States and in Italy. Urban design’s main goal to design the city as a collective work of art was the solution of that dychothomous research that enlivened Ricci’s work and one possible answer to that tension useful for him to seek the truth of architecture.

Study of the effectiveness of crystal growth modifiers in the prevention of damage due to crystallization of sodium carbonates in stone artworks

The disintegration of stone materials used in sculpture and architecture due to the crystallization of salts is capable of irreparably damaging artistic objects and historic buildings. A number of phosphonates and carboxylates were tested here as potential crystallization modifiers for sodium carbonate crystallization. Precipitated phases during crystallization induced either by cooling or by evaporation tests were nahcolite (NaHCO3), natron (Na2CO3∙10H2O) and thermonatrite (Na2CO3∙H2O), identified using X-ray diffraction. By using the thermodynamic code PHREEQC and the calculation of the nucleation rate it was demonstrated that nahcolite had to be first phase formed during both tests. The formation of the other phases depended on the experimental conditions under which the two tests were conducted. Nahcolite nucleation is strongly inhibited in the presence of sodium citrate tribasic dihydrate (CA), polyacrylic acid 2100MW (PA) and etidronic acid (HEDP), when the additives are dosed at appropriate concentrations and the pH range of the resulting solution is about 8. Electrostatic attraction generated between the deprotonated organic additives and the cations present in solution appears to be the principal mechanism of additive-nahcolite interaction. Salt weathering tests, in addition to mercury intrusion porosimetry tests allowed to quantify the damage induced by such salts. FESEM observation of both salts grown on calcite single crystals and in limestone blocks subjected to salt crystallization tests allowed to identify the effect of these additives on crystal growth and development. The results show that PA seems to be the best inhibitor, while CA and HEDP, which show similar behaviors, are slightly less effective. The use of such effective crystallization inhibitors may lead to more efficient preventive conservation of ornamental stone affected by crystallization damage due to formation of sodium carbonate crystals.

Development, mechanical characterization and qualification in liquid lead of stainless steels for structural applications in the future fission and fusion nuclear reactors

The research activity carried out in the Brasimone Research Center of ENEA concerns the development and mechanical characterization of steels conceived as structural materials for future fission reactors (Heavy Liquid Metal IV Generation reactors: MYRRHA and ALFRED) and for the future fusion reactor DEMO. Within this framework, two parallel lines of research have been carried out: (i) characterization in liquid lead of steels and weldings for the components of the IV Generation fission reactors (GIV) by means of creep and SSRT (Slow Strain Rate Tensile) tests; (ii) development and screening on mechanical properties of RAFM (Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic) steels to be employed as structural materials of the future DEMO fusion reactor. The doctoral work represents therefore a comprehensive report of the research carried out on nuclear materials both from the point of view of the qualification of existing (commercial) materials for their application in the typical environmental conditions of 4th generation fission reactors operating with lead as coolant, and from the point of view of the metallurgical study (with annexed microstructural and mechanical characterization of the selected compositions / Thermo Mechanical Treatment (TMT) options) of new compositional variants to be proposed for the “Breeding Blanket” of the future DEMO Fusion Reactor.

Evaluation of deambulation in a protected environment and in the public green in limb amputated subjects treated through a new osteointegration method

The limb amputation is one of the oldest surgical procedures performed and it still represents an event that drastically changes the life of an individual. Despite the technological progress, the difficulties related to the realization and daily use of the socket remain very common. Among the different technologies adopted in the prosthetic field, this project focused on the osseointegration technique. This technique consists in implanting a stem within the medullary canal of the amputated skeletal segment that extends outside the amputation stump with a prosthesis, later connected to the metal extension. The objective of this PhD project is to treat and to evaluate selected patients with osseointegrated prosthetic implants for the treatment of lower limb amputations. Patients are recruited at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute and at the Prosthesis - INAIL center of Vigorso (Budrio) during outpatient visits, while the surgical procedure is performed by the same expert surgeon in the II Orthopaedic and Traumatology Clinic of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute. The project is still ongoing, to date three patients had completed both procedures, but due to various personal problems, just one of them is included in the analysis. This patient increased his percentage of prosthesis use and the level of mobility with an overall improvement of quality of live after the procedure. The osseointegration technique represents a promising alternative method of treatment for amputees who are not satisfied with their socket prosthesis. In the coming years it will continue the collection of clinical, radiographic and kinematic data of subjects undergoing this procedure in order to perform a long-term monitoring of both clinical outcomes and quality of life.

Pharmacological targeting of P-selectin to halt the progression of myelofibrosis in the Gata1low mouse model

Primary myelofibrosis is a clonal hematopoietic disorder characterized by marked degrees of systemic inflammation. The release of pro-inflammatory factors by clonal hematopoietic cell populations cause the remodeling of a specialized microenvironment, defined niche, in which the hematopoietic stem cells reside. The main source of pro-inflammatory cytokines is represented by malignant megakaryocytes. The bone marrow and spleen from myelofibrosis patients, as well as those from the Gata1low mouse model of the disease, contain increased number of abnormal megakaryocytes. These cells express on their surface high levels of the adhesion receptor P-selectin that, by triggering a pathological megakaryocyte-neutrophil emperipolesis, lead to increased bioavailability of TGF-β1 in the microenvironment and disease progression. Gata1low mice develop with age a phenotype similar to that of patients with myelofibrosis. We previously demonstrated that deletion of the P-selectin gene in Gata1low mice prevented the development of the myelofibrotic phenotype in these mice. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that pharmacological inhibition of P-selectin may rescue the fibrotic phenotype of Gata1low mice. To test this hypothesis, we have investigated the phenotype expressed by old Gata1low mice treated with the anti-mouse monoclonal antibody against P-selectin RB40.34, alone or in combination with the JAK2 inhibitor Ruxolitinib. The results showed that the combined therapy normalized the phenotype of Gata1low mice with limited toxicity by reducing fibrosis, TGF-β1 and CXCL1 content in the BM and spleen and by restoring hematopoiesis in the bone marrow and the normal architecture of the spleen. In conclusion, pharmacological inhibition of P-selectin was effective in targeting malignant megakaryocytes and the microenvironmental abnormalities that affect the hematopoietic stem cell compartment in this model. These results suggest that P-selectin and JAK1/2 inhibitors in combination may represent a valid therapeutic option for patients with myelofibrosis.

Analysis of the long-term subsidence in the urban area of Bologna

Land subsidence in urban areas represents a widespread geological hazard and a pressing challenge for modern society. This research focuses on the subsidence process affecting the city of Bologna (Italy). Since the 1960s, Bologna has experienced ground deformation due to aquifers overexploitation that peaked during the 1970s with rates of 10 cm/year. Despite a general reduction in these rates over the subsequent decades, thanks to groundwater regulations policies, recent data underscore a substantial subsidence resurgence. To reconstruct the subsurface stratigraphic architecture of Bologna’s urban area and generate a 3D geological model, a multidisciplinary approach centred on a stratigraphic analysis relying on the lithofacies criterion was adopted. The convergence of the analyses within this framework resulted in partitioning the study area into three geological domains exhibiting unique morphological features and depositional stacking patterns. Subsequently, since long-term data are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of ongoing subsidence, a methodology was developed to generate cumulative ground displacement time series and maps by integrating ground-based and remotely-sensed measurements. While the reconstructed long-term subsidence field consistently aligns with the primary geological variations summarised in the 3D model, the generated cumulative displacement curves systematically match pluriannual trends observed in groundwater level and pumping monitoring data. Lastly, to evaluate the expression of the observed relationships from a geotechnical perspective, a series of one-dimensional subsidence calculations were conducted considering the mechanical properties of the investigated deposits and piezometric data. These analyses provided valuable insight into the overall mechanical behaviour of the existing soils, as well as the post-pumping groundwater level and pore pressure distributions, consistent with field data. The methodological approach employed enables a comprehensive analysis of land subsidence in urban areas, allowing the exploration of individual factors governing the deformation process and their interactions, even within complex stratigraphic and hydrogeological environments such as Bologna’s urban area.

Pipkiiα Is Widely Expressed In Hematopoietic-derived Cells And May Play A Role In The Expression Of Alpha- And Gamma-globins In K562 Cells.

Characterized for the first time in erythrocytes, phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinases (PIP kinases) belong to a family of enzymes that generate various lipid messengers and participate in several cellular processes, including gene expression regulation. Recently, the PIPKIIα gene was found to be differentially expressed in reticulocytes from two siblings with hemoglobin H disease, suggesting a possible relationship between PIPKIIα and the production of globins. Here, we investigated PIPKIIα gene and protein expression and protein localization in hematopoietic-derived cells during their differentiation, and the effects of PIPKIIα silencing on K562 cells. PIPKIIα silencing resulted in an increase in α and γ globins and a decrease in the proliferation of K562 cells without affecting cell cycle progression and apoptosis. In conclusion, using a cell line model, we showed that PIPKIIα is widely expressed in hematopoietic-derived cells, is localized in their cytoplasm and nucleus, and is upregulated during erythroid differentiation. We also showed that PIPKIIα silencing can induce α and γ globin expression and decrease cell proliferation in K562 cells.

Changes In The Bacterial Community Of Soil From A Neutral Mine Drainage Channel.

Mine drainage is an important environmental disturbance that affects the chemical and biological components in natural resources. However, little is known about the effects of neutral mine drainage on the soil bacteria community. Here, a high-throughput 16S rDNA pyrosequencing approach was used to evaluate differences in composition, structure, and diversity of bacteria communities in samples from a neutral drainage channel, and soil next to the channel, at the Sossego copper mine in Brazil. Advanced statistical analyses were used to explore the relationships between the biological and chemical data. The results showed that the neutral mine drainage caused changes in the composition and structure of the microbial community, but not in its diversity. The Deinococcus/Thermus phylum, especially the Meiothermus genus, was in large part responsible for the differences between the communities, and was positively associated with the presence of copper and other heavy metals in the environmental samples. Other important parameters that influenced the bacterial diversity and composition were the elements potassium, sodium, nickel, and zinc, as well as pH. The findings contribute to the understanding of bacterial diversity in soils impacted by neutral mine drainage, and demonstrate that heavy metals play an important role in shaping the microbial population in mine environments.

Ikkε Is Key To Induction Of Insulin Resistance In The Hypothalamus, And Its Inhibition Reverses Obesity.

IKK epsilon (IKKε) is induced by the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). Whole-body IKKε knockout mice on a high-fat diet (HFD) were protected from insulin resistance and showed altered energy balance. We demonstrate that IKKε is expressed in neurons and is upregulated in the hypothalamus of obese mice, contributing to insulin and leptin resistance. Blocking IKKε in the hypothalamus of obese mice with CAYMAN10576 or small interfering RNA decreased NF-κB activation in this tissue, relieving the inflammatory environment. Inhibition of IKKε activity, but not TBK1, reduced IRS-1(Ser307) phosphorylation and insulin and leptin resistance by an improvement of the IR/IRS-1/Akt and JAK2/STAT3 pathways in the hypothalamus. These improvements were independent of body weight and food intake. Increased insulin and leptin action/signaling in the hypothalamus may contribute to a decrease in adiposity and hypophagia and an enhancement of energy expenditure accompanied by lower NPY and increased POMC mRNA levels. Improvement of hypothalamic insulin action decreases fasting glycemia, glycemia after pyruvate injection, and PEPCK protein expression in the liver of HFD-fed and db/db mice, suggesting a reduction in hepatic glucose production. We suggest that IKKε may be a key inflammatory mediator in the hypothalamus of obese mice, and its hypothalamic inhibition improves energy and glucose metabolism.

Prognostic Value Of Dna And Mrna E6/e7 Of Human Papillomavirus In The Evolution Of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia Grade 2.

This study aimed at evaluating whether human papillomavirus (HPV) groups and E6/E7 mRNA of HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, and 45 are prognostic of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2 outcome in women with a cervical smear showing a low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL). This cohort study included women with biopsy-confirmed CIN 2 who were followed up for 12 months, with cervical smear and colposcopy performed every three months. Women with a negative or low-risk HPV status showed 100% CIN 2 regression. The CIN 2 regression rates at the 12-month follow-up were 69.4% for women with alpha-9 HPV versus 91.7% for other HPV species or HPV-negative status (P < 0.05). For women with HPV 16, the CIN 2 regression rate at the 12-month follow-up was 61.4% versus 89.5% for other HPV types or HPV-negative status (P < 0.05). The CIN 2 regression rate was 68.3% for women who tested positive for HPV E6/E7 mRNA versus 82.0% for the negative results, but this difference was not statistically significant. The expectant management for women with biopsy-confirmed CIN 2 and previous cytological tests showing LSIL exhibited a very high rate of spontaneous regression. HPV 16 is associated with a higher CIN 2 progression rate than other HPV infections. HPV E6/E7 mRNA is not a prognostic marker of the CIN 2 clinical outcome, although this analysis cannot be considered conclusive. Given the small sample size, this study could be considered a pilot for future larger studies on the role of predictive markers of CIN 2 evolution.

[theoretical Construction In The Sociology Of Health: A Reflection On Its Trajectory].

The scope of this paper is to reflect on the theoretical construction in the constitution of the sociology of health, still called medical sociology in some countries. Two main ideas constitute the basis for this: interdisciplinarity and the degree of articulation in the fields of medicine and sociology. We sought to establish a dialogue with some dimensions - macro/micro, structure/action - that constitute the basis for understanding medicine/health in relation to the social/sociological dimension. The main aspects of these dimensions are initially presented. Straus' two medical sociologies and the theory/application impasses are then addressed, as well as the dilemmas of the sociology of medicine in the 1960s and 1970s. From these analyses the theoretical production before 1970 is placed as a counterpoint. Lastly, the sociology of health is seen in the general context of sociology, which underwent a fragmentation process from 1970 with effects in all subfields of the social sciences. This process involves a rethinking of the theoretical issues in a broadened spectrum of possibilities. The 1980s are highlighted when theoretical issues in the sociology of health are reinvigorated and the issue of interdisciplinarity is once again addressed.

Testosterone Therapy Differently Regulates The Anti- And Pro-inflammatory Cytokines In The Plasma And Prostate Of Rats Submitted To Chronic Ethanol Consumption (uchb).

Ethanol consumption damages the prostate, and testosterone is known by anti-inflammatory role. The cytokines were investigated in the plasma and ventral prostate of UChB rats submitted or not to testosterone therapy by ELISA and Western blot, respectively. Additionally, inflammatory foci and mast cells were identified in the ventral prostate slides stained by hematoxylin and eosin and toluidine blue, respectively. Inflammatory foci were found in the ethanol-treated animals and absent after testosterone therapy. Plasma levels of IL-6 and IL-10 were not changed while TNFα and TFG-β1 were increased in the animals submitted testosterone therapy. Regarding to ventral prostate, IL-6 did not alter, while IL-10, TNFα, and TFG-β1 were increased after testosterone therapy. Ethanol increases NFR2 in addition to high number of intact and degranulated mast cell which were reduced after testosterone therapy. So, ethanol and testosterone differentially modulates the cytokines in the plasma and prostate.

The Effect Of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Alone Or In Combination With Electrostimulation In The Treatment Of Sexual Dysfunction In Women With Multiple Sclerosis.

Sexual dysfunction (SD) affects up to 80% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) play an important role in the sexual function of these patients. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of a rehabilitation program to treat lower urinary tract symptoms on SD of women with MS. Thirty MS women were randomly allocated to one of three groups: pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) with electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback and sham neuromuscular electrostimulation (NMES) (Group I), PFMT with EMG biofeedback and intravaginal NMES (Group II), and PFMT with EMG biofeedback and transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) (Group III). Assessments, before and after the treatment, included: PFM function, PFM tone, flexibility of the vaginal opening and ability to relax the PFMs, and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. After treatment, all groups showed improvements in all domains of the PERFECT scheme. PFM tone and flexibility of the vaginal opening was lower after the intervention only for Group II. All groups improved in arousal, lubrication, satisfaction and total score domains of the FSFI questionnaire. This study indicates that PFMT alone or in combination with intravaginal NMES or TTNS contributes to the improvement of SD.