Uomo universale : the imaginary relation between body and mathematic(s) in architecture

What is the role of the human figure in the drawing of the uomo universale? Interlocked with the “master architect” as a constituent component of the canonical bodies of architecture, is the idea of the uomo universale, the universal man, an idea that was especially compelling to Renaissance masters. In contemporary social theory the uomo universale is read for its generic sense as the “universal subject”. Critical to this is a dialectical sense in which “man” confronts its non-neutral association with a gender specificity, either man or woman. This paper looks at the drawing and image of the uomo universale and explores the distinction between presence and representation, between the visibility of the image, its content and detail and the symbolic role of the image as constitutive of a canon of architecture. Though we are not meant to “see” the human figure as corporeal presence and rather focus our attention on the image as a geometric schema, my argument is that only through the figure is the uomo universale engendered as an image of the highest form of nature.

Aymerici de Peyraco chronicon universale à Christo ad annum 1251.

Colbertinus

Spicilegium universale sacro-profanum

UANL

Osservazzoni sopra la storia universale di Cesare Cantú

UANL

L'uomo preistorico

UANL

O mito de Ulisses em Se questo è un uomo

Este trabalho parte do mito de Ulisses retomado por Dante e se concentra na leitura feita por Levi do canto dantesco , bem como da (re) elaboração da última aventura do herói grego no contexto da história pessoal do escritor. Trata-se de um moderno Ulisses apresentando uma visão moderna do Inferno. Em Dante, Ulisses está entre as almas condenadas a pagar eternamente seus pecados e, ao mesmo tempo, testemunhas e narradores, capazes de contar o processo da própria morte. Neste sentido, o viajante grego tornou-se , a partir da publicação da obra de memória do Holocausto escrita por Primo Levi, o símbolo do testemunho dos campos de concentração. O exemplo clássico da presença de Dante na narrativa de Levi é o capítulo XI do livro Se questo è un uomo , intitulado “Il canto di Ulisse”, onde prosa e poesia se encontram. O mito de Ulisses, que representa a exaltação do homem inteligente, ávido de conhecimento, que chega às portas do grande mistério da existência humana torna-se, em Levi, um instrumento didático. Recitar uma poesia assume, no universo do campo de concentração, o valor de um ato político e humano, uma afirmação coletiva dos valores que aquele sistema pretendia destruir.

Simulatore di interfaccia uomo-macchina per i controllo di UAV

Recent statistics have demonstrated that two of the most important causes of failures of the UAVs (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle) missions are related to the low level of decisional autonomy of vehicles and to the man machine interface. Therefore, a relevant issue is to design a display/controls architecture which allows the efficient interaction between the operator and the remote vehicle and to develop a level of automation which allows the vehicle the decision about change in mission. The research presented in this paper focuses on a modular man-machine interface simulator for the UAV control, which simulates UAV missions, developed to experiment solution to this problem. The main components of the simulator are an advanced interface and a block defined automation, which comprehend an algorithm that implements the level of automation of the system. The simulator has been designed and developed following a user-centred design approach in order to take into account the operator’s needs in the communication with the vehicle. The level of automation has been developed following the supervisory control theory which says that the human became a supervisor who sends high level commands, such as part of mission, target, constraints, in then-rule, while the vehicle receives, comprehends and translates such commands into detailed action such as routes or action on the control system. In order to allow the vehicle to calculate and recalculate the safe and efficient route, in term of distance, time and fuel a 3D planning algorithm has been developed. It is based on considering UASs representative of real world systems as objects moving in a virtual environment (terrain, obstacles, and no fly zones) which replicates the airspace. Original obstacle avoidance strategies have been conceived in order to generate mission planes which are consistent with flight rules and with the vehicle performance constraints. The interface is based on a touch screen, used to send high level commands to the vehicle, and a 3D Virtual Display which provides a stereoscopic and augmented visualization of the complex scenario in which the vehicle operates. Furthermore, it is provided with an audio feedback message generator. Simulation tests have been conducted with pilot trainers to evaluate the reliability of the algorithm and the effectiveness and efficiency of the interface in supporting the operator in the supervision of an UAV mission. Results have revealed that the planning algorithm calculate very efficient routes in few seconds, an adequate level of workload is required to command the vehicle and that the 3D based interface provides the operator with a good sense of presence and enhances his awareness of the mission scenario and of the vehicle under his control.

Epatite E: ruolo del suino nella trasmissione dell'infezione all'uomo, studio di prevalenza in aree rurali della Bolivia

L’infezione da virus dell’ epatite E (HEV) nei suini e nell’uomo è stata segnalata in diversi Paesi. Nei suini, il virus causa infezioni asintomatiche, mentre nell’uomo è responsabile di epidemie di epatite ad andamento acuto nei Paesi a clima tropicale o subtropicale con condizioni igieniche scadenti, di casi sporadici in quelli sviluppati. HEV è stato isolato anche in diversi animali e l’analisi nucleotidica degli isolati virali di origine animale ha mostrato un elevato grado di omologia con i ceppi di HEV umani isolati nelle stesse aree geografiche, avvalorando l’ipotesi che l'infezione da HEV sia una zoonosi. In America del Sud HEV suino è stato isolato per la prima volta in suini argentini nel 2006, mentre solo dal 1998 esistono dati sull’ infezione da HEV nell’uomo in Bolivia. In questa indagine è stato eseguito uno studio di sieroprevalenza in due comunità rurali boliviane e i risultati sono stati confrontati con quelli dello studio di sieroprevalenza sopra menzionato condotto in altre zone rurali della Bolivia. Inoltre, mediante Nested RT-PCR, è stata verificata la presenza di HEV nella popolazione umana e suina. La sieroprevalenza per anticorpi IgG anti-HEV è risultata pari al 6,2%, molto simile a quella evidenziata nello studio precedente. La prevalenza maggiore (24%) si è osservata nei soggetti di età compresa tra 41 e 50 anni, confermando che l’ infezione da HEV è maggiore fra i giovani-adulti. La ricerca di anticorpi anti HEV di classe IgM eseguita su 52 sieri ha fornito 4 risultati positivi. Il genoma virale è stato identificato in uno dei 22 pool di feci umane e l'esame virologico di 30 campioni individuali fecali e 7 individuali di siero ha fornito rispettivamente risultati positivi in 4/30 e 1/7. La Nested RT-PCR eseguita sui 22 pool di feci suine ha dato esito positivo in 7 pool. L’analisi delle sequenze genomiche di tutti gli amplificati ha consentito di stabilire che gli isolati umani appartenevano allo stesso genotipo III di quelli suini e presentavano con questi una elevata omologia aminoacidica (92%).

Musica come Scienza dell'uomo. I caratteri del sapere musicale nel Settecento britannico

The departure point of the present work is the idea that in order to understand what music meant to British society in the Eighteenth-Century an interdisciplinary approach is necessary. Natural philosophy, moral philosophy, musical treatises and histories of music: all these sources concur both to the creation of a new idea about what music and its ‘science’ are, and to question the place which music ought to have in the realm of the Science of Man. The dissertation is divided into two sections. In the first one we will take into account philosophical sources (from John Locke, Joseph Addison and Lord Shaftesbury, to Lord Kames and Adam Smith), and we will examine their thoughts on music. In the second one we will deal with musical sources (from the Treatise of Musick of Alexander Malcom, to the Histories of Music of Charles Burney and John Hawkins) in order to show their connection with the philosophical literature before mentioned. The main aim of the work it to show that the development of specific philosophies of the human mind, such as the ones of John Locke and David Hume, did influence the way in which music was thought. Particularly we will point out the case of Adam Smith’s interpretation of instrumental music, which is heavily indebted to the humeian model of the human mind.