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The essay examines the work of Mario Rigoni Stern from a pedagogical perspective, emphasizing how his stories can contribute to educational approaches focused on sustainability and humanization. His writing skillfully and sensitively delves into the beauty and complexity of mountain ecosystems, reflecting a profound contemplation and ethical commitment to nature. This can serve as a model for sustainable education and ecological storytelling, promoting values of solidarity, dignity, and environmental and communal responsibility. The essay suggests that Rigoni Stern’s work offers valuable insights for pedagogical reflections on sustainability and ecological transition. It draws a parallel between Rigoni Stern’s narratives and the strategies of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), highlighting how mountain communities can serve as models of resilience and sustainability.

Stagioni (2006) is the last work by the Italian writer Mario Rigoni Stern and it is like an autobiography that delves into the most important phases of his life and explains his relationship with history and, above all, with nature, the focal point of his literary production. In this contribution, starting from an overview of some theoretical fundamentals of ecocriticism, such as Pastoral and Wilderness, and considering the relationship between ecocriticism and literary studies, we intend to analyze Rigoni Stern’s environmen- talist approach, placing Stagioni in the more complex ecological discourse that the writer built in his long literary career., Stagioni (2006) is the last work by the Italian writer Mario Rigoni Stern and it is like an autobiography that delves into the most important phases of his life and explains his relationship with history and, above all, with nature, the focal point of his literary production. In this contribution, starting from an overview of some theoretical fundamentals of ecocriticism, such as Pastoral and Wilderness, and considering the relationship between ecocriticism and literary studies, we intend to analyze Rigoni Stern’s environmen- talist approach, placing Stagioni in the more complex ecological discourse that the writer built in his long literary career.

Mario Rigoni Stern aurait eu cent ans le 1er novembre 2021. Comment naît un écrivain de cette envergure ? par quelle conjonction d’éléments décisifs ? dans quel lieu, quels paysages ? Le plateau d’Asiago, au nord-est de l’Italie, a été fondamental pour lui : il l’a forgé, éduqué, nourri, puis, après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, apaisé, soigné, réconcilié avec la vie. Et l’auteur du Sergent dans la neige le lui a bien rendu. En décrivant ce haut plateau l’Altipiano, cette étonnante île de terre suspendue au-dessus de la plaine de Vénétie, en chroniquant la vie de son peuple, Rigoni Stern a parlé du monde entier, préfigurant la pensée écologiste globale. Son œuvre exalte la possible relation équilibrée entre l’homme et la nature, mais aussi entre les hommes, simples composants du vivant. Loïc Seron a parcouru ces lieux à pied et en toutes saisons pour évoquer l’esprit d’un homme qui a tiré de sa montagne la force de vivre debout et de se souvenir, la volonté de comprendre et de témoigner, en harmonie avec le monde. Dialogue intime d’images et de mots, son cheminement célèbre un paysage, une voix, un idéal humaniste, comme pour répondre à cette question : qu’est-ce qui compte vraiment ?

Nella narrativa di Rigoni Stern la Grande Guerra rappresenta un evento-chiave nella trasformazione identitaria della “piccola patria” dell’Altipiano di Asiago. Questo luogo, distrutto dal passaggio del fronte nel 1916-1918, diventa oggetto di un discorso nostalgico e mitico. Rigoni Stern guarda al conflitto come il confine fra due diverse temporalità: quella “lunga” della tradizione, integrata nella natura e nel paesaggio, e quella “breve” della storia che passa e distrugge. La memoria si integra con la storia in una riflessione etica sulla guerra come evento che infrange le leggi arcaiche da cui dipende l’ordine delle cose. Rigoni Stern, quindi, trasfigura la storia della Grande Guerra in mito, non però falsificando l’essenza storica in una rappresentazione consolatrice, bensì ricercando il senso di un evento che ha avuto conseguenze profonde sulla comunità dell’Altipiano. In the works of Mario Rigoni Stern the Great War represents a key-event in shaping the identity of the “small Fatherland” of the Asiago Highland. This, devastated by the passage of the front in 1916-1918, becomes the object of a nostalgic and mythical discourse. Rigoni Stern conceives the conflict as the border between two different temporalities: the “long” one of tradition, which is integrated with nature and landscape; and the “short” one of history that passes by and destroys. Memory combines itself with history in an ethical reflection about war as an event that breaches the archaic laws on which the order of life and things depends. Therefore, Rigoni Stern transfigures history into myth, not by falsifying history through a consolatory representation, but by looking for the meaning of a historical event that deeply affected the community of the Highland.

El artículo muestra las relaciones de amistad que se van tornando en reflexiones filosóficas entre Cioran y el escritor italiano Mario Andrea Rigoni, a partir de su obra: Cioran dans mes souvenirs. Nuestro interés está en dar a conocer las reflexiones que hace Rigoni sobre la obra y el carácter humano de Cioran.

Nel saggio vengono sottolineati in particolare gli aspetti anomali del Sergente nella neve rispetto alla consueta memorialistica bellica.

« On trouve rarement pareille cohérence entre l’homme qui vit et l’homme qui écrit, pareille densité d’écriture. » Primo Levi À la guerre, remarque Mario Rigoni Stern, on peut mourir à vingt ans, en une seconde, sur l’herbe, en plein printemps. Aucune polémique, aucun pathos, aucun héros dans le récit de cette guerre qui emmena Mario Rigoni Stern en France et en Albanie de 1940 à 1941, rien que la réalité. Tourmenté par les souvenirs et par les poux, Rigoni Stern traverse cette épreuve en moraliste pacifique. « Pour la plupart d’entre nous commença la fin de tout. »

« Je n’étais rien qu’un homme qui, parmi des millions d’autres hommes, combattait très loin de chez lui dans la guerre la plus horrible que les étoiles aient vue depuis qu’elles existent. Je sentais seulement ma grande responsabilité envers les camarades que le destin m’avait amené à conduire ; je sentais que mon corps était solide, qu’en Italie j’étais aimé et attendu. “Sergent-majou, on l’reverra-t-y, not’ chez nous ?” Je devais les garder unis et faire tout mon possible pour les ramener chez eux. » Dans cet ultime livre, Mario Rigoni Stern raconte son expérience de jeune homme pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, de son enrôlement dans les troupes alpines à seulement dix-sept ans aux campagnes en Grèce, en Albanie et en Russie. À chaque page, l’autobiographie se confond avec l’histoire collective, pour se disperser ensuite dans le ruisseau d’histoires individuelles – ces épisodes apparemment marginaux qui recèlent un autre sens de l’histoire. C’est ainsi que, par à-coups et par fragments, l’histoire d’un homme et d’une époque nous parvient. Voici un livre « mince en pages mais dense en vie », une distillation précieuse dans laquelle Rigoni Stern concentre un demi-siècle de son écriture d’une manière totalement nouvelle.

The RFX-mod2 device, the upgraded version of the previous RFX-mod with a modified magnetic boundary, is presently under realization and will start to be operated in 2025. Significant upgrades of the diagnostic capabilities have been proposed and are under development. These include a largely increased number of in-vessel magnetic and electrostatic sensors, a new fast reciprocating manipulator for the exploration of the edge plasma in a wide range of experimental conditions, the improved Thomson scattering and soft x-ray diagnostics system for a detailed determination of the behavior of the electron temperature profile, new dedicated systems for the space and time resolved analysis of x-ray spectra and neutron rate, a reflectometric diagnostic for real-time determination of plasma position, two diagnostics devoted to the imaging of light impurities and influxes behavior along with arrays of halo current sensors. These diagnostic upgrades will be accompanied by a significant effort to improve the control of the electron density and of the impurity influxes by means of proper treatment of plasma facing components with in-vessel fixed electrodes distributed over the first wall. The described advancements will allow a deeper understanding of physics phenomena in the wide variety of magnetic configurations, including the tokamak, the reversed-field pinch and the Ultra-low q, which can be produced in RFX-mod2 thanks to its flexibility and unique MHD control capabilities.

Original datasets corresponding to the publication.

In times of disinformation, we reflect on the impact of images through the relationship between journalistic knowledge and the effects of the meaning of truth. The discussions begin with the debates on knowledge mediated by journalism, in Meditsch (1997) and Lisboa and Bennetti (2015), relating these points to the commercial impacts on the construction of news, thinking about the work of press professionals. They also use the approaches of Dubois (1993), Baeza (2007) and Didi-Huberman (2012) to understand the effects of photojournalism mediation, in the debate about the image and its effect of physical contiguity, from the perspective of truth through verisimilitude. The article develops the methodological aspects of discursive semiotics, in Greimas and Courtés (1979), Landowski (2004), Aldama (2019) and Barros (2020, 2022) to demonstrate how the effect of the meaning of truth is constructed, based on an example of war photographs produced by artificial intelligence, which reveal the current sophistication of ways of not-telling-the-truth from images., Em tempos de desinformação, reflete-se sobre os impactos das imagens mediante as relações entre o conhecimento jornalístico e os efeitos de sentido de verdade. As discussões iniciam-se com os debates sobre o conhecimento mediado pelo jornalismo, em Meditsch (1997) e Lisboa e Bennetti (2015), relacionando tais pontos com os impactos comerciais na construção das notícias, pensando na atuação dos profissionais de imprensa. Ainda, valem-se das abordagens de Dubois (1993), Baeza (2007) e Didi-Huberman (2012) para compreender os efeitos da mediação do fotojornalismo, no debate sobre a imagem e seu efeito de contiguidade física, na perspectiva da verdade por verossimilhança. O artigo desenvolve os aspectos metodológicos da semiótica discursiva, em Greimas e Courtés (1979), Landowski (2004), Aldama (2019) e Barros (2020, 2022) para demonstrar como o efeito de sentido de verdade se constrói, a partir de um exemplo de fotografias de guerra produzidas por inteligência artificial, que revelam a atual sofisticação das formas de não-dizer-a-verdade a partir de imagens.

Loss-of-function variants in the PRKN gene encoding the ubiquitin E3 ligase PARKIN cause autosomal recessive early-onset Parkinson’s disease (PD). Extensive in vitro and in vivo studies have reported that PARKIN is involved in multiple pathways of mitochondrial quality control, including mitochondrial degradation and biogenesis. However, these findings are surrounded by substantial controversy due to conflicting experimental data. In addition, the existing PARKIN-deficient mouse models have failed to faithfully recapitulate PD phenotypes. Therefore, we have investigated the mitochondrial role of PARKIN during ageing and in response to stress by employing a series of conditional Parkin knockout mice. We report that PARKIN loss does not affect oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) capacity and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) levels in the brain, heart, and skeletal muscle of aged mice. We also demonstrate that PARKIN deficiency does not exacerbate the brain defects and the pro-inflammatory phenotype observed in mice carrying high levels of mtDNA mutations. To rule out compensatory mechanisms activated during embryonic development of Parkin-deficient mice, we generated a mouse model where loss of PARKIN was induced in adult dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Surprisingly, also these mice did not show motor impairment or neurodegeneration, and no major transcriptional changes were found in isolated midbrain DA neurons. Finally, we report a patient with compound heterozygous PRKN pathogenic variants that lacks PARKIN and has developed PD. The PARKIN deficiency did not impair OXPHOS activities or induce mitochondrial pathology in skeletal muscle from the patient. Altogether, our results argue that PARKIN is dispensable for OXPHOS function in adult mammalian tissues.

The analysis of complex high-dimensional data is a common task in many domains, resulting in bespoke visual exploration tools. Expectations and practices of domain experts as users do not always align with visualization theory. In this paper, we report on a design study in the medical domain where we developed two high-fidelity prototypes encoding EEG-derived brain network data with different types of visualizations. We evaluate these prototypes regarding effectiveness, efficiency, and preference with two groups: participants with domain knowledge (domain experts in medical research) and those without domain knowledge, both groups having little or no visualization experience. A requirement analysis and study of low-fidelity prototypes revealed a strong preference for a novel and aesthetically pleasing visualization design, as opposed to a design that is considered more optimal based on visualization theory. Our study highlights the pros and cons of both approaches, discussing trade-offs between task-specific measurements and subjective preference. While the aesthetically pleasing and novel low-fidelity prototype was favored, the results of our evaluation show that, in most cases, this was not reflected in participants' performance or subjective preference for the high-fidelity prototypes., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables

Object detectors are core components of multimodal models, enabling them to locate the region of interest in images which are then used to solve many multimodal tasks. Among the many extant object detectors, the Bottom-Up Faster R-CNN [39] (BUA) object detector is the most commonly used by the multimodal language-and-vision community, usually as a black-box visual feature generator for solving downstream multimodal tasks. It is trained on the Visual Genome Dataset [25] to detect 1600 different objects. However, those object categories are defined using automatically processed image region descriptions from the Visual Genome dataset. The automatic process introduces some unexpected near-duplicate categories (e.g. “watch” and “wristwatch”, “tree” and “trees”, and “motorcycle” and “motorbike”) that may result in a sub-optimal representational space and likely impair the ability of the model to classify objects correctly. In this paper, we manually merge near-duplicate labels to create a cleaner label set, which is used to retrain the object detector. We investigate the effect of using the cleaner label set in terms of: (i) performance on the original object detection task, (ii) the properties of the embedding space learned by the detector, and (iii) the utility of the features in a visual grounding task on the Flickr30K Entities dataset. We find that the BUA model trained with the cleaner categories learns a better-clustered embedding space than the model trained with the noisy categories. The new embedding space improves the object detection task and also presents better bounding boxes features representations which help to solve the visual grounding task.

Three years of experiments on SPIDER allowed characterization of the main features of the source plasma and of the negative ion beam, in the original design configuration. For the large dimensions of the source chamber, and of the extraction area, the investigation of the single-beamlet currents and of the source plasma uniformity had to be carried out to extend the knowledge gained in smaller prototype sources. The configuration of the multiple RF drivers and filter field topologies were found to cause a peculiar behavior in the plasma confinement in the drivers, creating left-right asymmetries which were also visible in the extracted negative ion currents, even after the early implementation of a new scheme of plasma-grid current send and return busbars that greatly improved performance at high filter fields. The plasma properties in the driver and expansion region as well as the positive ion energy at the extraction region were studied in different experimental conditions, and interpreted also with the support of numerical models, suggesting that an improved plasma confinement could contribute to the increase of the plasma density, and to a certain extent to a lowering of the plasma potential profile; both effects shall contribute to increase the presence of cold negative ions for the formation of low-divergence beamlets. Early results related to unwanted RF discharges on the back of the plasma source and the gas conductance of the beam source suggested the reduction of the vessel pressure as mitigation, leading to the definition of a new pumping system. The difficulties related to the simultaneous operation, stable control and high-power operation of multiple RF self-oscillating vacuum tube based RF generators were an unambiguous obstruction to the experimentation, calling for the implementation of RF solid-state amplifiers. The initial tests related to caesium management, the non-uniform plasma properties at different locations across the plasma grid, and the c

An overview of the recent operations and the main results of cesium injection in the Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from Rf plasma (SPIDER) negative ion source are described in this contribution. In experiments without cesium injection, all SPIDER plants were tested to verify the basic expectations on the operational parameters (e.g., electron cooling effectiveness of magnetic filter field) and to determine its operational region. For beam properties, it was shown that the current density varies across the beam in the vertical direction. In preliminary cesium experiments, the expected increase of negative ion current and simultaneous decrease of co-extracted electrons were found, along with the influence of the control parameters (polarization of the plasma electrodes, magnetic filter field) on the SPIDER beam uniformity in the horizontal and vertical directions. It was shown that non-Gaussian tails can be identified in the angular distribution on the plane perpendicular to the beam propagation direction. Stray particles, nonhomogeneous beam and large divergence might result in unexpected heat and particle loads over ITER neutral beam injector (NBI) accelerator grids; it is the goal of SPIDER to assess and possibly to identify suitable methods for controlling these beam features. A major shutdown, planned for late 2021, to solve the issues identified during the operation and to carry out scheduled modifications, is outlined. Such improvements are expected to allow SPIDER to pursue the ITER requirements in terms of negative ion current, electron-to-ion ratio, and beam duration.

ITER envisages the use of two heating neutral beam injectors plus an optional one as part of the auxiliary heating and current drive system, to reach the desired performances during its various phases of operation. The 16.5 MW expected neutral beam power per injector is several notches higher than worldwide existing facilities. In order to enable such development, a Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) was established at Consorzio RFX, exploiting the synergy of two test beds, called SPIDER and MITICA. SPIDER is dedicated developing and characterizing large efficient negative ion sources at relevant parameters in ITER-like conditions: source and accelerator located in the same vacuum where the beam propagates, immunity to electromagnetic interferences of multiple radio-frequency (RF) antennas, avoidance of RF-induced discharges on the outside of the source. Three years of experiments on SPIDER have addressed to the necessary design modifications to enable full performances. The source is presently under a long shut-down phase to incorporate learnings from the experimental campaign, in particular events/issues occurred during operation, which led to the identification of improvement opportunities/necessities (e.g. RF discharges, local burns, water leaks, other damages, configuration/design upgrades to maximize chances/margin to quest target parameters). Parallelly, developments on MITICA, the full-scale prototype of the ITER Neutral Beam Injector (NBI) featuring a 1 MV accelerator and ion neutralization, are underway including manufacturing of the beam source, accelerator and the beam line components, while power supplies and auxiliary plants, already installed, are under final testing and commissioning. Integration, commissioning and tests of the 1 MV power supplies are essential for this first-of-kind system, unparalleled both in research and industry field. 1.2 MV dc insulating tests of high voltage components were successfully completed. The integrated test to confir

Aims: Common Psychiatric Disorders (CPDs) are associated with the development of overweight and obesity, the strongest risk factors for the onset and maintenance of Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2D). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the prevalence of CPDs in patients with T2D in Italy. Methods: This is a monocentric cross-sectional study; n = 184 T2D patients were screened for CPDs using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Primary outcome was to evaluate the prevalence of CPDs. To assess association between CPDs and risk factors, we have utilized univariable logistic regression models. Results: 64.1% were men, median age was 67 (59–64) and median BMI 27 (25–30) kg/m2. The 42.9% tested positive for one or more mental disorders, 25.6% for depression. Patients with higher BMI (p = 0.04) had an increased likelihood of testing positive to the PHQ. Patients who had implemented lifestyle changes (p < 0.01) and were aware that mental health is linked to body health (p = 0.07) had a reduction in the likelihood of testing positive. Conclusions: Prevalence of CPDs in T2D patients is higher than in the general population. Since CPDs favor the onset and subsistence of T2D, integrated diabetic-psychiatric therapy is required for improvement or remission of T2D in patients with comorbid CPDs.

Trente ans après la tragique retraite de Russie du Corps expéditionnaire italien consécutive à l’échec de la prise de Stalingrad et vingt ans après la publication du Sergent dans la neige devenu un classique de la littérature italienne du XXe siècle, Mario Rigoni Stern réalise un désir qui le taraude : retourner sur les lieux où tant de ses camarades ont trouvé la mort, au combat, de froid ou de faim. C’est l’occasion d’évoquer ses souvenirs. Passé et présent alternent. Jadis, les souffrances vécues ont rapproché les deux camps. Aujourd’hui, l’auteur retrouve les qualités de l’âme russe découvertes dans les camps de prisonniers où, réfractaire à poursuivre le combat aux côtés des troupes allemandes après 1943, il a côtoyé les soldats de la grande Armée Rouge. Déjà, durant la retraite les contacts humains avec la population locale, élémentaires autant qu’essentiels, recèlent une belle leçon de vie. Il évoque aussi son cher plateau d’Asiago, notamment lorsqu’une vieille scierie est convertie en camps d’internement pour des Juifs dont l’auteur s’efforcera après la guerre d’identifier les victimes et les survivants afin de nous faire aussi connaître leurs noms, à nous, lecteurs. Comme dans tous ses livres, le grand écrivain italien nous fait partager avec une intensité rare les moments forts de sa vie qui, au-delà de son amour de la nature toujours présent dans ses écrits, forment une sorte d’odyssée courageuse entre toutes.

« Il avait survécu, quand tant d'autres étaient morts, à plusieurs guerres et périodes de captivité. Il se sentait responsable envers ceux qui ne pouvaient plus parler. Mais écrire ne lui suffisait pas. Il avait aussi le devoir et le plaisir de l'hospitalité, l'attention à la sensibilité d'autrui et l'intérêt pour la conversation, avec une façon caractéristique de rythmer les mots et les concepts, et il avait quelque chose de plus : le désir, l'urgence presque, de perpétuer le souvenir d'événements de la petite et de la grande histoire, de chercher la raison de tant de tragédies et d'erreurs qui ne sont jamais inévitables. Tel est aussi le but de ces entretiens : raconter, reconstruire, transmettre, avec cette liberté et cette immédiateté que seule la spontanéité du dialogue peut atteindre. (...) Lire ces conversations, c'est un peu comme retrouver ou découvrir un ami. Le temps semble s'arrêter et on se prend à imaginer que d'autres façons de vivre sont possibles. » Le Courage de dire non rassemble les entretiens inédits de Mario Rigoni Stern de 1963 à sa mort en 2008. Survivant de la guerre et des camps mais aussi conteur des montagnes, de la forêt et de la terre, Rigoni, celui dont son ami Primo Levi dira qu'il avait su « garder son authenticité dans notre époque de fous », fait partie des grands protagonistes du XXe siècle. Enfance et adolescence sous la Grande guerre, guerre en Russie, retour chez soi, travail, réflexions sur l'écriture, sur la force magique de la nature : Mario Rigoni Stern (1921-2008) aborde chaque question avec la clarté de ceux qui ont assisté à l'un des moments les plus dramatiques de l'histoire. Une ?uvre précieuse et émouvante (Le Sergent dans la neige, L'année de la victoire, Les saisons de Giacomo), mais aussi un homme d'une très haute conscience morale.

Fast X-ray photoemission spectroscopy has been carried out to track the interaction of ammonia gas with hybrid materials based on ZnO nanorods and nanostructured carbon. We provide, for the first time, direct evidence of gas adsorption of ammonia on nanostructured hybrid interfaces combining photoemission with transport measurements through the resistivity change upon gas exposure. This operando methodology allowed us to reconstruct the adsorption isotherms and relate the different behavior to the sample morphology at the nanoscale. While on bare ZnO nanorods, physisorption of ammonia is detected along with photon beam assisted cracking, on the nanostructured carbon the formation of amine groups is detected, without displaying any effect induced by photon beam exposure. Our results make the present experiment an operando general methodology, with the possibility to relate the transport versus dose curves (ultimately the adsorption isotherms) to a specific investigation of the gas/surface interactions.

« Arriver là-haut un matin d’été après que, la nuit, un orage a lavé le ciel et la terre, s’arrêter en silence pour regarder, et demeurer sous le charme parce que la beauté est telle que le regard ne sait où se poser, et on en a le souffle coupé. Rester ici jusqu’au couchant à écouter en silence la montagne raconter des légendes, des histoires de bergers, d’alpinistes, de guerre. »

The aim of this paper is to describe the direction of the link between stress, depression, increased inflammation and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) reduction. We hypothesize that severe stress or prolonged stress can be the driving factor that promote the onset of depression. Both stress and depression, if not resolved over time, activate the production of transcription factors that will switch on pro-inflammatory genes and translate them into cytokines. This cascade fosters systemic chronic inflammation and reduced plasma BDNF levels. Since people with depression have a 60% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) and show high levels of inflammation and low levels of BDNF, we hypothesize possible reasons that might explain why T2D, depression and dementia are often associated in the same patient.

Fast X-ray photoemission spectroscopy has been carried out to track the interaction of ammonia gas with hybrid materials based on ZnO nanorods and nanostructured carbon. We provide, for the first time, direct evidence of gas adsorption of ammonia on nanostructured hybrid interfaces combining photoemission with transport measurements through the resistivity change upon gas exposure. This operando methodology allowed us to reconstruct the adsorption isotherms and relate the different behavior to the sample morphology at the nanoscale. While on bare ZnO nanorods, physisorption of ammonia is detected along with photon beam assisted cracking, on the nanostructured carbon the formation of amine groups is detected, without displaying any effect induced by photon beam exposure. Our results make the present experiment an operando general methodology, with the possibility to relate the transport versus dose curves (ultimately the adsorption isotherms) to a specific investigation of the gas/surface interactions.

In 2022, Poppi Drug Museum and researchers from Utrecht University evaluated the societal responses to three scenarios of regulated sales of MDMA through a unique public survey: an ‘XTC store’ in the heart of Utrecht. This report describes the results of this research. The public debate about regulating MDMA – the active substance in ecstasy1 – regularly flares up. The Netherlands is the world’s largest producer and exporter of ecstasy, and more than a million Dutch people have ever used ecstasy. The huge illegal market creates numerous social problems, from unsafe use to criminal subversion of society. However, the conversation about regulation is highly polarised, which limits thinking about alternative scenarios. In this context, drug researchers from the Poppi Museum, in collaboration with researchers from Utrecht University, have further developed three scenarios for alternative, legalised sale of MDMA: a pharmacy, a smart shop and a club/party. With the help of creatives from the Utrecht- based ‘Uitvindersgilde’ and in collaboration with Corné van der Stelt, these three points of sale were set up next to each other in a shop in the centre of Utrecht. The store was open to the public between mid-July and late September 2022. The research linked to the XTC store had the following central question: under what conditions do visitors to the XTC store and drug experts find the regulated sale of ecstasy acceptable? The 1529 visitors to the store gave their views on the various sales conditions. In addition, the team organised two focus group discussions with politicians and policymakers, and drug policy expert academics, which were invited to the location. The first important conclusion is that neither the visitors of the XTC store nor the participants in the focus groups understand the ‘legalisation’ or ‘regulation’ of MDMA would mean allowing the sale of MDMA unlimitedly. Both groups are in favour of (strict) sale restrictions. The experts are more conservative; mo

Le Massacre des illusions offre les réflexions de Leopardi consacrées à la politique, à la société et à l'histoire des civilisations. Rebelle à tout esprit de système, loin de toute tentation doctrinaire et superstition rationaliste, il cisèle l'ère du temps par un regard critique incisif et un sens aigu des détails. Digne héritier de Machiavel, son ironie désespérée, sa finesse et son pessimisme lumineux le placent dans la lignée des plus grands moralistes. Observateur lucide de ses semblables, Leopardi fait dans Le Massacre des illusions un portrait de son époque toujours aussi actuel. À l’abri de toute idéologie ou récupération, il ne se préoccupe que de ce qu'il voit : l'homme et son monde. D’une précocité inouïe, Leopardi (1798-1837) apprend seul une demi-douzaine de langues, dont le grec et l’hébreu. Adolescent, il livre ses premiers travaux philologiques, une tragédie et une histoire de l’astronomie, avant d’écrire des poèmes qui, réunis et publiés en 1831 sous le nom de Canti, établiront sa gloire. À l’âge de 19 ans, il entame l’écriture du Zibaldone (Allia, 2003). Il meurt à Naples en 1837, après une indigestion de glace au citron.

Objetivo: Mapear os processos de formação e as ações de educação permanente vivenciadas por Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (ACS) no contexto da saúde da família, ancorado no conceito de cultura. Metodologia: Revisão de escopo seguindo a metodologia do Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) e orientado pelo Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A busca nas bases de dados BVS, EBSCO – Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, GreenFILE, SocINDEX, Embase, ERIC, Global Índice Medicus, PUBMED, Scielo, Scopus, WOS, decorreu nos meses de novembro e dezembro de 2022. Os termos de pesquisa foram: Community Health Workers, Professional Training, Continuing Education, Family Health Strategy, Primary Health Care. Foram incluídos estudos que analisem experiências de formação e de ações de Educação Permanente em Saúde (EPS) de ACS no contexto da saúde da família. Foram utilizados no gerenciamento da seleção dos achados o Endnote e o software Rayyan. O protocolo da revisão foi registrado no Open Science Framework (OSF). Resultados: Compuseram a amostra 25 estudos, sendo geradas duas categorias: A primazia da cultura da formação técnica instrumental; e A cultura biomédica orientadora da EPS. A formação do ACS perpassa por desinvestimento e invisibilidade sendo focada no modelo biomédico. Já as ações de EPS, mesmo que pontuais, são norteadas por temáticas emergentes na saúde. Considerações Finais: Os processos formativos e de EPS de ACS perpassam por veredas de construção e desconstrução, de avanços e recuos, a partir de uma cultura que muitas vezes cerceia o direito instituído.

Objective: To map the formation processes and ongoing education actions experienced by Community Health Agents (CHAs) in the context of family health, anchored in the concept of culture. Methodology: Scope review following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The search in databases such as BVS, EBSCO – Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, GreenFILE, SocINDEX, Embase, ERIC, Global Index Medicus, PUBMED, Scielo, Scopus, WOS, took place in November and December 2022. The search terms were: Community Health Workers, Professional Training, Continuing Education, Family Health Strategy, Primary Health Care. Studies analyzing training experiences and actions of Permanent Education in Health (PEH) for CHAs in the context of family health were included. Endnote and Rayyan software were used in managing the selection of findings. The review protocol was registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF). Results: The sample included 25 studies, generating two categories: The primacy of instrumental technical training culture; and The biomedical culture guiding PEH. CHA training involves disinvestment and invisibility, focusing on the biomedical model. On the other hand, even if sporadic, PEH actions are guided by emerging health themes. Final Considerations: The formative processes and PEH for CHAs involve paths of construction and deconstruction, progress, and setbacks, based on a culture that often restricts established rights.

O objetivo principal do presente trabalho é apresentar alguns indicadores iniciais do papel da gestão na formação dos professores, bem como aspectos importantes para a realização desse processo no espaço escolar, sobre o abrigo de uma gestão democrática. Assim, a pergunta que norteia a questão de pesquisa apresenta-se como: de que forma a gestão escolar pode atuar na formação dos educadores na contemporaneidade? Trata-se, portanto, de uma investigação simples, de natureza básica, de uma abordagem qualitativa, exploratória a partir de procedimento bibliográfico, com análise hermenêutica-analítica dos textos de autores como: Luck (2010), Morosini (2006), Veiga (1997), Laval (2019), Tardif (2000, 2012), Nóvoa (1995) utilizados para a construção do tema em pesquisa. Para cumprir os objetivos aqui elencados, será apresentada, inicialmente, de forma breve, no item primeiro, a conceituação sobre a profissionalidade docente e a formação continuada, sendo seguida, no segundo item, da análise da gestão democrática e sua influência em uma formação continuada. Esse ponto também pretende apontar alguns destaques sobre as discussões já produzidas em relação a sua importância para o implemento, o fortalecimento e a construção de uma formação continuada dos professores, partindo de uma gestão democrática, além da breve apresentação dos resultados encontrados. O trabalho será finalizado com a apresentação das considerações finais.

Placing quantum materials into optical cavities can provide a unique platform to control quantum cooperative properties of matter, in the regimes of both weak and strong light-matter coupling. Here we show the first experimental evidence of the reversible touchless control of a metal-to-insulator phase transition in the charge density wave material 1T-TaS2 embedded in a tunable THz optical cavity. The switch between conductive and insulating behavior, which is obtained by mechanically tuning the distance between the cavity mirrors and their alignment, is related to a significant renormalization of the sample temperature. This suggests a Purcell-like scenario in which the spectral profile of the cavity modifies the energy exchange between the material and the external electromagnetic field. Our findings uncover a new path to control the thermodynamics and macroscopic transport properties of quantum materials by engineering their electromagnetic environment.

Cheap commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) First-Person View (FPV) drones have become widely available for consumers in recent years. Unfortunately, they also provide low-cost attack opportunities to malicious users. Thus, effective methods to detect the presence of unknown and non-cooperating drones within a restricted area are highly demanded. Approaches based on detection of drones based on emitted video stream have been proposed, but were not yet shown to work against other similar benign traffic, such as that generated by wireless security cameras. Most importantly, these approaches were not studied in the context of detecting new unprofiled drone types. In this work, we propose a novel drone detection framework, which leverages specific patterns in video traffic transmitted by drones. The patterns consist of repetitive synchronization packets (we call pivots), which we use as features for a machine learning classifier. We show that our framework can achieve up to 99% in detection accuracy over an encrypted WiFi channel using only 170 packets originated from the drone within 820ms time period. Our framework is able to identify drone 2 transmissions even among very similar WiFi transmissions (such as video streams originated from security cameras) as well as in noisy scenarios with background traffic. Furthermore, the design of our pivot features enables the classifier to detect unprofiled drones in which the classifier has never trained on and is refined using a novel feature selection strategy that selects the features that have the discriminative power of detecting new unprofiled drones., Cyber Security

Efficient postural control results from an effective interplay between sensory feedbacks integration and muscle modulation and can be affected by ageing and neuromuscular injuries. With this study, we investigated the effect of whole-body vibratory stimulation on postural control strategies employed to maintain an upright posture. We explored both physiological and posturography metrics, through corticomuscular and intramuscular coherence, and muscle networks analyses. The stimulation disrupts balance in the short term, but leads to a greater contribution of cortical activity, necessary to modulate muscle activation via the formation of (new) synergies. We also observed a reconfiguration of muscle recruitment patterns that returned to pre-stimulation levels after few minutes, accompanied by a slight improvement of balance in the anterior–posterior direction. Our results suggest that, in the context of postural control, appropriate mechanical stimulation is capable of triggering a recalibration of the sensorimotor set and might offer new perspectives for motor re-education.

Identifying molecules that exhibit some pre-specified properties is a difficult problem to solve. In the last few years, deep generative models have been used for molecule generation. Deep Graph Variational Autoencoders are among the most powerful machine learning tools with which it is possible to address this problem. However, existing methods struggle in capturing the true data distribution and tend to be computationally expensive. In this work, we propose RGCVAE, an efficient and effective Graph Variational Autoencoder based on: (i) an encoding network exploiting a new powerful Relational Graph Isomorphism Network; (ii) a novel probabilistic decoding component. Compared to several state-of-the-art VAE methods on two widely adopted datasets, RGCVAE shows state-of-the-art molecule generation performance while being significantly faster to train.

Using only image-sentence pairs, weakly-supervised visual-textual grounding aims to learn region-phrase correspondences of the respective entity mentions. Compared to the supervised approach, learning is more difficult since bounding boxes and textual phrases correspondences are unavailable. In light of this, we propose the Semantic Prior Refinement Model (SPRM), whose predictions are obtained by combining the output of two main modules. The first untrained module aims to return a rough alignment between textual phrases and bounding boxes. The second trained module is composed of two sub-components that refine the rough alignment to improve the accuracy of the final phrase-bounding box alignments. The model is trained to maximize the multimodal similarity between an image and a sentence, while minimizing the multimodal similarity of the same sentence and a new unrelated image, carefully selected to help the most during training. Our approach shows state-of-the-art results on two popular datasets, Flickr30k Entities and ReferIt, shining especially on ReferIt with a 9.6% absolute improvement. Moreover, thanks to the untrained component, it reaches competitive performances just using a small fraction of training examples.

Background IgG antibodies against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG-IgG) define a subset of associated disorders (myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein associated disorders (MOGAD)) that can have a relapsing course. However, information on relapse predictors is scarce. The utility of retesting MOG-IgG over time and measuring their titres is uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the clinical relevance of longitudinal MOG-IgG titre measurement to predict relapses in patients with MOGAD. Methods In this retrospective multicentre Italian cohort study, we recruited patients with MOGAD and available longitudinal samples (at least one >3 months after disease onset) and tested them with a live cell-based assay with endpoint titration (1:160 cut-off). Samples were classified as € attack' (within 30 days since a disease attack (n=59, 17%)) and € remission' (≥31 days after attack (n=295, 83%)). Results We included 102 patients with MOGAD (57% adult and 43% paediatric) with a total of 354 samples (83% from remission and 17% from attack). Median titres were higher during attacks (1:1280 vs 1:640, p=0.001). Median onset titres did not correlate with attack-related disability, age or relapses. Remission titres were higher in relapsing patients (p=0.02). When considering the first remission sample available for each patient, titres >1:2560 were predictors of relapsing course in survival (log rank, p<0.001) and multivariate analysis (p<0.001, HR: 10.9, 95% CI 3.4 to 35.2). MOG-IgG seroconversion to negative was associated with a 95% relapse incidence rate reduction (incidence rate ratio: 0.05, p<0.001). Conclusions Persistent MOG-IgG positivity and high remission titres are associated with an increased relapse risk. Longitudinal MOG-IgG titres could be useful to stratify patients to be treated with long term immunosuppression. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved

Multi-tasking machine learning (ML) models exhibit prediction abilities in domains with little to no training data available (few-shot and zero-shot learning). Over-parameterized ML models are further capable of zero-loss training and near-optimal generalization performance. An open research question is, how these novel paradigms contribute to solving tasks related to enhancing the renewable energy transition and mitigating climate change. A collection of unified ML tasks and datasets from this domain can largely facilitate the development and empirical testing of such models, but is currently missing. Here, we introduce the ETT-17 (Energy Transition Tasks-17), a collection of 17 datasets from six different application domains related to enhancing renewable energy, including out-of-distribution validation and testing data. We unify all tasks and datasets, such that they can be solved using a single multi-tasking ML model. We further analyse the dimensions of each dataset; investigate what they require for designing over-parameterized models; introduce a set of dataset scores that describe important properties of each task and dataset; and provide performance benchmarks.

Dans cette évocation de la campagne de Russie à laquelle il participa en tant que chasseur alpin italien, Rigoni Stern fait revivre à nos yeux les moments forts de sa vie. Au-delà des hostilités imposées et de l'absurdité des combats, les contacts humains avec la population locale, élémentaires et essentiels, demeurent.Trente ans après, l'auteur du Sergent dans la neige, revient dans les steppes russes parcourir à nouveau le tragique itinéraire où la plupart de ses camarades sont tombés. Passé et présent alternent, mais l'identité des souffrances vécues rapproche les deux camps autrefois opposés ; l'auteur retrouve alors les qualités de l'âme russe découvertes dans les camps de prisonniers. La guerre n'a pas épargné non plus le plateau d'Asiago, en Vénétie, haut lieu de la Résistance. De tout cela, Rigoni Stern porte témoignage. Avec un réalisme sobre, nourri d'émotion et de poésie face à la nature, il fait sortir de l'anonymat des humbles qui, forcés par les horreurs de la guerre à se révéler, acquièrent une dimension légendaire.

The study of the architecture of an active rift, and of the geometry and kinematics of the structures composing it, is crucial for a better understanding of rifting processes. Due to its location at the boundary between two plates, Iceland represents an ideal site to shed light on this topic, offering the possibility to study an offshore sector of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In our work, we reconstructed the architecture of the Krafla Fissure Swarm (KFS), a rift situated in the Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) of Iceland, through the integration of remote sensing and field data. Along the rift, we recognized a total of 20,483 structures, classified as normal faults, extension fractures and eruptive fissures. We analyzed the geometry of the structures by collecting quantitative measurements of their strike and length, and we also calculated the variation of their density and spacing along the entire rift. In the field, we focused on three areas, in the northern, central and southern part of the rift, where we collected 4642 structural measurements at 1640 different sites, along extension fractures affecting Post-LGM units. For each site we measured the local strike, opening direction (wherever possible) and amount of opening for each extension fracture. Along normal faults, we measured 653 values of vertical offset, in order to calculate the stretch ratio along the rift, which is 1.003 in the central sector, and 1.001 and 1.002 in the northern and southern part, respectively. The distribution and geometry of all the classified fractures indicate that normal faults are longer south of the Krafla volcano with respect to faults located north of it, and that the number of extension fractures increases north of the volcano. We also recognized evidence of interaction with the termination of the transcurrent WNW-ESE Húsavík-Flatey Fault. Although we obtained an average opening direction (N99.5°E) that is mostly orthogonal to the N-S orientation of the rift, we also noticed the pr

The MIP Timing Detector will provide additional timing capabilities for detection of minimum ionizing particles (MIPs) at CMS during the High Luminosity LHC era, improving event reconstruction and pileup rejection. The central portion of the detector, the Barrel Timing Layer (BTL), will be instrumented with LYSO:Ce crystals and Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) providing a time resolution of about 30 ps at the beginning of operation, and degrading to 50-60 ps at the end of the detector lifetime as a result of radiation damage. In this work, we present the results obtained using a 120 GeV proton beam at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility to measure the time resolution of unirradiated sensors. A proof-of-concept of the sensor layout proposed for the barrel region of the MTD, consisting of elongated crystal bars with dimensions of about 3 × 3 × 57 mm3 and with double-ended SiPM readout, is demonstrated. This design provides a robust time measurement independent of the impact point of the MIP along the crystal bar. We tested LYSO:Ce bars of different thickness (2, 3, 4 mm) with a geometry close to the reference design and coupled to SiPMs manufactured by Hamamatsu and Fondazione Bruno Kessler. The various aspects influencing the timing performance such as the crystal thickness, properties of the SiPMs (e.g. photon detection efficiency), and impact angle of the MIP are studied. A time resolution of about 28 ps is measured for MIPs crossing a 3 mm thick crystal bar, corresponding to a most probable value (MPV) of energy deposition of 2.6 MeV, and of 22 ps for the 4.2 MeV MPV energy deposition expected in the BTL, matching the detector performance target for unirradiated devices.

To reach fusion conditions and control the plasma configuration in ITER, the next step in tokamak fusion research, two neutral beam injectors (NBIs) will supply 16.5 MW each, by neutralizing accelerated negative hydrogen or deuterium ions. The requirements of ITER NBIs (40A/1 MeV D- ions for ≤1 h, 46A/870 keV H- ions for ≤1000 s) have never been simultaneously attained. So in the Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF, Consorzio RFX, Italy) the operation of the full-scale ITER NBI prototype (MITICA) will be tested and optimised up to full performances, focussing on accelerator (including voltage holding), beam optics, neutralisation, residual ion removal. The NBTF includes also the full-scale prototype of the ITER NBI source with 100 keV particle energy (SPIDER), for early investigation of: negative ion production and extraction, source uniformity, negative ion current density and beam optics. This paper will describe the main results of the first two years of SPIDER operation, devoted to characterizing plasma and beam parameters, including investigation of RF-plasma coupling efficiency and magnetic filter field effectiveness in reducing co-extracted electrons. SPIDER is progressing towards the first caesium injection, which aims at increasing the negative ion density. A major shutdown, planned for 2021, to solve the issues identified during the operation and to carry out programmed modifications, will be outlined. The installation of each MITICA power supply and auxiliary system is completed; in-vessel mechanical components are under procurement by Fusion for Energy (F4E). Integration, commissioning and test of the power supplies, procured by F4E and QST, as the Japanese Domestic Agency (JADA), will be presented. In particular, 1.0MV insulating tests were carried out step-by-step and successfully completed. In 2020 integrated tests of the power supplies on the accelerator dummy load started, including the assessment of their resilience to accelerator grid breakdowns usin

In the Northern Volcanic Zone of Iceland, the geometry, kinematics and offset amount of the structures that form the active Krafla Rift were studied. This rift is composed of a central volcano and a swarm of extension fractures, normal faults and eruptive fissures, which were mapped and analysed through remote sensing and field techniques. In three areas, across the northern, central and southern part of the rift, detailed measurements were collected by extensive field surveys along the post-Late Glacial Maximum (LGM) extension fractures and normal faults, to reconstruct their strike, opening direction and dilation amount. The geometry and the distribution of all the studied structures suggest a northward propagation of the rift, and an interaction with the Húsavík–Flatey Fault. Although the opening direction at the extension fractures is mostly normal to the general N– S rift orientation (average value N99.5° E), a systematic occurrence of subordinate transcurrent com-ponents of motion is noticed. From the measured throw at each normal fault, the heave was calcu-lated, and it was summed together with the net dilation measured at the extension fractures; this has allowed us to assess the stretch ratio of the rift, obtaining a value of 1.003 in the central sector, and 1.001 and 1.002 in the northern and southern part, respectively.

We investigate the ultrafast electron dynamics triggered by terahertz and optical pulses in thin platinum and gold films by probing their transient optical reflectivity. The response of the platinum film to an intense terahertz pulse is similar to the optically induced one and can be described by a two-temperature model with a 20% larger electron–phonon coupling for the terahertz-driven dynamics compared to the optically induced one, ascribed to an additional nonthermal electron–phonon coupling contribution. Surprisingly, gold films exhibit a much smaller terahertz pulse-induced reflectivity change and with a sign opposite to the optical case. We explain this remarkable observation with field emission of electrons due to Fowler–Nordheim tunneling, enabled in samples with thicknesses below the structural percolation threshold, where nanostructuring promotes near-field enhancement. Our results provide a fundamental insight into the ultrafast processes relevant to modern electro- and magneto-optical applications.

We investigate the performance of four Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) as catalysts for the selective degradation of ciprofloxacin in water, under both dark and illumination conditions. We show that no light is actually needed to induce a selective degradation of the molecular target, while light irradiation spurs the process, without, however, resulting in the commonly reported photolysis-supported breaking down. We present a systematic characterization of the PBAs aiming at interpreting the catalytic outcomes in the light of a classic coordination chemistry analysis, empowered by the most recent findings in literature. We show that varying the transition metal binding the N atom of the cyanide bridge is key to promote photoinduced charge generation and transfer, which effectively disrupts the molecular target. The analysis of the materials before and after the irradiation with solar simulated light results in a change of the lattice parameters, indicating the possibility of a light-induced spin cross-over.

INTRODUCTION: Reduced lung volumes are a hallmark of respiratory muscle weakness in neuromuscular disease (NMD). Low respiratory system compliance (Crs) may contribute to restriction and be amenable to lung volume recruitment (LVR) therapy. This study evaluated respiratory function and the immediate impact of LVR in rapidly progressive compared to slowly progressive NMD. METHODS: We compared vital capacity (VC), static lung volumes, maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures (MIP, MEP), Crs and peak cough flow (PCF) in 80 adult participants with motor neuron disease ('MND'=27) and more slowly progressive NMDs ('other NMD'=53), pre and post a single session of LVR. Relationships between respiratory markers and a history of respiratory tract infections (RTI) were examined. RESULTS: Participants with other NMD had lower lung volumes and Crs but similar reduction in respiratory muscle strength compared with participants with MND (VC=1.30±0.77 vs 2.12±0.75 L, p<0.001; Crs=0.0331±0.0245 vs 0.0473±0.0241 L/cmH2O, p=0.024; MIP=39.8±21.3 vs 37.8±19.5 cmH2O). More participants with other NMD reported an RTI in the previous year (53% vs 22%, p=0.01). The likelihood of having a prior RTI was associated with baseline VC (%predicted) (OR=1.03 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.06), p=0.029). Published thresholds (VC<1.1 L or PCF<270 L/min) were, however, not associated with prior RTI.A single session of LVR improved Crs (mean (95% CI) increase = 0.0038 (0.0001 to 0.0075) L/cmH2O, p=0.047) but not VC. CONCLUSION: These findings corroborate the hypothesis that ventilatory restriction in NMD is related to weakness initially with respiratory system stiffness potentiating lung volume loss in slowly progressive disease. A single session of LVR can improve Crs. A randomised controlled trial of regular LVR is needed to assess longer-term effects.

This article aims to report and discuss inventive learning dynamics, with a focus on body experience, used in the optional course Laboratório de Joalheria Contemporânea, offered at the School of Design at the State University of Minas Gerais, from 2017 to 2019. approaching the relationship between body and jewelry, thinking about the unfolding of this intertwining in the individuals who design and use them, the discipline proposed to explore the connection between being in the world and the lived world. Using Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s (2011) sense of “own body” as a reference, students were invited to experiment and create from their own bodies, exploring and interacting with collective territories. Through practical-reflective activities, the body dynamics allowed to extract motivations, reflections, for the development of a contemporary jewelry. By exploring different pedagogical formats, we seek to stimulate invention, foster the production of subjectivities, and create environments conducive to experimentation from the analysis and delivery of the body to the process and questioning of the contemporary., Este artigo tem como objetivo relatar e discutir dinâmicas de aprendizagem inventiva, com foco na experiência corporal, utilizadas na disciplina optativa Laboratório de Joalheria Contemporânea, ofertada na Escola de Design da Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais no período de 2017 a 2019. Ao abordar a relação entre corpo e joia, pensando nos desdobramentos desse entrelace nos indivíduos que projetam as peças e as usam, a disciplina propôs explorar a conexão entre ser no mundo e mundo vivido. Tendo como referência o sentido de corpo-próprio, de Maurice Merleau-Ponty (2011), os alunos foram convocados a experimentar e a criar a partir do próprio corpo, em interação com territórios coletivos. Por meio de atividades prático-reflexivas, as dinâmicas corporais permitiram extrair motivações e reflexões para o desenvolvimento de uma joia contemporânea. Ao explorar diferentes formatos pedagógicos, buscamos estimular a invenção, fomentar a produção de subjetividades e criar ambientes propícios à experimentação a partir da análise e da entrega do corpo ao processo e do questionamento do contemporâneo.

The aim of this study is to characterise the transient mechanical response and the neuromuscular activation of lower limb muscles in subjects undergoing Whole Body Vibration (WBV) at different frequencies while holding two static postures, with focus on muscles involved in shaping postural responses. Twenty-five participants underwent WBV at 15, 20, 25 and 30 Hz while in hack squat or on fore feet. Surface electromyography and soft tissue accelerations were collected from Gastrocnemius Lateralis (GL), Soleus (SOL) and Tibialis Anterior (TA) muscles. Estimated displacement at muscle bellies revealed a pattern never highlighted before that differed across frequencies and postures (p < 0.001). After stimulation starts, muscle oscillation peaks, drops and further stabilises, suggesting the occurrence of a neuromuscular activation to reduce the vibration-induced oscillation. The oscillation attenuation at the SOL muscle correlated with its increased activation (rho = 0.29, p < 0.001). Furthermore, only specific WBV settings led to a significant increase in muscle contraction: WBV-induced activation of SOL and GL was maximal in fore-feet (p < 0.05) and in response to higher frequencies (30 Hz vs 15 Hz, p < 0.001). The analysis of the mechanical dynamics of lower leg muscles highlights a resonant response to WBVs, that for the SOL correlates to the increased muscle activation. Despite differing across frequencies and postures, this resonant behaviour seems to discourage the use of dynamic exercises on vibrating platforms. As for the most efficient WBV combination, calf muscle response to WBVs is maximised if those muscles are already pre-contracted and the stimulation frequencies are in the 25-30 Hz range.