bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modeling of Small DC Magnetic Field Response in Trilayer Magnetoelectric Laminate Composites
Authors: Zadov B. , Elmalem A. , Paperno E. , Gluzman I. , Nudelman A. , Levron D. , Grosz A. , Lineykin S. , Liverts E.
Published: April 2012

We consider a magnetoelectric laminate which comprises two magnetostrictive (Ni) layers and an in-between piezoelectric layer (PZT). Using the finite-element method-based software COMSOL, we numerically calculate the induced voltage between the two faces of the PZT piezoelectric layer, by an external homogeneous small-signal magnetic field threading the three-layer Ni/PZT/Ni laminate structure. A bias magnetic field is simulated as being produced by two permanent magnets, as it is done in real experimental setups. For approaching the real materials’ properties, a measured magnetization curve of the Ni plate is used in the computations. The reported results take into account the finite-size effects of the structure, such as the fringing electric field effect and the demagnetization, as well as the effect of the finite conductivity of the Ni layers on the output voltage. The results of the simulations are compared with the experimental data and with a widely known analytical result for the induced magnetoelectric voltage.
An Optimal Classification Method for Biological and Medical Data
Authors: Huang Yao-Huei , Ko Yu-Chien , Lu Hao-Chun
Published: April 2012

This paper proposes a union of hyperspheres by the mixed‐integer nonlinear program to classify biological and medical datasets. A classifying program with nonlinear terms uses piecewise linearization technique to obtain a global optimum. The numerical examples illustrate that the proposed method can obtain the global optimum more effectively than current methods.
Stability of the n‐Dimensional Mixed‐Type Additive and Quadratic Functional Equation in Non‐Archimedean Normed Spaces
Authors: Lee Yang-Hi , Jung Soon-Mo , Rassias Themistocles M.
Published: April 2012

We will prove the stability of the functional equation ∑1≤i,j≤n,i≠jf(xi − xj) = in non‐Archimedean normed spaces.
Processing and Characterization of a Polypropylene Biocomposite Compounded with Maleated and Acrylated Compatibilizers
Authors: Nerenz Brent A. , Fuqua Michael A. , Chevali Venkata S. , Ulven Chad A.
Published: April 2012

Polypropylene (PP) biocomposites containing 20 wt.% sunflower hull as a particulate reinforcement were compounded and tested under tensile, flexural, and impact loadings. The incorporation of the sunflower hull without compatibilizer resulted in diminished tensile strength and impact energy absorption but increased flexural strength and both tensile modulus and flexural modulus when compared to neat PP. Formulations containing three different chemical compatibilizers were tested to determine their effectiveness in improving the interfacial adhesion between the fiber surface and PP chains. Maleic anhydride grafted with PP (MA-g-PP) achieved greater improvements in tensile strength but reduced impact strength in comparison to an acrylic-acid-grafted PP compatibilizer (AA-g-PP). The molecular weight, graft level, and the ability to affect strength, modulus, and absorbed impact energy were also investigated for the compatibilizers. A MA-g-PP having high molecular weight and low graft level was most effective in improving the investigated properties of a sunflower hull-reinforced polypropylene biocomposite.
Potential Role of Drebrin A, an F-Actin Binding Protein, in Reactive Synaptic Plasticity after Pilocarpine-Induced Seizures: Functional Implications in Epilepsy
Authors: Ferhat Lotfi
Published: April 2012

Several neurological disorders characterized by cognitive deficits, including Alzheimer's disease, down syndrome, and epilepsy exhibit abnormal spine density and/or morphology. Actin-based cytoskeleton network dynamics is critical for the regulation of spine morphology and synaptic function. In this paper, I consider the functions of drebrin A in cell shaping, spine plasticity, and synaptic function. Developmentally regulated brain protein (drebrin A) is one of the most abundant neuron-specific binding proteins of F-actin and its expression is increased in parallel with synapse formation. Drebrin A is particularly concentrated in dendritic spines receiving excitatory inputs. Our recent findings point to a critical role of DA in dendritic spine structural integrity and stabilization, likely via regulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics, and glutamatergic synaptic function that underlies the development of spontaneous recurrent seizures in pilocarpine-treated animals. Further research into this area may provide useful insights into the pathology of status epilepticus and epileptogenic mechanisms and ultimately may provide the basis for future treatment options.
Evaluations of the Effects of Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields on Growth and Antibiotic Susceptibility ofEscherichia coliandPseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Segatore B. , Setacci D. , Bennato F. , Cardigno R. , Amicosante G. , Iorio R.
Published: April 2012

We aimed to investigate the effects of exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (2 mT; 50 Hz) on the growth rate and antibiotic sensitivity ofE. coliATCC 25922 andP. aeruginosaATCC 27853. The electromagnetic field treatment significantly influenced the growth rate of both strains when incubated in the presence of subinhibitory concentrations of kanamycin (1 μg/mL) and amikacin (0.5 μg/mL), respectively. In particular, at 4, 6, and 8 h of incubation the number of cells was significantly decreased in bacteria exposed to electromagnetic field when compared with the control. Additionally, at 24 h of incubation, the percentage of cells increased (P. aeruginosa∼42%;E. coli∼5%) in treated groups with respect to control groups suggesting a progressive adaptive response. By contrast, no remarkable differences were found in the antibiotic susceptibility and on the growth rate of both bacteria comparing exposed groups with control groups.
Directive Microstrip Antennas for Specific Below −2.45 GHz Applications
Authors: Ávila-Navarro E. , Reig C.
Published: April 2012

Microstrip printed antennas are the preferred choice in high data ratio modern communications, mainly at 2.45 GHz and above. In this paper, we propose two different approaches of microstrip printed antennas for lower frequency usage. In this sense, we present a printed microstrip Yagi-like antenna at 868 MHz and a printed dipole log-periodic antenna for wider band applications. We focus on the use of low-cost substrates, with a good performance at these frequencies, and giving antennas with useful sizes for such applications. For the analysis, we make use of standard experimental characterization combined with full-wave 3D-FDTD specifically developed simulations. In this way, the S11, radiation patterns, and gain/efficiency figures are given.
Electromagnetic Low‐Frequency Dipolar Excitation of Two Metal Spheres in a Conductive Medium
Authors: Vafeas Panayiotis , Papadopoulos Polycarpos K. , Lesselier Dominique
Published: April 2012

This work concerns the low‐frequency interaction of a time‐harmonic magnetic dipole, arbitrarily orientated in the three‐dimensional space, with two perfectly conducting spheres embedded within a homogeneous conductive medium. In such physical applications, where two bodies are placed near one another, the 3D bispherical geometry fits perfectly. Considering two solid impenetrable (metallic) obstacles, excited by a magnetic dipole, the scattering boundary value problem is attacked via rigorous low‐frequency expansions in terms of integral powers (ik)n, where n ≥ 0, k being the complex wave number of the exterior medium, for the incident, scattered, and total non‐axisymmetric electric and magnetic fields. We deal with the static (n = 0) and the dynamic (n = 1, 2, 3) terms of the fields, while for n ≥ 4 the contribution has minor significance. The calculation of the exact solutions, satisfying Laplace’s and Poisson’s differential equations, leads to infinite linear systems, solved approximately within any order of accuracy through a cut‐off procedure and via numerical implementation. Thus, we obtain the electromagnetic fields in an analytically compact fashion as infinite series expansions of bispherical eigenfunctions. A simulation is developed in order to investigate the effect of the radii ratio, the relative position of the spheres, and the position of the dipole on the real and imaginary parts of the calculated scattered magnetic field.
Evaluation of the Current Perspectives on Letters of Recommendation for Residency Applicants among Plastic Surgery Program Directors
Authors: Shultz K. , Mahabir R. C. , Song J. , Verheyden C. N.
Published: April 2012

Background. The goals of this project were to evaluate the current perspective on letters of recommendation and to assess the need for, and acceptance of, a more standardized letter of recommendation (LOR). Methods. An eight-question survey was distributed to plastic surgery program directors. A five-point Likert scale was selected as a means of quantifying the participants’ responses to the survey. Results. Twenty-eight of 71 program directors (39.4%) completed the survey. The majority of participants felt that current LOR did not offer a realistic way to compare applicants (mean±SD, 2.9±0.8). While most agreed that increasing the objectivity of LOR would be valuable in comparing applicants (mean±SD, 4.1±0.9), the overall average response to whether a more standardized letter format would improve the resident selection process remained only slightly better than neutral (mean±SD, 3.5±1.2). Most of the chairmen supported the notion that familiarity with the author of the LOR strengthened the recommendation (mean±SD, 4.5±0.6). Conclusion. The majority of plastic surgery program directors would like more objectivity in comparing applicants but are ambivalent about a standardized letter of recommendation.
Stem Cell Interaction with Somatic Niche May Hold the Key to Fertility Restoration in Cancer Patients
Authors: Bhartiya Deepa , Sriraman Kalpana , Parte Seema
Published: April 2012

The spontaneous return of fertility after bone marrow transplantation or heterotopic grafting of cryopreserved ovarian cortical tissue has surprised many, and a possible link with stem cells has been proposed. We have reviewed the available literature on ovarian stem cells in adult mammalian ovaries and presented a model that proposes that the ovary harbors two distinct populations of stem cells, namely, pluripotent, quiescent, very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs), and slightly larger “progenitor” ovarian germ stem cells (OGSCs). Besides compromising the somatic niche, oncotherapy destroys OGSCs since, like tumor cells, they are actively dividing; however VSELs persist since they are relatively quiescent. BMT or transplanted ovarian cortical tissue may help rejuvenate the ovarian niche, which possibly supports differentiation of persisting VSELs resulting in neo-oogenesis and follicular development responsible for successful pregnancies. Postnatal oogenesis in mammalian ovary from VSELs may be exploited for fertility restoration in cancer survivors including those who were earlier deprived of gametes and/or gonadal tissue cryopreservation options.
Combined QM/MM Study of Thyroid and Steroid Hormone Analogue Interactions with Integrin
Authors: Freindorf Marek , Furlani Thomas R. , Kong Jing , Cody Vivian , Davis Faith B. , Davis Paul J.
Published: April 2012

Recent biochemical studies have identified a cell surface receptor for thyroid and steroid hormones that bind near the arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) recognition site on the heterodimeric αvβ3 integrin. To further characterize the intermolecular interactions for a series of hormone analogues, combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods were used to calculate their interaction energies. All calculations were performed in the presence of either calcium (Ca2+) or magnesium (Mg2+) ions. These data reveal that 3,5′-triiodothyronine (T3) and 3,5,3′,5′-tetraiodothyroacetic acid (T4ac) bound in two different modes, occupying two alternate sites, one of which is along the Arg side chain of the RGD cyclic peptide site. These orientations differ from those of the other ligands whose alternate binding modes placed the ligands deeper within the RGD binding pocket. These observations are consistent with biological data that indicate the presence of two discrete binding sites that control distinct downstream signal transduction pathways for T3.
Food color preferences against a dark, textured background vary in relation to sex and age in house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Authors: Behbahaninia Hirbod , McGraw Kevin J. , Butler Michael W. , Toomey Matthew B.
Published: April 2012

Many animals consume colorful foods, because bright coloration either enhances conspicuousness of food items or signals nutritional rewards. A comparatively under-studied aspect of food color preferences is the role of the background environment in shaping food detectability and choices. Previous work with house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus), for example, showed that individuals preferred red and green food items and avoided yellow ones. However, this study of desert, ground-feeding birds was done with seeds presented against an artificial white background that is unlikely to reflect natural conditions. Therefore, we performed a similar experiment, but quantified selection of colorful foods using a different visual environment that better mimicked natural conditions. We mixed dark, inedible distractor pellets (i.e., analogous to natural desert sand and rocks) with sunflower kernels that were colored red, green, yellow, or orange to test for differences in foraging patterns by sex, age, and expression of male plumage coloration in non-molting house finches. This food presentation resulted in yellow seeds having a significantly greater chromatic, but not achromatic, contrast with the background than red or green seeds. Under these conditions, all birds consumed yellow, and to a lesser extent red, seeds most often, and both adult males and females had a strong preference for yellow kernels; adult males also tended to prefer green kernels, but females tended not to prefer green kernels. Juveniles showed no significant preferences for any seed color, and adult male plumage coloration was not related to seed color preference. Therefore, in contrast to studies using different foraging environments, house finches tended to prefer yellow seeds, supporting models that suggest that visual background and contrast may be more important than color per se in visually mediated foraging decisions of birds. Moreover, the fact that adult males and females differed in food color preference has not been reported previously in songbirds.
Differential attack by a cichlid fish on resident and non-resident fish of another cichlid species
Authors: Awata Satoshi , Kohda Masanori , Ochi Haruki
Published: April 2012

An algivorous cichlid,
Variabilichromis moorii(
Vm), defends permanent territories in Lake Tanganyika, Africa. A zoobenthivorous cichlid,
Neolamprologus mustax(
Nm), spends 60% of daylight hours foraging in
Vmterritories, from which other zoobenthivorous fishes are chased out and consequently which are much richer in prey animals than areas outside of
Vmterritories. We conducted a field experiment to examine whether
Nmresidents and non-residents received different degrees of attacks from
Vm.
Nmfish were caught in their territories, released at a point distant from these territories, and followed to observe interactions with
Vmfish. The frequency of attacks received by the displaced
Nmfish was greater than attacks received by
Nmresidents, indicating that
Nmresidents had easier access to
Vmterritories than non-residents did. A possible mechanism for this is reduced aggression of
Vmtowards
Nmresidents, as a result of the ‘dear enemy’ effect that has been reported in territorial contests between rivals. An alternative mechanism is that tolerance towards
Nmdiffers among
Vmfish and
Nmresidents selectively visit more tolerant
Vmfish due to previous experience while non-residents randomly approach both tolerant and hostile
Vmfish. The ability of
Vmto discriminate between
Nmresidents and non-residents is essential to the former mechanism but not to the latter. To more specifically examine which mechanism works in the
Vm–
Nmcommensal system, we will need to follow individually identified
Vmfish interacting with
Nmresidents and non-residents.
When rank counts — dominant dogs learn better from a human demonstrator in a two-action test
Authors: Pongrácz Péter , Bánhegyi Petra , Miklósi Ádám
Published: April 2012

Dogs can learn effectively from a human demonstrator in detour tests as well as in different kinds of manipulative tasks. In this experiment we used a novel two-action device from which the target object (a ball) was obtained by tilting a tube either by pulling a rope attached to the end of the tube, or by directly pushing the end of the tube. Tube tilting was relatively easy for naïve companion dogs; therefore, the effect of the human demonstration aimed to alter or increase the dogs’ initial preference for tube pushing (according to the behaviour shown by naïve dogs in the absence of a human demonstrator). Our results have shown that subjects preferred the demonstrated action in the two-action test. After having witnessed the tube pushing demonstration, dogs performed significantly more tube pushing than the dogs in the rope pulling demonstration group. In contrast, dogs that observed the rope pulling demonstration, performed significantly more similar actions than the subjects of the other demonstration group. The ratio of rope pulling was significantly higher in the rope pulling demonstration group, than in the No Demo (control) group. The overall success of solving the task was also influenced by the social rank of the dog among its conspecific companions at home. Independently of the type of demonstration, dominant dogs solved the task significantly more often than the subordinate dogs did. There was no such difference in the No Demo group.

This experiment has shown that a simple two-action device that does not require excessive pre-training, can be suitable for testing social learning in dogs. However, effects of social rank should be taken into account when social learning in dogs is being studied and tested, because dominant and subordinate dogs perform differently after observing a demonstrator.
After “The Court Rose”: The Rise of Diplomatic Means to Implement the Pronouncements of the International Court of Justice
Authors: de Chazournes Laurence Boisson , Angelini Antonella
Published: April 2012

Abstract

What happens after the International Court of Justice releases a pronouncement? This article attempts to answer this question by reviewing the diplomatic initiatives taken by States as well as by other members of the Court’s ‘audience’, such as international organizations. Both judgments and advisory opinions are covered. This allows comparing the relational dynamics afferent to each type of the Court’s jurisdiction. Endorsing a broad definition of ‘follow-up’, the analysis aims at enhancing awareness as to the panoply of diplomatic initiatives that can be taken following a pronouncement of the Court as well as to the complexity of the implementation process at large.
Historia and Materia: The Philosophical Implications of Francis Bacon's Natural History
Authors: Giglioni Guido
Published: April 2012

This article examines the philosophical implications underlying Bacon's views on historical knowledge, paying special attention to that variety of historical knowledge described by Bacon as “natural.” More specifically, this article explores the interplay of history (historia) and fable (fabula). In the sphere of thought, fabula is the equivalent to materia in nature. Both are described by Bacon as being “versatile” and “pliant.” In Bacon's system of knowledge, philosophy, as the domain of reason, starts from historiae and fabulae, once memory and the imagination have fulfilled their cognitive tasks. This means that, for Bacon, there is no such thing as a pure use of reason. He advocates a kind of reason that, precisely because it is involved with matter's inner motions (its “appetites,” in Bacon's characteristic language), is constitutively 'impure'. The article shows how the terms historia and fabula cover key semantic areas in defining Bacon's philosophy: historia may mean “history” as well as “story,” fabula “myth” as well “story.” In both cases, we can see significant oscillations from a stronger meaning (close to those of matter and nature) to a weaker one (connected to wit and imagination), as if the power of nature decreases moving from histories and myths to stories. On the other hand, there are cases in which Bacon seems to stick to a diachronic view of the meaning of fables and histories, such that the transition from myths to history, especially natural history, is described as a collective effort towards reality and enlightenment.
Dedes in Dersim: Narratives of Violence and Persecution
Authors: Törne Annika
Published: April 2012

The article is the result of an empirical research project that integrates historical, sociological and socio-psychological perspectives. The study is focused on the institution of religious leaders—dedes, the experts of oral tradition in Dersim, Eastern Anatolia. It attempts to trace back political obliteration strategies applied to these main agents of memory, by investigating their meaning and role for the maintenance of cultural identity. It analyses autobiographical memories of violence and persecution in narratives of dedes, especially in regard to their coping patterns and perceptions of history.
Buhaira, the Lake of Demons
Authors: Ebrahimi Ma'soumeh
Published: April 2012

The paper is a brief presentation of the Buhaira (lit. "a small lake"), a 17th century Persian treatise, containing inter alia ample information on various demons, jinns, monsters and imaginary beings (their forms, habits, dwellings and functions), culled from Near Eastern (mostly Islamic) folk traditions and written sources. It is a typical, but less-known, sample of the Persian wondergraphical literature compiled by Mir Mahmūd Fozūnī Astar-ābādī, known as Mollā Fozūnī.
Moral Responsibility and Consciousness
Authors: King Matt , Carruthers Peter
Published: April 2012

Our goal in this paper is to raise a general question about the relationship between theories of responsibility, on the one hand, and a commitment to conscious attitudes, on the other. The evidence from cognitive science suggests that there are no conscious mental states playing the right causal roles to count as decisions, judgments, or evaluations. We propose that all theorists should determine whether their theories (or the examples that motivate them) could survive the discovery that there are no conscious states of these kinds. Since we take it that theories of moral responsibility should, in general, operate with the weakest possible empirical assumptions about the natural world, such theories should be framed in such a way as to be free of any commitment to the existence of conscious attitudes, given the very real possibility that there might turn out not to be any.
The Genetic Account of Moral Status: A Defense
Authors: Liao S. Matthew
Published: April 2012

Christopher Grau argues that the genetic basis for moral agency account of rightholding is problematic because it fails to grant all human beings the moral status of rightholding; it grants the status of rightholding to entities that do not intuitively deserve such status; and it assumes that the genetic basis for moral agency has intrinsic/final value, but the genetic basis for moral agency only has instrumental value. Grau also argues that those who are inclined to hold that all human beings are rightholders should reconsider speciesism. In this paper, I argue that Grau’s objections do not undermine the genetic basis for moral agency account of rightholding, and I also offer criticisms of Grau’s defense of speciesism.
A Critique of Scanlon on Double Effect
Authors: Stuchlik Joshua
Published: April 2012

According to the Principle of Double Effect (PDE), there are conditions under which it would be morally justifiable to cause some harm as a foreseen side-effect of one’s action even though it would not be justifiable to form and execute the intention of causing the same harm. If we take the kind of justification in question to be that of moral permissibility, this principle correctly maps common intuitions about when it would be permissible to act in certain ways. T.M. Scanlon argues that the PDE so interpreted is problematic, as it returns implausible verdicts in other scenarios. Scanlon is unable to account for the common pattern of moral reasoning that we employ in the relevant cases. I argue that we can account for this pattern while avoiding implausible verdicts if we interpret the PDE as a principle about when it is licit to inflict harm rather than when it is permissible to do so, and if we connect the concept of the licit with that of the permissible in the right way.
THE WAYS OF METAPHOR IN NEUROSCIENCE, OR BEING ON THE RIGHT OR WRONG TRACK
Authors: PARETI GERMANA , DE PALMA ARMANDO
Published: April 2012

title ABSTRACT /title In the 19th century progress in communication systems induced Hermann von Helmholtz and Emil du Bois-Reymond to compare nervous fibres to telegraph wires aiming to familiarize the neural net already independently described. Owing to neurophysiological developments, this metaphorical way of speaking collapsed. In the 1820's Edgar Adrian chose the Morse code, shifting the paradigm from a mechanical to a semantical model: the fibre served to communicate information by means of a code based on frequencies of impulses. Later the term 'neural code' became simply a metaphor, thus helping to fill a cognitive gap: this move, however, could lead to snags neurophysiologists might encounter adopting it.
NATUR ALS MORALISCHE ANSTALT DIE METEOROLOGIA PHILOSOPHICO-POLITICA DES FRANZ REINZER, S.J., EIN NATURWISSENSCHAFTLICHES EMBLEMBUCH AUS DEM JAHRE 1698
Authors: MEINEL CHRISTOPH
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title La meteorologia tradizionale, impigliata nella cosmologia aristotelica pi a lungo di altre parti della scienza naturale, una scienza sparita e quasi dimenticata dalla ricerca storica. Colla sua sintesi straordinaria di trattato di meteorologia, libello d'emblema, e specchio di principe, la Meteorologia di Reinzer ci d occasione di localizzare pi precisamente la meteorologia premoderna nel suo contesto intellettuale ed istituzionale, e di mostrare le sue relazioni col pensiero scientifico, colle tradizioni della natura moralizzata o della teologia naturale, e col programma politico-didattico dei Gesuiti alla fine del Seicento.
GRECO-EGYPTIAN ZODIACS FROM A GALLO-ROMANO SITE
Authors: TURNER A. J.
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title Nella prima parte del saggio vengono descritti due zodiaci d'avorio scoperti a Grand (Vosges) e si trascrivono ed interpretano le iscrizioni. Nelle tavole vi un elenco dei Decani che aggiunge diversi nomi nuovi a quelli gi esistenti. Nella seconda parte gli zodiaci vengono messi in relazione al contesto contemporaneo della medicina ermetica ed astrologica, si avanzano ipotesi sulle loro origini e fini e si discutono infine le implicazioni dell'elenco dei Decani per la trasmissione dei Decani stessi.
PER UN ARCHIVIO DELLA CORRISPONDENZA DEGLI SCIENZIATI ITALIANI
Authors: SCHETTINO EDVIGE
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title L'articolo si serve di materiali inediti per ricostruire alcuni episodi della vita di Macedonio Melloni e per sciogliere l'enigma dei suoi anni napoletani. Nell'Appendice si presenta un elenco delle lettere finora rintracciate, dirette al Melloni o da questi indirizzate ad altri.
LA QUADRATURA DELLA VELOCITÀ
Authors: NARDI ANTONIO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
Galileo's theory of falling bodies assumes that the speed increases as the time. The geometrical representation of such a proportional increment is a sequence of similar triangles. The areas of these triangles are connected with the values of distances traversed. Now, Galileo did he seize and accept that an area could ever represent a distance traversed? The author of this paper tries to show why it is reasonable to conclude, that he did, even if with some comprehensible intellectual trouble related to infinitesimal considerations. In this respect it is important to consider Mersenne's interpretation of galilean Dialogo and Discorsi.
LA QUAESTIO DI BARROW: UN'APORIA DELLA VISIONE TRAMITE LENTI
Authors: PARIGI SILVIA
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
This article analyses some XVIIth-XVIIIth century tentative solutions of a problem of the theory of vision, posed to the attention of the scholars by Isaac Barrow in 1669: that one consisting in the noneffect of distance, and in the confused appearance taking place in the case of an object seen through a biconvex lens, or a concave mirror. Berkeley's solution, exposed in his Essay towards a new theory of vision (1709), seems particularly important. At the end of the article we briefly refer some present neuropsychological developments of Barrow's problem and, in general, of the problem of visual perception.
LES CADRANS SOLAIRES RECTILIGNES
Authors: ARCHINARD MARGARIDA
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Gli orologi solari rettilinei, sia quelli per fasce di latitudini particolari che quelli universali, derivano da una concezione assai complessa, nonostante oggi sia abbastanza semplice verificarne la validità astronomica grazie alla trigonometria sferica.Eppure, il processo intellettuale che, all'epoca, portò alla loro creazione fu certamente di natura geometrica.Sistematicamente trascurato negli antichi trattati di gnomonica, tale processo viene qui ricostituito, partendo dal menaeus di Vitruvio, che sta alla base della struttura geometrica di tali meridiane.Abbiamo altresì esaminato tutte le fonti storiche, attualmente conosciute, per cercare di scoprire l'origine degli orologi solari rettilinei e di tracciarne la storia.
ISTITUZIONI E FONTI
Authors: LÓPEZ PIÑERO JOSÉ M.
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Si dà notizia della struttura e dell'attività scientifica e didattica del Gruppo di Storia della Scienza presso l'Instituto de Estudios Documentales e Historicos sobre la Ciencia dell'Università di Valencia, Spagna.
APPENDICE II
Authors: PEANO GIUSEPPE , MACFARLANE ALEXANDER
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Presentiamo ventisei scritti, costituiti da lettere e cartoline postali, inviati da Giuseppe Peano a Ernesto Cesàro; e, inoltre, due lettere: una di Alexander Macfarlane e un'altra di Alexander Ziwet. Queste ultime, indirizzate a Peano, contengono le informazioni chieste da Cesàro, su cattedre e costo della vita, per un suo eventuale trasferimento negli Stati Uniti d'America.Gli scritti di Peano trattano di questioni relative al Calcolo infinitesimale, al Calcolo baricentrico, alla «Rivista di Matematica» e al «Formulario» editi da Peano. In tali scritti vengono pure toccati alcuni argomenti didattici concernenti l'insegnamento di Calcolo infinitesimale ed è contenuto un quesito di Matematica attuariale. Tra gli aspetti confidenziali, segnaliamo le offerte, rivolte da Peano a Cesàro, di scambiarsi le rispettive cattedre di Torino e Napoli e di assumere la direzione della «Rivista».
A CATALOGUE OF ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN AND GERMAN SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS MAKERS FROM 1750 TO 1900
Authors: BERTINI SILVIA
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Menmak è un repertorio che raccoglie nomi e notizie su più di 2.900 costruttori di strumenti scientifici, attivi tra il 1750 ed il 1900 in Italia, Francia, Germania e Gran Bretagna.Il lavoro vuole essere soprattutto uno strumento di consultazione, un vademecum, per gli studiosi di questo settore.
ON A SINGULAR CHINESE PORTABLE SUNDIAL *
Authors: BERTUCCIOLI GIULIANO , PROVERBIO EDOARDO
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title La produzione di orologi solari portatili orizzontali e verticali risale in Cina presumibilmente al XVII-XVIII secolo a seguito della diffusione degli orologi di produzione europea. Viene descritto un singolare orologio solare portatile cinese conservato al Museo Siamese di Cagliari. L'orologio presenta caratteristiche del tutto particolari e si presume che sia stato costruito ed utilizzato per fini divinatori sulla base di alcune antiche dottrine astrologiche e geomantiche cinesi.
CARTEGGIO DI DOMENICO COTUGNO
Authors: BORRELLI ANTONIO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
This short essay should be - event though not exaustive at all a view on the situation of the Cotugno papers. Domenico Cotugno (1736-1822) was one of the most eminent scientists among them who worked in Naples in the 18th and in the early 19th century. This essay is particularly centred upon the Cotugno papers founded in National Library of Naples (Carteggio Cotugno, mss. S. Martino, 394-401). Among these papers there are many letters written by scientists and learned people, from Italy and from abroad. This writing finally gives some indications about Cotugno's letters founded in other libraries, and a list of edited papers.
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE AND THE PROJECTIVE GEOMETRY OF GIRARD DESARGUES
Authors: FIELD J. V
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title L'articolo segue in dettaglio i legami fra la geometria proiettiva di Desargues (1639) e il suo lavoro sulla prospettiva lineare (1636). Mette cos in evidenza come la tradizione pratica riguardante la perspectiva abbia contribuito ad uno sviluppo importante in matematica pura, e come esso presenti alcune analogie con cambiamenti contemporanei nella filosofia naturale.
THE HERITAGE OF DUGALD STEWART: OXFORD PHILOSOPHY AND THE METHOD OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
Authors: CORSI PIETRO
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title L'articolo esamina il dibattito sulla metodologia dell'economia politica che anim i circoli intellettuali anglicani degli inizi del diciannovesimo secolo. Ad Oxford, l'approccio all'economia politica era fortemente condizionato dalla riflessione critica sulle proposte epistemologiche avanzate da Dugald Stewart nel suo Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind. I pensatori dell'Oriel College che presero parte al dibattito erano preoccupati dal processo di rapida trasformazione della societ inglese, e dall'emergere di fonti di autorit culturale indipendenti dalla, se non apertamente contrarie alla Chiesa Anglicana ed alle Universit. La discussione della metodologia dell'economia politica investiva dunque diversi aspetti della vita sociale ed intellettuale del tempo. Il dibattito oxoniense ruotava intorno al parallelismo che molti credevano di notare tra il metodo della meccanica razionale e quello dell'economia politica. Pur avallando le pretese di scientificit avanzate dagli economisti classici, i docenti di Oxford negavano che i risultati ottenuti in economia politica fossero immediatamente applicabili alla realt sociale: al pari dei cultori della meccanica razionale, l'economista doveva tenere presenti le frizioni generate dalle esistenti strutture politiche e sociali. A Cambridge, William Whewell e Richard Jones valutavano con preoccupazione la difesa dell'economia politica elaborata dai colleghi di Oxford. A loro avviso, gli studiosi dell'Oriel College concedevano troppo all'economia politica ricardiana. Alla fine degli anni venti del diciannovesimo secolo, gli intellettuali cantabrigensi sottoposero a critica severa il preteso parallelismo tra meccanica razionale ed economia politica che i seguaci di Ricardo e i ?CTRLerr type="1" mess="Doute Cars isoles avec recollage" ?docenti di Oxford ponevano al centro delle loro riflessioni. L'economia politica, si diceva a Cambridge, era una disciplina troppo giovane per poter assumere procedure assiomatico-deduttive. Laboriose ricerche erano ancora da intraprendere, prima che si potesse procedere alla costruzione di un sistema di economia teorica. Il presente saggio sottolinea la centralit di Dugald Stewart nel dibattito sulla metodologia dell'economia politica dei primi decenni del diciannovesimo secolo. Si sostiene inoltre che la lettura critica delle tesi epistemologiche avanzate dallo Stewart rappresent un momento cruciale nella elaborazione della metodologia dell'economia politica proposta da John Stuart Mill. I risultati di questo studio impongono una revisione delle interpretazioni classiche dei dibattiti filosofici e culturali in genere del primo Ottocento inglese.
THE 's GRAVESANDE COLLECTION IN THE MUSEUM BOERHAAVE, LEIDEN
Authors: DE CLERCQ PETER
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Una delle collezioni chiave del Museo Boerhaave di Leida è costituita dagli strumenti filosofici originali disegnati da W. J. 's Gravesande per ricerche sperimentali e dimostrazioni didattiche, costruiti in gran parte da J. van Musschenbroek. Nel 1951 ne fu stampato il catalogo, il quale costituisce un primo resoconto e lascia aperti molti dubbi sulla genesi e sulle vicende della collezione, assorbita nel Gabinetto fisico di Leida dopo la morte di 's Gravesande nel 1742.Attingendo in parte da manoscritti rintracciati negli archivi dell'Università di Leida, l'autore intende elaborare un nuovo catalogo di questa collezione. Il presente articolo costituisce una prima informazione sul « lavoro in corso » ed è stato letto al VI Simposio sugli strumenti scientifici tenuto a Firenze dal 7 al 10 ottobre 1986.
THEODICY AND NATURE'S ECONOMY *
Authors: LA VERGATA ANTONELLO
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
L'idea dell'abbondanza, della varietà e della necessaria imperfezione delle cose create svolse fin dalla Rivoluzione scientifica del '600 un ruolo importante nelle rivendicazioni del disegno divino, nelle fisicoteologie e nelle teodicee. C'è una stretta connessione fra le riflessioni di filosofi e teologi naturali sul problema del male e le riflessioni dei naturalisti sull'economia della natura e sull'equilibrio fra le specie attraverso la reciproca distruzione. La concezione dell'economia della natura è piuttosto una concezione dell'economia morale della natura. Nella seconda parte dell'articolo viene considerata l'influenza esercitata da queste idee sui primi studiosi di demografia quantitativa e, in particolare, sulla teologia naturale che informa la prima edizione del saggio di Malthus sulla popolazione.
PER UN ARCHIVIO DELLA CORRISPONDENZA DEGLI SCIENZIATI ITALIANI
Authors: BERETTA MARCO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
Luigi Valentino Brugnatelli (1761-1818), was the first Italian chemist who tried to organize systematically the diffusion of chemical ideas in Italy. And even if his works were theorethically weak, his function as editor and journalist gave a strong impulse to the birth of this science.Therefore an extend study of his unpublished letters and manuscripts should lead to a better comprehension of the Italian scientific organisation after the chemical revolution.
IL IX LIBRO DEL DE ARCHITECTURA DI VITRUVIO NEI COMMENTARI DI DANIELE BARBARO (1556-1567)1
Authors: LOSITO MARIA
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
Book IX of Vitruvius's DE ARCHITECTURA is devoted to the Gnomonica, which is the art of making solar clocks, or the second part of architecture, and to the basic construction of the Analemma, an orthographic projection of different circles of the sky - blue sphere.The present paper explains the changes to this Book between the 1556 edition and the 1567 editions of Daniele Barbaro's Commentationes.Indeed, while in 1556 Barbaro reconstructs the Vitruvian Analemma, that he had studied in the De horologiis describendis libellus, in 1567 he will more clearly define the Vitruvian Analemma by considering the Ptolemaic Analemma, after the 1562 study in Federico Commandino's Claudii Ptolemaei liber de Analemmate. Barbaro will also apply this Analemma in detail to the construction of the sun-dial, which was done neither by Vitruvius nor by Ptolemy, but in Commandino's Liber de Horologiorum descriptione.The relevance of the Analemma to the theory of planar projections of meridians is pointed out here. Indeed, even if the work of Barbaro seems traditional from the point of view of an astronomer, its implications for projective geometry are of great importance.
ISTITUZIONI E FONTI
Authors: MAZZOLINI RENATO G.
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Il testo riproduce un rapporto della Commissione di bibliografia della International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science presentato dal dott. F. W. P. Dougherty e relativo a progetti canadesi di ricerca in corso durante il 1987-1988. Esso concerne esclusivamente progetti aventi per oggetto edizioni critiche, traduzioni, edizioni di epistolari, bibliografie e cataloghi di manoscritti o di letteratura scientifica del passato, tutti di interesse per la storia della scienza, della tecnologia e della medicina.
GLI SCIENZIATI ITALIANI E LA RIVOLUZIONE CHIMICA *
Authors: BERETTA MARCO
Published: April 2012

title SUMMARY /title Italian chemistry in the second half of eighteenth century was strongly characterized by ambivalence. On the one hand there were the experimental and technical contributions by Landriani, Fontana, Volta, Spallanzani, Giobert, and many others, who immediately contributed original results to the debate on gases which was going on between English and French chemists. On the other hand there was a lack of interest from the same scientists for the theoretical and methodological issues of the controversy between Lavoisier and Priestley. It was this lack of interest, due to their opposition to the abstract and philosophical aspects of chemistry, that cut off the italian chemists from the theoretical debate.
G. B. AMICI'S TELESCOPES FOR BRERA OBSERVATORY
Authors: TAGLIAFERRI G. , MANDRINO A. , TUCCI P.
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title Da ricerche in archivi a Milano e a ?CTRLerr type="1" mess="Doute Cars isoles avec recollage" ?Modena risulta che G. B. Amici forn due telescopi all'Osservatorio astronomico di Brera, uno nella primavera e l'altro nell'autunno del 1811. Specialmente interessante questo secondo telescopio, per via delle sue grandi dimensioni: 17 piedi (parigini) di distanza focale e 11 pollici di apertura. Tuttavia proprio le dimensioni impedirono la piena utilizzazione delle sue capacit, essendo negati all'Osservatorio milanese i finanziamenti necessari per la sua collocazione e per una montatura stabile e versatile. Nel 1839 il telescopio fu modificato da Amici, che ne ridusse la lunghezza a 12 piedi, ma dovettero trascorrere ancora quattro anni prima che esso fosse collocato in una apposita torretta. Tuttavia l'equipaggiamento ausiliario rimase insoddisfacente, e il telescopio non fu mai adeguatamente sfruttato.
L'ORIGINE DELLE COLLEZIONI SCIENTIFICHE DEL MUSEO ASTRONOMICO E COPERNICANO IN ROMA ALLA FINE DEL XIX SECOLO
Authors: CALISI MARINELLA
Published: April 2012

title SUMMARY /title In the years following 1820, when the town became part of the Kingdom of Italy, Rome was seeking to forge its new identity. The scientific culture of the town is a little known feature of this process, and yet it offers important insights into the economic planning and the cultural policy of those years. These features are also at the basis of today's roman scientific museums. In 1873, on the occasion of the celebration of the fourth centenary of Copernicus' birth, it was proposed to establish a Museo Astronomico e Copernicano. The original proposal for a museum devoted to collecting documents and memorabilia of Copernicus' italian period, soon became the project for a more ambitious Museum.
PER UN ARCHIVIO DELLA CORRISPONDENZA DEGLI SCIENZIATI ITALIANI
Authors: DRAKE STILLMAN
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title Esistono negli Stati Uniti e in Canada cinque lettere autografe di Galileo sconosciute ad Antonio Favaro, insieme a copie contemporanee dei manoscritti galileiani del Compasso, della Cosmografia e delle Meccaniche, con varianti rispetto ai testi pubblicati nelle Opere. L'unico testo completo finora conosciuto della lettera di Galileo a Gallanzone Gallanzoni, del 16 luglio 1611, ed una copia con varianti della lettera del 1615 alla Granduchessa Cristina di Lorena sono attualmente a Toronto, dove si trova anche l'epistolario di Girolamo Magagnati, comprendente alcune lettere a Galileo. Il presente articolo comprende riproduzioni di due autografi e una bibliografia.
LA QUESTIONE DEL CONTAGIUM VIVUM E LA GENESI DEL CONCETTO DI AMBIENTE NELLA MEDICINA TRA XVII E XVIII SECOLO
Authors: POTEST PAOLA
Published: April 2012

title SUMMARY /title The aim of this article is to portray one of the possible paths through which the concept of environment originated. In the debate relating to the contagium vivum problem, as it is defined for example in the works of Fracastoro, the concept of sympathia and antipathia has been denied since '500, and the contagion has been interpreted in materialistic terms. Simultaneously, also in '500, Hippocratic style researches de Locis reflourished due to the efforts of many physicians who pointed out the physical aspects which led to the spreading of a disease. With the discovery of the Protozoa and of other minute inhabitants of water, microscopy in '600 underlined the possible animated origin of several diseases, thus refusing causes, as the influence of stars, etc. However medicine was the discipline in which the researches on the environment became a basis for the discovery and prevention of disease. Medical sciences turned towards a practical-empiristic methodology that also led to a new vision of the role of the physician in the community. Here, the importance of G. Lancisi's work De Noxiis Paludum Effluviis is emphasised as a signal of these new research trends. This work is noteworthy first of all because the mosquito is identified as the cause of malaria with the peculiar environmental conformation of the Paludi Pontine, and secondly because Lancisi testifies one of the first battles carried out by a scientist in defence of the environment.
L'ACQUA E LA SUA ANIMA: IL CONTRIBUTO DELLA SCIENZA CHIMICA ALLO SFRUTTAMENTO DELLE FONTI DI ACQUA MINERALE NELLA PRIMA METÀ DEL XIX SECOLO
Authors: TAIANI RODOLFO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
During the XVIIIth century hydrotherapy knew a renewed interest both in Italy and the rest of Europe. A deep scientific research followed which revealed the chemical composition of waters since long believed to be medicinal. Chemical science played an important role even though it failed to explain exhaustively the grounds of the mysterious therapeutic properties hidden in such waters. As a matter of fact it contributed to arrange more functional exploitation methods of water sources in the first half of the nineteenth century, to boost industrial production of artificial mineral waters and to find out all possible medical applications of the recently discovered mineral springs. This research deals with such different applications of chemical knowledge, pointing out examples of the situation in nineteenth-century Trentino.
GUIDOBALDO DAL MONTE AND THE ARCHIMEDEAN REVIVAL
Authors: MELI DOMENICO BERTOLONI
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Questo saggio esamina il ruolo di Guidobaldo dal Monte all'interno del rinascimento di studi matematici in Italia nella seconda meta del '500. Le sue posizioni vengono confrontate brevemente con quelle di Giovanni Battista Benedetti e soprattutto di Federico Commandino. Mentre Benedetti sviluppa un atteggiamento fortemente critico di Aristotele e della filosofia in generale, e Commandino mostra di concepire il rinascimento matematico come una profonda riforma del sapere e ristrutturazione della gerarchia tra le varie discipline, dal Monte si limita a promuovere matematica e soprattutto meccanica con scopi molto piu limitati; obiettivi filosofici e critica anti-aristotelica rimangono al di fuori della portata della sua azione. Queste osservazioni mostrano l'esistenza di una ampia gamma di posizioni nell'ambito del revival archimedeo in Italia e della stessa scuola matematica urbinate: nonostante alcuni innegabili punti di contatto, i progetti culturali rintracciabili nelle opere di Commandino e dal Monte sono profondamente diversi.