A cure for the soul: mesmerism, psychical research, and psychoanalysis in the life and work of Emilio Servadio (1904-1995)

Emilio Servadio was an international scholar and psychoanalyst native of Sestri Ponente. He distinguished himself in several fields of studies and literary production, he wrote over one thousand contributions for the Enciclopedia italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti (1931) wrote poems and composed music, and also founded with his master, friend and colleague Edoardo Weiss, the Società Psicoanalitica Italiana. Servadio was renowned for the constitution of S.P.I., as well as he pioneered the field of psychoanalytic studies and sexology. In this context we may situate the beginning of Servadio's career and interest in the cure of sexual deviances. A comparison between Eastern and Western culture and a multidisciplinary perspective towards different branch of humanities have a predominant role in Servadio's work, thought and therapeutic approach to sexual deviances. The life and work of the Genoese psychoanalyst was also deeply influenced by Metapsychic milieus. Evidence that Servadio's conception of therapeutics was strictly connected with these cultural fields and is conceived at the 'intersection' of different forms of knowledge is to be found in the beginning of his career. Servadio wrote several articles on the topic of the “interaction of body and soul”, which were published in the journals of psychoanalytical and metapsychic associations. Servadio was member of different metapsychic groups, which attended to find out which channels (of social, cultural, psychological and parapsychological nature) and means allow to make an interaction between the mind and the individual/collective psychic sphere possible, such as it happens in the “oneiric features” of dreams

Evaluation of a new ultrasonic device for surgical dissection in lung lobectomy and lymphadenectomy for lung cancer

Objective To assess and compare surgical electric hook vs Harmonic ACE Plus® impact on short-term postoperative outcomes after video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lung lobectomy and lymphadenectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and methods We prospectively collected data of 120 consecutive patients [60% male; median age: 71 (62-76 IQR:) years] undergoing lung lobectomy and lymphadenectomy by VATS for NSCLC in our Center from October 1st 2016 to July 31th 2019. Patients were divided in two groups based on the device used for tissue dissection: the electric hook (Group A) in 68 cases and the Harmonic ACE Plus® (Group B) in 52. Multivariable analysis by binary logistic regression was performed in order to test the energy device as possible risk factor for pleural effusion volume at 48 hours after surgery and for postoperative chest tube duration. Results No intraoperative complications due to energy device were recorded in both groups. Chylothorax incidence was higher in Group A with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (3% vs 0%; p-value=0.50). Pleural effusion volume during the first 48 postoperative hours was significantly higher in Group B: 253 ml (IQR: 149-405) vs 408 (IQR: 294-508) ml (p-value<0.01). However, chest tube duration was similar in the two groups: 4 (IQR: 3-8) vs 5 (IQR: 4-8) days (p-value=0.39). At multivariable analysis energy device was not independently associated with pleural effusion volume at 48 hours after surgery and with postoperative chest tube duration. Conclusions Electric hook or Harmonic ACE Plus® use during VATS lobectomy for NSCLC is safe and leads to similar postoperative short-term outcomes

Regulation mechanisms of human D-amino acid oxidase

The human peroxisomal FAD-dependent enzyme D-amino acid oxidase (hDAAO, EC 1.4.3.3) plays a key role in important physiological processes by catalyzing the stereospecific degradation of several D-amino acids (D-AAs). A number of studies demonstrated that a dysregulation in processes regulating D-AAs concentration is related to the mechanism(s) predisposing to several pathologies. The important role played by hDAAO in modulating D-AAs levels increased the interest for this flavoenzyme: while structural and biochemical properties have been extensively investigated, several aspects in the modulation of its functionality remain elusive. Furthermore, it has been recently suggested that DAAO could be mistargeted to the nucleus or secreted in the (mouse) intestinal lumen, where it could select the composition of gut microbiota by generating H2O2. Here, some biochemical properties of the recombinant enzyme were investigated. Moreover, we focused on mistargeting of DAAO by studying a variant lacking the N-terminal signal peptide (thus shedding light on the mechanism of microbiota selection) and two variants at position 120 (a residue belonging to a putative nuclear translocation signal): the cellular targeting of the flavoenzyme seems a way to modulate hDAAO functionality. This modulation allows hDAAO to fulfil different physiological functions, such as the control of the level of D-Ser in the brain and of other D-AAs in different tissues or the selection of microbiota in the gut

Multimodal representation and learning

Recent years have seen an explosion in multimodal data on the web. It is therefore important to perform multimodal learning to understand the web. However, it is challenging to join various modalities because each modality has a different representation and correlational structure. In addition, various modalities generally carry different kinds of information that may provide enrich understanding; for example, the visual signal of a flower may provide happiness; however, its scent might not be pleasant. Multimodal information may be useful to make an informed decision. Therefore, we focus on improving representations from individual modalities to enhance multimodal representation and learning. In this doctoral thesis, we presented techniques to enhance representations from individual and multiple modalities for multimodal applications including classification, cross-modal retrieval, matching and verification on various benchmark datasets

La riforma della disciplina del voto nelle Primavere Arabe: tra cedimento e consolidamento del sistema

The aim of this dissertation is to provide an in-depth analysis of the electoral legislation reforms occurred in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia during the 2011 uprisings. The main reason behind this choice is to estimates the right to vote regulation impact on the respective constitutional transitions. The author considers the electoral legislation lato sensu to be crucial in understanding the fall or persistence of both ante and post 2011 regimes. This work can be dived in a theoretical and empirical part, consisting of three chapters each. The first gives an overview of democratization theory from both a constitutional and political scientific perspective. The second provides an analysis of the vote-democracy binomial, only then to deal with electoral system stricto sensu technicalities. The third addresses the issue of the Islamic movements’ nature and more generally the relationship between Islamic traditional institutions, such as the ijma and the Khilafah, and democratic principles. The fourth analyses the Moroccan “prevented” transition, where King Muhammad VI political acumen had been a key factor for preserving the status quo. The fifth covers the Egyptian miscarried transition, culminated with the re-establishment of an authoritarian regime. The sixth offers an overview of the only successful democratization of the Arab spring: Tunisia. The dissertation concludes giving some final considerations

Lo sviluppo rurale nel contesto pedemontano: la dimensione territoriale della 'nuova' agricoltura varesina

The thesis analyzes the role of the agricultural system in the Lombardy foothills context, in particular deepening the phenomena of growth and diversification of farms, referring to the paradigms of rural and local development. The aim of the research is to identify, starting from these peculiarities, the potential and the possible evolution of the role of agriculture in the development of the foothills territories, and in the Varese context in particular, investigating the relationship between the agricultural system and the territory, reframing the role of the territorial dimension of the economic development. Therefore, the research started with the review of the theoretical economic models that, by focusing on the territorial dimension of development, appear able to integrate new paradigms of rural development, recognizing, in the comparison between the different disciplinary approaches, the elements of convergence towards a 'territorialist' approach. The thesis then investigated the different methods of analysis of agricultural systems and rural areas and their outcomes in terms of classification of rural areas in Lombardy, comparing them with an analysis of the structural variables of the regional agricultural system. The case study in the Varese area was studied in greater depth, focusing on its specificity and in particular: deepening the dynamic aspects of change and evolution of the agricultural system, interpreting the 'return' to agriculture given by the increase of firms as a potential perspective; examining the role of multifunctionality both from the point of view of producing services related to agriculture and therefore of firm diversification, income integration and relations with other economic sectors, and with a view to producing common goods and ecosystem services, or rather considering the role of the territory in agricultural activity, but, on the contrary, the territory produced by agricultural activity; overcome the dichotomic approach between city and country, not only by identifying the peri-urban areas, but rather by recognizing the complex and integrated links between different places and landscapes that constitute, by virtue of their relationships, a single territorial system. In the end, the interpretative elements that emerged from the case study has been systematized and made it possible to recognize the possible roles of the territorial dimension in the Varese agricultural system and the potential for integrated development of the various “local farming systems

An Italian multicentre 2-step study in patients with MANECs of the gastro-entero-pancreatic tract treated with chemotherapy.

Background. Mixed adeno-neuroendocrine carcinomas (MANECs) are very rare malignancies. Due to their biological and clinical heterogeneity there is not a universally shared clinical approach. Materials and Methods. Clinical records of patients with advanced MANEC of the gastro-enteropancreatic (GEP) tract from 4 Italian referral centres were retrospectively analysed. All the surgical specimens were centrally reviewed by a team of expert pathologists. Clinical and biological data were correlated with outcomes. Results. Fifty-one patients with histological diagnosis of GEPMANEC between 1995 and 2016 were included. Primary sites were colo-rectal in 32 patients, esophago-gastro-duodenal in 14, and pancreato-biliary in 5. At diagnosis (surgery) 74% were locally advanced. Seventy-one % developed distant metastases (24% sinchronous, 47% metachronous). Twenty-two % of patients (50% stomach) received pre-operative chemotherapy, 27% adjuvant (50% colo-rectal), and 12% peri-operative (45%, 50%, 80% fluoropyrimidines-based respectively). A first line therapy (57% fluoropyrimidines/oxaliplatin) was offered to the 45% patients. Patients with a <55% Ki67 index in the NEC component had a significant longer OS than those with a ≥ 55% Ki67 (P=0.0004) regardless of the type of therapy. In the whole cohort, the median OS was 1.2 years (95% CI 0.8-1.6). Conclusion. This analysis suggested that the prognosis of GEP-MANECs is mainly driven by the NEC-component regardless of treatments. Since its descriptive design and various clinical management, it cannot either suggest a specific therapy or a real impact of chemotherapy on prognosis. However it produced solid hypotheses for future prospective-interventional studies in selected populations

Proteomics and network analysis identify common and specific pathways of neurodegeneration

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are multi-factorial in nature, involving several genetic mutations (in coding or regulatory regions) and epigenetic and environmental factors. The main clinical manifestation (movement disorders, cognitive impairment and/or psychiatric disturbances) depends on the neuron population being primarily affected. Complex and multifactorial neurodegenerative diseases can be investigated using a holistic approach that can give a global view about the pathogenetic process and shed light on specific and generic pathways of neurodegeneration. Proteomics offers a global molecular snapshot of proteins and consequently of processes that may influence neuronal death. The proteome in fact provides a dynamic view of what is happening in the system under investigation, because the expression of proteins, their abundance, their localization in tissues or cells, the type and amount of their post-translational changes depend from the environment and from the cellular physiological state. Therefore, all the projects presented in this thesis, by combining bioinformatics tools with proteomics, aimed at highlighting biochemical processes shared by different neurodegenerative diseases and diseasespecific pathways, which may justify the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in PD. Finally, a focus on the mitochondrial interactome and proteome intended to elucidate important specific steps of the degenerative process in PD

Improving ecosystem exposure assessment of organic chemicals: evaluating their mobility and bioavailability with novel chemical measurements and modelling approaches.

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Molecular and functional characterization of the human RNASET2 oncosuppressor gene.

The RNASET2 gene maps to human chromosome 6q27, a region that has been consistently found rearranged in many solid and hematological tumors. This gene encodes for the only human secreted acid ribonuclease of the T2 family. Our research group’s studies have demonstrated a remarkable RNASET2-mediated tumor suppressive activity. Indeed, we recently reported that the oncosuppressive activity of RNASET2 in vivo involves the recruitment toward the tumor mass of cancer-suppressive innate immune cells belonging to the monocyte/macrophage lineage, particularly M1 macrophages, which are known to carry out a cancer antagonizing role. Given these premises, the aim of my PhD thesis work was to further characterize this gene from a functional point of view. Firstly, we analyzed the effect of RNASET2 protein in the recruitment and polarization pattern of macrophages in in vitro systems. Furthermore, since all previous in vivo experiments were performed using nude mice, we started developing a syngeneic mouse model in order to study the role of this gene in an immunocompetent model. Finally, we recently demonstrated that RNASET2 also behaves as a stress response gene and strongly affects the actin cytoskeleton. To shed more lights on its pleiotropic functions, we also started to investigate the role of this gene in the context of mammary tumorigenesis and morphogenesis