Identità collettive, identità etniche, identità religiose. Elementi per una trattazione nella prospettiva della longue durée (tra antichità e medioevo)

Forgiate all’interno di molteplici e variegate forze di interazione sociale, le collettività emergono in una notevole varietà di configurazioni. Esse possono formarsi per differenti ragioni, e possono essere costituite da persone la cui aderenza a un determinato gruppo varia a seconda di molteplici fattori. Una tale contestualità inscindibilmente connessa al “raggruppamento” sociale rende quello di “identità collettiva” un difficile oggetto di studio oltre che un ambito estremamente problematico da definire in prospettiva storica. Questa raccolta di saggi intende offrire un quadro su simili questioni. Partendo da un seminario svoltosi a Napoli (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 11 Febbraio 2014), organizzato nell’ambito delle attività del progetto FIRB “La percezione dello spazio e del tempo nella trasmissione di identità collettive. Polarizzazioni e/o coabitazioni religiose nel mondo antico (I-VI secolo d.C.)”, gli articoli inclusi in questa sezione monografica analizzano i rispettivi e specifici ambiti di indagine secondo una più generale componente chiave: l’identità collettiva come percezione di similarità e differenze, dunque, più in generale, l’identità collettiva come processo sociale. Questo modo più ampio di descrivere l’identità gruppale serve come base per l’esame delle formazioni identitarie, anche “religiose”, soprattutto nella prospettiva della longue durée così come declinata negli ultimi anni

The Swiss cheese model in takotsubo syndrome

No abstract availabl

L'Apocalisse di Pietro. Tra esperienze di contatto in prima persona con l'oltre-mondo e scrittura

This essay aims at reconsidering the various preserved forms of the Apocalypse of Peter as mirrors of longue durée processes of transmission. According to such a perspective, it is quite difficult to explain the Greek version of the Akhmim Fragment as a “secondary”, manipulated and/or ideologically oriented version, especially when it is compared to the supposed original Ethiopic text. All the transmitted forms of the Apocalypse of Peter, the Greek and the Ethiopic ones, appear as individual appropriations of previous visionary accounts, which are based on contextual and rewritten practices of personal contact with the other-world. Visionary narratives are disseminated and transmitted thanks to various communication modes, among which writing emerges as just one of many that have been in place for a long time

Vedere la voce: dall'Apocalisse di Giovanni all'Ascensione di Isaia, passando per l'Apocalisse di Abramo

In the very complex framework of Jewish and early Christian visionary literature – which is literally dominated by both eye-centred and anthropomorphic representations of the otherworld – what Andrei A. Orlov has called as the “experience of the voice” or of the “divine name” is well attested. According to such a descriptive/epistemological mechanism, several elements deriving from the heavenly world stand out as primarily connected to aural experiences. But it is not difficult to find, also within these texts, a specific anthropomorphic mechanism concerning the heavenly voice, which seems to emerge like a kind of visible being. This aspect appears especially in the Apocalypse of John, where the seer turns “to see whose voice it was that spoke to me” (1.12) as well as in the Apocalypse of Abraham, where the voice could literally fall from the sky “in a stream of fire” (8.1) and reach the seer like this had motor abilities like that of an anthropomorphic being. If in the Apocalypse of John the relationship between the voice and Jesus is quite ambiguous, this is very much manifest in the Ascension of Isaiah, especially in 9.2, 5, where one of the speaking voices of the text is clearly identified with “Your Lord” (according to the Ethiopic version) or also with “the Son of God” (according to other versions). This essay aims at highlighting these forms of “anthropomorphization” of an aural experience, interpreting it as a direct vision of the other-world, which are, in turn, put in writing (or “textualized”) according to an “eye-centred”, or visual, perspective, in order to better adhere to specific social and/or cultural functions

Impact of heart rate on myocardial salvage in timely reperfused patients with STSegment elevation myocardial infarction. new insights from cardiovascular magnetic resonance

BACKGROUND: Previous studies evaluating the progression of the necrotic wave in relation to heart rate were carried out only in animal models of ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI). Aim of the study was to investigate changes of myocardial salvage in relation to different heart rates at hospital admission in timely reperfused patients with STEMI by using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). METHODS: One hundred-eighty-seven patients with STEMI successfully and timely treated with primary coronary angioplasty underwent CMR five days after hospital admission. According to the heart rate at presentation, patients were subcategorized into 5 quintiles: <55 bpm (group I, n = 44), 55-64 bpm (group II, n = 35), 65-74 bpm (group III, n = 35), 75-84 bpm (group IV, n = 37), ≥85 bpm (group V, n = 36). Area at risk, infarct size, microvascular obstruction (MVO) and myocardium salvaged index (MSI) were assessed by CMR using standard sequences. RESULTS: Lower heart rates at presentation were associated with a bigger amount of myocardial salvage after reperfusion. MSI progressively decreased as the heart rates increased (0.54 group I, 0.46 group II, 0.38 group III, 0.34 group IV, 0.32 group V, p<0.001). Stepwise multivariable analysis showed heart rate, peak troponin and the presence of MVO were independent predictor of myocardial salvage. No changes related to heart rate were observed in relation to area at risk and infarct size. CONCLUSIONS: High heart rates registered before performing coronary angioplasty in timely reperfused patients with STEMI are associated with a reduction in salvaged myocardium. In particular, salvaged myocardium significantly reduced when heart rate at presentation is ≥85 bpm

Characterization of COVID-19-related lung involvement in patients undergoing magnetic resonance T1 and T2 mapping imaging: a pilot study

Tissue characterization by mapping techniques is a recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tool that could aid the tissue characterization of lung parenchyma in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). The aim of the present study was to compare lung MRI findings, including T1 and T2 mapping, in a group of n = 11 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who underwent a scheduled cardiac MRI, and a cohort of healthy controls. MRI scout images were used to identify affected and remote lung regions within the patients’ cohort and appropriate regions of interest (ROIs) were drawn accordingly. Both lung native T1 and T2 values were significantly higher in the affected areas of patients with COVID-19 as compared to the controls (1375 ms vs. 1201 ms, p = 0.016 and 70 ms vs. 30 ms, p < 0.001, respectively), whereas no significant differences were detected between the remote lung parenchyma of the COVID-19 patients and the controls (both p > 0.05). When a larger ROI was identified, comprising the whole lung parenchyma within the image irrespective of the affected and remote areas, the COVID-19 patients still retained higher native T1 (1278 ms vs. 1149 ms, p = 0.003) and T2 values (38 ms vs. 34 ms, p = 0.04). According to the receiver operator characteristics curves, the T2 value of the affected region retained the higher accuracy for the differentiation of the COVID-19 patients against the controls (area under the curve 0.934, 95% confidence interval 0.826–0.999). These findings, possibly driven by the ability of MRI tissue mapping to detect ongoing inflammation in the lungs of patients with COVID-19, suggest that T1 and T2 mapping of the lung is a feasible approach in this clinical scenario

T1 and T2 Mapping in Uremic Cardiomyopathy: An Update

Uremic cardiomyopathy (UC) is the cardiac remodelling that occurs in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). It is characterised by a left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy phenotype, diastolic dysfunction and generally preserved LV ejection fraction. UC has a major role mediating the increased rate of cardiovascular events, especially heart failure related, observed in patients with CKD. Recently, the use of T1 and T2 mapping techniques on cardiac MRI has expanded the ability to characterise cardiac involvement in CKD. Native T1 mapping effectively tracks the progression of interstitial fibrosis in UC, whereas T2 mapping analysis suggests the contribution of myocardial oedema, at least in a subgroup of patients. Both T1 and T2 increased values were related to worsening clinical status, myocardial injury and B-type natriuretic peptide release. Studies investigating the prognostic relevance and histology validation of mapping techniques in CKD are awaited

Exploring the influence of takotsubo syndrome on oncologic patients' mortality

It has been reported that patients affected by takotsubo syndrome (TTS) with a concurrent diagnosis of cancer suffer from greater mortality as compared to their non-cancer counterpart. It remains unclear whether TTS worsens the prognosis of cancer patients as well. Aim of this study was to compare outcomes of cancer patients with and without TTS. We combined data from two independent cohorts: one consisted of a prospective multicentre TTS registry; the second cohort consisted of all oncologic patients from two Cardio-Oncology Outpatient Clinics, who did not have cardiovascular conditions at the time of the cardio-oncologic visit. From the TTS registry, we selected patients with cancer (cancer-TTS patients). Next, we matched these patients with those from the cardio-oncologic cohort (cancer non-TTS patients) in a 1:2 fashion by age, sex, and type and cancer staging. Study endpoint was all-cause mortality. Among 318 TTS patients, 42 (13%) had a concurrent diagnosis of cancer. Characteristics of cancer-TTS patients and of the 84 matched cancer non-TTS subjects were comparable with the exception of diabetes mellitus, which was more common in cancer non-TTS patients. All-cause mortality was similar between cancer-TTS and cancer non-TTS patients. At Cox regression analysis TTS was not associated with mortality (OR 1.4, 95% CI 0.6-3.3, p = 0.43). Our findings show that even in the presence of acute heart failure due to TTS, the prognosis of oncologic patients is driven by the malignancy itself. Our results may prove useful for integrated management of cardio-oncologic patients

Smoking influence in Takotsubo syndrome: insights from an international cohort

Takotsubo syndrome; Mortality; Smoking habitSíndrome de Takotsubo; Mortalidad; Hábito de fumarSíndrome de Takotsubo; Mortalitat; Hàbit de fumarAims: To assess the influence of tobacco on acute and long-term outcomes in Takotsubo syndrome (TTS). Methods: Patients with TTS from the international multicenter German Italian Spanish Takotsubo registry (GEIST) were analyzed. Comparisons between groups were performed within the overall cohort, and an adjusted analysis with 1:1 propensity score matching was conducted. Results: Out of 3,152 patients with TTS, 534 (17%) were current smokers. Smoker TTS patients were younger (63 ± 11 vs. 72 ± 11 years, p < 0.001), less frequently women (78% vs. 90%, p < 0.001), and had a lower prevalence of hypertension (59% vs. 69%, p < 0.01) and diabetes mellitus (16% vs. 20%, p = 0.04), but had a higher prevalence of pulmonary (21% vs. 15%, p < 0.01) and/or psychiatric diseases (17% vs. 12%, p < 0.01). On multivariable analysis, age less than 65 years [OR 3.85, 95% CI (2.86–5)], male gender [OR 2.52, 95% CI (1.75–3.64)], history of pulmonary disease [OR 2.56, 95% CI (1.81–3.61)], coronary artery disease [OR 2.35, 95% CI (1.60–3.46)], and non-apical ballooning form [OR 1.47, 95% CI (1.02–2.13)] were associated with smoking status. Propensity score matching (PSM) 1:1 yielded 329 patients from each group. Smokers had a similar rate of in-hospital complications but longer in-hospital stays (10 vs. 9 days, p = 0.01). During long-term follow-up, there were no differences in mortality rates between smokers and non-smokers (5.6% vs. 6.9% yearly in the overall, p = 0.02, and 6.6%, vs. 7.2% yearly in the matched cohort, p = 0.97). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that smoking may influence the clinical presentation and course of TTS with longer in-hospital stays, but does not independently impact mortality.FIC (Fundación Interhospitalaria para la Investigación en Cardiología) supported RETAKO

silicon based technology for ligand receptor molecular identification

One of the most important goals in the fields of biology and medicine is the possibility to dispose of efficient tools for the characterization of the extraordinary complexity of ligand-receptor interactions. To approach this theme, we explored the use of crystalline silicon (cSi) technology for the realization of a biotechnological device in which the ligand-receptor interactions are revealed by means of optical measurements. Here, we describe a chemical procedure for the functionalization of microwell etched on silicon wafers, and the subsequent anchoring of biological molecules like an antibody anti-A20 murine lymphoma cell line. The optical analysis of the interaction on the biochips between the bound biomolecule and their corresponding ligand indicated that the functionalized cSi is suitable for this application