The dynamic nature of meaning

This paper wants to be a contribution, mainly of philosophical character, to a new current of thought and research in semantics that have been defined the “dynamic turn ” in the study of meaning (cf. Peregrin 2003). The central point of this approach to meaning is that there is not such a thing like a precise literal meaning of a word or expression, bu

Logic and Pragmatism: Selected Writings of Giovanni Vailati

International audienceLogic and Pragmatism features a number of the key writings of Giovanni Vailati (1863–1909), the Italian mathematician and philosopher renowned for his work in history of mechanics, geometry, logic, and epistemology. The selections in this book—many of which are available here for the first time in English—focus on Vailati’s significant contributions to the field of pragmatism. Two introductory essays by the volume’s editors outline the traits of Vailati’s pragmatism and provide insights into the scholar’s life

Insulin dynamics in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome and normal glucose tolerance across categories of body mass index.

BACKGROUND: Evidence favours insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia as the predominant, perhaps primary, defects in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The aim of the present study was to evaluate insulin metabolism in young women with PCOS but normal glucose tolerance as compared with age, body mass index and insulin resistance-matched controls to answer the question whether women with PCOS hypersecrete insulin in comparison to appropriately insulin resistance-matched controls. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Sixty-nine cases were divided according to their body mass index (BMI) in normal-weight (N = 29), overweight (N = 24) and obese patients (N = 16). Controls were 479 healthy women (age 16-49 y). Whole body Insulin Sensitivity (WBISI), fasting, and total insulin secretion were estimated following an oral glucose tolerance test (C-peptide deconvolution method). RESULTS: Across classes of BMI, PCOS patients had greater insulin resistance than matched controls (p<0.0001 for all the comparisons), but they showed higher fasting and total insulin secretion than their age, BMI and insulin resistance-matched peers (p<0.0001 for all the comparisons). CONCLUSION: Women with PCOS show higher insulin resistance but also larger insulin secretion to maintain normal glucose homeostasis than age-, BMI- and insulin resistance-matched controls

ARCHAEOMAGNETIC INVESTIGATION OF LATE ENEOLITHIC FURNACES UNDER THE ANCIENT BRONZE AGE VILLAGE OF CROCE DI PAPA, NOLA (ITALY)

The Copper Age marks the first stage of human’s use of metal. Eneolithic is commonly assumed to begin in the early 4th millennium BC in Southeastern Europe and at least 1,000 years earlier in the Middle East, where the majority of copper mines exploitation started. This study provides a chronological contribution to this matter. Our finding allows dating the beginning of the use of metal in the Campanian plain to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC

Anthropometrics, laboratory and insulin metabolism related parameters of controls and PCOS patients according to the obesity status.

<p>Data are expressed as mean ± SD. <i>P</i> refers to statistical significance at the Mann-Whitney U test within groups of normal-weight, overweight and obese women. BMI, body Mass Index; HDL, High density lipoprotein; HOMA-IR, Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance; LDL, Low density lipoprotein; WBISI, Whole Body Insulin Sensitivity Index; ISSI-2, Insulin Secretion-Sensitivity Index-2; Total Insulin, Total insulin secretion at a WBISI of 5.</p