Sulle orme dei Gracchi: L. Apuleio Saturnino e la Transpadana

AbstractL’articolo indaga il contesto delle riforme di L. Apuleio Saturnino (103-100 a.C.) e la rielaborazione, a fini politici, del mito dei Gracchi. Le leges Apuleiae si presentano come una ripresa della legislazione graccana, di cui imitano scopi e contenuti. All’interno di questo processo, è possibile individuare un’attenzione particolare dei riformatori per il territorio transpadano occidentale. L’articolo ipotizza che la fondazione della colonia di Eporedia sia un modo con cui i populares mariani si riappropriarono del territorio transpadano dopo un decennio di smantellamento delle riforme graccane: l’apertura dei libri sibillini al momento della deduzione della colonia va letta nell’ottica del precedente di Appio Claudio Pulcro e costituisce un argomento per attribuire la colonia ai populares.  This paper investigates the context laying beyond L. Apuleius Saturninus’ reforms (103-100 a.C.) and the political construction of the myth of the Gracchi. The leges Apuleiae are presented as a resumption of gracchan laws and imitate their contents and aims. A special attention of the reformers on western Traspadana can be seen in this process. The article presents the hypothesis that the foundation of Eporedia was the mean that Marius’ populares used to reaffirm their presence in the area after ten years of dismantling of gracchan reforms. The opening of libri sibyllini before the foundation of the colony can be considered a citation of Appius Claudius Pulcher’s precedent and an evidence to interpret the colony as popularis

I panegirici di Flavio Merobaude ad Aezio: testo e traduzione

Flavius Merobaudes' panegyrics to Aëtius: Text and Italian translationThis work provides an up-to-date Italian translation of Flavius Merobaudes’ panegyrics for Aëtius: the translation is performed taking into consideration the latest critical revisions of the two texts.Il contributo propone una traduzione italiana dei due panegirici di Flavio Merobaude ad Aezio, svolta tenendo conto degli ultimi aggiornamenti critico-testuali

Determinants of long COVID among adults hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection: A prospective cohort study

Rationale: Factors associated with long-term sequelae emerging after the acute phase of COVID-19 (so called "long COVID") are unclear. Here, we aimed to identify risk factors for the development of COVID-19 sequelae in a prospective cohort of subjects hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection and followed up one year after discharge. Methods: A total of 324 subjects underwent a comprehensive and multidisciplinary evaluation one year after hospital discharge for COVID-19. A subgroup of 247/324 who consented to donate a blood sample were tested for a panel of circulating cytokines. Results: In 122 patients (37.8%) there was evidence of at least one persisting physical symptom. After correcting for comorbidities and COVID-19 severity, the risk of developing long COVID was lower in the 109 subjects admitted to the hospital in the third wave of the pandemic than in the 215 admitted during the first wave, (OR 0.69, 95%CI 0.51-0.93, p=0.01). Univariable analysis revealed female sex, diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) value, body mass index, anxiety and depressive symptoms to be positively associated with COVID-19 sequelae at 1 year. Following logistic regression analysis, DLCO was the only independent predictor of residual symptoms (OR 0.98 CI 95% (0.96-0.99), p=0.01). In the subgroup of subjects with normal DLCO (> 80%), for whom residual lung damage was an unlikely explanation for long COVID, the presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms was significantly associated to persistent symptoms, together with increased levels of a set of pro-inflammatory cytokines: interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12, IL-1β, IL-17. In logistic regression analysis, depressive symptoms (p=0.02, OR 4.57 [1.21-17.21]) and IL-12 levels (p=0.03, OR 1.06 [1.00-1.11]) 1-year after hospital discharge were independently associated with persistence of symptoms. Conclusions: Long COVID appears mainly related to respiratory sequelae, prevalently observed during the first pandemic wave. Among patients with little or no residual lung damage, a cytokine pattern consistent with systemic inflammation is in place

Fatality rate and predictors of mortality in an Italian cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Clinical features and natural history of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) differ widely among different countries and during different phases of the pandemia. Here, we aimed to evaluate the case fatality rate (CFR) and to identify predictors of mortality in a cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to three hospitals of Northern Italy between March 1 and April 28, 2020. All these patients had a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection by molecular methods. During the study period 504/1697 patients died; thus, overall CFR was 29.7%. We looked for predictors of mortality in a subgroup of 486 patients (239 males, 59%; median age 71 years) for whom sufficient clinical data were available at data cut-off. Among the demographic and clinical variables considered, age, a diagnosis of cancer, obesity and current smoking independently predicted mortality. When laboratory data were added to the model in a further subgroup of patients, age, the diagnosis of cancer, and the baseline PaO2/FiO2 ratio were identified as independent predictors of mortality. In conclusion, the CFR of hospitalized patients in Northern Italy during the ascending phase of the COVID-19 pandemic approached 30%. The identification of mortality predictors might contribute to better stratification of individual patient risk