Nostalgie Metafisiche. La crisi delle scienze nell'era postmoderna

By crisis of sciences we mean, on the one hand, the epistemological crisis faced after the aporias of logical neo-positivism and the crisis of foundations that invests hard sciences; on the other, the questioning of their role concerning the social contract. These two aspects intertwine and feed each other, and both are objects of the so-called 'postmodern' critique. In this essay we will try to describe and analyze the profound dismay this crisis entails in our society, investing it at the collective and individual levels. In this crisis, we will analyze what seems to us an anthropological resistance to the possibility that there is no clearly bounded centre of knowledge, which we will describe as a sort of metaphysical nostalgia that fuels individual suffering, social debates, as well as academic disputes

Transfemminismo e psicoanalisi: dialogo intorno a Je suis un monstre qui vous parle di Paul B. Preciado

La psicoanalisi e il femminismo sono due ambiti del sapere occidentale da sempre legati e spesso in conflitto. Il seguente dialogo attraversa le loro congiunzioni e disgiunzioni a partire dal commento all’opera di Paul B. Preciado Je suis un monstre qui vous parle, tratta da un recente intervento del filosofo transfemminista alla giornata internazionale di studi «Donne in psicoanalisi» all’École de la Cause Freudienne di Parigi. La psicoanalisi può porsi come pratica di disadattamento per gli individui da una serie di imposizioni poste dal discorso sociale, e ritrovarsi così in linea con l’invito di Preciado a disidentificarsi da un sistema di norme etero-patriarcal-coloniali. Quanto però questo invito sia accolto e praticato su di sé dagli stessi psicoanalisti contemporanei resta in questione ed è l’oggetto centrale di questo contributo.Psychoanalysis and Feminism are two fields of Western knowledge that have always been intertwined as well as frequently in conflict. The following dialogue deals with their conjunctions and disjunctions starting from a comment of Paul B. Preciado's latest work, Je suis un monstre qui vous parle, based on a recent talk of trans-feminist philosopher at the International Conference «Women in Psychoanalysis» at the École de la Cause Freudienne in Paris. Psychoanalysis can act as a practice of dis-adaptation from a series of impositions of the social discourse, and thus be in line with Preciado's invitation to dis-identify from a system of hetero-patriarchal and colonial norms. However, to what extent this invitation is accepted and practicable by contemporary psychoanalysts on themselves remains in question and is the central issue of this contribution

A Biomonitoring Pilot Study in Workers from a Paints Production Plant Exposed to Pigment-Grade Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)

Among particulate matter composing paints, titanium dioxide (TiO2) forms about 20% of the final suspension. Although TiO2 is broadly used in many applications, TiO2 powders represent an established respiratory hazard for workers with long-term exposure. In 35 workers of a paints production plant (15 exposed and 20 not exposed), we assessed pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-17), surfactant protein D (SP-D) and Krebs von den Lungen-6 glycoprotein (KL-6) in exhaled breath condensate (EBC). In urine samples, we measured 8-isoprostane (Isop) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) as biomarkers of oxidative stress, and Titanium (Ti-U) as a biomarker of exposure. Health status, habits and occupational history were recorded. Airborne respirable dusts and Ti were quantified. Particle number concentration and average diameter (nm) were detected by a NanoTracer™ monitoring device. Ti was measurable in filters collected at the respiratory breathing zone (0.11–0.44 µg/m3 8-h TWA). IL-1β and IL-10 values were significantly higher in exposed workers, whereas SP-D was significantly lower (p p 2 in paint production is associated with the subtle alterations of lung pathobiology. These findings suggest the need for an integrated approach relying on both personal exposure and biomarker assessment to improve the hazard characterisation in occupational settings