Secrets and Lies: Francesca Melandri’s Sangue giusto (2017) and the Uncovered Memory of Italian East Africa

It is true that expansionism under Fascism did not, for a long time, receive the attention that it deserved. This period of historiographic and literary amnesia has now, however, come to a close. As regards literary production, recent years have seen the publication of a number of highly regarded works – by such well-known writers as Gabriella Ghermandi or Igiaba Scego – that have used the novel as a means of exploring the legacies of empire. The article explores one of the most recent additions to this body of work, Francesca Melandri’s Sangue giusto (Milan: Rizzoli, 2017). More specifically, it addresses the theme of secrets and their revelation that lies at the heart of the novel. It asks what are the social and psychological ramifications of the discovery of the nature of imperial conquest under fascism. It explores how the novel interacts with the writing of those transnational African/ Italian authors who have confronted the legacy of Italy’s colonial past. The article considers the overall vision that Sangue giusto offers of Italy’s relationship with Ethiopia, of the conceptual universe of colonialism, and of the enduring topicality of the memory of Italy’s imperial past

Axon Death Pathways Converge on Axed to Promote Axon Disassembly

Axons use a conserved program to actively drive their own destruction after injury. Axon degeneration is present in many neurological disorders and an axon death program could be a major pharmaceutical target to preserve neuronal function. This intrinsic signaling cascade activates pro-degenerative dSarm/Sarm1, rapidly depletes axonal stores of NAD+, and terminates in cytoskeletal breakdown. Conversely, loss of dSarm/Sarm1, maintenance of NAD+ levels or its biosynthetic enzyme Nmnat, result in long-term morphological perseveration of severed axons. Exactly how dSarm/Sarm1 and loss of NAD+ execute axon death remains poorly defined. We sought to uncover novel regulators of axon death and maintenance by performing a deficiency screen and a forward genetic mutagenesis screen in axotomized Drosophila wing sensory neurons. We identified a BTB domain protein enriched in neurons, we named Axundead (Axed), which is specifically required for axon death. Severed axons harboring loss of function mutations in axed, similar to dSarm mutants, remain preserved for 50 days post axotomy. Spontaneous neurodegeneration induced by activated dSarm or dNmnat depletion are both suppressed in axed mutants, but not in dSarm mutant alleles. Additionally, severed axed mutant axons also expressing activated dSarm or lacking Nmnat are preserved. These results indicate that dSarm acts upstream of dNmnat loss, and both events precede essential Axed function and axon destruction. Thus, the axon death pathway converges on Axed function

Pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer risks in relation to occupational history and asbestos lung burden.

BACKGROUND: We have conducted a population-based study of pleural mesothelioma patients with occupational histories and measured asbestos lung burdens in occupationally exposed workers and in the general population. The relationship between lung burden and risk, particularly at environmental exposure levels, will enable future mesothelioma rates in people born after 1965 who never installed asbestos to be predicted from their asbestos lung burdens. METHODS: Following personal interview asbestos fibres longer than 5 µm were counted by transmission electron microscopy in lung samples obtained from 133 patients with mesothelioma and 262 patients with lung cancer. ORs for mesothelioma were converted to lifetime risks. RESULTS: Lifetime mesothelioma risk is approximately 0.02% per 1000 amphibole fibres per gram of dry lung tissue over a more than 100-fold range, from 1 to 4 in the most heavily exposed building workers to less than 1 in 500 in most of the population. The asbestos fibres counted were amosite (75%), crocidolite (18%), other amphiboles (5%) and chrysotile (2%). CONCLUSIONS: The approximate linearity of the dose-response together with lung burden measurements in younger people will provide reasonably reliable predictions of future mesothelioma rates in those born since 1965 whose risks cannot yet be seen in national rates. Burdens in those born more recently will indicate the continuing occupational and environmental hazards under current asbestos control regulations. Our results confirm the major contribution of amosite to UK mesothelioma incidence and the substantial contribution of non-occupational exposure, particularly in women

Automated hippocampal segmentation in patients with epilepsy: Available free online

Hippocampal sclerosis, a common cause of refractory focal epilepsy, requires hippocampal volumetry for accurate diagnosis and surgical planning. Manual segmentation is time-consuming and subject to interrater/intrarater variability. Automated algorithms perform poorly in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. We validate and make freely available online a novel automated method