La relazione agapica nel servizio sociale

In questo contributo si dà conto degli esiti di una ricerca finalizzata a verificare la possibilità di rilevare tracce di agire agapico nel servizio sociale. In primo luogo, ci si è chiesti se siano riconoscibili, nel lavoro degli assistenti sociali, “azioni agapiche”, cioè azioni che producono eccedenza di dono senza averla messa in conto. Senza attesa né interesse particolare, azioni esperite di volta in volta nel presente, in assenza di progetto e tuttavia capaci di generare nuove realtà sui generis che permangono nel tempo. In secondo luogo, ci si è chiesti se, utilizzando il concetto euristico di “azioni agapiche” sia possibile coglierne la desiderabilità, la riproducibilità, la compatibilità con un approccio professionale. Si tratta di una ricerca di carattere esplorativo sul territorio nazionale con particolare attenzione ai servizi sociali di contrasto all’emarginazione e alla povertà. La scelta metodologica è stata di tipo qualitativo, per cogliere la prospettiva soggettiva degli attori e l’attribuzione di significato da loro conferito alle azioni agapiche e ai loro effetti, mediante interviste e focus group. Si è dunque proceduto dapprima alla somministrazione di interviste semi-strutturate che ripercorre vano, attraverso 11 quesiti, le dimensioni dell’agire agapico rilevabile attraverso l’evocazione di esperienze di relazione d’aiuto ritenute dagli intervistati o dalle intervistate “ben riuscite”, sono state/i ascoltate/i assistenti sociali e cittadini utenti di servizi di quattro diverse regioni italiane e una provincia autonoma. Dopo una prima analisi dei contenuti emersi dalle interviste, sono stati individuati ulteriori quattro quesititi-stimolo da proporre a due focus group formati ciascuno da 6 assistenti sociali provenienti da quattro regioni italiane Questa prima esplorazione non ha portato a scoprire pratiche professionali e azioni innovative o decisamente alternative al social work già consolidato nei servizi, quanto piuttosto a riconoscere e a valorizzabile la dimensione eccedente e originale dell’aiuto che ciascun/a social worker può coltivare senza per questo tralasciare o contraddire i fondamenti teorici e la strumentazione tecnica propria e necessaria per la sua professionalità. Si è avuta evidenza del fatto che le persone e le loro interazioni, anche professionali, appaiono oltre ogni riduttività classificatoria, diagnostica e prescrittiva, si esprimono lungo itinerari esistenziali spesso lunghi e imprevedibili, aprono a nuovi azzardi creativi. Con questa consapevolezza le e gli assistenti sociali possono fare i conti, mettendo in campo non solo tecniche d’azione e assetti organizzativi più o meno controllati ma anche implicazioni esistenziali umane, prossime, rinnovate, condivisibili

The Palaeocene Cerro Munro tonalite intrusion (Chubut Province, Argentina): A plutonic remnant of explosive volcanism?

The Cerro Munro sub-volcanic intrusion is emplaced in the back-arc (400 km from the trench) as small sub-circular tonalite-granodiorite plutons with abundant radial porphyritic dikes. U-Pb zircon SHRIMP data give an age of crystallization of 57 Ma ± 1.4 Ma. It is located to the east of the North Patagonian Batholith (NPB) that shows a protracted and episodic magmatic history from Cretaceous to Miocene time. The NPB Palaeogene episode is characterized by the lack of magmatic activity at the arc axis, as small plutonic emplacements move to the fore-arc and back-arc. This Palaeogene tectono-magmatic episode is ruled by the detachment of the Aluk plate during the Aluk-Farallon-SAM triple junction, active at that time along northern Patagonia active margin, changing the Cretaceous ?NPB orogenic? setting to a Palaeogene ?Munro transitional? tectono-magmatic setting. Near the contacts, the tonalite contains abundant enclaves of igneous appearance and variable size from several cm to dm, described as autoliths. The study of autoliths and host tonalite reveals interesting results on the processes of fractionation in a thermally zoned magma chamber. Autoliths, and in a large extent the host tonalite, represent disguised cumulates from which a hydrous silicic liquid was extracted. Barometry calculations from mineral chemistry in both autoliths and tonalites record a shallow pressure of emplacement of 0.5 kbar. Rhyolite-dacite flows and ignimbrites, surrounding the northern contact of the Cerro Munro tonalite, may represent the exsolved liquid from the plutonic cumulates. The study by cathodoluminiscence and electron backscattered diffraction techniques from a rhyolite-hosted quartz supports this protracted history of the Cerro Munro magma chamber.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y MuseoCentro de Investigaciones GeológicasConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

The Palaeocene Cerro Munro tonalite intrusion (Chubut Province, Argentina): A plutonic remnant of explosive volcanism?

The Cerro Munro sub-volcanic intrusion is emplaced in the back-arc (400 km from the trench) as small sub-circular tonalite-granodiorite plutons with abundant radial porphyritic dikes. U-Pb zircon SHRIMP data give an age of crystallization of 57 Ma ± 1.4 Ma. It is located to the east of the North Patagonian Batholith (NPB) that shows a protracted and episodic magmatic history from Cretaceous to Miocene time. The NPB Palaeogene episode is characterized by the lack of magmatic activity at the arc axis, as small plutonic emplacements move to the fore-arc and back-arc. This Palaeogene tectono-magmatic episode is ruled by the detachment of the Aluk plate during the Aluk-Farallon-SAM triple junction, active at that time along northern Patagonia active margin, changing the Cretaceous ?NPB orogenic? setting to a Palaeogene ?Munro transitional? tectono-magmatic setting. Near the contacts, the tonalite contains abundant enclaves of igneous appearance and variable size from several cm to dm, described as autoliths. The study of autoliths and host tonalite reveals interesting results on the processes of fractionation in a thermally zoned magma chamber. Autoliths, and in a large extent the host tonalite, represent disguised cumulates from which a hydrous silicic liquid was extracted. Barometry calculations from mineral chemistry in both autoliths and tonalites record a shallow pressure of emplacement of 0.5 kbar. Rhyolite-dacite flows and ignimbrites, surrounding the northern contact of the Cerro Munro tonalite, may represent the exsolved liquid from the plutonic cumulates. The study by cathodoluminiscence and electron backscattered diffraction techniques from a rhyolite-hosted quartz supports this protracted history of the Cerro Munro magma chamber.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y MuseoCentro de Investigaciones GeológicasConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

A Single-Molecule Bioelectronic Portable Array for Early Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer Precursors

A cohort of 47 patients is screened for pancreatic cancer precursors with a portable 96-well bioelectronic sensing-array for single-molecule assay in cysts fluid and blood plasma, deployable at point-of-care (POC). Pancreatic cancer precursors are mucinous cysts diagnosed with a sensitivity of at most 80% by state-of-the-art cytopathological molecular analyses (e.g., KRASmut DNA). Adding the simultaneous assay of proteins related to malignant transformation (e.g., MUC1 and CD55) is deemed essential to enhance diagnostic accuracy. The bioelectronic array proposed here, based on single-molecule-with-a-large-transistor (SiMoT) technology, can assay both nucleic acids and proteins at the single-molecule limit-of-identification (LOI) (1% of false-positives and false-negatives). It comprises an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-like 8 × 12-array organic-electronics disposable cartridge with an electrolyte-gated organic transistor sensor array, and a reusable reader, integrating a custom Si-IC chip, operating via software installed on a USB-connected smart device. The cartridge is complemented by a 3D-printed sensing gate cover plate. KRASmut, MUC1, and CD55 biomarkers either in plasma or cysts-fluid from 5 to 6 patients at a time, are multiplexed at single-molecule LOI in 1.5 h. The pancreatic cancer precursors are classified via a machine-learning analysis resulting in at least 96% diagnostic-sensitivity and 100% diagnostic-specificity. This preliminary study opens the way to POC liquid-biopsy-based early diagnosis of pancreatic-cancer precursors in plasma

Characterisation and radioimmunotherapy of L19-SIP, an anti-angiogenic antibody against the extra domain B of fibronectin, in colorectal tumour models

Angiogenesis is a characteristic feature of tumours and other disorders. The human monoclonal antibody L19- SIP targets the extra domain B of fibronectin, a marker of angiogenesis expressed in a range of tumours. The aim of this study was to investigate whole body distribution, tumour localisation and the potential of radioimmunotherapy with the L19-small immunoprotein (SIP) in colorectal tumours. Two colorectal tumour models with highly different morphologies, the SW1222 and LS174T xenografts, were used in this study. Localisation and retention of the L19-SIP antibody at tumour vessels was demonstrated using immunohistochemistry and Cy3-labelled L19-SIP. Whole body biodistribution studies in both tumour models were carried out with 125I-labelled L19-SIP. Finally, 131I-labelled antibody was used to investigate the potential of radioimmunotherapy in SW1222 tumours. Using immunohistochemistry, we confirmed extra domain B expression in the tumour vasculature. Immunofluorescence demonstrated localisation and retention of injected Cy3-labelled L19-SIP at the abluminal side of tumour vessels. Biodistribution studies using a 125I-labelled antibody showed selective tumour uptake in both models. Higher recorded values for localisation were found in the SW1222 tumours than in the LS174T (7.9 vs 6.6 %ID g−1), with comparable blood clearance for both models. Based on these results, a radioimmunotherapy study was performed in the SW1222 xenograft using 131I-Labelled L19-SIP (55.5 MBq), which showed selective tumour uptake, tumour growth inhibition and improved survival. Radio- and fluorescence-labelled L19-SIP showed selective localisation and retention at vessels of two colorectal xenografts. Furthermore, 131I-L19-SIP shows potential as a novel treatment of colorectal tumours, and provides the foundation to investigate combined therapies in the same tumour models

Molecular imaging of angiogenesis with SPECT

Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and position emission tomography (PET) are the two main imaging modalities in nuclear medicine. SPECT imaging is more widely available than PET imaging and the radionuclides used for SPECT are easier to prepare and usually have a longer half-life than those used for PET. In addition, SPECT is a less expensive technique than PET. Commonly used gamma emitters are: 99mTc (Emax 141 keV, T1/2 6.02 h), 123I (Emax 529 keV, T1/2 13.0 h) and 111In (Emax 245 keV, T1/2 67.2 h). Compared to clinical SPECT, PET has a higher spatial resolution and the possibility to more accurately estimate the in vivo concentration of a tracer. In preclinical imaging, the situation is quite different. The resolution of microSPECT cameras (<0.5 mm) is higher than that of microPET cameras (>1.5 mm). In this report, studies on new radiolabelled tracers for SPECT imaging of angiogenesis in tumours are reviewed

Human monoclonal antibodies targeting carbonic anhydrase IX for the molecular imaging of hypoxic regions in solid tumours

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia, which is commonly observed in areas of primary tumours and of metastases, influences response to treatment. However, its characterisation has so far mainly been restricted to the ex vivo analysis of tumour sections using monoclonal antibodies specific to carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) or by pimonidazole staining, after the intravenous administration of this 2-nitroimidazole compound in experimental animal models.METHODS: In this study, we describe the generation of high-affinity human monoclonal antibodies (A3 and CC7) specific to human CA IX, using phage technology.RESULTS: These antibodies were able to stain CA IX ex vivo and to target the cognate antigen in vivo. In one of the two animal models of colorectal cancer studied (LS174T), CA IX imaging closely matched pimonidazole staining, with a preferential staining of tumour areas characterised by little vascularity and low perfusion. In contrast, in a second animal model (SW1222), distinct staining patterns were observed for pimonidazole and CA IX targeting. We observed a complementary pattern of tumour regions targeted in vivo by the clinical-stage vascular-targeting antibody L19 and the anti-CA IX antibody A3, indicating that a homogenous pattern of in vivo tumour targeting could be achieved by a combination of the two antibodies.CONCLUSION: The new human anti-CA IX antibodies are expected to be non-immunogenic in patients with cancer and may serve as broadly applicable reagents for the non-invasive imaging of hypoxia and for pharmacodelivery applications. British Journal of Cancer (2009) 101, 645-657. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605200 www.bjcancer.com Published online 21 July 2009 (C) 2009 Cancer Research U

Amor e políticas sociais. O caso das autarquias

Comparing data in an international framework, the paper illustrates the condition of social welfare in Italy, especially for local government administrations. Recent studies show that social policies have only limited impact on contrast of inequalities and on prevention of vulnerability. On this base the paper individuates two lines of action for social work and social policies: interventions on the enlargement of accessibility, self-determination and freedom of choice (especially for professional aid), and interventions toward the enlargement of participation, and concerted planning among different actors. At the end the authors collect some best practices at local level, which are based on gratuity and surplus, with the aim of sharing experiences and improving love culture in political and organizational contexts

Centromeric satellite DNA in the european plethodontid salamander Hydromantes (Amphibia, Urodela)

A highly repeated satellite DNA (Hy500) located in the centromeric heterochromatin of the European plethodontid salamander Speleomantes (formerly Hydromantes) was studied. The Hy500 family represents about 1% of the Speleomantes supramontis genome and has a major repeating unit of about 500 base pairs, which may have evolved from the progressive amplification of shorter sequences. This centromeric satellite is conserved in all the Speleomantes species, which nevertheless show distinct patterns of chromosomal distribution, which are of relevance as to their phylogenetic relationships.Key words: satellite DNA, amphibian chromosomes

I test stereoscopici sono veramente utili nel depistage delle anomalie sensorio-motorie dell'età infantile?

Valutazione dell'efficacia dei test stereoscopici nel depistage delle anomalie sensorio-motorie dell'età infantile