ESTRUTURAS SOCIAIS E REFORMAS PENAIS: CRÍTICAS MARXISTAS À PUNIÇÃO NO CAPITALISMO TARDIO

A presente contribuição oferece uma análise crítica das teorias neomarxistas da punição. A primeira parte do texto reconstrói duas perspectivas que emergiram da tradição criminológica materialista: (1) as chamadas “histórias revisionistas da punição” dos anos 1970, que revelaram as conexões históricas entre a emergência da pena moderna – isto é, a transição dos medievais “espetáculos de sofrimento” para a prisão disciplinar – e a consolidação de um sistema capitalista de produção baseado na exploração do trabalho; (2) a crítica neomarxista da pena contemporânea, que desenvolveu mais o cenário marxista numa tentativa de dissecar as relações estruturais entre as transformações no campo penal e processos contínuos de reestruturação do capitalismo neoliberal. A segunda parte endereça algumas críticas que tem se desenvolvido contra a perspectiva materialista – i.e, sua tendência em ignorar as dimensões político-institucionais das penas, sua relativa falta de atenção às dinâmicas racializadas da acumulação capitalista, e uma excessiva ênfase aos sentidos instrumentais das práticas penais às custas das dimensões simbólicas da punição. A terceira seção indica alguns dos desafios enfrentados pelas teorias neomarxistas da punição hoje, visualizando – ao longo dos recentes estudos sobre o poder carcerário sob o capitalismo racial – algumas possíveis novas direções de pesquisa num cenário crítico mais amplo, focado na interseção entre raça e classe como forças poderosas na reprodução do capitalismo

ESTRUTURAS SOCIAIS E REFORMAS PENAIS: CRÍTICAS MARXISTAS À PUNIÇÃO NO CAPITALISMO TARDIO

A presente contribuição oferece uma análise crítica das teorias neomarxistas da punição. A primeira parte do texto reconstrói duas perspectivas que emergiram da tradição criminológica materialista: (1) as chamadas “histórias revisionistas da punição” dos anos 1970, que revelaram as conexões históricas entre a emergência da pena moderna – isto é, a transição dos medievais “espetáculos de sofrimento” para a prisão disciplinar – e a consolidação de um sistema capitalista de produção baseado na exploração do trabalho; (2) a crítica neomarxista da pena contemporânea, que desenvolveu mais o cenário marxista numa tentativa de dissecar as relações estruturais entre as transformações no campo penal e processos contínuos de reestruturação do capitalismo neoliberal. A segunda parte endereça algumas críticas que tem se desenvolvido contra a perspectiva materialista – i.e, sua tendência em ignorar as dimensões político-institucionais das penas, sua relativa falta de atenção às dinâmicas racializadas da acumulação capitalista, e uma excessiva ênfase aos sentidos instrumentais das práticas penais às custas das dimensões simbólicas da punição. A terceira seção indica alguns dos desafios enfrentados pelas teorias neomarxistas da punição hoje, visualizando – ao longo dos recentes estudos sobre o poder carcerário sob o capitalismo racial – algumas possíveis novas direções de pesquisa num cenário crítico mais amplo, focado na interseção entre raça e classe como forças poderosas na reprodução do capitalismo

Room temperature Bloch surface wave polaritons

Polaritons are hybrid light-matter quasi-particles that have gathered a significant attention for their capability to show room temperature and out-of-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation. More recently, a novel class of ultrafast optical devices have been realized by using flows of polariton fluids, such as switches, interferometers and logical gates. However, polariton lifetimes and propagation distance are strongly limited by photon losses and accessible in-plane momenta in usual microcavity samples. In this work, we show experimental evidence of the formation of room temperature propagating polariton states arising from the strong coupling between organic excitons and a Bloch surface wave. This result, which was only recently predicted, paves the way for the realization of polariton devices that could allow lossless propagation up to macroscopic distances

Ultrafast flow of interacting organic polaritons

The strong-coupling of an excitonic transition with an electromagnetic mode results in composite quasi-particles called exciton-polaritons, which have been shown to combine the best properties of their bare components in semiconductor microcavities. However, the physics and applications of polariton flows in organic materials and at room temperature are still unexplored because of the poor photon confinement in such structures. Here we demonstrate that polaritons formed by the hybridization of organic excitons with a Bloch Surface Wave are able to propagate for hundreds of microns showing remarkable third-order nonlinear interactions upon high injection density. These findings pave the way for the studies of organic nonlinear light-matter fluxes and for a technological promising route of dissipation-less on-chip polariton devices working at room temperature.Comment: Improved version with polariton-polariton interactions. 13 pages, 4 figures, supporting 6 pages, 6 figure

Arthroscopic transosseous versus suture anchor repair: Clinical outcomes in patients with bilateral rotator cuff tears.

The aim of our study was to define if Arthroscopic Transosseous Rotator Cuff Techniques should have comparable results to those of the suture-anchors technique in a single row configuration. We reported the preliminary results of a consecutive population of 22 patients who underwent a rotator cuff treatment on the left and right sides for average medium-sized thickness tears with minimal fatty infiltration with the two different techniques: transosseous rotator cuff repair technique on one side and single row with suture-anchors on the other side, in different times. Subjective evaluation with DASH questionnaires, Constant Scores and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for pain evaluation, have been submitted pre and postoperatively after both operations. A statistical analysis was performed to assess the superiority of one technique and to compare pre and postoperative ROM data and clinical outcomes. A transosseous rotator cuff repair was performed in 7 patients on the dominant arm, while the other 15 patients had dominant arm cuff tear lesions repaired by using suture-anchors technique. At last follow-up a significant improvement, in shoulder pain and function, was referred at both sides. Also, DASH, Constant Scores and NRS for pain evaluation improved with both techniques, but no statistical difference was found between them. Arthroscopic transosseous rotator cuff repair technique shows comparable results to those of the suture-anchors technique in a single row configuration

Relationship between electrocardiographic findings and cardiac magnetic resonance phenotypes in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

Background-\u2014The new designation of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy defines a broader spectrum of disease phenotypes, which include right dominant, biventricular, and left dominant variants. We evaluated the relationship between electrocardiographic findings and contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance phenotypes in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Methods and Results-\u2014We studied a consecutive cohort of patients with a definite diagnosis of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, according to 2010 International Task Force criteria, who underwent electrocardiography and contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance. Both depolarization and repolarization electrocardiographic abnormalities were correlated with the severity of dilatation/dysfunction, either global or regional, of both ventricles and the presence and regional distribution of late gadolinium enhancement. The study population included 79 patients (60% men). There was a statistically significant relationship between the presence and extent of T-wave inversion across a 12-lead ECG and increasing values of median right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic volume (P55 ms in the right precordial leads (V1-V3) was associated with higher RV volume (P=0.014) and lower RV ejection fraction (P=0.053). Low QRS voltages in limb leads predicted the presence (P=0.004) and amount (P<0.001) of left ventricular late gadolinium enhancement. Conclusions-\u2014The study results indicated that electrocardiographic abnormalities predict the arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy phenotype in terms of severity of RV disease and left ventricular involvement, which are among the most important determinants of the disease outcome

Gene profiling, biomarkers and pathways characterizing HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. The molecular mechanisms of HCV-induced hepatocarcinogenesis are not yet fully elucidated. Besides indirect effects as tissue inflammation and regeneration, a more direct oncogenic activity of HCV can be postulated leading to an altered expression of cellular genes by early HCV viral proteins. In the present study, a comparison of gene expression patterns has been performed by microarray analysis on liver biopsies from HCV-positive HCC patients and HCV-negative controls.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Gene expression profiling of liver tissues has been performed using a high-density microarray containing 36'000 oligos, representing 90% of the human genes. Samples were obtained from 14 patients affected by HCV-related HCC and 7 HCV-negative non-liver-cancer patients, enrolled at INT in Naples. Transcriptional profiles identified in liver biopsies from HCC nodules and paired non-adjacent non-HCC liver tissue of the same HCV-positive patients were compared to those from HCV-negative controls by the Cluster program. The pathway analysis was performed using the BRB-Array- Tools based on the "Ingenuity System Database". Significance threshold of <it>t</it>-test was set at 0.001.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significant differences were found between the expression patterns of several genes falling into different metabolic and inflammation/immunity pathways in HCV-related HCC tissues as well as the non-HCC counterpart compared to normal liver tissues. Only few genes were found differentially expressed between HCV-related HCC tissues and paired non-HCC counterpart.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study, informative data on the global gene expression pattern of HCV-related HCC and non-HCC counterpart, as well as on their difference with the one observed in normal liver tissues have been obtained. These results may lead to the identification of specific biomarkers relevant to develop tools for detection, diagnosis, and classification of HCV-related HCC.</p

Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer: A Retrospective Mono-institutional Experience

Background/Aim: Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is an effective treatment for localized prostate cancer. However, is it not clear whether the addition of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to SRT is beneficial. The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of a series of patients treated with SRT plus ADT for localized prostate cancer. Patients and Methods: Patients were treated with SRT with 42 Gy in 7 fractions with volumetric-modulated arc therapy plus Image Guided Radiotherapy (V-MAT IGRT) technique. ADT was administered to patients with intermediate unfavorable-and high-risk disease. Study endpoints were biochemical disease-free survival (bDFS), overall survival (OS), acute and late toxicity and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using international prostate cancer symptoms scale (IPSS) and international index of erectile function (IIEF). Results: A total of 170 consecutive patients were identified, of which 49 (28.8%) with low-risk, 15 (8.8%) with favorable intermediate-risk 76 (44.7%) with unfavorable intermediate risk and 30 (17.6%) with high-risk class. All patients of unfavorable intermediate-and high-risk groups were for administered LHRH analogue concurrently to SRT and for at least 6 months. Patients with unfavorable intermediate and high-risk presented a 5-year bDFS of 81.7% and 76.9%, respectively. Conclusion: SRT consisting of 42 Gy in seven fractions with short-term ADT represents a safe and effective treatment for unfavorable intermediate and high risk prostate cancer. Our results support the need of high quality studies to test the efficacy of ADT combined with SRT for unfavorable intermediate-and high-risk localized prostate cancer

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection by vaccination status, predominant variant and time from prior infection: a cohort study, Reggio Emilia province, Italy, February 2020 to February 2022

: BackgroundUnderstanding the epidemiology of reinfections is crucial for SARS-CoV-2 control over a long period.AimTo evaluate the risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection by vaccination status, predominant variant and time after first infection.MethodsWe conducted a cohort study including all residents in the Reggio Emilia province on 31 December 2019, followed up until 28 February 2022 for SARS-CoV-2 first infection and reinfection after 90 days. Cox models were used to compare risk of first infection vs reinfection, adjusting for age, sex, vaccine doses and comorbidities.ResultsThe cohort included 538,516 residents, 121,154 with first SARS-CoV-2 infections and 3,739 reinfections, most in the Omicron BA.1 period. In the pre-Omicron period, three doses of vaccine reduced risk of reinfection by 89% (95% CI: 87-90), prior infection reduced risk by 90% (95% CI: 88-91), while two doses and infection reduced risk by 98% (95% CI: 96-99). In the Omicron BA.1 period, protection estimates were 53% (95% CI: 52-55), 9% (95% CI: 4-14) and 76% (95% CI: 74-77). Before Omicron, protection from reinfection remained above 80% for up to 15 months; with Omicron BA.1, protection decreased from 71% (95% CI: 65-76) at 5 months to 21% (95% CI: 10-30) at 22 months from the first infection. Omicron BA.1 reinfections showed 48% (95% CI: 10-57) lower risk of severe disease than first infections.ConclusionsNatural immunity acquired with previous variants showed low protection against Omicron BA.1. Combined vaccination and natural immunity seems to be more protective against reinfection than either alone. Vaccination of people with prior infection reduced the risk of severe disease