Fighting about (Sexual) Citizenship: Italy’s “Nature or Culture” Dilemma

Recent public debate in Italy has been noteworthy for its renewed focus on issues of gender and sexual citizenship. The discussion is well summarized and symbolized by two opposing political discourses that have been engaged in a lengthy struggle. On one side stands a neo-conservative Catholic movement that opposes the recognition of LGBTQ relationships and defends “the natural family”. On the other side there are the LGBTQ movements, which are claiming full civil, social and sexual citizenship. The present article analyzes this conflict, which was clearly illustrated by two public events held in Rome in June 2015 (Family Day and the Rome LGBTQ Pride). The paper, methodologically based on Critical Discourse Analysis, examines the most relevant political documents (manifestos and press releases) issued by the organizers of the two demonstrations, highlighting the existence of ambivalent discourses on the naturalization of sex and the universalization of social and sexual citizenship.O debate público tem sido recentemente marcado em Itália por um renovado interesse pelas questões de género e cidadania sexual. Mais especificamente, destacam-se dois discursos políticos antagónicos envolvidos numa longa contenda que sintetizam e simbolizam claramente este debate. De um lado encontra-se o movimento católico neoconservador que se opõe ao reconhecimento das elações LGBTQ e defende a “família natural”. Do outro, os movimentos LGBT, que reivindicam a plena cidadania civil, social e sexual. No presente artigo analisa-se este conflito, que se manifestou muito claramente por ocasião de dois eventos públicos que tiveram lugar em Roma em junho de 2015: o Dia da Família e a Marcha do Orgulho LGBTQI. Através de uma metodologia baseada na Análise Crítica do Discurso, examinam-se os documentos políticos mais relevantes (manifestos e comunicados de imprensa) emitidos pelos organizadores dos dois eventos e destaca-se a presença de discursos ambivalentes sobre a naturalização do sexo e a universalização da cidadania social e sexual.En Italie, le débat public a récemment été marqué par un regain d’intérêt envers les questions de genre et de citoyenneté sexuelle. Plus spécifiquement, il existe deux discours politiques antagoniques engagés dans une longue dispute qui synthétisent et symbolisent clairement ce débat. D’un côté, nous trouvons le mouvement catholique néoconservateur qui s’oppose à la reconnaissance des relations LGBTQ et défend la “famille naturelle”. De l’autre, il existe des mouvements LGBT, qui revendiquent la pleine citoyenneté civile, sociale et sexuelle. Dans cet article nous nous penchons sur l’analyse de ce conflit, qui s’est clairement manifesté à l’occasion de deux évènements publics qui eurent lieu à Rome en juin 2015: la Journée de la Famille et la Marche des Fiertés LGBTQI. En passant par une méthodologie qui repose sur l’Analyse Critique du Discours, nous examinons les documents politiques les plus importants (manifestes et communiqués de presse) émis par les organisateurs des deux évènements et nous soulignons la présence de discours ambigus sur la naturalisation du sexe et l’universalisation de la citoyenneté sociale et sexuelle

ASCs-exosomes recover coupling efficiency and mitochondrial membrane potential in an in vitro model of ALS

The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motoneurons death. Mutations in the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) protein have been identified to be related to the disease. Beyond the different altered pathways, the mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the major features that leads to the selective death of motoneurons in ALS. The NSC-34 cell line, overexpressing human SOD1(G93A) mutant protein [NSC-34(G93A)], is considered an optimal in vitro model to study ALS. Here we investigated the energy metabolism in NSC-34(G93A) cells and in particular the effect of the mutated SOD1(G93A) protein on the mitochondrial respiratory capacity (complexes I-IV) by high resolution respirometry (HRR) and cytofluorimetry. We demonstrated that NSC-34(G93A) cells show a reduced mitochondrial oxidative capacity. In particular, we found significant impairment of the complex I-linked oxidative phosphorylation, reduced efficiency of the electron transfer system (ETS) associated with a higher rate of dissipative respiration, and a lower membrane potential. In order to rescue the effect of the mutated SOD1 gene on mitochondria impairment, we evaluated the efficacy of the exosomes, isolated from adipose-derived stem cells, administrated on the NSC-34(G93A) cells. These data show that ASCs-exosomes are able to restore complex I activity, coupling efficiency and mitochondrial membrane potential. Our results improve the knowledge about mitochondrial bioenergetic defects directly associated with the SOD1(G93A) mutation, and prove the efficacy of adipose-derived stem cells exosomes to rescue the function of mitochondria, indicating that these vesicles could represent a valuable approach to target mitochondrial dysfunction in ALS

Where feminists dare : the challenge to the heteropatriarchal and neo-conservative backlash in Italy and Poland

This paper focuses on the public debate in Poland and Italy concerning the right to abortion in the contemporary rise of populist neo-conservative forces in Europe and of a global feminist movement. In both countries, the historical Catholic interference into women's reproductive rights and self-determination has been enforced by the renewed alliance of right-wing governments and pro-life groups to converge into a transnational “anti-gender war”. This represents a real backlash against women’s achievements over the last decades in terms of reproductive and sexual citizenship, which appears to be the battlefield for redefinition of western citizenship in times of global crisis. Although different genealogies, we identified a common framing of neo-conservative discourse, and of feminist claims and practices, as that of feminist strikes and social mutualism. In this perspective, we consider these practices as a normativity from below, arguing that feminist movement is addressing a new paradigm of citizenship

Le nuove minacce per la salute respiratoria: il fumo elettronico

Il fenomeno dello svapo si sta diffondendo moltissimo soprattutto tra i giovanissimi. Il Pediatra Pneumologo riveste un ruolo cruciale per tentare di invertire questa tendenza, avendo un duplice compito: prevenire il tabagismo, educando i propri pazienti sui rischi e le conseguenze del fumo, e individuare i pazienti che già fumano o che sono esposti a fumo, per fornire aiuto e supporto nel trattamento della dipendenza

Spirometria e FeNO concetti base per l’esecuzione e l’interpretazione in età pediatrica

Le prove di funzionalità respiratoria, prima tra tutte la spirometria, rappresentano uno strumento essenziale sia nella diagnosi delle patologie respiratorie, che nel loro follow-up. Con l’assistenza di personale qualificato la maggior parte dei bambini a partire dai 5-6 anni riesce ad eseguire una spirometria che rispetti criteri standardizzati di accettabilità e riproducibilità. La risultante curva flusso-volume consente di distinguere disfunzioni ventilatorie di tipo ostruttivo, restrittivo o misto e di valutarne la reversibilità dopo somministrazione di salbutamolo. La spirometria fa parte integrante del percorso diagnostico-terapeutico dell’asma, ma non ha un’elevata correlazione con severità e controllo dei sintomi e non è sempre sufficientemente sensibile nell’individuare la limitazione variabile del flusso aereo. Per superare questi limiti, negli ambulatori di pneumologia pediatrica accanto alla spirometria si stanno quindi diffondendo nuovi strumenti e nuove metodiche, tra cui la valutazione non invasiva di markers di infiammazione, come la misurazione della frazione esalata di ossido nitrico (FeNO). Esso rappresenta un marker di infiammazione di Tipo-2 delle vie aeree e, in associazione alla spirometria, sembra avere un ruolo nel supportare la diagnosi di asma, nella valutazione del rischio di riacutizzazione e nella gestione terapeutica, ma anche nella valutazione del rischio di sviluppare asma nei bambini con wheezing prescolare. Poiché i livelli di FeNO possono essere influenzati da molti fattori esogeni ed endogeni, tale misurazione deve essere interpretata alla luce dei dati clinici e strumentali e non basandosi solo sulle soglie dei cut-off indicati dalle linee guida internazionali. Questo articolo valuta il contributo dell’esame spirometrico e della misurazione del FeNO nella gestione ambulatoriale dei bambini con asma bronchiale, fornendo aspetti pratici per l’esecuzione e l’interpretazione di questi test diagnostici, al fine di ottimizzare la gestione terapeutica di questi pazienti

L’Oscillometria a impulsi nuovo test di funzionalità respiratoria per i bambini con asma

L’asma è una malattia infiammatoria cronica delle vie aeree che può interessare l’intero albero bronchiale. Recenti evidenze dimostrano che la disfunzione delle piccole vie aeree (o small airway dysfunction, SAD) è un fattore importante nella patogenesi e nell’espressione clinica della malattia. A causa delle difficoltà nella valutazione delle vie aeree periferiche con tecniche non invasive, risulta ancora poco chiaro il ruolo della SAD nell’asma pediatrico, che è invece assodato in età adulta. Secondo recenti lavori, le piccole vie aeree sono interessate già nelle prime fasi dell’asma, ma la spirometria, il test convenzionale per la valutazione della funzione polmonare, non esamina in modo sensibile la loro funzione, risultando alterata solo quando la disfunzione periferica diventa molto rilevante. L’infiammazione cronica e la SAD rappresentano fattori di rischio per la persistenza e la gravità dell’asma, lo scarso controllo della malattia e la progressiva riduzione della funzione polmonare con l’età. Identificare e quantificare il coinvolgimento sia delle vie aeree centrali che periferiche risulta pertanto clinicamente molto rilevante per una diagnosi precoce e per ottenere un buon controllo dell’asma, ridurre l’iperreattività bronchiale e monitorare la risposta al trattamento di fondo. Questo articolo descrive le evidenze recenti sul ruolo della SAD nello sviluppo e nel controllo dell’asma pediatrico e valuta il contributo di una nuova tecnica diagnostica disponibile in ambito ambulatoriale, l’oscillometria a impulsi, nella diagnosi precoce di SAD in età prescolare e scolare, nel monitoraggio dell’asma (in associazione alla spirometria) e nella gestione terapeutica

Improving the channeler ant model for lung CT analysis

The Channeler Ant Model (CAM) is an algorithm based on virtual ant colonies, conceived for the segmentation of complex structures with different shapes and intensity in a 3D environment. It exploits the natural capabilities of virtual ant colonies to modify the environment and communicate with each other by pheromone deposition. When applied to lung CTs, the CAM can be turned into a Computer Aided Detection (CAD) method for the identification of pulmonary nodules and the support to radiologists in the identification of early-stage pathological objects. The CAM has been validated with the segmentation of 3D artificial objects and it has already been successfully applied to the lung nodules detection in Computed Tomography images within the ANODE09 challenge. The model improvements for the segmentation of nodules attached to the pleura and to the vessel tree are discussed, as well as a method to enhance the detection of low-intensity nodules. The results on five datasets annotated with different criteria show that the analytical modules (i.e. up to the filtering stage) provide a sensitivity in the 80 - 90% range with a number of FP/scan of the order of 20. The classification module, although not yet optimised, keeps the sensitivity in the 70 - 85% range at about 10 FP/scan, in spite of the fact that the annotation criteria for the training and the validation samples are different

Online proton therapy monitoring: Clinical test of a Silicon-photodetector-based in-beam PET

Particle therapy exploits the energy deposition pattern of hadron beams. The narrow Bragg Peak at the end of range is a major advantage but range uncertainties can cause severe damage and require online verification to maximise the effectiveness in clinics. In-beam Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a non-invasive, promising in-vivo technique, which consists in the measurement of the β+ activity induced by beam-tissue interactions during treatment, and presents the highest correlation of the measured activity distribution with the deposited dose, since it is not much influenced by biological washout. Here we report the first clinical results obtained with a state-of-the-art in-beam PET scanner, with on-the-fly reconstruction of the activity distribution during irradiation. An automated time-resolved quantitative analysis was tested on a lacrimal gland carcinoma case, monitored during two consecutive treatment sessions. The 3D activity map was reconstructed every 10 s, with an average delay between beam delivery and image availability of about 6 s. The correlation coefficient of 3D activity maps for the two sessions (above 0.9 after 120 s) and the range agreement (within 1 mm) prove the suitability of in-beam PET for online range verification during treatment, a crucial step towards adaptive strategies in particle therapy

Inter-society consensus for the use of inhaled corticosteroids in infants, children and adolescents with airway diseases

Background: In 2019, a multidisciplinary panel of experts from eight Italian scientific paediatric societies developed a consensus document for the use of inhaled corticosteroids in the management and prevention of the most common paediatric airways disorders. The aim is to provide healthcare providers with a multidisciplinary document including indications useful in the clinical practice. The consensus document was intended to be addressed to paediatricians who work in the Paediatric Divisions, the Primary Care Services and the Emergency Departments, as well as to Residents or PhD students, paediatric nurses and specialists or consultants in paediatric pulmonology, allergy, infectious diseases, and ear, nose, and throat medicine. Methods: Clinical questions identifying Population, Intervention(s), Comparison and Outcome(s) were addressed by methodologists and a general agreement on the topics and the strength of the recommendations (according to the GRADE system) was obtained following the Delphi method. The literature selection included secondary sources such as evidence-based guidelines and systematic reviews and was integrated with primary studies subsequently published. Results: The expert panel provided a number of recommendations on the use of inhaled corticosteroids in preschool wheezing, bronchial asthma, allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, acute and chronic rhinosinusitis, adenoid hypertrophy, laryngitis and laryngospasm. Conclusions: We provided a multidisciplinary update on the current recommendations for the management and prevention of the most common paediatric airways disorders requiring inhaled corticosteroids, in order to share useful indications, identify gaps in knowledge and drive future research