La recezione del Petrarca nella poesia musicale della sua epoca : alcuni esempi

Il testo affronta il problema del rivestimento polifonico della produzione madrigalistica petrarchesca all'interno del contesto culturale relativo alla ricezione della poesia musicale dall'umanesimo al Rinascimento.The text addresses the question of the polyphonic layering in Petrarchan madrigal production within the cultural context relating to the reception of musical poetry from Humanism through to the Renaissance

La recezione del Petrarca nella poesia musicale

Il testo affronta il problema del rivestimento polifonico della produzione madrigalistica petrarchesca all’interno del contesto culturale relativo alla ricezione della poesia musicale dall’umanesimo al Rinascimento.The text addresses the question of the polyphonic layering in Petrarchan madrigal production within the cultural context relating to the reception of musical poetry from Humanism through to the Renaissance

Isolation and Genetic Characterization of Mother-of-Snow-White, a Maternal Effect Allele Affecting Laterality and Lateralized Behaviors in Zebrafish

In the present work we report evidence compatible with a maternal effect allele affecting left-right development and functional lateralization in vertebrates. Our study demonstrates that the increased frequency of reversed brain asymmetries in a zebrafish line isolated through a behavioral assay is due to selection of mother-of-snow-white (msw), a maternal effect allele involved in early stages of left-right development in zebrafish. msw homozygous females could be identified by screening of their progeny for the position of the parapineal organ because in about 50% of their offspring we found an altered, either bilateral or right-sided, expression of lefty1 and spaw. Deeper investigations at earlier stages of development revealed that msw is involved in the specification and differentiation of precursors of the Kupffer's vesicle, a structure homologous to the mammalian node. To test the hypothesis that msw, by controlling Kupffer's vesicle morphogenesis, controls lateralized behaviors related to diencephalic asymmetries, we analyzed left- and right-parapineal offspring in a “viewing test”. As a result, left- and right-parapineal individuals showed opposite and complementary eye preference when scrutinizing a model predator, and a different degree of lateralization when scrutinizing a virtual companion. As maternal effect genes are expected to evolve more rapidly when compared to zygotic ones, our results highlight the driving force of maternal effect alleles in the evolution of vertebrates behaviors

Comparison of Oxidative Stress Effects on Senescence Patterning of Human Adult and Perinatal Tissue-Derived Stem Cells in Short and Long-term Cultures

Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs) undergo senescence in lifespan. In most clinical trials, hMSCs experience long-term expansion ex vivo to increase cell number prior to transplantation, which unfortunately leads to cell senescence, hampering post-transplant outcomes.Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in vitro represents a rapid, time and cost-effective tool, commonly used as oxidative stress tantalizing the stem cell ability to cope with a hostile environment, recapitulating the onset and progression of cellular senescence.Here, H2O2 at different concentrations (ranging from 50 to 400 mu M) and time exposures (1 or 2 hours - h), was used for the first time to compare the behavior of human Adipose tissue-derived Stem Cells (hASCs) and human Wharton's Jelly-derived MSCs (hWJ-MSCs), as representative of adult and perinatal tissue-derived stem cells, respectively. We showed timely different responses of hASCs and hWJ-MSCs at low and high subculture passages, concerning the cell proliferation, the cell senescence-associated beta-Galactosidase activity, the capability of these cells to undergo passages, the morphological changes and the gene expression of tumor protein p53 (TP53, alias p53) and cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor IA (CDKN IA, alias p21) post H2O2 treatments.The comparison between the hASC and hWJ-MSC response to oxidative stress induced by H2O2 is a useful tool to assess the biological mechanisms at the basis of hMSC senescence, but it could also provide two models amenable to test in vitro putative anti-senescence modulators and develop anti-senescence strategies

Uncertainty principle of genetic information in a living cell

BACKGROUND: Formal description of a cell's genetic information should provide the number of DNA molecules in that cell and their complete nucleotide sequences. We pose the formal problem: can the genome sequence forming the genotype of a given living cell be known with absolute certainty so that the cell's behaviour (phenotype) can be correlated to that genetic information? To answer this question, we propose a series of thought experiments. RESULTS: We show that the genome sequence of any actual living cell cannot physically be known with absolute certainty, independently of the method used. There is an associated uncertainty, in terms of base pairs, equal to or greater than μs (where μ is the mutation rate of the cell type and s is the cell's genome size). CONCLUSION: This finding establishes an "uncertainty principle" in genetics for the first time, and its analogy with the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in physics is discussed. The genetic information that makes living cells work is thus better represented by a probabilistic model rather than as a completely defined object

Active degassing across the Maltese Islands (Mediterranean Sea) and implications for its neotectonics

The Maltese Islands, located in the central Mediterranean Sea, are intersected by two normal fault systems associated with continental rifting to the south. Due to a lack of evidence for offshore displacement and insignificant historical seismicity, the systems are thought to be inactive and the rift-related deformation is believed to have ceased. In this study we integrate aerial, marine and onshore geological, geophysical and geochemical data from the Maltese Islands to demonstrate that the majority of faults offshore the archipelago underwent extensional to transtensional deformation during the last 20 ka. We also document an active fluid flow system responsible for degassing of CH4 and CO2. The gases migrate through carbonate bedrock and overlying sedimentary layers via focused pathways, such as faults and pipe structures, and possibly via diffuse pathways, such as fractures. Where the gases seep offshore, they form pockmarks and rise through the water column into the atmosphere. Gas migration and seepage implies that the onshore and offshore faults systems are permeable and that they were active recently and simultaneously. The latter can be explained by a transtensional system involving two right-stepping, right-lateral NW-SE trending faults, either binding a pull-apart basin between the islands of Malta and Gozo or associated with minor connecting antitethic structures. Such a configuration may be responsible for the generation or reactivation of faults onshore and offshore the Maltese Islands, and fits into the modern divergent strain-stress regime inferred from geodetic data

Antimicrobial treatment with the fixed-dose antibiotic combination RHB-104 for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Crohn\u2019s disease: pharmacological and clinical implications

Introduction: Crohn\u2019s disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease of unknown etiology. However, increasing evidence suggests Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) as a putative causative agent: 1) MAP is the etiological agent of Johne\u2019s disease, a granulomatous enteritis affecting ruminants, which shares clinical and pathological features with CD; 2) MAP has been detected in tissues and blood samples from CD patients; 3) case reports have documented a favorable therapeutic response to anti-MAP antibiotics. Area covered: This review provides an appraisal of current information on MAP characteristics, diagnostic methodologies and emerging drug treatments. The authors focus on RHB-104, a novel oral formulation containing a fixed-dose combination of clarithromycin, clofazimine and rifabutin, endowed with synergistic inhibitory activity on MAP strains isolated from CD patients. Expert opinion: Based on encouraging in vitro data, RHB-104 has entered recently the clinical phase of its development, and is being investigated in a randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trial aimed at evaluating its efficacy and safety in CD. Provided that the overall clinical development will support the suitability of RHB-104 for inducing disease remission in CD patients with documented MAP infection, this novel antibiotic combination will likely take a relevant position in the therapeutic armamentarium for CD management

INTERMUSCULAR TWO-INCISION TECHNIQUE FOR S-ICD IMPLANTATION

Background The traditional technique for subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) implantation, which involves three incisions and a subcutaneous pocket, is associated with possible complications, including inappropriate interventions. The aim of this prospective multicenter study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an alternative intermuscular two-incision technique for S-ICD implantation. Methods The study population included 36 consecutive patients (75% male, mean age 44 ± 12 years [range 20–69]) who underwent S-ICD implantation using the intermuscular two-incision technique. This technique avoids the superior parasternal incision for the lead placement and consists of creating an intermuscular pocket between the anterior surface of the serratus anterior and the posterior surface of the latissimus dorsi muscles instead of a subcutaneous pocket. Results All patients were successfully implanted in the absence of any procedure-related complications with a successful 65-J standard polarity defibrillation threshold testing, except in one, who received a second successful shock after pocket revision. During a mean follow-up of 10 months (range 3–30), no complications requiring surgical revision were observed. At device interrogation, stable sensing without interferences was observed in all patients. Two patients (5.5%) experienced appropriate and successful shock on ventricular fibrillation and in four patients (11%), a total of seven nonsustained self-terminated ventricular tachycardias were correctly detected. No inappropriate interventions were observed. Conclusions Our experience suggests that the two-incision intermuscular technique is a safe and efficacious alternative to the current technique for S-ICD implantation that may help reducing complications including inappropriate interventions and offer a better cosmetic outcome, especially in thin individuals

Prevention of long‐lasting atrial fibrillation through antitachycardia pacing in DDDR pacemakers

Objective The MINERVA trial showed that in pacemaker patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) history, DDDRP pacing combining three algorithms - (a) atrial antitachycardia pacing with Reactive ATP enabled, (b) atrial preventive pacing and (c) managed ventricular pacing (MVP)-may effectively delay progression to persistent/permanent AF compared with standard DDDR pacing. We performed a comparative non-randomised evaluation to evaluate if Reactive ATP can be the main driver of persistent/permanent AF reduction independently on preventive pacing. Methods Thirty-one centres included consecutive dual-chamber pacemaker patients with AF history. Reactive ATP was programmed in all patients while preventive atrial pacing was not enabled. These patients were compared with the three groups of MINERVA randomised trial (Control DDDR, MVP, and DDDRP). The main endpoint was the incidence of AF longer than 7 consecutive days. Results A total of 146 patients (73 years old, 54% male) were included and followed for a median observation period of 31 months. The 2-year incidence of AF > 7 days was 12% in the Reactive ATP group, very similar to that found in the DDDRP arm of the MINERVA trial (13.8%, P = .732) and significantly lower than AF incidence found in the MINERVA Control DDDR arm (25.8%, P = .012) and in the MINERVA MVP arm (25.9%, P = .025). Conclusions In a real-world population of dual-chamber pacemaker patients with AF history, the use of Reactive ATP is associated with a low incidence of persistent AF, highlighting that the positive results of the MINERVA trial were related to the effectiveness of Reactive ATP rather than to preventive pacing

Active faulting offshore the Maltese Islands revealed by geophysical and geochemical observations

The Maltese Islands (central Mediterranean Sea) are intersected by two normal fault systems associated with continental rifting to the south. Because of a lack of evidence for offshore displacement and insignificant historical seismicity, the systems have been considered to be inactive. Here we integrate aerial and marine geological, geophysical and geochemical data to demonstrate that: (i) the majority of faults offshore the Maltese Islands underwent extensional to transtensional deformation during the last 20 ka, (ii) active degassing of CH4 and CO2 occurs via these faults. The gases migrate through Miocene carbonate bedrock and the overlying Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary layers to generate pockmarks at the muddy seafloor and rise through the water column into the atmosphere. We infer that the offshore faults systems are permeable and that they were active recently and simultaneously. The latter can be explained by a transtensional system involving two right-stepping, right-lateral NW-SE trending faults, either binding a pull-apart basin between the islands of Malta and Gozo or associated with minor connecting antitethic structures. Such a configuration may be responsible for the generation or reactivation of faults onshore and offshore the Maltese Islands, and fits into the modern divergent strain-stress regime inferred from geodetic data.peer-reviewe