Da Suzanne a Gertrude : da Diderot a Manzoni

Aquest article, dedicat a la més que coneguda relació entre l'episodi de la monja de Monza de Manzoni i La Religieuse, posa en evidència el diferent horitzó narratiu i estilístic que la presentació de la "senyora" assumeix al Fermo e Lucia i als Promessi Sposi. La narració de Diderot, explicada per la veu del personatge femení, neix d'una mena de joc, en una veritable mistificació, que de tota manera es desenvolupa com a crítica a la institució monàstica. La de Manzoni se sosté en la veu de l'autor, en una perspectiva de judici moral sobre els comportaments dels personatges, que no qüestiona la institució. A més a més, s'aprecia com molts detalls del text de Manzoni, tant al Fermo e Lucia com a la redacció final dels Promessi Sposi, es defineixen mitjançant un esforç per diferenciar-se de la perspectiva del text de Diderot

Quale Rinascimento?

Sintetica riflessione sui limiti del concetto di Rinascimento, sul suo orizzonte geografico e sui processi storici che conducono dal ritorno umanistico all’antico alla elaborazione nel primo Cinquecento di nuovi modelli culturali e di nuovi generi letterari, in quello che è stato chiamato “Rinascimento dei moderni”. Si mette in evidenza come questo processo culmina nel periodo delle guerre d’Italia, in una fase di lacerazione che lascerà il segno su tutta la storia successiva: la cultura italiana elabora le forme che nutriranno la moderna cultura europea, proprio mentre il paese cade sotto il controllo dei poteri stranieri. This paper presents a brief reflection on the limits of the concept of Renaissance, on its geographical horizon and on the historical processes that led from the humanistic return to the ancient to the foundation in the early sixteenth century of new cultural models and new literary genres, in what has been called “Renaissance of the modern men”. The paper highlights how this process culminates in the period of the Italian wars, in a phase of turmoil that would leave its mark on the following events: the Italian culture elaborated forms that would nourish the modern European culture in the wake of the country’s falling under control of foreign powers

La pasión por la lengua: Vincenzo Consolo (homenaje por sus 75 años)

In occasione del 75º compleanno di Vincenzo Consolo, questo libro offre una raccolta monografica degli studi e dei saggi dei più grandi specialisti su Consolo (Renzo Cremante, Giulio Ferroni, Cesare Segre, Salvatore C. Trovato fra gli altri) riunitisi a Valencia nel mese di aprile del 2008, per le Giornate Internazionali di Studio dedicate a Vincenzo Consolo: La pasión por la lengua: Vincenzo Consolo (Homenaje por sus 75 años). Arricchisce il volume il servizio fotografico degli atti accademici

Vincenzo Consolo: punto de unión entre Sicilia y España. Los treinta años de Il sorriso dell'ignoto marinaio

Con ocasión del trigésimo aniversario de la publicación de Il sorriso dell’ignoto marinaio, hemos organizado las Jornadas Internacionales Vincenzo Consolo: punto de unión entre Sicilia y España. Los treinta años de Il sorriso dell’ignoto marinaio, que se celebraron en la Universitat de València los días 23 y 24 de octubre de 2006 y cuyas Actas ofrecemos en el presente volumen monográfico. De esta manera, cerramos el ciclo de dos años dedicado a la obra de Vincenzo Consolo, ciclo que iniciamos el año anterior con unas primeras Jornadas Internacionales, Lunaria vent’anni dopo, que también organizamos en la Universitat de València los días 24 y 25 de octubre de 2005, al cumplirse el vigésimo aniversario de su obra Lunaria

A machine-learning based bio-psycho-social model for the prediction of non-obstructive and obstructive coronary artery disease

Background: Mechanisms of myocardial ischemia in obstructive and non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), and the interplay between clinical, functional, biological and psycho-social features, are still far to be fully elucidated. Objectives: To develop a machine-learning (ML) model for the supervised prediction of obstructive versus non-obstructive CAD. Methods: From the EVA study, we analysed adults hospitalized for IHD undergoing conventional coronary angiography (CCA). Non-obstructive CAD was defined by a stenosis < 50% in one or more vessels. Baseline clinical and psycho-socio-cultural characteristics were used for computing a Rockwood and Mitnitski frailty index, and a gender score according to GENESIS-PRAXY methodology. Serum concentration of inflammatory cytokines was measured with a multiplex flow cytometry assay. Through an XGBoost classifier combined with an explainable artificial intelligence tool (SHAP), we identified the most influential features in discriminating obstructive versus non-obstructive CAD. Results: Among the overall EVA cohort (n = 509), 311 individuals (mean age 67 ± 11 years, 38% females; 67% obstructive CAD) with complete data were analysed. The ML-based model (83% accuracy and 87% precision) showed that while obstructive CAD was associated with higher frailty index, older age and a cytokine signature characterized by IL-1β, IL-12p70 and IL-33, non-obstructive CAD was associated with a higher gender score (i.e., social characteristics traditionally ascribed to women) and with a cytokine signature characterized by IL-18, IL-8, IL-23. Conclusions: Integrating clinical, biological, and psycho-social features, we have optimized a sex- and gender-unbiased model that discriminates obstructive and non-obstructive CAD. Further mechanistic studies will shed light on the biological plausibility of these associations. Clinical trial registration: NCT02737982

The Sex-Specific Detrimental Effect of Diabetes and Gender-Related Factors on Pre-admission Medication Adherence Among Patients Hospitalized for Ischemic Heart Disease: Insights From EVA Study

Background: Sex and gender-related factors have been under-investigated as relevant determinants of health outcomes across non-communicable chronic diseases. Poor medication adherence results in adverse clinical outcomes and sex differences have been reported among patients at high cardiovascular risk, such as diabetics. The effect of diabetes and gender-related factors on medication adherence among women and men at high risk for ischemic heart disease (IHD) has not yet been fully investigated.Aim: To explore the role of sex, gender-related factors, and diabetes in pre-admission medication adherence among patients hospitalized for IHD.Materials and Methods: Data were obtained from the Endocrine Vascular disease Approach (EVA) (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02737982), a prospective cohort of patients admitted for IHD. We selected patients with baseline information regarding the presence of diabetes, cardiovascular risk factors, and gender-related variables (i.e., gender identity, gender role, gender relations, institutionalized gender). Our primary outcome was the proportion of pre-admission medication adherence defined through a self-reported questionnaire. We performed a sex-stratified analysis of clinical and gender-related factors associated with pre-admission medication adherence.Results: Two-hundred eighty patients admitted for IHD (35% women, mean age 70), were included. Around one-fourth of the patients were low-adherent to therapy before hospitalization, regardless of sex. Low-adherent patients were more likely diabetic (40%) and employed (40%). Sex-stratified analysis showed that low-adherent men were more likely to be employed (58 vs. 33%) and not primary earners (73 vs. 54%), with more masculine traits of personality, as compared with medium-high adherent men. Interestingly, women reporting medication low-adherence were similar for clinical and gender-related factors to those with medium-high adherence, except for diabetes (42 vs. 20%, p = 0.004). In a multivariate adjusted model only employed status was associated with poor medication adherence (OR 0.55, 95%CI 0.31–0.97). However, in the sex-stratified analysis, diabetes was independently associated with medication adherence only in women (OR 0.36; 95%CI 0.13–0.96), whereas a higher masculine BSRI was the only factor associated with medication adherence in men (OR 0.59, 95%CI 0.35–0.99).Conclusion: Pre-admission medication adherence is common in patients hospitalized for IHD, regardless of sex. However, patient-related factors such as diabetes, employment, and personality traits are associated with adherence in a sex-specific manner