"Mezziuomini, mezzedonne e piglianculo". Rappresentazioni e relazioni nella Sicilia Occidentale

Se nei confronti degli “uomini” è possibile attribuire, per inferenza, qualità quali la coerenza, la libertà di giudizio e l'onestà, sia i “mezzi uomini” che, di rimando, le “mezze donne” e i “piglianculo” nascondono un lato oscuro, una percentuale imprecisata di disvalore. Essa è fornita dalle stigmatizzazioni periodiche a cui sono sottoposti nell’incontro con gli altri. Perché, se gli ominicchi scimmiottano, i pigliainculo non avendo, dal termine che li addita, una “integrità autoriflessiva”, e subendo una espropriazione relazionale del proprio sé autentico, sperimentano in modi differenti l’incontro con l’altri. Il sagggio ripercorre alcuni lemmi che dalla vita quotidiana alla letteratura siciliana ripercorrono le rappresentazioni che dell'omosessualità la società insulare ha a lungo conservato. Svolge poi, attraverso i risultati una ricerca condotta fra giovani omossessuali dichiarati siciliani, un confronto con le attuali rappresentazioni dell'omosessualità

Biogeochemical processes in sediments of the Manfredonia Gulf (Southern Adriatic Sea): early diagenesis of carbon and nutrient and benthic exchange

In order to understand the mechanisms responsible of the recycle of carbon and nutrients at the sediment-water interface and to understand the role of sediments in nutrients mass balance in coastal water, cores were collected (pore waters and solid phases) and benthic fluxes (oxygen, dissolved nutrients, dissolved iron and manganese, alkalinity and TCO2) were measured in two stations in the Gulf of Manfredonia (Southern Adriatic Sea). Stations were chosen to include a site, in the offshore part of the gulf, under the influence of western Adriatic current and another site, in the inner part of the gulf, under influence of gyres occurring inside the gulf. Both stations were placed in areas characterized by high sedimentation rate. Fluxes at sediment water interface show higher values in S2 site during the summer. Bio-irrigation seems to be the main transport mechanism characterizing both sites, with more evident effects during summer in S1 site

Dual Beneficial Effects of (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate on Levodopa Methylation and Hippocampal Neurodegeneration: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

A combination of levodopa (L-DOPA) and carbidopa is the most commonly-used treatment for symptom management in Parkinson's disease. Studies have shown that concomitant use of a COMT inhibitor is highly beneficial in controlling the wearing-off phenomenon by improving L-DOPA bioavailability as well as brain entry. The present study sought to determine whether (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a common tea polyphenol, can serve as a naturally-occurring COMT inhibitor that also possesses neuroprotective actions.Using both in vitro and in vivo models, we investigated the modulating effects of EGCG on L-DOPA methylation as well as on chemically induced oxidative neuronal damage and degeneration. EGCG strongly inhibited human liver COMT-mediated O-methylation of L-DOPA in a concentration-dependent manner in vitro, with an average IC50 of 0.36 microM. Oral administration of EGCG moderately lowered the accumulation of 3-O-methyldopa in the plasma and striatum of rats treated with L-DOPA+carbidopa. In addition, EGCG also reduced glutamate-induced oxidative cytotoxicity in cultured HT22 mouse hippocampal neuronal cells through inactivation of the nuclear factor kappaB-signaling pathway. Under in vivo conditions, administration of EGCG exerted a strong protective effect against kainic acid-induced oxidative neuronal death in the hippocampus of rats.These observations suggest that oral administration of EGCG may have significant beneficial effects in Parkinson's patients treated with L-DOPA and carbidopa by exerting a modest inhibition of L-DOPA methylation plus a strong neuroprotection against oxidative damage and degeneration

Geochemistry and particle size of surface sediments of Gulf of Manfredonia (Southern Adriatic sea)

In this study we describe mechanisms influencing the spatial distribution of the surface sediments in the Gulf of Manfredonia. Seventy-three samples were collected on a regional grid and analyzed for grain-size, major and trace elements and organic matter content. Sediments contain marine-derived carbonate as well as terrigenous fractions indicating highly heterogeneous sediment composition dictated by different provenance and complex transport processes. Principal Component Analysis provides information about processes involved in the formation and dispersal of the sediments. The regional sediment distribution is function of the Gulf\u27s morphology and sedimentary inputs from fluvial sources, mainly from the Ofanto River, and from the North and Central Adriatic basin. Biogenic carbonate reefs, identified in two restricted coastal areas add complexity to sediment shelf dispersal. The North-Adriatic current flowing southward transports and deposits sediments from the Northern basin in the offshore area of the Gulf while an inner anticyclonic current distributes and mixes northern and fluvial sediment with a clockwise pattern. In order to better assess the fluvial contribution also bedload samples from the main river debouching into the Gulf were sampled, enabling the identification of geochemical indexes to distinguish the role of both fluvial inputs and hydrodynamic processes affecting solid particles dispersion within the Gulf. This study provides a contribution to a qualitative estimate of the sediment supply entailed in the Southwestern Adriatic basin