Giacomo Tinelli, <em>L’io di carta. L’autorappresentazione contemporanea: Walter Siti ed Emmanuel Carrère</em>

Recensione del libro di Giacomo Tinelli L’io di carta. L’autorappresentazione contemporanea: Walter Siti ed Emmanuel Carrère

Le memorie ingarbugliate. Tensioni autobiografiche nell'"Uva puttanella" e in "Contadini del Sud" di Scotellaro

L’intervento s’inserisce nel dibattito sull’autobiografismo di Scotellaro nelle sue due maggiori opere in prosa, arrivateci incomplete e non pronte per la pubblicazione:Contadini del Sud e, soprattutto, L’uva puttanella, che Scotellaro definiva in fase di preparazione un ‘‘romanzo’’. Se Contadini del Sud, nelle parti disponibili oggi, sembra anticipare alcuni esiti dell’attuale non-fiction per via dell’uso disinvolto del materiale documentario, del risalto dato alle testimonianze e alle ricognizioni sul campo, della creazione di veri e propri ‘‘personaggi’’ a tutto tondo che si esprimono direttamente sulla pagina, L’uva puttanella ha caratteristiche che ne sottolineano invece l’inattualita` e insieme la natura di memoir ancora, alla morte di Scotellaro, incerto sulla direzione da prendere. Vengono proposte alcune ricognizioni testuali intorno all’Uva puttanella, al fine di ricostruire la sua natura autobiografica sospesa fra autoapologia politica (il testo fu iniziato durante la prigionia di Scotellaro) ed espressione poetica, ricordo familiare e apertura in forma di micro-racconti di alcuni abitanti del paese. Non si ricompongono le tensioni narrative di una prosa ellittica per scelta, che tende al frammento di realta` da una parte e al lirismo dall’altra: e` cio` che sembra dimostrare la conclusione della Parte prima, di cui si propone una nuova lettura.The intervention is part of the debate on Scotellaro's autobiography in his two major works in prose, which arrived incomplete and not ready for publication: Contadini del Sud and, above all, L'uva puttanella, which Scotellaro defined in preparation as a ''novel''. If Contadini del Sud, in the parts available today, seems to anticipate some outcomes of the current non-fiction due to the casual use of documentary material, the prominence given to the testimonies and reconnaissance in the field, the creation of real '' characters '' in the round that are expressed directly on the page, L'uva puttanella has characteristics that underline instead its out-of-date nature and at the same time the nature of a memoir again, on Scotellaro's death, uncertain about the direction to take. Some textual reconnaissance around the Uva puttanella is proposed, in order to reconstruct its autobiographical nature suspended between political self-apology (the text was started during Scotellaro's imprisonment) and poetic expression, family memory and opening in the form of micro-stories of some inhabitants of the country. The narrative tensions of an elliptical prose by choice are not recomposed, which tends to the fragment of reality on the one hand and to lyricism on the other: this is what seems to demonstrate the conclusion of Part One, of which a new reading is proposed

First principles study of 2D layered organohalide tin perovskites

This article describes the structure and the electronic properties of a series of layered perovskites of a general formula (A+)2(SnX4)-2 where X = I, Br and A+ is an organic cation, either formamidinium, 1-methylimidazolium, or phenylethylammonium. For each system, two conformations are considered, with eclipsed or staggered stacking of the adjacent inorganic layers. Geometry optimizations are performed at the density functional theory level with generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functional and semiempirical correction for dispersion energies; band profiles and bandgaps are computed including both spin orbit coupling (SOC) and correlation (GW) effects through an additive scheme. The theoretical procedures are validated by reproducing the experimental data of a well known 3D tin iodide perovskite. The results, combined with the calculations previously reported on PbI4 analogues, allow us to discuss the effect of cation, metal, and halide substitution in these systems and in particular to explore the possibility of changing the electronic bandgap as required by different applications. The balance of SOC and GW effects depends on the chemical nature of the studied perovskites and strongly influences the value of the simulated bandgap

The Susceptibility of Candida albicans to Gamma-Radiations and Ketoco-nazole Depends on Transitional Filamentation

The virulence of C. albicans is associated with the transitional evolution from yeast to filamentous forms. We were interested in the effects amphotericin B (AMB), ketoconazole (KTC) and γ-radiations might have on these broadly defined phenotypes as determined by the CFU procedure. By using collagen gel as the 3-dimensional support of cell culture, diverse experimental conditions were contemplated in order to modulate the differentiation of Candida during sessile and planktonic growth. These conditions included the co-culture with human epithelial and endothelial cells and treatment with farnesol, tyrosol and conditioned medium from P. aeruginosa. The overall results were as follows: 1) The survival of Candida was inhibited by the exposure to γ-radiations, but only after the organism was induced to progress into excess filamentation, while in normal growth conditions it proved to be radioresistant; 2) AMB inhibited the growth of yeast forms, while KTC was specifically toxic to filamentous forms and 3) the combined treatment of filamentous Candida with KTC and γ-radiations resulted in the synergistic inhibition of the organism. These findings indicate that both the radiosensitivity of C. albicans and its response to the synergistic effects of γ-radiations and KTC are filamentation-dependent pharmacological processes

Prevalence, clinical correlates, and use of glucose-lowering drugs among older patients with type 2 diabetes living in long-term care facilities

Prevalence, clinical correlates, and use of glucose-lowering drugs were comprehensively evaluated among 863 nursing home older patients with diabetes (mean age 82.9 ± 2.1 years): functional dependence and cognitive impairment were present in 84.1% and 68% of patients, respectively, and 66.3% of patients had 2–4 comorbidities. HbA1c values < 7.0% were documented in 54.9% of diabetic; significantly lower HbA1c levels were observed in demented patients than in nondemented subjects. Documented hypoglycemic episodes were reported for 57 patients (6.6%), without significant association with age, functional dependence, cognitive impairment, or HbA1c levels. About one-fifth of older long-term facilities residents have diabetes, with concomitant poor health conditions and high prevalence of cognitive impairment and functional dependence. Roughly three-fourths of these older and frail diabetic patients have HbA1c values lower than optimal, suggesting a potential for hypoglycemic harm especially among patients with severe cognitive impairment

Screening for neurocysticercosis in internationally adopted children: yield, cost and performance of serological tests, Italy, 2001 to 2016

IntroductionNeurocysticercosis (NCC) is one of the leading causes of epilepsy worldwide. The majority of cases in Europe are diagnosed in immigrants. Currently in Italy, routine serological screening for cysticercosis is recommended for internationally adopted children (IAC) coming from endemic countries. Methods: We retrospectively analyse the results of the serological screening for cysticercosis in IAC 16 years old or younger, attending two Italian third level paediatric clinics in 2001-16. Results: Of 2,973 children included in the study, 2,437 (82.0%) were screened by enzyme-linked immune electro transfer blot (EITB), 1,534 (51.6%) by ELISA, and 998 (33.6%) by both tests. The seroprevalence of cysticercosis ranged between 1.7% and 8.9% according to EITB and ELISA, respectively. Overall, 13 children were diagnosed with NCC accounting for a NCC frequency of 0.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2-0.6%). Among the 168 seropositive children, only seven (4.2%) were diagnosed with NCC. Of these children, three were asymptomatic and four presented epilepsy. Among seronegative children (n\u2009=\u20092,805), seven presented with neurological symptoms that lead to the diagnosis of NCC in six cases. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value for the diagnosis of NCC were 54.5%, 98.6%, 14.6%, 99.8% for EITB and 22.2%, 91.1%, 1.4%, 99.5% for ELISA. The yield of the screening programme was 437 NCC cases per 100,000. The number needed to screen to detect one NCC case was 228. The cost per NCC case detected was EUR 10,372. Conclusion: On the base of our findings we suggest the ongoing serological screening for cysticercosis to be discontinued, at least in Italy, until further evidence in support will be available

β-Arrestin-1 expression and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in laryngeal carcinoma.

Aim: The novel primary end-point of the present study was to ascertain β-arrestin-1 expression in a cohort of consecutive patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) with information available on their cigarette-smoking habits. A secondary end-point was to conduct a preliminary clinical and pathological investigation into the possible role of β-arrestin-1 in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), identified by testing for E-cadherin, Zeb1, and Zeb2 expression, in the setting of LSCC. Methods: The expression of β-arrestin-1, E-cadherin, zeb1, and zeb2 was ascertained in 20 consecutive LSCCs. Results: Statistical analysis showed no significant associations between β-arrestin-1 and EMT (based on the expression of E-cadherin, Zeb1, and Zeb2). The combined effect of nicotine and β-arrestin-1 was significantly associated with a shorter disease-free survival ( P=0.01) in our series of LSCC. This latter result was also confirmed in an independent, publicly available LSCC cohort ( P=0.047). Conclusions: Further investigations on larger series (ideally in prospective settings) are needed before we can consider closer follow-up protocols and/or more aggressive treatments for patients with LSCC and a combination of nicotine exposure and β-arrestin-1 positivity in tumor cells at the time of their diagnosis. Further studies on how β-arrestin functions in cancer via different signaling pathways might reveal potential targets for the treatment of even advanced laryngeal malignancies

Molecular Epidemiological Investigation of a Nosocomial Cluster of C. auris: Evidence of Recent Emergence in Italy and Ease of Transmission during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Candida auris is an emerging MDR pathogen raising major concerns worldwide. In Italy, it was first and only identified in July 2019 in our hospital (San Martino Hospital, Genoa), where infection or colonization cases have been increasingly recognized during the following months. To gain insights into the introduction, transmission dynamics, and resistance traits of this fungal pathogen, consecutive C. auris isolates collected from July 2019 to May 2020 (n = 10) were subjected to whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and antifungal susceptibility testing (AST); patients' clinical and trace data were also collected. WGS resolved all isolates within the genetic clade I (South Asian) and showed that all but one were part of a cluster likely stemming from the index case. Phylogenetic molecular clock analyses predicted a recent introduction (May 2019) in the hospital setting and suggested that most transmissions were associated with a ward converted to a COVID-19-dedicated ICU during the pandemic. All isolates were resistant to amphotericin B, voriconazole, and fluconazole at high-level, owing to mutations in ERG11(K143R) and TACB1(A640V). Present data demonstrated that the introduction of MDR C. auris in Italy was a recent event and suggested that its spread could have been facilitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued efforts to implement stringent infection prevention and control strategies are warranted to limit the spread of this emerging pathogen within the healthcare system

Comparison between intrasylvian and intracerebral hematoma associated with ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms: clinical implications, technical considerations, and outcome evaluation

Background: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to a middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms rupture is often associated with intracerebral (ICH) or intrasylvian hematomas (ISH). Materials and methods: We reviewed 163 patients with ruptured MCA aneurysms associated with pure SAH or SAH+ICH/ISH. Patients were first dichotomized according to the presence of a hematoma (ICH/ISH). Then, we performed a subgroup analysis comparing ICH versus ISH in order to explore their relationship with the most relevant demographic, clinical, and angioarchitectural features. Results: Overall, 85 patients (52%) had a pure SAH, whereas 78 (48%) presented an associated ICH/ISH. No significant differences were observed in demographics and angioarchitectural features between the two groups, but Fisher grading and Hunt-Hess score were higher in patients with hematomas. A good outcome was observed in a higher percentage of patients with pure SAH compared with the others (76% Vs 44%), although mortality rates were comparable. Age, Hunt-Hess and treatment-related complications were the main outcome predictors at multivariate analysis. Patients with ICH appeared clinically worse than those with ISH. We also found that older age, higher Hunt-Hess, larger aneurysms, decompressive craniectomy and treatment-related complications were associated with poor outcome among patients with ISH, but not with ICH, which appeared per se as a more severe clinical condition. Conclusions: Our study confirm that age, Hunt-Hess and treatment-related complications influence the outcome of patients with ruptured MCA aneurysms. However, in the subgroup analysis of patients with SAH associated with ICH or ISH, only the Hunt-Hess at onset appeared as an independent predictor of outcome