Giuseppe Jona, un clinico anatomopatologo veneziano del primo Novecento

Giuseppe Jona, Venetian doctor born in 1866, was a patho-logist first at the University of Padua and then at the Second Medical Division of the Civil Hospital of Venice. He intro-duced and increased the practice of autopsies according to the tradition always present in the Serenissima, which as-sumed an important didactic role with the establishment of a pathological Museum. He later taught in the course of To-pographical and Pathological Anatomy in the Practical School of Medicine and Surgery of Venice, always follo-wing a specially practical anatomo-clinical approach. He was a member of the “Istituto Veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti”, of which he became president. In 1936 he retired, ne-ver forgetting the poor and needy, being called “the doctor of the poor”. The racial laws of the 1938 first and the can-cellation from the Board of Medicine in 1940 which pre-vented him from any professional activity. However, his social commitment did not fail and he assumed the position of President of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Com-munity of Venice. After the armistice of September 8, 1943, Venice was occupied by German troops. To avoid collaborating with the Germans in order to provide the na-mes of the members of the Jewish community destined for extermination, Jona decided to commit suicide on Septem-ber 16, 1943. His last thought was for “faith in a day of justice”, that justice that had constantly inspired his life as a man and as a doctorGiuseppe Jona, medico veneziano nato nel 1866, fu anatomopatologo prima presso l’Università di Padova e successivamente presso la Seconda divisione medica dell’Ospedale Civile di Venezia, dove introdusse e ampliò la pratica autoptica secondo la tradizione già presente nella Serenissima, che assunse importante ruolo didattico con la costituzione di un Museo anatomopatologico. Insegnò nel corso di anatomia topografica e patologica nella Scuola pratica di medicina e chirurgia veneziana, sempre seguendo un approccio anatomo-clinico di tipo pratico. Fu socio dell’Istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti; fu inoltre presidente dell’Ateneo veneto dal 1921 al 1925. Nel 1936 si ritirò in pensione, senza mai dimenticare i bisognosi, fedele alla qualifica guadagnata sul campo di “medico dei poveri”. Le leggi razziali del 1938 prima e la cancellazione dall’Albo dei medici nel 1940 poi gli impedirono qualsiasi attività professionale. Il suo impegno sociale tuttavia non venne meno e assunse l’incarico di Presidente del Consiglio di amministrazione della comunità ebraica di Venezia. Dopo l’armistizio dell’8 settembre 1943 Venezia venne occupata dalle truppe tedesche. Per evitare di dover collaborare e fornire i nominativi dei componenti della comunità ebraica destinati allo sterminio, Jona decise di togliersi la vita il 16 settembre 1943. Il suo ultimo pensiero fu per “la fede in un giorno di giustizia”, quella giustizia che aveva costantemente ispirato la sua vita di uomo e di medico

A reverse migration paradox? Policy liberalisation and new south-south migration to Latin America

In past decades, immigration policies in Latin America developed in stark contrast to other regions. Whereas most countries moved towards more restrictive policies, many Latin American countries liberalised their immigration policy frameworks and recently passed laws that expand individual rights in unprecedented ways. At the same time, migratory movements in Latin America are in flux, one of the most noteworthy recent developments being the increase in extra-continental immigration from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. This PhD explores a reverse migration paradox inherent in the reciprocal causal relationship between immigration policy liberalisation and new south-south migration. The first paper uses a mixed approach of legal analysis and process tracing to show this paradox in the cases of Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador. It analyses the tension between liberal discourses and policies that invoke the universality of migrants’ rights and free human mobility, on the one hand, and the rejection of recently increasing irregular south–south migration on the other. Using a difference-in-difference design, the second paper tests the impact of Ecuador’s policy of visa freedom of 2008 on previously restricted countries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and shows that immigration from these regions more than doubled. Qualitative findings confirm that visa freedom was the main determinant of migrants’ decision to move to Ecuador and further show great variance of migrant characteristics. The third paper is based on 35 in-depth interviews, which collectively demonstrate that perceived security threats of domestic and international political actors, which led to the partial reintroduction of tourist visa requirements for ten African and Asian countries by 2010, were closely intertwined with racism. Taken together, the three papers have important implications for the study of immigration policies, south-south migration and the securitisation of migration

Vitamin D supplementation in the prevention and management of major chronic diseases not related to mineral homeostasis in adults : research for evidence and a scientific statement from the European society for clinical and economic aspects of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (ESCEO)

Introduction: Optimal vitamin D status promotes skeletal health and is recommended with specific treatment in individuals at high risk for fragility fractures. A growing body of literature has provided indirect and some direct evidence for possible extraskeletal vitamin D-related effects. Purpose and Methods: Members of the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis have reviewed the main evidence for possible proven benefits of vitamin D supplementation in adults at risk of or with overt chronic extra-skeletal diseases, providing recommendations and guidelines for future studies in this field. Results and conclusions: Robust mechanistic evidence is available from in vitro studies and in vivo animal studies, usually employing cholecalciferol, calcidiol or calcitriol in pharmacologic rather than physiologic doses. Although many cross-sectional and prospective association studies in humans have shown that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (i.e., 50 nmol/L, did not simultaneously assess multiple outcomes, and did not report overall safety (e.g., falls). Thus, no recommendations can be made to date for the use of vitamin D supplementation in general, parental compounds, or non-hypercalcemic vitamin D analogs in the prevention and treatment of extra-skeletal chronic diseases. Moreover, attainment of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels well above the threshold desired for bone health cannot be recommended based on current evidence, since safety has yet to be confirmed. Finally, the promising findings from mechanistic studies, large cohort studies, and small clinical trials obtained for autoimmune diseases (including type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus), cardiovascular disorders, and overall reduction in mortality require further confirmation

Bergamot essential oil nanoemulsions: antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity.

Abstract Bergamot essential oil (BEO) is well-known for its food preservation activity, as well as anticancer efficacy. However, the poor BEO water solubility and deriving low bioaccessibility have limited its wider applications. The incorporation in nanoemulsions of BEO and its refined fractions was investigated to enhance its dispersibility in water to promote its antimicrobial activity, tested against Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and its cytotoxicity already at low concentrations. Different nanoemulsion formulations were tested based on food-grade ingredients, which were characterized in terms of hydrodynamic diameter and polydispersity index, and physical stability. The antimicrobial activity against all the tested micro-organisms was observed to be higher for BEO in its initial composition, than the light fraction, richer in d-limonene, ß-pinene, and γ-terpinene, or the heavy fraction, richer in linalyl acetate and linalool. Remarkably, the use of BEO nanoemulsions notably enhanced the antimicrobial activity for all the tested oils. BEO exhibited also a measurable cytotoxic activity against Caco-2 cells, which was also enhanced by the use of the different nanoemulsions tested, in comparison with free oil, which discourages the direct use of BEO nanoemulsions as a food preservative. Conversely, BEO nanoemulsions might find use in therapeutic applications as anticarcinogenic agents

Changes in protein expression in two cholangiocarcinoma cell lines undergoing formation of multicellular tumor spheroids In vitro

Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is relevant in malignant growth and frequently correlates with worsening disease progression due to its implications in metastases and re- sistance to therapeutic interventions. Although EMT is known to occur in several types of solid tumors, the information concerning tumors arising from the epithelia of the bile tract is still limited. In order to approach the problem of EMT in cholangiocarcinoma, we decided to investigate the changes in protein expression occurring in two cell lines under conditions leading to growth as adherent monolayers or to formation of multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS), which are considered culture models that better mimic the growth characteristics of in-vivo solid tumors. In our system, changes in phenotypes occur with only a decrease in transmembrane E-cadherin and vimentin expression, minor changes in the transglutami- nase protein/activity but with significant differences in the proteome profiles, with declining and increasing expression in 6 and in 16 proteins identified by mass spectrometry. The aris- ing protein patterns were analyzed based on canonical pathways and network analysis. These results suggest that significant metabolic rearrangements occur during the conver- sion of cholangiocarcinomas cells to the MCTS phenotype, which most likely affect the car- bohydrate metabolism, protein folding, cytoskeletal activity, and tissue sensitivity to oxygen

Unmet needs and current and future approaches for osteoporotic patients at high risk of hip fracture.

Summary: This review provides a critical analysis of currently available approaches to increase bone mass, structure and strength through drug therapy and of possible direct intraosseous interventions for the management of patients at imminent risk of hip fracture. Purpose : Osteoporotic hip fractures represent a particularly high burden in morbidity-, mortality- and health care-related costs. There are challenges and unmet needs in the early prevention of hip fractures, opening the perspective of new developments for the management of osteoporotic patients at imminent and/or at very high risk of hip fracture. Amongst them, preventive surgical intervention needs to be considered. Methods: A European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO)/International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) working group reviewed the presently available intervention modalities including preventive surgical options for hip fragility. This paper represents a summary of the discussions. Results: Prevention of hip fracture is currently based on regular physical activity; prevention of falls; correction of nutritional deficiencies, including vitamin D repletion; and pharmacological intervention. However, efficacy of these various measures to reduce hip fractures is at most 50% and may need months or years before becoming effective. To face the challenges of early prevention of hip fractures for osteoporotic patients at imminent and/or at very high risk of hip fracture, preventive surgical intervention needs further investigation. Conclusion: Preventive surgical intervention needs to be appraised for osteoporotic patients at imminent and/or at very high risk of hip fracture

Mari e monti: comunicare attraverso le immagini

Il lavoro presentato a questo convegno affronta l'analisi del messaggio turistico secondo due diversi approcci. Da una parte si intendono rintracciare quegli elementi espressivi che connotano un messaggio turistico, analizzando l'immagine di alcuni manifesti pubblicitari del turismo dal punto di vista semiologico. In un secondo momento si è voluto verificare come il messaggio viene organizzato a livello percettivo dal destinatario e a quali elementi significanti quest'ultimo attribuisce una priorità di decodifica in un contesto sperimentale