Aspects of Dante’s theology of redemption: Eden, the Fall, and Christ in Dante with respect to Augustine

My thesis offers an account of salvation theology in Augustine and Dante under three main aspects: prelapsarianism, the fall, and the redemptive work of God in Christ. Resting on an analysis of the precise doctrinal position in these authors, the thesis is historical in conception, but is arranged in such a way as to allow the patterns of thought advanced by Augustine and Dante to enter into a dialogue one with the other, its overall purpose, therefore, being a species of conversation transcending the historical pure and simple. In keeping with this, the thesis is in three chapters, the first chapter exploring the notion of man’s original righteousness in Augustine and Dante, the second their respective senses of the fall in its essential substance and meaning, and the third their understanding of the redemptive work of the Christ. More precisely, the first chapter compares and contrasts Augustine’s sense of how it is that man stands in need of grace for the purposes of good works even prior to the fall with Dante’s sense of his direct creation in the image of God and of the implications of this for his persisting in good works without God’s further assistance. The second chapter addresses the origins of sin, and, more particularly, compares Augustine’s sense of evil as a matter of privation with Dante’s account of it in terms of dysfunctionality on the plane of properly human loving. In Chapter Three I take up the question of the relationship between nature and grace, and, in consequence of the fall, the indispensability of the latter as that whereby man is brought home once again to God. But where in Augustine (and especially in the later Augustine) it is always a question of nature as moved by grace to its proper good, I argue that for Dante grace enters into nature for the purposes of empowering it from within itself to its proper righteousness and likeness to God. Basing my argument on a strict reading of the text, and taking care in the introduction to identify the main historical and contemporary approaches to the question of Dante and Augustine (and thus to preserve at every stage a properly scholarly perspective), I nonetheless aim in my thesis to recreate in a manner over and beyond the purely historical something of the dialogue which is taking place here, a dialogue at every point informed, for all its distribution and re-distribution of emphases, by a common existential intensity, a shared preoccupation with what it might mean for man to be both for self and for God

Impact of the treatment of periodontitis on systemic health and quality of life: A systematic review

AIM: To investigate the effect of treatment of periodontitis on systemic health outcomes, pregnancy complications, and associated quality of life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Systematic electronic searches were conducted to identify randomized controlled trials with minimum 6-month follow-up and reporting on the outcomes of interest. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed as deemed suitable. RESULTS: Meta-analyses confirmed reductions of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) [0.56 mg/L, 95% confidence interval (CI) (−0.88, −0.25), p < .001]; interleukin (IL)-6 [0.48 pg/ml, 95% CI (−0.88, −0.08), p = .020], and plasma glucose [1.33 mmol/l, 95% CI (−2.41, −0.24), p = .016], and increase of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) [0.31%, 95% CI (0.07, 0.55), p = .012] and diastolic blood pressure [0.29 mmHg, 95% CI (0.10, 0.49), p = .003] 6 months after the treatment of periodontitis. A significant effect on preterm deliveries (<37 weeks) was observed [0.77 risk ratio, 95% CI (0.60, 0.98), p = .036]. Limited evidence was reported on quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes in the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of periodontitis results in systemic health improvements including improvement in cardiometabolic risk, reduction in systemic inflammation and the occurrence of preterm deliveries. Further research is however warranted to confirm whether these changes are sustained over time. Further, appropriate QoL outcomes should be included in the study designs of future clinical trials

Complications and treatment errors in periodontal therapy in medically compromised patients

Patients who are medically compromised may be at an increased risk of complications and treatment errors following periodontal therapy. A review of the evidence on the topic is presented, in relation to the type of complication reported, of periodontal treatment, and of patients' medical status. Further, a framework for risk assessment and appropriate treatment modifications is introduced, with the aim of facilitating the management of patients with existing comorbidities and reducing the incidence of treatment complications

genetic diversity and relationship among the three autochthonous sicilian donkey populations assessed by microsatellite markers

AbstractIn the developed countries donkey has lost its main function as draft animal because of the mechanization in agri-culture; as a consequence donkey population was greatly reduced. According to SAVE monitoring institute, three of the eight Italian endangered donkey breeds are native of Sicily (Ragusano, Pantesco, Grigio Siciliano). Urgent safeguard plans are required. The aim of this work is to investigate the distribution of genetic diversity and the relationships among the three Sicilian autochthonous donkey breeds using a set of microsatellite markers. A total of 116 blood samples (61 Ragusano, 39 Pantesco, 16 Grigio Siciliano) were collected in 9 herds all over Sicily. Representative samples of Ragusano and Grigio donkey populations consist of unrelated individuals, whereas the sample of Pantesco represents nearly the entire studbook-registered population managed by "Ispettorato Ripartimentale delle Foreste di Erice (TP)" in the "Azienda S. Matteo". Genomic DNA was amplified at 11 microsatellite..

Recurrence and progression of periodontitis and methods of management in long-term care: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim: To systematically review the literature to evaluate the recurrence of disease of people in long-term supportive periodontal care (SPC), previously treated for periodontitis, and determine the effect of different methods of managing recurrence. The review focused on stage IV periodontitis. Materials and methods: An electronic search was conducted (until May 2020) for prospective clinical trials. Tooth loss was the primary outcome. Results: Twenty-four publications were retrieved to address recurrence of disease in long-term SPC. Eight studies were included in the meta-analyses for tooth loss, and three studies for disease progression/recurrence (clinical attachment level [CAL] loss ≥2 mm). For patients in SPC of 5–20 years, prevalence of losing more than one tooth was 9.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5%–14%), while experiencing more than one site of CAL loss ≥2 mm was 24.8% (95% CI 11%–38%). Six studies informed on the effect of different methods of managing recurrence, with no clear evidence of superiority between methods. No data was found specifically for stage IV periodontitis. Conclusions: A small proportion of patients with stage III/IV periodontitis will experience tooth loss in long-term SPC (tendency for greater prevalence with time). Regular SPC appears to be important for reduction of tooth loss. No superior method to manage disease recurrence was found

Mitochondrial DNA control region variation in Sanfratellano horse and two other Sicilian autochthonous breeds

Mitochondrial D-loop hypervariable region was analysed in 20 Sanfratellano and two other Sicilian autochthonous horse breeds (20 Sicilian Oriental Purebred and 20 Sicilian Indigenous) in order to investigate matrilineal genetic diversity. A total of 20 different haplotypes were identified sequencing a fragment of 397 bp; overall, haplotypes showed 31 polymorphic sites (7.8%). High diversity was detected in Sanfratellano (11 haplotypes) and Sicilian Indigenous (13 haplotypes), whereas only one haplotype was found in Sicilian Oriental Purebred. Sanfratellano sequences were compared with those belonging to the other Sicilian autochthonous horses and 118 sequences selected from the GenBank database in order to calculate the statistics of molecular diversity. Six haplotypes were exclusive of Sanfratellano which shares haplotype C, D, H, and O with the Sicilian Indigenous and haplotype U with the Sicilian Oriental Purebred; not significant differentiation was found between Sanfratellano and Sicilian Indigenous. BLAST search showed Sicilian haplotypes overlap with the database sequences but for three. Phylogenetic analysis did not show monophyletic group for Sanfratellano samples or the other breeds included in this analysis

Protein fraction heterogeneity in donkey's milk analysed by proteomic methods

Donkey's milk is often well tolerate by patients affected by cow's milk protein allergy, probably thanks to its protein composition. This empiric evidence, confirmed by some clinical trials, needs to be better investigated. A preliminary survey on the protein fraction of donkey's milk was carried out: fifty-six individual milk samples have been collected and analysed by IEF and SDS-PAGE. Five different IEF patterns have been identified, showing a marked heterogeneity both in casein and whey protein fractions. A single IEF pattern showed an apparent reduced amount of casein fraction highlighted by SDS. Three of the five IEF patterns have been further investigated by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)

Genome-wide population structure, homozygosity, and heterozygosity patterns of Nero Siciliano pig in the framework of Italian and cosmopolitan breeds

Analysis of genomic data is becoming more and more common for the effective management of livestock breeding programmes, even in the case of local populations. In this work, the genome-wide data of Nero Siciliano pig breed were compared to that of wild boar, Italian local and cosmopolitan breeds to investigate its genetic structure, and runs of homozygosity (ROH) and heterozygosity patterns. The Nero Siciliano has been reported to have the highest rate of genetic diversity among the Italian breeds, and a genetic variability comparable to that of the cosmopolitan breeds. Analyses of genomic structure and relationships underlined its proximity to wild boar, and an internal substructure probably linked to different family lines. The breed showed a low value of inbreeding estimated from ROH, and the highest diversity index among the Italian breeds, even if lower than that of the cosmopolitans. Four ROH islands in three chromosomes (SSC8, SSC11, and SSC14) and one heterozygosity-rich region (SSC1) were identified in Nero Siciliano, highlighting genomic regions related to productive QTL. Across breeds, SSC8 and SSC14 were the chromosomes with most ROH islands, with Mora Romagnola and wild boar showing the highest level of autozygosity. Chromosomes SSC2, SSC6, SSC8 and SSC13 showed the majority of runs of heterozygosity regions, mainly found in the cosmopolitan pig breeds, which reported several genes associated with health-related QTL. The outlined results can help to better identify the genomic profile of this local breed in order to plan matings, maintain adequate internal diversity and exploit the production system

New food composition data on selected ethnic foods consumed in Europe

Background: Reliable data on the composition of foods is needed to better understand individual diets, measure nutrient intakes and provide nutritional guidance for improving the health of the populations. Ethnic foods are becoming increasingly popular among all European consumers, and are the main source of nutrients in the diets of ethnic groups. However, there is limited information on the nutrient composition of ethnic foods in Europe. The objective of this study therefore was to generate new and reliable data on ethnic foods using harmonised methods for chemical analyses. Methods: New data on 128 ethnic foods were generated for inclusion in the national databases within the European Food Information Resource Network of Excellence through participants from France, Israel, Spain, Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. In each selected country, the list of prioritised foods and key nutrients, methods of analyses and quality assurance procedure were harmonised. Results: This paper presents the nutrient composition of 40 ethnic foods consumed in Europe. The nutrient composition of the foods varied widely because of the nature and variety of foods analysed, with energy content (kcal) ranging between 24 (biteku-teku, Blegium) and 495 (nachos, Italy) per 100 g of edible food. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were generally higher in most ethnic foods consumed in Italy and Spain compared with ethnic foods of other countries. Conclusions: The new data were scrutinised and fully documented for inclusion in the national food composition databases. The data will aid effective diet and disease interventions, and enhance the provision of dietary advice, in all European consumers