Nutrition-Based Modulation of Poly-ADP-Ribosylation and its possible role in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease and the main reason of dementia in the elderly. On the pathological point of view, it is characterized by extracellular aggregates of amyloid peptides and intracellular deposits of tau protein. These deposits affect neuron viability and functions by inducing (among other pathological pathways) oxidative stress and triggering mitochondrial dysfunction. It is now evident that free radicalinduced oxidative damage is strongly involved in the pathogenesis of AD. Oxidative damage occurs early in disease pathogenesis and can exacerbate its progression. Post-mortem brain of individuals affected by AD, evidenced an extensive state of oxidative stress compared to healthy controls; markers of increased oxidation include, among others, DNA damage. DNA damage can induce the activity of the enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) that catalyze the reaction of poly (ADP-ribosylation). This post-translational modification modulates the functions of proteins involved in many physiological processes such as gene expression, maintenance of genomic stability and cell death. Therefore, inhibiting PARP-1 activity can represent a possible new strategy to reduce the impact of the oxidative stress in AD as well as in other neurodegenerative diseases. Here we discuss the role of nutrients in modulating PARP-1 activity and its perspective potential application

El concepto de creación en Occidente, entre mitología y arte

El artículo analiza el concepto de creación en la cultura artística occidental, en particular en relación con el cambio de paradigma de la época renacentista italiana. A partir del análisis de la creación como rebelión al divino y de las conexiones entre las culturas renacentista y clásica, se destacará la tensión del arte entre expresión de la individualidad y proceso colectivo.This paper analyzes the concept of creation in the western artistic culture, particularly in relation to the paradigm shift of the Italian Renaissance. Starting from an analysis of the creation as rebellion against the divine and the connections between the Renaissance and classical culture, it will highlight the stress of the art between expression of individuality and collective process

From Enemy to Xenos: the evolution of a Schmittian category

The concept of the Enemy is certainly one of the most distinctive within Schmitt’s theory, but to what extent does it represent nowadays a practical political category? Given the dramatic differences that exist between Schmitt’s times and the present days, is the concept of the Enemy an effective tool to scrutinise the problem of the Other in contemporary societies or does it create the risk of obscuring the analysis rather than illuminating it? In order to investigate this question, I will briefly describe the concept of the Enemy itself and compare it with cognate ones offered by Girard and Bauman, against the background of the nature of today’s society. On that basis I will make two intimations, one descriptive and the other normative: 1) the Enemy (along with its cognate concepts) does not adequately frame the political problem of the Other as it currently stands and we must find an effective alternative; 2) the only way to overcome the political problem that the Other currently represents is a more open approach towards the outsider, the basis of which can be found in Judith Butler’s political ethics

Challenges to Women in Political Leadership in Samoa

Samoan women hold an integral and valued place within their families and communities. Despite this, Samoa continues to report some of the lowest representation of women in political office in the world. The newly instated Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing 10% of Parliamentary seats for women will bolster female political involvement in the upcoming 2016 elections. An investigation into the challenges that face women entering political leadership roles at the village and Parliamentary level will bring awareness to the struggles encountered by women and contribute to dismantling the barriers which stand against them. Fourteen female politicians and experts in the field were interviewed on the obstacles they believe exist for women entering these roles. Interviews and secondary research suggest the challenges for women entering politics far surpass the challenges for men who pursue the same roles. Cultural and circumstantial barriers limit women’s access to village support, traditional leadership knowledge, and mentorship, especially for women who lack political or familial connections. Much more needs to be done to address the cultural and tangible obstacles to women as political leaders. Respondents felt that a network of support from fellow women, especially politically active women who can serve as mentors, would be a positive first step in addressing the constraints they face

Espacio físico y espacio virtual en prácticas educativas avanzadas

El treball proposat és el resultat d'una investigació l'objectiu general de la qual ha estat l'estudi de les modificacions dels espais didàctics, tant físics com a virtuals, amb les quals el món de l'educació s'està enfrontant i amb les quals haurà d'enfrontar-se dins un futur pròxim. La investigació analitza models teòrics que puguin ajuda'ns a comprendre els canvis estructurals de la societat del tercer mil·lenni que puguin afectar també al món de l'educació, entre els que destaquem la introducció de les TIC, el Lifelong Learning i un canvi paradigmàtic des del concepte de temps precís (Kronos) fins al concepte de temps escaient (Kairos

Sickness absence among patients with chronic pain in Swedish specialist healthcare

Background: Chronic pain beyond three months is a global public health problem. Every third adult suffers from a chronic pain condition, resulting in a socioeconomic burden that corresponds to 3-10% of gross domestic product in western economies. This burden can be largely attributed to absenteeism-related productivity loss where a few highly impaired individuals are the most resource-intensive. Simultaneously, a detailed overview of sickness absence (SA) associated with chronic pain is complicated by incongruent classification due to conflicting perspectives on the condition as either a symptom or a disease in its own right. Aim: Based on a well-defined chronic pain population in the Swedish specialist healthcare, this thesis primarily aims to provide a SA overview, to explore the possibility of SA prevention, and to evaluate interdisciplinary treatment (IDT) as a SA intervention. A secondary objective was to assess the psychometric properties of three questionnaires that measure the core domains of the chronic pain experience. Methods: The aims were addressed in three register-based studies using microdata from five Swedish national registers. Study I used sequence analysis to describe SA in 44,241 patients over a 7-year period and subsequently developed a machine learning-based model to predict chronic pain-related SA in the final two years. Study II emulated a target trial to compare the total SA duration over a 5-year period for 25,613 patients that were either included in an IDT program or in other/no interventions. Study III analyzed the properties of the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), the EuroQol 5-Dimensions instrument (EQ-5D), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) within the item response theory-framework. Results: SA increased from 17% to 48% over the five years before specialist healthcare entry to then decrease to 38% over the final two years. With information on eight predictors, it was possible to discriminate between patients that would have low or high SA in the coming two years with 80% accuracy. SA trends were similar for patients in IDT programs and other/no interventions, albeit the IDT patients had 67 (95% CI: 48, 87) more SA days over the complete 5-year period. Finally, the psychometric evaluation revealed that SF-36 adequately captured physical and mental health, while HADS was suitable as a measure of overall emotional distress, and EQ-5D had insufficient precision for any meaningful application. Conclusion: Our findings are most useful to guide policy and research. SA in the studied patients remained high over the entire observation period. Decision support tools could prove valuable in identifying patients at risk of high SA earlier in the healthcare chain in order to direct preventative measures. We found no support for IDT decreasing SA more than other/no interventions, but it is possible that this was a consequence of our methodology. Further studies of the IDT effects are needed, but uncontrolled designs that attribute SA change over time to IDT are inappropriate for this purpose, as the SA peak observed around specialist healthcare entry is likely to be driven by the referral procedure. Finally, SF-36 and HADS are psychometrically sound measures of the chronic pain experience core domains

What is the Arabic for zoon politikon? Ethics and politics in Ibn Tufayl (d. 581/1185)

Prevailing academic views on Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy b. Yaqzān (Living, the Son of Wakeful) fall into two camps: either the work is a realistic look at an isolated human being amidst a morally bankrupt population and harks back to the teachings of Plato’s Republic, or it portrays a pure and abstract ideal of the spiritual life in the footsteps of the natural first man, and insists on the moral imperative of isolation. The difficulty with both interpretations is that they preclude any possibility of happiness for the human person or the philosopher living in a society. In other words, they tend to interpret Hayy b. Yaqzān as an attempt to demonstrate that the human is not essentially social or political. However, the intellectual and spiritual perfection sought through isolation cannot, in my opinion, be separated from a practical purpose. The isolation of the philosopher is not undergone to distinguish himself from imperfect human societies. On the contrary, such isolation is undertaken in order to lead one to a higher, and properly practical accomplishment.On this basis, I argue in this paper that Ibn Tufayl’s man is comparable to the Aristotelian ζῷον πολιτικόν. Through a comparison of Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy and Aristotle’s ζῷον πολιτικόν we shall see how Ibn Tufayl reuses the Arabic social/political animal (hayawān insī or madanī) of al-Fārābī and transposes it from the domain of the city to that of the individual. By analysing some key passages, it becomes possible to illustrate how the concept of ζῷον πολιτικόν has entered Arabic philosophy, and particularly in Ibn Tufayl’s conception of man through the lenses of al-Fārābī’s virtuous and Ibn Bājja’s solitary man.È possibile delineare due filoni interpretativi sul Hayy b. Yaqzān (Il vivente, figlio del desto) di Ibn Tufayl: secondo l’uno, l’opera è uno sguardo realistico su un solitario in una società corrotta e si ispira agli insegnamenti della Repubblica di Platone; secondo l’altro, l’opera ritrae un ideale puro e astratto di vita ascetica e insiste sull’imperativo morale dell’isolamento.Tuttavia entrambe queste interpretazioni precludono qualsiasi possibilità di felicità per l’uomo o per il filosofo all’interno di una società. In altre parole, tendono a interpretare Hayy b. Yaqzān come un tentativo di dimostrare che l’uomo non sia sociale o politico. La perfezione intellettuale e spirituale ricercata attraverso l’isolamento non può, a mio parere, essere separata da uno scopo pratico. L’isolamento del filosofo non viene praticato per distinguersi dalle società imperfette. Al contrario, tale isolamento è intrapreso per condurlo ad una realizzazione più alta e propriamente pratica.Su questa base, sostengo nell’articolo che l’uomo di Ibn Tufayl sia paragonabile allo ζῷον πολιτικόν aristotelico. Attraverso un confronto tra il Hayy di Ibn Tufayl e lo ζῷον πολιτικόν di Aristotele vedremo come Ibn Tufayl si serva dell’animale sociale/politico arabo (hayawān insī o madanī) di al-Fārābī e lo trasponga dal dominio della città a quello dell’individuo.Analizzando alcuni passaggi chiave, è possibile chiarire come il concetto di ζῷον πολιτικόν sia entrato nella filosofia araba e in particolare nella concezione di uomo di Ibn Tufayl attraverso il virtuoso di al-Fārābī e il solitario di Ibn Bājja. Prevailing academic views on Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy b. Yaqzān (Living, the Son of Wakeful) fall into two camps: either the work is a realistic look at an isolated human being amidst a morally bankrupt population and harks back to the teachings of Plato’s Republic, or it portrays a pure and abstract ideal of the spiritual life in the footsteps of the natural first man, and insists on the moral imperative of isolation. The difficulty with both interpretations is that they preclude any possibility of happiness for the human person or the philosopher living in a society. In other words, they tend to interpret Hayy b. Yaqzān as an attempt to demonstrate that the human is not essentially social or political. However, the intellectual and spiritual perfection sought through isolation cannot, in my opinion, be separated from a practical purpose. The isolation of the philosopher is not undergone to distinguish himself from imperfect human societies. On the contrary, such isolation is undertaken in order to lead one to a higher, and properly practical accomplishment.On this basis, I argue in this paper that Ibn Tufayl’s man is comparable to the Aristotelian ζῷον πολιτικόν. Through a comparison of Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy and Aristotle’s ζῷον πολιτικόν we shall see how Ibn Tufayl reuses the Arabic social/political animal (hayawān insī or madanī) of al-Fārābī and transposes it from the domain of the city to that of the individual. By analysing some key passages, it becomes possible to illustrate how the concept of ζῷον πολιτικόν has entered Arabic philosophy, and particularly in Ibn Tufayl’s conception of man through the lenses of al-Fārābī’s virtuous and Ibn Bājja’s solitary man

Apocalissi provvidenziali: The Walking Dead e la politica postuma

Il saggio analizza i primi quattro volumi della fortunata serie a fumetti The Walking Dead, nel tentativo di esplicitarne i presupposti ideologici nascosti. In esso si argomenta che gli zombie della serie stanno a significare un'alterità svalutata, percepita come minacciosa da certo capitalismo di destra: chi nel fumetto si persuade ad abbracciare i valori del socialismo, del pacifismo e dell'egualitarismo, è destinato a "zombificazione"; l'unica maniera di sopravvivere è affidarsi a una Realpolitik anomica e priva di scrupoli. Alla fine del saggio, l'apocalisse zombie viene presentata come una resa estremizzata dello "stato d'eccezione" teorizzato da Giorgio Agamben, in cui le libertà politiche vengono confiscate nel nome di un'emergenza continua.This essay analyzes the first four volumes of the critically acclaimed comic book The Walking Dead, trying to uncover its implicit ideological assumptions and political standpoint. It argues that the zombies in the series stand for a devalued otherness perceived as threatening by right-wing capitalism: those in the comics who were deluded into embracing the values of statism, pacifism, or gender egalitarianism are bound to face death and zombification; the only way to survive in the new world is by abiding with an unscrupulous, anomic Realpolitik. At the end of the essay, the zombie apocalypse is presented as an extreme rendition of Giorgio Agamben’s "state of exception", in which political liberties are confiscated by means of a continuous appeal to emergency and necessity

Optimization of Design Procedures for Delta Relaxation Enhanced Magnetic Resonance

Delta relaxation enhanced magnetic resonance (dreMR) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method that produces contrast based on longitudinal relaxation dispersion. Through modulation of the magnetic field using an actively-shielded, field-cycling insert coil, this technique increases probe specificity and suppresses remaining signal. However, significant improvements are needed. This thesis addresses two advancements in dreMR with a focus on optimizing design procedures. A general procedure was developed to design split power solenoid magnets. The procedure was then applied to the design of a switched-field exposure system. A coil was constructed and the method was validated. This procedure can be used for to optimize dreMR coil primary windings. Next, a simulation tool was developed to model tissue magnetization as a function of time and magnetic field. Polarization sequences were discovered that maximize dispersion-based contrast. These optimized design procedures may add to future developments in dreMR technology