I precetti noachidi secondo Maimonide tra Torà e legge naturale nella rivisitazione di alcuni maestri contemporanei

Il saggio presenta la definizione e l’interpretazione di Maimonide delle sette leggi noahidi come si trovano nel codice halakhico Mishnè Torà, Hilkhot melakhim, e come discusse ed elaborate dal pensatore ebreo contemporaneo (tedesco-americano) Steven S. Schwarzschild. Rispetto ad altre versioni rabbiniche, l’interpretazione di Maimonide aggiunge la condizione che l’osservanza di quelle leggi è valida solo se sono accettate e rispettate come leggi rivelate, non solo come lex naturalis. Su tale condizione esiste un disaccordo tra gli studiosi e i rabbini ebrei, per esempio tra Marvin Fox e Aaron Lichtenstein (la loro posizione è un caso di studio presentato qui). Più specificamente, Schwarzschild argomenta a favore dell’interpretazione del Rambam e cerca di dimostrare che è coerente con la visione globale che Maimonide aveva dell’ebraismo in quanto tale. The essay presents Maimonides’ definition and interpretation of the seven Noahide laws as they are found in the halakhic code Mishnè Torà, Hilkhot melakhim, and as discussed and elaborated by the contemporary Jewish (German-American) thinker Steven S. Schwarzschild. In comparison with other rabbinical versions, Maimonides’ interpretation adds the condition that the observance of those laws is valid only if they are accepted and obeyed as revealed laws, not only as lex naturalis. About such a condition a disagreement exists among the Jewish scholars and rabbis, for example between Marvin Fox and Aaron Lichtenstein (their position is a case-study presented here). More deeply, Schwarzschild argues in favor of the Rambam’s interpretation and tries to demonstrate that it is consistent with the comprehensive vision Maimonides had on Judaism as such.The essay presents Maimonides’ definition and interpretation of the seven Noahide laws as they are found in the halakhic code Mishnè Torà, Hilkhot melakhim, and as discussed and elaborated by the contemporary Jewish (German-American) thinker Steven S. Schwarzschild. In comparison with other rabbinical versions, Maimonides’ interpretation adds the condition that the observance of those laws is valid only if they are accepted and obeyed as revealed laws, not only as lex naturalis. About such a condition a disagreement exists among the Jewish scholars and rabbis, for example between Marvin Fox and Aaron Lichtenstein (their position is a case-study presented here). More deeply, Schwarzschild argues in favor of the Rambam’s interpretation and tries to demonstrate that it is consistent with the comprehensive vision Maimonides had on Judaism as such

Effects of olive and pomegranate by-products on human microbiota : a study using the SHIME (R) in vitro simulator

Two by-products containing phenols and polysaccharides, a "pate" (OP) from the extra virgin olive oil milling process and a decoction of pomegranate mesocarp (PM), were investigated for their effects on human microbiota using the SHIME (R) system. The ability of these products to modulate the microbial community was studied simulating a daily intake for nine days. Microbial functionality, investigated in terms of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and NH4+, was stable during the treatment. A significant increase in Lactobacillaceae and Bifidobacteriaceae at nine days was induced by OP mainly in the proximal tract. Polyphenol metabolism indicated the formation of tyrosol from OP mainly in the distal tract, while urolithins C and A were produced from PM, identifying the human donor as a metabotype A. The results confirm the SHIME (R) system as a suitable in vitro tool to preliminarily investigate interactions between complex botanicals and human microbiota before undertaking more challenging human studies

A new polystyrene-based ionomer/MWCNT nanocomposite for wearable skin temperature sensors

The present work outlines the fabrication and testing of a novel skin temperature sensor based on exfoliated and undamaged multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dispersed in a poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) derivative with triethylamine (PVBC_Et3N). The dispersions were prepared by sonicating MWCNT/ PVBC_Et3N mixtures in dimethylformamide for 5 min and the quantification of the MWCNTs dispersed was evaluated by UV–vis spectroscopy investigations and thermogravimetric analyses. The investigations demonstrated the realization of MWCNT/PVBC_Et3N sensors with a resistance sensitivity to temperature close to 0.004 K1, an absolute value that is comparable to the highest values found in metals. The temperature dependence of the resistance was also found very reproducible in the range 20–40 C, thus suggesting the possibility of using the MWCNT/PVBC_Et3N system for the fabrication of small wearable temperature sensors for the monitoring of chronic wounds

Lymphocyte Cell-Cycle Inhibition by HLA-G Is Mediated by Phosphatase SHP-2 and Acts on the mTOR Pathway

Human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) is involved in regulating T-cell responses through its interaction with inhibitory receptors belonging to the immunoglobulin-like transcript family (ILT). In this context, we investigated the pathways involved in the control of cell-cycle entry of T cells following HLA-G interaction with its inhibitory receptor. We show that HLA-G acts through its interaction with the LILRB1 receptor expressed on T lymphocytes. Both HLA-G and LILRB1 antibodies block the inhibitory effect of HLA-G and restore T-cell proliferation. The interaction of HLA-G with T lymphocytes is associated with phosphorylation of SHP-2 phosphatase, but not SHP-1. In addition, in activated T cells, their incubation with HLA-G is not associated with a decrease in the TCR or CD28 downstream pathways, but is associated with dephosphorylation of the mTOR molecule and p70S6K. In contrast, Akt, which acts upstream of mTOR, is not affected by HLA-G. The inhibition of SHP-2 by NSC-87877(5 µM), a chemical inhibitor of SHP-2, or the use of siRNA, abrogates dephosphorylation of mTOR and impairs the overexpression of p27kip in the presence of HLA-G. Together, these results indicate that HLA-G is associated with activation of phosphatase SHP-2, which inhibits the mTOR pathway and favors the inhibition of the cell-cycle entry of human-activated T cells

Single-boson exchange decomposition of the vertex function

We present a decomposition of the two-particle vertex function of the single-band Anderson impurity model which imparts a physical interpretation of the vertex in terms of the exchange of bosons of three flavors. We evaluate the various components of the vertex for an impurity model corresponding to the half-filled Hubbard model within dynamical mean-field theory. For small values of the interaction almost the entire information encoded in the vertex function corresponds to single-boson exchange processes, which can be represented in terms of the Hedin three-leg vertex and the screened interaction. Also for larger interaction, the single-boson exchange still captures scatterings between electrons and the dominant low-energy fluctuations and provides a unified description of the vertex asymptotics. The proposed decomposition of the vertex does not require the matrix inversion of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. Therefore, it represents a computationally lighter and hence more practical alternative to the parquet decomposition

Recent transmission clustering of HIV-1 C and CRF17_BF strains characterized by NNRTI-related mutations among newly diagnosed men in central Italy

Increased evidence of relevant HIV-1 epidemic transmission in European countries is being reported, with an increased circulation of non-B-subtypes. Here, we present two recent HIV-1 non-B transmission clusters characterized by NNRTI-related amino-acidic mutations among newly diagnosed HIV-1 infected men, living in Rome (Central-Italy)

Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among non-IDU HIV-Infected and Uninfected Men who Have Sex with Men

In the Mediterranean countries, hepatitis C virus infection affect nearly 45% of HIV-1 infected individuals, consistently to the high proportion of patients with a history of intravenous drug use and exposed to the two viruses by parenteral route. Even in association with HIV-infection, HCV infection is rarely transmitted through sexual intercourse due to the lower efficiency of mucosal exposure to virus than that blood-borne. Thus, the incidence and prevalence of HCV infection are far lower among the non-intravenous drug users (IDU) at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI). Two hypotheses may be taken in account to explain the lower prevalence rates observed in our seroprevalence study. The MSMs participating to our study could have less sexual contacts with IDU-MSMs than other gay community residents in other western countries. The non-IDU MSMs recruited in this study could have a lower frequency of at-risk sexual practices for HCV then the non-IDU MSMs enrolled in other studies

No evidence of colonization with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in HIV-1-infected men who have sex with men.

SUMMARYTo assess the prevalence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) colonization in HIV-1-infected men who have sex with men (MSM), a cross-sectional study was conducted on 104 persons attending a large STI/HIV unit in Rome, Italy in the period June 2007–June 2008. Swabs obtained from both anterior nares and S. aureus isolates were characterized by phenotypic and genotypic methods. A total of 24 individuals (23·1%) were colonized with S. aureus but none carried MRSA. No statistically significant association between colonization with S. aureus and behavioural, clinical, virological or immunological characteristics was identified. This study indicates a lack of circulation of CA-MRSA in HIV-1-infected MSM in Italy and underscores large epidemiological differences between the USA and a European country, so that only locally conducted epidemiological studies can provide insight into the local circulation of CA-MRSA in general and selected populations