De la metáfora al símbolo. Aproximación crítica al poema “Altazor” de Vicente Huidobro

Altazor se inserta dentro de los movimientos de vanguardia que reclaman el valor gnoseológico de la palabra poética. A lo largo de la trayectoria del libro en su conjunto, se pone en evidencia el tema del descenso del poeta, que está lejos de ser valorado negativamente, sino más bien como una experiencia de superación de la metáfora invencionista y un paso de la metáfora al símbolo. De este modo, los juegos lingüísticos de Huidobro son una manifestación extrema de la tendencia de todo poeta a romper los límites expresivos y a configurar nuevos espacios de significación a la realidad. Altazor is inserted within the avantgarde movements that demand the gnoseological valué of the poetic word. Throughout the book as a whole, the theme of the poet’s descent is stressed, which far from being valued in a negative way is considered as an experience of going beyond the inventive metaphor and as a step from metaphor to symbol. Thus Huidobro’s linguistic games are the extreme manifestation of every poet’s tendeney to break off the expressive boundaries and to configúrate a new range of meaning spaces for reality

Antiretroviral Therapy outcomes among adolescents and youth in rural Zimbabwe

Around 2 million adolescents and 3 million youth are estimated to be living with HIV worldwide. Antiretroviral outcomes for this group appear to be worse compared to adults. We report antiretroviral therapy outcomes from a rural setting in Zimbabwe among patients aged 10-30 years who were initiated on ART between 2005 and 2008. The cohort was stratified into four age groups: 10-15 (young adolescents) 15.1-19 years (adolescents), 19.1-24 years (young adults) and 24.1-29.9 years (older adults). Survival analysis was used to estimate rates of deaths and loss to follow-up stratified by age group. Endpoints were time from ART initiation to death or loss to follow-up. Follow-up of patients on continuous therapy was censored at date of transfer, or study end (31 December 2008). Sex-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios for different age groups. 898 patients were included in the analysis; median duration on ART was 468 days. The risk of death were highest in adults compared to young adolescents (aHR 2.25, 95%CI 1.17-4.35). Young adults and adolescents had a 2-3 times higher risk of loss to follow-up compared to young adolescents. When estimating the risk of attrition combining loss to follow-up and death, young adults had the highest risk (aHR 2.70, 95%CI 1.62-4.52). This study highlights the need for adapted adherence support and service delivery models for both adolescents and young adults

Not Just a Pathogen? : Description of a Plant-Beneficial Pseudomonas syringae Strain

Plants develop in a microbe-rich environment and must interact with a plethora of microorganisms, both pathogenic and beneficial. Indeed, such is the case of Pseudomonas, and its model organisms P. fluorescens and P. syringae, a bacterial genus that has received particular attention because of its beneficial effect on plants and its pathogenic strains. The present study aims to compare plant-beneficial and pathogenic strains belonging to the P. syringae species to get new insights into the distinction between the two types of plant-microbe interactions. In assays carried out under greenhouse conditions, P. syringae pv. syringae strain 260-02 was shown to promote plant-growth and to exert biocontrol of P. syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000, against the Botrytis cinerea fungus and the Cymbidium Ringspot Virus. This P. syringae strain also had a distinct volatile emission profile, as well as a different plant-colonization pattern, visualized by confocal microscopy and gfp labeled strains, compared to strain DC3000. Despite the different behavior, the P. syringae strain 260-02 showed great similarity to pathogenic strains at a genomic level. However, genome analyses highlighted a few differences that form the basis for the following hypotheses regarding strain 260-02. P. syringae strain 260-02: (i) possesses nonfunctional virulence genes, like the mangotoxin-producing operon Mbo; (ii) has different regulation pathways, suggested by the difference in the autoinducer system and the lack of a virulence activator gene; (iii) has genes encoding DNA methylases different from those found in other P. syringae strains, suggested by the presence of horizontal-gene-transfer-obtained methylases that could affect gene expression

Early downregulation of hsa-miR-144-3p in serum from drug-naïve Parkinson’s disease patients

open101siThis work was supported by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (Grant number 634821, PROPAG-AGING).Advanced age represents one of the major risk factors for Parkinson’s Disease. Recent biomedical studies posit a role for microRNAs, also known to be remodelled during ageing. However, the relationship between microRNA remodelling and ageing in Parkinson’s Disease, has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to unravel the relevance of microRNAs as biomarkers of Parkinson’s Disease within the ageing framework. We employed Next Generation Sequencing to profile serum microRNAs from samples informative for Parkinson’s Disease (recently diagnosed, drug-naïve) and healthy ageing (centenarians) plus healthy controls, age-matched with Parkinson’s Disease patients. Potential microRNA candidates markers, emerging from the combination of differential expression and network analyses, were further validated in an independent cohort including both drug-naïve and advanced Parkinson’s Disease patients, and healthy siblings of Parkinson’s Disease patients at higher genetic risk for developing the disease. While we did not find evidences of microRNAs co-regulated in Parkinson’s Disease and ageing, we report that hsa-miR-144-3p is consistently down-regulated in early Parkinson’s Disease patients. Moreover, interestingly, functional analysis revealed that hsa-miR-144-3p is involved in the regulation of coagulation, a process known to be altered in Parkinson’s Disease. Our results consistently show the down-regulation of hsa-mir144-3p in early Parkinson’s Disease, robustly confirmed across a variety of analytical and experimental analyses. These promising results ask for further research to unveil the functional details of the involvement of hsa-mir144-3p in Parkinson’s Disease.openZago E.; Dal Molin A.; Dimitri G.M.; Xumerle L.; Pirazzini C.; Bacalini M.G.; Maturo M.G.; Azevedo T.; Spasov S.; Gomez-Garre P.; Perinan M.T.; Jesus S.; Baldelli L.; Sambati L.; Calandra Buonaura G.; Garagnani P.; Provini F.; Cortelli P.; Mir P.; Trenkwalder C.; Mollenhauer B.; Franceschi C.; Lio P.; Nardini C.; Adarmes-Gomez A.; Azevedo T.; Bacalini M.G.; Baldelli L.; Bartoletti-Stella A.; Bhatia K.P.; Marta B.-T.; Boninsegna C.; Broli M.; Dolores B.-R.; Calandra-Buonaura G.; Capellari S.; Carrion-Claro M.; Cilea R.; Clayton R.; Cortelli P.; Molin A.D.; De Luca S.; De Massis P.; Dimitri G.M.; Doykov I.; Escuela-Martin R.; Fabbri G.; Franceschi C.; Gabellini A.; Garagnani P.; Giuliani C.; Gomez-Garre P.; Guaraldi P.; Hagg S.; Hallqvist J.; Halsband C.; Heywood W.; Houlden H.; Huertas I.; Jesus S.; Jylhava J.; Labrador-Espinosa M.A.; Licari C.; Lio P.; Luchinat C.; Macias D.; Macri S.; Magrinelli F.; Rodriguez J.F.M.; Massimo D.; Maturo M.G.; Mengozzi G.; Meoni G.; Mignani F.; Milazzo M.; Mills K.; Mir P.; Mollenhauer B.; Nardini C.; Nassetti S.A.; Pedersen N.L.; Perinan-Tocino M.T.; Pirazzini C.; Provini F.; Ravaioli F.; Sala C.; Sambati L.; Scaglione C.L.M.; Schade S.; Schreglmann S.; Spasov S.; Strom S.; Tejera-Parrado C.; Tenori L.; Trenkwalder C.; Turano P.; Valzania F.; Ortega R.V.; Williams D.; Xumerle L.; Zago E.Zago E.; Dal Molin A.; Dimitri G.M.; Xumerle L.; Pirazzini C.; Bacalini M.G.; Maturo M.G.; Azevedo T.; Spasov S.; Gomez-Garre P.; Perinan M.T.; Jesus S.; Baldelli L.; Sambati L.; Calandra Buonaura G.; Garagnani P.; Provini F.; Cortelli P.; Mir P.; Trenkwalder C.; Mollenhauer B.; Franceschi C.; Lio P.; Nardini C.; Adarmes-Gomez A.; Azevedo T.; Bacalini M.G.; Baldelli L.; Bartoletti-Stella A.; Bhatia K.P.; Marta B.-T.; Boninsegna C.; Broli M.; Dolores B.-R.; Calandra-Buonaura G.; Capellari S.; Carrion-Claro M.; Cilea R.; Clayton R.; Cortelli P.; Molin A.D.; De Luca S.; De Massis P.; Dimitri G.M.; Doykov I.; Escuela-Martin R.; Fabbri G.; Franceschi C.; Gabellini A.; Garagnani P.; Giuliani C.; Gomez-Garre P.; Guaraldi P.; Hagg S.; Hallqvist J.; Halsband C.; Heywood W.; Houlden H.; Huertas I.; Jesus S.; Jylhava J.; Labrador-Espinosa M.A.; Licari C.; Lio P.; Luchinat C.; Macias D.; Macri S.; Magrinelli F.; Rodriguez J.F.M.; Massimo D.; Maturo M.G.; Mengozzi G.; Meoni G.; Mignani F.; Milazzo M.; Mills K.; Mir P.; Mollenhauer B.; Nardini C.; Nassetti S.A.; Pedersen N.L.; Perinan-Tocino M.T.; Pirazzini C.; Provini F.; Ravaioli F.; Sala C.; Sambati L.; Scaglione C.L.M.; Schade S.; Schreglmann S.; Spasov S.; Strom S.; Tejera-Parrado C.; Tenori L.; Trenkwalder C.; Turano P.; Valzania F.; Ortega R.V.; Williams D.; Xumerle L.; Zago E

Impact of chronic liver disease upon admission on COVID-19 in-hospital mortality: Findings from COVOCA study

Background Italy has been the first Western country to be heavily affected by the spread of SARS-COV-2 infection and among the pioneers of the clinical management of pandemic. To improve the outcome, identification of patients at the highest risk seems mandatory. Objectives Aim of this study is to identify comorbidities and clinical conditions upon admission associated with in-hospital mortality in several COVID Centers in Campania Region (Italy). Methods COVOCA is a multicentre retrospective observational cohort study, which involved 18 COVID Centers throughout Campania Region, Italy. Data were collected from patients who completed their hospitalization between March-June 2020. The endpoint was in-hospital mortality, assessed either from data at discharge or death certificate, whilst all exposure variables were collected at hospital admission. Results Among 618 COVID-19 hospitalized patients included in the study, 143 in-hospital mortality events were recorded, with a cumulative incidence of about 23%. At multivariable logistic analysis, male sex (OR 2.63, 95%CI 1.42–4.90; p = 0.001), Chronic Liver Disease (OR 5.88, 95%CI 2.39–14.46; p<0.001) and malignancies (OR 2.62, 95%CI 1.21–5.68; p = 0.015) disclosed an independent association with a poor prognosis, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Respiratory Severity Scale allowed to identify at higher mortality risk. Sensitivity analysis further enhanced these findings. Conclusion Mortality of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 appears strongly affected by both clinical conditions on admission and comorbidities. Originally, we observed a very poor outcome in subjects with a chronic liver disease, alongside with an increase of hepatic damage

An Assessment of the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Friendship-Based Social Network Recruitment Strategy to Screen At-Risk African American and Hispanic/Latina Young Women for HIV Infection

To examine the feasibility and acceptability of a friendship-based network recruitment strategy for identifying undiagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection within young women’s same-sex friendship networks and to determine factors that facilitated and hindered index recruiters (IRs) in recruiting female friendship network members (FNMs) as well as factors that facilitated and hindered FNMs in undergoing HIV screening

Heterogeneity of prodromal Parkinson symptoms in siblings of Parkinson disease patients

A prodromal phase of Parkinson’s disease (PD) may precede motor manifestations by decades. PD patients’ siblings are at higher risk for PD, but the prevalence and distribution of prodromal symptoms are unknown. The study objectives were (1) to assess motor and non-motor features estimating prodromal PD probability in PD siblings recruited within the European PROPAG-AGEING project; (2) to compare motor and non-motor symptoms to the well-established DeNoPa cohort. 340 PD siblings from three sites (Bologna, Seville, Kassel/Goettingen) underwent clinical and neurological evaluations of PD markers. The German part of the cohort was compared with German de novo PD patients (dnPDs) and healthy controls (CTRs) from DeNoPa. Fifteen (4.4%) siblings presented with subtle signs of motor impairment, with MDS-UPDRS-III scores not clinically different from CTRs. Symptoms of orthostatic hypotension were present in 47 siblings (13.8%), no different to CTRs (p = 0.072). No differences were found for olfaction and overall cognition; German-siblings performed worse than CTRs in visuospatial-executive and language tasks. 3/147 siblings had video-polysomnography-confirmed REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), none was positive on the RBD Screening Questionnaire. 173/300 siblings had <1% probability of having prodromal PD; 100 between 1 and 10%, 26 siblings between 10 and 80%, one fulfilled the criteria for prodromal PD. According to the current analysis, we cannot confirm the increased risk of PD siblings for prodromal PD. Siblings showed a heterogeneous distribution of prodromal PD markers and probability. Additional parameters, including strong disease markers, should be investigated to verify if these results depend on validity and sensitivity of prodromal PD criteria, or if siblings’ risk is not elevated

A geroscience approach for Parkinson's disease: Conceptual framework and design of PROPAG-AGEING project

Advanced age is the major risk factor for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), but to date the biological relationship between PD and ageing remains elusive. Here we describe the rationale and the design of the H2020 funded project “PROPAG-AGEING”, whose aim is to characterize the contribution of the ageing process to PD development. We summarize current evidences that support the existence of a continuum between ageing and PD and justify the use of a Geroscience approach to study PD. We focus in particular on the role of inflammaging, the chronic, low-grade inflammation characteristic of elderly physiology, which can propagate and transmit both locally and systemically. We then describe PROPAG-AGEING design, which is based on the multi-omic characterization of peripheral samples from clinically characterized drug-naïve and advanced PD, PD discordant twins, healthy controls and "super-controls", i.e. centenarians, who never showed clinical signs of motor disability, and their offspring. Omic results are then validated in a large number of samples, including in vitro models of dopaminergic neurons and healthy siblings of PD patients, who are at higher risk of developing PD, with the final aim of identifying the molecular perturbations that can deviate the trajectories of healthy ageing towards PD development

Metabolite and lipoprotein profiles reveal sex-related oxidative stress imbalance in de novo drug-naive Parkinson's disease patients

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the neurological disorder showing the greatest rise in prevalence from 1990 to 2016. Despite clinical definition criteria and a tremendous effort to develop objective biomarkers, precise diagnosis of PD is still unavailable at early stage. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have used omic methods to unveil the molecular basis of PD, providing a detailed characterization of potentially pathological alterations in various biological specimens. Metabolomics could provide useful insights to deepen our knowledge of PD aetiopathogenesis, to identify signatures that distinguish groups of patients and uncover responsive biomarkers of PD that may be significant in early detection and in tracking the disease progression and drug treatment efficacy. The present work is the first large metabolomic study based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with an independent validation cohort aiming at the serum characterization of de novo drug-naive PD patients. Here, NMR is applied to sera from large training and independent validation cohorts of German subjects. Multivariate and univariate approaches are used to infer metabolic differences that characterize the metabolite and the lipoprotein profiles of newly diagnosed de novo drug-naive PD patients also in relation to the biological sex of the subjects in the study, evidencing a more pronounced fingerprint of the pathology in male patients. The presence of a validation cohort allowed us to confirm altered levels of acetone and cholesterol in male PD patients. By comparing the metabolites and lipoproteins levels among de novo drug-naive PD patients, age- and sex-matched healthy controls, and a group of advanced PD patients, we detected several descriptors of stronger oxidative stress