Togliatti: l'egemonia in atto

Si esamina la politica togliattiana (anche e soprattutto nel suo versante culturale, ad es."Il Politecnico" e la stessa diffusione di Gramsci nel dopoguerra) in quanto applicazione originale delle elaborazioni di Gramsci a proposito dell'egemonia

Gramsci e gli "studi culturali"

Il saggio prende in esame il largo uso che i "cultural studies" di tutto il mondo hanno fatto e fanno del pensiero di Gramsci, in particolare elaborando il suo concetto di "egemonia"

la contribution de la critique littéraire aux recherches sur les "Livres de Famille" italiens et BILF, la Bibliothèque Informatisée des Livres de Famille

A partire dalla definizione di genere dei "libri di famiglia" e dall'attività di ricerca svolta da BILF (la Biblioteca Informatizzata dei Libri di famiglia dell'Università di "Tor Vergata") l'Autore argomenta lo stretto legame che esiste fra la ricerca sui testi e la capacità di definire con precisione, e di riconoscere nella ricerca, il loro statuto semiotico (genere letterario). In conclusione saluta come assai promettente l'avvio di un rapporto fra i ricercatori che nelle diverse nazioni europee si occupano delle scritture di memoria

Introduzione a Gramsci

Si tratta di un'Introduzione rivolta a chi non conosce né ha mai letto Gramsci, e specificamente ai giovani; a una prima parte biografica fa seguito l'esame delle diverse fasi dell'attività e del pensiero di Gramsci (alla luce soprattutto dei "Quaderni del carcere"). L'Introduzione è conclusa da una Guida bibliografica alla lettura, completata da pratici e operativi "consigli"

L'Università struccata : Il movimento dell'Onda tra Marx, Toni Negri e il professor Perotti

A partire dal significato del movimento studentesco dell'Onda, l'Autore traccia una breve storia dell'Università dal dopoguerra a oggi, considerandola come un indicatore significativo dei rapporti di forza fra le classi. Successivamente si sofferma sulle posizioni ultra-liberiste sostenute dal prof. Roberto Perotti, evidenziando la manipolazione dei dati da lui operata e la insostenibilità delle sue proposte, L'appendice è dedicata a discutere criticamente le posizioni di Toni Negri a proposito del lavoro immateriale e del "general intellect": sulla base di una lettura ravvicinata di Marx, l'Autore sostiene che le nuove forme di lavoro non comportano affatto la fine dello sfruttamento

Durability of symptomatic responses obtained with adjunctive vagus nerve stimulation in treatment-resistant depression

Objective: To compare the durations of response achieved with adjunctive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS + TAU) vs treatment as usual (TAU) alone in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) over a 5-year period in the TRD registry. Materials and methods: Data from 271 participants on TAU and 328 participants on VNS + TAU were analyzed. Response was defined as \u3e /=50% decrease in baseline Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score at postbaseline visit and was considered retained until the decrease was \u3c 40%. MADRS was obtained quarterly in year 1 and biannually thereafter. Time-to-events were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method and compared using log-rank test. HR was estimated using Cox proportion hazard model. Results: In the VNS + TAU arm, 62.5% (205/328) of participants had a first response over 5 years compared with 39.9% (108/271) in TAU. The time to first response was significantly shorter for VNS + TAU than for TAU (P \u3c 0.01). For responders in the first year, median time to relapse from first response was 10.1 months (Q1=4.2, Q3=31.5) for VNS + TAU vs 7.3 months (Q1=3.1, Q3=17.6) for TAU (P \u3c 0.01). HR=0.6 (95% CI: 0.4, 0.9) revealed a significantly lower chance for relapse in VNS + TAU. Probability of retaining first response for a year was 0.39 (0.27, 0.51) for TAU and 0.47 (0.38, 0.56) for VNS + TAU. Timing of the onset of the response did not impact the durability of the response. Conclusion: VNS therapy added to TAU in severe TRD leads to rapid onset and higher likelihood of response, and a greater durability of the response as compared to TAU alone

Multifactorial causes of chronic mortality in juvenile sturgeon (Huso huso)

This investigation focused on an episode of chronic mortality observed in juvenile Huso huso sturgeons. The examined subjects underwent pathological, microbiological, molecular, and chemical investigations. Grossly severe body shape deformities, epaxial muscle softening, and multifocal ulcerative dermatitis were the main observed findings. The more constant histopathologic findings were moderate to severe rarefaction and disorganization of the lymphohematopoietic lymphoid tissues, myofiber degeneration, atrophy and interstitial edema of skeletal epaxial muscles, and degeneration and atrophy of the gangliar neurons close to the myofibers. Chemical investigations showed a lower selenium concentration in affected animals, suggesting nutritional myopathy. Other manifestations were nephrocalcinosis and splenic vessel wall hyalinosis. Septicemia due to bacteria such as Aeromonas veronii, Shewanella putrefaciens, Citrobacter freundii, Chryseobacterium sp., and pigmented hyphae were found. No major sturgeon viral pathogens were detected by classical methods. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis confirmed the absence of viral pathogens, with the exception of herpesvirus, at the order level; also, the presence of Aeromonas veronii and Shewanella putrefaciens was confirmed at the family level by the metagenomic classification of NGS data. In the absence of a primary yet undetected biological cause, it is supposed that environmental stressors, including nutritional imbalances, may have led to immune system impairment, facilitating the entry of opportunistic bacteria and mycotic hyphae

Validation of the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse model with four classes of licensed antiretrovirals.

BackgroundThe SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse model of HIV-1 infection is a useful platform for the preclinical evaluation of antiviral efficacy in vivo. We performed this study to validate the model with representatives of all four classes of licensed antiretrovirals.Methodology/principal findingsEndpoint analyses for quantification of Thy/Liv implant viral load included ELISA for cell-associated p24, branched DNA assay for HIV-1 RNA, and detection of infected thymocytes by intracellular staining for Gag-p24. Antiviral protection from HIV-1-mediated thymocyte depletion was assessed by multicolor flow cytometric analysis of thymocyte subpopulations based on surface expression of CD3, CD4, and CD8. These mice can be productively infected with molecular clones of HIV-1 (e.g., the X4 clone NL4-3) as well as with primary R5 and R5X4 isolates. To determine whether results in this model are concordant with those found in humans, we performed direct comparisons of two drugs in the same class, each of which has known potency and dosing levels in humans. Here we show that second-generation antiretrovirals were, as expected, more potent than their first-generation predecessors: emtricitabine was more potent than lamivudine, efavirenz was more potent than nevirapine, and atazanavir was more potent than indinavir. After interspecies pharmacodynamic scaling, the dose ranges found to inhibit viral replication in the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse were similar to those used in humans. Moreover, HIV-1 replication in these mice was genetically stable; treatment of the mice with lamivudine did not result in the M184V substitution in reverse transcriptase, and the multidrug-resistant NY index case HIV-1 retained its drug-resistance substitutions.ConclusionGiven the fidelity of such comparisons, we conclude that this highly reproducible mouse model is likely to predict clinical antiviral efficacy in humans