L’individuo e le sue relazioni a partire dal Second Treatise di John Locke

Le relazioni dell'individuo, già nel pensiero di Locke - uno dei padri dell'individualismo metodologico -, da un lato costituiscono il singolo, dall’altro lo limitano. Questa dialettica di costituzione-limitazione fa sì che l’individuo debba intendersi più che come un "dato" originario come una "costruzione" e che, in secondo luogo, il limite alla sua azione sia posto non solo dall’esterno, ossia dalla presenza di altri individui, ma anche dall’interno, ossia dalla sua stessa costituzione ontologica

Idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension: current perspectives

The term idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension (INCPH) has been recently proposed to replace terms, such as hepatoportal sclerosis, idiopathic portal hypertension, incomplete septal cirrhosis, and nodular regenerative hyperplasia, used to describe patients with a hepatic presinusoidal cause of portal hypertension of unknown etiology, characterized by features of portal hypertension (esophageal varices, nonmalignant ascites, porto-venous collaterals), splenomegaly, patent portal, and hepatic veins and no clinical and histological signs of cirrhosis. Physicians should learn to look for this condition in a number of clinical settings, including cryptogenic cirrhosis, a disease known to be associated with INCPH, drug administration, and even chronic alterations in liver function tests. Once INCPH is clinically suspected, liver histology becomes mandatory for the correct diagnosis. However, pathologists should be familiar with the histological features of INCPH, especially in cases in which histology is not only requested to exclude liver cirrhosis

La réception de l’œuvre d’E.-W. Böckenförde en Italie

L’œuvre de Böckenförde a commencé à être traduite en italien depuis les années 1970, mais connaît un regain d’intérêt depuis les années 2000 dans le cadre de la discussion sur la place de la religion dans l’espace public. La dialectique constante entre État moderne et conscience, le rôle capital de la liberté religieuse qui permet d’éviter que l’État ne se sacralise lui-même : tels sont quelques concepts centraux chez Böckenförde. Certains auteurs italiens ont pu lui reprocher une tendance au catastrophisme, à l’apologétique, l’hétéronomie de certaines conceptions. La contribution répond à ces objections.Das Werk von Böckenförde wurde zum ersten Mal in den 1970er Jahren ins Italienische übersetzt, weckt aber seit den 2000er Jahren in Italien erneut Interesse im Rahmen der Diskussion über den Platz der Religion im öffentlichen Raum. Der Beitrag beleuchtet einige zentrale Begriffe in Böckenfördes Werk : die ständige Dialektik zwischen modernem Staat und Gewissen ; die bedeutende Rolle der Religionsfreiheit, die es verhindert, dass der Staat sich selbst heilig macht. Er geht auch auf Einwände mancher italienischer Autoren gegen Böckenfördes Argumente (eine gewisse Tendenz zum Katastrophismus und zur Apologetik, die Heteronomie mancher Auffassungen) ein und widerlegt sie

A Robust Data-Driven Controller Design Methodology With Applications to Particle Accelerator Power Converters

A new data-driven approach using the frequency response function (FRF) of a system is proposed for designing robust-fixed structure digital controllers for particle accelerators' power converters. This design method ensures that the dynamics of a system are captured and avoid the problem of unmodeled dynamics associated with parametric models. The H ∞ robust performance condition can be represented by a set of convex constraints with respect to the parameters of a two degree of freedom RST controller. This controller is robust with respect to the frequency-dependent uncertainties of the FRF. A convex optimization algorithm is implemented to obtain the controller parameters. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated by considering two case studies that require robust controllers for achieving the desired performance

Permissive role for mGlu1 metabotropic glutamate receptors in excitotoxic retinal degeneration

Neuroprotection is an unmet need in eye disorders characterized by retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death, such as prematurity-induced retinal degeneration, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. In all these disorders excitotoxicity is a prominent component of neuronal damage, but clinical data discourage the development of NMDA receptor antagonists as neuroprotectants. Here, we show that activation of mGlu1 metabotropic glutamate receptors largely contributes to excitotoxic degeneration of RGCs. Mice at postnatal day 9 were challenged with a toxic dose of monosodium glutamate (MSG, 3g/kg), which caused the death of >70% of Brn-3a+ RGCs. Systemic administration of the mGlu1 receptor negative allosteric modulator (NAM), JNJ16259685 (2.5mg/kg, s.c.), was largely protective against MSG-induced RGC death. This treatment did not cause changes in motor behavior in the pups. We also injected MSG to crv4 mice, which lack mGlu1 receptors because of a recessive mutation of the gene encoding the mGlu1 receptor. MSG did not cause retinal degeneration in crv4 mice, whereas it retained its toxic activity in their wild-type littermates. These findings demonstrate that mGlu1 receptors play a key role in excitotoxic degeneration of RGCs, and encourage the study of mGlu1 receptor NAMs in models of retinal neurodegeneration

Look What I Am Doing: Does Observational Learning Take Place in Evocative Task-Sharing Situations?

Two experiments were conducted to investigate whether physical and observational practice in task-sharing entail comparable implicit motor learning. To this end, the social-transfer-of-learning (SToL) effect was assessed when both participants performed the joint practice task (Experiment 1 \u2013 complete task-sharing), or when one participant observed the other performing half of the practice task (Experiment 2 \u2013 evocative task-sharing). Since the inversion of the spatial relations between responding agent and stimulus position has been shown to prevent SToL, in the present study we assessed it in both complete and evocative task-sharing conditions either when spatial relations were kept constant or changed from the practice to the transfer session. The same pattern of results was found for both complete and evocative task-sharing, thus suggesting that implicit motor learning in evocative task-sharing is equivalent to that obtained in complete task-sharing. We conclude that this motor learning originates from the simulation of the complementary (rather than the imitative) action

Etica e professioni sanitarie in Europa. Un dialogo tra medicina e filosofia

This multilingual volume brings together some of the results of research conducted at the Department of Literature and Philosophy of the University of Trento (Italy), in collaboration with the Bruno Kessler Foundation (Trento, Italy). Topics related to ethics and professions in the healthcare and other fields were covered, analyzed both from a theoretical and an empirical perspective. After presenting some introductory thoughts on the distinction between different levels and forms of ethical reflection on healthcare and the significance of the individual moral conscience as far as these levels are concerned, the first part of the book discusses some European traditions in healthcare professional ethics: it includes a Spanish account of different moral traditions in healthcare ethics, a reconstruction of the British experience and evolution of this field, a report on the Belgian contemporary situation, a presentation of the role of the Medical Associations in the German area, a description of the evolution of medical ethics in Croatia and a focus on nursing ethics and medical ethics in Italy. Two empirical studies are then described: one qualitative based on 40 interviews with clinicians, and one quantitative based on a web survey of more than 1,000 physicians; the first was conducted in the Province of Trento, the second in that of Verona (Northern Italy). The book concludes with a number of interviews with clinicians and a philosophical reflection on the nature of the obligations related to the practice of caring. The book is intended to cover the main moral questions faced by clinicians today and to offer a novel self-representation of their work and its ethical meaning in contemporary healthcare practice. Medicine and philosophy have a long history of dialogue: this volume continues that discussion, searching for new ways to combine a strong scientific approach with reflections on the moral and anthropological structures of clinical practice

Soft drinks and sweeteners intake: Possible contribution to the development of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. Beneficial or detrimental action of alternative sweeteners?

Abstract The rapid increase in obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) has been related to the rise in sugar-added foods and sweetened beverages consumption. An interesting approach has been to replace sugar with alternative sweeteners (AS), due to their impact on public health. Preclinical and clinical studies, which analyze the safety of AS intake, are still limited. Major pathogenic mechanisms of these substances include ROS and AGEs formation. Indeed, endothelial dysfunction involving in the pathogenesis of micro- and macro-vascular diseases is mitochondrial dysfunction dependent. Hyperglycemia and endoplasmic reticulum stress together produce ROS, contributing to the development and progression of cardiovascular complications during type 2 diabetes (T2D), thus causing oxidative changes and direct damage of lipids, proteins, and DNA. Epidemiological studies in healthy subjects have suggested that the consumption of artificial AS can promote CV complications, such as glucose intolerance and predisposition to the onset of T2D, whereas natural AS could reduce hyperglycemia, improve lipid metabolism and have antioxidant effects. Long-term prospective clinical randomized studies are needed to evaluate precisely whether exposure to alternative sugars can have clinical implications on natural history and clinical outcomes, especially in children or during the gestational period through breast milk

Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the General Population of the Veneto Region: Results of a Screening Campaign with Third-Generation Rapid Antigen Tests in the Pre-Vaccine Era

The aim of our study was to ascertain the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general population during a period of moderate risk, just before Italy started to implement its vaccination campaign. A third-generation antigenic nasal swab sample was collected by a healthcare provider, and all individuals testing positive subsequently had a nasopharyngeal swab for molecular testing; the result was used to calculate the positive predictive value. The population consisted of 4467 asymptomatic adults with a mean age of 46.8 +/- 16.00 years. The 62.2% tested for the first time, while 37.8% had previously undergone a mean 2.2 tests for SARS-CoV-2. With 77 of our overall sample reporting they had previously tested positive for COVID-19 and 14 found positive on our screening test, the overall estimated prevalence of the infection was 0.31%. Nine of the 14 cases were confirmed on molecular testing with a PPV of 64.3%. The mean age of the individuals testing positive was 38.1 +/- 17.4. Based on the timing of symptom onset, six of the above cases were classified as false negatives, and the adjusted estimated prevalence was 0.34%. Describing levels of infection in a general population seems to be very difficult to achieve, and the universal screening proved hugely expensive particularly in a low-prevalence situation. Anyway, it is only thanks to mass screening efforts that epidemiological data have been collected. This would support the idea that routine screening may have an impact on mitigating the spread of the virus in higher-risk environments, where people come into contact more frequently, as in the workplace

mGlu1 Receptors Monopolize the Synaptic Control of Cerebellar Purkinje Cells by Epigenetically Down-Regulating mGlu5 Receptors

In cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) type-1 metabotropic glutamate (mGlu1) receptors play a key role in motor learning and drive the refinement of synaptic innervation during postnatal development. The cognate mGlu5 receptor is absent in mature PCs and shows low expression levels in the adult cerebellar cortex. Here we found that mGlu5 receptors were heavily expressed by PCs in the early postnatal life, when mGlu1α receptors were barely detectable. The developmental decline of mGlu5 receptors coincided with the appearance of mGlu1α receptors in PCs, and both processes were associated with specular changes in CpG methylation in the corresponding gene promoters. It was the mGlu1 receptor that drove the elimination of mGlu5 receptors from PCs, as shown by data obtained with conditional mGlu1α receptor knockout mice and with targeted pharmacological treatments during critical developmental time windows. The suppressing activity of mGlu1 receptors on mGlu5 receptor was maintained in mature PCs, suggesting that expression of mGlu1α and mGlu5 receptors is mutually exclusive in PCs. These findings add complexity to the the finely tuned mechanisms that regulate PC biology during development and in the adult life and lay the groundwork for an in-depth analysis of the role played by mGlu5 receptors in PC maturation