Le insidie della cura

Nella precarietà, anche i “dati” sono precari. La mutevolezza dei riferimenti è tale che le situazioni, altamente frammentarie ed effimere, presentano sempre nuove configurazioni, emersioni ed immersioni, illuminazioni ed oscuramenti.. 1 Lo strappo rispetto al paradigma fordista, retto dal nesso di capitale e lavoro, si palesa già all'inizio degli anni Novanta, quando l'affermazione del Neoliberismo produce due trasformazioni destinate a rivoluzionare (stravolgere) il mercato del lavoro: la finanziarizzazione dell'economia; la diffusione di una precarietà strutturata e sistemica della manodopera che scardina le tutele lavoristiche concepite su base collettiva. Come ricorda Cristina Morini, i cantori della flessibilità spinta, ampiamente rappresentati al di qua e al di là dell'Atlantico, iniziano ad indicare nella womenomics il modello di competitività ed efficienza cui aspirare2. Con questo neologismo cacofonico, si sarebbe definita l'economia che fa proprie le doti, tradizionalmente femminili, della duttilità, del multi-tasking, dell'obbedienza, dell'ascolto e della propensione alla cura. Da allora in poi, il capitalismo avrebbe manifestato un insolito entusiasmo per le attività muliebri, sia per il vantaggio competitivo che consegue alle condizioni in cui il lavoro si svolge, sia per il loro carattere totalizzante che rende indistinguibili competenze e qualità individuali. Un'operazione che avrebbe dovuto mettere in sospetto quanti sostengono che l'attuale sistema di produzione rispecchi i rapporti di potere vigenti nella società patriarcale venne accolta da alcuni settori del movimento femminista come un'opportunità; questa tardiva scoperta del potenziale produttivo delle donne serba, al contrario, non poche insidie per la classe lavoratrice che, a dispetto di quanto si preconizzava alcuni anni or sono, langue in una miseria materiale e simbolica...

Le insidie della cura

Nella precarietà, anche i “dati” sono precari. La mutevolezza dei riferimenti è tale che le situazioni, altamente frammentarie ed effimere, presentano sempre nuove configurazioni, emersioni ed immersioni, illuminazioni ed oscuramenti.. 1 Lo strappo rispetto al paradigma fordista, retto dal nesso di capitale e lavoro, si palesa già all'inizio degli anni Novanta, quando l'affermazione del Neoliberismo produce due trasformazioni destinate a rivoluzionare (stravolgere) il mercato del lavoro: la finanziarizzazione dell'economia; la diffusione di una precarietà strutturata e sistemica della manodopera che scardina le tutele lavoristiche concepite su base collettiva. Come ricorda Cristina Morini, i cantori della flessibilità spinta, ampiamente rappresentati al di qua e al di là dell'Atlantico, iniziano ad indicare nella womenomics il modello di competitività ed efficienza cui aspirare2. Con questo neologismo cacofonico, si sarebbe definita l'economia che fa proprie le doti, tradizionalmente femminili, della duttilità, del multi-tasking, dell'obbedienza, dell'ascolto e della propensione alla cura. Da allora in poi, il capitalismo avrebbe manifestato un insolito entusiasmo per le attività muliebri, sia per il vantaggio competitivo che consegue alle condizioni in cui il lavoro si svolge, sia per il loro carattere totalizzante che rende indistinguibili competenze e qualità individuali. Un'operazione che avrebbe dovuto mettere in sospetto quanti sostengono che l'attuale sistema di produzione rispecchi i rapporti di potere vigenti nella società patriarcale venne accolta da alcuni settori del movimento femminista come un'opportunità; questa tardiva scoperta del potenziale produttivo delle donne serba, al contrario, non poche insidie per la classe lavoratrice che, a dispetto di quanto si preconizzava alcuni anni or sono, langue in una miseria materiale e simbolica...

SERPINB3 delays glomerulonephritis and attenuates the lupus-like disease in lupus murine models by inducing a more tolerogenic immune phenotype

Objective: To explore the effects of SERPINB3 administration in murine lupus models with a focus on lupus-like nephritis. Methods: 40 NZB/W F1 mice were subdivided into 4 groups and intraperitoneally injected with recombinant SERPINB3 (7.5 \u3bcg/0.1 mL or 15 \u3bcg/0.1 mL) or PBS (0.1 mL) before (group 1 and 2) or after (group 3 and 4) the development of proteinuria ( 65100 mg/dl). Two additional mice groups were provided by including 20 MRL/lpr mice which were prophylactically injected with SERPINB3 (10 mice, group 5) or PBS (10 mice, group 6). Time of occurrence and levels of anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q antibodies, proteinuria and serum creatinine, overall- and proteinuria-free survival were assessed in mice followed up to natural death. Histological analysis was performed in kidneys of both lupus models. The Th17:Treg cell ratio was assessed by flow-cytometry in splenocytes of treated and untreated MRL/lpr mice. Statistical analysis was performed using non parametric tests and Kaplan-Meier curves, when indicated. Results: Autoantibody levels and proteinuria were significantly decreased and time of occurrence significantly delayed in SERPINB3-treated mice vs. controls. In agreement with these findings, proteinuria-free and overall survival were significantly improved in SERPINB3-treated groups vs. controls. Histological analysis demonstrated a lower prevalence of severe tubular lesions in kidneys of group 5 vs. group 6. SERPINB3-treated mice showed an overall trend toward a reduced prevalence of severe lesions in both strains. Th17:Treg ratio was significantly decreased in splenocytes of MRL/lpr mice treated with SERPINB3, compared to untreated control mice. Conclusions: SERPINB3 significantly improves disease course and delays the onset of severe glomerulonephritis in lupus-prone mice, possibly inducing a more tolerogenic immune phenotype

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders in neuronal xenotransplanted macaques

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) are a heterogeneous group of lymphoid proliferations that occur in the setting of depressed T-cell function due to immunosuppressive therapy used following solid organ transplantation, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and also xenotransplantation. In the present study, 28 immunosuppressed parkinsonian Macaca fascicularis were intracerebrally injected with wild-type or CTLA4-Ig transgenic porcine xenografts to identify a suitable strategy to enable long-term cell survival, maturation, and differentiation. Nine of 28 (32%) immunosuppressed primates developed masses compatible with PTLD, located mainly in the gastrointestinal tract and/or nasal cavity. The masses were classified as monomorphic PTLD according to the World Health Organization classification. Immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses revealed that the PTLDs were associated with macaca lymphocryptovirus as confirmed by double-labeling immunohistochemistry for CD20 and Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA-2), where the viral protein was located within the CD20+ neoplastic B cells. In sera from 3 distinct phases of the experimental life of the primates, testing by quantitative PCR revealed a progression of the viral load that paralleled the PTLD progression and no evidence of zoonotic transmission of porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus through xenoneuronal grafts. These data suggest that monitoring the variation of macaca lymphocryptovirus DNA in primates could be used as a possible early diagnostic tool for PTLD progression, allowing preemptive treatment such as immunosuppression therapy reduction

Genomic variation and biogeography of Antarctic haloarchaea

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: The genomes of halophilic archaea (haloarchaea) often comprise multiple replicons. Genomic variation in haloarchaea has been linked to viral infection pressure and, in the case of Antarctic communities, can be caused by intergenera gene exchange. To expand understanding of genome variation and biogeography of Antarctic haloarchaea, here we assessed genomic variation between two strains of Halorubrum lacusprofundi that were isolated from Antarctic hypersaline lakes from different regions (Vestfold Hills and Rauer Islands). To assess variation in haloarchaeal populations, including the presence of genomic islands, metagenomes from six hypersaline Antarctic lakes were characterised. Results: The sequence of the largest replicon of each Hrr. lacusprofundi strain (primary replicon) was highly conserved, while each of the strains' two smaller replicons (secondary replicons) were highly variable. Intergenera gene exchange was identified, including the sharing of a type I-B CRISPR system. Evaluation of infectivity of an Antarctic halovirus provided experimental evidence for the differential susceptibility of the strains, bolstering inferences that strain variation is important for modulating interactions with viruses. A relationship was found between genomic structuring and the location of variation within replicons and genomic islands, demonstrating that the way in which haloarchaea accommodate genomic variability relates to replicon structuring. Metagenome read and contig mapping and clustering and scaling analyses demonstrated biogeographical patterning of variation consistent with environment and distance effects. The metagenome data also demonstrated that specific haloarchaeal species dominated the hypersaline systems indicating they are endemic to Antarctica. Conclusion: The study describes how genomic variation manifests in Antarctic-lake haloarchaeal communities and provides the basis for future assessments of Antarctic regional and global biogeography of haloarchaea

rrnDB: documenting the number of rRNA and tRNA genes in bacteria and archaea

A dramatic exception to the general pattern of single-copy genes in bacterial and archaeal genomes is the presence of 1–15 copies of each ribosomal RNA encoding gene. The original version of the Ribosomal RNA Database (rrnDB) cataloged estimates of the number of 16S rRNA-encoding genes; the database now includes the number of genes encoding each of the rRNAs (5S, 16S and 23S), an internally transcribed spacer region, and the number of tRNA genes. The rrnDB has been used largely by microbiologists to predict the relative rate at which microbial populations respond to favorable growth conditions, and to interpret 16S rRNA-based surveys of microbial communities. To expand the functionality of the rrnDB (http://ribosome.mmg.msu.edu/rrndb/index.php), the search engine has been redesigned to allow database searches based on 16S rRNA gene copy number, specific organisms or taxonomic subsets of organisms. The revamped database also computes average gene copy numbers for any collection of entries selected. Curation tools now permit rapid updates, resulting in an expansion of the database to include data for 785 bacterial and 69 archaeal strains. The rrnDB continues to serve as the authoritative, curated source that documents the phylogenetic distribution of rRNA and tRNA genes in microbial genomes