Le signore di settant’anni

The essay focuses on the aging of a generation of women who have played a leading role in important transformations at both the social and the subjective level. It seeks to sketch a composite picture, often contradictory and ambivalent, which includes losses but also the possibility of opening up to change and to new experiences. The key issue becomes that of time, the time of the body and the time of the future, which brings with itself also the threat of extreme old age and of death. The way out is in the willingness to “be that which one is” in the different contexts of life, that is, working to find meaning through a subjective process, gathering strength to maintain inner balance. And the tool for it seems to be the time for oneself

Phonetic accommodation in non‑native directed speech supports L2 word learning and pronunciation

Published: 02 December 2023This study assessed whether Non-native Directed Speech (NNDS) facilitates second language (L2) learning, specifically L2 word learning and production. Spanish participants (N = 50) learned novel English words, presented either in NNDS or Native-Directed Speech (NDS), in two tasks: Recognition and Production. Recognition involved matching novel objects to their labels produced in NNDS or NDS. Production required participants to pronounce these objects’ labels. The novel words contained English vowel contrasts, which approximated Spanish vowel categories more (/i-ɪ/) or less (/ʌ-æ/). Participants in the NNDS group exhibited faster recognition of novel words, improved learning, and produced the /i-ɪ/ contrast with greater distinctiveness in comparison to the NDS group. Participants’ ability to discriminate the target vowel contrasts was also assessed before and after the tasks, with no improvement detected in the two groups. These findings support the didactic assumption of NNDS, indicating the relevance of the phonetic adaptations in this register for successful L2 acquisition.This research was supported by a Doctoral Fellowship (LCF/BQ/DI19/11730045) from “La Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434) to G.P., and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Ramon y Cajal Research Fellowship (RYC2018-024284-I) to M.K. This research was supported by the Basque Government through the BERC 2022-2025 program and by the Spanish State Research Agency through BCBL Severo Ochoa excellence accreditation CEX2020-001010-S. The research was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PID2020-113926GB-I00 to C.D.M.), and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 819093 to C.D.M.)

The Acoustic Features and Didactic Function of Foreigner-Directed Speech: A Scoping Review

Published online: Aug 1, 2022Purpose: This scoping review considers the acoustic features of a clear speech register directed to nonnative listeners known as foreigner-directed speech (FDS). We identify vowel hyperarticulation and low speech rate as the most representative acoustic features of FDS; other features, including wide pitch range and high intensity, are still under debate. We also discuss factors that may influence the outcomes and characteristics of FDS. We start by examining accommodation theories, outlining the reasons why FDS is likely to serve a didactic function by helping listeners acquire a second language (L2). We examine how this speech register adapts to listeners’ identities and linguistic needs, suggesting that FDS also takes listeners’ L2 proficiency into account. To confirm the didactic function of FDS, we compare it to other clear speech registers, specifically infant-directed speech and Lombard speech. Conclusions: Our review reveals that research has not yet established whether FDS succeeds as a didactic tool that supports L2 acquisition. Moreover, a complex set of factors determines specific realizations of FDS, which need further exploration. We conclude by summarizing open questions and indicating directions and recommendations for future research.This research was supported by a Doctoral Fellowship (LCF/BQ/DI19/11730045) from “La Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434) awarded to Giorgio Piazza and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Ramon y Cajal Research Fellowship (RYC2018-024284-I) awarded to Marina Kalashnikova. This research was supported by the Basque Government through the BERC 2022-2025 program and by the Spanish State Research Agency through BCBL Severo Ochoa excellence accreditation CEX2020-001010-S. This research was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PID2020-113926GB-I00 awarded to Clara D. Martin) and by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement 819093 awarded to Clara D. Martin)

Bioengineering, augmented reality, and robotic surgery in vascular surgery: A literature review

Biomedical engineering integrates a variety of applied sciences with life sciences to improve human health and reduce the invasiveness of surgical procedures. Technological advances, achieved through biomedical engineering, have contributed to significant improvements in the field of vascular and endovascular surgery. This paper aims to review the most cutting-edge technologies of the last decade involving the use of augmented reality devices and robotic systems in vascular surgery, highlighting benefits and limitations. Accordingly, two distinct literature surveys were conducted through the PubMed database: the first review provides a comprehensive assessment of augmented reality technologies, including the different techniques available for the visualization of virtual content (11 papers revised); the second review collects studies with bioengineering content that highlight the research trend in robotic vascular surgery, excluding works focused only on the clinical use of commercially available robotic systems (15 papers revised). Technological flow is constant and further advances in imaging techniques and hardware components will inevitably bring new tools for a clinical translation of innovative therapeutic strategies in vascular surgery

INTOLERÂNCIA ÀS RELIGIÕES AFRO-BRASILEIRAS NO ÂMBITO NACIONAL: UM BREVE ESTUDO DE CASOS CONCRETOS E A EFETIVIDADE DA LIBERDADE RELIGIOSA

A liberdade religiosa é um direito fundamental constitucionalmente garantido no Brasil, bem como na maior parte dos países pelo mundo, em concordância com a Declaração dos Direitos Humanos. Entretanto, é de fácil observância exemplos de violação do referido direito, principalmente em relação às religiões de matrizes africanas, como o Candomblé e Umbanda. A presente análise bibliográfica tem por objetivo conhecer e expor a explícita intolerância que sofrem as práticas religiosas afro-brasileiras, apresentando situações com relevância midiática devido à violência com que esta é praticada. O estudo de natureza qualitativa e, por vezes, quantitativa, tem como finalidade principal contribuir para a conscientização da sociedade de que todas as religiões podem coexistir dentro de um mesmo território, respeitando a individualidade de crença de cada ser humano

Aceptabilidad del castigo físico en la crianza de los niños en personas que fueron víctimas de violencia física en la niñez en Perú

En: Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Pública, Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 669-675Objetivos. El estudio evaluó la asociación entre haber sido víctima de violencia física en la niñez y la aceptabilidad, en etapas posteriores de vida, hacia el uso del castigo físico en la crianza de los niños. Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un análisis secundario de un estudio sobre violencia en 6399 personas mayores de 14 años residentes de las ciudades de Lima, Callao, Maynas, Arequipa, Cusco, Trujillo y Huamanga. Se usó modelos de regresión logística univariados y multivariados para estimar asociaciones estadísticas. Resultados. La aceptabilidad del uso del castigo físico en la crianza de niños es mayor en personas con el antecedente de ser víctimas de violencia física durante la niñez en comparación con las no victimizadas (OR=1,8; IC 95%: 1,5-2,1; p<0,001) ajustando por potenciales variables de confusión. Conclusiones. Las personas expuestas a violencia física durante la niñez tienen más riesgo de aceptar o justificar la misma durante la adultez, lo que podría contribuir a mantener esta práctica de crianza de una generación a la siguiente. Iniciativas dirigidas a prevenir el uso del castigo físico en la crianza de niños se deben implementar para reducir la tendencia a reproducir el ejercicio de violencia en personas victimizadas

Human recombinant fab fragment neutralizes shiga toxin type 2 cytotoxic effects in vitro and in vivo

Shiga toxin (Stx) producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is responsible for causing hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening thrombotic microangiopathy characterized by thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, and acute renal failure after bacterially induced hemorrhagic diarrhea. Until now, there has been neither an effective treatment nor method of prevention for the deleterious effects caused by Stx intoxication. Antibodies are well recognized as affinity components of therapeutic drugs; thus, a previously obtained recombinant human FabC11:Stx2 fragment was used to neutralize Stx2 in vitro in a Vero cell viability assay. Herein, we demonstrated that this fragment neutralized, in a dose-dependent manner, the cytotoxic effects of Stx2 on human glomerular endothelial cells, on human proximal tubular epithelial cells, and prevented the morphological alterations induced by Stx2. FabC11:Stx2 protected mice from a lethal dose of Stx2 by toxin-antibody pre-incubation. Altogether, our results show the ability of a new encouraging molecule to prevent Stx-intoxication symptoms during STEC infection.Fil: Luz, Daniela. Governo do Estado de Sao Paulo. Secretaria da Saude. Instituto Butantan; BrasilFil: Amaral, María Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Sacerdoti, Flavia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Bernal, Alan Mauro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Quintilio, Wagner. Governo do Estado de Sao Paulo. Secretaria da Saude. Instituto Butantan; BrasilFil: Moro, Ana Maria. Governo do Estado de Sao Paulo. Secretaria da Saude. Instituto Butantan; BrasilFil: Palermo, Marina Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Ibarra, Cristina Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Piazza, Roxane Maria Fontes. Governo do Estado de Sao Paulo. Secretaria da Saude. Instituto Butantan; Brasi