Water protectors 'behind the screen'. Digital activism practices within the #nodapl movement

The article discusses the processes of global participation and political listening towards the indigenous claims on land rights activated by the #NoDAPL movement against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The focus is stressed on hashtag activism, which had a crucial role in the mediatization of the struggles. Using the #NoDAPL hashtag as a specific case of study, I aim to examine how Standing Rock activists reframed the debate around settler policies to adjust and broaden public perceptions of indigenous rights and environmental issues to the global present. Hashtags such as #NoDAPL and #WaterIsLife captured the international attention of media, politicians, and the public, thus providing a transmedia commentary of the ongoing demonstrations at Standing Rock, as well as inviting individuals and groups around the world to flash mobs, marches, informative seminars, and any sort of gathering in support of the indigenous struggles. On-site and online activism provide rich phenomena for exploring the relationships between marginalization, participation, and political listening. Through mediatization and virtualization theory applied to digital ethnography, the aim is to analyse the aforementioned context and recompile a brief summary of the impacts that the #NoDAPL movement has had within the contemporary processes of indigenous voicing and policymaking in the US and across the globe

Joiking life narratives. The performance of indigenous self-perception in Sami life stories

The Sami are the only indigenous population formally recognized in the EU, nevertheless, this significant acknowledgment came only in relatively recent times, after centuries of forced assimilation policies and thanks to crucial fights for self-determination and identity recognition. This article intends to offer an analysis of two cases of Sami life narratives orally transmitted as joiks, musical expressions traditionally sung a cappella and characterized by a highly descriptive value. The focus is to present, through a set of transdisciplinary approaches, intimate and social perceptions of indigeneity and the related narrative outcomes which may take place in the peculiar empathic relationship established between the narrator-performer and the audience. Lawra Somby’s Im manne gåarkah and Niiles-Jouni Aikio’s Ieš joiks will respectively direct the study through 1) the author’s individual life experience and perception of the colonial assimilation and the consequent language loss and 2) a rare case of self-joiking, an acoustic self-portrait or musical autobiography which through both verbal and musical components aims at the narration and interpretation of a Sami’s own life experience.  I Sami sono l’unica popolazione indigena ufficialmente riconosciuta dall’UE. Questo importante riconoscimento, tuttavia, è arrivato solo in tempi relativamente recenti, dopo secoli di politiche di assimilazione forzata e grazie a decisive lotte per il riconoscimento identitario. Con il presente articolo si vuole offrire un’analisi relativa a due casi di narrazioni biografiche Sami trasmesse oralmente sottoforma di joik, espressioni musicali tradizionalmente cantate a cappella e caratterizzate da un elevato valore descrittivo. L’obiettivo è quello di presentare, attraverso un insieme di approcci transdisciplinari, performances relative alla percezione interiore o esteriore dell’identità indigena Sami e i relativi risultati narrativi che possono aver luogo nella peculiare relazione empatica che si viene a creare tra narratore-performer e audience. Gli joik Im manne gåarkah, di Lawra Somby, e Ieš, di Niiles-Jouni Aikio, dunque, guideranno lo studio rispettivamente verso 1) l’esperienza di vita individuale dell’autore e la percezione sociale dell’assimilazione coloniale e dei suoi effetti sull’identità indigena; e verso 2) un raro caso di auto-joiking, un autoritratto acustico o un’autobiografia musicale che attraverso componenti sia verbali che musicali mira alla narrazione e all’interpretazione dell’esperienza biografica di colui che joika

Clinical outcomes in patients operated for colorectal cancer associated with ulcerative colitis

La rettocolite ulcerosa (RCU) è un importante fattore di rischio per carcinoma colorettale (CCR). La durata di malattia infiammatoria, l’estensione colica dell’infiammazione, la persistenza e attività dell’infiammazione, oltre alla familiarità e presenza di lesioni precancerose del viscere, sono fattori che aumentano il rischio dello sviluppo di tumore in un paziente affetto da RCU. La presenza di una sottostante malattia infiammatoria cronica intestinale determina differenze con il CCR sporadico: i pazienti sono più giovani, il tumore si sviluppa con meccanismi patologici e pattern genetico-molecolari diversi e ancora non ben chiariti, tende a sviluppare neoplasie sincrone e forme istologiche più aggressive (adenocarcinoma mucinoso o a cellule con castone). Questo ha fatto da sempre ritenere che gli outcomes chirurgici e oncologici di questi pazienti possano essere peggiori, definendo tale forma tumorale come un’entità a sé stante, dall’insorgenza insidiosa e dalla scarsa prognosi. Obiettivo dello studio è dimostrare la sicurezza e l’efficacia del trattamento chirurgico del CCR associato a RCU in un centro di eccellenza per la chirurgia delle IBD, illustrandone i risultati a medio-lungo termine. Nei 58 pazienti operati per CCR su RCU, individuati in parte retrospettivamente e quindi seguiti prospetticamente dal 2015, la mortalità globale a 5 anni dall’intervento chirurgico è stata inferiore al 10%, con incidenza di recidiva nello stesso periodo stimata al 20%. La maggior parte dei pazienti ha ottenuto la ricanalizzazione intestinale (ileo-pouch anal anastomosis, IPAA); solo il 34.5% dei pazienti è rimasto ileostomizzato o non ha ancora affrontato un secondo step chirurgico di ricanalizzazione intestinale. In un centro ad alto volume chirurgico per il trattamento della RCU e del CCR, si dimostra sicurezza ed efficacia del trattamento chirurgico del CCR associato a RCU, nella maggior parte dei casi con intento restaurativo tramite IPAA.Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an important risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). Duration of the disease, extent of the colitis, persistence and activity of the inflammation, as well as familiarity and presence of precancerous lesions, increase the risk of tumor development in a patient with UC. UC-associated CRC shows differences with sporadic CRC: younger patients, different pathological mechanisms and genetic-molecular patterns of tumor development, presence of synchronous neoplasms, more aggressive histological forms (i.e. mucinous adenocarcinoma). It has always been thought that surgical and oncological outcomes of these patients may be worse, defining this tumor as insidious and of poor prognosis. The aim of the study is to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the surgical treatment of CRC associated with UC in a high-volume center for IBD surgery. A total of 58 patients were operated; the 5-year overall mortality was less than 10%, with 20% of recurrence over the same period. The majority of patients were submitted to restaurative procedure (ileo-pouch anal anastomosis, IPAA); only 34.5% of patients manteined ileostomy or had not yet undergone to a restoration of intestinal continuity. In a high-volume surgical center for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer, surgery for the UC-associated CRC is safe and effective, in most cases with restorative intent by IPAA

effects of viscosity on the performance of hydraulic power recovery turbines hprts by the means of computational fluid dynamics cfd simulations

Abstract Centrifugal pumps are used for increasing the energy content of a liquid: this technology is used in chemical processes with liquids having specific chemical and physical characteristics. Most of the processes are closed-loop, meaning that the liquid is reused after a proper physical or chemical washing treatment is performed. Therefore, the pressure of the liquid has to be decreased by means of a lamination valve or a Hydraulic Power Recovery Turbine (HPRT) with the advantage of recovering energy. HPRTs are generally tested in both pump and turbine modes using water as working fluid. The technical report ISO/TR 17766 indicates the procedure to evaluate the performance of centrifugal pumps handling viscous liquids by supplying correction factors with respect to water, but no indications are given in turbine mode. This work provides correction factors able to evaluate also the performance of HPRTs handling viscous fluids in turbine mode by varying the proposed formulae in the technical report. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of two tested HPRTs are performed using, at first, water as working fluid for validating the experimental results and, subsequently, the SELEXOL® solvent. Results show that the original correction factors are still valid for the HPRT B that has a parameter B, which is the main one to be involved in the evaluation of the correction factors, lower than 1. A better accuracy, instead, is achieved by modifying the correction factors of the HPRT A, having a value of B higher than 1

Skeletal muscle myopenia in mice model of bile duct ligation and carbon tetrachloride-induced liver cirrhosis

Skeletal muscle myopathy is universal in cirrhotic patients, however, little is known about the main mechanisms involved. The study aims to investigate skeletal muscle morphological, histological, and functional modifications in experimental models of cirrhosis and the principal molecular pathways responsible for skeletal muscle myopathy. Cirrhosis was induced by bile duct ligation (BDL) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration in mice. Control animals (CTR) underwent bile duct exposure or vehicle administration only. At sacrifice, peripheral muscles were dissected and weighed. Contractile properties of extensor digitorum longus (EDL) were studied in vitro. Muscle samples were used for histological and molecular analysis. Quadriceps muscle histology revealed a significant reduction in cross-sectional area of muscle and muscle fibers in cirrhotic mice with respect to CTR. Kinetic properties of EDL in both BDL and CCl4 were reduced with respect to CTR; BDL mice also showed a reduction in muscle force and a decrease in the resistance to fatigue. Increase in myostatin expression associated with a decrease in AKT-mTOR expressions was observed in BDL mice, together with an increase in LC3 protein levels. Upregulation of the proinflammatory citochines TNF-a and IL6 and an increased expression of NF-kB and MuRF-1 were observed in CCl4 mice. In conclusion, skeletal muscle myopenia was present in experimental models of BDL and CCl4-induced cirrhosis. Moreover, reduction in protein synthesis and activation of protein degradation were the main mechanisms responsible for myopenia in BDL mice, while activation of ubiquitin-pathway through inflammatory cytokines seems to be the main potential mechanism involved in CCl4 mice

Obesity and common pathways of cancer and cardiovascular disease

Abstract Obesity is constantly increasing worldwide due to the progressive globalization of sedentary lifestyle and diet rich in lipids and processed food. Cardiovascular complications and cancer are the two most fearsome long-term sequelae of obesity that justify the recent definition of this threaten as 'obesity epidemic'. Shared biological pathways can be recognized for obesity-induced cardiovascular and oncological complications that might prompt targeted interventions with potentially double beneficial effect. The present review aims at summarizing main common biological pathways linking obesity with cardiovascular diseases and cancer in order to provide a research framework within which therapeutic strategies might have at the same time cardiovascular-protective and cancer-preventive effects

Turbulent blood dynamics in the left heart in the presence of mitral regurgitation: a computational study based on multi-series cine-MRI

In this work, we performed a computational image-based study of blood dynamics in the whole left heart, both in a healthy subject and in a patient with mitral valve regurgitation. We elaborated multi-series cine-MRI with the aim of reconstructing the geometry and the corresponding motion of left ventricle, left atrium, mitral and aortic valves, and aortic root of the subjects. This allowed us to prescribe such motion to computational blood dynamics simulations where, for the frst time, the whole left heart motion of the subject is considered, allowing us to obtain reliable subject-specifc information. The fnal aim is to investigate and compare between the subjects the occurrence of turbulence and the risk of hemolysis and of thrombi formation. In particular, we modeled blood with the Navier–Stokes equations in the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian framework, with a large eddy simulation model to describe the transition to turbulence and a resistive method to manage the valve dynamics, and we used a fnite element discretization implemented in an in-house code for the numerical solution

Resistance and resilience of ecosystem descriptors and properties to dystrophic events: a study case in a Mediterranean lagoon

Mediterranean lagoons are naturally exposed, during the dry season, to dystrophic and hypoxic events determining dis-equilibrium conditions along temporal and spatial scales, which are linked to metabolism and life cycle of the biotic components. In summer 2008, Lesina lagoon (SE Italian coastline) was interested by a geographically localized dystrophic crisis which affected up to 8% of the total lagoon surface. Temporal dynamics of principal descriptors of abiotic (water, sediment) and biotic (phytoplankton, benthic macroinvertebrate) compartments have been followed during the 2008 by collecting data inside stressed and control lagoon areas before a dystrophic event and in the six months after the dystrophic event. The aim of the study was to analyse the pathways of ecosystem responses to dystrophic stress, searching for the characteristic scales of ecosystem compartment resistance and resilience. The characteristic time-scale of abiotic and biotic component time responses varied from days, for the selected markers of the water column, to year, for the benthic ones. Short-term biotic and abiotic responses in the water column were strongly coupled while biotic and abiotic responses at the sediment level were remarkably un-coupled. Dynamics and recovery time of water column and benthic components do not match in Lesina following the dystrophic crisis, highlighting an intrinsic individualistic behavior within the lagoon community driving ecosystem processes and ecosystem level responses. Taxonomic and non-taxonomic descriptors of both phytoplankton and benthic macroinvertebrates showed different response patterns as early warning signals and overall resilience. The emphasized differences in the stability components, i.e., resistance and resilience, of water column and sediment abiotic and biotic characteristics as well as of taxonomic and non-taxonomic descriptors has key implication in planning monitoring strategies and programs for transitional waters in the Mediterranean and Black Sea EcoRegions

Can the measurement of amylase in drain after distal pancreatectomy predict post-operative pancreatic fistula?

The most frequent reason for performing a distal pancreatectomy is the presence of cystic or neuroendocrine tumors, in which the distal pancreatic stump is often soft and non fibrotic. This parenchymal consistence represents the main risk factor for post-operative pancreatic fistula. In order to identify the fistula and assessing its severity postoperative monitoring of amylase from intraperitoneal drains is important