Urban Policy in Times of Crisis: The Policy Capacity of European Cities and the Role of Multi-Level Governance

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The policy framework in Bologna

The FLOWS (Impact of local welfare systems on female labour force participation and social cohesion) project has been funded under the EU FP7 program, grant Agreement no: 26680

Editors' Introduction

In the last century, Goffman defined prisons as places of residence and work for groups of people who share a common predicament, spending part of their lives under a closed regime, whose all-embracing nature is manifested in the blocking of social exchange and any relations with the outside world (Goffman 1961: 11). Comprehensive, all-encompassing institutions where, from a Foucauldian perspective, a strong bureaucratic organisation manages mass groups of individuals, exerting strict control over them to the point of shaping their actions, relationships and very identity; a disciplinary and punitive regime, structured to produce a specific kind of citizen (Foucault 1975: 135). This is a clear but far too rigid an analysis to reflect what is today the submerged, we might say hidden, reality of Italian and international prisons. In order to understand the experience of imprisonment today, it is more helpful to refer to places of confinement (Pandolfino 2022), where it is necessary to look not only at institutions or places, but also at the relations between sites, practices, social relations and subjective states of mind (Jefferson 2014: 49)..

KAP1 is a Novel Substrate for the Arginine Methyltransferase PRMT5

KRAB-associated protein 1 (KAP1), the transcriptional corepressor of Kruppel-associated box zinc finger proteins (KRAB-ZFPs), is subjected to multiple post-translational modifications that are involved in fine-tuning of the multiple biological functions of KAP1. In previous papers, we analyzed the KAP1-dependent molecular mechanism of transcriptional repression mediated by ZNF224, a member of the KRAB-ZFP family, and identified the protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 as a component of the ZNF224 repression complex. We demonstrated that PRMT5-mediated histone arginine methylation is required to elicit ZNF224 transcriptional repression. In this study, we show that KAP1 interacts with PRMT5 and is a novel substrate for PRMT5 methylation. Also, we present evidence that the methylation of KAP1 arginine residues regulate the KAP1-ZNF224 interaction, thus suggesting that this KAP1 post-translational modification could actively contribute to the regulation of ZNF224-mediated repression

Editoriale

Il secolo scorso Goffman definiva i penitenziari come luoghi di residenza e di lavoro di gruppi di persone che condividono una situazione comune, trascorrendo parte della loro vita in un regime chiuso, la cui caratteristica totalizzante si esprimerebbe con l'impedimento allo scambio sociale e ai rapporti con il mondo esterno (Goffman 1961: 11). Delle istituzioni totali e totalizzanti dove, in ottica foucaultiana, una forte organizzazione burocratica gestisce masse di individui, esercitando su questi ultimi un forte controllo al punto da determinarne azioni, relazioni e identità; un regime disciplinare e punitivo, strutturato per produrre cittadini specifici (Foucault 1975: 135). Un’interpretazione netta e fin troppo rigida per rappresentare ancor oggi il mondo sommerso, se vogliamo oscuro, della realtà penitenziaria italiana e internazionale. Per comprendere l’esperienza della prigionia odierna, risulta invece più congruo riferirci a siti di confinamento (Pandolfino 2022), dove è necessario guardare non solo alle istituzioni o ai luoghi, ma anche alle relazioni tra siti, pratiche, relazioni sociali e soggettività (Jefferson 2014: 49)...

Comparing Different Modelling Strategies for the Estimation of Climate Change Effects on Urban Pluvial Flooding

In this paper, two different strategies are presented that allow for the assessment of the effects of climate change on urban pluvial flooding, in order to understand potentialities and limitations, advantages and drawbacks. The two strategies are hereby defined as “top-down” and “bottom-up”, according to the relative position of climate change modelling with respect to flood modelling (upstream for top-down, downstream for bottom-up). To provide a practical example, the two strategies are applied to a case study located in Naples, Italy. However, they can be successfully extended for the assessment of any potential impact of climate change in any location

Three-Dimensional Cell Cultures: The Bridge between In Vitro and In Vivo Models

Although historically, the traditional bidimensional in vitro cell system has been widely used in research, providing much fundamental information regarding cellular functions and signaling pathways as well as nuclear activities, the simplicity of this system does not fully reflect the heterogeneity and complexity of the in vivo systems. From this arises the need to use animals for experimental research and in vivo testing. Nevertheless, animal use in experimentation presents various aspects of complexity, such as ethical issues, which led Russell and Burch in 1959 to formulate the 3R (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) principle, underlying the urgent need to introduce non-animal-based methods in research. Considering this, three-dimensional (3D) models emerged in the scientific community as a bridge between in vitro and in vivo models, allowing for the achievement of cell differentiation and complexity while avoiding the use of animals in experimental research. The purpose of this review is to provide a general overview of the most common methods to establish 3D cell culture and to discuss their promising applications. Three-dimensional cell cultures have been employed as models to study both organ physiology and diseases; moreover, they represent a valuable tool for studying many aspects of cancer. Finally, the possibility of using 3D models for drug screening and regenerative medicine paves the way for the development of new therapeutic opportunities for many diseases

Seizure in isolated brain cryptococcoma: Case report and review of the literature

Background: Central nervous system (CNS) cryptococcosis is an invasive fungal infection predominantly seen among immunosuppressed patients causing meningitis or meningoencephalitis. Rarely, cryptococcosis can affect immunologically competent hosts with the formation of localized CNS granulomatous reaction, known as cryptococcoma. Common symptoms of CNS cryptococcoma are headaches, consciousness or mental changes, focal deficits, and cranial nerve dysfunction. Rarely, seizures are the only presenting symptom. Case description: We report the case of an immunocompetent patient with a solitary CNS cryptococcoma presenting with a long history of non-responsive generalized seizure who has been successfully operated. Conclusion: CNS cryptococcoma is a rare entity, and in immunocompetent patients, its diagnosis can be challenging. The pathophysiology of lesion-related seizure is discussed along with a review of the pertinent literature