Fake news, falsi ricordi e pandemia : il Digitale Civile per un'educazione al pensiero critico

Le fake news sono un fenomeno ampiamente diffuso nella comunicazione mediale e digitale del tempo presente. Esse disorientano i processi decisionali dei singoli individui generando, spesso, falsi ricordi e conoscenze alterate che, a loro volta, possono minare la messa in atto di comportamenti socialmente adeguati. L’avvento del Covid-19 ha amplificato i meccanismi di diffusione delle fake news, facendo emergere la necessità di osservare i processi di acquisizione del sapere sottesi al discernimento di una notizia vera da una falsa. Rileggendo, in tale ottica, i dati di un’indagine conoscitivo-esplorativa circa le variabili predittive dell’emergere di falsi ricordi associati alle fake news relative alla pandemia, il seguente contributo sottolinea la necessità di educare gli individui ad un Digitale-Civile (Iavarone, 2022), per una ‘medialità responsabile’ che valorizzi l’adozione di un pensiero critico che stimoli un utilizzo adeguato della propria conoscenza quale argine al disorientamento determinato dall’infodemia[1] del tempo presente.[1] Il termine infodemia è ascrivibile ad una precisa definizione dell’OMS. Si veda il seguente link https://www.ansa.it/canale_saluteebenessere/notizie/sanita/2020/02/02/coronavirus-allarme-oms-informazioni-spesso-false_e99013bb-cc15-4347-8d29-0f625fa8c5ce.htm

Outstanding effects on antithrombin activity of modified TBA diastereomers containing an optically pure acyclic nucleotide analogue

Herein, we report optically pure modified acyclic nucleosides as ideal probes for aptamer modification. These new monomers offer unique advantages in exploring the role played in thrombin inhibition by a single residue modification at key positions of the TBA structure

Site specific replacements of a single loop nucleoside with a dibenzyl linker may switch the activity of TBA from anticoagulant to antiproliferative

Many antiproliferative G-quadruplexes (G4s) arise from the folding of GT-rich strands. Among these, the Thrombin Binding Aptamer (TBA), as a rare example, adopts a monomolecular well-defined G4 structure. Nevertheless, the potential anticancer properties of TBA are severely hampered by its anticoagulant action and, consequently, no related studies have appeared so far in the literature. We wish to report here that suitable chemical modifications in the TBA sequence can preserve its antiproliferative over anticoagulant activity. Particularly, we replaced one residue of the TT or TGT loops with a dibenzyl linker to develop seven new quadruplex-forming TBA based sequences (TBA-bs), which were studied for their structural (CD, CD melting, 1D NMR) and biological (fibrinogen, PT and MTT assays) properties. The three-dimensional structures of the TBA-bs modified at T13 (TBA-bs13) or T12 (TBA-bs12), the former endowed with selective antiproliferative activity, and the latter acting as potently as TBA in both coagulation and MTT assays, were further studied by 2D NMR restrained molecular mechanics. The comparative structural analyses indicated that neither the stability, nor the topology of the G4s, but the different localization of the two benzene rings of the linker was responsible for the loss of the antithrombin activity for TBA-bs13

Exploring physical and biological properties of TBA by site specific chemical modifications.

Coagulation is the process responsible for the transformation of blood into a solid mass formed by fibrin, platelet and blood cell, namely clot. The normal functioning of this process named Homeostasis produces the repair of an injury. Disorders of coagulation can lead to an increased risk of obstructive clotting (thrombosis), that is, in severe cases, lethal for the organism. Despite its phenomenal success, current anticoagulation therapy still suffers from the risk toward serious bleeding. A direct correlation exists between the intensity of anticoagulation and severity of bleeding. The need for safer and more effective antithrombotic agents clearly exists. During the last twenty years, aptamer technology is efficiently employed toward the development of therapeutic anticoagulants, by selecting thrombin-binding-oligonucleotides. The term aptamers is generally referred to single-stranded oligonucleotides that bind to a selected protein and specifically inhibits one or more of its functions. The TBA (Thrombin-Binding-Aptamer), isolated via SELEX , is a 15-nucleotide consensus sequence that binds thrombin and inhibits its coagulant activity. TBA adopts a monomolecular chair-like G-quadruplex structure consisting of two G-tetrads connected by two lateral TT and a central TGT loops. Biological and structural results indicate that TBA exerts its anticoagulant activity competing with fibrinogen at the exosite I on the thrombin. Despite an high number of scientific results concerning the structure and the biological properties of TBA and its analogues were published during the last years, today still, the exact mechanism of action by which TBA exerts its antithrombin activity is an open question. In the frame of different multidisciplinary studies, I synthesized and I characterized for their tridimensional structures as well as for their biological behavior, different libraries of new TBA analogues, with the aim to acquire new information about the differences in the mechanism of action of TBA and its synthetic analogues. Furthermore, since TBA is a very promising tool for DNA-functionalized biosensors, I also synthesized new heterochiral TBA mutants with the aim to make stable the phosphodiester bonds of this molecule in biological environment. These new molecules were studied for their ability to fold in stable G-quadruplexes using different spectroscopic techniques

Educational Reflective Practices

Gender-based violence in Italy is a figure of very high criminal and social alarm. The rationale that supports the analysis in this article is that sociocultural work for the prevention of gender violence should be done primarily in education through the education of mothers who raise young males. The literature points to the role that the quality of primary attachment (mother-child relationship) plays in building healthy and balanced relationships in adulthood; having experienced specific attachment styles during childhood can constitute a prejudice in the ability to exercise healthy affectivity in adulthood. These observations are supported by evidence from studies that have found higher levels of aggression and violence, physical and psychological, in couples where one or both partners had an insecure attachment (Wilson et al., 2013). This reflection, far from wanting to appear as an analysis aimed at attributing a sort of “stigma of guilt” to mothers, has the aim, on the contrary, of underlining how childhood represents a very delicate terrain. Hence the usefulness of investing in research and interventions in the field of maternal empowerment for the development of resources, especially of mothers in conditions of poor economic and cultural possibilities, with the aim of carrying out positive actions to change their lives and therefore more protective, in biopsychosocial terms, also of the children

Adding the entrepreneurial orientation among the theoretical perspectives to analyse the development of research-based spin-offs

To date, research-based spin-offs (RBSOs) have been studied from an institutional perspective, from an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) or from a resource-based view. Although scholars have expressed an interest in studying RBSOs, nobody has incorporated the three different perspectives into a single integrated model. Therefore, the present article aims to develop a holistic theoretical framework, studying the human, financial, technological and social resources of an RBSO and highlighting whether the EO influences an RBSO during its generation and development phases. A case study from the information and communication technology sector was selected, and data were collected through a structured questionnaire complemented with in-depth and on-site interviews. The holistic framework adopted allowed to highlight the peculiarities of the RBSO: the marked vocation for scientific research, the EO of the founding team and the important role of the parent organization, mostly in supplying intangible assets. The emerged evidence shows how it is possible to generate and develop a successful RBSO, providing useful insights from both academic and managerial viewpoints

Using digital games to promote transformative emotions and support moral development

Morality is a fundamental topic for education. Developing a functional moral compass would prevent youngsters to engage in risky behaviors or commit immoral actions that could affect their future development (Milani et al., 2018; Kuther & Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2000). However, the research from the last decades has shown that just-informing or teaching moral values does not guarantee that morality develops in a desirable way (Suhor & Suhor, 1992). The research shows that moral development is influenced by individual differences (e.g., personality characteristics such as agreeableness or the dark triad; social abilities such as empathy) (Wu et al., 2020; Djeriouat & Tremoliere, 2014). At the same time, besides personal morality, people (especially adolescents) could be driven to immoral behaviors by context, social relationships and group belonging (i.e., the Lucifer effect; social influence by peers) (Zimbardo, 2011). Indeed, the likeness of enacting moral conducts is affected by the possibility to engage in first-person experiences where one could exercise actual moral choices (Murphy & Zagal, 2011; Triberti, Villani, & Riva, 2015)

Towards a Digital-Civil. An introductory reflection on Digital Moral Literacy Verso un Digitale-Civile. Una riflessione introduttiva sulla Digital Moral Literacy

Daily experiences are achieved by remaining connected to digital environments, in a dimension defined as onlife. To date, in fact, "virtual" environments and "real" environments can no longer be considered distinct "places", both representative of learning contexts where people, especially young people, carry out communicative and relational exchanges. This dimension, fluid and liquid, is however characterized by the presence of various risks linked to a lack of critical and responsible relationship with technologies such as, for example, the phenomenon of fake news and cyberbullying