I seminari dell’Osservatorio sui saperi umanistici

The seminars of the Observatory on Humanities. This paper introduces the text of three seminars held respectively by Carla Benedetti, Valeria Pinto and Francesco Pitocco as part of the activities of the ISPF “Observatory on Humanities”. The argument focuses on the need for a critical perspective on the current policies of research evaluation, which according to the Authors pose a threat to the identity and the future of Humanities

Defining a distributed agile methodology for an open source scenario

In this paper we propose and describe an agile methodology for distributed development (MADD - Methodology for Agile Distributed Development). In particular, it's illustrated a set of best practices to apply in a distributed and agile context, chosen on the base of their impact software quality and team interoperation. Beyond the proposed methodology, we show the results of a survey that we submitted to various contributors of Open Source projects. The survey has been of support to the definition of the MADD, helping to more understand and estimate if, how and how much agile practices and values are already present in the OS world, that today represents one of the most emblematic examples of distributed development. The MADD methodology will be adopted on a software development project at the University of Cagliari (Italy), by a group of students that will work like an Open Source community

L'incantesimo vichiano

Traducción del italiano por María José Rebollo Espinosa.La Autora relata el proceso autobiográfico de su descubrimiento de Vico, dentro del contexto napolitano de estudios en los años Ochenta. Un proceso en el que se desvela una razón narrativa histórica que, en la línea del historicismo antiesencialista de la Escuela napolitana, ha conducido a la Autora desde el estudio de la Ciencia nueva hasta la preparación de ediciones críticas de las obras de Vico.The Author tells the autobiographical process of her discovery of Vico, within the Neapolitan context of studies in the eighties. A process in which a historical narrative reason is revealed: one that, in line with an nonessentialist historicism of the Neapolitan School, has led the Author from the study of the New science to the preparation of critical editions of Vico’s works.L’Autrice ripercorre il processo autobiografico della sua scoperta di Vico nell’ambito del contesto napoletano di studi degli anni Ottanta. Un processo in cui emerge una ragione storico- narrativa che, nel solco dello storicismo anti-essenzialista della Scuola napoletana, ha condotto l’Autrice dallo studio della Scienza nuova alla preparazione delle edizioni critiche delle opere di Vico

Stress ossidativo associato ad un incremento dei livelli di taurina in pazienti con IRC sottoposti a terapia con statine

Patients with chronic kidney (CKD) disease on stage 3 and 4 show a high CV morbidity and mortality. No traditional risk factors such as oxidative stress and inflammation are prevalent in this population. Lipid-lowering therapy has been reported to reduce several OS markers in hypercholesterolemia. We have investigated the effect of drugs on OS and plasma taurine (Tau), a sulfur amino acid with a marked antioxidant effect. We enrolled 30 CKD patients randomized to receive 3 different hypolipidemic regimens for 12 months: simvastatin alone (40 mg/day) or ezetimibe/simvastatin (Eze/Sim) combined therapy (10/20 or 10/40 mg/day. Tau concentration significantly increased throughout the therapy and the rise was more striking for the group with the administration of eze/sim 10/40 mg/day (31.6% after 1 year of therapy). A significant decrease of both MDA and All/UA ratio was observed during therapy for all patients with a more pronounced effect in patients treated with Eze/Sim 10/40 mg/day (-26% MDA and -28% All/UA ratio). Besides, an increase of reduced thiols with a greater effect was observed in subjects treated with Eze/Sim 10/40 mg/day (24.7%). We demonstrated that oxidative stress improvement during therapy was correlated with increased Tau levels. We hypothesize that Tau may be responsible for the oxidative stress improvement observed during lipid-lowering treatment through the reduction of superoxide anion production at the respiratory chain activity level

Giovani donne in età fertile (trattate e non trattate con contraccettivi orali) differiscono in alcuni parametri ematoclinici e hanno anche una differente funzionalità macrofagica

Aim The protocol designs emphasize the need for contraception for women of childbearing potential who participate in early drug trials. Methods: 125 healthy adult women with regular menstrual cycles (28 days) aged 27 years (range 18-39) were enrolled and their haematological and clinical chemical parameters were performed. Results: Combined oral contraceptives users (FOCs) and non users (Fs) were well matched for body mass index (BMI) and age. FOCs had higher TIBC, total cholesterol, TG, CRP than Fs. Here we evidenced that combined oral contraceptives with (FOCA+) or without androgenic progestin (FOCA-) influenced many plasma parameters including calcium, white blood cell, fasting glycemia, and high density lipoprotein that resulted higher in FOCA- than in FOCA+. Conversely, protrombin time was lower in FOCA- than in FOCA+. Basal and LPS-induced release of TNF-α is characterized by a great variability. However, basal cytokine release was significantly higher in FOCs than in the Fs and was higher in FOCA- than in FOCA+ but this difference was not statistically significant. LPS induced TNF-α release was significant higher in Fs than FOCs. Estrogen receptor levels and activation status were also differently influenced by contraceptives in MDMs. These variations induced by contraceptives depending on their formulation could impact pharmacological responses. Conclusion: In this study we selected combined oral contraceptives (OC), which are the most commonly used birth control methods all over the world

Vanidades e imaginación de cosas lejanas y distantes

El concepto de Vanidad es, en los textos viquianos, inseparable de la especificidad de la nueva ciencia, que nace y se concreta como reparación del error del método cognoscitivo que la vanidad promueve. En este artículo privilegiaremos el aspecto de la vanidad que se relaciona con el conocimiento imaginativo, en su dimensión formativa y a la vez deformante.The concept of Vanity is, in Viquian texts, undetacheable from the specificity of the new science, which is born and is specified as a reparation of the wrong produced by the cognitive method that vanity promotes. In this paper we will favour the aspect of vanity that is related to imaginative knowledge, in both its formative and deformant dimensions

Sintesi di nuovi sistemi triciclici aromatici lineari. Triazolochinoloni, imidazochinoloni e 4-osso-piridochinossaline quali potenziali agenti DNA intercalanti

Recentemente abbiamo riportato la sintesi di alcuni nuovi sistemi triciclici lineari aromatici azotati che per la loro tipicità, una volta opportunamente funzionalizzati, potranno essere saggiati al fine di valutarne la potenzialità farmacologia

Itinerari di ricerca intorno a Vico e a Leopardi: potenza e limitatezza dell’umana conoscenza

Research paths around Vico and Leopardi: power and limits of human knowledge. This volume collects the papers presented at a seminar held in Potenza in November 2016 and constitutes the first outcome of a research project promoted by the Istituto per la storia del pensiero filosofico e scientifico moderno of the National Research Council, the Centro nazionale di studi leopardiani in Recanati, together with the National Library Vittorio Emanuele III in Naples and a network of Italian and foreign universities. The aim is to reflect on the relationship between Vico and Leopardi by reading jointly the Scienza nuova and the Zibaldone, without neglecting traces spread in other works, as well as the identification of the sources inside Vico’s and Leopardi’s libraries. The research bears witness to the fortune of the Scienza nuova in the early XIXth century and shows how Vico and Leopardi recapture in their works issues debated throughout Europe. Among them the relationship between philosophy and poetry, the analysis of the forms of knowledge (i.e., “poetical wisdom”, “fairy tale”, “myth”), the semantics of imagination, the relationship between civilization and barbarism, as well as language-related issues such as “origins of languages”, “symbolic language”, “language and thought”

Questo numero / This Issue

Editorial note introducing the 2018 issue of the Journa

Metabolomic analysis and bioactivities of Arbutus unedo leaves harvested across the seasons in different natural habitats of Sardinia (Italy)

Background: Arbutus unedo L. is a wild tree of Mediterranean regions used as food and in traditional medicine and important for afforestation programs. There is no detailed information available on the variation of A. unedo leaves metabolome across the seasons. The leaves were analyzed by Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H NMR)-based metabolomics, comparing samples harvested across the seasons and in ten different natural habitats of Sardinia (Italy). Results: Multivariate analysis showed the impact of seasonal variation on the metabolome: glucose and quinic acid increased in summer, while in spring sucrose was accumulated. β-Arbutin, the main known active principle of A. unedo, generally reached the highest concentration in autumn. In winter, O-β-methylglucose, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), flavonols (quercetin-3-O-α-rhamnoside, myricetin-3-O-α-rhamnoside, kaempferol-3-O-α-rhamnoside), catechin, and gallocatechin increased. Characteristic metabolomic features were found also for samples collected in different locations. For instance, trees growing at the highest altitude and exposed to lower temperatures produced less flavonols and catechins. The only sample collected on trees growing on limestones, dolomites, and dolomitic limestones type of soil showed generally the highest content of arbutin. The highest phenolics content was found during spring, while samples collected on flowering branches in winter were the ones with the highest flavonoid content. The antioxidant activity was also variated, ranging from 1.3 to 10.1 mg of Trolox equivalents (TE)/mL of extract, and it was positively correlated to both total phenolics and flavonoid content. Winter samples showed the lowest antibacterial activity, while summer and autumn ones exhibited the highest activity (IC50 values ranging from 17.3 to 42.3 µg/mL against Staphylococcal species). Conclusion: This work provides 1 H-NMR fingerprinting of A. unedo leaves, elucidating the main metabolites and their variations during seasons. On the basis of arbutin content, autumn could be considered the balsamic period of this taxon. Samples collected in this season were also the most active ones as antibacterial. Moreover, an interesting metabolomic profile enriched in catechins and flavonols was observed in leaves collected in winter on flowering branches which were endowed with high antioxidant potential