Gli aspetti rituali della narrativa fantastica e fantascientifica giapponese a disegni animati nella riflessione critico-teorica occidentale

Il saggio è incentrato sulle riflessioni maturate dagli studiosi occidentali in merito alla animazione fantastica o fantascientifica giapponese intesa come l'elemento centrale di una attività, il rito, la cui "funzione" è al contempo sociale, simbolica e psicologica

Il disegno animato giapponese di serie degli anni Ottanta. Storia, figure e linguaggio.

This dissertation is about the Eighties’ Japanese animated series, their formal and content characteristics will be analyzed in the following chapters. We point out that the anime we considered most are the ones that were broadcast in Japan during the Eighties, thus we do not refer to anime we saw on European or American television during those years. As a matter of fact, during that decade Japan produced the worldwide largest number of animated series as ever. The approach we will have in this research is mainly a pragmatic way of studying. We have to admit that we adopted the method above mentioned in a rough way. To specify, theoretical assumptions of pragmatics are shared: for this reason we examined Japanese animated series in concrete terms of semiotic level and psychological effects of anime on spectators. First and foremost, this study is a reconstruction of the historical period of Eighties’ animation production in Japan. This thesis is divided into five chapters. In the first chapter an historical overview will be given as exhaustive as possible; in the second one, the most common topics treated by aforementioned production will be discussed. Recurring characters will be shown in the third chapter. The forth chapter will be dedicated to aesthetics and formal levels and finally, in the fifth and last chapter, some animated series are analyzed since they are considered by who wrote this dissertation, the most significant examples of Japanese animation

David on Film. Il pensiero e la funzione dell’autore Lynch in Duran Duran: Unstaged

The essay aims at focusing on the current theoretical (or conceptual) framework of David Lynch. This theoretical framework is based on the relationship between the cinema and other media. The main subjects of the analysis are the aesthetic principles, the narrative structure, the digital technology and the expressive language of Duran Duran: Unstaged (2011), a very representative film. Finally the essay dwells on the marketing strategy developed by the producers of Duran Duran: Unstaged and the role of David Lynch

David on Film. Il pensiero e la funzione dell’autore Lynch in Duran Duran: Unstaged

The essay aims at focusing on the current theoretical (or conceptual) framework of David Lynch. This theoretical framework is based on the relationship between the cinema and other media. The main subjects of the analysis are the aesthetic principles, the narrative structure, the digital technology and the expressive language of Duran Duran: Unstaged (2011), a very representative film. Finally the essay dwells on the marketing strategy developed by the producers of Duran Duran: Unstaged and the role of David Lynch

Global Real-World Evidence of Sofosbuvir/Velpatasvir as a Highly Effective Treatment and Elimination Tool in People with Hepatitis C Infection Experiencing Mental Health Disorders

HCV elimination; Mental health disorders; Sofosbuvir/velpatasvirEliminación del VHC; Trastornos de salud mental; Sofosbuvir/velpatasvirEliminació del VHC; Trastorns de salut mental; Sofosbuvir/velpatasvirHepatitis C virus (HCV) is prevalent in people with mental health disorders, a priority population to diagnose and cure in order to achieve HCV elimination. This integrated analysis pooled data from 20 cohorts in seven countries to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of the pangenotypic direct-acting antiviral (DAA) sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) in people with mental health disorders. HCV-infected patients diagnosed with mental health disorders who were treated with SOF/VEL for 12 weeks without ribavirin as part of routine clinical practice were included. The primary outcome was sustained virological response (SVR) in the effectiveness population (EP), defined as patients with an available SVR assessment. Secondary outcomes were reasons for not achieving SVR, characteristics of patients with non-virological failures, adherence, and time from HCV RNA diagnosis to SOF/VEL treatment initiation. A total of 1209 patients were included; 142 did not achieve an SVR for non-virological reasons (n = 112; 83 lost to follow-up, 20 early treatment discontinuations) or unknown reasons (n = 30). Of the 1067 patients in the EP, 97.4% achieved SVR. SVR rates in the EP were ≥95% when stratified by type of mental health disorder and other complicating baseline characteristics, including active injection drug use and antipsychotic drug use. Of 461 patients with data available in the EP, only 2% had an adherence level < 90% and 1% had an adherence level < 80%; all achieved SVR. Patients with mental health disorders can be cured of HCV using a well-tolerated, pangenotypic, protease inhibitor-free SOF/VEL regimen. This DAA allows the implementation of a simple treatment algorithm, with minimal monitoring requirements and fewer interactions with central nervous system drugs compared with protease-inhibitor DAA regimens.Article processing charges, statistical support and medical writing assistance were funded by Gilead Sciences Ltd

Resistance to Ceftazidime/Avibactam in Klebsiella pneumoniae KPC-Producing Isolates: A Real-Life Observational Study

Background: Ceftazidime/avibactam (CAZ-AVI) resistance amongst Enterobacterales is worryingly increasing worldwide. Objectives: The aim of this study was to collect and describe real-life data on CAZ-AVI-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) isolates in our University Hospital, with the ultimate goal of evaluating possible risk factors related to the acquisition of resistance. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study, including unique Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) isolates resistant to CAZ-AVI (CAZ-AVI-R) and producing only KPC, collected from July 2019 to August 2021 at Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. The pathogen's list was obtained from the microbiology laboratory; clinical charts of the corresponding patients were reviewed to collect demographic and clinical data. Subjects treated as outpatients or hospitalized for &lt;48 h were excluded. Patients were then divided into two groups: S group, if they had a prior isolate of CAZ-AVI-susceptible KP-KPC, and R group, if the first documented isolate of KP-KPC was resistant to CAZ-AVI. Results: Forty-six unique isolates corresponding to 46 patients were included in the study. The majority of patients (60.9%) were hospitalized in an intensive care unit, 32.6% in internal medicine wards and 6.5% in surgical wards. A total of 15 (32.6%) isolates were collected from rectal swabs, representing a colonization. Amongst clinically relevant infections, pneumonia and urinary tract infections were the most commonly found (5/46, 10.9% each). Half of the patients received CAZ-AVI prior to isolation of the KP-KPC CAZ-AVI-R (23/46). This percentage was significantly higher in patients in the S group compared to patients in the R group (69.3% S group vs. 25% R group, p = 0.003). No differences between the two groups were documented in the use of renal replacement therapy or in the infection site. The clinically relevant CAZ-AVI-R KP infections (22/46, 47.8%) were all treated with a combination therapy, 65% including colistin and 55% including CAZ-AVI, with an overall clinical success of 38.1%. Conclusions: Prior use of CAZ-AVI was associated with the emergence of drug resistance

Role of HBcAb Positivity in Increase of HIV-RNA Detectability after Switching to a Two-Drug Regimen Lamivudine-Based (2DR-3TC-Based) Treatment: Months 48 Results of a Multicenter Italian Cohort

: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of anti-hepatitis B (HBV) c antibodies (HBcAb positivity) could influence the control of HIV viremia in patients living with HIV (PLWH) who switch to two-drug antiretroviral therapy (2DR) containing lamivudine (3TC) (2DR-3TC-based). A retrospective multicentre observational study was conducted on 160 PLWH switching to the 2DR-3TC-based regimen: 51 HBcAb-positive and 109 HBcAb-negative patients. The HBcAb-positive PLWH group demonstrated a significantly lower percentage of subjects with HIV viral suppression with target not detected (TND) at all time points after switching (24th month: 64.7% vs. 87.8%, p &lt; 0.0001; 36th month 62.7% vs. 86.8%, p = 0.011; 48th month 57.2% vs. 86.1%, p = 0.021 of the HBcAb-positive and HBcAb-negative groups, respectively). Logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of HBcAb positivity (OR 7.46 [95% CI 2.35-14.77], p = 0.004) could favour the emergence of HIV viral rebound by nearly 54% during the entire study follow-up after switching to 2DR-3TC

Functional polymorphisms within the inflammatory pathway regulate expression of extracellular matrix components in a genetic risk dependent model for anterior cruciate ligament injuries

Objectives: To investigate the functional effect of genetic polymorphisms of the inflammatory pathway on structural extracellular matrix components (ECM) and the susceptibility to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Design: Laboratory study, case–control study. Methods: Eight healthy participants were genotyped for interleukin (IL)1B rs16944 C > T and IL6 rs1800795 G > C and

Validation of the T-Lymphocyte Subset Index (TLSI) as a Score to Predict Mortality in Unvaccinated Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Lymphopenia has been consistently reported as associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several studies have described a profound decline in all T-cell subtypes in hospitalized patients with severe and critical COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess the role of T-lymphocyte subset absolute counts measured at ward admission in predicting 30-day mortality in COVID-19 hospitalized patients, validating a new prognostic score, the T-Lymphocyte Subset Index (TLSI, range 0–2), based on the number of T-cell subset (CD4+ and CD8+) absolute counts that are below prespecified cutoffs. These cutoff values derive from a previously published work of our research group at Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy: CD3+CD4+ &lt; 369 cells/µL, CD3+CD8+ &lt; 194 cells/µL. In the present single-center retrospective study, T-cell subsets were assessed on admission to the infectious diseases ward. Statistical analysis was performed using JASP (Version 0.16.2. JASP Team, 2022, The Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Prism8 (version 8.2.1. GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA). Clinical and laboratory parameters of 296 adult patients hospitalized because of COVID-19 were analyzed. The overall mortality rate was 22.3% (66/296). Survivors (S) had a statistically significant lower TLSI score compared to non-survivors (NS) (p &lt; 0.001). Patients with increasing TLSI scores had proportionally higher rates of 30-day mortality (p &lt; 0.0001). In the multivariable logistic analysis, the TLSI was an independent predictor of in-hospital 30-day mortality (OR: 1.893, p = 0.003). Survival analysis showed that patients with a TLSI &gt; 0 had an increased risk of death compared to patients with a TLSI = 0 (hazard ratio: 2.83, p &lt; 0.0001). The TLSI was confirmed as an early and independent predictor of COVID-19 in-hospital 30-day mortalit