BourbOulipo. Relazioni tra Oulipo e Bourbaki

Il tema dell’influenza delle idee e delle metodologie bourbakiste su discipline che trascendono l’ambito matematico è stato frequentemente affrontato e, in particolare, la riflessione sul rapporto tra Bourbaki e Oulipo ha animato un appassionato dibattito in seno alla critica letteraria. Lo scopo di questo contributo è quello di investigare le relazioni tra Le Lionnais, Queneau e Roubaud - e più in generale l’Oulipo - e Bourbaki. Attraverso un esame comparativo tra i due gruppi si è evidenziata l’esistenza di un innegabile carisma del “matematico policefalo” sul movimento artistico-letterario.The theme of the influence of Bourbaki's ideas and methodologies on disciplines that transcend the mathematical field has been frequently addressed and, in particular, the reflection on the relationship between Bourbaki and Oulipo has animated a passionate debate within literary criticism. The purpose of this contribution is to investigate the relations between Le Lionnais, Queneau and Roubaud - and more generally Oulipo - and Bourbaki. Through a comparative examination between the two groups, the existence of an undeniable charisma of the "polycephalic mathematician" on the artistic-literary movement was highlighted

Congenital supravalvar mitral ring: An underestimated anomaly

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Sonication protocols and their contributions to the microbiological diagnosis of implant-associated infections: a review of the current scenario

Addressing the existing problem in the microbiological diagnosis of infections associated with implants and the current debate about the real power of precision of sonicated fluid culture (SFC), the objective of this review is to describe the methodology and analyze and compare the results obtained in current studies on the subject. Furthermore, the present study also discusses and suggests the best parameters for performing sonication. A search was carried out for recent studies in the literature (2019-2023) that addressed this research topic. As a result, different sonication protocols were adopted in the studies analyzed, as expected, and consequently, there was significant variability between the results obtained regarding the sensitivity and specificity of the technique in relation to the traditional culture method (periprosthetic tissue culture – PTC). Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) and Staphylococcus aureus were identified as the main etiological agents by SFC and PTC, with SFC being important for the identification of pathogens of low virulence that are difficult to detect. Compared to chemical biofilm displacement methods, EDTA and DTT, SFC also produced variable results. In this context, this review provided an overview of the most current scenarios on the topic and theoretical support to improve sonication performance, especially with regard to sensitivity and specificity, by scoring the best parameters from various aspects, including sample collection, storage conditions, cultivation methods, microorganism identification techniques (both phenotypic and molecular) and the cutoff point for colony forming unit (CFU) counts. This study demonstrated the need for standardization of the technique and provided a theoretical basis for a sonication protocol that aims to achieve the highest levels of sensitivity and specificity for the reliable microbiological diagnosis of infections associated with implants and prosthetic devices, such as prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). However, practical application and additional complementary studies are still needed

Anti-chemokine antibodies after SARS-CoV-2 infection correlate with favorable disease course.

Infection by SARS-CoV-2 leads to diverse symptoms, which can persist for months. While antiviral antibodies are protective, those targeting interferons and other immune factors are associated with adverse COVID-19 outcomes. Instead, we discovered that antibodies against specific chemokines are omnipresent after COVID-19, associated with favorable disease, and predictive of lack of long COVID symptoms at one year post infection. Anti-chemokine antibodies are present also in HIV-1 and autoimmune disorders, but they target different chemokines than those in COVID-19. Finally, monoclonal antibodies derived from COVID- 19 convalescents that bind to the chemokine N-loop impair cell migration. Given the role of chemokines in orchestrating immune cell trafficking, naturally arising anti-chemokine antibodies associated with favorable COVID-19 may be beneficial by modulating the inflammatory response and thus bear therapeutic potential. One-Sentence Summary Naturally arising anti-chemokine antibodies associate with favorable COVID-19 and are predictive of lack of long COVID