Lingua e scienza nell’opera zoliana

Il XIX secolo è, senza dubbio, l’epoca in cui il modello scientifico s’impone nella letteratura francese grazie al Naturalismo. Émile Zola afferma che «Les sciences humaines doivent être représentées quelque part. Souvent comme une voix générale de l’oeuvre». Questo sapere generale è espresso dalle parole dei personaggi, tra i quali spicca quella del protagonista del Docteur Pascal. In questo romanzo-testamento Zola attribuisce al testo un linguaggio che si rifà ai principi della rappresentazione scientifica e della medicina in particolare. Partendo dalla tesi di Françoise Gaillard, che individua nel Docteur Pascal un tentativo di volgarizzazione scientifica, l’articolo si propone di analizzare il linguaggio medico-scientifico dell’opera per evidenziare l’intento didattico dell’autore: offrire una chiave di lettura per accedere alla comprensione della realtà “naturale” del mondo. Nel contributo si prendono in esame campi semantici e reti lessicali per individuare i percorsi di speculazione scientifica cari allo scrittore. Riferimento costante è il suo Roman expérimental che prende le mosse dall’Introduction à l’étude de la médecine expérimentale di Claude Bernard. Nel Roman expérimental Zola spiega le ragioni dell’uso del linguaggio scientifico nelle opere letterarie fino a creare una sorta di ibrido tra lingua standard, lingua popolare e linguaggio scientifico. Nel Docteur Pascal Zola mette in atto questa sua convinzione e adatta bene la pratica medica di Bernard alla scrittura letteraria. La complessità di intenti pedagogici e scientifici sarà supportata dalla problematicità del linguaggio zoliano di cui si forniscono esempi e peculiarità

Traduzione intersemiotica e intercultura: Madame Bovary di Claude Chabrol

This study aims to highlight the translation process, not only as a linguistic reflection, but also intercultural and inter-semiotic. To draw on the concept of inter-semiotic translation by Roman Jakobson, according to the known classification between intra-lingual translation, inter-lingual and inter-semiotic enucleated in 1959 in his essay On Linguistic Aspects of Translation, in which the scholar points out that the meeting of different systems of signs also in field of the same linguistic system creates a mechanism of translation in all respects and that it recognizes the important role that translation plays in communication between cultures. The reworking of Claude Chabrol’s film of the literary text by Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, offers a prime example of inter-semiotic translation. The cinema environment lends itself in particular to the coexistence of the language and its transposition of signs to give rise to inter-semiotic translation, through mechanisms in which depersonalized, or condensation intensifies the literary text. Intercultural dialogue plays a major role in the translation because it highlights the culture conveyed by the language. The baseline studies will be, among others, the contributions of Bruno Osimo, Gidéon Toury to the concepts of inter-semiotic and intercultural translation; for intercultural discourses, we will refer to Edgar Morin

Dalla lavagna analogica alla LIM: nuovi scenari interattivi nell’insegnamento

In seguito ai cambiamenti verificatisi in quest’ultimo ventennio, si assiste a un proliferare di new media che ibridano i vecchi, caratterizzandosi per il crescente tasso di interattività e la prevalenza di interfacce che prediligono lo schermo e l’immagine. In questa prospettiva si inserisce la lavagna interattiva multimediale che integra gli audiovisivi con la didattica frontale, in vista di una consapevolezza del linguaggio video da parte degli studenti. In un ipotetico percorso di realizzazione di audiovisivi in classe, il nostro studio illustra le caratteristiche della lavagna interattiva che, grazie alle sue potenzialità multimediali, accresce l’efficacia dell’insegnamento linguistico, qualunque sia il modello didattico prescelto. In modo particolare abbiamo evidenziato come, soprattutto per interventi di didattica breve o metodi particolari, l’impiego della LIM consenta la costruzione di modelli visivi e tutoriali, esercizi e test difficilmente reperibili su libri di testo, che possono risultare molto più efficaci di una lezione teorica. Di fatto essi pongono lo studente nella condizione di “manipolare” la lingua, impossessandosi in modo attivo e creativo dei propri meccanismi di apprendimento

E-learning: ses enjeux dans le domaine du FLE

International audienceNowadays new technologies influence deeply language teaching/learning processes. In fact, there are plenty of modern methodologies supported by them and new experimentations show how important they are for FLE (Français Langue Étrangère) learners too. This article aims at presentino the MOOC world, which is made up of lots of different learning activities and full courses for the acquisition of French Language attended by very large audience across the world. It focuses on the fact that MOOCs are still unknown to most language teaching experts though their importance in order to support rather than to replace teachers. Some particular MOOCs’ courses are analysed for general as well as for specific purposes. They represent a sort of pedagogic tsunami as they develop constantly and a valid alternative to traditional courses of French language because of their innovative, revolutionary offer

Efficient Liquid-Assisted Grinding Selective Aqueous Oxidation of Sulfides Using Supported Heteropolyacid Catalysts

The present work reports the preparation of 40MoAl200 and its full characterization using a number of analytical techniques (XRD, TEM, TGA, BET, EDX). Liquid-assisted ball milling proved to be a key tool to achieve both the best efficiency of 40MoAl200 as a novel Keggin type catalyst in the selective sulfoxidation reaction and also for succeeding in its effective recovery and reuse. In addition, the liquid assisted grinding process was studied in detail evaluating the influence of different parameters such as frequency of rotation (rpm), number and size of the stainless steel balls used and reaction time. The use of aqueous hydrogen peroxide is essential as water proved to exert a crucial role to improve both yields and selectivity towards sulfoxide formation. The procedure was representatively extended to a number of substrates with the possibility to extend the scope of the system to produce sulfoxides in high yields (up to 95 %) and satisfactory selectivities (up to 80 %). The catalyst proved to be recoverable and reusable under the optimized reaction conditions.Fil: Trombettoni, Valeria. Universidad de Córdoba; España. Università di Perugia; ItaliaFil: Franco, Ana. Universidad de Córdoba; EspañaFil: Sathicq, Angel Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Len, Christophe. Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Romanelli, Gustavo Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Vaccaro, Luigi. Università di Perugia; ItaliaFil: Luque, Rafael. University of Russia; Rusia. Universidad de Córdoba; Españ

Benzodiazepine Boom: Tracking Etizolam, Pyrazolam, and Flubromazepam from Pre-UK Psychoactive Act 2016 to Present Using Analytical and Social Listening Techniques

© 2024 The Author(s). Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Introduction: The designer benzodiazepine (DBZD) market continues to expand whilst evading regulatory controls. The widespread adoption of social media by pro-drug use communities encourages positive discussions around DBZD use/misuse, driving demand. This research addresses the evolution of three popular DBZDs, etizolam (E), flubromazepam (F), and pyrazolam (P), available on the drug market for over a decade, comparing the quantitative chemical analyses of tablet samples, purchased from the internet prior to the implementation of the Psychoactive Substances Act UK 2016, with the thematic netnographic analyses of social media content. Method: Drug samples were purchased from the internet in early 2016. The characterisation of all drug batches were performed using UHPLC-MS and supported with 1H NMR. In addition, netnographic studies across the platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, between 2016–2023, were conducted. The latter was supported by both manual and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven thematic analyses, using numerous.ai and ChatGPT, of social media threads and discussions. Results: UHPLC-MS confirmed the expected drug in every sample, showing remarkable inter/intra batch variability across all batches (E = 13.8 ± 0.6 to 24.7 ± 0.9 mg; F = 4.0 ± 0.2 to 23.5 ± 0.8 mg; P = 5.2 ± 0.2 to 11.5 ± 0.4 mg). 1H NMR could not confirm etizolam as a lone compound in any etizolam batch. Thematic analyses showed etizolam dominated social media discussions (59% of all posts), with 24.2% of posts involving sale/purchase and 17.8% detailing new administration trends/poly-drug use scenarios. Artificial intelligence confirmed three of the top five trends identified manually. Conclusions: Purity variability identified across all tested samples emphasises the increased potential health risks associated with DBZD consumption. We propose the global DBZD market is exacerbated by surface web social media discussions, recorded across X and Reddit. Despite the appearance of newer analogues, these three DBZDs remain prevalent and popularised. Reporting themes on harm/effects and new developments in poly-drug use trends, demand for DBZDs continues to grow, despite their potent nature and potential risk to life. It is proposed that greater controls and constant live monitoring of social media user content is warranted to drive active regulation strategies and targeted, effective, harm reduction strategies.Peer reviewe

Influence of socio-demographic features and apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 expression on the prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment in a population of 70-74-year olds: The InveCe.Ab study

Abstract The age-specific prevalence rates of dementia vary widely. Studies focusing on specific age groups are needed to provide reliable estimates for healthcare providers and policy makers. We estimated the prevalence of dementia, dementia subtypes and cognitive impairment in "InveCe.Ab" (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01345110 ), a single-step multidimensional population-based study of 70–74-year olds living in Abbiategrasso (Milan, Italy). We also looked for associations with socio-demographic factors and the presence of the apolipoprotein E-ɛ4 allele. The overall dementia prevalence was 3% (95%CI: 2.1–4.1%) [Alzheimer's disease (AD): 1.2% (95%CI 0.6–1.9%); vascular dementia (VD): 1.4% (95%CI: 0.8–2.2%)]. Being single was found to be a risk factor for vascular dementia; subjects born in southern Italy were shown to be at greater risk both of overall dementia and of vascular dementia. The prevalence of cognitive impairment, with or without subjective cognitive complaints (cognitive impairment, no dementia, CIND) was 7.8% (95%CI: 6.4–9.4%). As regards the CIND subgroups, the prevalence of subjects with subjective cognitive complaints (mild cognitive impairment, MCI) was 5.0% (95%CI 3.9–6.3%), while the prevalence of those without MCI (CIND-other) was 2.8% (95%CI: 1.9–3.8). The males had a higher risk of MCI and CIND-other; the older subjects were more likely to have MCI, and those born in north-eastern Italy to have CIND-other. The prevalence of AD was higher among the apolipoprotein E-ɛ4 carriers. Our data highlight the importance of dementia and cognitive impairment in the transitional period from adulthood to old age, and reveal the presence of different associations with socio-demographic and genetic factors

Selection, affinity maturation, and characterization of a human scFv antibody against CEA protein

BACKGROUND: CEA is a tumor-associated antigen abundantly expressed on several cancer types, including those naturally refractory to chemotherapy. The selection and characterization of human anti-CEA single-chain antibody fragments (scFv) is a first step toward the construction of new anticancer monoclonal antibodies designed for optimal blood clearance and tumor penetration. METHODS: The human MA39 scFv, selected for its ability to recognize a CEA epitope expressed on human colon carcinomas, was first isolated from a large semi-synthetic ETH-2 antibody phage library, panned on human purified CEA protein. Subsequently, by in vitro mutagenesis of a gene encoding for the scFv MA39, a new library was established, and new scFv antibodies with improved affinity towards the CEA cognate epitope were selected and characterized. RESULTS: The scFv MA39 antibody was affinity-maturated by in vitro mutagenesis and the new scFv clone, E8, was isolated, typed for CEA family member recognition and its CEACAM1, 3 and 5 shared epitope characterized for expression in a large panel of human normal and tumor tissues and cells. CONCLUSION: The binding affinity of the scFv E8 is in a range for efficient, in vivo, antigen capture in tumor cells expressing a shared epitope of the CEACAM1, 3 and 5 proteins. This new immunoreagent meets all criteria for a potential anticancer compound: it is human, hence poorly or not at all immunogenic, and it binds selectively and with good affinity to the CEA epitope expressed by metastatic melanoma and colon and lung carcinomas. Furthermore, its small molecular size should provide for efficient tissue penetration, yet give rapid plasma clearance