Voyage in Italy: Roberto Rossellini’s Non–Dualistic View of the World and Cinema

Full Article in EnglishIn questo saggio mi propongo di dimostrare che in Viaggio in Italia (1954) Roberto Rossellini ha usato una serie di strategie narrative e visuali volte a frustrare le attese del pubblico con il fine di suggerire che i nostri schemi mentali, e in particolare il dualismo, limitano la nostra comprensione del mondo. Sostengo inoltre che Viaggio in Italia è il primo passo nella creazione di un cinema inteso come attività che aiuta gli spettatori a liberare se stessi da stereotipi e preconcetti. Concludo affermando che Viaggio in Italia anticipa la caratteristiche estetiche e filosofiche del cinema storico e didattico di Rossellini, che culmina nella nozione della cosiddetta “immagine essenziale.

Social position, social ties and adult’s oral health: 13 year cohort study

Objectives This study explored different pathways by which social position and social ties influence adult’s oral health over a 13-year period. Methods A cohort investigation (Pro-Saúde Study) was conducted of non-faculty civil servants at a university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (N = 1613). Baseline data collected in 1999 included age, social position, social ties, and access to dental care. Psychological factors and smoking were assessed in 2001, whereas tooth loss and self-rated oral health (SROH) were collected in 2012. A hypothesised model exploring different direct and indirect pathways was developed and tested using structural equation modelling. Results The model was a good fit to the data and accounted for 40% and 27% of the variance in tooth loss and SROH, respectively. A greater social position was linked to more social ties (β = 0.31), health insurance (β = 0.48), low psychological distress (β = 0.07), less smoking (β = −0.21), more regular dental visiting (β = 0.30), less tooth loss (β = −0.44) and better SROH (β = −0.25) over time. Social position (β = 0.0005) and social ties (β = −0.0015) were linked indirectly with psychological distress, smoking and tooth loss. Social position was linked indirectly with social ties, psychological distress and SROH (β = −0.0071). Conclusions Poor social position and weak social ties were important predictors for tooth loss and poor SROH in adults over the 13-year period. Direct and indirect pathways via psychological factors and smoking on the aforementioned relationships were identified, suggesting different areas of intervention to promote adults’ oral health. Clinical significance Adult’s oral health is influenced by social conditions through direct and indirect pathways, including via psychological factors and smoking

evidence for acute stimulation of fibrinogen production by glucagon in humans

Fibrinogen, an acute-phase protein, and glucagon, a stress hormone, are often elevated in many conditions of physical and metabolic stress, including uncontrolled diabetes. However, the possible mechanisms for this association are poorly known. We have studied the acute effects of selective hyperglucagonemia (raised from ∼200 to ∼350 pg/ml for 3 h) on fibrinogen fractional secretion rate (FSR) in eight normal subjects during infusion of somatostatin and replacement doses of insulin, glucagon, and growth hormone. Fibrinogen FSR was evaluated by precursor-product relationships using either Phe ( n = 8) or Leu ( n = 2) tracers. Hyperglucagonemia did not change either plasma Phe or Tyr specific activity. After hyperglucagonemia, fibrinogen FSR increased by ∼65% (from 12.9 ± 3.6 to 21.5 ± 6.1% per day, P < 0.025) using plasma Phe specific activity as the precursor pool. FSR increased by ∼80% (from 16.6 ± 4.8 to 29.4 ± 8.8% per day, P < 0.025) if plasma Phe specific activity was corrected for the ketoisocaproate/Leu enrichment (or specific activity) ratio to obtain an approximate estimate of intrahepatic Phe specific activity. FSR increased by ∼60% when using plasma Tyr specific activity as precursor pool ( n = 8) ( P < 0.05), as well as when using the Leu tracer precursorproduct relationship ( n = 2). In conclusion, selective hyperglucagonemia for ∼3 h acutely stimulated fibrinogen FSR using a Phe tracer method. Thus, glucagon may be involved in the increase of fibrinogen concentration and FSR observed under stressed or pathologic conditions

Effect of the Austempering Process on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 27MnCrB5-2 Steel

AbstractThe effect of austempering parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 27MnCrB5-2 steel has been investigated by means of: dilatometric, microstructural and fractographic analyses; tensile and Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact tests at room temperature and a low temperature.Microstructural analyses showed that upper bainite developed at a higher austempering temperature, while a mixed bainitic-martensitic microstructure formed at lower temperatures, with a different amount of bainite and martensite and a different size of bainite sheaf depending on the temperature. Tensile tests highlighted superior yield and tensile strengths (≈30%) for the mixed microstructure, with respect to both fully bainitic and Q&T microstructures, with only a low reduction in elongation to failure (≈10%). Impact tests confirmed that mixed microstructures have higher impact properties, at both room temperature and a low temperature

Longitudinal evolution of the immune suppressive glioma microenvironment in different synchronous lesions during treatment

The role of immune suppression in glioma progression has been clearly established.1 We and others have recently demonstrated that myeloid cells play a major role in the tumor microenvironment of glioblastoma (GBM) patients,2,3 and that not only bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) have a higher intrinsic immune suppressive ability compared to resident microglial cells (MG), but also that this ability greatly increases going from the periphery to the tumor core.3 In lower grade gliomas (grades II and III), a much lower amount of BMDM is present, devoid of immune suppressive ability.3 We present here a longitudinal analysis of the immune infiltrate in a patient with a synchronous occurrence of GBM in the left temporal lobe, and a low-grade glioma (LGG) in the right frontal lobe, with discordant isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutational status,4 followed by two GBM relapse

Comparative preliminary evaluation of two in-stream water treatment technologies for the agricultural reuse of drainage water in the Nile delta

In the Nile Delta, a complex network of canals collects drainage water from surface-irrigated fields, but also municipal wastewater. The goal of this work was to assess the technical, environmental and financial feasibility of the upgrade of a drainage canal (DC) into either an in-stream constructed wetland (ICW) or a canalized facultative lagoon (CFL), in order to produce a water re-usable in agriculture according to the Egyptian law. The model-based design of the proposed technologies was derived from field experimental data for the ICW and laboratory data for the CFL. Both technologies, integrated by a sedimentation pond and a disinfection canal, led to the attainment of the water quality standards imposed by Egyptian Law 92/2013 for the reuse of drainage water. The life cycle assessment indicated that the upgrade of an existing DC to either an ICW or a CFL results in an extremely small environmental burden, 64 0.3% of that of a traditional activated sludge process. The cost/benefit analysis (CBA) was based on the assumptions that (i) farmers currently irrigate a non-food crop (cotton) with the low-quality drainage water present in the DC, and (ii) thanks to the upgrade to a ICW or CFL, farmers will irrigate a food crop characterized by a higher market price (rice). The CBA indicated that the DC upgrade to an ICW represents an attractive investment, as it leads to a financial rate of return &gt; 10% over a wide range of cotton market prices. Conversely, the upgrade to a CFL is less attractive due to high investment costs. In conclusion, the upgrade of DCs to ICWs appears a promising option for the treatment of drainage canal water in the Nile Delta, thanks to the high pollutant removal performances, low cost and negligible environmental burden. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Targeting of immunosuppressive myeloid cells from glioblastoma patients by modulation of size and surface charge of lipid nanocapsules

Background: Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are two of the major players involved in the inhibition of anti-tumor immune response in cancer patients, leading to poor prognosis. Selective targeting of myeloid cells has therefore become an attractive therapeutic strategy to relieve immunosuppression and, in this frame, we previously demonstrated that lipid nanocapsules (LNCs) loaded with lauroyl-modified gemcitabine efficiently target monocytic MDSCs in melanoma patients. In this study, we investigated the impact of the physico-chemical characteristics of LNCs, namely size and surface potential, towards immunosuppressive cell targeting. We exploited myeloid cells isolated from glioblastoma patients, which play a relevant role in the immunosuppression, to demonstrate that tailored nanosystems can target not only tumor cells but also tumor-promoting cells, thus constituting an efficient system that could be used to inhibit their function. Results: The incorporation of different LNC formulations with a size of 100 nm, carrying overall positive, neutral or negative charge, was evaluated on leukocytes and tumor-infiltrating cells freshly isolated from glioblastoma patients. We observed that the maximum LNC uptake was obtained in monocytes with neutral 100 nm LNCs, while positively charged 100 nm LNCs were more effective on macrophages and tumor cells, maintaining at low level the incorporation by T cells. The mechanism of uptake was elucidated, demonstrating that LNCs are incorporated mainly by caveolae-mediated endocytosis. Conclusions: We demonstrated that LNCs can be directed towards immunosuppressive cells by simply modulating their size and charge thus providing a novel approach to exploit nanosystems for anticancer treatment in the frame of immunotherapy.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

In vitro and in silico validation of CA3 and FHL1 downregulation in oral cancer.

Abstract. Background: Aberrant methylation is a frequent event in oral cancer. Methods: In order to better characterize these alterations, a search for genes downregulated by aberrant methylation in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) was conducted through the mining of ORESTES dataset. Findings were further validated in OSCC cell lines and patients? samples and confirmed using TCGA data. Differentially expressed genes were identified in ORESTES libraries and validated in vitro using RT-PCR in HNSCC cell-lines and OSCC tumor samples. Further confirmation of these results was performed using mRNA expression and methylation data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. Results: From the set of genes selected for validation, CA3 and FHL1 were downregulated in 60% (12/20) and 75% (15/20) of OSCC samples, respectively, and in HNSCC cell lines. The treatment of cell lines JHU-13 and FaDu with the demethylating agent 5'-aza-dC was efficient in restoring CA3 and FHL1 expression. TCGA expression and methylation data on OSCC confirms the downregulation of these genes in OSCC samples and also suggests that expression of CA3 and FHL1 is probably regulated by methylation. The downregulation of CA3 and FHL1 observed in silico was validated in HNSCC cell lines and OSCC samples, showing the feasibility of integrating different datasets to select differentially expressed genes in silico. Conclusions: These results showed that the downregulation of CA3 and FHL1 data observed in the ORESTES libraries was validated in HNSCC cell lines and OSCC samples and in a large cohort of samples from the TCGA database. Moreover, it suggests that expression of CA3 and FHL1 could probably be regulated by methylation having an important role the oral carcinogenesis.Article number: 193