Alcune considerazioni sul rapporto tra semantica e metafisica nella teoria degli eventi di Kim

La teoria degli eventi che Kim delinea \ue8 considerata una delle pi\uf9 influenti teorie metafisiche de- gli eventi. In questo lavoro si presenta tale teoria e si esamina la sua plausibilit\ue0. In particolare, si indaga la tesi semantica di Kim secon- do cui due nominali per eventi sono coreferenziali solo se le espres- sioni predicative che essi contengono stanno per la stessa propriet\ue0. Inoltre, si esamina i) se gli eventi concepiti alla Kim debbano essere distinti dai fatti e ii) quali sono i motivi per cui tale teoria d\ue0 luogo ad una implausibile moltiplicazione degli eventi

Objects, Events, and Property-Instances

The theory of events as property-instances has been considered one of the most widely accepted metaphysical theories of events. On the other hand, several philosophers claim that if both events and objects perdure, then objects must be identified with events. In this work, I investigate whether these two views can be held together. I shall argue that if they can, it depends on the particular theory of instantiation one is to adopt. In particular, I shall conclude that the theory of events as property-instances and the view that identifies objects with events can be held together only if instances of eventive universals are temporal parts of objects – namely, those temporal parts that have the universals in question

Achille C. Varzi, Claudio Calosi, Le tribolazioni del filosofare

open1noRecensione del volume "Le tribolazioni del Filosofare. Comedia Metaphysica ne la quale si tratta de li errori e de le pene de l’Infero" di Achille C. Varzi e Claudio CalosiopenBaratella, RiccardoBaratella, Riccard

Secret Symmetries And Supersymmetry: Investigations

This is a report of the author's research in the fields of Non-linearly Realized Spacetime Symmetries and Phenomenology of Supersymmetry. In the first part, the equivalence of two theories that non-linearly realize a spacetime symmetry, and which are related by a well motivated mapping, is discussed (with focus on the so-called Galileon group). This is done by studying how their coupling with gravity changes under the mapping. The second part treats some aspects of the phenomenology of the supersymmetric partner of the goldstino (the sgoldstino) in the context of Gauge Mediation. The work includes introductory sections on the two subjects

Cytoplasmic localization of HTLV-1 HBZ oncoprotein: a biomarker of HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP)

Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiological agent of a severe form of T cell neoplasia called Adult T cell Leukaemia (ATL) and of a neurologic disorder designated HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The HBZ oncoprotein encoded by the minus strand of the HTLV-1 is thought to play an important role in both diseases. The recent isolation in our laboratory of the first described monoclonal antibody against HBZ protein has now permitted to investigate in detail the cellular and biochemical features of endogenous HBZ. In this direction our laboratory has recently established that HBZ is a nuclear protein in cells of ATL patients. My thesis was predominantly focused in expanding the analysis particularly in HAM/TSP patients, to assess similarities and/or diversities of HBZ subcellular distribution with respect to ATL patients and asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers. Expression and localization of HBZ in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of ATL, HAM/TSP patients and in HTLV-1 asymptomatic carriers (AC) was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy using the anti-HBZ 4D4-F3 mAb. Analysis of patients with HAM/TSP unequivocally showed that HBZ-positive cells presented an exclusive, never reported, cytoplasmic localization of the viral oncogenic protein. Interestingly, experiment with leptomycin B indicated that HBZ could not shuttle between cytoplasm and nucleus. This strict HBZ cytoplasmic localization was at variance with the distribution of the other HTLV-1 oncogenic protein, Tax-1, that could localize both in the cytoplasm and the nucleus, and could be sequestered totally in the nucleus after leptomycin B treatment of the cells. Additional extensive analysis of cells from ATL patients and asymptomatic recipients confirmed, instead, a nuclear localization of HBZ. I further supported this finding by studying HBZ and Tax-1 in the CIB cell line, a CD4+ IL-2-dependent T cell line derived from an HAM/TSP patient. The vast majority of CIB cells express significant amounts of HBZ exclusively in the cytoplasm, mostly in a speckle-like fashion. Tax-1 instead was expressed in 30% of the cells, either as a diffuse reticulum or distributed in a speckled-like fashion mainly in the cytoplasm. Interestingly, in cells co-expressing cytoplasmic HBZ and Tax-1, the two proteins did not co-localize, suggesting that they do not interact in vivo. Our results establish for the first time a distinctive and diverse pattern of sub-cellular localization of endogenous HBZ protein. Furthermore, and of potential importance in the pathogenesis of HTLV-1-associated diseases, our data suggest that the endogenous localization of HBZ protein in different cellular compartments may correlate with the different forms of the HTLV-1-mediated diseases

Cytoplasmic localization of HTLV-1 HBZ oncoprotein: a biomarker of HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP)

Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiological agent of a severe form of T cell neoplasia called Adult T cell Leukaemia (ATL) and of a neurologic disorder designated HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The HBZ oncoprotein encoded by the minus strand of the HTLV-1 is thought to play an important role in both diseases. The recent isolation in our laboratory of the first described monoclonal antibody against HBZ protein has now permitted to investigate in detail the cellular and biochemical features of endogenous HBZ. In this direction our laboratory has recently established that HBZ is a nuclear protein in cells of ATL patients. My thesis was predominantly focused in expanding the analysis particularly in HAM/TSP patients, to assess similarities and/or diversities of HBZ subcellular distribution with respect to ATL patients and asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers. Expression and localization of HBZ in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of ATL, HAM/TSP patients and in HTLV-1 asymptomatic carriers (AC) was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy using the anti-HBZ 4D4-F3 mAb. Analysis of patients with HAM/TSP unequivocally showed that HBZ-positive cells presented an exclusive, never reported, cytoplasmic localization of the viral oncogenic protein. Interestingly, experiment with leptomycin B indicated that HBZ could not shuttle between cytoplasm and nucleus. This strict HBZ cytoplasmic localization was at variance with the distribution of the other HTLV-1 oncogenic protein, Tax-1, that could localize both in the cytoplasm and the nucleus, and could be sequestered totally in the nucleus after leptomycin B treatment of the cells. Additional extensive analysis of cells from ATL patients and asymptomatic recipients confirmed, instead, a nuclear localization of HBZ. I further supported this finding by studying HBZ and Tax-1 in the CIB cell line, a CD4+ IL-2-dependent T cell line derived from an HAM/TSP patient. The vast majority of CIB cells express significant amounts of HBZ exclusively in the cytoplasm, mostly in a speckle-like fashion. Tax-1 instead was expressed in 30% of the cells, either as a diffuse reticulum or distributed in a speckled-like fashion mainly in the cytoplasm. Interestingly, in cells co-expressing cytoplasmic HBZ and Tax-1, the two proteins did not co-localize, suggesting that they do not interact in vivo. Our results establish for the first time a distinctive and diverse pattern of sub-cellular localization of endogenous HBZ protein. Furthermore, and of potential importance in the pathogenesis of HTLV-1-associated diseases, our data suggest that the endogenous localization of HBZ protein in different cellular compartments may correlate with the different forms of the HTLV-1-mediated diseases

Generalised Dirichelt-to-Neumann map in time dependent domains

We study the heat, linear Schrodinger and linear KdV equations in the domain l(t) < x < ∞, 0 < t < T, with prescribed initial and boundary conditions and with l(t) a given differentiable function. For the first two equations, we show that the unknown Neumann or Dirichlet boundary value can be computed as the solution of a linear Volterra integral equation with an explicit weakly singular kernel. This integral equation can be derived from the formal Fourier integral representation of the solution. For the linear KdV equation we show that the two unknown boundary values can be computed as the solution of a system of linear Volterra integral equations with explicit weakly singular kernels. The derivation in this case makes crucial use of analyticity and certain invariance properties in the complex spectral plane. The above Volterra equations are shown to admit a unique solution