Metafore concettuali nella stampa italiana e tedesca online: l'Europa e la crisi

The purpose of this study is to investigate the way the Italian and German online press metaphorically conceptualize their own nations, the other nations and the crisis, in a particular period of the Euro Crisis, i.e. the Greek crisis in 2015. The project is divided into two parts: The first part concerns the theoretical framework of the project. First the main principles of the Cognitive Metaphor Theory are explained, focusing on both sides - linguistic and cognitive - of metaphor, as well as on its highlighting and hiding effect. Secondly the main features of Frame Semantics are illustrated, a semantic theory which claims that the activation of frames, i.e. cognitive structures that organize our thought, allows the expression of a particular attitude towards an event (Perspektivierung). Combining both theories, the present project assumes that linguistic realizations of conceptual metaphors, i.e. metaphorical expressions, can activate a number of different frames. In order to analyse both sides of metaphor, the analysis is based on the Systematische Metaphernanalyse, which allows a gradual shift from the linguistic to the cognitive level, from the metaphorical expressions to the conceptual metaphors and the cognitive frames. In the second part, the research question is defined and the analysis presented. Thanks to a short introduction to the history of the European Union, chapter 6 shows that the Greek Crisis represented a turning point in its development, because for the first time one of the EU Member States could or was forced to leave the European Union. How did Italy and Germany express their attitude towards this event? How did the Italian and the German press conceptualize their own nation, the other nations and the crisis? To answer these research questions, a text corpus was built through the selection of Italian and German online-articles published from 6/07/2015 to 19/07/2015. For each conceptual metaphor explored, the analysis was divided into three main steps: identification and analysis of the metaphorical expressions; description of the corresponding metaphorical mapping; interpretation through the analysis of the evoked frames. Thanks to this final step of the analysis, some interesting similarities and differences between the two languages emerged. Although the Italian and the German press used the same conceptual metaphors to deal with the above mentioned topics, the activation of different frames allowed them to express their own attitude towards them. While Italy usually expressed its understanding towards Greece, Germany often underlined its own leading position. On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that combining Cognitive Metaphor Theory and Frame Semantics can reveal some interesting aspects of metaphors, with particular reference to the way in which metaphorical expressions belonging to the same conceptual metaphor can express contrasting attitudes towards an event. [edited by Author]XIV n.s. (XXVIII ciclo

L’interpretazione dialogica nella trattativa d’affari: lo studio di un caso

The case study presented in our paper explores interpreter-mediated interaction in business settings, with a focus on the competences and the role of a non-professional dialogue interpreter. After defining the main features of dialogue interpreting, we investigate which competences a dialogue interpreter needs in order to deal with intercultural business negotiations. Considering the importance of specialist terminology and turn-taking management in business interpreting, the analysis of four business negotiations mediated by a non-professional interpreter focuses on how a non-professional interpreter manages some specialist terms as well as sequence organization. The analysis shows two main results: on the one hand it shows that, despite the difficulties, a non-professional interpreter may sometimes act as a professional one; on the other hand it underlines that specialist terminology and turn-taking management should be considered as basic competences in dialogue interpreting

Multiple Acquired Mutations Captured by Liquid Biopsy in the EGFR Addicted Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Clinical Practice Points • Metastatic colorectal cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death worldwide. • Primary and acquired resistance mechanisms to anti-EGFR treatment are a challenging topic with several clinical implications. • Primary resistance is defined by the presence of activating mutations in BRAF and RAS genes before treatment initiation, while acquired resistance refers to the selection of pre-existing mutant clones or de novo acquisition of mutations under the pressure of anti EGFR treatment. • Testing mutations in RAS and BRAF genes as predictive biomarkers is mandatory. • Liquid biopsy has acquired growing importance and showed to be reliable when compared to tissue NGS. • Liquid biopsy offers a full overview of the genetic landscape of the disease, overcoming spatial and temporal heterogeneity, when compared to tissue biopsy. • Liquid biopsy can be used to capture the changes in biology of cancer cells under the selective pressure of targeted agents over time. • Using complementary techniques allows to increase the diagnostic power and the biological significance of the results

Regorafenib in combination with silybin as a novel potential strategy for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer

Regorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, has demonstrated survival benefit in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients that have progressed after all standard therapies. However, novel strategies to improve tolerability and enhance anti-cancer efficacy are needed

Initial impact of SARS-Cov-2 vaccination on healthcare workers in Italy- Update on the 28th of March 2021

In Italy, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign started in December 2020 with the vaccination of healthcare workers (HCW). To analyse the real-life impact that vaccination is having on this population group, we measured the association between week of diagnosis and HCW status using log-binomial regression. By the week 22-28 March, we observed a 74% reduction (PPR 0.26; 95% CI 0.22-0.29) in the proportion of cases reported as HCW and 81% reduction in the proportion of symptomatic cases reported as HCW, compared with the week with the lowest proportion of cases among HCWs prior to the vaccination campaign (31 August-7 September). The reduction, both in relative and absolute terms, of COVID-19 cases in HCWs that started around 30 days after the start of the vaccination campaign suggest that COVID-19 vaccines are being effective in preventing infection in this group

Prognostic or predictive value of circulating cytokines and angiogenic factors for initial treatment of multiple myeloma in the GIMEMA MM0305 randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Several new drugs are approved for treatment of patients with multiple myeloma (MM), but no validated biomarkers are available for the prediction of a clinical outcome. We aimed to establish whether pretreatment blood and bone marrow plasma concentrations of major cytokines and angiogenic factors (CAFs) of patients from a phase 3 trial of a MM treatment could have a prognostic and predictive value in terms of response to therapy and progression-free and overall survival and whether these patients could be stratified for their prognosis. Methods Blood and bone marrow plasma levels of Ang-2, FGF-2, HGF, VEGF, PDGF-β, IL-8, TNF-α, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 were determined at diagnosis in MM patients enrolled in the GIMEMA MM0305 randomized controlled trial by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These levels were correlated both reciprocally and with the type of therapy and patients’ characteristics and with a group of non-MM patients as controls. Results No significant differences were detected between the blood and bone marrow plasma levels of angiogenic cytokines. A cutoff for each CAF was established. The therapeutic response of patients with blood plasma levels of CAFs lower than the cutoff was better than the response of those with higher levels in terms of percentage of responding patients and quality of response. Conclusion FGF-2, HGF, VEGF, and PDGF-β plasma levels at diagnosis have predictive significance for response to treatment. The stratification of patients based on the levels of CAFs at diagnosis and their variations after therapy is useful to characterize different risk groups concerning outcome and response to therapy. Trial registration Clinical trial information can be found at the following link: NCT0106317

Case report of unusual synchronous anal and rectal squamous cell carcinoma: clinical and therapeutic lesson

Synchronous tumors of the rectum and anus are sporadic. Most cases in the literature are rectal adenocarcinomas with concomitant anal squamous cell carcinoma. To date, only two cases of concomitant squamous cell carcinomas of the rectum and anus are reported, and both were treated with up-front surgery and received abdominoperineal resection with colostomy. Here, we report the first case in the literature of a patient with synchronous HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the rectum and anus treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy with curative intent. The clinical-radiological evaluation demonstrated complete tumor regression. After 2 years of follow-up, no evidence of recurrence was observed