National, regional, global TV in Algeria : University students and television audience after the 2012 Algerian media law

Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the colleagues Saida Kheira Benammar, who helped to set up the survey in Mostaganem, and Mohamed Chihat, who helped to contact and meet researchers in Algiers, for their generous and wholehearted support. Viola Sarnelli also wishes to thank Prof. Bel Abbes Neddar, who sponsored and supervised her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Mostaganem, and his Magistere students, for their active participation in the Media and Cultural Studies seminars.Peer reviewedPostprin

Contro un "cattivo modello": Gravina e Quadrio <i>vs</i> Seneca tragico

Ragionando, con la scorta dell' ammiratissimo Tasso, sulla «convenienza» dello stile da adottare per il genere letterario di volta in volta prescelto - in quella «summa delle idee estetiche, dei propositi e delle ambizioni della prima metà del Settecento», rappresentata dai volumi Della Storia e della Ragione d'ogni Poesia -, il Quadrio esprime a chiare lettere la propria repulsione nei confronti degli autori appartenenti alla latinità argentea, nei quali ravvisa l'immondabile macchia della magniloquenza, la cui deriva dalle leggi di una natura concepita razionalisticamente non può in alcun modo esser attenuata dalla loro riconosciuta auctoritas. Fra gli autori posti sotto accusa dal Quadrio, si è visto menzionato Seneca, sulla cui identità l'erudito si interroga, secondo una tradizione risalente alla tarda latinità, e la cui opera morale e soprattutto tragica viene sistematicamente demolita, lasciando apparire la distanza ormai incolmabile che separa il Nostro dai suoi predecessori dell'età controriformistico-barocca in seno alla Compagnia di Gesù

Representability and Relationality

This essay starts from the idea that the correlation between Asian American subjectivity and exemplarity is an instance of race relations in the American context. The model minority myth represents Asian Americans as an example of successful assimilation into American society and simultaneously signals their exclusion from mainstream norms and ideals. In this essay I explore issues of representation, representativity, and access to narratives of identity choice by reading Yellow Face, the 2007 play written by David Henry Hwang. I first consider Hwang’s parody of identity politics and his staging of the racialization of bodies in contemporary “postracial” American society. Next, I discuss how dynamics of envy (Ngai 2005) enable a series of disidentificatory and antiproprietory practices, which ultimately disavow the iteration of a preestablished model subjectivity. Finally, I focus on the “melancholic condition” (Eng e Han 2000) as a political strategy of building and preserving communities within and beyond racial, class, and national boundaries.L’articolo parte dall’idea che la correlazione tra soggettività asiatica americana e esemplarità sia una declinazione della questione razziale nel contesto americano. Il mito della minoranza modello rappresenta gli asiatici americani come un esempio di assimilazione di successo alla società americana, segnalando simultaneamente la loro esclusione dalle norme e dagli ideali del gruppo dominante. In questo saggio, esploro questioni di rappresentazione, rappresentatività e accesso alle scelte identitarie, attraverso una lettura di Yellow Face, il play del 2007 scritto da David Henry Hwang. Considero innanzitutto come Hwang costruisca una parodia delle politiche identitarie e metta in scena la razzializzazione dei corpi nella società americana “post-razziale”. Nella seconda parte, mi occupo di dinamiche di invidia (Ngai 2005) e di come esse rendano possibili una serie di pratiche di disidentificazione e anti-appropriazione, che finiscono per interrompere l’iterazione di modelli prestabiliti di soggettività. Infine, mi focalizzo sulla “condizione melanconica” (Eng e Han 2000) come strategia politica di costruzione e preservazione delle comunità all’interno e oltre i confini razziali, di classe e nazionali

After the Arab Uprisings : resilience or transformation?

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United European Gastroenterology (UEG) and European Society for Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM) consensus on gastroparesis

BACKGROUND: Gastroparesis is a condition characterized by epigastric symptoms and delayed gastric emptying (GE) rate in the absence of any mechanical obstruction. The condition is challenging in clinical practice by the lack of guidance concerning diagnosis and management of gastroparesis. METHODS: A Delphi consensus was undertaken by 40 experts from 19 European countries who conducted a literature summary and voting process on 89 statements. Quality of evidence was evaluated using grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation criteria. Consensus (defined as ≥80% agreement) was reached for 25 statements. RESULTS: The European consensus defined gastroparesis as the presence of symptoms associated with delayed GE in the absence of mechanical obstruction. Nausea and vomiting were identified as cardinal symptoms, with often coexisting postprandial distress syndrome symptoms of dyspepsia. The true epidemiology of gastroparesis is not known in detail, but diabetes, gastric surgery, certain neurological and connective tissue diseases, and the use of certain drugs recognized as risk factors. While the panel agreed that severely impaired gastric motor function is present in these patients, there was no consensus on underlying pathophysiology. The panel agreed that an upper endoscopy and a GE test are required for diagnosis. Only dietary therapy, dopamine-2 antagonists and 5-HT4 receptor agonists were considered appropriate therapies, in addition to nutritional support in case of severe weight loss. No consensus was reached on the use of proton pump inhibitors, other classes of antiemetics or prokinetics, neuromodulators, complimentary, psychological, or more invasive therapies. Finally, there was consensus that gastroparesis adversely impacts on quality of life and healthcare costs and that the long-term prognosis of gastroparesis depends on the cause. CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES: A multinational group of European experts summarized the current state of consensus on definition, symptom characteristics, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of gastroparesis

DIETARY METHODS USING LACTOBACILLUS PARACASEI SUBSP. PARACASEI F19 AS NAPE-PLD GENE CARRIER FOR PRODUCING ON DEMAND PEA OR OEA AND RELATIVE BIOLOGICAL DIETARY COMPOSITIONS THEREOF

Method enabling to modulate and customize the production of active lipids involved in exerting an antagonistic action to local inflammation and in modulating the mast cell reactivity, comprising the administering to an host the probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. Paracasei F19, genetically modified with a nucleotide vector comprising a nucleic acid encoding the human N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD), in association with lipid substrates and precursors, to influence the enzymatic reactions of said probiotic agent in the host. The method is useful in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disorder and in the treatment of metabolic syndrome and for controlling of obesity

The end of pan-Arab media? National, transnational media and identity in Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan after 2011

The article explores the relation between identity definition and trust in different information sources in Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia following the 2011 Uprisings. While prior to 2011 literature mostly highlighted the role of pan-Arab news channels in consolidating a transnational Arab public sphere, recent studies argued that there has been a reinforcement of national media and identities in the Middle East and North Africa, as a consequence of a partial liberalisation of national broadcasting. Our study is based on the Arab Transformations survey (2014), which unlike previous surveys included questions covering both media consumption and identity definition. We looked at how in the three countries the choice of Muslim, Arab or national identity definition was associated with the preference for distinct sources of political news. The results only partially confirmed the hypothesis of a renewed importance of national media and showed that in the three countries people tended to attribute very different values to the same news sources

S100B inhibitor pentamidine attenuates reactive gliosis and reduces neuronal loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Among the different signaling molecules released during reactive gliosis occurring in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the astrocytederived S100B protein plays a key role in neuroinflammation, one of the hallmarks of the disease. The use of pharmacological tools targeting S100B may be crucial to embank its effects and some of the pathological features of AD. The antiprotozoal drug pentamidine is a good candidate since it directly blocks S100B activity by inhibiting its interaction with the tumor suppressor p53. We used a mouse model of amyloid beta- (A-) induced AD, which is characterized by reactive gliosis and neuroinflammation in the brain, and we evaluated the effect of pentamidine on the main S100B-mediated events. Pentamidine caused the reduction of glial fibrillary acidic protein, S100B, and RAGE protein expression, which are signs of reactive gliosis, and induced p53 expression in astrocytes. Pentamidine also reduced the expression of proinflammatory mediators and markers, thus reducing neuroinflammation in AD brain. In parallel, we observed a significant neuroprotection exerted by pentamidine on CA1 pyramidal neurons. We demonstrated that pentamidine inhibits A-induced gliosis and neuroinflammation in an animal model of AD, thus playing a role in slowing down the course of the disease

Endocannabinoid-related compounds in gastrointestinal diseases

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an endogenous signalling pathway involved in the control of several gastrointestinal (GI) functions at both peripheral and central levels. In recent years, it has become apparent that the ECS is pivotal in the regulation of GI motility, secretion and sensitivity, but endocannabinoids (ECs) are also involved in the regulation of intestinal inflammation and mucosal barrier permeability, suggesting their role in the pathophysiology of both functional and organic GI disorders. Genetic studies in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease have indeed shown significant associations with polymorphisms or mutation in genes encoding for cannabinoid receptor or enzyme responsible for their catabolism, respectively. Furthermore, ongoing clinical trials are testing EC agonists/antagonists in the achievement of symptomatic relief from a number of GI symptoms. Despite this evidence, there is a lack of supportive RCTs and relevant data in human beings, and hence, the possible therapeutic application of these compounds is raising ethical, political and economic concerns. More recently, the identification of several EC-like compounds able to modulate ECS function without the typical central side effects of cannabinomimetics has paved the way for emerging peripherally acting drugs. This review summarizes the possible mechanisms linking the ECS to GI disorders and describes the most recent advances in the manipulation of the ECS in the treatment of GI diseases