\u201c\u2018Nel suo No sempiterno a tutti i programmi della Joie.\u2019 Causa ideale e mito di Antigone nel Cardillo addolorato di Anna Maria Ortese\u201d.

L'intento di questo saggio \ue8 quello di fornire alcuni spunti interpretativi per il romanzo Il cardil-lo addolorato (1993) di Anna Maria Ortese, sulla scorta del modello psicanalitico lacaniano e di un confronto con il mito di Antigone. Il primo capitolo consiste in una breve introduzione alla complessit\ue0 esegetica dell'opera e al tema dell'enigma in senso fattuale e semantico. Successi-vamente si discute la posizione della protagonista Elmina quale oggetto del desiderio dei tre signori di Liegi e portavoce del discorso isterico. Infine, a partire da un confronto con possibili fonti testuali, si avanza l'ipotesi di una presenza sotterranea del mito di Antigone, per cui El-mina sarebbe una figura del desiderio utopico: la sua devozione per Hieronymus K\ue4ppchen assume le sembianze di un'intransigenza etica che evoca in tono minore ma non meno doloroso il dramma di Antigone

Towards Efficient Full Pose Omnidirectionality with Overactuated MAVs

Omnidirectional MAVs are a growing field, with demonstrated advantages for aerial interaction and uninhibited observation. While systems with complete pose omnidirectionality and high hover efficiency have been developed independently, a robust system that combines the two has not been demonstrated to date. This paper presents VoliroX: a novel omnidirectional vehicle that can exert a wrench in any orientation while maintaining efficient flight configurations. The system design is presented, and a 6 DOF geometric control that is robust to singularities. Flight experiments further demonstrate and verify its capabilities.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, ISER 2018 conference submissio

A computational view of the brain plasticity at rest

Even when the human brain is at rest, its activity continues to change spontaneously. We know very little about the neuroanatomical structures and the biological mechanisms involved. Such knowledge is important for understanding human perception and brain changes, both in healthy people and in disease. Therefore, the overall aim of my research was to expand our understanding of the biological and computational mechanisms underlying the plasticity of spontaneous human brain activity. I specifically focused my research on developing methods to analyze small-scale interactions between visual brain regions and large-scale interactions at the level of brain networks. A commonly used tool for brain research in humans is functional magnetic resonance imaging. This allows researchers to register brain activity in a non-invasive way and in a relatively short time, also in people who are in a resting state (rs-fMRI). Based on the measured activity, the functional relationships between different brain regions can be mapped without the need to present a stimulus. Another advantage is that rs-fMRI requires very little effort from the participant. Together, this makes rs-fMRI very useful to investigate the consequences of neuro-ophthalmic diseases on the brain, even at an advanced stage (eg in case of glaucoma in near-blindness). Therefore, in my dissertation, I focused on the use of rs-fMRI. In my dissertation, I demonstrate the fundamental and clinical relevance of measuring changes in spontaneous brain activity using rs-fMRI. The new methods that I have developed make it possible to investigate small-scale and large-scale functional connections in the brain. Moreover, they make it easier to apply rs-fMRI clinically in both the early and later stages of a disease. My methods can help future studies to increase our understanding of the functional connections of the healthy visual cortex and changes therein due to disease. They enable researchers to translate their knowledge about how the brain works into new, sophisticated diagnostic applications and therapeutic interventions

Investigating the role of the respiratory microbiome and metabolome in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal fibrotic lung disease of unknown aetiology. There is growing evidence that the lung microbiota may play a role in IPF. However, no study has investigated the functional impact of the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) on disease pathogenesis. The aim of this thesis was to characterise the respiratory microbiome and metabolome in healthy controls and subjects with IPF and to investigate the influence of the SCFAs on human primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBECs) and human lung fibroblasts (HLFs) from these individuals. Subjects diagnosed with IPF (n=201) and healthy controls (n=40) were prospectively recruited and underwent bronchoscopy. Bacterial DNA was isolated and 16S rRNA gene sequencing undertaken to characterise bacterial communities. Untargeted 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopybased metabolomics and targeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry captured the metabolic profile of these samples. PBECs, differentiated at air-liquid interface, and HLF from healthy controls and subjects with IPF were either left untreated or exposed to the SCFAs. Compared to healthy controls, the IPF microbiota was less diverse (P<0.01), and had increased proportions of Firmicutes (P<0.01), Streptococcus and Staphylococcus (P<0.05). Relative concentrations of the SCFAs were increased in IPF compared to healthy controls, and in IPF, propionate positively correlated with the bacterial burden (rho=0.47, P=8 x 10-5). Treatment of PBECs from IPF subjects but not healthy controls with the SCFAs led to morphological changes, a dose-dependent release of pro-inflammatory mediators in the cell supernatant, and a decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) over time. Compared to baseline, exposure of IPF PBECs to 1 mM of propionate led to a 40% reduction in TEER and a significant increase (P<0.05) in the secretion of IL-6. Treatment of HLFs with 5 mM of propionate or butyrate was found to increase cell proliferation at 72 hours. Subjects with IPF display an altered microbiome which is associated with a distinct metabolic signature in the lower airways. Differences in bacterial genera and an increased bacterial burden in IPF results in changes in the SCFAs in the airways. In vitro work demonstrates the potential of these SCFAs to shape immunological responses in the lung, mediating the pathogenesis of fibrosis.Open Acces

The Representation of Trauma in "Lolita"’s hypertexts. The case of Pia Pera’s "Diario di Lo"

This paper aims to discuss the phenomenon of Lolita’s hypertexts in the light of the issues of trauma and the unspeakable, adopting the framework offered by psychiatry and psychoanalysis on pedophilia. In the first chapter I will be particularly concerned with three revisionary texts, namely Kim Morrissey’s Poems for Men Who Dream of Lolita, Christophe Tison’s Le Journal de Lolita and Emily Prager’s Roger Fishbite, whereas the second one will provide a close analysis of another revisionary text, Diario di Lo, written by Pia Pera