Storia dei gruppi di opposizione a Bourguiba e loro eredità nella Tunisia post-2011. Proposte per una cooperazione dal basso.

Nel 2011 la Tunisia sembra emergere da un "vuoto politico" dovuto a più di 50 anni di dittatura. Anche per colmare questo vuoto si sono riversati nel Paese ingenti somme per lo "sviluppo della democrazia". In questa tesi si vuole mostrare come in realtà in Tunisia vi fosse, fin dai tempi di Bourguiba, un complesso e articolato insieme di gruppi di opposizione politica che hanno avuto e hanno tuttora un ruolo nello sviluppo del Paese. Per una reale cooperazione con i cittadini tunisini in Tunisia, ma anche in Italia e in Europa, è quindi necessario conoscere tali movimenti e la loro storia

Acute Hyperglycemia Worsens Hepatic Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Acute hyperglycemia is known to worsen ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury following myocardial infarction and stroke. We investigated whether acute hyperglycemia worsens injury and amplifies the inflammatory response evoked by hepatic I/R. Rats were pretreated with an intraperitoneal injection of 25% glucose or 0.9% sodium chloride (10 ml/kg BW). Subsequently, rats underwent partial (70%) hepatic ischemia for 45 min. After 4 h of reperfusion, hepatic injury, oxidative stress, inflammation, and heat shock protein expression were assessed. Liver injury was increased in the hyperglycemic group with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferease (AST) serum concentrations of 7,832 ± 3,374 and 10,677 ± 4,110 U/L compared to 3,245 ± 2,009 and 5,386 ± 3,393 U/L (p < 0.05 vs. control). Hyperglycemic I/R was associated with increased liver nitrotyrosine concentrations and increased neutrophil infiltration. I/R upregulated the protective heat shock proteins HSP32 and HSP70 in control animals, but this protective mechanism was inhibited by hyperglycemia: HSP32 expression decreased from 1.97 ± 0.89 (control) to 0.46 ± 0.13 (hyperglycemia), HSP70 expression decreased from 18.99 ± 11.55 (control) to 3.22 ± 0.56 (hyperglycemia), (expression normalized to sham, both p < 0.05 vs. control I/R). Acute hyperglycemia worsens hepatic I/R injury by amplifying oxidative stress and the inflammatory response to I/R. The increase in injury is associated with a downregulation of the protective heat shock proteins HSP32 and HSP70

Predicting depression and suicidal tendencies by analyzing online activities using machine learning in android devices

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought about a profound transformation in the realm of technology, with Machine Learning (ML) within AI playing a crucial role in today's healthcare systems. Advanced systems with intellectual abilities resembling those of humans are being created and utilized to carry out intricate tasks. Applications like Object recognition, classification, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Natural Language processing (NLP), among others, have started producing magnificent results with algorithms trained on humongous data readily available these days. Keeping in view the socio-economic implications of the pandemic threat posed to the world by COVID-19, this research aims at improving the quality of life of people suffering from mild depression by timely diagnosing the symptoms using AI in android devices, especially phones. In cases of severe depression, which is highly likely to lead to suicide, valuable lives can also be saved if adequate help can be dispatched to such patients within time. This can be achieved using automatic analysis of users’ data including text messages, emails, voice calls and internet search history, among other mobile phone activities, using Text mining/ text analytics which is the process of deriving meaningful information from natural language text. Machine Learning models analyse the users’ behaviour continuously from text and voice communications and data, thereby identifying if there are any negative tendencies in the behaviour over a certain period of time, and by using this information make inferences about the mental health state of the patient and instantly request appropriate healthcare before it is too late. In this research, an android application capable of performing the aforementioned tasks in real-time has been developed and tested for various performance features with an average accuracy of 95%

Discovering shifts in competitive strategies in probiotics, accelerated with TechMining

[EN] Profiling the technological strategy of different competitors is a key element for the companies in a given industry, as well to technology planners and R&D strategists. The analysis of the patent portfolio of a company as well as its evolution in the time line is of interest for technology analysts and decision makers. However, the need for the participation of experts in the field of a company as well as patent specialists, slows down the process. Bibliometrics and text mining techniques contribute to the interpretation of specialists. The present paper tries to offer a step by step procedure to analyze the technology strategy of several companies through the analysis of their portfolio claims, combined with the use of TechMining with the help of a text mining tool. The procedure, complemented with a semantic TRIZ analysis provides key insights in disclosing the technological analysis of some competitors in the field of probiotics for livestock health. The results show interesting shifts in the key probiotic and prebiotic ingredients for which companies claim protection and therefore offers clues about their technology intention in the life sciences industry in a more dynamic, convenient and simple way.The authors would like to thank the contribution of the research institute IRTA, to the TRIZ company triz XXI and to Fernando Palop and their wise insights and guidance. The authors thank the usage of Search Technology s VantagePoint and IHS-Markit s Goldfire.Vicente Gomila, JM.; Palli, A.; De La Calle, B.; Artacho Ramírez, MÁ.; Jimémez, S. (2017). Discovering shifts in competitive strategies in probiotics, accelerated with TechMining. Scientometrics. 111(3):1907-1923. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2339-5S190719231113Abbas, A., Zhang, L., & Khan, S. (2014). A literature review on the state-of-the-art in patent analysis. World Patent Information, 37, 3–13.Allen, H., Levine, T., Bandrick, M., & Casey, T. (2012). 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Extract conceptual graphs from plain texts in patent claims. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 25, 874–887.Yoon, J., Park, H., & Kim, K. (2013). Identifying technological competition trends for R&D planning using dynamic patent maps: SAO-bassed content analysis. Scientometrics, 94, 313–331

Somatic alterations of targetable oncogenes are frequently observed in BRCA1/2 mutation negative male breast cancers

Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare disease. Due to its rarity, MBC research and clinical approach are mostly based upon data derived from its largely known female counterpart. We aimed at investigating whether MBC cases harbor somatic alterations of genes known as prognostic biomarkers and molecular therapeutic targets in female breast cancer.We examined 103 MBC cases, all characterized for germ-line BRCA1/2 mutations, for somatic alterations in PIK3CA, EGFR, ESR1 and CCND1 genes.Pathogenic mutations of PIK3CA were detected in 2% of MBCs. No pathogenic mutations were identified in ESR1 and EGFR. Gene copy number variations (CNVs) analysis showed amplification of PIK3CA in 8.1%, EGFR in 6.8% and CCND1 in 16% of MBCs, whereas deletion of ESR1 was detected in 15% of MBCs. Somatic mutations and gene amplification were found only in BRCA1/2 mutation negative MBCs.Significant associations emerged between EGFR amplification and large tumor size (T4), ER-negative and HER2-positive status, between CCND1 amplification and HER2-positive and MIB1-positive status, and between ESR1 deletion and ER-negative status.Our results show that amplification of targetable oncogenes is frequent in BRCA1/2 mutation negative MBCs and may identify MBC subsets characterized by aggressive phenotype that may benefit from potential targeted therapeutic approaches

Life-course socioeconomic status and DNA methylation of genes regulating inflammation

Background: In humans, low socioeconomic status (SES) across the life course is associated with greater diurnal cortisol production, increased inflammatory activity and higher circulating antibodies for several pathogens, all suggesting a dampened immune response. Recent evidence suggests that DNA methylation of pro-inflammatory genes may be implicated in the biological embedding of the social environment. Methods: The present study examines the association between life-course SES and DNA methylation of candidate genes, selected on the basis of their involvement in SES-related inflammation, in the context of a genome-wide methylation study. Participants were 857 healthy individuals sampled from the EPIC Italy prospective cohort study. Results: Indicators of SES were associated with DNA methylation of genes involved in inflammation. NFATC1, in particular, was consistently found to be less methylated in individuals with low vs high SES, in a dose-dependent manner. IL1A, GPR132 and genes belonging to the MAPK family were also less methylated among individuals with low SES. In addition, associations were found between SES and CXCL2 and PTGS2, but these genes were consistently more methylated among low SES individuals. Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis that the social environment leaves an epigenetic signature in cells. Although the functional significance of SES-related DNA methylation is still unclear, we hypothesize that it may link SES to chronic disease ris

Lifestyle, dietary factors and antibody levels to oral bacteria in cancer-free participants of a European cohort study

Background—Increasing evidence suggests that oral microbiota play a pivotal role in chronic diseases, in addition to the well-established role in periodontal disease. Moreover, recent studies suggest that oral bacteria may also be involved in carcinogenesis; periodontal disease has been linked several cancers. In this study, we examined whether lifestyle factors have an impact on antibody levels to oral bacteria. Methods—Data on demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and medical conditions were obtained at the time of blood sample collection. For the current analysis, we measured antibody levels to 25 oral bacteria in 395 cancer-free individuals using an immunoblot array. Combined total immunglobin G (IgG) levels were obtained by summing concentrations for all oral bacteria measured. Results—IgG antibody levels were substantially lower among current and former smokers (1697 and 1677 ng/mL, respectively) than never smokers (1960 ng/mL; p-trend = 0.01), but did not vary by other factors, including BMI, diabetes, physical activity, or by dietary factors, after adjusting for age, sex, education, country and smoking status. The highest levels of total IgG were found among individuals with low education (2419 ng/mL). Conclusions—Our findings on smoking are consistent with previous studies and support the notion that smokers have a compromised humoral immune response. Moreover, other major factors known to be associated with inflammatory markers, including obesity, were not associated with antibody levels to a large number of oral bacteria

Urinary excretions of 34 dietary polyphenols and their associations with lifestyle factors in the EPIC cohort study.

Urinary excretion of 34 dietary polyphenols and their variations according to diet and other lifestyle factors were measured by tandem mass spectrometry in 475 adult participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cross-sectional study. A single 24-hour urine sample was analysed for each subject from 4 European countries. The highest median levels were observed for phenolic acids such as 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (157 μmol/24 h), followed by 3-hydroxyphenylacetic, ferulic, vanillic and homovanillic acids (20-50 μmol/24 h). The lowest concentrations were observed for equol, apigenin and resveratrol ( 0.5) observed between urinary polyphenols and the intake of their main food sources (e.g., resveratrol and gallic acid ethyl ester with red wine intake; caffeic, protocatechuic and ferulic acids with coffee consumption; and hesperetin and naringenin with citrus fruit intake). The large variations in urinary polyphenols observed are largely determined by food preferences. These polyphenol biomarkers should allow more accurate evaluation of the relationships between polyphenol exposure and the risk of chronic diseases in large epidemiological studies

Associations between Fatty Acid Intakes and Plasma Phospholipid Fatty Acid Concentrations in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the correlations between dietary fatty acid (FA) intakes and plasma phospholipid (PL) FA levels in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods: The dietary intake of 60 individual FAs was estimated using centre-specific validated dietary questionnaires. Plasma PL FA concentrations of these FAs were measured in non-fasting venous plasma samples in nested case-control studies within the EPIC cohort (n = 4923, using only non-cases). Spearman rank correlations were calculated to determine associations between FA intakes and plasma PL FA levels. Results: Correlations between FA intakes and circulating levels were low to moderately high (-0.233 and 0.554). Moderate positive correlations were found for total long-chain n-3 poly-unsaturated FA (PUFA) (r = 0.354) with the highest (r = 0.406) for n-3 PUFA docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Moderate positive correlations were also found for the non-endogenously synthesized trans-FA (r = 0.461 for total trans-FA C16-18; r = 0.479 for industrial trans-FA (elaidic acid)). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that dietary FA intakes might influence the plasma PL FA status to a certain extent for several specific FAs. The stronger positive correlations for health-enhancing long-chain PUFAs and the health-deteriorating trans-FA that are not endogenously produced are valuable for future cancer prevention public health interventions