Galectin-3. The impact on the clinical management of patients with thyroid nodules and future perspectives

Galectins (S-type lectins) are an evolutionarily-conserved family of lectin molecules, which can be expressed intracellularly and in the extracellular matrix, as well. Galectins bind β-galactose-containing glycoconjugates and are functionally active in converting glycan-related information into cell biological programs. Altered glycosylation notably occurring in cancer cells and expression of specific galectins provide, indeed, a fashionable mechanism of molecular interactions able to regulate several tumor relevant functions, among which are cell adhesion and migration, cell differentiation, gene transcription and RNA splicing, cell cycle and apoptosis. Furthermore, several galectin molecules also play a role in regulating the immune response. These functions are strongly dependent on the cell context, in which specific galectins and related glyco-ligands are expressed. Thyroid cancer likely represents the paradigmatic tumor model in which experimental studies on galectins' glycobiology, in particular on galectin-3 expression and function, contributed greatly to the improvement of cancer diagnosis. The discovery of a restricted expression of galectin-3 in well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas (WDTC), compared to normal and benign thyroid conditions, contributed also to promoting preclinical studies aimed at exploring new strategies for imaging thyroid cancer in vivo based on galectin-3 immuno-targeting. Results derived from these recent experimental studies promise a further improvement of both thyroid cancer diagnosis and therapy in the near future. In this review, the biological role of galectin-3 expression in thyroid cancer, the validation and translation to a clinical setting of a galectin-3 test method for the preoperative characterization of thyroid nodules and a galectin-3-based immuno-positron emission tomography (immuno-PET) imaging of thyroid cancer in vivo are presented and discussed

Secularity through a 'Soft Distinction' in the Islamic Ecumene? Adab as a Counterpoint to Shari'a

This article highlights a 'soft' distinction in the regulation of human conduct which emerged through various epochs of Islamicate history: between adab as the marker of an ethical and literary tradition, on the one hand, and the normative claims covered by shari‘a and drawing particularly on the exemplary sayings of Prophet Muhammad, the hadith corpus, on the other. Adab became a counterpoint to the hadith-shari‘a discourse by relying on non-Prophetic and, in this sense, non-divine sources of knowledge. The first part of the study reconstructs the trajectory of adab in pre-colonial times while the second part explores crucial transformations occurring under the impact of European colonial modernity, whose discourse propagated a strongly autonomous notion of secular civility. The interventions of several Muslim reformers of the era contributed to make adab the hub of an autochthonous type of secularity. Here adab still works as a marker of a soft distinction - only that it now becomes a 'double distinction': both between a mundane and a prophetic tradition within the Islamic ecumene, and between an emerging Muslim secularity and the European colonial one

Crack formation and damage evolution during consolidation in TBM driven tunnel linings in fine-grained soils

The paper deals with the numerical modelling of crack formation in segmental tunnel linings. A series of numerical analyses was conducted using the finite difference code FLAC2D. The primary aims of the analyses were to back-analyse the damage pattern observed in a TBM driven hydraulic tunnel excavated in clayey soils and to evaluate the safety level of the excavation assessing the stress and strain state of the lining. The excavation of the tunnel and the lining installation were simulated in plane-strain undrained conditions, adopting the stress reduction method. To take into consideration the peculiar interaction mechanism, identified as the cause the damages, the stress release was differentiated based on the orientation along the tunnel wall. Two distinct modelling strategies were used to model the tunnel lining: at first, simple beam elements were used, then, small continuum elements and cable elements were employed to represent the concrete and the steel bars respectively. The implemented algorithm allowed to simulate explicitly the formation of the cracks and their progressive development. Finally, consolidation analyses were carried out to assess the evolution of the damage and the long-term stress and strain level of the lining. The numerical analyses allowed to reproduce the observed damage pattern and to reliably evaluate the stress and strain state in the damaged lining. Furthermore, the long-term analyses showed that the consolidation process has a beneficial effect as the equalization of the pore pressures causes a reduction of the load eccentricity on the lining, thus progressively increasing the level of safety over time. The investigation of the causes of the reported damage and its numerical modelling allowed to remark the importance of proper tail void grouting when excavating under high cover depths in squeezing soils

Un'applicazione atipica del vacuum consolidation per il consolidamento rapido di terreni argillosi nella vasca di colmata di Gaeta

La nota presenta un adattamento della classica tecnica del vacuum consolidation per la sua applicazione in condizioni subacquee, nell'ambito del consolidamento dei terreni a grana fine della vasca di colmata di Gaeta (LT). L’approfondimento dei fondali antistanti il Porto richiede l’escavo di circa 360 000 m3 di sedimenti prevalentemente a grana fine che saranno refluiti in una vasca di colmata già esistente, il cui volume è stato preliminarmente incrementato mediante un sovralzo arginale. La principale problematica geotecnica affrontata nello studio è legata al modesto volume della vasca rispetto ai volumi di terreno interessati dall'escavo. La soluzione ideata prevede l’utilizzo di sistemi drenanti accoppiati ad un sistema di vacuum consolidation che hanno lo scopo di incrementare la capacità ricettiva della vasca accelerando i processi di consolidazione e aumentando lo stato tensionale efficace

Impiego di un modello costitutivo avanzato per lo studio dell'interazione terreno-rivestimento per gallerie scavate in TBM

La nota affronta lo studio dell’interazione terreno-rivestimento per gallerie scavate in TBM in terreni a grana fine. Al fine di simulare i principali aspetti del comportamento tensio-deformativo delle argille, è stato impiegato un modello costitutivo avanzato ad incrudimento cinematico formulato nell’ambito della bounding surface plasticity. In una prima fase del lavoro, il modello è stato implementato in un codice di calcolo alle differenze finite e la sua risposta testata attraverso una serie di analisi parametriche a livello di elemento di volume. In questa nota, il modello è stato utilizzato per studiare il problema di interazione con riferimento ad un caso reale. La previsione del modello, in termini di sollecitazioni sul rivestimento, è stata confrontata con i dati di monitoraggio, evidenziando un migliore accordo con il dato sperimentale rispetto ai risultati ottenuti impiegando un legame costitutivo semplice

Dilemmas of religious reform (Islâh)

This article discusses the metamorphosis of Islamic traditions that is due to their increasing exposure to global communication and legal regulation. It focuses, in particular, on the historical alteration in the understanding of sharî'a in Egypt caused by the modernization of state rule, the reform of the legal system, the emergence of a modern press and a modern public sphere, and the process of reform (islâh) of Islamic traditions that engaged significant portions of the religious and inte..

Islamicate Secularities: New Perspectives on a Contested Concept

In the colonial era, new distinctions and differentiations between religious and non-religious spheres took shape within inner-Islamic discourses, partly as a product of encounters with Western knowledge. This introduction conceptualizes these distinctions and differentiations in relation to Islam, drawing on Marshall Hodgson’s concept of the Islamicate, which we employ for our heuristic notion of Islamicate secularities. It charts the paradigmatic conflicts that shape the contested fields of Islamic and secularity/secularism studies. The introduction discusses the epistemological and political context of these debates, and argues that theoretical and normative conflicts should not hinder further empirical inquiries into forms of secularity in Islamicate contexts. It also explores promising theoretical and methodological approaches for further explorations. Particular emphasis is laid on the historical trajectories and conditions, close in time or distant, that have played a role in the formation of contemporary Islamicate secularities