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Review of th volume on war-related communication in Britain, written by Sara Soncini.

The visceral responses of theatrical audiences to Othello across time and place clash oddly with the scepticism often ascribed to this play, and famously discussed in Stanley Cavell’s seminal work, Disowning Knowledge (2003). The debate aroused by Cavell’s sharply philosophical, and partly psychoanalytical inquiry into Othello’s reasons for “disowning knowledge” has brought fuel to the issue of Othello’s scepticism. After taking initial stock of Cavell’s reading and of the main objections raised against his subtle argument, this essay explores the textual and cultural reasons for the contradiction between the shapes of scepticism moulded in Othello and the extreme emotional responses of audiences recorded by Mason Vaughan (Othello: A Contextual History, 1994). What the essay aims to highlight are the ways scepticism was deflected into potential scandal. Section one addresses the socio-cultural aspects of the early modern sceptical gaze in topical passages of Othello, with an eye on issues that mark the epistemic shift underlying the early modern philosophy of scepticism. Reference is made mainly to the performative strategies of inwardness – as well as to the related issues of race/colour and of military/marital service. Section two shows how Desdemona’s instability is a vehicle for deflecting extreme discursive and theatrical aspects of scepticism in Othello into potential scandal and radical improbability.

Objective: To define the prevalence and severity of esophageal involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and its relationship with the different clinical forms and ANA specificities of the disease. Methods: A hundred consecutive patients with SSc, 48 with cutaneous limited, 26 with intermediate and 26 with diffuse form of disease, 49 with anti-centromere and 37 with anti-Scl70 ANA pattern, were submitted to scintigraphy using a semisolid orally ingested bolus to detect esophageal hypomotility. Results: An impairment of esophageal function has been observed in 68% of SSc patients. Esophageal dysmotility was significantly more frequent and severe in patients with cutaneous diffuse and intermediate forms of SSc and with anti- Scl70 ANA pattern. Conclusions: Esophageal involvement is very common in SSc. The scintigraphy confirms to be a useful and non invasive diagnostic method; moreover it permits to quantify the severity of the esophageal dysmotility by analyzing both global and segmental function.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and in particular, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI), in the assessment of tumour microvasculature by means of animal tumour models evaluated before and after antiangiogenic treatment., Materials and Methods: Forty-two MRI exams were performed with intravascular contrast media in 21 rats: tumours were induced by subcutaneous injection of colon carcinoma cells in 7 rats and mammary adenocarcinoma cells in 14 rats. Perfusion and permeability parameters of the implanted tumours were evaluated by using two contrast media (B22956/1 and Gd-DTPA37-albumin) to establish response to treatment with two different antiangiogenic drugs (tamoxifen and SU6668). These parameters were correlated with histology to obtain a radiological-histological map of tumour microvasculature., Results: DCE-MRI revealed greater enhancement in the peripheral area than in the central area in all the examined animal models. In the mammary carcinoma experiment, vascular permeability measured by means of B22956/1 in the animals treated with the antiangiogenic drug (0.0043317+/-0.0040418 ml/min(-1)/ml(-1)) was significantly less than in untreated animals (0.0090460+/-0.0043680 ml/min(-1)/ml(-1)), whereas no significant difference was observed with Gd-DTPA-albumin (13.14+/-13.94 ml/min(-1)/ml(-1) in treated animals and 18.07+/-11.92 ml/min(-1)/ml(-1) in untreated animals). In the colon carcinoma experiment, mean permeability and perfusion decreased by 51% (from 5.2+/-1.1 to 2.5+/-0.8 ml/100 ml) and 59% (from 0.00165+/-5.1 to 0.0067+/-4.8 ml/min(-1)/ml(-1) of tissue), respectively, in all animals after antiangiogenic drug administration., Conclusions: DCE-MRI permits a noninvasive evaluation of tumour microcirculation and in particular of its dynamic characteristics and vascularity before and after antiangiogenic treatment.