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La double dimension de l’écriture, à la fois moyen de rendre compte de quelque chose existant indépendamment d’elle (sa dimension transitive) et médiation ayant des effets sur les processus mêmes d’interprétation et de compréhension (sa dimension réflexive) constitue le fil conducteur des questions qui se sont posées à l’écriture des sciences sociales tout au long de leur histoire. Cette tension intrinsèque à l’écriture a dû être prise en charge et résolue par les ethnographes, tant au moment de la prise de notes sur le terrain qu’à celui de la rédaction du texte final. Nous identifions ainsi différentes modalités de gestion de cette tension en ethnographie, lesquelles se sont constituées au fil des critiques qui ont été portées à chaque fois aux dispositifs d’écriture précédents, et que nous proposons d’appeler modèle naturaliste, modèle herméneutique et modèle pragmatique : le premier considérant le langage dans sa transitivité et sa transparence, le deuxième mettant l’accent sur l’opacité langagière et le troisième considérant cette opacité comme médiation nécessaire dans la saisie d’autre chose qu’elle-même.

Measurement of lymphocyte subpopulations is a crucial parameter in the diagnosis and monitoring of therapy in a wide variety of clinical conditions. We compared different flow cytometry‐based methods to determine lymphocyte subsets counts of routine samples by volumetric AQUIOS CL (Beckman Coulter) and bead‐based FACS CANTO II (BD Biosciences) cytometers. We evaluated the possible decrease of the labor intensive technical work using the fully automated AQUIOS CL system in the pre and post analytical steps in comparison with our routine flow cytometer FACS CANTO II, toward the reduction of laboratory analytical turnaround time (TAT). The analytical performance of AQUIOS CL flow cytometer compared with FACS CANTO II was evaluated testing 224 routine samples, attending the Immunology and Allergology Laboratory Unit, S. Giovanni di Dio Hospital, (Florence, Italy) between September and October 2015. Bland–Altman plot of the differences between the two methods showed an excellent agreement for absolute and percentage counts. Furthermore, the study showed that automated AQUIOS CL system is simple to be used during all analytical steps with a reduction of TAT. In routine conditions, AQUIOS CL flow cytometer could be a suitable tool for subpopulations subset analysis. © 2017 International Clinical Cytometry Society

Ro52 is an interferon-inducible protein of the tripartite motif family. Antibodies against Ro52 have been described in patients with different autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren’s syndrome, that are often associated with anti-Ro60 antibodies. The Ro52 autoantigen is extraordinarily immunogenic, and its autoantibodies are directed against both linear and conformational epitopes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of antibodies to the five Ro52 domains, as well as to Ro52 176– to 196–amino acid (aa) and 200–239-aa peptides, in different systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs). We also aimed to verify whether antibodies to a single domain or domain association could increase their diagnostic specificity for any SARD. Serum samples were obtained from 100 anti-Ro52 antibody–positive patients with SARDs and from 68 controls (50 healthy donors and 18 patients with other autoimmune or allergic diseases). A special line immunoassay was created containing a full-length Ro52 antigen expressed in insect cells using the baculovirus system, five recombinant Ro52 antigen fragments [Ro52-1, Ro52-2, Ro52-3, Ro52-4 (partly overlapping Ro52-1 and Ro52-2), and Ro52-5 (partly overlapping Ro52-2 and Ro52-3)], and two Ro52 peptides (176–196 aa and 200–239 aa), all expressed in Escherichia coli. In patients with SARDs, fragment prevalence rates were as follows: Ro52-1 = 3 %, Ro52-2 = 97 %, Ro52-3 = 0 %, Ro52-4 = 9 %, Ro52-5 = 28 %, Ro52 175–196-aa peptide = 6 %, and Ro52 200–239-aa peptide = 74 %. All control samples were negative for the full-length Ro52 and for the five fragments tested. The main epitope of the Ro52 antigen was localized on fragment 2 (aa 125–267), and the majority (97 %) of SARD sera had antibodies that target this fragment. As most of the samples were positive for fragment 2 and only some for fragments 4 or 5, which partially overlap fragment 2, it seems that the target epitope is localized in the middle of fragment 2 or in the area between fragments 4 and 5. No antibody against a single epitope or a combination of epitopes was linked to any of the single SARDs.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men; however, the molecular mechanisms leading to its development and progression are not yet fully elucidated. Of note, it has been recently shown that conditional stk11knockout mice develop atypical hyperplasia and prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN). We recently reported an inverse correlation between the activity of the STK11/AMPK pathway and the MAPK/p38 cascade in HIF1A-dependent malignancies. Furthermore, MAPK/p38 overactivation was detected in benign prostate hyperplasia, PIN and PCa in mice and humans. Here we report that STK11 expression is significantly decreased in PCa compared to normal tissues. Moreover, STK11 protein levels decreased throughout prostate carcinogenesis. To gain insight into the role of STK11-MAPK/p38 activity balance in PCa, we treated PCa cell lines and primary biopsies with a well-established MAPK14-MAPK11 inhibitor (SB202190), which has been extensively used in vitro and in vivo. Our results indicate that inhibition of MAPK/p38 significantly affects PCa cell survival in an STK11-dependent manner. Indeed, we found that pharmacologic inactivation of MAPK/p38 does not affect viability of STK11-proficient PCa cells due to the triggering of the AMPK-dependent autophagic pathway, while it induces apoptosis in STK11-deficient cells irrespective of androgen receptor (AR) status. Of note, AMPK inactivation or autophagy inhibition in STK11-proficient cells sensitize SB202190-treated PCa cells to apoptosis. On the other end, reconstitution of functional STK11in STK11-deficient PCa cells abrogates apoptosis. Collectively, our data show that STK11 is a key factor involved in the early phases of prostate carcinogenesis, and suggest that it might be used as a predictive marker of therapeutic response to MAPK/p38 inhibitors in PCa patients.

In the search for new strategies to efficiently fight colorectal cancer, efforts are being increasingly focused on targeting regulatory signaling pathways involved in cancer-specific features. As a result, several studies have recently addressed the therapeutic potential of molecularly-targeted drugs capable of inhibiting the activity of protein kinases involved in relevant signaling cascades. Here we show that simultaneous inhibition of the DFG-in and DFG-out conformations of p38α by means of type-I and type-II inhibitors is beneficial to impair more efficiently its kinase activity. Moreover, we found that SB202190 (type-I) and sorafenib (type-II) synergize at the molecular and biological level, as co-treatment with these compounds enhances tumor growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis both in colorectal cancer cell lines and animal models. These results support the need to reconsider sorafenib as a therapeutic agent against colorectal cancer and provide new insights that underline the importance to elucidate the activity of protein kinase inhibitors for the treatment of colorectal carcinoma.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been grown, simultaneously at different temperatures (600 °C, 700 °C, 725 °C, and 750 °C), by thermal chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of acetylene (C2H2) gas, in ammonia (NH3) atmosphere. The samples have been characterized morphologically by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a structurally by Raman spectroscopy. These analyses show that, when the temperature of substrate increases, the CNT average diameter and the density distribution decrease, and the CNTs are less defective. However there is a temperature limit (725 °C) for CNT growth. We have grown CNTs onto Si3N4/Si substrates with Pt electrodes, in order to realize the gas sensing devices. The CNTs grown at 725 °C, exhibit a fast response and a high sensitivity to NO2 gas.