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Introduzione al volume I Gonzaga fuori Mantova

Introduction and Objective. Traffic pollution has been recognized as directly worsening respiratory symptoms of allergic subjects, although whether urban air pollutants can also directly increase the allergenic potential of pollen has not yet been definitely proven. Therefore, the hypothesis that intra-urban air NO2 variation influences allergens expression in Cupressus sempervirens (Cs) L. pollen was tested. Material and methods. Mature microsporophylls were cut from Cs trees of similar age and height (14-17 m) present in three different sites of Florence (Italy) and processed in the laboratory. Cs pollen allergens amount was determined by a semi-quantitative analysis of electrophoretically separated pollen extracts fractions. NO2 air concentrations were recorded by air monitoring stations located at a distance not exceeding 50 m from each pollen collection site, and the relative annual mean values were acquired by a publicly available database (Tuscan Regional Agency for Environment Protection). Results. Expression of three major Cs pollen allergens was non-linearly correlated with mean annual NO2 concentrations. Expression peak of all major allergens considered was reached at NO2 air concentration (67µg/m3 ), far below the value at risk for direct effect on the respiratory health (European Union Directive 2008/50/EC). Conclusions. The findings suggest that intra-urban NO2 variations do affect the expression of Cs pollen major allergens, and an apparent low risk NO2 concentration should be regarded as indirectly harmful for increasing the allergenic potential of pollen.

What about the night? The raise of the return on capital and the (Italian) university’s adventures. In the last few decades, many tensions have developed around the university as an institution. Once a flywheel for climbing the social ladder, the academic institution seems to have lost its relevance as a vehicle for social and economic mobility. So far, no reform has succeeded in solving the fundamental problems that prevent the university from functioning as a “transmission belt”, as Louis Althusser would put it. Tensions have grown around every aspect of the functions, operations and “structure” of the university: the organization, the recruitment of both faculty and staff, governance, curriculum, teaching practices, and institutional goals and priorities. Today, everyone calls for a meritocratic system in higher education while at the same time they complain about the current state of affairs. This article tries to re-construct – etsi Marx non daretur – the connections between the current form of capital and its superstructural effects, particularly in Italy. Here we enquire whether the recent rise in the return on capital in today’s economy is connected with the social erosion of the university’s place in society.

Fragmentation and procedurality In the recent years, the rationale behind the link between edu-cational concepts and organizational and educational solu-tions are largely attributable to the companies’ organizational culture. Reference to a market utility as the ultimate goal of learning can explain the students’ growing extraneousness to-wards the educational culture, as well as the loss of teachers’ social authority. If we analyze the trends taking place from a social point of view, we realize that fragmentation and proce-durality, which are generally presented as indicators of mod-ernization choices, are the foundations of a regressive and dogmatic pedagogy. We could try to reverse this logic, which has shown in many ways to be a source of decay of the quali-ty of education.

Ancillary autonomy The current situation of the aims of educational systems in the globalized world can be considered critically, highlighting the oxymoron of an autonomy which is in-fact ancillary, as it is dependent by the market and the levels of productivity. School is often blamed for results that do not pursue anymore the canon of education but that are set in a different perspective, dictated by economic interests.

In occasione del decennale della scomparsa di Edda Ducci si riportano, in questo volumetto, alcune pagine dell’amico e collega, Francesco Mattei, e di uno dei suoi ultimi allievi, Cosimo Costa. Sono pagine da cui trarre l’azione viva dell’autrice, capace di lasciare sane impronte nell’animo di chi personalmente la conobbe e di chi tuttora la legge. Amante appassionata della conquista umana del vero, lontana dall’enfasi che la recente ricerca pedagogica ha evidenziato, Ducci è qui ricordata attraverso le annotazioni e le sottolineature delle dispense usate a Bari nel corso delle sue prime letture ebneriane e alcune delle sue principali «categorie paidetiche». Intenta a riflettere sulla parola per farla divenire Logos, Edda Ducci giunge a una concezione pedagogica dove l’uomo diviene umano grazie ad una paideia di natura dialogica che scava nell’in sé e si dà all’altro come necessarietà. Un ricordo affettuoso, dunque, e un invito alla lettura di pagine non ancora stinte dal tempo.

Il contributo cerca di illuminare le fonti marxiane della teoresi di Mario Manno.

Endoluminal Loco-Regional Resection (ELRR) by Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery (TEM) may be considered a valid alternative surgical treatment in patients with rectal cancer. Aim of this study is to evaluate the short and medium term Quality of Life (QoL) from prospectively collected data in patients who underwent ELRR by TEM.From May 2010 to June 2013, 31 patients with iT1-iT2-iT3N0 rectal cancer were enrolled in this study. Patients with T1 rectal cancer underwent ELRR by TEM. Patients with iT2-iT3 rectal cancer underwent neoadjuvant radio-chemoterapy (n-RCT) before surgery. QoL was evaluated by EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-CR38 questionnaires before surgery and 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery.Mean distance from the anal verge was 5.4 cm (range 1-10). Mean operative time was 145.8 minutes (range 60-300). Pathological staging was as follows: pT0N0 (6), pT1N0 (18), pT2N0 (7). At 1 month after surgery, in QLQC30 questionnaire, significant worsening was observed in Global Health Status (p=0.0028), Physical Functioning (p=0.0016), Role Functioning (p=0.0004), Fatigue (p=0.0024), Pain (p=0.0003) and Dyspnoea (p=0.0192). In QLQCR38 questionnaire significant worsening at 1 month was observed in Defecation Problems (p=0.0005) and Weight Loss (p=0.0008). At six and twelve months after surgery, no significant differences were observed in QLQ-C30 and in QLQCR38 questionnaires.QoL evaluation showed worsening results at 1 month after ELRR by TEM, in QLQ-C30 and in QLQCR38 questionnaires.At 6 and 12 months after surgery, no significant differences in QoL as compared to preoperative status were observed.Endoluminal Loco-Regional Resection (ELRR) mediante Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery (TEM) può essere considerata come una valida alternativa chirurgica al trattamento dei pazienti con cancro del retto. Scopo di questo studio è valutare la Qualità di vita a breve e medio termine nei pazienti sottoposti a ELRR mediante TEM con dati raccolti in modo prospettico.Da Maggio 2010 a Giugno 2013, 31 pazienti con cancro del retto iT1-iT2-iT3N0 sono stati arruolati in questo studio. I pazienti affetti da cancro del retto iT1 sono stati sottoposti a ELRR mediante TEM. I pazienti con cancro del retto iT2-iT3 sono stati sottoposti a radio-chemioterapia neoadiuvante prima dell’intervento chirurgico. La Qualità di vita è stata valutata mediante i questionari EORTC QLQ-C30 e QLQ-CR38 prima della chirurgia e a 1, 6, e 12 mesi dopo l’intervento.La distanza media dal margine anale era di 5.4 cm (range 1-10). Il tempo operatorio medio è stato di 145.8 minuti (range 60-300). La stadiazione istologica definitiva era: pT0N0 (6), pT1N0 (18), pT2N0 (7). Ad 1 mese dopo la chirurgia, nel questionario QLQC30, un peggioramento significativo è stato osservato in Global Health Status (p=0.0028), Physical Functioning (p=0.0016), Role Functioning (p=0.0004), Fatigue (p=0.0024), Pain (p=0.0003) e Dyspnoea (p=0.0192). Nel questionario QLQ-CR38 un peggioramento significativo è stato osservato ad 1 mese in Defecation Problems (p=0.0005) e Weight Loss (p=0.0008). A 6 e 12 mesi dopo chirurgia, non sono state osservate differenze statisticamente significative in entrambi i questionari QLQC30 e QLQ-CR38.La valutazione della Qualità di vita mostrava un peggioramento dei risultati ad 1 mese dopo ELRR mediante TEM, nei questionari QLQ-C30 e QLQ-CR38.A 6 e 12 mesi dopo chirurgia, non sono state osservate differenze statisticamente significative nella Qualità di vita se comparate con lo stato preoperatorio dei pazienti.

Iron is an essential nutrient in several biological processes such as oxygen transport, DNA replication and erythropoiesis. Plasma iron normally circulates bound to transferrin. In iron overload disorders, however, iron concentrations exceed transferrin binding capacity and iron appears complexed with low molecular weight molecules, known as non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI). NTBI is responsible for the toxicity associated with iron-overload pathologies but the mechanisms leading to NTBI uptake are not fully understood. Here we show for the first time that T lymphocytes are able to take up and accumulate NTBI in a manner that resembles that of hepatocytes. Moreover, we show that both hepatocytes and T lymphocytes take up the oligomeric Fe3Cit3 preferentially to other iron-citrate species, suggesting the existence of a selective NTBI carrier. These results provide a tool for the identification of the still elusive ferric-citrate cellular carrier and may also open a new pathway towards the design of more efficient iron chelators for the treatment of iron overload disorders. This work is funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Programme – COMPETE, by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under the projects FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-015823(PTDC/SAU-MET/​113011/2009),FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007046(PTDC/BIA-BCM/​66818/2006)FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007506(PTDC/SAU-GMG/​67868/2006)and by the INOVA Foundation. JA, IV, MC and VD are recipients of FCT fellowships (www.fct.pt). JPP is supported by Programa Ciência (sponsored by POPH-QREN (4.2), with match-funding from the European Social Fund and Portuguese funds from the MCTES). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Myofibroblastoma (MFB) is an uncommon benign mesenchymal tumor that may arise in several organs and tissue. Although most of reported cases were located in the breast, it is extremely rare, representing less than 1% of breast tumor. MFB has predominantly seen in elderly men, but some cases have been described in menopausal women. This lesion is a stromal tumor which has many morphologic variants including cellular, collagenized, epithelioid, palisaded, lipomatous, hemangiopericytoma-like, and infiltrant features. Even if its incidence has recently increased due to the mammary screening, only few cases have been reported in Literature and even less in young women. Physical examination discloses a solitary, unilateral, painless, freely movable, usual firm in consistency, non-tender nodule. Imaging investigations usually are not specific to establish the right diagnosis. Furthermore, findings from Fine-Needle Aspiration (FNA) may be confusing and nonspecific, making diagnosis of MFB possible only after surgical operation. Not evidence of malignant transformation, recurrence or distant metastasis after a follow-up period of 15 years have been reported in Literature when resection margins are free. Hereby the authors describe a rare case of breast MFB in a young woman.Il Miofibroblastoma (MFB) è un raro tumore mesenchimale benigno che può insorgere in molti organi o tessuti. Sebbene molti casi riportati in Letteratura sono descritti a livello mammario, esso è estremamente raro, rappresentando meno del 1% di tutti i tumori della ghiandola mammaria. Il MFB è prevalentemente riscontrato negli uomini adulti, tuttavia alcuni casi sono anche stati descritti in donne in età menopausale. Il MFB è annoverato tra i tumori di origine stromale e mostra diverse varianti morfologiche includendo quella a tipo cellulare, a fibre di collagene, epitelioide, a palizzata, lipomatosa, tipo emangiopericitoma e in ultimo quella infiltrante. Anche se la sua incidenza è recentemente aumentata a causa dello screening mammografico, solo pochi casi sono stati descritti in Letteratura e ancora meno in donne in giovane età. L’esame obiettivo mostra un singolo nodulo, unilaterale, non doloroso, mobile sui piani sottostanti e di consistenza dura. Le indagini radiologiche non sono specifiche per giungere ad una corretta diagnosi preoperatoria. Inoltre anche i reperti ottenuti mediante aspirazione con ago sottile potrebbero generare confusione rendendo di fatto possibile la diagnosi di MFB soltanto all’esame istologico definitivo analizzando il pezzo operatorio asportato chirurgicamente. Nessuna evidenza di trasformazione maligna, recidiva o metastasi a distanza dopo un periodo di follow-up di 15 anni sono state descritte in Letteratura quando i margini di escissione sono risultati liberi da malattia. Di seguito gli Autori descrivono un raro caso di MFB della mammella in una giovane donna.