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Evaluation of the hepatitis c virus screening program in the Marche Region (Italy): experience from the Pesaro–Urbino health authority
No full text"A Pretty Blunt Approach": Meta's Political Content Reduction Policy and Italian Parliamentarians' Facebook Visibility
No full textIn February 2021, Meta announced it would reduce the distribution of political content in users' News Feeds, implementing the policy globally by July 2022 before reversing course in January 2025. Despite the significance of these changes for democratic communication, no independent research has quantified their effects on elected officials. This study examines Meta's political content reduction policy using a dataset of over 2.5 million Facebook posts from Italian parliamentarians, prominent politicians, and political extremist accounts spanning 2021–2025, collected via the Meta Content Library API. Employing a discovery-validation design with structural breakpoint detection methods, the analysis identifies three cross-validated breakpoints that reveal policy effects emerged in Italy approximately ten months before Meta's announced global implementation. The findings document a 72% reduction in average reach for re-elected Members of Parliament, declining from approximately 53,000 views per post before the policy to 15,000 at the trough. Although Meta's January 2025 reversal produced a significant rebound, post-reversal reach recovered to only 65% of pre-policy levels. A robustness check reveals asymmetric effects: while mainstream politicians experienced substantial visibility losses, extremist accounts' high posting volume more than compensated for modest per-post declines, resulting in increased total weekly reach during the policy period. These findings expose significant transparency deficits in Meta's policy communication while also demonstrating the research value of the transparency infrastructure that made this study possible
Public Opinion, Technical Advancements, and Enlargement Dynamics in the Western Balkan Six: A comparative Analysis
No full textPublic opinion’s support is a crucial factor when it comes to policies’ implementation and sustainability. This article analyses public opinion in the Western Balkan (WB) countries towards the European Union (EU). After assessing the state of play of the negotiation process between the EU and the six WB entities through the analysis of the 2025 “Enlargement package”, WB public attitude vis-à-vis the EU will be examined synchronically and diachronically, drawing on two questions from the 2025 Balkan Barometer: 1) Q17 – “Would you say that your ECONOMY1 will become a member of the EU?” and 2) Q15 – “Do you think that EU membership of your ECONOMY would be good, neither good nor bad, or bad?”. Findings reveal an increasing public optimism towards the accession and towards the benefits it would bring to the respondents’ countries in 2025.
This latest development is in contrast with the trend of the last years, in which distrust towards the EU was mounting. Credits for this renewed enthusiasm must be given to the narrative set up by the European Commission, about the current window of opportunity for enlargement driven by the geopolitical imperative. Nonetheless, the EU must now deliver on its promises to (gradually) integrate the WB region by balancing the geopolitical necessity with merit-based approach, without allowing for dangerous shortcuts. The EU should also acquire a role of problem solver in the region’s complexity, being active in solving disputes, vocal in supporting democracy, and regain the transformative role it used to have
La campagna di Sicilia (1943) nel racconto dei militari italiani che l’hanno combattuta
No full textQuesta ricerca ricostruisce la campagna di Sicilia del luglio 1943 dalla prospettiva dei militari italiani che la combatterono, adottando una metodologia narrativa che intreccia il livello macro delle decisioni di comando con il livello micro delle esperienze individuali. L'obiettivo è restituire voce ai protagonisti italiani attraverso un uso estensivo delle loro testimonianze dirette, privilegiando fonti primarie conservate presso l'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito (AUSSME) e altri archivi militari: relazioni operative, diari di guerra, interrogatori di prigionieri, verbali di commissioni d'inchiesta e corrispondenza personale.
La ricerca si concentra in particolare sul collasso della Piazza Marittima Militare di Augusta-Siracusa (10-15 luglio 1943), caso emblematico delle contraddizioni e delle carenze della difesa costiera italiana. Attraverso le testimonianze dell'Ammiraglio Priamo Leonardi, del Colonnello Antonino Criscione e di altri ufficiali e soldati, viene ricostruita la sequenza degli eventi che portarono alla caduta della base navale: dalle distruzioni premature delle batterie costiere al controverso "caso Schmalz", dalle peregrinazioni finali del comando alla cattura dell'Ammiraglio.
L'approccio adottato privilegia la dimensione umana e sociale del conflitto, evitando tanto l'agiografia quanto la demonizzazione. Le lunghe citazioni dirette dalle fonti permettono ai militari italiani di raccontare con le loro parole la propria esperienza di una disfatta militare e nazionale, restituendo complessità a vicende spesso semplificate dalla storiografia. Il lavoro intende così contribuire a una comprensione più articolata della campagna di Sicilia dal punto di vista italiano, documentando non solo gli eventi tattici ma anche le percezioni, i dilemmi morali e le responsabilità dei protagonistiThis research reconstructs the July 1943 Sicily Campaign from the perspective of the Italian military personnel who fought it, adopting a narrative methodology that interweaves the macro-level of command decisions with the micro-level of individual experiences. The objective is to give voice to Italian protagonists through extensive use of their direct testimonies, drawing primarily on sources preserved at the Italian Army Historical Office (AUSSME) and other military archives: operational reports, war diaries, prisoner interrogations, inquiry commission records, and personal correspondence.
The research focuses particularly on the collapse of the Maritime Military Fortress of Augusta-Syracuse (10-15 July 1943), an emblematic case of the contradictions and deficiencies of Italian coastal defense. Through the testimonies of Admiral Priamo Leonardi, Colonel Antonino Criscione, and other officers and soldiers, the sequence of events leading to the naval base's fall is reconstructed: from the premature destruction of coastal batteries to the controversial "Schmalz affair," from the command's final wanderings to the Admiral's capture.
The adopted approach privileges the human and social dimension of the conflict, avoiding both hagiography and demonization. Extensive direct quotations from sources allow Italian military personnel to recount in their own words their experience of a military and national defeat, restoring complexity to events often oversimplified by historiography. The work thus aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the Sicily Campaign from the Italian perspective, documenting not only tactical events but also the perceptions, moral dilemmas, and responsibilities of its protagonists
La pretesa “conversione” in punto di morte dell’anticlericale ateo Andrea Costa
No full textA due anni dalla morte di Andrea Costa, nel 1912, scoppiava il caso della sua pretesa conversione in punto di morte. Il caso mostrava all'opera certo intransigentismo cattolico, contrario al laicismo, e il riaccendersi dell'anticlericalismo socialista. Fra i due schieramenti il movimento modernista, oggetto delle aggressioni degli intransigenti cattolici e delle incomprensioni del laicismo socialista
Human Translators in the Machine Age
No full textWhat is the place of human translation in the golden age of artificial intelligence? Human Translators in the Machine Age looks at the millennia of history that have shaped the discipline and its practitioners, and asks what it is that makes translators central in human civilization, and fundamentally different from linguistically competent machines.
Contrary to the age-old emphasis on source adherence and the sacredness of text, it presents translation as a continuous process of semantic and pragmatic drift, and translators as agents of linguistic and cultural change. In doing so it questions all traditional and contemporary dichotomies (faithful/unfaithful, domesticating/foreignizing) and exposes the textual bias which lies at the root of all Western ideas on translation.
Oral in origin, rich and irreducible in its processes and outcomes, deeply and inevitably personal in output, human translation remains central in the machine age precisely because it is the most common human way of receiving, accounting for, and modifying all forms of knowledge and experience. This concise volume offers both a compelling history of translation and a fresh examination of the translator’s role in an AI-dominated world. It engages critically with contemporary translation theory while innovatively exploring the intersection of written and spoken discourse. Essential reading for translators, students, scholars, and anyone interested in linguistic theory
Characterization of POXAPy-macrocycle molecule activity in acute promyelocytic leukemia NB4 cells
No full textIn the last years, macrocyclic polyamines gained attention as anticancer agents in consequence of their unique properties such as improved bioavailability, binding affinity, and favorable pharmacokinetics profiles. Similarly, compounds containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole rings showed main biological properties, including potential antitumor activities. Based on this evidence, new polyamine macrocycle molecules containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole rings were synthesized, leading to the selection of a molecule named POXAPy-macrocycle, showing the ability to reduce the survival of cancer cells at micromolar concentrations.
The molecule was tested against a panel of 60 cell lines encompassing tumors of different origins, indicating a selectivity against hematopoietic tumors, with the promyelocytic leukemia NB4 cell line being the most sensitive. Thus, the effects of the molecule were investigated at the molecular level by integrating transcriptome and proteome profiling of POXAPy-macrocycle-treated NB4 cells. This approach led to the identification of mTOR signaling as the most significantly affected pathway. mTOR signaling inhibition plays a main role in autophagy and has been recently proposed as a new potential target in different kinds of tumors. mTOR inhibition was confirmed by analyzing its phosphorylation by Western blotting, and the activation of autophagy was also evaluated, confirming the increased expression of main autophagic markers such as LC3B and p62. Due to its role in autophagy and its interplay with mTOR signaling, the MAPK/ERK pathway was also investigated, showing the reduction of ERK phosphorylation.
Finally, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed mitochondria alteration and their engulfment in autophagic vesicles, suggesting the activation of mitophagy and indicating the mitochondrion as a target of POXAPy-macrocycle activity.
In addition, cell-free assays indicated a selective ability of POXAPy-macrocycle to interact with specific G-quadruplex (G4)-forming DNA sequences, such as those within the MYC promoter region, although no conclusive evidence was obtained in cell-based models, suggesting that the observed MYC downregulation may rather result from the inhibition of upstream signaling pathways. Although further studies will be necessary to clarify the molecular mechanism through which POXAPy-macrocycle exerts the biological activities herein described, these results indicate POXAPy-macrocycle as a promising antitumor candidate.In the last years, macrocyclic polyamines gained attention as anticancer agents in consequence of their unique properties such as improved bioavailability, binding affinity, and favorable pharmacokinetics profiles. Similarly, compounds containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole rings showed main biological properties, including potential antitumor activities. Based on this evidence, new polyamine macrocycle molecules containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole rings were synthesized, leading to the selection of a molecule named POXAPy-macrocycle, showing the ability to reduce the survival of cancer cells at micromolar concentrations.
The molecule was tested against a panel of 60 cell lines encompassing tumors of different origins, indicating a selectivity against hematopoietic tumors, with the promyelocytic leukemia NB4 cell line being the most sensitive. Thus, the effects of the molecule were investigated at the molecular level by integrating transcriptome and proteome profiling of POXAPy-macrocycle-treated NB4 cells. This approach led to the identification of mTOR signaling as the most significantly affected pathway. mTOR signaling inhibition plays a main role in autophagy and has been recently proposed as a new potential target in different kinds of tumors. mTOR inhibition was confirmed by analyzing its phosphorylation by Western blotting, and the activation of autophagy was also evaluated, confirming the increased expression of main autophagic markers such as LC3B and p62. Due to its role in autophagy and its interplay with mTOR signaling, the MAPK/ERK pathway was also investigated, showing the reduction of ERK phosphorylation.
Finally, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed mitochondria alteration and their engulfment in autophagic vesicles, suggesting the activation of mitophagy and indicating the mitochondrion as a target of POXAPy-macrocycle activity.
In addition, cell-free assays indicated a selective ability of POXAPy-macrocycle to interact with specific G-quadruplex (G4)-forming DNA sequences, such as those within the MYC promoter region, although no conclusive evidence was obtained in cell-based models, suggesting that the observed MYC downregulation may rather result from the inhibition of upstream signaling pathways. Although further studies will be necessary to clarify the molecular mechanism through which POXAPy-macrocycle exerts the biological activities herein described, these results indicate POXAPy-macrocycle as a promising antitumor candidate
Cloud Atlas. A Global Analysis of Cloud Infrastructures
No full textThrough document analysis and participant observation, the thesis employed a genealogical lens to examine how, at the unfolding of the current crisis conjuncture, cloud infrastructures shape the politics of automation by mediating with capital, states, and transitional regimes of labour. Following an introduction to the theoretical and methodological framework, the thesis is organised into four articles: documentary analysis and participant observation in Italy (Articles I–II); archival research in Guadeloupe (Article III); and documentary research conducted in Australia focusing on Malaysia (Article IV). With a Cloud Atlas, I call for the development of a historical and geographical-oriented framework to analyse the entanglements between the politics of automation (framed in logics, geographies, and aesthetics) and the politics of cloud infrastructures as disjunctive conjunctures in the long durée of global capitalism.Through document analysis and participant observation, the thesis employed a genealogical lens to examine how, at the unfolding of the current crisis conjuncture, cloud infrastructures shape the politics of automation by mediating with capital, states, and transitional regimes of labour. Following an introduction to the theoretical and methodological framework, the thesis is organised into four articles: documentary analysis and participant observation in Italy (Articles I–II); archival research in Guadeloupe (Article III); and documentary research conducted in Australia focusing on Malaysia (Article IV). With a Cloud Atlas, I call for the development of a historical and geographical-oriented framework to analyse the entanglements between the politics of automation (framed in logics, geographies, and aesthetics) and the politics of cloud infrastructures as disjunctive conjunctures in the long durée of global capitalism
On Group Secrets and the Metacommunicative Aspects of Revealing a True Secret
No full textThis research paper explores the logical foundations of group secrets, focusing on their preservation and the interplay of belief, knowledge, and intention inherent in secrecy among agents. Key findings establish the logical conditions under which group secrets are maintained and examine how various logical operations influence these secrets. Additionally, the paper offers insights into certain metacommunicative aspects of secret revelation, specifically when the goal is leaving the secret unknown to a targeted nescient. In particular, we provide a formal analysis of intentions crucial in communicative acts
The Monika Encounter: A Mixed Methods Study of a Techno-Based Ghostly Episode
No full textHaunted People Syndrome (HP-S) characterizes recurrent ‘ghostly episodes’ as an
interactionist phenomenon emerging from people with heightened somatic-sensory
sensitivities that are stirred by dis-ease states, contextualized with paranormal belief,
and reinforced via perceptual contagion and threat-agency detection. We tested the
applicability of this psychological model via a three-part, quali-quantitative case study
of a 36-year-old male in France, who self-reported successive encounter experiences
seemingly triggered by the popular horror game and visual novel, Doki Doki Literature
Club! The percipient completed several standardized measures that mapped the
contents and context of his experiences, including indices of ‘deep’ imaginary
companions, stigmata-like marks, and enchantment effects. We also conducted
independent content analyses of his written account to compare the narrative’s
development and descriptions to published sequences for HP-S and dissociative
phenomena. This episode showed (a) slightly below-average ‘haunt intensity’ and
a content structure that paralleled both fantasy and lifestyle-based accounts, (b)
an above-average score on a screener for HP-S recognition patterns, which we
corroborated with scores on separate measures of transliminality, paranormal
belief, and stress levels, (c) a narrative sequence that aligns reasonably well to the
posited process of HP-S, (d) clear indications of depersonalization, derealization, and
dissociated identity, and (e) aftereffects of situational-enchantment. The percipient’s
understanding of his experiences also evolved over time due to active sense-making
activities. Our findings support prior research suggesting that embodied, embedded,
extended, and enactive cognitions partly help to shape the phenomenology of these
often transformative and clinically-relevant experiences