426 research outputs found
Religious intellectuals : the poetic gravity of Emily Brontë and Christina Rossetti
No full textThis thesis examines the writing of Emily Brontë and Christina Rossetti in terms of its
expression of religious culture and belief. It is my argument that Brontë and Rossetti
experienced religion as intellectuals, questioning and exploring doctrine and dogma neither
as sentimental lady Christians nor dismissive, secular critics. I contend that by close
reading their poetry, the genre both women privileged as most appropriate for the
consideration of religious matters, the reader may trace the sermons and theological works
they read. Moreover, their writing, I suggest, evinces their intellectual response to
theological, ecclesiological and ecclesiastical developments that took place in the
nineteenth century. I thus label Brontë and Rossetti 'religious intellectuals,' a phrase
suggestive of their intense understanding of, rather than their mild acquaintance with,
religious debate. Many women writing within the nineteenth century found that religion
granted them a field within which to freely read and research, but were denied the
professional title of 'theologian.' Brontë and Rossetti are thus examples of a wider
phenomenon wherein women encountered religion like scholars, one disregarded by current
criticism unable as it is to categorize a female activity simultaneously religious and
intellectual. I use Brontë and Rossetti as examples of what I call the 'religious intellectual'
because they represent different sides of this classification. Where Brontë struggled away
from her Methodist background, serving as a cultural commentator on its enthusiastic
belief-system, Rossetti forged a scholarly identity as a late member of the High Church
Oxford Movement. Both poets, I contend, wrote about religion in order to signal their
intellectual ability. I conclude that Brontë's interest in Methodism and Rossetti's
fascination with Tractarianism reveals the poets to be both independent of family pressures
and false consciousness, and fully engaged with a subject central to their age
Statua di personaggio togato da via S. Nicolò
No full textScheda di catalogo della Mostra "On the Road. Via Emilia 187 a.C. >> 2017" di Reggio Emilia riguardante un frammento di statua romana di personaggio togat
Manuscript Poem "John Keats" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
No full textabstract: Concerning the manuscript for "John Keats".Publication Details: Not the same version as some published versions of "John Keats."Curator's Note: Handwriting in upper right corner reads "Rossetti's Handwriting." Writing on verso reads "Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Mss.
Statua di imperatore loricato da via Caggiati
No full textScheda di catalogo in riferimento alla mostra "On the Road. Via Emilia 187 a.C. >> 2017" di Reggio Emilia, riguardante una statua marmorea di loricato
'We can but spell a surface history': the biblical typology of Christina Rossetti
No full textMy research examines Christina Rossetti’s use of biblical typology in her articulation of individual and communal identity. The central concern of my thesis is with tracing the ways in which she bridges the gap between the two biblical covenants and her contemporary situation by a ceaseless interpretative movement between the discourses of the Old and New Testaments. After examining the basis for her typological modes of reading, I demonstrate the various ways in which they underpin her interpretations of Tractarian, Romantic, and Pre-Raphaelite writings as well as providing her with a framework with which to structure her own poetic sequences.
In my examination of the ways in which Rossetti engages with patristic and medieval theology and articulates identity through the cyclical dynamics of typology, I consider her writings alongside those of Isaac Williams, John Keble, John Henry Newman, and Edward Pusey and highlight the key part they play in reinforcing the Oxford Movement’s liturgical momentum. Focusing specifically on her poetic utilization of the ancient practice of chanting psalms and antiphons, her engagement with the musicality of the church service, and her depiction of the visual aspects of ritualism, I read her poetry in terms of the mystical journey towards God upon which, she suggests, each Christian embarks.
Applying to Rossetti’s poetry the method of typological analysis that she herself uses, I consider how the poems in her 1893 volume, Verses, can be understood to comment upon her earlier works and how her earlier poetry can be seen as an antecedent to her later works. Through this, I trace the development of her theology as it engages more directly with the hermeneutical principles encouraged by the Tractarians and offers a basis upon which the patristic concept of trinitarian personhood can be understood
INFLAMMATION AND VULNERABILITY FOR MAJOR DEPRESSION: IN SEARCH OF COMMON MOLECULAR PATHWAYS
No full textThe comprehension of the molecular mechanisms underpinning Major Depression (MD) is becoming a crucial issue in public health, considering that this psychiatric disorder has been estimated to become the leading cause of disability within 2020. To sustain the critical relevance of the investigation of the molecular bases of this pathology, it is important to underline that a high percentage of patients do not respond to the current pharmacological treatments, despite the number of antidepressant drugs available in the market.
MD is a very complex and invalidating pathology, characterized by neuro-vegetative and cognitive symptoms. Among them, the most relevant are alterations in mood and anhedonia, the latter defined as the incapability of feeling pleasure in pleasant circumstances. Although the causes of MD are not fully understood, it is known that the insurgence of this pathology is ascribable to the interaction between a genetic background of susceptibility and environmental factors. Among these factors, stress exposure play a pivotal role in the development of the psychopathology. However, it is important to mention that not all the subjects exposed to stressful situations develop a mental illness, indeed only a small percentage become affected by MD after stress exposure. In this context, people capable to cope with the consequences of stress are defined as resilient and the term “Stress-Resilience” refers to the ability of the subject to actively respond against adverse stimuli. The investigation and the identification of the molecular mechanisms underpinning stress vulnerability and stress resilience appear, thus, of critical importance to identify new therapeutic targets.
Among the molecular mechanisms involved in depression pathophysiology, compelling clinical and preclinical evidence support a role for alteration of the inflammatory system, which is also affected by stressful experiences.
With these premises, the general aim of my study was to investigate the relationship between major depression and neuroinflammation, in order to provide new information about the molecular background of this pathology. In particular, by the use of different experimental approaches, we evaluated the impact of stress on neuroinflammation and the potential anti-inflammatory properties of pharmacological treatment with the antidepressants agomelatine and imipramine or the antipsychotic lurasidone.
Our results demonstrated that neuroinflammation is strictly associated with the insurgence of stress-induced behavioral alterations in adult male rats tested for sucrose consumption. Indeed anhedonic-like animals showed increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and markers of microglia activation, especially in the dorsal hippocampus. Moreover, we found that chronic pharmacological treatment with agomelatine, imipramine and lurasidone was not only able to normalize the alterations in sucrose intake, but also to modulate the pro-inflammatory effects of chronic stress exposure.
In this context, we found that agomelatine was able to modulate the feedback inhibition pathway of interleukin-6 signaling. Indeed, we observed that chronic administration of the antidepressant potentiated the activity of the suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)3 in the prefrontal cortex of stressed animals, thus promoting the shutdown of IL-6 pathway.
Subsequently, we used an unbiased genome-wide approach to characterize with a broader point of view the potential protective properties of agomelatine on a strong immune challenge such as the acute injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the rat ventral hippocampus. In particular, we enlightened molecules and pathways potentially important for its therapeutic effects in the context of neuroinflammation.
Pursuing the idea that stress-Resilient animals actively cope with stress-induced alteration/priming of inflammation within the brain, we exposed adult male rats to two weeks of Chronic Mild Stress (CMS), followed by an immune challenge with LPS. Specifically, we found that stress-Resilient rats could better respond to LPS-induced behavioral alterations in sucrose intake. Moreover, our molecular analyses pointed out that dysregulated activation of microglia may play a pivotal role in the insurgence of altered behaviors in anhedonic-like animals, thus indicating these cells as main actors in the mechanisms of stress-Resilience.
Lastly, we found that the altered expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a key molecule involved in the etiology of MD and in the therapeutic activity of antidepressants, influenced the inflammatory response within the brain. Specifically, we found that male and female mice heterozygous for this neurotrophic factor, differentially respond to an immune challenge with LPS when compared to wild-type animals, with a genotype*LPS interaction dependent on the brain area examined.
Summarizing, the data obtained during my PhD strongly support the direct involvement of neuroinflammation in the insurgence of depressive-like phenotype, in the mechanism of stress resilience and in the molecular activity of diverse psychotropic drugs
The Forgotten Gothic of Christina Rossetti
No full textIn this essay, the author analyzes the Gothic of Christina Rossetti in such poems as A Coast Nightmare, Shut Out, but also the well-known Goblin Market and the Prince's Progress. Interested in what the imagery of these poems convey, and intent on declaring Rossetti as a prominent example of Gothic poets, the author makes a strong case for the including of Rossetti among the great Gothics
I rilievi per la mostra e il libro su Biagio Rossetti
No full textNel 1960 Bruno Zevi diede alle stampe il volume Biagio Rossetti architetto ferrarese. Il primo urbanista moderno europeo. Nell’opera, che conta 727 pagine, sono presenti 200 disegni di rilievo riferibili ad una parte delle architetture indagate: si tratta di 19 edifici, di cui 12 civili e 7 sacri.
In chiusura al volume Zevi sintetizza gli eventi che resero possibile la realizzazione prima della famosa mostra Identità di Biagio Rossetti, inaugurata il 28 giugno 1956 nel Ridotto del Teatro Comunale e, quattro anni dopo, dell’imponente libro, indicando i nomi di coloro che collaborarono all’iniziativa. L’autore cita la prof. Luisa Balboni sindaco di Ferrara, e l’assessore alle BB. AA. Mario Roffi che nel 1955 si rivolsero all’allora preside dell’Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, Giuseppe Samonà per celebrare il 440° anniversario della morte di Rossetti. Zevi afferma che «[...] gli studenti ed io accettammo con entusiasmo di ordinare una mostra: dedicai il mio corso al maestro ferrarese, mentre gli allievi del primo anno rilevarono vari monumenti, e quelli del secondo, con la guida del mio assistente dott. Giuseppe Mazzariol, svolsero indagini documentate in una serie di tesine.» Questo scritto propone alcune riflessioni sul ruolo del rilievo nella vicenda editoriale zeviana e nei suoi esiti.In 1960, Bruno Zevi published the book Biagio Rossetti architetto ferrarese. Il primo urbanista moderno europeo. In the 727 page long work, there are 200 survey drawings, some of which refer to the investigated architectures: these are 19 buildings (twelve non-religious and seven religious).
At the end of the publication, Zevi summarizes the events that made the realization of the book possible before the famous exhibition Identità di Biagio Rossetti, inaugurated on June 28 1956 in the Ridotto of the Municipal Theater. Four years later, the imposing book indicated the names of those who collaborated in the initiative. The author quotes prof. Luisa Balboni, mayor of Ferrara, and the assessore BB. AA. Mario Roffi, who in 1955 contacted the then dean of the University Institute of Architecture in Venice, Giuseppe Samonà to celebrate the 440th anniversary of Rossetti's death. Zevi says "[...] the students and I enthusiastically accepted to organize an exhibition: I dedicated my course to the celebrated Ferrara architect, the first-year students surveyed various monuments, while those of the second year carried out documented investigations in a series of papers with the guidance of my assistant Dr Giuseppe Mazzariol."
This paper offers some reflections on the survey's role in Zevy’s work and its outcomes
Il tempio C di Bakchias
No full textIl presente volume è dedicato alla pubblicazione del cosiddetto tempio C di Bakchias, località del Fayyum Nord orientale, dove lavora la Missione archeologica del Dipartimento di Archeologia dell'Università di Bologna. Il tempio, dedicato al Dio Soknobkonneus, si è conservatosolo nelle fondazioni, ma è possibile ricostruirlo nella sua struttura complessiva rivelandosi uno degli edifici di culto più importanti dell'antica città. I numerosi indizi suggeriscono una datazione al I sec. a.C
Effect of the antidepressant agomelatine on the IL-6 pathway in rats exposed to chronic mild stress: role of Suppressor Of Cytokine Signaling 3 (SOCS3)
No full textMajor depression (MD) is a debilitating disorder whose treatment is being challenged by the high rate of failure and relapse of the pathology. Among the molecular systems thought to be involved in the MD etiology and in the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs, inflammation has emerged as an important actor (Miller and Raison, 2015). In particular, increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines have been observed in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of depressed patients and, among these inflammatory mediators, interleukin (IL-) 6 has been recently proposed to play a crucial role (Fonseka et al., 2015). IL-6 triggers a peculiar pathway comprising the JAK/STAT signaling proteins and characterized by a specific negative feedback loop exerted by the cytoplasmic protein, SOCS3 (Suppressor Of Cytokine Signalling-3).
We have recently demonstrated that a chronic mild stress (CMS) paradigm able to induce a depressive-like phenotype, up-regulates the expression of different pro-inflammatory cytokines in the rat brain and that pharmacological treatment with the antidepressant agomelatine was able to normalize not only the pathologic phenotype but also the inflammatory state (Rossetti et al., 2015). In this context, the aim of the present work was to further investigate the mechanism underpinning the anti-inflammatory activity of agomelatine by evaluating the impact of the drug on IL-6 pathway in the prefrontal cortex of rats exposed to CMS.
As expected, stress was able to activate the IL-6 cascade, including SOCS3 gene and protein expression and JAK1/STAT3 phosphorilation, without any suppressive effect of the feedback-loop inhibition. On the contrary, chronic treatment with agomelatine was able not only to normalize the stress-induced activation of IL-6 signaling, but also to modulate SOCS3 translation and transduction under basal conditions. Given the potentiality of IL-6 signaling as target of antidepressant treatment, we suggest that SOCS3 modulation might be a valuable goal for new drug development
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