1,721,420 research outputs found
Pleasure and Knowledge in Aristotle's Rhetoric
No full textThe paper focuses on a basic principle of Aristotle’s Rhetoric according to which the more a discourse is able to produce in the hearer a quick and pleasant learning, the more it will be persuasive. Starting from the numerous examples provided by Aristotle, the paper shows that this principle, which we can call Pleasure and Knowledge Principle (PKP), regards all the levels of a speech (inventio as well as elocutio, actio, and dispositio) and it is founded in Aristotle’s anthropology and epistemology. Thanks to this feature, PKP can be considered the common thread of the whole Rhetoric as well as a good starting point for a general reflection on the persuasive power of language and its role in human life. More exactly, PKP can help us to overcome some traditional dichotomies, first and foremost that between “cognition” and “emotion”. Therefore, an inquiry into the relation between knowledge and pleasure in Aristotle’s Rhetoric can be useful not only for the understanding of the Aristotelian perspective but also for a re-evaluation of the epistemological value of rhetoric
Metafore di guerra e guerra alle metafore Sull’uso del lessico militare per parlare della pandemia di Covid-19
Full text linkSince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, public discourse has been characterized by a massive use of war metaphors. At the same time, this use has been harshly attacked as inappropriate and potentially dangerous. The article proposes a reflection on this debate by questioning the demonization of the war metaphor. Indeed, the appropriateness and the efficacy of a metaphor are not absolute values but depend on many factors such as context, audience and communicative purposes. Therefore, instead of attacking war metaphors it would be more useful to enrich the range of expressions to talk about the pandemic. What is really important is to never forget that expressive choices are never only words but a constitutive part of our experience of the world.Sin dall’inizio della pandemia di COVID-19, il discorso pubblico è stato caratterizzato dal massiccio ricorso a metafore belliche. Parallelamente, l’uso di queste metafore è stato duramente attaccato come inadeguato e potenzialmente pericoloso. L’articolo propone una riflessione su questo dibattito mettendo in discussione la demonizzazione di questo tipo di metafore. L’adeguatezza e l’efficacia di una metafora non sono, infatti, valori assoluti ma dipendono sempre da molteplici fattori, in primo luogo il contesto discorsivo, l’uditorio e gli scopi comunicativi. Pertanto, è più utile puntare ad allargare la gamma delle espressioni (metaforiche e non) per parlare della pandemia, senza demonizzarne nessuna in particolare. Ciò che è davvero importante è vigilare sul linguaggio e mantenere alta l’attenzione sul fatto che le scelte espressive sono parte integrante della nostra esperienza del mondo
Parole a doppio taglio. Per una nuova alleanza tra retorica e filosofia
No full textThe paper focuses on the ambivalence of logos and the consequences this ambivalence has on the relationship between philosophy and violence. By ambivalence of language I mean the possibility that the word can be at the same time a place of overcoming conflicts but also a place of production or escalation of the conflict itself. The thesis sustained is that philosophy cannot but take charge of this ambivalence. In order to do this, however, philosophy must finally learn to look at rhetoric no longer as a rival to be fought but as an indispensable ally. The first step is to question the topical opposition between logos and bia and to accept that there is a specifically human violence made possible precisely by logos. The second (and decisive) step consists instead in rejecting the anti-rhetorical prejudice and the consequent opposition between rhetoric and philosophy inaugurated by Plato
Great reduction of human and avian type A Influenza virus multiplication by MESNA ( sodium-2 mercaptoethanesulfonate ) treatment.
No full text7.3 Great reduction of human and avian type A Influenza virus multiplication by MESNA
(sodium-2 mercaptoethanesulfonate ) treatment.
G. Conti 1, P.Portincasa 1, F. Piazza (), G. Dieci 2, F. Zani () and C. Zini ()
1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology Section
2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Department of Pharmacy
Department of Otorino-Odonto-Ophthalmology
University of Parma, Gramsci 14, Parma, Italy
The antiviral activity of MESNA, a thiol group compound, was evaluated in LLC-MK2 cells infected by Influenza
virus. MESNA was able to inhibit viral multiplicaton in a dose-dependent fashion and virus yield, obtained both with
HA and plaque assaies, were reduced at concentrations which did not suppress protein synthesis in mock-infected cells.
Experiments of post-treatment performed at different times showed that addition of the drug was effective until 6 hours
p.i. Removal of the compound at various times showed that the inhibition was not reversible at all times p.i. Also in
this case haemagglutination assayes were carried out at 24, 48 and 72 hours of infection. Pre-treatment of uninfected
LLC-MK2 cell monolayers were performed to gain informations on the possibility to render these cells resistant to viral
infection. At 24,48 and 72 hours p.i. the presence of virus particles in maintenance medium without MESNA was
evaluated by HA assayes . In these conditions no mature viral particles were detected at all times tested after infection..
Viral protein synthesis was studied in condition of treatment. At different interval-times monolayers of infected LLCMK2
cells were pulse-labeled with [35S]-methionine (30μCi/ml). MESNA-treatment determines a marked reduction of
the normal synthesis of early and late viral proteins suggesting an action on viral transcriptase. “In vitro” assay of viral
RNA dependent-RNA polymerase activity performed on purified Influenza virions showed negative results: MESNA is
not able to determine an inhibition or block of the virus enzyme activity. This evidence leads us to hypothesise a
possible involvement of a cellular factor (s). We are currently investigating the role / concentration level of the ratio
Ox-Red glutathione, GSSG / GSH. Results obtained with human influenza virus strain, A, NWS, H1N1,were
completely reproducible and comparable with those obtained with avian influenza virus strain, A, Ulster 73, H7N1.
Furthermore, data obtained in MDCK cells were comparable to those, above described, obtained in LLC-MK2 cells.
Corresponding Author: prof. Giorgio Cont
Threatening. An ambivalent discursive practice between trust and violence
Full text linkIn this paper, our focus is on elucidating the role of symbolic practices in the manifestation of human violence. We aim to demonstrate how the distinction between verbal and physical violence, often perceived as clear-cut, becomes considerably ambiguous and challenging when examining real-life scenarios. Within distinctly human interactions, the delineation among various forms of violence is not starkly defined but rather exists along a blurred continuum. Specifically, we aim to address the following inquiries: Does the propensity for aggression in human beings fundamentally hinge upon the possession of language? If so, in what manner does language influence this propensity? To explore these questions, we focus our analysis on the discursive practice of threat. We regard threat as both an exemplary and borderline case, which proves invaluable in highlighting the nuanced interplay between language and violence
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Inhibition of human and avian type A Influenza virus multiplication performed by MESNA
No full textThe antiviral activity of MESNA, a thiol group compound, was evaluated in LLC-MK2 cells infected by Influenza virus.
MESNA was able to inhibit viral multiplicaton in a dose-dependent fashion and virus yield, obtained both with HA and plaque assaies, was reduced at concentrations which did not suppress protein synthesis in mock-infected cells.
MESNA treatment determined a marked reduction of the normal synthesis of early and late virus-induced proteins suggesting an action on viral transcriptase.
However, “in vitro” assay of viral RNA dependent-RNA polymerase activity performed on purified virions showed negative results in that MESNA was not able to inhibit or block virus enzyme activity.
This evidence led us to hypothesise a possible involvement of a cellular factor (s). We have investigated the role and the concentration of the ratio Ox-Red glutathione, GSSG / GSH.
Results obtained demonstrate a correlation between the intracellular concentration of GSH and progression/ inhibition of viral infection.
In particular, the results reported here demonstrate that the amounts of GSH reached into the cells are a direct consequence of MESNA treatments.
Data obtained with human influenza virus strain, A, NWS, H1N1, were completely reproducible and comparable with those obtained with avian influenza virus strain, A, Ulster 73, H7N1.
Furthermore, data obtained in MDCK cells were comparable to those, above described, obtained in LLC-MK2 cells.
Corresponding Author: prof. Giorgio Cont
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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