498 research outputs found
Orienti migranti: tra letteratura e traduzione
No full textscopo di Orienti migranti è provare a te- nere insieme queste realtà e definizioni, soffermandosi – attraverso una serie di casi di studio – su ‘zone di contatto’ a metà tra più lin- gue e paesi, delineando un modello di letteratura locale e globale al contempo (Orsini 2015, 351-2) e che considera il migrante un tropo ricorrente e centrale della contemporaneità. Le tematiche che più si ritrovano nella letteratura della migrazione – e in questo volume – so- no, prevedibilmente, quelle legate all’identità, allo spaesamento e al- la necessità di ricostruire la propria vita in un altro luogo e spesso in un’altra lingua. Per questo motivo, uno dei generi più praticati è la memorialistica: dal memoir, vale a dire un’opera che si concentra su un momento più o meno specifico nella vita dell’autore, all’auto- biografia (sulla quale si veda: Lejeune 1975), fino a romanzi semiau- tobiografici o che comunque riprendono storie accadute alla propria comunità d’origine
Looking for Political Demography: Population Excess, War and Migration in Somali Arenas of Socio-demographic Transitions
No full textThe article explores methodologies and perspectives for the construction of a non-deter-ministic political demography grounded on case-study analyses and on interdisciplinary collaboration, namely between demographers and anthropologists. It argues that a focus on transitions (demographic, mobility and socio-economic transitions) and on their inter-relations could provide a bridge between the disciplines. On the one hand, this means de-veloping context-specific analyses of life conjunctures, circumstantial social navigations, social becoming, with the goal of showing how specific demographic variables (fertility, reproductive choice, family seize) take shape within specific arenas of socio-demographic change. On the other hand, working between micro/macro perspectives and between disci-plines also implies, for anthropology and social sciences, an increase in scale and a specific contextualisation, one that focuses on structural transitions and interconnects their multiple dimensions. This analytical framework is tested in the study of the socio-demographic con-sequences of war, protracted conflict, and displacement in Somalia and its diasporas
In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of the novel derivatized polyvinyl alcohol-based polymer P10(4).
No full textLaboratory of Oncology, G. Gaslini Children's Hospital, Genoa, Italy.
PURPOSE: The major limitation to successful chemotherapy of neuroblastoma is the
toxicity of traditional antitumor drugs. Hence, less toxic and more effective
drugs are to be found, and novel formulations of conventional compounds allowing
a more favorable biodistribution should be sought for. In an attempt to pursue
this task, we recently synthesized an amphiphilic polymer based on a polyvinyl
alcohol backbone [P10(4)]. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The cytotoxic activity of P10(4)
was evaluated both in vitro on neuroblastoma and melanoma cell lines and in vivo
in pseudometastatic neuroblastoma models. Apoptosis was assessed by morphology,
cytofluorimetric analysis of DNA content, and DNA fragmentation assay. Caspases
activation was investigated by kits specific for caspase-1, caspase-2,
caspase-3, caspase-4, caspase-6, caspase-7, caspase-8, caspase-9, caspase-10,
and caspase-13. Colony formation was evaluated by soft agar assay. RESULTS:
P10(4) exerted a potent cytotoxic activity on different neuroblastoma and
melanoma cell lines through induction of both extrinsic and intrinsic caspase
cascades and subsequent apoptosis. Moreover, the clonogenic potential of cells
that survived P10(4) treatment was strongly reduced. Next, we tested the effects
of P10(4) in nude mice injected with both a human and a murine neuroblastoma
cell lines i.v. P10(4) significantly increased the life span and the long-term
survival of treated mice over controls. No side effects were observed, even at
doses higher than those used for therapeutic purposes. CONCLUSIONS: Our data
suggest that P10(4) holds promise as an anticancer compound and, because of its
lack of interaction with DNA, is unlikely to give rise to drug resistance
Introduction. The fear of big numbers: the politics and politicisation of African demographic change
No full textSince the beginning of the 2000s, scientific research and studies by international organi-sations have converged in identifying new major trends in African demography for the de-cades to come, contributing to reshape the public representations of Africa from a low pop-ulation continent to one of rampant growth. At the same time, the public discourse emerged in the West regarding these changes occurred under the sign of a dramatised politicisation rather than a scientifically based debate. Under the pressure of the recent “migration crisis” in Europe, this politicised Euro-African demography has set itself at the centre of public and media debates in many European nations, based on alarming demographic predictions that oppose a succumbing “old Europe” to an emerging “young Africa”. Against this back-ground, the goal of this introduction is twofold: outlining a history of concepts and ideas pertaining to African demography in its political dimension; identifying spaces for dialogue and cooperation between different disciplines and reconsider epistemological and method-ological conventions with the goal of responding to the challenges of the politicization of African demographic dynamics
Nano-fenretinide demonstrates remarkable activity in acute promyeloid leukemia cells
No full textAcute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by rearrangements of the retinoic acid receptor, RARα, which makes all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) highly effective in the treatment of this disease, inducing promyelocytes differentiation. Current therapy, based on ATRA in combination with arsenic trioxide, with or without chemotherapy, provides high rates of event-free survival and overall survival. However, a decline in the drug activity, due to increased ATRA metabolism and RARα mutations, is often observed over long-term treatments. Furthermore, dedifferentiation can occur providing relapse of the disease. In this study we evaluated fenretinide, a semisynthetic ATRA derivative, encapsulated in nanomicelles (nano-fenretinide) as an alternative treatment to ATRA in APL. Nano-fenretinide was prepared by fenretinide encapsulation in a self-assembling phospholipid mixture. Physico-chemical characterization was carried out by dinamic light scattering and spectrophotometry. The biological activity was evaluated by MTT assay, flow cytometry and confocal laser-scanning fluorescence microscopy. Nano-fenretinide induced apoptosis in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL60) by an early increase of reactive oxygen species and a mitochondrial potential decrease. The fenretinide concentration that induced 90–100% decrease in cell viability was about 2.0 μM at 24 h, a concentration easily achievable in vivo when nano-fenretinide is administered by oral or intravenous route, as demonstrated in previous studies. Nano-fenretinide was effective, albeit at slightly higher concentrations, also in doxorubicin-resistant HL60 cells, while a comparison with TK6 lymphoblasts indicated a lack of toxicity on normal cells. The results indicate that nano-fenretinide can be considered an alternative therapy to ATRA in acute promyelocytic leukemia when decreased efficacy, resistance or recurrence of disease emerge after protracted treatments with ATRA
On the connection between radio and gamma rays
No full textRelativistic jets are one of the most powerful manifestations of the release of energy produced around supermassive black holes at the centre of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Their emission is observed across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from the radio band to gamma rays. Despite decades of efforts, many aspects of the physics of relativistic jets remain elusive. In particular, the location and the mechanisms responsible for the high-energy emission and the connection of the variability at different wavelengths are among the greatest challenges in the study of AGN. From the comparison of the radio and gamma-ray light curves of gamma-ray flaring objects, there is evidence that some flares, either in radio or in gamma rays, have not an obvious connection at the other extreme of the electromagnetic spectrum, like in the case of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 SBS 0846+513. An intriguing aspect pointed out by high resolution radio observations is the change of the polarization properties close in time with some high energy flares. In particular, in PKS 1510–089 and 3C 454.3 a rotation of almost 90 degrees has been observed after strong gamma-ray flares. The swing of the polarization angle may be related either to the propagation of a shock along the jet that orders the magnetic field, or a change of the opacity regime
Exploring the connection between radio and GeV-TeV Î3-ray emission in the 1FHL and 2FHL AGN samples
No full textContext. With the advent of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) it was revealed that blazars, representing the most extreme radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) population, dominate the census of the Î3-ray sky, and a significant correlation was found between radio and Î3-ray emission in the 0.1-100 GeV energy range. However, the possible connection between radio and very high energy (VHE, E> 0.1 TeV) emission still remains elusive, owing to the lack of a homogeneous coverage of the VHE sky. Aims. The main goal of this work is to quantify and assess the significance of a possible connection between the radio emission on parsec scale measured by the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) and GeV-TeV Î3-ray emission in blazars, which is a central issue for understanding blazar physics and the emission processes in these objects. Methods. We investigate the radio VLBI and high energy Î3-ray emission by using two large and unbiased AGN samples extracted from the first and second Fermi-LAT catalogs of hard Î3-ray sources detected above 10 GeV (1FHL) and 50 GeV (2FHL). For comparison, we perform the same correlation analysis by using the 0.1-300 GeV Î3-ray energy flux provided by the third Fermi-LAT source catalog (3FGL). We assess the correlation's statistical significance by means of a method based on permutations of the luminosities, by taking into account the various observational biases, which may apparently enhance or spoil any intrinsic correlation. Results. We find that the correlation strength and significance depend on the Î3-ray energy range, with a different behavior among the blazar sub-classes. Overall, the radio and Î3-ray emission above 10 GeV turns out to be uncorrelated for the full samples and for all of the blazar sub-classes with the exception of high synchrotron peaked (HSP) objects, which show a strong and significant correlation. On the contrary, when 0.1-300 GeV Î3-ray energies are considered, a strong and significant correlation is found for the full blazar sample as well as for all of the blazar sub-classes. Conclusions. We interpret and explain this correlation behavior within the framework of the blazar spectral energy distribution properties. In the most powerful blazars, which are in general of low synchrotron peaked type, the high energy emission component peaks at energies lower than those sampled by the LAT. On the contrary, in HSP blazars the part of the high energy spectrum affected by cooling effects is well beyond the energy range sampled by the LAT, showing a rising spectrum both in the 3FGL and 1FHL/2FHL energy ranges
Il Rwanda a vent'anni dal genocidio
No full textIl genocidio rappresenta l’“anno zero” della storia del Rwanda: quella tragedia ha portato a una trasformazione epocale, il paese ha dovuto rifondarsi, ma inevitabilmente in quest’opera di rifondazione tutto parte da lì, dal genocidio. Questo numero di Afriche e Orienti si interroga sul Rwanda d’oggi, un paese che nel 1994 era uno stato fallito e che oggigiorno registra una delle crescite economiche più elevate della regione. La memoria del genocidio e il suo uso politico, la politica bellica nei confronti della Repubblica Democratica del Congo e infine le relazioni quotidiane fra hutu e tutsi: i diversi autori di affrontano questi temi mostrando come gli eventi del 1994 rappresentino la matrice delle trasformazioni storiche e sociali del Rwanda odierno
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