1,721,007 research outputs found

    Sex worker nel quartiere catanese di San Berillo: Presenze, resistenze e trasformazioni

    Get PDF
    This article argues that the presence of, use of space by, and spatial practices of sex workers in the historical red-light district of Catania (Italy) contributed to shaping the imaginaries of this space as well as its symbolic and tangible transformation. It relies on ethnographies conducted in the San Berillo district by two of the authors, interviews carried out by all three authors, and the collection of documentary material by one of the authors. We start the article by shortly illustrating the events that have mostly impacted on sex work in the district, including the changes in the national prostitution policy, the urban transformations that have affected the district in the mid-1950s, and the more recent police repression against sex workers. We then analyse the gathered material through the thematic categories of ‘presences’, ‘relations’ and ‘resistance’, and reflect on the spatial practices and spaces of representations that have emerged in the district. We conclude this article by illustrating how sex workers’ spatial practices in the district – which evidence their willingness to actively contribute to thinking and making the city – open new imaginaries of the future of urban living

    Advanced magnetic resonance imaging of cortical laminar necrosis in patients with stroke

    Get PDF
    Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the novel advanced magnetic resonance imaging findings of acute stage cortical laminar necrosis developing after complicated cardiovascular or abdominal surgery. Materials and methods: This institutional review board-approved study included patients with postoperative stroke due to cortical laminar necrosis imaged with magnetic resonance in the acute stage. Brain magnetic resonance imaging examinations were obtained on a 3T magnetic resonance scanner within 48 hours of the neurological symptoms, including diffusion-weighted images (b value, 1000 s/mm2) and arterial spin labelling using a pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling method in four patients. Conventional and advanced magnetic resonance images were analysed to assess the imaging features in acute stage cortical laminar necrosis. Results: The final population consisted of 14 patients (seven men and seven women, mean age 61 years, range 32–79 years) diagnosed with stroke and acute phase cortical laminar necrosis. All the patients presented with cortical lesions showing restricted diffusion on diffusion-weighted images and hypointensity on the apparent diffusion coefficient map. Cortical hyperintensity on T2-weighted or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images was found in three (21%) and six (43%) patients, respectively. Reduced perfusion was noted in three out of four patients imaged with arterial spin labelling, while in one case no corresponding perfusion abnormality was noted on the arterial spin labelling maps. Arterial spin labelling abnormalities were much more extensive than diffusion restriction in two patients, and they were associated with a poor outcome. Conclusion: Cortical hyperintense abnormalities on diffusion-weighted imaging may be the only sign of developing cortical laminar necrosis injury. The acquisition of arterial spin labelling helps to identify perfusion alterations and the extension of the ischaemic injury

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

    Get PDF
    The 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

    Resting-State Functional Connectome in Patients with Brain Tumors Before and After Surgical Resection

    Get PDF
    Purpose: High-grade glioma surgery has evolved around the principal belief that a safe maximal tumor resection improves symptoms, quality of life, and survival. Mapping brain function has been recently improved by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rest-fMRI), a novel imaging technique that explores networks connectivity at “rest.” Methods: This prospective study analyzed 10 patients with high-grade glioma in whom rest-fMRI connectivity was assessed both in single-subject and in group analysis before and after surgery. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis was performed with CONN toolbox. Network identification focused on 8 major functional connectivity networks. A voxel-wise region of interest (ROI) to ROI correlation map to assess functional connectivity throughout the whole brain was computed from a priori seeds ROI in specific resting-state networks before and after surgical resection in each patient. Results: Reliable topography of all 8 resting-state networks was successfully identified in each participant before surgical resection. Single-subject functional connectivity analysis showed functional disconnection for dorsal attention and salience networks, whereas the language network demonstrated functional connection either in the case of left temporal glioblastoma. Functional connectivity in group analysis showed wide variations of functional connectivity in the default mode, salience, and sensorimotor networks. However, salience and language networks, salience and default mode networks, and salience and sensorimotor networks showed a significant correlation (P uncorrected <0.0025; P false discovery rate <0.077) in comparison before and after surgery confirming non-disconnection of these networks. Conclusions: Resting-state fMRI can reliably detect common functional connectivity networks in patients with glioma and has the potential to anticipate network alterations after surgical resection

    Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Brain Tumor Surgical Planning: Feasibility in Clinical Setting

    No full text
    The aim of this study was to introduce resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rest-fMRI) capability for brain tumor surgical planning. rest-fMRI is an emerging functional neuroimaging technique potentially able to provide new insights into brain physiology and to provide useful information regarding brain tumors in preoperative and postoperative settings. rest-fMRI evaluates low-frequency fluctuations in the blood oxygen level–dependent signal while the subject is at rest during magnetic resonance imaging examination. Multiple resting-state networks have been identified, including the somatosensory, language, and visual networks, which are of primary importance for surgical planning. We discuss the feasibility of rest-fMRI examination before and after surgical resection of brain tumors in routine clinical practice and the usefulness of the information obtained for surgical planning in brain tumor resection. rest-fMRI is particularly useful for patients who are unable to cooperate with the task-based paradigm, such as children or patients who are sedated, paretic, or aphasic. Although standardization and validation of rest-fMRI are still ongoing, this technique is feasible and valuable and can be implemented for routine clinical surgical planning. © 2019 Elsevier Inc

    Role of non-coding RNAs in age-related vascular cognitive impairment: An overview on diagnostic/prognostic value in Vascular Dementia and Vascular Parkinsonism

    No full text
    Age is the pivotal risk factor for different common medical conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and dementia. Among age-related disorders, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, represent the leading causes of premature mortality strictly related to vascular ageing, a pathological condition characterized by endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart disease and stroke. These features negatively impact on the brain, owing to altered cerebral blood flow, neurovascular coupling and impaired endothelial permeability leading to cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) as Vascular Dementia (VD) and Parkinsonism (VP). It is an increasing opinion that neurodegenerative disorders and cerebrovascular diseases are associated from a pathogenetic point of view, and in this review, we discuss how cerebrovascular dysfunctions, due to epigenetic alterations, are linked with neuronal degeneration/dysfunction that lead to cognitive impairment. The relation between neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases are reviewed with a focus on role of ncRNAs in age-related vascular diseases impairing the endothelium in the blood–brain barrier with consequent dysfunction of cerebral blood flow. In this review we dissert about different regulatory mechanisms of gene expression implemented by ncRNAs in the pathogenesis of age-related neurovascular impairment, aiming to highlight the potential use of ncRNAs as biomarkers for diagnostic/prognostic purposes as well as novel therapeutic targets

    Variations on the Author

    Get PDF
    “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

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

    Get PDF
    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
    corecore