170,942 research outputs found
Pecoraro, Marco
No full textMarco Pecoraro (Cellino S. Marco, BR 1920 – Padova 1993). Laureatosi a Bologna nel 1946, dal 1950 fu assistente alla cattedra di Letteratura Italiana (tenuta da Raffaele Spongano e, dal 1953, da Vittore Branca) presso la Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia a Padova; abilitato alla Libera Docenza nel 1959, insegnò Lingua e letteratura italiana presso la Facoltà di Magistero dell’Ateneo di Padova dal 1960 al 1990, prima come incaricato, poi come professore aggregato (1969), straordinario (1973) e ordinario (1980). Studioso di Dante, P. Bembo, G. Scalvini e N. Tommaseo, attento all’aspetto storico e filologico dei testi. Tenne molti corsi sulla “Divina Commedia” (e la sua fortuna nel Veneto), sulla letteratura del Cinquecento, sulla critica e sulla poesia del Romanticismo. Organizzatore impegnato dell’Istituto di Filologia e Letteratura Italiana. Redattore e poi condirettore di «Lettere italiane»; redattore del “Dizionario critico delle letteratura italiana” (1973).
Opere principali: “Per la storia dei Carmi del Bembo. Una redazione non vulgata” (1959); N. Tommaseo, “Memorie poetiche” (ed. crit., 1964); “Saggi vari da Dante al Tommaseo” (1970).
[Davide Cappi]
Fonti bibliografiche:
“Bibliografia degli scritti di Marco Pecoraro (1951-1990)”, a cura di B. M. Da Rif, in “Miscellanea di studi in onore di Marco Pecoraro”, a cura di B. M. Da Rif e C. Griggio, vol. II, Firenze 1991, pp. 375-385; “Ricordo di Marco Pecoraro”, in «Lettere italiane», XLV/2 (1993), pp. 177-178; G. Auzzas, “Interessi filologici di Marco Pecoraro”, in «Lettere italiane», LV/4 (2003), pp. 528-539.Marco Pecoraro (Cellino S. Marco, BR 1920 – Padova 1993). Laureatosi a Bologna nel 1946, dal 1950 fu assistente alla cattedra di Letteratura Italiana (tenuta da Raffaele Spongano e, dal 1953, da Vittore Branca) presso la Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia a Padova; abilitato alla Libera Docenza nel 1959, insegnò Lingua e letteratura italiana presso la Facoltà di Magistero dell’Ateneo di Padova dal 1960 al 1990, prima come incaricato, poi come professore aggregato (1969), straordinario (1973) e ordinario (1980). Studioso di Dante, P. Bembo, G. Scalvini e N. Tommaseo, attento all’aspetto storico e filologico dei testi. Tenne molti corsi sulla “Divina Commedia” (e la sua fortuna nel Veneto), sulla letteratura del Cinquecento, sulla critica e sulla poesia del Romanticismo. Organizzatore impegnato dell’Istituto di Filologia e Letteratura Italiana. Redattore e poi condirettore di «Lettere italiane»; redattore del “Dizionario critico delle letteratura italiana” (1973).
Opere principali: “Per la storia dei Carmi del Bembo. Una redazione non vulgata” (1959); N. Tommaseo, “Memorie poetiche” (ed. crit., 1964); “Saggi vari da Dante al Tommaseo” (1970).
[Davide Cappi]
Fonti bibliografiche:
“Bibliografia degli scritti di Marco Pecoraro (1951-1990)”, a cura di B. M. Da Rif, in “Miscellanea di studi in onore di Marco Pecoraro”, a cura di B. M. Da Rif e C. Griggio, vol. II, Firenze 1991, pp. 375-385; “Ricordo di Marco Pecoraro”, in «Lettere italiane», XLV/2 (1993), pp. 177-178; G. Auzzas, “Interessi filologici di Marco Pecoraro”, in «Lettere italiane», LV/4 (2003), pp. 528-539
Palermo Liberty. The Golden Age
No full text"Palermo Liberty. The Golden Age", a cura di Cristina Costanzo, Massimiliano Marafon Pecoraro ed Ettore Sessa, è il catalogo dell'omonima mostra promossa nel 2023 dalla Fondazione Sant'Elia. Il volume accoglie saggi critici e approfondimenti volti a offrire una panoramica di ampio respiro sull’intensa stagione del Liberty palermitano nelle molteplici sfaccettature, nella poliedricità e nell’internazionalità che hanno contraddistinto questo vero e proprio fenomeno, ripercorrendone i tratti salienti anche grazie a un ricco apparato iconografico.
Le trame del viaggio qui raccontato, simbolicamente inaugurato dal completamento del grandioso cantiere del Teatro Massimo e concluso con una serie di manifestazioni di alto livello ma ormai fuori tempo limite, riflesso di una società rimasta ancorata al mito della sua ‘età d’oro’, si dipanano così attraverso una ricca selezione di circa cinquecento opere.
Esito di un tessuto imprenditoriale, artigianale e artistico di respiro europeo, si tratta di progetti architettonici e disegni di oggetti d’arte applicata, di arredi, dipinti, sculture, vetrate ma anche gioielli, abiti, accessori e, ancora, ceramiche, bozzetti decorativi e fotografie provenienti da svariate collezioni e archivi, sia pubblici sia privati. Testimonianze preziose qui chiamate a stimolare un nuovo affondo critico su questa stagione felicissima che vide all’opera alcuni dei principali protagonisti della cultura dell’epoca: da Ernesto Basile, Vittorio Ducrot, Paolo Bevilacqua, Michele Cortegiani ed Ettore De Maria Bergler, a Luigi Di Giovanni, Gaetano Geraci, Salvatore Gregorietti, Ettore Ximenes, Antonio Ugo e altri ancora
Hidden in the ocean: The importance of detecting hybridisation in pelagic and deep‐water fishes
No full textThe widespread occurrence of hybridisation in fishes suggests the need to revisit its importance for both a basic understanding of biological principles and practical applications for management and conservation. Despite evidence of its pervasiveness, the phenomenon of hybridisation in fish is not uniformly studied across species and environments. We note how natural hybridisation in pelagic and deep-sea fish has been rarely reported. For this reason, we carry out an analysis using both standard and phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results suggest a lack of evidence for the idea that pelagic and deep-sea fish are inherently less prone to hybridise. Likely, hybridisation and introgression are systematically underestimated in these groups. In light of this, we discuss why underestimation of hybridisation is problematic, and what may be done to ameliorate the situation. We propose scalable and cost-effective prioritisation, sampling and analysis strategies, to ease existing biases in assessing the impact of hybridisation among pelagic and deep-sea species and to ultimately improve the management and conservation - as well as basic biological knowledge - of these important species
Vitamin C enhanced erastin-induced ferroptosis in drug-resistant colorectal cancer cells and in CAM-derived xenografts
No full textRecent studies indicated that the induction of ferroptosis, a type of non-apoptotic and iron-dependent form of cell death, could be a promising therapeutic approach for eradicating drug-resistant colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Based on our previous findings indicating that the downregulation of human ribosomal protein L3 (uL3) positively correlates with chemoresistance in CRC cells lacking active p53 (REF), we investigated the susceptibility of this cell line to erastin, as a ferroptosis inducer, in combination with vitamin C. In this study, we revealed that the low expression state of uL3 renders p53-delete CRC cells more vulnerable to ferroptosis, and the combined treatment of erastin and vitamin C acts synergistically to induce ferroptotic cell death. Specifically, we evaluated intracellular iron, glutathione, reactive oxygen species levels along with the analysis of ferroptosis-related markers. In vivo experiments showed that erastin and vitamin C can significantly reduce tumor growth in xenografts derived from uL3-silenced CRC cells in the Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) model. In summary, the combination of erastin and vitamin C exerts a synergistic effect to induce ferroptosis in CRC cells that have low amounts of uL3 and lacking functional p53, thus providing a novel therapeutic strategy for CRC treatment
Rilievo di sostanze esogene o xenobiotiche in matrici biologiche alternative quali peli e capelli
No full textHair is considered an alternative specimen for the identification of drugs. It is routinely used as a tool for the detection of xenobiotics (drugs of abuse, pharmaceuticals, environmental contaminants, doping agents, etc.) in forensic science, traffic medicine, occupational medicine and clinical toxicology. Analysis of drugs and their metabolites which are incorporated in the hair shaft, can provide information about the quantity and historical pattern of individual drug use. This type of information is not available from any other specimens.
The Toxicological Chemistry Analysis laboratory co-ordinated by Prof. Veniero Gambaro, where this research doctorate was carried out, analyses hair in cases of poisoning or investigation of dependency on substances of abuse. As a result, participation in an external quality control project on the search for substances of abuse in hair was decided for improving the identification of critical passages in the context of this matrix. This project, known as HAIRVEQ, is promoted by the Senior Health Institute.
Some reported research describing various operational procedures for the search for substances of abuse in hair was taken into consideration, the critical points analysed further and new hypotheses of work to improve or innovate the control procedures were assessed. The traditional procedure consists of several steps:
• sampling: hair is best collected from the area at the back of the head;
• washing: this is required to rule out surface contamination;
• hydrolysis: this is required to enhance drug solubility;
• extraction: liquid-liquid or SPE extraction were applied for drug purification;
• derivatization;
• analysis by GC/MS.
Initially, this procedure was applied on drug-free control hair spiked with a standard solution of cocaine, opiates and cannabinoids. Then the method developed was used to analyse hair samples, including pubic hair, collected from drug abusers.
The washing stage is particularly important to avoid any external contamination. It is an operation which could already lead to a preliminary, unwanted extraction of analyte from the biological sample. The next, equally important, step is the amount of material to subject to analysis. This choice has a considerable effect of the final result expressed, in this field of application, as nanograms of analyte over milligrams of hair weighed. As a result, the sensitivity of the method can be augmented by increasing the amount of material to examine. This is possible because the hair matrix does not contain high amounts of interfering endogen substances and a correct assessment of samples with concentrations near to the cut-off level can be made.
The cut-off levels are concentration values below which a sample is considered negative. This parameter is used in diagnostic comparison in Forensic Medicine or checks carried out for suitability to drive motor vehicles. Hydrolysis of the keratin matrix was carried out chemically, both in basic or acid conditions depending on the substance to be looked for. Enzymatic-type hydrolysis is also being experimented for use in the preparation of the sample for the application of immune-enzymatic tests. This technique is faster as it does not require ‘overnight’ incubation of the sample and is, therefore, more suitable for routine analyses.
Today, chromatographic procedures, especially those coupled with mass spectrometry, are the gold standard for the identification and quantification of drugs in hair owing to their separation ability and sensitivity of detection. In this work, procedures for the detection of opiates, cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine, amphetamines and cannabinoids were carried out. GC/MS in the electron impact mode (EI) and chemical ionization mode (CI) were used for the identification and quantitative determination of these compounds. As a result, some molecules need a derivatization stage. The polar functions of the molecules need to be protected in opiates while the limited fragmentation of amphetamines does not allow differentiation. Therefore, the derivatization stage is useful for obtaining mass spectra which can be differentiated from molecule to molecule.
As a result, the applicability of the procedure carried out for the detection of methamphetamine, Methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDE) and methylenedioxymethamfetamine (MDMA-Ecstasy) was checked. Encouraging results were obtained but the derivatization step is more difficult for these compounds. Several common derivatizing reagents such as, bis-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA), pentafluoropropionic anhydride (PFPA), N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA) and trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFA) were tested in standard solutions and drug-free control hair spiked with standard solutions. PFPA was the most suitable derivate. Condensation of amphetamines with cycloexanone was also carried out. The method was simple: the dried residue of extraction was mixed with cyclohexanone and injected into the GC/MS without incubation at 70°C for 30 minutes. Positive results were only obtained for primary amine.
An important step in this experimentation was the assessment of the precision and accuracy of the methods using the isotopic dilutions technique which was applied to the analysis of acid compounds such as those in the cannabinoid class: Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its metabolite l-9-Carboxy-11-nor- Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH). Use of the deuterated internal standard in the context of research was very difficult as it is very delicate and must be reconstituted frequently; it deteriorates in the non-deuterated one giving rise to false positives.
Preparation of the sample by the method developed required several hours; therefore, the extraction step was eliminated using a new system, called Chromate-Probe, for intra-injector thermal extraction. This direct sample introduction device transforms a conventional GC injector in a GC-MS system, into a very cost effective alternative to the standard direct insertion probe. Sampling was in a small vial (capacity 30μL) which, by retaining the harmful and non-volatile matrix residue, eliminated the need for extraction. Each analysis began with gentle evaporation followed by brief heating of the injector required for achieving intra-injector thermal extraction and vaporisation of the sample compound. The sample semi-volatile compounds were focused on the early portion of the separation column and GC analysed, as normal. This method was based on compound identification by mass spectra and found to have the following advantages: reduction or elimination of sample preparation, efficient thermal extraction, and smaller sample size etc. Initially, standard solutions and dried residues of extraction were placed directly in the vial and then analysed by Chromato-Probe to performing instrument conditions. The EI and CI modes were compared in these experiments and the same results obtained. Afterwards a single hair and pulverized hair samples collected from drug abusers were transferred to a chromate-probe vial and analysed by the method carried out. The best results were obtained from the second one. Furthermore, extraction was found to be more efficient by adding 10μl methanol to the vial. Positive results were obtained for codeine.
The system proved to be suitable for the study of this type of matrix and analysis times were notable reduced as no preparation of the sample is required. However, the procedure was found not to be applicable as the very small amount of material subjected to direct extraction did not allow the predetermined cut-off levels to be respected. Determination of the substance at the cut-off levels set out in legislation is important for legal purposes in the analysis of the keratin matrix. There must be appropriate working standard samples for the methods to be adequately substantiated and it must be possible to reproduce the effective conditions of the real sample, something which is particularly difficult for a biological matrix of this type. The HAIRVEQ protocol provides for the use of hair from babies with parents who are not drug addicts as blanks in quality control and, as a positive sample, hair made homogeneous through pulverisation from more than one person making use of substances of abuse. The discordant results obtained from all the laboratories taking part in the project underline the difficulty of fine-tuning these procedures.
The work carried out has enabled application of the ball mill previously used for the measurement of coloured pigments in the plumage of birds to be hypothesised. Therefore, pulverisation a previously washed sample of hair from a cocaine addict in an appropriate solvent inside a jar was considered. The suspension obtained was filtered and analysis of the supernatant in GC-MS and GC/MS-MS highlight the presence of cocaine. Therefore, it was believed that pulverising a ‘blank’ sample in an appropriate solvent, to which a standard solution of analyte and an internal standard are added, could recreate a situation similar to that obtained through the pulverisation of a positive sample in the same solvent.
The experimentation was carried out taking cocaine, one of the most widespread and extensively examined substances in the hair matrix, into consideration. The linearity of the method was assessed for this molecule in a range of concentrations from 0.1 μg/mg to 10 μg/mg, obtaining a correlation coefficient higher than 0.99. Both the traditional procedure and the latest technique were subsequently applied to ‘blank’ samples spiked with standard solution of analyte and to real samples. The second method was found to be more precise than the traditional one from this comparison. The traditional procedures applied for hair analysis have some significant problems which have been critically assessed in this thesis. The innovative techniques suggested have been tested with the aim of improving some relevant aspects such as the extraction stage and the importance of having work standards suitable for a more correct assessment of real samples.
Encouraging results have been obtained with the ball-mill technique which is fast and simple and enables us to have work standards similar to real samples and, as a result, more adapted for assessing the effective yield of the extraction. This technique has proved to be worthy of further investigation and experimentation
La città-bordo, la città-bolla, la città-schiuma
No full textUn'analisi di differenti paradigmi nel rapporto di una città con la sua periferia, che si traduce nell'individuazione di un paradigma incentrato sul bordo, uno sulla figura della bolla, uno sulla figura dellalla schiuma
Uso della ricostruzione tridimensionale T.C. nella diagnosi e nella pianificazione terapeutica delle fratture di cotile
No full textThe role of MRI in prostate cancer management: pushing the diagnostic frontier
No full textThe role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in prostate cancer (PCa) diagnostic work-up has drastically
changed over the last 40 years. Years of innovations
have produced outstanding advances in diagnostic imaging and MR-guided interventional procedures. In early 2019, the updated version of the PI-RADS score system was released. The same year a real breakthrough
occurred when the updated version of the European
Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines was released:
MRI is currently recommended as the first line imaging modality for biopsy-naive patients. Among all the
published studies supporting the use of MRI in the diagnostics of PCa, robust trials have played a pivotal role:
The PROMIS study, the MRI-FIRST study, the PRECISION
study and the 4M trial. The success of MRI is heavily
dependent on high-quality image acquisition and interpretation to minimise the number of equivocal cases,
standardise negative MRIs, reduce overdiagnosis and
overtreatment and promote biopsy improvement and
focal therapeutic approaches. Future perspectives include the spread of non-contrast MRI as the most efficient way to face the expected upcoming large number
of MRI requests for PCa diagnosis and the application of
artificial intelligence-based tools that might profoundly shape modern imaging, with major implications for
medical practice. The goal is to review PCa natural history and management, with an insight on MRI applications and future perspectives
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