1,720,987 research outputs found
Harnessing functionalized polysaccharides: Tailoring biomacromolecules for varied tissue engineering and drug delivery applications
No full textPolysaccharides are ubiquitous and versatile biomacromolecules that play vital roles across a wide range of biological systems. Found in everything from towering trees to microscopic bacteria, they serve as structural support, energy reserves, and even signalling molecules, showcasing nature’s ingenuity. Their multifaceted nature not only highlights their importance in natural ecosystems but also underscores their potential in various biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. Recently, polysaccharides have emerged as pivotal materials in the fields of tissue engineering and drug delivery, owing to their biocompatibility, tuneable properties, and ability to mimic the extracellular matrix. In the form of hydrogels or nanohydrogels, they provide water-swollen networks able to create a stable environment for encapsulated drugs or suitable conditions for cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation.
This thesis explores the diverse roles of these biomaterials as scaffolds for tissue regeneration and nanosystems for the controlled release of therapeutic agents. Despite their promising applications, several limitations persist, including insufficient mechanical strength, complex fabrication processes, and challenges in achieving precise control over degradation rates and drug release profiles. Through a comprehensive review of current literature and original experimental studies, this work aims to elucidate the interplay between polysaccharide chemistry, hydrogel and nanohydrogel formulation, and their properties in relation to biological responses. Additionally, strategies to overcome existing limitations, such as the introduction of external crosslinker and adhesive or targeting moieties, are presented.
In conclusion, the polysaccharide-based hydrogels and nanohydrogels described in this thesis are attractive candidates for a wide range of pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, from bone tissue regeneration to cancer therapy and treatment of posterior segment eye diseases, paving the way for future clinical opportunities
La meraviglia e la vertigine della filosofia. Aristotele, Platone, Fontenelle, Diderot
No full textIl saggio interroga i caratteri della meraviglia come atteggiamento filosofico che interroga l'ignoto nel noto
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
Nietzsche 1873: finzione, storia e verità
No full textAnalisi congiunta del saggio di Nietzsche su Verità e menzogna in senso extramorale e della Seconda Inattuale sulla storia
Feticismo delle merci e teoria critica della società. Una nota sulla filoaofia di Alfonso Maurizia Iacono
No full textInadaequatio intellectus ad rem. Il marxismo metareligioso di Ernst Bloch
No full textThis article examines the biblical figures of Moses and Job in the light of the meta-religious interpretation of Ernst Bloch (1885-1977), especially in his The Principle of Hope (1954) and Atheism in Christianity (1968). A particular focus is on Bloch’s self-labeled «detective method», aimed at interpreting documents from the past as fields of tension between conservation and utopia. Not content with being historically determined, the human being discovers his nature as a “not-yet”. The conflict between theocratic foundationalism and messianic-apocalyptic dynamism in the Bible, and in the Judeo-Christian religious traditions, is a coded representation of such tensions and the nebulous blueprint of a project to overcome them. Thus, in Bloch’s reading, the «underground Bible» hides a utopian and Promethean fil rouge, which aims at a progressive liberation from authoritarian and archaic forms of awe and alienation, ultimately leading to an exodus from Yahweh himself. This process of liberation began with Moses’ intuition: for him, Yahweh ceased to be a volcanic divinity, as was the case for the Midianite tradition that had influenced the primitive Jewish religiosity, and became the exodus God, i.e., the idea of a path of awareness and liberation. But the exodus would lose its raison d’être if it remained crystallized in a ritual memory (even if it were that of the Covenant). The exodic perspective cannot be but a critical and restless look at things. Thus, the exodic questioning finds a new voice in the book of Job, where the Mosaic faith is denied and overcome. In a culmination of the tradition of protest within the Bible, Job questions the morality of God’s authoritarianism, thus revealing that «a human person can be better, and behave better, than God»
Dal feticismo delle merci al consumo creativo: studi sulle subculture giovanili
No full textIl testo prende spunto dal saggio di Theodor Adorno, "Il carattere di feticcio della musica e la regressione nell'ascolto", per presentare una panoramica degli studi sul consumo identitario all'interno delle subculture giovanili; si parte dai lavori della scuola sociologica di Chicago, e soprattutto da quelli del gruppo di Birmingham (cultural studies), per arrivare alle più recenti ricerche sulle "scene" subculturali giovanili
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