1,721,320 research outputs found
Un testimone virgiliano di XIV secolo: il ms. Alghero, Biblioteca Comunale “Rafael Sari”, 58
No full textThis article focuses on ms. 58 of the Municipal Library of Alghero (Sardinia), recently rediscovered by Maria Teresa Laneri and Andrea Lai of the University of Sassari. Extensively mutilated, the ms. now contains some sections of Vergil’s Aeneid, followed by several texts about Vergil’s biography, Dante Alighieri’s "Epistola" 7 to Henry of Luxembourg, and Petrarch’s "Epystola" 2.5. Thanks to a comparison with other manuscripts, the article shows the affinities between the text of the "Aeneid" and those of other known witnesses, identifies the presence of a medieval anthology of texts related to Vergil, and proposes hypotheses on the reasons that led to combine Dante and Petrarch’s epistles with Vergil’s works
White matter microstructure in early onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Tourette Syndrome. A diffusion tensor imaging study in a population of drug-naïve children and adolescents with long-term clinical follow-up
Full text linkBackground and Objective
Early onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS) are frequently associated conditions. Beside the evidence of their high epidemiological cross-prevalence supported by a common genetic liability (Huisman-van Dijk et al., 2016; Yu et al., 2015), little is known on the nature of their close relationship on a pathophysiological level. By analyzing white matter (WM) microstructure through diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the present study aimed to characterize and compare primary pathophysiological changes in drug-naïve children and adolescents with OCD, TS, and TS+OCD.
Methods
Fifty-one participants (mean age 10.2 2.0 years), including N=10 with OCD, N=16 with pure TS, N=14 with TS+OCD, and 11 age-matched controls were studied cross-sectionally through 3T MRI. We performed tractography and extracted DTI metrics in five WM tracts of interest, i.e., the cortico-spinal tract (CST), the anterior thalamic radiations (ATR), the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), the corpus callosum (CC), and the cingulum. Relationship between DTI changes and clinical severity was examined through correlational analyses. A clinical follow-up at mean 7.6 years after MRI examination was performed to evaluate clinical outcomes and association to neuroimaging findings.
Results
Significant between-group differences emerged in DTI metrics, specifically in fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of myelination and organization of axon fibers (Johansen-Berg & Rushworth, 2009; Toga et al., 2006). All analyzed tracts of interest except for the cingulum revealed a differential microstructure at group comparisons. The OCD group showed decreased FA within CST, ATR, ILF, and CC in respect to controls. A negative correlation was found between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and FA values in OCD, indicating that more severe clinical phenotypes are likely underpinned by less organized WM. Compared to controls, TS and TS+OCD groups both displayed remarkably different correlates from OCD and opposite DTI changes, i.e., increased FA in CST, ATR, ILF, and CC. Moreover, TS and TS+OCD had comparable DTI changes within all the investigated WM tracts and FA showed negative correlation with tic severity, revealing a shared pattern of WM organization in TS/TS+OCD with inverse relationship to symptom expression. At follow-up, no significant associations were found between FA values at baseline and long-term outcomes. Substantial symptom remission was achieved in 58.3% of TS, 63.6% of TS+OCD, and 70% of OCD patients, although a significant proportion of patient developed additional psychiatric disorders such as anxiety or depression.
Conclusion
The study highlights differential white matter involvement in pediatric OCD as opposed to TS/TS+OCD. Compared to neurotypical population, children with TS/TS+OCD showed an early increase in axons, fiber density, and/or myelination in WM bundles linking the frontal, occipital, and temporal cortices with each other and with the thalamus. Conversely, children with OCD showed widespread reduced organization of callosal, temporo-occipital, and fronto-thalamic WM tracts. Correlational analysis suggests that DTI changes in TS may reflect a compensatory reorganization in response to the disease pathophysiology, while in OCD they may represent a marker of the overall disease severity deriving from delay or damage to white matter development. Confirmation of these possibilities awaits longitudinal studies. The observation of shared DTI correlates of TS and TS+OCD strengthens the concept that at least some forms of OCD are etiologically related to TS and might therefore be a variant expression of the same etiologic factors that are important for the expression of tics (i.e., TS+OCD as a peculiar subtype of TS). By characterizing and differentiating early-stage neural underpinnings of OCD and TS, future targeted and neuroimaging-informed interventions may be developed
Studi filologici e linguistici sui composti in Licofrone
No full textIl lavoro muove dall’esigenza di studiare la lingua di Licofrone in maniera più approfondita di quanto sia stato fatto fino ad ora. A tal fine, si è scelto di trattare uno dei fenomeni linguistici salienti dell’Alessandra, la presenza di composti nominali (questi ultimi oggetto, in sede introduttiva, di una breve discussione teorica): in particolare, sono state realizzate ottanta schede di hapax e diciannove di primum dicta. Ciascuna scheda contiene osservazioni di natura morfologica, lessicale e semantica e, spesso, considerazioni di ordine storico-linguistico e letterario. L’analisi dei composti così compiuta, oltre a favorire l’interpretazione minuta di singoli passi dell’Alessandra, permette di meglio individuare alcune caratteristiche del poema attribuito a Licofrone. Esse sono per lo più di natura lessicale, ma contribuiscono a delineare il significato stesso dell’opera: si sono individuati in particolare un lessico della parentela e un lessico della ‘violenza’, entrambi volti a far risaltare la contrapposizione tragica tra i Troiani, vinti, e i Greci, feroci vincitori e al tempo stesso vittime di destini di morte; proprio i Greci sono talvolta caratterizzati in modo grottesco grazie al ricorso al lessico comico. L’uso dei composti serve però anche a fini meta-poetici: particolare attenzione è stata rivolta ai casi (anche solo possibili) di interpretatio Homerica. Quest’ultimo versante della ricerca ha portato a conclusioni simili a quelle già raggiunte per altre vie da precedenti studi: Licofrone mostra spesso, infatti, una consonanza con i cosiddetti scholia D
Spallanzani e la controversia sulla generazione spontanea: nuove prospettive di ricerca
No full textSaggio in Atti Convegn
Dental pulp metastasis from oral squamous cell carcinoma: a case report and a review of the literature
No full textA 61-year-old man was seen in the Oral Pathology Department with a three months history of right mandibular pain. Clinical examination revealed a 3 cm mass involving the body and the angle of the right site of the mandible and palpable masses in the neck. The dental panoramic radiography showed on the right a radiolucency area surrounding the lower second molar extending to the mandible angle. Additionally, chest radiograph and routine laboratory analysis results were unremarkable. An incisional biopsy of the area, revealed histologically a well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and after few days, the patient was operated of right hemimandibulectomy with dissection of submandibular salivary gland and laterocervical lymphnodes on the same side. The histology of surgical material confirmed the diagnosis of a differentiated squamous cell carcinoma G1, omotateral diffusion in the mandible bone and metastasis to the dental pulp of the second lower molar tooth and to one of 18 lymphnodes dissected. In this report is described a very rare metastasis to the dental pulp and literature review, in which only fifteen other cases are reported
Metastatic embryonal carcinoma in the maxillary gingiva.
No full textGingival metastases from embryonal carcinoma are very rare and often associated with widespread disease and poor prognosis. Because of their indistinct clinical appearance, they may be difficult to discriminate from more frequent gingival hyperplastic or reactive lesions. The case of a 35-year-old man who presented with a swelling in the left maxillary gingiva, extending from the first premolar to the second molar is reported. This medical history revealed that, 2 years previously, he had been diagnosed with a testicular mixed germ cell tumor (GCTs), for which he had undergone right inguinal orchidectomy and chemotherapy, leading to complete remission. Histology revealed a metastatic embryonal carcinoma. Imaging of the chest and abdomen showed this was the only site of metastasis. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy and responding well. This case draws attention to the multiple diseases that may present as gingival masses and stresses the difficulty of making a correct diagnosis. It is emphasized that in some mixed cases of testicular GCT it may be the more aggressive component that metastasizes, without being clearly apparent
Un approccio innovativo per una migliore comprensione dell’interazione sismica tra suolo e strutture: il test site di Ferrara
No full textLa presenza di faglie sismogeniche o potenzialmente tali implica in molte regioni del Mediterraneo un’elevata pericolosità sismica, che combinata all’esposizione e alla vulnerabilità degli edifici esistenti, concorre ad aumentare il rischio sismico e le perdite attese. Ciononostante, il miglioramento della pianificazione urbana basato su una stima robusta del rischio sismico a lungo periodo consente una sua mitigazione. In particolare, la pianificazione può essere significativamente migliorata tenendo conto della variabilità dello scuotimento del terreno a brevi distanze durante un terremoto, principalmente a causa delle variazioni delle caratteristiche meccaniche del sottosuolo
Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Lazzaro Spallanzani - Parte quinta: Opere edite non direttamente dall’autore - Vol. V: Memorie sulla respirazione
No full textLazzaro Spallanzani, tra il gennaio 1795 e l’11 febbraio 1799 (giorno della sua morte), svolse una serie di fondamentali ricerche sulla respirazione animale e vegetale. La maggior parte del materiale relativo alle sue indagini rimase manoscritto, per lo più nella forma di diario di laboratorio o di abbozzo incompiuto. Almeno tre memorie relative alla respirazione animale erano pronte per la stampa e videro la luce nel 1803 sia in edizione italiana, su iniziativa del fratello Niccolò e del nipote Gian Battista, sia in traduzione francese, grazie al lavoro dell’amico Senebier.
Un’analisi dettagliata dei manoscritti e la ricostruzione del contesto in cui si svolsero gli studi di Spallanzani, nonché del preciso succedersi dei fatti, ha permesso di stabilire che lo scienziato, prima di morire, aveva già predisposto per la stampa altre due memorie relative alla respirazione vegetale. Nel presente volume, le due memorie in questione vengono pubblicate per la prima volta nella versione originale italiana. Almeno una di queste memorie, Se le acque del Globo decompongano l’acido carbonico che ricavano dall’Atmosfera, venne inviata dallo stesso Spallanzani a Senebier nel 1798, in una versione definitiva, pronta per la stampa. Tale versione, anch'essa inedita, è stata individuata presso la Bibliothèque Publique et Universitaire de Genève. Nel volume sono inoltre ripubblicate le memorie sulla respirazione animale dell’edizione postuma italiana del 1803, annotate alla luce delle versioni presenti nei manoscritti e della traduzione francese di Senebier, per verificarne congruenze e divergenze
Hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma arising on the anterior palatoglossal arch.
No full textHyalinizing clear cell carcinoma (HCCC) is very rare in the oral cavity, arising more frequently in the minor salivary glands. We present the case of a 57-year-old woman with a swelling on the anterior palatoglossal arch of 2x1 cm size. An incisional biopsy was taken and histological examination revealed typical clear cells arranged in anastomosing trabeculae, cords, nests, and solid sheets with a hyalinizing stroma. These clear cells were strongly positive to periodic acid-Schiff stain (PAS) but were negative for mucicarmine. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells were immunoreactive to pancytokeratin, focally positive to EMA, but negative for smooth muscle actin (SMA), vimentin and S-100 protein, HMB45, CD68, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP). These findings allowed us to define this tumor as a clear cell tumor of the anterior palatoglossal arch. The tumor was subjected to radical excision and the patient is doing well at twelve months after surgery. This report focuses on the heterogeneous group of clear cell neoplasms with the intent of pointing out some aspects that may contribute to forming a diagnosis of HCCC, and which, above all enable us to distinguish this neoplasm from other very similar forms occurring in the oral cavity
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