1,769 research outputs found
Responsibility attribution in gender-based domestic violence : A study bridging corpus-assisted discourse analysis and readers' perception
No full textThis paper investigates how argument structure constructions (see e.g. Goldberg 1995) are used by Italian newspapers to portray gender-based violence (GBV), how their usage affects responsibility attribution to perpetrators, and how such usage is perceived by Italian readers. The assumption is that constructions critically affect meaning: constructional choices prompt different viewpoints of the same event. For the corpus study, we collected 40 articles from local newspapers and annotated 720 constructions denoting GBV events. Constructions suppressing/backgrounding the perpetrator or depicting the event as a bare happening were the most frequent. Building upon these results, for the perception study, 274 participants read an author-constructed news report portraying GBV and answered four speculative questions about the identity of the perpetrator and the victim. Respondents were divided into groups and each group was presented with a stimulus article containing different constructions of the GBV event surrounded by the same information frame. In line with previous studies, it was found that the perpetrator could be assigned less responsibility when the passive and nominal constructions were employed
Eicosapentaenoic acid modulates CyA-induced proinflammatory cytokine over-expression in osteoblastic cells in vitro
No full textSeveral adverse outcomes are reported in subjects undergoing long term Cyclosporin A (CyA) treatment. Severe osteopenia has been described in clinical and experimental reports, while beneficial effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on bone metabolism are recognized. In the present study we investigated the effects of n-3 versus n-6 PUFAs on osteoblastic cells treated with CyA, evaluating the expression of interleukin (IL)-1ß, interleukin-6 (IL-6), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in two different experimental protocols and the production of IL-6, IL-1ß, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) in cells challenged simultaneously with CyA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) for 48h. IL-1ß and IL-6 up-regulation, induced by CyA, was counteracted by the addition of EPA in both protocols; on the contrary, arachidonic acid (AA) magnified CyA the effects. COX-2 and iNOS levels were not modified by CyA treatment. These in vitro results, that substantiate clinical reports of CyA-induced osteopenia, demonstrate a beneficial effect of EPA on CyA-altered cytokine profile, opening new perspectives in the non-pharmacological management of adverse outcomes in CyA-treated patients
EPA and DHA suppress AngII- and arachidonic acid-induced expression of profibrotic genes in human mesangial cells.
No full textBACKGROUND:
There is some evidence suggesting a close relationship between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and renal inflammation and fibrosis, which are crucial stages in chronic kidney disease.
METHODS:
To verify the role of PUFAs in renal fibrosis processes, we investigated the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) on the gene expression of TGFbeta, fibronectin (FN), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and type IV collagen (COLIV) in human mesangial cells, in the absence or presence of angiotensin II (AngII), using reverse transcriptase PCR.
RESULTS:
The addition of AA to mesangial cell cultures induced a significant up-regulation of TGFbeta, FN, CTGF and COLIV expression, similar to that induced by AngII, while EPA and DHA had no stimulatory effects. The coincubation of cells with AngII and AA potentiated AngII-induced gene expression; on the contrary, the coexposure of cells to EPA or DHA suppressed the AngII- and AA-induced up-regulation of TGFbeta, FN, CTGF and COLIV.
CONCLUSION:
We conclude that the PUFAs have different effects, dependent on their chemical structure, on the AngII-TGFbeta system, a major regulator of the renal fibrotic process. Our in vitro results may provide new therapeutic options toward interrupting the irreversible process of renal fibrosis and ameliorating chronic renal injury
Chiara Lubich, Meditazioni: letteratura come relazione
No full textChiara Lubich (1920–2008), although the author of 32 books published in 26 countries (178 editions, 3.2 million copies), is better known for her social engagement, as reflected in numerous awards. She began to be regarded as a literary author only in the early 2000s, and primarily from a linguistic rather than literary perspective. This article focuses on her book Meditazioni (Meditations), reconstructs its genesis by tracing the writing process from the late 1950s to her death and the 2021 critical edition, and offers a literary analysis. This reveals Lubich as a forerunner of a new conception of literature: literature as relationship – not only between author and reader, but also among subject, inspiration, and the editorial process
Chiara Lubich: A Saint for a New Global Unity
No full textIn this article the author offers an introduction to the life, thought, and impact of Chiara Lubich. He begins with a brief biographical overview and draws attention to some important features of her spiritual teaching: Jesus in the midst, Jesus Forsaken, Mary Desolate, the four nights. He draws attention to the Economy of Communion and as an expression of this spirituality in the world of business and economics, and to the figure of Chiara Luce Badano, a young adherent to the Spirituality of Unity who has been recognized as an example of how this spirituality can lead to holiness of life. The author’s judgment is that Chiara Lubich is “a saint of dialogue.
Manifesto per il museo post-etnografico
No full textThe author signes a poetic manifesto for the future of ethnographic museums, beyond colonial representational stereotypes and methodologies
Il museo come metodo. E tu, che cosa vedi?
No full textThe chapter reflects upon the current achievements, at international scale, in reference to the education of the adolescents in the museum context. Drawing upon the experience of the "Che cosa vedi?" project, developed by the author herself at the Museo del Novecento, Milan, the chapter explores the scientific horizons, the best practices and the educational methodologies more suit for working with teenagers, such as peer education and debating. "Che cosa vedi?" was focused of the work of 4 prominent Italian artists of the XX century (Lucio Fontana, Toti Scialoja, Luciano Fabro and Mario Merz)
From Canvas to Music: Mathematics as a Tool for the Composition of Jackson Time
No full textThe creation of ``Jackson time'' is a project which involves a composer, Davide Amodio, and
a mathematician, Chiara de Fabritiis.
Our common aim was to to ``translate'' a painting by Jackson Pollock, Summertime n. 9,
into a piece of music, making use of different mathematical tools to detect the quantities needed for the
composition. We were inspired by the idea that the painting itself contained some kind of inner--music,
due to the fact that Pollock's moves during the dripping on the canvas had a sort of rhythm, indeed they were often
described by witnesses as a dance.
This paper describes the mathematical background, in particular it illustrates both the analysis
of the painting which was carried out by the two of us and the choice of the mathematical techniques applied to
compute the parameters needed for the composition, which is due to the author. The reader will find a more detailed
report on the composition itself in Davide Amodio's contribution
L'edilizia popolare e ordinaria in Francia: un patrimonio da valorizzare. Il Progetto AMuLoP
No full textThe author describes the practices, methodologies and outcomes of a museum project located in the Northern area of Paris and aimed at representing the life of the working class in the aftermath of the Second World War up to the present, with a focus on immigration
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