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Il saggio mira a mettere in rilievo l’utilità che una specifica tipologia di fonte, il testamento, può rivestire per la storia degli enti assistenziali, analizzando il caso studio di Sciacca per il quale si nota una particolare ricchezza di testimonianze. Dei due testamenti con cui il mercante Antonio Pardo stabiliva la fondazione dell’ospedale di Santa Margherita e il miles Ferrerio Ferreri quella dell’ospedale di Santa Maria della Misericordia esistono diversi transunti dovuti alle complesse vicende vissute dalle due strutture, la cui storia è riportata anche in manoscritti del XVIII secolo. Il confronto e l’integrazione dei dati offerti dalle testimonianze consentono di fornire elementi essenziali per la ricostruzione della storia delle due istituzioni assistenziali più longeve di Sciacca. The essay aims to highlight the usefulness that a specific type of source, the will, can play for the history of welfare agencies, analyzing the case study of Sciacca for which there is a particular wealth of evidence. The two wills with which the merchant Antonio Pardo established the foundation of the hospital of Santa Margherita and the miles Ferrerio Ferreri the foundation of the hospital of Santa Maria della Misericordia exist in several transumpts due to the complex events experienced by the two structures, whose history is also reported in eighteenth-century manuscripts. The comparison and integration of the data offered by the various testimonies allow us to provide essential elements for the reconstruction of the history of the two longest-lived welfare institutions in Sciacca.

Nell’ambito del censimento sulla signoria rurale nell’Italia del tardo Medioevo, viene ricostruisce la storia della signoria dei Peralta dalla formazione, all’apogeo, alla crisi con particolare riferimento all’amministrazione operata dai conti di Caltabellotta. As part of the census on rural lordship in late Middle Ages Italy, the history of the Peralta lordship is reconstructed from its formation, to its heyday, to the crisis with particular reference to the administration operated by the Counts of Caltabellotta.

Nell’ambito del censimento sulla signoria rurale nell’Italia del tardo Medioevo, viene ricostruita la storia della signoria dei Moncada dalla formazione, all’apogeo, alla crisi con particolare riferimento all’amministrazione della signoria. As part of the census on rural lordship in late Middle Ages Italy, the history of the Moncada lordship is reconstructed from its formation, to its heyday, to the crisis with particular reference to the administration of the lordship.

Partendo dalla constatazione che in Sicilia diversi castelli di dubbia paternità o verosimilmente eretti da Federico III furono attribuiti a Federico II, nonostante alcuni di questi fossero stati nel Cinquecento già ascritti all’aragonese, il saggio si propone di verificare fino a che punto in un campo specifico che è quello dell’architettura fortificata in Sicilia sia stata forte la memoria aragonese o, piuttosto, si possa parlare di “memoria anti-aragonese” e ricostruisce le cause che hanno portato a quella che più propriamente può definirsi “confusione nella memoria”. Starting from the observation that in Sicily several castles of dubious paternity or probably erected by Frederick III were attributed to Frederick II, although some of these had already been ascribed to the Aragonese in the sixteenth century, the essay aims to verify to what extent in the specific field of fortified architecture in Sicily the Aragonese memory was strong or, rather, we can speak of "anti-Aragonese memory" and reconstructs the causes that led to what can more properly be defined as "confusion in memory”.

Il priorato di Santa Maria delle Giummare di Sciacca fu fondato, secondo la tradizione, da Giuditta, figlia di Ruggero I e si attestò come unico esemplare cluniacense in Sicilia tra i numerosi priorati creati tra la seconda metà dell’XI secolo e gli inizi del XII in Italia. Nonostante la particolarità, il monastero è stato poco studiato e diversi interrogativi attendono ancora una soluzione. Il saggio analizza le questioni aperte legate alle origini del monastero e, quindi, alla data e al documento di fondazione, alla fondatrice e alla scelta dell’ordine cluniacense, restringendo l’arco cronologico in cui poté realizzarsi la fondazione e ipotizzandone le ragioni. The priory of Santa Maria delle Giummare of Sciacca was founded, according to tradition, by Judith, daughter of Roger I and attested as the only Cluniac example in Sicily among the numerous priories created between the second half of the eleventh century and the beginning of the twelfth in Italy. Despite the particularity, the monastery has been little studied and several questions have to be answered. The essay analyzes the open questions related to the origins of the monastery and, therefore, to the date and document of foundation, to the founder and to the choice of the Cluniac order, restricting the chronological period in which the foundation could be realized and hypothesizing its reasons.

Attraverso l’esame di testamenti editi e inediti dell’aristocrazia siciliana, il saggio si propone di illustrare le diverse chiavi di lettura offerte da questa tipologia di fonte che permette di ricostruire elementi biografici, rapporti familiari, religiosità personale, aspetti economici, sociali e geografici. Verranno messe in luce le principali caratteristiche e le costanti dei testamenti in modo da fornire gli strumenti per la lettura e lo studio di questo tipo di fonte. Ricchissimo di dati, il testamento, specchio del vissuto e della morte, espressione della finitezza umana, offre speranze di redenzione mediante i legati pro anima e i legati pro malis ablatis incertis, ma, al contempo, diviene per il testatore strumento di autoelogio ed espressione della consapevolezza del proprio lignaggio. Through the examination of edited and unpublished wills of the Sicilian aristocracy, the paper aims to illustrate the different reading keys offered by this source typology that allows to rebuild biographical elements, family relationships, personal, religious, social, and economic aspects. The main characteristics and constants of wills will be highlighted to provide the tools for reading and studying this type of source. The testament, rich source of data, mirror of life and death, an expression of human finitude, offers hope for redemption through bequests pro anima and pro malis ablatis incertis, but, at the same time, becomes for the testator an instrument of self-praise and expression of the awareness of his lineage.

Voce biografica su Matteo Sclafani, conte di Adernò

BACKGROUND The safe and appropriate use of long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs) for the treatment of asthma has been widely debated. In two large clinical trials, investigators found a potential risk of serious asthma-related events associated with LABAs. This study was designed to evaluate the risk of administering the LABA salmeterol in combination with an inhaled glucocorticoid, fluticasone propionate. METHODS In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial, adolescent and adult patients (age, ≥12 years) with persistent asthma were assigned to receive either fluticasone with salmeterol or fluticasone alone for 26 weeks. All the patients had a history of a severe asthma exacerbation in the year before randomization but not during the previous month. Patients were excluded from the trial if they had a history of lifethreatening or unstable asthma. The primary safety end point was the first serious asthma-related event (death, endotracheal intubation, or hospitalization). Noninferiority of fluticasone–salmeterol to fluticasone alone was defined as an upper boundary of the 95% confidence interval for the risk of the primary safety end point of less than 2.0. The efficacy end point was the first severe asthma exacerbation. RESULTS Of 11,679 patients who were enrolled, 67 had 74 serious asthma-related events, with 36 events in 34 patients in the fluticasone–salmeterol group and 38 events in 33 patients in the fluticasone-only group. The hazard ratio for a serious asthmarelated event in the fluticasone–salmeterol group was 1.03 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 1.66), and noninferiority was achieved (P = 0.003). There were no asthma-related deaths; 2 patients in the fluticasone-only group underwent asthmarelated intubation. The risk of a severe asthma exacerbation was 21% lower in the fluticasone–salmeterol group than in the fluticasone-only group (hazard ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.89), with at least one severe asthma exacerbation occurring in 480 of 5834 patients (8%) in the fluticasone–salmeterol group, as compared with 597 of 5845 patients (10%) in the fluticasone-only group (P

Mental health workers are exposed every day to violence and its potential to occur, while providing care for the aggressors. The purpose of this research project is to examine the effects of vicarious trauma (VT) among mental health workers following workplace violence in the psychiatric setting. The current study examines the reactions to workplace violence by identifying mental health workers who have experienced a patient-to-staff assault (primary victim) compared with those who have who witnessed and assisted another mental health worker involved in a patient-to-staff assault (vicarious victim).

When a violent incident occurs in the workplace, staff members who have witnessed the violence or those who have been somehow drawn into the situation may experience strong feelings about it. The current literature on the phenomenon known as Vicarious Trauma, VT, has been increasingly researched and encompasses many professions, including law enforcement, healthcare professionals, and emergency service personnel. The concept of VT and its overlapping terminology will be discussed. Commonly used assessment instruments will be examined. Theoretical framework and studies relevant to VT in the mentioned professions will also be reviewed.

The author continues a discussion already published in "Mediterranea - ricerche storiche" (no. 18, 2010, p. 13- 32), examining a number 10th - 11th century concessions ad firmam in Chartres; in this period the territory was caught between the pressures of the Normans and the influence of the Capetians. The use of these contracts in such a well-defined geographic and socio-economic area enables us to resume examination of a subject which was first seriously investigated in the late nineteenth century by Guillaume Des Marez in relation to the city of Ghent, and then formulates observations about the relationship between urban development, the institutional profile of property, forms of domination and individual rights. At the same time, a specific approach is suggested for reconstructing the socio-economic and legal-institutional developments that led to the formulation of the contractus censualis, later called census reservativus. The author continues a discussion already published in "Mediterranea - ricerche storiche" (no.18, 2010, p. 13-32), examining a number 10th -11th century concessions ad firmam in Chartres; in this period the territory was caught between the pressures of the Normans and the influence of the Capetians. The use of these contracts in such a well-defined geographic and socio-economic area enables us to resume examination of a subject which was first seriously investigated in the late nineteenth century by Guillaume Des Marez in relation to the city of Ghent, and then formulates observations about the relationship between urban development, the institutional profile of property, forms of domination and individual rights. At the same time, a specific approach is suggested for reconstructing the socio-economic and legal-institutional developments that led to the formulation of the contractus censualis, later called census reservativus.

The aim of this study was to determine whether heat-shock pretreatment exerted a protective effect against sorbitol-induced apoptotic cell death in K562, U937 and HeLa cell lines and whether such protection was associated with a decreased cytochrome c release from mithocondria and a decreased activation of caspase-9 and -3. Following heat-shock pretreatment (42 +/- 0.3 degrees C for 1 hr), these cell lines were exposed to sorbitol for 1 hr. Apoptosis was evaluated by DNA fragmentation, whereas caspase-9,-3 activation, cytochrome c release and heat-shock protein70 (HSP70) were assayed by Western Blot. Sorbitol exposure-induced apoptosis in these different cell lines with a marked activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, whereas heat-shock pretreatment before sorbitol exposure, induced expression of HSP70 and inhibited sorbitol-mediated cytochrome c release and subsequent activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. Similarly, overexpression of HSP70 in the three cell lines studied prevented caspase-9 cleavage and activation as well as cell death. Furthermore, we showed that the mRNA expression of iNOS decreased during both the heat-shock treatment and heat-shock pretreatment before sorbitol exposure. By contrast, the expression of Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Mn-SOD proteins increased during heat-shock pretreatment before sorbitol exposure. We conclude that, heat-shock pretreatment protects different cell lines against sorbitol-induced apoptosis through a mechanism that is likely to involve SOD family members. (c) 2009 UICC.

Il volume apre nuove valutazioni sulla situazione socio-politica della Sicilia del XIV-XV secolo offrendo uno spaccato di un'epoca ambigua che vede, accanto alla presenza quanto meno nominale della monarchia, il nascere di signorie che gestiscono il potere. Attraverso l’esame di documenti inediti di archivi pubblici e privati, il libro ricostruisce la genealogia e la storia di una famiglia che, trapiantatasi in Sicilia nei primi del Trecento, forte della consanguineità con i regnanti, si è radicata nel territorio isolano attraverso un’oculata politica matrimoniale, riuscendo ad assumere un ruolo sempre più determinate nelle vicende isolane e creando una “signoria”, dotata di una propria corte con funzionari e cariche assimilabili a quelle regie, un esercito personale, una zecca dove i Peralta coniano moneta propria e una solida e vasta base fondiaria nel Val di Mazara.

In previous studies on HeLa cells we demonstrated estrogen-responsiveness of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene, as 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) genistein (G), daidzein (D), and 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4OH-T) modulated its transcription in a ligand- and estrogen receptor (ER) isoform-specific way. This study describes further investigations into the role of ERs in mediating the effects induced by E(2) and SERMs on EGFR expression, and the relationship between the actions of ERs and EGFR in U2OS osteosarcoma cells stably expressing ERalpha or ERbeta. Cell number and DNA content determination revealed that E(2), G, and D inhibited proliferation and cell cycle progression and promoted apoptosis in both cell lines. In parallel, changes in cell morphology typical of osteoblast maturation were observed via optical microscopy. Consistently, quantitative PCR and Western blot analysis showed an up-regulation of markers of osteoblast differentiation and bone repair, and a decrease in EGFR expression. The transfection of specific antisense (AS) oligonucleotides strengthened our hypothesis that EGFR reduction caused changes in the proliferation/differentiation pattern comparable to those induced by ER ligands. The link between the ER and EGFR pathways was confirmed by treatment with 4OH-T, which decreased the EGFR level and produced differentiation effects via ERalpha, but induced both EGFR expression and proliferation effects via ERbeta. In conclusion, we show that also in U2OS cells, E(2) and SERMs are able to modulate the expression of the EGFR gene and can affect events strictly controlled by its signaling pathway, such as the maturation of osteoblasts.

Several reports have established that the action of neurotrophins is not restricted to the nervous system but can affect a broad range of non-neuronal cells. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is present in adult testis and has been suggested as a potential regulator of meiosis in rat seminiferous epithelium. Here we present an extensive immunohistochemical study on neurotrophins and their receptors (p75 and trk) in the developing mouse testis and epididymis, and in fetal human testis. During the early steps of testicular and epididymal organization in the mouse, strong p75 immunoreactivity is detectable in the gonadal ridge in the mesenchyme that is excluded from the evolving testicular cords, and in the mesenchymal cells of the mesonephros. Later in organogenesis, most of the p75-positive interstitial cells of the testis coexpress neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and the truncated trk B receptor in a developmentally regulated pattern. Our Western blot data confirm the expression of these molecules. These findings suggest that neurotrophin receptors play a role in early inductive events during critical periods of testicular and epididymal development. During fetal and postnatal histogenesis, an increasing number of NT-3- and p75-positive mesenchymal cells start to express alpha-smooth muscle isoactin, suggesting a role for the so-called neurotrophic system in the differentiation of testicular myoid cells and epididymal smooth muscle cells. In the testis of an 18-wk gestational-age human fetus, immunohistochemical analysis has shown intense immunoreactivity of mesenchymal cells to antibodies for neurotrophin receptors p75, trk A, and trk C, and their ligands NGF and NT-3. In addition, we found that in the human fetal testis, the interstitial cells that are differentiating into peritubular myoid cells are associated with a dense network of nerve fibers. Our data suggest that neurotrophins and their receptors are involved in a multifunctional system that regulates cell differentiation and innervation in the developing testis and epididymis.