BackgroundBeta thalassemia major is a severe inherited form of hemolytic anemia that results from ineffective erythropoiesis. Allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains the only potentially curative therapy. Unfortunately, the subgroup of adult thalassemia patients with hepatomegaly, portal fibrosis and a history of irregular iron chelation have an elevated risk for transplantation-related mortality that is currently estimated to be about 29 percent.DiscussionThalassemia patients may be faced with a difficult choice: they can either continue conventional transfusion and iron chelation therapy or (...) accept the high mortality risk of HSCT in the hope of obtaining complete recovery.Throughout the decision making process, every effort should be made to sustain and enhance autonomous choice. The concept of conscious consent becomes particularly important. The patient must be made fully aware of the favourable and adverse outcomes of HSCT. Although it is the physician's duty to illustrate the possibility of completely restoring health, considerable emphasis should be put on the adverse effects of the procedure. The physician also needs to decide whether the patient is eligible for HSCT according to the "rule of descending order". The patient must be given full details on self-care and fundamental lifestyle changes and be fully aware that he/she will be partly responsible for the outcome.SummaryOnly if all the aforesaid conditions are satisfied can it be considered reasonable to propose unrelated HSCT as a potential cure for high risk thalassemia patients. (shrink)

The informed consent process is the legal embodiment of the fundamental right of the individual to make decisions affecting his or her health., and the patient’s permission is a crucial form of respect of freedom and dignity, it becomes extremely important to enhance the patient’s understanding and recall of the information given by the physician. This statement acquires additional weight when the medical treatment proposed can potentially be detrimental or even fatal. This is the case of thalassemia patients pertaining to (...) class 3 of the Pesaro classification where Allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation remains the only potentially curative treatment. Unfortunately, this kind of intervention is burdened by an elevated transplantation-related mortality risk , equal to 30% according to published reports. In thalassemia, the role of the patient in the informed consent process leading up to HSCT has not been fully investigated. This study investigated the hypothesis that information provided by physicians in the medical scenario of HSCT is not fully understood by patients and that misunderstanding and communication biases may affect the clinical decision-making process. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Image and SilenceGiorgio AgambenTranslated by Leland de la Durantaye (bio)[End Page 94]In the Roman pantheon there is a goddess named Angerona, represented with her mouth bound and sealed (ore obligato signatoque).1 Her finger is raised to her lips as if to command silence. Scholars claim that she represents, in the context of pagan mystery cults, the power of silence, although there is no consensus among them as to how (...) to understand this power. Etymologically speaking, myein, the root of the Greek word mysterion, means “to close the mouth, to silence.” At the beginning of the sacred rites in Eleusis a herald “commanded silence” (epittatei tēn siōpen). It is said that that the initiates into these Eleusinian mysteries were required to maintain absolute silence concerning what they had seen and heard during their initiation. Our question is how to understand this silence. Was it a prohibition aimed at keeping a secret doctrine from the uninitiated? Or did it concern, instead, something truly impossible to say?To begin we might ask what sense there might have been in the obligation to remain silent given that it was possible for anyone—including slaves, and thus, potentially, the entire population of Athens—to be initiated into the mysteries. In his early work, “On Philosophy,” Aristotle affirmed that, “the initiates do not need to learn something (mathein ti), but, instead, to be disposed to something, to experience and to undergo something (pathein kai diatethēnai).”2 It would therefore be possible that in the ancient mystery cults the initiate did not learn a doctrine that could be expressed in words (yet had to remain secret), but, instead, experienced something essentially silent, something impossible to say. “A great awe in face of the gods,” we read in the Homeric ode to Demeter, “silences the voice.”3The impossibility of speaking—and the power of silence—has two forms, one joyful and the other disturbing. In myth muteness is often associated with rape. The Romans tell the story of Lara who was punished for her inclination to gossip by being rendered mute and who was then raped in a sacred wood by Mercury (who took advantage of her impossibility of speaking). Before being transformed into a swallow Philomela was raped by Tereus, who cut off her tongue to prevent her from recounting his misdeed. Persephone, raped, kidnapped, and conducted to Hades, remained there silent as the dead. In every one of these cases silence is the painful experience of a privation of speech, of being unable to say what one wishes to say.In Gnostic mythology, the preexisting, eternal, uncreated God contains within himself a female figure which is his silence, Sigē. From his union with Silence Thought is born. “Sigē,” we read in a Valentinian text, “is the mother of all the beings that have emerged from the Abyss. He who has failed to say the unsayable has silenced it; he who was understood the unsayable, has declared it unsayable.”4 Here too silence appears as the experience of an impossibility of saying, as a privation. It is in opposition to this abyssal figure of silence that the church fathers affirmed the primacy of the logos in which God is revealed. Nevertheless, of the power of silence Heidegger would write: “This primordial silence is more powerful than any human potentiality. No one, on his or her own, has ever invented language—that is, has been strong enough to break the power of this silence.”5 [End Page 95]In Kafka’s parable on Ulysses, we are told that the silence of the Sirens is more perilous than their song, and that Ulysses—who realized, as his ship neared them, that the Sirens were silent—put on an act to protect himself from this silence, plugging his ears with wax and having his men tie him to the mast.6 In Kafka’s retelling of the tale, the silence of the Sirens represents a zero degree of song and, following a stubborn tradition that sees in absence the most extreme form of presence, also represents an at once zero and ultimate degree of reality. In this sense Heidegger could write... (shrink)

Recent literature highlights that the use of smartphones during meals increases the number of calories ingested in young people. Although the distraction interferes with physiological signals of hunger and satiety, a social facilitation effect has also been suggested. Cognition is a pivotal component in regulating food intake, and activities requiring high perceptual demands should be discouraged during meals.

1. Dioniso, Apollo, Eleusi, Orfeo, Museo, Iperborei, Enigma -- 2. Epimenide, Ferecide, Talete, Anassimandro, Annassimene, Onomacrito (2. ed., 1994) -- 3. Eraclito (2a ed., 1982).

Les trois études rassemblent des réflexions du philosophe sur trois problèmes de méthode spécifiques : le concept de paradigme, la théorie des signatures et la relation entre histoire et archéologie.

La ricerca può essere effettuata anche con parole non complete. Per esempio - per la ricerca dell'autore 'Gerardus van der Leeuw' può bastare l'inserimento della parola 'lee' o di altre parti del nome o del cognome. Questa possibilità facilita la ricerca di parole difficili o di cui non è semplice memorizzare la trascrizione. Se invece si inserisce nella ricerca, oltre al cognome dell'autore, anche il nome ed il titolo del libro, o almeno alcune parole significative del titolo, il risultato della (...) ricerca sarà più selettivo. (shrink)

Semblanza de G. Tagliacozzo a través de las distintas voces que, desde su infancia hasta su muerte, lo llamaron en su vida: las primeras vocaciones de grandeza , las voces de la academia , la voz de América , la impelente voz de Vico , la voz de los caminos que la naturaleza recorre .Semblance of G. Tagliacozzo through the voices that he followed from his younger age to his death: the first calls for greatness , the voices of academy (...) , the voice of America , the impelling voice of Vico , and the voice of the ways that nature runs. (shrink)

Como continuación de su artículo "My Vichian Journey: A Chronology", el autor ofrece ahora una introducción a la ciencia por él concebida: la "Dendrognoseología". Esta ciencia, cuyo principal referente es la "Ciencia Nueva" de Vico, prosigue la inmemorial preocupación humana y erudita por la unidad del conocimiento. No se trata, sin embargo, de otra concepción especulativa, sino de una ciencia; siendo ¿merced a su batería de principios única y constante¿ una estructura histórico-taxonómica independiente de toda visión del mundo, la "Dendrognoseología" (...) aparece como un prototipo válido a lo largo de toda circunstancia y tiempo que acompaña y unifica todo conocimiento en un árbol. Esta ciencia, cuyo gozne es el concepto de simbolismo (en el árbol de 1959) o el de imaginación (en el árbol viquianizado de 1989), dos elementales conceptos que son los respectivos puntos de partida de la filosofía de Cassirer y de Vico, puede ayudar a la perfección de un número indefinido de tareas tanto intelectuales como para-intelectuales. Una "Presentación" a cargo de J. M. Sevilla ¿al comienzo¿ y unas "Anotaciones" de F. Ratto ¿al final acompañan¿ a esta obra póstuma de Giorgio Tagliacozzo, que ha sido publicada en español (Tagliacozzo preparó y revisó la edición) antes que en cualquier otro idioma. (shrink)

Los conceptos de evolución y cambio evolutivo son a la vez laxos y polisémicos: se aplican a fenómenos muy diferentes y no siempre se definen con precisión. La aplicación extendida del paradigma neo-darwinista clásico, además, suele imponer un esquema adaptacionista al análisis de los hechos evolutivos, en el cual las funciones juegan un papel lógicamente anterior a los rasgos y sus formas. En este artículo proponemos, como etapa previa a la formulación de hipótesis sobre las causas del cambio, un modelo (...) de espacio forma-función que pueda responder a preguntas como cuándo se da un cambio en los rasgos de una arquitectura biológica y de qué tipo son estos cambios. Un modelo de este tipo nos permite ver claramente cuándo se da un cambio en la forma o en la función y qué alcance evolutivo tiene. (shrink)

La causa e la colpa -- Crimen e karman -- Le aporie della volontà -- Al di là dell'azione.

Dans le Second Alcibiade, Socrate propose une prière simple pour les « bonnes choses » comme exemple de la manière adéquate de s’adresser aux dieux et il l’attribue au « poète ». Jusqu’à présent, une telle prière a été étudiée comme exemple de prière philoso­phique, c’est-à-dire en tant que discours sur la prière plutôt que comme prière en tant que telle. Même si elle fait partie intégrante de l’enseignement proposé par Socrate dans ce dialogue, sa signification véritablement liturgique ne peut (...) être minimisée. En regard des autres prières platoniciennes, la prière du poète se présente comme une réponse concrète, propédeutique, répondant à une nécessité pratique. Il s’agit de chercher la manière la plus générale possible d’éviter les conséquences néfastes d’une prière irréfléchie et peu respectueuse à l’égard des dieux.In Alcibiades II Socrates provides a prayer simply for “good things” as an instance of the proper way to address the gods and ascribes it to the “poet”. This prayer has been studied up to now as a philosophical prayer, an instruction on prayer much more than a prayer in its own right. Even if it is understood as a part of the philosophical teaching proposed by Socrates in the dialogue, its actual and authentic liturgical meaning cannot be overlooked. Compared to the other platonic prayers, the poet’s prayer seems to be a real and propaedeutic answer to practical necessity in order to find the most general way of avoiding the aftermath of an apathetic, disrespectful prayer to the gods. (shrink)

La letteratura slava ecclesiastica durante l'intero arco della sua storia vive in primo luogo di traduzioni, eseguite soprattutto, seppure non esclusivamente, a partire da modelli greci. Mentre tuttavia sul piano storico-letterario l'attenzione si concentra per ovvie ragioni sulla produzione originale, in sede di analisi linguistica le opere di traduzione mantengono, o almeno dovrebbero mantenere, un ruolo fondamentale. A questo proposito ci si può addirittura spingere ad affermare che uno dei motivi per i quali a tutt'oggi mancano una storia complessiva e (...) un grande dizionario storico della lingua slava ecclesiastica risiede verosimilmente proprio nella carenza di ricerche approfondite intorno a molte traduzioni slave ecclesiastiche. Su tale sfondo va letto il libro che qui si recensisce, incentrato sul lessico delle versioni di cinque cronache bizantine, composte in ordine cronologico da Giovanni Malala, Giorgio Amartolo, Simeone Logoteta, Costantino Manasse e Giovanni Zonara, e tradotte in slavo ecclesiastico in tempi e luoghi diversi. Come si ricava dalla breve premessa di A. Guillou (p. 3), lo studio di Katia Tchérémissinoff è approdato alle stampe solo dopo un lungo intervallo dalla sua composizione; un intervallo che la bibliografia usufruita, ferma in buona sostanza al 1980, permette di quantificare in vent'anni. Prima di esaminare il volume più da vicino, il recensore purtroppo non potrà non registrare (e lamentare) il numero esorbitante di errori di stampa che coinvolgono anzitutto i nomi degli autori e i titoli delle opere citate, come per es. Bujuklev in luogo di Bujukliev (p. 19, n. 29), Sandelf per Sandfeld (p. 24, n. 37), Aitzemuller invece di Aitzetmüller (p. 30, n. 52); M. A. Meščeskij per N. A. Meščerskij (p. 42, n. 72; e vd. anche p. 98, n. 157); e quindi, “Das slavische Zort für Kirsche” (in luogo di “Das slavische Wort für Kirche”, a p. 149, n. 240), “Costantinopple byzantine” (p. 186, nn. 303 e 304, e passim), “Byzantinische Uhrkundenlehre. I. Die Kaiser Uhrkunden” (p. 196, n. 310), e così via. Dove però deve essere stato il diavolo in persona a metterci lo zampino, è nelle citazioni slave ecclesiastiche nelle quali, nonostante la revisione cui è stato sottoposto il volume (vd. p. 3), gli errori, grandi e piccoli, semplicemente non si contano: il che di certo non agevola il compito del lettore, sia egli più o meno esperto di slavo ecclesiastico. (shrink)

La storiografia filosofica italiana nella seconda metà del XX secolo. La fase della ";normalizzazione"; e il circolo di filosofia e storia della filosofia.

L'eclissi della politica è cominciata da quando essa ha omesso di confrontarsi con le trasformazioni che ne hanno svuotato categorie e concetti. Accade così che paradigmi genuinamente politici vadano ora cercati in esperienze e fenomeni che di solito non sono considerati politici: la vita naturale degli uomini restituita al centro della polis; il campo di concentramento; il rifugiato; il linguaggio come luogo politico per eccellenza, oggetto di una contesa e di una manipolazione senza precedenti; la sfera dei mezzi puri o (...) dei gesti, ossia dei mezzi che, pur restando tali, si emancipano dalla loro relazione a un fine. Il libro cerca di ripensare le categorie della politica in una nuova realtà. (shrink)