From Naples 1963 to Rome 2013 - A brief review of how the International Research Group on Ostracoda (IRGO) developed as a social communication system

The 1st International Symposium on Ostracoda (ISO) was held in Naples (1963). The philosophy behind this symposium and the logical outcome of what is now known as the International Research Group on Ostracoda (IRGO) is here reviewed, namely ostracodology over the last 50 years is sociologically analysed. Three different and important historic moments for the scientific achievements of this domain are recognised. The first one, between about 1963-1983, is related to applied research for the oil industry as well as to the great interest in the better description of the marine environment by both zoologists and palaeontologists. Another important aspect during this period was the work by researchers dealing with Palaeozoic ostracods, who had their own discussion group, IRGPO. Gradually, the merger of this latter group with those dealing with post-Palaeozoic ostracods at various meetings improved communication between the two groups of specialists. A second period was approximately delineated between 1983 and 2003. During this time-slice, more emphasis was addressed to environmental research with topics such as the study of global events and long-term climate change. Ostracodologists profited also from the research "politics" within national and international programmes. Large international research teams emerged using new research methods. During the third period (2003-2013), communication and collaborative research reached a global dimension. Amongst the topics of research we cite the reconstruction of palaeoclimate using transfer functions, the building of large datasets of ostracod distributions for regional and intercontinental studies, and the implementation of actions that should lead to taxonomic harmonisation. Projects within which molecular biological techniques are routinely used, combined with sophisticated morphological information, expanded now in their importance. The documentation of the ostracod description improved through new techniques to visualise morphological details, which stimulated also communication between ostracodologists. Efforts of making available ostracod information through newsletters and electronic media are evoked.

De la Franche-Comté à Naples : la charbonnerie entre nation italienne et fédération européenne

Depuis les années quatre-vingt, la maçonnologie -soit l'étude des réseaux et des nouvelles formes de sociabilité constituées principalement par la Franc-Maçonnerie- s'est progressivement imposée comme une nouvelle discipline des sciences historiques, sociales et politiques. Sa démarche novatrice est interdisciplinaire et vise à comprendre l'origine sociale des adeptes, le rôle du secret comme facteur d'agrégation, ainsi que la philosophie et la morale prônées par l'ordre. Cette démarche ne s'adresse d'ailleurs pas exclusivement à la Franc-Maçonnerie ; elle peut sans problèmes être élargie à d'autres organisations secrètes telles : l'ordre des Illuminés de Bavière, la Charbonnerie, la Philadelphie etc... Les ouvrages pionniers de cette discipline -ceux de Maurice Agulhon et de Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire pour la France, de Carlo Francovich pour l'Italie et d'Helmut Reinalter pour l'Autriche et l'Allemagne- ont la particularité de s'être concentrés sur les sociétés secrètes du XVIIIe siècle : approfondissant leur dimension cosmopolite proche de la philosophie des Lumières. Cette thèse propose de se concentrer sur la Charbonnerie : une société aux origines compagnonniques encore active au début du XIXe siècle dans les provinces de Franche-Comté et de Bourgogne. Celle-ci a été transplantée dans le royaume de Naples, durant la période napoléonienne, et, dans cet environnement, elle s'est politisée épousant la cause de la lutte contre les régimes absolutistes et pour l'autodétermination des peuples. Depuis le royaume de Naples, la Charbonnerie s'est répandue, d'abord dans les autres États constituant la péninsule italienne d'alors, puis elle a été exportée, principalement par des exilés italiens, dans d'autres réalités telles: la France, l'Espagne, la Suisse, la Grande-Bretagne, la Grèce et la Russie. Son idéologie et son combat mêlent à la fois une dimension cosmopolite d'amitié entre les peuples et de secours pour les patriotes persécutés, ainsi que de lutte pour l'affirmation du principe de nationalité pour chaque peuple. - Since the 1980s, the study of Freemasonry - namely the study of the networks and forms of sociability associated with the Freemasons - has gradually established itself as a new field of historical, political and social research. This new interdisciplinary approach aims at exploring the social background of the affiliates, the role that secrecy played in their integration, and the philosophy and moral principles promoted by the Order. This approach is not confined to Freemasonry, but can be applied in the same way to other secret societies, such as the Illuminati, the Carbonari and the Philadelphians . The pioneering studies in this field - those developed by Maurice Agulhon and Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire on France, by Carlo Francovich on Italy and by Helmut Reinalter for Austria and Germany - focus on secret societies in the 18th century: consequently they emphasize their cosmopolitan dimension and their affinity to the philosophy of the Enlightenment. This doctoral thesis focuses more particularly on the Carbonari: a society that had its origins in the Compagnonnage, still present in the French provinces of the Franche-Comté and the Bourgogne in the early 19th century. During the Napoleonic period the Carboneria was imported into the Kingdom of Naples, where the society became more politicized, espousing the struggle against absolutism and for the peoples' right to self-determination. From the Kingdom of Naples, the society extended its influence first into the other countries of the Italian peninsula, then, thanks to exiled Italians, to France, Spain, Switzerland, Great Britain, Greece, and Russia. The ideals and objectives of the society combined the pursuit of cosmopolitan friendship between nations, the effort to save persecuted compatriots , and the assertion of the national identity of peoples.

Jésus de Nazareth. Nouvelles approches d'une énigme

Ce volume rassemble des travaux présentés récemment dans le cadre d'un programme de recherches des universités de Suisse romande. Savants européens et américains font ici le point sur les développements les plus récents de la recherche sur le Jésus de l'histoire. Celle-ci connaît, actuellement, de vigoureuses impulsions dues à l'application de nouvelles méthodologies: sociologie du judaïsme ancien, étude des sociétés agraires, utilisation des écrits apocryphes chrétiens. Les effets sont inattendus; ils nous conduisent à revisiter le rapport de Jésus au judaïsme, les raisons de sa mort, le coeur de son message. Pour la première fois, des savants mondialement réputés sont présentés en français: John S. Kloppenborg (Toronto), Ed. P. Sanders (Durham) ou V. Fusco (Naples), par exemple. L'ouvrage est construit en sept parties: l'état de la recherche; le judaïsme au temps de Jésus; le coeur de la théologie de Jésus; la tradition extracanonique chrétienne et la question du Jésus historique; Jésus dans le Nouveau Testament; les lectures juives de Jésus; le Jésus historique et la théologie.

Future perspectives in melanoma research: meeting report from the "Melanoma Bridge": Napoli, December 3rd-6th 2014.

The fourth "Melanoma Bridge Meeting" took place in Naples, December 3-6th, 2014. The four topics discussed at this meeting were: Molecular and Immunological Advances, Combination Therapies, News in Immunotherapy, and Tumor Microenvironment and Biomarkers. Until recently systemic therapy for metastatic melanoma patients was ineffective, but recent advances in tumor biology and immunology have led to the development of new targeted and immunotherapeutic agents that prolong progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). New therapies, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway inhibitors as well as other signaling pathway inhibitors, are being tested in patients with metastatic melanoma either as monotherapy or in combination, and all have yielded promising results. These include inhibitors of receptor tyrosine kinases (BRAF, MEK, and VEGFR), the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) pathway [PI3K, AKT, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)], activators of apoptotic pathway, and the cell cycle inhibitors (CDK4/6). Various locoregional interventions including radiotherapy and surgery are still valid approaches in treatment of advanced melanoma that can be integrated with novel therapies. Intrinsic, adaptive and acquired resistance occur with targeted therapy such as BRAF inhibitors, where most responses are short-lived. Given that the reactivation of the MAPK pathway through several distinct mechanisms is responsible for the majority of acquired resistance, it is logical to combine BRAF inhibitors with inhibitors of targets downstream in the MAPK pathway. For example, combination of BRAF/MEK inhibitors (e.g., dabrafenib/trametinib) have been demonstrated to improve survival compared to monotherapy. Application of novel technologies such sequencing have proven useful as a tool for identification of MAPK pathway-alternative resistance mechanism and designing other combinatorial therapies such as those between BRAF and AKT inhibitors. Improved survival rates have also been observed with immune-targeted therapy for patients with metastatic melanoma. Immune-modulating antibodies came to the forefront with anti-CTLA-4, programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway blocking antibodies that result in durable responses in a subset of melanoma patients. Agents targeting other immune inhibitory (e.g., Tim-3) or immune stimulating (e.g., CD137) receptors and other approaches such as adoptive cell transfer demonstrate clinical benefit in patients with melanoma as well. These agents are being studied in combination with targeted therapies in attempt to produce longer-term responses than those more typically seen with targeted therapy. Other combinations with cytotoxic chemotherapy and inhibitors of angiogenesis are changing the evolving landscape of therapeutic options and are being evaluated to prevent or delay resistance and to further improve survival rates for this patient population. This meeting's specific focus was on advances in combination of targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Both combination targeted therapy approaches and different immunotherapies were discussed. Similarly to the previous meetings, the importance of biomarkers for clinical application as markers for diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of treatment response was an integral part of the meeting. The overall emphasis on biomarkers supports novel concepts toward integrating biomarkers into contemporary clinical management of patients with melanoma across the entire spectrum of disease stage. Translation of the knowledge gained from the biology of tumor microenvironment across different tumors represents a bridge to impact on prognosis and response to therapy in melanoma.