Seeing the Bees Buzz and Hearing the Diamonds Glisten: The Effect of the Mode of Presentation of Stimuli on the Modality-Switch Effect

Previous studies showed that the sequential verification of different sensory modality properties for concepts (e.g.,BLENDER-loud; BANANA-yellow) incurs a processing cost, known as the modality-switch effect (Pecher et al. 2003; 2004).We assessed the influence of the mode of presentation of stimuli on the modality-switch effect in a property verification primingparadigm. Participants were required to perform a property verification task on a target sentence (e.g., “butter is yellowish”,“leaves rustle”) presented either visually or aurally after having been presented with a prime sentence (e.g., “the light is flick-ering”, “the sound is echoing”) that could either share both, one or none of the target’s mode of presentation and contentmodality. Results showed that the presentation and the content-driven effects were not cumulative. We conclude that the MSEis a two-fold effect which can occur at two different levels of information processing (i.e., perceptual and semantic)

Una mirada crítica sobre Lengua Madre Una conversación con María Teresa Andruetto (23 de diciembre de 2013)

Una mirada crítica sobre Lengua MadreUna conversación con María Teresa Andruetto(23 de diciembre de 2013)por Costanza Borghi, Serena Cappellini, Sara De Simone,Alma Martini, Valentina Paleari, Marco Pozzoni,Annamaria Rodio, Beatrice Tresold

How the use of the term "schizo*" has changed in an Italian newspaper from 2001 to 2015: findings from a descriptive analysis

The study aims to report the number of newspaper articles including the word “schizo” in the period 2001 – 2015 and to identify possible predictors reinforcing negative stereotypes about people with schizophrenia. The electronic archives of the Italian newspaper “La Stampa” have been searched for the term “schizo”. Selected articles were grouped in articles related to mental health (rMH) or article not related to mental health (nrMH). 946 articles were identified. Schizophrenia-related terms were used in 356 (36.03%) article rMH, which mainly reinforce negative stereotypes regarding mental illness both in rMH and nrMH groups. Over time, only in the rMH group a significant reduction of articles reinforcing negative stereotypes was found. Several factors have been identified as predictors of article reinforcing negative stereotypes: unnecessarily dramatic or sensational headline or content; inaccurate or not in the correct context use of medical terminology; emphasis to the illness rather than to the person; mental disorders are the same; disclosure of particular individual has a mental illness. Although there has been a significant reduction in stigmatizing articles, in the rMH group one article out of three reinforces negative stereotypes

Head–neck melanoma: Clinical, histopathological and prognostic features of an Italian multicentric study

factor. As regards the scalp, some studies indicate a particularly aggressive biological behaviour for this anatomical localisation. Objectives: In this multicentric study, data regarding head–neck melanoma (HNM) have been revised. Methods: The design of the study included two main phases. In this retrospective study, data regarding HNM have been collected and analysed. Results: In summary, our data suggest that the posterior neck is the area most affected by thicker melanomas. Cheeks and neck melanoma are associated with reduced disease‐free years of life and overall survival compared with all other sites of HNM. Conclusions: This study provides useful information in defining the clinical features of HNM, thus improving diagnosis and treatment strategies

Head–neck melanoma: Clinical, histopathological and prognostic features of an Italian multicentric study

BackgroundPrimitive location of melanoma could be a relevant prognostic factor. As regards the scalp, some studies indicate a particularly aggressive biological behaviour for this anatomical localisation.ObjectivesIn this multicentric study, data regarding head-neck melanoma (HNM) have been revised.MethodsThe design of the study included two main phases. In this retrospective study, data regarding HNM have been collected and analysed.ResultsIn summary, our data suggest that the posterior neck is the area most affected by thicker melanomas. Cheeks and neck melanoma are associated with reduced disease-free years of life and overall survival compared with all other sites of HNM.ConclusionsThis study provides useful information in defining the clinical features of HNM, thus improving diagnosis and treatment strategies.Primitive location of melanoma could be a relevant prognostic factor. In this multicentric study, data regarding head-neck melanoma (HNM) have been revised.Our data suggest that posterior neck is the area most affected by thicker melanomas. Cheeks and neck melanoma are associated with reduced disease-free years of life and overall survival compared with all other sites of HNM.This study provides useful information in defining the clinical features of HNM, thus improving diagnosis and treatment strategies. imag

Short-, mid- and long-term efficacy of dupilumab in moderate to severe atopic dermatitis: a real life multicenter Italian study on 2576 patients

Background: The efficacy and safety of dupilumab in atopic dermatitis (AD) have been defined in clinical trials but limited real-world evidence on long term treatment outcomes are currently available to inform clinical decisions. Objectives: to describe long-term effectiveness and safety of dupilumab up to 48 months in patients with moderate-to-severe AD. Methods: a multicenter, retrospective, dynamic cohort study was conducted to assess long term effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in patients with moderate to severe AD in a real-world setting. Predictors of minimal disease activity (MDA) optimal treatment target criteria (defined as the simultaneous achievement of EASI90, itch NRS score ≤1, sleep NRS score ≤1 and DLQI ≤1) were investigated. Results: 2576 patients were enrolled from June 2018 to July 2022. MDA optimal treatment target criteria were achieved by 506 (21.91%), 769 (40.63%), 628 (50.36%), 330 (55.37%) and 58 (54.72%) of those that reached 4, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months of follow-up, respectively. Logistic regression revealed a negative effect on MDA achievement for conjunctivitis and food allergy at all timepoints. Adverse events (AE) were mild and were observed in 373 (15.78%), 166 (7.02%), 83 (6.43%), 27 (4.50%) and 5 (4.55%) of those that reached 4, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months of follow-up. Conjunctivitis was the most frequently reported AE during the available follow-up. AE led to treatment discontinuation in <1% of patients during the evaluated time periods. Conclusion: High long-term effectiveness and safety of dupilumab were confirmed in this dynamic cohort of patients with moderate to severe AD, regardless of clinical phenotype and course at baseline. Further research will be needed to investigate the effect of Th2 comorbidities and disease duration on the response to dupilumab and other newer therapeutics for AD

Italian Guidelines in diagnosis and treatment of alopecia areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-specific autoimmune disorder that targets anagen phase hair follicles. The course is unpredictable and current available treatments have variable efficacy. Nowadays, there is relatively little evidence on treatment of AA from well-designed clinical trials. Moreover, none of the treatments or devices commonly used to treat AA are specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Italian Study Group for Cutaneous Annexial Disease of the Italian Society of dermatology proposes these Italian guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Alopecia Areata deeming useful for the daily management of the disease. This article summarizes evidence-based treatment associated with expert-based recommendations

Sicilia—silicon carbide detectors for intense luminosity investigations and applications

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a compound semiconductor, which is considered as a possible alternative to silicon for particles and photons detection. Its characteristics make it very promising for the next generation of nuclear and particle physics experiments at high beam luminosity. Silicon Carbide detectors for Intense Luminosity Investigations and Applications (SiCILIA) is a project starting as a collaboration between the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and IMM-CNR, aiming at the realization of innovative detection systems based on SiC. In this paper, we discuss the main features of silicon carbide as a material and its potential application in the field of particles and photons detectors, the project structure and the strategies used for the prototype realization, and the first results concerning prototype production and their performance