The efficacy of transcranial current stimulation techniques to modulate resting-state EEG, to affect vigilance and to promote sleepiness

Transcranial Current Stimulations (tCSs) are non-invasive brain stimulation techniques which modulate cortical excitability and spontaneous brain activity by the application of weak electric currents through the scalp, in a safe, economic, and well-tolerated manner. The direction of the cortical effects mainly depend on the polarity and the waveform of the applied current. The aim of the present work is to provide a broad overview of recent studies in which tCS has been applied to modulate sleepiness, sleep, and vigilance, evaluating the efficacy of different stimulation techniques and protocols. In recent years, there has been renewed interest in these stimulations and their ability to affect arousal and sleep dynamics. Furthermore, we critically review works that, by means of stimulating sleep/vigilance patterns, in the sense of enhancing or disrupting them, intended to ameliorate several clinical conditions. The examined literature shows the efficacy of tCSs in modulating sleep and arousal pattern, likely acting on the top-down pathway of sleep regulation. Finally, we discuss the potential application in clinical settings of this neuromodulatory technique as a therapeutic tool for pathological conditions characterized by alterations in sleep and arousal domains and for sleep disorders per se

Exploring the Organizational Health Literacy of Municipal Pharmacies: The Quest for a Health Literate Organizational Environment

Health literacy has been usually described as an individual trait (French & Hernandez, 2013), which concerns the ability of patients to properly navigate the health care system (Nutbeam, 2008). In line with this prevailing interpretation, the organizational side of health literacy, that is to say the ability of health care organizations to establish clear and comfortable relationships with patients, has been widely overlooked (Brach, et al., 2012). In addition, when examined, the enhancement of organizational health literacy has been mainly understood as a call for action for health care providers (Brach, Dreyer, & Schillinger, 2014), thus neglecting its structural and managerial implications. To the knowledge of the Authors, this paper is one of the first attempt to discuss organizational health literacy as a core attribute of a specific type of organizations operating within the Italian National Health Service. In particular, the attention has been focused on municipal pharmacies, which are conceived as the most fitting organizational context to handle the effects of the patients’ inadequate understanding of health information on the effectiveness of health care provision. Drawing from the findings of a mainly exploratory analysis, this paper provides several empirical insights about, on the one hand, the awareness of organizational health literacy of a convenience sample of municipal pharmacies operating in Southern Italy and, on the other hand, their ability to meet the information needs of people living with limited health literacy skills. The results of this study suggest that the units of analysis are aware of the impacts of inadequate health literacy on the appropriateness and effectiveness of health care; however, their commitment to address the needs and the expectations of low health literate patients is still poor

Translating the Untranslatable: into the Uncharted Territory of Stand-up Comedy Translation from English to Italian

Stand-up comedy is a unique comedic style that is strictly related to the context in which it is delivered. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the major difficulties one can face when translating stand-up comedy monologues from English to Italian, using examples from popular Netflix specials. Being heavily reliant on the live performance and culturally specific, language-bound content, stand-up comedy humour can be more difficult to translate than any other comedic form. This thesis attempts to present the genre of stand-up comedy and examine the challenges of maintaining the comedic effect of the original monologues while avoiding potential humour loss in the translation process

knowledge and creativity in digital society

Abstract This work deals with the topic of creativity understood as a complex path carried out along all lifetime and that cannot be attributable to the mere accumulation of concepts. The changing social scenario promotes the dimension of the possible, the nonlinearity, the overcoming of preestablished trajectories of knowledge by triggering processes of meta-knowledge and metarepresentation, a dimension in which the creative mind finds a breeding ground. The work explores the relationship between technology and creativity in consideration of the peculiar segment, the artistic one, where with greater evidence the work of the creative is unfolded

Sleep and β-Amyloid deposition in alzheimer disease: insights on mechanisms and possible innovative treatments

The preclinical stage of AD is characterized by β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation into amyloid plaques and tau phosphorylation and aggregation into neurofibrillary tangles. There is a consensus on the importance of sleep within this context: the bidirectional relationship between sleep and AD pathology is supported by growing evidence that proved that the occurrence of sleep changes starting from the preclinical stage of AD, many years before the onset of cognitive decline. Hence, we review the most recent studies on sleep disturbances related to Aβ and the effects of sleep deprivation on Aβ accumulation in animal and human models. We also discuss evidence on the role of sleep in clearing the brain of toxic metabolic by-products, with original findings of the clearance activity of the glymphatic system stimulated by sleep. Furthermore, starting from new recent advances about the relationship between slow-wave sleep (SWS) and Aβ burden, we review the results of recent electroencephalographic (EEG) studies in order to clarify the possible role of SWS component disruption as a novel mechanistic pathway through which Aβ pathology may contribute to cognitive decline and, conversely, the eventual useful role of SWS in facilitating Aβ clearance. Finally, we discuss some promising innovative, effective, low-risk, non-invasive interventions, although empirical evidence on the efficacy of sleep interventions in improving the course of AD is at the very beginning

Sudden cardiac death and coronary artery anomalies in the athletes: A narrative review

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the athletes is an unexpected dramatic event. The mechanism underneath SCD is often represented by a ventricular tachyarrhythmia arising as complication of a broad spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, with a silent clinical course. Therefore, SCD often represents the onset manifestation of an underlying heart disease. To prevent SCD in the athletes, several international guidelines proposed pre-participation screening protocols to identify high-risk subjects. Behind atherosclerotic diseases, other structural or functional conditions have been related to SCD, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, QT-long syndrome, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, and others. Among these, the coronary artery anomalies represent almost the 20% of all cases. The coronary artery anomalies can be classified into anomalies of origin, course and termination and can be isolated or associated with other congenital cardiac defects. Some of them are rarely symptomatic. Others could impair heart function and determine SCD. Some others determine secondary cardiovascular diseases such as increased risk of endocarditis, secondary aortic valve diseases, myocardial ischemia, and others. Innovative diagnostic and therapeutic options allowed to recognize the different coronary artery anomalies, preventing SCD in athletes. The aim of this review was to analyse coronary artery anomalies to understand their implications in SCD in athletes

L’alto potenziale e le strategie didattiche

Ensuring ethical, cognitive and social dignity to “individuality”, intended as an “expression of uniqueness and singularity”, is a great challenge. A high cognitive ability, the essence of a special individual, becomes an obstacle to overcome in a conventional society. Paradoxically, a high intellectual level can become an impediment and a problem for the gifted person and at the same time it determines a “sense of not belonging” and inadequacy. Gifted people may be vulnerable, so to overcome this problem it is necessary to use an appropriate parental style, a suitable teaching and counseling method in order to better develop their “cognitive heritage”. It is important that giftedness is seen as a resource and an opportunity that the society has the duty to invest in, in order to guarantee the individual well-being but also to safeguard the country’s future.Assicurare dignità etica, cognitiva e sociale alla singola individualità, intesa come espressione di unicità e irripetibilità, è una sfida di grande portata. L’alto potenziale cognitivo, l’essenza di un individuo eccezionale, diventa un ostacolo da superare in un società omologante. Paradossalmente un livello intellettivo alto può diventare un impedimento e un problema per il soggetto stesso e determinare un senso di non appartenenza e di inadeguatezza. I soggetti ad alto potenziale possono essere particolarmente vulnerabili e ciò richiede l’utilizzo di uno stile parentale, di un’educazione, di un metodo didattico e di counseling adeguato al fine di sviluppare appieno il loro “patrimonio cognitivo”. È importante che la giftedness sia vista come una risorsa e una opportunità su cui la società ha l’obbligo di investire per garantire il benessere individuale ma anche per salvaguardare il futuro del paese

L’alto potenziale e le strategie didattiche

Ensuring ethical, cognitive and social dignity to “individuality”, intended as an “expression of uniqueness and singularity”, is a great challenge. A high cognitive ability, the essence of a special individual, becomes an obstacle to overcome in a conventional society. Paradoxically, a high intellectual level can become an impediment and a problem for the gifted person and at the same time it determines a “sense of not belonging” and inadequacy. Gifted people may be vulnerable, so to overcome this problem it is necessary to use an appropriate parental style, a suitable teaching and counseling method in order to better develop their “cognitive heritage”. It is important that giftedness is seen as a resource and an opportunity that the society has the duty to invest in, in order to guarantee the individual well-being but also to safeguard the country’s future.Assicurare dignità etica, cognitiva e sociale alla singola individualità, intesa come espressione di unicità e irripetibilità, è una sfida di grande portata. L’alto potenziale cognitivo, l’essenza di un individuo eccezionale, diventa un ostacolo da superare in un società omologante. Paradossalmente un livello intellettivo alto può diventare un impedimento e un problema per il soggetto stesso e determinare un senso di non appartenenza e di inadeguatezza. I soggetti ad alto potenziale possono essere particolarmente vulnerabili e ciò richiede l’utilizzo di uno stile parentale, di un’educazione, di un metodo didattico e di counseling adeguato al fine di sviluppare appieno il loro “patrimonio cognitivo”. È importante che la giftedness sia vista come una risorsa e una opportunità su cui la società ha l’obbligo di investire per garantire il benessere individuale ma anche per salvaguardare il futuro del paese