Adaptation of the personal social capital brief scale for the measurement of the offline and online social capital in Italy

Social Capital refers to the resources associated with durable and trustworthy social connections. Social Capital can be developed through offline and online relationships. It can be distinguished between cognitive Social Capital (perception of trustworthiness, reciprocity, and support) and structural Social Capital (density of social networks and membership, and participation in groups and associations). It can also be distinguished between bonding Social Capital (resources associated with informal networks; i.e., neighbors, friends, colleagues) and bridging Social Capital (resources associated with formal networks; i.e., community service, cultural, religious or political groups/associations). The different forms and dimensions of Social Capital may have distinct effects on health outcomes and self-rated health. Therefore, public health researchers need valid and reliable instruments to investigate Social Capital. However, valid instruments including the measurement of online Social Capital are not available. The Personal Social Capital Scale aims to assess bonding and bridging Social Capital by means of cognitive and structural items. In the present investigation, three studies were carried out (N = 1149) to adapt the Personal Social Capital Scale to develop the Personal On-Offline Social Capital Brief Scale, a brief scale for measuring online and offline bonding and bridging Social Capital in Italy. Factorial structure and convergent/divergent validity in relation to scales measuring constructs with different patterns of relationships with bonding and bridging Social Capital (i.e., social support and stress; sense of community and health) were also investigated. Overall, these studies provide evidence of reliability and validity related to the internal structure of the Personal On-Offline Social Capital Brief Scale in measuring online and offline bonding and bridging Social Capital and discriminating them from similar constructs. This scale is a useful instrument for planning public health interventions

Self-determination and quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Past, present, and future of close research paths

In recent decades, research in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities has targeted self‐determination and quality of life constructs. Quality of life has been extensively studied within various theoretical frameworks. It has been used to guide the provision of appropriate support in daily life. In addition, a vast body of scientific literature has focused on the theoretical and practical underpinnings of self‐determination as a construct in itself. To understand how self‐determination is an essential supporting concept in the quality of life paradigm, this brief report unravels the complementary but unique role that each construct (quality of life and self‐determination) embodies. Furthermore, we discuss the role of self‐determination in the scientific literature and in the quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, reflecting on how both lines of research can converge and be aligned from a common approach. The aim is to drive attention to areas of future research development that strengthen understanding of quality of life and the self‐determination construct

The Effects of the COVID-19-induced Lockdown on the Social Capital and Cultural Capital in Italy

The present study investigated the effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown on the Cultural and Social Capitals in Italy in a large group of adults (n = 1125). The relationships between the COVID-19 spread and participants’ Cultural Capital, Social Capital, educational level, occupational prestige, and age were studied using structural equation models. For women but not for men, pandemic spread was positively affected by occupational prestige and it had a positive relationship with their Social Capital (women: CFI = 0.949; RMSEA = 0.059 [CI = 0.045-0.075]; men: CFI = 0.959; RMSEA = 0.064 [CI = 0.039–0.087]). Moreover, the participants were divided into three validated clusters based on their Cultural and Social Capitals levels to investigate changes in the Capitals compared with the pre-lockdown period. It was found that the lockdown contributed to improving the gap among individuals increasing high levels and decreasing low levels of both the Capitals. People with high Cultural and Social Capitals seemed to have seized the opportunity given by COVID-19 restrictions to cultivate their cultural interests and become more involved within their networks. In contrast, individuals with low Cultural and Social Capitals paid the highest price for the social isolation. Given that the Capitals encourage healthy behavior and influence well-being and mental health, institutions should develop or improve their policies and practices to foster individual resources, and make fairer opportunities available during the pandemic

Prokineticin System Is a Pharmacological Target to Counteract Pain and Its Comorbid Mood Alterations in an Osteoarthritis Murine Model

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint disease associated with chronic pain. OA pain is often accompanied by mood disorders. We addressed the role of the Prokineticin (PK) system in pain and mood alterations in a mice OA model induced with monosodium iodoacetate (MIA). The effect of a PK antagonist (PC1) was compared to that of diclofenac. C57BL/6J male mice injected with MIA in the knee joint were characterized by allodynia, motor deficits, and fatigue. Twenty-eight days after MIA, in the knee joint, we measured high mRNA of PK2 and its receptor PKR1, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and MMP13. At the same time, in the sciatic nerve and spinal cord, we found increased levels of PK2, PKR1, IL-1β, and IL-6. These changes were in the presence of high GFAP and CD11b mRNA in the sciatic nerve and GFAP in the spinal cord. OA mice were also characterized by anxiety, depression, and neuroinflammation in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. In both stations, we found increased pro-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, PK upregulation and reactive astrogliosis in the hippocampus and microglia reactivity in the prefrontal cortex were detected. PC1 reduced joint inflammation and neuroinflammation in PNS and CNS and counteracted OA pain and emotional disturbances

Using the quality of life framework to operationalize and assess the CRPD articles and the Sustainable Development Goals

This article describes how rights, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the quality of life (QOL) framework are closely interrelated. Although legislation can be used as a tool for the practical application of QOL principles, QOL assessment information is required to further develop legislation and monitor the fulfillment of laws, policies, and the SDGs. A validated QOL model, which provides a set of concepts that can be one useful way for understanding and assessing QOL, can also function to assess many of the rights and goals promulgated in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and in the SDGs. This article illustrates the overlap between the CRPD, SDGs and QOL using the #Rights4MeToo Scale, a new measurement instrument for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The instrument's value lies in its potential to: (a) raise awareness about the rights enshrined in the CRPD; (b) design, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at facilitating the exercise of those rights and the achievement of the SDGs; and (c) ultimately improve the QOL of people with IDD

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival