The Wocah Project. A innovative Web-based System for the Study of Headache in Children and Adolescents. A Preliminary Study of Methodological Issues.

Our aim is to take account of the methodogical opportunities offered by a web-based model for of the study of epidemiology features of headache in a large population of children and adolescents from multiple countries all over the world, taking into account the co-occurring comorbid conditions and the correlations with disability

The role of Attachment Insecurity in the emergency of anxiety symptoms in children and adolescent with migraine: an empirical study

Background: It is widely recognised that there are associations between headache, psychiatric comorbidity and attachment insecurity in both adults and children. The aims of this study were: 1) to compare perceived attachment security and anxiety in children and adolescents with migraine without aura and a healthy control group; 2) to test whether the child’s perceived security of attachment to the mother and the father mediated the association between migraine and anxiety. Methods: One hundred children and adolescents with Migraine without Aura were compared with a control group of 100 children without headache. The Security Scale (measures perceived security of attachments) and the Self-Administered Psychiatric Scales for Children and Adolescents, a measure of anxiety symptoms, were administered to all participants. Results: The clinical group had lower attachment security than the control group and higher scores on all anxiety scales. Anxiety was negatively correlated with attachment. Children’s attachment to their mother mediated the increase in global anxiety in the clinical group. Insecure paternal attachment was associated with greater insecurity in maternal attachment, suggesting that there is a complex pathway from migraine to anxiety symptoms mediated by perceived insecurity of paternal attachment and hence also by perceived insecurity of maternal attachment. Conclusion: These results suggest that insecure parental attachment may exacerbate anxiety in children and adolescents with migraine and point to the importance of multimodal interventions, perhaps taking account of family relationships, for children and adolescents with migraine

Alexithymia, Metacognition, and Theory of Mind in Children and Preadolescents With Migraine Without Aura (MWoA): A Case-Control Study

Background: Some studies have demonstrated the high impact of headache and migraine in several areas of children and adolescents’ life. In recent years, there has been an increase in scientific interest in the relationship between migraine and emotional regulation, investigating the possible consequences of emotional dysregulation on physical and mental health. While some studies have been carried out on the relationship between alexithymia and headache or migraine (especially in adults), no data exist on relationship between Theory of Mind (TOM), metacognition, and alexithymia in children and adolescents with migraine. Methods: Children with diagnosis of migraine without aura (MWoA) (36 males and 34 females) were compared to a healthy control group (31 males and 39 females). The age range was from 8 to 13 years in both groups. All children completed the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children (AQC) for the assessment of alexithymia levels and the Domain of Social Perception included in the NEPSY-II to evaluate levels of TOM. Metacognitive development was evaluated with Io e La Mia Mente for children aged between 8 and 10 years and with Metacognitions Questionnaire for Children (MCQ-C) for children from 11 to 13. Results: There were no differences between children with MWoA and the control group in metacognitive abilities; only in the subscale “Negative Meta Worrying” of MCQ-C girls scored higher than boys, regardless of the group they were part of. Also, in the NEPSY-II subscale there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Children with MWoA scored higher in the AQC subscales “Difficulty Identifying Feelings” and “Difficulty Describing Feelings” than controls. Moreover, children between 8 and 10 years statistically differed from older children in “Difficulty Identifying Feelings” and in Total Score. Conclusion: Our data suggest that children with MWoA have no metacognitive and TOM problems compared to a healthy group. The experimental group showed higher traits of alexithymia, confirming what suggested by other studies in the literature. Future research will have to focus on migraine with aura and tension-type headache to evaluate any differences with children with MWoA

Carriers of ADAMTS13 Rare Variants Are at High Risk of Life-Threatening COVID-19

Thrombosis of small and large vessels is reported as a key player in COVID-19 severity. However, host genetic determinants of this susceptibility are still unclear. Congenital Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura is a severe autosomal recessive disorder characterized by uncleaved ultra-large vWF and thrombotic microangiopathy, frequently triggered by infections. Carriers are reported to be asymptomatic. Exome analysis of about 3000 SARS-CoV-2 infected subjects of different severities, belonging to the GEN-COVID cohort, revealed the specific role of vWF cleaving enzyme ADAMTS13 (A disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 13). We report here that ultra-rare variants in a heterozygous state lead to a rare form of COVID-19 characterized by hyper-inflammation signs, which segregates in families as an autosomal dominant disorder conditioned by SARS-CoV-2 infection, sex, and age. This has clinical relevance due to the availability of drugs such as Caplacizumab, which inhibits vWF-platelet interaction, and Crizanlizumab, which, by inhibiting P-selectin binding to its ligands, prevents leukocyte recruitment and platelet aggregation at the site of vascular damage

Gain- and Loss-of-Function CFTR Alleles Are Associated with COVID-19 Clinical Outcomes

Carriers of single pathogenic variants of the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) gene have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 and 14-day death. The machine learning post-Mendelian model pinpointed CFTR as a bidirectional modulator of COVID-19 outcomes. Here, we demonstrate that the rare complex allele [G576V;R668C] is associated with a milder disease via a gain-of-function mechanism. Conversely, CFTR ultra-rare alleles with reduced function are associated with disease severity either alone (dominant disorder) or with another hypomorphic allele in the second chromosome (recessive disorder) with a global residual CFTR activity between 50 to 91%. Furthermore, we characterized novel CFTR complex alleles, including [A238V;F508del], [R74W;D1270N;V201M], [I1027T;F508del], [I506V;D1168G], and simple alleles, including R347C, F1052V, Y625N, I328V, K68E, A309D, A252T, G542*, V562I, R1066H, I506V, I807M, which lead to a reduced CFTR function and thus, to more severe COVID-19. In conclusion, CFTR genetic analysis is an important tool in identifying patients at risk of severe COVID-19

Analisi geologico-tecnica della frana di Molino Ghizzoni (Riola di Vergato)

Nel presente lavoro di tesi si è scelto di documentare un evento di colata collocato a Riola di Vergato (BO), nell’Appennino emiliano, a seguito della sua riattivazione avvenuta nel 2018. Il lavoro è partito da una ricerca bibliografica sulla descrizione delle colate in terra e sul loro meccanismo di movimento per poi passare nello specifico allo studio della documentazione storica della colata in questione. È stato visto come dal 1948 gli eventi succedutisi sono avvenuti in media 1 volta ogni dieci anni, mentre attraverso l’analisi di foto satellitari recenti (disponibili a partire dal 2003) si è appurato che negli ultimi 15 anni, prima della sua ultima riattivazione, la frana non si è mai mossa in modo significativo. La seconda parte del lavoro riguarda il rilievo in campagna, l’acquisizione di foto da drone ha permesso di ricavare un’ortofoto della frana che, una volta georeferenziata, è stata caricata nel software Qgis dove è stato possibile ricavarne la morfologia e i parametri geometrici, vedendo come questa mostri una morfologia tipica con una zona di alimentazione, un lungo canale dentro il quale il materiale scorre e un’area di deposito dalla forma lobata. Inoltre caricando in Qgis la carta tecnica regionale con le relative informazioni geoscientifiche ossia le unità geologiche e le coperture quaternarie, prese dal portale della regione Emilia-Romagna, è stato possibile capire le litologie coinvolte dalla frana e confrontarla con la cartografia precedente. Infine da misure di spostamento prese in campagna si è visto come la frana non si sia mossa come un blocco unico ma si ipotizza lo sviluppo di una superficie di taglio interna al corpo che abbia mobilitato maggiormente una porzione rispetto ad un’altra. Sono state poi ricavate le velocità post rottura della frana; i valori ottenuti sono stati confrontati con i valori tipici riportati in letteratura e si è visto come al momento la frana sia nel campo di velocità definito da ‘lento’ a ‘molto lento’

Using mobile while shopping in-store: a new model of impulse-buying behaviour

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive model of impulse-buying that considers the impact of mobile device use on shopping behaviour as a tool for shopping preparation or as a tool for self-regulation. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained through a single-stage mall intercept survey method using a structured questionnaire involving 406 respondents interviewed after checkout. Data analysis was conducted using a structural equation modelling approach with LISREL 8.8. Findings – The results support most elements of the hypothesis of the proposed conceptual framework. Specifically, findings show the impact of mobile usage on shopping behaviour, which results in fewer impulse purchases. Practical implications – The research demonstrates how shoppers using mobile devices in-store felt less of an urge to purchase during shopping, resulting in fewer unplanned purchases. The effects of mobile device use on in-store purchasing decisions are designed to create a new scenario for the practice of shopper marketing, and retailers and manufacturers will have to seek new ways to capture consumers’ attention in-store and to influence shoppers’ perceptions early in the shopping cycle without diminishing the role of in-store marketing levers. Originality/value – Prior research found the antecedents of impulse-buying in individual characteristics, situational variables and endogenous variables. However, it did not consider mobile pre-shopping factors or mobile usage. Filling the gap in the existing literature, this work sets out to develop a comprehensive model of impulse-buying that considers the impact of mobile usage on shopping behaviou

Placebo in migraine

There is no unique definition of placebo (or placebo effect), and the most common is ‘‘any effect attributable to a pill, potion, or procedure, but not to its pharmacodynamic or specific properties’’ [1]. The mechanisms of placebo effect have not been definitively understood: we deal with the intriguing field of the mind/brain relationship, psychology and biology