Editorial: Embodied cognition over the lifespan. Theoretical issues and implications for applied settings

The editorial introduces The Special Topic on Embodied Cognition over the Lifespan and in Applied Settings. The Topic aimed at gathering evidence on the role of EC in development, adulthood, and aging, and to shed light on the applied fields benefiting from this approach

Willingness to Pay for Voluntary Health Insurance in Tanzania

To assess how willing people would be to join a voluntary health insurance scheme and to see how they respond to changes in the benefit package. We also examined willingness to cross-subsidise the poor. Cross-sectional study. Two thousand two hundread and twenty four households comprising of 1,163 uninsured household heads asked about their willingness to pay for insurance in seven districts/councils (three urban and four rural) and 1,061 insured households were asked about their willingness to pay for insurance premiums for the poor in their community. Uninsured respondents were presented with two scenarios, the first reflected the current design of the Community Health Fund/Tiba Kwa Kadi (CHF/TIKA), the second offered expanded benefits, and included inpatient care in public facilities and transport. Only 30 % of uninsured rural households were willing to pay more than Tsh 5,000 the current premium level, their average amount was Tsh 10,741, while in urban areas one percent of households were willing to pay more than Tsh 5,000. There was very limited willingness to pay more than 5,000 Tsh, even with an expanded package in rural areas. Household from rural areas were more willing to cross-subsidise the poor, but contribution levels were higher in urban areas. Communities need to be sensitised about the existence of the CHF/TIKA to encourage enrollment. Expanding the benefit package would further increase enrollment. However, few people would be willing to pay more than the current premium.\u

The particularity of emotional words. A grounded approach

This work focuses on emotional concepts. We define concepts as patterns of neural activation that re-enact a given external or internal experience, for example the interoceptive experience related to fear. Concepts are mediated and expressed through words. In the following, we will use “words” to refer to word meanings, assuming that words mediate underlying concepts. Since emotional concepts and the words that mediate them are less related to the physical environment than concrete ones, at first sight they might be depicted as abstract concepts. Evidence coming from several studies shows, instead, that the issue is more complex. In this work, we will briefly outline the debate and illustrate results from recent studies on comprehension of concrete, emotional and abstract words in children and adults. We will argue that emotional words can be accounted for from a grounded perspective and will contend that emotional words represent a particular set of words that differs from both the concrete and purely abstract ones

Exact numerical diagonalization of one-dimensional interacting electrons nonadiabatically coupled to phonons

We study the role of non-adiabatic Holstein electron-phonon coupling on the neutral-ionic phase transition of charge transfer crystals which can be tuned from continuous to discontinuous, using exact numerical diagonalization. The variation of electronic properties through the transition is smoothed by nonadiabaticity. Lattice properties are strongly affected, and we observe both squeezing and antisqueezing, depending on details of the adiabatic potentials, and identify the quantum uncertainty of the phonons as the most sensitive measure of nonadiabaticity. The adiabatic limit is regular for a continuous transition but turns out completely inadequate near a discontinuous transition. The relevance of coherent state approaches is assessed critically.Comment: latex manuscript (7 pages), 3 eps figures; revised version, better discussion, one figure replaced; to be published in Europhys. Let

Nanoscale roughness and morphology affect the IsoElectric Point of titania surfaces

We report on the systematic investigation of the role of surface nanoscale roughness and morphology on the charging behaviour of nanostructured titania (TiO2) surfaces in aqueous solutions. IsoElectric Points (IEPs) of surfaces have been characterized by direct measurement of the electrostatic double layer interactions between titania surfaces and the micrometer-sized spherical silica probe of an atomic force microscope in NaCl aqueous electrolyte. The use of a colloidal probe provides well-defined interaction geometry and allows effectively probing the overall effect of nanoscale morphology. By using supersonic cluster beam deposition to fabricate nanostructured titania films, we achieved a quantitative control over the surface morphological parameters. We performed a systematical exploration of the electrical double layer properties in different interaction regimes characterized by different ratios of characteristic nanometric lengths of the system: the surface rms roughness Rq, the correlation length {\xi} and the Debye length {\lambda}D. We observed a remarkable reduction by several pH units of IEP on rough nanostructured surfaces, with respect to flat crystalline rutile TiO2. In order to explain the observed behavior of IEP, we consider the roughness-induced self-overlap of the electrical double layers as a potential source of deviation from the trend expected for flat surfaces.Comment: 63 pages, including 7 figures and Supporting Informatio

Pseudospin Magnetism in Graphene

We predict that neutral graphene bilayers are pseudospin magnets in which the charge density-contribution from each valley and spin spontaneously shifts to one of the two layers. The band structure of this system is characterized by a momentum-space vortex which is responsible for unusual competition between band and kinetic energies leading to symmetry breaking in the vortex core. We discuss the possibility of realizing a pseudospin version of ferromagnetic metal spintronics in graphene bilayers based on hysteresis associated with this broken symmetry.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; added figure 1, modified introduction and discussion; updated reference

Rett Syndrome and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders Share Common Changes in Gut Microbial Community : a Descriptive Review

In this narrative review, we summarize recent pieces of evidence of the role of microbiota alterations in Rett syndrome (RTT). Neurological problems are prominent features of the syndrome, but the pathogenic mechanisms modulating its severity are still poorly understood. Gut microbiota was recently demonstrated to be altered both in animal models and humans with different neurodevelopmental disorders and/or epilepsy. By investigating gut microbiota in RTT cohorts, a less rich microbial community was identified which was associated with alterations of fecal microbial short-chain fatty acids. These changes were positively correlated with severe clinical outcomes. Indeed, microbial metabolites can play a crucial role both locally and systemically, having dynamic effects on host metabolism and gene expression in many organs. Similar alterations were found in patients with autism and down syndrome as well, suggesting a potential common pathway of gut microbiota involvement in neurodevelopmental disorders

'Use of lipid-lowering therapy: the guidelines, the drugs or the patient?'

The current step up approach in the therapy of dyslipidemias aims to reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol below a threshold that varies according to the patient's risk category, with a pharmacological approach that sees statins as a fundamental cornerstone. Although absolutely functional in reducing cardiovascular events, this therapeutic algorithm does not yet take into consideration the innumerable phenotypic variables that we can find in dyslipidemic subjects. The ever finer understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying dyslipidemias in combination with the novelties obtained through DNA genotyping will allow, in the near future, the development of a 'tailor-made' therapy for each category of patients. This article will summarize the most recent evidence regarding the therapy of dyslipidemias, with particular attention to the concept of cumulative exposure and some hypotheses on possible initial therapeutic proposals in patients with diabetes, vasculopathy, with hypertriglyceridaemia and with high levels of Lp (a)