51 research outputs found

    A scientometric review of alexithymia: Mapping thematic and disciplinary shifts in half a century of research

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    The term “alexithymia” was introduced in the lexicon of psychiatry in the early ‘70s by Sifneos to outline the difficulties manifested by some patients in identifying and describing their own emotions. Since then, the construct has been broadened and partially modified. Today this describes a condition characterized by an altered emotional awareness which leads to difficulties in recognizing your own and others’ emotions. In half a century, the volume of scientific products focusing on alexithymia has exceeded 5,000. Such an expansive knowledge domain poses a difficulty for those willing to understand how alexithymia research has developed. Scientometrics embodies a solution to this issue, employing computational, and visual analytic methods to uncover meaningful patterns within large bibliographical corpora. In this study, we used the CiteSpace software to examine a corpus of 4,930 publications on alexithymia ranging from 1980 to 2020 and their 100,251 references included in Web of Science. Document co-citation analysis was performed to highlight pivotal publications and major research areas on alexithymia, whereas journal co-citation analysis was conducted to find the related editorial venues and disciplinary communities. The analyses suggest that the construct of alexithymia experienced a gradual thematic and disciplinary shift. Although the first conceptualization of alexithymia came from psychoanalysis and psychosomatics, empirical research was pushed by the operationalization of the construct formulated at the end of the ‘80s. Specifically, the development of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, currently the most used self-report instrument, seems to have encouraged both the entrance of new disciplines in the study of alexithymia (i.e., cognitive science and neuroscience) and an implicit redefinition of its conceptual nucleus. Overall, we discuss opportunities and limitations in the application of this bottom-up approach, which highlights trends in alexithymia research that were previously identified only through a qualitative, theory-driven approach

    The Interaction between Serotonin Transporter Allelic Variation and Maternal Care Modulates Instagram Sociability in a Sample of Singaporean Users

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    Human social interactions ensure recognition and approval from others, both in offline and online environments. This study applies a model from behavioral genetics on Instagram sociability to explore the impact of individual development on behavior on social networks. We hypothesize that sociable attitudes on Instagram resulted from an interaction between serotonin transporter gene alleles and the individual’s social relationship with caregivers. We assess the environmental and genetic components of 57 Instagram users. The self-report questionnaire Parental Bonding Instrument is adopted to determine the quality of parental bonding. The number of posts, followed users (“followings”), and followers are collected from Instagram as measures of online social activity. Additionally, the ratio between the number of followers and followings (“Social Desirability Index”) was calculated to estimate the asymmetry of each user’s social network. Finally, buccal mucosa cell samples were acquired, and the polymorphism rs25531 (T/T homozygotes vs. C-carriers) within the serotonin transporter gene was examined. In the preliminary analysis, we identified a gender effect on the number of followings. In addition, we specifically found a gene–environment interaction on the standardized Instagram “Social Desirability Index” in line with our predictions. Users with the genotype more sensitive to environmental influences (T/T homozygotes) showed a higher Instagram “Social Desirability Index” than nonsensitive ones (C-carriers) when they experienced positive maternal care. This result may contribute to understanding online social behavior from a gene*environment perspective

    Cancer and Pregnancy: becoming parents after an oncological diagnosis in women

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    The issue of cancer and pregnancy will be increasingly topical giving the rising trend of women diagnosed with cancer during childbearing period. Although oncological progress has allowed women who receive cancer diagnosis before or during pregnancy to satisfy their desire for maternity and to carry on gestation, there is still few awareness. In this chapter we present our research project and results carry out to date. The aim is to better understand challenges of women who experience pregnancy after or during cancer compared with non-oncological sample. We focus on the impact of cancer in the construction of prenatal attachment and related psychological aspects. We study resilience considered as a protective factor in the construction of mother-fetus relationship. Then, we present the results of a qualitative study conducted in order to have a deeper understanding of the psychological dynamics that help women with cancer diagnosis to develop their maternal identity. We explore the topic of breastfeeding in women with cancer history, investigating how the feeding method is related to mother’s mood states. Finally, we present the results about the cortisol concentration measurement during pregnancy. Our results show how it is very important to give women with oncological diagnosis the adequate support during puerperium

    Identification of low intratumoral gene expression heterogeneity in neuroblastic tumors by genome-wide expression analysis and Game Theory

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    BACKGROUND. Neuroblastic tumors (NTs) are largely comprised of neuroblastic (Nb) cells with various quantities of Schwannian stromal (SS) cells. NTs show a variable genetic heterogeneity. NT gene expression profiles reported so far have not taken into account the cellular components. The authors reported the genome-wide expression analysis of whole Minors and microdissected Nb and SS cells. METHODS. The authors analyzed gene expression profiles of 10 stroma-poor NTs (NTs-SP) and 9 stroma-rich NTs (NTS-SR) by microarray technology. Nb and SS cells were. isolated by laser microdissection from NTs-SP and NTs-SR and probed with microarrays. Gene expression data were analyzed by the Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM) and Game Theory (GT) methods, the latter applied for the first time to microarray data evaluation. RESULTS. SAM identified 84 genes differentially expressed between NTs-SP and NTs-SR, whereas 50 were found by GT. NTs-SP mainly express genes associated with cell replication, nervous system development, and antiapoptotic pathways, whereas NTs-SR express genes of cell-cell communication and apoptosis. Combining SAM and GT, the authors found 16 common genes driving the separation between NTs-SP and NTs-SR. Five genes overexpressed in NTs-SP encode for nuclear proteins (CENPE, EYA1, PBK TOP2A, TFAP2B), whereas only 1 of 11 highly expressed genes in NTs-SR encodes for a nuclear receptor (NR4A2). CONCLUSIONS. The results showed that NT-SP and NT-SR gene signatures differ for a set of genes involved in distinct pathways, and the authors demonstrated a low intratumoral heterogeneity at the mRNA level in both NTs-SP and NTs-SR. The combination of SAM and GT methods may help to better identify gene expression profiling in NTs

    Genome analysis and gene expression profiling of neuroblastoma and ganglioneuroblastoma reveal differences between neuroblastic and Schwannian stromal cells

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    Neuroblastic tumours are a group of paediatric cancers with marked morphological heterogeneity. Neuroblastoma (Schwannian stroma-poor) (NB-SP) is composed of undifferentiated neuroblasts. Ganglioneuroblastoma intermixed (Schwannian stroma-rich) (GNBi-SR) is predominantly composed of Schwannian stromal (SS) and neuroblastic (Nb) cells. There are contrasting reports suggesting that SS cells are non-neoplastic. In the present study, laser capture microdissection (LCM) was employed to isolate SS and Nb cells. Chromosome 1p36 deletion and MYCN gene amplification were found to be associated in two out of seven NB-SPs, whereas no abnormalities were observed in five GNBi-SRs. In some cases, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 1p36 loci was detected in Nb cells but not in the bulk tumour by LCM; furthermore, LOH was also identified in both SS and tumour tissue of a GNBi-SR. DNA gain and loss studied by comparative genomic hybridization were observed at several chromosome regions in NB-SP but in few regions of GNBi-SR. Finally, gene expression profiles studied using an oligo-microarray technique displayed two distinct signatures: in the first, 32 genes were expressed in NB-SP and in the second, 14 genes were expressed in GNBi-SR. The results show that NB-SP is composed of different morphologically indistinguishable malignant cell clones harbouring cryptic mutations that are detectable only after LCM. The degree of DNA imbalance is higher in NB-SP than in GNBi-SR. However, when the analysis of chromosome 1p36 is performed at the level of microdissection, LOH is also observed in SS cells. These data provide supportive evidence that SS cells have a less aggressive phenotype and play a role in tumour maturation. Copyright © 2005 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland

    Protect, promote and support: a warm chain of breastfeeding for oncological women\u2014results from a survey of young Italian cancer mothers

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    The objective of this article was to analyse the experience of breastfeeding in new mothers with a history of cancer compared to women without a cancer diagnosis. First, we explored the impact of the cancer diagnosis on the breastfeeding choice. Second, we evaluated the relationship between different feeding methods and the mother\u2019s mood states in women with and without a history of cancer. The sample was composed of 74 mothers divided into two groups: 34 with a cancer history (clinical sample) and 40 without a cancer diagnosis (control group). Participants were requested to complete a questionnaire three months after childbirth which assessed: socio-demographic and clinical data, feeding modes (breastfeeding, formula and mixed feeding) and the profile of mood states (POMS). Results showed that women in the clinical group breastfeed significantly less and use formula more than those in the control group. Moreover, in the clinical group, women who breastfeed feel reported higher levels of confusion (according to POMS) than mothers who bottle-feed or use a mixed feeding method. On the contrary, in the control sample, women who breastfeed feel significantly more vigorous than puerperae who bottle-feed or use mixed methods according to POMS. Our findings suggest the need for a specific warm chain of support and the development of guidelines with clear and specific information for women with a cancer diagnosis in order to reduce their confusion around breastfeeding

    Comparison of EV-free fraction, EVs, and total secretome of amniotic mesenchymal stromal cells for their immunomodulatory potential: a translational perspective

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    Amniotic mesenchymal stromal cells (hAMSCs) have unique immunomodulatory properties demonstrated in vitro and in vivo in various diseases in which the dysregulated immune system plays a major role. The immunomodulatory and pro-regenerative effects of MSCs, among which hAMSCs lie in the bioactive factors they secrete and in their paracrine activity, is well known. The mix of these factors (i.e., secretome) can be either freely secreted or conveyed by extracellular vesicles (EV), thus identifying two components in the cell secretome: EV-free and EV fractions. This study aimed to discern the relative impact of the individual components on the immunomodulatory action of the hAMSC secretome in order to obtain useful information for implementing future therapeutic approaches using immunomodulatory therapies based on the MSC secretome. To this aim, we isolated EVs from the hAMSC secretome (hAMSC-CM) by ultracentrifugation and validated the vesicular product according to the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) criteria. EVs were re-diluted in serum-free medium to maintain the EV concentration initially present in the original CM. We compared the effects of the EV-free and EV fractions with those exerted by hAMSC-CM in toto on the activation and differentiation of immune cell subpopulations belonging to both the innate and adaptive immune systems.We observed that the EV-free fraction, similar to hAMSC-CM in toto, a) decreases the proliferation of activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), b) reduces the polarization of T cells toward inflammatory Th subsets, and induces the induction of regulatory T cells; c) affects monocyte polarization to antigen-presenting cells fostering the acquisition of anti-inflammatory macrophage (M2) markers; and d) reduces the activation of B lymphocytes and their maturation to plasma cells. We observed instead that all investigated EV fractions, when used in the original concentrations, failed to exert any immunomodulatory effect, even though we show that EVs are internalized by various immune cells within PBMC. These findings suggest that the active component able to induce immune regulation, tested at original concentrations, of the hAMSC secretome resides in factors not conveyed in EVs. However, EVs isolated from hAMSC could exert actions on other cell types, as reported by others

    An increased micronucleus frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes predicts the risk of cancer in humans

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    none24noneS. BONASSI; A. ZNAOR; M. CEPPI; C. LANDO; W.P. CHANG; N. HOLLAND; M. KIRSCH-VOLDERS; E. ZEIGER; S. BAN; R. BARALE; M.P. BIGATTI; C. BOLOGNESI; A. CEBULSKA-WASILEWSKA; E. FABIANOVA; A. FUCIC; L. HAGMAR; G. JOKSIC; A. MARTELLI; L. MIGLIORE; E. MIRKOVA; M.R. SCARFI; A. ZIJNO; H. NORPPA; M. FENECHS., Bonassi; A., Znaor; M., Ceppi; C., Lando; W. P., Chang; N., Holland; M., KIRSCH VOLDERS; E., Zeiger; S., Ban; R., Barale; M. P., Bigatti; C., Bolognesi; A., CEBULSKA WASILEWSKA; E., Fabianova; A., Fucic; L., Hagmar; G., Joksic; Martelli, ANTONIETTA MARIA; L., Migliore; E., Mirkova; M. R., Scarfi; A., Zijno; H., Norppa; M., Fenec

    Biomarkers of exposure and effect—interpretation in human risk assessment

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    The effect of exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed onto respirable air particles (PM2.5, diameter < 2.5 μm) on DNA adducts and chromosomal aberrations was repeatedly studied in Prague, Czech Republic, in groups of policemen working in the downtown area and in bus drivers. Personal exposure was evaluated using personal samplers during working shifts. DNA adducts were analyzed in lymphocytes by the 32P-postlabeling assay and chromosomal aberrations were analyzed by conventional cytogenetic analysis and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The impact of environmental pollution on DNA adducts and chromosomal aberrations was studied in a total of 950 subjects. Our results suggest that the environmental exposure of nonsmokers to concentrations higher than 1 ng benzo[a]pyrene/m3 represents a risk of DNA damage, as indicated by an increase in DNA adducts and the genomic frequency of translocations determined by FISH

    Spontaneous and radiation-induced chromosomal instability and persistence of chromosome aberrations after radiotherapy in lymphocytes from prostate cancer patients

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    The aim of the study was to compare the spontaneous and ex vivo radiation-induced chromosomal damage in lymphocytes of untreated prostate cancer patients and age-matched healthy donors, and to evaluate the chromosomal damage, induced by radiotherapy, and its persistence. Blood samples from 102 prostate cancer patients were obtained before radiotherapy to investigate the excess acentric fragments and dicentric chromosomes. In addition, in a subgroup of ten patients, simple exchanges in chromosomes 2 and 4 were evaluated by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), before the onset of therapy, in the middle and at the end of therapy, and 1 year later. Data were compared to blood samples from ten age-matched healthy donors. We found that spontaneous yields of acentric chromosome fragments and simple exchanges were significantly increased in lymphocytes of patients before onset of therapy, indicating chromosomal instability in these patients. Ex vivo radiation-induced aberrations were not significantly increased, indicating proficient repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks in lymphocytes of these patients. As expected, the yields of dicentric and acentric chromosomes, and the partial yields of simple exchanges, were increased after the onset of therapy. Surprisingly, yields after 1 year were comparable to those directly after radiotherapy, indicating persistence of chromosomal instability over this time. Our results indicate that prostate cancer patients are characterized by increased spontaneous chromosomal instability. This instability seems to result from defects other than a deficient repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks. Radiotherapy-induced chromosomal damage persists 1 year after treatment
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