Compulsivity in Alcohol Use Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Implications for Neuromodulation

Alcohol use Disorder (AUD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The progression of the disorder is associated with the development of compulsive alcohol use, which in turn contributes to the high relapse rate and poor longer term functioning reported in most patients, even with treatment. While the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines AUD by a cluster of symptoms, parsing its heterogeneous phenotype by domains of behavior such as compulsivity may be a critical step to improve outcomes of this condition. Still, neurobiological underpinnings of compulsivity need to be fully elucidated in AUD in order to better design targeted treatment strategies. In this manuscript, we review and discuss findings supporting common mechanisms between AUD and OCD, dissecting the construct of compulsivity and focusing specifically on characteristic disruptions in habit learning and cognitive control in the two disorders. Finally, neuromodulatory interventions are proposed as a probe to test compulsivity as key pathophysiologic feature of AUD, and as a potential therapy for the subgroup of individuals with compulsive alcohol use, i.e., the more resistant stage of the disorder. This transdiagnostic approach may help to destigmatize the disorder, and suggest potential treatment targets across different conditions

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

State legitimacy and famines in Sub-Saharan Africa

Political Economy of famines mainly focuses on political regimes to understand the role of institutions. In this paper, we investigate a broader concept, state legitimacy, and its role on one specific development outcome, famine management. State legitimacy refers to the political history of a country, meaning the embedding of state and society. Using a database of Sub-Saharan countries observed from 1980 to 2005, we use three empirical strategies: logit on famine occurrence, negative binomial regression and Arellano-Bond dynamic model on the number of years of famines. They all lead to the same results: there is room for a political economy of famine based on an analysis of state. State legitimacy prevents famines, controlling for shocks countries might go through, and controlling for the quality of government. The main contributions of this paper are first to consider the role of state legitimacy in the political economy of famines and second to apply the concept in an empirical analysis, using for the first time a state legitimacy variable

Da Collurania al Gran Sassoastronomia e fisica delle particelle per comprendere la struttura dell'universo

La mostra "da Collurania al Gran Sasso" \ue8 promossa dall'Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, in collaborazione con l'Osservatorio Astronomico ``V. Cerulli " di Collurania, ed il Consorzio di Ricerca del Gran Sasso nell'ambito del progetto per la realizzazione di un museo della fisica ed astrofisica a Teramo, previsto dalla legge 29 novembre 1990, n. 366. Tale realizzazione \ue8 stata affidata dal Ministero per l'Universit\ue0 e la Ricerca Scientifica all'Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. Presenta gli sviluppi attuali dell'astrofisica e della ricerca sgi raggi cosmici e della fisica sotterranea; arricchita da osservazioni astronomiche e prodotti multimedial

Analysis of the V light curve of the system CW Cas

The V light curve of CW Cas, observed during 1972, has been analysed by different methods of solution. The results show great differences between rectifiable and direct method

Rotational properties of asteroids 2,12, 80, 145 and 354 obtained by photometric photometry

Photoelectic observations of the asteroid 2 Pallas, 12 Victoria, 80 Sappho, 145 Adeona and 254 Eleonora have been carried out at the Teramo astronomical Observatory, during the 1982 and 1983 oppositions and also in 1971, in the case of 12 Victoria