Theory of Mind and Emotion: Studies on School Age Children

La teoria della mente (toM) è la capacità di attribuire stati mentali a se' e agli altri e di prevedere il comportamento sulla base di essi. recentemente gli studiosi della tom hanno adottato un'ottica life-span (che ha portato alla costruzione di nuovi strumenti per valutare la tom) e iniziato a studiare le differenze individuali in questa capacità (includendo la comprensione delle emozioni e i legami tra tom e funzionamento socio-emotivo). Il presente lavoro ha lo scopo di approfondire lo studio dello sviluppo della comprensione di stati mentali (epistemici ed emotivi) e i suoi legami con le difficoltà emotive nei bambini. Affronta così alcune nuove tematiche nell'ambito degli studi sulla tom, relative alla valutazione della tom in bambini con sviluppo tipico frequentanti la scuola primaria e la relazione tra tom e problemi internalizzanti. Viene presentato un nuovo compito avanzato di ToM e la sua validazione e standardizzazione su un campione italiano di bambini di 6.5-11.4 anni: il voice test. esso valuta l'abilità di comprendere stati mentali complessi da indici vocali. Infine, viene studiata la relazione tra tom e rischio psicologico e, in particolare, analizzato il legame tra la scarsa tom e le frequenti lamentele somatiche nei bambini in eta' scolare.Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to impute mental states to the self e to the others as a way of making sense and predicting behaviour. Recently ToM researchers has been adopted a life span perspective, that leads to the construction of new instruments to assess ToM, and studied individual differences in ToM, including emotion understanding and the relationship between ToM and socio-emotional functioning. The present work is aimed to analyze deeper the development of mental states (both epistemic and emotional) understanding and its link with emotional difficulties, dealing with some novel topics within ToM studies, regarding ToM assessment in school age children and the relationship between ToM and internalizing problems. After reviewing ToM studies, it presents the Voice Test, a new advanced ToM instrument, and its validation and standardization on an Italian school age children sample aged 6,5-11,4 years; the test assesses the ability to understand a wide range of complex mental states from vocal cues. finally, it is studied the relationship between ToM and psychological risk and, in particular, it points out the link between poor ToM and frequent somatic complaints in a normal school age children population

Le difficoltà emotive nello sviluppo: il caso dell’alessitimia e dell’autolesionismo. Dalla ricerca psicologica e neuroscientifica alla psicoterapia.

Riassunto: Lo scopo del lavoro è esaminare il contributo che la ricerca psicologica e neuroscientifica sulle difficoltà emotive nello sviluppo può offrire alla psicoterapia. Come situazioni esemplificative sono prese in esame l’alessitimia (incapacità di riconoscere ed esprimere le proprie emozioni) e le condotte autolesive in adolescenza, alla cui base ritroviamo alcune problematiche emotive. Infine, a partire dall’analisi effettuata vengono discusse alcune questioni aperte di carattere sia teorico sia metodologico.Parole chiave: Competenza emotiva; Alessitimia; Autolesionismo; Neuroscienza; Psicoterapia.  Emotional Developmental Disorders: The Case of Alexithymia and Self-harm. From Psychological and Neuroscientific Research to Psychotherapy Abstract: The paper examines the contribution that psychological and neuroscientific research on emotional developmental problems may offer for psychotherapy. Alexithymia – i.e. the inability to recognize and express one’s own emotions – and self-harm in adolescence are considered as examples of emotional problems. Starting from this analysis, we address some currently debated theoretical and methodological issues in psychotherapy.Keywords: Emotional Competence; Alexithymia; Self-Harm; Neuroscience; Psychotherapy

Quale visione di sostenibilit\ue0 per i territori montani? Voce agli esperti

Declinare la sostenibilit\ue0 a livello locale significa considerare le caratteristiche di ogni territorio comprendendone le priorit\ue0, le necessit\ue0 e le ambizioni. Le montagne, spesso trascurate nelle programmazioni e direttive nazionali ed internazionali, sono luoghi in cui lo sviluppo sostenibile pu\uf2 e deve essere perseguito unendo le risorse naturalistiche e paesaggistiche con le potenzialit\ue0 economiche e sociali in esse racchiuse. Per riconoscere e valorizzare il ruolo attivo dei territori montani nel processo di localizzazione dei 17 Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile e nell\u2019implementazione del piano d\u2019azione proposto dall\u2019Agenda 2030 internazionale, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei ed il Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche dell\u2019Universit\ue0 degli Studi di Verona hanno organizzato l\u2019evento \u201cQuale visione di sostenibilit\ue0 per i territori montani? Un dialogo tra studiosi e abitanti\u201d. Il primo dei due appuntamenti ha ospitato in un webinar online contributi multidisciplinari di esperti di montagne. Il presente Workshop Brief fornisce una sintesi strutturata di questo evento

Modelling the dynamics of a large rock landslide in the Dolomites (eastern Italian Alps) using multi-temporal DEMs

Latest advances in topographic data acquisition techniques have greatly enhanced the possibility to analyse landscapes in order to understand the processes that shaped them. High-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), such as LiDAR-derived ones, provide detailed topographic information. In particular, if multi-temporal DEMs are available, it is possible to carry out a detailed geomorphic change detection analysis. This analysis may provide information about the dynamics of large landslides and may thus, be useful for landslide risk assessments. However, LiDAR-derived DEMs are mostly available only as post-event surveys. The technique is relatively recent, and local or national authorities only started widespread surveys in the last decade. Therefore, it is of a certain interest to analyse the effectiveness of DEMs derived from technical cartography to produce reliable volumetric estimates related to large landslides. This study evaluates the use of a multi-source DEM of Difference (DoD) analysis for the investigation of a large landslide –Le Laste–, which occurred on November 12, 2014 on Mount Antelao (eastern Italian Alps). The landslide initiated as a 365,000 m3 rockslide close to the summit of the mountain and transformed into a debris avalanche during its runout. The comparison of pre- and post-event DEMs allowed for the identification and quantification of erosion and deposition areas, and for the estimation of landslide volume. A sound back-analysis of the landslide with the 3D numerical model DAN3D was based on this comparison and on seismic records of the event. These seismic records proved to be remarkably useful, as they allowed for the calibration of the simulated landslide velocity. This ensured the reliability of the model notwithstanding the topographic datasets, intrinsic uncertainties. We found that using a pre-event DEM derived from technical cartography tends to slightly overestimate the volume with respect to the use of the more accurate LiDAR-derived DEM. In recent years, the landslide risk around Mt. Antelao has been increasing alongside the ever-growing population and human activities in the area. Sediment accumulations produced by the Le Laste landslide significantly amplified the debris flow hazard by providing new sediment sources. Therefore, it is crucial to delineate the distribution of this material to enable an adequate debris flow hazard assessment. The material properties derived from the back-analysis of the Le Laste landslide can be used to simulate the runout of possible future events, and to generate reliable hazard zone maps, which are necessary for effective risk mitigation

The Risk-Taking and Self-Harm Inventory for Adolescents: Validation of the Italian Version (RTSHIA-I)

The aim of the present paper is to establish the factorial validity and reliability of the Risk-Taking and Self-Harm Inventory for Adolescents (RTSHIA), proposed by Vrouva and colleagues in 2010, in an Italian sample. The RTSHIA measures both Risk-Taking and Self-Harm behavior in adolescents. We administered the scale to a total of 1292 Italian adolescents from 9th to 12th grade; to verify the validity of the scale, we also assessed emotion regulation and psychopathological traits. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (N = 638) and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (N = 660) confirmed the original two-factor structure of the RTSHIA (Risk-Taking and Self-Harm). The only differences in the Italian version of the RTSHIA (RTSHIA-I) were that one item was moved from the original Risk-Taking factor to the Italian Self-Harm factor, and another item that was not included in the original RTSHIA is now part of the Risk-Taking factor in the Italian version. The reliability of the RTSHIA-I is also confirmed, and both factors correlate with emotion regulation and externalizing/internalizing traits. Our results suggest that the RTSHIA-I is a useful tool for assessing Risk-Taking and Self-Harm behaviors in Italian adolescents, and the correlational patterns indicate that these behaviors may be related to difficulties in mentalization skills

FATORES MOTIVACIONAIS DE IDOSOS PARTICIPANTES EM PROJETO SOCIAL UNIVERSITÁRIO DE EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA

Objetivo: o presente estudo teve por objetivo investigar os fatores de motivação de idosos para a prática de atividade física. Método: trata-se de um estudo descritivo transversal realizado com 35 idosos com 10 anos ou mais de participação em um projeto social de extensão universitária. A coleta dos dados se deu por meio de entrevistas individuais referentes a aspectos sócio-demográficos, prática de atividade física e motivos de participação no projeto. Para a mensuração da motivação foi utilizado o Inventário de Motivação à Prática Regular de Atividade Física 54 (IMPRAF 54). Resultados: a amostra foi composta em sua maioria por mulheres (n = 33, 94%) com média de idade de ± 74,05 (DP ± 6,30) anos. Os resultados indicaram que os idosos continuam motivados a praticar atividade física principalmente pela saúde, seguida pelo prazer e pela sociabilidade. Conclusão: quanto à importância que dão à prática de atividade física, foi identificado que os idosos conhecem seus benefícios, o que faz com que permaneçam no programa. Os idosos afirmaram que a prática de atividade física está relacionada à prevenção de doenças e/ou manutenção da saúde, demonstrando que a atividade física, na concepção deles, está ligada principalmente à saúde

Anandamide Hydrolysis in FAAH Reveals a Dual Strategy for Efficient Enzyme-Assisted Amide Bond Cleavage via Nitrogen Inversion

Herein, we combined classical molecular dynamics (MD) and quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) simulations to unravel the whole catalytic cycle of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) in complex with anandamide, the main neurotransmitters involved in the control of pain. While microsecond MD simulations of FAAH in a realistic membrane/water environment provided a solid model for the reactant state of the enzymatic complex (Palermo et al. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2013, 9, 12021213.), QM/MM simulations depict now a highly concerted two-step catalytic mechanism characterized by (1) acyl-enzyme formation after hydrolysis of the substrate amide bond and (2) deacylation reaction with restoration of the catalytic machinery. We found that a crucial event for anandamide hydrolysis is the inversion of the reactive nitrogen of the scissile amide bond, which occurs during the acylation rate-limiting step. We show that FAAH uses an exquisite catalytic strategy to induce amide bond distortion, reactive nitrogen inversion, and amide bond hydrolysis, promoting catalysis to completion. This new strategy is likely to be of general applicability to other amidases/peptidases that show similar catalytic site architectures, providing crucial insights for de novo enzyme design or drug discovery efforts

Oxygen-loaded nanodroplets effectively abrogate hypoxia dysregulating effects on secretion of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 by human monocytes

Monocytes play a key role in the inflammatory stage of the healing process. To allow monocyte migration to injured tissues, the balances between secreted matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors (TIMPs) must be finely modulated. However, a reduction of blood supply and local oxygen tension can modify the phenotype of immune cells. Intriguingly, hypoxia might be targeted by new effective oxygenating devices such as 2H,3H-decafluoropentane- (DFP-) based oxygen-loaded nanodroplets (OLNs). Here, hypoxia effects on gelatinase/TIMP release from human peripheral monocytes were investigated, and the therapeutic potential of dextran-shelled OLNs was evaluated. Normoxic monocytes constitutively released ~500 ng/mL MMP-9, ~1.3 ng/mL TIMP-1, and ~0.6 ng/mL TIMP-2 proteins. MMP-2 was not detected. After 24 hours, hypoxia significantly altered MMP-9/TIMP-1 balance by reducing MMP-9 and increasing TIMP-1, without affecting TIMP-2 secretion. Interestingly OLNs, not displaying toxicity to human monocytes after cell internalization, effectively counteracted hypoxia, restoring a normoxia-like MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio. The action of OLNs was specifically dependent on time-sustained oxygen diffusion up to 24 h from their DFP-based core. Therefore, OLNs appear as innovative, nonconventional, cost-effective, and nontoxic therapeutic tools, to be potentially employed to restore the physiological invasive phenotype of immune cells in hypoxia-associated inflammation