Confidence malleability in the interviewing setting, and its effect on subsequent memory monitoring and regulation

Eyewitness evidence is often essential for the outcome of an investigation. However, research has shown that memory is not perfect, and eyewitnesses can make mistakes. In the past forty years, researchers have developed evidence-based techniques to interview eyewitnesses effectively and to maximise the amount and accuracy of the information elicited in an interview. Despite the wealth of research on best practice interviewing techniques, little is known about how these might affect eyewitness confidence. This is important because confidence plays a pivotal role in the regulation of memory output. For example, research in metamemory showed that confidence judgements underpin eyewitnesses’ decisions to report or withhold information. This PhD aims to fill this gap by investigating confidence changes within the context of an investigative interview and testing the hypothesis that confidence shifts following an interview might affect subsequent memory regulation. Study 1 showed that memory confidence can change after an interview. Study 2 built on this finding and showed that when the interview promotes free and undirected retrieval, confidence remains stable. On the contrary, when the interview promotes a directed retrieval via presenting Cued Recall questions, confidence decreases. A further investigation of the metacognitive processes that underpin these results (Study 3a and 3b) showed that different types of question lead to confidence shifts depending on the difficulty experienced when answering them. Finally, drawing upon these results, Study 4 investigated the conditions of an interview likely to lead to confidence shifts and those likely to promote confidence stability. Across the studies, no evidence was found that changes in confidence following an interview impact subsequent memory regulation. Overall, theresults confirm and further the existing evidence in support of good practice in eyewitnesses interviewing. As such, evidence-based techniques are compatible with confidence stability, while deviations from them are likely to lead to decreased confidence

Procjena ometanja funkcije mišića pronatora u sindromu profesionalnog oštećenja karpalnog tunela s pomoću elektromiografije i ultrazvuka

Normal flexion of the fingers involves an involuntary contraction of the pronator and lumbrical muscle. In individuals whose profession involves constant flexing of the fingers those muscles become hypertrophied, impinging on the carpal tunnel. The narrowing of the carpal tunnel yields well to ultrasonography. The objective of this investigation was to find an ultrasonographic index of occupational carpal tunnel syndrome. Thus »Index M« denotes the variation obtained in the »M Space« before and after flexion-extension of the fingers. The study included 45 subjects performing tasks which involved the risk of cumulative trauma disorders. The subjects were tested using the electromyography and ultrasonography. The method was based on relation between the decrease in conduction of the median nerve measured by electromyography and the ultrasonographically measured variation of »M Space« in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity of ultrasonography was 85%, as it confirmed the pathologic findings determined by electromyography (»M Index« positive) in twenty-two out of 26 hands, but the specificity was not statistically significant. Ultrasonography seems to have found very important application as a screening technique in occupational medicine. It is non-invasive, sensitive, easily repeated, and costs little.Normalna fleksija prstiju uključuje i nekontroliranu kontrakciju pronatora i lumbrikalnog mišića. U osoba čija profesija uključuje opetovano stiskanje prstiju ovi mišići hipertrofiraju i blokiraju karpalni tunel. Sužavanje karpalnog tunela može se utvrditi ultrazvukom. Svrha je ovog rada bila utvrditi objektivni indeks sindroma karpalnog tunela s pomoću ultra zvuka. Tako »Indeks M« označuje varijacije u ultra zvučno-anatomskom »M prostoru« prije i nakon fleksije i ekstenzije prstiju. U istraživanje je uključeno 45 ispitanika koji su obavljali rizični posao što može dovesti do kumulativnih traumatskih poremećenja. Ispitanici su testirani elektromiografski i ultrazvučno. Metoda se zasniva na odnosu između smanjenja brzine provođenja impulsa nervusa medianusa elektromiografski. Ultrazvučno je mjerena varijacija »M-prostora« u smislu utvrđivanja osjetljivosti i specifičnosti. Od 26 patoloških elektromiografskih nalaza ultrazvučno je patološki nalaz potvrđen u 22 ruke. Čini se stoga da ultrazvuk ima vrlo važno mjesto u izdvajanju mogućih bolesnika u rizičnim skupinama, posebice stoga jer je neinvazivna, osjetljiva, ponovljiva i jeftina tehnika

Interviewing in virtual environments: Towards understanding the impact of rapport-building behaviours and retrieval context on eyewitness memory.

Given the complexities of episodic memory and necessarily social nature of in-person face-to-face interviews, theoretical and evidence-based techniques for collecting episodic information from witnesses, victims, and survivors champion rapport-building. Rapport is believed to reduce some of the social demands of recalling an experienced event in an interview context, potentially increasing cognitive capacity for remembering. Cognitive and social benefits have also emerged in remote interview contexts with reduced anxiety and social pressure contributing to improved performance. Here, we investigated episodic memory in mock-eyewitness interviews conducted in virtual environments (VE) and in-person face-to-face (FtF), where rapport-building behaviours were either present or absent. Main effects revealed when rapport was present and where interviews were conducted in a VE participants recalled more correct event information, made fewer errors and were more accurate. Moreover, participants in the VE plus rapport-building present condition outperformed participants in all other conditions. Feedback indicated both rapport and environment were important for reducing the social demands of a recall interview, towards supporting effortful remembering. Our results add to the emerging literature on the utility of virtual environments as interview spaces and lend further support to the importance of prosocial behaviours in applied contexts. [Abstract copyright: © 2022. The Author(s).

Apego adulto y resiliencia en internas en un establecimiento penitenciario de Lima

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar la relación entre el apego adulto y la resiliencia en internas de un establecimiento penitenciario modelo de mínima y mediana seguridad de Lima metropolitana. El grupo de participantes estuvo conformado por 119 internas entre 18 y 40 años (M= 30, DE= 6.24) con un tiempo de reclusión entre 1 mes y 108 meses (M= 29.61, DE= 26.21). Para evaluar el apego se utilizó la versión reducida de la escala CaMir, CaMir-R (Balluerka, Lacasa, Gorostiaga, Muela, & Pierrehumbert, 2011). Para medir el nivel de resiliencia se utilizó la escala Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA; Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvigne, & Martinussen, 2003). Se encontró que aquellas internas que reportaban mayores niveles de seguridad, así como menores niveles de traumatismo infantil, permisividad parental, autosuficiencia y rencor hacia los padres y preocupación familiar poseían un mayor nivel de resiliencia. Asimismo, aquellas que vivieron con su madre en los primeros años de vida poseían mayores niveles de seguridad y menores niveles de preocupación familiar, autosuficiencia y rencor hacia los padres y traumatismo infantil; mientras que aquellas que vivieron con sus padres reportaron una puntuación más baja en permisividad parental. Además, las participantes que eran visitadas con más frecuencia tenían menores niveles de traumatismo infantil. La resiliencia tuvo una relación negativa con el número de hijos y el tiempo de reclusión, y una relación positiva con la frecuencia de visitas, así como también sería mayor en aquellas que habían accedido a estudios superiores y pertenecían a un pabellón de mediana seguridad.The present research aimed to analyze the relationship between adult attachment and resilience in female inmates of a penitentiary institution of minimum and medium security in Lima Metropolitana. The number of participants was 119 Peruvian interns between 18 and 40 years old (M= 30, SD= 6.24) with a time of confinement between 1 and 108 months (M= 29.61, SD= 26.21). To evaluate the attachment, we used the reduced version of the CaMir scale (CaMir-R; Balluerka, Lacasa, Gorostiaga, Muela, & Pierrehumbert, 2011) To measure the level of resilience, we used the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA; Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvigne, & Martinussen, 2003). It was found that those who reported higher levels of security, as well as lower levels of childhood trauma, parental permissiveness, self-sufficiency and resentment towards parents and family concern had higher levels of resilience. Those who lived with their mother in the first years of life had higher levels of security and lower levels of family concern, selfsufficiency and resentment toward parents and childhood trauma; as well as those who lived with their father reported a lower score on parental permissiveness. Also, those who were visited more frequently had lower levels of childhood trauma. Resilience had a negative relationship with the number of children, the length of time spent in seclusion and a positive relationship with the number of visits. Additionally, it was found that those who had access to higher education and those who belong to a medium security ward reported greater resilience.Tesi

Uporaba ultrazvuka u procjeni rizika od profesionalnog oboljenja donjeg dijela kralježnice

The aim of the study was to evaluate ultrasound tehnique in preemployment medical assessment of the risk for low-back pain. Volunteers for the study were recruited among agricultural workers employed in the »Agraria Department« of the University of Bologna, Italy. The group consisted of 90 subjects, 52 male and 38 female, aged 25 to 58 years. The subjects filled in a questionnaire on medical history of low-back pain and were examined using an ultrasonograph equipped with a high linear frequency probe (3.5 MHz). The oblique parasagittal diameter of the lumbar spinal canal was measured by transabdominal ultrasonic imaging in the lumbar (L4–L5) and lumbosacral (L5–S1) region. Individuals with significantly narrower canals (<14 mm) had an increased risk of low-back pain. The paper concludes that ultrasound imaging could become a valuable screening tool in industry, permitting selective job placement for workers at high risk for disorders of the back.Cilj je ovoga istraživanja bio ocijeniti vrijednost ultrazvuka kao sredstva za ocjenjivanje rizika od oboljenja donjeg dijela kralježnice prilikom pregleda za zaposlenje. Ispitano je 90 dobrovoljaca s Agrarnog odjela Sveučilišta u Bologni, od kojih 52 žene i 38 muškaraca u dobi između 25 i 58 godina. Ispitanici su popunili upitnik o anamnezi oboljenja donjeg dijela kralježnice te su pregledani s pomoću ultrazvuka s visokofrekventnom linearnom sondom (3,5 MHz). Promjer kanala leđne moždine mjeren je s pomoću transabdominalne primjene ultrazvuka u lumbalnom (L4–L5) i lumbosakralnom (L5–S1) području. Osobe sa značajnim suženjem kanala leđne moždine (<14 mm) pokazivale su povećani rizik od oboljenja donjeg dijela kralježnice. Autori zaključuju da ultrazvučna dijagnostika može biti vrlo korisna za provjeru radne sposobnosti u proizvodnji, omogućujući selektivan pristup raspoređivanju radne snage s visokim rizikom od smetnji u leđima

L'osservazione nei servizi educativi per la prima infanzia: Paradigmi epistemologici, metodi applicativi e implicazioni educative

This paper aims to highlight importance of observation, understood as a cognitive, metacognitive and methodological process, for the implementation of educational interventions aimed at children from 0 to 6 years. Starting from a semantic reflection around the verb “observe” and its intrinsic connections with the educational activity, the authors analyse its many aspects emphasizing the premises that guide its realization, the methodological characteristics that establish the application paradigms and the tools in which it is substantiated. Finally, observation is proposed as a tool to ensure, within the educational services, respect for the rights of the child and the principle of the participation of childhood in their own educational processes.Il presente contributo intende mettere in evidenza l’importanza dell’osservazione, intesa come processo cognitivo, metacognitivo e metodologico, per l’implementazione di interventi educativi rivolti all’infanzia da 0 a 6 anni. A partire da una riflessione semantica attorno al verbo “osservare” e alle sue intrinseche connessioni con l’attività educativa, le autrici analizzano i suoi numerosi aspetti sottolineando le premesse che ne guidano la realizzazione, le caratteristiche metodologiche che ne stabiliscono i paradigmi applicativi e gli strumenti in cui si sostanzia. Infine, l’osservazione viene proposta come strumento per garantire, all’interno dei servizi educativi, il rispetto dei diritti della bambina e del bambino e del principio della partecipazione dell’infanzia ai propri processi educativi

Role of colchicine treatment in Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS): real-life data from the AIDA Network

Objective: To analyze the potential role of colchicine monotherapy in patients with tumor necrosis factor receptor associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) in terms of control of clinical and laboratory manifestations. Methods: Patients with TRAPS treated with colchicine monotherapy were retrospectively enrolled; demographic, clinical and therapeutic data were collected and statistically analysed after having clustered patients according to different times at disease onset, penetrance of mutations, dosage of colchicine, and different disease manifestations. Results: 24 patients (14 males; 15 with pediatric disease onset) treated with colchicine monotherapy were enrolled. Colchicine resulted in a complete response in 3 (12.5%) cases, partial response in 14 (58.3%) patients, and lack of response in 7 (29.2%) patients. There were not significant differences in colchicine response between pediatric and adult disease onset (p = 0.42), between low- and high-penetrance mutations (p = 0.62), and according to different dosages (p = 0.66). No significant differences were identified in the frequency of specific disease manifestations between patients experiencing any response to colchicine and patients with lack of response. Conclusions: Colchicine monotherapy is useful in a low percentage of TRAPS patients; nevertheless, it could be attempted in patients with milder phenotypes and at a lower risk of developing reactive amyloidosis

Prossimi Passi

Documento conclusivo e programmatico del Primo convegno nazionale del gruppo di lavoro Openscience della Consulta dei presidenti degli enti pubblici di ricerca. https://agenda.infn.it/e/ConvegnoOpenscienceCoPER202

Covid-19 And Rheumatic Autoimmune Systemic Diseases: Role of Pre-Existing Lung Involvement and Ongoing Treatments

The Covid-19 pandemic may have a deleterious impact on patients with autoimmune systemic diseases (ASD) due to their deep immune-system alterations

Acute Delta Hepatitis in Italy spanning three decades (1991–2019): Evidence for the effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccination campaign

Updated incidence data of acute Delta virus hepatitis (HDV) are lacking worldwide. Our aim was to evaluate incidence of and risk factors for acute HDV in Italy after the introduction of the compulsory vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 1991. Data were obtained from the National Surveillance System of acute viral hepatitis (SEIEVA). Independent predictors of HDV were assessed by logistic-regression analysis. The incidence of acute HDV per 1-million population declined from 3.2 cases in 1987 to 0.04 in 2019, parallel to that of acute HBV per 100,000 from 10.0 to 0.39 cases during the same period. The median age of cases increased from 27 years in the decade 1991-1999 to 44 years in the decade 2010-2019 (p &lt; .001). Over the same period, the male/female ratio decreased from 3.8 to 2.1, the proportion of coinfections increased from 55% to 75% (p = .003) and that of HBsAg positive acute hepatitis tested for by IgM anti-HDV linearly decreased from 50.1% to 34.1% (p &lt; .001). People born abroad accounted for 24.6% of cases in 2004-2010 and 32.1% in 2011-2019. In the period 2010-2019, risky sexual behaviour (O.R. 4.2; 95%CI: 1.4-12.8) was the sole independent predictor of acute HDV; conversely intravenous drug use was no longer associated (O.R. 1.25; 95%CI: 0.15-10.22) with this. In conclusion, HBV vaccination was an effective measure to control acute HDV. Intravenous drug use is no longer an efficient mode of HDV spread. Testing for IgM-anti HDV is a grey area requiring alert. Acute HDV in foreigners should be monitored in the years to come