Could time detect a faking-good attitude? A study with the MMPI-2-RF

Background and Purpose: Research on the relationship between response latency (RL) and faking in self-administered testing scenarios have generated contradictory findings. We explored this relationship further, aiming to add further insight into the reliability of self-report measures. We compared RLs and T-scores on the MMPI-2-RF (validity and restructured clinical [RC] scales) in four experimental groups. Our hypotheses were that: the Fake-Good Speeded group would obtain a different completion time; show higher RLs than the Honesty Speeded Group in the validity scales; show higher T-Scores in the L-r and K-r scales and lower T-scores in the F-r and RC scales; and show higher levels of tension and fatigue. Finally, the impact of the speeded condition in malingering was assessed. Materials and Methods: The sample was comprised of 135 subjects (M = 26.64; SD = 1.88 years old), all of whom were graduates (having completed at least 17 years of instruction), male, and Caucasian. Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups: Honesty Speeded, Fake-Good Speeded, Honesty Un-Speeded, and Fake-Good Un-Speeded. A software version of the MMPI-2-RF and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were administered. To test the hypotheses, MANOVAs and binomial logistic regressions were run. Results: Significant differences were found between the four groups, and particularly between the Honest and Fake-Good groups in terms of test completion time and the L-r and K-r scales. The speeded condition increased T-scores in the L-r and K-r scales but decreased T-scores in some of the RC scales. The Fake groups also scored higher on the VAS Tension subscale. Completion times for the first and second parts of the MMPI-2-RF and T-scores for the K-r scale seemed to predict malingering. Conclusion: The speeded condition seemed to bring out the malingerers. Limitations include the sample size and gender bias

Altered adipocyte differentiation and unbalanced autophagy in type 2 Familial Partial Lipodystrophy: an in vitro and in vivo study of adipose tissue browning

Type-2 Familial Partial Lipodystrophy is caused by LMNA mutations. Patients gradually lose subcutaneous fat from the limbs, while they accumulate adipose tissue in the face and neck. Several studies have demonstrated that autophagy is involved in the regulation of adipocyte differentiation and the maintenance of the balance between white and brown adipose tissue. We identified deregulation of autophagy in laminopathic preadipocytes before induction of differentiation. Moreover, in differentiating white adipocyte precursors, we observed impairment of large lipid droplet formation, altered regulation of adipose tissue genes, and expression of the brown adipose tissue marker UCP1. Conversely, in lipodystrophic brown adipocyte precursors induced to differentiate, we noticed activation of autophagy, formation of enlarged lipid droplets typical of white adipocytes, and dysregulation of brown adipose tissue genes. In agreement with these in vitro results indicating conversion of FPLD2 brown preadipocytes toward the white lineage, adipose tissue from FPLD2 patient neck, an area of brown adipogenesis, showed a white phenotype reminiscent of its brown origin. Moreover, in vivo morpho-functional evaluation of fat depots in the neck area of three FPLD2 patients by PET/CT analysis with cold stimulation showed the absence of brown adipose tissue activity. These findings highlight a new pathogenetic mechanism leading to improper fat distribution in lamin A-linked lipodystrophies and show that both impaired white adipocyte turnover and failure of adipose tissue browning contribute to disease.We thank FPLD2 patients for donating biological samples. We thank the Italian Network for Laminopathies and the European Consortium of Lipodystrophies (ECLip) for support and helpful discussion. We thank Aurelio Valmori for the technical support. The studies were supported by Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute “5 per mille” 2014 project to MC, AIProSaB project 2016 and Fondazione Del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna grant 2015–2016 “New pharmacological approaches in bone laminopathies based on the use of antibodies neutralizing TGF beta 2” to GL. GL is also supported by PRIN MIUR project 2015FBNB5Y.S

Muscle protein metabolism in neonatal alloxan-administered rats: effects of continuous and intermittent swimming training

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to examine the effects of intermittent and continuous swimming training on muscle protein metabolism in neonatal alloxan-administered rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats were used and divided into six groups: sedentary alloxan (SA), sedentary control (SC), continuous trained alloxan (CA), intermittent trained alloxan (IA), continuous trained control (CC) and intermittent trained control (IC). Alloxan (250 mg/kg body weight) was injected into newborn rats at 6 days of age. The continuous training protocol consisted of 12 weeks of swimming training in individual cylinder tanks while supporting a load that was 5% of body weight; uninterrupted swimming for 1 h/day, five days a week. The intermittent training protocol consisted of 12 weeks of swimming training in individual cylinder tanks while supporting a load that was 15% of body weight; 30 s of activity interrupted by 30 s of rest for a total of 20 min/day, five days a week.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 28 days, the alloxan animals displayed higher glycemia after glucose overload than the control animals. No differences in insulinemia among the groups were detected. At 120 days, no differences in serum albumin and total protein among the groups were observed. Compared to the other groups, DNA concentrations were higher in the alloxan animals that were subjected to continuous training, whereas the DNA/protein ratio was higher in the alloxan animals that were subjected to intermittent training.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It was concluded that continuous and intermittent training sessions were effective in altering muscle growth by hyperplasia and hypertrophy, respectively, in alloxan-administered animals.</p

Monomeric Tartrate Resistant Acid Phosphatase Induces Insulin Sensitive Obesity

Obesity is associated with macrophage infiltration of adipose tissue, which may link adipose inflammation to insulin resistance. However, the impact of inflammatory cells in the pathophysiology of obesity remains unclear

Analysis of organizational health and burnout among nurses from surgical, medical and pediatric fields.

Background: In the present social scenery the progressive focus of the services for the people appears as a complex phenomenon with advantages and limits tied up to the risk that the society and the organizations are not adequately able to govern its proper workers dynamics. The organizations have the role to mediate between the human being characteristics (motivations, objective, needs) and those of the work place environment, trying to create an equilibrium. When they fail in this assignment, the work environment becomes useful field to rise up some organizational pathologies, such as burnout. Objectives: The objective is to evaluate the different burnout levels in nurses of surgical, medical and paediatric fields and to individualize possible working and individual factors with the purpose to know the influential causes of satisfaction and dissatisfaction which determine the involvement, motivation and appointment levels with which the subjects manage the relationship with the organization. Methods: The sample is constituted by 155 nurses divided in 3 groups, 50 of surgical field, 55 of medical field and 50 of paediatric field, to which have been administered some questionnaires directed to evaluate the organizational health, personality characteristics and burnout risk factors. Results: The 17% of subjects of the sample result to be in burnout, but meaningful differences don't be underlined among the subjects belonging to the different departments. Instead result meaningful the differences related to the perception of job environment comfort, work stress and among the subjects in burnout and those not at risk. Organizational health is felt differently among the nurses from different fields: medical and surgical nurses perceive the working environment in more negative way in comparison to those from paediatric field. Discussion: It seems to exist a hold relationship between the burnout, the years of job and the distance from the employment place in examined nurses. In them exists a real lost of the ability to persevere in the assignment and to respect the professional duties. The only one note of relief, in the difference among the various categories, shows that the paediatric nurses altogether express some most positive evaluations of the various aspects of job condition. Conclusions: It appears necessary to solicit the business organizations and the various institutions with the purpose to compile a interventions plan aimed to reduce the risk factors and at the same time to furnish a support to those people that are already affected from burnout and to their families with the purpose to make them easier and rapid a gradual re-entry in the social and professional life

Position algorithm for monolithic scintillation crystals based on charge projection readout

Nuclear medicine imaging devices commonly use multi-element photo detection systems, composed of an array of NxN elements, each one providing an individual signal. Many strategies have been developed to reduce the number of readout channels, one of the main approaches is the Rows and Columns (R/C) projection logic. In this paper we proposed a modified version of Raised To the Power (RTP) algorithm adapted to R/C logic. In order to validate its efficiency a linear scanning irradiation on two 49x49mm2 LaBr3:Ce (0.5%) crystals with different thickness (4mm and 10 mm) was carried out. Imaging performance analysis was made in terms of position linearity, Field-of-View (FoV) enlargement and spatial resolution. Imaging results from Anger Logic, RTP algorithm based on single element readout and RTP algorithm based on R/C readout were compared. A notable advantage of using RTP algorithms instead of Anger Logic was found: the FoV widens from about 30% to more than 70% of the detector area whereas the spatial resolution is highly improved, especially for off-center interactions, both for 4 mm-thick and 10 mm-thick crystals. Furthermore, imaging performance with the R/C readout is just slightly different from the single element one (FoV reduction less than 7% and SR worsening less than 10%). The R/C adapted RTP algorithm opens doors to high imaging performance with a substantial reduction of complexity and cost in the readout electronics

Preliminary evaluation of a monolithic detector module for integrated PET/MRI scanner with high spatial resolution

The proposal of Mindview European Project concerns with the development of a very high resolution and high efficiency brain dedicated PET scanner simultaneously working with a Magnetic Resonance scanner, that expects to visualize neurotransmitter pathways and their disruptions in the quest to better diagnose schizophrenia. On behalf of this project, we propose a low cost PET module for the first prototype, based on monolithic crystals, suitable to be integrated with a head Radio Frequency (RF) coil. The aim of the suggested module is to achieve high performances in terms of efficiency, planar spatial resolution (expected about 1 mm) and discrimination of gamma Depth Of Interaction (DOI) in order to reduce the parallax error. Our preliminary results are very promising: a DOI resolution of about 3 mm, a spatial resolution ranging from about 1 to 1.5 mm and a good position linearity