Prediction of a typhoon using a fine-mesh NWP model.

The ECMWF operational grid point model (with a resolution of 1.875o of latitude and longitude) and its limited area version (with a resolution of approximately 0.47o of latitude and longitude) with boundary values from the global model have been used to study the simulation of the typhoon Tip. The fine-mesh model was capable of simulating the main structural features of the typhoon and predicting a fall in central pressure of 60 mb in 3 days. The structure of the forecast typhoon, with a warm core (maximum potential temperature anomaly 17 K), intense swirling wind (maximum 55 m s-1 at 850 mb) and spiralling precipitation patterns is characteristic of a tropical cyclone. -from Author

Towards An Accessible Life Cycle Assessment : A Literature Based Review Of Current BIM And Parametric Based Tools Capabilities

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for buildings has not been widely applied because of its complexity and time-consuming nature. Several studies have been trying to address this issue by the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Parametric tools, which enable them to face specific issues arising on projects. Amongst the different research efforts, one can perceive a gap in the field. This gap lies in the insufficient understanding of the methodological approaches and tools best suited to carry out environmental analysis. The novelty of the paper is to compare the paradigms and scope of most common used BIM and Parametric approach for LCA. This leads to an enhanced awareness on how to apply both trending phenomena to increase their features and reduce the limitations

Socio-demographic and clinical characterization of patients with obsessive-compulsive tic-related disorder (OCTD) : An Italian multicenter study

© Copyright by Pacini Editore SrlIn the DSM-5 a new "tic-related" specifier for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has been introduced, highlighting the importance of an accurate characterization of patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive tic-related disorder ("OCTD"). In order to characterize OCTD from a socio-demographic and clinical perspective, the present multicenter study was carried out. The sample consists of 266 patients, divided in two groups with lifetime diagnoses of OCD and OCTD, respectively. OCTD vs OCD patients showed a significant male prevalence (68.5% vs 48.5%; p < .001), a higher rate of psychiatric comorbidities (69.4 vs 50%; p < .001) - mainly with neurodevelopmental disorders (24 vs 0%; p < .001), a lower education level and professional status (middle school diploma: 25 vs 7.6%; full-Time job 44.4 vs 58%; p < .001). Moreover, OCTD vs OCD patients showed significantly earlier age of OCD and psychiatric comorbidity onsets (16.1 ± 10.8 vs 22.1 ± 9.5 years; p < .001, and 18.3 ± 12.8 vs 25.6 ± 9.4: p < .001, respectively). Patients with OCTD patients were treated mainly with antipsychotic and with a low rate of benzodiazepine (74.2 vs 38.2% and 20.2 vs 31.3%, respectively; p < .001). Finally, OCTD vs OCD patients showed higher rates of partial treatment response (58.1 vs 38%; p < .001), lower rates of current remission (35.5 vs 54.8%; p < .001) and higher rates of suicidal ideation (63.2 vs 41.7%; p < .001) and attempts (28.9 vs 8.3%; p < .001). Patients with OCTD report several unfavorable socio-demographic and clinical characteristics compared to OCD patients without a history of tic. Additional studies on larger sample are needed to further characterize OCTD patients from clinical and therapeutic perspectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Complicated Grief: What to Expect After the Coronavirus Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst public health crises in a century, with an expected amount of deaths of several million worldwide and an even bigger number of bereaved people left behind. Although the consequences of this crisis are still unknown, a significant number of bereaved people will arguably develop Complicated Grief (CG) in the aftermath of this emergency. If the current pandemic is unprecedented, the grief following the coronavirus outbreak is likely to share features with grief related to natural disasters and after Intensive Care Unit (ICU) treatment. The aim of this paper is to review the most prominent literature on CG after natural disasters, as well as after diseases requiring ICU treatment. This body of evidence may be useful for helping bereaved people during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and for drawing clinical attention to people at risk for CG

The Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS) model: A neurodevelopmental approach to mental disorders

A growing interest has been devoted to adult presentations of Autism Spectrum Disorders. This led to focus on comorbidity between ASD and other mental disorders, mainly (but notlimited to) Borderline Personality Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, Mood Disorders and Eating Disorders. The presence of any psychiatric comorbidity can mask ASD, in particular in subjects with no intellectual impairment. To address this psychopathological issue, studies adopting the AdAS questionnaire, an instrument with strong convergent validity with alternative dimensional measures of ASD and excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability, able to detect subthreshold forms of ASD in adulthood, have been reviewed. Based on these evidences, the Subthreshold Autism Spectrum Model has been developed,which includes threshold-level manifestations but also mild/atypical symptoms of the disorder, gender-specific features, behavioral manifestations and personality traits associated with ASD. This model encompasses, although not coinciding with, the Broad Autism Phenotype. This is a subthreshold form of autism described in the context of the neurodevelopmental trajectory that – starting from autistic traits – might lead to the broad range of mental disorders. Therefore, the Adult Autism Spectrum can be considered a transnosographic dimension. This approach should help to detect individual features for certain autistic cognitive and behavioural patterns that may predispose to other mental disorders

OXTR Gene DNA Methylation Levels Are Associated with Discounting Behavior with Untrustworthy Proposers

Individual differences in temporal and probabilistic discounting are associated with a wide range of life outcomes in literature. Traditional approaches have focused on impulsiveness and cognitive control skills, on goal-oriented personality traits as well as on the psychological perception of time. More recently, literature started to consider the role of social and contextual factors in discounting behavior. Between others, higher generalized trust in human beings and specific trust in people who will deliver the future/probabilistic rewards have been related to a stronger willingness to wait and to assume risk. Moreover, the tendency to trust others has been associated with the oxytocin receptor gene regulation that can be modified by life experiences. In this perspective, we hypothesized that differences in the tendency to wait and to take risks for a more desirable reward according to the proposer’s trustworthiness could be related to a different level of DNA methylation at the oxytocin receptor gene. Findings confirmed that participants are less willing to wait and to risk when the proposer is considered highly untrustworthy and revealed how higher oxytocin receptor gene DNA methylation is associated with a stronger effect due to the presence of an untrustworthy proposer. Limits and future directions are outlined

Is There a Major Role for Undetected Autism Spectrum Disorder with Childhood Trauma in a Patient with a Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, Self-Injuring, and Multiple Comorbidities?

This case report highlights the relevance of the consequences of trauma in a female patient with an undetected autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affected by bipolar disorder (BD) with multiple comorbidities. A 35-year-old woman with BD type II, binge eating disorder and panic disorder was admitted in the Inpatient Unit of the Psychiatric Clinic of the University of Pisa because of a recrudescence of depressive symptomatology, associated with increase of anxiety, noticeable ruminations, significant alteration in neurovegetative pattern, and serious suicide ideation. During the hospitalization, a diagnosis of ASD emerged besides a history of childhood trauma and affective dysregulation, marked impulsivity, feeling of emptiness, and self-harm behavior. The patient was assessed by the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale (RAADS-R), the Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS Spectrum), Trauma and Loss Spectrum (TALS-SR), and Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). Total scores of 38/50 in the AQ, 146/240 in the RAADS-R, 99/160 in the AdAS Spectrum emerged, compatible with ASD, 47/116 in the TALS-SR, and 64/88 in the RRS. We discuss the implications of the trauma she underwent during her childhood, in the sense that caused a complex posttraumatic disorder, a lifelong disease favored and boosted by the rumination tendency of high functioning ASD

Tele-Psychiatry Assessment of Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in 100 Patients With Bipolar Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic Social-Distancing Measures in Italy

The acute phase of the COrona VIrus Disease-19 (COVID-19) emergency determined relevant stressful burdens in psychiatric patients, particularly those with chronic mental disorders such as bipolar disorder (BD), not only for the threat of being infected but also for the strict lock-down and social-distancing measures adopted, the economic uncertainty, and the limited possibilities to access psychiatric services. In this regard, telepsychiatry services represented a new important instrument that clinicians could adopt to monitor and support their patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate acute post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) reported by patients with BD followed in the framework of a telepsychiatry service, set up in the acute phase of the COVID-19 outbreak at the psychiatric clinic of the University of Pisa (Italy). A sample of 100 patients were consecutively enrolled and assessed by the IES-r, GAD-7, HAM-D, and YMRS. Patients reported a mean (±SD) IES-r total score of 18.15 ± 13.67. Further, 17% of the sample reported PTSS (IES-r &gt; 32), 17% depressive symptoms (HAM-D &gt; 17), and 26% anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 &gt; 10). Work and financial difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiety symptoms appeared to be positively associated with the development of acute PTSS. Acute manic symptoms appeared to be protective. The data of the present study suggest the relevance of monitoring patients with BD exposed to the burden related to the COVID-19 outbreak for prompt assessment and treatment of PTSS

Risk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in 111 survivors the 2009 Viareggio (Italy) Rail Crash: The role of mood spectrum comorbidity

Objectives: To explore the presence of PTSD and the potential correlations between the risk of developing PTSD and the lifetime mood spectrum signs and symptoms, as assessed with the Mood Spectrum Questionnaire Lifetime Version (MOODS-SR), in a sample of survivors of a liquid gas train crash in Italy, in 2009. Methods: One hundred eleven subjects were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I Disorder (SCID-I), the Mood Spectrum Questionnaire (MOODS-SR) Lifetime version, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the Trauma and Loss Spectrum Questionnaire (TALS-SR). Results: Sixty-six subjects, of the 111 who completed the SCID-I (59.5%), met criteria for PTSD. PTSD patients showed higher comorbidity rates for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (p < 0.001), and lifetime and current Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (p < 0.001) than subjects who did not develop PTSD. Lifetime MOODS-SR 'Sociability/Extraversion' factor and the prevalence of lifetime MDD differentiated subjects with from those without PTSD, when a multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. Conclusions: Although further research is needed, our results show a significant correlation between the risk of developing PTSD and the mood spectrum comorbidity

Manifesto for a European research network into Problematic Usage of the Internet

Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The Internet is now all-pervasive across much of the globe. While it has positive uses (e.g. prompt access to information, rapid news dissemination), many individuals develop Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI), an umbrella term incorporating a range of repetitive impairing behaviours. The Internet can act as a conduit for, and may contribute to, functionally impairing behaviours including excessive and compulsive video gaming, compulsive sexual behaviour, buying, gambling, streaming or social networks use. There is growing public and National health authority concern about the health and societal costs of PUI across the lifespan. Gaming Disorder is being considered for inclusion as a mental disorder in diagnostic classification systems, and was listed in the ICD-11 version released for consideration by Member States (http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/revision/timeline/en/). More research is needed into disorder definitions, validation of clinical tools, prevalence, clinical parameters, brain-based biology, socio-health-economic impact, and empirically validated intervention and policy approaches. Potential cultural differences in the magnitudes and natures of types and patterns of PUI need to be better understood, to inform optimal health policy and service development. To this end, the EU under Horizon 2020 has launched a new four-year European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action Programme (CA 16207), bringing together scientists and clinicians from across the fields of impulsive, compulsive, and addictive disorders, to advance networked interdisciplinary research into PUI across Europe and beyond, ultimately seeking to inform regulatory policies and clinical practice. This paper describes nine critical and achievable research priorities identified by the Network, needed in order to advance understanding of PUI, with a view towards identifying vulnerable individuals for early intervention. The network shall enable collaborative research networks, shared multinational databases, multicentre studies and joint publications.Peer reviewe