The ANTENATAL multicentre study to predict postnatal renal outcome in fetuses with posterior urethral valves: objectives and design

Abstract Background Posterior urethral valves (PUV) account for 17% of paediatric end-stage renal disease. A major issue in the management of PUV is prenatal prediction of postnatal renal function. Fetal ultrasound and fetal urine biochemistry are currently employed for this prediction, but clearly lack precision. We previously developed a fetal urine peptide signature that predicted in utero with high precision postnatal renal function in fetuses with PUV. We describe here the objectives and design of the prospective international multicentre ANTENATAL (multicentre validation of a fetal urine peptidome-based classifier to predict postnatal renal function in posterior urethral valves) study, set up to validate this fetal urine peptide signature. Methods Participants will be PUV pregnancies enrolled from 2017 to 2021 and followed up until 2023 in >30 European centres endorsed and supported by European reference networks for rare urological disorders (ERN eUROGEN) and rare kidney diseases (ERN ERKNet). The endpoint will be renal/patient survival at 2 years postnatally. Assuming α = 0.05, 1–β = 0.8 and a mean prevalence of severe renal outcome in PUV individuals of 0.35, 400 patients need to be enrolled to validate the previously reported sensitivity and specificity of the peptide signature. Results In this largest multicentre study of antenatally detected PUV, we anticipate bringing a novel tool to the clinic. Based on urinary peptides and potentially amended in the future with additional omics traits, this tool will be able to precisely quantify postnatal renal survival in PUV pregnancies. The main limitation of the employed approach is the need for specialized equipment. Conclusions Accurate risk assessment in the prenatal period should strongly improve the management of fetuses with PUV

Collins and Sivers asymmetries in muonproduction of pions and kaons off transversely polarised protons

Measurements of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries for charged pions and charged and neutral kaons produced in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of high energy muons off transversely polarised protons are presented. The results were obtained using all the available COMPASS proton data, which were taken in the years 2007 and 2010. The Collins asymmetries exhibit in the valence region a non-zero signal for pions and there are hints of non-zero signal also for kaons. The Sivers asymmetries are found to be positive for positive pions and kaons and compatible with zero otherwise. © 2015

Examining Group-Based Trust with the Investment Game

Group-based trust was investigated by considering the relationship between 2 groups withdiffering socioeconomic status. High-status (Northern Italians) and low-status (SouthernItalians) group members played a modified version of the investment game (Berg, Dickhaut,& McCabe, 1995), paired with an ingroup or an outgroup member. Results showed that forlow-status group members, trust was higher in the outgroup than ingroup condition, whilehigh-status group members did not prefer the ingroup over the outgroup. These findingshighlight the importance of studying the effects of status in research on group-based trust

Medicina umana: Discriminazione, deumanizzazione e aiuto

Gli operatori che si occupano della cura e dell'assistenza mostrano un interesse crescente per il tema dell'umanizzazione nei contesti socio-sanitari. Allo stesso tempo, gli psicologi sociali si interrogano sui processi coinvolti nell'attribuzione di umanit\ue0 all'altro. La deumanizzazione \ue8 una forma di discriminazione, che pu\uf2 avvenire anche inconsapevolmente, nei confronti di membri di gruppi stigmatizzati, ma anche, pi\uf9 in generale, nei confronti dei pazienti. E' quindi importante conoscere e riflettere sul tema della deumanizzazione, soprattutto per le professioni orientate alla cura. Lo scopo di questo capitolo \ue8 di presentare i risultati pi\uf9 significativi ottenuti in psicologia sociale sul tema della discriminazione e di analizzare le loro conseguenze. Nel capitolo saranno sintetizzati i risultati delle ricerche relative al rapporto tra pregiudizio e comportamenti di aiuto, con particolare attenzione alla discriminazione di tipo inconsapevole. Saranno poi analizzate le teorie e gli studi empirici sulla deumanizzazione, anche nei contesti di aiuto. Nella conclusione, saranno proposte alcune strategie di intervento, volte a ridurre la deumanizzazione del paziente

STILE DI ATTACCAMENTO E CONTATTO INTERGRUPPI: LA SICUREZZA PROMUOVE IL CONTATTO CON L'OUTGROUP

L'ipotesi del contatto sostiene che l'interazione tra membri di gruppi diversi riduca il pregiudizio; sebbene i moderatori e i mediatori di questa relazione siano stati largamente studiati, si sa ancora poco sui fattori che facilitano il contatto intergruppi. Il presente studio intende colmare questo gap esaminando l'orientamento sicuro quale precursore del contatto intergruppi. In tre studi sono stati esaminati diversi aspetti della relazione tra orientamento sicuro e contatto intergruppi: la sicurezza \ue8 associata ad un contatto intergruppi positivo, il quale a sua volta riduce il pregiudizio (Studio 1); la sicurezza \ue8 associata alla tendenza implicita ad approcciare i membri dell'outgroup (Studio 2); la relazione tra orientamento sicuro e contatto \ue8 mediata dal bisogno di esplorazione (Studio 3). Nella discussione, si raccomanda di procedere al priming sia dell'orientamento sicuro sia degli orientamenti insicuri al fine di considerare separatamente il loro contributo al contatto con membri dell'outgroup

The relationship between direct and indirect cross-group friendships and outgroup humanization: Emotional and cognitive mediators

In the current study, we tested a model in which cross-group friendships and extended contact are related to improved outgroup humanization through the mediation of emotional, identity, and normative factors. As first-level mediators, we used ingroup norms, outgroup norms, and the inclusion of the outgroup in the self mechanism (IOS); as second-level mediators, we used intergroup anxiety, trust, and empathy. The outcome variable was outgroup humanization, namely the attribution of uniquely human traits to the outgroup. The intergroup context investigated was that between Northern and Southern Italians. Participants were Northern Italian students. Data \u2014 correlational \u2014 were analyzed by using structural equation models, and bootstrap procedures for mediation. Findings revealed that IOS was the only significant first-level mediator for direct friendships, and ingroup norms was the only significant first-level mediator for extended contact. All the three emotions were involved in the relationship between friendships and outgroup humanization. Limitations of the study, future research, and potential applications of findings are discussed

Articolo comparso su Starbene, numero del 7 novembre 2017, in merito all'articolo “Does intergroup contact predict personality? A longitudinal study on the bidirectional relationship between intergroup contact and personality traits” .

Articolo comparso su Starbene, numero del 7 novembre 2017, in merito all'articolo “Does intergroup contact predict personality? A longitudinal study on the bidirectional relationship between intergroup contact and personality traits”