XRIndex:a brief screening tool for individual differences in security threat detection in x-ray images

X-ray imaging is a cost-effective technique at security checkpoints that typically require the presence of human operators. We have previously shown that self-reported attention to detail can predict threat detection performance with small-vehicle x-ray images (Rusconi et al., 2012). Here, we provide evidence for the generality of such a link by having a large sample of naïve participants screen more typical dual-energy x-ray images of hand luggage. The results show that the Attention to Detail score from the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) questionnaire (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) is a linear predictor of threat detection accuracy. We then develop and fine-tune a novel self-report scale for security screening: the XRIndex, which improves on the Attention to Detail scale for predictive power and opacity to interpretation. The XRIndex is not redundant with any of the Big Five personality traits. We validate the XRIndex against security x-ray images with an independent sample of untrained participants and suggest that the XRIndex may be a useful aid for the identification of suitable candidates for professional security training with a focus on x-ray threat detection. Further studies are needed to determine whether this can also apply to trained professionals

The use of virtual environments for survey spatial ability evaluation in topographical disorientation

Due to their interactivity and to the sense of presence they afford, virtual environments constitute an interesting opportunity to study spatial cognition. In accordance with this perspective, we aimed to introduce a spatial test in virtual simulation in order to investigate the survey spatial ability in patients with topographical disorientation. To do this, we used the “planning in advance task” in a virtual environment that constitutes an effective procedure to experimentally evaluate survey maps. With this procedure we present the single case of a woman, with a right medial temporal lobe lesion, who shows a selective impairment in the acquisition of new spatial relationships. The patient’s performance in “planning in advance task” was compared with that of a control group made up of 40 female subjects matched for age and education. Results show how the patient revealed a significantly lower spatial performance when compared to the control group, demonstrating an inability to solve survey-type spatial tasks in complex virtual environments

Psychologising meritocracy: A historical account of its many guises

Measured by psychologists, conceived in critical terms, popularised as satire, and exploited by politicians, meritocracy is a dilemmatic concept that has changed its meanings throughout history. Social psychologists have conceptualised and operationalised meritocracy both as an ideology that justifies inequality and as a justice principle based on equity. These two conceptualisations express opposing ideas about the merit of meritocracy and are both freighted ideologically. We document how this dilemma of meritocracy’s merit developed from meritocracy’s inception as a critical concept among UK sociologists in the 1950s to its operationalisation by U.S. and Canadian social psychologists at the end of the 20th century. We highlight the ways in which meritocracy was originally utilised, in part, to critique the measurement of merit via IQ tests, but ironically became a construct that, through its psychologisation, also required measurement. Through the operationalisation of meritocracy, social psychologists obscured the possibility of critiquing meritocracy and missed the opportunity to offer alternatives to a system that has been legitimised by their own work. A social psychology of meritocracy should take into consideration the ideological debate around its meaning and value and the implications of its measurement and study

Autoantibody profile in systemic lupus erythematosus with psychiatric manifestations: a role for anti-endothelial-cell antibodies

This study was performed to determine the correlation between psychiatric manifestations and several autoantibodies that might participate in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders in the course of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Fifty-one unselected outpatients with SLE were enrolled. Psychiatric evaluation was performed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition. The prevalence of antibodies against endothelial cells (AECA), cardiolipin, β2 glycoprotein I, Ro, Ro52, La, glial fibrillary acidic protein, ribosomal P protein, dsDNA, and nucleosomes was assessed by experimental and commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. According to the cutoff value, AECA were present in 11 of 17 (64.7%) SLE patients with psychosis and mood disorders and in 10 of 34 (29.4%) patients without psychiatric manifestations other than anxiety (P = 0.03). Moreover, the AECA binding index was significantly higher in the first group (P = 0.03). Conversely, no significant correlation was found between the presence of the other autoantibodies studied and psychiatric involvement. The results of this study suggest a relationship between AECA and psychosis and mood disorders in SLE, supporting the hypothesis of a biological origin of these disturbances

Parental Reflective Functioning correlates to brain activation in response to video-stimuli of mother–child dyads: Links to maternal trauma history and PTSD

Parental Reflective Functioning is a parent's capacity to infer mental states in herself and her child. Parental Reflective Functioning is linked to the quality of parent-child attachment and promotes parent-child mutual emotion regulation. We examined neural correlates of parental reflective functioning and their relationship to physical abuse. Participants were mothers with (n = 26) and without (n = 22) history of childhood physical abuse. Parental reflective functioning was assessed by coding transcripts of maternal narrative responses on interviews. All mothers also underwent magnetic resonance imaging while watching video clips of children during mother-child separation and play. Parental reflective functioning was significantly lower among mothers with histories of childhood physical abuse. When mothers without history of childhood physical abuse watched scenes of separation versus play, brain activation was positively correlated with parental reflective functioning in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and negatively associated with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and insula. These associations were not present when limiting analyses to mothers reporting abuse histories. Regions subserving emotion regulation and empathy were associated with parental reflective functioning; yet these regions were not featured in maltreated mothers. These data suggest that childhood physical abuse exposure may alter the psychobiology that is linked to emotional comprehension and regulation

Inflammatory role of dendritic cells in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis revealed by an analysis of patients’ peripheral blood

Chronic inflammation is one of the causes of neurodegeneration in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here we examined whether circulating dendritic cells (DCs) can contribute to disease progression. We found ALS patients show a significant reduction in the number of circulating DCs. Also, patients’ DCs present an increased expression of CD62L and a tendency to overexpress CCR2 compared with healthy donors. Moreover, DCs derived from a subpopulation of ALS patients produced higher levels of IL-8 and CCL-2 upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulation. Finally, we found a significant inverse correlation between the time from onset of the pathology to its diagnosis and the levels of IL-6 secretion induced by LPS. Our data support the hypothesis, in a subpopulation of patients, DCs recruited at the diseased tissue produce high levels of CCL-2 and IL-8 and contribute to the inflammatory process promoting the recruitment of other inflammatory cells. An increased efficiency of IL-6 production may accelerate only the initial phases of disease progression. Blood DC analysis can be used to identify ALS patients with an altered course of inflammatory cell recruitment at the diseased central nervous system (CNS). The high levels of CD62L expression suggests this molecule could be a target for treatment of CNS inflammation

The face in Marfan syndrome: a 3D morphometric study

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a rare congenital disorder of the connective tissue mainly caused by mutations in the FBN1 gene, resulting in an altered assembly of extracellular matrix microfibrils and TGF-beta signalling dysregulation. Major clinical manifestations of MFS involve the skeletal, ocular, and cardiovascular systems, with a high risk of life-threatening aortic dissection and rupture. An early recognition of the disorder is essential, but it could be difficult, due to the variable phenotypic expression of the disease and the current incomplete sensitivity of molecular genetic testing of FBN1. It has been suggested that craniofacial dysmorphism associated with MFS could facilitate obstructive sleep apnea, which in turn may promote aortic dilation. The study aimed to investigate the face in MFS through a 3D not invasive approach [1], identifying new morphometric features which could facilitate the early diagnosis of the disease. The 3D coordinates of 50 anatomical facial landmarks were obtained using a stereophotogrammetric system in 68 Italian subjects diagnosed with MFS, aged 4-64 years (27 males, mean ± SD age 29.6 ± 18.2 years; 41 females, mean ± SD age 37.2 ± 15.5 years). Subjects were divided in 11 non-overlapping age groups. Facial linear distances and angles were measured; z score values were calculated comparing patients with healthy Italian reference subjects (347 males, 388 females), matched for gender and age. Subjects with MFS showed a shorter mandibular ramus than controls (mean z score = -1.9), a greater facial divergence (mean z score = +2.0), a reduced ratio between posterior and anterior facial height (mean z score = -1.9), and a reduced ratio between facial width and facial height (mean z score = -1.5), together with an expected but overall mild increase of facial height (mean z score = +1.3). Noteworthy gender differences or age trends were not observed. Facial abnormalities pointed out in the current study could represent phenotypic traits of MFS; since they were observed also in young patients, their detection could facilitate the early recognition, management, and follow up of the disease. These promising findings need to be confirmed extending the study on more patients

On the complex and dimensional relationship of maternal PTSD during early childhood and child outcomes at school-age.

Several studies have shown associations between maternal interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), child mental health problems, and impaired socioemotional development. However, the existing literature lacks evidence linking constellations of risk factors such as maternal interpersonal-violence-related PTSD, psychopathology, and interactive behavior with toddlers and outcome measures at school-age. This study involved a prospective, longitudinal investigation of 62 mothers and examined the relationship between maternal variables measured when children were in early childhood (mean age 27 months), and child outcomes when children were school-age (age mean = 83.2 months) while retaining a focus on the context of maternal PTSD. To identify and weigh associated dimensions comparatively, we employed sparse canonical correlation analysis (sCCA) aimed at associating dimensions of a dataset of 20 maternal variables in early childhood with that of more than 20 child outcome variables (i.e., child psychopathology, life-events, and socioemotional skills) at school-age. Phase 1 variables with the highest weights were those of maternal psychopathology: PTSD, depressive and dissociative symptoms, and self-report of parental stress. The highest weighted Phase 2 child outcome measures were those of child psychopathology: PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms as well as peer bullying and victimization. sCCA revealed that trauma-related concepts in mothers were significantly and reliably associated with child psychopathology and other indicators of risk for intergenerational transmission of violence and victimization. The results highlight the dimensional and multifaceted nature-both for mothers as well as children-of the intergenerational transmission of violence and associated psychopathology

Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-5220-derived postbiotic protects from the leaky-gut

The maintenance of intestinal barrier function is essential for preventing different pathologies, such as the leaky gut syndrome (LGS), which is characterized by the passage of harmful agents, like bacteria, toxins, and viruses, into the bloodstream. Intestinal barrier integrity is controlled by several players, including the gut microbiota. Various molecules, called postbiotics, are released during the natural metabolic activity of the microbiota. Postbiotics can regulate host–microbe interactions, epithelial homeostasis, and have overall benefits for our health. In this work, we used in vitro and in vivo systems to demonstrate the role of Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-5220-derived postbiotic (LP-PBF) in preserving intestinal barrier integrity. We demonstrated in vitro that LP-PBF restored the morphology of tight junctions (TJs) that were altered upon Salmonella typhimurium exposure. In vivo, LP-PBF protected the gut vascular barrier and blocked S. typhimurium dissemination into the bloodstream. Interestingly, we found that LP-PBF interacts not only with the host cells, but also directly with S. typhimurium blocking its biofilm formation, partially due to the presence of biosurfactants. This study highlights that LP-PBF is beneficial in maintaining gut homeostasis due to the synergistic effect of its different components. These results suggest that LP-PBF could be utilized in managing several pathologies displaying an impaired intestinal barrier function