Attachment patterns, mentalization and childhood traumatic experiences in a sample of adolescence at ultra high risk for psychosis

The ultra-high risk (UHR) criteria were defined to identify young people at high and imminent risk of developing a first episode of psychosis. Identifying UHR individuals presents the opportunity for preventing the onset of a full psychotic disorder, or at least the possibility of reducing patient’s disability. The link between insecure attachment and the risk for developing psychosis has been explained by the alterations of specific neurobiological pathways. Some studies also underlined the role of mentalization processes in moderating the risk of transition to psychotic disorders. Nevertheless, to date, attachment and mentalization in UHR population have not been studied using “golden standard” measures. The aim of this study was to explore the quality of attachment representations, mentalization capacity and childhood traumatic experiences among UHR adolescence outpatients. 21 UHR adolescent outpatients were compared with 33 other who did not meet the ultra-high risk criteria. Each patient was evaluated with M.I.N.I., Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) and Scale for Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS). During the first month of treatment the Adult Attachment Interview was also administered, and the AAI transcripts were assessed by the RF Scale. Although no differences between groups with respect to self-reported childhood traumatic experiences have been found, UHR patients showed a higher degree of “Unresolved” and “Cannot Classify” attachment patterns. Moreover, the RF scores were significantly lower in the UHR sample and significant negative correlations between RF and two SOPS’ subscales, “Suspiciousness/Persecutory Ideas” and “Expression of Emotion” were found. Our results underline the importance of taking both disorganized attachment and mentalization impairment into consideration when treating psychotic prodromal symptomatology

an identification and a prioritisation of geographic and temporal data gaps of mediterranean marine databases

Abstract Getting an overall view of primary data available from existing Earth Observation Systems and networks databases for the Mediterranean Sea, the main objective of this paper is to identify temporal and geographic data gaps and to elaborate a new method for providing a prioritisation of missing data useful for end-users that have to pinpoint strategies and models to fill these gaps. Existing data sources have been identified from the analysis of the main projects and information systems available. A new method to perform the data gap analysis has been developed and applied to the whole Mediterranean basin as case study area, identifying and prioritise geographical and temporal data gaps considering and integrating the biological, geological, chemical and physical branches of the total environment. The obtained results highlighted both the main geographical data gaps subdividing the whole Mediterranean Sea into 23 sub-basins and the temporal data gaps considering data gathered since 1990. Particular attention has been directed to the suitability of data in terms of completeness, accessibility and aggregation, since data and information are often aggregated and could not be used for research needs. The elaborated inventory of existing data source includes a database of 477 data rows originated from 122 data platforms analysed, able to specify for each dataset the related data typologies and its accessibility. The obtained results indicate that 76% of the data comes from ongoing platforms, while the remaining 25% are related to platforms with non-operational monitoring systems. Since the large amount of analysed records includes data gathered in inhomogeneous ways, the prioritisation values obtained for each identified data gap simplify the data comparison and analysis. Lastly, the data gaps inventory contains geographic and temporal information for any missing parameter at the whole basin scale, as well as the spatial resolution of each available data

The role of imaging in the diagnosis of recurrence of primary seminal vesicle adenocarcinoma

Primary seminal vesicle (SV) adenocarcinoma is a rare tumor. A small amount of data about the role of imaging to detect tumor recurrence is available. We report the case of a 58-year-old patient with primary SV clear-cell well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Clinical and instrumental examinations were negative for the 32 months after treatments when computed tomography scan, [(18)F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and pelvic magnetic resonance imaging showed the appearance of a lesion in the left perineal muscle suspected for recurrence. Patient was symptomless. Cytology of the suspected lesion confirmed SV adenocarcinoma recurrence. The combined approach, using radiological and nuclear medicine techniques, seems to be effective in the follow-up of SV adenocarcinoma. Technological advances, together with awareness of this rare tumor, have the potential of improving patients outcomes not only by providing earlier detection and accurate staging, but also by detecting recurrence and thereby avoiding delays and therapeutic dilemmas

Diálogos sobre la experiencia virtual durante la pandemia y sus consecuencias en un posible escenario de postpandemia

The aim of this paper is to establish dialogue between the teacher assistants of History of the Spanish Language and their professor about the online classroom in the context of the global pandemic. The work is based on “The Ignorant Schoolmaster” by the French philosopher Jacques Rancière (Le maître ignorant, Paris, Fayard, 1987) breaking with classical teaching based on the idea that a subject (the teacher) possesses knowledge that is transmitted through an explanation to another subject (the student) who does not have it, since this reproduces inequalities inherent to the social relations of capitalist production. Thus, if one of the fundamental missions of the public university is to achieve social equality through access to the development of critical thinking, we consider that horizontal, plural, and transversal dialogue between students and teachers is essential to reflect on the most critical periods, in an attempt to improve equal opportunities. In this way, reflections on students’experiences during the first period of the online classrooms are highlighted, which served as a basis for reformulating the dynamics of a History of the Spanish Language course in 2020.En el presente trabajo, proponemos el formato de diálogo entre lxs estudiantes adscriptxs de la cátedra de Historia de la Lengua (Letras) con su directora para reflexionar sobre el trabajo en equipo realizado durante la cursada virtual en el contexto de pandemia. Se parte de la premisa básica del “maestro ignorante” propuesta por el filósofo francés Jacques Rancière (Le maître ignorant, París, Fayard, 1987), que rompe con la enseñanza clásica basada en la idea de que un sujeto –el maestro– posee un conocimiento que es transmitido mediante una explicación a otro sujeto –el alumno– que no lo tiene, reproduciendo de algún modo las desigualdades propias de las relaciones sociales de producción capitalista. Así, si una de las misiones fundamentales de la universidad pública es lograr la igualdad social a través del acceso al desarrollo del pensamiento crítico, consideramos que el diálogo horizontal, plural y transversal a la vez entre estudiantes y docentes es fundamental para reflexionar sobre los periodos más críticos, en un intento de mejorar la igualdad de oportunidades. De este modo, se ponen de manifiesto reflexiones sobre experiencias de lxs estudiantes vividas durante el primer cuatrimestre de cursada virtual que sirvieron de base para reformular la dinámica de una comisión de trabajos prácticos de Historia de la Lengua en el segundo cuatrimestre de 2020

Control of star formation by supersonic turbulence

Understanding the formation of stars in galaxies is central to much of modern astrophysics. For several decades it has been thought that stellar birth is primarily controlled by the interplay between gravity and magnetostatic support, modulated by ambipolar diffusion. Recently, however, both observational and numerical work has begun to suggest that support by supersonic turbulence rather than magnetic fields controls star formation. In this review we outline a new theory of star formation relying on the control by turbulence. We demonstrate that although supersonic turbulence can provide global support, it nevertheless produces density enhancements that allow local collapse. Inefficient, isolated star formation is a hallmark of turbulent support, while efficient, clustered star formation occurs in its absence. The consequences of this theory are then explored for both local star formation and galactic scale star formation. (ABSTRACT ABBREVIATED)Comment: Invited review for "Reviews of Modern Physics", 87 pages including 28 figures, in pres

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

Critical Inconsistencies in Early Implementations of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Common Fisheries Policy Objectives Hamper Policy Synergies in Fostering the Sustainable Exploitation of Mediterranean Fisheries Resources

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to achieve “Good Environmental Status” (GES) in EU marine waters by 2020. This initiative started its first phase of implementation in 2012, when each member state defined the GES and environmental targets in relation to 11 descriptors and related indicators for 2020. In 2013, the EU Commission launched the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which aims to achieve biomass levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for all commercial stocks exploited in EU waters by 2020, as well as contribute to the achievement of GES. These two pieces of legislation are aligned since according to Descriptor 3 (commercial fish and shellfish), the MSFD requires reaching a healthy stock status with fishing mortality (F) and spawning stock biomass (SSB) compatible with the respective MSY reference limits for all commercial species by 2020. We investigated whether the two policies are effectively aligned in the Mediterranean Sea, an ecosystem where the vast majority of stocks show unsustainable exploitation. For this purpose, we assessed and compared the number and typology of stocks considered by the member states when assessing GES in relation to data on stocks potentially available according to the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF) and the proportion of landings they represented. The number of stocks considered by the member states per assessment area was uneven, ranging between 7 and 43, while the share of landings corresponding to the selected stocks ranged from 23 to 95%. A lack of coherence between GES definitions among the member states was also revealed, and environmental targets were less ambitious than MSFD and CFP requirements. This could possibly reduce the likelihood of achieving fishery sustainability in the Mediterranean by 2020. These conditions limited the envisaged synergies between the two policies and are discussed in consideration of the recent Commission Decision on criteria and methodological standards for GES

Actinobacteria: isolation, identification, characterisation and preliminary experiments for their possible use against Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis.

In recent years, new actinobacteria species have been isolated as endophytes from plants and are sought after for the role of bio-control inoculants for sustainable agriculture. In particular, our studies focus on the isolation of some endophytic actinobacteria from tomato healthy plants, with a potential antagonistic activity against the causal agent of bacterial canker of tomato: Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm). Cmm is a plant-pathogenic bacterium belonging to the order of Actinomycetales. It infects tomato plants, spreads through the xylem and causes bacterial wilt and canker which can be considered to be the most important bacterial disease of tomato causing substantial economic losses worldwide. A total of 50 endophytic actinobacteria strains were isolated from tomato healthy plants collected from Adelaide Province