The role of the opioid system in binge eating disorder.

Binge eating disorder is characterized by excessive, uncontrollable consumption of palatable food within brief periods of time. Excessive intake of palatable food is thought to be driven by hedonic, rather than energy homeostatic, mechanisms. However, reward processing does not only comprise consummatory actions; a key component is represented by the anticipatory phase directed at procuring the reward. This phase is highly influenced by environmental food-associated stimuli, which can robustly enhance the desire to eat even in the absence of physiological needs. The opioid system (endogenous peptides and their receptors) has been strongly linked to the rewarding aspects of palatable food intake, and perhaps represents the key system involved in hedonic overeating. Here we review evidence suggesting that the opioid system can also be regarded as one of the systems that regulates the anticipatory incentive processes preceding binge eating hedonic episodes.CG was funded by Medical Research Council Programme Grant (no. G1002231) and PC was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA/NIH, no. DA030425) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH/NIH, no. MH091945).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S109285291500066

Newspapers, Images and Income Support Policy

[EN] To what extent do different newspapers have different kinds of images associated with articles on the same topic? We investigate this research question by considering one of the most important Income Support Policies implemented in Italy in recent times (‘Reddito di cittadinanza’ - RdC) which generated a strong debate in public opinion. Focussing on the national wide media, we downloaded images associated with articles about RdC and by means of Image Captioning algorithms, we generate the description of them. Results show that different newspapers have images containing different objects. Some topics emerging from images published by newspapers are very exclusive and the sentiment associated with the text extracted from the images has a wide heterogeneity. Furthermore, right-hand newspapers show a lower sentiment compared with left-hand newspapers. Overall, the results confirm that the ideological stance associated with different media outlets is reflected also in the images associated with articles and that the integration of Image Captioning algorithms and Natural Language Processes is very promising in this research area.Cruciata, P.; Perfetto, C.; Resce, G. (2023). Newspapers, Images and Income Support Policy. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 161-169. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2023.2023.1645616116

Guarantees and Collaterals Value in NPLs

Abstract The burst of the subprime mortgage crisis affected on a large scale the Italian real estate industry. The Italian real estate market underwent and is still undergoing a severe stagnancy due to the credit crunch worsened by the banking system and the resulting lack of liquidity. In financing real estate property investments, security packages play an extremely important role and guarantees have become a major tool for risk management and financial innovation in order to facilitate credit enhancement and hedging of risks. In this context the evaluation of guarantees and collaterals becomes extremely important. A robust measure of the value of collaterals is more than a key issue in times of financial crisis, when the value of the guarantees is questioned. Aim of this paper is to investigate, on a sample of 89 foreclosures, whether the collaterals were overestimated and the mortgage lending value represents a robust measure of the mortgage underlying guarantee

Assessing the spread of Keynesian ideas in the economic policy debate: a Text Mining approach on Twitter

[EN] This paper proposes a methodology for examining the presence of Keynesian ideas in the economic debate. To this aim we use Twitter as a source of data to monitor the debate in real time. We quantify the presence of Keynesian and anti-Keynesian thought in tweets about the economy and we qualify the emotional tone of these tweets. Our preliminary results show that the 20 per-cent of total English tweets about #economy contain words related to Keynes while about 8 per- cent contain words referring to anti-Keynesian policies. The monthly analysis of the tweets shows a certain heterogeneity. The distribution of Keynes-related tweets is much more uneven than the distribution of anti-keynesian tweets. Our evidence suggests that the methodology we applied to understand how much of the Keynesian thought is still around in the economic debate can be promising. The next step will be to focus on georeferenced tweets to detect heterogenity across countries and to understand how country-level trends reflect the economy cycle. This study still has some limitations that will be faced in future research such as the classification of topics and the focus on English texts for the moment.Perfetto, C.; Rancan, A.; Resce, G. (2023). Assessing the spread of Keynesian ideas in the economic policy debate: a Text Mining approach on Twitter. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 129-137. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2023.2023.1643212913

Perturbed structural dynamics underlie inhibition and altered efflux of the multidrug resistance pump AcrB

Resistance–nodulation–division efflux pumps play a key role in inherent and evolved multidrug resistance in bacteria. AcrB, a prototypical member of this protein family, extrudes a wide range of antimicrobial agents out of bacteria. Although high-resolution structures exist for AcrB, its conformational fluctuations and their putative role in function are largely unknown. Here, we determine these structural dynamics in the presence of substrates using hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, complemented by molecular dynamics simulations, and bacterial susceptibility studies. We show that an efflux pump inhibitor potentiates antibiotic activity by restraining drug-binding pocket dynamics, rather than preventing antibiotic binding. We also reveal that a drug-binding pocket substitution discovered within a multidrug resistant clinical isolate modifies the plasticity of the transport pathway, which could explain its altered substrate efflux. Our results provide insight into the molecular mechanism of drug export and inhibition of a major multidrug efflux pump and the directive role of its dynamics

Proximal mandibular nerve block using electrolocation in 10 dogs undergoing mandibular surgery: a case series report.

Peripheral nerve block performed using electrical stimulation (i.e. electrolocation) is widely used for perioperative pain management during several surgical procedures in dogs (Campoy 2008), but few data are reported concerning its application to invasive maxillofacial surgery (Carotenuto et al 2011). The aim of this case series report is to evaluate the efficacy of proximal mandibular nerve block (PMNB) in perioperative pain management in dogs undergoing mandibulectomy. Ten dogs of various breeds, (six spayed females and four neutered males of 10.353.09 years and mean weight of 19.5615.19 kg) presenting either neoplasia or mandibular fracture and scheduled for mandibulectomy were premedicated with intramuscular acepromazine maleate (0.02 mg/kg); after induction of general anaesthesia, bilateral PMNB was performed with ropivacaine 0.75% (2 mg/kg) inserting the stimulated needle in temporomandibular joint direction. Whenever intraoperative nociception occurred, intravenous rescue analgesia was provided (fentanyl 3 g/kg). Carprofen was administered subcutaneously as a sole postoperative treatment (3 mg/kg) and postoperative analgesia was assessed for at least 24 hours by a blind operator, accordingly to the Glasgow composite pain scale (Reid et al 2007); when it overcame a threshold of 5/24, intravenous rescue analgesia was administered (methadone, 0.2 mg/kg). In eight out of ten dogs no intraoperative nociception was shown, while in two dogs a single intravenous fentanyl administration was sufficient to provide additional analgesia. No acute and medium term complications were observed and postoperative analgesia lasted for 20.5±6.1 hours. PMNB seems to provide effective perioperative long-lasting analgesia leading to a reduction in intra- and postoperative drug administration

Strengthening of Existing Episodic Memories Through Non-invasive Stimulation of Prefrontal Cortex in Older Adults with Subjective Memory Complaints

Episodic memory is critical to daily life functioning. This type of declarative memory declines with age and is the earliest cognitive function to be compromised in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Subjective memory complaints are commonly reported by older adults and have been considered a risk factor for developing AD. The possibilities for prevention of memory disorders in older adults have increased substantially in recent years. Previous studies have shown that anodal transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) applied over the left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) after a contextual reminder strengthened existing verbal episodic memories, conceivably through reconsolidation, in elderly people. In this study, we hypothesized that anodal tDCS applied over the left lateral PFC after a contextual reminder would improve delayed memory retrieval relative to placebo (sham) stimulation in elderly individuals with SMC. Twenty-two subjects learned a list of words. Twenty-four hour later, tDCS (anodal or placebo) was applied over the left lateral PFC after a contextual reminder. Memory retrieval was tested 48h and 30 days later. These findings showed that anodal tDCS over the left lateral PFC strengthened existing episodic memories, a behavioral effect documented by improved recognition up to 30 days, relative to placebo stimulation. This study suggests that tDCS after a contextual reminder can induce long-lasting beneficial effects by facilitating the consolidation processes and opens up the possibility to design specific non-invasive interventions aimed at preventing memory decline in this at-risk population

Understanding mega-events success and customer satisfaction.

The events industry is growing every year, the number of events is increasing, and their role in society is becoming more significant. Satisfied participants are the key to successful events and the main objective of event organizers. The aim of the article is to understand what costumers consider more important when attending mega-events. A quantitative survey design was adopted by deploying the American customer satisfaction index (ACSI) that included an event specific customer value package in the context of the EXPO Milan 2015 mega-event. Results demonstrate that expectations of visitors, staff, and volunteers vary considerably, and so do the levels of satisfaction. They also highlight that, alongside other customers' priorities such as cleanliness and safety, capacity plays a role in determining satisfaction. This article presents the summarized findings of a broader study.N/

Long-term patterns of bone mineral density in an elite soccer player

Changes in bone mineral density (BMD) have been associated with association football (soccer) participation. Seasonal changes in BMD of soccer players have been proposed as well. However, previous investigations were based on short-term observations. Actually, longitudinal investigation of BMD in soccer players is lacking, possibly because of frequent inter-club transfer, changes in club policy or continued availability of the relevant facilities. Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA)-measured areal BMD (aBMD) was obtained during the competitive season in an elite soccer player along 10 consecutive years. Findings showed that (1) aBMD tends to increase with age, independently of body mass; (2) The right (preferred, kicking) leg has higher aBMD than the left (non-preferred, support) one; (3) Meaningful (i.e., >least significant change, LSC) changes in aBMD take place along the season; and (4) The off-season (transition) period has no effect on aBMD. Findings prompt for future research aimed at clarifying the long-term and seasonal patterns of bone characteristics in soccer in relation with age and type/dose of training. Season-around, long-term scrutiny of bone status in soccer players would help controlling for possible changes/asymmetries in bone mineralization/strength

Food insecurity trends in the Famine Early Warning Systems Network

[EN] Over last 30 years, periodic country analyses elaborated by FEWS NET (Famine Early Warning Systems Network of the United States Agency for International Development) enabled creation of a unique source of knowledge comprising consistent reporting in over two dozen countries. This paper proposes to systematically assess documentation from historical perspective to provide comprehensive overview of food insecurity in FEWS NET covered countries. We propose an integrated machine learning approach to systematically analyse available documentation and generate knowledge. In particular text mining algorithms have been implemented to analyse reports: automated retrieval of high-quality information from text, by finding patterns and trends through machine learning, statistics and linguistics. This enables analysis of large amounts of unstructured text to derive insights. Results show that there is a wide heterogeneity in what is relevant, and in what reports focus on at the territorial level. Many country-level topics are persistent over time with some interesting exception, as Guatemala, Malawi, Niger, and Somalia with more instability. Overall, the evidence show that advances in machine learning and Big Data research offer great potential for international development agencies to leverage the vast information generated from reports to gain new insights, providing analytics that can improve decision-making.Carneiro, B.; Perfetto, C.; Resce, G.; Ruscica, G.; Tucci, G. (2023). Food insecurity trends in the Famine Early Warning Systems Network. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 171-178. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2023.2023.1643317117