Un delta in movimento. Il caso di Comacchio tra tarda antichità e alto medioevo

L’articolo si propone di ripercorrere le principali tappe dei processi insediativi e degli sviluppi economici nell’area deltizia di Comacchio tra V e X secolo, mettendone in evidenza i punti nodali e i caratteri materiali. Rifletteremo, inoltre, su alcune “questioni aperte”, sui principali interrogativi e sulle prospettive di studio emerse nell’ambito del progetto di ricerca “Archeologia Medievale a Comacchio”, avviato nel 2005, con particolare attenzione all’interazione tra comunità antropica e contesto ambientale

Effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 and Bifidobacterium longum BB536 on the healthy gut microbiota composition at phyla and species level: a preliminary study

AIM: To evaluate the ability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 and Bifidobacterium longum BB536 to colonize the intestinal environment of healthy subjects and modify the gut microbiota composition. METHODS: Twenty healthy Italian volunteers, eight males and twelve females, participated in the study. Ten subjects took a sachet containing 4 × 109 colony-forming units (CFU) of Bifidobacterium longum BB536 and 109 CFU of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001, 30 min before breakfast (pre-prandial administration), while ten subjects took a sachet of probiotic product 30 min after breakfast (post-prandial administration). The ability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 and Bifidobacterium longum BB536 to colonize human gut microbiota was assessed by means of quantitative real-time PCR, while changes in gut microbiota composition were detected by using Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine. RESULTS: Immediately after 1-mo of probiotic administration, B. longum BB536 and L. rhamnosus HN001 load was increased in the majority of subjects in both pre-prandial and post-prandial groups. This increase was found also 1 mo after the end of probiotic oral intake in both groups, if compared to samples collected before probiotic consumption. At phyla level a significant decrease in Firmicutes abundance was detected immediately after 1-mo of B. longum BB536 and L. rhamnosus HN001 oral intake. This reduction persisted up to 1 mo after the end of probiotic oral intake together with a significant decrease of Proteobacteria abundance if compared to samples collected before probiotic administration. Whereas, at species level, a higher abundance of Blautia producta, Blautia wexlerae and Haemophilus ducrey was observed, together with a reduction of Holdemania filiformis, Escherichia vulneris, Gemmiger formicilis and Streptococcus sinensis abundance. In addition, during follow-up period we observed a further reduction in Escherichia vulneris and Gemmiger formicilis, together with a decrease in Roseburia faecis and Ruminococcus gnavus abundance. Conversely, the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila was increased if compared to samples collected at the beginning of the experimental time course. CONCLUSION: B. longum BB536 and L. rhamnosus HN001 showed the ability to modulate the gut microbiota composition, leading to a significant reduction of potentially harmful bacteria and an increase of beneficial ones. Further studies are needed to better understand the specific mechanisms involved in gut microbiota modulation

Studio della reattività di due emoglobine non simbiotiche di Arabidopsis thaliana: ruolo della dinamica e della struttura proteica

In this doctorate thesis the study of the reactivity of the two non symbiotic haemoglobins is presented of Arabidopsis thaliana AHb1 and AHb2, characterized by intramolecular esacoordination of the hemic iron atom in absence of exogenous ligands. Particularly the rebinding of the ligand diatomic monoxide of carbon has been studied after photolysis realized on the COAHbs through an impulse of laser light to 532 nm. The laser flash photolysis is the used technique. The measures of LFP and the numerical analysis associated furnish a detailed analysis of the reactivity of AHb1 and AHb2 towards the CO, whose kinetics of rebinding have been measured to vary of different physical and chemist parameters such as viscosity and temperature, using as well the immobilization technique inside nanoporosis silica gel. The different effects of these experimental conditions on the kinetics of rebinding to the two proteins suggest a different role of the protein dynamics on the reactivity. Under conditions of high viscosity, the kinetics of rebinding of the CO to AHb1 suggests the presence of migration processes of the ligand photodissociated through a series of sites of temporary stockage. On the other hand, the rebinding to AHb2 is very influenced by the dynamics of the protein, while the effects produced by the migration seem to be small.In questa tesi di dottorato è presentato lo studio della reattività delle due emoglobine non simbiotiche di Arabidopsis thaliana AHb1 ed AHb2, caratterizzate da esacoordinazione intramolecolare dell’atomo di ferro emico in assenza di ligandi esogeni. In particolare è stato studiato il rilegame del ligando diatomico monossido di carbonio dopo fotolisi realizzata sulle COAHb mediante un impulso di luce laser a 532 nm. La tecnica utilizzata è la laser flash photolysis. Le misure di LFP e l’analisi numerica associata forniscono un’analisi dettagliata della reattività di AHb1 ed AHb2 nei confronti del CO, le cui cinetiche di rebinding sono state misurate al variare di diversi parametri chimico fisici quali la viscosità e la temperatura, anche utilizzando la tecnica di immobilizzazione all’interno di gel di silice nanoporosi. I diversi effetti di queste condizioni sperimentali sulla cinetica di rilegame alle due proteine suggeriscono un diverso ruolo della dinamica proteica sulla reattività. In condizioni di alta viscosità, la cinetica di rebinding del CO ad AHb1 suggerisce la presenza di processi di migrazione del ligando fotodissociato attraverso una serie di siti di stoccaggio temporaneo. Per contro, il rebinding ad AHb2 è molto influenzato dalla dinamica della proteina, mentre gli effetti prodotti dalla migrazione sembrano essere piccoli

The Effects of Virtual Reality in Targeting Transdiagnostic Factors for Mental Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Virtual reality (VR) was found to be effective in the treatment of several specific psychopathologies. However, the effects of VR-based interventions beyond the disorder-specific approach and their ability to improve transdiagnostic factors of mental disorders are unknown. This PRISMA systematic review was conducted using databases PubMed and PsycINFO, searching articles published between 2010 and September 2022. Keywords "emotion regulation", "cognitive reappraisal", "avoidance", "impulsivity", "aggression", and "disinhibition" were combined with "virtual reality" to retrieve studies showing the effects of VR-based interventions on these transdiagnostic factors. 29 experimental studies and seven case-studies were selected. A total of 23 considered avoidance, eight dealt with emotion regulation, three concerned aggression, two addressed impulsivity, two dealt with cognitive reappraisal, and none examined disinhibition. Most of the studies included anxiety disorder patients (n = 15), especially with specific phobias (n = 8) and social anxiety disorder (n = 4). VR managed to improve all transdiagnostic factors, with results often maintained at follow-ups (n = 21 studies; range: 1-12 months) and similar to traditional interventions (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapy). Exploring the transdiagnostic potential of VR may help to reduce costs and improve applicability in clinical psychology. While results were promising, further studies are needed for aggression, impulsivity and cognitive reappraisal, especially including follow-ups, comparisons with first-line treatments, and understudied clinical populations

La disciplina delle mansioni: evoluzione del quadro normativo

Il capitolo ripercorre analiticamente la disciplina dello jus variandi del datore di lavoro prima e dopo la riforma apportata dall'art. 3, d. lgs. 81/2015

Subtyping demoralization in the medically ill by cluster analysis

Background and Objectives: There is increasing interest in the issue of demoralization, particularly in the setting of medical disease. The aim of this investigation was to use both DSM-IV comorbidity and the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) in order to characterize demoralization in the medically ill. Methods: 1700 patients were recruited from 8 medical centers in the Italian Health System and 1560 agreed to participate. They all underwent a cross-sectional assessment with DSM-IV and DCPR structured interviews. 373 patients (23.9%) received a diagnosis of demoralization. Data were submitted to cluster analysis. Results: Four clusters were identified: demoralization and comorbid depression; demoralization and comorbid somatoform/adjustment disorders; demoralization and comorbid anxiety; demoralization without any comorbid DSM disorder. The first cluster included 27.6% of the total sample and was characterized by the presence of DSM-IV mood disorders (mainly major depressive disorder). The second cluster had 18.2% of the cases and contained both DSM-IV somatoform (particularly, undifferentiated somatoform disorder and hypochondriasis) and adjustment disorders. In the third cluster (24.7%), DSM-IV anxiety disorders in comorbidity with demoralization were predominant (particularly, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder). The fourth cluster had 29.5% of the patients and was characterized by the absence of any DSM-IV comorbid disorder. Conclusions: The findings indicate the need of expanding clinical assessment in the medically ill to include the various manifestations of demoralization as encompassed by the DCPR. Subtyping demoralization may yield improved targets for psychosomatic research and treatment trials

Urokinase thrombolysis as a rescue treatment for midgut volvulus ischemia

Abstract Midgut volvulus in infants may lead to extreme short bowel syndrome. Strategies to avoid post-ischemia bowel loss have been proposed, involving thrombolysis prior to a definitive surgical treatment. Haemorrhagic risks in these patients may withhold from this approach. Herein we describe the use of urokinase systemic infusion after an unsatisfactory second look laparotomy, performed in a term baby with midgut volvulus. Continuous infusion of urokinase was given for seventeen hours prior to a third laparotomy. A total of 25 cm of small bowel were finally kept in place. Twelve months after the 1st laparotomy the patient was on oral feeding 125 calories/Kg/day. This case showed the possible rescue role of a fibrinolytic agent against persistent ischemia after the second look laparotomy for neonatal volvulus

Tissue-engineered grafts from human decellularized extracellular matrices: A systematic review and future perspectives

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine involve many different artificial and biologic materials, frequently integrated in composite scaffolds, which can be repopulated with various cell types. One of the most promising scaffolds is decellularized allogeneic extracellular matrix (ECM) then recellularized by autologous or stem cells, in order to develop fully personalized clinical approaches. Decellularization protocols have to efficiently remove immunogenic cellular materials, maintaining the nonimmunogenic ECM, which is endowed with specific inductive/differentiating actions due to its architecture and bioactive factors. In the present paper, we review the available literature about the development of grafts from decellularized human tissues/organs. Human tissues may be obtained not only from surgery but also from cadavers, suggesting possible development of Human Tissue BioBanks from body donation programs. Many human tissues/organs have been decellularized for tissue engineering purposes, such as cartilage, bone, skeletal muscle, tendons, adipose tissue, heart, vessels, lung, dental pulp, intestine, liver, pancreas, kidney, gonads, uterus, childbirth products, cornea, and peripheral nerves. In vitro recellularizations have been reported with various cell types and procedures (seeding, injection, and perfusion). Conversely, studies about in vivo behaviour are poorly represented. Actually, the future challenge will be the development of human grafts to be implanted fully restored in all their structural/functional aspects