Does alexithymia have a mediating effect between impulsivity and emotional-behavioral functioning in adolescents with binge eating disorder?

Objective: Binge eating Disorder (BeD) has recently been included in the Dsm-5. like many other eating disorder symptoms, BED is often present in adolescence. No studies have specifically investigated the influence of impulsivity and alexithymia on the emotional-behavioural functioning of adolescents diagnosed with BeD. Method: in this study, we recruited n = 162 adolescents (age range: 14-18) and divided them into two groups: 78 adolescents diagnosed with BeD, according to the Dsm-5 criteria (group A), and 84 healthy controls (group B). participants completed the youth self-report (ysr/11-18), the toronto Alexithymia scale (tAs-20) and the Barratt impulsiveness scale (Bis-11). Results: the results showed that group A had higher scores of alexithymia, impulsivity and maladaptive emotionalbehavioural functioning than Group B. Furthermore, alexithymia had a mediating effect on the relationship between impulsivity and emotional-behavioural functioning. Conclusions: These results allow us to hypothesise that alexithymia is a key variable influencing the emotional and behavioural problems of adolescents affected by BED. Our data confirms the previous studies underlining the association of impulsivity and alexithymia with the diagnosis of BeD in adolescents, and our study contributes to the previous literature, emphasising the central role of alexithymia in the mediating effect between impulsivity and emotional and behavioural problems. these results suggest the importance of promoting prevention and treatment polices focused on alexithymia

Mothers and fathers with Binge Eating Disorder and their 18-36 months old children: a longitudinal study on parent-infant interactions and offspring\u2019s emotional-behavioral profiles

Maternal Binge Eating Disorder (BED) has been suggested to be associated with poor parent\u2013infant interactions during feeding and with children\u2019s emotional and behavioral problems during infancy (Blissett and Haycraft, 2011). The role of fathers has received increasing consideration in recent years, yet the research has not focused on interactional patterns between fathers with BED and their children. The present study aimed to longitudinally investigate the in\ufb02uence of BED diagnosis, in one or both parents, on parent\u2013infant feeding interactions and on children\u2019s emotional\u2013behavioral functioning. 612 subjects (408 parents; 204 children), recruited in mental health services and pre-schools in Central Italy, were divided into four groups: Group 1 included families with both parents diagnosed with BED, Group 2 and 3 included families with one parent diagnosed with BED, Group 0 was a healthy control. The assessment took place at T1 (18 months of age of children) and T2 (36 months of age of children): feeding interactions were assessed through the Scale for the Assessment of Feeding Interactions (SVIA) while child emotional\u2013behavioral functioning was evaluated with the Child Behavior Check-List (CBCL). When compared to healthy controls, the groups with one or both parents diagnosed with BED showed higher scores on the SVIA and on the CBCL internalizing and externalizing scales, indicating poorer adult\u2013child feeding interactions and higher emotional\u2013behavioral dif\ufb01culties. A direct in\ufb02uence of parental psychiatric diagnosis on the quality of mother\u2013infant and father\u2013infant interactions was also found, both at T1 and T2. Moreover, dyadic feeding interactions mediated the in\ufb02uence of parental diagnosis on children\u2019s psychological functioning. The presence of BED diagnosis in one or both parents seems to in\ufb02uence the severity of maladaptive parent\u2013infant exchanges during feeding and offspring\u2019s emotional\u2013behavioral problems over time, consequently affecting different areas of children\u2019s psychological functioning. This is the \ufb01rst study to demonstrate the speci\ufb01c effects of maternal and paternal BED on infant development. These results could inform prevention and intervention programs in families with one or both parents diagnosed with BED

A Stochastic Theory of the Hierarchical Clustering III. The Non-universality and Non-stationarity of the Halo Mass Function

In the framework of the stochastic theory for hierarchical clustering, we investigate the time-dependent solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation describing the statistics of dark matter halos, and discuss the typical timescales needed for these to converge toward stationary states, far away enough from initial conditions. Although we show that the stationary solutions can reproduce the outcomes of state-of-the-art $N-$body simulations at $z\approx 0$ to a great accuracy, one needs to go beyond to fully account for the cosmic evolution of the simulated halo mass function toward high-redshift. Specifically, we demonstrate that the time-dependent solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation can describe, for reasonable initial conditions, the non-universal evolution of the simulated halo mass functions. Compared to standard theoretical estimates, our stochastic theory predicts a halo number density higher by factor of several toward $z\gtrsim 10$, an outcome which can be helpful in elucidating early and upcoming data from JWST. Finally, we point out the relevance of our approach in designing, interpreting and emulating present and future $N-$body experiments.Comment: 14 pages, 5 Figures. Accepted by Ap

The Political Economy of Law Enforcement

The legal order is the legitimate foundation of liberal democracy. Its incomplete enforcement of the law can therefore appear dysfunctional, reflecting weak institutions, state capture, and corrupt practices. This paper casts doubt on such categorical assessments by systematically examining the reasons for and intentions behind incomplete enforcement. It argues that law enforcement is part of the political process that is deeply affected by the constellation of actors concerned. Choices over law enforcement produce social order that is analytically distinct from the production of legal norms and their formal implementation. By analyzing different types of partial enforcement, its rationales, and intended effects, we propose an approach that studies law enforcement as an integral part of public policy analysis and of the study of socioeconomic orders.Si l’on considère le droit comme fondement légitime de la démocratie libérale, son application partielle peut paraître dysfonctionnelle, témoignage de la faiblesse des institutions, de la capture étatique ou de la corruption. Cet article met en question une analyse aussi catégorique, en interrogeant les motivations et objectifs d’une mise en application juridique incomplète ou sélective. Nous concevons l’application de la loi comme partie intégrante de l’action publique, profondément façonnée par la constellation des acteurs concernés. Les arbitrages sur la mise en vigueur des lois sont une manière de produire de l’ordre social qui doit être analytiquement distincte de la production des lois et de sa mise en oeuvre. En examinant différentes formes de l’application partielle de la loi, leurs motivations et leurs impacts, nous proposons une approche qui inclut la mise en application du droit comme partie intégrante de l’action publique et de l’étude des ordres socio-économiques.1 Introduction 2 Common explanations for variations in law enforcement 3 The political economy of law enforcement 4 Typologies of enforcement 5 How to study uneven enforcement 6 Conclusion Reference

Binding Mechanisms in Visual Perception and Their Link With Neural Oscillations: A Review of Evidence From tACS

Neurophysiological studies in humans employing magneto- (MEG) and electro- (EEG) encephalography increasingly suggest that oscillatory rhythmic activity of the brain may be a core mechanism for binding sensory information across space, time, and object features to generate a unified perceptual representation. To distinguish whether oscillatory activity is causally related to binding processes or whether, on the contrary, it is a mere epiphenomenon, one possibility is to employ neuromodulatory techniques such as transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). tACS has seen a rising interest due to its ability to modulate brain oscillations in a frequency-dependent manner. In the present review, we critically summarize current tACS evidence for a causal role of oscillatory activity in spatial, temporal, and feature binding in the context of visual perception. For temporal binding, the emerging picture supports a causal link with the power and the frequency of occipital alpha rhythms (8–12 Hz); however, there is no consistent evidence on the causal role of the phase of occipital tACS. For feature binding, the only study available showed a modulation by occipital alpha tACS. The majority of studies that successfully modulated oscillatory activity and behavioral performance in spatial binding targeted parietal areas, with the main rhythms causally linked being the theta (~7 Hz) and beta (~18 Hz) frequency bands. On the other hand, spatio-temporal binding has been directly modulated by parieto-occipital gamma (~40–60 Hz) and alpha (10 Hz) tACS, suggesting a potential role of cross-frequency coupling when binding across space and time. Nonetheless, negative or partial results have also been observed, suggesting methodological limitations that should be addressed in future research. Overall, the emerging picture seems to support a causal role of brain oscillations in binding processes and, consequently, a certain degree of plasticity for shaping binding mechanisms in visual perception, which, if proved to have long lasting effects, can find applications in different clinical populations

A MILP model for an extended version of the Flexible Job Shop Problem

A MILP model for an extended version of the Flexible Job Shop Scheduling problem is proposed. The extension allows the precedences between operations of a job to be given by an arbitrary directed acyclic graph rather than a linear order. The goal is the minimization of the makespan. Theoretical and practical advantages of the proposed model are discussed. Numerical experiments show the performance of a commercial exact solver when applied to the proposed model. The new model is also compared with a simple extension of the model described by \"Ozg\"uven, \"Ozbakir, and Yavuz (Mathematical models for job-shop scheduling problems with routing and process plan flexibility, Applied Mathematical Modelling, 34:1539--1548, 2010), using instances from the literature and instances inspired by real data from the printing industry.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables. Optimization Letters, 201

Anomalous Perception of Biological Motion in Autism: A Conceptual Review and Meta-Analysis

Despite its popularity, the construct of biological motion (BM) and its putative anomalies in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not completely clarified. In this article, we present a meta-analysis investigating the putative anomalies of BM perception in ASD. Through a systematic literature search, we found 30 studies that investigated BM perception in both ASD and typical developing peers by using point-light display stimuli. A general meta-analysis including all these studies showed a moderate deficit of individuals with ASD in BM processing, but also a high heterogeneity. This heterogeneity was explored in different additional meta-analyses where studies were grouped according to levels of complexity of the BM task employed (first-order, direct and instrumental), and according to the manipulation of low-level perceptual features (spatial vs. temporal) of the control stimuli. Results suggest that the most severe deficit in ASD is evident when perception of BM is serving a secondary purpose (e.g., inferring intentionality/action/emotion) and, interestingly, that temporal dynamics of stimuli are an important factor in determining BM processing anomalies in ASD. Our results question the traditional understanding of BM anomalies in ASD as a monolithic deficit and suggest a paradigm shift that deconstructs BM into distinct levels of processing and specific spatio-temporal subcomponents

Numerical and Experimental Validation of Active Vibration Control Logic Performance of a Hybrid Noise Control-Based Brick

The limitations of active noise control (ANC) in coping with low frequencies and of passive noise control (PNC) in coping with middle-high frequencies are objects of research that present the potentialities of hybrid noise control (HBC). It aims at combining both of the behaviours by broadening the range of absorbed frequencies. Among the several application fields, the AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) market can take advantage for those applications in which the noise conditions are caused by sound sources that tune in a broad frequencies range. In this frame, the paper describes the numerical and experimental validation of the active behaviour of an under-development project of a hybrid noise control-based acoustic bricks. The latter intends to embed the potentialities of active vibrational noise control (AVC) and passive destructive interference (PDI) in a unique design of an easy-to-mount, 3D-printed, customisable smart acoustic blocks. Active vibration control, the object of this paper, is provided by a 5-mm thick aluminium circular plate with an attached piezoelectric patch. The vibration of the latter, depending on a specific control law, defines the vibration of the plate itself achieving an abatement of the reflection coefficient. Through mathematical modelling and tests in an impedance tube, the results show that the control logic can reach an average abatement of the reflection coefficient of 82% in the frequency range 144-1007 Hz