7,110 research outputs found
INCIDENCE OF PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS IN PALERMO: PRELIMINARY DATA
Background: The incidence of psychotic disorders varies in different geographical
areas (McGrath 2004). Recent data suggest that the incidence is
higher in males, migrant minorities and in urban areas. There aren\u2019t many
available epidemiological data on the incidence of psychotic disorders in
Italy. This is the first incidence study on psychotic disorders carried out in
Palermo, the capital of Sicily.
Methods: we screened all patients presenting with their first episode of
psychosis to the mental health services of our catchment area (5 inpatient,
5 outpatient units and 3 private psychiatric hospitals) over a period of
three years (2008-2011). The diagnosis of psychosis was defined using the
Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN Wing, J. K., et
al., 1990).The main socio-demographic data were collected using the MRC
Social Data Schedule. When subjects were not available (did not consent)
for interview, information was collected from clinical notes. The population
at risk referred to the people aged from 18-65 who were resident in
the same catchment area (Palermo Municipality) in the period considered,
according to the data of the Statistic Office of Palermo Municipality).
Results: we identified 216 patients affected by a first episode of psychosis
(FEP): 135 M (62.5%) and 81 F (37.5%), mean age 31.42 years (SD: 11.44).
77.1% of FEP had a diagnosis of non affective psychosis, 12.8% of affective
psychosis and 10.1% received a diagnosis of other psychosis. 204 subjects
were Caucasian, 12 non Caucasian belonging to various ethnicities and they
were all first generation migrants (4 Indian, 3 African, 2 Bangladeshi, and
3 Mixed). Population at risk is 425.194 people. The mean age of onset
was lower in men than women M: 29.98 years (SD: 10.41) vs. F: 34.28
(SD:12.64) (p=0.013)The incidence of psychotic disorders in our catchment
area is 16,9 per 100.000 person years. It was higher in men 21,9 per 100.000
than women 12,2 per 100.000.
Discussion: Our study is the first epidemiological study in Sicily investigating
the incidence of psychotic disorders. In our population men have a higher
incidence of psychotic disorders than women and an earlier age of onset
Measurement of the Charge Collection Efficiency after Heavy Non-Uniform Irradiation in BaBar Silicon Detectors
We have investigated the depletion voltage changes, the leakage current
increase and the charge collection efficiency of a silicon microstrip detector
identical to those used in the inner layers of the BaBar Silicon Vertex Tracker
(SVT) after heavy non-uniform irradiation. A full SVT module with the front-end
electronics connected has been irradiated with a 0.9 GeV electron beam up to a
peak fluence of 3.5 x 10^14 e^-/cm^2, well beyond the level causing substrate
type inversion. We irradiated one of the two sensors composing the module with
a non-uniform profile with sigma=1.4 mm that simulates the conditions
encountered in the BaBar experiment by the modules intersecting the horizontal
machine plane. The position dependence of the charge collection properties and
the depletion voltage have been investigated in detail using a 1060 nm LED and
an innovative measuring technique based only on the digital output of the chip.Comment: 7 pages, 13 figures. Presented at the 2004 IEEE Nuclear Science
Symposium, October 18-21, Rome, Italy. Accepted for publication by IEEE
Transactions on Nuclear Scienc
Deterministic direct growth of WS2 on CVD graphene arrays
The combination of the exciting properties of graphene with those of monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2) makes this heterostack of great interest for electronic, optoelectronic and spintronic applications. The scalable synthesis of graphene/WS2 heterostructures on technologically attractive substrates like SiO2 would greatly facilitate the implementation of novel two-dimensional (2D) devices. In this work, we report the direct growth of monolayer WS2 via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on single-crystal graphene arrays on SiO2. Remarkably, spectroscopic and microscopic characterization reveals that WS2 grows only on top of the graphene crystals so that the vertical heterostack is selectively obtained in a bottom-up fashion. Spectroscopic characterization indicates that, after WS2 synthesis, graphene undergoes compressive strain and hole doping. Tailored experiments show that such hole doping is caused by the modification of the SiO2 stoichiometry at the graphene/SiO2 interface during the WS2 growth. Electrical transport measurements reveal that the heterostructure behaves like an electron-blocking layer at large positive gate voltage, which makes it a suitable candidate for the development of unipolar optoelectronic components
Approximate Homomorphisms of Ternary Semigroups
A mapping between ternary semigroups will be
called a ternary homomorphism if . In this paper,
we prove the generalized Hyers--Ulam--Rassias stability of mappings of
commutative semigroups into Banach spaces. In addition, we establish the
superstability of ternary homomorphisms into Banach algebras endowed with
multiplicative norms.Comment: 10 page
Stratigraphic reassessment of Grotta Romanelli sheds light on Middle-Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironments and human settling in the Mediterranean
During the last century, Grotta Romanelli (Southern Italy) has been a reference site for the European Late Pleistocene stratigraphy, due to its geomorphological setting and archaeological and palaeontological content. The beginning of the sedimentation inside the cave was attributed to the Last Interglacial (MISs 5e) and the oldest unearthed evidence of human occupation, including remains of hearths, was therefore referred to the Middle Palaeolithic. Recent surveys and excavations produced new U/Th dates, palaeoenvironmental interpretation and a litho-, morpho- and chrono-stratigraphical reassessment, placing the oldest human frequentation of the cave between MIS 9 and MIS 7, therefore embracing Glacial and Interglacial cycles. These new data provide evidence that the sea reached the cave during the Middle Pleistocene and human occupation occurred long before MISs 5e and persisted beyond the Pleistocene- Holocene boundary
The prognostic role of baseline CEA and CA 19-9 values and their time-dependent variations in advanced colorectal cancer patients submitted to first-line therapy.
Serum marker evaluation is an easily available prognostic indicator that may help clinicians to discriminate patients with an aggressive disease; there are few and small-sized studies exploring the prognostic role of baseline carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) values and their variations during first-line therapy, and even fewer data are available for carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9). Our aim was to analyze the role of those prognostic markers to exploit them in daily clinical practice. Data of 892 patients with marker determination before and 3 and/or 6 months during therapy were extracted from two institutional databases. Patients were grouped according to single marker variation as always negative (G0), decreasing (G1), stable (G2), or increasing (G3). We evaluated the progression-free survival (PFS) and the overall survival (OS) of all the patents and correlated them with CEA and CA 19-9 values. A concordance between response to therapy and marker decrease was evident in 50.2% and in 34.4% of the patients for CEA and CA 19-9. Patients with low CEA or CA 19-9 baseline values had a longer PFS (15.1 vs. 10.5; 13.6 vs. 10.2 months) and OS (32.0 vs. 22.3; 30.5 vs. 20.1 months). The same results of PFS and OS were obtained by analyzing the data of the four different groups. Multivariate analyses confirmed the independent prognostic role of CEA and CA 19-9. Baseline CEA and CA 19-9 levels and their kinetics demonstrated to be independent prognostic factors. CA 19-9 dosage is not recommended; a possible role of CA 19-9 in patients with negative CEA could be worth further evaluation
Cannabis consumption and the risk of psychosis
Summary
Objectives: Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug globally and its use
has been linked to an increased risk for psychotic disorders. An association
between cannabis consumption and psychotic symptoms was consistently reported
by several studies. This case-control study aimed to widen the current
findings about the impact of cannabis exposure on the risk of psychosis, by
investigating the pattern of cannabis consumption in a sample of first-episode
of psychosis (FEP) patients compared to healthy controls.
Material and methods: 68 individuals who presented for the first time to mental
health services of Palermo (Italy) with an ICD-10 diagnosis of psychotic disorders
and 74 healthy were enrolled as part of the Sicilian Genetics and Psychosis
study. Psychopathological assessment and diagnosis were carried out by
the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). Socio-demographic
data were collected by the modified version of the Medical Research
Council (MRC) socio-demographic scale. All participants were interviewed using
the Cannabis Experience Questionnaire \u2013 Modified Version to obtain a detailed
assessment of lifetime patterns of cannabis and other illicit drug consumption.
Logistic regression was applied to investigate the relationships between various
aspects of cannabis use (lifetime use, age at first use, duration, and frequency of
use) and case-control status while controlling for potential confounders.
Results: Patients started cannabis consumption about 3 years earlier than
the control group (t = 3.1, p = 0.002) and were 8 times more likely to having
started using cannabis before 15 years (adjusted OR = 8.0, 95% CI 2.4-27)
than controls. Furthermore cases were more likely to smoke more frequently
than controls (adjusted OR = 4.4, 95% CI 1.08-18). We did not find a difference
in duration of cannabis use between cases and controls.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that cannabis exposure, and especially
daily cannabis consumption, is associated with the risk for psychosis; however,
the retrospective study design does not allow drawing firm conclusions about
causality
Soil carbon investigation in three pedoclimatic and agronomic settings of northern Italy
Sustainable agricultural management is needed to promote carbon (C) sequestration in soil, prevent loss of soil fertility, and reduce the release of greenhouse gases. However, the influence of agronomic practices on soil C sequestration depends on the existing pedoclimatic features. We characterized the soils of three farms far away each other in the Emilia-Romagna region (Northern Italy): an organic farm in the Northern Apennines, a biodynamic farm, and a conventional farm on the Po Plain. The total, inorganic, and organic carbon in soil, as well as the distinct humic fractions were investigated, analyzing both the elemental and isotopic (13C/12C) composition. In soils, organic matter appears to be variously affected by mineralization processes induced by microorganisms that consume organic carbon. In particular, organic carbon declined in farms located in the plain (e.g., organic carbon down to 0.75 wt%; carbon stock0-30 cm down to 33 Mg/ha), because of the warmer climate and moderately alkaline environment that enhance soil microbial activity. On the other hand, at the mountain farm, the minimum soil disturbance, the cold climate, and the neutral conditions favored soil C sequestration (organic carbon up to 4.42 wt%; carbon stock0-30 cm up to 160 Mg/ha) in humified organic compounds with long turnover, which can limit greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. This work shows the need for thorough soil investigations, to propose tailored best-practices that can reconcile productivity and soil sustainability
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