Music in the first days of life

In adults, specific neural systems with right-hemispheric weighting are necessary to process pitch, melody and harmony, as well as structure and meaning emerging from musical sequences. To which extent does this neural specialization result from exposure to music or from neurobiological predispositions? We used fMRI to measure brain activity in 1 to 3 days old newborns while listening to Western tonal music, and to the same excerpts altered, so as to include tonal violations or dissonance. Music caused predominant right hemisphere activations in primary and higher-order auditory cortex. For altered music, activations were seen in the left inferior frontal cortex and limbic structures. Thus, the newborn's brain is able to plenty receive music and to figure out even small perceptual and structural differences in the music sequences. This neural architecture present at birth provides us the potential to process basic and complex aspects of music, a uniquely human capacity

Enhanced LDL oxidation in uremic patients: An additional mechanism for accelerated atherosclerosis?

Enhanced LDL oxidation in uremic patients: An additional mechanism for accelerated atherosclerosis? Since oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is more atherogenic than native LDL, LDL oxidation was investigated in uremic patients who often develop accelerated atherogenesis. Three groups of uremic patients were studied (10 on predialysis conservative therapy, 11 on repetitive hemodialysis, 13 on peritoneal dialysis) and compared with seventy matched controls. LDL oxidation was evaluated in all patients as: (i) the susceptibility to in vitro oxidation (by measuring the resistence to Cu++-induced formation of conjugated dienes), (ii) vitamin E concentration in LDL, and (iii) presence of plasma anti-oxidized LDL antibodies, expressed as the ratio anti-oxLDL/anti-nativeLDL antibodies. The lipid profile was studied in all patients. Vitamin E concentration did not differ between the various groups, although LDL from uremic patients appeared more susceptible to in vitro and in vivo oxidation (as demonstrated by an earlier generation of conjugated dienes and by the presence of an higher antibody ratio) compared to control subjects. Subclass analysis of the different patients revealed that peritoneal dialysis treatment ameliorated the oxidation markers. However, a prolonged dialytic treatment caused a decrease in vitamin E concentration in LDL and increased their susceptibility to oxidation

The epidemiology of Varicella Zoster Virus infection in Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The epidemiological importance of varicella and zoster and the availability of an efficacious and safe vaccine have led to an important international debate regarding the suitability of mass vaccination. The objective of the study was to describe the epidemiology of varicella and zoster in Italy and to determine whether there have been changes with respect to observations provided by an analogous study conducted 8 years ago, in order to define the most appropriate vaccination strategy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A number of data sources were evaluated, a cross-sectional population-based seroprevalence study was conducted on samples collected in 2004, and the results were compared with data obtained in 1996.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The data from active and passive surveillance systems confirm that varicella is a widespread infectious disease which mainly affects children. VZV seroprevalence did not substantially differ from that found in the previous study. The sero-epidemiological profile in Italy is different from that in other European countries. In particular, the percentage of susceptible adolescents is at least nearly twice as high as in other European countries and in the age group 20–39 yrs, approximately 9% of individuals are susceptible to VZV.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study can contribute to evaluating the options for varicella vaccination. It is possible that in a few years, in all Italian Regions, there will exist the conditions necessary for implementing a mass vaccination campaign and that the large-scale availability of MMRV tetravalent vaccines will facilitate mass vaccination.</p

The epidemiology of mumps in Italy

In Italy, although vaccination has been recommended for a number of years, vaccination coverage for mumps is still sub-optimal. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of mumps antibodies in the Italian population, stratified by age, gender and geographical area. The proportion of individuals positive for mumps antibodies remained stable in the age classes 0-11 months and 1 year (25.4% and 30.8%, respectively) and showed a continuous increase after the second year of life. The percentage of susceptible individuals was higher than 20% in persons 2-14 years of age and exceeded 10% in persons 15-39 years of age. No statistically significant differences were observed by gender or geographical area. Comparison between these results and the data obtained from a 1996 survey showed a statistically significant increase in seroprevalence in the age class 2-4 years. No changes were observed in the other age-groups. The results of this study confirm that the efforts made in recent years to improve vaccination coverage within the second year of life should be strengthened. \ua9 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Strong motion deficits in dyslexia associated with DCDC2 gene alteration

Dyslexia is a specific impairment in reading that affects 1 in 10 people. Previous studies have failed to isolate a single cause of the disorder, but several candidate genes have been reported. We measured motion perception in two groups of dyslexics, with and without a deletion within the DCDC2 gene, a risk gene for dyslexia. We found impairment for motion particularly strong at high spatial frequencies in the population carrying the deletion. The data suggest that deficits in motion processing occur in a specific genotype, rather than the entire dyslexia population, contributing to the large variability in impairment of motion thresholds in dyslexia reported in the literature

Interobserver reproducibility of the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) for quantifying liver steatosis

This study was conducted to prospectively investigate the interobserver reproducibility of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) measurements and the relationship among the CAP and body mass index (BMI), gender and age

Televisione. La provvisoria identità italiana

Risultati di una vasta ricerca sulla storia della televisione italiana, presentati e discussi nel convegno: “Televisione: la provvisoria identità italiana”, tenutosi il 13 e 14 giugno 1985 presso la Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli.- Indice #7- Introduzione, Marcello Pacini #9- Un “fare” italiano nella televisione, Gianfranco Bettetini #13- Cristalli di massa. I programmi che hanno fatto la televisione in Italia (1954-1966), Aldo Grasso #25- Convegno “Televisione: la provvisoria identità italiana” Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, Torino, 13-14 giugno 1985 #97- Introduzione al Convegno, Dino Basili #99- Tavola rotonda “Le radici umanistiche della cultura televisiva italiana” #101- Intervento di Angelo Romanò #103- “I Persiani”, di Eschilo. Appunti di regia di Vittorio Cottafavi #109- Di un diverso umanesimo televisivo. Intervento di Folco Portinari #115- Intervento di Mimmo Gennarini #121- Intervento di Anton Giulio Majano #127- Intervento di Susanna Egri #129- Tavola rotonda “In diretta con la provincia” #131- La Provincia e l’Impero. Intervento di Mario Carpitella #133- Intervento di Enza Sampò #137- Intervento di Luciano Vecchi #141- Campanile... c’era, Intervento di Gian Luigi Beccaria #149- Intervento di Popi Perani #155- Intervento di Gigi Speroni #159- Tavola rotonda “Racconti brevi” #165- Racconti frettolosi e sinceri. Intervento di Roberto Gavioli #167- Intervento di Adriano Zanacchi #173- Intervento di Pino Peserico #179- Intervento di Vito Molinari #183- Tavola rotonda “In differita con l’America” #191- Intervento di Guido Sacerdote #193- Il tenente Sheridan, piccola storia di un grande successo. Intervento di Alberto Ciambricco #195- Intervento di Carlo Freccero #209- Intervento di Giovanni Buttafava #215- Intervento di Enrico Vaime #22