Telegram from Anthony Seminerio, New York State Assemblyman, to Geraldine Ferraro

Congratulatory telegram from New York State Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio to Geraldine Ferraro. Includes standard response letter from Ferraro.https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/vice_presidential_campaign_correspondence_1984_new_york/1222/thumbnail.jp

VALUTAZIONE DELL’EFFICACIA TERAPEUTICA DI RIMEDIO COGNITIVO COMPUTER MEDIATO CIRCuiTS

Introduzione. La Cognitive remediation (CR) è una terapia psicologica che migliora il funzionamento cognitivo e sociale nelle persone affette da disturbi dello spettro psicotico. Un team di ricercatori inglesi del King's College ha progettato un programma CR computerizzato di nuova generazione, CIRCuiTS (Computerised Interactive Remediation of Cognition – a Training for Schizophrenia), per migliorare il funzionamento cognitivo e sociale dei pazienti affetti da schizofrenia. Questo studio si inserisce all'interno di un più ampio progetto di verifica dell'accettabilità e fattibilità della versione italiana di CIRCuiTS, concentrandosi sulla possibilità di saggiare l'efficacia del trattamento su una popolazione clinica della città di Palermo. Metodi. Uno studio caso-controllo che confronta un gruppo di pazienti sottoposti CIRCuiTS associato al Trattamento Usuale e un gruppo di pazienti a cui viene somministrato il solo Trattamento Usuale (Treatment As Usual o TAU). Il funzionamento cognitivo, sociale e i sintomi sono stati valutati alla pre-e post terapia (a 12 settimane e 26 settimane). Risultati. 45 pazienti hanno aderito allo studio e 27 sono stati inseriti nel gruppo sperimentale CIRCuiTS, completando il programma riabilitativo con una mediana di 22 sessioni. Ci sono stati miglioramenti nella funzioni esecutive al post-trattamento follow-up (p = 0,003) a favore del gruppo CIRCuiTS. È stata altresì riscontrata una differenza statisticamente significativa (p<0,001) rispetto ad un miglioramento della sintomatologia generale. Conclusioni. CIRCuiTS sembrerebbe essere un trattamento utile per migliorare le funzioni esecutive e le condizioni cliniche dei pazienti sottoposti al trattamento. Questo studio costituisce una prova di efficacia che segna l'inizio di una sperimentazione su larga scala del trattamento computer-mediato CIRCuiTS.Introduction. Cognitive remediation (CR) is a psychological therapy, which improves cognitive and social functioning in people with disorders of the psychotic spectrum. A team of British researchers from King's College designed a new-generation computerized CR program, CIRCuiTS (Computerised Interactive Remediation of Cognition – a Training for Schizophrenia), to improve the cognitive and social functioning in patients with schizophrenia. This study is part of a larger project to verify the acceptability and feasibility of the Italian version of CIRCuiTS, focusing on the possibility of testing the effectiveness of treatment on a clinical population of the city of Palermo. Methods. A case-control study comparing a group of patients using CIRCuiTS associated with the usual treatment and a group of patients receiving only the usual treatment (Treatment As Usual or TAU). Cognitive and social functioning and symptoms were assessed at pre- and post-therapy (at 12 weeks and 26 weeks). Results. 45 patients adhered to the study and 27 were included in the CIRCuiTS experimental group, completing the rehabilitation program with a median of 22 sessions. There were improvements in the executive functions at post-treatment and follow-up (p = 0.003) in favor of the CIRCuiTS group. A statistically significant difference was also found (p<0.001) in the general symptomatology. Conclusions. CIRCuiTS is a useful treatment to improve the executive functions and the clinical conditions of the patients undergoing treatment. This study constitutes an evidence of effectiveness that marks the beginning of a large-scale experimentation of the computer-mediated CIRCuiTS

Borderline personality in patients with poly-diagnoses treated for a Bipolar Disorder

Some patients with dysphoria, explosive behaviour, or suicidal ideation, may receive a diagnosis of, and treatment for Bipolar Disorder (BD) and, not infrequently. The coexistence of these two diagnoses has been explained in different ways. Some authors include the BPD in the bipolar spectrum; others are sceptical about the existence of real comorbidity, suggesting a misdiagnosis. This study aimed to assess the personality of this group of poly-diagnosed patients (PolyD) and hypothesised they had a pathological borderline organisation. Via the administration of the Schedler Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200), we compared PolyD patients with those suffering from BPD or BD only. We performed two different MANCOVAs to test PolyD, BPD and BD patients' differences in PD-factors, Q-traits and age. The sample comprised 45 patients (Mean age=43.3, SD=15.7; Females 57.7%, N=26). BD patients (N=15) did not present any personality disorder, they had a higher functioning and Obsessive Q-traits, and a lower Histrionic PD-factor than both PolyD (N=20) and BPD (N=10) patients. Compared to PolyD patients, BD had inferior PD-Borderline, PD-Antisocial factor and Dependent-Masochistic Q-traits, but there were no other differences with BPD patients. PolyD did not differ from BPD patients in any of the PD-factors and Q-traits. Our results suggest that PolyD patients are different from BD patients and propose to consider the pathological borderline personality as a central core of their disease

Intelligence as a construct and as a process: a summary of researches along the time

Partindo da conceituação culturalmente corrente de inteligência, das implicações em termos da recente teoria da mente e das decorrências éticas e políticas, visa-se, neste artigo, tracejar o percurso das investigações científicas nesta área. Inicialmente destaca-se a tentativa de avaliar a idade mental e o constructo de QI, na Europa e nos Estados Unidos. Avalia-se, em seguida, o esforço dos fatorialistas para aprofundar o processo intelectual, a partir de seus determinismos. A busca de Spearman de um fator geral, através de um cálculo estatístico - equação tetrádica - e a ampliação desta teoria, bifatorial, para uma concepção hierárquica. A objeção metodológica de Thurstone e a criação do método centróide e da teoria multifatorial. A crítica epistemológica de Guilford ao modelo radicalmente empirista e a descrição antecipada de três dimensões básicas envolvendo cinco categorias de operações, seis de produtos e quatro de conteúdos (no modelo original). A posição anterior de Thorndike e a visão ambientalista multimodal, centrada na aprendizagem. A visão racionalista e universalista da Epistemologia Genética e as decorrências pedagógicas como autonomia radical no desenvolvimento ontogenético. Críticas. A visão social de Vigotzky e a contribuição da psicologia soviética. A aproximação da lingüística e da cognição. A contribuição de Bruner ao longo de quatro etapas. O grande debate inatismo ambientalismo e implicações político-sociais. O advento da metacognição, teoria da teoria e teoria da mente e as pesquisas de diagnóstico e de intervenção psicopedagógica. O papel do desenvolvimento intelectual para uma política igualitária de emancipação.The aim of this article is to draw up a sketch of the scientific researches about intelligence, starting from the cultural concept, and the recent mind's theory and on the ethic and political consequences. Firstly the endeavor of evaluating the mental age and IQ in Europe and the Unites States is detached. Following the attempt of the factorialists to go deeper into the intellectual process, throughout its foundations. The search of the general factor by Spearman through the tetraic equation and the enlargement of this bifactorial theory bound for a hierachical conception is discussed. Thurstone's methodological objection and the creation of the centroid method led to a multifactorial theory. Guilford's epistemological criticism to the prior radical empirical model, led him to describe in advance three dimensions of intelligence, including five categories of operations six of products and four of contents - in the original model. The Thorndike' s former position and the enviromentalist multimodal point of view, founded on the learning, is discussed as well as the universal and rational position of Genetic Epistemology with the pedagogic consequences like the radical autonomy of the ontogenetic development. The social perspective of Vigotzky and the contributions of the sovietic psychology are concerned. The closeness of linguists and psychologists is analyzed and the Bruner's contributions along four stages. The great debate between inherits and the environmentalism and its social and political implications. The emergence of the metacogniton as well the theory's theory, the mind's theory, and the new kind of diagnosis and pedagogical intervention. The meaning of the intellectual development for a politics of social emancipation

Inteligência como constructo e como processo: sumário das pesquisas ao longo do tempo

The aim of this article is to draw up a sketch of the scientific researches about intelligence, starting from the cultural concept, and the recent mind's theory and on the ethic and political consequences. Firstly the endeavor of evaluating the mental age and IQ in Europe and the Unites States is detached. Following the attempt of the factorialists to go deeper into the intellectual process, throughout its foundations. The search of the general factor by Spearman through the tetraic equation and the enlargement of this bifactorial theory bound for a hierachical conception is discussed. Thurstone's methodological objection and the creation of the centroid method led to a multifactorial theory. Guilford's epistemological criticism to the prior radical empirical model, led him to describe in advance three dimensions of intelligence, including five categories of operations six of products and four of contents - in the original model. The Thorndike' s former position and the enviromentalist multimodal point of view, founded on the learning, is discussed as well as the universal and rational position of Genetic Epistemology with the pedagogic consequences like the radical autonomy of the ontogenetic development. The social perspective of Vigotzky and the contributions of the sovietic psychology are concerned. The closeness of linguists and psychologists is analyzed and the Bruner's contributions along four stages. The great debate between inherits and the environmentalism and its social and political implications. The emergence of the metacogniton as well the theory's theory, the mind's theory, and the new kind of diagnosis and pedagogical intervention. The meaning of the intellectual development for a politics of social emancipation.Partindo da conceituação culturalmente corrente de inteligência, das implicações em termos da recente teoria da mente e das decorrências éticas e políticas, visa-se, neste artigo, tracejar o percurso das investigações científicas nesta área. Inicialmente destaca-se a tentativa de avaliar a idade mental e o constructo de QI, na Europa e nos Estados Unidos. Avalia-se, em seguida, o esforço dos fatorialistas para aprofundar o processo intelectual, a partir de seus determinismos. A busca de Spearman de um fator geral, através de um cálculo estatístico - equação tetrádica - e a ampliação desta teoria, bifatorial, para uma concepção hierárquica. A objeção metodológica de Thurstone e a criação do método centróide e da teoria multifatorial. A crítica epistemológica de Guilford ao modelo radicalmente empirista e a descrição antecipada de três dimensões básicas envolvendo cinco categorias de operações, seis de produtos e quatro de conteúdos (no modelo original). A posição anterior de Thorndike e a visão ambientalista multimodal, centrada na aprendizagem. A visão racionalista e universalista da Epistemologia Genética e as decorrências pedagógicas como autonomia radical no desenvolvimento ontogenético. Críticas. A visão social de Vigotzky e a contribuição da psicologia soviética. A aproximação da lingüística e da cognição. A contribuição de Bruner ao longo de quatro etapas. O grande debate inatismo ambientalismo e implicações político-sociais. O advento da metacognição, teoria da teoria e teoria da mente e as pesquisas de diagnóstico e de intervenção psicopedagógica. O papel do desenvolvimento intelectual para uma política igualitária de emancipação

The Evaluation Of Az66, An Optimized Sigma Receptor Antagonist, Against Methamphetamine-Induced Dopaminergic Neurotoxicity And Memory Impairment In Mice

Sigma (σ) receptors have recently been identified as potential targets for the development of novel therapeutics aimed at mitigating the effects of methamphetamine. Particularly, σ receptors are believed to mitigate some of the neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine through modulation of dopamine, dopamine transporters and body temperature. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that targeting σ receptors may prevent cognitive impairments produced by methamphetamine. In the present study, an optimized σ receptor antagonist, AZ66, was evaluated against methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity and cognitive dysfunction. AZ66 was found to be highly selective for σ receptors compared to 64 other sites tested. Pretreatment of male, Swiss Webster mice with i.p. dosing of AZ66 significantly attenuated methamphetamine-induced striatal dopamine depletions, striatal dopamine transporter reductions and hyperthermia. Additionally, neurotoxic dosing with methamphetamine caused significant memory impairment in the object recognition test, which was attenuated when animals were pretreated with AZ66; similar trends were observed in the step-through passive avoidance test. Taken together, these results suggest that targeting σ receptors may provide neuroprotection against the neurotoxicity and cognitive impairments produced by methamphetamine

Borderline Personality in Patients with Poly-Diagnoses Treated for a Bipolar Disorder

Some patients with dysphoria, explosive behaviour, or suicidal ideation, may receive a diagnosis of, and treatment for Bipolar Disorder (BD) and, not infrequently. The coexistence of these two diagnoses has been explained in different ways. Some authors include the BPD in the bipolar spectrum; others are sceptical about the existence of real comorbidity, suggesting a misdiagnosis. This study aimed to assess the personality of this group of poly-diagnosed patients (PolyD) and hypothesised they had a pathological borderline organisation. Via the administration of the Schedler Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200), we compared PolyD patients with those suffering from BPD or BD only. We performed two different MANCOVAs to test PolyD, BPD and BD patients’ differences in PD-factors, Q-traits and age. The sample comprised 45 patients (Mean age=43.3, SD=15.7; Females 57.7%, N=26). BD patients (N=15) did not present any personality disorder, they had a higher functioning and Obsessive Q-traits, and a lower Histrionic PD-factor than both PolyD (N=20) and BPD (N=10) patients. Compared to PolyD patients, BD had inferior PD-Borderline, PD-Antisocial factor and Dependent-Masochistic Q-traits, but there were no other differences with BPD patients. PolyD did not differ from BPD patients in any of the PD-factors and Q-traits. Our results suggest that PolyD patients are different from BD patients and propose to consider the pathological borderline personality as a central core of their disease

Effect of Glucose and Inactivated Yeast Additions on the Fermentation Performances of Lactiplantibacillus pentosus OM13 during the Production of Nocellara del Belice Table Olives

The use of selected strains of lactic acid bacteria is necessary to produce fermented table olives with high hygiene and quality standards at the industrial level. A current tendency is the use of fermentation adjuvants (nutrients and activators) that can satisfy the nutritional needs of starter strains. In this study, five experimental protocols, different for nutrient and activator presence and addition of Lactiplantibacillus pentosus OM13 in freeze-dried form and after acclimatisation, were tested with the aim of improving the fermentation performances of the commercial starter. The trial inoculated with the starter strain acclimatised in the presence of nutrients and activator showed the most rapid acidification during the first phase of fermentation (third to ninth day), registering a pH loss of 3.40 units. The addition of adjuvants positively influences starter dominance (&gt;89%) and rapid colonisation (&gt;7 Log CFU/mL from third d) by indirectly limiting the presence of undesirable microorganisms. The analysis of volatile organic compounds revealed the presence of 32 chemicals distributed differently in each trial. Sensory evaluation showed that table olives produced with the different treatments were characterised by low bitterness, acidity, and absence of unpleasant odours/flavours. Control production showed slower acidification kinetics and lower sensory pleasantness than the other trials

Pathological gambling in adolescence: A narrative review

Pathological gambling is an emerging and increasing phenomenon in Western counties. This work is aimed at reviewing the existing literature on this topic, paying special attention to its development, course and outcome in adolescence. We will explore epidemiological data, the instruments for the diagnostic and clinical assessment, the course and the outcome of the disorder, the comorbidity with other psychiatric syndromes and disorders. The main risk factors will be described at individual, social and community level. We provide an overview of the available pharmacological and psychological treatments and we report a clinical vignette in order to describe the psychological and psychopathological features of pathological gambling in adolescence