A Clinimetric approach in Psychological diagnosis: clinical observations

Objective: The domain of the clinic assessment in psychology, shares the same theoretical and methodological assumptions with the traditional psychometric methods. In this case, the authors will focus on a clinimetric approach, different from the traditional psychometric ones, usually used in assessment practices. Methods: the authors analysed book by Per Bech “Klinisk Psycometri” and the Italian version titled “l’Assessment in Clinica psicologica: la psicodiagnostica clinimetrica”, edited by Giovanni Fioriti in 2018. Results: The book gives an innovative approach in understanding the clinical use of psychological rating scales, in line with a dimensional approach. Conclusion: The book offers a view on the importance of an assessment in the psychological clinic, which takes into account the nosography conditions of the pathological clinical conditions and the related quality of life and health. The book highlights the possibility of a measurement, which takes the clinical pathological observation, the possibility of comparing different subjects, identifying the link between normal and pathological, psychopathological comorbidity and clinical indications for psychotherapy

The Efficacy of Bibliotherapy in Rehabilitation Context

The aim of the present study was to explore the effectiveness of bibliotherapy in rehabilitation settings. The term bibliotherapy, coined in the 1930’s by the psychiatrist William Menninger, conveys the importance of reading as a tool for cultural promotion and growth, as a means through which to acquire knowledge, enhance one's cognitive and emotional abilities, develop strategies for managing discomfort, as well as a psychoeducational and cognitive technique in the psychotherapeutic field. A study carried out on Pubmed showed that recent research on bibliotherapy, in particular experimental research, would be lacking and requires a humanistic medical approach, drawing on the knowledge and methods of psychology and cognitive literary studies, as well as clinical disciplines to broaden our understanding of how the dynamic processes of interpretation mediate between the textual and characteristic structures of mental health and illness. This narrative review was conducted on PubMed database and used two key terms “Bibliotherapy” AND “rehabilitation” AND “prison”. Studies in line with this specific issue were included. The search of PubMed database provided a total of 470 items recruited online; of these 464 studies were excluded according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the screening, a total of 6 studies assessing the bibliotherapy in rehabilitation setting, met the inclusion criteria and were included in the narrative review. Bibliotherapy as a self-help approach also in psychotherapeutic treatments can activate the desire to seek changes in attitudes and behaviour, to acquire knowledge of symptoms, and the value of self-care. A psychological intervention self-administered through ACT bibliotherapy with minimal therapeutic support can improve the physical and emotional functioning of adults with chronic pain. If studies report the efficacy of parent-mediated bibliotherapy in situations of childhood anxiety, nocturnal fears, specific phobias, in adolescence chatbot-delivered self-help depression intervention was proven to be superior to the minimal level of bibliotherapy in terms of reduction on depression and anxiety. Bibliotherapy interventions may be helpful to fight against weight gain and potentially facilitate smoking cessation. &nbsp

Family drawing and psychological vulnerability in Children's representations of parental divorce

Parental divorce is a traumatic experience for children, a stressful life event which may contributes to a future psychological vulnerability. The aim of this study is to explore psychological distress in children after parents' separation. This research was based on a convenience sample of one-hundred children, divided in two subgroups: (1) 50 coming from a separated family (observational sample) with an age range spanning from 7 to 12 years [Mean age = 9.2 ± 1.5] and (2) 50 belonging to a nuclear family (control sample) with the same range of age [Mean age = 9.5 ± 1.6]. The sample resulted homogeneous for the gender: in particular, the observational group, is composed of 30 females (60%) and 20 males (40%). Showed several differences, highlighting the presence of negative affectivity, a well-known risk factor for the development of a depressive disorder, by reflecting the possible link between home environment and self-perception. In conclusion, this instrument, like any other projective proof, constitutes a privileged access to the psychological world in which the drawing remains the best communication channel and provides us precious informations about the emotional state of the children

Magnetically Activated Stereoscopic Vision System for Laparoendoscopic Single-Site Surgery

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The effects of in-plane shear displacements at the springings of Gothic cross vaults

Extensive damages recorded during recent strong Italian earthquakes highlighted how vulnerable masonry vaults are and what deformations they receive from the rest of the building, which can be simulated as two phenomena: (i) a dynamic response of the vault itself, above the lateral walls and piers, and (ii) a pseudo-static response of the vault to imposed displacements at its springings, triggered by significant movement from the lateral walls and piers. This paper aims at improving knowledge in this field by simulating the second of these phenomena as static shear deformation at the springings. An experimental programme was set on a model of a typical quadripartite square Gothic cross vault (from the aisle of the Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh). The test on a 1:4 scaled model had the shear displacement applied by moving two abutments in the longitudinal sense until failure, recording the crack pattern evolution and displacements of the ridges, identifying the diagonal cracks normal to the shear displacement that cause the damage and collapse in the vault. The crack pattern was validated with linear and non-linear numerical models, confirming particular observations like the uplift of the ridges and concentration of damage along the notional shear diagonal. Non-linear models are capable of capturing not only the crack pattern evolution, but also the vertical and horizontal displacements of the structure

Anxiety sensitivity, uncertainty and recursive thinking: A continuum on Cyberchondria conditions during the Covid Outbreak

Background. Cyberchondria is a term used to refer to excessive surfing the web looking for health care information, excessive checking behavior being related to health-related anxiety. This period of quarantine for the Covid-19 pandemic is increasing the pathological use of the internet, and the excessive surfing the web looking for health care information. Another dimension related to the Covid-19 outbreak refers to uncertainty intolerance, for this reason being necessary for the healthcare professionals to provide clear and linear information. Aim. The aim of this review is to identify the psychological correlations connected to cyberchondria in the quarantine period. Methods. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we carried out a systematic review of the literature on PubMed. The terms used for the search were “Cyberchondria” OR “Anxiety” AND “Quarantine”. Results. As resulting from the reviewed literature, there is a relationship between anxiety for one’s own state of health and cyberchondria, with negative psychological effects of quarantine, including post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, low mood, irritability, insomnia, uncertainty, emotional exhaustion, this condition being associated with hypervigilance, and catastrophic misinterpretation of bodily signs. Conclusion. In the light of this and according to the literature, it would be desirable that research can further explore the factors influencing the increase in cyberchondria in the future

Psychological violence and manipulative behavior in couple: A focus on personality traits

Psychological violence is characterized by systematic denigration and humiliation of the partner (victim). It is an insidious and manipulative behavior put in place to ensure that the victim begins to doubt themselves, and their own judgments, to the point of feeling confused and wrong. This behavior pattern is called Gaslighting and the personality traits are characterized by lack of empathy, psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism. These three conditions are part of the so-called dark triad and distinguished by the lack of empathy. The aim of this study is to explore psychological aspects and consequences of Gaslighting phenomena. This systematic review was conducted according to Systematic Reviews guidelines (PubMed and Google Scholar databases), using 2 key terms related to this topic “Psychological Violence” AND “Gaslighting”. Data for this systematic review were collected in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The reviewed studies focused on violence on affective manipulation, abuse trauma that compromises a subject\u27s identity, psyche, self-esteem and sense of self, in women\u27s mental health conditions. Most of the research analyzed is focused on the gender violence and manipulative behavior in couples

Moving into the wide clinical spectrum of consciousness disorders: Pearls, perils and pitfalls

The last few years have been characterized by a growing interest of the medical and scientific world for the field of consciousness and its related disorders. Medically speaking, conscious- ness can be defined as the state of awareness of self and environment and the alertness to external stimulation, besides responsiveness to inner need. Transient loss of consciousness can be due to alterations in cerebral blood flow leading to fainting or syncope, migraine, metabolic dysfunctions, unexpected intracranial pressure increases, epileptic seizures, and sleep disorders. Chronic disorders of consciousness are a tragic success of high-technology treatment, in an attempt to maintain or reestablish brain function, which is to be considered as the main goal of therapeutics. Management of vegetative or a minimally conscious state individuals involves charily getting the right diagnosis with an evidence-based prognosis, also taking into account the medical, ethical, and legal key factors of the ideal treatment. This paper is aimed at exploring the wide spectrum of consciousness disorders and their clinical differential diagnosis, with particular regards to those with a negative impact on patient and their caregiver quality of life, including epilepsy, sleep disorders, and vegetative/minimally conscious state

Affective temperaments and personality traits in couple well-being

Background. The objective of this study is to establish the link between affective temperament traits and maladaptive personality traits, to verify whether the potential presence of elements related to emotional, affective and dysfunctional relational functioning can affect the couple satisfaction, modifying the well-being or discomfort condition. Materials and Methods. A data collection questionnaire was developed to investigate the factors associated with dysfunctional emotional, affective, and relational modes of functioning. The sample consisted of 473 subjects. Data were collected including the TEMPS-A questionnaire, The Dirty Dozen Italian Assessment and the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS). Results. The findings of this study showed that the subscales of affective temperament were predictors of dark triad traits. The expressive, irritable and hyperthymic temperamental traits were found to be predictors of trait psychopathy; hyperthymic temperament is also a predictor of narcissistic traits and cyclothymic temperament is a predictor of lower couple satisfaction; men show higher scores than women in Dark triad. Conclusions. This study confirmed that temperamental traits can predict maladaptive personality traits belonging to the dark triad and confirms the importance of evaluating maladaptive personality traits to prevent forms of psychological violence in couple

3-Aroyl-1,4-diarylpyrroles inhibit chronic myeloid leukemia cell growth through an interaction with tubulin

We designed 3-aroyl-1,4-diarylpyrrole (ARDAP) derivatives as potential anticancer agents having different substituents at the 1- or 4-phenyl ring. ARDAP compounds exhibited potent inhibition of tubulin polymerization, binding of colchicine to tubulin, and cancer cell growth. ARDAP derivative 10 inhibited the proliferation of BCR/ABL-expressing KU812 and LAMA84 cells from chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in blast crisis and of hematopoietic cells ectopically expressing the imatinib mesylate (IM)-sensitive KBM5-WT or its IM-resistant KBM5-T315I mutation. Compound 10 minimally affected the proliferation of normal blood cells, indicating that it may be a promising agent to overcome broad tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance in relapsed/refractory CML patients. Compound 10 significantly decreased CML proliferation by inducing G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis via a mitochondria-dependent pathway. ARDAP 10 augmented the cytotoxic effects of IM in human CML cells. Compound 10 represents a robust lead compound to develop tubulin inhibitors with potential as novel treatments for CML