Editorial: Positive Technology: Designing E-experiences for Positive Change

While there is little doubt that our lives are becoming increasingly digital, whether this change is for the better or for the worse is far from being settled. Rather, over the past years concerns about the personal and social impacts of technologies have been growing, fueled by dystopian Orwellian scenarios that almost on daily basis are generously dispensed by major Western media outlets. According to a recent poll involving some 1,150 experts, 47% of respondents predict that individuals’ well-being will bemore helped than harmed by digital life in the next decade, while 32% say people’s well-being will bemore harmed than helped. Only 21% of those surveyed indicated that the impact of technologies on people well-being will be negligible compared to now (Pew Research Center, 2018)

Cognitive reserve in dementia: Implications for cognitive training

open9noCognitive reserve (CR) is a potential mechanism to cope with brain damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of CR on a cognitive training (CT) in a group of patients with dementia. Eighty six participants with mild to moderate dementia were identified by their level of CR quantified by the CR Index questionnaire (CRIq) and underwent a cycle of CT. A global measure of cognition mini mental state examination (MMSE) was obtained before (T0) and after (T1) the training. Multiple linear regression analyses highlighted CR as a significant factor able to predict changes in cognitive performance after the CT. In particular, patients with lower CR benefited from a CT program more than those with high CR. These data show that CR can modulate the outcome of a CT program and that it should be considered as a predictive factor of neuropsychological rehabilitation training efficacy in people with dementia.openMondini, Sara; Madella, Ileana; Zangrossi, Andrea; Bigolin, Angela; Tomasi, Claudia; Michieletto, Marta; Villani, Daniele; Di Giovanni, Giuseppina; Mapelli, DanielaMondini, Sara; Madella, Ileana; Zangrossi, Andrea; Bigolin, Angela; Tomasi, Claudia; Michieletto, Marta; Villani, Daniele; Di Giovanni, Giuseppina; Mapelli, Daniel

Management of Celiac Patients with Growth Failure

Celiac disease (CD) may be considered as a systemic immune-mediated disorder that is triggered by dietary gluten in genetically susceptible subjects. CD children and adolescents show typical intestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, loss of weight and abdominal distension, or extraintestinal signs, the so-called nonclassical CD, such as short stature and delayed puberty. An endocrinological investigation including an evaluation of growth hormone (GH) secretion should be performed in CD subjects who show no catch-up growth after at least 1 year on a strict gluten-free diet (GFD) in the presence of a seronegativity of anti-transglutaminase and/or antiendomysial antibodies. When the diagnosis of GH deficiency is formulated, a substitutive therapy with GH must be promptly started to obtain a complete catch-up growth. The long-term effects of GH therapy in CD children who follow a strict GFD are comparable to those found in children with idiopathic GHD. A widely documented association has been observed between CD and type I diabetes mellitus and/or Hashimoto thyroiditis and/or Addison’s disease. During follow-up, pediatricians should check antibody serology, thyroid and adrenal function and glucose-metabolic profile in order to verify the compliance with both diet and GH treatment. Adherence to a strict gluten-free diet promotes regular linear growth and may prevent CD complications as well as the onset of other autoimmune diseases

Local complications associated with labial salivary gland biopsy for diagnosis of Sjögren?s Syndrome : a retrospective cohort study

To describe local or systemic complications related to the labial salivary glands biopsy (LSGB) used as diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of Sjögren?s Syndrome (SS). Clinical databases from a cohort of patients, who underwent LSGB with provisional clinical diagnosis of Sjögren?s Syndrome, were retrospectively reviewed. Pain, assessed by registering the intake of analgesic drugs in the first week following the biopsy, and any further relevant clinical information regarding complications after biopsy were recorded. 50 patients received LSGB. 10 of them (9 women and 1 man) showed histopathological findings compatible with SS. Ten patient (20%) receiving labial biopsy developed local complications: three of them (6%) reported a sensory defect at the surgical site that lasted at most few weeks; three patients (6%) reported pain sensation needing the assumption of analgesic drugs, while one patient (2%) described a transient local burning sensation, which resolved in few days. Three patients (6%) showed cutaneous haematoma in the surgical area and two patients (4%) showed mild mucosal inflammation at the biopsy site. LSGB is associated with to few and mild complications and it is a useful tool in the diagnosis of SS. The complications usually resolved in few weeks after the biopsy

Conservation status of Italian coastal dune habitats in the light of the 4th Monitoring Report (92/43/EEC Habitats Directive)

Coastal dunes are among habitats with the worst conservation status on a global, European and national scale. Monitoring and reporting are of strategic importance to determine the effectiveness of the implementation of Habitats Directive and to preserve the unique biodiversity heritage of the Italian dunes. In this study we show main results of the 4th National Report with specific reference to the macro-habitat “Coastal Sand Dunes and Inland Dunes”, highlighting its updated current conservation status at the national and Biogeographical level. A comprehensive Working Group of territorial experts collected, updated, validated and integrated the data available for 11 Annex I Habitats, distributed in the Alpine, Continental and Mediterranean Biogeographical Regions. The conservation status was evaluated through the following criteria: geographic range, surface area, structure, functions, pressures, threats, conservation measures and prospects. Results highlighted the dramatically bad conservation status of Italian dune Habitats: the overall assessment reported 88% of habitats in bad conservation status and the remaining 12% is in inadequate conditions. Results showed a generalised threat and a worrying conservation status both on herbaceous and wooded communities, in particular in some relevant habitats, such as the shifting dunes. Main pressures and threats were linked to residential, commercial and industrial activities, as well as alien species. Although some of the changes in distribution and trends are probably deriving from more accurate and updated data, the alarming conservation status of Italian sand dunes requires a better knowledge of pressures and threats for further management actions and monitoring plans, inside and outside protected areas

Shallow subsurface imaging of the Piano di Pezza active normal fault (central Italy) using high-resolution refraction and electrical resistivity tomography coupled with time-domain electromagnetic data

The Piano di Pezza fault (PPF) is the north-westernmost segment of the >20 km long Ovindoli-Pezza active normal fault-system (central Italy). Although existing paleoseismic data document high vertical Holocene slip rates (~1 mm/yr) and a remarkable seismogenic potential of this fault, its subsurface setting and Pleistocene cumulative displacement are still unknown. We investigated the shallow subsurface of a key section of the PPF using seismic and electrical resistivity tomography coupled with time-domain electromagnetic measurements (TDEM). We provide 2-D Vp and resistivity images showing details of the fault structure and the geometry of the shallow basin infill down to 35-40 m depth. We can estimate the dip and the Holocene vertical displacement of the master fault. TDEM measurements in the fault hangingwall indicate that the pre-Quaternary carbonate basement may be found at ~90-100 m depth

Where are You Watching? Patterns of Visual Exploration in the Ultimatum Game

The study aimed to advance the traditional issue of identifying decision strategy by analyzing the information processing in terms of visual exploration patterns. Twenty-seven participants played as responders in a computerized version of Ultimatum Game with an anonymous virtual partner. Responders tended to reject unfair offers, probably due to their taste for fairness and to the unidentifiability of the other player that reduced the willingness to cooperate. Furthermore, according to the evolutionary approach, participants focused their attention more at themselves than at the partner. Among the three type of offers \u2013 hyperfair, fair and unfair \u2013 mid-value offers, such as fair ones, required more number of fixations and fixations duration, related to the more complex cognitive and reasoning processes involved. Implications of this study could be applied in decisional settings with anonymous partners, such as those online, with future studies confirming the results found and integrating them through other process tracing methodologies

A Rewriting-Logic-Based Technique for Modeling Thermal Systems

This paper presents a rewriting-logic-based modeling and analysis technique for physical systems, with focus on thermal systems. The contributions of this paper can be summarized as follows: (i) providing a framework for modeling and executing physical systems, where both the physical components and their physical interactions are treated as first-class citizens; (ii) showing how heat transfer problems in thermal systems can be modeled in Real-Time Maude; (iii) giving the implementation in Real-Time Maude of a basic numerical technique for executing continuous behaviors in object-oriented hybrid systems; and (iv) illustrating these techniques with a set of incremental case studies using realistic physical parameters, with examples of simulation and model checking analyses.Comment: In Proceedings RTRTS 2010, arXiv:1009.398