Using the validated Reflective Functioning Questionnaire to investigate mentalizing in individuals presenting with eating disorders with and without self-harm

Background The present study builds on previous research which explored the relationship between mentalizing and eating disorders (ED) in a subgroup of patients with comorbid self-harm (SH). Whereas previous literature had linked this comorbidity to impulse-control difficulties, more recent advances have suggested that a lack of a mentalizing stance might be responsible for a more treatment-resistant and severe symptomatology in this subgroup of clients. Methods A cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, questionnaire-based, between-groups design was employed and a measure of mentalizing was compared in individuals presenting with ED only, individuals presenting with ED and concurrent SH and a control group. Results Individuals with ED with concurrent SH reported significantly more mentalizing ability impairment than individuals without concurrent SH. In addition, both groups differed significantly from the control group. Opposite scoring patterns were identified in hypo- and hypermentalizing with the comorbid group reporting the lowest scores in hypermentalizing and the highest scores in hypomentalizing. Conclusions The current findings confirm that individuals with concurrent ED and SH report more severe impairments in mentalizing ability. Such impairments entail difficulties in symbolic capacity and abstract thinking and a concretisation of inner life, exemplified by a rigid, often inflexible focus on the physical world. The clinical implications that a lack of a mentalizing stance can have on individuals’ ability to engage with the therapeutic process and to initiate change are reflected upon

The urban ecology of Iron Age Tel Megiddo: using microvertebrate remains as ancient bio-indicators

Peer reviewedPreprin

Opinión pública, legitimidad y partidos: miradas sobre el adversario político en Córdoba a finales de los años setenta del siglo XIX

El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar las diferentes miradas sobre el lugar de los adversarios y la legitimidad del ejercicio de la oposición en la provincia de Córdoba en los años finales de la década de 1870. Con ese propósito, se avanza sobre la problemática desde tres perspectivas: una centrada en las diversas concepciones que expresaron los partidos respecto de la ´opinión pública´ como juez de todo accionar político, otra vinculada a los diferentes juicios vertidos por los contemporáneos sobre las formas aceptables de expresión y tramitación de las disputas, y, por último, una articulada en torno a la cuestión de la representación y el papel de las agrupaciones partidarias en el sistema republicano.This paper seeks to explore different views on the role of political adversaries and on the legitimacy of the opposition in the late 1870 Córdoba. To that end, this issue will be examined from three perspectives: the political parties’ definition of Public Opinion and its place in judging political action; the ideas they defended about acceptable ways of expressing and processing their disputes and, lastly, their divergent views on the matter of representation and the role of political parties in a republican system.Fil: Cucchi, Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana; Argentin

Centralización estatal y desmovilización política: Dinámicas provinciales y nacionales entre 1880 y 1890

Este trabajo examina algunas características del régimen político entre 1880 y 1890. Parte de constataciones sobre la experiencia del juarismo en Córdoba (1877-1890) y pondera en qué medida en las innovaciones que este sector impulsó en la provincia es posible encontrar algunas claves para comprender las transformaciones de las dinámicas provinciales y los cambios en las modalidades de funcionamiento de la política nacional en esos años.This paper analyses some features of the Argentine political regime between 1880 and 1890. Based on my previous findings about the experience of Juarismo in Cordoba (1877-1890), I suggest a few clues to understand the transformation of provincial and national politics during that time.Fil: Cucchi, Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana "Dr. Emilio Ravignani". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana "Dr. Emilio Ravignani"; Argentin

Entre la “anarquía” y el “despotismo”: debates sobre la acción armada y las formas de la contienda política en Córdoba en 1880

Las razones para la impugnación creciente de las prácticas ciudadanas armadas durante el último tercio del siglo XIX fueron, en Argentina como en el resto de los países latinoamericanos, de naturaleza variada. Se conectaron con la consolidación de los estados nacionales y la profesionalización de sus fuerzas armadas, pero estuvieron relacionadas, también, con el triunfo de una forma de entender las nuevas realidades republicanas y el balance necesario dentro de ellas entre el poder de los gobiernos y las libertades de los ciudadanos. Este último punto constituye la preocupación central de este trabajo, que tiene como objetivo explorar los diversos usos y valoraciones de la acción ?revolucionaria? en el discurso de las dirigencias de la provincia de Córdoba durante los años finales de la década de 1870, en un contexto donde parte no menor de los debates locales y nacionales estaban marcados por la preocupación de cómo procesar la oposición y el conflicto político de manera pacífica.There were many reasons for the increasing contestation of armed confrontation in the last third of the 19th century, both in Argentina and the rest of the Latin American countries. They included the consolidation of the nation state and the professionalization of the armed forces, but also the emergence of a way of understanding the realities of the new republican system and the necessary balance between governmental power and the freedom of the citizens. This last issue is the main concern of this paper, which aims to explore Córdoba’s political leaderships’ assessment of revolutionary action in the late 1870s, in a context of local and national debates about how to process opposition and political conflict peacefully.Fil: Cucchi, Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana ; Argentin

Hedgehog signaling pathway and its targets for treatment in basal cell carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin is the most common type of cancer, and accounts for up to 40% of all cancers in the United States with a growing incidence rate in the last decades in all developed countries. Surgery is curative for most patients, although it leaves unaesthetic scars, but those that develop locally advanced or metastatic BCC require different therapeutical approaches. Furthermore, patients with BCC present an high risk of developing additional tumors. The increasing economic burden and the morbidity of BCC render of primary interest the development of targeted treatments for this disease. Among the molecular signals involved in the development of BCC, it has become evident the critical role of the morphogenic Hedgehog (Hh) pathway. This pathway is found altered and activated in almost all the BCC, both sporadic or inherited. Given the centrality of the Hh pathway in the pathophysiology of BCC, the primary efforts to identify molecular targets for the topical or systemic treatment of this cancer have focused on the Hedgehog components. Several Hh inhibitors have been so far identified, from the first, the natural cyclopamine to the recently FDA-approved synthetic Vismodegib, most targeting the Hh receptor Smo (either its function or its translocation to the primary cilium). Other molecules await further characterization (Bisamides compounds), while drugs currently approved for other diseases such as Itraconazole (a antimicotic agent) and Vitamin D3 have been tested on BCC with encouraging results. The outcome of the numerous ongoing clinical trials is expected to expand the field in short time. Further research is needed to obtain drugs targeting downstream components of the Hh pathway (eg Gli) or to exploit combinatorial therapies (eg with PI3K inhibitors, or retinoids) in order to overcome potential drug resistance

Organic electrochemical networks for biocompatible and implantable machine learning: Organic bioelectronic beyond sensing

How can the brain be such a good computer? Part of the answer lies in the astonishing number of neurons and synapses that process electrical impulses in parallel. Part of it must be found in the ability of the nervous system to evolve in response to external stimuli and grow, sharpen, and depress synaptic connections. However, we are far from understanding even the basic mechanisms that allow us to think, be aware, recognize patterns, and imagine. The brain can do all this while consuming only around 20 Watts, out-competing any human-made processor in terms of energy-efficiency. This question is of particular interest in a historical era and technological stage where phrases like machine learning and artificial intelligence are more and more widespread, thanks to recent advances produced in the field of computer science. However, brain-inspired computation is today still relying on algorithms that run on traditional silicon-made, digital processors. Instead, the making of brain-like hardware, where the substrate itself can be used for computation and it can dynamically update its electrical pathways, is still challenging. In this work, I tried to employ organic semiconductors that work in electrolytic solutions, called organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) to build hardware capable of computation. Moreover, by exploiting an electropolymerization technique, I could form conducting connections in response to electrical spikes, in analogy to how synapses evolve when the neuron fires. After demonstrating artificial synapses as a potential building block for neuromorphic chips, I shifted my attention to the implementation of such synapses in fully operational networks. In doing so, I borrowed the mathematical framework of a machine learning approach known as reservoir computing, which allows computation with random (neural) networks. I capitalized my work on demonstrating the possibility of using such networks in-vivo for the recognition and classification of dangerous and healthy heartbeats. This is the first demonstration of machine learning carried out in a biological environment with a biocompatible substrate. The implications of this technology are straightforward: a constant monitoring of biological signals and fluids accompanied by an active recognition of the presence of malign patterns may lead to a timely, targeted and early diagnosis of potentially mortal conditions. Finally, in the attempt to simulate the random neural networks, I faced difficulties in the modeling of the devices with the state-of-the-art approach. Therefore, I tried to explore a new way to describe OMIECs and OMIECs-based devices, starting from thermodynamic axioms. The results of this model shine a light on the mechanism behind the operation of the organic electrochemical transistors, revealing the importance of the entropy of mixing and suggesting new pathways for device optimization for targeted applications