A clinical heritage of empirical research. In memory of Jeremy Safran

This is Part II of a special issue, Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, dedicated in memory of our colleague Jeremy Safran (Part I was published in April 2019). All of the contributions (theoretical papers, clinical cases, qualitative and quantitative studies) presented in this second part of the special issue focus on the topic of ruptures and resolutions in the therapeutic alliance. Each paper demonstrates a unique approach, perspective, and methodology

Una riflessione sull’isteria. Diagnosi modificata o in disuso?

Il presente lavoro si propone di fornire un contributo alla riflessione sull’isteria, descrivendone il percorso a partire dalle prime formulazioni fino agli autori contemporanei. L’obiettivo è delineare lo sviluppo storico e concettuale dell’isteria, da sindrome clinica individuata fin dall’antichità a stile di personalità. La sintomatologia dell’isteria è multiforme e mutevole, e risente di influssi culturali e sociali. Forse proprio per questo si è osservato un quadro polimorfo che è cambiato nel corso delle epoche storiche e ha presentato caratteristiche diverse a seconda della cultura di appartenenza.The present work intends to contribute to a reflection about hysteria, describing a path from the first formulations to the contemporary authors. It aims to depict the historic and conceptual evolution of hysteria, from a clinical syndrome — recognized since the ancient times — to a personality style. The hysteric symptomatology is multifaceted and fugitive and it is affected by cultural and social influences. Probably for this reason a polymorphic picture has been observed, changing across the historical ages and presenting different characteristics depending on cultural framework

Cose da donne? La leadership di gender raccontata ai media

Le donne e la politica. Gender e politica: la scomparsa delle donne. La rappresentanza politica femminile nell'Unione europea. La presenza delle donne in politica in Italia. I confini della ricerca. Casi di studio: Michela Vittoria Brambilla. Casi di studio: Mara Carfagna. Casi di studio: Mariastella Gelmini. Casi di studio: Giorgia Meloni. Casi di studio: Stefania Prestigiacomo.Le donne e la politica. Gender e politica: la scomparsa delle donne. La rappresentanza politica femminile nell'Unione europea. La presenza delle donne in politica in Italia. I confini della ricerca. Casi di studio: Michela Vittoria Brambilla. Casi di studio: Mara Carfagna. Casi di studio: Mariastella Gelmini. Casi di studio: Giorgia Meloni. Casi di studio: Stefania Prestigiacomo.Refereed Working Papers / of international relevanc

La “questione rifiuti” nell'ordinamento italiano: dalla gestione illegale alle attività organizzate per il traffico illecito. Genesi e fenomenologia delle “ecomafie"

2013 - 2014The focus on environmental crime, which crimes related to illegal waste management represent a big chunk, also involves the European parliament who recently launched the international campaign against impunity for those who commit serious environmental crimes. It is, indeed, probably one of the materials that involves a series of thorny issues undefined and indefinable and branching pervading different disciplines, from the criminal protection of the environment in general, whereas the feedback ethical and sustainable development, Community law supranational and has always been involved in the formulation of a common and effective response to environmental issues and respect to criminal offenses related thereto, by their very nature intended for individual overstepped the borders, up to lead the issue of the so-called economic criminogenesis and criminodinamica criminals. The work has started from a preliminary analysis of the current considerations - doctrinal and jurisprudential - of what is considered as a value to be preserved beyond national borders with a first part delegated to emphasize the good environment and its developments - moving between the anthropocentric and eco-centric perspective - even in a vision markedly Community as a complementary tool to the internal standardization - a topic for discussion it was in fact the Directive 2008/99 / EC on the protection of criminal law and its implementation. It was also addressed, in the wider context of the environment, the problem of "waste matter", one of the components from which potentially originate sources of increased danger in terms of its protection. The problem of waste management has set with strong evidence from the 70s when the economic development there was a growth of the same which was accompanied by a heightened their risk which imposed to deal no longer exclusively, but to the issue of disposal of risks of environmental impact that these could cause. The current notion of refusal can be drawn from the cd Environmental Code which considers it as "any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard". There were insights into some particularly thorny issues such as temporary storage and accurate determination of the boundary between the exhaust and liquid waste. During the period for the preparation of the work has emerged as, of all the criminal cases in some way linked to the illegal management of the waste cycle, there was a markedly more important and allegorical of the situation summed up in the neologism "eco-mafia"; This is the crime ex art. 260 of the Consolidated Law on the environment entitled "crime of organized activities for the illegal trafficking of waste," then the subject of careful study... [edited by Author]XIII n.s

I processi di rottura e riparazione dell’alleanza terapeutica e gli interventi del terapeuta. Un’indagine empirica

Gli studi presentati nella mia tesi di dottorato appartengono all’ambito della ricerca empirica in psicoterapia. Il focus principale, in linea con le tematiche studiate nell’ambito delle cosiddette Empirically Supported Relationships, è l’interazione tra fattori tecnici e relazionali. Il lavoro di tesi si è proposto di indagare congiuntamente i processi di rottura e riparazione dell’alleanza terapeutica e gli interventi del terapeuta mettendo a confronto pazienti con orientamento anaclitico e introiettivo. L’obiettivo generale è stato identificare le caratteristiche differenziali di questi due tipi pazienti nel processo terapeutico, al fine di delineare un quadro mediamente atteso di come un clinico possa relazionarsi in modo proficuo con questi pazienti, promuovere un clima di collaborazione in seduta e negoziare i momenti di rottura attraverso modalità “patient-tailored”. La tesi è articolata in tre studi principali: 1) la validazione della Collaborative Interactions Scale Revised (Colli, Gentile, Condino, Lingiardi, 2014a, 2017), strumento basato sui trascritti per la valutazione microanalitica dei processi di rottura e riparazione dell’alleanza terapeutica; 2) la validazione della Comparative Psychotherapy Process Scale (Hilsenroth, Blagys, Ackerman, Bonge, Blais, 2005), strumento basato su una scala Likert per la valutazione degli interventi del terapeuta; 3) un’indagine empirica su un campione di pazienti anaclitici e introiettivi. I primi due studi riguardano la validazione italiana degli strumenti adottati e il terzo studio riguarda la ricerca vera e propria. Le validazioni della CIS–R e del CPPS hanno mostrato buone caratteristiche psicometriche sia rispetto alla inter-rater reliability, sia rispetto alla validità convergente e di criterio. Lo studio esplorativo su pazienti anaclitici e introiettivi ha rilevato da un lato differenze significative rispetto alla presenza di rotture, collaborazioni e interventi del terapeuta nei due gruppi di pazienti, e ha identificato un effetto predittivo di alcuni interventi sulla collaborazione del paziente. Il lavoro presenta alcune implicazioni cliniche. Riconoscere i processi di rottura e riparazione appare assai utile sia nella pratica clinica quotidiana sia nel training degli psicoterapeuti. I risultati sembrano suggerire in primo luogo la necessità di un modello complesso e multidimensionale per la comprensione del “What works for whom?... and how?” (Roth e Fonagy, 2004). Comprendere quali siano gli interventi più efficaci con specifici tipi di pazienti può avere notevoli ricadute sul piano clinico e del trattamento, sia nei termini di una maggiore possibilità di cambiamento terapeutico sia nei termini di una prevenzione del drop out. I dati ottenuti sembrano in accordo con la letteratura sugli interventi del terapeuta che ha sottolineato l’importanza del tailoring degli interventi del terapeuta al fine di modulare una “psicoterapia su misura” del paziente (Horwitz, Allen, Gabbard, et al., 1996)

The legacy of Jeremy Safran

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Kinetics of the lipoperoxyl radical-scavenging activity of indicaxanthin in solution and unilamellar liposomes

Abstract The reaction of the phytochemical indicaxanthin with lipoperoxyl radicals generated in methyl linoleate methanol solution by 2,20-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile), and in aqueous soybean phosphatidylcholine unilamellar liposomes by 2,20-azobis(2- amidinopropane)hydrochloride, was studied. The molecule acts as a chain-terminating lipoperoxyl radical scavenger in solution, with a calculated inhibition constant of 3.63 £ 105M21 s21, and a stoichiometric factor approaching 2. Indicaxanthin incorporated in liposomes prevented lipid oxidation, inducing clear-cut lag periods and decrease of the propagation rate. Both effects were concentration-dependent, but not linearly related to the phytochemical concentration. The consumption of indicaxanthin during liposome oxidation was remarkably delayed, the lower the concentration the longer the time-interval during which it remained in its native state. Indicaxanthin and a-tocopherol, simultaneously incorporated in liposomes, exhibited cooperative antioxidant effects and reciprocal protective interactions. The extent of synergism decreased at the increase of the ratio (indicaxanthin)/(a-tocopherol). A potential antioxidant mechanism of indicaxanthin is discussed in the context of the chemistry of the molecule, and of the possible reactivity of a short-lived intermediate. Keywords: Indicaxanthin, phytochemical, lipid oxidation, nutritional valu

Ion Channels in Breast Cancer: From Signaling to Therapy

Breast cancer consists of an assortment of illness and therapeutic failure is mostly due to the complex and heterogeneous phenotype of the disease. Recently, changes in expression of several ion channels have been associated with malignancy including breast cancers. This suggests that breast cancer cells might gain a selective advantage by controlling ion channel expression/activity and that ion channels can contribute to the hallmarks of cancer. Due to the growing body of research demonstrating that ion channels are key factors in breast cancer biology. In this chapter, we discuss the role of specific ion channels in contributing to hallmarks of breast and whether these ion channels can be used as potential pharmacologic targets for breast cancer

First data on microflora of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests from the coastlines of Sicily

Caretta caretta is threatened by many dangers in the Mediterranean basin, but most are human-related. The purposes of this research were: (i) to investigate microflora in samples from six loggerhead sea turtle nests located on the Sicilian coast and (ii) to understand microbial diversity associated with nests, with particular attention to bacteria and fungi involved in failed hatchings. During the 2016 and 2018 summers, 456 eggs and seven dead hatchling from six nests were collected. We performed bacteriological and mycological analyses on 88 egg samples and seven dead hatchlings, allowing us to isolate: Fusarium spp. (80.6%), Aeromonas hydrophila (55.6%), Aspergillus spp. (27.2%) and Citrobacter freundii (9%). Two Fusarium species were identified by microscopy and were confirmed by PCR and internal transcribed spacer sequencing. Statistical analyses showed significant differences between nests and the presence/absence of microflora, whereas no significant differences were observed between eggs and nests. This is the first report that catalogues microflora from C. caretta nests/eggs in the Mediterranean Sea and provides key information on potential pathogens that may affect hatching success. Moreover, our results suggest the need for wider investigations over extensive areas to identify other microflora, and to better understand hatching failures and mortality related to microbial contamination in this important turtle species