Assessment of the impact of ship emissions on the air quality in Naples

The paper reports the results of a monitoring campaign of SO2, NO2 and Benzene carried out in the port of Naples and inside the nearby urban canopy from 20th January to 8th March 2016. The activity is a continuation of a previous monitoring campaign realized by the authors in 2012. About 40 passive samplers were placed and average concentration in the period for the three pollutants was evaluated. Concentration levels observed are lower than limit values established by European directives both for SO2 and NO2. Benzene in some place of measure exceeded the limit value (5 ìg/m3) that is fixed, however, as annual average. Results have been interpreted by an interpolation algorithm using the software SURFER® obtaining contour maps that show significant differences among the three pollutants. In fact, maximum levels of SO2 occur inside the harbour area, those of NO2 inside the urban area while Benzene maximum average concentrations in the period occur at the boundary between port and urban canopy. This result has been interpreted on the basis of the occurrences of wind direction and speed measured in the same observation period

Imagined intergroup contact promotes support for human rights through increased humanization

Dehumanization concerns the denial of others' human uniqueness (animalistic dehumanization) or human nature (mechanistic dehumanization). Imagined intergroup contact has been suggested to be an effective technique for reducing dehumanization. We examined whether this intervention might primarily work by increasing the type of humanness the group specifically lacks. Study 1 revealed that after imagining contact with an animalized out-group (i.e., Gypsy people), participants attributed higher levels of human uniqueness. Study 2 replicated this finding, eliminating improved intergroup attitudes as an alternative explanation. Further, it demonstrated that imagined contact increased support for human rights, and that this was mediated by increased adscription of human uniqueness. Study 3 confirmed previous evidence by showing that after imagining contact with a mechanized out-group (i.e., Japanese people), participants attributed higher levels of human nature that explains support for human rights. Overall, imagined contact specifically works at increasing the type of humanness the group is typically denied

From Companion Diagnostics to Theranostics:A New Avenue for Alzheimer's Disease?

The recent literature signals a growing paradigm shift toward integrating therapeutics and diagnostics rather than developing and deploying them separately. In this gradual move toward more effective and personalized medications, companion diagnostics are an intermediate stage. The next step may be "theranostics", in which single chemical entities are developed to deliver therapy and diagnosis simultaneously. This strategy has been successfully exploited in oncology and is now emerging as a possibility for Alzheimer's disease, where its feasibility has caught the attention of researchers from industry and academia. Medicinal chemists do not yet completely understand the nuances of theranostic action and consequently have not yet developed universally validated strategies for developing theranostic clinical applications against Alzheimer's disease. However, given the emerging indications of the potentially enormous benefits that theranostics may bring to the fight against this devastating disease, further rigorous research is warranted

Perceiving mixed valence emotions reduces intergroup dehumanisation

To deny others’ humanity is one of the most heinous forms of intergroup prejudice. Given evidence that perceiving various forms of complexity in outgroup members reduces intergroup prejudice, we investigated across three experiments whether the novel dimension of emotional complexity, or outgroup members’ joint experience of mixed-valence emotions, would also reduce their dehumanisation. Experiment 1 found that perceiving fictitious aliens’ experience of the same primary emotions (e.g. sadness) presented in mixed vs. non-mixed valence pairs led to reduced prejudice via attenuated dehumanisation, i.e. attribution of uniquely human emotions. Experiment 2 confirmed these results, using an unfamiliar real-world group as an outgroup target. Experiment 3 used a familiar outgroup and found generally similar effects, reducing social distance through reduced dehumanisation. These processes suggest that an alternate route to reduced dehumanising of outgroups might involve presenting mixed valence emotions

The dynamical nature of time

It is usually assumed that the "$t$" parameter in the equations of dynamics can be identified with the indication of the pointer of a clock. Things are not so easy, however. In fact, since the equations of motion can be written in terms of $t$ but also of $t'=f(t)$, $f$ being any well behaved function, each one of those infinite parametric times $t'$ is as good as the Newtonian one to study classical dynamics. Here we show that the relation between the mathematical parametric time $t$ in the equations of dynamics and the physical dynamical time $\sigma$ that is measured with clocks is more complex and subtle than usually assumed. These two times, therefore, must be carefully distinguished since their difference may have significant consequences. Furthermore, we show that not all the dynamical clock-times are necessarily equivalent and that the observational fingerprint of this non-equivalence has the same form as that of the Pioneer anomaly.Comment: 13 pages, no figure

Treponema denticola in Disseminating Endodontic Infections

Treponema denticola is a consensus periodontal pathogen that has recently been associated with endodontic pathology. In this study, the effect of mono-infection of the dental pulp with T. denticola and with polymicrobial “red-complex” organisms (RC) (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and T. denticola) in inducing disseminating infections in wild-type (WT) and severe-combined-immunodeficiency (SCID) mice was analyzed. After 21 days, a high incidence (5/10) of orofacial abscesses was observed in SCID mice mono-infected with T. denticola, whereas abscesses were rare in SCID mice infected with the red-complex organisms or in wildtype mice. Splenomegaly was present in all groups, but only mono-infected SCID mice had weight loss. T. denticola DNA was detected in the spleen, heart, and brain of mono-infected SCID mice and in the spleen from mono-infected wild-type mice, which also had more periapical bone resorption. The results indicate that T. denticola has high pathogenicity, including dissemination to distant organs, further substantiating its potential importance in oral and linked systemic conditions

Development of prejudice against immigrants and ethnic minorities in adolescence: A systematic review with meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

Previous research highlighted that prejudice is already formed in early childhood, reaches a peak in middle childhood, and slightly decreases in late childhood, whereas the development of prejudice in adolescence was mostly unknown. This systematic review with meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively summarize and integrate prior longitudinal research on adolescents’ prejudice to address two main research questions: (a) how does prejudice develop in adolescence? (b) which factors are related to holding prejudicial attitudes in adolescence? Using multiple search strategies and applying a two-step selection process, a final set of 26 journal articles including a total of 30 samples (N = 23,513 participants) was found to match eligibility criteria and, thus, was included in the review. The meta-analytic findings highlighted that (a) prejudice does not change in adolescence; (b) interindividual differences in prejudice are well-established, they become increasingly strong with age, and they are inversely related to the time-lag between assessments; and (c) several individual, identity, and contextual factors are related to prejudice in different ways. More specifically, social dominance orientation, intergroup anxiety, identification with the national ingroup, and parental prejudice contributed to increasing later levels of adolescents’ prejudice, whereas intergroup friendship contributed to lessening it. Importantly, prejudice had comparable reverse effects on these factors, pointing to consistent bidirectional associations. These main findings are discussed considering their implications for future research and practice