The assessment of trait emotional intelligence: psychometric characteristics of the TEIQue-full form in a large Italian adult sample

Trait Emotional Intelligence (or trait emotional self-efficacy) is a constellation of emotional perceptions assessed through questionnaires and rating scales (Petrides et al., 2007b). This paper examined the psychometric features of the Trait Emotional Questionnaire Full Form (TEIQue-FF; Petrides, 2009b) in the Italian context. Incremental validity in the prediction of depression and anxiety was also tested with respect to the Big Five. Participants were 1343 individuals balanced for gender (690 females and 653 males) whose mean age was 29.65 years (SD = 13.64, range 17-74 years). They completed a questionnaire battery containing the TEIQue and measures of the Big Five, depression, and anxiety (both trait and state). Results indicated that the performance of the TEIQue-FF in the Italian context was comparable to the original United Kingdom version as regards its reliability and factor structure. Moreover, the instrument showed incremental validity in the prediction of depression and state-trait anxiety after controlling for the Big Five

Development of models for quantum dynamical simulations of photo-excited molecules. Application to the ππ*/nπ* internal conversion in thymine

This work illustrates the theoretical modeling and the results of quantum and mixed quantum-classical dynamical simulations of the ππ* -> nπ* internal conversion in the thymine molecule. The importance of this process in the fields of photochemistry and photobiology is related to the photostability of nucleic acids. In fact, nucleobases strongly absorb UV light, undergoing electronic transitions to excited reactive ππ* states, leading to potentially mutagenic effects. However, time-resolved experiments show that the ππ* state is depopulated in an ultrafast (< 500 fs) time scale, and the relevance, in pyrimidine nucleobases, of its deactivation, via an internal conversion to a nπ* state, closely lying in energy, is strongly debated in literature. For the purposes of this work, a novel methodology for the quantum dynamical study of semirigid photoexcited nonadiabatic (i. e. with electronic states close in energy) chromophores is illustrated. As an original result, it is proven that, if the excited state Potential Energy Surfaces (PES) are described within the harmonic approximation, it is possible to find effective coordinates partitioned into blocks, defining a hierarchical sequence of Hamiltonians to compute quantum dynamics, where the members of the hierarchy depend on a growing number of coordinates. A procedure is presented to build up this sequence of Hamiltonians, that has the property that the larger the number of effective coordinates, the longer the time scale to which the dynamics is reproduced exactly. This is a new approach, generally applicable to the study of the excited state dynamics of semirigid molecular systems, and improves a pre-existing hierarchical model for harmonic PESs, valid only in the limit where the excited state has the same frequencies and normal modes of the ground state (in practice, quite 'rigid' assumptions, even according to the chemical intuition). The procedure is applied here to the simulation of the ππ*->nπ* excited state transfer in thymine, exploiting different levels of accuracy for constructing the quadratic PESs of the excited states involved in the dynamics, and discussing the differences between such different approaches. The results show that the transfer is effective (80%) and occurs in a time scale of <100 fs; therefore the nπ* state is involved in the dynamics from the very beginning. The nonadiabatic absorption spectra are also computed and compared with experimental measurements. Moreover, the convergence of the predicted population transfer and the absorption spectra, with respect to the number of coordinates included is tested and proved, so that the theoretical methodology developed reveals to be very satisfactory

Inumana intertestualità: appunti sulla citazione nelle Poesie della fine del mondo

Delfini’s way of writing is often tinged with intertextual quotations or allusions which prove to be functional within his work. In particular, the Poesie della fine del mondo, where the phenomenon acquires a status of unprecedented importance, are characterized by a kind of «teratology of quotation», which is peculiar to some Modernist texts. Intertextuality provides Delfini with a wide range of defensive as well as de-personalizing formulas, in a way akin to the more advanced contemporary poetry.La scrittura di Delfini è spesso venata di citazioni o allusioni intertestuali o che possiedono un rilievo funzionale, all’interno della sua opera. In particolare le Poesie della fine del mondo, in cui il fenómeno assume un’importanza senza precedenti, sono caratterizzate da una sorta di «teratologia della citazione », tipica di alcuni testi della modernità. L’intertestualità fornisce a Delfini una larga serie di formule difensive e spersonalizzanti, in linea con le punte più avanzate della poesia contemporanea

Investigating the relationship between interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive awareness, and emotional susceptibility

Interoception, the sense of the physiological condition of the body, provides a basis for subjective feelings and emotions. Anterior insular cortex activity represents the state of the body and varies according to personality traits, such as emotional susceptibility (ES)-the tendency to experience feelings of discomfort and vulnerability when facing emotionally-laden stimuli. The accuracy of perceiving one's own bodily signals, or interoceptive accuracy (IAc), can be assessed with the heartbeat perception task (HPT), which is the experimental measure used by most of the existing research on interoception. However, IAc is only one facet of interoception. Interoceptive awareness (IAw) is the conscious perception of sensations from inside the body, such as heart beat, respiration, satiety, and the autonomic nervous system sensations related to emotions, which create the sense of the physiological condition of the body. We developed an Italian version of the recent self-report Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA), tested its psychometric properties (reliability, dimensionality, and construct validity), and examined its relationship to ES, as assessed using the Emotional Susceptibility Scale, in a sample (n = 321) of healthy Italian psychology students (293 females, mean age: 20.5 years). In a subgroup of females (n = 135), we measured IAc with the HPT. We used a series of correlation/regression analyses to examine the complex interplay between the three constructs. We provide further evidence for a substantial independence of the IAc and IAw measures, confirming previous reports and current theoretical models that differentiate between IAc and IAw. Our analyses elucidate the complex relationship between distinct dimensions of IAw and ES, highlighting the need for continued efforts to shed more light on this topic

Technologies, routing policies and relationships between autonomous systems in inter-domain routing

A deep exploration of the issues related to routing decisions in inter-domain routing is the scope of this thesis, through the analysis of the interconnection structure and the network hierarchy, the examination of the inter-domain routing protocol used to exchange network reachability information with other systems, the examination of the routing decision process between the entities according to their attributes and policies, the study of the topology generators of the AS relationships, reviewing the most interesting proposals in this area, describing why these issues are difficult to solve, and proposing solutions allowing to better understand the routing process and optimally solve the trade-off of implementing a Peering Engagement between two Autonomous Systems, against the extra cost that this solution represent. More specifically this thesis introduces a new scheme for the routing decision in a BGP speaker through a formalization of the routing decision process, and proposes a formulation of a real and exhaustive mathematical model of a Peering Engagement between Autonomous Systems, to be solved as a problem of maximization with an ad-hoc built Decision Support System (XESS) able to find an optimal reduced set of solutions to the proposed problem. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT [IT] Un’analisi approfondita delle tematiche inerenti le decisioni di routing nel routing interdominio è oggetto di questa tesi, attraverso l’esame della struttura di interconnessione e delle gerarchia del network, lo studio del protocollo utilizzato nel routing interdominio per scambiare le informazioni di reachability con gli altri sistemi, l’analisi del processo decisionale tra le entità coinvolte nello scambio di tali informazioni in accordo con le politiche e gli attributi, lo studio delle topologie sintetiche derivate dallo studio delle relazioni tra gli AS, attraverso i lavori di ricerca in quest’area, la descrizione dei problemi e delle difficoltà, e offrendo un contributo atto a fornire una maggiore comprensione del processo decisionale nel routing interdominio e una soluzione per l’implementazione di un processo di Peering tra Autonomous System. In particolare, questa tesi introduce un nuovo modello per il processo decisionale in uno speaker BGP attraverso la formalizzazione del routing decision process, e propone un modello matematico esaustivo delle meccaniche legate al processo di Peering Engagement tra Autonomous System, da analizzare come problema di massimizzazione e da risolvere con un Decision Support System (XESS) creato per trovare un sottoinsieme ottimo di soluzioni al problema matematico proposto

From cell lines to pluripotent Stem Cells for Modelling Parkinson&apos;s Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons in the substantia nigra that contributes to the main motor symptoms of the disease. At present, even if several advancements have been done in the last decades, the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis are far to be fully understood. Accordingly, the establishment of reliable in vitro experimental models to investigate the early events of the pathogenesis represents a key issue in the field. However, to mimic and reproduce in vitro the complex neuronal circuitry involved in PD-associated degeneration of DAergic neurons still remains a highly challenging issue. Here we will review the in vitro PD models used in the last 25 years of research, ranging from cell lines, primary rat or mice neuronal cultures to the more recent use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and, finally, the development of 3D midbrain organoids

Coplas, diablos y carnaval

La Copla has remained in America for centuries expressing the life of the original peoples in the Andes. It is, in the words of Leda Valladares, of collective songs accompanied by Cajas, whistles and rattles that appear in Carnival time with a strength of the accent and the voice expelled in spurts, and where the figure of the ¨diablo¨ is the one who presides all this Party space and joy. In South America, during the process of conquest and colonization, the Catholic Church began a period of catechism proposing to make known the images of both the Virgin Mary, Jesus and the saints, as well as that of angels and devils. Thus, these figures with different conceptions and assimilations were repeated from the colonial era to the present day in different parts of the American continent. The objective of this work is to make a comparison of the couplets of the Argentine Northwest, with the Couplets of the Cajamarquino Carnival of Peru, where the figure of the carnival devil represents a time when the most significant features of Andean social life become “bottoms-up”, which is then reflected in the lyrics and music of these songs.La Copla se ha mantenido en América durante siglos expresando la vida de los pueblos originarios en los Andes. Se trata, al decir de Leda Valladares, de cantos colectivos acompañados con cajas, silbatos y matracas que aparecen en tiempo de Carnaval con una pujanza del acento y la voz expulsada a borbotones y en donde la figura del “diablo” es quien preside todo este espacio de fiesta y alegría. En América, durante el proceso de conquista y colonización, la iglesia católica comenzó un momento de catequización proponiendo dar a conocer las imágenes, tanto de la Virgen María, Jesús y los santos, como también, la de los ángeles y de los diablos. Es así, que estas figuras con distintas concepciones y asimilaciones se repitieron desde la época colonial hasta nuestros días en distintos puntos del continente americano. El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una comparación de las coplas del Noroeste Argentino, con las Coplas del Carnaval Cajamarquino, de Perú en donde la figura del diablo carnavalero representa un tiempo en que los rasgos más significativos de la vida social andina “se ponen de cabeza” reflejándose en la letra y música de estos cantos

Coplas, diablos y carnaval : de festejos y festejantes a lo largo de Los Andes

La Copla se ha mantenido en América durante siglos expresando la vida de los pueblos originarios en los Andes. Se trata, al decir de Leda Valladares, de cantos colectivos acompañados con cajas, silbatos y matracas que aparecen en tiempo de Carnaval con una pujanza del acento y la voz expulsada a borbotones y en donde la figura del “diablo” es quien preside todo este espacio de fiesta y alegría. En América, durante el proceso de conquista y colonización, la iglesia católica comenzó un momento de catequización proponiendo dar a conocer las imágenes, tanto de la Virgen María, Jesús y los santos, como también, la de los ángeles y de los diablos. Es así, que estas figuras con distintas concepciones y asimilaciones se repitieron desde la época colonial hasta nuestros días en distintos puntos del continente americano. El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una comparación de las coplas del Noroeste Argentino, con las Coplas del Carnaval Cajamarquino, de Perú en donde la figura del diablo carnavalero representa un tiempo en que los rasgos más significativos de la vida social andina “se ponen de cabeza” reflejándose en la letra y música de estos cantos. La Copla has remained in America for centuries expressing the life of the original peoples in the Andes. It is, in the words of Leda Valladares, of collective songs accompanied by Cajas, whistles and rattles that appear in Carnival time with a strength of the accent and the voice expelled in spurts, and where the figure of the ¨diablo¨ is the one who presides all this Party space and joy. In South America, during the process of conquest and colonization, the Catholic Church began a period of catechism proposing to make known the images of both the Virgin Mary, Jesus and the saints, as well as that of angels and devils. Thus, these figures with different conceptions and assimilations were repeated from the colonial era to the present day in different parts of the American continent. The objective of this work is to make a comparison of the couplets of the Argentine Northwest, with the Couplets of the Cajamarquino Carnival of Peru, where the figure of the carnival devil represents a time when the most significant features of Andean social life become “bottoms-up”, which is then reflected in the lyrics and music of these songs