Greater general startle reflex is associated with greater anxiety levels: a correlational study on 111 young women

Startle eyeblink reflex is a valid non-invasive tool for studying attention, emotion and psychiatric disorders. In the absence of any experimental manipulation, the general (or baseline) startle reflex shows a high inter-individual variability, which is often considered task-irrelevant and therefore normalized across participants. Unlike the above view, we hypothesized that greater general startle magnitude is related to participants\u2019 higher anxiety level. 111 healthy young women, after completing the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), were randomly administered 10 acoustic white noise probes (50 ms, 100 dBA acoustic level) while integrated EMG from left and right orbicularis oculi was recorded. Results showed that participants with greater state anxiety levels exhibited larger startle reflex magnitude from the left eye (r109 = 0.23, p < 0.05). Furthermore, individuals who perceived the acoustic probe as more aversive reported the largest anxiety scores (r109 = 0.28, p < 0.05) and had the largest eyeblinks, especially in the left eye (r109 = 0.34, p < 0.001). Results suggest that general startle may represent a valid tool for studying the neural excitability underlying anxiety and emotional dysfunction in neurological and mental disorders

Italy's election: assessing where the parties stand on the key issues

Italy goes to the polls on 4 March to elect a new government. Where do each of the main parties stand on the key issues? Eleonora Poli assesses the party platforms on the Italian economy, migration, and defence, noting that the fragmented political picture will make it exceptionally difficult for any long-term government to emerge that can rule the country for the next five years

Ideas, interests and institutions in the globalising economy: the evolution and internationalisation of antitrust

The aim of this thesis is to generate an understanding of antitrust and its evolution in the context of the globalising economy of the 20th and early 21st centuries. I do this by focusing on the role of economic ideas and more specifically, conceptual approaches to competition policy, in the international context. Existing legal and economic studies have mainly framed antitrust as the disciplinary tool regulating market competition according to criteria of efficiency and/or economic welfare. So far, few researchers have addressed the enforcement of policies - and specifically, of market competition regulations, without resorting to pure rational-choice or reflectivist arguments. This thesis aims to fill this gap by examining the ways in which abstract economic concepts and theories on the one hand and material interests on the other, by influencing political actors’ understanding of reality, have shaped the decision-making process behind specific antitrust policies and laws. My analysis develops on the basis of what I call a pan-institutional methodology, a synthesis of an institutional understanding of antitrust and sociological theories of isomorphism. Pan-institutionalism is employed here to examine the development of antitrust policies in the US, Europe and Japan during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the oil crises of the 1970s and the current recession. My study reveals that the corpus of ideas and institutions of antitrust of the 20th and early 21st century can be identified as Harvard, Chicago and Post-Chicago paradigms of competition policy. To a degree, these US-originated approaches have been internalised by Europe and Japan through formal and informal institutions, and adapted in light of major economic crises. At the same time however, the reliance of Europe and Japan on their traditional understanding of market practices has prevented a total harmonisation of their antitrust policies with the dominant American ones

Managing and Controlling the Work of Wet Nurses: Notes from a Register of Nursemaids of the ‘Ospedale Maggiore’ in Milan (15th century)

this paper aims to provide a better understanding of how the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan managed the problem of child abandonment at the end of 15th century. the oldest register kept in the Archivio degli Istituti Provinciali (Milan) provides important information concerning the role played by wet nurses and the way in which they were recruited, thus representing a crucial source for scholars engaged in this field.Il presente contributo ha come obiettivo quello di offrire uno squarcio sulle modalità di gestione dell’infanzia abbandonata messa in atto dall’Ospedale Maggiore di Milano alla fine del Quattrocento. A testimoniare il ruolo cardine rivestito in questo settore dalle balie – residenti prevalentemente nel contado e assunte secondo specifici criteri – è il più antico registro conservato presso l’Archivio degli Istituti Provinciali di Milano di cui si offre un’analisi

European views on the UK’s renegotiation: Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Malta

The success or failure of David Cameron’s planned renegotiation of the UK’s EU membership will depend to a large extent on how the other 27 EU member states respond to his proposals. But how do countries across the EU view the UK’s renegotiation? Building on a report published in 2014 by the German Council on Foreign Relations, EUROPP is running a series of overviews of the renegotiation from each of the EU’s member states. Compiled by the LSE’s Tim Oliver and written by authors based at universities and research institutions, the overviews will set out what discussion – if any – there has been about the renegotiation and the wider views within each country on a potential Brexit. The series begins with Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Malta. Italy: A Brexit would create a dangerous political precedent for Italy Poland: Warsaw’s stance will remain uncertain until after the October elections Bulgaria: Brexit has been overshadowed by Ukraine, Grexit and the refugee crisis Malta: Should Brexit materialise, UK influence in Malta is likely to diminis

EU views on the British vote to leave: Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Spain

In the run-up to the referendum, the LSE BrexitVote blog ran a series setting out the potential positions of various EU member states if Britain voted for leave. Written by authors based at universities and research institutions across Europe, and compiled by the LSE’s Tim Oliver, the series showed the variety of positions and concerns found across the EU. A full list of the views can be found here. In this post authors from Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Spain, each of whom contributed to the original series, give a brief insight into how politics in their country has responded to the British vote to leave the EU

Preparations for a Brexit: views from Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain

If Britain votes to leave the EU it will have to negotiate its exit and a new post-withdrawal relationship with the EU, one that will have to be agreed by the remaining 27 EU member states and the European Parliament. What positions might they take in the negotiations? Over the next few weeks the LSE’s BrexitVote blog will be running a series of overviews from each member state and the European Parliament setting out what positions they might take. Written by authors based at universities and research institutions across Europe, and compiled by the LSE’s Tim Oliver, the overviews build on his introductory piece which sets out the various negotiations the EU will undertake in the event of a British exit. This post is the first in the series and gives views from Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain

Development of terphenyl-2-methyloxazol-5(4H)-one derivatives as selective reversible MAGL inhibitors

Monoacylglycerol lipase is a serine hydrolase that plays a major role in the degradation of the endocannabinoid neurotransmitter 2-arachidonoylglycerol. A wide number of MAGL inhibitors are reported in literature; however, many of them are characterised by an irreversible mechanism of action and this behavior determines an unwanted chronic MAGL inactivation, which acquires a functional antagonism of the endocannabinoid system. The possible use of reversible MAGL inhibitors has only recently been explored, due to the lack of known compounds possessing efficient reversible inhibitory activities. In this work, we report a new series of terphenyl-2-methyloxazol-5(4H)-one derivatives characterised by a reversible MAGL-inhibition mechanism. Among them, compound 20b showed to be a potent MAGL reversible inhibitor (IC50= 348 nM) with a good MAGL/FAAH selectivity. Furthermore, this compound showed antiproliferative activities against two different cancer cell lines that overexpress MAGL

Assessing the long-term effectiveness of channel control works and supporting watershed management through sediment dynamics studies

In risk management of mountain basins, quite often, there is a lack of information on the efficiency of existing structures, the evolution of the ongoing process, and a priori in-depth study to analyse the sediment morphology dynamics and the interaction with existing channel control works. The growing capability of producing High-Resolution Topography data (HRT) greatly simplifies the analysis of geomorphological changes at multiple spatial and temporal scales and enables the development of innovative approaches to monitor sediment morphology dynamics and understand the interaction with channel control works. Indeed, thanks to multi-temporal HRT surveys (e.g., Airborne Laser Scanning - ALS), it is possible to derive accurate multi-temporal Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), and reliable DTMs of Difference (DoDs) useful to quantify the morphological changes also in catchment areas covered by vegetation. However, without a methodological and detailed workflow that considers the differences in terms of accuracy between old “legacy” data sets and recent surveys and the errors associated with the processes of co-registration, it would not have been possible to obtain accurate and valid multi-temporal DoD. The information provided by sediment morphology dynamics (i.e., exploiting multi-temporal DoDs at catchment and reach scale) coupled with a very simple, quick, and user-friendly efficiency index of channel control works, could help to support the development of watershed management strategies, assess afterward the effectiveness of existing structures, and foster a more complete decision-making chain. Therefore, this research aims to introduce a methodological approach based on integrating the sediment morphology dynamics data over large time spans in some mountain catchments with an updated state of efficiency of existing interventions. Various examples of the proposed methodology emphasized the usefulness of providing more complete information, than in the past, by exploiting field surveys and remote sensing data, in a context such as the risk management process where uncertainty and incomplete information on the ongoing phenomena prevails. The realized database could be a starting point for further analysis or provide numerical data for prediction models of the life-cycle of channel control works in risk management processes. Finally, the methodological workflow proposed could provide increasingly up-to-date information to constantly identify the areas most prone to hazards, support effective risk management decisions, improve intervention planning, find more appropriate solutions, or direct the maintenance works

Depression, PTSD and alexithymia in victims of intimate partner violence: a case-control study

Abstract Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) regards millions of women worldwide and can lead to serious psychopathological consequences. Objective We aimed to evaluate differences between a group of abused women and controls, and potential predictors of depression and PTSD in the IPV group. Methods We recruited 57 women who experienced IPV and 57 age-matched controls from the general population. After collecting socio-demographic characteristics, we administered the following scales: Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Revised-Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-2). Results Our results showed differences between women who experienced IPV and controls in the socio-economic status, employment and educational levels, childhood abuse and early terminations of pregnancy. Notably, the rates of depression, PTSD, and alexithymia were significantly different between the two groups. Linear regression models revealed that sexual coercion was an independent positive predictor of depressive symptoms, while alexithymia played a role in the development of PTSD in the group of abused women. Discussion Given the prevalence of depression and PTSD in victims of IPV, it is important to always investigate for IPV in women seeking for help in mental health services. Alexithymia in victims of IPV deserves to be further investigated by researchers