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Psychiatric Comorbidities in Autistic Adolescents Without Intellectual Impairment: A Focus on Parent- and Self-Reported Psychopathological Assessment
No full textBackground: Co-occurring conditions and psychiatric comorbidities are more frequently observed in autistic individuals than in typically developing populations. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the agreement of parent- and self-reported psychopathological assessment using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18) and the Youth Self Report (YSR/11-18), respectively, in autistic adolescents without intellectual impairment. Methods: 54 autistic adolescents without intellectual impairment (11–18 years; M = 14.73; SD = 2.28) were assessed with a psychiatric and psychological evaluation conducted by expert clinicians also using self- and parent-reported scales and semi-structured interviews (K-SADS PL, CDI, MASC) including CBCL/6-18 and YSR/11-18. Results: According to clinical judgment, over 90% of participants had at least a comorbidity: anxiety (68.5%) and mood disorder (57.4%) were the most frequent. The results indicate significant discrepancies between parent- and self-reports across the three summary scales, which assess emotional and behavioral problems, as well as their combined presentation, often observed in youth with ASD. Specifically, differences were found in Internalizing (p < 0.001), Externalizing (p = 0.013), and Total Problems (p < 0.001) scales. Conclusions: The findings show the lack of agreement in parent- and self-reported scales in our sample. These results suggest the need for a cross- and multi-informant approach to support clinical judgment and understand psychopathological comorbidities of autistic adolescents without intellectual impairment
Learning-Enhanced Riemannian Gradient Descent Method for Transmit–Receive Joint Design Toward ISRJ Suppression
No full textThe interrupted sampling repeater jamming (ISRJ) can create false targets that obscure real targets, leading to radar target detection failures. This study investigates the ISRJ countermeasure in multiple-input–multiple-output radar through transmit–receive joint design. We model the transmit–receive design problem as a jointly constrained optimization problem, aiming to minimize the waveform sidelobes (SL), ISRJ energy, and mutual interference among various waveform-filter pairs. To address the difficulties posed by nonconvex constraints, we transform the original constrained problem in Euclidean space into an unconstrained one in Riemannian manifold space. To simultaneously and adaptively update the transmit waveforms and receive filters, we propose a learning-enhanced Riemannian gradient descent (LE-RGD) method, which unfolds the classical RGD method into layers of a neural network. The LE-RGD algorithm directly optimizes transmit waveforms and receive filters through implicit gradient descent iterations, where the optimization strategy is dynamically and adaptively determined by a parameterized network at each iteration. Furthermore, the LE-RGD network is randomly initialized at each problem instance and updated iteratively, facilitating its application in diverse jamming environments without the need for labeled training data. Numerical experiments conclusively show that the LE-RGD method can effectively design transmit waveforms and receive filters with high performance in terms of pulse compression and ISRJ suppression
Forage and Seed Production of Field Bean Respond Differently to Nitrogen Fertilization and Sowing Rate
No full textThe rising demand for plant proteins and climate change highligth the need for adaptable legume crops. A three-year field experiment examined forage and seed production, as well as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) accumulation in an indeterminate field bean (Vicia faba L. var. minor Beck) variety, as affected by two fertilization rates (0 and 120 kg N ha−1, i.e., N0 and N120) and two sowing rates (60 and 100 seeds m−2, i.e., S60 and S100), along with their interaction with climatic variability. Forage yield ranged from 11.1 Mg ha−1 in Year I (S100) to 6.8 Mg ha−1 in Year III (S60 and S100), and seed yield dropped from 4.1 Mg ha−1 in Year II to 1.9 Mg ha−1 in Year III, due to fewer seeds per pod and lower seed weight unaffected by fertilization and sowing rate. Nitrogen fertilization increased forage by 20% but had no effect on seed production. Field bean showed good adaptability to variable climatic conditions, compensating for lower stem number with more pods per stem. The possibility to obtain either forage or seed yield makes field bean a valuable source of plant proteins in a changing environment, contributing to the sustainability of cropping systems
Il lavoro precario ai tempi delle piattaforme digitali
No full textIl volume approfondisce, in una dimensione interdisciplinare – giuridica, sociologica ed economica –, il tema delle trasformazioni e delle condizioni del lavoro nello scenario della società attuale e in prospettiva futura, sotto differenti profili. Con riguardo al quadro normativo, vengono affrontate tematiche caratterizzate da elevata criticità, fra cui il profilo dell’abuso di strumenti giuridici e delle sue ricadute sul piano occupazionale e gli effetti indesiderati di strumenti di incentivo. La «tossicità» del lavoro viene poi analizzata con riferimento a temi quali la flessibilizzazione del lavoro, il lavoro povero, il caporalato e il lavoro irregolare (lavoro nero, falso lavoro autonomo o fattispecie simulate), le varie forme di precariato, il gender pay gap, la problematica degli appalti e della loro liceità, l’intermediazione di manodopera, le esternalizzazioni e, in relazione agli appalti, la sicurezza sul lavoro
Propostas para o ensino do Português em contexto internacional baseadas na perspectiva crítica e multimodal
No full textTeaching the Portuguese language in international contexts increasingly aims to develop linguistic and intercultural skills, understanding the linguistic varieties of this language based on reflections on specific themes of everyday life and contexts of use. Taking an ethical stance in bringing historical and cultural knowledge to current discourses, this article aims to offer a didactic proposal based on critical-multimodal analysis affiliated with three theoretical axes: Systemic-Functional Linguistics in the studies of Halliday and Hasan (1989), Halliday and Mathiessen (1999), Multimodality, with the studies of Kress; van Leeuwen (2006), and Applied Critical Linguistics in Moita Lopes (2009), among other scholars. The didactic proposal was built to teach PLE to Italian speakers at the university level, with intermediate and advanced knowledge of the language. Based on a critical-multimodal analysis, two sequences of images from a 7-minute video dealing with the Quilombola theme, its participants, and their speech, gestures, critical (linguistic and visual) and multimodal (verbal-visual) positions are described, analyzing their postures during the interaction
A bio-based approach to produce inducers of plant defense responses through fermentation of agri-food waste biomass with white rot fungi
No full textTo protect crops against microbial diseases, intensive agriculture heavily relies on pesticides, that can have a negative impact on human health and on the environment and can lead to the emergence of resistant pathogen strains. There is therefore an urgent need of novel products for crop protection, that are safe, eco-friendly, inexpensive and effective. Elicitors, plant- and microbe-derived compounds able to induce plant defense responses, represent a promising strategy towards achieving a sustainable agriculture. We developed a protocol to produce a heat stable elicitor complex by fermentation of agro-industrial byproducts with the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. A pasteurized culture filtrate of the fungus grown on orange peel waste as the sole carbon source (PhaOP) induces defense responses and increased resistance to the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. PhaOP-induced resistance to Botrytis is dependent on jasmonate-mediated signalling and on indole compounds but is largely independent of camalexin production and of ethylene-mediated responses. Notably, PhaOP can reduce B. cinerea symptoms also in different Solanaceae crop species and does not significantly affect fruit production in tomato plants, suggesting that it could be employed for crop protection without yield penalty
Decision-Making Scores and Hunger Susceptibility: A Positive Correlation Mediated by Fasting FGF21 Independently of Body Fat
No full textBackground/Objectives: Understanding the relationship between metabolism and eating behavior may improve how we treat and prevent obesity. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a hormone secreted by the liver with a putative role in energy expenditure, energy intake, and weight regulation. In this secondary analysis, we studied how fasting FGF21 is correlated with eating behavior and decision making, as measured by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), respectively. Methods: Participants (n = 98; women = 19; white = 31) were medically healthy, between 18 and 55 years of age, weight-stable 6 months before admission, and had normal glucose regulation. Women were premenopausal and not pregnant. Pearson partial correlations were determined, accounting for age, sex, and body fat percentage. A mediation analysis examining whether the association between hunger and IGT score was mediated by FGF21 values was performed using general linear models. Results: In partial correlations adjusted for age, sex, and body fat percentage, we found that fasting FGF21 concentrations were positively correlated with hunger susceptibility (sum of internal and external cues) (partial r = 0.26, p = 0.02) and internal hunger (partial r = 0.22, p = 0.04), disinhibition (partial r = 0.27, p = 0.01), and better decision making (higher IGT scores) (partial r = 0.40, p = 0.0001). We also found a correlation between hunger susceptibility and better decision making, including the same covariates (partial r = 0.25, p = 0.03). However, this correlation was mediated (36%) by fasting FGF21. Conclusions: In this study, participants with greater susceptibility to hunger cues had higher IGT scores (better decision making) in the setting of higher fasting FGF21 concentrations. This provides further evidence of the role of FGF21 in the interplay between eating behavior and decision making. Further studying this topic may improve our understanding of the complex relationship between assessing energy requirements and cognitive processes related to eating behavior
First-line PD-1 +/- CTLA-4 blockade in patients with deficient mismatch repair and/or microsatellite instability-high metastatic colorectal cancer
No full textBackground Patients with deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) and/or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) show marked sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Dual PD-1/CTLA-4 blockade with nivolumab and ipilimumab showed superior progression-free survival (PFS) over chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 monotherapy, but data on treatment-naïve patients is not available yet. Methods This international multicenter study included patients with dMMR/MSI-H mCRC receiving either chemotherapy with or without biologics, or anti-PD-1 monotherapy, or dual PD-1/CTLA-4 blockade as a first-line treatment. Data were adjusted using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to account for baseline imbalances. IPTW-adjusted survival and subgroup analyses were conducted. Results Among 711 patients, 51.2% received chemotherapy with or without biologics, 37.1% anti-PD-1 monotherapy, and 11.7% dual checkpoint blockade. Anti-CTLA-4 combination therapy significantly improved PFS (HR: 0.14; P<.001) and OS (HR: 0.13; P<.001) vs chemotherapy. In first-line IPTW-adjusted analyses (median follow-up: 29.2months), dual blockade showed superior PFS over PD-1 monotherapy (HR: 0.58, 95% CI, 0.35-0.97, P=.037), with a favorable OS trend (HR: 0.61, 95% CI, 0.33-1.14, P=.12), and higher objective response rate (ORR) (71.5% vs 55.5%; OR: 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03-1.29; P=.016) and disease control rate (DCR) (93.7% vs 75.8%; OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.08-1.28; P<.001). Subgroup analyses suggested greater benefit in patients with left-sided and BRAF mutated tumors, while those with right-sided BRAF wild-type status showed no incremental benefit from dual ICI. Toxicity profile was manageable for both ICI regimen, with grade 3 or 4 immune-related adverse events registered in 11.9% and 15.7% cases in anti-PD-1 monotherapy and anti-CTLA-4 combination groups, respectively. Conclusions First-line dual PD-1/CTLA-4 blockade demonstrated superior efficacy over anti-PD-1 monotherapy in dMMR/MSI-H mCRC regardless of clinical variables. Compared to previous published data across treatment lines, the prognostic impact of several clinical features does not seem to be retained in patients treated upfront with ICIs combination