IRIS Università degli Studi dell'Aquila
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Role of attachment style in the association between childhood adversities and non-suicidal self-injury among young adults: a multigroup structural equation study
Get PDFBackground Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a significant health concern among adolescents and young adults, often resulting from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Dissociation, post-traumatic symptoms and attachment style may have a role in shaping such associations. Aims This study aims to provide a unified model of the impact of ACEs on NSSI, exploring complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) symptoms and dissociation as potential mediators and the role of the predominant attachment style in affecting such associations. Methods 1010 young individuals attending the last year of high school participated in this cross-sectional study. ACEs, cPTSD, dissociation and NSSI were evaluated using self-report questionnaires. We fitted a path model of NSSI, with ACEs as exogenous variables and cPTSD and dissociation as sequential mediators. Secure, fearful and preoccupied attachment styles were modelled as grouping variables. Results Our findings showed that dissociation mediated the impact of ACEs on NSSI in subjects with a fearful attachment style, as opposed to those with a preoccupied attachment for whom cPTSD symptoms mediated the ACEs-NSSI association. Conclusions Attachment styles moderate the relationship between ACEs and NSSI, with either dissociation or post-traumatic symptomatology mediating the impact of ACEs on NSSI, depending on the predominant attachment style. Our results highlight the importance of attachment as a pathway modifier in the relationships between different psychopathology dimensions, providing a useful framework to better conceptualise the ACEs-NSSI association
Current Fluctuations for the Boundary-Driven Zero-Range Process on Graphs: Microscopic Versus Macroscopic Approach and a Theory of Non-reversible Resistor-Like Networks.
Get PDFElectric Field Detector on Board the CSES-02 Satellite for Characterization of Ionospheric Plasma Dynamics
Get PDFLa territorializzazione dei servizi sanitari e le fragilità territoriali. Il caso della Regione Abruzzo.
No full textLa fragilità territoriale nella letteratura scientifica assume spesso connotazioni interdisciplinari, venendo principalmente declinata in riferimento a tematiche ambientali, naturali e paesaggistiche. Tale condizione è frequentemente collegata all’impatto delle attività antropiche e ai cambiamenti climatici, fenomeni che mettono a dura prova l’equilibrio dei sistemi ecologici e territoriali. Parallelamente, alcuni studi affrontano il tema della fragilità mettendolo in relazione allo sviluppo delle città e le connesse strategie di pianificazione, riaffermando l’utilità del piano in termini di anti-fragilità. Tuttavia, la fragilità del territorio nel suo complesso, in particolare in ordine alla pianificazione e alla gestione integrata, rimane ancora un’area di studio inesplorata. Questa lacuna è evidente soprattutto quando si tenta di mettere in relazione la fragilità territoriale con fattori specifici come l’equilibrio della rete dei servizi e delle attrezzature, con particolare riferimento a quelli sanitarie. Infatti, la territorializzazione del sistema sanitario non è particolarmente
all’attenzione della comunità scientifica, una tematica che il presente lavoro si propone di approfondire per colmare un vuoto significativo nella letteratura esistente che riguarda essenzialmente l’integrazione, in ordine alla pianificazione spaziale, del sistema dei servizi sanitari con il resto del sistema delle attrezzature e servizi pubblici complementari in contesti fragili. L’integrazione, nella fase di pianificazione, è fondamentale per raggiungere l’obiettivo del riequilibrio territoriale, in particolare della matrice di base dei territori fragili caratterizzati da un sistema infrastrutturale debole (accessibilità / attrezzature / servizi), in un contesto sempre più caratterizzato dalle differenze, dalle vulnerabilità e da dinamiche di isolamento
Best practices for simultaneous measurement of NIRS-based cerebral and muscle oximetry during exercise
Get PDF: • NIRS-based oximetry is a valuable tool for exercise physiology. • NIRS-based oximetry measurements are influenced by the device used. • NIRS-based oximetry measurements must be interpreted carefully
Diritto alla salute e parità di genere. Riflessioni sulle forme di “discriminazione sanitaria”
Get PDFIl contributo intende riflettere sulla evoluzione della nozione di medicina di genere e sul ruolo del servizio sanitario italiano nell’organizzarsi secondo moduli che tengano in adeguata considerazione il genere. Le recenti previsioni sulla medicina territoriale (d.m. 77) prendono in considerazione il fattore genere in alcuni istituti che compongono il quadro dell’assistenza territoriale. Nonostante questi provvedimenti, permangono ancora alcune difficoltà nel promuovere la nozione di farmacologia di genere, al fine di garantire le differenze dell’uomo e della donna anche con espresso riferimento a questo ambito. La complessità delle questioni sottese alla medicina di genere richiede, dunque, un approccio al tema che, partendo dall’articolo 32 della Cost., definisca le coordinate di partenza della medicina di genere, che possono rinvenirsi nelle nozioni di appropriatezza e di medicina personalizzata, per delineare un possibile ruolo del legislatore e più in generale delle istituzioni pubbliche quali soggetti che, nel cooperare per garantire l’equità del sistema sanitario nazionale, assicurino effettività alla tutela del diritto alla salute delle donne
Functional and structural characterization of the human indolethylamine N-methyltransferase through fluorometric, thermal and computational docking analyses
Get PDFBackground: The “psychedelic renaissance” is sparking growing interest in clinical research, along with a rise in clinical trials. Substances such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), psilocybin and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) are involved. The focus of this paper is on indolethylamine N-methyltransferase (INMT), a crucial enzyme in the biosynthesis of key compounds, including DMT, which meets science, medicine and spirituality. The presence of DMT in animals and plants raises many questions about its biological role. Meanwhile, the distribution of INMT in various organs and its involvement in diseases like cancer and mental disorders also fuel investigations worldwide. However, INMT remains largely unexplored, particularly its enzymatic mechanism and structural properties, leaving a significant gap in potential applications. Results: This study examines for the first time the catalytic activity of the human INMT (hINMT) using a simple fluorometric steady-state assay employing the substrate quinoline. The findings are supported by thermal shift and docking analyses, providing valuable information about optimal chemical conditions and potential binding sites for substrates. The thermal shift assays indicate that recombinant hINMT is unstable and requires acidic or near-neutral pH and low salt levels. These experiments also allow for the estimation of dissociation constants for its natural coenzymes SAM and SAH, helping to determine the appropriate setup for the fluorometric assays and calculate kinetic constants, which are comparable to other methyltransferases. The docking indicates that quinoline occupies the same site as the natural substrate tryptamine, further validating the fluorometric approach. Conclusions: The paper provides a foundation for thoroughly studying hINMT under consistent conditions, which is crucial for obtaining reliable kinetic data and maintaining molecular stability for future structural analysis. This represents a valid alternative over previous endpoint radioactive-based and chromatography-mass spectrometry assays, which can provide only apparent steady-state parameters. Given the polymorphisms observed in hINMT and their potential association with psychiatric disorders, e.g., schizophrenia, and cancer, this strategy could serve as an invaluable tool for understanding the structure–function relationship of enzyme mutants and their role in diseases. Furthermore, these findings for the first time provide insights into the interaction modalities of hINMT with its substrates and lay the groundwork for inhibition experiments aimed at practical applications
Streptococcus thermophilus CNCM I-5570 lysate counteracts the aging process in human dermal fibroblast cells by neutralizing harmful free radicals and impacting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways, thus restoring their physiological functions
Get PDFPrevious studies have highlighted the in vitro and in vivo anti-aging potential of Streptococcus thermophilus prompting us to investigate the biomolecular mechanisms underlying its effects. We evaluated the reparative ability of S. thermophilus lysate in a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced senescence model of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). Cell proliferation, cell number, and senescence level were evaluated by IncuCyte® Live Cell Imager system, trypan blue dye exclusion test and β-galactosidase activity, respectively. We analyzed p21, prolyl 4-hydroxylase A1, intracellular collagen I, nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and heme oxygenase-1 expression through western blot. Extracellular levels of collagen I, interleukin-1β, and IL-6 were assessed by ELISA. The oxidative stress markers were assayed using standard methods. The direct antioxidant activity of probiotic was quantified using multiple techniques. The presence of antioxidant genes in probiotic was detected via PCR assay. Probiotic lysate exposure increased the proliferation rate, counteracted the aging by reducing β-galactosidase activity and p21 levels, promoted collagen I synthesis and neutralized oxidative stress by activating Nrf2. The probiotic lysate inhibited the NF-κB pathway with pro-inflammatory marker downregulation. Notably, we revealed that probiotic exhibited strong free radical scavenging ability, iron-chelating properties, and significant ferric reducing power in a concentration-dependent manner. We identified seven genes with antioxidant function in its genome. Our results show that S. thermophilus lysate is efficacious in suppressing the biomolecular events associated with H2O2-induced cellular aging, thus supporting the reparative action of S. thermophilus, helpful in treating skin aging
Advanced Computational Models for Neuroinformatics and Brain-Computer Interfaces
Get PDFNeuroinformatics is an emerging interdisciplinary field aiming to develop methods, algorithms, and visualisation tools for the study of the brain and nervous system. This discipline intersects the field of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), whose purpose is to exploit external signals causing detectable physiological reactions in the brain or to recognise signals produced by aware activities in the brain as an alternative communication output toward the external world. This thesis uses electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the activity of the human cerebral cortex related to specific brain functions: movements, sleep, and emotions. In addition, it presents advanced computational models to process, analyse, and decode the resulting signals, which are nonlinear and nonstationary and are greatly affected by noise and artifacts. The final goal is to decode the unknown signals of emotions, one of the most complex neurocognitive domains due to its extreme subjectivity and the impossibility of verifying the labels in the collected data. This is done first by validating the proposed models on data allowing well-known brain functions, such as movements and sleep, and then by applying them to the complex and subjective signals from emotions. An evaluation of the activation protocols used to elicit brain activity related to the above functions is furnished, and specific activation protocols are presented for collecting bias-reduced, specific datasets. Experimental results and comparisons with state-of-the-art models are presented and discussed, highlighting the pros and cons of the proposed strategies and suggesting some hints for future developments