Archivio istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Parma
Not a member yet
127980 research outputs found
Sort by
PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TRAINING INTENTIONS AMONG PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS IN ITALY: THE ROLE OF EMPATHY, PERSONALITY TRAITS, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
No full textObjective: The decision to pursue a career as a psychotherapist may be influenced by various psychological dispositions or self-healing motivations. The current study aimed to investigate differences in empathy, personality traits, and psychopathology between psychology students who intend to pursue psychotherapy training and those who do not. Method: The study involved 1978 psychology students (1764 women, 89.2%), aged between 18 and 30 years (M = 22.72, SD = 2.59), who were attending a Bachelor's or a Master's degree program at Italian universities. Each participant completed self-report instruments assessing dispositional empathy domains, personality traits, and clinical symptoms, as well as a sociodemographic questionnaire. A Multivariate Analysis of Covariance was performed to examine the significant differences on the examined variables between psychology students intending to pursue psychotherapy training (n = 1309) and those without such intentions (n = 669). Results: Both groups of psychology students reported clinically relevant symptoms across various domains of psychopathology. However, students who expressed an intention to pursue psychotherapy training reported higher levels of empathetic concern, conscientiousness, and openness compared to their peers without such intentions. Conclusions: These findings suggest that individuals may choose to enroll in a university psychology program for self-healing purposes, and that individual differences in empathy and personality traits may play a role in the decision to pursue a career as a psychotherapist. Universities and psychotherapy training institutes should promote psychology students' access to psychotherapy services. Also, psychotherapy training institutes should consider individual differences in empathy and personality traits within their educational programs
Selection signatures and inbreeding: exploring genetic diversity in five native horse breeds
No full textHorses have undergone extensive natural and artificial selection, shaping the diversity of breeds observed today. Native Italian breeds present unique traits influenced by natural selection, such as adaptation to harsh climates, or hoof strength, but face challenges due to population declines and the reduction of their original breeding purpose. This study focuses on five local Italian breeds: Bardigiano, Haflinger, Maremmano, Murgese, and Italian Heavy Draught Horse, to understand how selection has shaped their populations. A total of 1620 individuals were genotyped with a medium-density SNP chip and remapped to EquCab3. After quality control, where data were filtered based on missing genotypes per SNP (> 0.10) and missing SNPs per sample (> 0.10), 1498 horses and 54,825 SNPs remained for analysis. Population structure and runs of homozygosity (ROH) were identified, and genomic inbreeding coefficients were calculated based on ROH coverage of autosomal SNPs. ROH islands shared by ≥ 70% of horses were identified as selection signatures, and candidate genes within these regions were annotated. The inbreeding coefficient (FROH) ranged from 0.15 to 0.23, with Bardigiano and Haflinger showing the highest values probably due to selective breeding, while Maremmano, Murgese, and Italian Heavy Draught Horse displayed lower FROH, reflecting a broader diversity. ROH islands were identified on 12 chromosomes, with 23 islands distributed among breeds. Cold-blooded breeds (Bardigiano, Haflinger, and Italian Heavy Draught Horse) showed the majority, particularly on Equine Chromosome 3 (ECA3). These islands overlapped with 83 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and 76 genes associated with morphology and health. Health-related traits such as osteochondrosis and hoof health were linked to ROH patterns, particularly in Bardigiano and Haflinger, highlighting selection for disease resistance. Signature of selections were found in the proximity of MC1R and ASIP genes likely due to their role for coat color; especially in the Haflinger and Italian Heavy Draught Horse the genotype frequency of the BIEC2_816499 SNP which is in the vicinity of the causative mutation for chestnut coat color is due to linkage disequilibrium between the two. In conclusion, this study offered valuable insights that breeders could utilize to make sound decisions. This issue would ensure the maintenance of breed genetic diversity, and the preservation and improvement of the breed’s distinct traits and health standards
Exome analysis links kidney malformations to developmental disorders and reveals causal genes
No full textCongenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT) are developmental disorders that commonly cause pediatric chronic kidney disease and mortality. We examine here rare coding variants in 248 CAKUT trios and 1742 singleton CAKUT cases and compare them to 22,258 controls. Diagnostic and candidate diagnostic variants are detected in 14.1% of cases. We find a significant enrichment of rare damaging variants in constrained genes expressed during kidney development and in genes associated with other developmental disorders, suggesting phenotype expansion. Consistent with these data, 18% of CAKUT patients with diagnostic variants have neurodevelopmental or cardiac phenotypes. We identify 40 candidate genes, including CELSR1, SSBP2, XPO1, NR6A1, and ARID3A. Two are confirmed as CAKUT genes: ARID3A and NR6A1. This study suggests that many yet-unidentified syndromes would be discoverable with larger cohorts and cross-phenotype analysis, leading to clarification of the genetic and phenotypic spectrum of developmental disorders
Noninvasive Investigation of Red Gemstones on Devotional Jewelry From Sicily: Focus on Garnet Composition
No full textA group of richly decorated devotional jewelry from Sicily (18th-19th centuries) has been studied noninvasively by portable Raman spectroscopy, with the aim of identifying the gemstones that embellish these ex-voto. Different levels of richness were observed in the various objects, from those displaying rubies and diamonds to those decorated with garnets and quartz. Thanks to the high number of garnets found, a focus could be carried out on this mineral, proposing two methods for the treatment of the Raman spectra, involving also a group of reference garnets. On one hand, a development of the software MIRAGEM, called MIRAGEM+, was tested to establish the composition of the garnets. On the other hand, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to the whole complex of spectra to check the possibility of distinguishing groups of garnets with different compositions. The combination of the results obtained with the two methods demonstrated that both, coupled to Raman spectroscopy, are reliable tools for the noninvasive characterization of garnets and can be used with a longer pretreatment when few samples are involved (MIRAGEM+) or with a shorter preparation for a higher number of spectra (PCA)
Levonorgestrel-releasing intra-uterine device alone for managing early-stage endometrial cancer and endometrial hyperplasia with atypia in patients unfit for surgery: the ENDOIUD study
No full textEvaluation of the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of nerolidol encapsulated in a nanoliposome system
No full textPlant-derived compounds have emerged as potential alternatives to traditional antimicrobials in livestock; however, their application may be limited by degradation in the gastrointestinal tract. Nanoliposome encapsulation offers a strategy to overcome these limitations. In this study, we investigated the effects of nerolidol encapsulation, by evaluating the antimicrobial activity of freenerolidol (NER), nerolidol-loaded nanoliposomes (LN), and unloaded nanoliposomes (UN) (LipoboxTM) using a Time-Kill assay. The cytotoxicity of these formulations was assessed through MTT assay on swine and bovine cell lines. NER was effective against MRSA, E. faecium, and L. acidophilus at all time points, at concentrations = 62.5, = 15.63 and = 1000 μg/mL, respectively, but was ineffective against Gram-negative bacteria Conversely, LN and UN were effective against all bacteria, showing the best activity at 2500 μg/mL. LN showed the greatest activity against MRSA up to 6 h while UN on E. faecium up to 4 h (P < 0.05). No difference between LN and UN on S. Typhimurium up to 24 h and on E. coli up to 6 h at this concentration (P > 0.05) was observed. For L. acidophilus, both LN and UN were effective up to 6 h even at the lowest concentration (9.77 μg/mL). NER showed high cytotoxicity on MDBK and IPEC-J2 cells at all doses; while LN and UN were low-toxic at concentrations = 1250 μg/mL or = 625 μg/mL, respectively. These results suggest that nanoliposomes themselves exhibit dose-dependent antimicrobial and cytotoxicity activity; however, when NER is encapsulated its spectrum of activity its enhanced
Haplotype structure and heterozygosity around the fragile foal syndrome variant in Swedish Warmblod horses
No full textFragile foal syndrome (FFS) is a disease caused by a recessive lethal missense mutation in the PLOD1 gene located on ECA2. Despite its harmful effect, a relatively high frequency of FFS carriers was observed in Warmblood breeds spanning from 7.4% in a random sample of Swedish Warmblood breed to 17% in the Hanoverian and Danish Warmblood, indicating potential heterozygous advantage. Balancing selection can be further studied based on haplotype blocks and via detection of heterozygosity-rich region (ROHet) around the target of selection. In this study we evaluated the presence of haplotype blocks and ROHet on ECA2 in 380 Swedish Warmblood horses. We compared the results of ROHet with the rest of the genome. On average, 11.7 heterozygosity rich regions were identified per horse on ECA2, with no significant difference in numbers and length compared to what was found in other chromosomes. A unique haplotype block containing 28 markers was found in the FFS haplotype, while there were several haplotype blocks in the non-carrier haplotype. This unique haplotype block mostly spanned the region upstream of the PLOD1 gene and included the MFN2 gene. The presence of this extended haplotype, shared by multiple individuals and including both the FFS variant and the MFN2 gene, suggests that this region may be under selection. While we did not find a clear heterozygosity-rich region around the FFS variant, the extended haplotype may reflect either a signature of balancing selection or linkage disequilibrium with a positively selected variant in MFN2, PLOD1, or nearby loci
Interplay Between Time and Energy in Bosonic Noisy Quantum Metrology
No full textQuantum entanglement and coherence often allow for protocols that outperform classical ones in estimating a system's parameter. When using infinite-dimensional probes (such as a bosonic mode), one could, in principle, obtain infinite precision in a finite time for both classical and quantum protocols, which makes it hard to quantify potential quantum advantage. However, such a situation is unphysical, as it would require infinite resources, so one needs to impose some additional constraint: typically the average energy employed by the probe is finite. Here we treat both energy and time as a resource, showing that, in the presence of noise, there is a nontrivial interplay between the average energy and the time devoted to the estimation. Our results are valid for the most general metrological schemes (e.g., adaptive schemes, which may involve entanglement with external ancillae or any kind of continuous measurement). We apply recently derived precision bounds for all parameters characterizing the paradigmatic case of a bosonic mode, subject to Lindbladian noise. We show how the time employed in the estimation should be partitioned in order to achieve the best possible precision. In most cases, the optimal performance may be obtained without the necessity of adaptivity or entanglement with ancilla. We compare results with classical strategies. Interestingly, for temperature estimation, applying a fast-prepare-and-measure protocol with Fock states provides better scaling with the number of photons than any classical strategy
