8,346 research outputs found
A Global Financial History of Oil Crises
No full textIn this book, Altamura analyses the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979, considering their impact on the world economy and subsequent reactions to the global instability.In terms of actors, the focus is on how international organisations such as the IMF, World Bank and OECD responded to the crisis, as well as the behaviour of commercial banks and central banks and of countries in the Global South. Altamura draws on newly available archival material from private financial institutions to paint a full picture of a rapidly changing world which paved the way for stagflation and interdependency.This monograph will be illuminating reading for economic and financial historians, plus scholars looking at energy history, the Cold War in a global context, the New International Economic Order and the political economy of the 1970s
Remodeling in acute coronary syndromes: expectations and frustrations for risk assessment and therapy.
No full textMatrix metalloproteinases are involved in the development of acute coronary syndromes, but they are not reliable clinical markers of the occurrence or the outcome of this syndrome. Many limitations in their assessment account for such failure. Functional genetic polymorphisms, as alternatives to plasma levels, might be an interesting alternative
From ‘classical’ antipsychotics to ‘multidimensional stabilizers’: do we need a new classification for novel drugs used in schizophrenia?
No full textSUMMARY This article revisits the roots of the clinical categorical concept of schizophrenia and its biopathogenetic model (‘dopaminergic model’), based on dopaminergic dysfunctioning in CNS, as conceived in the 1960s and 1970s. These clinical/biopathogenic concepts have been challenged by the dimensional approach and by a more complex neurochemical model of schizophrenia, arising mainly from the use of novel compounds, which involves activity on different neurotransmitters in the CNS. Moreover, new compounds used in the treatment of schizophrenia are effective not only on the psychotic dimension, but also on other dimensions, such as negative, depressive and cognitive ones. Therefore, the term ‘antipsychotic’, which refers to a class of drugs acting mainly on acute psychotic symptoms, seems obsolete, and schizophrenia should not be conceived as an acute disorder, but rather as a chronic multidimensional dysfunction. Consequently, novel compounds acting on different dimensions can better stabilize patients, avoiding the shift from positive to negative symptoms due to the D2 antagonism. Thus, a new denomination is needed considering all of the peculiarities of new compounds compared with neuroleptics for stabilizing not just psychotic symptoms in the acute phase, but also affective, negative and anergic symptoms (which are integral parts of the disorder), even in the medium–long term; more appropriately, they should be considered as ‘multidimensional stabilizers’ instead of antipsychotics. Moreover, this denomination also refers to their efficacy in bipolar disorders, since their use is being increasingly proven to be effective in the treatment of this disorder as well. Finally, a change in the name of this pharmacological class may contribute to reducing the stigma that is now closely linked to antipsychotic drugs, such as chronicity, unfavorable prognosis and ‘craziness’
Michelstaedter Carlo
No full textPressoché tutti gli scritti di Carlo Michelstaedter furono pubblicati solo dopo il suo sucidio, prima dagli amici V. Arangio-Ruiz e G. Chiavacci e, più recentemente, in molte altre edizioni che l’hanno reso uno dei filosofi italiani più letti e studiati del primo Novecento. La sua riflessione si radica in un contesto mitteleuropeo attraversato da crisi esistenziali e influenze filosofiche che spaziano da Parmenide e Eraclito fino a Ibsen e Nietzsche. Egli critica la “rettorica”, che rappresenta la sottomissione agli interessi egoistici e alle strutture di potere; alla retorica egli contrappone il “benificio”, inteso come apertura disinteressata all’altro, e la “persuasione” quale aspetto soggettivo di colui che agisce il beneficio: la carica emotiva che lo abita. Figure esemplari di persuasione sono in Michelstaedter non solo esponenti del pensiero filosofico e artistico, ma anche grandi riferimenti religiosi come l’autore dell’Ecclesiaste e Cristo.
Parole chiave: Carlo Michelstaedter; persuasione e rettorica; beneficio; Ecclesiaste; Cristo
Almost all of Carlo Michelstaedter’s writings were published only after his suicide, first by friends V. Arangio-Ruiz and G. Chiavacci, and more recently in many other editions that have made him one of the most read and studied Italian philosophers of the early twentieth century. His reflection is rooted in a Central European context marked by existential crises and philosophical influences ranging from Parmenides and Heraclitus to Ibsen and Nietzsche. He criticizes ‘rhetoric,’ which represents submission to selfish interests and power structures; against rhetoric, he opposes ‘benefit,’ understood as a disinterested openness to the other, and ‘persuasion’ as the subjective aspect of the one who acts for the benefit: the emotional charge that inhabits him. Exemplary figures of persuasion in Michelstaedter are not only representatives of philosophical and artistic thought but also great religious references such as the author of Ecclesiastes and Christ.
Keywords: Carlo Michelstaedter; persuasion and rhetoric; benefit; Ecclesiastes; Chris
Enhancing quasi-Monte Carlo methods via delta dimension and directional control technique
No full textDifferential diagnoses and management strategies in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
No full textA Carlo Altamura1, Jose M Goikolea21Department of Psychiatry, University of Milan, IRCCS Fondazione Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Milan, Italy; 2Bipolar Disorder Program, Hospital Clinic i Universitari, Barcelona, SpainAbstract: Successful treatment of psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, is complicated and is affected by a broad range of factors associated with the diagnosis, choice of treatment and social factors. In these patients, treatment management must focus on accurate and early diagnosis, to ensure that correct treatment is administered as soon as possible. In both disorders, the treatment of the disease in the acute phase must be maintained long term to provide continuous relief and normal function; the treatment choice in the early stages of the disease may impact on long-term outcomes. In schizophrenia, treatment non-compliance is an important issue, with up to 50% of patients discontinuing treatment for reasons as diverse as efficacy failure, social barriers, and more commonly, adverse events. Treatment non-compliance also remains an issue in bipolar disorder, as tolerability of mood stabilizers, especially lithium, is not always good, and combination treatments are frequent. In order to achieve an optimal outcome in which the patient continues with their medication lifelong, treatment should be tailored to each individual, taking into account treatment and family history, and balancing efficacy with tolerability to maximize patient benefit and minimize the risk of discontinuation. These case studies illustrate how treatment should be monitored, tailored and often changed over time to meet these needs.Keywords: bipolar disorder, recurrence, treatment management, schizophrenia, non-compliance, adverse event
Un pittore altamurano nell’Italia tra le due guerre: Carlo Striccoli
No full textSaggio che ricostruisce, grazie a ricerche documentarie di prima mano, l'attività artistica nel periodo fra le due guerre del pittore Carlo Striccoli (Altamura-BA, 1897-Arezzo, 1980)
Innovative approaches to hallucinations in psychosis and affective disorders: A focus on noninvasive brain stimulation interventions
No full textAuditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are defined as verbal perceptions without an objective provoking external stimulus. AVHs are core symptoms of schizophrenia and psychotic spectrum disorders and have a wide prevalence in other severe psychiatric disorders including affective disorders and substance-use disorders. Despite adequate pharmacological treatment, AVHs can persist over the long-term course of these disorders in a significant percentage of patients, causing significant individual impairment. Noninvasive brain stimulation interventions represent a new frontier in the investigation and development of novel treatment options for both schizophrenia and psychotic spectrum disorders. In particular, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have been used in the treatment of AVHs in the last two decades. These techniques have the common feature of delivering electrical energy to the brain from an external source, as happens with tDCS, or through the induction of magnetic fields, as the case of repetitive TMS. The electrical stimulation is aimed to produce an excitation or inhibition of specific functional neuro-circuits that are involved in the pathogenesis of AVHs. In this chapter, we summarized main evidence in relation to the therapeutic use of the above-mentioned approaches in patients with AVHs, with specific attention to the recommendations of available international guidelines. Current major limitations and possible future perspectives are discussed as well
- …
