498 research outputs found
Sequele neurocognitive e neuropsichiatriche a lungo termine di COVID-19: tecnologie avanzate di apprendimento automatico e qualificazione per migliorare il benessere e la qualità della vita.
No full textLa pandemia COVID-19 ha svelato le complesse e durature sequele neuropsichiatriche note collettivamente come Long COVID, ponendo sfide senza precedenti alla salute pubblica. Questo studio esplora le basi neurobiologiche delle sequele neuro-post-acute della COVID-19 (neuro-PASC) utilizzando tecniche di fusione di dati all'avanguardia integrate con l'apprendimento automatico. Sintetizzando i dati di neuroimaging multimodale (DTI, VBM e fMRI allo stato di riposo) con i marcatori immuno-infiammatori, abbiamo identificato firme cerebrali e immunitarie specifiche per sesso associate a disfunzioni cognitive e sintomi psichiatrici nei sopravvissuti alla COVID lunga.
I risultati principali evidenziano modelli neurobiologici distinti: sono state riscontrate interruzioni della materia bianca, cambiamenti corticali e alterazioni dell'attività allo stato di riposo in correlazione con sintomi depressivi e deficit cognitivi. Questi cambiamenti strutturali e funzionali, combinati con una persistente disregolazione immuno-infiammatoria - compresi gli squilibri delle citochine e i marcatori della disfunzione della barriera emato-encefalica - hanno rivelato percorsi di vulnerabilità neuropsichiatrica dipendenti dal sesso. In particolare, le donne hanno mostrato una marcata compromissione dell'attenzione selettiva e della coordinazione psicomotoria, in linea con un profilo immunologico e di neuroimaging unico, mentre gli uomini hanno mostrato profili diversi di disregolazione cognitiva ed emotiva.
Un intervento pilota che prevedeva una terapia di recupero cognitivo (CRT) di sei settimane ha dimostrato miglioramenti promettenti nelle prestazioni cognitive, offrendo una speranza per approcci terapeutici mirati. Questa ricerca sottolinea l'importanza di metodologie integrative e guidate dai dati per decodificare la natura multiforme delle manifestazioni neuropsichiatriche della COVID lunga e per adattare gli interventi a specifici profili demografici e biologici.
Evidenziando le differenze di genere nella fisiopatologia della neuro-PASC, questo studio fornisce spunti critici per strategie personalizzate volte a migliorare la qualità della vita e il benessere dei sopravvissuti alla COVID-19, aprendo la strada a soluzioni terapeutiche più efficaci e orientate all'equità.The COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the complex and long-lasting neuropsychiatric sequelae collectively known as Long COVID, posing unprecedented challenges to public health. This study explores the neurobiological underpinnings of neuro-post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (neuro-PASC) using cutting-edge data fusion techniques integrated with machine learning. By synthesizing multimodal neuroimaging data (DTI, VBM, and resting-state fMRI) with immune-inflammatory markers, we identified sex-specific brain and immune signatures associated with cognitive dysfunction and psychiatric symptoms in Long COVID survivors.
Key findings highlight distinct neurobiological patterns: white matter disruptions, cortical changes, and alterations in resting-state activity were found to correlate with depressive symptoms and cognitive deficits. These structural and functional changes, combined with persistent immune-inflammatory dysregulation—including cytokine imbalances and markers of blood-brain barrier dysfunction—revealed sex-dependent pathways of neuropsychiatric vulnerability. Notably, women exhibited pronounced impairments in selective attention and psychomotor coordination, aligning with a unique immunological and neuroimaging profile, while men displayed different patterns of cognitive and emotional dysregulation.
A pilot intervention involving a six-week cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) demonstrated promising improvements in cognitive performance, offering hope for targeted therapeutic approaches. This research underscores the importance of integrative, data-driven methodologies in decoding the multifaceted nature of Long COVID neuropsychiatric manifestations and in tailoring interventions to specific demographic and biological profiles.
By highlighting gender differences in the pathophysiology of neuro-PASC, this study provides critical insights into personalized strategies aimed at improving the quality of life and well-being of COVID-19 survivors, paving the way for more effective, equity-focused healthcare solutions
Tele-Rehabilitation for Knee Osteoarthritis: Evaluating Efficacy, Compliance, and Patient Outcomes
No full textLe chiavi del Paradiso. Primato petrino e devozione mariana di Sisto IV tra Cappella Sistina e S. Maria della Pace
No full textIl volume è strutturato in due parti distinte con una postfazione, un indice dei nomi e n. 55 Tavole a colori fuori testo, valide per entrambe le parti del volume. I. PARTE (di Lorenzo Cappelletti) A partire dalla esplicita indicazione che l’ignoto architetto, collocato sul fianco destro dell’affresco sistino della Consegna delle chiavi di Perugino, fa dell’edificio a pianta centrale che campeggia sullo sfondo, viene operata una completa rilettura iconografica e iconologica dell’intero affresco. Tenendo conto di tutta la migliore bibliografia sul tema e grazie anche alla considerazione di fonti inedite o mai considerate in relazione a tale affresco –– vengono riletti in particolare i due episodi evangelici sullo sfondo, la teoria dei dodici apostoli e dei personaggi dell’attualità di fine Quattrocento e soprattutto il gesto della consegna delle chiavi a Simon Pietro da parte di Gesù.
La rilettura si allarga necessariamente anche alla Punizione di Core, Datan e Abiram, l’affresco di Botticelli posto in chiave tipologica dirimpetto alla Consegna delle chiavi, e alla serie dei 30/32 papi affrescati nel cleristorio.
Lo studio non manca di offrire inoltre spunti per una comprensione più adeguata anche degli altri affreschi quattrocenteschi della sistina. II PARTE (di Simona Benedetti) Nell’ambito della revisione di lettura iconologica e iconografica dell’affresco della Consegna delle chiavi di Perugino nella Cappella Sistina, svolta da Lorenzo Cappelletti, si torna a riflettere anche sul significato dell’architettura dell’edificio rappresentato al centro dell’affresco. In questo senso nel contributo di Simona Benedetti, in primo luogo, si ripercorrono i riferimenti alla trattatistica quattrocentesca in materia di edifici sacri, che possono aver influito nella determinazione dell’edificio ottagonale.
In seconda istanza, si considerano le principali fabbriche a pianta ottagonale costruite precedentemente all’edificio dipinto, che possono aver costituito un fondato riferimento per il Perugino nella Consegna delle chiavi.
In particolare tra le architetture, che possono avere avuto un’influenza determinante nella definizione iconografica della fabbrica ottagonale presente nell'affresco, la chiesa di S. Maria della Pace è quella su cui si concentra il presente studio. L'opera si realizzò nel cuore pulsante della Roma rinascimentale proprio contemporaneamente all’affresco in esame, con esso trova degli innegabili punti di tangenza e corrispondenze, sia storiche che figurative. A questo riguardo interessantissima risulta la connessione tra il motivo dell’edificazione della fabbrica e i fatti storici, i personaggi, gli eventi prodigiosi e le pratiche devozionali, che condizionarono lo svolgersi del cantiere del Templum Pacis negli ultimi anni del pontificato di Sisto IV. La storicità del gesto della consegna delle chiavi a Pietro - avvenimento che si protrae nel tempo ad ogni elezione pontificia nello spazio fisico della Cappella Sistina - costituisce la centralità del messaggio iconografico dell'affresco del Perugino in cui, anche l’architettura, insieme ai personaggi rappresentati, strutturano una narrazione reale, estranea alle simbologie decontestualizzate dall’epoca propriamente sistina. Segue una postfazione di Francesco Andreani dal titolo Enigma del Quattrocento, saggio nel quale si sviluppano considerazioni sulle personalità degli architetti e maestranze attive nella Roma del tardo Quattrocento e negli anni di inizio della fabbrica di S. Maria della Pace. Il volume si conclude con l'indice dei nomi (a cura di Gemma Fusciello)I (of Lorenzo Cappelletti) Starting from the unknown architect’s forefinger pointed to the central plan building found in the background of the Sistine Perugino’s fresco The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, the author offers a new interpretation of the entire fresco at both an iconographical and iconological level.
Having considered the most important studies about this fresco and taking into account a number of unpublished and unconsidered sources, the author rereads in particular the meaning of the central plan building, as well as the two Gospel episodes in the background; and he rereads also the grouping of the Twelve, along with the fifteenth century historical personages painted among them, in the foreground.
The author’s vision necessarily broodens also to comprehend Botticelli’s fresco named The Punishment of Corah, Dathan and Abiram which is placed on the opposite wall as a typological prefiguration of The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and it broodens moreover to reconsider the series of 30/32 popes frescoed in the upper register of the Sistine Chapel.
The essay also offers hints for a more complete comprehension of the other fifteenth century frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.
II. (of Simona Benedetti) As part of the review of iconological and iconographic reading about the fresco of the “Delivery of the keys” by Perugino in the Sistine Chapel, conducted by Lorenzo Cappelletti, you go back and think about the significance of the building architecture depicted in the center of the fresco. In this sense, the contribution of Simona Benedetti, first, retraces the references to the fifteenth-century treatises concerning sacred buildings, which may have affected the determination of the octagonal building. Secondly, we consider the main factories octagonal building constructed previously painted, that may have been an established reference for the Perugino in the “Delivery of the keys”. Especially between architectures, which may have had a decisive influence in defining the iconographic factory octagonal present in the fresco, the church of St. Mary of Peace is the one on which this study focuses. The work was realized in the heart of Renaissance Rome just simultaneously fresco concerned, although it is undeniable points of contact and correspondence, both historical and figurative. In this regard are interesting connections between the reason of building the factory, the historical facts, the characters and the miraculous events and devotional, which has conditioned the unfolding of the construction site of the Templum Pacis in the last years of the pontificate of Sixtus IV. The historicity of the act of handing over the keys to Peter, that continues over time in the physical space of the Sistine Chapel, is the centrality of the iconographic message of the fresco by Perugino; so even the architecture, along with the characters represented, the real narrative structure, far from to the symbolism belonging to the Sistine period properly
«Poetare è abbreviare»: la poesia avanguardista di Franz Richard Behrens (1895 - 1977) tra forma lirica “riduzionista” e “costruttivismo” (1916 - 1925)
No full textANDREA BENEDETTI
Poetare è abbreviare»: la poesia avanguardista di Franz Richard Behrens (1895 - 1977) tra forma lirica ‘riduzionista’ e ‘costruttivismo’ (1916 - 1925)
Central to this article is the relationship between ‘reductionistic’ lyrical form and ‘constructivism’ in the avant-garde poetry of the Berlin poet Franz Richard Behrens (1895 - 1977), who was not only a trained journalist and volunteer soldier in World War I, but also the author of a number of film scripts after 1918. It takes into account the whole period of time from 1916 to 1925 through alternating biographical reconstructions, thorough examinations of the historic-cultural context and formal and thematic analyses of poetic texts. This is the period within which is set the beginning and the end of his collaboration with the Berlin Expressionistic review «Der Sturm», which was edited by the eclectic Herwarth Walden (1878 - 1941), from his first published poetry, Expressionist Artillerist, in February 1916 up to his last, Mein Haus ist ein Bethaus, in March 1925. A collaboration which, in the same period of time, concerns a number of other avant-garde reviews, among which one should mention the German reviews «Die schöne Rarität» (Kiel) and «Die Aktion» (Berlin) and the Croatian «Zenit» (Zagreb). This article is presented, to the best of the author’s knowledge, as the first organic, albeit concise critical contribution in Italian on this unjustly unrecognized German poet of the 20th century, by means of presenting at the same time an initial and short analytical overview of both the expert studies and the current philological research perspectives concerning the author. The article also seeks to emphasize how the ambiguities of this ideological author seem to be ascribed to and considered as integral to his linguistic formulations, so that these appear as if they were deliberately sought after so as to hinder single efforts aimed at an unequivocal interpretation with regard to this aspect. In particular, the essay which follows aims at making a summary of the evolution of Behrens’s lyrical technique by describing its passage from an initial so – called ‘phase of verbal art’ (‘Wortkunst’-Phase, 1914 - 1918), marked by a still strong influence of August Stramm’s (1874 - 1915) lyric forms, through a second, transitory period, which is characterized by the prevalent use of ‘mixed forms’ (‘Mischformen’, 1917 - 1921), and then to a third and conclusive ‘phase of objectivity’ (‘sachliche Phase’, 1921 - 1925), which closes with a ‘withdrawal’ of language into the depths of the soul and the falling into silence of his poetry. This last stage is characterized by a progressive transformation of the Expressionist poetic word into a ‘stock’ of materials that stand halfway between poetry and prose by making use of ‘montage’ procedures
Gait Alterations in Two Young Siblings with Progressive Pseudorheumatoid Dysplasia
No full textProgressive pseudorheumatoid dysplasia (PPRD) is an autosomal recessive inherited skeletal dysplasia characterized by progressive non-inflammatory arthropathy affecting primarily the articular cartilage. Currently, little is known about the functional musculoskeletal aspects of these patients. In particular, an abnormal gait pattern has been described, without a clear hypothesis of the underlying causes in terms of muscular activity. This study presents the case of two siblings, 4 and 9 years old, a boy and a girl, respectively, suffering from PPRD at different stages of the disease. In addition to the clinical assessment, an instrumental gait analysis was performed. Swelling of the interphalangeal finger joints and fatigue were present in both cases. Gait abnormalities consisted of a relevant reduction in the ankle plantarflexion in the terminal phase of the gait cycle, associated with reduced gastrocnemius EMG activity and increased activity of the tibialis anterior, resulting in overloading at the initial peak of ground reaction forces. Gait anomalies observed were similar in both siblings with PPRD, although at different ages, and confirm walking patterns previously described in the literature. The calf muscle strength deficit and reduced activity during the stance phase of gait present in these two siblings indicate the typical absence of the propulsive phase. A stomping gait pattern, with the foot striking the ground hard on each step, was originally described. Further neurophysiological investigations are required to determine the origin of muscle weakness
La herencia de Italia en Mario Benedetti
No full textWith no doubt, Mario Benedetti has got a lot of things to share with Italy. His surname, his social environment, everything clearly refers to a family background very popular in the River Plate. Although the author never betrays his Uruguayan roots, you can easily recognize both direct and indirect debts with our peninsula through his works and interviews.Indudablemente, Mario Benedetti tiene muchos puntos de contacto con Italia. Desde su apellido hasta el entorno social, todo hace referencia tanto a un pasado familiar como a un espacio cultural compartido por la mayoría de los rioplatenses. Aunque nunca el autor traiciona su vocación auténticamente uruguaya, a través de sus obras y de sus entrevistas es posible reconocer la deuda directa e indirecta con nuestra península
L’architetto progettista della nuova Collegiata e la cultura architettonica lombarda
No full textl contributo, costituisce il terzo capitolo del volume ed è strutturato in due paragrafi in cui si torna a riflettere sull’attribuzione del progetto architettonico dell'interessantissima Collegiata del San Giovanni Battista Morbegno, edificata tra il 1680 ed il 1714, oggi quasi completamente restaurata dalla Fondazione Isabel & Balz Baechi. Necessariamente in questo contesto si riprendono gli studi già svolti da Simona Benedetti, pubblicati nel 2019, in cui si è individuato il progettista dell'opera valtellinese nella persona di Gerolamo Quadrio, architetto del Duomo di Milano dal 1658 al 1679, anno della sua morte. Qui si sviluppano ulteriori analisi riferite all’attività del progettista milanese, che ha concepito la splendida spazialità architettonica tra le ultimissime opere della sua carriera. Vengono proposte nell’ultimo paragrafo puntuali analisi comparative tra le sue opere, individuando tra queste le più significative per l’attribuzione del progetto della Collegiata di San Giovanni Battista a Morbegno.The research represents the third chapter of the volume specifically dedicated to the history of the church of St. John the Baptist in Morbegno. Built between 1680 and 1714, this celebrated ‘Collegiata’ had been recently restored by the Isabel & Balz Baechi Foundation, which also supported a historical in-depth analysis. The paper consists of two paragraphs, in which we return to reflect on the attribution of the architectural design. Starting from the discoveries carried out by the Author in 2019 and already published, in which the designer of the Valtellina church was identified with Gerolamo Quadrio, chief architect of Milan’s Cathedral from 1658 to 1679, this new detailed work discusses the whole activity of the professional, who seemed to have conceived the architectural spatiality of St. John the Baptist at the very end of his career. By comparing his projects, it emerges the strictly existing relationship between his ‘modus operandi’ and the Morbegno church, confirming his participation in the invention and the following construction
Interleukin 6 associates with reduced grey matter volume and resting-state connectivity in the anterior cingulate cortex in bipolar patients
No full textHigh levels of peripheral IL-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, have been indicated as a key element of the bipolar disorder (BD), allowing to differentiate BD from major depression with high accuracy and to early detect poor responders to antidepressant treatments. IL-6 may contribute to BD pathophysiology through its effects on the neurobiological underpinnings of the disorder, such as grey matter (GM) volumes and resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) abnormalities. In this study, we primary investigate the relationship between the peripheral plasmatic level of IL-6 and GM volumes, obtained with Voxel-Based Morphometry, in 84 BD inpatients. As secondary aims, we explored if IL-6 levels may be related to self-reported psychopathological dimensions of depression (i.e. symptoms severity and cognitive biases) and seed based rs-FC of brain regions structurally associated with the cytokine. Results showed that higher level of peripheral IL-6 was associated to lower GM volumes in supragenual anterior cingulate cortex, and reduced rs-FC between this area and medial orbito-frontal cortex in BD. Furthermore, in depressed patients IL-6 positively correlated to cognitive biases typically associated to depressive episodes, such as the perceived uncontrollability of negative events, or their generalization across future and situations. Our data provide additional evidence of detrimental effect of systemic inflammation on brain structure in BD and confirm the crucial role of anterior cingulate cortex as neural underpinning of the disorder. However, future studies are needed to replicate our findings in larger samples
Prevalence, trajectory over time, and risk factor of post-COVID-19 fatigue
No full textFatigue is one of the most commonly reported symptoms in the context of the post-COVID-19 syndrome. Notably, fatigue is characterised by overlapping physical and psychopathological symptoms, and questions about its trajectory over time and possible predictors remained unanswered. Thus, in the present study we aim to investigate the prevalence, the course over time, and the risk factors of post-COVID fatigue. We included 495 patients recovered from COVID-19. For all of them we collected one month demographic, clinical and psychopathological characteristics. We evaluated fatigue severity at one, three, six, and twelve-months according to Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). We explored the potential predictor of long-term post-COVID fatigue (six or twelve months FSS) by implementing 5000 non-parametric bootstraps enhanced elastic net penalised regression. We found that 22%, 27%, 30%, and 34% of patients self-rated fatigue symptoms in the pathological range at one, three, six, and twelve months respectively. We detected a worsening of fatigue symptomatology over time. From the elastic net regression results, only depressive symptomatology at one month (ZSDS and BDI-13) predicted the presence of post-COVID-19 long-term fatigue. No other clinical or demographic variable was found to predict post-COVID fatigue. We suggest that, rather independent of COVID-19 severity, depression after COVID-19 is associated with persistent fatigue. Clarifying mechanisms and risk factors of post-COVID fatigue will allow to identify the target population and to tailor specific treatment and rehabilitation interventions to foster recovery
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