45 research outputs found
Scrittore stoico anonimo, Opera incerta (PHerc. 1020), coll. 104-112. Edizione, introduzione e commento
No full textPHerc. 1020 (SVF 2. 131 = FDS 88) è uno dei sette papiri di sicura o probabile paternità stoica conservati nella collezione ercolanese. Esso è privo di subscriptio, per cui dell’opera in esso conservata si ignorano autore e titolo. Svariati elementi sembrano corroborare la tesi, risalente a Hans von Arnim, che PHerc. 1020 contenga parte di un’opera risalente a Crisippo o a uno dei suoi immediati successori. A favore della paternità crisippea vengono qui forniti nuovi argomenti, che si aggiungono a quelli già addotti da von Arnim, Pohlenz e Keil. Per quanto riguarda il contenuto del libro, non siamo autorizzati a concludere né che esso equivalesse a uno scritto di tipo esclusivamente morale, piuttosto che logico o epistemologico, né che trattasse unicamente del sapiente stoico. Al contrario, dall’esame puntuale del testo, volto in particolare a comprenderlo in relazione alle altre numerose testimonianze sullo Stoicismo antico in nostro possesso, è emerso che esso presentava una singolare compenetrazione di logica, etica ed epistemologia. Facendo uso di nuove metodologie in campo papirologico, i due editori hanno ricostruito per la prima volta l’anatomia del rotolo e la sequenza dei frammenti e hanno ristabilito il testo con nuovi criteri editoriali basandosi sull’autopsia del manoscritto originale. Il presente lavoro consiste in una nuova edizione critica delle ultime otto colonne del papiro (coll. 104-112 Alessandrelli-Ranocchia), le meglio conservate e le uniche sinora edite dagli studiosi, e si inquadra nell’edizione complessiva di PHerc. 1020 programmata nell’ambito del progetto ERC Starting Grant 241184-PHerc finanziato dalla Commissione Europea (FP7, Ideas, www.pherc.eu)PHerc. 1020 (SVF 2. 131 = FDS 88) is one of the seven certain or probable Stoic papyri of the Herculaneum collection. Since the papyrus has no subscriptio, the author and the title of the work contained in it are unknown. Several elements seem to corroborate Hans von Arnim’s thesis that PHerc. 1020 hands down a work by either Chrysippus or one of his immediate successors. New arguments are advanced here in favour of this authorship beside those formerly adduced by von Arnim, Pohlenz and Keil. As far as the book’s content is concerned, we are not allowed to conclude that it was merely ethical, rather than purely logical or epistemological, nor that it only focused on the Stoic sage. On the contrary, from a detailed exegetical analysis and a comparison with the other evidence on Early Stoicism available to us it emerges that the work displayed a unique combination of ethics, logic and epistemology. By using new methods for the reading and editing of Herculaneum papyri, the editors have reconstructed for the first time the anatomy of the roll and the sequence of the fragments, while also establishing the Greek text on the basis of personal inspection of the original manuscript. This study is a new critical edition of the last eight columns of the papyrus (coll. 104-112 Alessandrelli-Ranocchia) – the best preserved columns and the only ones to have been studied by scholars so far – and constitutes the first part of the comprehensive edition of PHerc. 1020 included in the Project ERC Starting Grant 241184-PHerc funded by the European Commission (FP7, Ideas, www.pherc.eu)
Syndromic autism: Causes and pathogenetic pathways
No full textAutism is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder known to have many different etiologies. In the last few years, significant progresses have been made in comprehending the causes of autism and their multiple impacts on the developing brain. This article aims to review the current understanding of the etiologies and the multiple pathogenetic pathways that are likely to lead to the autistic phenotype
[Executive function deficits in ADHD and Asperger syndrome]
No full textThe aim of this study is to evaluate the executive functioning of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder combined subtype (ADHD-C) and Asperger syndrome (AS) compared to a control group
Attention and executive functions profile in drug naive ADHD subtypes
No full textAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with executive functioning and sustained and divided attention deficits. In order to clarify the questions on neurocognitive impairment in ADHD, we investigated the presence of specific executive functions (EFs) and attention deficit patterns in ADHD clinical subtypes. 50 patients with ADHD and 44 controls were evaluated. All subjects were boys and performed a clinical-psychopathological and neuropsycholpogical-battery. Five main domains of EFs and attention were studied. Executive functions-related neurocognitive abilities were used as control tasks. ADHD patients, inattentive and combined subtypes differ from controls on response inhibition, divided attention, phonological, and visual object working memory and on variability of reaction times measured with CPT. Comparison of ADHD subtypes, in five main domains of EFs, did not show evidence of different executive functioning profiles. Response inhibition can predict performance on working memory tests but it cannot predict performance on divided attention/set shifting and on sustained attention. ADHD boys exhibit a selective impairment on executive functions and attention tasks. These data suggest the involvement of partially independent neural circuits which control inhibition and divided attention in ADHD. Since right prefrontal cortex seems to be crucial in controlling response inhibition, while left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex seems important in modulating divided attention, these areas are deputated to be involved in the pathogenesis of neuropsychological deficits in ADHD subtypes. In addition, this study candidates the impairment in phonological and visual-object working memory as a possible neuropsychological trait in ADHD males with inattentive or combined subtypes. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Identification of Characteristic Points in Multivariate Physiological Signals by Sensor Fusion and Multi-Task Deep Networks
No full textIdentification of characteristic points in physiological signals, such as the peak of the R wave in the electrocardiogram and the peak of the systolic wave of the photopletismogram, is a fundamental step for the quantification of clinical parameters, such as the pulse transit time. In this work, we presented a novel neural architecture, called eMTUnet, to automate point identification in multivariate signals acquired with a chest-worn device. The eMTUnet consists of a single deep network capable of performing three tasks simultaneously: (i) localization in time of characteristic points (labeling task), (ii) evaluation of the quality of signals (classification task); (iii) estimation of the reliability of classification (reliability task). Preliminary results in overnight monitoring showcased the ability to detect characteristic points in the four signals with a recall index of about 1.00, 0.90, 0.90, and 0.80, respectively. The accuracy of the signal quality classification was about 0.90, on average over four different classes. The average confidence of the correctly classified signals, against the misclassifications, was 0.93 vs. 0.52, proving the worthiness of the confidence index, which may better qualify the point identification. From the achieved outcomes, we point out that high-quality segmentation and classification are both ensured, which brings the use of a multi-modal framework, composed of wearable sensors and artificial intelligence, incrementally closer to clinical translation
Disordered eating behaviors in adolescents with type 1 diabetes: A cross-sectional population-based study in Italy
No full textOBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of clinical, metabolic and socioeconomic factors with disordered eating behaviors (DEB) among adolescents with type 1 diabetes screened using the Diabetes Eating Problem Survey-Revised (DEPS-R).
METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based study involved 163 adolescents with type 1 diabetes, aged 11-20 years, recruited from the registry for type 1 diabetes of Marche Region, Italy, who completed the DEPS-R (response rate 74.4%). Clinical characteristics, lipid profile, HbA1c , family profile of education and occupation were evaluated. The Italian version of DEPS-R was validated, and the prevalence of DEB estimated. The association of demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical factors with DEB was evaluated by multiple correspondence analysis and multiple logistic regression.
RESULTS: The prevalence of DEPS-R-positive (score ≥20) was 27% (95% CI 17-38) in boys and 42% (95% CI 31-53) in girls. A clinical profile of DEPS-R-positive was identified: overweight, little time spent in physical activity, low socioeconomic status, poor metabolic control, skipping insulin injections. Furthermore, the probability of DEPS-R-positive increased 63% for every added unit of HbA1c , 36% for every added number of insulin injections skipped in a week and decreased about 20% for every added hour/week spent in physical activity. Overweight youth were six times more likely to be DEPS-R-positive.
DISCUSSION: A specific clinical profile of DEPS-R-positive was identified. A multidisciplinary clinical approach aimed to normalize eating behaviors and enhance self-esteem should be used to prevent the onset of these behaviors, and continuous educational programs are needed to promote healthy behaviors and lifestyles
Candidate gene study of <it>HOXB1 </it>in autism spectrum disorder
No full textAbstract Background HOXB1 plays a major role in brainstem morphogenesis and could partly determine the cranial circumference in conjunction with HOXA1. In our sample, HOXA1 alleles significantly influence head growth rates both in autistic patients and in population controls. An initial report, suggesting that HOXB1 could confer autism vulnerability in interaction with HOXA1, was not confirmed by five small association studies. Methods Our sample includes 269 autistic individuals, belonging to 219 simplex and 28 multiplex families. A mutational analysis of the two exons and flanking intronic sequences of the HOXB1 gene was carried out in 84 autistic patients by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography, followed by DNA sequencing. Identified rare variants were then searched by a restriction analysis in 236 autistic patients and 325-345 controls. Case-control and family-based association studies were performed on two common variants in 169 Italian patients versus 184 Italian controls and in 247 trios. Results We identified three common polymorphisms, rs72338773 [c.82insACAGCGCCC (INS/nINS)], rs12939811 [c.309A>T (Q103H)], and rs7207109 [c.450G>A (A150A)] and three rare variants, namely IVS1+63G>A, rs35115415 [c.702G>A (V234V)] and c.872_873delinsAA (S291N). SNPs rs72338773 and rs12939811 were not associated with autism, using either a case-control (alleles, exact P = 0.13) or a family-based design [transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT)χ2 = 1.774, P = 0.183]. The rare variants, all inherited from one of the parents, were present in two Italian and in two Caucasian-American families. Autistic probands in two families surprisingly inherited a distinct rare variant from each parent. The IVS1+63A allele was present in 3/690 control chromosomes, whereas rare alleles at rs35115415 and c.872_873delinsAA (S291N) were not found in 662 and 650 control chromosomes, respectively. The INS-T309 allele influenced head size, but its effect appears more modest and shows no interaction with HOXA1 alleles. The INS-T309 allele is also associated with more severe stereotypic behaviours, according to ADI-R scores (N = 60 patients, P Conclusions HOXB1 mutations do not represent a common cause of autism, nor do HOXB1 common variants play important roles in autism vulnerability. HOXB1 provides minor, albeit detectable contributions to head circumference in autistic patients, with HOXA1 displaying more prominent effects. HOXB1 variants may modulate the clinical phenotype, especially in the area of stereotypic behaviours.</p
