Neurophysiological Measures and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD): Hypothesizing Links between Clinical Severity Index and Molecular Neurobiological Patterns

In 1987, Cloninger proposed a clinical description and classification of different personality traits genetically defined and independent from each other. Moreover, he elaborated a specific test the TCI to investigate these traits/states. The study of craving in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) assumed a greater significance, since ever more data seems to suggest a direct correlation between high levels of craving and a higher risk of relapse in alcoholics. Thus, our study aim is to explore the possible correlations among TCI linked molecular neurobiological pattern (s), craving and alcohol addiction severity measures in a sample of Italian alcoholics

Low level Atrazine exposure effects on crayfish development

Undergraduate Applie

Cross talk: the microbiota and neurodevelopmental disorders

Humans evolved within a microbial ecosystem resulting in an interlinked physiology. The gut microbiota can signal to the brain via the immune system, the vagus nerve or other host-microbe interactions facilitated by gut hormones, regulation of tryptophan metabolism and microbial metabolites such as short chain fatty acids (SCFA), to influence brain development, function and behavior. Emerging evidence suggests that the gut microbiota may play a role in shaping cognitive networks encompassing emotional and social domains in neurodevelopmental disorders. Drawing upon pre-clinical and clinical evidence, we review the potential role of the gut microbiota in the origins and development of social and emotional domains related to Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia. Small preliminary clinical studies have demonstrated gut microbiota alterations in both ASD and schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. However, we await the further development of mechanistic insights, together with large scale longitudinal clinical trials, that encompass a systems level dimensional approach, to investigate whether promising pre-clinical and initial clinical findings lead to clinical relevance

The Effects of Common Herbicide (Atrazine) on Juvenile Crayfish Growth and Development

Undergraduate Basi

Adult GH deficiency - the value of IGF-I estimation

In patients with growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) the diagnostic value of IGF-I levels has been recently revisited. A normal IGF-I value does not exclude GHD, because its secretion is complex and depends by several factors other than GH, such as age, nutritional status, obesity, as well as catabolic illness. Due to the complexity and costs of GH stimulation tests, several authors have analyzed the predictive and diagnostic value of the concentration of plasma IGF-I in patients suspected for GHD. The evaluation of IGF-I is also determinant to individualized dose-titration strategies, able to avoid the common adult side effects of substitutive therapy with recombinant GH. Current recommendations in clinical practice for GH replacement therapy, in GHD adults, agree on GH dosing regimens to be individualized independently of body weight using IGF-I levels as a biomarker of the treatment. For these reasons, in a clinical setting, appropriate normative values in different age groups in a large healthy population must be established in single laboratories, while, considering the relatively small sex difference, a different reference range for sex seems not necessary. This review discusses the more recent debated issues in the literature on the role of IGF-I, as well as other IGF system components, in the management of adult patients with GHD

Identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. basilici isolated from soil, basil seed, and plants by RAPD analysis

Fifty-two isolates of Fusarium oxysporum, obtained from infected basil plants, seed, flower residues, and soil from different growing areas in Italy and Israel, were analyzed by random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR), coupled to a DNA extraction protocol from colonies grown on Fusarium-selective medium. In a pathogenicity assay, 35 isolates caused 32 to 92% disease on seedlings of the highly susceptible basil cultivar Fine verde, while 17 isolates were nonpathogenic on basil. Thirty of the F. oxysporum f. sp. basilici isolates obtained from soil or wilted plants gave identical amplification patterns using 31 different random primers. All tested primers allowed clear differentiation of F. oxysporum f. sp. basilici from representatives of other formae speciales and from nonpathogenic strains of F. oxysporum. RAPD profiles obtained from DNA of isolates extracted directly from cultures grown on Fusarium selective medium were identical to those obtained from DNA extracted from lyophilized myceli

Linoleic acid: Is this the key that unlocks the quantum brain? Insights linking broken symmetries in molecular biology, mood disorders and personalistic emergentism

In this paper we present a mechanistic model that integrates subneuronal structures, namely ion channels, membrane fatty acids, lipid rafts, G proteins and the cytoskeleton in a dynamic system that is finely tuned in a healthy brain. We also argue that subtle changes in the composition of the membrane's fatty acids may lead to down-stream effects causing dysregulation of the membrane, cytoskeleton and their interface. Such exquisite sensitivity to minor changes is known to occur in physical systems undergoing phase transitions, the simplest and most studied of them is the so-called Ising model, which exhibits a phase transition at a finite temperature between an ordered and disordered state in 2- or 3-dimensional space. We propose this model in the context of neuronal dynamics and further hypothesize that it may involve quantum degrees of freedom dependent upon variation in membrane domains associated with ion channels or microtubules. Finally, we provide a link between these physical characteristics of the dynamical mechanism to psychiatric disorders such as major depression and antidepressant action

The Metabolic Profile in Active Acromegaly is Gender-Specific.

CONTEXT: The sexual dimorphism of the somatotroph axis has been documented, but whether the acromegaly-related metabolic alterations are gender-dependent has never been investigated. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of gender on the metabolic parameters in acromegaly. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective, comparative, multicenter study. PATIENTS: The 307 newly diagnosed acromegalic patients included in the study were grouped by gender: 157 men (aged 48.01 ± 14.28 yr), and 150 women (aged 48.67 ± 14.95 yr; of which 77 were premenopausal and 73 postmenopausal). OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: We measured each component of the metabolic syndrome (MS), hemoglobin A1c, the areas under the curve (AUCs) of glucose and insulin during 2-h oral glucose tolerance test, basal insulin resistance using the homeostasis model assessment of the insulin resistance index, stimulated insulin sensitivity using the insulin sensitivity index, early insulin-secretion rate using the insulinogenic index, β-cell function relative to insulin sensitivity using the oral disposition index and the visceral adiposity index (VAI) as the surrogate of visceral fat function. RESULTS: Women showed a higher prevalence of MS (P < 0.001), higher fasting insulin levels (P < 0.001), AUC for insulin (P = 0.002), homeostasis model assessment of the insulin resistance index (P < 0.001), and VAI (P < 0.001) and a lower insulin sensitivity index (P = 0.002) than men, whereas no difference was found in fasting glucose, AUC for glucose, hemoglobin A1c, insulinogenic index, and oral disposition index. In women, fasting glucose and fasting insulin showed a significant trend toward increase (P < 0.001) and decrease (P = 0.004), respectively, from the first to the fourth quartiles of age, whereas VAI showed a trend toward increase in both groups (P < 0.001). A significantly higher prevalence of MS (P < 0.001), increased waist circumference (P < 0.001), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.001), and overt diabetes mellitus (P < 0.001) was found in postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women, as well as with men. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of metabolic features in acromegaly are gender-specific. Active acromegaly in women is strongly associated with higher visceral adiposity dysfunction, insulin resistance, and the features of MS. We suggest more accurate metabolic management in acromegalic women, especially in the postmenopausal years

The Meticci in the framework of school separation between the colonizers and the colonized in Italian Eritrea

L’organització escolar a Eritrea va ser bipartida durant tot el període colonial italià: escoles per a italians i escoles per a nadius. L’estructura separatista de la vida social colonial estava amenaçada pels italo-eritreus. Els meticci creaven ambigüitat perquè eren en part italians, en part africans. A quines escoles podrien anar els italo-eritreus? A les per a italians? A les per a nadius? Fins a 1939 pocs meticci, reconeguts pel seu pare italià, tenien dret a assistir a escoles per a italians. Els italoeritreus també podrien rebre una educació italiana en internats dirigits per missioners catòlics. Aquests serveis educatius també estaven oberts als meticci no reconeguts. Durant la segona meitat dels anys trenta, la política colonial cap als ítalo-eritreus va adquirir un caràcter segregacionista. Aquest canvi es va produir sota la influència del racisme biològic feixista: els meticci eren considerats la manifestació de la degradació biològica ja que tenien sang africana a les venes. Per tant, no podien ser tractats com a italians: eren africans. En conseqüència, la llei núm. 822 del 13 de maig de 1940 va negar als ítalo-eritreus l’accés a les escoles per a italians i va prohibir els instituts educatius missioners destinats específicament als meticci. Les persones de «raça» mixta només eren admeses a les escoles per a nadius.School organization was bipartite in Eritrea throughout the Italian colonial period: schools for Italians and schools for natives. The separatist structure of colonial social life was threatened by the presence of Italian Eritreans. The Meticci created ambiguity because they were partly Italian partly African. What schools could Italian Eritreans go to? To those for Italians? To those for natives? Until 1939, the few meticci acknowledged by the Italian father had the right to attend schools for Italians. Italian Eritreans could also receive an Italian education in boarding schools run by catholic missionaries. These facilities were also open to unacknowledged meticci. During the second half of the 1930s colonial policy towards Italian Eritreans assumed a segregational character. This change took place under the influence of fascist biological racism: meticci were considered the manifestation of biological degradation since they had African blood in their veins. They therefore could not be treated as Italian: they were African. Consequently, law no. 822 of 13 May 1940 denied Italian Eritreans access to schools for Italians and banned missionary boarding schools specifically designed for outcasts. Mixed «race» people were allowed only to attend schools for natives.La organización escolar en Eritrea fue bipartita durante todo el período colonial italiano: escuelas para italianos y escuelas para nativos. La estructura separatista de la vida social colonial se vio amenazada por los italo-eritreos. Los meticci creaban ambigüedad porque eran en parte italianos, en parte africanos. ¿A qué escuelas podrían ir los italo-eritreos? ¿A las para italianos? ¿A las para nativos? Hasta 1939 pocos meticci, reconocidos por su padre italiano, tenían derecho a asistir a escuelas para italianos. Los italo-eritreos también podrían recibir una educación italiana en internados dirigidos por misioneros católicos. Estos servicios educativos también estaban abiertos a los meticci no reconocidos. Durante la segunda mitad de los años treinta, la política colonial hacia los ítalo-eritreos adquirió un carácter segregacionista. Este cambio se produjo bajo la influencia del racismo biológico fascista: los meticci eran considerados la manifestación de la degradación biológica ya que tenían sangre africana en sus venas. Por lo tanto, no podían ser tratados como italianos: eran africanos. En consecuencia, la ley núm. 822 del 13 de mayo de 1940 negó a los ítalo-eritreos el acceso a las escuelas para italianos y prohibió los institutos educativos misioneros destinados específicamente a los meticci. Las personas de «raza» mixta solo eran admitidas en las escuelas para nativos