Clin Neuropsychiatry
August 2023
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has offered a unique opportunity to test evolutionary hypotheses on the functionality of the behavioral immune system. The aim of the present study was to ascertain if a previous infection with COVID-19 was associated with increased levels of perceived infectability and germ aversion. Based on the calibration hypothesis, we predicted that the activation of the behavioral immune system was greater in those participants who had been infected compared to those who reported no previous COVID-19 infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe behavioral immune system includes a set of proactive mechanisms that inhibit contact with pathogens in the first place. These mechanisms offer a sort of psychological and behavioral prophylaxis against infection. The aim of this study was to assess the functionality of the behavioral immune system under conditions of strong ecological validity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFear of becoming infected is an important factor of the complex suite of emotional reactions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among healthcare workers (HWs), fear of infection can put at risk their psychological well-being and occupational efficiency. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of personality (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe synthesis and reactivity of a gallium(I) cationic complex using [12]crown-4 as a stabilizing ligand were explored. The synthesis of [Ga([12]crown-4)][GaCl] was achieved in one step from commercially available starting materials. Anion exchange was utilized to replace the reactive tetrachlorogallate anion for the perfluorophenylborate anion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The recent lockdown, resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, has had a strong social and psychological impact on the most fragile individuals and family structures. In the present work we investigated the experience of families without specific elements of social or health vulnerability during the quarantine period that occurred in the spring of 2020.
Materials And Methods: Between May and July 2020, 22 primary care pediatricians belonging to AUSL Romagna administered to a number of families a questionnaire to detect changes that occurred, during the lockdown, in family environment, school attendance and personal attitudes.
Psoriasis is a multisystemic inflammatory disease with a significant burden in terms of disability and reduced quality of life. The interrelations between disease severity, psychological well-being, and disability and/or health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of psoriatic patients are not fully understood. The aim of the study was to assess the relative role of disease severity, depressive symptoms, and insecure attachment in predicting disability and HRQOL in 105 patients with psoriasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: This study measured the tip-apex distance (TAD) values in the immediate postoperative period and following weight-bearing and fracture impaction in patients undergoing osteosynthesis with dynamic hip screw and cephalomedullary nail.
Objective: To correlate the Baumgaertner index in the immediate postoperative period with values obtained after impaction of the fracture with the accommodation of the cephalic implant in the femoral head.
Patients And Methods: Radiographic TAD measurements were taken with AGFA-VIEW of 82 patients with a mean age of 72 years with pertrochanteric fractures who were operated on and the fracture fixed with DHS- Synthes, TFN-Synthes, or Gamma Nail III-Stryker in the immediate postoperative period, and following weight-bearing and fracture impaction (mean 3-8 weeks after surgery).
Background: Benzodiazepine (BZD) dependence is a condition generally circumscribed to a therapeutic framework. Up to 44% of chronic users become dependent. The widespread use of BZD in psychiatry requires the evaluation of psychometric properties of self-reported instruments to characterize this phenomenon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo study the prevalence of early adversities in schizophrenia and unipolar depression, 2 groups of consecutive adult-onset inpatients with DSM-IV diagnoses of schizophrenia (n = 173) and unipolar depression (n = 305) were compared with an unscreened control group of volunteers from the general population (n = 310), with respect to their association with 4 types of childhood abuse and with early parental adversities (discord, separation, death, psychiatric caseness). Compared with general population, most types of early adversities (except sexual abuse and parental death) were significantly associated with both clinical groups. Compared with depression, all early adversities with the same 2 exceptions were significantly associated with schizophrenia; both frequency of abuse and number of types of abuse increased the risk of schizophrenia in a dose-response pattern, suggesting causality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: It has been suggested that an insecure style of attachment may be one of the factors implicated in the etiology of body dissatisfaction, which, in turn, is a risk factor for eating disorders. The present study analyzed the association among early separation anxiety, insecure attachment, and body dissatisfaction in a clinical sample of 96 women with anorexia nervosa (n = 31) or bulimia nervosa (n = 65).
Methods: Body dissatisfaction was measured using the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), early separation anxiety was measured using the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI), and adult attachment style was measured using the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ).
When the single-stranded RNA genome of HIV-1 is copied into double-stranded DNA, the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase (RT) catalyzes the addition of approximately 20,000 nucleotides; however, the precise mechanism of nucleotide addition is unknown. In this study, we attempt to integrate the genetic data and biochemical mechanism of DNA polymerization with the structure of HIV-1 RT complexed with a dsDNA template-primer. The first step of polymerization involves the physical association of a polymerase with its nucleic acid substrate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe locations of HIV-1 RT nucleoside and non-nucleoside inhibitor-binding sites and inhibitor-resistance mutations are analyzed in the context of the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme and implications for mechanisms of drug inhibition and resistance are discussed. In order to help identify residues that may play a role in inhibitor binding, solvent accessibilities of amino acids that comprise the inhibitor-binding sites in the structure of HIV-1 RT complexed with a dsDNA template-primer are analyzed. While some mutations that cause resistance to nucleoside analogs, such as AZT, ddI, and ddC, are located near enough to the dNTP-binding site to directly interfere with binding of nucleoside analogs, many are located away from the dNTP-binding site and more likely confer resistance by other mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe p66/p51 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase is a heterodimer with identical N-terminal amino acid sequences. The enzyme contains two polymerization domains and one RNase H domain, which is located at the C-terminus of the p66 subunit. Both polymerization domains fold into four individual subdomains that are not arranged in a similar fashion, forming an unusually asymmetric dimer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnalysis of the three-dimensional structure of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) complexed with double-stranded DNA indicates that while many nucleoside-resistance mutations are not at the putative dNTP binding site, several are in positions to interact with the template-primer. Wild-type HIV-1 RT and two nucleoside-resistant variants, Leu74-->Val and Glu89-->Gly, have been analyzed to determine the basis of resistance. The ability of the wild-type enzyme to incorporate, or reject, a 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside triphosphate (ddNTP) is strongly affected by interactions that take place between the enzyme and the extended template strand 3-6 nt beyond the polymerase active site.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe crystal structure of a ternary complex of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT) heterodimer (p66/p51), a 19-base/18-base double-stranded DNA template-primer, and a monoclonal antibody Fab fragment has been determined at 3.0 A resolution. The four individual subdomains of RT that make up the polymerase domains of p66 and p51 are named fingers, palm, thumb, and connection [Kohlstaedt, L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSCH 38057 (1-[6-(2-chloro-4-methoxyphenoxy)-hexyl]imidazole hydrochloride) is a new, water-soluble antiviral compound that has inhibitory activities against a number of picornavirus infections. The structure of the human rhinovirus 14 (HRV14) complex with SCH 38057 was determined at 3.0 A resolution by single-crystal diffraction techniques using synchrotron X-radiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAIDS, caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is one of the world's most serious health problems, with current protocols being inadequate for either prevention or successful long-term treatment. In retroviruses such as HIV, the enzyme reverse transcriptase copies the single-stranded RNA genome into double-stranded DNA that is then integrated into the chromosomes of infected cells. Reverse transcriptase is the target of the most widely used treatments for AIDS, 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) and 2',3'-dideoxyinosine (ddI), but resistant strains of HIV-1 arise in patients after a relatively short time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF1-Methyluracil (1-methyl-2,4-dioxopyrimidine), C5H6-N2O2, M(r) = 126.12, orthorhombic, Ibam, a = 13.188 (6), b = 13.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo crystal forms of complexes have been grown that contain human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase and a monoclonal antibody Fab fragment. One of the crystal forms (form II, space group P3112, a = 168.7 A, c = 220.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA mycotic keratitis case which was caused by Curvularia lunata var. aeria in a patient with an injury in the eye is described. The diagnosis was based on the mycologic analysis of several samples taken from the ulcer of cornea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe crystal structure of alpha,alpha-trehalose (alpha-D-glucopyranosyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside), C12H22O11, is monoclinic, P2(1), Z = 2, with unit cell dimensions at -150 degrees [20 degrees] of a = 12.971(5) [13.003(5)], b = 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe distribution of the O-groups of E. coli isolated in rivers (Arno, Serchio) and other surface waters is compared with the distribution of those isolated in urinary tract infections. The "chi square" test indicates a good correlation between the observed and expected frequencies in these two distributions, for all the O-groups, but six.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA case of cholangiocarcinoma observed in a woman of 38 following carotidographic examination with Thorotrast is described: the presence of radioactivity was also demonstrated by gamma spectrometry. The high mean dose absorbed by the liver (estimated at about 3,000 rad) together with the high relative biological effectiveness of the alpha contribution and the time lapse justify the hypothesis that the neoplasia was caused by irradiation.
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