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Giussy Barbara,1,2 Valentina Albertini,3 Veronica Maria Tagi,4 Lidia Maggioni,5 Maria Carlotta Gorio,6 Cristina Cattaneo,5 Fabio Parazzini,2 Elena Ricci,2 Laura Buggio,1 Alessandra Kustermann1 1Gynecological Unit and SVSeD, Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy; 2Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; 3Department of Emergencies, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy; 4Department of Paediatrics, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy; 5Department of Biomedical Science, Legal Medicine Section, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; 6Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences Luigi Sacco, University of Milan, Milan, ItalyCorrespondence: Laura Buggio, Gynecological Unit and SVSeD, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Commenda, 12, Milan, 20122, Italy, Tel +39 02 5503 2917, Fax +39 02 50320264, Email buggiolaura@gmail.comIntroduction: Sexual violence against young girls is a pervasive multifaceted phenomenon which embraces several different forced sexual acts, including attempted and/or completed rape, sexual coercion and harassment, and sexual contact with force or threat of force. The aim of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of sexual violence in adolescent girls, by a retrospective analysis of 731 consecutive cases of sexually abused girls.Materials and Methods: We analyzed demographic characteristics, risk factors for rape, and the eventual subsequent presence and type of ano-genital lesions.Results: We found that sexual violence with penetration was perpetrated in 591 (80%) cases. Vulnerability factors related with a major risk of rape were age > 17 years old and consumption of alcohol and/or other drugs. About 196 (55%) victims had at a least one genital lesion.Conclusion: A prompt identification of red flags of sexual violence may help physicians in suspecting and managing cases of sexual assault in adolescent girls, even in the absence of typical lesions.Keywords: sexual violence, gender violence, rape, adolescent, genital lesions

COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on mental health, both in the general population and psychiatric patients. Little is known about the difference between these two populations in perceiving the pandemic as a traumatic event. The aim of the study was to compare psychiatric patients and healthy controls (HC) in terms of change over time of post-traumatic (PTSD) symptoms. Demographic and clinical variables were collected. Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R) scores were registered at T1 as lockdown period (March–April 2020) and T2 as restarting (May–June 2020). Descriptive analyses and linear regression models were performed. A total of 166 outpatients and 57 HC were recruited. Time (F = 15.76; p < 0.001) and diagnosis (F = 4.94; p < 0.001) had a significant effect on the change of IES-R scores, which resulted T1 > T2 (p < 0.001), except for subjects affected by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Overall, IES-R scores were < in patients than in HC (p = 0.02), particularly in the schizophrenia (SKZ) subgroup (p < 0.001). IES-R scores of subjects with personality disorders (PDs) resulted to be > HC, although not statistically significant. The lockdown period was perceived as more traumatic than the reopening phase by both groups, with the exception of OCD patients, probably because of the clinical worsening associated with the urge of control against risks of contamination. Overall, HC reported more PTSD symptoms than psychiatric patients did, particularly SKZ ones. PD patients, in contrast, may be more vulnerable to PTSD symptoms probably as a result of poor coping skills. Together with OCD patients, subjects with PDs may need closer monitoring during the different phases of the pandemic. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04694482 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) patients not responding to two or more different antidepressant treatments are currently considered to suffer from treatment resistant depression (TRD). Recently, intranasal esketamine has been approved by both the American Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency for TRD and, more recently, in moderate to severe episode of MDD, as acute short-term treatment for the rapid reduction of depressive symptoms, which, according to clinical judgement, constitute a psychiatric emergency. There is currently no indication for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) although recently published studies have already shown a rapid and significant reduction of OCD-like symptoms following ketamine administration. The etiology of OCD has not yet been fully elucidated but there is a growing evidence that glutamate signaling dysfunction in the cortico-striatal–thalamo-cortical circuitry plays an essential role. This case report exemplifies possible clinical effects of esketamine on both depressive and OCD symptoms. Case presentation We present the case of a 39-year-old man suffering from TRD. During the first evaluation at our clinic, he also reported the presence of OCD spectrum symptoms, causing him to perform time-consuming mental rituals due to pathological doubts regarding the relationship with his wife as well as intrusive thoughts regarding his mental conditions. He underwent psychometric evaluations, therapeutic drug monitoring analysis, and pharmacogenomic tests. The overall results helped to explain patient’s treatment-resistance. Moreover, we observed a significant reduction in both depressive and OCD symptoms after administration of esketamine. Conclusion This case underlines the importance of pharmacogenomic tests in profiling TRD patients and confirms the possible use of esketamine in the treatment of comorbid OCD.

In the context of the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60), aquatic macrophytes have become important elements for ascribing the correct ecological value to water systems.Callitricheincludes macrophyte species which are widespread and particularly sensitive to environmental cues. High plasticity and morphological variability of these plants have carried to great difficulties in their correct taxonomic determination. Diverse populations ofCallitricheof the Po Valley (Northern Italy) have been studied. Plants ofCallitrichespp. were collected in Northern Italian rivers with mesotrophic and eutrophic waters and their morphological, karyological, and molecular features were analyzed. Populations with a different chromosome number equal to 10, 18, or 20 were found. Chloroplast rbcL DNA showed the presence of three different sequences. Moreover, the presence of heterozygous rDNA-ITS sequences suggests the existence of a considerable number of hybrids. At ecological level, only one taxon lives in eutrophic waters, while all the others live in mesotrophic ones. Different morphological characters and chromosome set suggest the presence of a new taxon among ItalianCallitrichepopulations. In conclusion, this research underlines that the possibility ofCallitrichetaxon misclassification, using only the “canonical” macro-morphological approach, is significant and that the incorrect determination of these plants would lead to erroneous evaluation of water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Festucas.l. is a crucial group of Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) genera, globally employed as fodder, lawn grasses and for habitat restoration. Lists elaborated strictly on the basis of a taxonomic approach are urgently needed to be used to find gaps in existingex situcollections, to assess the conservation status of taxa of ascertained utility and include them in national Red Lists and to identify the most valuable taxa to be included in “preservation mixtures”, as per Commission Directive 2010/60/EU. As an example, the first taxonomically based priority list of Italian CWRs ofFestucas.l. is here provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cardiomyopathies comprise a heterogeneous group of diseases, often of genetic origin. Genetic counselling and testing are recommended but the practices in real-life have not been evaluated. We assessed the current practice of genetic counselling and testing in the prospective ESC EORP cardiomyopathy registry. 3208 adult patients from sixty-nine centres in 18 countries were enrolled. Genetic counselling was performed in 60.8% of all patients (75.4% in hypertrophic (HCM), 39.2% in dilated (DCM), 70.8% in arrhythmogenic right ventricular (ARVC) and 49.2% in restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), P < 0.001). Comparing European geographical areas, genetic counselling was performed from 42.4% to 83.3% (P < 0.001). It was provided by a cardiologist (85.3%), geneticist (15.1%), genetic counsellor (11.3%), or a nurse (7.5%), (P < 0.001). Genetic testing was performed in 37.3% of all patients (48.8% in HCM, 18.6% in DCM, 55.6% % in ARVC and 43.6% in RCM, P < 0.001). Index patients with genetic testing were younger at diagnosis, had more familial disease, family history of sudden cardiac death or implanted cardioverter defibrillators but less comorbidities than those not tested (P < 0.001 for each comparison). At least 1 disease-causing variant was found in 41.7% of index patients with genetic testing (43.3% in HCM, 33.3% in DCM, 51.4% in ARVC and 42.9% in RCM, P = 0.13). This is the first detailed report on the real-life practice of genetic counselling and testing in cardiomyopathies in Europe. Genetic counselling and testing were performed in a substantial proportion of patients but less often than recommended by European guidelines, and much less in DCM than in HCM and ARVC, despite evidence for genetic background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]