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Context Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive human malignancies with dismal prognosis. Gemcitabine is one of first-line therapies for locally advanced PDAC; however, severe resistance is responsible for poor survival and response rate. There is evidence that administration of HBOT can enhance the delivery of oxygen to hypoxic tumor cells and increase their susceptibility to the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy. We hypothesized that the anticancer activity of gemcitabine may be enhanced if tumor cells were placed in oxygen rich environment. Objective This study was designed to evaluate the effects of gemcitabine, hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) and their combination on apoptosis of tumor cells. Materials and methods PANC-1 and AsPc-1 tumor cell lines were used because they are sensitive to gemcitabine. Cultured tumor cells were treated with gemcitabine at its growth-inhibitory concentration (IC50)value for the cell line PANC-1: 3.25x10-8 M and AsPc-1: 1.27x10-7 M, and HBOT at 2.5 ATAfor 90 minutes or combination of both. Twenty-four hours after treatment, the apoptotic cells in each group were analyzed and apoptotic index (AI) was calculated. Results PANC-1 cell line: HBOT alone had no effect on AI: 6.5±0.03 vs. 5.9±0.01. HBOT before and after gemcitabine did not increase AI in comparison to gemcitabine alone: AI: 8.2±0.02, 8.5±0.02 vs. 8.1±0.02. Combination of HBOT and gemcitabine significantly increased AI 10.7±0.02 (Pvs. all groups). AsPc-1 cell line: HBOT alone had no effect on AI: 5.9±0.03 vs. 5.9±0.01. HBOT before and after gemcitabine did not increase AI in comparison to gemcitabine alone: 8.2±0.02, 8.4±0.02 vs. 8.0±0.01. Combination of HBOT and gemcitabine significantly increased AI 9.7±0.02 (Pvs. all groups). Conclusion Our data show that HBOT alone, or administered before and after gemcitabine has no effect on apoptosis in PDAC cells in vitro. HBOT significantly increased apoptosis when administered with gemcitabine., JOP. Journal of the Pancreas, Vol 14, N° 5S (2013): September (Suppl.) - p. 528-602

Context Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy involves the intermittent inhalation of 100% oxygen in chambers pressurized between 1.5 and 3.0 atmosphere absolute (ATA). HBO attenuates the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to the inflammatory stimulus such surgery and the subsequent modulation of immune response. The positive role of HBO in human surgery was demonstrated only in cardiovascular and orthopedic surgery and after liver transplantation. Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) represents one of the most important surgical procedures burdened by a considerable number of local and systemic complication, ranging between 30 and 60%. Objective The main objective of this study was to identify the possible presence of major differences between the concentration of inflammatory cytokines in two study groups depending on the receiving or not HBO before PD procedure. Secondary objective was the comparison of the complication rate and hospital stay between the two study groups. Materials and methods The study was a prospective, randomized double-blind study lasting 6 months. Ethics approval was obtained from local ethics committee (2176/2012). Thirty-two patients were recruited to this study. Twenty-four hours before PD, atients of group “A” were submitted to HBO session while patients of group “B” breathed air in an hyperbaric chamber pressurized to 1.15 ATA (placebo procedure). In all patients, blood was taken before (T0) and at the end HBO session or placebo procedure (T1), in the first post-operative day (T2) and in the seventh post-operative day (T3). It was used to measured IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70 and TNF-α. For the evaluation of the post-operative outcome we considered the presence of postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF), biliary fistula, fever, intra-abdominal collections, bleeding, pulmonary complications, delay gastric empty and the use of postoperative antibiotics. Result Significant differences in favor of HBO group were found regarding the pulmonary complications (none in HBO group versus 6 in the placebo group; P=0.023). The maximum concentration of cytokines is in T2 and HBO exposure can modulated the concentration of IL-6 and IL-10 (P=0.009 and P=0.030 HBO vs. placebo). Conclusions Preliminary data suggest that preconditioning hyperbaric oxygen therapy is safe and can be applied to all patients after careful clinical evaluation and identification of absolute contraindications with a potential role in decreasing the pulmonary complications., JOP. Journal of the Pancreas, Vol 14, N° 5S (2013): September (Suppl.) - p. 528-602

Lo scopo della presente ricerca è studiare il peso del fattore umano nei tempi di reazione alla guida. I tempi di reazione son stati studiati sin dalle origini della Psicologia sperimentale, tuttavia se applicati alla guida risulta obsoleto a causa delle specifiche condizioni in cui la reazione si svolge, ai cambiamenti del traffico moderno e ai nuovi dispositivi di supporto intelligente. In letteratura emerge chiaramente l’influenza sul tempo di reazione delle aspettative, della salienza della risposta, della percezione del rischio, dei carichi cognitivi e delle condizioni di rilevazione. La presente ricerca si prefigge di affrontare l’impatto e le modalità di influenza di questi aspetti psicologici sui tempi di reazione alla guida. In particolare i dati registrati in condizioni di guida ecologica reale saranno usati per a) studiare l’influenza delle aspettative sui processi attentivi, emozionali e di presa di decisione alla guida in risposta al pericolo, e b) per valutare l’influenza di diversi livelli di realismo di simulazioni e simulatori virtuali sui processi psicologici che determinano l’IPTR. I risultati mostrano differenze significative nelle diverse fasi che compongono l’IPTR nelle diverse condizioni. I simulatori di guida si sono rivelati avere una validità relativa, ma non assoluta rispetto ai processi attivati nelle condizioni ecologiche, dimostrandosi però in grado di ricreare e modificare coerentemente i processi di avvistamento del pericolo in funzione della prevedibilità dello stesso; rendendoli strumenti utili per l’apprendimento. La ricerca fornisce informazioni sul funzionamento dei processi cognitivi ed emotivi alla guida utili per la ricostruzione degli incidenti, la sicurezza e la prevenzione stradale., The aim of the present research is to study the role of human factor in a salient driving ability for road accident prevention, that is reaction time to danger. Reaction times (RTs) have been investigated since the origin of experimental Psychology, however when applied to driving, the values became obsolete due to modern driving conditions and interaction with advance driving automatic systems and devices. The influence of expectation, urgency, risk perception, cognitive load and driving conditions on the process that determine RTs have been steadily proven in literature. The present research aims to tackle the influence of these factors on RTs while driving. In particular data measured in real-life driving are used to a) study the influence of expectation on attention, emotions and decision making process, and b) assess the influence of virtual settings with different levels of realism, on the psychological process that determine RTs. A specific task that manipulate driver’s expectations was created to assess the influence of attention and decision making process in the different context on RTs. Results show significant differences in the RTs phases, for different situation. Driving simulators with different levels of realism proved to not have absolute validity, but rather relative on the meanings and learning process in detecting danger and deciding what response foster; giving us interesting information for drivers education, road safety and accident reconstruction.

Il razionale di questo progetto affonda le sue radici nelle recenti teorie che considerano il linguaggio come fondato sull’azione, e quindi strettamente collegato al sistema motorio. Negli ultimi decenni, infatti, la scoperta dei neuroni specchio, prima nella scimmia e poi negli esseri umani, ha portato ad un filone di ricerca spesso denominato “embodied language”. Grazie alle metodiche messe a disposizione dalle neuroscienze, ad oggi sono stati raccolti molti dati sperimentali a favore del legame tra sistema motorio e linguaggio, anche se la natura di questo legame non è del tutto chiara. In questa prospettiva, in aggiunta ai tradizionali strumenti di indagine come la Risonanza Magnetica Funzionale (fMRI) o la Stimolazione Magnetica Transcranica (TMS), anche la Realtà Virtuale (RV), che consente di provare un’”esperienza incorporata”, sembra possa aiutare i ricercatori a far luce sulle questioni ancora aperte. Il presente progetto, quindi, si compone di tre ricerche distinte, ciascuna delle quali pone ad oggetto di indagine una sfaccettatura diversa del complesso fenomeno dell’embodied language. Il primo esperimento è finalizzato ad indagare il ruolo della corteccia motoria primaria nei compiti di comprensione, utilizzando la rTMS; nel secondo esperimento viene introdotta la realtà virtuale per valutare se e come un’azione virtuale, grazie a un processo di simulazione, modula la comprensione di verbi; il terzo studio, infine, usando lo stesso ambiente virtuale del secondo studio, si propone di indagare il ruolo dell’azione virtuale durante l’apprendimento di una lingua straniera., The rational of this project is rooted in the recent theories that consider language as grounded in action, and thus tightly tied to the motor system. In the last decades, the discovery of the mirror neurons in monkeys, and of the correspondent mirror neuron system in humans, led to a new research topic often called “embodied language”. Thanks to the methodics supplied by neuroscience, nowadays a great corpus of experimental data has been collected that support the link between language and motor system, even if the nature of this link is still not completely understood. In this perspective, beyond traditional tools such as Functional Magnetic Resonance (fMRI) or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), also Virtual reality (RV), which allows to create an embodied experience, seems suitable to shed light on the open questions. The present project, thereby, is structured in three independent researches, each one aiming at investigating one specific facet of the complex phenomenon of embodied language. The first experiment is designed to investigate the role of the primary motor cortex during language comprehension, using rTMS; in the second one, the virtual reality is introduced, in order to test if and how a virtual action, thanks to simulation, modulates verbs comprehension; the third study, finally, using the same virtual environment, aims at examining the role of the virtual action during foreign language learning.

Il web 2.0 ha totalmente riconfigurato il mondo della prevenzione e promozione della salute. In particolare esso ha cambiato il ruolo e le tipologie di scambi tra pazienti. Tali scambi sono centrali in quanto permetto di costruire e condividere conoscenza utile nella cura. Sebbene la rilevanza dei processi di costruzione e condivisione tra pazienti online siano chiarita dalla letteratura, questa area di studi comprende una varietà e confusione di etichette e teorie non chiariti e condivisi. Scopo di questa ricerca è di studiare gli ambienti e scambi online sul diabete in Italia tramite esplorazione sistematica del web al fine di capire come processi di condivisione e costruzione di conoscenza funzionano e come i contesti online li riconfigurano, The Web 2.0 has totally changed the healthcare prevention and communication world .In particular, it has reconfigured lay exchanges between patients. These exchanges are important because they allow knowledge processes (like knowledge sharing or knowledge building). Although the importance of online knowledge processes between patients is well established, this field of study brings together a variety of theories with concepts not uniformly shared or understood. It’s not clear how patients use Web 2.0 for knowledge processes. The aim of this research is to study online contexts and exchanges about diabetes in Italy by developing a systematic exploration of Web 2.0 in order to define how knowledge processes work and how online contexts shape them

Nella presente ricerca, che unisce metodologie di tipo sia qualitativo che quantitativo, vengono approfonditi alcuni fattori di rischio potenziale per i “minori stranieri non accompagnati”, in riferimento alle variabili di accentuato svantaggio che caratterizzano il percorso migratorio e i processi di integrazione di questi adolescenti., In Italy the number of foreign adolescents who experienced the event of unaccompanied migration is constantly and continuously increasing.The research goal was to assess how the early unaccompanied experience of migration, characterized by difficult conditions such as the absence of parents and/or family mandate, influenced the Self representations in autobiographical narrations, depression levels, coping strategies and ethnic identity. And the broad normative-institutional context in which several social-justice workers play a role in the process of protection and custody as well.

Nel presente lavoro si intende descrivere la partecipazione giovanile leggendola attraverso i costrutti - a livello individuale, familiare e sociale - che la letteratura ipotizza essere alla base di tale impegno, e che ritiene possano in qualche modo prevederlo. Obiettivo generale della ricerca è quello di approfondire il tema dell’azione sociale giovanile fornendo un’ipotesi di modello predittivo della stessa pensato per le sue due forme maggiormente diffuse: il volontariato e l’impegno politico. La struttura della ricerca è articolata in tre fasi distinte e susseguenti: la prima studia gli antecedenti dell’azione sociale a partire dalle macro categorie identificate da Penner (2004) nel suo modello teorico di previsione dell’impegno volontario; da questa discende la seconda fase che ha come obiettivo quello di testare il modello teorico di Penner (2004) utilizzando le variabili che nella prima fase si sono rivelate discriminanti rispetto alla variabile outcome (azione volontaria); la terza fase, infine, intende testare un modello di previsione dell’impegno politico a partire dal modello frutto delle elaborazioni delle prime due fasi., The present research is focused on the emerging adults’ social action, considering individual, familial and social constructs. The present work intend to describe young participation in the social context through constructs that the literature consider as the bases of social action, and that, in the same time, can make previsions about it. The general aim is to test a predictive model of emerging adults social action especially for the two main forms of it: volunteerism and politic activism. The structure of the research project is articulated in three different phases: the first one studies the antecedents of social action starting from macrocategories identified by Penner; the second one tests the theoretical model of volunteerism (Penner, 2004); the third phase tests a prevision model of politic activism starting from volunteerism model (Penner, 2004).

Questo lavoro di ricerca ha un duplice obiettivo: valutare l’interdipendenza delle relazioni intime, valutando in particolare come la relazione romantica sia connessa a quella con i genitori, e indagare il legame tra l’individuazione e la qualità delle relazioni con il padre e con la madre in età giovane adulta. Poiché la letteratura ha messo in luce come vi siano diverse traiettorie all’età adulta, questi obiettivi sono stati esaminati confrontando tre diverse nazioni, l’Italia, la Germania e la Svezia, che rappresentano un diverso percorso di transizione, per vedere se i legami tra i costrutti possano essere considerati universali. Inoltre, per meglio comprendere come si esplica l’interdipendenza tra le relazioni, sono stati utilizzati i metodi misti. I risultati mostrano che vi è, in effetti, un’interdipendenza tra tutte le relazioni considerate e che, creando diverse tipologie di individuazione, la qualità della relazione con i genitori differisce nelle diverse tipologie. Il legame tra i diversi costrutti considerati è stato trovato sia in Italia che in Germania, benché con delle specificità culturali, mentre la Svezia è la nazione in cui l’interdipendenza risulta essere più debole., The aims of this research are to assess the interdependence of intimate relationships, studying how young adults’ romantic relationship is connected to their parent-child relationship, and to investigate the association between their individuation and the relationship with their mother and father. The literature has show different paths to adulthood, so these aims have been examined by comparing three different countries: Italy, Germany and Sweden, where the transition to adulthood presents different trajectories, in order to test whether the links between the examined constructs can be considered universal. Moreover, in order to better understand how the interdependence of relationships unfolds mixed methods have been used. Findings showed that all relationships considered are indeed interdependent and that the quality of the parent-child relationship differs depending on the different types of individuation investigated. The link among the constructs studied was found both in Italy and in Germany, though with some cultural specificities, while in Sweden interdependence appears to be weaker.