Psychological and Emotional Impact of Patients Living in Psychiatric Treatment Communities during Covid-19 Lockdown in Italy.

Most studies on well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic have focused on the mental health of the general population; far less attention has been given to more specific populations, such as patients with mental illness. Indeed, it is important to examine the psychiatric population, given its vulnerability. The present study aimed at assessing the psychological and emotional impact of isolation on patients in Residential Rehabilitation Communities, compared to healthy controls. A questionnaire was administered cross-sectionally on an online survey platform and both psychiatric patients and healthy controls accessed via a designed link. The results showed significant differences between psychiatric patients and controls on Anxiety, Stress, Worry, and Risk Perception variables. Psychiatric patients scored lower on Stress compared to healthy controls and higher on Anxiety, Perceived Risk of getting infected with COVID-19 and Worry about the emergency situation. The results showed that, during the Italian lockdown, psychiatric patients living in residential communities received unbroken support from peers and mental health professionals, maintained their usual medication treatment, and were informed of COVID-19 consequences. This finding provides insight into the differences between residential and healthy populations and highlights the importance of continuous support for psychiatric patients, especially during stressful situations such as a pandemic.

On the Relationship Between Attention Processing and P300-Based Brain Computer Interface Control in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Our objective was to investigate the capacity to control a P3-based brain-computer interface (BCI) device for communication and its related (temporal) attention processing in a sample of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with respect to healthy subjects. The ultimate goal was to corroborate the role of cognitive mechanisms in event-related potential (ERP)-based BCI control in ALS patients. Furthermore, the possible differences in such attentional mechanisms between the two groups were investigated in order to unveil possible alterations associated with the ALS condition. Thirteen ALS patients and 13 healthy volunteers matched for age and years of education underwent a P3-speller BCI task and a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task. The RSVP task was performed by participants in order to screen their temporal pattern of attentional resource allocation, namely: (i) the temporal attentional filtering capacity (scored as T1%); and (ii) the capability to adequately update the attentive filter in the temporal dynamics of the attentional selection (scored as T2%). For the P3-speller BCI task, the online accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR) were obtained. Centroid Latency and Mean Amplitude of N200 and P300 were also obtained. No significant differences emerged between ALS patients and Controls with regards to online accuracy (p = 0.13). Differently, the performance in controlling the P3-speller expressed as ITR values (calculated offline) were compromised in ALS patients (p < 0.05), with a delay in the latency of P3 when processing BCI stimuli as compared with Control group (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the temporal aspect of attentional filtering which was related to BCI control (r = 0.51; p < 0.05) and to the P3 wave amplitude (r = 0.63; p < 0.05) was also altered in ALS patients (p = 0.01). These findings ground the knowledge required to develop sensible classes of BCI specifically designed by taking into account the influence of the cognitive characteristics of the possible candidates in need of a BCI system for communication.

Developing brain-computer interfaces from a user-centered perspective: Assessing the needs of persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, caregivers, and professionals.

By focus group methodology, we examined the opinions and requirements of persons with ALS, their caregivers, and health care assistants with regard to developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) system that fulfills the user's needs. Four overarching topics emerged from this analysis: 1) lack of information on BCI and its everyday applications; 2) importance of a customizable system that supports individuals throughout the various stages of the disease; 3) relationship between affectivity and technology use; and 4) importance of individuals retaining a sense of agency. These findings should be considered when developing new assistive technology. Moreover, the BCI community should acknowledge the need to bridge experimental results and its everyday application.

Assistive device with conventional, alternative, and brain-computer interface inputs to enhance interaction with the environment for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a feasibility and usability study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and usability of an assistive technology (AT) prototype designed to be operated with conventional/alternative input channels and a P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) in order to provide users who have different degrees of muscular impairment resulting from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with communication and environmental control applications. DESIGN: Proof-of-principle study with a convenience sample. SETTING: An apartment-like space designed to be fully accessible by people with motor disabilities for occupational therapy, placed in a neurologic rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: End-users with ALS (N=8; 5 men, 3 women; mean age ± SD, 60 ± 12 y) recruited by a clinical team from an ALS center. INTERVENTIONS: Three experimental conditions based on (1) a widely validated P300-based BCI alone; (2) the AT prototype operated by a conventional/alternative input device tailored to the specific end-user's residual motor abilities; and (3) the AT prototype accessed by a P300-based BCI. These 3 conditions were presented to all participants in 3 different sessions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: System usability was evaluated in terms of effectiveness (accuracy), efficiency (written symbol rate, time for correct selection, workload), and end-user satisfaction (overall satisfaction) domains. A comparison of the data collected in the 3 conditions was performed. RESULTS: Effectiveness and end-user satisfaction did not significantly differ among the 3 experimental conditions. Condition III was less efficient than condition II as expressed by the longer time for correct selection. CONCLUSIONS: A BCI can be used as an input channel to access an AT by persons with ALS, with no significant reduction of usability.

Attention and P300-based BCI performance in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the support of attentional and memory processes in controlling a P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Eight people with ALS performed two behavioral tasks: (i) a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task, screening the temporal filtering capacity and the speed of the update of the attentive filter, and (ii) a change detection task, screening the memory capacity and the spatial filtering capacity. The participants were also asked to perform a P300-based BCI spelling task. By using correlation and regression analyses, we found that only the temporal filtering capacity in the RSVP task was a predictor of both the P300-based BCI accuracy and of the amplitude of the P300 elicited performing the BCI task. We concluded that the ability to keep the attentional filter active during the selection of a target influences performance in BCI control.

Possible use of Serratia marcescens in toxic metal biosorption (removal).

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Metal pollution is a serious problem for environmental safety and programmes of monitoring and bioremediation are needed. Among the processes of bioremediation, the use of microbes to remove and degrade contaminants is considered a biotechnological approach to clean up polluted environments. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of Serratia marcescens in Pb, Cd and Cr removal and the potential use of these bacteria in toxic metal bioremediation from polluted environments. METHODS: A short-term study (120 min) was carried out to study the bacterial growth in the presence of sub-inhibitory concentrations of each metal analysed and the kinetics of metal biosorption in S. marcescens strain. In addition, metal influence on the biosynthesis of the red pigment 'prodigiosina' by S. marcescens was monitored. RESULTS: The results obtained in this study show metals biosorption by S. marcescens (range: 0.0133-0.213 µg/g for Pb; 0.097-0.1853 µg/g for Cd; and 0.105-0.176 µg/g for Cr) and confirm the possible use of this bacterium to realize bioremediation processes, especially for Pb removal, and as a bioindicator of metal pollution.

Randomized double-blind comparison of serotonergic (Citalopram) versus noradrenergic (Reboxetine) reuptake inhibitors in outpatients with somatoform, DSM-IV-TR pain disorder.

OBJECTIVES: Whether the effect of tricyclic antidepressants on Pain Disorder arises from their noradrenergic or serotonergic actions or both remains unclear. We compared the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram and the noradrenergic reuptake inhibitor (NARI) reboxetine in outpatients with Pain Disorder. We also distinguished the drugs' analgesic and antidepressant effects. METHODS: In this 8-week, randomized double-blind study, 35 patients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of Pain Disorder were randomly assigned to receive either citalopram 40 mg/day (N=17 patients) or reboxetine 8 mg/day (N=18). The Present Pain Intensity (PPI) scale and the Total Pain Rating Index (tPRI) of the McGill Pain Questionnaire were used to measure the effect on pain symptoms. Changes in the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (Zung-D) scores were evaluated to monitor a possible antidepressant effect. For all patients who had at least one assessment, an intent-to-treat analysis was performed. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in the demographic variables or clinical characteristics of the two treatment groups. In the citalopram group, PPI and tPRI scores measured at baseline decreased after treatment (tPRI: 41.9 vs. 30.0, p=.004; PPI: 3.5 vs. 2.8, p=.045) whereas in the reboxetine group differences were not statistically significant (tPRI: 35.2 vs. 31.5; PPI: 3.7 vs. 3.1). The Zung-D showed no significant changes between baseline and endpoint assessment in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the SSRI citalopram may have a moderate analgesic effect in patients with Pain Disorder, and that this analgesic activity appears to be not correlated to changes in depressive scores. If confirmed in a larger sample, this evidence suggests that patients who are intolerant or resistant to tricyclic antidepressants, may be treated with SSRIs.