Harm aversion explains utilitarian choices in moral decision-making in males but not in females.

In recent years, a great deal of research has relied on hypothetical sacrificial dilemmas to investigate decision-making processes involved in pro-social utilitarian choices. Recent evidence, however, has suggested that moral sacrificial choices may actually reflect reduced harm aversion and antisocial dispositions rather than an utilitarian inclination. Here, we used moral dilemmas to confront healthy volunteers with controversial action choices. We measured impulsiveness and venturesomeness personality traits, which have been shown to influence harm aversion, to test their role in utilitarian action and evaluation of moral acceptability. The results of the present study show that, in males, venturesomeness drives engagement in actions and increases moral acceptability. In contrast, in females no effects of venturesomeness were observed on moral action and evaluation. Rather, in females empathetic concern and personal distress, elicited by the vicarious experience of the other's emotional states, exerted an inhibitory effect on action. Taken together, these findings indicate that the "harm aversion hypothesis" may contribute to explain utilitarian choices in males but not in females. In both genders, no association was observed between impulsiveness and moral action.

Microwave-assisted digestion of organic samples: how simple can it become?

Advancements in sample preparation for performing trace analysis of inorganic analytes are coming from the dissemination of microwave-assisted procedures, but there is still room for improvements by looking for simple and easily applied procedures. Recently it was proposed a new approach called single reaction chamber with capability for digestions at high pressures and temperatures using simple vials and racks. This was a limitation of former cavity microwave ovens with closed vessels. It was demonstrated here that the use of single reaction chamber approach allows the implementation of efficient digestions using diluted solutions of nitric acid and also allows addressing a critical need of sample preparation for inorganic analysis by running mixed batches of samples. The feasibility of this procedure was demonstrated for organic samples and accuracy was proved by using certified reference materials of apple leaves, bovine liver and whole milk powder. Digestions performed of whole milk powder and bovine liver using 2.0 mol L(-1) nitric acid solution plus concentrated hydrogen peroxide at 240 °C led to residual carbon contents of 0.825 and 1.50% and residual acidities of 1.04 and 0.618 mol L(-1), respectively. These parameters are fully compatible with further measurements using ICP OES or ICP-MS. Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Rb, Se, Sr, and Zn were accurately determined by ICP OES or ICP-MS depending on their concentrations in digests.

On the deconvolution analysis of electrodermal activity in bipolar patients.

People affected by bipolar disorders experience alternating states of depression with episodes of mania or hypomania. This mental can lead to a poor handling of daily routines, can worsen personal relationships, and often can be life-threatening. This preliminary study aims at investigating how the autonomic nervous system, in terms of electrodermal activity, responds to specific controlled emotional stimuli in bipolar patients. More specifically, we present here a method to deploy the analysis of ElectroDermal Activity (EDA) to discriminate clinical mood states. EDA was analyzed by using a deconvolution method to separate tonic from phasic components. The three subjects recruited and the experimental protocol used here is part of the European project PSYCHE. Preliminary results show that the bipolar mood states can be related to electrodermal tonic activity.

Tension-free transobturator approach for female stress urinary incontinence.

AIM: UraTape is a new sling for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) inserted via a transobturator percutaneous approach. We report the safety, feasibility and short-term results of this new surgical procedure. METHODS: UraTape (Porgès-Mentor) is a non-elastic polypropylene tape, with a silicone coated central part. The sling is placed tension-free under the mid-urethra and extended through the obturator foramen bypassing the posterior face of the ischiopubic ramus. From September 2002 to May 2003, 80 females affected by SUI associated with urethral hypermobility and without severe uro-genital prolapse (with cystocele 1st grade) received UraTape. Mean age was 56 (39-79) years. Sixty-two out of 80 had a positive Q tip test; 16/80 had recurrent incontinence after Burch or colpoplasty according to Kelly; 22/60 had mixed incontinence. Preoperative evaluations included: complete history and physical examination, urinalysis, urodynamic investigations, abdominal and pelvic ultrasound. Quality of life assessment was carried out pre- and postoperatively. RESULTS: Mean operative time was 16 (11-36) minutes. No major intraoperative complications were observed. One bladder neck laceration occurred and was treated intraoperatively. No cystoscopy was performed. Mean hospital postoperative stay time was 1.1 (1-6) days. All patients were examined periodically at 7, 30 and 90 days from intervention (mean follow-up 4 months, 1-8). There was no urethral erosion. One vaginal erosion with inguinal abscess was diagnosed and treated without removing the sling. Two de novo urge incontinence was observed. The objective and subjective cure rates were 92% and 97%; 96% expressed good quality of life (satisfied/very satisfied). CONCLUSION: This procedure is a safe, effective new technique for the treatment of female SUI. The easy technique, the short learning curve and the very high grade of satisfaction of the patients show that this approach is based upon effective anatomical and physiological criteria. Further follow-up is necessary in order to evaluate urodynamic changes and overall satisfaction.

[Postoperative complications and local recurrence of mid-lower rectal carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery. Preliminary results]. / Le complicanze post-operatorie e le recidive locali nel carcinoma del retto medio-inferiore trattato con chemioradio-terapia neoadiuvante e chirurgia. Risultati preliminari.

In our study we evaluate postoperative complications and local recurrence in local advanced rectal cancer after preoperative chemoradiation plus surgery. We treated 24 patients, 15 males and 9 females; in all cases the cancer was at stage II or III. Down-staging was observed in 14 patients (58.3%), 2 patients (8.3%) had no residual disease. We performed 2 APR, 20 low anterior resections (10 of which laparoscopic) and 2 transanal local excisions. In postoperative period we observed 8 complications, 4 minor and 4 major ones, with an over-all morbidity of 33.3% and of 16.6% if considering major complications. At present no local recurrence was registered.

The kidney transplant program at the Bergamo Center.

The kidney transplant program at the Ospedali Riuniti of Bergamo, Italy was established in 1989. Since its inception, 367 patients have been transplanted, including 357 kidney transplants from cadaveric donors and 10 from living-related donors. Overall 8-year patient and graft survival rates were 94% and 77%, respectively. By 1995 our unit co-ordinated the activity of the Department of Immunology and Clinics of Organ Transplantation, Ospedali Riuniti--Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, Bergamo. The dual "marginal" kidney transplant program in the same recipient was launched in August 1997, as a part of an international cooperative network which established the "Double Kidney Transplant Group" (DKG). To date, 19 dual kidney transplants have been successfully performed in our center. Four combined heart-kidney transplants and 2 combined liver-kidney transplants have also been performed. During the past 4 years several studies involving conventional antirejection drugs were carried out, particularly focussing our attention on cyclosporine (CsA) through pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic approaches: 1) a simplified method to evaluate daily exposure to CsA has been set up; 2) the monitoring of calcineurin activity in whole blood samples was evaluated as a way to optimize CsA dosing. As for the new immunosuppressants, studies are ongoing with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). We are co-ordinating a prospective multicenter randomized trial of steroid sparing in kidney transplant recipients given MMF or azathioprine as a part of their immunosuppression therapy (MY.S.S. study). This involves 9 Italian transplant centers and 2 European centers. Up to now 325 patients have been randomized. Moreover we have set up an HPLC method for measuring plasma mycophenolic acid (MPA), and examined the possibility of optimizing MMF dosing by drug pharmacokinetic monitoring. Further studies have been addressed to chronic allograft nephropathy. The nature and mediators of renal lesions in kidney transplant patients given CsA have been explored taking into account the gene expression of endothelin-1, RANTES and MCP-1 in graft specimens from patients who had evidence of CsA nephrotoxicity, chronic rejection, or no lesions at histological examination. The impact of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting of posttransplant renal artery stenosis on renal function recovery was also recently examined. From this study we conclude that the procedure is safe and effective to normalize the functional changes sustained by hemodynamically significant artery stenosis. Moreover, Doppler ultrasound scanning is an useful, reliable, non-invasive tool to monitor the renal function response to artery revascularization. Thanks to the long-lasting co-operation with the Negri Bergamo Laboratories, we had in the past and still have an active program in experimental animals to investigate strategies for transplant tolerance and transplant gene therapy, besides addressing some issues related to the immunological barrier of xenotransplantation.

Functional meaning of scintigraphic and echographic patterns, and of circulating anti-peroxidase antibodies in asymptomatic chronic thyroiditis.

Asymptomatic chronic thyroiditis (ACT) is a variant of the autoimmune thyroiditis characterized by the presence of circulating anti-thyroid antibodies and the absence of palpable goiter. Thyroid function can be normal but a considerable percentage of ACT patients tend to develop subclinical hypothyroidism over time and thus periodical controls of thyroid hormones and TSH levels are needed. At present, useful parameters for predicting the functional outcome of ACT patients are lacking. To investigate this aspect, we evaluated 57 consecutive ACT patients (51 females, 6 males, aged 22-56 years) by means of thyroid 99mTc-pertechnetate scintigraphy and echography, and by measuring the serum level of anti-peroxidase antibodies (TPOAbs), FT4, T3 and TSH. At first observation, 30 patients were euthyroid whereas 27 had subclinical hypothyroidism. No patient had been previously treated with thyroid hormones. Thyroid scan showed a normal pattern or a diffuse and mild irregular uptake, without differences between euthyroid and subclinical hypothyroid patients. TPOAb levels tend to be higher in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism in comparison to the euthyroid patients (5893 +/- 1423 and 3943 +/- 912 UI/mL, respectively) but the difference was not statistically significant by using Student's "t"-test. Echography showed a normal pattern in 14 patients, while a diffuse hypoechoic pattern in the other cases, mild in 12, moderate in 19 and marked in 12, was found. A significantly higher prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism was observed in the group of patients with a moderate or marked hypoechoic pattern in comparison to the group with a normo-echoic or mild hypoechoic pattern (70.4% versus 23.0%, Fisher's exact test p = 0.00003). Furthermore, the 3 patients who developed thyroid failure during a one-year follow-up also presented a moderate or marked hypoechoic pattern. Our data suggest that the echo-pattern can be a useful predictor of thyroid failure in ACT patients and thus the echographic evaluation should be included in the diagnostic protocol of these patients.

Plethystic Hopf algebras.

The notion of a plethystic algebra associated with a Hopf algebra endowed with a suitable bilinear form is defined. A special case is the Hopf algebra of symmetric functions.

Plethystic algebras and vector symmetric functions.

An isomorphism is established between the plethystic Hopf algebra Pleth(Super[L]) and the algebra of vector symmetric functions. The Hall inner product of symmetric function theory is extended to the Hopf algebra Pleth(Super[L]).

Endodermal sinus (yolk sac) tumor of the urachus.

A rare case of endodermal sinus (yolk sac) tumor of urachal remnants in a two-year-old infant is described. The tumor was located in the upper part of the bladder and appeared to arise from urachal remnants. The tumor could be entirely removed. The patient is free of tumor after three years and eight months follow-up.

A new construction in homological algebra.

We present a generalization of the classical bar construction with applications to resolutions of Weyl modules.

Projective resolutions of Weyl modules.

We present a projective resolution of the two-rowed Weyl module, using techniques of supersymmetric algebra.

A stochastic interpretation of the Riemann zeta function.

We give a stochastic process for which the terms of the Riemann zeta function occur as the probability distributions of the elementary random variables of the process.

On the span of supersymmetric Young tableaux.

De Concini et al. [De Concini, C., Eisenbud, D. & Procesi, C. (1980) Invent. Math. 56, 129-165] have established for classical Young bitableaux the fact that the span of all bitableaux of shape lambda over the rationals includes all bitableaux of all shapes mu > lambda. We extend their result to the more general setting of supersymmetric Young tableaux. Our proof, even in the classical case, has the advantage of providing an explicit combinatorial algorithm for the computation of the coefficients.

Theory of symmetry classes.

Although a great deal of work has gone into construction of the irreducible representations of the symmetric group n (and of the general linear group) a simple, intuitive characterization of the symmetry classes is missing. Relying on a systematic distinction between permutations of variables and permutations of places, we provide two such characterizations, showing that elements belonging to any such symmetry class can be described in one of two ways: (i) as the solutions of explicitly given (though not independent) sets of linear equations or (ii) as linear combinations of "simple" elements of a given symmetry class, a simple element being a generalization to an arbitrary symmetry class of the notion of a decomposable skew-symmetric tensor.

Higher-order syzygies for the bracket algebra and for the ring of coordinates of the Grassmanian.

A Poincaré resolution is given for the supersymmetric ring of brackets over a signed alphabet. As a consequence, a resolution is found for the ring of coordinates of the Grassmanian variety in projective space over any infinite field.

Schur maps, Young tableaux, and supersymmetric algebra.

It is shown that the Hopf algebra dual of a supersymmetric Hopf algebra admits two presentations, and a natural isomorphism between them is described.

Supersymmetric Hilbert space.

A generalization is given of the notion of a symmetric bilinear form over a vector space, which includes variables of positive and negative signature ("supersymmetric variables"). It is shown that this structure is substantially isomorphic to the exterior algebra of a vector space. A supersymmetric extension of the second fundamental theorem of invariant theory is obtained as a corollary. The main technique is a supersymmetric extension of the standard basis theorem. As a byproduct, it is shown that supersymmetric Hilbert space and supersymplectic space are in natural duality.