Biological activity of soil organic matter mobilized by root exudates.

In order to study the biological activity of soil organic matter mobilized by agrarian (Zea mays: cultivars Mytos and Samantha) and forest (Picea abies Karst. and Pinus sylvestris L.) root exudates, two different soils, an Eutric Cambisol (EC) and a Rendzic Leptosol (RL), were considered. Soil organic matter extracts were obtained by treating the soils with water (control) or plant root exudates. The extracts were characterized by hormone-like activities and gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) measurements. Their effects on the nitrogen metabolism in maize seedlings were evaluated. The nitrogen organification in the maize seedlings has been greatly stimulated by all the organic acid extracts from the agrarian soil, while the extracts from the forest soil had no influence upon the metabolism; this indicated a probable link between the plant and the environment. The different biological activities of the extracts are discussed.

[Personality structure in children with cystic fibrosis studied using Rorschach test]. / La strutturazione della personalità nei bambini con fibrosi cistica studiata col test di Rorschach.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The recent positive evolution in the development of cystic fibrosis, resulting in the current prospect of survival, has led to the formation of a new population of chronic patients. The characteristics of the disease and treatment (hereditary, early onset, affecting the alimentary tract and airways) may interfere with personality structuring processes. The aim of the study was to identify the psychopathological risk. METHODS: The study was performed using the Rorschach test in a population of children with cystic fibrosis monitored by the Pneumology Division of the Ospedale Infantile Regina Margherita in Turin: 20 children aged between 7 and 13 years old were included in the study, most of whom had been diagnosed before the age of 2. The analysis of tests was focused on the use of thought, interior resources, instincts and interpersonal relations. A study of the contents was also made using a self-representational grid. RESULTS: The results obtained highlight an inhibitory attitude which cannot be attributed to intellectual insufficiency, but rather to the failed attempt to invest in the intellectual sphere, typical of this age range, owing to the intensity of anguish. Children with cystic fibrosis appear to be at an earlier stage of development, marked by emotive coarctation and the use of adult-type defensive methods, tending towards rationalisation. CONCLUSIONS: Oh the basis of this study, it is possible to detect a danger of disharmonious organisation in the personality structuring process of these children. The hospital must therefore offer adequate psychological support for their psychic evolution.