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Introduction: Artificial intelligence algorithms are increasingly used to highlight refined qualifiers of pathologies and to build treatment protocols based on them. These possibilities open up new perspectives for personalized interventions in psychotherapy. The affective neurosciences that link psychopathological phenomena to the hypersensitization of emotional systems are an excellent field of application of deep learning algorithms Objectives: In this contribution we present the standardization of a psychodiagnostic test that can be analyzed with a deep learning algorithm for the development of personalized treatments for depressive disorders in a perspective of precision psychotherapy Methods: Previously we have constructed a psychodiagnostic test that correlates the psychopathological characteristics to the emotional systems described in affective neuroscience. The construction of this test was carried out with the use of a neural network that discriminated 161 items from a pull of 300 psychopathological and character descriptions. In the present work, the 161 selected items were compared, in a sample of 600 subjects, with the measurement of sadness described in the Panksepp model. Comparation was performed with linear and non-linear statistical analysis methods. Results: The items emerging from the statistical analyzes as strongly indicative of a hypersensitivity of the sadness system outline a psychopathological profile for which it is possible to adapt specific psychotherapeutic treatment protocols. Conclusions: In future prospect, neurobiological and psychophysiological variables such as heart rate variability, skin conductance and activity of the areas of the cortex, measured with a scanner of the near infrared photons, will be correlated to these descriptors of psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The evaluation of the crime of impetus poses problems in seeking clinical elements that configure the total or partial defect of mind. Even in the presence of acute psychotic syndromes it is difficult to identify a psychopathological picture that almost overlaps with the times and methods of the crime itself. Objectives: From a longitudinal perspective, this contribution intends to propose a method of integrating data derived from psychopathological, criminological and forensic psychiatric analyzes, in order to identify the link between them and the criminal act that qualifies or excludes the mental defect. Methods: In the analysis of a criminal event generated during an acute psychotic episode, it's described the logic andmethodology of integrating criminological, psychopathological and psychiatric forensic data for which it was possible to identify the pathological nature of the event. Results: The psychopathological analysis allowed the identification of psychotic manifestations before and after the crime. The criminological analysis included the decision to commit the crime, within a framework of alteration of the reality examination and recognized the delusional purpose in the same methods of carrying out the crime. So, the forensic psychiatric analysis clarified the continuity of the psychopathological manifestations in the time frame in which the crime was planned, organized and committed and to codify such manifestations as an acute psychotic episode. Conclusions: Although it's not sufficient to circumscribe the criminal act between two pathologically relevant moments, this contribution shows how integrating different methods of analysis makes it possible to identify the quality of the behavior intended as a crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet the limits imposed on automotive emissions, engine control systems are required to constrain air/fuel ratio (AFR) in a narrow band around the stoichiometric value, due to the strong decay of catalyst efficiency in case of rich or lean mixture. An adaptive estimator, based on an extended Kalman filter, is proposed for the fuel film dynamics in the intake port of a spark ignition engine. The observer is based on a two states mean value model which accounts for the impingement of the injected fuel on the manifold walls and the evaporation process. The observer has been tested on a set of experimental transient maneuvers, showing a good accuracy in predicting the AFR. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This work uses a new programme for producing 3D radiological images acquired by means of CT which enables the internal surfaces of the examined structures to be visualized. This new method, which is able to navigate inside organs in a similar way to fibreoptic endoscopy, is known as virtual endoscopy. CT examinations of the temporal bone were carried out using spiral equipment and endoscopic 3D processing was carried out on a separate workstation equipped with a volume-rendering programme. Once the technical parameters necessary for obtaining a representation of the internal surfaces had been defined, a simulation of a virtual otoscopy was conducted by moving the virtual endoscope from the external auditory canal through the annulus to the tympanic cavity. The simulation can be obtained either by moving the endoscope by hand, using the mouse, or by defining a path along which the software automatically creates an endoscopic 3D reconstruction. The images thus obtained are projected sequentially to give a ''movie'' effect, i.e. a continuous progression of the endoscope. The average time required to conduct the procedure ranges from 20 to 30 min. A virtual endoscopic visualization of the middle ear was obtained which, in particular, generated images of the tympanic cavity with the ossicular chain. In our experience, virtual otoscopy shows the anatomy of the structures of the tympanic cavity in excellent detail and may be considered complementary to CT, providing useful images enabling better visual representation and understanding of this complex structure. Although clinical applications of the technique remain to be defined it may have a role to play in presurgical diagnostic evaluation of the ossicular chain, epitympanum and retrotympanum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis is a multisystem inflammatory disease associated to several comorbidities with a significant impact on interpersonal and social life. Depression, anxiety symptoms and suicidal ideation–due to psychological distress–are frequently reported. The aim of the study was to assess whether psychological factors–psychopathology, perceived health status and coping strategies–together with clinical and sociodemographic factors, were independent predictors of Quality of Life (QoL) in adult psoriatic patients on topical and/or systemic pharmacological therapy. A cohort of 87 patients (53 M and 34 F), whose mean age was 46 ± 22 years, was analyzed. Coping responses were assessed by COPE and general psychopathology by Self-Reported-Symptom Inventory Revised (SCL-90), while HAM-D and HAM-A evaluated depressive and anxiety symptoms. In addition, perceived health status and QoL were analyzed by Short-Form-36 (SF-36) while the disease's burden assessed by PSODISK. Univariate analyses were performed for each variable to explore the relationship with QoL. Preliminary results indicated that, although not severe, anxiety and depressive symptoms were the most reported among patients along with somatization and obsessive-compulsivity. Female patients used more frequently mental disengagement, focus on and venting of emotions, use of instrumental social support and religious coping. Physical pain and mental health, instead, greatly affected QoL of subjects in a negative manner. PSODISK data analysis showed that general health, itching, serenity, shame and degree of extension of the disease on the skin were the most compromised areas. Moreover, correlation analysis indicated that a worse perception of patients’ health status was associated to poor QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]