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Heart failure (HF) is a complex syndrome that requires tailored and patient-centered treatment. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) constitute one of the four pillars of the medical treatment of HF. However, the 2023 ESC guidelines treat HF as a single entity without making clear distinctions in phenotypes according to etiology. This creates a "gap in knowledge", causing much debate about the applicability of these drugs in peculiar clinical settings that are etiological and/or predisposing clinical conditions for HF. Furthermore, considering the variety of etiologies and different pathophysiological backgrounds of HF, one might question whether the use of SGLT2is is equally beneficial in all types of HF and whether certain drug-related properties may be exploited in different contexts. For example, SGLT2is can improve the metabolic and inflammatory state, which is fundamental in ischemic heart disease. Anti-inflammatory power can also play a paramount role in myocarditis or cardiotoxicity, while improving the congestive state and reducing filling pressure may be even more fundamental in restrictive heart disease or advanced heart disease. This review aims to gather the evidence currently present in the literature concerning the advantages or the disadvantages of using these drugs in these particular clinical settings, with the goal being an optimized and highly personalized treatment for HF.

Background: This study evaluated the effectiveness of an online intervention designed to improve parent-child interactions and address disordered eating behaviors in children. Using remote video-feedback sessions based on observations of mother-child feeding interactions, the intervention offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional in-person methods., Aims: The study aimed to assess the impact of online intervention on the quality of mother-child interactions during feeding and its effectiveness in reducing psychopathological symptoms in both mothers and children., Methods: The intervention was conducted entirely online, with improvements measured using SVIA scores for mother-child interactions and the SCL-90/R Global Severity Index (GSI) for maternal psychopathological symptoms, alongside evaluations of children's emotional and behavioral functioning, particularly anxiety, depression, and aggression., Results: The intervention significantly improved the quality of mother-child interactions across all SVIA subscales and led to reductions in maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as decreases in children's emotional and behavioral symptoms., Conclusions: These findings suggest that online video-feedback interventions can effectively enhance mother-child relationships and reduce psychopathological symptoms in both mothers and children, although further research with larger sample sizes and more robust statistical analyses is needed to confirm these results.

We aimed to analyze the association between CYP7B1 and prostate cancer, along with its association with proteins involved in cancer and metabolic processes. A retrospective analysis was performed on 390 patients with prostate cancer (PC) or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). We investigated the interactions between CYP7B1 expression and proteins associated with PC and metabolic processes, followed by an analysis of the risk of biochemical recurrence based on CYP7B1 expression. Of the 139 patients with elevated CYP7B1 expression, 92.8% had prostate cancer. Overall, no increased risk of biochemical recurrence was associated with CYP7B1 expression. However, in a non-diabetic subgroup analysis, higher CYP7B1 expression indicated a higher risk of biochemical recurrence, with an HR of 1.78 (CI: 1.0-3.2, p = 0.05). PC is associated with elevated CYP7B1 expression. In a subgroup analysis of non-diabetic patients, elevated CYP7B1 expression was associated with an increased risk of biochemical recurrence, suggesting increased cancer aggressiveness.

We explored the interrelationships between risk-taking and self-harm in typically developing adolescents by examining various contributing factors, such as personality traits, difficulties in emotion regulation, attachment styles, and maladaptive psychological functioning. A sample of 234 Italian adolescents completed the Risk-Taking and Self-Harm Inventory for Adolescents (RTSHIA), the Risk-Taking Questionnaire (RT-18), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Strategies (DERS), the State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM), and the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Network analysis was used to visualize and describe the interdependencies among the variables. Risk-taking behaviors were strongly linked to rule-breaking, aggression, and risk propensity, while self-harm behaviors were connected to limited access to emotion regulation strategies and thought problems. Centrality indices indicated that variables such as anxiety/depression, limited access to emotion regulation strategies, and rule-breaking had a high influence within the network. This study provided a comprehensive understanding of the nomological network of risk-taking and self-harm behaviors among adolescents. It highlighted the relative importance of factors such as emotion regulation difficulties and maladaptive psychological functioning in influencing these behaviors. The findings could inform psychological interventions and prevention strategies targeting adolescents at risk for engaging in risk-taking or self-harm behaviors.

Prostate Cancer (PCa) is still ranked as the first cancer in the male population and evidences have suggested an alteration of glycemic and lipidic metabolism that are related to its progression and prognosis. The aim of the study is to investigate associations between enzymes' expression, especially involved in the lipidic pathway, and PCa aggressiveness. We retrospectively analyzed data from 390 patients with PCa or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) at the Department of Urology, University of Catania. Immunohistochemical slides were evaluated for the expression of proteins related to glucose and lipidic metabolism. A total of 286 were affected by PCa while 104 by BPH. We demonstrated that ATP-lyase (odds ratio [OR]: 1.71; p < 0.01), fatty acid synthase (OR: 4.82; p < 0.01), carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1a (OR: 2.27; p < 0.05) were associated with androgen receptor (AR) expression. We found that steaoryl Co-A desaturase expression in PCa patients with total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dL was independently associated with ISUP ≥4 (OR: 4.22; p = 0.049). We found that CPT-1a+ was associated with biochemical recurrence (hazard ratio: 1.94; p = 0.03]). Our results support the evidence that the manipulation of lipidic metabolism could serve in the future to contrast PCa progression.

Adolescents and young adults engage in sexting behaviors. Research has mainly emphasized the relationship between motivations and sexting behaviors, with little attention paid to sexting expectations and the potential role of coping strategies. This study aims to explore the measure of emotional-behavioral functioning with the Youth/Adult Self Report (based on the subject's age), the use of defensive strategies measured with the Response Evaluation Measure (REM-71), social media addiction with the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and all dimensions of sexting: motivations, behavior and expectations measured with the Sexting Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), Sexting Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ) and Sexpectancies Questionnaire (SQ), respectively. N = 209 adolescents and young adults were recruited from high schools and universities in Rome to complete the self-report questionnaires. Results show that males tend to have higher expectations of sexting than females. We also found that expectations play a role in determining sexting behaviors and motivations. Our hypotheses on social media addiction and sexting were confirmed, while the relationship between the defensive strategies and sexting was not significant as expected. Further studies on this topic are desirable in the future.

The literature focused on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on young adult university students' mental health shows a significant increase in psychopathological symptoms and Internet Addiction (IA). The key role played by attachment and alexithymia has also been suggested, but no study has explored the possible dynamic relationship between these variables. We recruited a sample of n = 410 young adult university students online. We assessed the attachment to parents and peers (through IPPA), alexithymia (through TAS-20), peritraumatic distress symptoms due to COVID-19 (through CPDI), and IA (through IAT). The results showed that the relationship between the attachment to mothers and IA was partially mediated by alexithymia and by the serial mediation of alexithymia and peritraumatic distress, whereas the influence of the attachment to fathers on IA was fully mediated by peritraumatic distress. The direct effects of the attachment to peers on alexithymia, peritraumatic distress, and IA were all significant, as were the indirect paths via the simple mediation of both alexithymia and peritraumatic distress and the multiple serial mediation of alexithymia and peritraumatic distress. Our findings suggested that the relationship between attachment, alexithymia, and psychopathological risk is dynamic in predicting IA during the pandemic among young adult university students and that the different attachment figures exert a peculiar contribution to these processes.

Adolescents tend to experience multiple motor-vehicle crashes (MVCs). Recent literature has thoroughly explored the psychological consequences following an MVC, but prior psychological functioning, the ability to regulate one's emotions and tendencies to impulsivity and aggressive behaviors have been far less explored. This study aims to explore the emotional-behavioral functioning, measured with the Youth Self-Report (YSR); emotional dysregulation, measured with the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS); impulsivity traits, measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11); and the capacity to be mindful, measured with the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), in adolescents that have experienced one or more MVCs in a year. N = 295 adolescents who visited an emergency department for MVCs were divided in two groups based on the number of MVCs they had sustained over the course of a year. The adolescents in Group 1 sustained more than three MVCs, and adolescents in Group 2 sustained only one. Participants were assessed through self-report questionnaires. Adolescents showed difficulties in emotional regulation, impulsivity traits, aggressive behaviors and a low capacity to be mindful. These results may be useful in the creation of intervention and prevention programs focused on emotional awareness targets for adolescents.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in the elderly. The two cardinal neuropathological hallmarks of AD are the senile plaques, which are extracellular deposits mainly constituted by beta-amyloids, and neurofibrillary tangles formed by abnormally phosphorylated Tau ( p -Tau) located in the cytoplasm of neurons. Although the research has made relevant progress in the management of the disease, the treatment is still lacking. Only symptomatic medications exist for the disease, and, in the meantime, laboratories worldwide are investigating disease-modifying treatments for AD. In the present review, results centered on the use of peptides of different sizes involved in AD are presented.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a disease with a wide range of clinical manifestations. Up to the present date, the genetic understanding of patients with favorable or unfavorable prognosis is gaining interest for giving the appropriate tailored treatment. We aimed to investigate genetic changes associated with lymph node metastasis in a cohort of hormone-naïve Pca patients., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 470 patients who underwent surgery for PCa between 2010 and 2020 at the Department of Urology, University of Catania. Inclusion criteria were patients with lymph node metastasis and patients with PCa with extra capsular extension (pT3) and negative lymph node metastasis. The final cohort consisted of 17 different patients (11 PCa with lymph node metastasis and 6 PCa without lymph node metastasis). Through the cBioPortal online tool, we analyzed gene alterations and their correlations with clinical factors., Results: A total of 688 intronic, synonym and nonsynonym mutations were sequenced. The gene with the most sequenced mutations was ERBB4 (83 mutations, 12% of 688 total), while the ones with the lower percentage of mutations were AKT1, FGFR2 and MLH1 (1 mutation alone, 0.14%)., Conclusion: In the present study we found mostly concordance concerning the ERBB4 mutation between both primary PCa samples and matched lymph node metastasis, underlining that the identification of alterations in the primary tumor is extremely important for cancer prognosis prediction.

Adolescents frequently experience motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). Research has mostly underlined the psychological outcomes, rather than adolescents' general emotional-behavioral functioning and the role played by family. This study aims to explore the emotional-behavioral functioning, measured with the Youth Self Report (YSR), difficulties to identify and describe emotions, measured with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the use of defense strategies, measured with the Response Evaluation Measure for Youth (REM-71), and perceived family collaboration, measured with the Perceived Collective Family scale, in adolescents that have experienced more than three MVCs in a year. N = 150 adolescents who visited an emergency department for MVCs were assessed through self-report questionnaires. Adolescents showed difficulties to identify and describe their emotions and a massive use of defense strategies. Moreover, lower perceived family collaboration predicted adolescents' alexithymic traits and the massive use of maladaptive defense strategies. These results may be useful in assessing and creating prevention programs for risky driving behaviors in adolescence.

Eating disorders are among the most common clinical manifestations in children, and they are frequently connected with maternal psychopathological risk, internalizing/externalizing problems in children, and poor quality of mother-child feeding exchanges. During the COVID-19 lockdown, in person assessment and intervention were impeded due to the indications of maintaining interpersonal distancing and by limits to travel. Therefore, web-based methods were adopted to meet patients' needs. In this study N = 278 participants completed the SCL-90/R and the CBCL to examine the psychopathological symptoms of mothers and children (age of the children = 24 months); moreover, the dyads were video-recorded during feeding and followed an online video-feedback based intervention. Maternal emotional state, interactive conflict, food refusal in children, and dyadic affective state all improved considerably, as did offspring internalizing/externalizing problems and mothers' depression, anxiety, and obsession-compulsion symptoms. This study showed that video-feedback web-based intervention might be employed successfully to yield considerable beneficial effects.

International research has evidenced the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families, and the key role played by parenting stress levels. Although significant associations with parents' past trauma and resilience have been shown, this study aimed to explore their complex interplay on the relationship between parents' peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19, parenting stress, and children's psychopathological difficulties. We recruited 353 parents with children aged two to 16 years via an online survey during the Italian second wave of COVID-19. Parents' peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19, parenting stress, past trauma and resilience, and children's psychological difficulties were assessed through self-report and report-form questionnaires. Parents' past traumas significantly predicted peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19 and children's psychological difficulties. The relationship between past traumas and children's psychological difficulties was serial mediated by parents' peritraumatic distress and parenting stress. Direct and total effects of parent's resilience on parent's peritraumatic distress were not significant, but there were significant indirect effects via parenting stress and via parents' peritraumatic distress and parenting stress, indicating inconsistent mediation. This study evidenced the key risk and protective role played by, respectively, parents' past traumas exposure and resilience on the relationship between parents' psychological difficulties due to COVID-19, parenting stress, and children's psychological difficulties, with important clinical implications.

International research has underlined a worrying increase in Internet and Instagram addiction among emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the role played by alexithymia and psychological distress due to COVID-19 has been evidenced, no study has explored their complex relationship in predicting emerging adults' Internet and Instagram addiction. The present study aimed to verify whether peritraumatic distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic mediated the relationship between emerging adults' alexithymia and their Internet/Instagram addiction, in a sample composed of n = 400 Italian emerging adults. Results showed that females had higher peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19 than males, whereas males had higher externally oriented thinking and higher levels of Internet addiction than females. Emerging adults' psychological distress due to COVID-19 significantly mediated the effect of alexithymia on Internet and Instagram addiction. Our findings supported the presence of a dynamic relationship between individual vulnerabilities and the co-occurrence of other psychological difficulties in predicting emerging adults' Internet and Instagram addiction during the pandemic, with important clinical implications.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents could not leave their house freely, meet up with friends, or attend school; previous literature showed that youths under enforced confinement or quarantine were five times more likely to suffer from psychopathological symptoms and use social networks sites (SNs) greatly. This study aimed to verify whether the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship could predict youths' psychopathological symptoms and their SN use during the pandemic, and to evaluate the possible moderator role of their the capacity to be alone. Seven hundred and thirty-nine ( n = 739) adolescents were recruited from the general population during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy, and they were administered The Capacity to be Alone Scale, The BSMAS, the YSR, and the Perceived Filial Self-efficacy Scale. Our results confirmed a direct effect of the perceived filial self-efficacy on the psychopathological symptoms so that a poorer perceived quality of the relationship with the caregivers predicted higher psychopathological symptoms in youths. Moreover, greater social networks use was predictive of psychopathological symptoms in adolescents. Our results also showed a significant interaction effect between adolescents' perceived filial efficacy and the capacity to be alone on SN use and on psychopathological symptoms. These results suggest that youths' response to the confinement during the pandemic is influenced both by individual characteristics (the capacity to be alone) and by relational variables (the perceived filial self-efficacy).

The scientific literature has shown the key role played by attachment to parents and peers and difficulties in recognizing, processing, and regulating emotions (i.e., alexithymia) in the (mal-)adaptive psychological response to the COVID-19 pandemic during late adolescence. No study has yet explored the complex interplay between these variables. We recruited a sample of 454 late adolescents (Mage = 22.79, SD = 2.27) and assessed attachment to parents and peers, alexithymia, and peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19 through self-report instruments. Attachment to fathers and peers, but not to mothers, and alexithymia significantly predicted levels of peritraumatic distress. Alexithymia fully and partially mediated the effect of, respectively, attachment to mothers and attachment to peers on peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19. These findings suggested that intervention programs focused on the promotion of peer social relationships, supportive parent-adolescent relationships, and the ability to recognize and discriminate one's own and others' emotions are needed in helping late adolescents to face the current health emergency and preventing short- and long-term psychopathological consequences related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

International research has evidenced the key role played by adults' and adolescents' family functioning, impulsivity, and empathy in antisocial personality problems. To date, no study has assessed the complex interaction between these variables during emerging adulthood. This study aimed to explore the possible interplay between antisocial personality problems, the quality of family functioning, impulsivity, and empathetic problems in a community sample of 350 emerging adults. Descriptive, correlational, hierarchical regression, and mediation analyses were performed, controlling relevant socio-demographic variables. Results showed a predictive effect of parental behavioral control, motor impulsivity, and empathetic concern in antisocial personality problems. Moreover, motor impulsivity and empathetic concern partially mediated the relationship between parental behavioral control and emerging adults' antisocial personality problems. This study supports the recent evidence on the complex relationship between individual and relational protective and risk factors involved in antisocial personality problems during emerging adulthood, with important implications for their intervention treatments.

International research has highlighted the role played by individual genetic polymorphism, children's emotional-behavioral functioning, and quality of parent-child feeding interaction in shaping children's development. Few studies have focused on the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene in these processes. In a community sample of 81 families with young children aged between 19 and 28 months (37 males and 44 females), this pilot study aimed to explore possible relationships between children's DAT1 genotype (9/x: 9/9, 9/19 contrasted to 10/10), their own psychological profiles, parental psychopathological risk, and the quality of mother-child and father-child feeding interactions. Children's DAT1 genotype was assessed collecting DNA through buccal; children's temperament and emotional-behavioral regulation, and parental psychopathological risk were assessed, respectively, through report-form and self-report instruments; then, dyadic exchanges were videotaped during a mealtime, and coded based on the Scala di Valutazione dell'Interazione Alimentare (SVIA). Results showed significant differences in the variables under study based on children's DAT1 genotype, with a higher risk associated with the 10/10. Our findings have provided preliminary new evidence on the relationship between a different child's polymorphisms, their own emotional-behavioral functioning, and the quality of the family environment, with important implications for the planning of more targeted prevention programs.

Emergency situations have been associated with negative psychological adjustment outcomes in healthcare professionals, although studies on the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic amongst Italian health workers are limited. The main aim of this study was to investigate the psychological adjustment of healthcare professionals during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluating differences according to working or not with patients affected by COVID-19 and in areas with a more severe spread of this pandemic. Healthcare professionals' attitudes toward psychological support were analyzed. The levels of anxiety, depression, psychological stress, and professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue) and attitudes toward psychological support were measured among 627 Italian healthcare workers (mean age = 40.55 years; SD = 11.49; range: 27-72). Significantly higher levels of stress, burnout, secondary trauma, anxiety, and depression were observed among professionals working with COVID-19 patients. Higher levels of stress and burnout and lower levels of compassion satisfaction were detected in professionals working in areas with higher rates of contagion. No interaction effects were found between working (or not) with patients affected by COVID-19 and working (or not) in areas with a more severe diffusion of this pandemic. Finally, in the group of professionals who worked with COVID-19 patients, the percentage of professionals who thought to ask for psychological support was twice that of the group that did not work with COVID-19 patients. The overall findings indicate that the mental health of frontline healthcare workers requires further consideration and that targeted prevention and intervention programs are necessary.

International research has underlined that both interpersonal, self-regulation, and comorbid variables can lead to a higher risk of developing internet addiction (IA) among young adults. To date, no studies have explored the interplay between young adults' family functioning, impulsivity, and psychopathological difficulties. In a community sample of 244 young adult university students, this study aims to assess the relationship between young adults' IA and young adults' gender, the perception of their family functioning, impulsivity level, and depressive and anxiety symptoms, considering the possible interplay between these variables. The presence and the severity of IA were addressed through the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Moreover, young adults filled out self-reporting questionnaires, assessing their perception of family functioning and their impulsivity levels and psychopathological symptoms. Results showed no significant association between the youth's gender and IA. However, moderately addicted young adults were more likely to report poorer quality of family affective involvement and higher attentional impulsivity and depressive problems than other groups. Moreover, young adults' attentional impulsivity mediated the relationship between family affective involvement and IA. This study provides new evidence on the complex interaction between individuals and interpersonal risk factors involved in IA among young adults, with important implications for the planning of intervention treatments.

Internet influences our communication, social and work interactions, entertainment, and many other aspects of life. Even if the original purpose was to simplify our lives, an excessive and/or maladaptive use of it may have negative consequences. The dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene was studied in relation to addictions, including excessive use of the Internet. The crucial role of DAT1 was previously underlined in modulating emotional aspects, such as affiliative behaviors. The present research follows a new approach based on cross-correlation between (de)methylation levels in couples of CpG loci, as previously shown. We investigated the possible relationships between Internet addiction, impulsivity, quality of attachment, DAT1 genotypes (from the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) poly-morphism), and the dynamics of methylation within the 5'-UTR of the DAT1 gene. From a normative sample of 79 youths, we extrapolated three subgroups a posteriori, i.e., one "vulnerable" with high Internet Addiction Test (IAT) scores (and high Barrat Impulsivity Scale (BIS) scores; n = 9) and two "controls'' with low BIS scores and 10/10 vs. 9/x genotype ( n = 12 each). Controls also had a "secure" attachment pattern, while genotypes and attachment styles were undistinguished in the vulnerable subgroup (none showed overt Internet addiction). We found a strongly positive correlation in all groups between CpG2 and CpG3. An unsuspected relationship between the 3'-UTR genotype and a 5'-UTR intra-motif link was revealed by CpG5-CpG6 comparison. The negative correlation between the CpG3-CpG5 positions was quite significant in the control groups (both with genotype 10/10 and with genotype 9/x), whereas a tendency toward positive correlation emerged within the high IAT group. In conclusion, future attention shall be focused on the intra- and inter-motif interactions of methylation on the CpG island at the 5'-UTR of DAT1.

Over the last five years, there has been a significant increase in screen time and apps usage by children under five years old. The considerable growth in usage by very young children has not corresponded to conclusive and consistent research investigating its possible benefits and risks. This article proposes a brief overview of recent results in this field, specifically focusing on the use of educational apps and their positive, null, and/or negative outcomes on young children's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. The aim of the present article is to stimulate the development and advancement of evidence-based guidelines that caregivers and educators could adopt to regulate very young children's engagement with digital technologies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

The literature on food intake disorder (ARFID) in early childhood has evidenced psychopathologic difficulties in both children and their mothers and a poor quality of feeding interactions. Only a few studies have focused on three different ARFID subtypes: irritable/impulsive (I/I), sensory food aversions (SFA) and post traumatic feeding disorder (PTFD). The aim of this study was to explore possible differences between the three groups in children's emotional-behavioral functioning, maternal psychopathologic risk and the quality of mother-child feeding interactions, comparing these clinical groups with a control group. The sample consisted of 100 child-mother dyads, of which 23 children with I/I, 25 children with SFA, 27 children with PTFD and 27 children with no diagnosis. The mothers primarily filled out questionnaires assessing their psychopathologic symptoms and children's emotional-behavioral functioning. Then, all dyads were videotaped during a main meal. Results revealed significant differences between the study groups in relation to children's emotional-adaptive functioning, mothers' psychological profile and mother-child interactions during feeding. These findings are relevant for the development of target intervention programs to treat specific ARFID disorders., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Parental psychopathological risk is considered as one of the most crucial features associated with epigenetic modifications in offspring, which in turn are thought to be related to their emotional/behavioral profiles. The dopamine active transporter (DAT) gene is suggested to play a significant role in affective/behavioral regulation. On the basis of the previous literature, we aimed at verifying whether children's DAT1 polymorphisms moderated the relationship between parents' psychological profiles, children's emotional/behavioral functioning, and DAT1 methylation in a normative sample of 79 families with school-age children (Ntot = 237). Children's biological samples were collected through buccal swabs, while Symptom Check-List-90 item Revised, Adult Self Report, and Child Behavior Check-List/6-18 was administered to assess parental and children's psychological functioning. We found that higher maternal externalizing problems predicted the following: higher levels of children's DAT1 methylation at M1, but only among children with 10/10 genotype; higher levels of methylation at M2 among children with 10/10 genotype; while lower levels for children with a 9-repeat allele. There was also a positive relationship between fathers' externalizing problems and children's externalizing problems, only for children with a 9-repeat allele. Our findings support emerging evidence of the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors in shaping children' emotional/behavioral functioning, contributing to the knowledge of risk variables for a child's development and psychological well-being.

This study aimed at identifying specific clusters of maladaptive emotional-behavioral symptoms in adolescent victims of motorbike collisions considering their scores on alexithymia and impulsivity in addition to examining the prevalence of clinical binge eating behaviors (respectively through the Youth Self-Report (YSR), Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), and Binge Eating Scale (BES)). Emotional-behavioral profiles, difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, impulsivity, and binge eating behaviors have been assessed in 159 adolescents addressing emergency departments following motorbike collisions. Our results showed a cluster of adolescents with clinical binge eating behaviors, high rates of motorbike accidents, and high levels of internalizing and externalizing problems, alexithymia, and impulsivity (23.3% of the sample); a second cluster of adolescents with clinical binge eating behaviors, a moderate number of collisions, and moderate levels of emotional and behavioral problems on the above four dimensions (25.8% of the sample); and a third cluster of youth without clinical binge eating behaviors, with a moderate number of accidents, and with low scores on the four dimensions (50.9% of the sample). Adolescents of Cluster 1 showed a higher likelihood to be involved in motorbike collisions than the youth in Clusters 2 and 3 ( p < 0.0001). We suggest that adolescents' motor collisions could be associated with their difficulties in emotion regulation and with their impaired psychological profiles, which could also underpin their disordered eating. The identification of specific clusters of psychopathological symptoms among this population could be useful for the construction of prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing motor collision recidivism and alleviating co-occurring psychopathologies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Dietary polyphenols gained the interest of the scientific community due to their wide content in a variety of plant-derived foods and beverages commonly consumed, such as fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea, and cocoa . We aimed to investigate whether there was an association between dietary phenolic acid consumption and prostate cancer (PCa) in South Italy. We conducted a population-based case-control study from January 2015 to December 2016 in a single institution of the municipality of Catania, southern Italy (Registration number: 41/2015). Patients with elevated PSA and/or suspicious PCa underwent transperineal prostate biopsy. A total of 118 histopathological-verified PCa cases were collected and a total of 222 controls were selected from a sample of 2044 individuals. Dietary data were collected by using two food frequency questionnaires and data on the phenolic acids content in foods was obtained from the Phenol-Explorer database (www.phenol-explorer.eu). Association between dietary intake of phenolic acids and PCa was calculated through logistic regression analysis. We found lower levels of caffeic acid (2.28 mg/day vs. 2.76 mg/day; p < 0.05) and ferulic acid (2.80 mg/day vs. 4.04 mg/day; p < 0.01) in PCa when compared to controls. The multivariate logistic regression showed that both caffeic acid (OR = 0.32; p < 0.05) and ferulic acid (OR = 0.30; p < 0.05) were associated with reduced risk of PCa. Higher intake of hydroxybenzoic acids and caffeic acids were associated with lower risk of advanced PCa. High intake of caffeic acid and ferulic acid may be associated with reduced risk of PCa., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Introduction : In this study, we used a symptomatology checklist (SCL-90) to substantiate the hypothesis that Substance Use Disorder (SUD) has its own five-dimensional psychopathology. The aim of the present study was to test whether this psychopathology can be differentiated from other psychiatric psychopathological dimensions (such as obesity). Methods: The severity and frequency of each of the five dimensions were investigated, at univariate and multivariate levels, by comparing 972 Heroin Use Disorder (HUD) patients (83.5% male, mean age 30.12 ± 6.6, range: 16-59) and 106 obese individuals (50.0% male, mean age 37.59 ± 7.6, range: 24-52). The correlations between the Body Mass Index (BMI) of obese individuals with these psychopathological dimensions were also studied. Results: Obese individuals showed higher SCL-90 total scores, global severity index scores, number of items rated positively, and positive symptoms distress index scores than HUD patients. The severity of all psychopathological dimensions was significantly higher in obese individuals. Discriminant analysis showed that Panic-Anxiety and Violence-Suicide severity were more frequent in obese patients, sufficiently so to allow differentiation between HUD (lower severity) and obese individuals (greater severity). At the reclassification level, 70.8% of obese individuals in the sample were reclassified as HUD patients. Psychopathological subtypes characterized by Panic-Anxiety and Violence-Suicide typology were more frequent in obese patients and sufficiently so as to discriminate between groups. Of obese patients, 47.2% were reclassified as HUD patients. The severity of the Worthlessness-Being Trapped dimension was sufficient to predict the BMI of obese individuals. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the five-factor psychopathology found in HUD can discriminate between HUD and obese patients, but that there is an area of overlap between the forms of psychopathology found in SUD and those found in obese patients.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) treatment includes the apoptosis machinery modulation through the direct inhibition of caspase cascade. We previously demonstrated that Serenoa repens (Ser) with lycopene (Ly) and selenium (Se) reawakened apoptosis by reducing survivin and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) levels in rats. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Ser-Se-Ly association on survivin and NAIP expression in BPH patients. Ninety patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to clinical BPH were included in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to receive placebo (Group BPH + placebo, n = 45) or Ser-Se-Ly association (Group BPH + Ser-Se-Ly; n = 45) for 3 months. At time 0, all patients underwent prostatic biopsies. After 3 months of treatment, they underwent prostatic re-biopsy and specimens were collected for molecular, morphological, and immunohistochemical analysis. After 3 months, survivin and NAIP were significantly decreased, while caspase-3 was significantly increased in BPH patients treated with Ser-Se-Ly when compared with the other group. In BPH patients treated with Ser-Se-Ly for 3 months, the glandular epithelium was formed by a single layer of cuboidal cells. PSA showed high immunoexpression in all BPH patients and a focal positivity in Ser-Se-Ly treated patients after 3 months. Evident prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) immunoexpression was shown in all BPH patients, while no positivity was present after Ser-Se-Ly administration. Ser-Se-Ly proved to be effective in promoting apoptosis in BPH patients.