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The article examines the beginning of the Western historiography of military architecture, starting from the work of Enrico Rocchi, military engineer, historian and officer of the Corps of Engineers of the Italian Royal Army between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The most recent contributions of Western thought on the subject of military architecture are identified, which from the end of the Cold War onwards was in-tended in a much broader way than in the whole of the twentieth century starting right from the work of Rocchi. The recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have in fact revolutionized the idea of war in an important way, especially on the US and British sides. In cascade, this has led all Western military doctrine to widespread use of the culture of the peoples to be fought as a real adaptive weapon, as Enrico Rocchi did more than a century ago for Italy. Only by retracing the mentality and culture of the military engineers who founded the discipline of the history of Western military architecture and at the same time realized the defenses of a European kingdom of their time, that of Italy, is it possible to explain the two phacts to be the same point of view, also linked to cultural anthropology understood as a fundamental discipline like historiography to develop lessons learned.

The paper deals with the discovery of an unpublished project by means of a surface assault boat in the Archive of the Historical Office of the Italian Navy. Made in January 1915, the project predates Italy’s entry into the First World War and testifies to the early interest of the Royal Italian Navy for unconventional naval assault operations which in 1918 led to the forcing of the Austro-Hungarian port of Pula in the Adriatic Sea. The project is examined in detail and compared with contemporary projects for other and more well-known types of surface assault boats, in particular with those of anti-submarine motorboats (MAS) wanted by the chief of staff of the Italian Navy of the time, the vice admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel. In parallel, the project is also considered as a fundamental anticipation of what was subsequently achieved from 1939 onwards with the surface and underwater assault boats always used by the Italian Navy during the Second World War in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea.

Background and Objectives: Genetic variants in the gene TARDBP, encoding TDP-43 protein, are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in familial (fALS) and sporadic (sALS) cases. Objectives of this study were to assess the contribution of TARDBP in a large cohort of Italian ALS patients, to determine the TARDBP-associated clinical features and to look for genotype-phenotype correlation and penetrance of the mutations., Methods: A total of 1992 Italian ALS patients (193 fALS and 1799 sALS) were enrolled in this study. Sanger sequencing of TARDBP gene was performed in patients and, when available, in patients' relatives., Results: In total, 13 different rare variants were identified in 43 index cases (10 fALS and 33 sALS) with a cumulative mutational frequency of 2.2% (5.2% of fALS, 1.8% of sALS). The most prevalent variant was the p.A382T followed by the p.G294V. Cognitive impairment was detected in almost 30% of patients. While some variants, including the p.G294V and the p.G376D, were associated with restricted phenotypes, the p.A382T showed a marked clinical heterogeneity regarding age of onset, survival and association with cognitive impairment. Investigations in parents, when possible, showed that the variants were inherited from healthy carriers and never occurred de novo., Conclusions: In our cohort, TARDBP variants have a relevant frequency in Italian ALS patients and they are significantly associated with cognitive impairment. Clinical presentation is heterogeneous. Consistent genotype-phenotype correlations are limited to some mutations. A marked phenotypic variability characterizes the p.A382T variant, suggesting a multifactorial/oligogenic pathogenic mechanism., (© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.)

Introduction: Both children affected by nutritional and eating disorders (ED) and adults with bipolar disorder (BD) display symptoms of deficient emotional self-regulation, which can present in different forms. If we observe the clinical and developmental histories of individuals affected by EDs and BD, based on a cognitive systemic post-rationalist approach, we can hypothesise a continuum between the two disorders. The aim of this pilot study is to support the hypothesis - from an explanatory rather than a non-descriptive approach - that EDs and BD are the possible result of issues tied to biological and psychological self-regulation. When such an issue manifests during an individual's early stages through an eating disorder, it is more likely to result in an actual affective disorder, such as BD, during an individual's adult years., Materials and Methods: The study examined a total of 51 patients affected by an ED between the ages of 8 and 18. At least one of the parents had been diagnosed with a mental disorder. All of the subjects completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) II. Each of the patients underwent a pediatric assessment using their BMI to establish the type of ED. The parents were divided into two groups: subjects with BD and subjects affected by other psychopathologies., Results: Although the comparison between patients with EDs and parents with or without BD did not demonstrate a significant difference in any scale, it highlighted specific common characteristics between the disorder presented by the parent and the cognitive-emotional expressions of his or her child. In fact, the results indicate that the CBCL "problems of thought" scale explains much of the Impulsivity variance obtained by the EDI and that the CBCL "high withdrawal/depression" dependent factor highlighted a statistical significance for the EDI's "low interoceptive awareness" scale., Conclusions: The study presented limitations, especially with respect to the sample size examined, but it suggests a field that can be further explored to understand the reasons for a significance in the aspects related to contrasting emotional adjustments, impulsivity and depression/withdrawal, highlighting a connection with the parents' distinctive relational model.

The post-rationalist psychotherapy academy (non-classic cognitive approach) started at the end of the 80's with a series of consistent hypotheses. It is an academy which stems from contemporary psychotherapy and develops different areas, giving a strong contribution to theoretical and clinical psychotherapy. This academy has presented development as all other psychotherapy schools have, as well as the same difficulties and solutions. In this article, our aim is to show some tendencies that don't present an epistemological, theoretical, methodological and coherency, since these tendencies don't allow any confutation, which is the fundamental premise of Vittorio Guidano's academy. Finally, we stress how it's nowadays crucial in psychotherapy, to apply coherent methodological and conceptual positions based on the research.

To describe and to explain a clinical case from a cognitive systemic perspective means to focus on "how" the different data were set in order and organized during the therapy. The theoretical and clinical experience that uses this approach is based upon the integration of two conceptual models: the cognitive postrationalist one and the relational systemic one. These two approaches are founded upon the concept of system. The first one addresses the internal dimension, focusing on something that is not directly observable, taking into account the development processes and the maintenance of identity, that is to say the self organization of personal meaning. On the other hand, the second approach considers the structure of relations, its path and boundary, focusing on the mode of communication. The cognitive systemic model springs out of the integration of these two different ways of observing our object of investigation, intending to better the knowledge of the individual and of its context. The essay describes a clinical case study along a processual systemic method, in every phase, beginning with the intervention on the individual's system, subsequently engaging the family's system and all the sub systems that are part of the subjective experience.

Objective: Major changes in antipsychotic treatment in recent years encouraged a survey of inpatient practice in 2002, compared with earlier samples., Methods: Based on records of a random sample of McLean Hospital inpatients prescribed antipsychotics in 2002, the study recorded DSM-IV discharge diagnosis, all psychotropic treatments and doses, initial, peak and final doses of all antipsychotics, clinical status at admission and discharge, and adverse effects reported. Results were compared with similar data from our earlier surveys., Results: Subjects were 344 inpatients (n = 202 women, 59%), diagnosed with psychotic (n = 102, 30%), bipolar (n = 93, 27%), major depressive (n = 67, 19.5%), dementia (n = 19, 5.5%), substance-use (n = 28, 8%) or other psychiatric disorders (n = 35, 10%). Second-generation antipsychotics accounted for 88% of antipsychotic prescriptions; 17% of patients received > or = 2 antipsychotics and total CPZ-eq discharge does in 2002 averaged 291 +/- 305 mg/day (22% less than a 1998 peak). Doses were unrelated to age, but higher in men, among psychotic vs major affective disorder patients, and with greater illness-severity and longer hospitalization. There was a 3.3-fold increase in the simultaneous use of > or = 3 psychotropic agents since 1998., Conclusions: The use of second-generation antipsychotics dominates current inpatient practice. Total antipsychotic dosing has not increased recently, but the use of multiple psychotropics increased strikingly from 1998 to 2002., (Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)