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Background The PERSEO study (psychiatric emergency study and epidemiology) is a naturalistic, observational clinical survey in Italian acute hospital psychiatric units, called SPDCs (Servizio Psichiatrico Diagnosi e Cura; in English, the psychiatric service for diagnosis and management). The aims of this paper are: (i) to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients, including sociodemographic features, risk factors, life habits and psychiatric diagnoses; and (ii) to assess the clinical management, subjective wellbeing and attitudes toward medications. Methods A total of 62 SPDCs distributed throughout Italy participated in the study and 2521 patients were enrolled over the 5-month study period. Results Almost half of patients (46%) showed an aggressive behaviour at admission to ward, but they engaged more commonly in verbal aggression (38%), than in aggression toward other people (20%). A total of 78% of patients had a psychiatric diagnosis at admission, most frequently schizophrenia (36%), followed by depression (16%) and personality disorders (14%), and no relevant changes in the diagnoses pattern were observed during hospital stay. Benzodiazepines were the most commonly prescribed drugs, regardless of diagnosis, at all time points. Overall, up to 83% of patients were treated with neuroleptic drugs and up to 27% received more than one neuroleptic either during hospital stay or at discharge. Atypical and conventional antipsychotics were equally prescribed for schizophrenia (59 vs 65% during stay and 59 vs 60% at discharge), while atypical drugs were preferred in schizoaffective psychoses (72 vs 49% during stay and 70 vs 46% at discharge) and depression (41 vs 32% during stay and 44 vs 25% at discharge). Atypical neuroleptics were slightly preferred to conventional ones at hospital discharge (52 vs 44%). Polypharmacy was in general widely used. Patient attitudes toward medications were on average positive and self-reported compliance increased during hospital stay. Conclusion Results confirm the widespread use of antipsychotics and the increasing trend in atypical drugs prescription, in both psychiatric in- and outpatients.

The effect of euplotin C -- a lipophilic bioactive metabolite produced by the ciliate Euplotes crassus -- on the kinetics of both phagocytosis of latex particles and fluid-phase uptake of dextran, was studied in the single-cell ciliate Paramecium primaurelia. The inhibition of food vacuole formation was concentration- and time-dependent (p

GABAB receptors modulate swimming behavior in Paramecium by inhibiting dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels via G-proteins. Prolonged occupancy of GABAB receptors by baclofen results in a decrease in GABAB receptor functions. Since changes in the number of cell-surface GABAA receptors have been postulated to be of importance in modulating inhibitory synaptic transmission in neurons, we have studied the cell-surface expression and maintenance of GABAB receptors in P. primaurelia. In this study, we use immunostaining in electron and confocal microscopy to demonstrate that constitutive internalization of GABAB receptors in P. primaurelia is mediated by clathrin-dependent and -independent endocytosis. Indeed, GABAB receptors colocalize with the adaptin complex AP2, which is implicated in the selective recruitment of integral membrane proteins to clathrin-coated vesicles, and with caveolin 1, which is associated with uncoated membrane invaginations. Furthermore, when endocytosis is blocked with hypertonic medium, cytosol acidification, filipin or with a peptide that disrupts the association between amphiphysin and dynamin, the effect of baclofen on swimming is increased. These results suggest that GABAB receptor endocytosis into clathrin-coated and -uncoated vesicles represents an important mechanism in the modulation of swimming behavior in Paramecium.

The presence of opioid, beta-adrenergic and cholinergic receptors has been demonstrated in ciliated protozoa, but little is known about gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. In this study we have analyzed the distribution of GABA(A)-type receptor subunits in Paramecium. Confocal laser microscopy using antibodies specific for alpha(1)-, alpha(2)-, alpha(3)-, alpha(6)-, beta(2/3)-, gamma(2)-, epsilon-, lambda-, and theta-subunits showed that most receptors are aggregated in clusters and are distributed both on cell surface and in the cytoplasm. The intensity of labelling of the alpha(6)-, beta(2/3)- and gamma(2)-subunits was more intense than the alpha(1)-, epsilon-, and theta-subunits, suggesting that the former are present in higher concentrations than the latter.

In Paramecium, internal Ca(2+) concentration increase coupled to membrane depolarization induces a reversal in the direction of ciliary beating and, consequently, a reversal in swimming direction. The ciliary reversal (CR) duration is correlated to Ca(2+) influx, and the addition of drugs that block the Ca(2+) current leads to a reduction in the backward swimming duration. In this study we have examined the possible function of GABA(B) receptors in P. primaurelia swimming control. The presence of GABA(B) immunoanalogue in Paramecium was evidenced using SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. By applying the specific GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen, a dose-dependent inhibition of the membrane depolarization-induced CR duration was observed. This inhibition was antagonized by phaclofen, persisted when K(+) channel blockers were applied, and disappeared after treatment with nifedipine and verapamil. Moreover, the action of baclofen on depolarization-induced CR was suppressed by treatment with pertussis toxin. Therefore, these experiments suggest that baclofen modulates CR by a G protein (G(0) or G(1)) mediated inhibition of dihydropyridine-sensible calcium channels. Finally, synthesis and release of GABA in the environment by Paramecium have been demonstrated by HPLC. Possible correlations between GABA(B) receptor activation and the regulation of intracellular Ca(2+) levels are discussed.

Starting from MR and CT images for a given patient, a new single image representation of all parameters has been generated by using false-color techniques in a standard UNIX and X-11 environment. A transformation linking together the MR, CT parameters and the RGB (red, green, blue) color components has been used. Moreover an unsupervised segmentation method based on a number of neural and fuzzy models may directly produce segmented image volumes. Each image of the various sequences has been interactively displayed by using a specifically designed application. The resulting images have been displayed on a stereo monitor allowing the three-dimensional rendering of visual data through LCD shuttered glasses. Moreover, a 3-D control system based on low frequency magnetic fields has been used, while a bandheld Polhemus stylus could be used as an electronic knife for dissecting the 3-D data set and for defining flaps and grafts. Bone or soft-tissue contour can be analyzed, and sections can be removed from the model to allow a view of the underlying structures. Flaps and grafts obtained utilizing the above-reported techniques can be fitted exactly, without repeated removal and recarving. Nuances of depth, tapering, and arc are carved directly into the bone, while chances of asymmetry are markedly diminished. In this way, moreover, anesthetic times are reduced by more efficient utilization of operative time, which usually offsets the increased cost of imaging.