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Barth syndrome (BTHS) is a lethal rare genetic disorder, which results in cardiac dysfunction, severe skeletal muscle weakness, immune issues and growth delay. Mutations in the TAFAZZIN gene, which is responsible for the remodeling of the phospholipid cardiolipin (CL), lead to abnormalities in mitochondrial membrane, including alteration of mature CL acyl composition and the presence of monolysocardiolipin (MLCL). The dramatic increase in the MLCL/CL ratio is the hallmark of patients with BTHS, which is associated with mitochondrial bioenergetics dysfunction and altered membrane ultrastructure. There are currently no specific therapies for BTHS. Here, we showed that cardiac mitochondria isolated from TAFAZZIN knockdown (TazKD) mice presented abnormal ultrastructural membrane morphology, accumulation of vacuoles, pro-fission conditions and defective mitophagy. Interestingly, we found that in vivo treatment of TazKD mice with a CL-targeted small peptide (named SS-31) was able to restore mitochondrial morphology in tafazzin-deficient heart by affecting specific proteins involved in dynamic process and mitophagy. This agrees with our previous data showing an improvement in mitochondrial respiratory efficiency associated with increased supercomplex organization in TazKD mice under the same pharmacological treatment. Taken together our findings confirm the beneficial effect of SS-31 in the amelioration of tafazzin-deficient dysfunctional mitochondria in a BTHS animal model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on supervisory feedback has burgeoned over the past 20 years. We ask, what does it have to offer to management practitioners, and is this knowledge conveyed in a constructive way? To answer these questions, we conducted a systematic literature review of the practical implications contained in feedback studies. Based on our retained articles (N = 120) and using the W‐H questions as our guiding framework, we critically discuss: Why recommendations are offered, What recommendations are endorsed, When and Where the recommendations are presented as most applicable, to Whom those are addressed, and How they are framed by researchers. In so doing, we summarise the indications that scientific research has offered to practitioners; moreover, following the same framework and the insights collected via a follow‐up survey of academics (N = 61), we provide recommendations to researchers across the management and psychology disciplines on how to craft their practical implications sections in a way that may help bridge the gap between research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examines the role that students' political reputation in class plays in their future political activities offline together with other people. When aged 16, students were asked to nominate the classmates they considered politically knowledgeable and verbal in class, that is, as having a political reputation. This measure of political reputation was used to predict the participants' political activities offline four years later at age 20 and their attempts to take a stand in public in the national election the same year. The study controlled for individual differences in political interest, self‐perceived political impact in class, the students' political activities at age 16, and also gender and immigrant status. About 300 Swedish students were followed up four years later. Political reputation in class positively predicted future political activities offline, membership of political organizations, and attempts to take a stand in public for a party in the forthcoming national election. At the same time, the role played by political reputation depended upon students' other characteristics, especially their levels of anger and popularity, as observed by classmates. Evidently, the group dynamics in class that give some students a political reputation have long‐term consequences for their future political activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examines the role that students' political reputation in class plays in their future political activities offline together with other people. When aged 16, students were asked to nominate the classmates they considered politically knowledgeable and verbal in class, that is, as having a political reputation. This measure of political reputation was used to predict the participants' political activities offline four years later at age 20 and their attempts to take a stand in public in the national election the same year. The study controlled for individual differences in political interest, self‐perceived political impact in class, the students' political activities at age 16, and also gender and immigrant status. About 300 Swedish students were followed up four years later. Political reputation in class positively predicted future political activities offline, membership of political organizations, and attempts to take a stand in public for a party in the forthcoming national election. At the same time, the role played by political reputation depended upon students' other characteristics, especially their levels of anger and popularity, as observed by classmates. Evidently, the group dynamics in class that give some students a political reputation have long‐term consequences for their future political activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barth Syndrome (BTHS), a genetic disease associated with early-onset cardioskeletal myopathy, is caused by loss-of-function mutations of the TAFAZZIN gene, which is responsible for remodeling the mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin (CL). Deregulation of CL biosynthesis and maturation in BTHS mitochondria result in a dramatically increased monolysocardiolipin (MLCL)/CL ratio associated with bioenergetic dysfunction. One of the most promising therapeutic approaches for BTHS includes the mitochondria-targeted tetrapeptide SS-31, which interacts with CL. Here, we used TAFAZZIN knockdown (TazKD) mice to investigate for the first time whether in vivo administration of SS-31 could affect phospholipid profiles and mitochondrial dysfunction. The CL fingerprinting of TazKD cardiac mitochondria obtained by MALDI-TOF/MS revealed the typical lipid changes associated with BTHS. TazKD mitochondria showed lower respiratory rates in state 3 and 4 together with a decreased in maximal respiratory rates. Treatment of TazKD mice with SS-31 improved mitochondrial respiratory capacity and promoted supercomplex organization, without affecting the MLCL/CL ratio. We hypothesize that SS-31 exerts its effect by influencing the function of the respiratory chain rather than affecting CL directly. In conclusion, our results indicate that SS-31 have beneficial effects on improving cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction in a BTHS animal model, suggesting the peptide as future pharmacologic agent for therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the individual characteristics and consequences of psychological group processes that may lead some students to gain a reputation for being politically knowledgeable and verbal in class (a political reputation). Two normal samples of Swedish students were used, 13‐year‐olds (N = 835) and 16‐year‐olds (N = 795). Longitudinal data over one year were analyzed and showed that youths' political reputation in class is established very early. Cross‐sectional predictions showed that political interest predicted political reputation in class positively, and social fear predicted political reputation negatively in both cohorts. In addition, having a political reputation predicted increased political interest and political efficacy over one year. Further, mediation analyses showed that youths' political predispositions, their political interest and political efficacy at T1, significantly operated on interest and efficacy at T2 via the political reputation. This suggests that political reputation partly functions as a booster of youths' initial political predispositions over time. Future research is needed into the long‐term consequences of having a political reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the idea that youth's perceptions of their political interactions with important others are influenced by their own political interest to a greater extent than the perceived political interactions that influence youth's political interest. Hence, it was proposed that youth's perceptions of important others' (parents', teachers', friends') political views, political interest, political influence, and support, as well as of being susceptible to others' political communication, are all affected by their own political interest. Community samples of 908 13-year-olds and 869 16-year-olds were followed over 1 year. Latent change models supported the idea that youth's political interest significantly affected their perceptions of important others' political views, influence, and support over time in both cohorts. In 11 out of 12 longitudinal analyses, youth's political interest strongly affected perceptions of their political interactions with others, but none of the 12 analyses showed that the perceptions of political interactions with others strongly predicted a change in youth's political interest. These results suggest that the political interest of young people is an input in their political development, making politically interested youth active agents in their political interactions with their important others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes to question our role and function as analysts in this new daily practice, which was installed with the pandemic and ASPO, by Covid 19. The objective will be to maintain a dialogue based on processing strategy and technical issues, in an emergency whose The complexity was rooted in an unknown urgency in health and, likewise, analyzing some consequences generated in our emotional baggage as analysts and with our patients. In this regard, some intergame coordinates with what has been learned in this time and space in the clinical experience and subjective implication of a creative possibility will be proposed - based on the study of the conceptions of aggressiveness (Winnicott, 2003) and creativity (Winnicott, 1996) - Exercising our work from virtuality repositions us: the virtual will not mean transitionality. How to return these manifestations to the intermediate zone of experience (Winnicott, 1996)? Crucial to our practice and game offer in the analytical device, we return to Donald Winnicott to revalue the experience and its potential for shaping a transitional space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We aimed to analyze the enduring effects exerted by COVID‐19 exposure and subjective economic threats on support for anti‐democratic political systems. Method: We performed a two‐wave longitudinal study on a quota panel of the Italian adult population (N = 1,073), surveyed first in April 2020, during the first peak of the pandemic (T1) and the first lockdown, and second in October 2020, at the onset of the second peak of the pandemic and of the second lockdown (T2). Results: A mediation model showed that COVID‐19 exposure and subjective economic threats, measured at T1, fostered a negative evaluation of how the government managed the pandemic, which, in turn, had a positive association with support for anti‐democratic political systems, both measured at T2. Conclusion: The existential threats related to the COVID‐19 pandemic have enduring political consequences, undermining people's support for democracy, even six months after their onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the idea that youth's perceptions of the frequency of family political discussions and of parental political support mostly derive from their own political interest, a form of projection bias. Tests were performed of whether the same bias applies to parents, and whether youth's and parents' perceptions of political discussions and political support overlap to only a limited extent. Multivariate multiple regression analyses, combining two age cohorts of adolescent-parent pairs (509 13-year-olds and 541 16-year-olds), supported these expectations, indicating that parents and youth live, at least in part, in different perceptual worlds. These findings explain differences in youth's and parents' reports of political interactions, illuminate the theoretical models indicating that family discussions determine whether or not a child is interested in politics, and show the limitations of relying solely on reports of either youth or parents when studying the influence of family political discussions on youth's political development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coaching is a developmental intervention implemented in organisations to improve individual attitudes and behaviours. Few studies, however, have tested these assumptions and explained the mechanisms involved. We propose psychological capital (PsyCap), a set of positive individual resources, as a possible mediator. We investigated whether coaching framed in goal setting and conservation of resources theories is effective in improving PsyCap and, through this, individual attitudes and performance, and whether its effects maintain over time. We conducted an experiment with 56 employees in a marketing company, who were either randomly assigned to a coaching intervention or a wait‐list control group. Measures of interest were collected before the programme started (T1), and after the programme, which lasted 4 months (T2). A follow‐up measure for the experimental group was collected after a further 4 months (T3). ANOVAs showed coaching was associated with increases in PsyCap, job attitudes, and one dimension of job performance. The mediating role of PsyCap was supported for job attitudes. The effects on PsyCap and job attitudes lasted over time, as revealed by within‐subjects repeated measures analyses. This study fills a gap in our knowledge of the explanatory processes of coaching effectiveness by building on solid research design features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates "A new look on politicized reticence to vaccination: populism and COVID-19 vaccine refusal" published in Psychological Medicine examines the association between populist orientation and COVID-19 vaccine refusal. The study finds that individuals with a populist orientation are more likely to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, highlighting the need for targeted strategies to address vaccine hesitancy within this group.

Archival, correlational, and experimental studies converge showing strong links between societal threat and authoritarianism. However, inconsistent with the social cognitive studies showing that our perception of the reality is systematically biased, the literature on the threat-authoritarianism relations has largely ignored the connection between the actual societal threat and its perception. In this study, we analyzed the relation between objective societal threat and authoritarians' perception of it, hypothesizing that authoritarians would tend to overestimate societal threat and that such overestimation would increase the endorsement of authoritarian attitudes and the preference for authoritarian political systems. Using an experimental approach, we studied the relations between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), actual societal threat (manipulated as low vs. moderate), and perceived societal threat working with an Italian community sample (N = 209, Mage = 29.70, SD = 9.53, 64.1% women). Actual threat and RWA equally predicted participants' threat perception, while their interaction did not. In turn, threat perception further increased RWA and support to authoritarian political system. We discussed the results in terms of a vicious circle whereby authoritarians overestimate societal threat and such overestimation reinforces authoritarian attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We addressed the interactive effects of authoritarianism and social threat in explaining the preference for antidemocratic political systems. Using a quasi-experimental design (N = 171), we manipulated exposure to social threat and tested its effect in combination with authoritarianism, operationalized as a three-dimension construct composed of authoritarianism, conservatism, and traditionalism. We found that social threat and authoritarianism lead people to endorse antidemocratic political systems. The same was true for conservatism, but only in condition of societal threat, while traditionalism was not associated with the dependent variable, either directly or in interaction with societal threat. The findings highlight the benefits of the distinction between subdimensions of authoritarianism, as well as the importance of individual-context interactions in explaining socially relevant outcomes such as support for democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research within the social identity framework has shown that perceptions of legitimacy and stability of status differences interactively determine cognitive, emotional, and behavioural responses to intergroup contexts. Whether such perceptions affect subtle forms of prejudice, namely infrahumanisation, is unknown. We examined if the perceptions regarding high status stability and legitimacy are associated to the infrahumanisation bias. We hypothesized that participants perceiving status differences as unstable and legitimate would report higher levels of infrahumanization than those who perceive status differences as stable and/or illegitimate. Participants (N = 439 Italian students enrolled in psychology courses) completed a structured paper-and-pencil questionnaire. We found that participants tended to attribute more negative secondary emotions to their ingroup (Italians) than to the outgroup (immigrants from Africa), indicating the presence of an infrahumanization bias. The results of a moderated regression aimed at predicting infrahumanization showed that highstatus group members who perceived status differences as legitimate and unstable reported higher levels of infrahumanization than their counterparts did. The results attest the important and independent role of the perceptions related to the status for the debate on intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As there is a robust tendency to support system-legitimizing beliefs by appealing to stereotypes or ideologies, we examined the role played by the perception of the status quo in relation to the infrahumanization bias. We compared this bias in high versus low-status group members and tested the mediating role of system justification beliefs and ingroup identification. The results of a moderated-mediated regression model (N = 238) showed that the perception of legitimacy of one's own status had differential effects on the infrahumanization bias: The perception of legitimacy was positively associated with the endorsement of system justification beliefs and negatively associated with ingroup identification among low-status group members, whereas the perception of legitimacy was positively associated with ingroup identification among high-status group members. In both groups, ingroup identification was positively correlated with the tendency to infrahumanize the outgroup, while the endorsement of system justification beliefs was linked to the infrahumanization among low-status group members only. The findings highlight that the Social Identity Theory and the System Justification Theory can be fruitfully combined to explain infrahumanization tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the relationship between job characteristics and sickness absenteeism, examining it under two important boundary conditions, employee age, and occupational group. Drawing from psychological theories that explain age‐related differences in the workplace, as well as the sociology of occupations, we formulate hypotheses concerning two‐ and three‐way interactions between five key job characteristics (job demands, autonomy, skill variety, supervisor, and colleague support), age, and occupational group, namely blue‐collar workers versus clerks. We test our hypotheses on an archival sample of 5,175 employees taken from the French National Survey of Employment Conditions. Hierarchical negative binomial regressions reveal that many of our hypotheses are supported. For example, autonomy and supervisor and colleague support have a differential impact on sickness absenteeism depending on age and the occupational group of employees. We discuss the implications of our findings for both theory and practice. Practitioner points: Sickness absences can be predicted by job characteristics as function of age and occupational groups. Supervisor support is associated with fewer sickness absences in younger workers, especially clerks. Occupational context may mask the age differences because for Job Autonomy and Colleague Support, age‐related differences were detected only within the blue‐collar and clerical groups, respectively. The impact of job demands and skill variety on sickness absences is moderated by age and does not vary across the two occupational groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In two quasi-experimental vignette studies, we have analyzed how societal threat to safety moderates the relation between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and psychological distress. In Study 1 (Italian community sample, N = 343), we focused on depressive symptoms (measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the General Health Questionnaire). Two moderated regressions showed that the relation between RWA and both measures of depressive symptoms was positive and significant only among people exposed to a socially threatening scenario. In Study 2 (Italian student sample, N = 219), we focused on state anxiety and replicated Study 1's results. The findings indicated that, in conditions of societal threat to safety, RWA is a risk factor for psychological distress. Strengths, limitations, and possible developments of this research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I relied on the subjective group dynamics framework to analyse the derogation of inparty candidates involved in negative campaigns. In an experimental study (dynamic simulation of an electoral campaign, N = 118), I found that participants downgraded the inparty candidate (both in terms of evaluation and vote choice) more when he ran a person-based negative campaign than when he ran an issue-based negative campaign. This effect was significant for participants with high levels of political identification only. Overall, the findings revealed that political candidates, as members of significant social groups, are not exempt from the forms of extremity in evaluations typically observed in other social groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to societal threat can elicit an increase in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). In this study, using a quasi-experimental vignette design (Italian community sample, N = 86), we tested the moderating role of self-concept clarity (SCC). A moderated regression showed that manipulated societal threat to safety fostered RWA only among low SCC scorers. It is concluded that SCC is an important resource for individuals facing threat conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role played by the Internet in young people’s political lives has received great research attention. However, two gaps in the literature hinder the drawing of conclusions on how online political participation is related to its offline counterpart. First, although there are multiple hypotheses on the nature of the relationship, they have not been compared in any single study. Second, although the relation may differ according to developmental stage, age differences have not been examined. We address these gaps using longitudinal data from two samples of youth at different developmental stages, and test four hypotheses for each sample. It was found, among late adolescents, that online participation serves as a gateway to offline participation. However, among young adults, offline participation spills over into online participation. These findings indicate the positive potential of online political participation in youth’s political lives, and highlight the need to focus on their developmental stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political interest is a key for the survival and development of democracies. Therefore, it is important to establish when political interest develops. We examined changes in political interest-when and in which directions-among youths between 13 and 28 years of age. We followed five age groups of Swedish youths over 2 years, with a total of 2621 participants. Analysis of stability coefficients supported the idea that political interest becomes more stable with age. From their early twenties, youths' political interest was found to be as stable as has been earlier reported for adults. Among adolescents, the lowest stability rate was observed in the youngest cohort (ages 13-15). The results also showed that, when taking the increase in political interest into account, the proportion of youths losing their interest in politics corresponded to the proportion of youths gaining interest over time. On the whole, this study brings new insights on the development of political interest over time. It provides empirical evidence on when political interest is most susceptible to change and on how it is likely to change. Implications for research and intervention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we adopted an agentic perspective and used self-determination theory to analyze the role of political interest in youth's sociopolitical development. Inspired by this theoretical framework, we identified indicators of the needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence within the political sphere. We followed two age cohorts (Swedish 13- and 16-year-olds) over one year, with a total of 1992 adolescents, who are at a crucial age for sociopolitical development. Results from autoregressive structural cross-lagged models indicated that political interest predicted significant increases in autonomy, relatedness, and competence over one year, but these psychological needs did not predict a change in political interest over the same time period. The findings speak in favor of an agentic perspective, suggesting that political interest can serve as a basis for youth's political development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussing politics in everyday life is quite common but it is not clear how talking politics should prompt the desire to become politically active. We compared two ideas: information gain, i.e., political talk translates into action when people receive information about activities and organizations; and social influence, i.e., political talk translates into action when people perceive their friends as politically active. Our main goal was to address the role played by two personality traits – Openness to Experience and Agreeableness – within these processes. Adopting a longitudinal design ( N = 895, sample of youths surveyed twice), we found that political talk promotes political participation over time when people perceive their discussion partners as politically active and that this effect is especially pronounced for agreeable people. Findings from this study provided support to the idea that political talk translates into political action under the condition of social influence and for people who are particularly susceptible to social conformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality traits are considered efficient predictors of off-line political participation. However, the effects of personality traits on online political engagement have been largely understudied. The main goal of this cross-sectional research (N = 1,134, sample of young adults) was to investigate the relationships between personality traits, as measured by the Big Five Inventory, and online political engagement. As dependent variables, we took three dimensions of online political engagement: e-targeted, e-expressive, and e-news. A latent variables structural equation model showed that personality traits directly and indirectly predict modes of online political engagement via the mediation of political attitudes and the proneness to use Internet. On the whole, we found that people open to experience and extraverts take part in online political actions, whereas agreeable and conscientious people tend to avoid them. The findings provide insights on the differences between traditional form (i.e., off-line) and the new online modes of political engagement by showing that, to some extent, the latter appeal to different personality profiles. In sum, online engagement seems to be marked by a personality divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multiple (epi)genetic defects affecting the expression of the imprinted genes within the 11p15.5 chromosomal region underlie Silver-Russell (SRS) and Beckwith-Wiedemann (BWS) syndromes. The molecular diagnosis of these opposite growth disorders requires a multi-approach flowchart to disclose known primary and secondary (epi)genetic alterations; however, up to 20 and 30% of clinically diagnosed BWS and SRS cases remain without molecular diagnosis. The complex structure of the 11p15 region with variable CpG methylation and low-rate mosaicism may account for missed diagnoses. Here, we demonstrate the relevance of complementary techniques for the assessment of different CpGs and the importance of testing multiple tissues to increase the SRS and BWS detection rate. Results: Molecular testing of 147 and 450 clinically diagnosed SRS and BWS cases provided diagnosis in 34 SRS and 185 BWS patients, with 9 SRS and 21 BWS cases remaining undiagnosed and herein referred to as "borderline." A flowchart including complementary techniques and, when applicable, the analysis of buccal swabs, allowed confirmation of the molecular diagnosis in all borderline cases. Comparison of methylation levels by methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) in borderline and control cases defined an interval of H19/IGF2:IG-DMR loss of methylation that was distinct between "easy to diagnose" and "borderline" cases, which were characterized by values ≤mean -3 standard deviations (SDs) compared to controls. Values ≥mean +1 SD at H19/IGF2: IG-DMR were assigned to borderline hypermethylated BWS cases and those ≤mean -2 SD at KCNQ1OT1: TSS-DMR to hypomethylated BWS cases; these were supported by quantitative pyrosequencing or Southern blot analysis. Six BWS cases suspected to carry mosaic paternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 11 were confirmed by SNP array, which detected mosaicism till 10%. Regarding the clinical presentation, borderline SRS were representative of the syndromic phenotype, with exception of one patient, whereas BWS cases showed low frequency of the most common features except hemihyperplasia. Conclusions: A conclusive molecular diagnosis was reached in borderline methylation cases, increasing the detection rate by 6% for SRS and 5% for BWS cases. The introduction of complementary techniques and additional tissue analyses into routine diagnostic work-up should facilitate the identification of cases undiagnosed because of mosaicism, a distinctive feature of epigenetic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social psychologists have explored the multiple forms of status quo legitimization mainly in regard to the social and economic system. This study aimed to explore the tendency to legitimize the political system by developing and validating a scale of democratic system justification (DSJ). We administered a scale composed of 8 items, mainly derived from the extant system justification scales (Jost and Thompson in J Exp Soc Psychol, 3:209-232, ; Kay and Jost in J Pers Soc Psychol, 85:823-837, ; Jost and Kay in J Pers Soc Psychol, 88:498-509, ; Jost et al. in Dubois Rev Soc Sci Race, 6:103-124, ) to an Italian sample of 205 participants. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the scale has a one-dimensional structure. Results also showed that internal reliability of the scale was good; moreover, correlational analyses and group comparisons confirmed the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale. Implications for the assessment of the DSJ and future directions of research on this topic are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether youth's goals for their future societal engagement affect their future political activities. We hypothesized, first, that youth's political interest would be a central predictor of their future political activities and, second, that their goals for future societal engagement would moderate their political interest. The greatest future political activity would be among youth who were both politically interested and had set high goals. A community sample of about 400 16-year-olds (Mage =16.62, SD =0.71, 50.8% females) was followed over four years. The theory of planned behavior was applied. Different types of political action were predicted: offline political activities, online political activities, membership of a political/civic organization, and taking a stance in public for a party pre and post voting in a national election. Age-16 political interest significantly predicted all age-20 political activities, except for being a member of political/civic organizations and actual voting. In line with the second hypothesis, significant interactions were found between political interest and setting societal goals for all the future political activities except voting. It was concluded that youth's early-developed agency in setting goals for their societal engagement has widespread predictive utility for their political activities over a lengthy period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research investigated the relationship between system justification beliefs and the endorsement of ambivalent sexist attitudes toward men. In Study 1 (web-based questionnaire, N = 220) we explored the relationship between system justification (SJ), and hostile and benevolent attitudes toward men (HM and BM). Results showed that SJ was positively related to BM but not to HM. In Study 2 (paper-and-pencil questionnaire, N = 158), we tested the mediating role played by BM and HM in the relationship between SJ and the preference for male candidates. We replicated Study 1 results and showed that BM, but not HM, was positively related to the dependent variable; moreover SJ exerted an indirect and positive effect on the preference for male candidates as mediated by BM. Finally, supplementary analyses showed that the relationship between SJ and BM was positive and significant for women only Results are discussed in light of system justification theory and of BM as an additional form of legitimization and maintenance of the status quo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a sample of 95 U.S. undergraduates (49.5% women, Mage = 20.99 years, SD = 3.48), we analyzed the effects of symbolic threat on right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). We used data from an experimental study in which negative political attacks on one's own favorite candidate were considered as symbolic threats. A hierarchic moderated regression showed that, as with societal threat, symbolic threat fostered an increase in RWA only among participants with low initial scores on RWA. This increase did not depend on the persuasive effect of being exposed to negative campaigning. The implications, limitations, and possible developments of the research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research adopting a configural approach to organisational commitment has yielded support for differentiated profiles (i.e. different combinations of different levels of commitment components) and for their relationship with attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. The present study aimed to: (a) investigate, in an Italian privatised organisation, the emergence of commitment profiles derived from the combination of affective (AC) and continuance (CC) organisational commitment, following Sinclair and colleagues' conceptualisation (2005); and (b) examine whether these profiles differed in absenteeism, as an objective outcome, job satisfaction, and job performance. Results from cluster analysis supported the presence of four groups (Allied, Free Agents, Trapped, and Complacent). The Allied and the Complacent profiles reported higher job satisfaction. Moreover, the Complacent profile displayed the highest job performance and the Allied showed the lowest level of absenteeism; both were significantly different from the Trapped profile. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a national sample of the Italian population, surveyed four times between October 2002 and January 2007 ( N = 2,008), we performed a multilevel longitudinal study aimed at predicting the increase in crime risk perception as a function of three families of independent variables, respectively lying at the within individual level (direct victimization and indirect victimization), at the between-individuals level (being a woman, being an older person, being a poorly educated person and size of area of residence) and at the ecological level (county's crime rate, unemployment rate and immigration rate). Direct and indirect victimization, being a woman, being an older person, living in a large town and in a context characterized by high crime and unemployment rates positively influenced the change in crime risk perception, while the other individual and ecological predictors we used in our predictive model did not. Strengths, limitations, implications and future developments of this research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2018 (ninth round) European Social Survey dataset (N = 19,512, nested in 24 countries) to analyse the association between relative deprivation and right‐wing populist voting, moderated by participants' income and their country's GDP. A multilevel moderated model showed that relative deprivation, income and GDP had no association with right‐wing populist votes by themselves. However, income and GDP moderated the relation between relative deprivation and right‐wing populist votes, that was significant for participants with high incomes and for those living in wealthy countries. The strengths, limitations and future developments of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a rare multisystemic congenital anomaly disorder that is characterised by intellectual disability and growth retardation, congenital heart defects, intestinal anomalies, facial dysmorphism (including synophyris and high arched eyebrows) and limb reduction defects. Mutations in three cohesin-associated genes encoding a key regulator (NIPBL, chr 5p13.2) and one structural component of the cohesin ring (SMC1A, chr Xp11) occur in about 65% of CdLS patients. NIPBL is the major causative gene, and accounts for 40-60% of CdLS patients as shown by a number of mutational screening studies that indicate a wide mutational repertoire of mainly small deletions and point mutations. Only a few data are available concerning the occurrence of large NIPBL rearrangements or intragenic deletions or duplications involving whole exons. We used multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) to study 132 CdLS patients negative to the standard mutation NIPBL test out of a cohort of 200 CdLS patients. A total of 7 out of 132 patients were found to carry NIPBL alterations, including two large gene deletions extending beyond the gene, four intragenic multi- or single-exon deletions and one single-exon duplication. These findings show that MLPA leads to a 5.3% increase in the detection of mutations when used in addition to the standard NIPBL scan, and contributes per se to the molecular diagnosis of 3.5% (7/200) of clinically diagnosed CdLS patients. It is recommended that MLPA be included in the CdLS diagnostic flow chart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a sample of Italians selected from 71 Italian counties ( N = 1,868), we performed two multilevel analyses aimed at predicting the perceived risk of crime at local (i.e., in the participants' county of residence) and at societal (i.e., in the context of Italian society) levels. A significant proportion of the variation in local risk perception was at the county level. The following individual variables predicted higher levels of this variable: indirect victimization, the perception of social and physical disorder, being a woman, being poorly educated, and being an older person. Among the ecological predictors, the crime rate and unemployment rate predicted higher levels of local crime risk perception, while the immigrant rate did not. Perceived risk of crime at the societal level did not show significant variation at the county level. Education, being a man, trusting people, and adhesion to post-materialistic values predicted lower levels of societal crime risk perception, while number of sons/daughters and exposure to television news increased it. The limitations and possible development of this study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a representative sample of the Italian population ( N=2,002), surveyed in January 2008, we studied the direct and interactive effects exerted on fear of crime by direct and indirect victimization, on the one hand, and perceived level of disorder of participants' community, on the other hand. Indirect victimization fostered fear of crime among participants reporting high levels of social disorder in their community. However, direct and indirect victimization did not influence fear of crime among participants reporting not living in a disordered community. Implications and limitations of this work and possible further research directions are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the relationship between victimization and fear of crime longitudinally, analyzing data from the Observatory of the North-West (Italian national sample, N=1,701, two waves: January 2006 and January 2007). We modeled fear of crime at T2 using as independent variables: (a) the main sociodemographic variables and fear of crime, as assessed at T1; (b) direct victimization; and (c) indirect victimization. Recent direct victimization was the most effective victimization predictor of both concrete and abstract fears, followed by multiple or repeat direct victimization. On the other hand, direct victimization occurring in the 12 months before the first wave did not influence fear. Recent indirect victimization and, above all, multiple or repeat indirect victimization influenced concrete, but not abstract, fear of crime, while direct victimization occurring in the 12 months before the first wave did not foster fear. We discuss the limits of this work and possible further directions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantitative evaluation of mosaicism for uniparental disomy (UPD) involving a restricted chromosomal region requires the availability of a sensitive and reproducible method that is capable of detecting even a small percentage of disomic cells and avoiding false positive and false negative results. The occurrence of UPD is usually monitored by means of the parent–proband segregation analysis of microsatellites mapping to the target region. We here describe the quantitative blood cell evaluation of segmental mosaic UPD11, a marker of Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome, by means of the segregation analysis of 11p15 microsatellites using both radioactive and fluorescence-based techniques. As the greater amplification efficiency of the shorter allele in heterozygous subjects may bias the correct evaluation of disomy, the mean short/long allele ratio was established at three loci of each of 30 normal heterozygous subjects, as well as the peak As/Al area in the presence of 50% of each allele. The interval was defined using a 5% level of significance.The results show that the fluorescence-based technique is superior to radioactivity in detecting the subtle allelic imbalances present in low-grade mosaicism conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents a study which tested the feasibility of an experimental protocol designed to verify the hypothesis that at their emergence, sand-bubbler crabs assess the substrate quality and behave accordingly. Methodology; Results; Discussion.

The prevalence of Beckwith–Wiedemann spectrum (BWSp) is tenfold increased in children conceived through assisted reproductive techniques (ART). More than 90% of ART‐BWSp patients reported so far display imprinting center 2 loss‐of‐methylations (IC2‐LoM), versus 50% of naturally conceived BWSp patients. We describe a cohort of 74 ART‐BWSp patients comparing their features with a cohort of naturally conceived BWSp patients, with the ART‐BWSp patients previously described in literature, and with the general population of children born from ART. We found that the distribution of UPD(11)pat was not significantly different in ART and naturally conceived patients. We observed 68.9% of IC2‐LoM and 16.2% of mosaic UPD(11)pat in our ART cohort, that strongly differ from the figure reported in other cohorts so far. Since UPD(11)pat likely results from post‐fertilization recombination events, our findings allows to hypothesize that more complex molecular mechanisms, besides methylation disturbances, may underlie BWSp increased risk in ART pregnancies. Moreover, comparing the clinical features of ART and non‐ART BWSp patients, we found that ART‐BWSp patients might have a milder phenotype. Finally, our data show a progressive increase in the prevalence of BWSp over time, paralleling that of ART usage in the last decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Consequences of COVID-19 (COCO) dataset (quota sample of the adult Italian population, surveyed seven times by email), we analysed the trend of trust in political (political parties, parliament and local administrations), super partes (president of the Republic, judiciary and police) and international (the European Union and the United Nations) institutions from June 2019 to October 2022. Three latent growth curve models showed that trust in political institutions increased between June 2019 and April 2020 and subsequently decreased below the pre-pandemic level. Trust in super partes institutions decreased slightly between June 2019 and April 2020, decreased from April 2020 to April 2022 and increased in the subsequent months. Trust in international institutions declined between June 2019 and April 2020 and then returned to pre-pandemic levels. Three piecewise decompositions showed different trends in trust for non-populist voters, populist voters and non-voters. Strengths, weaknesses and possible developments of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurons are highly dependent on mitochondria to meet their bioenergetic needs and understanding the metabolic changes during the differentiation process is crucial in the neurodegeneration context. Several in vitro approaches have been developed to study neuronal differentiation and bioenergetic changes. The human SH-SY5Y cell line is a widely used cellular model and several differentiation protocols have been developed to induce a neuron-like phenotype including retinoic acid (RA) treatment. In this work we obtained a homogeneous functional population of neuron-like cells by a two-step differentiation protocol in which SH-SY5Y cells were treated with RA plus the mitotic inhibitor 2-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (FUdr). RA-FUdr treatment induced a neuronal phenotype characterized by increased expression of neuronal markers and electrical properties specific to excitable cells. In addition, the RA-FUdr differentiated cells showed an enrichment of long chain and unsaturated fatty acids (FA) in the acyl chain composition of cardiolipin (CL) and the bioenergetic analysis evidences a high coupled and maximal respiration associated with high mitochondrial ATP levels. Our results suggest that the observed high oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) capacity may be related to the activation of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway and the assembly of respiratory supercomplexes (SCs), highlighting the change in mitochondrial phenotype during neuronal differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is one of the most frequent causes of mental retardation, intellectual disability, and autism. Most cases are the result of an expansion of the CGG trinucleotide repeat in the 5′ untranslated region of the FMR1 gene and the subsequent functional loss of the related protein. We describe the case of a 4-year-old boy who clinically presents mild psychomotor delay without any major clinical dysmorphisms. Molecular analysis of the FMR1 gene showed mosaicism in terms of size and methylation, with one normal and 1 fully mutated allele, which is very rare in this syndrome. Physicians should therefore consider a diagnosis of FXS even if the patient’s phenotype is mild. Although rare, diagnosing this condition has important consequences for the patient’s rehabilitation and the family planning of parents and relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWSp) has recently been renamed to spectrum to reflect its diverse presentation and clinical features. In 2018, an international consensus developed a diagnostic approach and redefined clinical criteria, establishing a score above which a diagnosis can be made in case of a negative genetic test. We described a cohort of 831 patients to validate the efficacy of the 2018 consensus score for BWSp diagnosis, and to gather data on the performance of previous and current scoring systems, as well as the relationship between BWSp features, molecular tests, and the risk of cancer development. Different scoring systems for the clinical diagnosis of the Beckwith–Wiedemann spectrum (BWSp) have been developed over time, the most recent being the international consensus score. Here we try to validate and provide data on the performance metrics of these scoring systems of the 2018 international consensus and the previous ones, relating them to BWSp features, molecular tests, and the probability of cancer development in a cohort of 831 patients. The consensus scoring system had the best performance (sensitivity 0.85 and specificity 0.43). In our cohort, the diagnostic yield of tests on blood-extracted DNA was low in patients with a low consensus score (~20% with a score = 2), and the score did not correlate with cancer development. We observed hepatoblastoma (HB) in 4.3% of patients with UPD(11)pat and Wilms tumor in 1.9% of patients with isolated lateralized overgrowth (ILO). We validated the efficacy of the currently used consensus score for BWSp clinical diagnosis. Based on our observation, a first-tier analysis of tissue-extracted DNA in patients with <4 points may be considered. We discourage the use of the consensus score value as an indicator of the probability of cancer development. Moreover, we suggest considering cancer screening for negative patients with ILO (risk ~2%) and HB screening for patients with UPD(11)pat (risk ~4%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological data show that men and women have similar probabilities of contracting COVID-19. However, men with COVID-19 tend to have more severe outcomes than women. We performed two studies to analyze the associations between gender, adherence to traditional masculinity ideology, perceived vulnerability to COVID-19, and the adoption of protective behaviors against COVID-19. In Study 1 (quota sample of the Italian adult population, N = 1,142), we found no differences between men and women in terms of the perceived probability of contracting COVID-19. However, compared to women, men perceived themselves to be less likely to suffer severe consequences if falling ill. In Study 2 (Italian community sample, N = 305), a moderated mediation model showed that adherence to traditional masculinity ideology moderated the association between being man and the perceived severity of the consequences of COVID-19, which, in turn, showed negative associations with three protective behaviors against COVID-19. The article ends with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rett syndrome caused by MECP2 variants is characterized by a heterogenous clinical spectrum accounted for in 60% of cases by hot-spot variants. Focusing on the most frequent variants, we generated in vitro iPSC-neurons from the blood of RTT girls with p.Arg133Cys and p.Arg255*, associated to mild and severe phenotype, respectively, and of an RTT male harboring the close to p.Arg255*, p.Gly252Argfs*7 variant. Truncated MeCP2 proteins were revealed by Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis. We compared the mutant versus control neurons at 42 days for morphological parameters and at 120 days for electrophysiology recordings, including girls' isogenic clones. A precocious reduced morphological complexity was evident in neurons with truncating variants, while in p.Arg133Cys neurons any significant differences were observed in comparison with the isogenic wild-type clones. Reduced nuclear size and branch number show up as the most robust biomarkers. Patch clamp recordings on mature neurons allowed the assessment of cell biophysical properties, V-gated currents, and spiking pattern in the mutant and control cells. Immature spiking, altered cell capacitance, and membrane resistance of RTT neurons, were particularly pronounced in the Arg255* and Gly252Argfs*7 mutants. The overall results indicate that the specific markers of in vitro cellular phenotype mirror the clinical severity and may be amenable to drug testing for translational purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This methodological study was conducted to test the psychometric properties of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy- Health Professional Student's version ( JSE-HPS), in a convenience sample of 797 Italian nursing students and to describe their empathic engagement. Data were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, test-retest, correlation analysis, t-test, and analysis of variance method. Principal component factor extraction with Oblimin rotation on the first half of the sample was conducted. The analysis suggested a three-factor solution for 14 items: 'compassionate care/emotional engagement,' 'perspective-taking,' and 'standing in the patient's shoes.' Confirmatory factor analysis on the second half of the sample showed good fit indexes for the 14-item solution, indicated by the exploratory factor analysis, and the 20 item solution of the scale, with the exception of one item. Test-retest correlation was 0.50 ( P < 0.001) for the overall scale. Results from group comparisons and correlations are also provided and discussed. The Italian version of the JSE-HPS is a psychometrically sound tool. The translated 20-item solution is also suitable to carry out cross-cultural comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature shows that exposure to societal threat stemming from criminality can elicit an increase in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) via the mediation of the loss of perceived control. In this study, we investigated whether the perception of meaning can act as a buffering factor for such process, performing an experiment with 316 Italian university students (67.8% women; mean age = 25.81, SD = 9.18). A moderated mediation model showed that the loss of perceived control mediated the relation between societal threat stemming from criminality and RWA, but that the second link was significant only among people low in meaning. Limitations, implications and possible developments of this research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is the most frequent congenital endocrine disorder. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the incidence and etiological classification of CH in Apulia in a three-year period according to the reorganization of the regional screening program in a single central laboratory, as well as to analyze the growth characteristics and the associated risk factors of the CH newborns diagnosed during the study period. Methods: Data derived from the reorganization of the newborn screening program for CH in a single central laboratory that collects dried blood spot (DBS) from 27 Maternity Hospitals are analyzed over a three-year period. Birth weight and length, daily dose of L-T4 at specific key points (3, 6, 12 and 18 months, 2, 2.5 and 3 years) were also obtained from medical records of the CH newborns during the study period and calculated as standard deviation score (SDS). Results: The screening program diagnosed 90 newborns with confirmed CH (incidence 1:990; recall rate: 3.6%). In detail, 75.6% newborns had an eutopic thyroid, and 24.4% had thyroid dysgenesis; 33 out of the 90 newborns (36.6%) had one or more risk factors. Among these, the multiple pregnancies are the most important because they tripled the risk of CH. At diagnosis, TSH levels were different between patients with dysgenesis and those with an eutopic thyroid (p = 0.005). Treatment was started at a mean of 18.5 ± 12.8 days of life. The mean starting dose of levothyroxine (L-T4) was 11.38 ± 2.46 μg/kg/day. Conclusions: The results of these study show an increase of CH cases in newborns with an eutopic thyroid compared to the traditional classification. The centralization of the screening program allows a closer cooperation between laboratory and clinical centers and facilitates the implementation of appropriate diagnostic evaluations and timely initiation of treatment, with positive effects on the management of the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]