Sustainable production of heavy metal-binding levan by a subarctic permafrost thaw lake Pseudomonas strain 2ASCA.

Pseudomonas strain 2ASCA isolated in subarctic Québec, Canada, produced a cell membrane bound levan-type exopolymer (yield 1.17 g/L), after incubation in growth media containing 6 % sucrose (w/v) at temperature of 15 °C for 96 h. The objective of this study was to optimize levan production by varying the growth parameters. Moreover, polymer chemical characterization has been studied with the aim of increasing knowledge and leading to future applications in many fields, including heavy metal remediation. Higher levan yields (7.37 g/L) were reached by setting up microbial fermentation conditions based on the re-use of the molasses obtained from sugar beet processing. Spectroscopy analyses confirmed the levan-type nature of the exopolymer released by strain 2ASCA, consisting of a ß-(2,6)-linked fructose repeating unit. Gel permeation chromatography revealed that the polymer has a molecular weight of 13 MDa. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) showed that the levan sequestered with a strong affinity for Cr(III), which has never been previously reported, highlighting an interesting biosorption potential. In addition, SEM analysis revealed the formation of nanoparticles in acidified water solution.

Genomic Analysis Provides New Insights Into Biotechnological and Industrial Potential of Parageobacillus thermantarcticus M1.

Parageobacillus thermantarcticus strain M1 is a Gram-positive, motile, facultative anaerobic, spore forming, and thermophilic bacterium, isolated from geothermal soil of the crater of Mount Melbourne (74°22' S, 164°40' E) during the Italian Antarctic Expedition occurred in Austral summer 1986-1987. Strain M1 demonstrated great biotechnological and industrial potential owing to its ability to produce exopolysaccharides (EPSs), ethanol and thermostable extracellular enzymes, such as an xylanase and a ß-xylosidase, and intracellular ones, such as xylose/glucose isomerase and protease. Furthermore, recent studies revealed its high potential in green chemistry due to its use in residual biomass transformation/valorization and as an appropriate model for microbial astrobiology studies. In the present study, using a systems-based approach, genomic analysis of P. thermantarcticus M1 was carried out to enlighten its functional characteristics. The elucidation of whole-genome organization of this thermophilic cell factory increased our understanding of biological mechanisms and pathways, by providing valuable information on the essential genes related to the biosynthesis of nucleotide sugar precursors, monosaccharide unit assembly, as well as the production of EPSs and ethanol. In addition, gene prediction and genome annotation studies identified genes encoding xylanolytic enzymes that are required for the conversion of lignocellulosic materials to high-value added molecules. Our findings pointed out the significant potential of strain M1 in various biotechnological and industrial applications considering its capacity to produce EPSs, ethanol and thermostable enzymes via the utilization of lignocellulosic waste materials.

Conspiracy beliefs of Italian voters for populist parties: The moderated mediational role of political interest and ideological attitudes.

Grounded in the theoretical framework of the dual-process motivational model of ideology and politics, we investigated the mediational role of RWA and SDO on the relationship between voting for populist parties and conspiracy beliefs; the moderation of political interest was also explored. Collapsing different convenience samples gathered after the European election (2014/2015) and the General National Election (2018/2019) allowed us to analyse two datasets (Study 1, n = 4141; Study 2, n = 2301). We hypothesised that populist voters would report higher conspiracy beliefs, RWA, and SDO, compared to non-populist voters and abstainers, and that populist voters would report more conspiracy beliefs through indirect pathways running through RWA and SDO. Furthermore, we hypothesised that such direct and indirect associations would be stronger for individuals with high rather than low political interest. Analyses of variance and moderated mediation models mostly confirmed our expectations, although RWA, and not SDO, mediated the relationships in the expected directions.

Being mindful in the tax context in Italy: Examining whether and how mindfulness relates with tax evasion intentions and support for tax progressivity.

Two studies explored whether and how mindfulness relates with citizens' tax evasion intentions and support for progressive tax rates. Based on theoretical and empirical grounds, in Study 1 (N = 1,175) we proposed that mindfulness would be negatively related with tax evasion intentions through decreased social dominance orientation. Drawing on Duckitt's dual-process motivational model, in Study 2 (N = 722) we proposed that mindfulness would be positively related with support for progressive taxation through the mediation of lower competitive-jungle beliefs, and then lower social dominance orientation. Instead, we did not expect to find mediation of the link between mindfulness and support for progressive taxation through dangerous-world beliefs and right-wing authoritarianism. These studies inform about the motivational pathways through which mindfulness relates with tax evasion intentions and support for progressive taxation.

Is Covid-19 a natural event? Covid-19 pandemic and conspiracy beliefs.

In this paper, antecedents and consequences of conspiracy beliefs are investigated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. 618 individuals residing in different geographical area of Italy participated in the study. We found that perceived mortality rate of COVID-19 is positively associated with adherence to conspiracy beliefs and, in turn, with negative outcomes such as: (a) a reduced support for the measures taken to deal with the pandemic emergency, (b) a weaker feeling of guilt for the violation of anti-COVID-19 government rules, and (c) a stronger utilitarian stance which prioritizes economic over health-related outcomes of lockdown. Also, framing pandemic within the "natural order of things" - fundamental and implicit expectations concerning how life and the world should function - was expected to moderate the relationship between perceived mortality rate and conspiracy beliefs: we found this relationship to be weaker when people believe that pandemic falls into the "natural order of things".

Novel Psychrophiles and Exopolymers from Permafrost Thaw Lake Sediments.

Thermokarst lakes are one of the most abundant types of microbial ecosystems in the circumpolar North. These shallow basins are formed by the thawing and collapse of ice-rich permafrost, with subsequent filling by snow and ice melt. Until now, permafrost thaw lakes have received little attention for isolation of microorganisms by culture-based analysis. The discovery of novel psychrophiles and their biomolecules makes these extreme environments suitable sources for the isolation of new strains, including for potential biotechnological applications. In this study, samples of bottom sediments were collected from three permafrost thaw lakes in subarctic Québec, Canada. Their diverse microbial communities were characterized by 16S rRNA gene amplicon analysis, and subsamples were cultured for the isolation of bacterial strains. Phenotypic and genetic characterization of the isolates revealed affinities to the genera Pseudomonas, Paenibacillus, Acinetobacter,Staphylococcus and Sphingomonas. The isolates were then evaluated for their production of extracellular enzymes and exopolymers. Enzymes of potential biotechnological interest included α and ß-glucosidase, α and ß-maltosidase, ß-xylosidase and cellobiohydrolase. One isolate, Pseudomonas extremaustralis strain 2ASCA, also showed the capability to produce, in the loosely bound cell fraction, a levan-type polysaccharide with a yield of 613 mg/L of culture, suggesting its suitability as a candidate for eco-sustainable alternatives to commercial polymers.

Acinetobacter mesopotamicus sp. nov., Petroleum-degrading Bacterium, Isolated from Petroleum-Contaminated Soil in Diyarbakir, in the Southeast of Turkey.

A new petroleum-degrading bacterium, designated strain GC2T, was isolated from Bozkus 1 petroleum station in Diyarbakir, located in the southeast of Turkey. Cells were Gram-negative staining, aerobic, coccoid-rods, non-motile, non-spore-forming. The bacterium was found to degrade 100% of n-alkanes ranging from C11 to C34 presented in the 1% crude oil after incubation of 7 days. The membrane phospholipids were 1,2 diacylglycero-3-phosphorylethanolamine (PEA), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), dipalmitoyl-sn-glycerol 1- phosphocholine (PC1), 1,2 dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine monohydrate (PC3), cardiolipin also called diphosphatidylglycerol (CL) and l-α- phosphatidic acid, dipalmitoyl (AP); predominant respiratory ubiquinone was Q-8 and C16:0, C18:1ω9c and C16:1 were the major cellular fatty acids. The 16S rRNA sequence analysis revealed that the strain GC2T was a member of genus Acinetobacter and was most closely related to Acinetobacter lwoffii DSM 2403 T (99.79%), Acinetobacter pseudolwoffii ANC 5318 T (98.83%) and Acinetobacter harbinensis HITLi 7 T (98.14%). The rpoB and gyrB gene sequence analysis confirmed that the strain GC2T was a member of genus Acinetobacter and that the closest relative was Acinetobacter lwoffii DSM 2403 T (99.08% and 100% similarity, respectively). DNA-DNA hybridization values between GC2T and its closest relatives ranged from 65.6% (with A. lwoffii) to 5.1% (with A. venetianus). The whole genome sequence of strain GC2T was obtained. The DNA G + C content of this strain was determined to be 42.9 mol %. ANI indexes, in silico estimations of DDH values and wet lab DDH values demonstrated that strain GC2T represents an independent genomospecies. On the basis of phenotypic characteristics, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic data and DNA-DNA hybridization and whole genome analysis, we propose to assign strain GC2T as a new species of the genus Acinetobacter, for which the name Acinetobacter mesopotamicus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of this species is GC2T (DSM 26953 T = JCM 31073 T). The whole genome of strain GC2T has been deposited at DDBJ/ENA/GenBank under the accession JAALFF010000000.

Immigrant status and problem-gambling severity in adolescents: Evidence for moderation by sensation seeking.

Despite the multidimensional/ecological integrative perspective that suggests that the risk for problem gambling in adolescents can be determined by an interactive effect of different risk factors, few studies have investigated how different individual factors may affect the risk for problem gambling in a multiplicative way. This study aimed at exploring the interaction between immigrant status (IS) and sensation seeking (SS) on adolescent problem-gambling severity. The study involved 994 Italian adolescents (64% boys, Mage = 16.57, SD = 1.62). Participants' IS, SS and problem-gambling severity were individually assessed through, respectively, a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS) and the South Oaks Gambling Screen - Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA). Results showed that, among immigrant adolescents, there were higher levels of problem-gambling severity and a higher distribution of at-risk and problem gamblers with respect to non-immigrant adolescents. Both IS and SS had significant direct effects on problem-gambling severity, with IS and higher levels of SS being predictors of greater severity. A moderation analysis - controlling for gender and age - showed that adolescents with high scores of SS were more prone to experience gambling problems if they were also immigrant. These results have important implications for practice as they emphasize that specific interventions aimed at preventing problem gambling would be required for adolescents from immigrant families. In particular, it would be important to consider the role of SS in this specific youth target.

The HEXACO-100 Across 16 Languages: A Large-Scale Test of Measurement Invariance.

The HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO-PI-R) has become one of the most heavily applied measurement tools for the assessment of basic personality traits. Correspondingly, the inventory has been translated to many languages for use in cross-cultural research. However, formal tests examining whether the different language versions of the HEXACO-PI-R provide equivalent measures of the 6 personality dimensions are missing. We provide a large-scale test of measurement invariance of the 100-item version of the HEXACO-PI-R across 16 languages spoken in European and Asian countries (N = 30,484). Multigroup exploratory structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analyses revealed consistent support for configural and metric invariance, thus implying that the factor structure of the HEXACO dimensions as well as the meaning of the latent HEXACO factors is comparable across languages. However, analyses did not show overall support for scalar invariance; that is, equivalence of facet intercepts. A complementary alignment analysis supported this pattern, but also revealed substantial heterogeneity in the level of (non)invariance across facets and factors. Overall, results imply that the HEXACO-PI-R provides largely comparable measurement of the HEXACO dimensions, although the lack of scalar invariance highlights the necessity for future research clarifying the interpretation of mean-level trait differences across countries.

Relationships between sociocultural factors (gender, immigrant and socioeconomic background), peer relatedness and positive affect in adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: During adolescence, experiencing positive emotions at school is important for motivation as well as for academic success and psychological well-being. In the present study, on the basis of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), we investigated the relationships between sociocultural factors (gender, immigrant and socioeconomic background), peer relatedness (acceptance and friendship) and positive affect at school. METHODS: Data was based on a random sample of 36,712 tenth grade Italian adolescents. Their average age was 15.6 years (SD = 0.77), 50.6% were males, while 6.1% were first-generation immigrants and 3.8% were second-generation immigrants. Firstly, comparing latent means, we established peer relatedness and positive affect profiles of adolescents with different sociocultural backgrounds. Subsequently, we tested a structural equation model, based on SDT, according to which the effects of sociocultural factors on experiencing positive affect at school are mediated by peer relatedness dimensions. RESULTS: Latent mean comparisons showed that immigrant adolescents, students with a lower-SES and girls had fewer friendships with their classmates, lower levels of positive affect at school and were less accepted by their peers. A well-fitting structural equation model corroborated the mediating role of acceptance and friendship, which accounted for 16% of variance in positive affect. CONCLUSIONS: Due to sociocultural factors, some groups of adolescents proved to be more at risk of being socially excluded and of experiencing less positive affect at school. Moreover, our findings support the claim of SDT that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, such as relatedness, is more important than sociocultural factors in determining adolescents' psychological well-being.

Evaluation of the production of exopolysaccharides by newly isolated Halomonas strains from Tunisian hypersaline environments.

Ten Halomonas strains were screened from different Tunisian hypersaline environments for the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS), characterized and identified basing on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. EPS production was therefore studied using two different culture media M1 (complex medium) and M2 (semi-complex medium). Selected isolates produced different EPS amounts ranging from 86 to 170 mg L-1 and 26 to 105 mg L-1 when grown on M1 and M2, respectively. The use of M1 encouraged stronger bacterial growth associated with greater EPS production compared to M2. Nevertheless, the highest EPS yield (YEPS/X) was observed for strains grown on M2. When cultivated on M1, all isolates produced EPS exhibiting almost the same monosaccharide profile with mannose, glucose and arabinose being the main monomers. However, the produced EPS on M2 were characterized by heterogeneous monosaccharide profiles among the different species, mostly consisting of glucomannan that could be a versatile material used for many further applications.

Dataset about populist attitudes, social world views, socio-political dispositions, conspiracy beliefs, and anti-immigration attitudes in an Italian sample.

This data article provides descriptive and analytic exploration of the links between anti-immigration policies, ideological and political attitudes and voting in an Italian Sample. More specifically, the data set comprises measures of socio-political dispositions (e.g., Right-Wing Authoritarianism), social world views (e.g., Dangerous World Beliefs), populist attitudes, self-reported voting in the last Italian political elections (March 4, 2018), and conspiracy beliefs. The sample consists of 774 participants, mostly non-student adult individuals. Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire.

Metacognition as a Predictor of Improvements in Personality Disorders.

Personality Disorders (PDs) are particularly hard to treat and treatment drop-out rates are high. Several authors have agreed that psychotherapy is more successful when it focuses on the core of personality pathology. For this reason, therapists dealing with PDs need to understand the psychopathological variables that characterize this pathology and exactly what contributes to maintaining psychopathological processes. Moreover, several authors have noted that one key problem that characterizes all PDs is an impairment in understanding mental states - here termed metacognition - which could also be responsible for therapy failures. Unfortunately, a limited number of studies have investigated the role of mentalization in the process of change during psychotherapy. In this paper, we assume that poor metacognition corresponds to a core element of the general pathology of personality, impacts a series of clinical variables, generates symptoms and interpersonal problems, and causes treatment to be slower and less effective. We explored whether changes in metacognition predicted an improvement among different psychopathological variables characterizing PDs; 193 outpatients were treated at the Third Center of Cognitive Psychotherapy in Rome, Italy, and followed a structured path tailored for the different psychopathological variables that emerged from a comprehensive psychodiagnostic assessment that considered patients' symptoms, metacognitive abilities, interpersonal relationships, personality psychopathology, and global functioning. The measurements were repeated after a year of treatment. The results showed that changes in metacognitive abilities predicted improvements in the analyzed variables.

Power Moderates the Effects of Social Dominance Orientation on Punishment: An Experimental Analysis.

In this study, it was hypothesized that experimentally manipulated levels of power would moderate the association of dispositional social dominance orientation (SDO) with preferences for harsh punishment. In particular, we expected to detect a stronger effect for dispositional SDO in the low-power condition, relying on the notion that low power enhances sensitivity to threats to the status quo, and that high SDO individuals are particularly motivated to enforce hierarchy-enhancing measures as punishment. SDO scores were measured two months prior to the experiment, and then immediately after the experimental session. As expected, preexperimental SDO interacted with the power manipulation. We found stronger preexperimental SDO effects on punishment among low-power participants. We also anticipated and found that individuals high in SDO increased further their postexperimental SDO scores if assigned to a high-power condition. The discussion focuses on the importance of SDO effects among low-status groups and on how situational roles shape dispositional self-descriptions.

Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories.

In the present research, we examined whether individual differences in basic moral concerns might be related to a greater endorsement of conspiracy theories. Building on the notion that conspiracy theories often deal with super-individual relevant events in which a group perspective is central, we proposed that individual differences in moral concerns pertaining to group- and community-concerns (i.e., binding moral foundations) rather than to individual well-being (i.e., individualising moral foundations) would be positively associated with conspiracy beliefs. We further hypothesised that such relations would be totally mediated by beliefs in a dangerous world and by embracing moral absolutism. We found support for these predictions in two community samples (Ns: 319; 514). Theoretical implications were discussed.

Vibrio coralliirubri sp. nov., a new species isolated from mucus of red coral (Corallium rubrum) collected at Procida island, Italy.

Strain Corallo1T was isolated from mucus of red coral (Corallium rubrum) at Punta Pizzaco (Procida island, Naples, Italy). It was characterised as a Gram-stain negative, motile, rod-shaped bacterium. Strain Corallo1T was found to show positive responses for cytochrome-c oxidase, catalase, reduction of nitrate and nitrite, ß-galactosidase activity and hydrolysis of starch, xylan, peptone, Tween 40, Tween 80 and casein. Strain Corallo1T was found to be mesophilic, neutrophilic to alkalophilic and slightly halophilic. According to analysis of the almost-complete 16S rRNA gene, strain Corallo1T is closely related to Vibrio celticus (100% sequence similarity), Vibrio gigantis (100%), Vibrio crassostreae (99.7%), Vibrio artabrorum (99.7%) and Vibrio pomeroyi (99.6%). MLSA of five housekeeping genes (atpA, pyrH, recA, rpoA and rpoD) was performed to refine the phylogenetic relationships of strain Corallo1T. A draft genome sequence of strain Corallo1T was obtained. The DNA G+C content of this strain was determined to be 44.5 mol %. The major cellular fatty acids of strain Corallo1T are C16:1, n-C16:0 and C18:1, and the major isoprenoid ubiquinone is Q8. ANI indexes, in silico estimations of DDH values and wet lab DDH values demonstrated that strain Corallo1T represents an independent genomospecies. Based on a polyphasic taxonomic characterisation, strain Corallo1T is concluded to represent a novel species of the genus Vibrio, for which the name Vibrio coralliirubri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Corallo1T (= DSM 27495T = CIP 110630T).

Aeribacillus composti sp. nov., a thermophilic bacillus isolated from olive mill pomace compost.

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, endospore-forming, thermophilic bacterium, strain N.8T, was isolated from the curing step of an olive mill pomace compost sample, collected at the Composting Experimental Centre (CESCO, Salerno, Italy). Strain N.8T, based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, was most closely related to Aeribacillus pallidus strain H12T (=DSM 3670T) (99.8 % similarity value) with a 25 % DNA-DNA relatedness value. Cells were rod-shaped, non-motile and grew optimally at 60 °C and pH 9.0, forming cream colonies. Strain N.8 was able to grow on medium containing up to 9.0 % (w/v) NaCl with an optimum at 6.0 % (w/v) NaCl. The cellular membrane contained MK-7, and C16 : 0 (48.4 %), iso-C17 : 0 (19.4 %) and anteiso-C17 : 0 (14.6 %) were the major cellular fatty acids. The DNA G+C content was 40.5 mol%. Based on phenotypic characteristics, 16S rRNA gene sequences, DNA-DNA hybridization values and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strain N.8T represents a novel species of the genus Aeribacillus, for which the name Aeribacillus composti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N.8T (=KCTC 33824T=JCM 31580T).

The role of attachment insecurity in the emergence of anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents with migraine: an empirical study.

BACKGROUND: It is widely recognised that there are associations between headache, psychiatric comorbidity and attachment insecurity in both adults and children. The aims of this study were: 1) to compare perceived attachment security and anxiety in children and adolescents with migraine without aura and a healthy control group; 2) to test whether the child's perceived security of attachment to the mother and the father mediated the association between migraine and anxiety. METHODS: One hundred children and adolescents with Migraine without Aura were compared with a control group of 100 children without headache. The Security Scale (measures perceived security of attachments) and the Self-Administered Psychiatric Scales for Children and Adolescents, a measure of anxiety symptoms, were administered to all participants. RESULTS: The clinical group had lower attachment security than the control group and higher scores on all anxiety scales. Anxiety was negatively correlated with attachment. Children's attachment to their mother mediated the increase in global anxiety in the clinical group. Insecure paternal attachment was associated with greater insecurity in maternal attachment, suggesting that there is a complex pathway from migraine to anxiety symptoms mediated by perceived insecurity of paternal attachment and hence also by perceived insecurity of maternal attachment. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that insecure parental attachment may exacerbate anxiety in children and adolescents with migraine and point to the importance of multimodal interventions, perhaps taking account of family relationships, for children and adolescents with migraine.

Environmental audits and process flow mapping to assess management of solid waste and wastewater from a healthcare facility: an Italian case study.

In Europe, there are an increasing number of policy and legislative drivers for a more sustainable approach to the management of natural resources as well as for the mitigation of environmental health risks. However, despite significant progress in recent years, there is still some way to go to achieve circularity of process, as well as risk mitigation within organisations. Using a case study of the Gardone Val Trompia hospital in northern Italy, this manuscript offers a novel holistic examination of strategies to enhance resource efficiency and environmental health within a key sector, i.e. the healthcare sector. Through the use of environmental audits and process flow mapping, trends in waste and wastewater arisings and the associated financial and environmental costs and risks were identified. Recommendations for developing more resource efficient approaches as well as mitigating the environmental and public health risks are suggested. These include strategies for improved resource efficiency (including reduction in the hazardous waste) and reduced environmental impacts during the containment, transport and treatment of the waste.

Applying the Implicit Association Test to Measure Intolerance of Uncertainty.

Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is a key trans-diagnostic personality construct strongly associated with anxiety symptoms. Traditionally, IU is measured through self-report measures that are prone to bias effects due to impression management concerns and introspective difficulties. Moreover, self-report scales are not able to intercept the automatic associations that are assumed to be main determinants of several spontaneous responses (e.g., emotional reactions). In order to overcome these limitations, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) was applied to measure IU, with a particular focus on reliability and criterion validity issues. The IU-IAT and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Inventory (IUI) were administered to an undergraduate student sample (54 females and 10 males) with a mean age of 23 years (SD = 1.7). Successively, participants were asked to provide an individually chosen uncertain event from their own lives that may occur in the future and were requested to identify a number of potential negative consequences of it. Participants' responses in terms of cognitive thoughts (i.e., cognitive appraisal) and worry reactions toward these events were assessed using the two subscales of the Worry and Intolerance of Uncertainty Beliefs Questionnaire. The IU-IAT showed an adequate level of internal consistency and a not significant correlation with the IUI. A path analysis model, accounting for 35% of event-related worry, revealed that IUI had a significant indirect effect on the dependent variable through event-related IU thoughts. By contrast, as expected, IU-IAT predicted event-related worry independently from IU thoughts. In accordance with dual models of social cognition, these findings suggest that IU can influence event-related worry through two different processing pathways (automatic vs. deliberative), supporting the criterion and construct validity of the IU-IAT. The potential role of the IU-IAT for clinical applications was discussed.