On the Construct of Subjective Risk Intelligence and Its Relationships with Personality, Emotional Intelligence and Coping Strategies: A Comparison between Adolescents and Adults.

The complexity of today's scenario has made it necessary to investigate the need for individuals to make choices that entail increasing exposure to risk and uncertainty. Among the individual resources that could help people to cope with situations of uncertainty, the new construct of subjective risk intelligence (SRI), known as a person's ability to effectively weigh the pros and cons of a decision in situations where not all the outcomes are foreseen, would seem to play a prominent role. Considering that personality and coping strategies have been shown to be significantly related in previous research, the present study investigates the relationships between subjective risk intelligence, emotional intelligence, personality traits and coping strategies in both adults and adolescents. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1390 Italian people, divided into two subsamples of 641 adolescents and 749 adults. The results showed that SRI mediated the roles that personality traits and emotional intelligence have in coping strategies differently in the adult sample, in which the mediating role of SRI was found for avoidance coping, and in the adolescent sample, in which SRI influenced all of the antecedents analysed in the study for almost all of the identified coping strategies. In light of these findings, subjective risk intelligence could be activated to deal with uncertain and risky situations, influencing the choice of effective or ineffective strategies in both adults and adolescents.

Relational Competence, School Adjustment and Emotional Skills: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Group of Junior and High School Students of the Sicilian Hinterland.

Research has demonstrated the influence of emotional adjustment on the manifestation of problematic behaviors in adolescence, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the present research is to investigate the role of self-esteem and relational skills on school performance in a group of middle and high school students during the COVID-19 period. The research involved 392 students, aged between 11 and 20 (M = 13.78; S.D. = 2.56). Participants completed the following instruments: an anamnestic constructed ad hoc questionnaire; the Interpersonal Relationships Test, in order to evaluate the perception of adolescents concerning the quality of their relationships in social, family and school contexts; and the Multidimensional Test of Self-Esteem, structured in six scales, which coincide with the dimensions considered constitutive of self-esteem. The preliminary data have shown how the older girls, attending the high school, tend to manifest a higher level of social competence with peer group and teachers. Furthermore, the perception of a reduced emotional self-efficacy but an elevated environmental control and good interpersonal skills seem to predict the school adjustment. Understanding adolescents' perceptions of difficulties and their social support networks can offer some insight into how major social changes can be associated with individual well-being, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adaptation and Validation of the Subjective Risk Intelligence Scale for Italian Adolescents (SRIS-A).

Subjective Risk Intelligence (SRI) is the ability to consider risky and uncertain situations as opportunities rather than threats. SRI is constituted by four dimensions: attitude toward uncertainty, imaginative capability, problem solving self-efficacy and stress management. Adolescence is a period in life in which individuals face crucial life-tasks, that nowadays become complex due to uncertainty about future life and career. The present study aims to adapt the Subjective Risk Intelligence Scale (SRIS-A) for use with adolescences and examine its factor structure, psychometric properties, and relationships with related constructs (coping strategies, problem solving self-efficacy and courage). Participants were 641 Italian adolescents, balanced by gender. The results of the study showed that the suggested four-dimension scale structure adequately explained item correlations. Further, adequate reliability, construct validity and measurement invariance by gender were supported, suggesting that SRIS-A has adequate concurrent and convergent validity. Suggestions for further studies of SRI during adolescence using the SRIS-A are discussed.

Work Engagement as a Moderating Factor between Positive Attitude toward Smart Working and Job and Life Satisfaction.

Attitude toward smart working reflects feelings of favorableness towards this object; attitudes influence intentions, which in turn guide behaviors. Recent research confirms the positive influence that attitude toward smart working has on expected usage of it. Despite a direct influence, other factors could interact in the context of opportunities for ICT usage for teleworkers; among these factors, work engagement stands out. In turn, work engagement influences the perception of job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Considering that literature suggests that among the antecedents of work engagement are attitudes, the present study analyzes the role of positive attitude towards smart working on work engagement, and consequently on job satisfaction and on life satisfaction, hypothesizing that work engagement could mediate between positive attitude towards smart working and job and life satisfaction. The participants were 342 workers (115 males and 227 females) in private and public organizations, aged 24 to 66 years. The results showed that a positive attitude towards smart working, along with work engagement as a mediator, positively influences job satisfaction and life satisfaction. This means that employers and human resources managers (HRM) can organize training sessions to enhance the positive attitude toward smart working and this can help workers feel more engaged and satisfied.

Genetic susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma in chromosome 22q13.31, findings of a genome-wide association study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, long-term alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and obesity are the major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States, but the disease risk varies substantially among individuals with these factors, suggesting host susceptibility to and gene-environment interactions in HCC. To address genetic susceptibility to HCC, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS). METHODS: Two case-control studies on HCC were conducted in the United States. DNA samples were genotyped using the Illumian microarray chip with over 710 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We compared these SNPs between 705 HCC cases and 1455 population controls for their associations with HCC and verified our findings in additional studies. RESULTS: In this GWAS, we found that two SNPs were associated with HCC at P < 5E-8 and six SNPs at P < 5E-6 after adjusting for age, sex, and the top three principal components (PCs). Five of the SNPs in chromosome 22q13.31, three in PNPLA3 (rs2281135, rs2896019, and rs4823173) and two in SAMM50 (rs3761472, rs3827385), were replicated in a small US case-control study and a cohort study in Singapore. The associations remained significant after adjusting for body mass index and HCV infection. Meta-analysis of multiple datasets indicated that these SNPs were significantly associated with HCC. CONCLUSIONS: SNPs in PNPLA3 and SAMM50 are known risk loci for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and are suspected to be associated with HCC. Our GWAS demonstrated the associations of these SNPs with HCC in a US population. Biological mechanisms underlying the relationship remain to be elucidated.

The Influence of Self-Efficacy and Locus of Control on Body Image: A Path-Analysis in Aspiring Fashion Models, Athletes and Students.

It is widely documented that negative body image is a significant public health concern due to its association with symptoms of disordered eating and worse psychological well-being. The purpose of the study was to develop a path model of intrapersonal dimensions (self-efficacy and internal locus of control) as antecedents of perceived stress toward females' body dissatisfaction and eating attitude disorders. A total of 300 females, including 100 aspiring fashion models, 100 athletes and 100 students (controls), between 15 and 24 years of age (M = 19.6, SD = 1.85) participated in the study. Measures included level of psychological stress, self-efficacy and locus of control dimensions, body dissatisfaction and eating attitude disorder indices. A path analysis confirmed our research hypothesis. Comparing the three subsamples, we found better fit indexes in the two subgroups with elevated investment on their body image with respect the control group. More specifically, the model in the group of aspiring fashion models showed the best fit index. These results indicated that aspiring fashion models have a strong desire to maintain their low body mass or to become thinner. For this reason, a suitable involvement of expert health workers in the nutritional and psychological field could be extremely essential in the fashion world to maintain a healthier well-being.

Effects of social distancing on psychological state and physical activity routines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected the entire world. Since the reporting of the first cases, Italy has quickly become the country hit second firmest in the world by the coronavirus. Governments' immediate protective restrictions modified the habit of the individuals and included full lockdowns of cities, travel, restricted social congregations, and suspended schools. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to survey the general community in Italy to better recognize their levels of psychological impact, emotional responses and maintaining their daily exercise or physical activity routines during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: 670 adults were invited to complete an online survey collecting information on demographic data, physical and emotional symptoms in the past 14 days, contact history with COVID-19, and keeping regular physical activity. Data analysis was conducted through mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. RESULTS: During the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, more than half of the respondents reported a significant psychological and physical impact. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic is bringing significant challenges to people, families, and countries. For further studies, these findings can be used to advance psychological interventions to reduce the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Viral Exposure Signature Defines Early Onset of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive malignancy with its global incidence and mortality rate continuing to rise, although early detection and surveillance are suboptimal. We performed serological profiling of the viral infection history in 899 individuals from an NCI-UMD case-control study using a synthetic human virome, VirScan. We developed a viral exposure signature and validated the results in a longitudinal cohort with 173 at-risk patients who had long-term follow-up for HCC development. Our viral exposure signature significantly associated with HCC status among at-risk individuals in the validation cohort (area under the curve: 0.91 [95% CI 0.87-0.96] at baseline and 0.98 [95% CI 0.97-1] at diagnosis). The signature identified cancer patients prior to a clinical diagnosis and was superior to alpha-fetoprotein. In summary, we established a viral exposure signature that can predict HCC among at-risk patients prior to a clinical diagnosis, which may be useful in HCC surveillance.

Mental Imagery Skills in Competitive Young Athletes and Non-athletes.

Mental imagery is a fully immersive multi-sensory procedure that associates as numerous senses to create a mental image and process it without the presence of external stimuli. In the sport situation, imagery has been designated as the state in which people imagine themselves while effecting abilities to deal with the forthcoming duty or improve performance. Methodical analyses have revealed that imagery increases performance in motor tasks. This study aims at observing not the vividness of image but the cognitive abilities useful for the inspection, maintenance, generation, and manipulation of dissimilar classes of images, investigating modifications in mental imagery skills in competitive athletes and non-athletes. Participants were competitive athletes (n = 48) and non-athletes (n = 48) between the ages of 8 and 13 years (M age = 10.50, SD = 1.73). The athletes had a minimum of 5 years of training skill in the sport. They completed the Mental Imagery Test (MIT). Competitive athletes showed higher scores on mental imagery skills than non-athletes. The study contributed to increase the exploration in the definite area of mental imagery, supplying an added support for the pluridimensional nature of mental imagery and for its practicality in motor and sport sciences.

Clinical and Neurocognitive Predictors of Functional Outcome in Depressed Patients with Partial Response to Treatment: One Year Follow-Up Study.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive dysfunction represents a distinct biological and clinical dimension in major depression disorders (MDD) and cognitive performance strongly affects psychosocial functioning in patients diagnosed with MDD. OBJECTIVE: To assess which neurocognitive variables at baseline predict the functional outcome of MDD patients in a 1-year follow-up study as assessed by Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) and whether the improvement observed on affective and cognitive symptoms in our 12 week-prospective observational study after treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and selective noradrenalin reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) can affect the following long-term psychosocial functional outcome at 1 year in the same MDD patients. METHODS: We recruited a total of 31 patients (8 males; 23 females) with MDD who had previously completed a pharmacological treatment with SSRIs (n = 22) or SNRIs (n = 9) for 12 weeks, and then continued the same pharmacological treatment for 1 year. After an average 1-year follow-up, they were interviewed with the FAST to assess functional outcome. Multivariate analyses were applied to identify clinical and neurocognitive predictors of functional outcome. RESULTS: Total Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Digit Span forward (Span F) and backward (Span B), and 15 Rey words immediate recall (Rey I) scores significantly correlated with FAST. However, after performing regression models only Rey immediate recall score was useful to predict long-term functional outcome (Pearson correlation coefficient R= -0.68, p < 0.001) in four specific subdomains of FAST. When considering changes in affective and cognitive symptoms at the end of the 12 weeks of pharmacological treatment with SSRI or SNRIs (T1-T0) by multiple regression analysis, we found that Span F-test predicted scores in the FAST leisure domain, whereas, changes in Span F, Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and Rey I predicted psychosocial functioning in the specific "cognitive" subdomains of FAST. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that long-term psychosocial functioning can be influenced by neurocognitive performance at baseline, with verbal memory playing a key role in overall functioning. Furthermore, improvement in verbal memory can predict functional outcome at one year in MDD patients with a recent history of partial response to antidepressants.

Children Learn to Read: How Visual Analysis and Mental Imagery Contribute to the Reading Performances at Different Stages of Reading Acquisition.

Reading in alphabetic orthography requires analysis and recognition of specific attributes of visual stimuli, and generation, reactivation, and use of mental images of letters and words. This study evaluated the role of visual analysis and mental imagery in reading performances of students at different stages of reading acquisition. Reading "comprehension," "accuracy," and "speed," were analyzed. Participants were 90 children who attended primary school. Children were assessed in the first and third grade. The results highlighted that mental imagery and visual analysis influenced reading acquisition. These abilities are differently involved in the three dimensions of reading skill. The issues of this study have practical and educational applications. The early assessment of visual analysis and mental imagery skills and specific training on these abilities could contribute to facilitate reading acquisition. Strategies of intervention centered on visual imagery could increase reading performances in typically developing children and children at risk of learning difficulties.

Mental Images and School Learning: A Longitudinal Study on Children.

Recent literature have underlined the connections between children's reading skills and capacity to create and use mental representations or mental images; furthermore data highlighted the involvement of visuospatial abilities both during math learning and during subsequent developmental phases in performing math tasks. The present research adopted a longitudinal design to assess whether the processes of mental imagery in preschoolers (ages 4-5 years) are predictive of mathematics skills, writing and reading, in the early years of primary school (ages 6-7 years). The research lasted for two school years; in the first phase, the general group of participants consisted of 100 children, and although all participants agreed to be part of the research, in the second phase, there was a mortality rate of 30%. In order to measure school learning and mental imagery processes four batteries of tests were used. The mental imagery battery evaluated mental generation, inspection and transformation processes. Data underlined that the different aspects in which mental imagery processes are articulated are differently implied in some skills that constitute school learning. These findings emphasize the potential usefulness of a screening for mental imagery ability for schoolchildren to adopt effective measures to increase their mental imagery abilities.

Imagery ability of elite level athletes from individual vs. team and contact vs. no-contact sports.

BACKGROUND: In the sport context, imagery has been described as the condition in which persons imagine themselves while executing skills to deal with the upcoming task or enhance performance. Systematic reviews have shown that mental imagery improves performance in motor tasks. METHODS: The aim of the present study was to explore whether imagery vividness (i.e., the clarity or realism of the imagery experience) and controllability (i.e., the ease and accuracy with which an image can be manipulated mentally) differ by sport types (team vs. individual and contact vs. non-contact). Participants were athletes from team contact and non-contact sports (rugby and volleyball, respectively), and individual contact and non-contact sports (karate and tennis, respectively) between the ages of 20 and 33 years (M = 24.37, SD = 2.85). The participants completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2, and the Mental Image Transformation Tasks. RESULTS: A 2 ×2 × 2 (gender × 2 contact-no-contact × 2 sport type) between groups MANOVA showed differences in imagery ability by sport type. Practical indications deriving from the findings of this study can help coaches and athletes to develop mental preparation programs using sport-specific imagery.

Social Anxiety and Mental Imagery Processes.

OBJECTIVE: Mental imagery has featured prominently in several disorders. The recurrent and distressing imagery reported by individuals with social phobia is often that of a previously experienced event and such imagery is proposed to contribute to the maintenance of the disorder in contemporary cognitive models. The aims of the present study were to investigate which imagery processes (generation, maintenance, inspection and transformation) are most relevant to differentiate the performances of socially anxious individuals from those who are non-socially anxious, and that play a pivotal role in social phobia. METHOD: Sixty-two undergraduate volunteer students were recruited from an Italian university, age range 18-23 (M 19.34, SD 1.27), 23 males and 39 females. We used a standardized battery, the Mental Imagery Test (MIT), measuring mental imagery skills involving generation and manipulation of different categories of images to examine imagery processes in individuals with social anxiety and non-anxious controls. RESULTS: Results shown that socially anxious students were impaired in MIT total score, and particularly in the imagined paths tasks and clock test, significantly more than non-anxious individuals. In overall group, total score was negatively associated with social anxiety, and the imagine paths test was the best predictor of social anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings suggest that social anxiety is differently influenced by specific tasks of imagery based on the type of component involved in imaginative processes.

Sleep Deprivation and Physiological Responses. A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of 72-h sleep deprivation on normal daily activities (work, family, and sports), and to investigate whether sleep can be chronically reduced without dangerous consequences. METHODS: The participant in this study was an adult male (age 41 years; mass 69 kg; height 173 cm). During the 72 h, data were collected every 6 h, involving a baseline (pre-deprivation). We monitored various parameters: Oxidative Stress (D-Rom and Bap test), Psychological Responses (test POMS and Measure of Global Stress), Metabolic expenditure (kJ) using a metabolic holter, EEG records, Cortisol, and Catecholamines level. RESULTS: An interesting result was observed in the post-test phase, when a brief moment of deep sleep and total absence of a very deep sleep occurred, while an almost normal condition occurred in the pre-test sleep. CONCLUSION: During the 72-h sleep deprivation, no psycho-physiological stress was recorded. The participant has remained within the threshold of well-being. Only a peak was recorded during the 66th hour, but it was within the wellness threshold.

Facial expressions and the ability to recognize emotions from the eyes or mouth: A comparison among old adults, young adults, and children.

The aim of the present study was to contribute to the literature on the ability to recognize anger, happiness, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, and neutral emotions from facial information (whole face, eye region, mouth region). More specifically, the aim was to investigate older adults' performance in emotions recognition using the same tool used in the previous studies on children and adults' performance and verify if the pattern of emotions recognition show differences compared with the other two groups. Results showed that happiness is among the easiest emotions to recognize while the disgust is always among the most difficult emotions to recognize for older adults. The findings seem to indicate that is more easily recognizing emotions when pictures represent the whole face; compared with the specific region (eye and mouth regions), older participants seems to recognize more easily emotions when the mouth region is presented. In general, the results of the study did not detect a decay in the ability to recognize emotions from the face, eyes, or mouth. The performance of the old adults is statistically worse than the other two groups in only a few cases: in anger and disgust recognition from the whole face; in anger recognition from the eye region; and in disgust, fear, and neutral emotion recognition from mouth region.

Facial Expressions and the Ability to Recognize Emotions from the Eyes or Mouth: A Comparison Between Children and Adults.

The authors sought to contribute to the literature on the ability to recognize anger, happiness, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, and neutral emotions from facial information. They aimed to investigate if-regardless of age-this pattern changes. More specifically, the present study aimed to compare the difference between the performance of adults and 6- to 7-year-old children in detecting emotions from the whole face and a specific face region, namely the eyes and mouth. The findings seem to indicate that, for both groups, recognizing disgust, happiness, and surprise is facilitated when pictures represent the whole face. However, with regard to a specific region, a prevalence for children was not found between the eyes and mouth. Meanwhile, for adults, would seem to detect a greater role of the eye region. Finally, regarding the differences in the performance of emotions recognition, adults are better only in a few cases, whereas children are better in recognizing anger from the mouth.

Mental Imagery and School Readiness.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between the skills that constitute school readiness, such as linguistic, phonological, logical-mathematical and psychomotor skills, and mental imagery processes in preschool children. The participants were 100 healthy children (50 boys and 50 girls) aged four to five. Two batteries of tests were used to assess school readiness and different aspects of the mental imagery processes. The mental imagery battery measured mental imagery generation, inspection, and rotation of images. The results showed a relationship between the generation and inspection processes and the level of skills that constitute school readiness. These findings emphasize the potential usefulness of screening all preschoolers and kindergarteners for imagery ability, with the aim of adopting effective measures to increase their mental imagery abilities.

A classifier integrating plasma biomarkers and radiological characteristics for distinguishing malignant from benign pulmonary nodules.

Lung cancer is primarily caused by cigarette smoking and the leading cancer killer in the USA and across the world. Early detection of lung cancer by low-dose CT (LDCT) can reduce the mortality. However, LDCT dramatically increases the number of indeterminate pulmonary nodules (PNs), leading to overdiagnosis. Having a definitive preoperative diagnosis of malignant PNs is clinically important. Using microarray and droplet digital PCR to directly profile plasma miRNA expressions of 135 patients with PNs, we identified 11 plasma miRNAs that displayed a significant difference between patients with malignant versus benign PNs. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis of the molecular results and clinical/radiological characteristics, we developed an integrated classifier comprising two miRNA biomarkers and one radiological characteristic for distinguishing malignant from benign PNs. The classifier had 89.9% sensitivity and 90.9% specificity, being significantly higher compared with the biomarkers or clinical/radiological characteristics alone (all p < 0.05). The classifier was validated in two independent sets of patients. We have for the first time shown that the integration of plasma biomarkers and radiological characteristics could more accurately identify lung cancer among indeterminate PNs. Future use of the classifier could spare individuals with benign growths from the harmful diagnostic procedures, while allowing effective treatments to be immediately initiated for lung cancer, thereby reduces the mortality and cost. Nevertheless, further prospective validation of this classifier is warranted.

A Prediction Model Based on Biomarkers and Clinical Characteristics for Detection of Lung Cancer in Pulmonary Nodules.

Lung cancer early detection by low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can reduce the mortality. However, LDCT increases the number of indeterminate pulmonary nodules (PNs), whereas 95% of the PNs are ultimately false positives. Modalities for specifically distinguishing between malignant and benign PNs are urgently needed. We previously identified a panel of peripheral blood mononucleated cell (PBMC)-miRNA (miRs-19b-3p and -29b-3p) biomarkers for lung cancer. This study aimed to evaluate efficacy of integrating biomarkers and clinical and radiological characteristics of smokers for differentiating malignant from benign PNs. We analyzed expression of 2 miRNAs (miRs-19b-3p and -29b-3p) in PBMCs of a training set of 137 individuals with PNs. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to develop a prediction model based on the biomarkers, radiographic features of PNs, and clinical characteristics of smokers for identifying malignant PNs. The performance of the prediction model was validated in a testing set of 111 subjects with PNs. A prediction model comprising the two biomarkers, spiculation of PNs and smoking pack-year, was developed that had 0.91 area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic for distinguishing malignant from benign PNs. The prediction model yielded higher sensitivity (80.3% vs 72.6%) and specificity (89.4% vs 81.9%) compared with the biomarkers used alone (all P<.05). The performance of the prediction model for malignant PNs was confirmed in the validation set. We have for the first time demonstrated that the integration of biomarkers and clinical and radiological characteristics could efficiently identify lung cancer among indeterminate PNs.