This work is focused on the investigation of coalescence under shear flow in aqueous mixtures of Na-alginate and Na-caseinate. Shear flow was generated in a parallel plate apparatus coupled with an ...optical microscope. Drop size distribution was measured as a function of time by computer controlled 3D optical sectioning of the sample and offline image analysis. Automated procedures of image analysis, based on out-of-focus components subtraction and drop contour detection, were implemented to measure a large number of drops, as required to minimize sampling errors. The effects of dispersed phase volume fraction and shear rate on the flow-induced evolution of the drop size distribution were explored. Finally, 3D reconstruction of the locations of the drops within the sample was performed to evaluate possible wall and sedimentation effects.
Introduction Different questionnaires were formulated in order to assess the severity of gambling. The most used questionnaire is the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), based on DSM-III criteria for ...gambling, even though it has poor specificity, because overestimates the prevalence of the disorder when used in general population. Objectives Try to overcome SOGS limits using a questionnaire based on DSM-IV criteria for gambling. Aims Validate the questionnaire based on DSM-IV criteria, using as gold standard the clinical interview developed through the SOGS. Methods The sample used is formed by 71 subjects, 58 men (81.7%) and 13 women (18.3%), recruited from the Psychiatric Department of Gemelli General Hospital in Rome, who were asked to fill out both questionnaires. Results The sensitivity of our questionnaire was 93% (compared to 100% in the SOGS); the specificity was 100% (97.1% in the SOGS). False negatives were 7%, while they were absent in the SOGS ; false positives were absent in the DSM-IV questionnaire, while they were 2.9% in the SOGS. We also determined the prevalence of each item of DSM-IV questionnaire in all gamblers identified (66 subjects): the most relevant item was “chasing one's losses”(item6), instead the least one was “committing illegal acts such as forgery, fraud, theft, or embezzlement to finance gambling”(item8). Conclusions Our data confirm the greater specificity of the questionnaire of DSM-IV criteria for gambling compared to the SOGS. We suggest its use for the identification of gamblers in a sample formed by general population.
Introduction Frequent and increasing relations among psychiatric and substance dependence disorders, have made, to date, more complex the treatment of this dependence, especially when the patient is ...facing the difficult task of maintaining abstinence, which requires a work of self-awareness, motivation to change and active modification of dysfunctional lifestyles. Objectives Our study has the aim to detect patients’ changes in personality between the beginning of the rehabilitative therapy and its end, trying to get information on aspects of addiction on which the treatment affects the most. Methods Our sample was formed by 153 patients, recruited at the Department of Psychiatry of Gemelli General Hospital, who were subjected to an integrated approach of treatment, both pharmacological and rehabilitative group-therapy, according to Minnesota rehabilitation model, that considers addiction as a bio-psycho-social problem. Patients, after a first psychiatric evaluation, were asked to fill out two psychometric tests, the SymptomCheckList-90 R and the Structural Clinical Interview for DSM-IV , in two times, at the first meeting and at the last one, after 20 meetings of group therapy. Results At the end of the group therapy 39 patients dropped-out, 114 patients had a significant improvement in depressive symptoms (DEP item), greater responsibility perseverance and attention in their activities and habitual contexts (GSI, DIS, W/S items), as well as better management of compulsion and impulsivity (OC item) and a lower sense of inferiority, inadequacy and discomfort in interpersonal relationships (PAR, ANX, IS, SOC. A., PSY. A. items).
The role of biota in the mass loss of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud was studied in the littoral belt of a central Italy volcanic lake. The research focussed on the feeding interactions ...between detritivores and decomposing fungi as drivers of the leaf litter decomposition. The litterbag technique was used to assess the leaf mass loss, the number of colonizing fungi and the patterns of leaf colonization by detritivores during 40 days of submersion in 16 sampling sites. Cores of bottom sediment were collected to estimate the organic content and ergosterol concentration as measure of fungal mass. The rate of leaf mass loss showed significant variability among the sampling sites and was non-linearly related to the quantity of organic depositions onto the lake bottom, peaking at about 40% of the dry matter. The rate was also positively correlated with the density of detritivore mass relative to the leaf unit mass, which increased with time. On the 20th day of litterbag immersion, when 40% of the initial leaf litter remained, we observed the best accordance between the two measures as well as the lowest difference in the detritivore mass density among sampling sites. In the absence of animals, the decomposition rate was positively related to the number of fungi on the decaying litter. The feeding activity of detritivores changed both the species richness and composition of the fungal community on the litter. The substrate reduction due to intense animal feeding appeared to limit the ability of fungi to regrow after grazing. As a result, an inverse relationship between the number of fungi and the decomposition rate was observed.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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