Papers by Chiara Manfredi
PloS one, 2015
The identification of nursery grounds and other essential fish habitats of exploited stocks is a ... more The identification of nursery grounds and other essential fish habitats of exploited stocks is a key requirement for the development of spatial conservation planning aimed at reducing the adverse impact of fishing on the exploited populations and ecosystems. The reduction in juvenile mortality is particularly relevant in the Mediterranean and is considered as one of the main prerequisites for the future sustainability of trawl fisheries. The distribution of nursery areas of 11 important commercial species of demersal fish and shellfish was analysed in the European Union Mediterranean waters using time series of bottom trawl survey data with the aim of identifying the most persistent recruitment areas. A high interspecific spatial overlap between nursery areas was mainly found along the shelf break of many different sectors of the Northern Mediterranean indicating a high potential for the implementation of conservation measures. Overlap of the nursery grounds with existing spatial fi...
PLOS ONE, 2016
Species diversity is widely recognized as an important trait of ecosystems&am... more Species diversity is widely recognized as an important trait of ecosystems' functioning and resilience. Understanding the causes of diversity patterns and their interaction with the environmental conditions is essential in order to effectively assess and preserve existing diversity. While diversity patterns of most recurrent groups such as fish are commonly studied, other important taxa such as cephalopods have received less attention. In this work we present spatio-temporal trends of cephalopod diversity across the entire Mediterranean Sea during the last 19 years, analysing data from the annual bottom trawl survey MEDITS conducted by 5 different Mediterranean countries using standardized gears and sampling protocols. The influence of local and regional environmental variability in different Mediterranean regions is analysed applying generalized additive models, using species richness and the Shannon Wiener index as diversity descriptors. While the western basin showed a high diversity, our analyses do not support a steady eastward decrease of diversity as proposed in some previous studies. Instead, high Shannon diversity was also found in the Adriatic and Aegean Seas, and high species richness in the eastern Ionian Sea. Overall diversity did not show any consistent trend over the last two decades. Except in the Adriatic Sea, diversity showed a hump-shaped trend with depth in all regions, being highest between 200-400 m depth. Our results indicate that high Chlorophyll a concentrations and warmer temperatures seem to enhance species diversity, and the influence of these parameters is stronger for richness than for Shannon diversity.
Ecological Modelling, 2015
Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 2014
Addictive Behaviors Reports, 2015
Background: The construct of craving has been shown to play a crucial role in the development and... more Background: The construct of craving has been shown to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors. Both novelty seeking and desire thinking have been identified, respectively, as important temperamental and cognitive predictors of craving. Aims: In the present study we aimed to explore the relative contribution of novelty seeking and desire thinking towards craving, hypothesizing a sequence of multiple mediating relationships starting from novelty seeking and moving onto imaginal prefiguration, verbal perseveration and craving in serial fashion. Method: A convenience sample of 270 individuals completed measures assessing novelty seeking, desire thinking, and craving relating to a chosen activity. Results: Findings showed that, controlling for age and gender, desire thinking components predicted craving over and above novelty seeking. The indirect effect from novelty seeking to craving, via desire thinking components, was significant thus supporting a multiple-mediational sequence. Finally, the relationship between imaginal prefiguration and craving was found to be partially mediated by verbal perseveration.
PloS one, 2015
The identification of nursery grounds and other essential fish habitats of exploited stocks is a ... more The identification of nursery grounds and other essential fish habitats of exploited stocks is a key requirement for the development of spatial conservation planning aimed at reducing the adverse impact of fishing on the exploited populations and ecosystems. The reduction in juvenile mortality is particularly relevant in the Mediterranean and is considered as one of the main prerequisites for the future sustainability of trawl fisheries. The distribution of nursery areas of 11 important commercial species of demersal fish and shellfish was analysed in the European Union Mediterranean waters using time series of bottom trawl survey data with the aim of identifying the most persistent recruitment areas. A high interspecific spatial overlap between nursery areas was mainly found along the shelf break of many different sectors of the Northern Mediterranean indicating a high potential for the implementation of conservation measures. Overlap of the nursery grounds with existing spatial fi...
Personality and Individual Differences, 2011
The objective of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of temperament and paren... more The objective of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of temperament and parental styles in predicting ruminative brooding and worry whilst controlling for negative affect. A community sample (n = 307) was administered six self-report instruments that assessed anxiety, depression, temperament, parental styles, ruminative brooding and worry. Results showed that both ruminative brooding and worry were positively correlated with anxiety, depression, harm avoidance and parental overprotection. In addition, ruminative brooding was positively correlated with reward dependence, and worry with novelty seeking. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that anxiety, depression, reward dependence and parental overprotection were significant predictors of ruminative brooding, and that anxiety, depression, harm avoidance and parental overprotection were significant predictors of worry. These findings show that a temperament characterized by high levels of harm avoidance or high levels of reward dependence may facilitate the tendency to use worry or ruminative brooding, respectively, and that a parental style characterized by high control and protectiveness is an independent risk factor for the development of both types of recurrent negative thinking.
Nuclear Medicine Communications, 2010
The potential of indium-111 labelled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid α,ω-bis(biocytinamide) (I... more The potential of indium-111 labelled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid α,ω-bis(biocytinamide) (In-DTPA-Biotin) as a specific tracer in nuclear medicine imaging of vertebral osteomyelitis has been shown in a large series of consecutive patients. Biocytin is known to serve as a biotin source for a number of different microorganisms and quantitative studies on staphylococci indicated that on a molar basis biocytin seemed to have an activity equal to that of biotin. In this study, we evaluated the possibility of an illicit transport of In-DTPA-Biotin in cultures of Staphylococcus aureus on continued incubation for 24 h. Radiolabelled biocytin was prepared as described earlier and the stability and radiochemical purity was assessed in vitro for 24 h after labelling. Our data seem to demonstrate a passive transport of In-DTPA-Biotin into the cells of the microorganisms.
Nuclear Medicine and Biology, 2010
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an important role in cancer initiation, development... more Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an important role in cancer initiation, development and progression. Radiolabeled inhibitors of EGFR-TK would not only provide a noninvasive quantitative measurement of EGFR content in tumors but also serve as radionuclide carriers for targeted radiotherapy. Consequently, there has been a great interest in the use of labeled EGFR-TK inhibitors as tumor imaging agent. The compound N-(6,7-dimethoxy-4-quinazolinyl)-1,2-ethanediamine was synthesized and conjugated with MAG and MAG 3 respectively. Compounds 1,2 were successfully labeled with [ 99m TcN] 2+ intermediate in high labeling yields (N90%) and high radiochemical purities. Moreover, results of biodistribution in tumor-bearing mice demonstrated that the new complexes showed tumor accumulation, high tumor-to-muscle (T/M=1.82, 4.20) ratios and rapid clearance from blood. Especially, [ 99m TcN]-2 showed the better characteristics as potential tumor imaging agent for single photon emission computed tomography.
Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 2010
Early assessment of the efficacy of treatment is important in patients with breast cancer, whose ... more Early assessment of the efficacy of treatment is important in patients with breast cancer, whose routine adjuvant regimen frequently includes chemotherapy. Irrespective of the exact mechanisms involved in induction, the common early phenotypic marker of apoptosis is the expression on the outer cell membrane surface of phosphatidylserine, which avidly binds annexin V. (99m)Tc-labeled annexin V has been proposed for in vivo scintigraphic detection of apoptosis, albeit with contradicting results. This study was performed to define the time course of apoptosis induced by the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel in a model of virus-induced murine breast cancer. The RIII virus induces an estrogen-dependent, slow-growing breast cancer; BALB-c/cRIII female mice with breast tumors averaging 10 mm were studied, both in baseline conditions and at various times after the intravenous administration of paclitaxel (equivalent to a human dose of 20 mg/70 kg of body weight). The biodistribution of (99m)Tc-annexin V was evaluated at baseline and then at 1, 3, 6, and 24 h after paclitaxel administration. Apoptotic and antiapoptotic markers were also evaluated in tumor samples obtained at the same time points: DNA breaks (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling [TUNEL]), active caspase-3, apoptosis-inducing factor, and Bcl-2 protein. Baseline uptake of (99m)Tc-annexin V in breast tumors was about 2-fold higher than the uptake in normal breast tissue (demonstrating some ongoing apoptosis); tracer uptake increased at 1 and 3 h after paclitaxel administration (to almost double the baseline value) and then declined to levels even lower than baseline. Although no activation of the apoptosis-inducing factor mechanism was detected, a peak in TUNEL-positive tumor cells was reached 3 h after paclitaxel administration (to more than 6-fold the baseline level). The antiapoptotic marker Bcl-2 exhibited a biphasic pattern, with a maximum drop at 3 h, followed by return toward baseline levels at 6 h. These results define the time course of various biologic events taking place in this model of murine breast cancer after a proapoptotic insult (single-dose paclitaxel). Although confirming that in vivo uptake of (99m)Tc-annexin V reflects the degree of apoptosis, the study also suggests that the apoptotic response to antitumor therapy may differ from tumor type to tumor type. Therefore, contradicting results previously reported may depend on an inadequate time window chosen for imaging with (99m)Tc-annexin V.
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Journal of Endocrinology, 2012
3-Iodothyronamine (T 1 AM) is a novel chemical messenger, structurally related to thyroid hormone... more 3-Iodothyronamine (T 1 AM) is a novel chemical messenger, structurally related to thyroid hormone, able to interact with G protein-coupled receptors known as trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs). Little is known about the physiological role of T 1 AM. In this prospective, we synthesized [ 125 I]-T 1 AM and explored its distribution in mouse after injecting in the tail vein at a physiological concentration (0 . 3 nM). The expression of the nine TAAR subtypes was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. [ 125 I]-T 1 AM was taken up by each organ. A significant increase in tissue vs blood concentration occurred in gallbladder, stomach, intestine, liver, and kidney. Tissue radioactivity decreased exponentially over time, consistent with biliary and urinary excretion, and after 24 h, 75% of the residual radioactivity was detected in liver, muscle, and adipose tissue. TAARs were expressed only at trace amounts in most of the tissues, the exceptions being TAAR1 in stomach and testis and TAAR8 in intestine, spleen, and testis. Thus, while T 1 AM has a systemic distribution, TAARs are only expressed in certain tissues suggesting that other high-affinity molecular targets besides TAARs exist.
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2012
Background: Parental overprotection may have a direct effect on worry through hindering children'... more Background: Parental overprotection may have a direct effect on worry through hindering children's exploration experiences and preventing the learning of action-oriented coping strategies (Cheron, Ehrenreich and Pincus, 2009; Nolen-Hoeksema, Wolfson, Mumme and Reprint requests to Marcantonio M. Spada, © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2011 288 M. M. Spada et al. and an indirect effect through fostering the development of maladaptive metacognitions that are associated with the activation of worry and the escalation of anxiety . Aim: The aim was to investigate the relative contribution of recalled parental overprotection in childhood and metacognitions in predicting current levels of worry. Method: A community sample (n = 301) was administered four self-report instruments to assess parental overprotection, metacognitions, anxiety and worry. Results: Metacognitions were found to predict levels of worry independently of gender, anxiety and parental overprotection. They were also found to predict anxiety independently of gender, worry and parental overprotection. Conclusions: The combination of a family environment perceived to be characterized by overprotection and high levels of maladaptive metacognitions are a risk factor for the development of worry.
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2013
The perception of self-discrepancies between the actual self and the ideal self has been defined ... more The perception of self-discrepancies between the actual self and the ideal self has been defined as a cognitive risk factor for depression . In this view, selfdiscrepancy monitoring (SDM) refers to the voluntary re-orientation of attention towards detecting discrepancies between ideal and actual selves, even in a positive situation. Aims:
Progress in Oceanography, 2015
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Papers by Chiara Manfredi