RESUMEN
Plant stress induced by high temperature is a problem in wide areas of different regions in the world. The trend of global warming is going to enhance the effects of heat stress on crops in many cultivation areas. Heat stress impairs the stability of cell membranes and many biological processes involving both primary and secondary metabolism. Biostimulants are innovative agronomical tools that can be used as a strategy to counteract the detrimental effect of abiotic stresses, including heat stress. In this work, two biostimulants based on Ascophyllum nodosum extracts (named Phylgreen) and based on animal L-α amino acids (named Delfan Plus) were applied as priming treatments to Arabidopsis thaliana plants subjected to heat stress exposure. Plants at the vegetative stage were treated with biostimulants 12 h before high temperature exposure, which consisted of maintaining the plants at 37 ± 1 °C for 4 h. Transcriptional profiles, physiological, and biochemical analyses were performed to understand the mode of action of the biostimulants in protecting the plants exposed to short-term heat stress. At a physiological level, chlorophyll, chlorophyll a fluorescence, phenolic index, total anthocyanins, reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured, and significant variations were observed immediately after stress. Both biostimulants were able to reduce the oxidative damage in leaves and cell membrane. Transcriptomic data revealed that upregulated genes were 626 in Phylgreen and 365 in Delfan Plus, while downregulated genes were 295 in Phylgreen and 312 in Delfan Plus. Bioinformatic analysis showed that the biostimulants protected the plants from heat stress by activating specific heat shock proteins (HPS), antioxidant systems, and ROS scavengers. The results revealed that the biostimulants effectively induced the activation of heat stress-associated genes belonging to different transcription factors and HSP families. Among the heat shock proteins, the most important was the AtHSP17 family and in particular, those influenced by treatments were AtHPS17.4 and AtHPS17.6A, B, showing the most relevant changes.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R) in an outpatient sample. METHOD: The TCI-R was administered to 404 consecutively admitted subjects. The TCI-R scale 1-month test-retest reliability and TCI-R/TCI convergent validity were assessed in 2 independent subsamples. RESULTS: The TCI-R scales showed adequate Cronbach alpha values and acceptable 1-month test-retest reliability coefficients. Although many TCI-R facets showed factorial complexity, factor analysis results were consistent with the 7-factor structure of the TCI-R scales. The predictive validity of TCI-R profiles for personality disorder diagnoses was confirmed, with different combinations of temperament dimensions being associated with specific personality disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The TCI-R was a reliable and valid instrument for assessing temperament and character features, at least among Italian outpatients. The TCI-R psychometric properties support its clinical usefulness in the assessing of personality psychopathology.
Asunto(s)
Atención Ambulatoria , Carácter , Trastornos de la Personalidad/diagnóstico , Inventario de Personalidad/estadística & datos numéricos , Temperamento , Adulto , Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los Trastornos Mentales , Femenino , Humanos , Italia , Lenguaje , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Trastornos Mentales/diagnóstico , Trastornos Mentales/psicología , Modelos Estadísticos , Determinación de la Personalidad/estadística & datos numéricos , Trastornos de la Personalidad/psicología , Valor Predictivo de las Pruebas , Escalas de Valoración Psiquiátrica , Psicometría , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
The aim of this study is to assess whether impulsive and aggressive traits can be placed on a continuum with DSM-IV Cluster B Personality Disorders (PDs) and to determine if different aspects of these personality traits are specifically associated with individual Cluster B PDs. The study group comprised 461 outpatients admitted consecutively to a clinic that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of PDs. Principal component analyses clearly suggested a five-factor structure of both normal and psychopathological personality traits. Importantly, measures of impulsivity, aggressiveness and novelty seeking formed a part of the principal component that clustered all Cluster B PDs. Regression analyses indicated that impulsive traits were selectively associated with Borderline PD whereas different aspects of aggressiveness were useful in discriminating Narcissistic PD from Antisocial PD. Sensation seeking traits formed a part of Histrionic PD. These results indicate that impulsive/aggressive traits may be useful in explaining both why Cluster B PDs tend to covary, and why they frequently differ in clinical pictures and courses.