Istituto Universitario Di Studi Superiori Di Pavia

About: Istituto Universitario Di Studi Superiori Di Pavia is a education organization based out in Pavia, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Pulsar & Neutron star. The organization has 162 authors who have published 566 publications receiving 22605 citations.

A joint probabilistic index for objective drought identification: the case study of Haiti

Abstract: . Since drought is a multifaceted phenomenon, more than one variable should be considered for a proper understanding of such an extreme event in order to implement adequate risk mitigation strategies such as weather or agricultural indices insurance programmes or disaster risk financing tools. This paper proposes a new composite drought index that accounts for both meteorological and agricultural drought conditions by combining in a probabilistic framework two consolidated drought indices: the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the vegetation health index (VHI). The new index, called the probabilistic precipitation vegetation index (PPVI), is scalable, transferable all over the globe and can be updated in near real time. Furthermore, it is a remote-sensing product, since precipitation is retrieved from satellite data and the VHI is a remote-sensing index. In addition, a set of rules to objectively identify drought events is developed and implemented. Both the index and the set of rules have been applied to Haiti. The performance of the PPVI has been evaluated by means of a receiver operating characteristic curve and compared to that of the SPI and VHI considered separately. The new index outperformed SPI and VHI both in drought identification and characterization, thus revealing potential for an effective implementation within drought early-warning systems.

Do we need pharmacogenetics to personalize antidepressant therapy

Abstract: This review examines the role of drug metabolism and drug target polymorphism in determining the clinical response to antidepressants. Even though antidepressants are the most effective available treatment for depressive disorders, there is still substantial need for improvement due to the slow onset of appreciable clinical improvement and the association with side effects. Moreover, a substantial group of patients receiving antidepressant therapy does not achieve remission or fails to respond entirely. Even if the large variation in antidepressant treatment outcome across individuals remains poorly understood, one possible source of this variation in treatment outcome are genetic differences. The review focuses on a few polymorphisms which have been extensively studied, while reporting a more comprehensive reference to the existing literature in table format. It is relatively easy to predict the effect of polymorphisms in drug metabolizing enzymes, such as cytochromes P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) and cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19), which may be determined in the clinical context in order to explain or prevent serious adverse effects. The role of target polymorphism, however, is much more difficult to establish and may be more relevant for disease susceptibility and presentation rather than for response to therapy.