Citalopram-Associated Gambling: A Case Report

Pathological gambling behaviour is a side effect of dopaminergic drugs used in Parkinson’s disease, but has seldom been reported with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. A 58-years-old woman with somatisation disorder since the age of 20 and recent-onset major depression (at 54 years) received 40 mg/day intravenous citalopram, thereafter switching to the same dose of oral citalopram to treat her comorbid psychiatric disorders after showing poor response to paroxetine for one year. Her anxious and depressive symptoms were moderately reduced after 7 months of oral citalopram, but simultaneously, the patient admitted gambling. We gradually discontinued citalopram and introduced pregabalin and alprazolam; this was followed by a reduction of gambling compulsions, but the somatisation and depressive symptoms did not further improve. Pathological gambling may be mediated by an interplay of 5-HT_1A serotonergic and D₂ dopaminergic mechanisms. Citalopram affects both these mechanisms in areas that were shown to be involved in gambling behaviour, but while dopaminergic effects of citalopram appear to be consistent with the induction of gambling, its serotonergic mechanisms are rather inconsistent. In our patient, mood destabilisation induced by citalopram may have contributed to the first onset of pathological gambling.     

Financial Instruments for Mitigation of Flood Risks: The Case of Florence

This article analyzes the mechanisms and effects of innovative financial instruments that a central public administration (CPA) may adopt to minimize the flood risk in particularly exposed regions. The pattern we suggest assumes that in risky areas the CPA can issue two financial instruments, called project options and CAT‐bonds, producing a dynamic interaction among three types of agents: the CPA itself, the local public administrations, and private investors. We explore the possible scenarios of such interaction and the conditions under which the CPA's goal of maximal risk reduction is attained. This pattern is proposed for flood risk mitigation in the city of Florence, where the model dynamics are tested assuming parameters obtained from engineering studies.     

Analysis of the Covariance Structure in Manufactured Parts

We discuss the use of variograms for covariance modeling under the Kriging model to assess tolerances on manufactured parts. The variogram is very informative about the spatial dependence and it is favored by researchers in the choice of a correlation function. It may give evidence of anisotropy and of nugget effect too. In this paper, various variogram estimators from literature are used for comparing and evaluating their properties in assessing the surface error of three workpieces manufactured with different machining precisions. Contrary to the common engineering belief, the variograms give evidence of both technological signatures and systematic errors of the measurement machines.     

DEA-Like Model and Common Weights Approach for the Construction of a Subjective Community Well-Being Indicator

A growing literature assesses the quality of life and well-being in geographically and/or politically divided areas. The paper proposes a new subjective well being (SWB) indicator based on residents’ satisfaction with environment and community, personal life and leisure activities. Our approach is a novel construction and new application of the well-being index, specifically, a DEA-like model with common weights under the benefit of the doubt (BoD) approach. This approach is very interesting in the SWB framework, allowing us to differentiate efficient individuals or estimate the relative importance of each domain in the SWB indicator. The results state that Personal life is the domain that most profoundly affects SWB index; it also differs in groups of individuals and geographic spaces.     

Least Squares Sparse Principal Component Analysis: A Backward Elimination Approach to Attain Large Loadings

Sparse principal components analysis (SPCA) is a technique for finding principal components with a small number of non‐zero loadings. Our contribution to this methodology is twofold. First we derive the sparse solutions that minimise the least squares criterion subject to sparsity requirements. Second, recognising that sparsity is not the only requirement for achieving simplicity, we suggest a backward elimination algorithm that computes sparse solutions with large loadings. This algorithm can be run without specifying the number of non‐zero loadings in advance. It is also possible to impose the requirement that a minimum amount of variance be explained by the components. We give thorough comparisons with existing SPCA methods and present several examples using real datasets.     

Modified first-difference estimator in a panel data model with unobservable factors both in the errors and the regressors when the time dimension is small

Panel data models with factor structures in both the errors and the regressors have received considerable attention recently. In these models, the errors and the regressors are correlated and the standard estimators are inconsistent. This paper shows that, for such models, a modified first-difference estimator (in which the time and the cross-sectional dimensions are interchanged) is consistent as the cross-sectional dimension grows but the time dimension is small. Although the estimator has a non standard asymptotic distribution, t and F tests have standard asymptotic distribution under the null hypothesis.     

The Italian Regional Well-Being in a Multi-expert Non-additive Perspective

This paper designs a multidimensional index of well-being for 20 Italian regions, based on a set of 41 indicators organized in an original hierarchical structure, a decision-tree whose four main pillars are Economy, Society, Environment and Health. Our novel approach combines the objective dimension of the evaluation (a comprehensive set of statistical indicators) within a flexible non-additive aggregation model (the Choquet integral) characterized with the preferences of informed Italian stakeholders. Adopting the Choquet integral allows us to overcome the well-known limitations embedded in the linear models, by assigning a weight (capacity) to any coalitions of dimensions, and by allowing a different degree of substitutability within each decision node in the tree. The weights and the parameters for the aggregation are elicited through a computer-based nominal group technique, a method which reduces the occurrences of drastically dissenting valuations and the potential expert-selection bias. Our results show that experts’ perception of synergies and redundancies is quite heterogeneous between levels and nodes in the tree. Moreover, well-being measures are much influenced by the degree of substitutability embedded in the experts’ preferences. Overall, the Italian picture looks more heterogeneous when analysed through the Choquet integral, with respect to a linear model.     

‘That right level of intoxication’: A Grounded Theory study on young adults’ drinking in nightlife settings

The present study examined the meaning and functions of drinking across different nightlife settings (e.g., bars, dance clubs) in a sample of Italian young adults. A Grounded Theory recursive and iterative process of data collection, through 10 focus group interviews, and data analysis revealed the complex and dynamic nature of young people's experience of drinking in nightlife settings. Results indicated that three major categories of social nightlife settings associated with different meanings and uses of alcohol: a more moderate social drinking in bars, a pursuit of a desired level of intoxication in dancing settings, like nightclubs, with festivities and celebratory settings most associated with alcohol abuse and heavy drunkenness as a mean to maximize the celebration and the uniqueness of the event. The core category emerging was related to the collective social process of youngsters optimizing alcohol intake throughout the night to find and maintain a desired level of intoxication (‘just the right buzz’) in dancing settings, to reach a controlled disinhibition to get what they consider positive outcomes minimizing negative ones. Results can be informative for other cultural regions too where differences in the drinking experience across nightlife settings have not been fully addressed yet.