Minori di età e formazione dei giovani atleti : storia di una riforma incompiuta

2021

The paper analyses the recent reform of the Italian sport system that includes, for the first time, some new regulations about minors and young athletes. The work underlines that despite the attempt by the legislator, the result is still not satisfying due to the lack of a 'child-centred' perspective.

Neural processing of nouns and verbs in spontaneous speech of patients with schizophrenia.

2021

Previous fMRI-studies investigating the production of nouns and verbs in healthy participants reported predominantly activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for both classes of words with increased neural responses for verbs. To date, comparable imaging data for spontaneous speech in patients with schizophrenia is missing. These results are novel and may contribute to understand the neural basis of noun and verb production in a "natural" environment. Fifteen patients with schizophrenia and fifteen healthy control participants described pictures for one minute each while BOLD signal changes were measured with fMRI. In an event-related design, activations related to noun and verb …

The Mediator Role of Feelings of Guilt in the Process of Burnout and Psychosomatic Disorders: A Cross-Cultural Study

2021

Burnout was recently declared by WHO as an “occupational phenomenon” in the International Classification of Diseases 11th revision (ICD-11), recognizing burnout as a serious health issue. Earlier studies have shown that feelings of guilt appear to be involved in the burnout process. However, the exact nature of the relationships among burnout, guilt and psychosomatic disorders remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediator role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and psychosomatic disorders, and perform a cross-cultural validation of the multi-dimensional model by Gil-Monte in two samples of teachers (Portuguese vs. Spanish). The study sample…

Don't stress, it's under control: Neural correlates of stressor controllability in humans

2021

Abstract Animal research has repeatedly shown that control is a key variable in the brain's stress response. Uncontrollable stress triggers a release of monoamines, impairing prefrontal functions while enhancing subcortical circuits. Conversely, control over an adverse event involves prefrontally mediated downregulation of monoamine nuclei and is considered protective. However, it remains unclear to what extent these findings translate to humans. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, we subjected participants to controllable and uncontrollable aversive but non-painful electric stimuli, as well as to a control condition without aversive stimulation. In each trial, a symbol signalled …

OCT-Angiography evaluation of peripapillary microvascular changes after rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair

2021

Purpose: To evaluate the radial peripapillary capillary plexus (RPCP) vessel density (VD) and the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in eyes successfully treated with pars plana vitrectomy for primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Methods: In this cross-sectional multicenter clinical study, eyes with a minimum 12-month follow-up were reexamined. The RPCP VD and RNFL thickness in the rhegmatogenous retinal detachment subfields of the affected eye (study group) were compared with the corresponding areas of the healthy fellow eyes (control group). Results: Fifty-three eyes were included in the study. A significantly lower RPCP VD and RNFL thickness were observed in those subfields…

Perioperative chemotherapy versus surgery alone for resectable colorectal liver metastases: an international multicentre propensity score matched ana…

2021

Abstract Background There is still uncertainty regarding the role of perioperative chemotherapy (CTx) in patients with resectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), especially in those with a low-risk of recurrence. Methods Multicentre retrospective analysis of patients with CRLM undergoing liver resection between 2010–2015. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they received perioperative CTx or not and were compared using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. Then, they were stratified according to prognostic risk scores, including: Clinical Risk Score (CRS), Tumour Burden Score (TBS) and Genetic And Morphological Evaluation (GAME) score. Results The study includ…

In the literature: October 2021

2021

Indacaterol/glycopyrronium/mometasone fixed dose combination for uncontrolled asthma

2021

INTRODUCTION Asthma symptoms can be relieved through a maintenance treatment combining long-acting β2-agonist and inhaled corticosteroids (LABA/ICS). However, for patients with inadequately controlled asthma, the LABA/ICS combination might not be sufficient. Under these conditions, clinical guidelines recommend the administration of inhaled long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) as an add-on therapy to LABA/ICS to better control asthma and improve lung function. For nearly two decades, the only LAMA to be approved on the market has been tiotropium. AREAS COVERED We reviewed recent clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of LABA/LAMA/ICS fixed dose combinations by searching Pu…

Synthesis of zeolite/geopolymer composite for enhanced sequestration of phosphate (PO43−) and ammonium (NH4+) ions; equilibrium properties and realis…

2021

Abstract Zeolite impeded geopolymer (Z/G) was synthesized from natural kaolinite and diatomite. The structure (Z/G) was characterized as an enhanced adsorbent for PO43− and NH4+ ions from aqueous solutions, groundwater, and sewage water. The synthetic Z/G structure exhibits sequestration capacities of 206 mg/g and 140 mg/g for PO43− and NH4+, respectively which are higher values than the recognized results for the geopolymer and other adsorbents in literature. The sequestration reactions of PO43− and NH4+ by Z/G are of Pseudo-Second order kinetic behavior considering both the Chi-squared (χ2) and correlation coefficient (R2) values. The sequestration reactions occur in homogenous and monola…

Characteristics of partial discharges in an experimental setup reproducing HVDC cable insulation operating conditions

2021

The occurrence of Partial Discharge (PD) inside a cavity subjected to HVDC voltage can be considered as one of the most likely sources of insulation ageing and failure. In practical applications, the recognition of PD under HVDC is more difficult than under AC stress because of the lower repetition rates and the impossibility to obtain a PD pattern synchronized with the waveform of the applied voltage. In this paper, the relationship between conduction phenomena in dielectrics and the occurrence of PD is investigated by means of a novel experimental setup. A couple of dielectric cells connected in series is subjected to various HVDC stress levels. The applied voltage is divided between the …

Multimorbidity increases the risk for sarcopenia onset: Longitudinal analyses from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

2021

Background-\ud \ud Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that multimorbidity is associated with sarcopenia. However, to date, this association has not been extensively investigated longitudinally. Therefore, the aim of the present paper was to explore the association between multimorbidity at baseline and sarcopenia onset over 12 years of follow-up in a large representative sample of the English older adult population.\ud \ud Methods-\ud \ud Representative data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) were analyzed. Multimorbidity at baseline was defined as ≥2 medical conditions, of 17 conditions included. Participants were considered to have sarcopenia if they had low handg…

Finnish late adolescents’ physical activity during COVID-19 spring 2020 lockdown

2021

Background Physical activity (PA) is recognised as one of the leading and effective strategies to prevent non-communicable diseases that boosts the immune system to fight against diseases. Closures of schools, sport clubs and facilities because of COVID-19 reduced the opportunities to participate in PA. We aimed to examine physical activity levels of late adolescents, the contexts to be physical active and its changes during the spring 2020 lockdown. Methods A national representative sample of late adolescents in general upper secondary school (n = 2408, females = 64%, mean age = 17.2y, SD = 0.63) completed self-report online surveys on PA behaviours between March and June 2020. Multinomina…

Time domain astronomy with the THESEUS satellite

2021

THESEUS is a medium size space mission of the European Space Agency, currently under evaluation for a possible launch in 2032. Its main objectives are to investigate the early Universe through the observation of gamma-ray bursts and to study the gravitational waves electromagnetic counterparts and neutrino events. On the other hand, its instruments, which include a wide field of view X-ray (0.3-5 keV) telescope based on lobster-eye focussing optics and a gamma-ray spectrometer with imaging capabilities in the 2-150 keV range, are also ideal for carrying out unprecedented studies in time domain astrophysics. In addition, the presence onboard of a 70 cm near infrared telescope will allow simu…

Neurogranin as a Reliable Biomarker for Synaptic Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease

2021

(1) Background: Neurogranin is a post-synaptic protein expressed in the neurons of the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. It has been recently proposed as a promising biomarker of synaptic dysfunction, especially in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, more efforts are needed before introducing it in clinical practice, including the definition of its reference interval (RI). The aim of the study was to establish the RI of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurogranin levels in controls and individuals with non-neurodegenerative neurological diseases; (2) We included a total of 136 individuals that were sub-grouped as follows: AD patients (n = 33), patients with non-neurodegenerative neurological …

Halloysite nanotubes filled with salicylic acid and sodium diclofenac: effects of vacuum pumping on loading and release properties

2021

AbstractIn this work, we investigated the effects of the vacuum pumping on both the loading efficiencies and the release kinetics of halloysite nanotubes filled with drug molecules dissolved in ethanol. As model drugs, salicylic acid and sodium diclofenac were selected. For comparison, the loading of the drug molecules was conducted on platy kaolinite to explore the key role of the hollow tubular morphology on the filling mechanism of halloysite. The effects of the pressure conditions used in the loading protocol were interpreted and discussed on the basis of the thermodynamic results provided by Knudsen thermogravimetry, which demonstrated the ethanol confinement inside the halloysite cavi…

The migrant crisis in the Mediterranean Sea: Empirical evidence on policy interventions

2021

Abstract This paper presents a novel set of empirical evidence to explore several hypotheses regarding the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean Sea. The political instability in transit countries, such as Libya, that made pre-existent repatriation policies ineffective, called for several search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean, which in turn have been wrongly accused of fostering illegal immigration and increasing deaths at sea. The empirical results show that the main determinants of the departures are several root causes at the departing African countries, underlining the importance of fighting human smuggling networks. The paper suggests a change in migration studies’ perspectiv…

Molecular mechanisms of hepatotoxic cholestasis by clavulanic acid: Role of NRF2 and FXR pathways.

2021

Treatment of β-lactamase positive bacterial infections with a combination of amoxicillin (AMOX) and clavulanic acid (CLAV) causes idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (iDILI) in a relevant number of patients, often with features of intrahepatic cholestasis. This study aims to determine serum bile acid (BA) levels in amoxicillin/clavulanate (A + C)-iDILI patients and to investigate the mechanism of cholestasis by A + C in human in vitro hepatic models. In six A + C-iDILI patients, significant elevations of serum primary conjugated BA definitely demonstrated A + C-induced cholestasis. In cultured human Upcyte hepatocytes and HepG2 cells, CLAV was more cytotoxic than AMOX, and, at subcytoto…

Exploring the mediator role of self-critical rumination between emotion regulation and psychopathology: A validation study of the Self-Critical Rumin…

2021

Abstract Self-critical rumination is a negative and repetitive self-thinking process related to different disorders and negative psychological outcomes such as emotion dysregulation. The objectives of this study are twofold: (a) to examine the factor structure of the Spanish version of the Self-Critical Rumination Scale (SCRS), providing further evidence on its construct validity, and (b), to explore the mediator role of self-critical rumination between emotion dysregulation and psychopathology. A sample of 431 Spanish participants were recruited and completed online questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis, mediation analysis, and Pearson's correlations were conducted. A single factor …

Copolymerization of Ethylene with Selected Vinyl Monomers Catalyzed by Group 4 Metal and Vanadium Complexes with Multidentate Ligands: A Short Review

2021

This paper gives a short overview of homogeneous post-metallocene catalysts based on group 4 metal and vanadium complexes bearing multidentate ligands. It summarizes the catalytic behavior of those catalysts in copolymerization of ethylene with 1-olefins, with styrenic monomers and with α,ω-alkenols. The review is focused on finding correlations between the structure of a complex, its catalyst activity and comonomer incorporation ability, as well as the microstructure of the copolymer chains.

Entrepreneurial orientation and new product development performance in SMEs: The mediating role of business model innovation

2021

Abstract In the current business context, entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been highlighted as key to improving firm performance. Despite the overall positive evidence on the association between EO and firm performance, scholars have stressed the importance of taking into account and properly managing intermediate capabilities. The present study analyses the link between EO and New Product Development (NPD) performance, considering Business Model Innovation (BMI) as a mediating variable. A sample of 400 Spanish SMEs is used to test the proposed research model through structural equation modelling and partial least squares analyses. Results reveal that EO contributes to BMI and NPD perfo…

Recensione di Religione e diritti umani nell'Italia multiculturale

2021

Quello dei diritti umani, trattato nella fattispecie della libertà religiosa, è un argomento sotto molti profili profili complesso e delicato. Se ne occupano in questo volume Sara Lagi, Chiara Maritato e Roberta Ricucci, mettendo in campo con cura le proprie metodologie di indagine scientifiche e offrendone così un puntuale e sistematico approfondimento per il tramite di un approccio storico-politico e sociologico che converge soprattutto sul contesto italiano contemporaneo.

Patterns of Carbon-Bound Exogenous Compounds in Patients with Lung Cancer and Association with Disease Pathophysiology.

2021

Abstract Asymptomatic anthracosis is the accumulation of black carbon particles in adult human lungs. It is a common occurrence, but the pathophysiologic significance of anthracosis is debatable. Using in situ high mass resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry imaging analysis, we discovered noxious carbon-bound exogenous compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), tobacco-specific nitrosamines, or aromatic amines, in a series of 330 patients with lung cancer in highly variable and unique patterns. The characteristic nature of carbon-bound exogenous compounds had a strong association wi…

Sensitivity Analysis in Nonrandomized Longitudinal Mediation Analysis

2021

Mediation analysis relies on an untestable assumption of the no omitted confounders, which posits that an omitted variable that confounds the relationships between the antecedent, mediator, and outcome variables cannot exist. One common model in alcohol addiction studies is a nonrandomized latent growth curve mediation model (LGCMM), where the antecedent variable is not randomized, the two covarying mediators are latent intercept and slope modeling longitudinal effect of the repeated measures mediator, and an outcome variable that measures alcohol use. An important gap in the literature is lack of sensitivity analysis techniques to assess the effect of the violation of the no omitted confou…

Decision-making Styles in Adolescent Offenders and Non-offenders: Effects of Emotional Intelligence and Empathy

2021

The literature indicates that adolescents with delinquent behavior have greater difficulty making rational decisions and show lower emotional intelligence and empathy. Decision-making is a set of complex processes associated with neurobiological, cognitive, emotional, and social factors which help regulate and guide behavior, which could be influenced by emotional intelligence and empathy. A comparative, correlational, and predictive study was conducted to analyze relationships and influence of emotional intelligence and empathy in decision-making styles in adolescent offenders and non-offenders. 808 Colombian adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age participated (50p offenders). The resu…

Formulation of liposomes loading lentisk oil to ameliorate topical delivery, attenuate oxidative stress damage and improve cell migration in scratch …

2021

[EN] Pistacia lentiscus L. is a sclerophyllous shrub capable of growing under harsh climatic conditions especially in the Mediterranean Basin. Different products can be obtained from this plant, such as essential oil, mastic gum or even fixed oil. The last is well known for its flavor which is mainly exploited in the food industry. Additionally, it has been traditionally used in the treatment of skin diseases, but, at the moment, any suitable formulation for skin delivery has been formulated and its biological effects was not deeply confirmed. Given that, in the present study, the lentisk oil has been formulated in liposomes at different concentrations (10, 20, 30 mg/ml) and their physicoch…

An integrated methodological approach for optimising complex systems subjected to predictive maintenance

2021

Abstract The present paper addresses the relevant topic of maintenance management, widely recognised as a fundamental issue involving complex engineering systems and leading companies towards the optimisation of their assets while pursuing cost efficiency. With this regard, our research aims to provide companies with a hybrid methodological approach based on Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) capable to deal with the main failures potentially involving complex systems subjected to predictive maintenance. Such an approach is going to be integrated within the framework of traditional Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), whose strengths and weaknesses are considered. In pa…

Semitransparent Perovskite Solar Cells for Building Integration and Tandem Photovoltaics: Design Strategies and Challenges

2021

Over the past decade, halide perovskite systems have captured widespread attention among researchers since their exceptional photovoltaic (PV) performance was disclosed. The unique combination of optoelectronic properties and solution processability shown by these materials has enabled perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to reach efficiencies higher than 25% at low fabrication costs. Moreover, PSCs display enormous potential for modern unconventional PV applications, since they can be made lightweight, semitransparent (ST), and/or flexible by means of appropriate design strategies. In particular, by enabling transparency and high efficiency simultaneously, ST-PSCs hold great promise for future ve…

Impact of biliary stents on the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy of solid pancreatic head lesions: A multicenter study

2021

Background and Objectives: There is no clear evidence of a negative impact of biliary stents on the diagnostic yield of EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) for diagnosing pancreatic head lesions. We aimed to evaluate the association between the presence of biliary stents and the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-FNB. Materials and Methods: A multicenter retrospective study including all jaundiced patients secondary to pancreatic head masses was performed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of a biliary stent placed before EUS-FNB. Pathological results were classified according to the Papanicolaou classification and compared against the final diagnosis. Diagnostic m…

Are maximizers more normative decision-makers? An experimental investigation of maximizers' susceptibility to cognitive biases

2021

Abstract The present study tested the hypothesis that maximizers – people who routinely seek to make optimal decisions rather than quickly settling for an acceptable one – are less susceptible to cognitive biases. Experiment 1 showed that high maximizers are less swayed by irrelevant differences in the framing of a decision-making scenario than are low maximizers. Experiment 2 confirmed that maximizers are also less likely to neglect important base rate information when making decisions. Experiment 3 showed that maximizers are less likely to stick with a bad plan in which they have already invested (the sunk-cost bias) and therefore are quicker to switch to a more attractive alternative pla…

Order boundedness and spectrum in locally convex quasi *-algebras

2021

After a quick sketch of the basic aspects of locally convex quasi *-algebras, we focus on order bounded elements and use them to analyze some spectral properties, trying to generalize the approach already studied in the Banach case.

The Association of Intraoperative driving pressure with postoperative pulmonary complications in open versus closed abdominal surgery patients – a po…

2021

Abstract Background It is uncertain whether the association of the intraoperative driving pressure (ΔP) with postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) depends on the surgical approach during abdominal surgery. Our primary objective was to determine and compare the association of time–weighted average ΔP (ΔPTW) with PPCs. We also tested the association of ΔPTW with intraoperative adverse events. Methods Posthoc retrospective propensity score–weighted cohort analysis of patients undergoing open or closed abdominal surgery in the ‘Local ASsessment of Ventilatory management during General Anaesthesia for Surgery’ (LAS VEGAS) study, that included patients in 146 hospitals across 29 countries.…

Response to comment by Smith on the 2021 EUGOGO guidelines

2021

Human artificial membranes in (bio)analytical science: Potential for in vitro prediction of intestinal absorption-A review

2021

Abstract Artificial membranes for investigation of the human absorption (oral, dermal or respiratory) of target organic compounds are aimed at mimicking the interactions occurring at and within the cell lipid membrane. Biomolecules such as proteins are also integral components of the lipid membranes and play a pivotal role towards understanding the complex mechanisms of human absorption. In this review, we will differentiate biomimetic platforms based on static (batchwise) and dynamic modes. In the former, a synthetic membrane placed between two phases (donor and acceptor) mimics a given biological system to study permeability. Parallel artificial membrane permeation assays are the most com…

Dell’ostinazione e perfidia de’ Greci. Le carte della Congregazione dei Greci della prima età moderna

2021

Il contributo propone una descrizione analitica del manoscritto Miscellanea di riti greci (Branc. I.B.6) conservato presso la Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli. Il codice raccoglie le attività di consultazione della Congregazione dei Greci (1573-1600 ca.), presieduta dal Cardinale Giulio Antonio Santorio, che hanno portato alla estensione della Perbrevis Instructio da parte di Clemente VIII, il primo corpus organico di norme riguardanti il rito greco nella Chiesa cattolica. The contribution proposes an analytical description of the Miscellaneous manuscript of Greek rites (Branc. I.B.6) preserved at the National Library of Naples. The code collects the consultation activities of the Congregatio…

Acceptance towards digital health interventions – Model validation and further development of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

2021

Internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMI) offer an effective way to complement health care. Acceptance of IMI, a key facilitator of their implementation in routine care, is often low. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study validates and adapts the UTAUT to digital health care. Following a systematic literature search, 10 UTAUT-grounded original studies (N = 1588) assessing patients' and health professionals' acceptance of IMI for different somatic and mental health conditions were included. All included studies assessed Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions and acceptance as well as age, gender,…

Storie di giardini e storie di città

2021

Quanti modi ci sono per raccontare una storia, la storia di una città densa e plurima quale è New York City? Molte certamente dato che molti sono i quadri su cui ragionare. Una chiave di lettura interessante, e certamente differente da quelle che generalmente ritroviamo, è quella del ruolo che hanno avuto gli spazi verdi urbani, i giardini, a partire dai parchi storici, nella crescita della città di New York sia nei cinque distretti sia come sistema connettivo fisico e sociale. Il giardino, quindi, può essere visto come punto di collegamento fra l’uomo e il mondo in cui vive, dato che in tutte le epoche l’uomo ha sentito il bisogno di riconciliarsi con l’ambiente circostante, e si è così cr…