An innovative multidisciplinary intervention to prevent and treat child obesity: the Epode Umbria Region OBesity Intervention Study (EUROBIS)

The lifestyle’s fundamental role in the approach to the young people with metabolic problems is now supported by the scientific evidence. However, multidisciplinary (including nutritional, physical activity and psychological aspects) intervention studies conducted on this issue are still lacking. This work aims to reflect on issues concerning the EUROBIS multidisciplinary intervention study, which aims to contrast childhood obesity, addressing the complex nutritional, motor, and psychological aspects to improve children’s lifestyle through the implementation of curative and preventive strategies. The curative, clinical approach already proved to be effective in a significant reduction in body weight, BMI, waist circumference, fat mass, waist circumference/height index, and an improvement of Mediterranean diet adherence and physical activity measures, in subjects with overweight/obesity [1]. Now we present the first results of the preventive project "Let’s improve the Umbrian children lifestyle", a school-based intervention, conducted in 2015-16 school year on first classes of primary schools in Umbria (more than 4000 children) resulting in an improvement in Mediterranean diet adherence and physical activity measures. This study confirms that multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention can improve anthropometric, nutritional and physical activity outcomes and represents the cornerstone to build recommendations with a high level of evidence within the Italian standards of care, although it has demonstrate the difficulties of young people and parents to join it

Environmental Mastery and Self-Acceptance during Emerging Adulthood: A Study of the Determinant Factors in College Students

Emerging Adulthood is a transitional and critical period characterized by multiple challenges. How individuals face life transitions are related to their psychological wellbeing considered a process of self-fulfillment. The most fragile psychological wellbeing dimensions during Emerging Adulthood are environmental mastery and self-acceptance. Few studies have explored the determinants of these dimensions, some of these focused on demographic factors, less on the impact of intrapersonal factors. Interest of this study was investigated with a longitudinal study conducted in 243 Emerging Adults (56.4% females), the role of external (gender, relationship status, socioeconomic status) and internal factors (self-esteem and self-control) in environmental mastery and self-acceptance. Only internal factors predicted both dimensions studied explaining approximately 38% of the variance of environmental mastery and 33% of the variance of self-acceptance.  The study suggests that self-esteem and self-control could be important protective factors for EAs attending university to improve their sense of mastery and competence to manage the environment and possess a positive attitude toward the self. These findings add to a growing body of literature highlighting the determinant factors of specific dimensions of PWB of particular relevance during this lifestage and may have important implications in research and clinical fields, providing insights for the development of clinical actions targeting at university students

Dialogare: compendio di matematica

This compendium is designed as a review of basic mathematics topics and is mainly aimed at students who are looking for valuable help to integrate their knowledge and correct their deficiencies in the subject, as well as to succeed in the math admission test of the University of Florence. The topics covered are divided into five macro areas: Numbers, Powers and Radicals, Literal calculation, Equations, Inequalities and absolute value, Exponential and logarithmic functions. For each one of the topics, the fundamental theoretical notions are offered with specific examples and a selection of single questions, thanks to which the student can immediately check their knowledge. Moreover, there is also a section collecting all the answers to the questions with extensive examination on the correct process and on the possible errors. This analysis represents the real strength of this work since it allows students to self-evaluate and learn from their mistakes

“Ripple effect”: Psychological responses and coping strategies of Italian children in different COVID-19 severity areas

COVID-19 has affected learning and the outdoor activities of more than 862 million children or adolescents worldwide. This study investigated the mental health of Italian children and explored their psychological response and coping strategies in different COVID-19 epidemic severity areas, with the aims of alleviating the impacts of COVID-19, promoting targeted intervention, and reducing the risk of future psychological problems. 1074 parents of children aged 6 to 12 years old participated in an ad-hoc online survey. Among them, 40.3% were from the high-risk areas in the North, and 59.7% were from the medium/low-risk areas in the center of Italy. The results showed that, compared to the children in medium- or low-risk areas, children in the North scored significantly higher for symptoms of anxiety, moods, and cognitive changes, showing a “ripple effect” trend. Moreover, children in the northern areas used fewer task-oriented strategies and more emotion- and avoidance-oriented strategies than those in the central areas. Specifically, children in the northern areas were more likely to show acceptance and seek affection from others, while those in the central areas used more humor when their parents talked about quarantine or coronavirus. These findings provide relevant evidence and a reference point for crisis management in children’s mental health.El COVID-19 ha afectado el aprendizaje y las actividades al aire libre de más de 862 millones de niños o adolescentes en todo el mundo. Este estudio investigó la salud mental de los niños italianos y exploró su respuesta psicológica y las estrategias de afrontamiento en diferentes áreas de gravedad de la epidemia de COVID-19, con el objetivo de aliviar los impactos de la misma, promover la intervención específica y reducir el riesgo de futuros problemas psicológicos. 1074 padres de niños entre 6 a 12 años de edad participaron en una encuesta ad-hoc online. De ellos, el 40,3% procedían de las zonas de alto riesgo del norte y el 59,7% de las zonas de riesgo medio/bajo del centro de Italia. Los resultados mostraron que, en comparación con los niños de las áreas de riesgo medio o bajo, los niños del norte obtuvieron una puntuación significativamente más alta en cuanto a los síntomas de ansiedad, cambios cognitivos y de estado de ánimo, mostrando una tendencia de “efecto dominó”. Además, los niños de las zonas del norte utilizaron menos estrategias orientadas a las tareas y más estrategias orientadas a las emociones - y la evitación - que los de las zonas centrales. Concretamente, los niños de las zonas del norte eran más propensos a mostrar aceptación y a buscar el afecto de los demás, mientras que los de las zonas centrales usaban más el humor cuando sus padres hablaban de la cuarentena o del coronavirus. Estos hallazgos proporcionan evidencia relevante y un punto de referencia para el manejo de crisis en la salud mental de los niños

Cesare alla conquista di Roma: il guado dell’Ariminus (Rubicon), la conquista di Ariminum da parte dei Galli ed il terrore. Per una nuova interpretazione spazio-temporale degli eventi

Il rimpatrio, veloce, e per occultissimum iter, di Cesare dalle Gallie negli ultimi giorni dell’anno 50 e nei primi del 49 a. C. per contrastare Pompeo e le decisioni del Senato della Repubblica ha ricevuto l’attenzione di molti studiosi per l’importanza che viene data al modo nel quale terminò la Repubblica a Roma. Il presente lavoro, basato sulle fonti antiche, vuole chiarire la strategia di Cesare ricercando il percorso fisico e temporale da Ravenna, allora nelle Gallie, a Roma. Viene qui considerato, per la prima volta, che il toponimo Arimin-um, impiegato nei tempi antichi per indicare sia la città [-um] sia il fiume [-us] che la lambisce, derivi dal temine ad limen con chiara indicazione sia del confine fisico fra l’ager publicus e la Gallia, sia della prima importante città del territorio stesso. Il confine fra il territorio romano propriamente detto e quello della Gallia Cisalpina era allora definito, come consuetudine, dal percorso di fiumi, e quindi, fra il Tirreno e l’Adriatico, dall’Arno (associato alla prima parte del Tevere) e dall’Arimin-us (oggi Marecchia) che hanno le sorgenti molto vicine. Questo confine politico fra Pisa e Rimini rimase in essere per circa cinquanta anni: dal 90-89, quando fu introdotto con la lex Julia e la lex Pompeia; al 55 quando venne confermato dall’actum Lucae, al 49 quando con la lex Roscia la provincia venne abolita ed integrata nell’Italia romana, ma rimase come confine fisico fra la Gallia e l’Italia anche nel Medioevo come riportato nel Liber Glossarum. In Anneo Lucano [I, 214] il termine Rubicon, associato al fiume di confine, viene qui identificato per la prima volta con l’attuale Marecchia, così chiamato con l’aggettivo puniceus robur cioè rosso porpora dal colore delle sue acque rese tali dalle acque reflue delle tante fullonicae che allora fiorivano sulle sue sponde, delle quali rimane traccia nello stesso Rimini lungo la fossa Pàtara. Al tempo di Roma tingere di rosso le tele era un mestiere diffuso, risultavano numerosi e rispettati i purpurarii che impiegavano, oltre ad altri coloranti di origine animale, anche estratti dalla radice della rubia tinctorum coltivata proprio nei pressi di Ravenna, come scrive Dioscoride Pedanio. Si argomenta quindi sui luoghi che Cesare dovrebbe aver percorso e si fanno ipotesi sulla sua strategia, così pensata ma anche sempre arricchita da imprevisti, che ha così profondamente caratterizzato l’operato del grande condottiero. Cesare da Ravenna scrisse al tribuno della plebe Gaio Scribonio Curione proponendo soluzioni pacifiche al Senato e a Pompeo e non si comprende come possa essere rientrato a Ravenna dopo aver passato il confine con il pomerio se non pensando che abbia seguito un piano preciso, dopo aver saputo della decisione del Senato che lo esautorava dal consolato assegnato a Lucio Cornelio Lentulo Crue. Diventa allora tutto allineato con quanto riporta Anneo Lucano se si pensa che Cesare: - sia partito da Ravenna per Mevaniola dove vi era un castrum di fedelissimi, - abbia attraversato il Marecchia con trecento cavalieri, - abbia fatto da questi espugnare la città fortificata di Rimini, facendo credere fosse stata attaccata dai Galli, - sia ritornato a Ravenna, - abbia qui esortato a seguirlo i suoi soldati della XIII legione aggiunta (le cinque coorti di Plutarco) e, di fronte alla sostanziale mancanza di contrasto, - si sia diretto a Roma percorrendo la Flaminia. Come noto, da Rimini inviò a Sansepolcro-Arezzo, Marco Antonio con un esercito, sia per contrastare l’esercito del console appena nominato dal Senato, sia per aprire la strada alle due legioni che Cesare aveva richiamato dalla Gallia Narbonese per dirigersi poi con un esercito, in gran parte arruolato sul posto, verso Roma lungo le due principali direttrici nord-sud: la Flaminia e la Cassia. Alcuni oggetti coevi rinvenuti a Mevaniola sembrano confermare la tesi esposta: una chiave di città, sepolta nel foro, come i Galli usavano fare per i loro trofei di guerra, ed una iscrizione per il restauro di una parte delle terme che sembra proprio quanto promesso da Cesare per la palestra dei gladiatori

Group B streptococcus (GBS) modifies macrophage phosphatidylserine metabolism during induction of apoptosis

Group B streptococcus (GBS) induced macrophage apoptosis by which it could avoid host defence mechanisms. Macrophages, which constitutively express phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) on the outer leaflet of plasma membrane, increased PtdSer exposure during GBS‐induced apoptosis. Induction of apoptosis decreased PtdSer radioactivity of macrophages incubated with [3H]serine. The effect appeared not due to increasing conversion of PtdSer to phosphatidylethanolamine or phosphatidylcholine nor to the release of radioactive membrane vesicles. The radioactivity in lysoPtdSer was also reduced. These results confirm that induction of apoptosis involves a modification of PtdSer metabolism and point out the typical features of the GBS‐induced apoptosis with respect to other models of apoptosis

MATHEMATICS ANXIETY AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN ADOLESCENT STUDENTS

Several studies highlight that many students feel negative feelings about mathematical learning and that the mathematics anxiety seems to play a central role in mathematical performance. More specifically students with higher level of maths anxiety are less efficient in mathematical tasks. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between specific mathematics anxiety as assessed by AMAS, trait and state anxiety as assessed by STAI-Y, and mathematical skills assessed through the ABCA tests in a sample of 83 adolescent students (78.3% males) without diagnosis of dyscalculia and cognitive disorder attending their first year of secondary school. Results showed that 38% of the students referred high level of maths anxiety. Independent T-test revealed that female students referred a higher level of maths anxiety as well as of trait and state anxiety than male ones, while there were no differences in the mathematics performance. The simultaneous multivariate linear regression analysis showed that maths anxiety was influenced by trait anxiety and in its turn has an impact on the high level mathematics performances (i.e. arithmetic facts). Understanding the relationships between maths anxiety and maths learning and performance may have relevant implications in clinical, educational and didactic practice